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Trump Campaign Shake-up; U.S. Record-Breaking Swimmers. Aired 8:30a ET

Aired August 17, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:56] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump shaking up his campaign staff for the second time in less than two months. What will this mean for his strategy and his tone and his campaign? Let's discuss with Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo of Kansas. He has endorsed Donald Trump.

Congressman, thanks so much for being here.

What do you make of this news that was announced at 5:30 this morning of this campaign shake-up?

REP. MIKE POMPEO (R), KANSAS: Well, good morning, Alisyn. Thanks for having me on the show this morning.

Look, I don't know Mr. Bannon, but I do know Ms. Conway. She is a very steady hand. She's been in this business a long time, working to conveying candidate's messages, especially when it's the case that there's an enormous change that needs to take place. She's supported candidate whose have tried to advocate for that change and this is an election where we're going to decide between four more years of Barack Obama, his policies, and a different direction. And I think she'll be a great addition to the senior team and the Trump campaign.

CAMEROTA: In October, Bloomberg Politics referred to Steve Bannon in an article as the most dangerous political operative in America because of some of the flame throwing that goes on at Breitbart, that he heads up that website, and other things. So what do you think that this does for the campaign? Is this a return - or I guess I should say a re-enforcement of Donald Trump sort of shoot from the hip brass knuckles style?

POMPEO: Well, I mean, it remains to be seen exactly what changes will be made by these two leaders in the organization, but from my perspective, staff seldom directs how campaigns go. Leaders get in front of their campaign. I'm confident Mr. Trump will continue to do that. And I'm confident he will continue to spread a message that says we can't tolerate four more years of the disastrous policies we've had for the last eight. Secretary Clinton has embraced them. even in the inner cities, he spoke last night about that - what's taking place in America's inner cities all across the country. Democratic controlled places for an awfully long time. And he's offering a different direction. One that provides opportunity for an entire society. CAMEROTA: Very quickly, do you think that given Paul Manafort's

connections to the ousted Ukraine leader, Viktor Yanukovych, do you think it's time for him to leave the campaign?

POMPEO: I think we should look into the folks that are around every campaign. That should include Secretary Clinton herself, who has deep ties to the Clinton Foundation, to the Russians as well. I think that's far more important for the American people to consider than what a staff person for another candidate may or may not have done in Russia.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about Hillary Clinton. Yesterday, the FBI handed over their classified notes from the interviews that they did with Secretary Clinton about her e-mails. What are you hoping to learn from those notes?

POMPEO: Yes, ma'am. Unfortunately, I can't share much with you. The intelligence committee that I serve on did receive an extensive set of materials yesterday from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but, unfortunately I can tell you almost nothing about even the scope of what's in there. Highly classified programs. E-mails that were sent and received by Secretary Clinton that were indeed marked classified. But the substance of those, today, even today, remain so highly sensitive that they can't be released. This is from a presidential candidate who has told us that she wants them released even today. That is reckless beyond imagination. To argue that the materials that we were sent yesterday out to be released in full to the public is reckless. They still contain highly classified, sensitive information. And even today she wants them released. I find this at least a little bit hypocritical, knowing full well that we're not going to release them.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

POMPEO: They're important that they remain secret and they ought to.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Hillary Clinton says that she wants them released because she basically says that the Republicans, you included, are politically grandstanding, and that this is just another fishing expedition. And to that point, you don't have to release - tell us anything about the substance, but in terms of your strategy, what will you do? If you see something in there that raises your eyebrows, since the FBI director has already said that he doesn't think there's anything prosecutable, what will you do?

POMPEO: Well, yes, ma'am. You don't have to wait until I see something that raises my eyebrows. It already has. I've seen information there that should not have been put in a place that was in a private server in a basement of a former secretary of state's home, accessed now almost certainly by the Iranians or the Russians for the Chinese. So you don't have to wait to see something.

[08:35:09] CAMEROTA: Why do you say that? But how do you - how do you - how do you know that they've been accessed by the Iranians or the Russians or the Chinese on her - from her server? POMPEO: Ma'am, I've been at this - I've been at - I've been at this

intelligence effort now for several years. I can tell you that hostile nations, and even rogue actors, not nation states, can get into just about every private server today. And so I know this would have been an enormous target for them and I am highly confident that they had access to this information.

CAMEROTA: So is Director Comey wrong when he says that there's no evidence of that?

POMPEO: Yes, to get - ma'am, I think what Director Comey said is that the security level in this private server didn't rise to the level of someone's ordinary gmail account. I think Director Comey would agree with me that the likelihood that folks who don't mean well for America have access to that information is very, very high. I think he and I are in perfect agreement there.

CAMEROTA: So - so, congressman, since you say that you already have seen things that are causing you alarm, what is your plan?

POMPEO: Yes, ma'am. My - my - not my plan, my duty, and the duty of the intelligence committee just to perform oversight of this and to make sure that actions like this don't happen again. So there will be a series of changes to policy, I hope, within the State Department about how they handle classified information. We'll never again see a secretary of state that doesn't have an official e-mail account, and we'll never again have a secretary of state who lies to the American people about the nature of the information that - contained in a place that information like this should never have been. Those are Congress' responsibilities, and we're going to continue to execute them.

CAMEROTA: Congressman Mike Pompeo, thanks so much for taking time for NEW DAY.

POMPEO: Thank you very much, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Let's get to Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: So what is this big shift in the Trump campaign mean? How will it help him turn things around, or will it make things even worse? We're going to talk to the former chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, ahead.

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[08:40:53] CUOMO: What will happen now? That's the provocative question after this second major overhaul of the Trump campaign team in less than two months. It seems to be a doubling down on going straight at Clinton and how. This is the same day that he's set to receive his first national security briefing here in New York.

Let's get some perspective on what these changes mean and what that briefing could mean for Trump. Former New Hampshire governor, chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, Governor John Sununu.

Gov, good to see you. JOHN SUNUNU, FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR: Good morning, Chris. How are you?

CUOMO: So, does this give you pause for concern knowing that someone from Breitbart is now talking to Donald Trump about how to behave in an election?

SUNUNU: Look, I think the most important part of that change was Kellyanne Conway. Kellyanne understands polls. She knows voters. Groups are segmented. She knows how to look into polls and decide what additional commentary or positioning has value. And I think in the long run, people are going to find that that probably will still be a strong part of the Trump campaign.

She is the campaign manager now. And I think it will be a balance, a slight tug, but not too severe a tug, between Kellyanne's analytic perspective and recommendations and Bannon's more commitment towards heated rhetoric. I think - I don't think it's as dramatic a change as the press has made it out to be.

CUOMO: All right, well, let's unpack that for a second. I agree with you about Kellyanne. She's certainly a pro. She's doing something in addition. She's never been a campaign manager before, but she's doing something -

SUNUNU: That's true. And that's the only concern I bring to it, Chris, that she hasn't had that responsibility yet.

CUOMO: Right. Right. But I don't know what that means. Sometimes it's just a title. If she's going to be out on the road with Donald Trump, which is what we understand, there's a plus/minus on that. It certainly a minus as a campaign manager because, you know, that's central office management matters. But I don't know how much of that matters here. Being with him every day may be the best news for people who want Donald Trump to become president because she might be the last stop before he goes out on the podium, because if Breitbart and Roger Stone are in Donald Trump's head telling him, you need to go all out scorched earth, that could mean some very volatile things up on the stump, could it not?

SUNUNU: Chris, that on point analysis shows you've got good political genes.

CUOMO: But, you know, what happened to you when you heard that, OK, Roger Ailes is advising him. He's a political genius. We all know that he's been friends and an advisor to Trump. Fine. Kellyanne, good move. But that, according to the reporting on this, that Donald Trump has been charmed by Bannon, believes that his pitch to him about being an outsider, about coming full-throated in his attacks as an outsider, reject what the party wants you to do, that's the way to go, does that give you concern?

SUNUNU: Well, I'm always concerned that candidates don't talk about issues. And so I think what you're going to see is a blend. Bannon may set the level of intensity in the rhetoric. He may encourage him to be aggressive against Mrs. Clinton. But if Kellyanne and others can introduce into that strong conversation the issues, the things that the middle segment of voters need to here in order to - to lean Republican rather than Democrat, I think it might be able to work. As I said earlier, I think the most important component in here is giving that role to Kellyanne. I think Bannon will certainly try and ramp up the rhetoric. But if the rhetoric is focused well by Kellyanne, it may be a double plus.

CUOMO: Now, there's something that could be a good arrow in the quiver for Kellyanne to keep Donald Trump from doing nothing that - nothing other than bashing the media, ala Breitbart who calls CNN Hitler, one of their editors there, which is are - you know, every elevated rhetoric. She has this intel briefing that's going to be given to Donald Trump today. You've seen the impact that an intel briefing can have on a candidate. How it can sober them. How it can make them think differently. Tell us.

[08:45:12] SUNUNU: Well, there's really three levels of intelligence briefings. The briefings that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will get as candidates between now and the election will sort of be top line, sort of the headlines. Heads up, if you will, that these are the key issues that are evolving around the world. Once one of them is elected in November, there will be a different level of briefing between November and inauguration day. And then when they become president after taking the oath, then the briefings become more of a two-way street. They will get briefed and they will then be able to send messages and, if you will, homework back to the intelligence community to pursue other things. It's this last level that's obviously the critical level within the presidency. And, frankly, it's my biggest concern with Obama has been that he only gets about 40 percent of his briefings face-to-face and so he loses that opportunity for interaction. The candidates will not get to that level until after they're elected and then to the highest level when they take the oath of office.

CUOMO: Governor John Sununu, insight and perspective. Appreciate it, as always. Thank you, sir.

SUNUNU: Thanks, Chris. Have a good day.

CUOMO: You as well.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris.

Olympians Simone Manuel and Ryan Murphy breaking records in the pool. So how do they feel about breaking history. We speak to them, next.

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[08:50:11] CAMEROTA: Team USA has been killing it in Rio, particularly in the swimming pool. So we want to bring in Simone Manuel and Ryan Murphy, both record breakers.

Guys, how are you feeling?

SIMONE MANUEL, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I feel great. I mean it was a fun meet and Team USA swam awesome.

RYAN MURPHY, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Yes. So definitely on the - on that high just from that - from the past week.

CAMEROTA: Simone, let me start with you. So tell us about that moment that you looked up and you realized that you had won the 100-meter race.

MANUEL: Yes, I mean, I was just happy. I was shocked a little bit. I mean, going in, I just really wanted to just swim as fast as I could and get on the medal stand. But just to be number one was really exciting and I couldn't ask for better.

CAMEROTA: So, you know, these - these Rio Olympics have been ground breaking on a bunch of different levels and your race was one of them. You are now the first black woman from any country to win a gold in individual swimming. What does that mean for you?

MANUEL: It means a lot. I mean, just, I don't know, I mean it's super exciting, and just to make history is - I'm really humbled by that.

CAMEROTA: I mean did you go in thinking that that would be a possibility?

MANUEL: No, I didn't go in - I didn't have - I didn't try to put too much pressure on myself, and I think that's why I performed the way I did. I really just wanted to go in and enjoy the process and the journey that these four years has taken me. And I think that's why I was able to perform the way I did.

CAMEROTA: Well, whatever it was, it worked. But, Simone, what do you think that that means for young black girls, or for women of color around the world who have been watching?

MANUEL: I think it hopefully encourages them to get in the water and gives them an option to try swimming because they see someone like themselves in me, and just inspiring them to believe that if I can do it, they can do it too.

CAMEROTA: OK, so, Ryan, you're no slouch in the swimming pool yourself. You also broke a world record.

MURPHY: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: On the first leg of the 100-meter medley relay. How did that feel?

MURPHY: Yes, I mean, that race was just - it was just phenomenal. The crowd was great that night, just with it being Michael's last race. So I really just started taking that energy from the crowd, you know, and just use the adrenaline of my excitement for being on a relay with Michael. And I think that's really what propelled me to that.

CAMEROTA: Do you feel like you're carrying Michael Phelps at this point? MURPHY: No, Michael's been carrying us for his entire career. So, you

know, it was just great to get out to a lead for him, so that way he could come out on top for the relay.

CAMEROTA: And your other teammates, you allowed your teammate, Cody Miller and Nathan Adrian and Michael Phelps all to get the Olympic record for that relay. So tell us - I mean tell me about that moment when you realized that you had broken the record.

MURPHY: Yes. Well, I mean, it was just right when Nathan finished, you know, he had a great split. You know, I wasn't - I - honestly, I didn't know what the Olympic record was going into the race, and I don't think any of us were really like thinking about it. We were just trying to do our thing, follow our process, and, you know, luckily for us it turned out in an Olympic record that day.

CAMEROTA: And, Ryan, I mean I know that it's particularly poignant for you because you used to watch Michael Phelps, as we all did. But when you were a young boy, like nine years old -

MURPHY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: You watched him. So now what's it like to be sharing the, you know, podium with him?

MURPHY: Yes. I mean, like you said, in 2004 I was a - I was that little nine-year-old kid jumping up and down on the couch for Michael and the rest of the USA swimmers. So, you know, just - just be kind of part of that shift, you know, from the Michael era to the post Michael era, that was super cool.

CAMEROTA: Simone, I heard that you have an interesting place where you now store your medals, because there are so many, that they bump into each other. What do you do with them?

MANUEL: Yes, I put them in socks. It kind of keeps them from scratching. And you just roll up the ribbon and just stick it in a sock and I think it's a pretty convenient place to put them.

CAMEROTA: Perhaps your mantle in the future when you get home would also be a nice place for them. But, Simone, what is next for you? I know that you're going back to Stanford and I was very alarmed to hear that you'd like to major in communications. Are you coming after my job?

[08:55:03] MANUEL: I'm not coming after your job. I'm not sure if I want to do broadcasting. But I love communications. And just moving forward, I'm going to take a break, enjoy some time with my family and I'll be ready to get back to school, to get back in classes and swim for Stanford.

CAMEROTA: Ryan, what's next for you?

MURPHY: A similar plan to Simone. I think we start classes the 23rd or 24th. So I'm going straight from here tomorrow back to Berkeley. So, same plan. I'm just going to take a couple - a little bit of time off and get back into the swing of things.

CAMEROTA: Well, guys, you've made us all so proud back here at home. You're such an inspiration to kids and adults everywhere. Simone Manual, Ryan Murphy, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

MANUEL: Thank you.

MURPHY: Thanks so much for having us.

CAMEROTA: "The Good Stuff" is next.

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CUOMO: Time for "The Good stuff." Today's comes from Oklahoma City. That's where Matthew Downowser (ph) and a group of his friends decided to help complete strangers. Listen to what they do. They go to the grocery store. They come up on people who are, you know, shopping, right? That's what you do there. And they then pay their bills. Now, what they didn't realize is that they were even gooder than good because some of these people really need the help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first person, it was her birthday. She was low on cash. And so when we did pay her bills, it was a big deal for her.

CROWD (singing): Happy birthday to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Love it. They paid for more than a dozen bills and they say they are not stopping there. Being good, being charitable, can be contagious.

CAMEROTA: That's so wonderful. What a great surprise. A great birthday surprise. That was the first person that they happened upon. That is so great.

[09:00:04] CUOMO: Good stuff. Good stuff.

CAMEROTA: Thank you for bringing us that.

CUOMO: Oh, you know.

CAMEROTA: It's just what we do here.

Time now for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You guys are ridiculous, but I like it.