Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Trump Calls for 'Extreme Vetting' of Immigrants; Bahamian Sprinter Dives for the Gold in Rio. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 16, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: These are the greatest moments of my life so far.

[07:00:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A photo finish in Rio.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: The American Allyson Felix and Shaunae Miller, the Bahama Mama with the finish line drama.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Gymnast Simone Biles' golden streak comes to an end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn cam rat toe.

CUOMO: I love it. I love the drama.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of drama.

CUOMO: So good. The Olympics, nothing like it. So much winning for the U.S., but I'm not getting sick of it, not yet.

Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. We begin with Donald Trump's plan to defeat ISIS. Did he put enough meat on the bones when he called for what he says is extreme vetting of immigrants to keep terrorists out of the USA? But the plan is thin on details about how he would do that.

CAMEROTA: Trump avoiding his previous false claim that President Obama and Hillary Clinton founded ISIS, but he did say that their policies led to the rise of the terror group. Vice President Joe Biden went after Trump as, quote, a danger to national security. So let's begin with Athena Jones. She's live in Washington with more. Give us all the latest, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Well, the usually unscripted Trump was on message yesterday, talking about what he would do to defeat terrorism. And he made a turn in the speech after repeatedly questioning the value of the NATO alliance. He's now vowing to work with the U.S.'s NATO partners in this fight against terrorism.

And with Clinton and her allies raising questions about his temperament, he's now trying to raise doubts about her judgment and fitness for office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: I call it is extreme, extreme vetting.

JONES (voice-over): Donald Trump delivering a fiery speech on his ideas for fighting radical Islamic terrorism, proposing a different kind of admission test for people entering the United States.

TRUMP: In addition to screening out all members of the sympathizers of terrorist groups, we must also screen out any who have hostile attitudes toward our country or its principles, or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law.

Those who do not believe in our Constitution or who support bigotry and hatred will not be admitted for immigration into our country.

JONES: Trump calling for bans on immigration from countries with ties to terror...

TRUMP: We will have to temporarily suspend immigration from some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world that have a history of exporting terrorism.

JONES: ... and simultaneously trashing Hillary Clinton's capabilities.

TRUMP: With one episode of bad judgment after another, Hillary Clinton's policies launched ISIS onto the world stage.

She also lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on ISIS.

JONES: The Democratic trifecta -- President Obama, Vice President Biden and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton -- hitting Trump on all fronts.

At a DNC fundraising event Monday night, President Obama refusing to mention Trump by name but quipping, "I don't have to make the case against her opponent, because every time he talks he makes the case against his own candidacy."

Clinton and Biden together in Biden's hometown of Scranton, launching their preemptive attack.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Friends should not let friends vote for Trump.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This guy doesn't care about the middle class, and I don't even blame him in a sense, because he doesn't understand it. He doesn't have a clue.

This man is totally thoroughly unqualified to be president of the United States of America.

JONES: Biden slamming Trump as a threat to national security. BIDEN: There's a guy that follows me right back here, has the nuclear

codes. So God forbid anything happened to the president and I had to make a decision, the codes are with me. He is not qualified to know the code. He can't be trusted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now, Trump holds a rally in a town hall in Wisconsin today. Clinton spends another day in Pennsylvania attending a voter registration in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, in a sign of confidence, Priorities USA, the super PAC supporting Clinton, now says it's not going to air any local ads in Virginia, Colorado or Pennsylvania through most of September, September 2 through the 20th, saying in a statement, "We know at the moment these are tough states for Donald Trump, and there isn't as much of a need for us to air ads there" -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Athene, thank you very much for all that.

Let's debate this. We want to bring in Christine Quinn, Hillary Clinton supporter and vice-chair of the New York state Democratic Party; and Betsy McCoy, a Donald Trump supporter and former lieutenant governor of New York. Do you want to add anything to your title?

BETSY MCCOY, FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: That's good.

CAMEROTA: Excellent.

MCCOY: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Ladies, thank you so much for being here. Christine, let me start with you. Donald Trump is calling for extreme vetting. Do you think that he's right in that the U.S. could do a better job of figuring out who the refugees are and what's in their head before they come into the country?

[07:05:00] CHRISTINE QUINN, VICE-CHAIR, NEW YORK STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Nobody is ever going to say you can't do a better job at anything. Anybody who says that is ridiculous. You can always do a better job, but that's not the case in what he's talking about. First of all, we don't know what "extreme, extreme, extreme vetting," to quote him, means.

CAMEROTA: He's saying ask them more questions, ask them about their ideological positions.

QUINN: But if you think about what he said yesterday, it smacks completely of McCarthyism and, in fact, runs counter to the Constitution.

CAMEROTA: Why? Why not just ask people if they are -- if they do have extremist feelings?

QUINN: First of all, let's be realistic. What person with extreme views who's coming here to try to commit acts of terror is going to write it down on a piece of paper? His statements yesterday, without real specifics, again with smacks of McCarthyism, with overtones of hypocrisy, in my opinion, because an anti-gay candidate, an anti-gay vice-presidential candidate are trying to keep anti-gay people out.

And the ridiculous idea that people are going to go, "Yes, I'm a terrorist on a piece of paper." It shows he doesn't understand the complexity, the depths of the issues, understand our Constitution; and is just not qualified.

CAMEROTA: Hold on. Go ahead, Betsy.

MCCOY: First of all, let me point out that Hillary Clinton appears to want to the be the Angela Merkel of the United States, bringing in...

CAMEROTA: What does that mean?

MCCOY: Bringing in over 600,000 refugees from this troubled part of the world, primarily around Syria.

CAMEROTA: That's not the number that she...

MCCOY: Yes. She has proposed a radical increase. Let me tell you...

CAMEROTA: From 10,000 this year to -- I think that she has proposed 65,000.

QUINN: Not six -- no. That's actually -- that is a fact put out by the Trump campaign. That is inaccurate.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCOY: Let me tell out what the danger is. No. 1, rape. When you look at what's happening across Europe, women and young girls are being gang raped by Syrian and Muslim refugees who claim that it's because these women were scantily dressed. No. 2...

CAMEROTA: What's your source?

MCCOY: Oh, I've brought press reports. It's in the European papers weekly, these gang rapes of women in Germany and Switzerland and Sweden. It's well known there and well-documented.

Secondly, James Comey, head of the FBI, has warned that, because we cannot properly vet these people, inviting them in in large numbers would create what he calls, in his words, a terrorism diaspora.

No. 3...

CAMEROTA: Let me stop you on the James Comey one, because we have the quote from him right here. He says, "There is some risk with bringing anybody in from the outside, especially from a conflict zone. But, as I've said, I think we've developed an effective way to touch all of the databases and resources to figure out what we know about these individuals."

MCCOY: That is a distortion. CAMEROTA: I'm quoting it. This is a direct quote. He says, "I don't

think it's a cumbersome process. My concern is that there are certain gaps."

MCCOY: That's right. It only takes one. No, there's no reason to take the risk. And the third point is this...

QUINN: Let no one in, then?

MCCOY: Yes, for a while.

QUINN: Will you let no one in?

MCCOY: No one from those regions.

QUINN: How do you define those regions?

MCCOY: Regions...

QUINN: Does France fall into that region now?

MCCOY: No. Could I please finish now?

QUINN: What are the regions?

MCCOY: We outlined them in the speech yesterday.

QUINN: I didn't hear it.

MCCOY: They include regions that are largely populated by extreme radical Muslims...

CAMEROTA: Such as?

MCCOY: Such as Syria, Libya, Lebanon. Those are some of the regions.

CAMEROTA: So halt any immigration?

MCCOY: That's right.

QUINN: There's no reason for the Muslim ban, basically. You say Trump has gone back to the Muslim ban?

MCCOY: No, I'm not saying what Trump has done. I'm saying that that would be a prudent thing to do. And let me get to No. 3.

CAMEROTA: OK. Go ahead.

MCCOY: Which is the huge economic burden. You look at, for example, little Mogadishu, which is a region outside Minneapolis populated by Somalian refugees. Sixty percent of the working-age adults are unemployed and on welfare. We already have an enormous burden on our social safety net. Why invite in hundreds of thousands of more people to burden us more? We should take care of the people who are already here.

QUINN: Let me start at the end there. Because that's, in fact, exactly what the Statue of Liberty says on her.

MCCOY: No.

QUINN: And we are two -- Governor, you asked for people to be quiet when you spoke, so I ask for the same courtesy. That's what we're about as a country, America. It's based on inviting people in who want freedom, who need support. Beyond that, with all due respect to the lieutenant governor, her commentary was just riddled with facts that were inaccurate.

And really, we're talking about in the case of the FBI Director Comey, he works for Republicans, Democrats and is above reproach. The statement that was read by Alisyn is correct. That's what he said.

MCCOY: But it's only part of the statement.

CAMEROTA: And you're -- he has not gone as far as what you've said. He said there are certain gaps. Which I think we all agree on, that there are certain gaps.

[07:10:11] MCCOY: We can't afford those gaps.

QUINN: Nothing is risk free.

MCCOY: There is no reason to take the risk when American lives are at stake. Look at the people who suffered in the Boston Marathon bombing.

QUINN: Can I ask you a question?

MCCOY: Go ahead.

QUINN: Are you then saying, as a representative of the Trump campaign...

MCCOY: I'm a supporter, not a representative.

QUINN: As a supporter, are you telling me, inasmuch as you listened to yesterday's speech.

MCCOY: Which I thought was superb.

QUINN: Whatever. And you are saying that we should not let people in. Your interpretation of his speech is we should not let people in from those countries that are primarily the Muslim countries.

MCCOY: Until we can thoroughly vet them, we should have a temporary suspension on refugees from countries that pose an enormous risk.

CAMEROTA: And just to be clear, because I do want to move on to something that Rudy Giuliani said. Very quickly. Thoroughly vetting is just asking better questions.

MCCOY: Oh, yes. And checking their Facebook postings if we have access to those. We used to vet people properly. And during wartime, take a look at

what we did during World War II, for example. We need to have the same kind of meticulous vetting that we did during previous wars, because we are at war.

QUINN: I asked the governor that question, because it really amplifies what I believed all along, that Donald Trump is just dressing up, putting lipstick on his Muslim ban; and that really is at the core of this.

And during World War II, we put Japanese-Americans in internment camps. So we need to understand our full history here of how...

MCCOY: I'm not talking about putting people in who reside in the United States in camps.

QUINN: Stronger, 18 to 28 months it's gotten stronger not weaker since World War II.

MCCOY: People who reside in the United States are protected by the Constitution.

QUINN: Yes.

MCCOY: And those Japanese-Americans should have been. But people who live in the rest of the world are not protected by the United States Constitution. They do not have a constitutional right to become American.

QUINN: Very quickly...

CAMEROTA: Hold on. I just want to bring this up, because you're both New Yorkers.

QUINN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Rudy Giuliani was on the campaign trail with Donald Trump yesterday. And he said something about the terror attacks here that raised people's eyebrows. Listen to this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: Remember, we didn't start this war. They did. We don't want this war. They do. Under those eight years before Obama came along, we didn't have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States. They all started when Clinton and Obama got into office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Betsy, it seems like major Giuliani is omitting a significant terror attack. Why would he gloss over 9/11?

MCCOY: I think he was referring to since 9/11, but I really didn't hear the mayor's full comments. What I'd like to comment on is this. There is no reason to expose

Americans to rape, to enormous economic hardship, and to potential terrorism simply to open our doors at a time when it's not necessary. Americans are charitable people, but there are limits; and we have to look out for our own country first.

CAMEROTA: Christine.

QUINN: Rudy Giuliani and the Trump campaign will say today that we're splitting hairs, he was referring to this terrorist group, the other terrorist group. They'll try to, you know, thread a needle there with a camel, and it's not going to happen. And however they want to thread it, the fact is that Rudy Giuliani, who was mayor on 9/11...

CAMEROTA: We all remember.

QUINN: ... the worst day in American history. We lost close to 3,000 New Yorkers, and we lost countless ones since because of the diseases they've gotten when they were working the pile and working during rescue.

So for Rudy Giuliani, in the name of some kind of campaign twist, to gloss over those days that still exist in our city, with the illness and the disease...

CAMEROTA: Yes.

QUINN: ... is just reprehensible. And honestly, it goes to a low that I never would have thought even Rudy Giuliani would go to.

You know, we said never forget.

MCCOY: No.

QUINN: Apparently, Rudy Giuliani has, on some degree, forgotten that reality and gone to embracing raw politics instead.

MCCOY: I can't imagine such an accusation about Mayor Giuliani would be true. I'm sorry. I just can't.

CAMEROTA: We will talk to him. And obviously, he has said that he was talking about after 9/11, but it does feel like an omission for Rudy Giuliani not to mention it. Ladies, thank you for the debate. Christine, Betsy.

QUINN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Chris.

CUOMO: To the good news, the Olympic games. A photo finish in the women's 400-meter sprint. Bahamian Shaunae Miller dives to gold at the finish line, edging out the U.S. track star Allyson Felix.

So we also saw gymnastics art -- I don't even know what the right perfect word is for her. You know what? Coy Wire will tell us how to describe Simone Biles the right way. [07:15:09] What's the right way, my friend in Rio, to say what Simone

Biles has meant to the Olympics? Like, how do you -- how do you put it together for me?

WIRE: Skin-pinching, once-in-a-lifetime, outstanding, commanding, demanding Simone Biles has dominated down here, Chris.

And last night on the beam, though, she takes the bronze. And that was a big shocker. No shot at an unprecedented five golds in women's gymnastics here in Rio, but she can still end her run here with a gold in the floor tonight. That would add to that medal count for the U.S.

The States lead the way with 75. China is in second with 46. Great Britain is in third with 41.

But the thing that has the sports world buzzing this morning -- you mentioned it, Chris -- that photo finish in the 400-meter final between defending world champ American Allyson Felix and lay that all on the line leap by Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas. It was awesome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE (voice-over): Running sensation Allyson Felix setting out for gold, the favorite to win in the 400-meter final. But in the home stretch, the Bahamas' Shaunae Miller diving across the finish line in a photo finish, Felix denied gold by seven one-hundredths of a second, taking home the silver. Allyson Felix becomes the most decorated woman in U.S. Olympic track and field history.

ALLYSON FELIX, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: God has been so good to get me this far. It's been a fight all season. I just gave it all I had tonight. It's going to be tough, you know. Just going to try to pick myself up.

WIRE: All eyes were on Simone Biles in the beam finals. And in a crowd-shocking moment she loses her balance, touching the beam, a deduction that cost her the gold. Laurie Hernandez delivering a nearly perfect routine, outscoring Biles and landing the silver. The Netherlands, unexpectedly taking home the gold.

Meanwhile, Michael Phelps soaking in the rest of his time here in Rio, reflecting on what he has said are his fifth and final Olympic games.

(on camera): What's been the most impactful memory from these games thus far?

MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Having my son here is the best. Being able to share this moment with him in my last Olympics. And I'm looking forward to sharing these memories when he gets old enough. In a couple years, hopefully, I'll get a chance to take him to Tokyo and watch some events over there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: All right, guys. Let's go. Twenty-five golds on the grabs today. Simone Biles making her final Rio run in the floor exercise with fellow American and reigning Olympic champ, Aly Raisman. Also, current University of Oregon football star Devon Allen in the 110 hurdles. And Alisyn, a huge beach volleyball semifinals match, April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings, mother of three going for her fourth straight Olympic gold.

CAMEROTA: Well, I have that in common with her, mother of three. And that's where it ends in terms of the prowess. Coy, thank you. We'll be watching, as we know you will be.

So good. It's all so thrilling.

CUOMO: Love it.

CAMEROTA: All right. President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden bashing Donald Trump. Will their words resonate with voters? We'll examine that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:22:09] CUOMO: A "Washington Post"/ABC News poll out of Virginia shows a growing lead for Hillary Clinton, 52 to 38. Why she's getting this lead may be even more instructive. It is a function of Trump's perceived negativity, his unpopularity, as the poll puts it. Is this relevant? Does it matter? Why?

To make the case, Brad Woodhouse, Clinton supporter, former communications director for the DNC. He joins us now. Virginia, let me put it up against contrast. The contrast would be, Virginia's been going Democrat now for the last couple of cycles. You've got Tim Kaine in there. You know, it should be this way. How do you make it a positive?

BRAD WOODHOUSE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR THE DNC: Well, look, it is definitely a positive. Virginia has not been in the Democratic column for long. I mean, the president won it in '08 and won it in 2012. But even in those races, it was -- it was competitive.

And clearly, it looks like Hillary Clinton is putting that away. It's one of the states that -- one of her super PACs is pulling -- pulling advertising down, at least -- at least for now.

But, look, Chris, the thing I worry about is anyone taking this race for granted. So whether in Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, wherever you are as a Democrat, you can't take this race for granted this early.

CUOMO: Why?

WOODHOUSE: Well, look, you see things change. I mean, a lot of people thought that the race in 2012 was salted away, and then, you know, there was a debate in Denver. The president didn't perform as well as he would have. The polls changed, and we had to fight every day after that to win that election. So, there are a lot of things that can happen between now and then. Look, I'm not -- I'm not at all convinced that Donald Trump is going

to change. But there are circumstances, obviously, that is obviously going to change the trajectory of an election. You know, maybe he'll -- maybe he'll pull a surprise in one of debates and give an all-time performance.

So -- but complacency is the killer of campaigns. So we've got to fight every day to keep turning out the vote.

CUOMO: "Salted away" is a great phrase, by the way.

So what it seems here that could be a strategic mistake for Clinton, to your point about having to stay on your game, this has descended, devolved and been degraded as a campaign into a battle of personal attacks.

Now, you can say that always happens in politics, but not in the concentrated fashion that we're seeing it right now, even with Biden and Clinton on the stump together. All they did was take personal shots at Donald Trump.

Given her trust numbers, given her relative unpopularity, given her negatives, do you think a battle of attrition on the personal level is the best way for Clinton to go?

WOODHOUSE: Look, I don't really believe that's what's happening, Chris. I mean, I think if you watch the Democratic convention, you saw a narrative story there told about Hillary Clinton's life and about why she comes into these issues and why she believes so passionately in fighting for children and families.

I think if you watch any of her -- of her speeches in total, there's an art there where she does talk about what she wants to do. She's been on an economic tour since the Democratic convention, the jobs tour. And she does draw contrasts with -- with Donald Trump, who incidentally, is everyday almost entirely in his speeches attacking Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

[07:25:22] CUOMO: Right. But -- but Brad...

WOODHOUSE: Yes.

CUOMO: Not to make it about semantics, drawing contrasts is "He says he'll do this for infrastructure. I say I'll do this, and it's better because," dot, dot, dot. That's not what she's saying.

She's saying, "I thought his plan would be bad for the middle class. It was even worse than I ever imagined." That's not drawing contrasts. That's just taking a shot at him. And that's OK. It's happening. Donald Trump has made an art form of it in this campaign.

But I'm saying, is that her best strategy, given these intractable negatives that she's sporting?

WOODHOUSE: Well, look, I think, Chris, I think if you look at many of the polls, you start to see some of those numbers turning around -- around for her.

But look, I really believe that Hillary Clinton -- Hillary Clinton believes that Donald Trump is a threat to the future of the country. So I think, absolutely, you want to make a strong case to every voter in the country. Like she says tell a friend not to vote for Trump. You know, and I think that that is a passionate case to be made.

I mean, this is someone who's making us less safe. He's being used in terrorist videos. He wants to adopt Vladimir Putin's foreign policies. I mean, this is someone who is a threat to the United States. So, I think it's absolutely appropriate to go out and talk about why Donald Trump would be a threat to the future of the country. But look, that's the sound bites that get reported.

But I sat in the green room here at CNN yesterday and watched her entire speech. She has a long, passionate proposal for jobs for debt- free college, for helping families balance their lives and their work.

And so, I think there's a lot there. I think you'll see in the debates, I think you'll see her put forward a positive plan, but you've got to talk about Donald Trump. He's a threat to America.

CUOMO: How do you beat the e-mail scandal? Things are going to keep...

WOODHOUSE: Look, I don't...

CUOMO: Things are going to keep dribbling out. They're going to keep showing things. We both know, without seeing the e-mails, there are going to be things in there that make people think that there was either a conflict of interest or that something was done not the right way; it wasn't appropriate. How do you get away from this?

WOODHOUSE: Well, look, I think if the media wants to obsess on it, it's something we're going to -- it's something we're going to have to talk about. I understand Republicans is kind of their last vestige here is to try to insert this into the race.

But even the stuff we've seen -- we've seen recently, you know, a long-time family friend, an employee, volunteering her time to conduct one interview for the foundation, an e-mail -- an e-mail from one aide to another asking for a courtesy meeting? It's what goes on in Washington every day. It goes on in your business. It goes on in my business.

I just don't think anything that we've seen since Comey came out and said that no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case on her e-mail server, I don't think anything we've seen has amounted to a hill of beans.

So -- you know, so there may be a drip, drip, drip, and there may be this issue in the media where they -- if they're going to focus on Trump and his -- and his issues that they want to focus on this.

But I don't think anything in her e-mail in the story about her e- mails or anything that's come out compares to someone who wants, you know, to use nuclear weapons in Europe, says Saudi Arabia should get a nuclear weapon, that Japan should become nuclearized. So I mean, I think there's a lot to be said for a false equivalency here about -- about these issues.

CUOMO: Well, one thing that we learned for sure is the media covers the state of play. The more positive it is, the more it's about policy. The more that will be the tendency of the media. The more negative it is, the more we focus on that part.

Brad Woodhouse, thank you very much for making the case for Hillary Clinton.

WOODHOUSE: Thank you.

CUOMO: I appreciate it.

Quick programming note, not just about the Democrats and Republicans, you have the Libertarian Party and have the Green Party. The Green Party has not had its shot at a town hall yet on CNN. That's going to change. You're going to see the two Green Party candidates here in a town hall tomorrow night. I'll be there, 9 Eastern. But the questions are coming from you -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Looking forward to watching that, Chris.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump laying out his plans to defeat ISIS. Trump's foreign policy adviser is here next along with our own military expert to analyze what he said.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)