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New Day
Trump on Canceling the Election; Voter Fraud in Texas; Interview with Sen. Claire McCaskill. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired October 28, 2016 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:31:06] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for the five things to know for your new day, the seated version.
Number one, the NTSB is investigating why a charter plane carrying Republican VP nominee Mike Pence and 47 other people skidded off the runway at LaGuardia Airport last night. Luckily no one was hurt.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump telling his supporters the election should be canceled. He should be declared the winner. Meantime, Hillary Clinton campaigned for the first time with Michelle Obama.
CAMEROTA: A University of Wisconsin student charged with sexually assaulting five women. Authorities say 20-year-old Alec Cook kept notebooks documenting what he was doing to the women he was stalking.
CUOMO: A jury awarding a California woman more than $70 million in her lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson. She says the company's use of talc in its baby powder caused her to contract ovarian cancer.
CAMEROTA: The Philippines new president, Rodrigo Duterte, says he's promised God that he will stop swearing. The bombastic leader says the Lord spoke to him on his return trip to Japan, threatening to bring the plane down if he did not stop using foul language. Duterte raised eyebrows for using vulgar language towards world leaders, including President Obama.
CUOMO: Thoughts?
CAMEROTA: God cannot be happy with your language either.
For more on the five things to know, go to newdaycnn.com for the latest.
CUOMO: I was going a different direction with that.
CAMEROTA: I know you were.
CUOMO: I was saying, talking to God, good thing. God talking back to you -
CAMEROTA: I don't know about that. A lot of people talk to God on planes, as he did.
CUOMO: Do they answer?
CAMEROTA: I don't know. Perhaps.
CUOMO: All right, we're counting down to Election Day, but Donald Trump thinks we should just end the drama now. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right? What do we even have elections (ph)? What are we having it? Her policies are so bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: It's all part of his overall case that the election is rigged, especially if he loses. He says that's the case. There are some revelations, though, from WikiLeaks that are also stirring the pot here. Voters may be starting to take Trump's claims seriously.
Joining us now is Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill from Missouri. She's a Clinton supporter.
Make the case that Donald Trump is trying to rig/suppress your vote for Clinton. How?
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: Well, as usual, Donald Trump is fact free. The notion that the most resilient and admired democracy in the world is now subject to election rigging is preposterous. People need to understand that our election process is decentralized. It's controlled by local Republican and Democratic elected officials all over this country, individually in counties and states. Frankly, it would be impossible to rig an election in the United States of America.
So Donald Trump is doing what he does best. He is whining. He is making excuses. He is, frankly, running down the United States of America in a way that hurts our democracy and is very unpatriotic.
CUOMO: But he is giving voice to something that, one, a lot of people would like to believe, whether or not it's true, and, two, plays to your candidate's disadvantage, and that is, the system. It's all interconnected and intertwined, whether it's what's going on with Washington insiders, like you McCaskill, or the media, like Alisyn Camerota, or other people who are conspiring to take away their power. People believe it. Donald Trump gives voice to it. And Hillary Clinton is an example of that system and the status quo. Effective politics makes it OK?
MCCASKILL: No, I don't think so. And I get it, that people want change. But let's be realistic about what change can happen with a guy like Donald Trump. I mean this is somebody who doesn't talk to anybody but himself. He doesn't listen to others. He's not thoughtful. He's not even interested in understanding the complex public policy and the problems that confront our country. [08:35:03] On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has a record of working
across the aisle, of actually getting things done, of not giving up, of continuing to fight for the things that Americans really care about. So I really think that Donald Trump is so disappointing because we've never had a candidate for president in my lifetime that has failed to inspire, and that has instead spent most of his campaign making things up, not telling the truth, and frankly running our country down and our military down.
CUOMO: But you have two candidates in this race who are wildly unpopular, especially where integrity is involved. How do you make the case to people who come up to you and say, look, I don't like what Trump says, but I don't like what Clinton does. Look at these WikiLeaks, whether it's the e-mail server, or these memos that show that when it comes to the foundation, the government role, and their pocket, there's too much threading across all of these, that there's stink there. What do you say?
MCCASKILL: Well, I - I get perception, but I think it's important to stay focused on reality. The reality is that the Clinton Foundation has done incredible work around the globe and gets very high scores from independent watchdogs on charitable organizations. On the other hand, the Trump Foundation has paid off his legal bills, has engaged in illegal payments to candidates, and, frankly, all you need to know is they bought a six foot portrait of Donald Trump. I think those two comparisons turn out pretty well for the Clinton Foundation. And on top of that, Chris, the State Department has said over and over again that Hillary Clinton never took into account any activities of the Clinton Foundation when she was acting on behalf of the United States of America.
CUOMO: It looks bad. She recognized that during the confirmation process for secretary of state. She said that she would do something to make sure that there was not a semblance of impropriety. Didn't seem to have worked. Why don't they just get out of that foundation business, leave it to the Red Cross and Catholic Charities and everybody else who does that work and keep this idea of conflict clean, especially if she is to win this election and become president?
MCCASKILL: Well, certainly the transparency is there. They list all their donors, unlike many other foundations. Obviously their finances have been an open book for decades, both with their personal financial disclosures and their tax returns. That - and also they're taking additional steps. But at the end of the day, they're doing incredible work. They're helping people - countries cure malaria. They're helping women across the world in terms of starting businesses. They are doing great work. And I think it's hard for them to give up the charitable work that is what the foundation is really all about.
CUOMO: Senator Claire McCaskill, thank you very much for making the case for Clinton here on NEW DAY.
MCCASKILL: You bet.
CUOMO: Have a good weekend
MCCASKILL: Thank you. You, too.
CUOMO: Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: OK, so is there a real effort on either side to suppress the vote and could that even work? We're going to get "The Bottom Line" on that, next.
CUOMO: And programming note, this Sunday on "Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain," he's going to take a drive through Houston. You're going to get a firsthand look at the must-have food scene. "Parts Unknown," Houston, Sunday night at 9:00 Eastern. Want a taste?
CAMEROTA: Yes.
CUOMO: Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): I wake up in the morning, (INAUDIBLE) last night. Ain't got no time to chill, I got to get my cash right.
ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, "PARTS UNKNOWN": L.A. may have low riders, but Houston has slab. Its own car culture with its own accompanying sound, its own chopped and screwed hip-hop style.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This pretty much like one of the most classic designs of a slab. It's the Cadillac. See, I got the insides custom with the stitching and all that. So, you know, this is a complete slab, you know.
BOURDAIN: Full reclining is the -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Full reclining, yes, sir.
BOURDAIN: You got to -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Laid back there.
BOURDAIN (voice-over): Houston musical artist Slim Thug (ph) and his friends, Phone (ph) and David (ph), called some people to bring their cars over to McGregor Park in the southern part of the city.
BOURDAIN (on camera): If you're going to do it, what do you have to have? What are the rules?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Candy paint. Got to have these type of rims.
BOURDAIN: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The elbow swingers (ph). Fifth wheel and grill is mainly like for slab. That's what make it a complete, you know, and the music, you know how they got the pop trunk with the custom music, you got to have that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:43:31] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: If you look at Texas, a lot of calls were made from Texas, an inedible place. I love Texas and 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 Hillary Clinton.
BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS: But do we have any data on that? Do we have any facts on that? You know, anybody can (INAUDIBLE) -
TRUMP: No, they just call in. No, they call in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Well, that was Donald Trump stoking fears of voter fraud. But Texas' top election official, who is a Republican, refutes that claim 100 percent.
Let's get to "The Bottom Line" with CNN's senior political commentator and former Obama senior advisor, David Axelrod.
Good morning, David.
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, you guys.
CAMEROTA: So what are we to make of where we are with people believing Donald Trump in terms of a rigged election, because, you know, what he does, if he's citing this one isolated incident where a woman posted it -
CUOMO: He' not even citing that incident.
CAMEROTA: He is, but he's jumping off of this incident where this woman on FaceBook talked about how she marked it all down the Republican ticket, straight down the ticket, and then it flipped to Hillary Clinton. And so she - she put it out on FaceBook. It was shared 10,000 times. And he seized on it.
AXELROD: Yes. Well it supports his story line, and his story line is that the election is rigged, that somehow it's going to be taken from him. Even though, as is in the case in Texas, most of the secretaries of state who are Republicans vehemently deny that.
I think the bigger concern he should have about Texas are polls that suggest that he only has a three point lead there, which is kind of stunning given the history of the state. So, you know, I think the greater concern is that Donald Trump is stoking among his supporters a sense of illegitimacy about this process. So once the process is over, you're going to have a group that is not going to accept the result of the election, which is - it's dangerous for democracy, honestly.
[08:45:24] CUOMO: And, look, you even - you even hear it in Mike Pence. And, again, you know, Alisyn and I have been going back and forth about this. If he had said there was this woman on FaceBook and he's what she said, at least he's basing it on something. He says calls are coming in and they're talking - so he's already multiplying it.
CAMEROTA: He exaggerates it.
CUOMO: He's exaggerating it.
CAMEROTA: Right.
CUOMO: He never vetted it. It was vetted by Republican officials and it was found to not be a problem.
CAMEROTA: All true.
CUOMO: And you hear that in Make Pence's, you know, now grudging nod towards what Trump is saying, while then trying to balance back to some form of reality. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, we hope it's isolated. But, look, our elections are administered on the state level by our state governments. We want a victory on Election Day, but we also want a victory for American democracy. And when we're all involved, Republican, Democrats, and independents, to ensure the integrity of the vote, that's good for America.
CAMEROTA: Do you trust the voting process?
PENCE: I think I do very broadly in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: What do you think about the difference in that message, David, from what his running mate is saying?
AXELROD: Well, poor Mike Pence has been in this position throughout. He's - I call him Trump's rationality translator. He takes these things and he tries to - and tries to justify them without bending too far and going too far in the direction that he clearly doesn't believe. He knows that elections are not rigged in this country. And, you know, and there - and it is - and he knows that it's dangerous to suggest otherwise.
But Donald Trump, throughout this campaign, has used this technique well. I'm not saying this, but many people have said -
CUOMO: Right.
AXELROD: And then he offers whatever it is that he wants to say. You know, many people haven't said it. OK, one woman on FaceBook isn't many people. It isn't calls coming in. But it creates its own momentum, these kinds of stories, when they're repeated in this way.
CUOMO: And there were calls that came in to different precincts, and they were investigated, and the machines were dealt with or not dealt with, substantiated or not, and the GOP secretary of state said, everything's fine.
So, on money, I want to get your head on this.
AXELROD: Yes.
CUOMO: I don't want people to get lost in the numbers. You can put them up. If you like seeing big numbers, here they are for you. But there's a specific question. Trump says he's going to put $100 million in. That was a big sell for a lot of GOPers also that, you know what, this guy can help us make up the cash gap.
AXELROD: Right.
CUOMO: He has only put in $30,000 this month. He sent me an e-mail - you know, the campaign sent me an e-mail as a potential donor saying, I will triple your giving this month. A lot of people got it. He was actually like at a fifth of what they raised this month. You ran campaigns. You know how cash is an exigence, especially at the end of the race. What do you make of this situation, that he's not putting in his own money, as he promised?
AXELROD: Well, if you had sent your contribution in, Chris, maybe he would have put in a little more is my first reaction.
CUOMO: I didn't say I didn't, did I. I didn't say if I did or I didn't, did I?
AXELROD: But the - look, the bigger - the reality is, he's not raising the money. He has never put in quite as much as he said that he would. There's always been this question about how liquid he is and how much money he could put in to the race. And he's also - he's paid himself quite a bit of money. There's the one line in his report speaks of all the money that his properties have received in rets from his - from his campaign. His campaign - his plane is leased to the campaign and so on.
But the bigger story is the lack of contributions from traditional Republican donors that are flowing heavily to down ballot races. There's been a decision on the part of the Republican donors, or many of the major Republican donors, that Trump probably won't win this election but they have to try and save the United States Senate, they have to try and save the House, or at least maintain a large gap in the House between Republicans and Democrats. That's where all the money is going. So you have, yes, on the one story, Trump hasn't put in what he said he would.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
AXELROD: But the bigger story is that the Republicans giving community is not going to - they're putting their bets on Congress, not on Trump.
CAMEROTA: OK, David Axelrod, thank you very much for "The Bottom Line." Have a great weekend. CUOMO: Good luck to your Cubs.
AXELROD: Good to see you guys.
CUOMO: CNN is proud to announce the top ten CNN Heroes of 2016. Each honoree receives a cash prize and a shot at the top honor, CNN Hero of the Year. Plus, the winner will get an additional $100,000 for their cause and a ton of exposure. But, we need your help. With the message, Anderson Cooper.
[08:50:03] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR, "AC 360": Now that we've announced the top ten CNN Heroes of 2016, I want to show you how you can help decide who should be CNN Hero of the Year and receive $100,000 to help them continue their work.
Just go to cnnheroes.com where you can learn more about each hero and when you're ready click "vote" over here. Then choose your favorite. Now confirm your selection using either your e-mail address or FaceBook account and you're all set.
And this year for the first time you can also vote through FaceBook Messenger and on Twitter. Can you vote up to ten times a day per method, every day, through December 6th. Then rally your friends by sharing your vote on social media.
We'll reveal the 2016 Hero of the Year live during the tenth annual "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," Sunday, December 11th.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAMEROTA: Late night hosts already looking forward to election night. Here are your late night laughs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": Hillary's campaign just sent out "save the date" invitations for her election night celebration here in New York City. I think things got awkward when Bill asked if he could bring a plus one. You know what I mean. Yes.
[08:55:04] JIMMY KIMMEL, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": Just when you think he can't top himself, he's now targeting Indian-American voters. This is a real campaign ad. We didn't do anything to it. This is how it's edited. This is exactly what they've put out.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I look forward to working with Prime Minister Modi.
Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkaar.
We love the Hindus. We love India. I'm Donald Trump, and I approve this message.
KIMMEL: You do? Because it's hard to imagine any part of that being approved. But, Mike Pence saw that, his plane skidded right off the runway today.
SETH MEYERS, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": Michelle Obama joined Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail today. Said Michelle, fine, I'll go, but I'm not wearing the necklace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: That's awesome.
CUOMO: Who won?
CAMEROTA: My daughters have those.
Wait, was that a real ad? Did they -
CUOMO: It was real, we're told.
CAMEROTA: OK, well, then you can't win because then that's not creative if you just play the real ad.
CUOMO: So who won?
CAMEROTA: That's cheating. OK, Jimmy Kimmel.
CUOMO: He's the one who did the ad.
CAMEROTA: Who was the last one?
CUOMO: Ah.
"NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello begins right after this short break.
CAMEROTA: Have a nice weekend, everyone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
