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New Day

Trump Tweet Attack; Kansas City Police Deaths. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 30, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Is the strategy working? We'll look, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: So, we'll go back to the beginning. Hillary Clinton brings up a former Miss Universe during Monday night's debate. Four days later, Alicia Machado is still topping the headlines following an early morning Twitter storm by Donald Trump. That's not all that's going on in politics.

So, let's discuss the bottom line with CNN's senior political commentator, former Obama senior adviser, David, "the ax," Axelrod.

It's good to have you with us, my friend.

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to be here.

CUOMO: So, the premise, Hillary Clinton brought this up. Why? If the Clinton wants the high ground of saying, we're not going to get into this tawdriness, we're not going to talk about this stuff so long, why bring it up?

AXELROD: Well, I don't think it was tawdry necessarily to bring her up because it goes to the way that he treats people, which is a big concern. We've seen it in the past the way he treat the reporter with disabilities, the way he's treated women generally. And, for her, from a political standpoint, you can see the strategy. Here's a young Latina who he mistreated, and mistreated not just because she was fat, but the Miss Housekeeper line was quite offensive.

[08:35:07] And she's - she's a well-known person particularly in the Venezuelan-American community. So I think it was a shrewd thing for her to bring it up. What isn't shrewd is that Donald Trump took the bait. I mean it's in the - the story's in its fourth day because of him.

You know, after that debate, my question was, how will he react to this general verdict that he had lost the debate, because, you know, Donald Trump pictures himself as a winner. That's his whole image. I'm a winner. Everybody else are losers. And whenever he's depicted as a loser, it just drives him off the deep end. This happened after the conventions. He was deemed a loser in the conventions and he went on like a three-week self-destructive rampage that really hurt his candidacy. This, you know, on the Friday after the debate, to get up before dawn and tweet about Alicia Machado is unfathomable.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we've had his surrogates, many of them, on the show this morning, and they say that what the Clinton camp did wasn't talk about the issues, they talked about his character. Fair enough. You're allowed to talk about your opponent's character on the campaign, but that then he has to defend his character. So if you're saying that he said these horrible things, he's trying to defend himself and show that he either didn't say them or, in addition to that, he was trying to be helpful to her. So if you were in a parallel universe, a senior strategist to Donald Trump, I mean, when somebody attacks your character, do you go after him?

AXELROD: Well. let me say this. I would not be the senior strategist at Donald Trump because it doesn't seem to me that Donald Trump accepts advice. And I think that's one of his problems. I don't think his senior strategists are saying to him, you know what, why don't you get up at 4:00 and shoot out some tweets on Alicia Machado.

CAMEROTA: OK, but my question is, if - to one of your candidates, President Obama, if somebody attacked his character, are you supposed to address it?

AXELROD: Well, obviously, he had a chance to address it on the stage there. The issue is a serious one, which is - and I would answer it and move on. I think it's a vulnerability for him. I would answer it and move on. What he's done is prolonged it for four days. The Clinton campaign could not have asked for more. They wanted to make this an issue and he is cooperating in that project. And I'm telling you, none of his advisers are telling him to do this. This is the way Donald Trump is. He is very reactive. The Clinton folks figured that out. They were pushing his buttons all throughout that debate and he is still reeling from that.

CUOMO: Well, but he's got Brannon from Breitbart and he's got Bossy (ph) from Citizens United, who have made a lot of hay in the area of Hillary Clinton is as much to blame as Bill Clinton because of how she treated the women. What is their play to advantage in this?

AXELROD: Well, I think that if they raise this, if he actually raises this on a debate stage, he does it at great risk because he -

CAMEROTA: Raises Bill Clinton's past.

AXELROD: Bill Clinton's past. And I - and, you know, it would be - the angle would be that she mistreated the women who are involved. This is their way of saying, you're really the misogynist, you know.

CAMEROTA: You're not a champion of women. I mean what they're arguing is -

AXELROD: Right.

CAMEROTA: You're not a champion of women.

AXELROD: Right.

CAMEROTA: Look at how you treated the women -

AXELROD: Yes. And, you know, but I think it's so easy for her to turn and say, listen, we've had big problems in our marriage. Everybody knows it. And, you know, I reacted as one would, you know, angry. But the fact is, I'm proud that we fought to save our marriage, to hold it together.

CAMEROTA: But, you know what, she -

AXELROD: A lot of people haven't, Donald.

CAMEROTA: But she hasn't said that actually. Hillary Clinton's messaging hasn't been quite as succinct as what you've just said there. She says I'm not going to dignify it. I'm not going to talk about this. We all lived through it. But she hasn't said, let's be honest, that -

AXELROD: I know. But on a debate stage, if it came up, she would have to do more than, I'm not going to - I think, more than I'm not going to dignify it. And, remember, Hillary Clinton was the high point, I mean, of her public esteem. She was held in -

CUOMO: Sixty-five percent.

AXELROD: When she was at - when she was going through that period, because people identify with her. As I think people would identify with someone who's fought through problems in their marriage.

I think it would be a terrible mistake. And, by the way, it absolutely would be a mistake at the next debate, which is a town hall meeting. They say they've brought in Chris Christie to sharpen him up for the next debate. These people who are sitting around waiting to ask questions about concerns that they have in their lives are not coming to hear him shoot off barbs about Bill Clinton's marital infidelities.

CUOMO: What if she brings it up again, though? What if she brings up the Machado thing? What if she tries to bait him again the same way? What would be your advice to him about how to deal with it?

AXELROD: I don't think she will. I don't think she should. I think the same rule pertain to her. Town - the rule of town hall meetings is, basically address the people who are there, address their problems. If there's a difference on substance, and she may generally say that presidents need to be respectful of all our people, but that opens her up on the deplorable comment. So I think stick to the answer, address these people, let them know how you're going to try and do stuff that will be helpful to them in their lives and stay away from a lot of that.

[08:40:30] CAMEROTA: Very quickly, we have the first battleground state poll since the debate. So let's look at those, because they have shifted. First up, Michigan. She is now seven points up in Michigan. Moving on to New Hampshire, she is now seven points up in New Hampshire. And then you look at Florida, which keeps fluctuating, and she is four points up there. But you cannot count, I mean I don't have to tell you this, on these snapshots of polls because this race in particular, they've seesawed so much.

AXELROD: Yes. I do think she gained from the debate probably a few points. But they do - they do move around. And I would be very cautious about putting too much emphasis on any poll because methodology is different. "The Times" did an interesting exercise. They gave the same data to four pollsters and they came up with four different results based on the same data because they had different methods of weighing the data, which tells you something about polling. I mean it's a science, but it's also an art. And these campaigns are fortified with polling that is much more precise.

CAMEROTA: They're internal polling.

AXELROD: Than the public ones, because they invest a lot more money in it (ph).

CUOMO: Right. You also have to keep your eye on Johnson. After what he did this week, he still - well, you know, he's usually 5 to 8 percent. I wonder how his polling -

AXELROD: A big step (ph) for her because I think that if his vote among millennials shrinks, that's probably to her - to her benefit.

CAMEROTA: David Axelrod, thanks so much. Great to have you. Good to see you.

AXELROD: Always good to be with you guys.

CAMEROTA: All right, police in Kansas City, Kansas, are reeling from the loss of two of their own in the line of duty this year. How they made sure any fallen brother would be properly honored. We have the story of going "Beyond the Call of Duty," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:46:11] CAMEROTA: The Kansas City Police Department had not lost an officer in the line of duty for 18 years. Then, just weeks apart, it lost two of its own. CNN's Ryan Young has more in this week's "Beyond the Call of Duty."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard somebody to my right yelled, "no!" And I said, I got to say this, and I got to say it quick. And I said, Brad Lancaster's dead.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In May, Kansas City Police Detective Brad Lancaster was fatally shot. Captain Roderick Dave Melton not only served in a police honor guard at Lancaster's funeral, he also helped make sure his fellow officer was properly honored.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He put that whole plan together, the way the casket entered the stadium, they did a flyover with the helicopter, that was Melton's idea.

YOUNG: Melton's research went into a manual. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when he turned it in, he said, it's all done.

Put it on a shelf. Hopefully we'll never use it again. And then, less than two weeks later, we're pulling that book off the shelf to try and navigate another funeral, and this time it was his.

YOUNG: More than a thousand people, including officers from other departments from across the country filled the stadium to pay their respects to another fallen officer.

OFFICER ZETA BATES, MELTON'S FIANCE: Chief Ziegler (ph) was presenting that flag. I never, in a million years, would have pictured that being me having to get that flag.

YOUNG: Captain Melton had responded to a call about a drive by shooting, something he wasn't required to do in his current administrative position.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was doing captain promotions and so he went out in the field.

YOUNG: At the scene, Melton was fired upon as he got out of his police car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then they said, Melton's been shot. Probably going to be all right. He was wearing his vest. He always wears his vest. And Mike said, yes, that - that - that doesn't matter. He got shot in the head. And, you know, at that point -

YOUNG: In a household where both mom and dad were police officers, sacrifice is a word that's never used lightly. Melton was a veteran of the Army who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he earned a bronze star, a father and a stepfather of five with another baby on the way.

BATES: In those seconds that it took for them to tell us he was gone, my entire life changed. His kids' lives changed. I would never wish the kind of pain that we're feeling on anyone else.

YOUNG: Ryan Young, CNN, Kansas City, Kansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Another reminder of just how difficult that job can be and how much unity is needed within the force.

So let's go from heroes in blue, to this week's CNN hero. More than 25 million senior citizens live in poverty. Did you know that? And for most vulnerable, homelessness could be a sad reality. That takes us to Isha Desselle. She is shining a light on this forgotten group through her organization, "The Turning Point Center." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISHA DESSELLE, CNN HERO: When you're older, living on the street, it's a very scary place. You're much more vulnerable. The people who are in between the ages of 50 and 62, society views them as too old for working, and too young for Social Security. They need help. It's like you don't exist. And that's wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: To see how Isha is lifting the elderly out of homelessness, go to cnnheroes.com and you can watch her full story.

CAMEROTA: Such a good message and reminder for everyone.

All right, do you need a laugh? Late night TV is keeping it light. But no one is safe. The best of late night laughs, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:53:55] CUOMO: Let's help out that laugh/cry balance that this election can make us all go through. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton getting roasted by late night comics. Even Gary Johnson was thrown into the mix.

CAMEROTA: You think he gave them some material?

CUOMO: I don't know why.

CAMEROTA: What?

CUOMO: Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": Donald Trump is reportedly angry that his advisers are saying that he struggled during the first debate. And his advisers are, like, oh, so you can hear us? It's as if there were a wall between us.

CONAN O'BRIEN, "CONAN": Hillary Clinton has vowed to crack down on hackers who launch cyberattacks. Yes. She said if anyone's going to abuse U.S. government computers, it's going to be me. That's what I do.

SETH MEYERS, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": America Online founder Steve Case endorsed Hillary Clinton for president today, although the last thing Hillary wants to hear is -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got mail.

MEYERS: Oh, no. Oh, no. Where? Get rid of it! Get rid of it!

O'BRIEN: Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson was giving a television interview and he was unable to name a single foreign leader. Couldn't name one. Yes. Sounds like someone wants to be Donald Trump's secretary of state.

[08:55:07] STEPHEN COLBERT, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": No surprise, Johnson is polling at nearly 37 percent among military service members because if the president doesn't know about Syria, there's no way he's sending you there. Things might be looking up for Gary Johnson because it was just announced that former Nickelodeon star Melissa Joan Hart has been named chair of his Connecticut campaign. That's right, Clarissa, it's perfect, because he could really use something to explain it all to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Conan O'Brien is so funny.

CUOMO: He won the Camerota laugh index this morning.

CAMEROTA: He won the - yes. That was a gafaw (ph) I think I let out there.

And, by the way, "SNL," "Saturday Night Live," starts tomorrow. They purposely postponed their start so that they could be after the first presidential debate and they will do - they will not take a hiatus throughout the election now.

CUOMO: McKinnon is a minted star in this. Will Alec Baldwin raise the Trump game?

CAMEROTA: I don't know. Let us know what you think. I say no.

CUOMO: Well, then that's good enough for me.

"Newsroom" with Carol Costello is going to pick up right after this break.

CAMEROTA: Have a great weekend.

CUOMO: Healthy skepticism.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, sex, money and presidential politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Clintons are a distorted past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: No topic off limits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He can say whatever he wants to say, as we well know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:00:00] COSTELLO: But what about his past?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, I have a very good history. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Also, an ugly fight with beauty queens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The most beautiful women in the world and we're made to feel like, fat. Just kind of - quite worthless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And she's not alone.