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New Day Saturday
GOP Backers Slam Vulgarity, Few Pull Endorsements; Clinton Camp: Trump Sexual Vulgarity "Horrific"; Trump Slams Bill Clinton As Defense For Lewd Remarks; Now: Hurricane Matthew Slamming South Carolina; Trump: "I Said It, I Was Wrong, And I Apologize"; Trump Remarks from 2005 Video Causing a Stir; Fellow Republicans Upset over Trump Remarks in Video; Hurricane Matthew Hits Southern East Coast. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired October 08, 2016 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: -- with the election process. Now, the announcement marks the first time that the U.S. has officially accused U.S. of hacking into U.S. political systems. For its part, Russia calls the accusations, quote, "nonsense."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said it. I was wrong and I apologize.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": A bombshell in the race for the White House. This is a political earthquake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's inexcusable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm out. I can no longer, in good conscience endorse this person for president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any Republican who has said they are for Donald Trump, do you still think he's qualified to be president of the United States?
TRUMP: See you at the debate on Sunday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us this morning. I'm Victor Blackwell.
PAUL: We always appreciate your company. I'm Christi Paul. We always appreciate your company. We are tracking Hurricane Matthew which is now hitting South Carolina. Take a look at some of the pictures we're getting in here.
Reporters along the eastern sea board are prevalent for us. We're going to have live reports throughout the morning, but first the bomb shell in Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
BLACKWELL: Donald Trump facing the defection of a couple big name Republicans after a newly released tape captured him making lewd and sexually aggressive comments.
PAUL: Donald Trump was forced to issue an apology. He did so this morning around midnight and all of this the day before his town hall debate, of course, with Hillary Clinton.
Senior political reporter, Manu Raju, is in St. Louis. That is the site, of course, of tomorrow's showdown. Manu, what are you hearing there?
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Donald Trump is waking up this morning confronting this reality. His party is running away from him. A number of Republicans are abandoning him. Some are saying that he should actually step down and no longer be the party's nominee and he needs to move quickly to right this ship otherwise things could get very bad come November.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU (voice-over): Donald Trump apologizing overnight, hoping to tamp down the controversy that's threatening to derail his campaign.
TRUMP: I've said and done things I regret and the words released today on this more than a decade old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and I apologize.
RAJU: But also taking a swipe at Bill Clinton.
TRUMP: Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims.
RAJU: The Republican nominee caught making lewd comments on tape --
TRUMP: I did try (inaudible) she was married.
RAJU: Trump bragging about being able to grope, kiss and trying to have sex with women in a 2005 interview.
TRUMP: When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever you want.
TRUMP: Grab them by the (inaudible). You can do anything.
RAJU: Trump, caught in an off-camera conversation during a taping of "Access Hollywood." He's heard talking about his pursuit of a married woman. The unaired footage was obtained by "The Washington Post."
TRUMP: I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said I'll show you where they have some nice furniture. I took her out furniture, I moved on her like a (inaudible). I couldn't get there. She was married. Then all of a sudden I see her. She's now got the big phony (inaudible) and everything. She's tally changed her look.
RAJU: Republicans across the board criticizing Trump's comments. House Speaker Paul Ryan revoking an invitation for Trump to appear at an event with him later today in Wisconsin saying, "I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified. I hope Mr. Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has a greater respect for women than this clip suggests."
And this from Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner ever."
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: I'm out. I can no longer endorse Donald Trump for president. There is no possible way I vote for Hillary Clinton, but these are abhorrent.
RAJU: Hillary Clinton hitting Trump on her Twitter account saying, "This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president and sparking a quick rebuke from Democratic vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine.
SENATOR TIM KAINE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's just -- I mean, it's -- it makes me sick to my stomach. I don't like to even say the words that he's used in the past when he calls women pigs, dogs and slobs. I didn't like saying it on stage the other night when my mom and wife sitting in the front row, but this is behavior that's just outrageous.
[08:05:00]RAJU: Even close advisers are admitting that this is devastating. One calling his remarks flat out appalling and telling CNN that they don't know if Trump can recover. The tape made while Billy Bush and Trump visited the set of a soap opera where they were greeted by actress, Arian Zuker.
TRUMP: I got to use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU: So now overnight, Mike Lee, the Republican senator from Utah calling on Donald Trump to drop out. He's saying on his Facebook page, "You, sir, are the distraction. Your conduct is a distraction."
The question going forward is what do vulnerable Senate Republicans do? Those Senate Republicans who are in very difficult races, all of them criticizing Donald Trump's remarks, but none of them so far rescinding their endorsements of Donald Trump. That will be a big question in the coming days how much Donald Trump's party abandons him.
PAUL: All righty. Manu, we appreciate it. Manu Raju, of course, there in St. Louis. Thank you.
Let's talk to -- get more about the GOP reaction here. One time presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney piling on here as well. His quote is, "Hitting on married women, condoning assaults, such violent degradations to mean our wives and daughters, and corrupt America's face to the world." That was his tweet last night.
CNN's Phil Mattingly outside Trump Tower with more of the fallout. Phil, first of all, what are you hearing possibly from the GOP?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, the push back, the blow back is sustained. It's very real and it's a level we haven't seen before. It's important to drill down on what Manu is saying here about swing state Republicans, about what this means down ballot.
Advisers I've been talking to in battleground states in key Senate races they are horrified by what happened. Not just because of the content of the tape, which was obviously terrible, but also what it means for the party in general.
I want you to take a look, Christi, at four Republicans, who said flat out Donald Trump needs to step down from the ticket. Senator Mark Kirk, Senator Mike Lee, Virginia Representative Barbara Comstock and Colorado Representative Mike Coffman, three of those people have one thing very uncommon. They're all running in very tough reelection races.
That is an indicator of what you might see coming forward. More Republicans coming out and saying, explicitly, Donald Trump has to go. Now Manu pointed out, not a lot of big name Republicans have pulled their endorsements that they'd already made.
But Mike Lee who hasn't made an endorsement yet, but was floated as a potential Supreme Court justice in a Trump administration had searing words. Take a listen to this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR MIKE LEE (R), UTAH: If anyone spoke to my wife or daughter or mother or any of my five sisters the way Mr. Trump has spoken to women, I wouldn't hire that person. You, sir, are the distraction. Your conduct, sir, is the distraction, is the distraction from the very principles that will help us win in November.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: Emotional comments, the same kind of comments we heard from Jason Chaffetz, another Republican from Utah. I think an interesting point here, Christ, as you try and gauge the reaction of what's going right now, the Republicans themselves are trying to get their heads around what actually happened last night.
Stunned was a word I heard a lot. One Trump battleground staffer, a Trump employee in a battleground state, a crucial one said he was with colleagues when this news hit and collective gasps was how he described the mood in the room.
He immediately when we were texting back and forth made one thing clear, down ballot. What does this mean going forward? There are huge ramifications here for the entire party. Not just at the top of the ticket but all up and down as we look at the next 31 days of this race. PAUL: No doubt about it. Phil Mattingly, I thank you so much for the reporting. We appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: You can watch the seconds there on the screen, we have the countdown clock for you until tomorrow's presidential debate. How will Hillary Clinton tackle this new Trump tape and how will he respond?
PAUL: Also, we have not forgotten about what's happening with Hurricane Matthew. It's dropped now -- this just in now to a Category 1. It's moving up the coast, though, lashing South Carolina after drenching and flooding Florida. More for you in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:12:25]
BLACKWELL: All right, Donald Trump now on video talking in that most vulgar term, several terms, in fact, about how he treats some women. Saying he can get away with it because he is a, quote, "star."
Republican nominee now forced to apologize. You see this is the apology video that was posted on Facebook and tweeted out just after midnight.
Some say the acts he describes on that first video amount to sexual assault. The video from 2005 coming to light just two days before tomorrow's second presidential debate.
Joining me now from the debate site in St. Louis, CNN Politics executive editor, Mark Preston along with CNN senior political correspondent, Brianna Keilar in Washington. Welcome back to both of you.
I want to start with this debate and what we're hearing in this video may be telegraphing these punches of what we're going to see. Brianna, let me start with you, the schisms within the campaign over whether or not Donald Trump should have mentioned, included Bill and Hillary Clinton in this apology.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No. And we know that from our CNN contributor, Maggie Haberman of "The New York Times" that there certainly was an aide who has said to Donald Trump as they hunkered down and figured out what to do that it wasn't going to work if tried to pivot over to Bill Clinton and to Hillary Clinton.
And when you listen to what his apology sounded like, Victor, it was almost something that ran very similar to what we saw of the SNL portrayal of the debate, right? Where he had talked about Alicia Machado was not the issue. We need to be talking about the real issues.
And then the Alec Baldwin went into, yes, we need to talk about the real issues, Rosie O'Donnell. It was sort of this Republicans were going, oh my goodness, what are you doing? You sense that a little bit with in apology. He was talking about it being an apology and maybe what he could have done then was to say, you know what, we need to focus on the real issues -- the economy, these things, what's keeping you up at night, these kitchen table issues instead he pivots over not only to Bill Clinton and his infidelities and Bill Clinton is not running for president.
But basically accusing Hillary Clinton of being an enabler of taking aim at women who Bill Clinton has had infidelities with. I think that's something that by a number of Republicans look at that and say that is the most ineffective apology.
BLACKWELL: We know the statement from the campaign, Mark, is that although he will not be with Paul Ryan today at this event in Wisconsin, he'll be at debate prep.
[08:15:01]I wonder with the crowds he is with right now the plan moving forward, is this going to be his counterpunch bringing up Bill Clinton's scandals of the '90s and '80s in the debate tomorrow night?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: I'll tell you what, Victor, I mean, who knows what's happening in that room today. Other than how do you deal with this crisis? And you know, Donald Trump is somebody who has a very difficult time of apologizing, of showing any kind of contrition.
As they're sitting and huddling around today about how to deal with this, they have to deal with this today, even before they get on the stage tomorrow night when Donald Trump faces off against Clinton.
What he put out in the video last night does not answer all the questions. A lot of people look at that and say that wasn't an apology. That was Donald Trump basically laying down a marker saying if you're going to come after me. Lm going to come after you.
What I do think is happening in all of this because there's so much swirling around with this video is that there's one key part of the video that was leaked out. That's Donald Trump saying, listen, when you're famous, when you're rich, you can get away with sexually assaulting women.
I think that is the most damning thing of that video. That's why you're seeing members of Congress, Jason Chaffetz, namely coming out and saying, I am withdrawing my endorsement of Donald Trump at this time.
How is Donald Trump going to answer that on the stage tomorrow night if Hillary Clinton says even members of your own party, Victor, are distancing themselves from you because of what you said? He is in a very difficult position right now.
BLACKWELL: We'll see what that answer is. We are still just about 37 hours away now from the start of that second debate. Brianna Keilar for us in Washington, Mark Preston in St. Louis at the site of the debate. Thank you both.
KEILAR: You bet.
BLACKWELL: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton facing off, as we said, tomorrow night second presidential debate. Co-moderated by our Anderson Cooper. It begins at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
PAUL: The other big story we're watching, Hurricane Matthew. It is now sweeping the coastal Carolinas as we sit and speak here. CNN's Nick Valencia is live in Charleston.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Christi. Hurricane Matthew continues to batter the east coast of the United States. I'm Nick Valencia in Charleston, South Carolina. An update on the worsening conditions here. You're watching CNN NEW DAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:20:51]
BLACKWELL: All right, South Carolina now getting hit by Hurricane Matthew, now downgraded to a Category 1 storm. But remember, the categories are indicators of the maximum sustained winds only, not the danger of the rain or the storm surge, just the maximum sustained winds.
PAUL: Which are right now at about 85 miles per hour winds. The most powerful bands are sweeping the coast here. Waves have been battering the Charleston harbor since early this morning. Take a look at this in what Chad Myers said is so frightening about this what we're looking at there is low tide.
So when we talk about storm surge, this obviously could get much, much worse. This, of course, all happening after the storm already left four people dead in Florida. There is power knocked out to more than a million others this morning. The damage from the flooding and high winds isn't even fully known just yet as people are waking up and trying to assess what happened.
CNN's Nick Valencia is in the middle of it in downtown Charleston. Nick, buddy, I'm sorry. How are you doing?
VALENCIA: Hey there, Christie. I'm doing good. It's dry in there in that studio, but we're continuing to get whipped around by the heavy winds here from Hurricane Matthew. I know you just reported that this has been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, but it sure doesn't feel like it here.
This is probably the most intense the wind has been in the four hours or so we've been out here this morning. The rain is also coming down. Some awnings are precariously hanging from these buildings here on the side.
You see this blue awning continues to tap the glass there. We have to watch out for that. Hanging from these buildings here on the side of the street as its being uprooted from the street. That just happened in the last couple hours or --
BLACKWELL: All right.
PAUL: I'm sorry. He's obviously in the middle. He's in the thick of it there. Kudos to them. Nick, if you can still hear me, hoping that you and the crew are safe and you continue to be safe, but we're going to obviously continue to watch this because those outer bands will not even outer bands.
But the whole west side of the eye wall is what they're experiencing right now. This is going to continue up into the Carolinas and then most of the models have it swinging back down to Florida again.
BLACKWELL: If it reforms and there you're looking at the live radar there as it hits into South Carolina. We'll continue to watch that and we'll check back in with Nick as soon as we reestablished that shot.
Let's go now to our other big story we're following this morning. If you went to bed before midnight, you didn't see this. This is the 90- secon apology from Donald Trump released from social media. Is it enough after that vulgar commentary about how he treats some women. We'll ask three women who are with us this morning.
PAUL: Plus, thousands of e-mails hacked from the top official in the Clinton campaign now posted online. Could they come back to haunt her in the polls?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:27:12]
BLACKWELL: Let's push forward on the bomb shell that's rocking the Trump campaign this morning. The Republican nominee makes an unprecedented apology video. This is coming after the video from 2005 reveals Trump vulgar use of language to describe acts that some say amount to sexual assault.
We'll talk about that term in just a moment, but right now we're going to play you those comments and we have to warn you that they are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I moved on her actually. You know, she was down on Palm Beach. And I failed. I'll admit the. I did try to (inaudible). She was married.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's huge news.
TRUMP: No, no. Nancy. No, this was -- and I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, "I'll show you where they have some nice furniture."
I moved on her like a (inaudible), but I couldn't get there and she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her. She's now got the big phony (inaudible) and everything. She's totally changed her look. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheesh, your girl's hot -- in the purple. Whoa, the Donald is good. Whoa, my man.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe it's a different one.
TRUMP: Very funny. You and I will walk out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe it's a different one. It better not be the publicist. No, it's her. It's her.
TRUMP: Yes, that's her, with the gold. I've got to use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful -- I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever you want.
TRUMP: Grab them by the (inaudible). You can do anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those legs, all I can see is the legs.
TRUMP: It looks good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, shorty.
TRUMP: Nice legs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the way. That's good legs. Go ahead.
TRUMP: It's always good if you don't fall out of the bus. Like Ford, Gerald Ford, remember?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down below. Pull the handle.
TRUMP: Hello. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Mr. Trump. How are you? Pleasure to meet you.
TRUMP: Nice seeing you. Terrific, terrific. You know Billy Bush?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, nice to see you. How are you doing, Arianne?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm doing very well. Thank you. Are you ready to be a soap star?
TRUMP: We're ready. Let's go. Make me a soap star.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about a little hug for the Donald? He just got off the bus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you like a little hug, Darling? TRUMP: Absolutely. Melania said this was OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about a little hug for the Bushy? There we go. Excellent. Well, you've got a nice co-star here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, absolutely.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come on, Billy, don't be shy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as a beautiful woman shows up, he takes off -- this always happens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: With the woman Donald Trump is talking about there on the bus is Nancy O'Dell, the former co-host of "Access Hollywood." She is now the co-host of "Entertainment Tonight," but this is being confirmed by the folks there at "Access Hollywood." CNN has reached out to O'Dell but has not yet heard back.
[08:30:03] Meantime, the Trump campaign has swiftly launched into disaster mode. Early this morning, just after midnight the candidate issued an online apology video with a little counterattack at the end. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've never said I'm a perfect person nor pretended to be someone that I'm not. I've said and done things I regret. And the words released today on this more than a decade old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it. I was wrong. And I apologize. I've traveled the country talking about change for America. But my travels have also changed me.
I've spent time with grieving mothers who have lost their children, laid off workers whose jobs have gone to other countries and people from all walks of life who just want a better future. I have gotten to know the great people of our country and I've been humbled by the faith they placed in me. I pledge, to be a better man tomorrow and will never, ever let you down.
Let's be honest, we're living in the real world. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we're facing today. We are losing our jobs. We're less safe than we were eight years ago and Washington is totally broken.
Hillary Clinton and her kind have run our country into the ground. I've said some foolish things, but there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people.
Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right now for many in Trump's party, that video you just saw it is not enough. The most powerful Republican in Congress has now disinvited the nominee from a campaign event today.
And here was Trump's own running mate, Mike Pence, dodging reporter's questions before bolting from an event in Ohio. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump apologize? Governor, did Donald Trump apologize?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: The Associated Press reporting that Mike Pence was beside himself when he heard the recording and his wife was furious. We'll talk more about that in a moment.
Our sources also inside the campaign tell CNN this could be the death nail for the Trump campaign. And that the next 48 hours will be the most consequential of the entire election.
Let's talk about what's happening now and the next 48 hours. And bring in CNN political commentators, Clinton supporter, Maria Cardona, Trump supporter, Scottie Nell Hughes along with Conservative, Tara Setmayer who is decidedly not a supporter of either. Good to have all of you this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Hey, Scottie, I want to start with you. And I know that you are not happy with the words, you aboard the words that Donald Trump used. But I want to know, what is your feeling on the apology you just watched?
SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, I think he apologized which is something we have not seen yet and just sit there and judge about the grade of it. Was he sincere enough? Did he say the right words? We're not going to make everybody happy. I don't think he's going to make everybody happy with that.
But we take the apologies that came from Hillary Clinton about insulting about the deplorables, about the e-mails, about her server. We take those apologies and we just say, "OK, she apologized. Let's move on."
This or -- now we're going to have to sit here and look at what he said, how he said at the tone of voice, his body language. He apologize, we'll have more of a conversation obviously going forward tomorrow night into the debate. And for those of you who say, "Well that apology wasn't enough, then why did you let Hillary Clinton's apology, was that enough for you as well? The double standard is once again very evident in this case.
BLACKWELL: Tara? TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, I would challenge someone to go body experts and people who are experts in this field to analyze that video and tell us if they think that Donald Trump was sincere.
Most people objectively looking at that would say that he -- it looked like a hostage video. And it looked like, you know, when you apologize, you don't qualify your apology with saying, "Yeah, but the other guy did it too." Or "The other guy was worse." That's not a sincere apology. That's where this sincerity aspect of this comes into play because if you honestly heartfelt believed that what you did was so wrong that you wouldn't go and point to the other guy. It's just not the way it works.
So it's clear that Donald Trump got caught. So he was forced into this position. He also made the point that he said, "Well, I will be a better man tomorrow." So then is he acknowledging that up until yesterday that he wasn't a good man because he had all these problems? I mean, just a week ago he was still fat shaming and going after Miss Universe after something that happen, 20 years ago.
It's a character issue, it's a pattern here for Donald Trump. Right, I mean, it's a pattern here for him. And it's not just a one-off. It's not just one thing. And it's not just locker room banter.
[08:35:02] I mean for anyone to sit here and try to dismiss this as if it's OK, I mean, we as women have been fighting for years to make sure that that kind of talk and language is not acceptable. That kind of power play with men over women is not acceptable. So why would that be acceptable now for someone seeking the highest office in the land. It's not ...
BLACKWELL: Let me get Maria in here. Maria?
MARIA CARDONA, CLINTON SUPPORTER: I completely agree with Tara.
And look, it clearly was a non-apology apology. It was pathetic. He was clearly forced to do it by his campaign handlers who know that this could be the death nail for his candidacy.
And frankly, when he starts pointing to, you know, somebody else and blaming somebody else, that is an indication that he was not sincere that the only thing he regrets was that the tape was leaked.
And let's listen to his actual words. He talks about this as a distraction. Give me a break. And the leaked tape he -- let's be very clear about this. What he describes wanting to do to women, is nothing less than sexual assault.
BLACKWELL: And let me get some the opinion of Scottie here. And let's put up what David Cohen wrote in Rolling Stone. Many people described this. But I think the way he wrote it is very clear and concise here. "Kissing and groping women without their consent is sexual assault. That needs to be how every outlet talks about the Washington Post report. Scottie, do you believe what Donald Trump describes here when he says, "I don't wait." He says, "When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." Is he talking about, from your perspective, sexual assault?
HUGHES: Well, there's one thing to actually say it. There's another thing to do it. And Mr. Trump has said that he was just talking about it with the boys amongst the bus like the locker room, that doesn't mean it actually happened and there's been no proven cases.
BLACKWELL: But is he describing sexual assault here? From your perspective, what he's talking about, "I don't even wait. I jump on him like a" -- and I'm not going to use the explicit because of the hour. Is he describing sexual assault from your perspective?
HUGHES: If there was actions behind it, then I would say "Yes." But there's no actions that say -- that backs this up. And this is -- I mean, if we're going to after every man, then let's go into every locker room and just like John 8:7 says to us that, "He that is without sin are clean may you cast the first stone."
CARDONA: Every man is not running for president Scottie. Every man is not running ...
HUGHES: But this was 11 years, this was 11 years ago. And I agree that he's going to defend of it.
CARDONA: He was 60-years-old. He wasn't 20. He wasn't a jock. Sixty- years-old, a 60-year-old man is talking about sexual assault.
HUGHES: ... the words, Maria. I'm not saying that. But this is something that is said, time and time again by many within pop culture, within music, song ...
BLACKWELL: Let's have, hold on, hold on, hold on. Let's have Donald Trump defend himself here.
Wolf Blitzer spoke with Donald Trump about not this comment but other comments back in March disparaging comments he made about women. Here is what he said then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: These politicians I know them. They say far worse when they're in closed doors or when they're with a group of people that they trust. Nobody respects women more than I do. Nobody takes care of women and they take care of me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Yeah, the point he's making there, Tara, is that there are others who say things like this, much like the written statement that came out in the afternoon, Donald Trump's claim that Bill Clinton said things much worse to him on the golf course.
SETMAYER: That doesn't make it OK. I've said this many times. We as conservatives went after Bill Clinton and rightfully so for what happened in the'90s. And anyone who tries to sit there and point fingers and say, "Yeah, but Bill Clinton did it," is a hypocrite.
If you're excusing away Donald Trump's behavior, that doesn't -- just because other people do it doesn't make it, OK. This is a very elementary school defense.
And something else, just to put this in perspective.
BLACKWELL: Sure.
SETMAYER: Women vote at a higher rate than men in half since the 1980s. Women make up 51 percent of the population. They voted at a 4 percent higher rate than men in 2008 and 2012 which translates to about 9.8 million more votes.
This, if you want to just get down to brass tax here, this is catastrophic for Donald Trump because most women are going to look at this and be repulsed by it, as they should be. So to sit there and try to say, "Oh, this is just men being men." That is -- that first of all, that's a casting aspersions on majority of men who are good and descent men would never speak that way about women, especially, you know, married women.
It's just -- this is not acceptable. And we should not be casting aside our character and our integrity and our standards for political expediency. What does that say about our culture moving forward?
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Maria, I'm going to give you 20 seconds and then 20 to Scottie.
CARDONA: If this was an isolated incident as inappropriate and inexcusable as it was, you know, maybe. But this is 30 years in the running. Let's not forget all of the disgusting things he said on Howard Stern earlier in his career talking about what he would do to women, grading women's bodies, degrading them. In fact, saying he doesn't respect women.
[08:40:04] And an A.P. Report came out about how he was abusive to the women on the apprentice, Los Angeles times story came out about how he wanted to fire hostesses in one of the resorts for not being pretty enough.
Let's be very clear, this man is an irredeemable pervert and sexual predator.
BLACKWELL: Scottie, take your 20.
SETMAYER: In our own Erin, really just really quick. Our Erin Burnett last night on air confirmed that a friend of hers was in fact in a situation like that in a board room where Donald Trump popped in tick tacks and kissed her without her consent. So there's your ...
CARDONA: That's an assault BLACKWELL: Scottie, you're the sole Trump supporter on the panel. I got to give you 20 seconds. Go ahead.
HUGHES: But to Tara's point, this is all about the female vote. And this is truly a -- while it's wrong, it is a distraction this morning. No woman woke up affected by these words. What they were affected by ...
SETMAYER: Are you kidding? Did you just say that, Scottie?
HUGHES: Can I finish, please, ladies. Ladies, please, please.
BLACKWELL: Hold on.
HUGHES: What they are affected by is opening up their mail and finding out that their health insurance was canceled or their premiums were doubled.
CARDONA: Oh, Scottie, sweetie. Wake up.
HUGHES: No, they are. The issues that are actually affecting women today this has nothing to do with this. This is just a demonization.
CARDONA: You are living in a insanity world. You are not doing your candidate any favors.
BLACKWELL: We've got to wrap here. But I would argue ...
CARDONA: You're just so wrong.
BLACKWELL: ... that there were more than women who were affected by those words.
CARDONA: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: Descent Americans were all affected by this.
BLACKWELL: All right, we got to go, Maria Cardona, Tara Setmayer, Scottie Nell Hughes, thank you so much for being us this morning.
CARDONA: Thank you Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right. Christi?
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton's relationship with Wall Street that's been an a constant topic it seems since she entered the race. You know what, new information posted from Wikileaks could bring a whole new perspective to that issue. We're talking about that. And we'll tell you what was allegedly said, next.
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[08:45:21] PAUL: Wikileaks has posted thousands of e-mails hacked from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman and they could offer a new perspective on a relationship with Wall Street.
The e-mails from John Podesta include bits of speeches Clinton apparently gave to big financial firms just after she left the state department. And those speeches are coming behind closed doors. Her campaign is not confirming the e-mails authenticity, but they're not denying it either.
Let's talk with CNN Senior Political Correspondent, Brianna Keilar and also at the presidential debate site in St. Louis, CNN Politics Executive Editor, Mark Preston. Glad to see both of you today.
Brianna, at the heart of what might be some of the most difficult language here for her to overcome, is it on the trade issue?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The trade issue is really tough. I will tell you that. So her stance on trade is an issue. She's talking about there should be basically open borders and that she's a trade supporter.
Now, that's something that I think a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters had suspected and had known she has a background of supporting NAFTA, of supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership even though she totally flip-flopped on that and is now against it as a candidate.
But there's also -- I mean just some of the subject lines of these e- mails. Clinton admits she is out of touch. So she's talking to in a speech about how, you know, she basically grew up humbly. But then because of the economic fortunes she and her husband have that she is kind of far removed from it. That is actually a quote.
And then she also talks about needing a private and public position on policy. She talks about holding Wall Street accountable only for political reasons.
And what's pretty interesting about this in the campaign's response to this is, they really want people focussing right now on Donald Trump and this leaked audio. So you have John Podesta because these are from his inbox, tweeting out saying that, "I don't time to figure out which docs are real and which are fake." I mean believe Christi, on this campaign they have read through or are going through every one of these e-mails. They're not leaving anything to chance.
So they're sort of trying to in a way cynically undermine the veracity of the e-mails. If something were fake, they would certainly say it and push back.
PAUL: Yeah, there -- I want to get back to one of the speeches that you mentioned it was in 2013 she was talking about politics and said -- but if everybody is watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous to say the least. So you need both a public and a private position in politics.
Mark, this could be tough for her because her trustworthiness is what's in question. And if people see her as somebody who has one persona publicly and one privately, can she get away from that? And could she get away from it tomorrow at the debate?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, I can tell you what, Christi, if this Donald Trump bombshell didn't hit last night, this would be very devastating for Hillary Clinton. The fact to the matter is, to your point the American public doesn't look at Hillary Clinton with trustworthy eyes. They don't think that she's always telling the truth.
And at this point, though, with so much noise and chatter around what Donald Trump said last night, she may get a pass on this because people are so disgusted with what he had to say.
What else is interesting too about Wikileaks if they said they have 50,000 more e-mails, they only released a smidgen that's about 2,000 e-mails that they released last night.
And let's assume that these e-mails are valid, that they're true and as Brianna said, they haven't disavowed them at this point. We don't know what else could come out of there. But at this point, you have to wonder, if Donald Trump so wounded right now, will Hillary Clinton get a pass because of this.
PAUL: Well, the fact that the debate tomorrow is going to be in a forum which where voters can actually ask some questions, I would have to assume both of them would come out. But we'll have to wait and see.
Mark Preston, Brianna Keilar always appreciate seeing you both, thank you.
BLACKWELL: All right, coming up, Matthew has been downgraded, still a hurricane, still a strong storm. Look at this. I mean, it's been downgraded to a Category 1, but this is causing some damage, very powerful winds, bringing in flooding with it into coastal South Carolina.
[08:49:35] We'll take you there in just a moment.
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BLACKWELL: Hurricane Matthew now a Category 1 storm, baring down on the South Carolina coast. It's bringing with it powerful winds, heavy rain and flooding, dangerous storm surges is also remain a major concern.
The forecasters say those surges could reach as high as 9 feet. And Matthew has already killed four people in Florida, left more than a million people in the dark across the state.
PAUL: So let's talk to the mayor of Charleston, John Tecklenburg. He's with us here via phone. Mayor, thank you so much for being with us. First of all, let me ask you, how are you doing? What do you know about the situation around you?
JOHN TECKLENBURG, CHARLESTON MAYOR: Good morning, Christi, thank you for having us with you. Well, we're looking Matthew right in the eye. He is coming right at us. The thing we're still concerned about the most is flooding and we've seen, you know, some pretty substantial flooding in our cities so far. But we've closed any number of streets. But just to let you know, at low tide this morning, the water level was 6 feet higher than it normally is.
So, the big moment will be for us midday today, high tide is about 1:00. And as you may know, the tide waits for no man. It comes on in and it's got 6 feet on top of it. So we're still expecting some substantial flooding today.
PAUL: Mayor, I'm getting a word that EMS Service has been suspended in the county, is that true?
TECKLENBURG: Temporarily, yes. We've taken EMS and public defenders or first responders out of harm's way. The winds are still ramping up because, as I mentioned, this eye of the storm is coming right at us.
And so we're just at that point where we're going to ride out this storm and then we're ready for response and recovery. We think we'll be able to quickly get back to normal. But we've got some work on our hands over the next few days. That's for sure.
[08:55:12] PAUL: How confident are you that people in the danger areas did get out before this storm got there?
TECKLENBURG: Well, I got to tell you that last night before -- when the storm was just starting, I did a survey of our city and rode around. And I was so proud of all of our emergency operations, personnel and public safety officials because despite the fact that Charleston is normally so vibrant and lively, it was like a ghost town here last night. And that tells me we did an excellent job helping people get out of town and then those who remain helping them be secure and safe before the arrival of the storm.
PAUL: Well, Mayor John Tecklenburg, wishing you and all the crews there the very best. And we'll be hoping to see good news out of your area tomorrow that everybody is OK. Thank you so much for taking time to talk with us.
TECKLENBURG: Thank you, Christi. You all come back to Charleston real soon.
PAUL: We'll do, thank you. And for ways that you can help victims of Hurricane Matthew, please visit CNN.com/impact. And thank you for taking this folks.
BLACKWELL: All right, that's it for us this hour. We'll see you back here at 10:00 a.m. for an hour of NEWSROOM.
PAUL: Don't go anywhere, Smerconish is coming up after a short break. See you soon.
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