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Trump Inciting Violence; Trump's Attempt to get Mormons to Vote for Him; Lilly King's Olympic Success. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 10, 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: Republican. Here was her take. I want your take on her take. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: Donald Trump has such a history of making remarks that denigrate people, that mock the vulnerable, that are so inappropriate for a presidential candidate. And thus, when he makes a remark like this, which I interpreted as not in any way inciting violence, people leap to the conclusion that he's trying to send some sort of message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: So, Sam, she says I don't think Trump was trying to incite violence on this. But this is what he does, and that's why she thinks he's unfit. What's your take?

SAM CLOVIS, TRUMP NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIRMAN & POLICY ADVISER: Well, I think she's certainly entitled to her opinion. She served her state very well and for a long time and I would never say anything against Senator Collins. I think she is a respectable person who has done a great job in the Senate for her people.

I think that the issue that we're with here, I think she hit the nail on the head here, though, Chris, and that's the fact that a lot of times when Mr. Trump speaks, it's not as artful as a lot of people might think. The other aspect of this is that when I heard what he had to say, I didn't take it as inciting anything. I thought he was talking about the hundred million gun owners in America that own 300 million guns. I mean this is, you know, and I count myself among those. And so I didn't have any trouble understanding exactly what he was saying. That's a lot of votes. And that's what is at stake is protection of the Second Amendment, frankly protection of the First Amendment, protection of the Fourth Amendment. These are - and -and we'd like to see some empowerment in the Tenth Amendment as we go forward. So I don't have any - I didn't have any issue with it at all, but, you know, of course, I've been around Mr. Trump a long time. I've been with the campaign a year and - and so it's - I didn't have any issue with it at all. But I could understand how people leap to this. And certainly the media.

Now, Chris, I think you would have to agree, that there is a - there's certainly - that people hang on every word, they parse every word, as perhaps they should. But the issue is that a lot of times we - we try to incite - the media tries to incite more than the candidates do.

CUOMO: Well, Sam, as you know, there are good politicians and bad politicians. There's good and there's bad media. We're talking about being president of the United States.

CLOVIS: Right.

CUOMO: Whose words are weighed and measured in a way that no other individual on the face of the planet is.

CLOVIS: Yes.

CUOMO: So the simple question is, even if it's a mistake, even if it's innocent, even if it's benign, doesn't he have to do better?

CLOVIS: I think that this is all part of the - you know, one of the things that, Chris, as you know, I'm a college professor in my day job, and one of the things we try to teach our students in business school is about learning organizations. And if an organization is able to learn, it will learn and become better and more effective. And I think we're still going through some of those aspects of this, about learning what we have to do as an organization.

I had heard Ed Rollins on another network this morning, gave an incredible analysis of where we are in the campaign. I don't need to regurgitate that here. But I do think it really struck me that that was the point that I wanted to talk to you about this morning is about organizations need to learn. And if you don't learn, you're not going to be successful. And we need to learn as an organization.

CUOMO: Sam, look, as you know, right now, Trump has me blacklisted. He doesn't want to come on. He doesn't like my style of interviewing with him. And that's his decision. But this keeps happening, Sam. It's not - it's not a -

CLOVIS: (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: I know, you've been very good to me and I appreciate it because the voters need the access to the campaign. That's what it's about. It's not personal. But, you know, this isn't about your system. This is not the organization. This is him. This keeps coming, even if it's something silly like, were you the guy who sounds just like you making phone calls about your PR 20 years ago that only you would make, and he denies it. Is the star a sheriff's star? No, it's the Star of David. He doesn't own these mistakes. He doesn't apologize, which is what leaders do. Is that a learning curve or is that a character flaw?

CLOVIS: No, I think it - I really want to go back and I would take issue with you, Chris, because -

CUOMO: Please.

CLOVIS: You know, this - this is what I do for a living. And I do think the organization has to learn and what that means is the people that we have around, people in the campaign, the advice that's given, the temperament, the note (ph), the discipline on the message, all these factors are all part of that. And as we go on - we have plenty of time. I mean there's still plenty of time this summer. We're not to Labor Day yet. We're not to the first debate yet. And - and I - I see a lot of these issues. People were talking about the polls, and I had a query on that just last night about the polls. And my response to that was, I said it's a good thing that the election isn't held today. That's a good thing. The good news is that we still have a long ways to go.

[08:35:10] CUOMO: Sure.

CLOVIS: And, frankly, we've seen a lot happen. And I know in my own personal experience, if - if I had believed the polls, I would have gotten out of my race, and I'm glad I didn't because it sure changed my life and the ability for me to stick with it.

And I just want to make one point.

CUOMO: Please.

CLOVIS: This is a - this is a movement. And one of the things that's important here, that no matter how the things end up here, this is a movement that will last long after Donald Trump is a candidate or president of the United States because we're seeing a transformation in this country, the political landscape in both parties. And I think that this is something that's really significant. And, Chris, I hope we don't miss this, because I think this is the - this is the best and the biggest story to come out of this election cycle.

CUOMO: Well, look, Sam, I'm with you 150 percent, and that's part of the tragic irony here is that people who are motivated by what Trump caught on to early on in this process, their anger, their frustration, that they're having to forgive constant shortcoming of the candidate in ways like we just saw on this stump because of how real their enthusiasm, their desperation, their desire is for something better. That's why we're bringing this up because the movement is real. The people do deserve a voice. But that voice has to be responsible.

CLOVIS: Well, I do think also, Chris, and you know I've talked about this many times on this program about the issue about, you and I can talk about it. We can drill down to the fourth decimal place and you and Alisyn do a tremendous job on the analysis, and you've been extremely gracious and fair and professional with me. But the issue is, that you and I can get down to the fourth decimal place and I'm not sure that the person that goes to a rally or is going to end up at a rally somewhere, regardless of what party it is, really cares about what you and I think at the end of the day. I think what it's really going to come down to is how they feel and are they - do they think they're going to be better off with Hillary Clinton or with Donald Trump. And right now I think you're going to see a lot of this undercurrent out here that's going to - going to flow to Donald Trump. And I really think this is what's going on. And we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out. Like I said, we've got a long time to.

CUOMO: We're here for the duration. And, please, invite your candidate to come on because he's the one they wants to hear. Sam Clovis, thanks for being with us on NEW DAY, as always.

CLOVIS: Thanks, Chris. Appreciate it.

CUOMO: I appreciate it as well.

Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Chris, there is a list of states that usually go Republican. Utah is reliably at the top of this list. But with Mormons not sold on Donald Trump, could the state turn blue in November. Trump's problem attracting Mormons, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:47] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Do I love the Mormons, OK. Do I love the Mormons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: But do they love him? It does not appear so. Donald Trump, this is the question, will the favor be returned? Mormons make up the majority in Utah and can the state turn blue perhaps when the votes are cast in 90 days

Here to discuss, Robert Gehrke, he's the senior political reporter for "The Salt Lake Tribune."

And, Robert, this would be very unprecedented. Utah has gone for a Republican all the way back now decades. 1964 was the last time it went blue. Why is Donald Trump, who came third in the Utah caucuses, having such a hard time attracting this reliable Republican bloc?

ROBERT GEHRKE, SR. POLITICAL REPORTER, "SALT LAKE TRIBUNE": Right. Well, the Mormons are the most reliable Republican voting group, but the issue that he's got really is one of style and substance. He's got, you know, obviously, I'm not breaking any new ground here, but Donald Trump has sort of a brash swagger about him and, you know, he's outspoken and he says things that are some - seen as somewhat abrasive. And that doesn't sit well with - with some of the sort of more genteel political attitudes we have here in Utah. You know, and he's got the personal baggage. You know, the past marriages and things like that. There's the - there's some positions on social issues that the Mormons are a little uneasy with. But really tend to -

KEILAR: His past support for abortion, yes.

GEHRKE: Yes. And the - but the two biggest ones really I think are that he's got - he's got this issue where Mormons have been sort of chased from state to state throughout their, you know, since their foundation. They, you know, there was an extermination order put on them by the governor of Missouri back in the 1800s. And so there's this issue that's sort of engrained in their psyche. And now when you have Donald Trump talking about really - you know, prohibiting Muslims from entering the country, you know, when you start making blanket statements like that about religious groups, it's hard for them to swallow.

KEILAR: And -

GEHRKE: And the second thing really is that - is that a lot of Mormons serve two year missions in Latin America, Central America and Mexico. And so they go there and they meet these people and they, you know, proselytize, but they also get to - get to understand the culture a little bit. And so I think they don't see these - see Mexicans as sort of this dire threat that we need to build a wall to keep them out. They see them as friends, neighbors, you know, and fellow human beings. And so the pronouncements against immigration and the - they don't see it as this sort of inherent, dire threat that Donald Trump is (INAUDIBLE).

KEILAR: Yes, and there are also large Mormon populations in Mexico as well. I want to play something -

GEHRKE: That's right.

KEILAR: From Senator Mike Lee. He is one of a number of prominent Republicans raising issues about Donald Trump. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MIKE LEE (R), UTAH (voice-over): He's made some statements that some have identified correctly as religiously intolerant. We can get into the fact it's wildly unpopular in my state in part because my state consists of people who are members of a religious minority church, a people who were ordered exterminated by the governor of Missouri in 1838, and statements like that make them nervous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:45:02] KEILAR: So, to your point there, that this is something that bothers Mormons, this idea of religious intolerance. But we've also seen -

GEHRKE: Yes.

KEILAR: And we spoke yesterday to Evan McMillin (ph), a candidate - a Mormon candidate from Utah, now throwing his hat in the ring. Obviously he has an uphill battle. But specifically in the state of Utah, is there enough of an appeal that he could be a write-in candidate, maybe siphon off enough votes from Donald Trump and that potentially Hillary Clinton could win Utah?

GEHRKE: Yes, I mean, it's kind of hard. I mean he's only been in the race for about 48 hours, so we have to kind of wait and see -

KEILAR: Yes.

GEHRKE: How much traction he gets. There's a good chance that he can get on the ballot here, because the deadline is not until Monday and it's a fairly low threshold for him to do that. And, you know, we've seen in Utah, the most recent poll, Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, had 16 percent. When he was on the ballot four years ago here he got about 1 percent. So there's 15 percent of people this election who are basically looking for somebody else. And, you know, they - they're dissatisfied with Donald Trump. Donald Trump's polling at 37 percent. Four years ago Mitt Romney got 73 percent of the vote in this state. Obviously, that was an anomaly because he was, you know, beloved in Utah -

KEILAR: A Mormon candidate.

GEHRKE: And a Mormon candidate. But you can see that there's this - there's people - Mormons are chilly toward, you know, Republicans in Utah in general are not coming around to the Trump campaign and so there probably is some inroads for a candidate like Evan McMillin to make in this state. We have to wait and see how he's funded and how he runs and things like that.

KEILAR: Yes, we -

GEHRKE: They're going to be kicking off his campaign today. So -

KEILAR: We will see. I mean that is really such an open question. We'll see if this does change the game. I think certainly it's going to change the breakdown, if not the actual outcome of Utah.

And, Robert Gehrke, we certainly appreciate you being with us, senior political reporter for "The Salt Lake Tribune.' Thanks.

GEHRKE: Happy to do it. Thank you.

KEILAR: Chris.

CUOMO: Brianna, the election is ugly, but the Olympics have been beautiful. Lilly King making Americans proud, taking home a gold from the Rio games. Up next, we're going ask Lilly's parents about their daughter's success and her anti-doping message. They join us from Rio. Look at those smiles. Nobody as proud as a parents on a morning like this. Be with you soon, my friends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:01] CUOMO: U.S. Olympic swimmer Lilly King taking home the gold, a record smashing win in the women's 100-meter breaststroke. But she's making headlines for another reason as well. She is so anti- doping. She says that that's what it's all about. She's even making headlines by going after other U.S. team members. Joining us now are Lilly's parents, Ginny and Mark King.

Let's deal with being parents first. Congratulations, mom and dad. What is it like to see the 19-year-old that you probably still remember in diapers bringing home the gold in epic fashion?

GINNY KING, MOTHER OF GOLD MEDALIST LILLY KING: It's fantastic. You know, just a dream come true for her. And, you know, any time your kids are happy, that makes you happy.

MARK KING, FATHER OF GOLD MEDALIST LILLY KING: She's worked incredibly hard and it's just nice to see her reap those rewards. CUOMO: Boy, and when it comes to swimming, years and years, thousands

and thousands of hours of dedication. Mark, I'm sure you've both swapped off bringing them to the pool. My guess is Ginny may have even done it more. But when did you know this kid, this kid isn't just good, she could be great. When did you know?

M. KING: I don't think that moment came along until very recently. She's climbed the ladder very steadily and we - you know, we're very dedicated to the idea of just very slow progression and letting her be involved in other things at school and with her friends and other sports. And we didn't rush her to the top in any fashion. And we were just, you know, she got - she got really kind of into the elite level when she was about 17 or 18 and, you know, we just didn't rush it.

CUOMO: Wow, great point. A lot of parents struggle with that, Ginny, how much do you make your kid focus on a sport if they show some talent. How did you do it with - Ginny, how did you let her find her way to where she is now?

G. KING: We let her make her own decisions. Early on, you know, our - we encouraged our kids to be involved in something. It didn't matter whether it was sports or music or, you know, some other kind of activity. And we gave them a lot of options and, you know, exposed them to different sports. She played volleyball and baseball and ran track and cross-country. But swimming was always kind of her number one. It was the thing she always came back to.

CUOMO: All right, Mark, where does the passion come from when it comes to anti-doping? You know, we would assume that every athlete wants to be judged on their merits and wants to do it fair and clean, but why is she so passionate about this?

M. KING: It's hard to say, but, you know, once you get to a certain level in this sport, you go into the drug testing protocol and she's been in that protocol for a couple of years now, once she got to a certain ranking in the world. And she takes it very seriously. There - in fact, we were joking about it earlier that, you know, even coming up that there were times where she would take a pass on a poppy seed bagel because she didn't want to get popped on a drug test for it. So it's just something that she just takes very seriously. It's not really something that Ginny and I ever talked about with her. It's just, you know, she's very outspoken about following the rules and doing it the right way.

CUOMO: Now, Ginny, this had an obvious implication when, you know, she's got the - you know, her big competition was a Russian and the Russians have had their own scandal when it comes to doping, so that's one of the obvious contexts where this would come at play. But, you know, she also made comments about other U.S. team members, noticeably Justin Gatlin, the sprinter, who would serve a suspension time for using PEDs. What does she want to achieve with this kind of level of activism?

G. KING: She didn't actually comment about other Olympic - other American athletes. She commented about athletes who had been - who had been busted for doping, whether they're American or Russian or it doesn't matter. You know, everybody should be judged on the same playing field, whether they're, you know, regardless of their nationality.

CUOMO: So what do you do now? Like, you know, where is your head now on what's next for Lilly? What are you - what else are you looking for here at the Olympics? Because this changes everything.

M. KING: Well, right now we're thinking about the 200-meter breaststrokes prelims that are taking place this afternoon. And, you know, we are living the moment, day-to-day kind of people, and we're looking forward to her next races and we're also very much looking forward to the - to the medley relay that comes later in the week when she swims with her teammates and proudly wears the stars and stripes on her cap.

[08:55:19] CUOMO: Well, I'll tell you, we will be watching. Her life will never be the same. She's living in a moment right now, but she is a gold medal winner. She smashed a record. And she's letting her voice be heard on what matters to her. And, let's face it, it all comes back to the credit of her parents. So, Ginny and Mark, thank you very much. It's great to meet you. Congratulations to the whole family.

M. KING: Thank you very much.

G. KING: Thank you so much.

CUOMO: All right, look, it doesn't get much better than what you're dealing with when you win an Olympic gold medal. That is good stuff by definition. But guess what, we have more for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Time to feel - you ready for today's "Good Stuff"?

KEILAR: So ready.

CUOMO: The best day of Jenny Stepian's (ph) life. But, what - that's what we all say when we get married, right? That's what every bride says.

KEILAR: You have to say that.

CUOMO: You're going to say it.

Well, this excitement, though, was special. It stemmed from something more than just her wedding day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much for coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you kidding? Ah, me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Why is she so grateful. That man is not Jenny's father. Her father passed away in 2006. The man she's thanking is Arthur Thomas. He is the man who received her father's heart.

KEILAR: Wow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARTHUR THOMAS, HEART TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT: What greater honor could a person have than walking the daughter of a man whose given his heart to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:00:07] CUOMO: Jenny and Arthur met on the eve of her wedding. He walked her down the aisle so a piece of her father could be there upon her big day.