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New Day
New Polling Shows Close Presidential Race in Ohio and Florida; New Polling Shows 55 Percent Approval Rating for President Obama; Hacked Memo Reveals Bill Clinton's Lucrative Speeches. Aired 8-8:30a ET
Aired October 27, 2016 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Look at this on your screen. CNN has updated its electoral map putting, Florida and Nevada back in play. So they've gone from leaning Democratic to now toss-up states.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And one of the nice things is you can go on a CNN website and you can play with the map yourself and see what the different permutations are. Go ahead.
All right, so despite the uphill battle Trump is predicting a tremendous victory on Election Day, this as new revelations from hacked e-mails about Bill Clinton's lucrative speeches and concerns about the family's foundation come out again with that drip, drip, drip. Just 12 days to go until the election. We have it all covered. Let's begin with CNN's Chris Crates live in Springfield, Ohio. Chris?
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Well, Donald Trump returns to battleground Ohio where the last couple of polls have showed him tide with Hillary Clinton. He starts the day here in Springfield Ohio, that's between Dayton and Columbus, and it's a town that's really been hurting over the last 15 years. Its median income has dropped more than 25 percent. That's the biggest drop in the country, and only 15 percent of adults here have a college education, so this really should be prime Trump country, and he's hoping that his message motivates voters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRATES: With only 12 days until the election, a new national poll shows the race tightening. And now more battleground states are up for grabs. Hillary Clinton in a dead heat with Trump in Nevada as Trump now edges out in the must-win state of Florida.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really think that we're going to have a tremendous victory. I believe we're winning. I actually think we're winning.
FRATES: Trump says he will invest millions more into his campaign. The billionaire so far has spent $56 million of his own money.
TRUMP: Let me just tell you that we have -- I'll have over $100 million in the campaign. FRATES: A source telling CNN that earlier this RNC Chairman Reince
Priebus asked Trump to put more money into his campaign to help compete with Clinton's advertising blitz. The source said Trump did not listen.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is taking time off the campaign trail to officially open the hotel.
FRATES: Meanwhile, Clinton is blasting Trump for stepping off the campaign trail to advance his business empire.
CLINTON: Donald Trump is the poster boy for everything wrong with our economy. The facts show he has stiffed American workers, he has stiffed American businesses.
FRATES: After opening a new hotel just blocks from the White House, the billionaire got back to campaigning with two rallies in North Carolina. Trump hitting back at Clinton, attacking her stamina.
TRUMP: Here's a woman, she makes a speech for 15 minutes, she goes home and goes to bed. She has less energy than Jeb Bush.
FRATES: And getting upset when CNN's Dana Bash asked him about the hotel stop.
TRUMP: For you to ask me that question is actually very insulting because Hillary does one stop and then goes home and sleeps, and yet you'll ask me that question. I think it's a very rude question, to be honest with you.
FRATES: And doubling down in an interview with ABC bringing up Clinton's attending an Adele concert in Miami.
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton goes to see an Adele concert last night and everybody says oh, wasn't that nice, isn't that wonderful. I have stopped -- I did eight stops yesterday, three major rallies.
FRATES: Adele wasn't the only star to help Clinton ring in her 69th birthday.
(SINGING)
FRATES: Stevie Wonder serenaded Clinton on a radio show.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRATES: Now, to get a sense of just how important Ohio is to the Trump campaign, just take a look at how often he's been here, more than any other state. Twelve visits, 21 events. And that continues today. It starts here in Springfield. Then he goes to Toledo, on to Geneva. But he's not the only politician in the buckeye state today. Tim Kaine also campaigning here. Meanwhile his running mate, Hillary Clinton, in another swing state. She's in North Carolina with Michelle Obama, Chris.
CUOMO: Chris Frates, I like that it's raining behind you but you stay dry. Very strong.
All right, so here's a question for you. How do you think things are going in the country? Got an answer. This CNN/ORC polling shows a majority of Americans believe things are going well. The numbers are higher than they've been in nearly a decade. Why? What does it mean to the race? CNN's Michelle Kosinski has that for us at the White House. Michelle?
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So what do we see here? And 54 percent of Americans say yes, things in this country are going well. And if just over half doesn't exactly impress and excite you, consider that that is the highest this number has been during the entire time President Obama has been in office. You look at that number, just at the beginning of this year it was only 42 percent.
But what has also made headlines lately is that when polls ask people do you think America is headed in the right direction, a good two- thirds of them, at least, tend to say no. So Americans think things are going well right now. They don't necessarily think that will continue into the future. Part of that could be because of gridlock in Congress or the upcoming election.
[08:05:00] But what President Obama can be pleased about right now are his approval numbers, 55 percent. Again, that's not that much more than half, but it's at the end of his presidency people get tired. And that's reaching Bill Clinton's numbers. I mean, he had 57 percent this time in his presidency. Reagan had 51 percent and George W. Bush 27 percent.
Now, who hasn't experienced great favorability numbers lately? Hillary Clinton. Polls lately show them at new lows. So her campaign is loving that President Obama has been out and on the trail a lot lately. So has the first lady. She and the -- Hillary Clinton and the first lady will appear not apart today in North Carolina, but together. Alisyn?
CAMEROTA: OK, Michelle, thanks so much for all of that.
So how does this right direction sentiment impact the 2016 race? Let's discuss this and more with CNN political commentators Ana Navarro and Scottie Nell Hughes. Ladies, great to see you. Ana I am bewildered by this finding. In this divisive race, after all this toxicity, more than 50 percent of respondents think the country is going in the right direction. To what do we attribute this?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think they're compartmentalizing. I think they put things in different compartments. It probably is a coping mechanism by Americans. Look, if you are completely absolutely absorbed by nothing but the election, as we are, you're probably in need of therapy right now. So you've got to be able to look past what's in your tube, what you're watching daily on the election, and focus on some of the other aspects in America. I think they're putting things into little boxes. I think they're putting things into compartments, and I agree. Let's all cope and figure out how we get through the next 12 days. CAMEROTA: This is the highest rating that people have given the
direction of the country since 2007, and I agree we will get through this. We will come through this.
NAVARRO: You promise me?
CAMEROTA: I promise you we will get through this. But for your candidate, Scottie, Donald Trump, who says, you know, this is the change election, that he is going to make the country great again, is that a complicating factor?
SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, God bless an election year. Usually it gets better for the party that wants to stay in power as it gets closer to the election. We saw that in 2008 -- well, it was bad in 2008, but we saw in 2012. But the truth is people have memory and they remember just even a year ago 75 percent of all Americans according to that same CNN poll were dissatisfied with what life was.
All politics are local. Right now when you go to the gas pump your gas prices are low because of oil. And generally I think people are in a very happy mood, maybe because we're about to be done with this election. But the truth is we have a 1.5 percent GDP growth. That is -- most presidents at this term usually have three percent to four percent. So people are still suffering. Credit card debt is obviously on the increase. And the latest news of Obamacare with the 25 percent on average going up, that does not fend well for the person in office.
CAMEROTA: Good job reminding people why they should be miserable.
NAVARRO: Debbie downer.
CAMEROTA: Lest a little optimism sneak in to the national conversation. But in any event, things have shifted in just the past 24 hours. So much so that in two battleground states, Florida and Nevada, they are now neck and neck. And they have forced CNN to change its battleground map, now putting six states in the battleground category. What do you think is going on, Ana, in Nevada and Florida and elsewhere?
NAVARRO: Well, you know, I am from Florida. I think what's going on is that we haven't seen Donald Trump on a debate stage in 11 days. I think what happens is when he doesn't have a huge platform where 80 million people get to see him breathing like Darth Vader and saying something offensive, stupid, or outrageous, people forget that he is a human amoeba, and, you know, they realize and they focus on the flaws of Hillary Clinton, which are numerous. There's this drip, drip of her e-mail campaign scandal, which has not gotten that much attention. It's not getting attention until now because we've been focused on sexual assault and all these other controversies that, frankly, are juicier and shinier to talk about than the e-mail scandal. I think there's a lot more focus on that now.
CAMEROTA: On her on the WikiLeaks stuff. NAVARRO: I think that if Donald Trump went on a golfing trip to
Scotland for the next 12 days, he really might win. Fortunately he's still out there speaking every day, so I count on him to get off his message. I count on him to do what he always does, which is say something ridiculous at one point.
CAMEROTA: OK, well this morning he was on "Good Morning America," and he is speaking out, and again he was talking about the accusers who have come out to accuse him of unwanted advances and sexual assault. So listen to what he told George Stephanopoulos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "People" magazine story that brought forward six --
TRUMP: Why didn't you write the story twelve years ago?
STEPHANOPOULOS: She says she was afraid.
TRUMP: Oh, she was afraid. Give me a break. She was afraid to write it. She would have gotten a Pulitzer Prize. Give me a break.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So all these women, every one we talked to --
TRUMP: They made up stories. You know why? Fame or they wanted to help Clinton or something --
STEPHANOPOULOS: They came out after you denied --
TRUMP: George, let's not waste any more time. These stories were fabricated. They're total lies.
[08:10:01] STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're going to go through with the lawsuit?
TRUMP: We'll find out. Let's see what happens with the election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: He says these women just want fame and he's noncommittal about whether or not he will sue them. How is this message going to go over?
HUGHES: Well, this is great drama for ratings and television, great fodder for people to talk about, but when it comes down to a voting booth and when you're seeing your health insurance premiums go up by 25 percent --
CAMEROTA: You think all of this -- excuse me, you think all of this will be forgotten by voters?
HUGHES: Well, not necessarily forgotten, but I think it's in the background. But I think people when they come down when they're pushing their button, they're not going to push it based on what he said but more important the actions of what he's promising for the future of America. I think that right now, when you are hurting, that's what matters most.
CAMEROTA: What do you think about that Ana?
NAVARRO: I think we -- I think we are at a level of almost being numb to it. I really can't keep track anymore of how many people have come out and accused Donald Trump --
CAMEROTA: At least 11.
NAVARRO: OK, at least 11. But, we are numb. You know, and actually I think it's really interesting, I was thinking about this the other day. Sexual harassment, sexual assault, is the untold story not of this election, of 2016. We saw very powerful, very wealthy, very famous men like Bill Cosby, like Roger Ailes, like Donald Trump, who did this for years and years and years and years. We've seen women who waited decades to come out and tell their stories and were finally compelled to do it because of timing, because they didn't want these men to get away with it. And we saw that Bill Cosby is going to stand trial, Roger Ailes lost his job. We don't know what's going to happen with Donald Trump.
HUGHES: This was an issue in the NFL two years ago.
CAMEROTA: Don't you think that there's a national conversation happening now about it like never before?
HUGHES: Well, I think when it was going on in the NFL I think we saw a huge conversation going on. But what my question is, is, Ana, for the last year I've heard you bash Mr. Trump. Who are you supporting? Who are you supporting? I would love to know that question. We're 13 days out --
NAVARRO: First of all, let me just say this. I haven't been bashing him for the last year. I've been bashing him for the last 19 months. Since June 16th, 2015, when he --
HUGHES: Who are you supporting?
NAVARRO: You want to let me answer or do you just want to continue interrupting me?
HUGHES: Just go on. It's a real simple answer. Who are you supporting?
NAVARRO: I am voting writing in my mom.
HUGHES: Congratulations to mom.
NAVARRO: You know what, it is --
HUGHES: And maybe others too but this l the issue. Right now --
NAVARRO: Let me tell you this --
HUGHES: No, no, no. NAVARRO: Hold on. You interrupted me plenty. Let me tell you this.
I am an American citizen just like you. I may not have been born here. I've got every right to vote my conscience. If my conscience does not allow me to support the Republican or the Democrat, I'm going to write in whoever I want. Maybe it's my mother --
HUGHES: Let's deal with the issue.
NAVARRO: And I have every right to do it. You have no right to question me who I'm going to support, because every single American realizes that they have every right --
HUGHES: If you're going to offer problems --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: Ladies. I've heard you say that fore. But she's not alone. A lot of people feel that they can't support either candidate. What's wrong with that answer?
HUGHES: That's why I said, it's a great -- but I don't know if that's a feasible solution right now. Does that solve the problem with 25 percent increase in health insurance? Does that solve the problem of --
NAVARRO: You already went through those talking points. Can we get a little bit more --
HUGHES: The babies that might be suffering because we appoint prochoice judges on the court. That offers now solutions to the problems Americans are facing. Those are selfish answers, and I respect --
NAVARRO: It's my right to vote for whomever I want. It's my right to make the statement I want to make or not make. If I am voting for the Republican nominee every single time in my lifetime and this year I feel compelled to be repelled and repulsed and rejected by that man it is my right and it is what I will do. And you are nobody to question my choice --
HUGHES: You are not helping --
NAVARRO: No you are -- I'll tell you what I'm doing, I'm not helping the GOP. You're right, because I was a Republican when he was a Democrat. I was a Republican when he was an independent. And I'm going to be a Republican when he gets tired of playing this little game. So none of you, not you who came on the scene just a little bit ago are going to question my Republican veritas and my --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: Guys hold on. Obviously we won't engage in any ad hominem attacks against each other. But listen, she is venting the frustration that a lot of people feel, lifelong Republicans who say that they won't be able to vote for Donald Trump. HUGHES: I respect that. But the majority of them say I don't like
him, but I definitely don't like her. So either, a, I'm going to vote for Donald Trump because I do not support Hillary Clinton, or b, I'm going to be quiet about it and just let things go and sit this election out.
NAVARRO: I don't think so --
(CROSSTALK)
NAVARRO: Barbara Bush is not being quiet. Laura Bush is not being quiet. Meg Whitman is not being quiet.
CAMEROTA: We don't pay Ana to be quiet. We want Ana to bring it on.
NAVARRO: Absolutely.
HUGHES: You don't pay for rudeness either. And that's the probably this past year. More of my energy --
NAVARRO: You support rudeness. You support the most rude, vulgar candidate we've ever had in U.S. history.
CAMEROTA: OK.
NAVARRO: And then you come here and want to apply test to me.
HUGHES: No. I'm wanting to apply the fact that what is better for our country and what is better for moving our country forward and correcting a lot of these problems. I'm not selfish. I actually look at the bigger picture --
[08:15:04] NAVARRO: You're not selfish. You're inconsistent.
HUGHES: I've always been a conservative. I've supported the Republican candidate even if I don't like --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: Guys, we understand you're both Republicans. You come at this from different positions. Thank you very much for sharing your opinions with us this morning.
Let's get over to Chris.
CUOMO: When I think Ana Navarro, I do think nun. I was raised by nuns who remind me a little bit of Ana Navarro.
NAVARRO: Sacred Heart nuns. Did they slap you around?
CUOMO: Everybody slaps me around.
All right. So, a hacked memo reveals that fundraisers for the Clinton Foundation urges donors to steer business to former President Bill Clinton. Now, does that violate some standard? Will it impact the campaign? Going to give you the facts, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: So the fruit of the felony by WikiLeaks is allowing us a window into Clinton world. These e-mails now a memo that show that there was a real conflict going on in there about what was right and wrong when it came to the foundation and fund-raising, and making money.
Let's discuss with CNN political commentator Carl Bernstein.
Carl, I need to catch you up on nothing, because few understand this dynamic better than you.
[08:20:01] What is your read on what this memo from Doug Band and other e-mails released reveal?
CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That there is huge conflict around the Clintons about what was permissible, and looked good, and what wasn't and looked bad. And now what we have is another leak that looked very bad, particularly in terms of Bill Clinton and the foundation. It ought to be considered in light of all of the work that the foundation does.
And at the same time, there is no question that the Clintons have used the Clinton Foundation as the spring board to increasing their own wealth. Is that illegal? Is that wrong? Not necessarily. Does it look sleazy sometimes? Yes it does. And this is one of them.
CAMEROTA: Carl, let's talk about that. What makes it wrong? When people say sleazy or unseemly, why is it wrong for Doug Band who is a longtime Clinton aide and adviser to simultaneously be raising money for the Clinton Foundation, as well as securing big paydays for Bill Clinton?
BERNSTEIN: I'm not saying it's wrong. All I'm saying is it's clear that the Clinton foundation springboard, including whilst Hillary Clinton was secretary of state to increase the Clintons' wealth. And it's not necessarily wrong.
I think Ana Navarro said some very interesting things a minute ago about where we are in this election, and what these WikiLeaks mean. There is a small possibility that Donald Trump could win this election through a confluence of events, a perfect storm -- very unlikely -- but it would involve the WikiLeaks and more revelations like this, and a growing sense among people in the country that they don't want the Clintons in the White House anymore.
But it would also have to be combined with the Obamacare implosion, with Trump really getting on message about the Clintons, and not about his sexuality, and get behind this.
Obama is running at 55 percent favorability. He's a huge help to Hillary Clinton. I think we need to look at the whole picture here, and also the WikiLeaks also reveal Hillary Clinton as what I found out when I did my biography of her as a mind conservative and a heart liberal. It's a very nuanced picture in some ways that we get of Hillary
Clinton. Smart, yes. Too clever by half? Yes. Trying to make money? Yes. Telling some people one thing and others another? Yes. And at the same time, being pretty good on the issues, and understanding them in a way that Donald Trump doesn't.
I think the election is coming together for us, the WikiLeaks story is a big part of it at this point and it is the only hope, I think, that Donald Trump has of winning if there are more revelations.
CUOMO: Carl, where you are right now, where we both call home, it's kind of a laboratory for what's going on in this election. People have very negative views about Hillary Clinton. But it seems as though she might be saved by Trump. Because even though we're seeing lot of signs out there that say Trump/Pence on them, seems like they're reluctant to see him as capable or in any way superior to her, even when it comes to character. What's your read on that?
BERNSTEIN: Well, first of all, I'm not sure where you are and I are is necessarily where the country is.
I get around the country a lot. And the country is really restive if we're going to generalize. The country is repelled by both of these candidates, if we're going to look at most people.
And at the same time, there is a real hunger in this country for a different kind of leadership than either of these candidates are putting forth.
And at the same time the message that we hear that's getting through is about people hurting. That great numbers of our citizens are hurting. And have been for 20 and 25 years. A lot of them are white. And feel neglected.
And this is a phenomenon that is playing out in this election. We don't know how it's going to be resolved. Could it be enough to push Trump into the White House? I doubt it.
And at the same time, we are going to be dealing with this phenomenon after this election. About people who have been forgotten in this country, Bernie Sanders found them. His message about economic hardship with people in our country, as well as social and emotional isolation, and Trump is on to something here no matter what kind of demagogue, sociopath, pathological liar he is, because all of those things I think are true. But he's also been very smart about exploiting through demagoguery what is going on in the country.
CAMEROTA: Carl Bernstein, always great to get your take on all of this. Thanks for joining us.
[08:25:02] CUOMO: All right. So CNN is updating its electoral map this morning. Is the race tightening? All the numbers are moving.
Is that the same thing? Well, not if it doesn't change the path to 270. We're going to get the bottom line from CNN political director David Chalian, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really think that we're going to have a tremendous victory. And you know what, if I didn't think that I wouldn't say it. I'd say well, we're going to be fighting hard. But I believe we're winning. I actually think we're winning. I don't think it's a question of we're going to try to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: OK. So, that was Donald Trump saying that he's going to win the election in twelve days. But there's this flurry of new polls that show both Trump and Hillary Clinton making gains in the polls. CNN, in fact, has updated its electoral map this morning turning Florida and Nevada from leaning Democratic to now toss-up states.
Let's get the bottom line on all of these maps, and numbers, from CNN political director David Chalian.
Good morning, David.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: What's the back story on why CNN changed its electoral map to including now all of these more toss-ups?
CHALIAN: Well, the way we always assess the state of play is looking at sort of advertising budgets, where they are putting those raised dollars on the air to try to convince voters.
