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Puerto Rico Governor in Washington; George W. Bush Speech; Lack of Niger Answers; Trump Grades Response. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 19, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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

GOV. RICARDO ROSSELLO, PUERTO RICO (live): That they can stay in Puerto Rico, and they can be part of the rebuilding process.

What keeps -- what's going to keep the people there, what's going to keep this going is knowing that we have the backing of the White House. And knowing that we're going to have the backing of Congress so that we can have the resources appropriate to attend to the storm.

And then be smart about it. Be innovative and restore Puerto Rico to a better position than before. Leveraging other stakeholders, private stakeholders, non for profits, people that want to innovate.

This is our opportunity, again, to showcase that Puerto Rico, U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico can come out of this catastrophe stronger than ever before.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Governor, I just want to maybe ask you a question. Because for the spirit of these people that have worked so hard and so long, like Tom and like Brock and like so many others. Did the United States, did our government, when we came in, did we do a great job? Military? First responders? FEMA? Did we do a great job?

ROSSELLO: You responded immediately, sir. And you did so, you know, Tom and Brock, they have been on the phone with me essentially every day since the disaster. We recognize that there are some logistical limitations that we have in Puerto Rico. We didn't have the ports for a couple of days. We didn't have the airports working at full capacity until about a day or two ago.

So, that was always a very limiting step. But if you consider that we've gotten -- even with those obstacles, we've gotten about 15,000 DOD personnel in Puerto Rico, about 2,000 FEMA personnel, HHS and others. The response is there.

But we need to do a lot more? Of course we do. And I think everybody over here recognizes there's a lot of work to be done in Puerto Rico. But with your leadership, sir, and with everybody over here, we're committed to achieving that in the long -- in the long run.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Brock.

BROCK LONG, FEMA ADMINISTRATION: In the last 50 days, though, to put this into context for America, from the Virgin Islands to California, we've been working in 20 different states, disasters in 20 different states.

In the last 50 days, under the president's administration, we've registered close to 4 million Americans for individual assistance. That's more than Katrina, Rita, Wilma and Sandy combined. It's been a tremendous effort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is actually bigger than anything we've seen. And yet, I think our response was better than anyone has ever seen. And, again, we were given an A plus by the man who did this, did what you were doing, for the Clinton administration. And while I don't know him, I would like to thank him for what he said.

Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, (INAUDIBLE) government loans to build the power plant, right, not grants?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're talking about possibly combinations of both. Congress is working right now with the people and representatives of Puerto Rico, and we're talking about potentially combinations of both.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any thoughts on President Bush's speech?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't see it. I didn't see it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE.) He talked about the Alexander Murray plan, health care plan, as a good, short-term solution. And then, you seemed to back off into (INAUDIBLE) speech to (INAUDIBLE) foundation and the assistant (ph) press secretary said yesterday that you opposed it.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I like -- I like people working on plans that are on (ph) time. I think, ultimately, block grants is the way to go, where we block out the money to the states. You'll get better health care. You'll get it for less money. It'll be more specific.

A state is a smaller government and it can take better care of its people. Especially where you have well-run states, where you have governors that do a great job and, you know, states that do a good job.

They'll -- if you look at Florida, if you look at Maine, Maine was very much anxious to do that. Various states. Kentucky. Various states really wanted that block grant money. And, for the most part, I think we have the vote for that. There'll be a transition period.

So, anything they're working on will be short-term. It will be absolutely short-term because, ultimately, it will be -- it's going to be repeal and replace. So, I have great respect, as you know, for both of the senators that you mentioned. And if they can come up with a short-term solution -- what I did say, though, is I don't want the insurance companies making any more money because -- than they have to.

Because you look at the stock prices of the insurance companies from the time of the creation of Obamacare, with 300 around 400 percent and even more than that, increases in their stock. They made a fortune off Obamacare. The people that need Obamacare are decimated. Premiums are up 40, 50, 60 percent, in some cases, over 100 percent. In the case of Alaska, premiums are up over 200 percent.

[13:05:00] So, anything that they're working on is a very short-term, meaning one year to two years max. Because I think we have the votes or we're certainly within one vote. And when you're within one vote, we're able to get a vote.

Senator Cochran, as an example, I have such respect for him because he is not feeling great. I can tell you that. And he got on a plane in order to vote for the budget. And I have great respect for that man. I think it's incredible.

But votes are very fragile. We've found that out. We've seen that. I've learned that. I thought we had it the last time and somebody came out of the blue and voted against it. So, now, we start the process all over again.

But the block grant -- the concept of blocking it out, block grants to the states, that's what people want. And that's what the states want. And that's especially what the well-run states want. Because they will have health care that's so good, far better than anybody has ever even thought.

So, again, I respect very much the two senators you're talking about. I love that they're working on it. I want them to be careful, with respect to insurance companies. Insurance companies are extremely good at making money, extremely talented at making money. And I want them to be careful with that.

We will probably like a very short-term solution until we hit the blocks grants, until that all kicks in. In other words, it doesn't just kick in the following day. There's a transition period. And if they can do something like that, I'm open to it. But I don't want it to be at the expense of the people.

I want it -- I want to take care of our people. I don't want to take care of our insurance companies. They've been very well taken care of over the last number of years. Believe me.

OK. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: There he is, the president of the United States. President Trump and the visiting governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello. They spent about a half an hour there. Let's listen in. I think he's saying something else. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- 20 percent of uranium for whatever reason. And a lot of people understand what those reasons may be. I think that's your Russia story. That's your real Russia story. Not a story where they talk about collusion and there was none. It was a hoax.

Your real Russia story is uranium and how they got all of that uranium. The vast percentage of what we have, that is, to me, one of the big stories of the decade. Not just now, of the decade. The problem is that the mainstream media does not want to cover that story. Because that affects people that they protect. So, they don't like covering that story.

But the big story is uranium and how Russia got 20 percent of our uranium. And it -- frankly, it's a disgrace. It's a disgrace. And it's a disgrace that the fake news won't cover it. It's so sad. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

BLITZER: Well, that was the last question. The pool of reporters now being escorted out of the Oval Office.

Once again, the president spending about a half an hour there on camera with the visiting governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, going through several issues. First and foremost, the crisis in Puerto Rico. Right now, the effort to get tax reform, tax cuts. Another issue on the agenda, health care.

And, finally, you just heard what the president had to say about Russia. That the whole Russia collusion story, once again, he says is a hoax. The big story is the uranium that was purchased -- that was obtained by the Russians, during the Obama administration. He says that's one of the big stories, one of the worst stories of the past decade.

Lots to discuss. First, I want to bring in our Senior White House Correspondent Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, this was the president speaking out forcefully on several important issues. Let's start with Puerto Rico. He gives himself a 10, an excellent job in Puerto Rico.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He did, Wolf. That was perhaps not all that surprising, because we know the president likes to grade himself. And we know that he, and his administration, have been talking about the good work that they've been doing in Puerto Rico.

But the reality on the ground is our team of correspondents and producers have seen and reports on the ground have not necessarily reflected the optimism from the administration.

But he did say he would give the federal response a 10 out of 10. A bit of an interesting moment and body play there from the governor of Puerto Rico who, obviously, is in Washington asking for more aid and more federal assistance.

Wolf, I was struck by one thing, though. The president, for the first time, said that this is worse than Katrina. In fact, when he was visiting Puerto Rico a couple of weeks ago, he said that Katrina was a real catastrophe, that the Hurricane in Puerto Rico was not.

[13:10:00] So, for the first time, he's saying this is worse than Katrina. Of course, in the number of deaths and other things, it does not compare. But that was striking.

But, Wolf, giving it a 10 out of 10 is something that, you know, will certainly be the subject of much debate because many would disagree.

BLITZER: Yes, the -- he says worse than Katrina. And as you correctly point out, I think nearly 2,000 Americans died during Katrina. About 50, I think that's roughly the latest number of deaths reported as a result of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

He also continues to cite the former Clinton FEMA director, James Lee Witt, saying he gets an A plus because of what he has done in Puerto Rico. James Lee Witt says he gets an A plus on what the FEMA and everyone else has done in Texas and Florida. He says it's too early to grade the administration on Puerto Rico. I just want to be precise on that.

But he did get strong words of support from the visiting governor.

ZELENY: He did, of course, Wolf. And the governor, you know, was here to thank the president and he was on Capitol Hill earlier. He was also here to ask for money. And the reality is Puerto Rico had a massive financial crisis before that and they certainly do now, so this is something that's ongoing.

The president also did something we don't see him do often. He declined to answer a question on something. He punted on the question of statehood for Puerto Rico. He said, I do not want to get into trouble answering that question. I won't go there right now. So, that was an interesting moment as well.

But I think the other headlines, Wolf, of course, he had predicted that the Senate would pass the budget this evening. He predicted a success on tax reform. And on health care, again called for a short- term solution, one that doesn't benefit insurance companies.

So, it sounded like to me like, Wolf, he muddied the waters again on health care and what his hope is on this bipartisan bill that's still going through the Senate.

BLITZER: Yes, he seems to, once again, suggest maybe, for the next year or two, he would go along with this bipartisan compromise that's being worked out in the U.S. Senate. Even though yesterday, he made it clear he opposed it. The day before, he seemed to support it.

And as you correctly point out, once again, now, he's a bit unclear. He says he would like a short-term solution. I assume he's referring to what Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Patty Murray, a Republican and a Democrat, are working on right now. But, hopefully, we'll get more clarification in the course of the day.

You know, Gloria Borger is here with our panel. You know, Gloria, let's start off with Puerto Rico right now. The president patting himself on the back, saying, you know what? The federal government has come through.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: And a 10, A plus, whatever grade you want to give yourself. But when he asked the governor, didn't we do a great job? The governor did not give him a grade. The governor said, you responded immediately, sir.

And, you know, there's a -- there's a great difference of opinion in Puerto Rico. You have the mayor of San Juan, who has been a nemesis to this president.

And there are rumors, of course, the politics. Chris and I have been talking about this, that there are politics going on in Puerto Rico. Shock. And that she may actually challenge this governor in the next election. And so, Trump is embracing this Republican here. And -- but yet, he declined to give him a 10.

BLITZER: Yes. You know, David Drucker is with us as well, CNN Political Analyst, senior correspondent congressional correspondent for "The Washington Examiner." Go ahead.

DAVID DRUCKER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, I think what was interesting here is it was, sort of, like a tale of two avails, if you will. Most of -- most of this was Trump being measured, at least by his own standards.

And giving a lot of time and allowing the press a lot of access to see a very warm exchange with Puerto Rico's governor, which I think is a recognition that a lot of the clapping that he was doing in self- congratulating that he was doing on Twitter about how great everything was going.

And all of the jabbing he was doing at San Juan's mayor, even if some of it was in retaliation, was a little bit dicey and probably needed to be dialed back.

And I think whether or not the president was thinking about this, it's important for his open political calculus. Because if you have a mass exodus of Puerto Ricans from the island because they do not get this thing under control and do not rebuild, a lot of them are going to go to Florida. And most of the Puerto Ricans that have immigrated to Florida tend to vote for Democrats. And that could really upend some of Florida's politics.

And also, Wolf, the president has to be careful how he handles this. Because if they want to rebuild, they're going to need a lot of private-sector money. And right now, the private sector is on a hook for a -- on the hook for a lot of Puerto Rican debt. There's been talk about bankruptcies.

And if you want to get the private sector to reinvest and, really, upgrade the infrastructure coming out of this, they're going to need to manage that and it's very delicate.

BLITZER: I want to quickly go to our Polo Sandoval. He's joining us from San Juan, Puerto Rico right now. Where I assume if people have power, and only a small percentage of the people in Puerto Rico still have no power -- still have power right now. A very small percentage still have it.

[13:15:06] But what's the general reaction there to this very warm welcome that the Puerto Rico governor is getting from the president of the United States?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Wolf, these comments will certainly -- these comments coming from the Oval Office certainly going to generate some interest here in Puerto Rico, this island that is, as you say, continues to -- continues on that long and very difficult path to recovery. Puerto Rico's governor and President Trump there addressing some of those challenges that we have seen here on this island, particularly my colleagues, who have been speaking to people in the more rural part of the island. And many of them saying that while supplies do make it on to the island itself, getting into some of those more isolated pockets, that has been the real challenge, especially for local officials.

And that was also an interesting moment that just came out of the White House a little while ago, Wolf. We were all watching there as Puerto Rico's governor was essentially addressing a question from the press about corruption at -- at certain levels here of the government in Puerto Rico and essentially hampering some of the efforts. And that the president, the commander in chief, then interrupting the governor and making it clear (INAUDIBLE) to him that that was purely at the local level. So that was an interesting moment there.

And then, certainly, of course, followed by that -- that self- assessment, that ten out of ten. But I think this really does, as we've just discussed here, really playing into all of this tale of two Puerto Ricos. The administration certainly looking at the situation here on the ground in a very different way, perhaps, than what some of the local people here, especially in some of the more rural parts of the island, their stories that they've been sharing.

So, yes, this assessment, this 10 out of 10 will certainly be something that people here in Puerto Rico will be interesting in. And I can tell you, Wolf, having seen some of these pictures, particularly some of the conversations that have been happening between locals and some of my colleagues, there certainly will be some disagreement as well.

BLITZER: All right. You know, Polo, we're going to get back to you.

There's other important news we're following. A very significant speech today. I want to shift gears and discuss former President George W. Bush. He delivered a very sobering view of the state of America right now in a not so veiled takedown of President Donald Trump's politics. At a national forum in New York City, President Bush went off on partisanship, bigotry and political conspiracy theories. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: In recent decades, public confidence in our institutions has declined. Our governing class has often been paralyzed in the face of obvious and pressing needs. The American dream of upward mobility seems out of reach for some who feel left behind. In a changing economy, discontent deepened and sharpened partisan conflicts. Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.

Our identity as a nation, unlike many other nations, is not determined by geography or ethnicity, by soil or blood. Being an American involves the embrace of high ideals and civic responsibility. We become the heirs of Thomas Jefferson, by accepting the ideal of human dignity found in the Declaration of Independence. We become heirs of James Madison by understanding the genius and values of the U.S. Constitution. We become the heirs of Martin Luther King Jr. by recognizes one another not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

This means that people of every race, religion, ethnicity, can be fully and equally American. It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed. Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone. It provides permission for cruelty and bigotry and compromises the moral education of children. The only way to pass along civic values is to first live up to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Very strong words from the former president, George W. Bush. He clearly did not mention President Trump by name, but a lot of his words are now being seen as a direct -- a direct assault on some of the policy, some of the statements, some of the positions of the Trump administration.

I want to bring in Chris Cillizza, our CNN politics reporter, editor at large.

What did you make of former President Bush's speech?

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER AND EDITOR AT LARGE: A pretty stinging rebuke of Trumpism and I'll add the second from a former president or former presidential nominee. Now, let's not forget John McCain's speech winning the Liberty Medal earlier in the week, which echoed much of what George W. Bush said in this speech.

[13:20:05] On one level, it's not all that surprising. Let's remember, George W. Bush is the brother of Jeb Bush. He is a figure of the Republican establishment. Jeb Bush is someone that Donald Trump went after viciously during the campaign.

On the other hand, there have only been 44 presidents of the United States. This is one of them who happens to be in the same part as the guy currently in the White House, who -- he doesn't say his name, but man are you -- it's pretty clear what he's talking about. He's talking about conspiracy theories. He's talking about total fabrication. Repeatedly talking about bigotry and white supremacy. If that's not a reference to Charlottesville, I don't know what is.

BLITZER: Well, there was a specific reference to Charlottesville when he spoke about soil and blood. CILLIZZA: McCain used that --

BLITZER: You heard -- you heard them white nationalist, the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville uttering blood and soil, a Nazi formula, when they were marching through the university.

CILLIZZA: Exactly. And McCain used that same formulation. I think McCain said, this is not just a country of blood and soil, it's a country of ideals. And Bush said something very similar.

Look, there is a part of the Republican Party -- I think it's about a third at this point if you judge by polls -- that is in somewhere between semi and fully open revolt against the world view, both domestically and in terms of foreign policy of Donald Trump. The problem for those folks is it's one-third of the Republican Party. It's not two-thirds. Yes, Bob Corker. Yes, John McCain. Yes, Ben Sasse. Yes, Jeff Flake. But, no, the vast majority of others, including the leadership of the party.

So I think it's important. I think the fact that you have a former Republican president of the United States speaking out in such clear terms, condemning the sort of Trumpism broadly writ matters. I think we would ignore what's come before it in the recent past if we said, this is going to lead to an avalanche of other Republicans coming out.

DRUCKER: Yes, I mean this -- this is a part of the ongoing ideological civil war and the siren song of nationalism, which has always sort of existed in the underbelly of Republican politics in a minority level for years, is lately ascended because you have a president that flirts with it and you have his allies, which are very open about it.

Unique here that George W. Bush does not speak out that often, even in subtle ways. And also what you see is the old guard of the Reagan wing of the party trying to do their best to hold back the barricade of what -- of the crowd of where they fear the party is going. And the thing is, we don't know if they're going to be successful.

CILLIZZA: That's right.

BORGER: I think what you have is a former president coming out and speaking to Americans. Not just the Republican Party, but speaking to all Americans and somehow it's a little bit easier when you're a former president. People tend to listen to you, no matter -- no matter what they're politics. And using the bully pulpit, as you point out, in a way that he has not done before to just go through a check list of things essentially that he believes Donald Trump has done in a bad way, without -- without mentioning his name.

It does come on the heels of John McCain. But let's not forget, Corker and Jeff Flake. And I think what you're saying -- and, again, the Richard Spencers of the world who are -- who's going to speak tonight, they don't care about this. We -- we get that. But I do believe that when you have a former president coming out this way, that it carries a certain amount of weight.

BLITZER: Certainly does, and especially because, as you point out, he has been silent over these past many months.

BORGER: Absolutely.

BLITZER: It's not every day that former President George W. Bush speaks out. And when he did today, just a little while ago, very, very powerful (INAUDIBLE).

BORGER: I think it's about history. And I think former presidents are always thinking about history and legacy and everything else. And I think, in terms of Bush's own legacy, I think he's thinking, you know, at some point, I needed -- I needed to say something. And this was his way of doing it indirectly, but we get the message.

CILLIZZA: Gloria's right 100 percent. I also think there is a party element here. I think what you've seen from McCain and Bush is this shake the Republican Party by the lapels rhetorically --

BORGER: Right. Right. Yes. Absolutely. Right.

CILLIZZA: And say, what are we doing here?

BORGER: Could do both.

CILLIZZA: And now that hasn't worked yet, but I think you're seeing more of that because I think they see down this road, if you ask George W. Bush, John McCain, down this road, politically and policy wise, lies, in their view, very little good for the long-term health of the Republican Party and the country.

DRUCKER: And their challenge --

BLITZER: All right.

DRUCKER: Their challenge is that a lot of voters look at the run that the party establishment had and they think, things didn't turn out so well. Why should we listen to you?

BLITZER: Everybody stand by. There's a lot more that's going on.

We're going to be speaking with a senator on the Armed Service Committee about the investigation of the Niger ambush, the killing of four U.S. service men. Senator John McCain now floating the possibility of a subpoena to try to find out what happened. He's demanding this from the Trump administration.

[13:25:04] Plus, there's a new warning coming in from North Korea right now. Why it's telling the United States to expect a, quote, unimaginable attack at an unimaginable time.

And right now, over at the University of Florida, they're bracing for a white supremacist speech on campus. Thousands expected to march against him. We'll update you on the very latest. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Right now there's a demand for answers over at the Pentagon, up on Capitol Hill, over the deaths of four U.S. troops at the hands of ISIS affiliated terrorists in Niger. Defense officials tell CNN that the defense secretary, James Mattis, is seriously dismayed at the lack of information he's been given. And just a little while ago, Senator John McCain, he's the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke about his committee's need for more details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Senator, on the Niger mission, what does the committee need to know in terms of details?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Everything.

QUESTION: Can you be more specific?

MCCAIN: Everything. Everything.

QUESTION: What steps will you take, senator, to get to the bottom of this?

MCCAIN: What's that?

QUESTION: What steps will you take (INAUDIBLE)?

MCCAIN: It may -- it may require a subpoena. I did have a good conversation with General McMaster and they said that (INAUDIBLE) and we will hopefully get all the details.

QUESTION: Will you wait until --

QUESTION: Has the administration been forthcoming?

MCCAIN: (INAUDIBLE).

QUESTION: Do you feel the administration has been forthcoming up to this point about what happened there?

MCCAIN: Of course not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Of course not, he said, when he was asked if the administration's been forthcoming up to this point about what happened in Niger.

Let's go to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. She's joining us now.

Barbara, so what are some of the big questions here? What do we know and what do we don't know?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Wolf, this 12- man team, led by green berets, was supposed to be going on a fairly routine mission. They were told it was unlikely, according to the intelligence, that they would run into opposition forces. They'd been in the area before with no reported problems. And they walked right into an ISIS ambush by some 50 ISIS fighters.

[13:30:10]