Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Clinton To Counter Trump's Economic Speech On Thursday; Florida Braces For Significant Flooding; Republican and Independent Voters Weigh In On Trump. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 08, 2016 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: We have breaking news, at least 45 people killed, dozens more injured following an explosion at a hospital in Northwestern Pakistan. Officials say the blast rocked the emergency ward in that hospital. Attorneys had gathered at the hospital after a prominent lawyer was gunned down earlier in the day. Unclear who was behind the attack.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN GUEST HOST: Developing overnight, two professors, an American and an Australian, kidnapped at gunpoint in Western Kabul. Both were lecturers at the American University of Afghanistan. No group has claimed responsibility for this yet. And these are kidnappings that have happened just days after a Taliban rocket attack on a convoy injured six tourists in Western Afghanistan.

CUOMO: And this is just the worst. Authorities in Kansas are investigating how 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, the little boy on your screen, the son of a Kansas lawmaker, died in one of the world's tallest water slides on Sunday.

The water slide features this 170-foot drop. You get to go 65 miles an hour. Of course, it's been shut down. It's in this park called the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City. The whole park is going to be closed again today.

KEILAR: They don't seem to know exactly what happened. We're still trying to figure out what did happen.

CUOMO: It's like these adventure rides, you know, there's always this balance. The question becomes, and why we point out he's the son of a lawmaker, what was the regulation there. Was it over the edge? They'll find out and tell us.

KEILAR: Heartbreaking.

Up next, Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton on the economy. Both have major speeches this week. Trump is up first. What will we hear from him today? Will he stay on message? Supporters from both sides weigh in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:37:33] CUOMO: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton finally giving you what you need in this election, which is their economic policy plans. Donald Trump is first up in Detroit.

Let's discuss what needs to be said and the points of contrast and comparison, CNN political commentator, former Reagan White House political director, looking especially Alexander Hamilton this morning, Jeffrey Lord, and former senior adviser to Bill Clinton and writer for newyorker.com, Richard Socarides.

Now, the economy had been an area where Donald Trump was putting a beat down on Hillary Clinton. In the latest poll of polls, it's within the margin of error. It's locked up.

So Jeffrey Lord, Trump is going first. This is what people need. They need substance from their candidates. What should we expect to hear today?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: They'll get it. I think he'll be talking about childcare. He'll be talking about the debt tax. He'll be talking about the labor participation rate, which is the lowest I think since 1977 when not so coincidentally Jimmy Carter was in office.

He'll be talking about free market economics. The people he has advising him have actually created jobs, something Hillary Clinton has never done in her life. So I think you can expect some real meat on the bones, as they say, today.

CUOMO: Meat on the bones. They. He means me. That what I said just before this segment. Thanks for watching the show, Jeffrey. Always appreciate.

LORD: Yes, sir.

CUOMO: Now that is this point of strength for Trump coming into this, which is I'm a businessman, she is a bureaucrat. That's his attack line.

RICHARD SOCARIDES, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: I mean, I don't know why that is a point of strength because if you look at his business record, I mean, it's a record of multiple bankruptcies. It's a record of taking advantage of people to get ahead. I mean, I think we will see between now and the election a very thorough examination of his business record. We'll see it's not what he maintains it to be.

CUOMO: But do you think when Hillary Clinton is in Detroit on Thursday -- today in Detroit is Donald Trump. Later in the week, Hillary Clinton, same venue. Do you think she's going to say that or offer an actual plan, affirmative things, not just negative about him?

SOCARIDES: Well, I think first of all that she has been very specific. I think she'll flush more of that out on Thursday. Whether or not we see an actual plan from Donald Trump today, you know, his plans up until now have been simply, I'm going to put great people in charge, and the results are going to be great.

So I think he's hired some extreme right-wing economists, traditional Republican extreme right-wing economists. He's put them in charge of developing a plan. Whether it's a plan he sticks to.

[06:40:07]But I mean, I think what we see in the outlines of the plan that we're hearing about already are, you know, more tax breaks for the rich. We're hearing budget proposals that would raise the debt. We're not hearing anything about the minimum wage.

So I think on substance, it is a very old-fashioned, extreme right Republican policies that have never proven to grow the economy. From Hillary, I think you will see a massive plan to invest in infrastructure, in roads, bridges, technology and a jobs plan.

CUOMO: So Jeffrey, disagree.

LORD: That's just more of the same. I would suggest that's just more of the same here. Hillary Clinton is the candidate of the status quo. This is Obamanomics, and it hasn't worked up until now. It's never going to work. It has never worked in the past. It isn't going to work in the future. It doesn't work now.

She had a Freudian slip the other day when she said she was going to -- she meant to say not raise taxes, but she had that slip and said she was going to raise taxes on the middle class. That is, in fact, what happens when you do this.

She's giving this speech in Detroit. Detroit is a mess. It's been run by Democrats for decades. It is a mess because of their policies.

SOCARIDES: Jeffrey, let's look at the economy. I mean, obviously more Americans have to be in a position to take full advantage of the good that's happening in the economy. We've created a lot of new jobs since President Obama took over and the economy is headed in the right direction.

Now, Hillary's policies, I think, will accelerate that. When you talk about tax breaks, I mean, Hillary is for lowering taxes on the middle class, lowering taxes on working families.

It is Mr. Trump who is advocating this massive tax breaks for the rich, which he thinks will spur the economics of the system which have proven time and time again not to work.

LORD: No, that's not accurate. That's simply not accurate.

SOCARIDES: We'll see what the plan is today.

CUOMO: Hold on. Let Jeffrey put it out there. What's he going to put out?

LORD: What he's talking about is classical economics. And let's just remember here that Hillary Clinton, wife of former President Clinton, whose national housing strategy got us, planted the seeds for the, quote/unquote, "great recession," is a firm believer in these policies that got us into trouble in the first place.

SOCARIDES: Jeffrey, let me tell you though, don't bring up Bill Clinton's economic record because Bill Clinton ushered in and presided over the most robust economy in our generation. I mean, the economics at the end of eight years of Bill Clinton, the national debt was paid down. We were not incurring any more deficits. Bill Clinton presided over the best eight years of the American economy in my lifetime.

LORD: Because he continued Reaganomics. That's why.

SOCARIDES: I thought you weren't a Reagan fan, Jeffrey. You got the picture of him behind you.

LORD: Exactly. Bill Clinton continued on with Reaganomics. He tinkered a little bit with it --

CUOMO: All right, guys. Jeffrey, Richard, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Politics can get very tricky here. That's why the policy is so important. Brianna, today we're going to hear what Donald Trump has for the American people, the policy, the what and the how.

KEILAR: We are and we're going to hear much more on Clinton versus Trump when we talk with our panel of voters. Do they like what they're hearing?

Plus, rain and lots of it in store for people in the southeast. Chad Myers joining us with the forecast next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:33]

KEILAR: People across the southeast are bracing for heavy rain and possible flooding in some areas that could see more than a foot of rain. CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers, joining us now with the forecast. Chad, what should we be waiting for here?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Brianna, there's a system in the Gulf of Mexico, and it's not tropical, doesn't have a name. It's not Earl or anything like that, but it is sitting there, and it is going to drift onshore. We're going to have significant rain from Tampa all the way to New Orleans.

There will be spots with 12 to 15 inches of rain in the next five days. A lot of this is low land, but it will still flood. Look what we've had already overnight. Taylor County in Florida, flash flood warning. Parts of Perry, Florida, under water this morning. High water rescues taking place there. It's all of this moisture in the gulf.

It could have been something, but it was kind of too close to land over the weekend. Now it's just feeding on that Gulf of Mexico moisture, and it won't move. And this is the problem with these storms we're going to have. Once it rains at your house, it may rain for three hours if you're anywhere from New Orleans all the way to Tampa. And that could cause flooding. The storms have no jet stream to move them away. It's just going to rain for hours in places.

KEILAR: Ten inches of rain. My goodness. All right, Chad Myers, thank you.

CUOMO: All right. Let's take a little break. When we come back, no question the polls have taken a turn for the worse for Donald Trump. Why, exactly? And what can he say to turn it around? We have Republican and independent voters. Those are the key for Trump. They'll tell us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:52:36]

KEILAR: Well, this morning CNN has released its latest poll of polls. This was taken after both parties' conventions. They show that Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump by ten points in an average of the last six national polls.

We want to ask voters if Trump is in a slump and how have his recent controversies affected who they are supporting. We're joined now by a panel of Republican and independent voters to find out about this.

I want to ask you, Nick, first, what you think. You were leaning Trump.

NICOLAS ESPOSITO, UNDECIDED VOTER: Yes.

KEILAR: And you are now undecided.

ESPOSITO: Yes.

KEILAR: What has happened recently that has moved you there?

ESPOSITO: Over the past couple months, just looking at his rhetoric, the stuff that he was saying --

KEILAR: Was there something specific that really bothered you?

ESPOSITO: This is devisive language in general. One of the main points that I have is if there's a divide in his party, how is he going to unite the United States of America?

CUOMO: Well, look, that's a key consideration. Now, three people on the panel are decisively with Trump, right? You all made the determination. I know you're an independent voter, but you have signed on to help his campaign. Fair assessment?

You know this is the big stick against you, Sajid, especially you being Muslim-American and representing Muslims as part of a voter coalition. Why would you support Donald Trump? SAJID TARAR, NATIONAL DIVERSITY COALITION CHAIRMAN, MUSLIM AMERICANS FOR TRUMP: Donald Trump is writing history democracy to me. He's an outsider. Hillary, everybody knows what she has done. She started a political experience since she was 17. Tim Kaine started from the city council, professional politicians.

That's why Washington, D.C., is not working at all. Obviously it's not functioning and Donald Trump is the only hope so far we have who has proven track record.

CUOMO: When your friends heard you were going to try to create a Muslims for Trump, you had to get some stink from them about this because of what he said specifically to Muslims just about Islam. He consistently defines the entire faith as problematic for America. What do you tell them?

TARAR: My take on this is he's the first person among the 17 of them who has identified radicalism and nobody else. Look at the previous (inaudible) foreign policy. ISIS grew up on Hillary's watch. He's the only candidate who has some determination. He's willing to learn where the hatred is coming from in Islam.

[06:55:08]Not only this, I have been trying to explain to other Muslims that we are victim of oppression and radicalism in our own countries and our own societies. So the only person who's willing to do something is Donald Trump.

KEILAR: I want to look at some of the distractions that we have seen. This is just since the RNC. This is not a lot of time that has passed. He first refused to endorse Paul Ryan and John McCain. He's since changed his mind on that, but a lot of intraparty conflict over that.

He feuded with these gold star parents of Humayun Khan, who spoke sort of on behalf of Hillary Clinton at the DNC. He suggested women should quit their job if sexually harassed. He confused whether Russia has gone into Ukraine with Crimea. And he called on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's e-mails.

I guess to you, Sara, when you look at that, you're someone who is a Republican but you're now supporting Hillary Clinton. As you see this pattern, is that having anything to do with why you're crossing party lines here?

SARA ZERVOS, REPUBLICAN VOTER/NOW SUPPORTS CLINTON: No, I mean, that pattern has been there from the beginning. I think underlying it is Trump when he feels attacked or if someone is against him, he lashes out. He doesn't have that, you know, circuit in the brain to say, pause, think, and then speak.

So that's been a pattern he's had from the beginning. The thing that tilted me to shift toward Hillary, and that's a little bit of an exaggeration. I'm not for Hillary in the sense. I'm really into the Republican economic platform.

However, it's the behavior of the people in the United States that has change as a result of Trump behavior, Trump statements and so forth. That, to me, is the danger going forward.

If we have this person as the role model in chief for the United States, you know, his way of attacking people, of calling names, it's just bringing out the worst in the American people.

Whether it's in the Republican convention, whether it's at rallies, whether it's on the streets where he's not even around, it's just the behavior is something that we have to get away from.

CUOMO: So let's get you in on this. You have decided we're going to support Trump, but it's kind of because of exactly what Sara just said. Laire, you say, no, no, no, he's not generating the bad, he's speaking about the bad, and he's coming out and speaking the truth for the first time. Kind of like what Sajid said. Why do you think that people resonate with him and change these recent polls?

LAIRE, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, to change the polls?

CUOMO: Because he's down right now in this poll of polls. Why do you think that's not an accurate reflection?

LAIRE: First of all, those polls normally cover Democrats. I feel like the media coverage is a big blame for that. You take something like a baby crying at a rally, and you make that a big headline. That's not a big headline.

A big headline to me is the 58 percent of African-Americans that has gone up on food stamps or the African-Americans that are out of work due to the policies of Democrats in the last eight years.

So we were under a black president with those numbers. How do we -- where do we see Hillary helping us when she thinks of us as super predators? So I don't see those polls as accurate.

Because when I look at her rallies, no one is there. You know, you guys sort of cover a certain section of her rallies to make it look like a lot of people are there and there are not. So the people polls show that.

People are out there, excited in arenas for Trump. Social immediate media shows that. It doesn't show that for Hillary. So I think the polls are a little skewed.

CUOMO: All right, you guys stay with us so you can talk more with us. Thank you very much for giving us some perspective on this. We'll bring the panel back a little later on in the show to discuss more of the election.

There's a lot of news. We have breaking news of a nonpolitical variety. Delta shut down all departing flights all over the world. Why? Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Delta Airlines experiencing a global computer outage. CUOMO: Grounding all departing flights around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thousands of Delta passengers are currently on standby.

TRUMP: Unstable Hillary Clinton.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump doesn't represent who we are and what we believe.

TRUMP: She is a totally unhinged person.

TIM KAINE, VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have heard Hillary Clinton say over and over again, I made a mistake, and I wouldn't do it again.

CLINTON: I may have short circuited.

TRUMP: The people of this country don't want somebody that's going to short circuit up here.

KEILAR: Donald Trump is trailing Hillary Clinton by ten points.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another big day for the Americans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teen sensation, Katie Ledecky blazing to gold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Phelps swam to his 19th career gold.

KEILAR: The women's gymnastics team proving they have what it takes to defend their Olympic title.

(END VIDEOTAPE)