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The Situation Room
Interview Sunday With Nancy Pelosi; Avalanche of Accusations For Donald Trump; Two New Accusers Say Trump Assaulted Them; Woman Says Trump Groped Her In Early 1990s; Trump States Accusers Have No Witnesses; Mike Pence Saying To Stay Tuned; Pence Says Information Coming Out To Back Trump; Trump Says The Whole Thing Is One Big Fix; Interview with Trump Senior Adviser; More Trump Accusers Come Forward; Hillary Clinton Leaves Others to Discuss Trump Troubles. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired October 14, 2016 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you. Our thoughts and prayers, of course, with that family.
Don't miss "STATE OF THE UNION" in my exclusive interview this Sunday with House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi. That's Sunday at 9:00 Eastern at noon.
That's it for THE LEAD. Here's Wolf Blitzer.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, avalanche of accusations. Two more women come forward claiming that Donald Trump forcibly kissed and groped them. One was a total stranger, the other an "Apprentice" contestant. You'll hear from both.
Melt down, a furious Donald Trump slams his accusers, saying they have no witnesses and calling their claims 100 percent fabricated. But Trump is also targeting Democrats, the news media, other Republicans and the establishment, saying he's facing one big fix.
Matter of hours? Trump's running mate promises evidence proving the accusers are wrong, saying he will come out within hours. But that was nine hours ago. Can Mike Pence back up his claim?
And come on, man. President Obama answers Trump with the verbal equivalent of a shrug and a sigh and rips Republicans for supporting Trump.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the SITUATION ROOM.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BLITZER: Breaking news, two more women come forward alleging that Donald Trumps assaulted them. A former "Apprentice" candidate says that Trump forced himself upon her nearly a decade ago when she met with him looking for a job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He then asked me to sit next to him. I complied. He then grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me again very aggressively and placed his -- placed his hand on my breast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Another woman tells "The Washington Post" that Trump reached under her skirt and groped her at a club in the early 1990s. She says she was motivated to go public after seeing the vulgar video in which Trump boasted of such activity. The Trump campaign calls this a total fabrication and a political attack.
Trump, himself, says the accusers have no witnesses. But as the list of complaints grows, he's increasingly lashing out in all directions. And his accusers, at Hillary Clinton, at fellow Republicans and at some all-powerful establishment, as he calls it, that he suggests is out to get him.
Trump, again insisting, that, quote, "this whole election is being rigged." That it's one big fix, one big ugly lie.
President Obama, today, ripped into Trump and Republicans who have supported him, mocking Trump's claims and promising -- promises with a simple, come on, man. Campaigning for Hillary Clinton, the president says Trump talks tough but doesn't act tough.
I'll speak a Trump senior advisor, the former "Apprentice" contestant, Tana Goertz, and our correspondents, analysts and guests, they will have full coverage of the day's top stories.
Let's begin with Donald Trump. He's the target of new sexual assault accusations, but he's targeting anyone who challenges him. Our National Correspondent Jason Carroll is on the campaign trail in North Carolina right now. Jason, a stunning appearance there by Trump today. Update our viewers.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Donald Trump has said that he would be unshackled going forward and unshackled he was. He went after his accusers in a way that we have not seen before, at one point, making fun of them on stage. He also went after the press in a way that we haven't seen before, saying that the press is making the country sick. And he said if elected, he would put a stop it to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you get hit, you hit back.
CARROLL (voice over): Donald Trump is lashing out, even as more women come forward, accusing him of making unwanted sexual advances.
TRUMP: I think it's disgusting thing and it's being pushed. They have no witnesses. There's nobody around. They just come out. Some are doing it for probably a little fame. They get some free fame. It's a total setup.
Now, suddenly, after many, many years, phony accusers come out a month before one of the most important elections in the history of our country.
CARROLL: "The Washington Post" publishing another alleged incident today involving Kristin Anderson, who says Trump reached under her skirt and groped her at a crowded New York nightclub in the early 1990s.
KRISTIN ANDERSON: The person on my right, who undenounced to me at that time, was Donald Trump, put their hands up my skirt. He did touch my vagina through my underwear. Absolutely.
CARROLL: Trump today calling Anderson's claim false.
TRUMP: One came out recently where I was sitting alone in some club. I didn't -- I really don't sit alone that much. Honestly, folks, I don't think I sit alone. I go in with groups of people. I was sitting alone by myself like this. And then, I went, wow, to somebody. I just heard this one. It's, like -- it's, like, unbelievable.
[17:05:09] CARROLL: As Trump pushes back against the accusations, his running mate says the campaign will soon be providing proof.
GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, just stay tuned. I know that there's more information that's going to be coming out that'll back his claim that this is all categorically false.
CARROLL: Mike Pence also responding to first lady Michelle Obama's emotional speech Thursday, rebuking Trump's sexually aggressive comments about women caught on a hot mic while a 2005 taping for "Access Hollywood."
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: This was not just a lewd conversation. This wasn't just locker room banter. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior and bragging about kissing and groping women.
CARROLL: The Indiana governor today saying their first lady's message was off base.
PENCE: Look, I have a lot of respect for the first lady and the job that she's done for the American people over the last seven and a half years. But I don't understand the basis of her claim. He's categorically denied these latest unsubstantiated allegations.
CARROLL: Another one of Trump's accusers, Jessica Leeds, telling CNN's Anderson Cooper that Trump groped her while they were sitting next to one another on a flight nearly 30 years ago.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "A.C. 360": Did he actually kiss you?
JESSICA LEEDS: Yes, yes.
COOPER: On the face or on the lips?
LEEDS: Wherever he could find a landing spot, yes.
His hands were everywhere.
CARROLL: Trump responding today, suggesting Leeds was not attractive enough to interest him.
TRUMP: Oh, I was with Donald Trump in 1980. I was sitting with him on an airplane. And he went after me on the plane. Yes, I'm going to go after you. Believe me, she would not be my first choice.
CARROLL: As the Trump campaign reels from accusations of sexual assault, his eldest son drawing attention for comments he made in 2013, suggesting women who cannot handle sexual harassment should find another job.
DONALD TRUMP, JR.: If you can't handle some of the basic stuff that's become a problem in the workforce today, --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, right.
DONALD TRUMP, JR.: -- like, you don't belong in the workforce.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
DONALD TRUMP, JR.: Like, you should go, you know, maybe teach kindergarten. I think it's a respectable, you know, position.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (on camera): And, Wolf, Trump saved some choice words for Hillary Clinton and the president, saying that when Hillary Clinton walked by him on the debate stage, he said he, quote, "was not impressed." And he also mentioned the president, saying these words, a bit of a warning, saying, quote, "Why doesn't some woman maybe come up and say what they say falsely about me? They could say the same about him." -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jason, thanks very much. Jason Carroll reporting.
Let's turn to our Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. Jim, Donald Trump is hitting back hard at his accusers but he also seems to be firing in all directions. Update our viewers on that.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Wolf. And we should point out that the Trump campaign is saying that they're going to be presenting material to refute all of these allegations we've been hearing about over these last several days. I talked to one Trump campaign official earlier today who was saying, well, we want to put together this information strategically, methodically. That's why we haven't seen it yet. But that it is coming.
But those staffers, Wolf, are working for a candidate who is sounding increasingly frustrated. You heard him out on the campaign trail. That would be all you would need to know.
Listen how he sounded early today, when he was talking about, once again, this conspiracy between the Clinton campaign and the media that are out to get him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The process is rigged. This whole election is being rigged. These lies, spread by the media, without witnesses, without back up or anything else, are poisoning the minds of the electorate. No witnesses, no back up, no anything else. And I'm telling you, I have many top professionals, don't talk about this Donald, nobody believes it.
I say, maybe some do believe it. You have to talk about it. When somebody makes -- am I right? Make -- when somebody makes an accusation that you did something and you weren't -- you never saw this person before, it's a lie. A total lie. It's fabrication. Sometimes they do it for fame. Maybe they get money. Who knows? The Clinton campaign is pushing it. The whole thing is one big fix. It's one big fix. It's one big, ugly lie. It's one big fix.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, one thing that is very important for Donald Trump, at this point, Wolf, is to keep his staffers happy in these battleground states that he absolutely has to win, like North Carolina where we are tonight. Donald Trump will be out here in a couple of hours to address a rally of supporters.
[17:10:00] I talked to one battleground state official earlier today who is saying that this person is, basically, ready for this campaign to be over. At the state level, they're, essentially, getting themselves to the point where they are bracing for one of these scandals to come out every day, Wolf.
It sounds like, at least on the state level, that there's a little bit of depression settling in and a little bit of certainty that, perhaps, this election is not going to go their way, based on everything that's happening these last several days -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jim Acosta reporting, thanks very much.
Since the "Access Hollywood" tape of Donald Trump came out last Friday, exactly one week ago, seven women have come forward, describing behavior similar to what Trump bragged about. CNN has not been able to independently confirmed these claims, but two more women went public today. We want to play for you the stunning allegations from former "Apprentice" candidate, Summer Zervos, who says she came forward after she heard the recording of Trump boasting about such behavior. Listen to this.
(BEGN VIDEOTAPE)
SUMMER ZERVOS, FORMER CANDIDATE, "APPRENTICE": In 2007, I was going to New York for a social obligation. I contacted Mr. Trump's office to see if he was available for lunch. I was informed that he could not have lunch but that he would like to meet me with him in his office. When I arrived, he kissed me on the lips. I was surprised but felt that, perhaps, it was just his form of greeting. We sat and spoke. He was extremely complimentary. He said that he was impressed with how I handled myself on the "Apprentice." He said that he had never met anyone with my combination of being smart, attractive and with the largest set of balls as I had. He way say -- he said that he would love to have -- he said he would love to have me work for him.
Mr. Trump said he would be coming to Los Angeles soon, and he would contact me. I felt as though I was reaching for my brass ring. I was very excited. I felt as though my dream of working for Mr. Trump might come true.
As I was about to leave, he, again, kissed me on the lips. This made me feel nervous and embarrassed. This is not what I wanted or expected. He asked for my phone number, and I scrolled it down with a marker. I left hurriedly and called a friend who lived in New York because I was upset by the kiss. I also called my parents to let them know what had happened.
I spoke at length with my loved ones, and we came to the conclusion that this was undoubtedly some form of greeting and that it should not be taken as anything other than that.
Mr. Trump called early in the morning the day I returned home. He referred to me as his O.C. angel. He wanted to know who was with me at that hour. He scolded me about my penmanship because it was difficult for him to read my telephone number as I had written it for him. Even though he had called me, he include -- he concluded the call by asking for my phone number.
He then called again, days later, to let me know that he was coming to Los Angeles. He then -- he, again, called me after he had just landed in Los Angeles. He asked me to meet him that evening at the Beverly Hills Hotel and asked me where I would like to have dinner.
When I arrived, the security guard greeted me at the hotel. He walked with me to greet Mr. Trump. I assumed we were going to a restaurant in the hotel. Instead, I was taken to a bun bungalow. The security guard opened the door and I went in.
I was standing in the entryway. To my left was a bedroom and I saw Mr. Trump's clothes on the bed. I did not see him but he greeted me with hello in a (INAUDIBLE) voice. It sounded like, hello. I thought the mistake had been made and Mr. Trump thought he was speaking to someone he was more familiar with. I walked further into the living, away from the bedroom, and sat down. I waited for about 15 minutes until Mr. Trump emerged. He had his suit on.
I stood up and he came to me and started kissing me open mouthed as he was pulling me towards him. I walked away and sat down in a chair. He was on a love seat across from me, and I made an attempt at conversation. He then asked me to sit next to him. I complied. He then grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me again, very aggressively, and placed his -- placed his hand on my breast. I pulled back and walked to another part of the room. He then walked up, grabbed my hand and walked me into the bedroom. I walked out. He then turned me around and said, let's lay down and watch some tele- tele.
[17:15:00] He put me in an embrace -- in an embrace and I tried to push him away. I pushed his chest, put space between us and I said, come on, man, get real. He repeated my words back to me. Get real, as he began thrusting his genitals. He tried to kiss me again with my hands still on his chest and I said, dude, you're tripping right now, attempting to make it clear I was not interested.
He said, what do you want? And I said, I came to have dinner. He said, OK, we'll have dinner. He paced around the room. He acted like he was a bit angry. He pointed out that someone had delivered a fruit basket. I felt that it was to show me how important he was.
As we were waiting for dinner, I sat across from him as far away as possible. He started saying that he did not think I had ever known love or had ever been in love. I did not want to discuss my personal life with him. Then, just before dinner arrived, he transformed into being all about business and began questioning me as though I was on a job interview.
Dinner was delivered to the bungalow. When dinner arrived, he asked me to wait in a small room. I felt that he did not want the waiter to see me. After the table was set, he beckoned me to come out. We shared a club sandwich.
The conversation then focused on the fact that I had a mortgage on my home which I told him was in good standing. He spoke about who was -- he spoke about how he was able to maneuver to get out of debt. He told me that I need to let my house go into default and tell the bank they would take back -- tell the bank they could take it back. He advised that then the bank would then take anything to rid themselves of a problem loan.
He told me to call the bank and tell them I was leaving the keys on the table -- on the table and for them to just pick them up. He said that would be a mini-version of what he does. He urged me not to make another payment on my home loan.
He then abruptly said he was tired and that he needed to go to bed and ended the conversation. He told me to meet him in the morning at his golf course in Palos Verdes. I was very conflicted after what had occurred. I wondered if the sexual behavior was some kind of test or whether or not I had passed. Obviously, he still wanted me -- obviously, he still wanted to talk to me about job inter -- obviously, he still wanted to talk to me about a job, even though I had turned his sexual advances down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Joining us now is Tana Goertz, a Senior Advisor to the Trump campaign, who herself is a former "Apprentice" contestant. Tana, thanks very much for joining us. You heard these allegations from one of your colleagues, also a former "Apprentice" contestant, if you will. These allegations, what's your reaction?
TANA GOERTZ, SENIOR ADVISOR, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: You know, Wolf, this is not the Donald Trump that I know. And the experience that I had on the "Apprentice" has been nothing but a positive experience. I was not there but this is not the most recognizable business leader who mentors women. And I was a runner up and spent a lot of time with Mr. Trump. And this is new to me and quite shocking three weeks away from the Election Day.
BLITZER: Do you believe this -- not just this woman but this woman and the other women are telling the truth?
GOERTZ: Well, it's -- I mean, I find it very coincidental that this -- if this did happen to them, they're holding onto this for over a decade and we're three weeks away from the election and now the stories are coming out. So, there's many, many, many opportunities where I get to see how people want to get their name out in front of the public. Mr. Trump is going to be our next president of the United States.
And this is anybody who says the words, Donald Trump, will get on television. And I wasn't there, so I'm not going to make allegations as to if they are telling the truth or not. But this is not the Donald Trump that has mentored me and the man that I respect and admire. And my teenage daughter, I'm 100 percent comfortable putting her around Mr. Trump as I have.
BLITZER: They all make the same point that they're speaking out now because of what Donald Trump have said -- himself said at that second presidential debate, when he flatly denied in response to a question from Anderson Cooper, that he ever actually did any of these things. He boasted about locker room talk, if you will. But flatly denied that he ever groped or sexual assaulted any of these women. These women are now coming out, they say, because they want -- they want to rebut what they call that lie.
GOERTZ: Well, here's the thing, Wolf. If this happened, as a woman, you don't forget these things, and you don't hold on and harbor them for over a decade. You talk about it immediately. You contact the law enforcement. You make a case and you prosecute. And that didn't happen.
[17:20:05] So, you know, I understand that they're saying, after the tapes, now, I feel like, oh, hey, wait a minute, I remember that that happened. I just -- it's -- it doesn't pass the sniff test.
BLITZER: Yes, but all of these women, obviously, they remembered -- all these women also say, simultaneously, contemporaneously, if you will, they did tell loved ones, friends. They shared this. But this is a powerful man. They were afraid to go public out of fear that it could really hurt them if they did.
GOERTZ: Well, we've heard that they have witnesses. Well, we shall see. Gloria Allred did not say what those witnesses had to say or, you know, she said she interviewed them. More will come out.
But, like I said, Wolf, I've known this man for over a decade. He has done nothing but empowered me and many other females. He was -- I've been alone with him many times. You know, even as a contestant and now being a senior leader, as a female leader on his campaign, travel with him. And this is a man that has never acted inappropriately. Donald Trump doesn't need to act like this. He's got bigger fish to fry right now and that is winning the election and defeating Hillary Clinton.
BLITZER: Listen to what he said today, because this is causing a strong reaction as well. Listen to what he said out on the campaign trail today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton has 800 people. Oh, the crowd is so big. It is horrible. It is really horrible. The corrupted media is trying to do everything in their power to stop our movement. Believe me. They don't this happening. We have one of the great movements. We have the great movement. We have a movement that's never happened before.
Take a look. You take a look. Look at her.
Say, oh, I was with Donald Trump in 1980. I was sitting with him on an airplane and he went after me on the plane. Yes, I'm going to go after you. Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you. Man, you don't know. That would not be my first choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And, yesterday, Tana, you heard him say, look at her, as if she wasn't attractive enough for him to be going after her, if you will. But in that "Access Hollywood" exchange that he had with Billy Bush, he bragged about specifically doing these kind of things. We have the clip. I'll play it for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The process is rigged. This whole election is being rigged. These lies spread by the media, without witnesses, without back up or anything --
You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. And I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.
BILLY BUSH, FORMER HOST, NBC "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD LIVE": Whatever you want.
TRUMP: Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right, so, Tana, you heard him bragging about what he does. And then, these women come forward and say that he did it to me. Your reaction?
GOERTZ: Women have long memories, Wolf. We don't forget much. And the fact that they forgot this. But now, because of the tapes, remember, three weeks out, it just doesn't make sense to me. My reaction is, let's just look at the policies, the issues, that -- what Mr. Trump is going to do. Actions versus actually --
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: But, Tana, no one says -- no one says these women forgot. These women have remembered this all these years.
GOERTZ: But why didn't they talk about it prior to this?
BLITZER: You know, this --
GOERTZ: Why didn't they bring it out?
BLITZER: It seems to be not all that unusual for these women to feel if they do come forward and accuse these men, powerful men, of doing these things, their life is further going to be ruined. That's what -- you hear it from these women all the time, Tana.
GOERTZ: Well, you do hear this from women. I'm -- I thank god every day that I've never been in this situation, so I can't have empathy because I've never been through this. So, I do not know, Wolf.
What I do know and what I can share with you and your viewers is the Donald Trump that I know, the Donald Trump that's helped me and many, many other, thousands, 10s of thousands of women, elevated us, promoted us, mentored us, guided us in a professional business-like way. He has never, ever acted out.
So, I have to trust the man that I know and have known for over 11 years versus hearsay from a woman who's coming out, or women, who are coming out three weeks away from Election Day.
BLITZER: Stand by, Tana, we're going to continue this conversation. There's more to discuss. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
[17:24:53]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Breaking news, two more women accused Donald Trump of forcibly kissing and groping them. Trump is denying the claims, saying his accusers have no witnesses. CNN has not been able to independently confirm these most recent claims.
We're back with Tana Goertz, a Senior Advisor to the Trump campaign, who is, herself, a former "Apprentice" contestant.
Tana, does Melania Trump need to come out and speak to defend her husband?
GOERTZ: No, Melania already put out a statement saying that she wasn't happy. She has -- her husband has apologized to her and the family and all of America. And she has forgiven him. And she said not happy about it but she forgave him and she said, we're going to move on. And he has learned from this. And he's a changed man.
And many men, Wolf, as you know, I'm sure you have a lot of male friends who are changed men after maybe making a mistake decades ago. And Mr. Trump is a changed man.
[17:30:06] So, no, Melania doesn't need to do anything. Melania's interest is raising her child and being the best mother that she can be.
BLITZER: Has Trump's behavior in the past few days dealing with this crisis shown him to be Presidential?
GOERTZ: Absolutely. You know what he's going to fight for our country Wolf. Mr. Trump is a man, you know if you attack him and you are lying, and you are wrong, and it's not based on anything of solid facts, and it's not true, Mr. Trump will defend himself. And I want someone that will defend our cou8ntry and will defend us and will make people respect us. And it will make people think twice about ever making allegations ...
BLITZER: ... But, Tana, why are so certain these women now at least seven women over the past few days have come forward. Why are you so certain they're lying.
GOERTZ: I'm not saying that they're lying, Wolf, I'm just saying that it's awfully weird that three weeks away from Election Day their memory says, oh, that's right, that happened to me. I better go out, do a press conference, hire myself a nice attorney, talk about first class -- I mean seriously do you really think Donald Trump attacked a woman in first class. Like, how do you do that?
You and I fly first class a lot I'm sure, and you know have you ever seen anybody act like that in first class? No. And, Mr. Trump doesn't need to act like that and he doesn't act like that. So, Americans
BLITZER: Let me just -- let me play the clip one more time of what he said in that ...
GOERTZ: ... just in case I haven't heard it.
BLITZER: That -- he himself said these things. The women didn't say this, you didn't say it, I didn't say it. The -- Donald Trump ...
GOERTZ: ... no, I know.
BLITZER: Donald Trump himself said this; I'll play the clip one more time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm automatically attractive to beautiful. I just start kissing them, it's like a magnet, I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it, you can do anything, grab them by the pussy, you can do anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: I mean that -- those are his words, Tana that --
GOERTZ: Of course.
BLITZER: You know, you acknowledge he said that right?
GOERTZ: Absolutely. And, he acknowledged that he said it.
BLITZER: So, he's basically -- he's basically acknowledging, confirming, admitting to what these seven women have accused him of doing.
GOERTZ: He did that years ago, said that years ago and he apologized to the American people for what he did. And, he called it locker room talk and guess what, Wolf, I have a son who plays sports and I've been in his locker room and that is how they talk. I have a husband who is an athlete -- that is how that men talking ...
BLITZER: ... locker room talk -- locker room talk is one thing, but actually doing it. This is sexual assault if you will. Actually doing it is something else.
GOERTZ: And he didn't do it Wolf. He said those words ...
BLITZER: ... how do you -- how do you know, if these women say he did, how do you know he didn't?
GOERTZ: I know the man and Mr. Trump tells me he did not do it then I believe Mr. Trump because I know him and I don't know the women. I know his character, I don't know the women.
So, let me tell you what there are a million of Americans that know the difference between -- know the difference between fact and fiction. And those millions of American people are going to go out and vote for Donald Trump because they don't care what his words were decades ago. They care about what the actions of Hillary Clinton's husband, who will be in the White House if she should get elected.
And, we don't want another person in the White House who is going to have affairs with interns in the oval office. We just can't have that again. So Mr. Trump's words versus Hillary Clinton's husband's actions are what Mr. Trump wants the American people to remember.
BLITZER: But, one final question, Tana, I know you've got to run. One final question; if it does come out that he did commit these acts against these women over the years, would you still support him for President?
GOERTZ: I would still support Donald Trump for President of the United States if this does come out and he has -- issues an apology, yes. Win, lose, or draw, my loyalty for Donald Trump will not change.
BLITZER: Tana Goertz, a former Apprentice contestant, thanks so much for joining us.
GOERTZ: Thanks, Wolf. Take care.
BLITZER: Thank you. Coming up, these two new accusers join a growing list of women who say Donald Trump sexually assaulted them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Trump is strongly denying the accusations. He's lashing out in all directions at the same time. Our political experts are standing by, stay with us. You're in the Situation Room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:39:11]
BLITZER: We're following the breaking news, two more women accusing Donald Trump of lewd and inappropriate sexual behavior.
One is a former "Apprentice" contestant. The other says she and Trump were complete strangers.
Let's bring in our political experts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And Dana Bash, I'll start with you. Only 25 days to go until the elections. Look what we're talking about at this moment. How does the Trump campaign recover?
DANA BASH, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to answer that question. Honestly I don't really think there is a positive answer for them in this particular case. I think that they're in survival mode, not recovery mode, with only 25 days left to go.
And it's not helped by the fact that the candidate himself continues to give the story oxygen by talking about it, and defending himself. My understanding is that the advice was to try to get him to talk about the issues, the old pivot that he hates to hear about, but he can't help himself.
Now, on the one hand I guess in some ways on a human level it's kind of understandable but on a political level? I mean you've just got to try to ignore it and more on because the more he talks about it the more other people are discussing it. And it just, it certainly gets the base riled up because the people who he joked about that are his supporters even if he shot somebody on Fifth Avenue looks like they're still with him. But that core is shrinking and more importantly he's not gaining voters that he needs to win the presidency.
[17:40:42]
BLITZER: Yes he himself said today at his rally, his advisors are telling him don't talk about this, talk about the issues, the domestic economic issues, the national ...
BASH: ... he can't help himself.
BLITZER: But he says I -- you know you hit me, I hit back, I've got to defend myself.
And Mark Preston, he defended himself, the allegation that he sexually abused a woman sitting next to him in first class on a plane. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Oh, I was with Donald Trump in 1980! I was sitting with him on an airplane! And he went after me on the plane. Yeah, I'm going to go after you. Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you. Man. You don't know. That would not be my first choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And yesterday he said look at her, look at her, as if these women were not attractive enough for him to make sexual advances toward them.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Right, and I think we can leave that without comment there because it says all. Look at his body language though. This is what I was mesmerized by. The cadence, his voice, the change in tone, the wild hand movements, the step back, the dismissiveness of that. That to me, you know, is a very telling sign that he has lost absolutely all control. The campaign has lost all control of him. They can't reign him in and as Dana said, we've got 25 days. Is this about survival, it's no longer about political survival it's about the survival of your reputation going forward; which right now is severely damaged.
BLITZER: Julia Loffe, you wanted to weigh in.
JULIA LOFFE, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, POLITICO MAGAZINE: Well, I think it's deeply ironic that one of -- that Trump has always said that his last, kind of the last tool in his tool kit would be going after Hillary Clinton as an enabler of Bill Clinton's alleged victims. That she attacked them, that she impugned their reputations. And whose doing it now? It's Donald Trump.
Even though studies consistently show that a very, very tiny percentage, something like 2% of sexual assault victims -- or that sexual assault claims are actually not true.
BLITZER: And it's sort of fitting a pattern Rebecca right now, the way Trump has reacted to these allegations, these accusations. It's sort of similar to what happened after the Gold Star family, the Khans said what they said. Then he had to respond to that. Alicia Machado, the Miss Universe, he had to response to that. And, that keeps all of this going and going because he needs to respond.
REBECCA BERG, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, REAL CLEAR POLITICS: It does. I mean here's the thing, Wolf. Donald Trump has maybe the biggest mega phone right now of anyone in this country and he's using it to attack ordinary Americans who have made him mad. He's using it to attack the Khan family, attack women who are accusing him of sexual assault. I can't think of a time when a presidential candidate has ever done this...
BASH: ... the house speaker.
BERG: ... the house speaker. But the house speaker is a public figure. The house speaker is someone in the arena. These are people who are not for the most part.
BASH: Good point.
BERG: Who don't have his mega phone, and don't have his access, his power. And that's part of the reason that some of these women were so hesitant to come forward in the first place. He's just proving why it was so difficult for them to make these charges initially.
LOFFE: And for all sexual assault victims it's notoriously difficult for victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape to come forward because people start picking their lives apart. Have they ever lied? Have they ever done anything that was short of Mother Teresa's standards. Were there witnesses there? You know they're in some ways held up to a higher standard than some other ...
BLITZER: ... especially when the -- the man let's say is a very wealthy, powerful man.
BASH: That's right.
BERG: And, yet in this case his best defense is that they weren't attractive enough for him to sexually assault them.
BLITZER: Dana, listen to what he also said today at this rally about Hillary Clinton and her appearance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: The other day I'm standing, I told you this, but I'm standing at my podium and she walks in front of me. Right. She walks in front of me. You know. And when she walked in front of me, believe me I wasn't impressed. But she walks in front of me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: He got a little laughter out of that one. I wasn't impressed.
BASH: I don't even want to dignify that with words. It's just, it's appalling. I mean, it really is. I think that we have worked so hard to try to be gender-neutral when it comes to you know, politicians and people succeeding and so forth and that just completely changes -- I mean imagine if Hillary Clinton said that about Donald Trump. I mean, just imagine. Because it's possible. She could have.
[17:45:18]
LOFFE: But this is Trump unshackled. Right. He tweeted the other day that he was glad to finally be free of these shackles and to be himself and here we go, it's a drowning man who is flailing and making it impossible for anyone to try to rescue him because he's flailing so violently.
BLITZER: Where -- I thought he had advisors who were trying to help him -- protect him if you will.
PRESTON: Wolf, I mean sometimes you can't protect somebody who doesn't want to protect themselves. He has gone on throughout this campaign, he only acknowledged the other night that he was a politician. He's really not a politician, politician's a bad word, but a politician is somebody who is a tactician and understands the business, understand the game. Understands that there are people smarter than he or she when it comes to campaigning, when it comes to policy.
Donald Trump thinks that he's the end all be all. But, let me just say this. Yes, men do talk in lewd terms, OK. For us to sit here -- for me to sit here and say that isn't true would be a lie. Men don't talk like Donald Trump though. They don't talk in those terms. I mean he took it to an nth degree. And, quite frankly the unshackledness though what's really disturbing is that he continues to do this. He's the Republican nominee right now, and the fact of the matter is he wants to be the leader of the free world.
BASH: And the key we have to keep underscoring, is that we were talking about talk a week ago last Friday, and even then it was describing sexual -- even then it was describing sexual assault. Now we have multiple allegations saying that he actually did ...
BLITZER: Standby. Everyone standby. At least seven women now have come forward since a week ago when that Access Hollywood tape came out. While Donald Trump's campaign battles new allegations of sexual assault Hillary Clintons is raising money out of the West Coast, letting her husband, as well President Obama, address crowds on her behalf.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: She's in Seattle right now, as is our Jeff Zeleny.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: So, Jeff. Is Hillary Clinton saying anything at all about Trump's troubles?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: She is indeed Wolf. I just came from a fundraiser that she had in downtown Seattle. She said these disturbing stories keep coming. Now, she did not dwell specifically on these latest allegations in the New York Times and elsewhere. But she told the audience why this election is so important and why democrats can't be complacent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Tonight, as her opponent is reeling from accusations of sexual assault, Hillary Clinton hits the West Coast for one final fundraising push. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have 25 days left.
ZELENY: But, she's outsourcing her fight against Donald Trump in battle ground states today, to two presidents.
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: Donald Trump's closing argument is what do you have to lose. The answer is everything.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I simply do not believe the bleak picture of our future that Hillary's opponent has painted.
ZELENY: President Obama and former President Clinton both blanketing Ohio today. Part of an all-out push from democrats to keep Trump from rising out of his downward spiral.
But it's the speech from Michelle Obama that's still reverberating.
MICHELLE OBAMA, U.S. FIRST LADY: This isn't about politics. It's about basic human decency.
ZELENY: Secretary Clinton highlighting it during an appearance on Ellen.
CLINTON: The speech that she gave I think put into words what so many people are feeling. And not just women and girls, men and boys.
ZELENY: The Clinton campaign believes Mrs. Obama makes the strongest and most authentic case against Trump. They've turned her speech into this campaign video.
M. OBAMA: It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn't have predicted.
ZELENY: Even as Clinton's path to 270 electoral votes is widening and she leads nationally, the race is deadlocked in Ohio. Trump 42. Clinton 41% according to an NBC News Wall Street journal poll. President Obama who carried Ohio twice spent two days in the state.
He had a message for skeptical liberals.
B. OBAMA: If you felt the burn in the primaries you need to vote.
ZELENY: And republicans who are abandoning Trump.
B. OBAMA: All of that bile, all the exaggeration, all the stuff that was not grounded in fact, just kind of bubbled up, started surfacing. They know better a lot of these folks who ran, and they didn't say anything.
ZELENY: All this as more hacked emails from Clinton advisors continue to show the calculating side of their campaign. And the slow road to an apology over the private e-mail server she used as Secretary of State.
After Clinton told NBC's Andrea Mitchell last year she was sorry about the confusion over her email server, aids cheered. Longtime advisor, Neera Tanden wrote, campaign chair John Podesta -- apologies are like her Achilles heel but she didn't seem like a bitch in the interview. And she said the word sorry. She will get to a full apology in a few interviews.
Meanwhile Clinton is playing it safe and taking full advantage of the democratic bench stepping away from swing states to bill her war chest for the final 25 days. California has been Clinton's political money machine. 71 events this campaign alone, raising more than $100 million according to a CNN analysis of her fund-raising.
[17:50:10]
ZELENY: Despite her growing confidence Clinton is warning against complacency as she heads into the homestretch and a final debate next week with Trump.
CLINTON: I don't want anybody to think this election's over, because it's been so unpredictable up now, that I'm not taking anything for granted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: So now these fund-raisers have been on the schedule for a longtime. That's why she was in California yesterday, and Seattle today. But Wolf, she made the rare decision to open her fund-raisers to our cameras and allowed reporters inside, so she would have a presence on the campaign trail, as well. And she told this room full of enthusiastic supporters, if they do their jobs in the next 25 days she said Donald Trump will no longer be on the news. I'm not so sure how true that is though, Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, good point. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much. We're following the breaking news. Two more women coming forward today accusing Donald Trump of sexual assault. However, one woman we're hearing very little from right now is trump's wife, Melania. Brian Todd has the latest on that. Why hasn't she been more visible?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we have been pressing the Trump campaign about that. We have not gotten an answer yet. Melania Trump is seen as someone, maybe the only person, who might be able to help Donald Trump at least address some of these allegations in public. But tonight, her silence is resonating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Right now, I am being viciously attacked with lies and smears. It's a phony deal. I have no idea who these women are.
TODD: As the accusations pile up, the most important woman in Donald Trump's inner circle has stayed silent, and has been largely absent from the campaign trail since her ill-fated speech at the convention.
MELANIA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP's WIFE: My parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life.
TODD: Melania Trump made it clear earlier in the campaign that she would focus much of their time raising their son, Baron. But she did issue a statement the morning after the Access Hollywood tape came out, saying, "the words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know.
Through her lawyers, Mrs. Trump also sent a letter to the writer and editor of a "People" magazine article. She threatened to sue them, not over the writer's allegations that Trump sexually assaulted her but over a passage which claimed falsely, according to Melania Trump, that the writer once casually yet Mrs. Trump on the street.
LYNN SWEET, CHICAGO SUN TIMES: Well, it's nitpicking and it's not part of the larger issue.
TODD: How does Melania Trump really feel about all the allegations? Why hasn't she come out and spoken at any length about them to cameras?
M. TRUMP: We love you too.
TODD: The campaign isn't commenting. A crisis communication guru has a theory.
RICHARD LEVICK, CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST: I think there's real fear, what else might there be?
TODD: Mrs. Trump does have examples to follow.
SWEET: Usually in campaigns, wives are used to be validators of their husband. To be a voice to talk about their husband. Wives and campaigns or spouses in general in campaigns are often used to tell the public about a side of the candidate that they otherwise would not know.
TODD: A role immortalized by Hillary Clinton in 1992, 60 Minutes interview after Jennifer Flowers said she had a long running affair with Bill Clinton.
CLINTON: I'm not sitting here as some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette. I'm sitting here because I love him, and I respect him and I honor what he's have been through and what we've been through together. And, you know, if that's not enough for people, then heck, don't vote for him.
TODD: But so far none of that from Melania Trump. It's been left to her husband.
TRUMP: And, by the way we're stronger today than we ever were before. Which is good.
TODD: If Mrs. Trump addresses the multiple allegations, how should she do it?
LEVICK: They need to take her out of the cocoon, take her out of hibernation. She needs to be front and center, talking about this issue, showing her forgiveness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Now, "The New York Times" reports that Donald Trump and his advisers have considered a joint television interview that he and Melania Trump would give to a major network. But "The Times" says after the statement from the Access Hollywood anchor who Trump talked about in that initial Access Hollywood tape, and after excerpts from his interviews with Howard Stern came out, campaign officials nixed that idea. The Trump campaign would not comment on that or give us any comment for our story today. Wolf?
BLITZER: Brian, if she does do a joint interview with him, most observers don't believe it really could save his campaign, do they?
TODD: Most of them really do not Wolf at this point. The crisis communication specialist we spoke to, he called this crisis "unwinnable." He says the family has to think about at this point is saving the Trump brand, the Trump properties, the T.V. entities, the products. Those could also be in jeopardy right now and Trump has to think about all that.
BLITZER: Brian Todd, thanks very much. Coming up our breaking news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Two more women come forward claiming that Donald Trump assaulted them sexually. But Trump says his accusers have no witnesses and he insists all the claims against him are fabricated.
[17:55:10]
TRUMP: Say oh, I was with Donald Trump in 1980. I was sitting with him on an airplane. And he went after me on the plane. Yeah, I'm going to go after you. Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Happening now, breaking news. Apprentice accusations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: A former contestant from Donald Trump's reality show comes forward accusing the GOP nominee of sexual assault hours after another woman told the Washington Post, Trump groped her in a bar. Will more women speak out?
One big lie. Donald Trump dismisses allegations he forced himself sexually on women calling them --
