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Hala Gorani Tonight
FBI: No Charges Recommended Against Hillary Clinton; Theresa May Ahead After First Round Of Voting; Stephen Crabb Withdraws From Race To Be U.K. Prime Minister; ISIS' Deadly Month-Long Rampage; Obama Appears With Clinton At Campaign Event. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired July 05, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(HEADLINES)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL GUEST ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Issa Soares, live from London's Houses of Parliament in for Hala Gorani. You are watching
THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
A very good evening. We'll have the very latest on the race for the British prime minister coming up. But first, a major announcement about an
issue that's dogged Hillary Clinton for months as she campaigns for U.S. president. FBI Director James Comey said his agency will not recommend
criminal charges against Clinton for her use of private e-mail server while she was secretary of state.
He says, quote, "No reasonable prosecutor would pursue such a case." But Comey did have harsh criticism of Clinton as he revealed the findings of
the year-long investigation. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the
handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified
information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Now, Comey also said the FBI found no direct evidence that Clinton's e-mail was hacked. But listen to what he said right after that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMEY: We do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial e-mail accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in
regular contact from her personal account. We also assess that Secretary Clinton's use of a personal e-mail domain was both known by a large number
of people and readily apparent.
She also used her personal e-mail extensively while outside the United States, including sending and receiving work-related e-mails in the
territory of sophisticated adversaries. Given that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary
Clinton's personal e-mail account.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: The news comes on a huge day for the Clinton campaign. She's getting ready to take to the stage with President Obama in North Carolina.
You're looking at live pictures as he hits the campaign trail with her for the very first time.
The Clinton campaign has spoken out, saying it's pleased that the FBI is recommending no further action on the e-mail controversies. Issued a
statement saying, I'm quoting here, "As the secretary has long said, it was a mistake to use her personal e-mail and she would not do it again. We are
glad that this matter is now resolved."
We have to point out that technically the mattered is not resolved. In fact the White House wouldn't comment on the findings today, saying the
case is still active. The Justice Department will make the final decision about Clinton's e-mails. It has said it will accept the FBI's
recommendations.
Clinton's Republican presidential rival, meanwhile, says the entire system is rigged. Donald Trump calls the decision, I'm quoting, "very, very
unfair." He tweeted, "FBI director said crooked Hillary compromised our national security. No charges, wow! #riggedsystem.
Well, let's check in now with CNN White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski. She is on the line from the Clinton event that's about to get
under way in North Carolina.
Michelle, as we heard, no charges, but the FBI director gave a rather scathing indictment saying Hillary Clinton was extremely careless with her
e-mails. Do you think this will overshadow the event in North Carolina? What are people telling you?
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): This is a real rebuke by the FBI. They didn't hold back in describing, what you
said, extreme carelessness, that she should have known better. This is one of those situations where the good news and it is good news for her,
especially considering the alternative, but not really 100 percent good news.
That is something that will overshadow her. You know that her opponent is going to use that to its fullest extent to inflict political damage on her
as much as possible. And the White House wants to diminish it as much as possible.
I thought it was very surprising if they don't have any statement at all on this today. The White House is saying it's still in the hands of the
Department of Justice.
Even though they have commented on this before, in the past they focused on the fact that Hillary Clinton has said that using the personal server was a
mistake, focusing on her record and her qualifications.
But today, none of that, just saying that they weren't going to have a response to that. So I think it will be very interesting here today, the
two of them standing side by side.
[15:05:02]At least that question of the possibility of criminal charges is now gone, you know, she doesn't have that hanging over her. But the fact
that those words were said by the FBI, we'll see how she addresses it. We don't really expect her -- (inaudible).
SOARES: I'm not sure we've still got Michelle Kosinski there. I think we're losing her. We'll try and connect with -- we'll try and reconnect
with her.
Meanwhile, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan says the FBI director's statement defies explanation adding no one should be above the law.
Let's talk more now about the legal aspects of this case. We're joined by Josh Rogin. Josh, let me first ask you about what you took from the FBI's
statement. What did you make of it?
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the FBI clearly made a decision that there was plenty of evidence that laws regarding the handling of
classified information had not been followed to a "t." At the same time, FBI Director James Comey clearly stated that he didn't feel it warranted
prosecution.
And that sort of half-in, half-out evaluation is where this issue will remain for the remainder of the election. On the one hand, Hillary Clinton
can breathe a sigh of relief that she and her staff will not face criminal charges.
It will remove a cloud over her campaign and allow the president to campaign with her without discussion of the investigation overshadowing it.
On the other hand, the mistakes that she made, which were laid out in stark detail by the FBI director, are a part of her record now, and will be used
against her, as Michelle rightly pointed out.
SOARES: Josh, stand by, I want to bring in Michael Toobin to talk about the legal ramifications. Jeffrey Toobin, I'm sorry. Jeffrey, the FBI
recommending that no charges, but passing it to the Justice Department, would you say this is a fair accompli?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, it's over. There is no way, given the way the Justice Department and the FBI work together, that
the prosecutors in the Justice Department will overrule the FBI here and file charges. This now -- this whole matter is in the realm of politics,
not in criminal law anymore.
SOARES: Jeffrey, we've showed our viewers the Donald Trump tweet in which he said the outcome was unfair, the system is rigged, General Petraeus got
in trouble for far less. Very, very unfair. As usual he tweeted bad judgment. Is he right? Can you compare both cases for us?
TOOBIN: Actually they are different in one very significant way. General Petraeus acknowledged that the information he provided to the woman who was
his biographer and his girlfriend, he said he knew the information was classified, and he gave it to her anyway.
Hillary Clinton has been consistent in saying she did not know and did not think that the information she was handling on her private server was
classified. Now, as it turns out, she was wrong, some of it was classified.
But the difference is the intentional -- the difference is the intent, whether someone intentionally disclosed classified information in an
improper way. That was what Petraeus did. That was what Hillary Clinton did not do according to James Comey today.
SOARES: Jeffrey, do stay with us. I want to bring Josh Rogin back again. Josh, we've heard Hillary Clinton acknowledge before, saying she had a
trust issue with the voters. How damning do you think this will be for her? What do you think people make of this?
ROGIN: Well, I think two things. First of all, Jeffrey is right about the fact that they will now become solely a political issue. But how that
plays out is that for supporters of Hillary Clinton, they will take what they want from the Comey press conference and say that she has been
vindicated.
For her opponents, it will add to the narrative that she has not been fully transparent about what she did with her e-mail server and her devices. And
the reason that argument has traction is because her explanations have changed over time.
At first she did it for convenience and she only wanted to use one device. Comey said today very clearly she had multiple devices. On another
occasion she had said she any sent or received anything that was classified, she later changed that to say she had not sent anything that
was classified.
Comey said today that there were some classified markings on a couple of e- mails. So this is a lesson for the Clinton campaign on how not to do damage control.
They have really sort of equivocated and they haven't owned up to the parts of this that she is responsible for and that as much as anything reinforces
the narrative that she's not being transparent and open with voters.
[15:10:03]SOARES: And as I talked to you both, Gentlemen, we're showing our viewers live pictures from Charlotte, North Carolina. We're expecting
Barack Obama take the stage with Hillary Clinton. If I do interrupt you, just bear with me.
I want to go back to Josh, if I can. Josh, we know from Clinton, she said all along that she didn't send any of those e-mails. Do you think voters
will look at her and say to themselves, I know there may be two camps here, the way that this is read, that perhaps she doesn't have the judgment or
the temperament to be U.S. president?
ROGIN: I don't know if voters will go that far. I think what you can take away from this entire episode is that there will be a residual feeling
amongst many voters that Hillary Clinton feels that she is above the rules. She clearly knew the rules. She clearly discarded the rules.
And she set up this scheme, this personal server, what we know is a series of personal servers in a deliberate attempt to sort of circumvent things
like FOIA, records keeping. The e-mails that have been revealed show that her staff warned her that this would skirt the rules related to federal
records keeping.
She didn't want anybody to know about it so there was an effort to conceal the personal server. So whether or not you take the leap and say, oh, she
doesn't have the judgment to be president, I think that's a pretty significant leap.
But what we can say is that this reinforces the narrative that she doesn't feel that all of the rules apply to her, at least while she was secretary
of state.
SOARES: And Jeffrey, we heard the FBI director say time and time again, going to great detail in terms of the process, how many e-mails they went
through, and to say that it's completely separate from any other body. Do you trust what he had to say?
TOOBIN: Director Comey has enormous credibility. He is someone who is largely outside the American political system. He was appointed by
President Obama, but for a single nonrenewable ten-year term. So he is not a traditional political appointee.
He's going to serve ten years regardless of who the next president is. In addition, James Comey is a former deputy attorney general under George W.
Bush, a Republican, also the former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, one of the most important jobs in the American legal system.
So he is not just the head of the FBI. He is someone who has a great deal of experience in the legal side of the criminal justice system as well. So
if anyone has credibility to weigh in on this issue, it's certainly James Comey. That doesn't mean necessarily that he's right in this conclusion.
It doesn't necessarily mean -- and it certainly doesn't mean that Republicans and some others won't criticize for his conclusion here. But
he's coming from a pretty powerful place in terms of his credibility.
SOARES: And Josh, we -- no doubt there will be a big sigh of relief for Hillary Clinton. But given that, you know, perhaps many will say that she
lied, she said she didn't send any e-mails, then the FBI says there were multiple devices and multiple servers. Do you think she'll be able to put
this behind her? Do you think she'll address this tonight?
ROGIN: I don't think she'll address this. I don't think that's what she wants her North Carolina event to be focused on. President Obama is there
for a specific reason, to change the topic away from the sort of partisan attacks that have been going on in the last couple of weeks in the
campaign.
She wants to put forth her economic message. She wants to put forth the idea of democratic unity. So the Clinton campaign will look to avoid
discussion of this at all. As for whether it will linger, of course it will linger, just the sheer amount of information that we got from Director
Comey is still being processed, both by voters and by the news media.
For example, he revealed that there was a breach by foreign -- by attackers of people that she communicated with, he said it's possible her e-mail was
breached. She used the e-mail in a country where cyber espionage is prevalent, right?
That's got to be either Russia or China. So there is a lot there. So the stories will continue. She's escaped prosecution, but she hasn't escaped
the issue.
SOARES: Josh Rogin and Jeffrey Toobin, thank you very much to you both, Gentlemen, for making sense of this for us. We'll go back to that live
event as soon as it happens in Charlotte, North Carolina.
I'm here outside the Houses of Parliament at Westminster where all day members of parliament have been voting for the next British prime minister.
The result show Home Secretary Theresa May far out front.
She had 165 votes out of 329 voted. Andrea Leadsom (ph) is second with 66 votes and Liam Fox (ph) is now eliminated. Now remember this is just the
first round of voting. Next round is on (inaudible).
[15:15:10]Let's more on this and everything else going on in British politics. I'm joined by CNN political contributor, Robin Oakley, and also
by Robin Nablett, the director of the Chatham House, two Robins, I'll try and make it obvious which one of you I'm going to ask the question first.
But let's start with Robin Oakley. Are you surprised by the huge margin for Theresa May?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Clearly the momentum was with Theresa May from the start of it. She was the first candidate to declare,
to get her pitch out to her fellow MPs, at a time of such cataclysm and worry and alarm in the markets and everything else, the safe pair of hands
that she represents obviously gave her a strong run.
The surprising thing in a way is how close Andrea Leadsom (ph) has been able to get. Before the referendum campaign, very few in the conservative
party at large, let alone the public, really knew much about her at all.
SOARES: Robin, do you think, I know in politics, especially in British politics, it's quite risky trying to predict what may happen, do you think
the next 24 to 48 hours, one of them will step down because they don't have enough votes, enough support?
ROBIN NABLETT, DIRECTOR, CHATHAM HOUSE: There's a question whether Stephen Crabb (ph) who came forth, each person gets knocked off the bottom,
somebody move earlier. He is one of the people who is campaigning for remain, his votes, predictably, would probably go to Theresa May.
So there's a little bit of jostling about messaging and momentum. I think Theresa May needs to show that she has that extra big backing.
One thing we've learned from the Labour Party is having big support of your fellow MPs in this House of Parliament is not the same as having the
backing of the party activists, who will vote for until it gets down to two. That's what we are going to be looking at.
SOARES: Let's talk about that. Is it fair to say that this is going to be a two-woman race now?
ROBIN: Barring upsets, I would have said that, but we've had nothing about upsets since the referendum vote and anything can happen in the current
circumstances. The conservative party membership is more euroskeptic than the conservative MPs in the House of Commons. There is a tension there.
On the other hand, the issue that made conservatives euroskeptic, immigration, played very heavily in that. Now ironically, Theresa May is
playing a tougher hand on immigration than Andrea Leadsom.
Because Andrea Leadsom says those 3 million European citizens living and working in Britain can have a guarantee if she was prime minister, they can
stay.
Whereas Theresa May, who is, of course, the home secretary charged of countering excessive immigration, says, no, this is part of the
negotiation. She can't give any guarantee to those people.
SOARES: Do you think that hurting her?
OAKLEY: It's hurt her in the media because two major newspapers today have come out and criticized her strongly for that. I don't think it will hurt
her among conservative supporters because there's actually been an opinion poll question on that, and her approach, as opposed to Andrea Leadsom's,
was supported 72-22 among conservative members.
SOARES: How do these women stack up in terms of experience?
NABLETT: Well, I think that Theresa May has the experience. She's been the longest serving home secretary, you have to go back many decades. She
has had a difficult dossier. The home secretary with immigration is difficult to manage. You've got counterterrorism in there. You've got
police.
She's somebody who stood up to the British police, who are normally an icon of probity but have gone through some pretty big scandals. I think part of
the narrative we've got. She's trying to show she's had the experience of tough negotiations as well with E.U. counterparts.
She is somebody who's been in those councils and can therefore be trusted to negotiate, whereas Andrea Leadsom, who really had a junior ministerial
position and also in there treasury, where there were mixed reports to her performance, still has a little less about experience.
She is appealing to the base of emotion, where I think Theresa May is appealing, look, I've got the experience. The European citizens living
here, I'll use them in the negotiation if I need to.
SOARES: While this is all happening, we've seen sterling fall to a 31-year low against the dollar. We've also heard from Mark Carney, the Bank of
England governor, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, GOVERNOR, BANK OF ENGLAND: At its meeting in March, the FTC judged that, and I quote, "The risks around the referendum were the most
significant near term domestic risks to financial stability. Some of those risks have begun to crystallize.
In particular, our concerns that the historically large deficit could be vulnerable to sudden shifts in foreign capital and sharp adjustments in
sterling appear to have been borne out.
Portfolio flows into U.K. equities and corporate debt appeared to have slowed and certainly has experienced the largest two-day fall against the
dollar since floating exchange rates were reintroduced almost a half century ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:20:04]SOARES: Now this is the second time we're hearing from Mark Carney because it really just shows the political backing. Do you think
this will add any pressure at all to the rumblings here?
OAKLEY: It will help to concentrate minds. But the problem is in the political vacuum we're still not going to get a new conservative party
leader or new prime minister until September 9th.
SOARES: Now we have seen major political fault lines in the last three days. We've seen May in one camp, but also obviously Fox on out. Where
does Boe that stand on all of this specifically the European citizens?
NABLETT: Well, I think he's wanted to be the standard bearer of the Brexit campaign. He's been thrown in late into the race. Andrea Leadsom has
taken that position for him. I think on immigration he's not one of the people who made that one of his fundamental issues.
He was more the sunny uplands of a global Britain that could escape from the stifling embrace of a bureaucratic E.U. The immigration angle was not
close to his place. For him to pivot on to it now would be really quite difficult.
SOARES: Now, Gentlemen, you heard me ask you whether anyone will withdraw in the next 24 to 48 hours. I can tell you we've just confirmed that
Stephen Crabb who got 34 votes, he withdrew. That's expected, right?
OAKLEY: Yes. He's the bottom, and it's difficult to see where he would get any more votes from. The question is where his 34 now go to. Being
the other remain candidate who was standing for -- it's more likely his votes would split in Theresa May's favor. But it doesn't go purely and
simply on the "remain" or "leave" issue. There are other considerations in Tory MPs' minds over this decision.
SOARES: OK, let's talk about these considerations. Go ahead, Robin.
OAKLEY: Well, I mean, experience, which we've talked about, for a start. I mean, the question of Andrea Leadsom's -- you know, who is the person who
can conduct such complicated negotiations with the European Union --
SOARES: But she says she can. She's had 20-something years working in the city. She's a good negotiator, Robin.
NABLETT: Working in the city isn't always a great thing to carry with you. There have been some stories, did she set up some trust funds for her kids.
This is back to the Panama papers issue. Although I think having watched her, she's pretty deft on her feet.
It just leaves that question, here you are at a moment of turmoil, if you're a party faithful and you want to make sure there is some surprise
candidate that comes up on the Labour side, you need somebody who will have no surprises from the last minute.
Andrea Leadsom isn't well enough known to be a double leap (inaudible) when you've already got leap in to the dark of the Brexit choice.
OAKLEY: And the extra question, she was back in 2013, not very long ago, she was saying she was a remainer and saying that it would be ten years of
political and economic turbulence. She's been on a journey since.
SOARES: All right, Robin Oakley, Robin Nablett, thank you very much. I'm sorry, we've just run out of time.
Now as we've been saying, all eyes are on Charlotte, North Carolina, at this hour. You're looking at live pictures, that's where U.S. President
Barack Obama is set to take the stage with Hillary Clinton for the first time in this presidential campaign. We'll bring you that live when it gets
under way. Stay right here with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: You are watching THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. As you join us, we're waiting for Hillary Clinton and U.S. President Barack Obama to take to the
stage in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's the first time the president will be campaigning with the presumptive Democratic nominee.
And of course, this is all coming on the day the FBI director delivered the agency's findings on Clinton's use of a private e-mail server, saying, that
she was reckless. We'll have more as soon as that happens.
But now the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is in its final hours, drawing to a close weeks of bloodshed throughout the world. It has been capped off
with one as described as an attack on Islam itself.
A bomber targeting the Saudi city of Medina (ph), the resting place of the prophet, Muhammad, and the second holiest site in Islam. Four security
guards were killed in one of three separate attacks within just 24 hours.
While there has been no claim of responsibility, the focus is firmly on ISIS, which has urged its followers to wage war during Ramadan.
Saudi authorities say they have identified at least one of the bombers. They say the man who blew himself up near the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah was
a 34-year-old Pakistani who had been living in the country for 12 years.
While the scale of the carnage inflicted in the past week alone has been simply staggering, from the attack in Baghdad, the deadliest in more than a
decade, to the bombing of an airport in Istanbul, and then a siege at a cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
CNN's Becky Anderson looks back at what will go down as one of the bloodiest Ramadans in recent memory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A month of calamity for nonbelievers. That's what ISIS wanted Ramadan to be. Just
days before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, a chilly warning and then terrorists struck across the Muslim world.
The first major attack, Jordan. A suicide car bombing killed at least six local security officers. Just a week later, terrorists stormed Turkey's
main airport, killing dozens. The agony raw. Everything pointing to ISIS.
Thousands of kilometers away, more grief. Gunmen killed 22 at a cafe in the Bangladeshi capital, but the deadliest of all, Baghdad. A deadly blaze
from a massive suicide bomb. More than 200 were massacred in a busy shopping area, men, women, and children preparing to eat.
Even one of Islam's holiest sites wasn't spared. Four killed in Medina in Saudi Arabia. Each a scene of bloody carnage on the global stage, in what
was one of the most deadly Ramadans in living memory. The majority of those killed were Muslims themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: I want to take you to the Charlotte, North Carolina, where we are seeing U.S. President Barack Obama taking the stage with presumptive U.S.
Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. As you can see, they've just -- they're greeting everyone. It's the first time the president has
really campaigned for the presumptive Democratic nominee.
If you've been watching CNN, this is coming on the day the FBI director delivered the agency's findings on Clinton's use of an e-mail server. I
want to bring in Jeffrey Toobin and Josh Rogin. Josh, what can we expect to hear from Hillary Clinton tonight?
ROGIN: Well, first of all, we'll hear from President Obama, he'll tell the story about how he came around from being Hillary Clinton's competitor to
being one of her biggest supporters, being what he called a validater or convert in chief.
The president believes he has a coalition in North Carolina made up of minorities, women, young people that can aid Hillary Clinton in winning
that state. Hillary Clinton is expected to talk a lot about her economic message.
She's there with President Obama, she's running on his economic record. His poll numbers are extremely high amongst democrats. They're over 50
percent overall.
So that's what they want to emphasize, that if you like where we are in 2016 economically compared to where we were in 2008, then Hillary Clinton
is the best choice.
SOARES: We were talking earlier, Josh, we were saying perhaps Hillary Clinton won't talk about what the FBI came out with today. So do you think
what the FBI said, calling it extremely careless was his words, the FBI director, do you think this is going to overshadow or convince any people
to go a different way, those who are listening in?
ROGIN: Well, yes. I do think that the news, which was meant to remove an obstacle from Hillary --
SOARES: Josh, I'm sorry, I'll have to interrupt. Let's listen to Hillary Clinton.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you so much. Hello, Charlotte. It is so great to be back in North Carolina with so many
friends, with Congresswoman Elma Adams and Congressman David Price and Congressman G.K. Butterfield. And your next U.S. senator, Deborah Ross and
your next governor, Roy Cooper, and of course with our president, Barack Obama!
I feel very privileged because I've known the president in many roles, as a colleague in the Senate, as an opponent in a hard-fought primary, and the
president I was so proud to serve as secretary of state.
But I've also known him as the friend that I was honored to stand with in the good times and the hard times. Someone who has never forgotten where
he came from. And Donald, if you're out there tweeting, it's Hawaii.
So over the years, we've had some memorable experiences together, like storming a secret meeting of foreign leaders at a global climate summit.
That was fun. You should have seen the Chinese guards try to stop us. Now, they put their arms out, and the president just went right through.
Then they put their arms out and I went right under.
And the president, with that amazing smile of his, says, hey, we've been looking for you. Now, through it all, as we went from political rivals to
partners to friends, my esteem for him just kept growing. And so did my admiration for his brilliant wife, Michelle.
And those two amazing daughters that they have raised. My husband and I know a little bit about how hard it is to raise a child in the public eye,
in the fishbowl of the White House. But the Obamas have done a fabulous job.
Malia, who just graduated from high school and celebrated her 18th birthday yesterday and Sasha, who has the energy and enthusiasm of a wonderful young
woman.
Now, I happen to think those two young women may be the most impressive accomplishment of all, of our president. And it's one of the many reasons
why it means so much to me personally to have the president's support in this campaign.
[15:35:02]After all, he knows a thing or two about winning elections, take it from me. And he also knows that despite all the progress we've made
under his leadership, and yes, we have. We still have a lot of work to do.
President Obama's job, one that he did not ask for, but was handed to him, was to save us from a second great depression and that is exactly what he
did. Actually I don't think he gets the credit he deserves for saving our economy.
We've added 14 million private sector jobs. The auto industry just had its best year ever. Twenty million people now have health care. Clean energy
production has soared. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. That is what leadership looks like.
So our next president has a different job to do. Building on the progress that President Obama has made. We have to continue to take on deep,
structural challenges that existed long before the great recession.
We see it here in North Carolina and across the country. Inequality is too high, wages are too low, and it's just too hard to get ahead. We need an
economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top.
So we're setting five big ambitious goals. First, under President Obama and Vice President Biden, we've had 75 straight months of job growth. I
want us to see 75 more. So in my first 100 days as president, we'll make the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II.
And when I say good-paying jobs, I mean exactly that. Donald Trump thinks wages are too high. He actually stood on the debate stage and said that
and he wants to get rid of the federal minimum wage altogether.
Well, I think anyone who is willing to work hard should be able to find a job that pays well enough to raise a family. So we're going to increase
the federal minimum wage and give the middle class a raise. That's good for our families, good for our economy, and boy, is it good for our
country.
Now, second, we're going to make college debt-free for all and we're going to build on the president's idea to make community college free. And we're
going to help millions of people struggling with existing student debt save thousands of dollars.
Third, we're going to rewrite the rules and crack down on companies that ship jobs overseas and profits to go with them. Let's reward the companies
that share profits with their employees instead.
And we're going to defend and strengthen the tough reforms President Obama put in place on the financial industry. Not tear them up like Donald Trump
says he'll do. We need to make sure that Wall Street can never wreck Main Street again.
Fourth, we're going to make sure that Wall Street corporations and the super rich pay their fair share of taxes. It is just plain wrong that a
millionaire can pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries and we're going to stop it.
And oh, by the way, we're going to keep asking to see Donald Trump's tax returns. And finally, we're going to step up and respond to the way
American families actually live and work in the 21st Century.
[15:40:09]Our families, our workplaces have changed. Isn't it time our policies changed too? Now, Donald Trump can accuse me of playing the woman
card all he wants. But if fighting for equal pay and affordable childcare and paid family leave is playing the woman card, then deal me in!
And, you know, most of all, most of all -- you know, most of all, though, we're going to build on the vision for America that President Obama has
always championed. A vision for a future where we do great things together, not as red states and blue states, but as the United States.
When I look at President Obama, I see a leader with heart, depth, and humility, someone who in spite of the obstruction he's faced, still reaches
for common ground and common purpose.
Now, some of you might remember that he and I competed against each other as hard as we could back in 2008. But when it was over, I was proud to
endorse him and campaign for him.
And I'll never forget, when he called me the Sunday after the election, asking me to come to Chicago, it turned out he wanted me to be secretary of
state, and I don't think anybody saw that coming, especially me.
And as I traveled on behalf of our country, a lot of people would ask me, how President Obama and I could work so well together after being such
fierce competitors.
In some places, you know, the person who loses an election gets exiled or executed, not asked to be secretary of state. But president Obama asked me
to serve, and I accepted. You know why? We both love our country.
That is how democracy is supposed to work. We just celebrated 240 years of our independence. In America, we put common interest before self-interest.
We stand together because we know we are stronger together.
That is the kind of president Barack Obama has been. He's made difficult, even unpopular decisions for the good of our country. I have sat with him
in the situation room and seen him make the hardest choices a president faces.
He does it with steady, principled leadership. He's a statesman, leading not just our country but the entire world. It was his vision -- it was his
vision and diplomacy that secured an historic global agreement on climate change, put a lid on Iran's nuclear program, opened up Cuba, and rallied
the world to curb the threat of nuclear weapons.
I saw him go toe to toe with the toughest foreign leaders, and to give the order to go after Osama Bin Laden. This, my friends, is a president who
knows how to keep us safe and strong. Compare that to Donald Trump.
Can you imagine him sitting in the oval office, the next time America faces a crisis? The world hangs on every word our president says. And Donald
Trump is simply unqualified and temperamentally unfit to be our president and commander-in-chief.
[05:45:01]So here in North Carolina, this election is our chance to say, our country is better than this. In America, we don't tear each other
down. We lift each other up. We build bridges, not walls. We don't call the country we love a disaster or a laughingstock. We know America already
is the greatest country on earth.
Just think about those early patriots who met in Philadelphia that hot summer of 1776. They knew we would all rise or fall together. Now, nobody
who looked like Barack Obama or me would have been included back then. But we're here today because the story of America is the story of hard-fought,
hard-won progress.
So I want you to remember that for 240 years, our history has moved in that direction. Slowly at times, but unmistakably. As the president has
reminded us, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
So if you believe, along with me and with the president, that our best days as a nation are still ahead of us, please join this campaign. Take out
your phone right now, take out your phone and text join" to 47246, or go to hillaryclinton.com.
We're hiring organizers right here in North Carolina. We're going to fight for everybody vote in this state and with your help, we're going to win it!
So I don't know about you, but we are fired up and ready to go, ready to win this election. Please join me in welcoming the president of the United
States, Barack Obama!
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thank you. Hillary! Hillary! How you doing, Charlotte? Are you fired up? Ready to
go? Fired up? I am -- I'm fired up. Hillary got me fired up. She got me ready to do some work. So I hope everybody had a great 4th of July.
I love you back. First of all, let me just say, I like any excuse to come to North Carolina. I just like North Carolina. I love the people of North
Carolina. I used to -- when we used to campaign here, I used to say, even the people who aren't voting for me are nice.
You know, that's not true everywhere. So you've got great people here and then you've got great food. North Carolina's got some food. In fact, I
will find someplace to stop and get some food before I head back to D.C. I know you all have recommendations.
And no, I can't go to your house to get food, although I'm sure you're an excellent cook. And then you've got great basketball. You've got great
basketball. We all know that, but I'm not going to get in between all the Tarheel and Wolfpack and, you know -- Blue Devils. See, I'm not going to
get into all that.
[15:50:09]You just have great basketball in North Carolina. So I love an excuse to come to North Carolina. But I'm here for a simple reason. I'm
glad to see our outstanding congressional delegation. You are lucky to have them. I'm glad you've got an outstanding candidate for the Senate and
outstanding candidate for governor.
And I'm going to be working for them too, but I'm here today because I believe in Hillary Clinton. And I want you to help elect her to be the
next president of the United States of America. That's why I'm here.
Now, as Hillary mentioned, this is not the first time we've campaigned together. We went up to New Hampshire after our primary in 2008. We went
to Unity, New Hampshire, just in case people missed the point. I love the name of the town, Unity, New Hampshire.
And we had gone through what was one of the longest, toughest primaries in history and primaries are always tough. Because you're arguing with your
friends instead of the folks you disagree with. Sometimes you've got to find things to disagree about even though you don't really disagree.
So we were crisscrossing towns from New Hampshire to Nevada. And as much as I had admired her, when we served together in the Senate, I came away
from that primary admiring her even more.
Because during that year and a half, I had had a chance to see up close just how smart she was and just how prepared she was especially since I had
to debate her a couple of dozen times. And let's be clear, she beat me -- now, you don't have to rub it in. You don't have to rub it in, now.
She beat me, you know, at least the first half and then I just barely could play her to a draw. I always had to be on my game, because she knew every
fact, and she knew every detail.
And then during those 18 months, I saw the passion that she feels for anybody who is experienced in justice, anybody who has faced
discrimination, anybody who does everything right and still can't seem to get a fair shot, whether it was workers who had lost their jobs or kids
unable to afford college.
And you could tell, it was personal to her because she had seen struggles in her own life. She had known challenges in her own life. And she could
identify and empathize with people who were doing the right thing and wanted to make sure they got a fair shake.
And then during the primaries, again and again, I saw how even when things didn't go her way, she just stands up straighter and comes back stronger.
She didn't give up. She didn't pout. She just kept on going. She was the energizer bunny. She just kept on.
And the bottom line is, she had to do everything I had to do, but she was like Ginger Rogers. She had to do it backwards and in heels. And at the
end of our contest, I saw the grace and the energy with which she threw herself into my campaign.
Not because she wasn't disappointed about the outcome of the primary, but because she knew there was something that was at stake that was bigger than
either of us. And that was the direction of our country and how are we going to make sure that all of the people who are counting on us to see a
better life.
So we may have gone toe to toe, from coast to coast, but we stood shoulder to shoulder for the ideals that we share. Maybe Hillary was surprised, but
I wasn't surprised when I asked Hillary to represent our interests and our values around the world, as America's secretary of state.
[05:55:00]I knew she would do a great job. I knew. I knew she would perform. I knew the regard in which she was held in capitals all around
the world. I knew that the minute she took that job, there was a stature and a seriousness that would immediately mend some of the challenges that
we had had around the world during that time.
Let me tell you, North Carolina, my faith in Hillary Clinton has always been rewarded. I've had a front row seat to her judgment and her toughness
and her commitment to diplomacy. And I witnessed it in the situation room, where she argued in favor of the mission to get Bin Laden.
I saw how as a former senator from New York, she knew, she understood, because she had seen it, she had witnessed it, what this would mean for the
thousands who had lost loved ones when the twin towers fell.
I benefitted from her skill in foreign capitals, where her pursuit of diplomacy led to new partnerships, opened up new nations to democracy,
helped to reduce the nuclear threat.
We've all witnessed the work she's done to advance the lives of women and girls around the globe. She has been working on this since she was a young
woman working on the Children's Defense Fund.
She's not late to the game to this. She's been going door to door to make sure kids got a fair share, making sure kids with disabilities could get a
quality education. She's been fighting those fights and she's got the scars to prove it.
And, you know, Hillary and I, we shared a big hug the first time we saw each other after we finally realized one of the great causes of her career,
finally guaranteeing access to quality affordable health insurance for every single American, because that's something she got started.
And we picked up that baton and were able to get it across the finish line. The bottom line is, she was a great secretary of state. And by the way,
that's not just my opinion. That was the view of the American people and pundits throughout the time that she was serving as secretary of state.
Before the whole political machinery got moving. Do you remember that? It wasn't that long ago. It's funny how that happens. Everybody thought she
was doing a great job. That's because she did do a good job.
But it's funny how the filter changes a little bit. Same person, done the same work, but, you know, that filter is a powerful thing. You know, it
wasn't just what happened in the limelight that made me grow more and more to admire and respect Hillary.
It was how she acted when the cameras weren't on her. It was knowing how she did her homework. It was knowing how many miles she put in traveling
to make sure that America was effectively represented in corners of the globe that people don't even know about.
There wasn't any political points to be had, but she knew that it was important. I saw how she treated everybody with respect, even the folks
who aren't, quote/unquote, "important." That's how you judge somebody, is how do they treat somebody when the cameras are off? And they can't do
anything for you.
Do you still treat them right? Do you still treat them with respect? Do you still listen to them? Are you still fighting for them?
I saw how deeply she believes in the things she fights for. And I saw how you can count on her and how she won't waiver and she won't back down and
she won't quit no matter how difficult the challenge and how fierce the opposition.
And if there's one thing I can tell you, Charlotte, is those things matter. Those things matter. I'm here to tell you that the truth is nobody fully
understands the challenges of the job of president until you've actually sat at that desk.
END
