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Zika and Abortions; Presidential Race Polls; Aiming for Gold. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 08, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Zika can cause microcephaly and other birth defects in babies born to infected mothers. The effects, actually, are still fairly unknown.

Let's talk with our CNN political commentators about the state of this debate. It's obviously touching on reproductive rights. We have Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist and Clinton supporter, and Scottie Nell Hughes, political editor at rightalerts.com and a Trump supporter.

Good to have you both, ladies, with us this morning.

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Chris.

CUOMO: Maria, why does this raise eyebrows for people, especially coming from Rubio? I mean he is decidedly pro-life. Why would this change his position?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, this actually underscores why the Republican Party has such an issue in terms of support from women, and why they suffer from such a huge women's gap. And it's because people like Marco Rubio really reflect how out of touch and misguided the Republican Party is when it comes to issue of women's health.

This is an incredibly debilitating disease that has hit hard, not just Latin American countries, but now it's coming into the United States through Puerto Rico, through Florida. And the bill that was put forward by the White House is the one that would be best suited to make sure that this money is going to exactly the people that are being affected by it so much. Low income communities, women who can't afford health care. And what Republicans did was they poisoned the bill with efforts to try to cut back funding for those clinics and to cut back funding on Obamacare. So they really weren't interested in fixing this issue. They were interested in playing politics. And Marco Rubio's comments underscores why.

CUOMO: Scottie.

HUGHES: Well, so, you know, to sit here and say that the president and the White House just put forward a clean bill is absolutely wrong. Both the Republicans and the Democrats are wrong in this situation. Maria is right, this is a very, very devastating disease and we're seeing the numbers in the United States grow. I think we're up to about 422 cases in Florida alone. And - but this is nothing new. We don't have the research. We don't know what Zika's going to do. And Senator Rubio is doing the correct thing. One out of every 33

babies in the United States right now is born with a birth defect. Why are we going to travel down the road to sit there and selectively say, hey, listen, just because you're going to be born with a disability, something that the Democrats a few weeks ago at the DNC sat there and celebrated how much they were for disabilities and people that have - have different issues that are - that keep them limited and sitting there and promoting people with disabilities, yet we're going to sit there and exterminate and terminate a life because you're possibly going to be born with it? I think that's actually very hypocritical of the Democratic Party.

But I also want to put some shame on the Republicans. Shame on both of you right now for using it for political gain. Pass a clean bill right now that will research the vaccines or any other treatment that we might have for these children. But abortion is definitely not the answer for - for the way to sit there and cure this disease.

CUOMO: Maria.

CARDONA: Well, let's - let's put this into - into, I think, the view of what most American women believe, and that is that not government, certainly not republican, not even Democrats should be involved in health care decisions that are going to affect their bodies, their families, and that should be up to the women and up to their doctors and their families to make those decisions. So Democrats trust women in this country to make the right decisions for themselves. It's the reason why Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land, thankfully, and it's why Republicans will continue to suffer from a lack of support of women in this country, especially college educated women. And we heard from David Axelrod earlier, Donald Trump is suffering from a lack of support from college educated voters overall. Mitt Romney won college educated voters by 14 point and he still lost the election. So -

HUGHES: Here's the thing - here is the thing -

CARDONA: You know, in my mind, you guys should continue this focus, because it will continue to underscore for women why it is that the Republican Party should not be trusted with the - the laws of this land.

HUGHES: You know, if the Democrats were so -

CUOMO: Go ahead, Scottie.

HUGHES: If the Democrats were so - if the Democrats were so big in keeping the government out of our bodies, then why did they pass Obamacare? The number one thing that has caused families, men, women and children to affected their health care. People lost their doctors, coverage went up, now selective drugs people can't afford. Talk about government intervention in our bodies.

CARDONA: Coverage has gone up.

HUGHES: It's called - no, it's called Obamacare. That right there. So you want to - CARDONA: Twenty million people have - have health care coverage that didn't have it before, Scottie.

HUGHES: No. And how many have lost it or how many (INAUDIBLE) -

CARDONA: And that's why - that's why - that's why -

CUOMO: One at a time. Maria. Scottie - Scottie, finish your point.

HUGHES: The majority of people have either lost insurance that had it or cannot afford it any more as they've seen rates. We now see Obamacare exchanges going up.

But back - let's bring this to why we came here. It's abortion, about the right to life. Senator Rubio's correct, if you believe that the baby is born at conception, or the baby is created at conception, then Zika is not a reason to sit there and terminate it. Why would you sit there and say a person with disabilities, because they're going to be born with disabilities -

[08:35:00] CUOMO: Scottie -

HUGHES: Doesn't have a chance at life?

CUOMO: Scottie, do you support that position? Do you believe that there is absolutely no circumstances in which a mother should be able to terminate a pregnancy, no matter what it's doing to her own life or the life of a fetus?

HUGHES: And - and let me tell you this. I am extremely pro-life. But as a mother myself, now with two children, as I'm about to usher them off for the first day of school, I must say that my opinion in one area has changed, Chris, and it's been very hard for me. But in the life of a mother, I think we do have to take - we have to take into consideration what's best for the family, and that's in the case of the mother only. But everything else, it's a life right now and we need to make sure that we celebrate it. It's a miracle from God and they deserve a chance to live.

CARDONA: And, you know what, Marco Rubio actually believes that there is no exception in these circumstances, not even for rape, not even for incest, not even for the life of the mother. And that reflects the majority views of the Republican Party. Again, Democrats trust women to make these decisions, along with their families, along with their health care providers, to make sure that those decisions are the best for their families.

And, by the way, Obamacare has given 20 million people coverage that they didn't have it before and the only thing Republicans want to do is take that away.

HUGHES: Everybody always could have coverage. Everybody could go to the emergency room and have health insurance and have health care. That was never the issue, Maria.

CARDONA: (INAUDIBLE) Yes, and - and - and that cost - that cost will go up for you and me.

HUGHES: But this is making people that were in the middle class (INAUDIBLE) -

CARDONA: That is not the best way to do it.

CUOMO: All right, let's leave it there. Let's leave it there before we spiral into Obamacare. We were doing well on this one discreet issue and, of course, it does branch into others. That's what this election is about in part.

Maria, thank you very much.

CARDONA: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: Scottie, I cried like a baby on the first day of school with each of the kids. I hope you do the same.

HUGHES: I'm fighting back tears and have the water proof mascara on right now.

CUOMO: They're the right kind of tears, though. They're the right kind of tears. Congratulations. Thank you, ladies. Appreciate it.

Brianna.

CARDONA: Thanks, Chris.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Well, both sides have endured major controversies, but right now polls show Hillary Clinton's trustworthiness trumps Trump's. We will ask a panel of Republican and independent voters who they think is more honest and presidential, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:54] CUOMO: Look at your screen. We've got a change in the race, Hillary Clinton edging out Donald Trump when it comes to honesty and trustworthiness in a new national poll. This has been the big stick that Donald Trump has been using against Clinton, whether or not you can trust her.

How does this play with a panel of Republican and independent voters? Where are the Democrats, you say. The point is to see how Trump is doing among those who are likely to support him, right? So that's why we're here.

Pax, didn't get to you last time. Want to get to you this time. This is what we hear about Trump from his supporters all the time. Listen, I don't like what he says, I don't like a lot of his style problems, they call to be polite, but I still think we need a change. I don't want another four years of Obama. Is that still where you are, even after what's happened the last couple weeks.

PAX HART, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Absolutely. And, you know, in these - these polls that we're looking at right now, I personally don't put a huge amount of emphasis on them. Last week, Reuters had a very wide gap between Clinton and Trump. This week it's within 3 percent. This is the Reuters poll.

When we saw the primary process, we were looking at a very, very narrow - you know, we were looking at a very - at a - at a narrow ideology. It was kind of a diet Coke versus diet Pepsi, you know, very nuance, you know, argument. What we're looking at right now is two vastly divergent, different ideologies that are slowly coming together, you know, on a - you know, on a national election.

I think what's really going to be more indicative is when they start debating one another. After the first debate, when you actually get to see Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump side by side, and have - and seeing their, you know - because right now they're just talking at each other about what the other person represents. When you see them side by side presenting two debate moderators, their opinions on specific issues, I think that's where we're going to start seeing, you know, much more indicative outcome.

KEILAR: Nick, you were leaning Donald Trump. You are now leaning sort of back towards the middle now. Do you trust him?

NICOLAS ESPOSITO, UNDECIDED VOTER: In a - in a sense, some of his comments that he says, you know, are a little out of line, but some of it's played because of the media. The - my main issue is, you know, I'm an independent, and I think that both of these candidates are untrustworthy and I think that both of these candidates are not focusing on an entirely electorate. And that electorate is the millennials.

I'm a millennial. I'm a college student, college graduate, and nobody is talking to us. The only candidate that came close to it was Bernie Sanders. There's a lot of issues going on and my generation, there's two things that we're synonymous with, that's debt and unemployment. And nobody's talking about us. We're in an economic crisis coming up soon with all of these college kids with overwhelming amount of debt. Most of these kids come out and have $40,000. How will you expect those kids to grow up and get a house, get a car, start a family and contribute to the economy? They can't.

CUOMO: Look, the issues are real. The problems are real. You know why they don't talk to you guys more? You don't vote. You don't give to the lobbying firms. You're not represented in the demographics the way that they're used to seeing it. But that all changes on one day, right? You go out and there's a big number, we saw it in the election of 1992 with Bill Clinton. He spoke, he went on MTV and played the saxophone and all of a sudden young people came out in a vote that we hadn't seen. And all of a sudden people started talking about them and their issues. So there's a way around it, you've just got to persevere and represent at the polls. We'll see if the millennials do it.

Sara, you're coming at it from another side. You're a Republican and you're like, well, I'm thinking I may not be able to go with him because of what's coming out of his mouth. Not just for demography, as we're hearing from Mr. Esposito, but because feel like you just can't take what he's saying anymore. Why? SARA ZERVOS, REPUBLICAN VOTER, NOW SUPPORTS CLINTON: Well, you know,

both candidates have truth problems and it's -

CUOMO: We've never seen anything like it in a race before, by the way.

ZERVOS: Yes -

CUOMO: We've never seen negative numbers as high among the two nominees as we do in this election.

ZERVOS: And I find it interesting that we're focusing on the trust issue right now because I'd say in the last two weeks, there hasn't - there haven't been an inordinate amount of lies on prevarications on the Trump side, it's - but there have been more issues where he's attacking people who the rest of America like, or images that they like. So, for example, John McCain, or, you know, the family with the fallen son, Paul Ryan. You know. Republicans like these people. So I think that's behind some of his issues.

[08:45:20] And, for me, when I'm tilting toward the other side, or have - I am. I have tilted toward the other side. Again, it comes down to, you know, Trump still promulgates this atmosphere of animosity toward people. And whether it's people who are against him, or ideologies that he is standing up against, you know, that is pervasive. And he not - he hasn't come out once and said, you know what, this media is exaggerating. I'm really not against the whole Mexican race. I'm not against the whole nation of Islam. You know, he's not making big statements against these kind of protesters who are making a bad name for Americans. And if he did that, I think that would go a long way for him.

KEILAR: On temperament, there are many people, Laire, and this is just very quickly because we're running out of time, there are many people who think he doesn't' have the temperament. They think Hillary Clinton has it. I know you support him, but he has to make strides there. Quickly, what does he need to do?

LAIRE, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, I feel that he definitely needs to stop fighting with the people on his team. He should get a - set a meeting with John Kasich or Susana Martinez and apologize. He's getting coverage anyway. Make it positive coverage. It's all about the quality of the coverage now.

KEILAR: That's great. Thank you, panel, so much. We really appreciate it.

And, you know, turning to the Olympics now, the men's gymnastics team is aiming for gold in Rio today. What's it like for the parents of Olympians? We will speak with the mother of American gymnast Danell Leyva, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:31] CUOMO: The U.S. men's gymnastics team is going to be fighting for its first Olympic team medal since 2008 this afternoon. Now, after placing second to China in the qualifying rounds over the weekend, things are looking pretty good. We've got Danell Leyva, the only American male gymnast, to medal in the London games, remember those four years ago, he got the bronze, he's going to be competing in three of the six events. Now, Leyva was originally named as an alternate before being tapped to fill in when one of his teammates was injured last month.

We have Mr. Leyva's mother, Maria Gonzalez, joining us now from Rio. And you're like the perfect guest because not only are you a loving mom, but you yourself was a very top gymnast. How big a deal was it to your son to get picked to be on this team again last second?

MARIA GONZALEZ, OLYMPIC MEDALIST DANELL LEYVA'S MOTHER: That was amazing. I was so happy and excited. And I think this team, with him, can be stronger. That's my opinion as a mom.

CUOMO: How do you think the team looks to you? As a gymnast and as a mom who grew up, you know, watching her son compete, do you think they have what it takes?

GONZALEZ: My opinion, with this team, is that they're going to be in the top. Because this team are so strong, technical wise, and they are so together, like they are close. They know each other since many, many years ago and they are fighter. This group like to show off and that's gymnastics. So I think they're going to be in the top, for sure.

CUOMO: All right, your son is 24 years old, which is odd because you're only 31, but be that as it may, he's one of the older guys on the team. What it like for him and from a leadership role on this team?

GONZALEZ: I see he is one of the leaders, even though he, like you said before, he was in the position as alternate. But for four years, he was in the top in the world championships, and I think for the team he's super good. And, for me, he's one of the leaders there.

CUOMO: Of course he is. Now, let's -

GONZALEZ: That's my opinion.

CUOMO: Let's get to what matters most as a mom. I am no gymnast, and I can barely watch. I'm so nervous all the time about whether or not they're going to be able to stick the landing. Will they be able to make it? It looks so hard. How do you watch your son doing these things that you know are so difficult? How do you keep that fear in check?

GONZALEZ: I don't know if you know, I'm a coach, so I know more or less the techniques for men's a different than I know more or less the technique. So I am ready to see what he is going to do before. But it's so different being a mom. I get so nervous. And it's sentimental thing. Then I want him do the best for him because I know how big he wants to do. So I get so nervous and crazy.

CUOMO: What's it like for the family being down there? You're a coach yourself. Your husband is your son's coach. What's it like? GONZALEZ: I like it a lot. Was not that easy, because, you know, you -

you are in the gym together and then you pass through to your house, you (INAUDIBLE). But what's nice, the whole years and I think work pretty good.

CUOMO: When those two argue with each other, whose side do you take, the husband or son?

GONZALEZ: Really, in the beginning, I was a mama, mom protective, so I defend a lot of little ones. But with years, I was on both sides. So I tried to be in the middle, explaining and giving the reason to each other, depending which one has it. So and we're pretty good too.

CUOMO: It's a gold medal approach. Good balance. Good balance. I wish you the best to have an experience down there with the family. And go USA. Thank you for joining us. Good luck to your son.

GONZALEZ: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

[08:55:02] CUOMO: Wow, imagine that, your father's your coach, your mother's a coach, and now this is your big moment on the Olympics stage. That's good stuff, but we've got more, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: You ready for some "Good Stuff," Keilar.

KEILAR: I am.

CUOMO: Here you go. It's coming up. This is going to on Gunner Robinson's 11th birthday, right? Why do we care? Well, one, he's cute as heck. Second of all, for the last three years, he has not asked for a gift for himself. Instead, he asks for gifts for others.

KEILAR: that is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUNNER ROBINSON, DONATES SHOES FOR CHARITY: And it makes me feel better for the other kids, because they're getting new shoes for a new school year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Why does he do it? Because he wants less fortunate kids to have the same feeling he does when he wears a new pair of shoes on the first day of school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI ROBINSON, GUNNER ROBINSON'S MOTHER: Now it's an annual event and everybody is so willing to help and, you know, wanting to know, hey, where can we drop the shoes off this year?

(END VIDEO CLIP) CUOMO: How willing, you ask, Keilar? I'll tell you how willing. Six hundred pairs of shoes. This kid has been doing this since he was eight.

[09:00:02] KEILAR: He's tapped into something, though. You're happier when you do things for other people.

CUOMO: Right.

KEILAR: Instead of yourself.

CUOMO: The best gift is giving. There you have it.

KEILAR: And let's give it now over to Carol Costello. It's time for "NEWSROOM" with her.