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Trump Immigration Remarks Examined; Panel Discusses the Presidential Campaign; Olympic Wrap Up. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 22, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Immigration we're going to speak to Trump's fit. Is this softening is this a flip flop, it would certainly be Trump's biggest policy reversal of the entire campaign and it comes on his core campaign issue immigration. We're going to speak Trump's running mate, Governor Mike Pence later in this half hour. We have every angle covered starting this morning with CNN's Sunlen Serfaty in Washington, good morning Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John. Well this would potentially be a bigger reversal for Donald Trump. His hard line stance on immigration, it is one of the defining core issue of his campaign and Trump is now preparing to make a major policy address this week on immigration. And there are now some indications his positions could be changing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Donald Trump's campaign signaling a possible softening of his controversial position on the forced deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants.

DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They will go out. They will come back, some will come back, the best, through a process. They have to come back legally.

SERFATY: Trump's hard line stance a signature issue of his campaign since the beginning. Now his new campaign manager indicating that policy is not set in stone.

SERFATY: Let me play something from what Mr. Trump has said previously. Listen to what he said back in November.

TRUMP: We're going to have a deportation force and you're going to do it humanely and expensively.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While they get a breakdown of their home? How?

TRUMP: Can I check they're going back where they came, if they came from a certain country they're going to be brought back to their country. That's the way it's supposed to be.

SERFATY: Will that plan include a deportation force, the kind that he just -- you just heard in sound bite and that he talked about during the Republican primaries. KELLYANNE CONWAY, DONALD TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER: To be determined.

SERFATY: Key Trump surrogate Senator Jeff Sessions confirming that Trump is wrestling with the issue after a meeting with Hispanic advisers on Saturday ahead of a big policy speech later this week.

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS, (R) ALABAMA: he listened to a lot of people. I don't think he made any commitments. He's thinking that through. I think that's the right thing.

SERFATY: This potential shift coming as Trump attempts to broaden his appeal among African-American voters.

TRUMP: I've asked the African-American community to honor me with their vote. You're living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs, 58% of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?

SERFATY: Polls show his campaign way behind with this key voting bloc following a string of controversial comment about minority.

TRUMP: They bring in drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists. Look at my African-American over here. This judge is of Mexican heritage. I'm building a wall, OK. I'm building a wall.

SERFATY: Trump's now more muted, scripted style reserved for policy, not for his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

TRUMP: She will never be able to fix the ISIS problem that her policies created. For one thing, she doesn't have the strength or the stamina.

SERFATY: All this as Trump and his surrogates continue to raise unsubstantiated questions about Hillary Clinton's health.

RUDY GUILANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Go online and put on Hillary Clinton illness take a look at the videos for yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And sources tell CNN a top strategist from the RNC, Sean Spicer will be doing some work each week out of Trump campaign headquarters. This is such an important move specially coming off the broader campaign staff shakeup that we of course saw last week. A new it attempt to coordinate an activity now between the party and the nominee, John and Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK Sunlen, thanks so much for all of that reporting.

Let's bring in our political panel to discuss it. CNN political analyst, the national political reporter for the New York Times Alex Burns, Washington Post political reporter, Philip Bump, and CNN political analyst and Washington Bureau chief from the Daily Beast, Jackie Kucinich, great to have all of you with us. So, for a year, Donald Trump has been saying that he will deport every single undocumented immigrant that was here and just to remind ourselves of how strongly and vociferously he said that, watch this little compilation of his claims over the last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're rounding them up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they're going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And by the way, I know it doesn't sound nice, but not everything is nice.

They're going back where they came. If they came from a certain country, they're going to be brought back to that country that's the way it's supposed to be. Now, they can come back, but they have to come back legally.

They will go out, they will come back, some will come back, the best, through a process. They have to come back legally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Alex, this was one of the tenets of his campaign. How can he change his tune now?

ALEX BURNS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Alisyn, I don't know that he can, you know, it's pretty standard for Republicans running for president to run to the right during the primaries on immigration and other issues and try to moderate their tone during the general election. We saw Mitt Romney do it. We certainly saw John McCain do it in 2008 but it's really, really tough to adjust course on something that has been essentially the foundational issue of your entire candidacy.

[06:05:02] And when your pledge is not just some sort of broad brush argument about we need to be tougher, but when you've said really specific things like we're building a wall, Mexico is going to pay for it, we're going to deport these people, it's very, very tough to get away from all that.

BERMAN: You know, and it's not like, Phil, that he's appealing to the Hispanic vote here. I mean, Donald trump I think knows there is a ceiling there at some point. But he could be trying to appeal to whom here exactly. Is this the, you know, college educated white voters where he has been underperforming?

PHILIP BUMP, POLITICAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: Yeah, I think that's probably the safest bet. But the reason he's trailing in the polls right now is because Republicans are softer on his candidacy than Democrats are on Hillary Clinton's. He needs to be able to convince those more moderate Republicans that he's an acceptable candidate for president. One way to do that, we saw him over the weekend talk a little about reaching out to the black community. I think this may be, if he ends up moderating it, which of course we don't know if he's going to, because he says lots of things lots of times. If he ends up moderating his division, I think it is an appeal to that core group of Republicans who right now are kind of iffy on him as a candidate. CAMEROTA: Or Jackie, it does sound like he's trying to win over some Hispanics. He met with this Hispanic advisory counsel this weekend, that's where we're getting this information that he was softening his rhetoric and saying well, we might not be deporting everybody and then this Thursday, I believe that he has a speech. He's scheduled to speak in Thursday in Colorado, I should say on his immigration policy. So what is the strategy here in terms of who he's trying to win over versus who he might alienate?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it wouldn't be the first time that Donald Trump has said one thing behind closed doors and said something else out in the open and in public. So there seems to be a lot of confusion coming out of this meeting about what he said in terms of whether he said that there might be some way overall in terms of the deportation force. You had, you know, some of the leaders coming out they're saying that

then you had a Trump spokesman say that nothing has changed and absolutely, you know, everything is on track from what he said. And then you add Kellyanne Conway in these interviews yesterday saying that it's to be determined.

So, what it sounds like is that speech on Thursday is still coming together and we'll have to wait and see kind of where they end up after all of this sort of back and forth in the press.

BERMAN: You know, Alisyn it's interesting. I remember the primaries. It weren't that long ago. This is exactly what some of the people running against Donald Trump said he would do they said he doesn't have any convictions. He is not a traditional Republican in that sense. He doesn't believe what we believe. He's going to flip-flop on everything in here on his main issue, it appears that even on this he may not have the courage of his conviction.

BURNS: Sure. And John when you look at what his actual immigration policies are, it's not like he has put out some really extensive plan that he talks about in detail and has defended on the substantive merits, right. He has a couple bullet points that he talks about.

BERMAN: Build a wall.

BURNS: And he has build the wall and get Mexico to pay for it, right. But outside of that, he has not Jeff Sessions, who out there could give a 45-minute speech on the Mechanics of immigration policy. And this is what has bothered a lot of Republicans, a lot of very conservative republicans about Trump from the start. It's that he a guy let's say who believes in everything and nothing at the same time he will tell you what you want to hear. I do think that on the wall, on mass deportation, those are maybe partial exceptions. These are issues where he has been totally unequivocal for the entire duration of his candidacy. If that changes now, that's a giant shift in the campaign and one that may actually, I think, have more potential to alienate his core supporters than to win over the folks who currently don't like him.

CAMEROTA: OK Phil, let's talk about what he said on Friday night and what he has said was an appeal to Black voters. So let me just play for you his language Friday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And what do you have to lose? Look, what do you have to lose? You're living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs, 58% of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: How'd that go over, Phil?

BUMP: Well, we'll see how it went over. You know, I mean think the pitch he made that 58% number just flatly not correct.

CAMEROTA: 58% of African-American youth is not unemployed. It is a much lower number -- the Bureau of Statistics says it's 14.5%.

BUMP: Right. Yeah, he's counting things like high school students and college students which he obviously shouldn't tell them for the purposes of those numbers. But really his core appeal was, what do you have to lose, all these things are going wrong, you're all living in poverty, you're living in inner cities, which of course also is not true. It's not the case that most African-Americans live in poverty.

There are all these ways in which he talked about the black community in a way that I find it hard to believe the black community is going to find particularly appealing. Again, I suspect that this was in part, trying to give space to Republicans who are soft on him then will say, oh, look, he's making overtures to the Hispanic Community. We'll see in the polling that's kind of very hard to believe he is going to move his numbers with back voters.

BERMAN: Jackie, I want to ask you one thing about the Clinton campaign right now about Colin Powell who is not running for president despite what Mark Kirk of Illinois wants. Colin Powell was caught up with over the weekend and he was asked about Hillary Clinton's contention, which we learned about last week.

[06:10:01] You know she claims it was Colin Powell Who told her to use the private e-mail server. He said it happened at a party at Madeline Albright party and then he said that he wrote her a letter. This is what he said at a fundraiser at the Hanson's over the weekend Colin Powell he said, "Her people have been trying to pin it on me. The truth is, she was using the private e-mail server for a year before I sent her a memo telling her what I did."

I thought it was interesting that Colin Powell, going out of his way, Jackie to create distance with Hillary Clinton and I know a lot of people have been wondering, you know, where is Colin Powell's stand on this entire election?

KUCINICH: You know, this-- that could not have been appreciated to have Colin Powell to be brought into this and protract a debate over the e-mail sever. You know, bottom line is one thing an d I know Hillary Clinton has apologized for using two e-mails, she said that she could have done better. She still hasn't taken full responsibility. The buck stops here for using that she keeps on saying people recommended it to her until that happens, you're going to see things like this.

And, you know, the fact that we saw early on that Colin Powell and his people, said that he didn't remember the conversation, so you had to see this coming a little bit that they want absolutely nothing to do with this and you have to wonder, is this going to get him to an endorsement later on? I don't know maybe he didn't certainly didn't seem very happy there to be involved.

BERMAN: No, he did endorse Barack Obama twice so it is notable right now, his silence on this election. And a lot of people associated with him have come out and said they would never vote for Donald Trump.

CAMEROTA: Panel, stick around thank you very much for those thoughts.

BERMAN: However, we would like to ask the Clinton campaign, senior-- people on the Clinton campaign about this but we should know it's been a couple of weeks since the Clinton campaign that provided New Day with any internal senior level campaign spokesperson despite repeated request. We want them here to talk about the election. Come on, guys come on over.

CAMEROTA: In just a moment, you're also going to see my one-on-one interview with Trump's running mate, Governor Mike Pence we were at

the Iowa state fair together and he had a lot of interesting things to say about his running mate.

BERMAN: All right the Olympics, you can see them on tape delay. Sometime soon team USA dominated the games as they came to a close in Rio. The US clinched the most medals, still the event did have some controversy. Ryan Lochte he made a stunning admission after a week of a lot of not stunning admissions. CNN sports anchor Coy Wire, live with more in Rio, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. A lot of negativity as we know coming into these Rio games and there are negatives that certainly exist here, but it is certainly safe to say it was the athletes and their performances stealing the show here in Rio.

We got to witness some of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen. Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Usain Bolt so was an incredible celebration last night at the closing ceremony Brazil. He won the most medals in their nation's Olympic history. So as the party soccer is like religion here, they won their first ever Olympic gold here for Brazil so a huge samba party to cap it all off last night.

Simone Biles, the fourth time gold-winning superstar, was carrying the American flag for team USA. I got to spend some time with her here in Rio. She is humble. She is kind, just as dynamic off the floor as she is on it so incredible representative for the states. Now, there were some events yesterday too. I got to go to that gold medal match, the final gold medal being handed out in the games USA men's basketball serving it to Serbia 30-points victory margin there, and earning their third straight gold for the US.

And in what could be the craziest moment in these games guys the country of Mongolia's wrestling coaches getting so mad. They take their clothes off, disputing what they thought was a bad call by a referee. One takes his shirt off down to his underwear, starts lying on the mat. Another one takes his shirt off, they're throwing clothing at the judges in protest. The crowd chanting Mongolia, yes, good moment indeed.

Now, the biggest distraction of this year's games, Ryan Lochte, he issued that written apology for his role in the gas station incident, which turned into a full-blown international incident last week. Lochte talked to NBC's matt Lauer, which aired Saturday night and Lochte admitted that he did not tell the truth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That you said at some point after you refused to sit down, the security guard put the gun to your forehead and cocked it. That didn't happen.

RYAN LOCHTE, OLYMPIC ATHLETE: That didn't happen. And that's why I over exaggerated that part.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you do that?

LOCHTE: I don't know why. You know, it was still hours after the incident happened. I was still intoxicated. I was still under that influence and I'm not making me being intoxicated like an excuse. I'm not doing that at all. I mean it was my fault.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now, Alisyn, the first ever South American Olympic Games have come to an end. The skies are weeping here in Rio but what a wonderful experience this was. It's been a complete joy to bring this story from the games.

[06:15:02] CAMEROTA: The landscape does look dramatic, much like some of the stories, Coy. Thanks so much for giving us all of the highlights. | All right Donald Trump reaching out to minority voters is he taking the right approach to broaden his appeal we will ask Trump's running mate about that. Watch my one on one with Mike Pence next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Donald Trump's running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, crisscrossing the country with the campaign style that is very different to Trump's often combative demeanor. I caught up with governor pence at the Iowa state fair, where lots of people lined up to see the man that might be the next vice president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Look at everybody waving to you that feels good.

GOV. MIKE PENCE, (R) INDIANA: Oh, it's wonderful. We got a wonderful and warm reception here. Donald Trump will be back here in a week and we're going to be campaigning hard all across this country and all across Iowa.

CAMEROTA: OK, so let's start with some of the latest headlines. On Friday night Donald Trump was in Michigan, as you know and he was making an appeal to African-American voters.

PENCE: Sure.

CAMEROTA: And he used some language in messaging that some people have taken umbrage with.

[06:20:02] I'll read some of it to you. He said, you're living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, you have 58% youth unemployment, what the hell do you have to lose. That was an appeal to vote for the Pence-- Trump-Pence ticket. What do you think of that message?

PENCE: Well, it was such an honor for me and really a privilege to be with Donald Trump earlier in the day as we toured neighborhoods devastated by the flooding in Baton Rouge. And I saw this broad- shouldered leader and his profound compassion for the hurting families of Louisiana. And I think that message and other messages all precede from the fact Donald Trump and I both believe that we can do better for every American. We can get this economy moving again.

The Liberal, Democratic policies of our major cities have resulted in failing schools, unsafe streets in too many areas. And Donald Trump is speaking to that boldly. He really believes and I agree with him, that by getting this economy moving again, lowering taxes, rolling back regulation, focusing on American energy and trade deals that work for Americans, and also by expanding school choice for every American that we can get. We can get these cities working with American people

CAMEROTA: When he was talking about inner city blacks and the unemployment rate there, he used the number that was higher than what the Bureau of Labor Statistics says. He said 58 percent of black youth are unemployed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says its 14.5. But put that aside for a moment. What specifically will he do for inner city blacks?

PENCE: Well I think what he'll do is -- we're going to change the direction of this country from seven and a half years of policies that have seen 7 million more Americans living below the poverty line than when Barack Obama became president of the United States.

Look, Donald Trump and I believe that we need to bring real change to this country. That's not going to happen unless we change the leadership. And Hillary Clinton is essentially running for Barack Obama's third term. She's advocating more taxes, more spending ...

CEMEROTA: Yeah.

PENCE: ... more regulation, exactly the kind of things that have resulted in the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression.

Donald Trump and I believe that what worked back in the 1980s, less taxes, less regulation, making the right investments and infrastructure grows is going to create a growing American economy, and that's going to lift up opportunities for people to live in our cities.

CEMEROTA: But specifically for the inner city, are there things you can say to black voters right now that are living there that -- how they would get jobs that currently aren't available?

PENCE: Well, I think its -- by promoting something different than what Hillary Clinton's advocating, which is more taxes, more regulation, more Obamacare. We're going to lift the fortunes of job creators all across America. And it's the reality is the majority of jobs that are always created in this country are created by small business owners. But Hillary Clinton's plan to raise taxes and Hillary Clinton's plan to increase regulation is going to continue to stifle growth in this economy like we've seen for the last seven and a half years.

CEMEROTA: So, in terms of the language that he used on Friday night, you were OK with it, the -- you're living in poverty, you have no jobs, what the hell do you have to lose? You were OK with it being that blunt of a message?

PENCE: Well look, Donald Trump is not a experienced politician who carefully selects his words, he speaks right from his heart, right from his mind. And what you heard this week is a leader who's determined to make America great for everyone in this country. And I think you're going to continue to see this campaign in the days and weeks ahead speak directly to Americans in every community about what our plan to make America great again is going to mean for them, mean for their families.

CEMEROTA: Let's talk about some of the changes that have been happening in the campaign. Paul Manafort out, Steve Bannon now the CEO, Kellyanne Conway now the campaign manager, what do you think of those changes?

PENCE: I think there's always a time, as you approach Labor Day, where campaigns, you know, evolve, and change, and have additions. And I expect that to continue to be evidence of a campaign that's on a roll. I mean, if you look at this last week, Donald Trump laid out a compelling vision for confronting radical Islamic terrorism. And he laid out a message for law and order in every community in the state. He showed his mind and he showed his heart, both in his speech on Thursday night and in the compassionate way that he visited the hurting families in Louisiana.

I think these changes are just all part and parcel of seeing this campaign come together. And look, the race is on. This is going to be competitive race all the way to the end. But I truly do believe we've got the right candidate. We got the right message, and this movement is going to carry Donald Trump all the way to the White House. CEMEROTA: Were you consulted about these staff changes?

PENCE: Donald Trump and I talk every day. We'll keep those conversations private. But --

[06:25:06] CEMEROTA: Are you -- You supported the change of Paul Manafort out and Steve Bannon now at the top?

PENCE: I'm grateful for the job that Paul Manafort did for the campaign both in Primaries and through the convention. I fully support --

CEMEROTA: What do you would happen?

PENCE: The man that is running this campaign is now and always has been Donald Trump. And I couldn't be more honored to be standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

CEMEROTA: What would you say was the problem with Paul Manafort's leadership?

PENCE: I think Paul Manafort made a decision to step down just so that there wouldn't be any distractions in the campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CEMEROTA: All right. Let's bring back our political panel to react to some of that interview. We have more coming up. But joining us again is Alex Burns, Phil Bump, and Jackie Kucinich.

Alex, let's just start with what his prescription is for the inner cities. And he said, you know, we're going to go back to the 1980s, cut taxes, less regulation, put people back to work again.

BURNS: Yeah, problem solved, right? No, I think you really saw Alisyn the limits in that interview of what Mike Pence can do to pitch his ticket to voters who feel alienated by Donald Trump, right, that if you're Mike Pence and you have a basically conventional Republican orientation towards how to create opportunity, how to create economic growth. It's really, really hard to deliver that message with any level of specificity when you're working around a guy at the top of the ticket who is as offensive to nonwhite constituencies as Donald Trump is.

And you know even, you know, to give Mike Pence his due, when he's out there saying things like we can't afford eight more years of ObamaCare that is not a way, actually, to win black voters. That, you know, if you pitch black voters, Hispanic voters a lot of a, you know, sort of white, urban moderates on the idea of four more years of Barack Obama. Barack Obama's currently the most popular national politician in the country. So I think you're seeing both of these guys kind of struggle with how to deliver something resembling a conventional message in a very unconventional election year.

BERMAN: I'm always struck by how relentlessly on message Mike Pence is. That is a guy who sticks to his script better than anyone I've seen. And Jackie, the script this weekend for the Trump campaign was things are great. Things have never been better. You know Kellyanne Conway tweeted this weekend, best week ever. It reminds me of like a baseball team that wins one game begins the seasons 1-0 and since won a giant winning streak, we're undefeated here. But that's the message he wants to send right now about the Trump campaign.

KUCINICH: Yeah, and, you know, Alex is absolutely right. Mike Pence is really good at being on message. You noticed every single time Alisyn asked him a question he didn't want to answer. He brought it back to how much he loves campaigning with Donald Trump or why Hillary Clinton is wrong for this. And I think that that's one of the reasons he was brought on to the ticket, because Mike Pence is extremely disciplined.

The one thing though about his comment about the 1980s that I want to point out, Trump has been saying a lot that his is the campaign of the future and Hillary is the campaign of the past. That sort of fits runs counter to what Donald Trump has been saying. But other than that, that really was a -- that was classic Mike Pence what you are looking at right there.

CAMEROTA: All right, panel. Stick around. We have many more questions for you. You can also watch more of my interview with Mike Pence in the next hour. We talked about more about the shakeup in the Trump campaign as well as the issues and where he and Donald Trump diverged and how they come to seeing eye to eye on some things.

BERMAN: That'll be interesting. All right. Dozens of people killed by a suicide bomber at a wedding in Turkey, this could be the work of ISIS and the incident just especially horrifying because of the age of the attacker. We have a live report from the scene next.

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