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Trump Campaign Changes Examined; U.S. Olympians Get Engaged During Competition. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 18, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:02] CHRIS CUOMO, "NEW DAY" ANCHOR: -- and what this means for the campaign. How can you allay their fears?

DAVID BOSSIE, CITIZENS UNITED PRESIDENT: Well, I think the proof is going to be not in the pudding but in the eating as a senator used to say. It is going to be through the trial and error of this campaign. We don't have a lot of time and I think Steve Bannon is all about action. This guy is, every time I've worked with him over the last eight or ten years, we've done small projects and very large projects together and he dives in, he is incredibly passionate. He is incredibly smart and a terrific strategist. And I think that what he brings to the table is a serious focus, as well as the passion and zeal that Donald Trump is looking for in the people around him.

CUOMO: So the concern is going to be will, which Bannon is it? There are different types of persuasion that he has. One, the deep dive you referred to, that my former producer and our mutual friend, Mr. Blasto (ph) and I worked on with Breitbart regarding Anthony Wiener. The other one are these, you know, mock raking, ugly headlines that come out of the Breitbart website that are very offensive and divisive. So which one is he going to bring to this campaign?

BOSSIE: Yeah, I think he's going to bring the Clinton cash version. The movie that he did over the summer that just came out, "Clinton Cash". Which is a film all about the corruption and cronyism oh Hillary Clinton, the e-mail scandals, the pay for play scandals, the foundation or, you know, just illegal activity that goes on at the Clinton foundation.

So I think that's the Steve Bannon you're going to get. An expert on Hillary Clinton and an expert on trying to stay focused on that target. And that's what Donald Trump needs. Donald Trump needs to stay focused on Hillary Clinton and make this election about -- what Bill Kristol was talking about a little bit, which is the American people are fundamentally tired. They also fundamentally don't believe in the honesty and trustworthiness of Hillary Clinton. And I think that this election is winnable by showing Hillary Clinton's not prepared to be president of the United States and at the same time, showing why Donald Trump is.

CUOMO: So, that what the Clinton campaign says, a little bit of that high trustworthiness is a function of baked in deceptive information about them. For instance, we hear from the campaign, they're going to show that Hillary Clinton lied to the American people. They're going to show, as you say, Clinton cash, that what she did is illegal. Do you really believe that there is anything in Clinton cash that shows illegality on the part of Hillary Clinton or any proof out there that she lied to the FBI or the American people?

(CROSSTALK)

BOSSIE: Yeah. And Chris, we're going to find out about this lying to the FBI and we're going to uncover that as those FBI 302s, the notes of her interview the FBI agents becomes public between now and election day. I think that's going to be a very big deal.

CUOMO: But don't we know now Dave?

BOSSIE: I can tell you that ...

CUOMO: I mean she lied to the FBI, Dave. They would've indicted her because that's ...

BOSSIE: No, that's not true. If you listen to James Comey, the FBI Director, he says that she was not forthcoming in what she told the FBI and what she just showed them in their -- in there -- in her e- mails.

So it is simply not the case that she's going to be able to make that case and with a straight face. And Robby Mook can say whatever he wants. Everyday of the week, he is the spokesman campaign manager for Hillary Clinton. That's what he gets paid to do. And it's fine with me.

What I'm going to do is litigate our case against Hillary Clinton, between now and Election Day. And that is, look, citizens, we've had a two and a half year campaign of fighting in court before our FOIA, our Freedom Of Information Act s. And it's one of the things that CNN and many other news outlets on a daily basis cover the documents that we uncover, that judicial watch uncovers, and we're really the only two groups that are doing anything that have really set -- took over two years to complete. So we're just at the tip of the spear, not any where near the completion.

CUOMO: I guess it's just about how it's presented, right? I mean today ...

BOSSIE: But it is.

CUOMO: ... we're reporting on documents that came one way or another through your organization into the media about different relationships between the Clinton foundation and the state department. And they are evidence of potential conflict and whether or not there was a bright line distinction as Clinton promised as Secretary of State between the two. But it's not a proof of illegality. You know, what I'm saying is, when you start with a conclusion, what she did to get her money is illegal.

BOSSIE: No, no. I -- Chris ...

CUOMO: She lied to the American people. You haven't proved it yet but you're already stating it as a conclusion. BOSSIE: No, Chris. Look, I agree with you that -- but when you have a very short period of time here, we have to try to try to tell the American people what's going on in a clear, concise way. And that's what Donald Trump is going to do. That's what Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon are going to do as his new team around him.

[08:35:06] He is going to now be infused with the data, the information about Hillary Clinton. I believe on a minute to minute and day-to-day basis, I hope that's the case. And that they will make him stay focused or try to stay focused on as best as you can. Because the campaign is all about, you know, reacting to every question that every reporter asks you. So one of the things he needs to do is stay focused on his opponent, Hillary Clinton, and build up why people can trust him in the Oval office and why they can't trust her.

CUOMO: You know him well. You understand politics very, very well. Why do you think that Donald Trump hasn't been able to do it up to this point? Why can't he keep himself from going too far and ruining his own arguments?

BOSSIE: You know it's interesting. Donald Trump has always been his history, right. His personality has been that he's -- throughout his career has been able to control the media cycle himself, stop it and start it and reset it. And the thing about not being a career politician, the thing about not being a career elected official, which is the reason that he is the nominee today. That he's not been a career candidate.

And when you're not a career candidate, it -- there is a learning curve in how to go about the campaign cycle. And I think Donald Trump is learning that, has learned it. Really with the Klieg lights getting very bright post convention. I think he's learned that himself. And I think you're going to see him take a different strategy, different tactics between now and Election Day.

CUOMO: David Bossie, head of Citizens United. Great to have you on "New Day". The invitation is standing.

BOSSIE: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

CUOMO: All right, Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, "NEW DAY" ANCHOR: All right, Chris. Coming up, as Trump's campaign is shaking up. What does this reset mean? We have a great political panel, pro Trump, never Trump, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I'll tell you what Donald Trump needs. He needs people who are like him in this sense. You have to be unapologetically, unflinchingly, unafraid of Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton and all that Clinton campaign means. Because we feel like we're up against a major machine here. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right, that is Donald Trump's newly minted campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway. So how will Trump change? How will his campaign reset? Joining us to talk about this is Angela Rye. She's our CNN political commentator and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus. Lanhee Chen, CNN political commentator and former Mitt Romney public policy director. And Kayleigh McEnany, CNN political commentator and Donald Trump supporter. Great to have you all here.

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Angela, what do you think that this means? Is there a shift that we're about to see in Donald Trump's campaign and in the election going forward?

RYE: So this is the third shift, right? Ad this is just August. And so I'm curious to know what exactly is going to be different. Of course, we heard let Trump be Trump. We heard that he would pivot. He -- we heard that he said he'd be so presidential, he would be boring. And yet, and still ...

CAMEROTA: That didn't happen.

RYE: No. None of this ...

CAMEROTA: The boring part.

RYE: That is very true. Never boring and still never Trump. But I think that -- the one thing that I think is really interesting is this pivot never quite really happened and now you see the partial pivot, let's go back to what he knows very well. I think the hard part is that is a primary strategy that does not grow the tent that they talk about, needing to expand. So it's going to be interesting to see.

CAMEROTA: Lanhee, having been involved in Mitt Romney's campaign, what do you see here going on with Trump now?

LANHEE CHEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think the big question is not about the advisors, it's always about the candidate. What can the candidate do?

And if you heard Kellyanne this morning in her interview, that was like chicken soup for the Republican soul. Talking about repealing ObamaCare, regulations, taxation. Those are key and cornerstone Republican issues. And it gives the Republicans, so-called establishment, some comfort that maybe this campaign is going to go to prosecuting the case against Hillary Clinton and make this an election about change. If that's the case, then I think people have greater comfort. But ultimately, the bigger issue is can Donald Trump get there? Can he be the candidate that runs as the traditional candidate? So far he hasn't been.

CAMEROTA: Part of the input is -- Kayleigh, for the shake-up is the poll numbers. So let's look at some the recent poll numbers here, this show Donald Trump's deficit at the moment. This was just released Tuesday at the Monmouth University, and it is Florida, obviously an important state. Clinton 48 percent, Donald Trump 38 percent, Gary Johnson 6 percent, and Jill Stein 1 percent. So do you think they can turn this around?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely. There are a lot of Florida polls that showed a lot closer, somewhere within 4 or 5 points. But not only that, when you look at each of these state polls, you'll notice that nearly every single one, both candidates are under 50 percent. What that says, is there are a lot of undecided voters in this election that with that said the debate moment is going to be a huge moment for Donald Trump to present his message and bring those 18 percent of undecided voters or those who are willing to change their mind into his fold.

CAMEROTA: The executive vice-president of the Trump organization, Michael Cohen, had a ...

RYE: That's funny.

CAMEROTA: What's so funny everyone?

RYE: Says who?

CAMEROTA: What do you know I'm about to play for you all?

RYE: Says who?

CHEN: A clip heard around the world.

CAMEROTA: You are doing an impression of Michael Cohen right now, because he was on with Brianna Keilar yesterday. And about those polls, he was like nothing to see no evil, hear no evil. So watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You say it's not a shake-up. But you guys are down. And it makes sense that there would -- polls ...

MICHAEL COHEN, LAWYER: Says who? Says who?

KEILAR: Most of them. All of them.

COHEN: Says who?

KEILAR: Polls. I just told you. I answered your question.

COHEN: OK. Which polls?

KEILAR: All of them.

COHEN: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CAMEROTA: I know these guys are dying to talk about this. But Kayleigh, let me go to you. That was not the best message from Michael Cohen. What was that about?

MCENANY: I appreciate his optimism. Look, you've got to be optimistic and I like that about him.

[08:45:01] But, you know, Kellyanne acknowledged this morning in your interview that they are behind. And she likes being behind because that means that you're going to fight to get out of it and you're incentivized to really shift the campaign and push forward where as Hillary Clinton, she's taking some days off, she's at home. You know, that's not a good strategy. I like being behind. I like that but I appreciate the optimism from Michael Cohen.

RYE: That's not what we're going to call it.

CAMEROTA: Well, let's talk about that Lanhee. Because you were on the Mitt Romney campaign and those, some people on that campaign or at least pundits did not recognize what polls were telling them. Do you see a parallel here?

CHEN: Well, and you know, polling is tough, right, because it's a snapshot in time. You're always tempted to read more in the polls than are really there. I think the challenge is when you don't acknowledge reality, people sort of look at and they think, what is going on. Is there even a recognition that something is happening here. And obviously, there has to be, right? They shook up the campaign. They changed the leadership. There's a recognition that things have to be different. So, I mean that was an entertaining interview for us to watch, but I think the American people see that and they think boy, these guys seem really out of touch.

CAMEROTA: Michael Cohen did not get the memo, the reality memo that he -- before he went on the air. We have him on all the time. He is a nice guy, but that was -- that was an amusing moment because he just did not want to -- look at the numbers.

RYE: Well, and I think that that type of denial to Lanhee's point is very dangerous. I think the other part is, you see Kellyanne today, and I tweeted after your interview with her, she is like a breath of fresh air. She's exactly what the campaign needs. The problem is, the messaging that she's on, I don't think that her candidate can tow that messaging line. One in the same is a reflection, a true reflection of his candidate. Steve Bannon, a true reflection of his candidate. That I don't know what's next, perhaps they'll bring in a president of the campaign because he's running out of leadership spots in -- at the Trump campaign.

CAMEROTA: What's the feeling with the Trump campaign and where they are?

MCENANY: I think this week was a great week. Look, for the first time we saw Donald Trump tailor his message to African-American voters which is crucial that he extends into the minority community among women. We saw him sit at the table with national security advisors. We saw him get his first national -- his classified briefing.

CAMEROTA: Yeah.

MCENANY: This was a very good week. Two on message speeches and if he can do what he did this week for the rest of the campaign, he will win this election because this is a change election and people want a difference.

CAMEROTA: All right, we are going to leave it there. Angela, Lanhee, Kayleigh, thank you very much for analyzing all of this. Let's get over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right, coming up. He got the silver but she got something better than that. An Olympic jumper's biggest prize in Rio was not his medal. What am I talking about? I'm not giving it away. We've got a great story for you coming out of our Olympians in Rio, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:16] CAMEROTA: So we have a special good stuff for you this morning. We're talking about a golden moment for a silver medalist. Will Claye won the silver medal for his finish in the men's triple jump, but when the competition ended, he took another leap towards the stands, carrying the America flag and proposed to his long time girlfriend and fellow Olympian, Queen Harrison and these lovebirds join us now live from Rio. Queen, how surprised were you by that moment?

QUEEN HARRISON, 2008 U.S. OLYMPIC HURDLER: I'm still surprised, like I literally have no voice right now, still from screaming and just being overwhelmed with joy. So I did not see that coming.

CUOMO: All right, you guys did great in the Olympics. We don't want to, you know, let that get away from us. We want to congratulate you. Thank you for representing the country well. Claye, but did you know that you were going to do this? Take us through your process here.

WILL CLAYE, OLYMPIC TRIPLE JUMP SILVER MEDALIST: I knew I was going to do it that morning but before then I didn't know when the day would come that I would propose to this lady here. I had the ring for a while. And during the competition, I was telling my brother last night, during the competition, I looked up in the stands and I just kept looking at Queen, like this is about to be the lady that I'm with for the rest of my life.

And on one of my jumps, I actually got a little teary-eyed before I actually took off and it just -- was if -- it felt like the perfect thing to do, you know, at the moment. I was trying to figure out a way to get into the stands. There's a 20 foot like drop in between the track and the stands, so the fans picked me up and lifted me up in there and I finally got to my family and Queen and ...

HARRISON: After scaring us half to death.

CLAYE: And I popped the question and she has -- she said yes.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh. Claye, is it true you didn't know if she was going to say yes?

CLAYE: I knew she would say yes. I feel like we knew that the next step in our relationship was coming soon. It was just a matter of me making it a surprise, you know. I think had it been any other time, she wouldn't have been surprised. She probably would have saw it coming. But I think this was the perfect way to surprise her.

CUOMO: The element of surprise, key to any long lasting marriage. Everyone will tell you that. How were you wearing the ring when you're wearing such skin tight clothes all the time for the competition?

CLAYE: I had it in my back pack actually. It was in the bottom of my back pack, kind of tucked away. And when I finished that jump and I got my flag, I went to my back pack and I was digging in there and I couldn't find it. I'm like, oh man, don't -- someone tell me that. So I'm just searching, and it was actually in one of my pair of shoes and I just grabbed it. And then I was just running back and forth, trying to find some way to get into the stand.

CAMEROTA: So Queen, when you saw him scrambling into the stands, what did you think was happening?

HARRISON: Well, I just thought like sometimes after competition, Will, would jump into the stands and hug his mom and family and us and you know. And we would just congratulate him and give him a whole bunch of love. So I thought that's what it was, seriously.

And then he kind of like bent down, and I said, oh what did he drop. Like, you know, I'm like touching his face, like oh, are you OK. And then I'm like, wait a minute. The only thing you're dropping is my jaw because literally I could not believe he was doing that. And I was stunned. Like I had a face like this because I really wanted to concentrate on what he was saying. There were so many people around but somehow it felt like it was just us two. I mean, I literally was focused on every word he said and it was perfect.

CAMEROTA: And do you remember those words? Can you share them with us?

[08:55:05] HARRISON: I do. Oh my gosh. I don't know. Man, we try to keep a little bit of privacy but it was just the perfect things to say and it had me at the first word.

CAMEROTA: That's so beautiful.

CUOMO: I think I'm pretty ...

CAMEROTA: You're tearing up.

CUOMO: No, allergies.

CAMEROTA: Yes, you're tearing up.

CUOMO: Allergies.

CLAYE: Don't do that, man. Don't do that, don't that.

HARRISON: We've had enough tears for everybody.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh. That is really beautiful. So what are your first plans, guys, now that you're, you know, champions and engage?

HARRISON: Man, right now, I mean, it's so difficult because it's like what do we focus on. I mean I'm so ecstatic, he jump a personal lifetime best on his first jump. He got the silver medal for the second Olympics in a row. I'm just so excited about this. This has came secondary right now.

CLAYE: Yeah.

HARRISON: And so, you know, once we get home, we'll kind of debrief. And just, you know, I just really want to hear the entire story. He is sharing it with the word but I need that little private, him telling me the entire story and then start planning, I guess.

CUOMO: Well, your fiancee is aptly named because you have picked a Queen for sure. A woman who says her engagement ring comes second. I have never heard that in my entire life.

CLAYE: She's amazing.

CAMEROTA: You guys are both amazing.

CUOMO: Hold on to her.

CAMEROTA: You're both amazing, Will Claye, Queen Harrison, thank you so much.

CLAYE: Oh I got her man, I got her. I got her.

CAMEROTA: Thank you for sharing your story with us. Great to meet you guys.

CLAYE: Thank you.

HARRISON: Thank you for having us.

CUOMO: I love that idea. He won the silver but boy that he brings home the gold by getting Queen to say yes.

CAMEROTA: That's beautiful. We leave you on that note. "Newsroom" with Carol Costello starts after this very quick break. We'll see you tomorrow.

CUOMO: The analogies.

CAMEROTA: Bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)