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Who Benefits Most From Trump's Tax Cut Wish List?; Celtics Take Series Lead Over Bulls; Are Swing State Trump Voters Happy So Far? Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 27, 2017 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:08] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We are following breaking news. A huge explosion rocking the main airport in Syria's capital. There are reports Israeli missile strikes hit a Hezbollah operated armed supply hub near the Damascus airport.

Israel's intelligence minister did not confirm or deny the incident, but did tell Army Radio this action is compatible with Israel's policy of preventing Iran from smuggling weapons through Syria to Hezbollah.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A top U.S. commander telling CNN that parts of the U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea will be up and running in the coming days. This is designed to shield the South of North Korea's increasing military threats. Meanwhile, some members of Congress said they were reassured by yesterday's rare all-hands meeting on North Korea, but no new information emerged about the U.S. standoff at Pyongyang.

CUOMO: United Airlines is adding to it's we no longer will drag people off a plane horror. In addition, to telling passengers if you are already in your seat, you can't be removed against your will. They're also going to allow offers of customers of up to $10,000 for voluntarily surrendering their seats on overbooked flights.

CAMEROTA: Everybody now on every plane when they make their first offer of $500 offer will be able to say I think you can up a few digits.

CUOMO: True, true. But it's -- you know, I like the headline of the no punch in the face policy here on United. We won't hit you to get you off the plane.

CAMEROTA: That's a start.

CUOMO: Comforting.

CAMEROTA: Let's do that.

The Trump --

CUOMO: And peanuts. CAMEROTA: Do they?

CUOMO: No.

CAMEROTA: I know.

The Trump administration releasing its tax cut wish list, but who benefits the most? We debate it, next.

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[06:37:41] CUOMO: The Trump administration revealing its tax cut wish list -- big on promises, very thin on details and how to pay for it so far. Who benefits the most?

Let's discuss. We got CNN political commentators Kayleigh McEnany and Symone Sanders.

Kayleigh, one of the people that's going to do well here is Donald Trump. No estate tax. Getting rid of the AMT. His effective tax rate would have been 4 percent without the AMT. Businesses like his are going to go from 35 to 15.

The big question that comes out is, that we have to make sure that our president isn't self-dealing, right? We have to make sure that he is putting us first. That's why the tax returns came back in. Mnuchin stands up there and says, by the way, he has never seen Trump's taxes. He doesn't know how this is helping or not. He says they're not coming out.

Is this another place where we're seeing policy implications of a lack of disclosure?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think so.

What I think we're seeing is these are doctrinal conservative principles, the idea of cutting the corporate tax rate, the idea of eliminating the AMT, which was meant to insure that rich people pay taxes, but it ends up now formally in Americans pay this tax. Many of whom are in the middle class.

So, I think this doctrinal conservatism. It's nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, Trump benefits because all Americans benefit. Every Americans' taxes will go down with this proposal, including the middle class, as Steve Mnuchin pointed out yesterday.

CUOMO: Right. But how they're paying for it is going to really bite a lot of Americans also. The only thing we've seen so far -- you know, a defense is also criticism here. There are no details. But if you take away the deductibility of state and local taxes from people, it's going to hit them very, very hard, and most importantly, it's going to hit the blue states very hard. It seems to be a little bit of open warfare here, red versus blue.

Fair point? MCENANY: Well, you are right that there has to be a way to pay for

it. No doubt about it. You can't pass legislation without that through the reconciliation process?

But what I would say is the left should be very happy. Symone is probably very happy about the closing of loophole on the state level. It's mainly going to affect very wealthy people in states like New York and California. The left should be applauding that rather than tearing it down.

CUOMO: Well, not loopholes. It's deductibility. It was something that was supposed to help you deal with your tax burden.

Symone, are you happy?

SYMONE SANDERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm not happy. Look, we -- first of all, we don't know the details of this plan. This is kind of like your book agent, book publisher asking for your final manuscript, and you hand in the book outline. We need more details.

[06:40:01] We definitely need to know how we're going to pay for this. But, right now, this looks like a tax break for the wealthy, and that is an unpopular opinion. The majority of Americans do not want to see tax breaks for the wealthiest of Americans. They want to see tax breaks for the middle class.

The secretary also said yesterday that this would be a territorial tax system. We would be moving to a territorial tax system. You noted that that would benefit middle class Americans and businesses, but very few independent analysis have said very few middle class Americans benefit from that. It's actually businesses that have holdings overseas.

So, I think we need more on this plan. We definitely need to know how we're going to pay for it, and I would like to know how Donald Trump benefits from this new proposed tax plan.

CUOMO: Who do you think gets helped more, Main Street or Goldman Sachs?

MCENANY: I think we have to wait and see the absolute details. But I think the middle class in the end. They were asked pointedly yesterday. A middle class family of four making $60,000, will their taxes come down. They said yes. There are going to be deductions for child care expenses. That's a very good thing.

So, if those policies get in, and I personally believe in the Reagan era tax cuts benefitting in the form of bringing back jobs, inserting more capital into the economy when you bring down the capital gains tax. If you believe in those principles, you believe the middle class is ultimately helped by this.

CUOMO: Estate tax, what does that mean for the middle class?

MCENANY: I think it helps a lot of family farms, a lot of family farms. You have to sell the business. You can't afford to pay the death tax. So, you paid tax once. I don't think you should be hit with the second tax when you die.

CUOMO: So, Symone, other than the problem of how do you pay for this, how do you take stay deficit-neutral so it can be something that's considered a reform instead of just a tax cut and the difference there would be duration, right? Tax cut can only go for ten years. Reform could be permanent. People can rely on it and spur growth.

What do you see it is the biggest problem?

SANDERS: Well, part of the biggest problem is we don't have concrete details. Donald Trump campaigned on, you know, not making -- they want to lower the deficit. And we're not sure if that is going to do this. I'm very concerned also about these middle class families, about what it means for young people like myself, people who do work at 40, 50, 60 hours a week who fall in the middle who could see more being hammered with more taxes under this plan.

So, again, we don't know. I think there's also a problem here with corporations. Why are there so many tax breaks or corporations here? The wealthiest among us should not be paying the least. I think we need to see more tax breaks for middle families and lower income families, and that's not currently within this outline. I'm not going to even call it a plan.

CUOMO: Who knows what the range of what it costs is, if it's anywhere between $3 trillion and $7 trillion, how do you get hawkish Republicans to vote for this?

MCENANY: That's the huge question, because I agree that this will stimulate growth. I agree with the Reagan era idea of revenues increasing despite a tax cut, but it's hard to prove that in the abstract, and you also have to prove it to the CBO. So, a border adjustment tax perhaps, which is very controversial.

CUOMO: Doesn't even touch it.

MCENANY: Doesn't touch it, but it may have to be put in there. It's got to be revenue neutral.

SANDERS: Chris, the other question is this.

CUOMO: Last word.

SANDERS: Chris, the other question is this, and so, look, let's just say more Americans have money in their pockets. The administration is saying this is going to stimulate growth. We don't know. Americans could take this money and use it to pay down this debt, and that's what we've seen in recent years. So, there's no guarantee that this is going to stimulate growth, and I think the administration needs to go back to the drawing board and come back with a more concrete plan.

CUOMO: It's just one page. Let's see what comes next.

Symone, Kayleigh, thank you very much.

Alisyn? CAMEROTA: OK, Chris.

What do Trump voters in key swing states think of his performance in the first 100 days? We'll speak to them.

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[06:47:08] CAMEROTA: Whole new graphics.

The Celtics have won three in a row and are a win away from something really big. Andy Scholes has more on the "Bleacher Report".

Hi, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Alisyn.

Yes, what a difference a week makes. Celtics fans hit a panic after losing two straight. All is well after the third straight win.

All-star guard Isaiah Thomas arriving to the arena with his son, and check him out. He looks like he is ready to go on the court and play. I'm sure he was proud of dad after this one. The 5'9" Thomas with huge buckets down the stretch. That leads the Celtics to a 108-97 win. They'll lead that series 3-2.

All right. Tonight, the first round of the NFL draft. This year taking place in Philly right on the iconic Rocky Balboa steps. The Cleveland Browns have the first overall pick. Draft will start at 8:00 Eastern. Each team gets ten minutes to make their pick in round one.

Michigan football team, meanwhile, is currently in Italy on a week- long trip that includes holding a practice. Now, the team visiting the Vatican yesterday taking in Pope Francis weekly address. And afterwards, Coach Harbaugh met the pope and gave him a Wolverines helmet and brand new pair of custom Michigan Jordan shoes.

Harbaugh is saying, quote, "This has been the experience of my lifetime."

And, Chris, my question is, do you think the pope wears those Jordans?

CUOMO: Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you, my friend. Very good. Very good.

All right. They are swing state voters. That's who wound up helping Donald Trump to the White House? What did they think of his performance 100 days in? Next.

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[06:52:40] CAMEROTA: So, how do President Trump supporters think is he doing almost 100 days in?

CNN's Miguel Marquez traveled to three swing states to speak with voters who flipped from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016. Here is our series "Red, Purple Blue, First 100 Days."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What do you think of his first 100 days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's shaking things up. I like it.

SHAUN MUNSON, MICHIGAN TRUMP VOTER: He's not failing, but he's like stuck in a hard spot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we're all screwed.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Three swing states: Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and three counties in them flipping by the biggest margin, blue to red.

What do their voters think now?

TONY DEBEVIC, OHIO TRUMP VOTER: I think he's sending the right messages in a way, but he doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut.

MARQUEZ: Tony Debevic, third generation farmer and owner of Debonne Vineyards in Ohio's wine country, a registered Democrat who voted for Trump.

DEBEVIC: Is he the perfect guy? No, he's not.

MARQUEZ (on camera): But you voted for him.

DEBEVIC: He was the only guy there that showed a sign of change.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Nine Ohio counties flipped from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016. None by more than here, Ashtabula County. Obama easily beat Romney here by nearly 13 points. Trump did even better, beating Clinton by nearly 19 points. That's a whopping 31.7-point swing.

DEBEVIC: I voted out of rebellion of what's happening in Washington.

MARQUEZ: A common refrain. Voter frustration at fighting between Democrats and Republicans.

J.P. Ducro is a new Republican county commissioner here, swept in on the Trump wave.

(on camera): First hundred days in office, how is he doing?

COMM. J.P. DUCRO IV, ASHTABULA COUNTY: Umm --

MARQUEZ (voice-over): It's a question even some Republicans wrestle with.

DUCRO: How do I answer that question? That is a hard question.

MARQUEZ: Ducro says it is his promise of jobs, above all that Trump will be judged on.

DUCRO: We have had a tough time. We've lost a lot of manufacturing and industry over the years.

MARQUEZ: Then there's tourist destination and fishermen's paradise, Lake County, Michigan -- solidly Democratic, or at least it was.

[06:55:02] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I'm a true Trump believer.

GARY WHEELER, MICHIGAN TRUMP VOTER: I usually go Democrat and I ended up voting for Trump.

MARQUEZ: Twelve Michigan counties flipped blue to red in 2016, Lake County by more than any other. In 2012, Obama beat Romney here by just over five points. In 2016, Trump trounced Clinton by nearly 23, a massive 28-point swing.

Thirty-seven-year-old Shaun Munson had never voted in his life ever until Trump's promise to bring back jobs and fix health care.

MUNSON: I took it as maybe he might try to do like Canada, pay a little extra in taxes and get free health care for everybody instead of whoever can afford it.

MARQUEZ: Bridget Lamoreaux owns, cooks, and serves up beers and burgers at Government Lake Lodge.

MARQUEZ (on camera): You live upstairs?

BRIDGET LAMOREAUX, OWNER, GOVERNMENT LAKE LODGE: Correct.

MARQUEZ: So, you're here 24/7 is what you're saying?

LAMOREAUX: Yes.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Trump's promise to lower taxes and create jobs got her onboard.

LAMOREAUX: He's very business savvy. That's what I felt we needed to get into office.

MARQUEZ (on camera): And what are you feeling now, 100 days in?

LAMOREAUX: I like it. I mean, he's definitely eccentric. I'm not a fan of the Twitter and all that kind of stuff. But I don't care.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): John Brunn is the local tree trimmer and the only Democrat to survive a contested race in Lake County.

COMM. JOHN BRUNN (D), LAKE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: Out of 848 votes, I won by 13.

MARQUEZ (on camera): Lucky 13.

BRUNN: Lucky 13.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): He can't account for why the county went so hard for Republicans.

(on camera): This is a Democratic county.

BRUNN: Has been for decades.

MARQUEZ: What happened?

BRUNN: I'm not -- that's a tough question.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Donna Featherstone, a retired long haul truck driver, now scoops ice cream. The independent voter has no health insurance. She says Trump scares her but --

DONNA FEATHERSTONE, MICHIGAN INDEPENDENT VOTER: If they can get things done, I'm ready to give them a chance.

MARQUEZ: Finally, there's Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, one of only three in the Keystone State to go blue to red.

Obama won here by 4.8 points in 2012, Trump easily won the county by more than 19 points, a swing of 24.2 points.

Ann Marie Bossard has worked in the family business and for Anthracite Newsstand for 53 years. She flipped and likes Trump's aggressive foreign policy.

ANN MARIE BOSSARD, ANTHRACITE NEWSSTAND: He's not going to take no baloney off anybody. He's going to be -- he's going to be and he's going to kick it!

MARQUEZ: Richard and Eileen Sorokas both volunteered and voted for Obama.

(on camera): You're a Democratic county councilmember for Luzerne County.

EILEEN SOROKAS, PENNSYLVANIA TRUMP VOTER: Yes.

MARQUEZ: And you voted for Donald Trump?

E. SOROKAS: Yes. And I run the executive committee, too, for the Democrats. But I still went for Trump.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Both flipped but watching closely.

RICHARD SOROKAS, PENNSYLVANIA TRUMP VOTER: He tried to go with the health care act. It was really a disaster.

MARQUEZ: At Chacko's family bowling we caught up with commercial pipeline construction worker Andrew Coleman who has a wife, two kids. They have insurance. He doesn't.

ANDREW COLEMAN, PENNSYLVANIA TRUMP VOTER: Right now, I don't have insurance through my employer and I can't afford it, the way it's going now. So, that's a big thing for me. That's the reason I voted for him. MARQUEZ: Christine Napierkowski, a Republican and mother of two,

gives the president so far an "A".

CHRISTINE NAPIERKOWSKI, PENNSYLVANIA TRUMP VOTER: I think the president is doing well. First time has not had, what would you say, government experience before.

MARQUEZ: Clinton voter and veteran Daryl Smith says Trump's lack of experience still worries him.

DARYL SMITH, PENNSYLVANIA CLINTON VOTER: And he's ticking off a lot of people. I'm afraid that it's going to end up backfiring on him. This is what I'm afraid of.

MARQUEZ: Swing voters still sizing up the new president but expecting results soon.

Miguel Marquez, CNN in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: All right. Thanks to our international viewers for watching. For you, "CNN NEWSROOM" is next.

For our U.S. viewers, we're about to speak to a former advisor to Donald Trump's campaign. You know him. His name is Carter Page. Is he going to testify before Congress? Can he make the case to you that there's nothing to worry about with Russia? Let's get after it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The first 100 days, we have taken historic action.

CAMEROTA: President Trump's approval ratings at historic low.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty-four percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the presidency, while 54 percent disapprove.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to negotiate from a position of strength. That is hard to do when you're at 44 percent approval.

TRUMP: We are returning power back to the people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This tax proposal is really just a gift to corporate America.

STEVEN MNUCHIN, TREASURY SECRETARY: Under the Trump plan, we will have a massive tax cut and massive tax reform.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: They are saying growth in the economy will cover it. The fact it is never has.

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R), LOUISIANA: We are not giving up on repealing and replacing Obamacare.