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Kim Jong-Un Executes Top Official For Bad Posture; Donald Trump Meets With Mexico's President; Trump Meets with Mexican President; Hillary Clinton Responds to Trump with Forceful Speech; Another Top Member North Korean Regime Executed. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 31, 2016 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:11] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news. Border crossing after routinely hurling abuse at Mexico in the presidential campaign, Donald Trump makes a stunning spur of the moment trip to Mexico City, sitting down with the country's president. Border speech; the visit comes on the same day Trump is to deliver a speech outlining his policies on immigration. Advisers say Trump will be tough but fair as he gives his ideas on a border wall and deportation.

Clinton criticism as her campaign releases a list of Trump's insults towards Mexico, Hillary Clinton slams Trump's trip saying, alliances are not built by insults or dropping in for a quick photo op. She urges veterans to reject Trump's worldview.

And Un-forgiven. North Korea's Kim Jong-un says a top official deserves death for bad attitude and bad posture at a Communist Party meeting, as we get new details on a young American being held prisoner in North Korea.

I'm Wolf Blitzer; you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: Breaking news. After more than a year of leveling insults at Mexico and vowing to build an anti-immigrant wall along the border, Donald Trump has made a last minute trip to Mexico City, meeting with President Enrique Pena Nieto, who once compared him to Hitler. Both men say the talks were open and honest. Trump says they did not discuss who would pay for his wall. The visit comes just hours before Trump is to deliver a speech in Phoenix, revealing his immigration plan. The Republican nominee has drawn fire from all sides for advocating the forced deportation of undocumented immigrants and then toning down his rhetoric on the subject. Aides say Trump's speech will be tough but fair.

As her campaign released a list of Trump's insults to Mexico, Hillary Clinton today called Trump's trip a photo op, telling the American Legion that alliances are not built by insulting friends. She called America an exceptional nation which is indispensible to the world, saying Trump opposes that view. And in North Korea, the dictator Kim Jong-un has executed another top

official, reportedly for slouching and falling asleep at a Communist Party session. We're getting new information on the latest purge. I'll speak with Republican National Committee Chief Strategist, Sean Spicer, and our correspondents, analysts, and guests. They will have full coverage of the day's top stories. Donald Trump is on his way from Mexico City to Phoenix right now to deliver a major speech on immigration just four hours or so from now. CNN's Sarah Murray is standing by in Phoenix. But let's begin with CNN's Senior White House Correspondent, Jim Acosta. He's standing by in Mexico City. Jim, after all of this heating rhetoric aimed at Mexico, Donald Trump has just concluded his big meeting there. Tell us more of what happened.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. There was no heated rhetoric here. Donald Trump did just wrap up his high stakes meeting with Mexican President Pena Nieto. He is on his way to Phoenix now to deliver that speech on immigration. But during their meeting, and in front of the cameras out here, Wolf, Donald Trump reiterated his support for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. But he said specifically to reporters they did not talk about who is going to pay for it. Of course, he has said in the past, he wants Mexico to pay for it, which is of course a pillar of that immigration speech he delivers later tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voiceover): It may be his most Donald Trump move yet -- flying to the Capital of a country he has slammed time and again. Today, Trump met face to face with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to talk what else? Immigration.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We recognize and respect the right of either country to build a physical barrier or wall on any of its borders to stop the illegal movement of people, drugs, and weapons.

ENRIQUE PENA NIETO, PRESIDENT OF MEXICO (via translator): The Mexican population in the United States contributes to the development in both Mexico and the U.S. They're honest people, working people, people of goodwill who respect family. Mexicans deserve everybody's respect.

ACOSTA: The jaw dropping images of Trump's trip to Mexico featuring his first meeting with the head of state as the GOP nominee may well overshadow his own speech on immigration later tonight.

TRUMP: Big speech on immigration. We'll be talking about that. Arizona --

ACOSTA: And that appears to be just fine with the campaign which quickly scrambled to arrange the visit just days after receiving Pena Nieto's invitation, against the advice of U.S. Embassy staff which said the trip would be logistically difficult on such short notice.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He gets an invitation late last week from the President of Mexico and essentially drops what he's doing to sit down -- ACOSTA: But this was no love fest. Trump's incendiary comments on Mexico and tweets on Mexicans have enraged this neighbor to the south.

[17:05:02] TRUMP: When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, their rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.

ACOSTA: Mexico's president, who's battling his own low poll numbers, has compared the real estate tycoon to Hitler and Mussolini, though earlier this summer, he walked back that statement saying he simply feared the U.S. would take a road toward isolationism and destruction.

PENA NIETO (via translator): Hitler and Mussolini did that. And the outcome is clear to everyone. It resulted in devastation, a tragedy for mankind.

ACOSTA: Trump hasn't backed down much himself. In his immigration speech set for tonight, Trump is expected to steer clear of highlighting his original proposal for a deportation force to round up the nation's undocumented, in favor of prioritizing the removal of unauthorized immigrants who have broken the law. And aides say he will push hard for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, standing by his signature pledge to voters.

TRUMP: We will build the wall 100 percent and Mexico will be paying for the wall.

ACOSTA: Even though Trump's son and other aides stress Trump is listening to advisors who want him to moderate his tone --

DONALD TRUMP JUNIOR, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: Correct. But again, you have to start with baby steps.

ACOSTA: That shift isn't selling well south of the border, where former Mexican president, Vicente Fox, has blasted Trump's views before.

VICENTE FOX, FORMER PRESIDENT OF MEXICO: I'm not going to pay for that (bleep) wall. He should pay for it. He's got the money.

ACOSTA: And still accuses Trump of playing games.

FOX: Trump is using Mexico, is using President Pena to boost his sinking poll numbers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (on camera): Now, as for what happened after these statements were delivered by these two leaders, there was a brief moment, Wolf, when Donald Trump and Pena Nieto took a couple of questions. I asked whether or not there were any apologies exchanged behind closed doors. Donald Trump said, no, there were not, but note, during his remarks there, he did talk about Mexican-Americans and said they were amazing people, a much more moderate tone than we've heard from Donald Trump in the past. We expect him to continue that later on tonight when he delivers that speech in Phoenix, according to campaign officials. When I asked campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway to describe Donald Trump's speech tonight in one word, she said it will be presidential. Wolf --

BLITZER: Jim Acosta in Mexico city for us. Thanks, Jim. Let's go to our political reporter, Sarah Murray. She's already in Phoenix where Donald Trump will deliver his immigration speech later tonight. Sarah, how will what we heard between Trump and the President of Mexico play right now with his key supporters?

SARAH MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well Wolf, that's a great question, and we have seen Donald Trump sort of moderating his tone in some ways on the immigration issue. And I think we're going to continue to see that as Jim just kind of previewed, tonight on his speech. We're hearing it's going to be tough but fair. So we're not expecting to hear the same sort of calls from Donald Trump for mass deportations, for huge deportation force.

Now, his advisors say he is still going to address how he will deal with the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., but I think you can expect him, Wolf, to focus heavily on the notion of border security, the idea that we need to take care of stopping illegal immigration, before we sort of figure out what to do with the undocumented immigrants who are here in the U.S.

Obviously, this is a huge shift in tone from a man who jumped into the presidential race by talking about undocumented immigrants as rapists and as criminals. Wolf --

BLITZER: This is one of those carefully scripted speeches. I assume it will be complete teleprompter, he wants to be precise, right?

MURRAY: He absolutely wants to be precise. He was working on this yesterday. He's continued to work on it today with his senior aides as well as his policy advisors. They want this to be more of a speech that's rooted in fact, that's rooted in research, and not the same sort of dogmatic appeals that he made in the Republican primaries. That's what advisors are telling me.

And Wolf, even though he did not discuss the wall or how to pay for it, rather, with the President of Mexico today, we are expecting him to cover that tonight. Not just the wall and how he would build it and how it would be effective, but also different methods of payment. I'm told by advisors that they want to put forth a proposal that is actually workable, one that they believe will not add to the budget deficit. So that means not only explaining a little bit more about how they think Mexico would potentially contribute, but also talking about defunding sanctuary cities, about stripping benefits they believe that undocumented immigrants receive now, and saying that those piles of money could all go toward paying for a wall along the southern border. Wolf --

BLITZER: Sarah Murray's already in Phoenix for us, thank you. Joining us now, the Chief Strategist, the Communications Director for the Republican National Committee, Sean Spicer. Sean, thanks very much for joining us.

SEAN SPICER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, RNC: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. So you just heard Donald Trump say that, he discussed the wall, but he didn't discuss if Mexico would pay for the wall when he met with the Mexican President. This has been a major feature, as you well know, a key component of his campaign. Why do you think he didn't raise the issue of Mexico's paying for the wall?

[17:10:03] SPICER: I think it's the beginning of a conversation. And I think as Sarah Murray just noted, as he continues to have speeches, he'll lay out his efforts to both secure the border, deter future illegal immigration, ensure that we then also have a way to pay for it, and then fourthly, deal with the folks that are in the country illegally.

So it's a very, very big subject. Each one of those four pieces has a major component to this issue, and I think you have to lay out all of them. But again, they met for a while. I think it was very presidential meeting. Trump laid out five specific points afterwards that there's mutual agreement upon the two countries in a way to move forward with the relationship and making sure that both of our national interests are taken into consideration.

BLITZER: But you already heard, he's getting some criticism because Mexico's paying for the wall has been a key pillar of his policy all of these many months, and the accusation is he's being hypocritical because he didn't bring it up with the President of Mexico.

SPICER: Again Wolf, I'm really not sure -- this is a very big topic. He talked about the fact that he agrees that we have the right to build a wall. He talked about five specific policies and areas that we can work towards as a country, but that number one, that he talked about was respecting the sovereignty of both nations to be able to protect their borders through a physical structure.

So he made it very clear that the wall's going to be built. I think the financing of it is something that Sarah touched on, will be further discussed tonight. But again, I don't think you solve everything in one conversation. This is probably an ongoing conversation that both he continues to have as a candidate, and then as president, he'll continue to have with his counterpart down in Mexico.

BLITZER: It was also interesting that when it came to NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, he said he wants to improve NAFTA. In the past, as you know, he said it's been a disaster, the worst trade deal ever negotiated. He threatened he was going to break it. Is he softening his stance when it comes to NAFTA?

SPICER: I don't think so. Again, regardless of what you call it, he's talking about strengthening it, making sure that we update it. So at the end of the day, I think what he's saying is that what we have now is unacceptable. So how we go about it, whether you scrap it and build it back up again, or go in and make updates and changes to make it better for American, and frankly Mexican workers, still ends up with the same result, which is a better deal that helps American workers. But again, if you recall, you had Austan Goolsbee, when President

Obama was running for office in 2008, made it very clear that he was going to renegotiate and get rid of NAFTA. So I think he got into office. And frankly, the difference is, there's nothing that's been done to NAFTA in the eight years of Obama, so if you want to actually talk about someone who made promises and it didn't happen, I'd look back to 2008 as well.

BLITZER: As you heard the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, he said that the Mexican people felt hurt by some of Donald Trump's comments over these many months. Would it be smart, do you think, for Trump to apologize for some of those comments he made now that he appears to be softening his rhetoric?

SPICER: I think you heard a few weeks ago, he made it very clear that he regrets statements that have hurt people. He has addressed the fact that he now recognizes some of the statements he has made have unintentionally hurt people, and he regrets that. So he has addressed it. I think he has run a campaign by doing what he believes is best for him and he expresses himself better than anybody else, so I'll let those words speak for themselves.

BLITZER: Because he did, you're right, recently, he did express regret, saying he went too far, he misspoke, he shouldn't have said some of those things, but he wasn't specific in saying which of his comments he regretted. Is it time now for him to be more specific?

SPICER: No. I mean, he can be if he chooses to be, but I think that there's never enough, right. Every time he does something, it's, well, he needs to go further, he needs to do this. I think he's run a campaign that's brought more Americans into the polls. He's speaking to a level of frustration and anger and anxiety that Americans have about their wages, about the state of the country, and frankly, he's brought more people into the Republican Party, and so, I don't -- I think this idea of everybody second guessing and saying, this is what Donald Trump should do, this is traditionally what happens. He has run his own campaign. He's tapped into a new group of Americans that have never been involved in the political process, and I think far be it from me or anyone else to tell Donald Trump right now what he needs to be doing.

BLITZER: But the President of Mexico said that the Mexican people felt hurt. Would it have been wise for him to say at that moment, you know what, you're right. I went too far. I shouldn't have mentioned rapists and murders. I should not have made those comments about the federal judge who was reviewing one of his cases. Shouldn't he have been more specific on that issue?

[17:14:52] SPICER: Well, I think today was about laying out policies, not about Donald Trump, right. He went down there and talked about how he can help American workers who have been left behind, how we can strengthen the border, how we can work together with our neighbor to the south. So he wasn't trying to -- I think what his goal was to look after the American workers and look after this country today. And frankly, you heard that the President said that they had a great conversation and there was a lot a mutual respect and areas they can work together on. That's what today was about. That's what he achieved.

BLITZER: All right, Sean, we have more to discuss, specifically, what we expect to hear from Donald Trump later tonight in Phoenix. We want you to stay with us. We'll continue our conversation right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:19:57] BLITZER: We're back with Sean Spicer. He's the chief strategist, communications director of the Republican National Committee. Sean, Donald Trump's major immigration speech going to happen in a few hours from now. Under Trump's plan that he will lay out tonight, will immigrants, 11 million undocumented immigrants, estimated number, will some of them, all of them, few of them, be able to obtain some sort of legal status without leaving the country?

SPICER: I don't want to get ahead of the speech, but he's made very clear that that's -- tht everyone who is not in the country legally must leave the country. So I don't expect to see any kind of departure from that What I think you'll see is a couple things. One, he's going to lay out the fact that he's going to abide by the Constitution, work with Congress to enact a plan to deal with our immigration status, plus reform the legal plan, and then deal with the problems we have with illegal immigration, and that includes securing the border, making sure we build a wall.

But he's also going to talk about deterrence. And I think that's really important, when you talk about any problem. It's one thing to solve the problem. It's another to make sure it doesn't happen again. And deterring the problem through things like e-verify are going to ensure that we don't just kind of put a band-aid on this problem and deal with it again in 20, 30 years like we ddi when we tried to solve in the 80s and here we are back with a need to solve it again.

So the deterrent piece of immigration reform and the immigration problem is a key part of this entire plan. And one of the things that's really interesting, he was down in Mexico today. Mexico treats illegal immigration on the scale of a felony down there. This is one thing that's interesting, when you talk about Mexico's policy with respect to immigration, it's much, much, harsher than it is in the United States. Because I think both countries understand that legal immigration is crucial, not only to national security, but also to the economy of both nations.

BLITZER: Is he still going to be speaking about what he used to call a deportation force to round up those 11 million?

SPICER: Two things. I think his convention speech where he talked about handling it is probably where you're going to see him come from. But frankly, I know this sounds -- we do have a deportation force. We have ICE in this country. That is their job, is to go after people who are in this country illegally and take them out. The problem that we've had, frankly, is that ICE has not been given the resources that they need to properly do their job.

So when you think about it, we have a force that's in this country, the Immigration Customs Enforcement Agency, whose pure job it is to get people out of the country that are not here legally. Frankly, they just haven't had the resources or the mandate to do it. And I think what Donald Trump wants to do is actually utilize the existing resources and agencies that currently exist to deal with the problem that we have.

BLITZER: Sean Spicer, thanks very much for joining us.

SPICER: You bet, Wolf. Thank you.

BLITZER: Coming up, much more on the breaking news. Donald Trump sits down with the President of Mexico. Can that lightning visit help turn his campaign around? Our experts are standing by. Stay with us. You're in "THE SITUATION ROOM".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:27:19] BLITZER: Our breaking news -- after a year of leveling insults at Mexico, Donald Trump wrapped up a suddenly arranged visit to Mexico City just hours before his big speech on immigration. Let's bring in our CNN Political Analyst, Rebecca Berg. She's a National Political Reporter for Real Clear Politics. Olivia Nuzzi is a Political Reporter for "The Daily Beast". CNN En Espanol Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent, Juan Carlos Lopez is with us. And CNN Politics Executive Editor, Mark Preston, is with us as well.

Mark, we heard a very different tone today from Donald Trump, especially different than his first speech as a presidential candidate last year. Listen to some of the differences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When Mexico sends it's people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you, they're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us.

They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people.

I happen to have a tremendous feeling for Mexican-Americans, not only in terms of friendships, but in terms of the tremendous numbers that I employ in the United States, and they are amazing people, amazing people.

I have so many, so many friends, and so many friends coming to Mexico and in Mexico. I'm proud to say how many people I employ. And the United States first, second, and third generation Mexicans are just beyond reproach. Spectacular hard working people. I have such great respect for them and their strong values of family, faith, and community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, Mark. So what do you make -- what do you think voters will make of that change in rhetoric? MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, certainly if you

are a disaffected Republican who was not necessarily backing Donald Trump, this is the kind of language you want to hear from him. You want to see him temper his language about Hispanic-Americans. So if you're an independent voter as well, this is something that you want to hear from Donald Trump. The other language, while it might have worked well for him to win the Republican primary, that's not going to help you win the general election, and I think it was very smart of Donald Trump, Wolf, to acknowledge that Mexico has very similar problems that the United States has.

They have an immigration problem from Central America. Those are folks coming across their country to get to the U.S. They have a problem with violence. They have a problem with guns. They have a problem with drugs. And to put these two together and say that there's an acknowledgment on the part of the United States that Mexico is -- their country is being torn apart much like ours is because of these similar circumstances, I think was very smart by Donald Trump.

[17:30:10] BLITZER: Juan Carlos as you know throughout the campaign Donald Trump has made a major pillar of his campaign that he will build a wall along the U.S. Mexico border and Mexico will pay for it, but today he said they didn't talk about who was going to pay for the wall when he met with the President of Mexico.

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN ESPANOL CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, only they know what happened in that meeting. Maybe they did speak about this but I think the important part is the pragmatic aspect that President Pena Nieto showed by standing with a presidential candidate. Donald Trump is not a president but he got the reception of a President. And they didn't talk in this press conference about paying for the wall, but they did talk about the wall. So they both, President Pena Nieto demanded respect from Mexicans, Donald Trump insisted in his point, and I think this is just part of a longer conversation but very positive for both Pena Nieto at least it seems today, and for Trump until now.

BLITZER: Interesting, you know Rebecca, he also said he wants to improve NAFTA the North American Free Trade Agreement which was signed by then President, Bill Clinton. He used to say he wants to scrap it, it's horrible, the worst trade deal ever. This shift in tone, in rhetoric if you will on this point, what do you make of that?

REBECCA BERG, NATIONAL REPORTER, REAL CLEAR POLITICS: Well Trump has also said in the past that he would consider renegotiating it; if he couldn't renegotiate it he would scrap it, or consider scrapping it. But actually that brings him much closer to where Hillary Clinton stands on NAFTA than most Republicans.

In 2008 during the Democrat primary Hillary Clinton actually promoted explicitly either scrapping NAFTA if Canada and Mexico weren't willing to renegotiate terms, or renegotiating those terms. And so it's a really perplexing place for a Republican nominee, for a President to be. But what's really important in terms of today, and the message that Donald Trump needed to get across was that his message sounded more measured, more presidential, less, less tough, and less argumentative. Which is where he needed to go.

BLITZER: This was Donald Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader since he became a candidate really, since he's the -- certainly since he's the nominee, how did he do?

OLIVIA NUZZI, POLITICAL REPORTER, THE DAILY BEAST: Well he certainly as Rebecca just said, took a different tone. He was more measured and I think that will help him maybe turn some of the never Trump people who are reluctant to support him.

But you know Donald Trump's basically based his entire candidacy on his opposition to Mexico and his claim that Mexico is sending racists and criminals across our borders.

And so I don't really see how it helps him with his supporters who he does need to drive to the polls by taking this new measured tone.

BLITZER: It was clearly a much more measured tone. The meeting itself Juan Carlos, you've been doing a lot of reporting on this; I guess key question, why did the President of Mexico invite him and why did Trump accept that invitation?

LOPEZ: I think it was important for both of them to be in front of those podiums, to be in front of the cameras. For Donald Trump to show that he is recognized as a respectable leader south of the border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOPEZ: And even though they have these differences he has shown over and over again that he knows how to dominate the media coverage. And we've been talking about Donald Trump all day. He has a speech tonight, and we haven't talked that much about his rhetoric.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Mark Preston, do you think the meeting itself today, if it lasted for more than an hour, is going to influence at least part of what Donald Trump will say in his immigration speech tonight in Arizona.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: I think he gave us a little clue about what he's going to say tonight. He listed five specific things that he felt that both countries need to work upon.

One was ending illegal immigration, securing the border was another one, dismantling the drug cartels, dealing with NAFTA, and also keeping manufacturing here in the United States as well as in Mexico.

Again the idea that he is gluing Mexico together with the United States when it comes to keeping jobs at least in this hemisphere and not letting them go over to China or India or what have you. I do think tonight that what we saw from him today in Mexico, tonight will probably be a little bit more sharper, he'll be speaking to his supporters in not to a foreign press core that we saw down in Mexico City as well as some U.S. reporters. But I think -- I think we've seen a page turn with Donald Trump on this issue. The question is though will he go back a page as we have seen time and time again.

BLITZER: Everyone stand by, we have much more coming up.

Hillary Clinton dismisses Donald Trump's trip to Mexico, questions whether he's fit to be Commander-in-Chief as a new poll shows most voters don't like either of them.

Also ahead; a shocking new example of Kim Jong-Un's brutality. It's hard to believe why North Korea's top education official was just executed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:39:20]

BLITZER: While Donald Trump was visiting Mexico City today Hillary Clinton gave a major speech on America's place in the world which she used to question Donald Trump's temperament to be Commander-in-Chief.

Let's go to our Senior Washington Correspondent, Joe Johns. Joe, she almost never mentioned Trump by name but she had plenty to say about him.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was very clear who she was talking about. Hillary Clinton's pre-rebuttal to Donald Trump's trip, brief but pointed. Plus an effort by her campaign to refocus today on Trump's past insults.

The former Secretary of State was in Ohio today summarizing her view of how diplomacy works and suggesting that dropping in on neighbors for a few hours and flying home doesn't meet the standard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[17:40:00] JOHNS: Hillary Clinton today dismissing Donald Trump's meeting with the President of Mexico.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: And it certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again. That is not how it works.

JOHNS: Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine who is fluent in Spanish hitting the point too as he met with voters at a Hispanic community center in Pennsylvania.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The thing that's important is this -- is that everybody just remember his actions and his -- [ speaking Spanish ] have been ones that have been very frightening to the community and very divisive.

JOHNS: The Clinton campaign following up with a web video "we'll call it the great wall of Trump."

Clinton's remarks today come after she spent much of the last week focusing on fundraising and debate preparations. CLINTON: The stakes this fall are as high as any election in our lifetimes.

JOHNS: But Trump was her focus today in a speech to the American Legion in Cincinnati.

CLINTON: You don't build a coalition by insulting our friends or acting like a loose cannon.

JOHNS: The Democratic nominee hammered her rival on veterans issues calling out Trump for insulting the Khan family and Senator John McCain.

CLINTON: I will never, ever disrespect Gold star families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Or Prisoners of War who endured so much in our name. To insult them is just so wrong and it says a lot about the person doing the insulting.

JOHNS: Meanwhile Team Clinton is bracing for the FBI's public release of its report investigating Clinton's use of a private email server as more uncovered emails are making headlines and giving Trump fresh lines of attack.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton said under oath that she turned over all of her work related e-mails. But we now know that is just one more Clinton lie.

JOHNS: The state department announcing Tuesday it may have uncovered additional e-mails related to the Benghazi attack. The 30 emails in question could include duplicates and are now being examined.

TRUMP: These were e-mails about Benghazi. It just never ends with the Clintons --

JOHNS: Amid the ongoing questions about Clinton's e-mail practices during her time as Secretary of State, a new Washington Post ABC News poll shows her unpopularity reaching an all-time high in that survey. Among registered voters, 59% say they have an unfavorable view of Clinton while 60% say the same about Trump.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: Hillary Clinton is back in Chappaqua now taking most of the holiday weekend off but she has been busy over the last week raising about $21 million in three days in the Hamptons, Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Joe, thank you. Joe Johns reporting. Let's bring back our political experts. Juan Carlos, she was invited to go to Mexico City as well to meet with the Mexican President, so far she hasn't accepted that invitation. Should she?

LOPEZ: Well, it's a first for Donald Trump, it's not a first for Hillary Clinton, she's done this before and the invitation is open. I'm pretty sure that if the campaign believes they can benefit from this she will but she hasn't faced right now the same challenges that Trump faces with Latino voters. So, the question would be how useful could it be for her?

BLITZER: Is she letting -- Mark Preston, is she letting -- Hillary Clinton is she letting Donald Trump look more presidential if you will by his visit for example to Mexico City, earlier to Louisiana when they were struggling over there. Is it a mistake for her not to show up at these places?

PRESTON: You know Wolf, I think that the way they're running their campaign right now is more long game in the sense that it's more important for Hillary Clinton to go out and raise $21 million to try to fund this massive ad buy that they're going to launch and have launched you know in these closing todays. To Juan Carlos' point there she doesn't necessarily need to go down to Mexico to meet with the President. As Secretary of State this was common place with her to meet with world leaders, so she doesn't necessary need that chit.

The Louisiana thing, you know perhaps was a missed opportunity for her Wolf, but you know that's a moment in time right now that is going to be long forgotten before -- by the time people are actually starting to vote.

BLITZER: You heard the new poll numbers Olivia, this Washington Post ABC News Poll, unfavorable Donald Trump 60%, unfavorable rating Hillary Clinton, 59%.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Both of them very high unfavorable right now. How can they deal with this with only 69 days left to go?

NUZZI: I mean there's nothing really that they can do. What they're going to have to find out is whether or not the American people want someone that they don't like who they know what their faults are already, that being Hillary Clinton. Or someone that they don't like who's completely unpredictable. I mean that's the choice now on the table for the American people. But I don't think there's anything that they can do because they are so well known to really change the way that they're perceived.

[17:45:04]

BLITZER: And if one -- obviously one of them is going to be elected President of the United States. Given those high unfavorables, we can expect a lot of turmoil whoever is elected President of the United States in terms of dealing with the opposition in congress.

BERG: It is going to be more gridlock Wolf. I mean not only because you will likely have a Democratic senate if you look at the polling right now, and a Republican house, so a split congress in terms of the parties. But neither candidate when they win, when one of them wins, would have a mandate to governor govern. So it helps if you can go in as Obama was in 2008 with a commanding victory, be able to say the American people soundly supported what I was promoting as a candidate, and so we need to pursue these policies. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump is going to be in a position where they're able to do that and it's going to be very difficult for either of them to really get anything done unless they want to go the route that President Obama has later in his term and use executive action.

BLITZER: We'll see if they can shift that with these three presidential debates. Tens of millions of people will be watching, that's coming up in the next few weeks.

All right, guys, thanks very much.

Coming up, a new example of the arbitrary brutality of Kim Jong-Un. A top North Korean official pays the ultimate price for what reports call bad posture.

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[17:50:45]

BLITZER: Tonight, we're learning another top member of Kim Jong-Un's regime in North Korea has been executed.

CNN's Brian Todd is joining us with details.

So Brian who was the official and what did he do wrong?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, his name is Kim Yong Jin, he is Kim Jong-Un's top education official. One of the highest ranking members of Kim's inner circle to be executed since Kim had his own uncle killed. This man's alleged crime, having bad attitude and bad posture at meetings. A U.S. official telling us this is an example of King Jong-Un's rule by terror. Analysts say everyone in Kim's inner circle must be look over their shoulder tonight.

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TODD: North Korea's vicious young dictator sends another unmistakable signal to his potential enemies. Tonight CNN is told Kim Jong-Un has ordered more purges, including the execution by firing squad of his top education official Kim Yong Jin.

GREG SCARLATOIU, COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA: Under Kim Jong-Un, nobody but nobody can be absolutely sure. It's the randomness of this brutality and cruelty that is affecting even those at the top.

TODD: A U.S. official tells CNN Kim Jong-Un is using executions as a crude mechanism for internal control. Kim Yong Jin's alleged crime according to a South Korean official, he displayed a "bad attitude" during a recent communist party meeting. Some reports say he was killed for not having good enough posture. But analysts say if he was executed, his purge and those of more than 80 of Kim Jong-Un's top aids and generals could be part of larger plan.

KEN GAUSE, NORTH KOREA LEADERSHIP EXPERT, CAN: It could also be seen as sending a signal inside the regime for the need for absolute loyalty especially in light of the defections that have occurred.

TODD: Recently a top North Korean diplomat in London defected. Other prominent North Koreans have also reportedly bolted. Tonight Kim Jong-Un's apparently feeling uncomfortable enough that he's also purged one of his most powerful intelligence officials, Kim Yong Chul. He is a former body guard for Kim's father and grandfather. He once headed the top secret unit thought to be responsible for the Sony hack.

Kim Yong Chul according to a South Korean official was accused of abusing his power and having a "overbearing manner" but he escaped execution instead we're told being sent to a farm for reeducation.

TODD: Realistically what does that mean? Where was he sent and how is he being treated?

SCARIATOIU: He is sent to a camp where he is subjected to extraordinarily intense indoctrination combined with forced labor.

TODD: These officials are not the only ones suffering at the whim of Kim Jong-Un. The state department says Otto Frederick Warmbier, a 21- year-old student from the University of Virginia hasn't been visited be a western diplomat in six months. He's being held in North Korea sentenced to hard labor for trying to steal a political labor banner.

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TODD: The State Department tonight calling for Otto Warmbier's release on humanitarian grounds but experts tell us the North Korean's may well see this young man as a bargaining chip, leverage to extract possible concessions from the U.S. Or to try to get the U.S. to end its joint military exercises with South Korea, which analysts say will never happen. Wolf?

BLITZER: Brian, there's also concern that there could be some trouble where the other purged official, the intelligence official gets his old job back after his so-called re-education.

TODD: That's right, Wolf. South Korean officials telling reporters that this official Kim Jong-Chul who we featured in our piece he was known to be very aggressive against the South Koreans and the U.S. when he was at the height of his power.

He orchestrated artillery attacks against South Korea, he oversaw the Sony hack, very famous attack on the United States. The concern now that for this man's own survival to prove his loyalty to Kim Jong-Un he could be even more aggressive when he returns so South Korean officials tonight Wolf very, very worried about this man's return.

BLITZER: I'm sure they are. Brian, thank you very much.

Coming up, a storm track has shifted in Gulf of Mexico.

Tens of millions could now be in the path of some severe weather. We've got the latest forecast.

And after routinely hurling insults at Mexico out of the campaign trail, Donald Trump makes a stunning spur of the moment trip to Mexico City, sitting down with that country's president.

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[17:55:03] TRUMP: We did discuss the wall. We didn't discuss payment of wall.

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BLITZER: Happening now, breaking news, payment deferred.

Donald Trump says he spoke with the Mexican President about a border wall but did not discuss who would pick up the tab. What did Trump accomplish with his surprise trip? And how does it tee up his big immigration speech in just a few hours?

Loose cannon blasted. Hillary Clinton suggests Trump's trip to Mexico is a useless photo op and warns military veterans that he would be dangerous Commander-in-Chief. Did she win any votes at a time when her unfavorable ratings are higher than ever?

Taking credit; Russia claims its air strike killed a key ISIS leader as the U.S. gets new information about how he died. Tonight, one U.S. defense official is calling the claim by Vladimir Putin's government laughable.