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Plane Carrying Mike Pence Skids off NYC Runway; Trump: Cancel the Election, Declare Me the Winner; Trump Claims Evidence of Voter Fraud in Texas; Marco Rubio Dodges Questions about Trump. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired October 28, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop, stop. We have an emergency in the airport.

[05:58:36] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The plane skidded off the runway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It felt like the brakes were being slammed on.

TRUMP: I just spoke to Mike Pence, and he's fine.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: You want a president who takes this job seriously.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Is there anyone more inspiring than Michelle Obama?

TRUMP: The elites in government believe they're entitled to do whatever they want.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will Donald Trump keep the country safe?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: The military is what keeps us safe.

TRUMP: We should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right?

CLINTON: No. We demand the right to vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. it is Friday, October 28, 6 a.m. in the east. And we do begin with breaking news. The NTSB investigating a near disaster here in New York.

A charter plane carrying Donald Trump's running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, skidding off a runway during a rainstorm at LaGuardia Airport last night. The plane coming to a stop just yards from a busy highway. And this morning, people are wondering if this safety measure in place that we'll tell you about didn't avert the disaster.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: So Republican V.P. nominee, we need to tell you, Mike Pence and 47 others on board were not hurt, we're happy to report. CNN's Deb Feyerick is live at LaGuardia Airport with all the breaking details. What have you learned, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're learning, Alisyn, is that about 4 a.m. this morning a tow truck came, and they removed the airplane that was on this runway. They're trying to reopen that runway. You've got crews that are working there.

We're just feet from the highway where that plane could have skidded, had that blocker not been in position. So, crews are working very assiduously, basically, to try to get this runway back on track. Right now, the NTSB on its way to find out exactly what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have an emergency in the airport.

FEYERICK (voice-over): A frightening experience for Donald Trump's running mate, Mike Pence. Flying in from Fort Dodge, Iowa, the Trump campaign charter plane carrying the Indiana governor skidding off the runway upon landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

ELIZABETH LANDERS, CNN PRODUCER (via phone): We were moving down the runway much more quickly than a plane should be going if it's landing.

FEYERICK: Investigators will be looking at a variety of factors, including weather. One law enforcement source telling CNN it appears Pence's plane came in too fast and landed too late on a rain-soaked runway. The plane was slowed thanked to cement blocks installed at the end of the runway, preventing the plane from careening onto a major highway.

PATRICK FOYE, PORT AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: The plane ended up in the arrester bed at the end of the runway, destroyed about 80 arrester bed blocks.

FEYERICK: The plane coming to a stop dangerously close to traffic. A safety layer on the runway torn up avoiding a catastrophe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eastern, stop, stop. Eastern. Go around, go around, go around JetBlue 1640.

FEYERICK: Audio from the air traffic control tower capturing the tense moments, with crews arriving on scene within one minute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eastern Jet 3452, we're getting help for you.

FEYERICK: Officials say Pence was reassured by flashing lights upon exiting the plane. Later tweeting, "So thankful everyone on our plane is safe."

Trump reacting to the scare at a rally.

TRUMP: But I just spoke to Mike Pence, and he's fine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Now, there was no damage to the aircraft and the people who were onboard, including 37 passengers, aides, Secret Service, members of the press corps. All of them were able to get off the plane without too much chaos. It wasn't an emergency evacuation.

We do know that, despite the rain, the braking classification was considered good, which is the highest classification. So, NTSB expected to arrive about 7:30. They're going to be looking at not only the weather conditions but questioning the pilots to determine exactly why that plane overshot that runway and had to brake as hard as it did -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Deb. Thanks so much for all that reporting.

And joining us now CNN video producer Elizabeth Landers. She was on Pence's plane when it lost control; as well as Mary Schiavo, CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Ladies, great to have you.

Elizabeth, tell us. What did it feel like when this was happening? How long did it last? Just describe the scene.

LANDERS: Well, we came into LaGuardia last night, and we could feel the turbulence as we were descending into New York City. And we actually had a ground stop earlier in the day in Iowa, which is where we were flying from.

CAMEROTA: And they told you it was because of bad weather.

LANDERS: They told us it was because of bad weather. Exactly.

So we came into New York. Turbulence for about 20 minutes coming into LaGuardia into the New York area.

CAMEROTA: How bad?

LANDERS: Not too bad, not you know, grabbing the side of the chair, but steady turbulence coming in. We landed, and it was a hard landing as soon as the wheels hit. And then, for about 20 or 30 seconds afterwards, the plane continued going down the tarmac, and the plane was not in control.

I could feel the back of the plane, which is where the press sits, sort of fishtailing a little bit back and forth; and, also, the brakes seem to be skidding. So, the plane was not slowing down.

CAMEROTA: And what -- what was everybody saying? What was happening in the back of the plane, the press area?

LANDERS: Well, I think as it was happening, we didn't fully realize sort of how bad it was going to be. But I was grabbing, you know, the side of the chair going, "Oh, my God, this does not feel like the plane is slowing down or stopping." CAMEROTA: And so then, what -- did you realize that you had run off

the runway? When did you realize that it wasn't stopping and that you were headed for possibly disaster?

LANDERS: After about 20 or 30 seconds, the plane did come to a complete halt in a pretty quick stop there. And we didn't realize that we were off the runway, because it was dark outside and we couldn't see.

So after the plane stopped, Secret Service springs up immediately to make sure Governor Pence is OK and after, you know, a couple seconds, maybe a minute, Governor Pence actually came to the back of the plane and said, "Is everyone OK?" Checked in with the press. And then he said, "There was mud on my window up front." So at that point, we realized we're probably not on a tarmac any more. We had run into the grass.

CAMEROTA: Mary, what do you think happened here?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, it's never just one thing. And it's a good thing the NTSB is on scene to sort it out. But the NTSB will looking -- will be looking at the air speed as the plane was coming in. Was it going too fast? Did they have a tail wind? Did they set the flaps, the spoilers and the flaps at the correct settings? And did the thrust reversers and brakes work?

So there are a lot of things that the NTSB is looking at. It's not just a simple skidding of the plane. And this is the most prevalent cause of an air accident in the world. Runway overruns, or going off the side of the runway. So lots to look at here.

[06:05:11] CAMEROTA: But Mary, is it more complicated when a plane lands in a rainstorm?

SCHIAVO: It's always more complicated. Landing and takeoff are, by themselves in sunny weather, the hardest part of flight. But landing in a rainstorm, particularly with a tailwind, on a 7,000-foot runway -- that's kind of short, as the rest of the -- as the big modern airports go. That's tricky even for -- even for a good pilot. Particularly with this much rain. The planes sometimes have what they call a scrubbing action, and the wheels just don't get traction. And it's like your car skidding in a rainstorm.

CAMEROTA: Well, that's what makes me nervous here to hear about that, because planes land all the time in rainstorms; and we're sort of assured that it's fine. But then to hear Elizabeth saying that it was fishtailing just like your car. I mean, just explain to us how a 100- ton plan cannot get purchase on that runway?

SCHIAVO: Well, you know, and runways have really evolved over the years. The runways have grooves in them. They are, of course, angled so the water runs off of the runway.

But as we saw Governor Pence standing in the rain, it was really coming down. And there are times on runways, literally the best runways in the country -- and this one is short -- but there are times when it simply doesn't go off the runway fast enough. The rain just has to drain away. There's no system. There's not grates under the runway that quick drain the water away. It has to just get off the runway.

But they are grooved to help this, and aircraft have anti-skid systems. And the NTSB will be looking why it didn't -- didn't work in this case. And it's very much like your car anti-lock braking system. It's on planes and has been for some time.

This is a newer plane, 1998 aircraft. So it had all the modern equipment of a modern 737. But that's what's on there to stop it, and it didn't work.

CAMEROTA: So Elizabeth, when everything settled down, you did come to the stop. You sort of looked around, and you all were getting off the plane. Then what did you see?

LANDERS: When we got off the plane, I think that's also when we realized that this was a rescue situation. And the Secret Service said there is a rescue team on the way. And I came to the back door where we typically deplane, and there's fire and rescue. I mean, firefighters looked on the runway, several firetrucks, dozens of other rescue vehicles.

CAMEROTA: And then did you realize that it was bigger than what you might have felt?

LANDERS: Definitely, yes. Definitely. I mean, we came down off the stairs, and also, at that point when we came down off the stairs, I could see on the tarmac where the wheels and the concrete had buckled there.

CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about that, Mary. Because when we look at the tarmac there, you see that the cement has buckled them. We understand there is something called arrester beds? Was it designed to buckle like that?

SCHIAVO: Exactly. It's called an AMASS system, and it took a number of years to develop. They're not really too expensive, $3 million to $6 million to put in. But they're required, especially at airports like LaGuardia, Midway, Burbank. All those airports have had runway overruns before. Some fatal.

And these, best to think of these as big boxes of cement with sand in the middle. And the boxes are supposed to crumple so the airplane wheels go into them and crumple down and to keep you from going into traffic like at Midway or off the end of Runway 22 here, or into Flushing Bay. And they have saved an amazing number of lives since they've been required by the FAA and around the world. Airports around the world have them.

CAMEROTA: And in fact, that was the case here, because there is a major thoroughfare, a major runway yards away from that runway. And so it actually could have been worse.

Mary, thank you for all the information. Elizabeth, we're so happy that you're safe. Thanks so much for sharing the story with us, as well as Governor Pence. Thank you.

Let's get to Chris.

CUOMO: There's also water all over those runways, too. And you know, we know how planes do there.

We're going to talk more this morning about those engineered material arresting systems and what it may have made happen in this situation.

All right, to the presidential race more specifically. We only have 11 days now. Donald Trump finding a new way to step on his own message, suggesting we should cancel and declare him the winner.

On the other side of the ball, first lady Michelle Obama with a new and strong message for why voters must not be intimidated. Plus, we have new numbers on how both candidates are faring with fund-raising in the final stretch of this race.

CNN's Jason Carroll has it all for us. Good morning, my friend.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you.

A lot of new numbers. Trump has said over and over that, when all is said and done, he will have spent some $100 million of his own money, but recent spending just does not bear that out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: We should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right?

CARROLL (voice-over): Donald Trump reigniting his unsubstantiated claims of a rigged election.

TRUMP: You look at Texas, a lot of calls were made from Texas. An incredible place. I love Texas. The lines are massive; and they were talking about flipping, you know, where they press a button, and they press it for me and another name comes up. Named Crooked Hillary Clinton.

[06:10:11] BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Do we have any data on that? Do we have any facts on that? You know, anybody can put a...

TRUMP: No, they just call in. No, they call in.

CARROLL: Texas officials deny any voter fraud issues as new campaign finance reports show Trump drastically slowing the flow of his own money to his campaign, after vowing to pump millions more into it.

TRUMP: I'll have over $100 million in the campaign.

CARROLL: Filings show the billionaire only put in $30,000 this month after consistently investing $2 million in previous months. Hillary Clinton, nearly doubling Trump's fund-raising haul in October.

On the stump in Ohio, Trump slamming the Clintons after hacked e-mails reveal how much Bill Clinton made off lucrative speeches and ties to his foundation's fund-raisers.

TRUMP: If the Clintons were willing to play this fast and loose with their enterprise when they weren't in the White House, just imagine what they'll do given the chance to, once again, control the Oval Office.

CARROLL: The Clinton campaign saying in a statement that she "never made decisions because of donations to the Clinton foundation. None of the relationships being reported today are new."

Meanwhile, Trump suggesting he might sue NBC over the release of that 2005 "Access Hollywood" of him making lewd remarks about women.

TRUMP: I think it was very negative. It was locker-room talk. The microphone was not supposed to be on. Not that I make that as an excuse for myself, but, certainly, it was an illegal act.

O'REILLY: Are you going to take any action after the election against NBC?

TRUMP: You'll see. You'll see.

CARROLL: A sharp contrast to Clinton and the first lady joining forces in the battleground state of North Carolina.

OBAMA: Hillary doesn't play.

CLINTON: Seriously, is there anyone more inspiring than Michelle Obama?

CARROLL: The duo casting Trump's campaign as a war on women.

CLINTON: Dignity and respect for women and girls is also on the ballot in this election.

CARROLL: And condemning Trump's claim of a rigged election.

OBAMA: They are trying to get you to stay home. They are trying to convince you that your vote doesn't matter. They are trying to take away your hope. (END VIDEOTAPE

CARROLL: Trump still stumbling in his effort to reach African- Americans. He referred to urban areas as "ghettos" in his speech last night.

Trump, for his part, making three stops in New Hampshire, Maine and Ohio -- and Iowa. Clinton making two stops today in Iowa. The president will be campaigning for Clinton in Florida.

CUOMO: Appreciate it, Jason. Thank you very much.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, Jason.

All right. The Trump campaign pulling out all the stops. There's a new report about his team trying to win the election by getting Clinton supporters to stay home. Could that strategy work It sounds like it. We're digging deeper on that, next.

CUOMO: Try that with me all the time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:16:56] TRUMP: The elites in government, like Hillary Clinton, believe they're entitled to do whatever they want.

She lives the high life at your expense, making money off the rigged system. And it is a rigged system. Are you starting to agree with me about the rigged system?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: And as Trump always says, no one knows it's rigged better than him, because he fully participated in it.

So now he's claiming that votes are being flipped against him in Texas. Election officials in that state of the GOP say that's not true. Let's discuss with CNN Politics executive editor Mark Preston; "Washington Post" reporter Abby Philip; and CNN political analyst and national political reporter for Real Clear Politics, Rebecca Berg. Good to have you all here.

Is there any line that Trump is worried about crossing? You have Republican secretary of state saying what he's saying about vote flipping is not true. You have the local people in both counties where he's alleging this happens saying it's not true.

CAMEROTA: But hold on one second. There's a voter in this county who says it is true.

CUOMO: Right. And then they checked the claim, and they said it was wrong. She's doing it on Facebook.

CAMEROTA: Let me read to you what she said on Facebook and why she thinks her vote was flipped. This is a voter named Lisa Hewlett. She says, "Gary and I went to early vote today. I voted a straight Republican ticket, and as I scrolled to submit my ballot, I noticed the Republican straight ticket was highlighted. However, the Clinton/Kaine box was also highlighted. I tried to go back and change it. I could not get it to work. I asked for help from one of the workers, and she couldn't get it to work either. It took a second election person to get the machine to where I could correct the vote to a straight ticket. Be careful and double check your selections before you cast your vote. Don't hesitate to ask for help. I had to have help to get mine changed."

That's her story, and Donald Trump has fastened on it.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: OK, right. So a couple of things. One is the difference between a malfunction on a machine, which you're going to see happen, and we're going to see this happen time and time again over the next week. CUOMO: Especially on touchscreen machines that have a history of

recalibration necessary.

PRESTON: Right.

CUOMO: And that's all it is, is a recalibration.

PRESTON: However, when you talk about...

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Big words.

CAMEROTA: If they're trying to calculate it for the Democrats, I mean that's...

CUOMO: No, no, no. Is that in the moment, they can deal with this with machines. It's part of the technology glitches that they deal with on a regular basis. And he didn't fasten on the one voter. He said he keeps hearing that it's happening.

CAMEROTA: But he based it on this. OK, one technology glitch.

PRESTON: And he uses -- he uses words, explosive words like "rigged." The election is rigged. It's not rigged.

CUOMO: Lots of...

PRESTON: Right. There's a pattern of this going on all around the country. The establishment, the Republican establishment and the media are in collusion. When you do stuff like that, when you're talking about the election like that, he's absolutely wrong. Studies show it. We absolutely know that. Are there going to be problems? Absolutely there will be problems.

CAMEROTA: Abby, in fact, the administrator, who is in charge of that district in that county, Shannon Lackey, in Randall County, Texas, says, "Absolutely not. It is not happening in any way, shape or form. I stand 100 percent behind what I do. I stand behind my machines, my staff."

CUOMO: Remember what party's in charge down there.

ABBY PHILIP, CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, at the same time, everybody knows that, when you undermine elections, it undermines the entire system. And so for Trump to come out and say everything is rigged because of the potential of user error or an individual machine having -- needing recalibration, I think, is something that worries Republicans and Democrats, because they are the ones.

Elections in this country are run by local officials. And so if you're in a Republican state, your elections are going to be run by a Republican. And so Trump has to decide whether he thinks the entire thing is rigged or just the part that -- that he doesn't like. CUOMO: And Rebecca, he knows that, if he can get just one of us to

say, you know, something about some unvetted Facebook account and say that, "Wow, this is something we have to look at," then he could really get people in there. Sorry, my neck hurts. I was fighting...

REBECCA BERG, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's why what Trump is saying is so dangerous to the whole democratic system, because if one thing goes wrong in one precinct, no sort of rigging, just a mistake or some kind of machine malfunction, then it does cast this doubt over the whole process.

And it also gives, you know, people like Vladimir Putin, who's trying to make it look like our election is not above board for his own political purposes. It gives him an opportunity to come out and say, "Well, look, the U.S. democratic system is not working properly. It's not -- it's not actually democratic."

CAMEROTA: I think it's sort of interesting to see how conspiracy theories start.

CUOMO: Like this.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely.

CUOMO: Well done.

CAMEROTA: I think it's important to let the viewers know what he's referring to. And this is the moment that was retweeted or whatever, shared, 10,000 times. This is the seed that then, you know, gets spread, and then it plants the seed of doubt.

PHILIP: If there are problems, they should be fixed. I mean, that's pretty clear.

CUOMO: There will be problems.

PHILIP: There will be problems.

CUOMO: It's about scale.

PHILIP: But it's about...

CUOMO: It's about scale and scope and what he does with this information. He didn't say there's just one lady.

All right. So let's move on to something else. Money. I got an e- mail from the campaign, saying if I give now for Trump, he'll triple the amount that I give him. I'll tell you, it was a very compelling one. Very compelling. I gave nothing. However, Mrs. Cuomo, it turns out, gave $15,000. So that's the solicitation. Is that if you give, he'll triple it up.

But when we know the numbers, Mark, he didn't -- he matched, like, less than a third of the number that came in, as opposed to tripling it. Here's the number up on the screen right now. Help -- help us understand this. Why isn't he dumping more in? Forget about whether he delivered on the promise of the e-mail. This is politics. But why isn't he dumping all this money he says he has now to get what he says he wants most?

PRESTON: Right, $64,000 question. And even to add to that, he told Dana Bash a couple days ago that he was going to put $100 million into this campaign, and we're seeing that he's only put in less than $60,000 -- excuse me, $60 million, which to him would be $60,000 to most people, right?

But the bottom line is that means he would have to drop in another $40 million in the next couple of weeks. He's never wanted to spend his money on this campaign. He has said time and time again, "I'm going to self-fund. I'm going to self-fund." But what did he do? He went out and raised money, which is fine. That's -- that's what the process is. But Trump has been notorious in his public life and his private life of being very, like, a skinflint; doesn't like to spend his money.

CAMEROTA: But he claims $56 million to her $1 million. I mean, look at how much more, when you look at those graphics, how much more he's put in. I understand that it's not self-funded.

PRESTON: She never said, though -- and I'm not defending Hillary Clinton. She never said, "I'm self-funding my campaign. I'm not beholden to the special interests." Hillary Clinton, she never said that. He said that.

CUOMO: I just don't get why, Abby. We talked about this once before. It still just puzzles my mind. If he has cash on hand, like he says he does, what matters to him more right now than getting this done and doing everything he can to make it happen.

PHILIP: Well, you know, yesterday there were some revelations that, within the Trump campaign, they realize that they are down and that this is going to be tough for them. I think if Donald Trump is looking at the situation, he's wondering, "How much can I put in that will make enough of a difference that it would put me over the top?" And maybe he's determined it's not enough. Maybe there's not enough money that he can put in at this stage to make a difference right now, given where he is.

CAMEROTA: Panel, thank you very much. Great to talk to you.

So, Marco Rubio, of course, supporting Donald Trump. But he's not exactly praising Trump or even defending him. Is that a winning strategy to get re-elected to the Senate? We take a look at that race, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:27:53] CUOMO: You've been seeing an interesting struggle in the GOP, conscience versus convenience. You see it with Marco Rubio, obviously, running for Senate re-election down in Florida. He's been dodging questions about whether Trump would keep the country safe as president and whether Trump is a role model for children. Rubio is trying to help Republicans keep control of the Senate by

running in Florida. Democrats just made an 11th-hour move, hoping to crush his chances. What is the state of play? CNN senior political reporter Manu Raju live in Naples, Florida.

What a sticky wicket you have down there.

MANU RAJU, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Chris. Remember when Marco Rubio was running for president, he made very clear that he was going to be a private citizen come January and not run for re- election if he didn't win the White House. But that all changed when Republican leaders came to him and said, "You're the only one who can keep this seat in our party's hands."

Now Marco Rubio is the favorite to win re-election, but this environment got a lot trickier because of Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU (voice-over): Marco Rubio running for re-election in Florida in an awkward spot on Donald Trump. Supporting his candidacy but refusing to even say that Trump would keep the country safe.

(on camera): How confident are you that Donald Trump would be a good commander in chief and keep this country safe? Do you think that he can?

RUBIO: Well, I have deep concerns about Hillary Clinton.

RAJU: But would Donald Trump keep the country safe?

RUBIO: Again, the military is what keeps us safe. And we have to rebuild our military.

RAJU (voice-over): He also would not say if Trump could be considered a role model for his four children.

RUBIO: Like most Americans, you know, people look at this and say, "These are not ideal choices." But that's why one of the reasons I ran for Senate, because I know that, no matter who wins, we're going to have a strong Senate.

RAJU: Rubio faces a dilemma that's confronting Senate GOP candidates across the country. They need the support of Trump backers to win re- election and also to win over voters who feel alienated by the GOP nominee.

Yet, if Trump gets blown out by Clinton, it would dramatically improve the chances of a Democratic Senate takeover. Recent polls in Florida make that case. One found Clinton ahead of Trump and Rubio barely leading his Democratic challenger, Congressman Patrick Murphy.

A separate poll had Trump ahead and Rubio winning re-election by ten points.