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Clinton & Trump on Climate Change; What Legal Issues Could Both Candidates Face?; World Series Parade for Cubs Today; President Obama Appeals to Millennials & Minority Voters. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired November 04, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:04] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: But can the same be said about Donald Trump? The answer is yes. We'll tell you why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, so every day for the past week and we will for the next couple days, as well, we're looking that position of both candidates so you have the best information when you go into your polling booth.

So, let's look at climate change. The State Department calls climate change a threat to America's national security and this is an issue where Trump and Clinton have big disagreements.

CUOMO: Yes, Hillary Clinton agrees with the overwhelming majority of science that climate change is real. Donald Trump believes the weather is changing, but it has nothing to do with anything humans are doing.

CAMEROTA: OK. So, Trump is repeatedly expressed doubt in that science behind climate change, going so far as to call it a "hoax."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obama's talking about all of this with the global warming and a lot of it is a hoax.

[06:35:04] It's a hoax. I mean, it's a moneymaking industry, OK. It's a hoax. A lot of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: It's just not true. And Donald Trump doesn't mention climate change or the environment on his campaign website. But he has proposed canceling the Paris agreement to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He's also proposed stopping all payments to the U.N. global warming programs, a promise he reiterated just yesterday in Miami.

CAMEROTA: Now, Trump has stressed the importance of clean air and water, but he has d not presented any specifics about how to preserve those resources. CUOMO: And, in fact, has called for a resurgence of coal, which is a

major problem for the environment.

Hillary Clinton calls climate change a, quote, "urgent threat" and, quote, "a defining challenge of our time." She appeared alongside Al Gore in Miami last month, dedicating almost her entire speech to the issue. Here's a bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We here in America can develop new, clean energy solutions. We can transform our economy. We can rally the world to cut carbon pollution. We need creativity, we need hard work. And when it comes to climate change, we don't have a minute to waste.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, within ten years of taking office, Clinton says she wants to install half a billion solar panels and reduce American oil consumption by a third. Unlike Trump, Clinton wants to uphold the Paris climate agreement. She has pledged to invest in clear energy and infrastructure and innovation and she supports cutting energy waste across the country by implementing pollution and efficiency standard.

So, there you have the difference on climate change -- Chris.

CUOMO: Just like that I moved.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton could both face legal issues if they win the White House.

So, let's start with Trump. According to "USA Today", Trump and his businesses have dozens of suits that remain open. These legal issues include, but aren't limited to fraud, sexual harassment, breach of contract. They would follow a president Trump to the White House, for sure.

Now, furthermore, as president, Trump wouldn't enjoy immunity on these cases. He could be deposed or even compelled to testify.

Let's discuss with CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and Danny Cevallos, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney.

We're starting with Trump, fellows, because we know what's going on with Clinton. We know that she could be facing the, whatever, the fruits of this investigation are from the foundation and from the e- mail, which once it gets forward. But what do you see on the legal landscape here, Jeffrey?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think, you know, it's important to remember what happened in 1997. 1997, Bill Clinton was being sued by Paula Jones for sexual harassment. He was going to be deposed. The case went to the Supreme Court. Clinton said, I'm the president

and I can't be distracted by this and the Supreme Court said, tough luck. You can be deposed. You are not above the law.

So, all these suits that are pending against Trump, he could be deposed, he could be forced to testify in court. And remember, the Trump University fraud case, the one with Judge Curiel, the guy who was born in Indiana, that case is supposed to go to trial immediately after the election. So, this is far from a theoretical issue.

CUOMO: Now, full disclosure. There is a case in New York, federal court, that has really ugly allegations towards Trump that involve sexual assault. CNN has not been able to verify the claims. The plaintiff was going to come forward and then did not with Lisa Bloom as her attorney. That is something that if the suit survives, makes it through summary judgment and gets into summary phase. There are a lot of big ifs in that case.

What do you see in general?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: In general, any time as Jeffrey said, anytime someone appears for a deposition and we learn that a president can be forced or compelled to appear for a deposition, especially for activities that happened prior to the presidency. You don't get that immunity that you normally get as an executive.

But what most people don't realize is that the scope of discovery in a deposition is so broad that any deposition is potential landmine for a president. Because there's very little a defending attorney can do to protect a deponent, a witness testifying like Trump at a deposition during that proceeding. So, somebody might potentially unearth anything. We've seen many times in just the last year. Even snippets of a sealed deposition that somehow make their way into the public can have huge ripple effects. So, the potential danger is massive.

TOOBIN: Bill Clinton was impeached because he lied in his deposition.

CUOMO: I was waiting for you to bring that up.

TOOBIN: In the Paula Jones case. Again, it's not theoretical. The risks -- you shouldn't lie. That avoids the problem.

CUOMO: You should try to avoid mendacity at all terms.

But, also, there is a distinction made between the criminal, which is the potential on the side of Clinton with these FBI investigations and the civil as if somehow it's not as bad. Just said is where the problem can come in.

[06:40:02] Whatever you say in a civil suit could be used against you and if the government wants to go after you, Congress wants to go after you, they can. That's why Trump U is such a big deal, Danny. We have a graphic on it. This is a real suit. This is going to happen. It's not theoretical like what's going on with Clinton right now. You have the New York A.G. and, yes, Trump and his people will say,

well, he's a politician. Whatever, he's got jurisdiction in the matter. He's bringing suit. And when that happens, they're going to be able to get their hands on Trump, aren't they, Danny?

CEVALLOS: Yes. Not only that because as we talked about the liberal rules of discovery, but a lot of these civil suits allege things that are, you know, the civil and criminal world have parallels. I mean, the civil RICO allegations are not that different from criminal RICO allegations and a creative prosecutor, a creative U.S. attorney might take a look at some of these cases and say, hmm, you know, maybe we want to turn this into a criminal case. Plus, we have these depositions where new information is being unearthed every time Trump sits for a deposition.

So, I mean, just because they are presently civil cases doesn't mean down the road, a creative U.S. attorney like Jeff used to be, might take a look at those facts and say, hey, there is an indictment to be had here.

CUOMO: And also, this strange world of oversight means you have the Congress, they can't prove you're guilty of a crime, it's not going to mean anything. But they can investigate things like Trump U and like Clinton with the e-mails.

Let's put up her list. Trump is right to say if Hillary Clinton is president, stink could follow her. You've the ongoing probe and investigation by the FBI. You've got the Clinton Foundation one, as well. And there's the Benghazi effect. And there is nothing to stop Congress from finding their way into those topics again if they want to.

TOOBIN: Well, and another issue about Clinton where you have these potentially criminal areas is what happens if more allegations surface? Does Loretta Lynch, who is currently the attorney general or her successor under Hillary Clinton, is she or he forced to appoint a special prosecutor, an outsider who has jurisdiction over this investigation? We all remember from Kenneth Starr how long and complicated and uncontrolled that kind of situation can be. That's a tremendous risk to a president. Having an outside, unaccountable process.

CUOMO: It looks highly likely right now if you think about it. They're going to ask Lynch to stay on. She's kind of compromised, right, by what happened with Bill Clinton. You can't have Hillary Clinton appoint a new A.G. because an inherent conflict of interest, because that person may have to investigate any of the allegations that come from FBI, it makes a natural consequence someone saying we want a special prosecutor and there goes the next two and a half years.

Thank you very much, Jeffrey. Thank you very much, Danny. You have continued to depress me.

Stay with CNN for special all day election coverage on Tuesday. Nobody will have every race and every count covered for you that day like we will that day.

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Well, the city of Chicago is set to celebrate the World Series champion Cubs today with a parade and massive rally.

Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report". Hi, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, Alisyn.

You know, more than a million people showed up in Cleveland for the Cavs victory parade. It would be interesting to see how many Cubs fans take the day off in Chicago to celebrate the first title in 108 years.

The championship parade begins 11:00 a.m. local time at Wrigley Field. It's going to end with a celebration rally at Grant Park.

Now, President Obama calling Cubs manager Joe Maddon from onboard Air Force One on Thursday to congratulate him on the team's historic World Series victory and invited the whole team to visit the White House before he leaves office.

All right. If you had Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on your fantasy team, you're one happy camper this morning. Ryan throwing for four touchdowns as Atlanta beat Tampa Bay, 43 to 28. Now, Winston had to leave this game in the fourth quarter after taking this huge hit right here near the goal line. After the game, Winston said he felt pretty good. Felt great, actually.

Chris, you know, as a life-long baseball fan I think this morning it is finally starting to set in that the Cubs are World Series champions.

CAMEROTA: What?

SCHOLES: Still can't believe it.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Off the snide.

CAMEROTA: Wow.

CUOMO: Thank you very much, my friend.

So, they are taking out all the stops in the election. Everybody is getting out there, including Melania Trump. We haven't seen her in a while. She hit the trail launching a new crusade. She made a compelling case that we need to be better to each other. But what does that mean for her husband's campaign, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:59] CUOMO: Millennials, are you listening? President Obama hoped you are, because he says that you and minority voters must get out. You are the most important demographic in this election.

CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski is traveling with the president hearing this message today in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

That location no coincidence.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Chris. Yes, we're on a college campus, yet again. And this is the second time this week.

We have been in North Carolina and, of course, for good reason. Donald Trump has tightened up Hillary Clinton's lead, a Democratic turnout. African-American turnout is not what it has been for early voting in the past. The president wants to get that message out.

What we've seen is his willingness to be on the trail, almost every single day leading up to the election and we also see his evolving message. I mean, when we were in North Carolina two days ago, it almost felt like a dire warning. Basically telling the voter, the fate of the universe lies in your hands.

[06:50:01] But, yesterday, in Florida his tone was much more encouraging and upbeat. He was back to using comedy in his slamming of Donald Trump, using his refrain of "come on, man". Listen to some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This isn't a joke. This isn't "Survivor". This isn't "The Bachelorette". This counts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: So, take a look at the map of where he is this week. He's crisscrossing the key states. Obviously, where the campaign needs him most. And what we're seeing him also doing a lot of radio programs, especially those are popular among African-Americans.

He and the first lady are doing radio ads that will target the same demographic in several key markets and also trying to help out House Democrats. He's also going to appear with Hillary Clinton the night before the election. There is no rest for President Obama on the trail right now -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Right, no rest for any of these surrogates. Thanks so much, Michelle.

So, Pharrell Williams, Melania Trump, Bernie Sanders, what do all of these people have in common? They are all campaign surrogates and they are all out on the campaign trail for Clinton or Trump yesterday, saying some provocative things in the process.

Let's bring in CNN political analyst and "USA Today" columnist Kirsten Powers and CNN political commentator and senior writer for "The Federalist", Mary Katharine Ham.

Ladies, great to see you.

MARY KATHARINE HAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to see you.

KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: In case people missed it, let's just play Melania Trump, sort of her case for the vision for the country that she'd like to see. Let's play this from yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIA TRUMP, WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP: Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers. We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other. We must find better ways to honor and support the basic goodness of our children, especially in social media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Kirsten, what did you think of her message yesterday?

POWERS: Well, I thought it was a strange thing. I think a lot of people have talked about the fact that her husband is more than anyone else can think of has singlehandedly degraded our culture of the meanness that he sort of brings to dialogue.

With her, in particular, she was talking about also people online behind, you know, not using names, attacking people. Well, there was an incident where Julia Ioffe, a reporter who is on CNN from time to time and a political reporter. She profiled Melania didn't like the profile and, in fact, so much so that she threatened to sue Julia Ioffe.

But she also, basically, Julia was on the receiving end of a bunch of unnamed people online sending her pictures of her face, you know, Photoshopped on to concentration camp victims. She is Jewish and she was getting death threats. She was getting people telling her you would make a great bar of soap, you'd make a great lampshade.

When Melania was asked about this, Melania said she deserved it. So, what I don't understand, I know she put that little line in about children but we are also talking just about online bullying and attacking. When she had an opportunity to stand up to it, she didn't. So, I really -- honestly, you watch this kind of stuff, and you're just like, is this for real? I really don't understand what's happening here.

CAMEROTA: Mary Katherine, your thoughts on all of this.

HAM: I agree with her, agree with Melania about her argument here, but as the president might say, come on, man. Donald Trump himself has been engaged in a lot of mean name calling that is a bit of a signature of his. So, while I support the cause, I'm not sure how credible it is coming from this source.

As far as Melania as a surrogate, I think she is interesting. I think she can even be impressive. She speaks several languages but interesting, impressive and relatable are different things, and I think in American politics, many people who have been in politics for a while or many people who are doing these job have to pretend to be relatable and a question of how well you pretend because they haven't been living normal American lives for quite some time.

I think Michelle Obama is probably the best at it and I'm not sure how great Melania is for reaching those outside of Trump. They find her fascinating with some good reason.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about another campaign surrogate, Eric Trump, Donald Trump's son. He said something very provocative on the campaign trail yesterday to a radio show. He not only denounced. He went further than denouncing David Duke, one of the KKK leaders. He he basically said that he should be shot.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ERIC TRUMP, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: If I said exactly what you said, I'd get killed for it. But I think I'll say it anyway. The guy does deserve a bullet. I mean, these aren't good people. These are horrible people.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, Kirsten, I think he was trying to give a full throated denouncement of David Duke.

[06:55:01] What did you think of that language?

POWERS : Well, I think we've been waiting for a long time for them, for the campaign to basically come out in a very, like you said, full throated way to condemn people and then, of course, they take it further than maybe it needs to go. You know, putting a bullet in somebody, you know, it's probably not, even though it is the KKK, probably not something you should be saying. Just be nice if they would just denounce them.

CAMEROTA: Mary Katharine?

HAM: Agree. This can go a bit too far but I think it is interesting to watch this note because it's David Duke, but the rhetoric is violent. People going, I'm outraged. Am I outraged? I think I'm outraged. Look, I think it's nice in public squares to be careful about the way you talk about these things. It's also very good to denounce David Duke, maybe it's not a perfect way to do it.

CAMEROTA: No, I agree, the mixed feelings are a tough one here, sorting through all of the mixed feelings about that denouncement.

OK, so, now, on the other side, Pharrell Williams, big celebrity, host of "The Voice", et cetera, et cetera, musician, he was out for Hillary Clinton. Let me play what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHARRELL WILLIAMS, MUSICIAN: How dare anyone question a woman's ability? Every person, every person on this planet was brought into this world by a woman.

My mother is able. Your grandmother is able. Your aunts are able. Your nieces are able. Your daughters are able. I've seen amazing things happen when women lead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, Kirsten, Pharrell Williams is so imminently likable, you know? But what do you think about having a celebrity out there that might not be relatable on the campaign trail?

POWERS: Well, look, one of her big problems we've been talking about is with African-American voters and young voters and even a narrower slice of young African-American voters. I think it is good to have someone like him out there who can maybe try to generate a little more enthusiasm for her.

Surrogates aren't going to typically convert anybody but get people who are just kind of like, maybe a little too lazy to get to the polls or maybe just aren't excited about it and really give them the reason to get out. They're getting out the vote.

CAMEROTA: Mary Katharine, effective?

HAM: Yes, look, these folks are often base boosters, as Kirsten is saying. He wrote one of the verses of Rump Shaker which was formative in my high school and middle school career.

CAMEROTA: That's awesome.

Very quickly. Let's play President Obama yesterday on the campaign trail, as well. You can tell me about his message. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you disrespected women before you were in office, you will disrespect women as president. If you accept the support of Klan sympathizers before you are president, you will accept their support after you are president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Kirsten, your thought on that message?

POWERS: If you listen to the whole speech yesterday, it really was, I think, one of Barack Obama's best, you know, performances. I mean, he really is just hitting every issue and I think he's doing it in a way that is kind of funny, but also serious. He's just kind of the perfect surrogate.

So, I think it is effective and this ki of message, again, is very effective with young people who have a very low toleration for the kinds of things that he's talking about.

CAMEROTA: All right. Ladies, we have to leave it there.

Mary Katharine, thank you. Kirsten, thank you. We'll talk, again, soon.

We're following a lot of news this morning, so let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The polls have been amazing.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's fair to say things are going to change.

MELANIA TRUMP, WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP: Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), VERMONT: We are not going back to a bigoted society.

DONALD TRUMP: I have a winning temperament. Hillary is an unstable person.

CLINTON: Are we going to build a stronger, fairer, better America or are we going to fear each other?

OBAMA: You are uniquely qualified to make sure this uniquely unqualified person does not become president.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton battling it out in North Carolina the state that could decide the presidency. Both candidates in a battleground blitz with the race continuing to tighten.

CUOMO: They're putting out their best. The top surrogate crisscrossing the country in North Carolina, as well. And they're picking cities that could help their candidate be president of the United States. In fact, they're picking counties, that's how specific it is. Just four days from the big day.

Let's begin with CNN's Sunlen Serfaty live in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Of course.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, of course, Chris. We are seeing Donald Trump really invest so much time in this critical state for him, precious time in the last final days of this campaign.