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Hala Gorani Tonight
Republicans Push For Unity Behind Trump; Trump To Address Delegates On Final Night; Brazilian Police Arrest Ten Terror Suspects; GOP Convention Notable For Its No-Shows; Trump Contradicts Pence On Foreign Policy; Ted Cruz Refuses To Endorse Donald Trump; Log Cabin Republicans Angered By Anti-LGBT Platform. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired July 21, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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[15:00:42] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We're live from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, and
this is a special edition of THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
We're just hours away from the biggest speech of Donald Trump's political career, his chance to reset the conversation this evening after
an uproar on the convention floor Wednesday night.
The Republican presidential nominee is getting ready to address delegates here in Cleveland. He did a walk through a short time ago along
with his daughter, Ivanka. She will introduce him, the latest Trump child to take to the stage.
Trump wants to get the convention back on message, understandably, after his former rival, Ted Cruz, stole the show last night for a time.
Cruz was booed off the stage after he refused to endorse Trump.
And he's still not backing down. Today Cruz hit back at critics who are furious that he broke a pledge to support his party's nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED CRUZ, FORMER U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. And
that's pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi, that I'm going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog
and say thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: A reminder there of how bitter this Republican primary fight was as attacks on the campaign trail turned very personal. Some were surprised
that Trump would give a coveted supreme time speaking spot to the man he repeatedly called "Lying Ted."
CNN's Manu Raju shows us what happened when Cruz took to the stage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CRUZ: I want to congratulate Donald Trump on winning the nomination.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): It was all downhill from there. Ted Cruz delivering a 25-minute speech that may follow him
forever, refusing to endorse Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention.
CRUZ: Stand and speak and vote your conscience. Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful
to the constitution.
RAJU: Cruz mentioning Trump's name just once during his prime time address. The crowd angrily interrupting the speech.
Then Trump suddenly appears in the stands, upstaging the GOP runner- up yet again. Trump later tweeting, "Wow, Ted Cruz got booed off the stage. Didn't honor the pledge. I saw his speech two hours early but let
him speak anyway. No big deal."
PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHAIR: Donald Trump made the offer to speak without any conditions. Senator Cruz might have been a little bit more
politically smart.
CHRIS CHRISTIE, NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: I think it was awful, and quite frankly I think it was selfish. He signed a pledge and it's his job to
keep his word.
RAJU: Cruz later not backing down.
CRUZ: I laid out a very simple standard. We need a president who will be faithful to the constitution. I hope very much that is who the next
president will be.
RAJU: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trying to reframe Cruz's comments as party unity.
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: I think you misunderstood one paragraph that Ted Cruz, who is a superb orator, said. Ted Cruz said you
can vote your conscience for anyone who will uphold the constitution. In this election, there is only one candidate who will uphold the
constitution. The only possible candidate this fall is the Trump/pence Republican ticket.
RAJU: But angry delegates in the arena couldn't be subdued. Video posted on Twitter showed security escorting Cruz's wife, Heidi, out of the arena
while being heckled by Trump supporters. But two of Trump's former rivals sowing they can put the bitter campaign season behind them.
MARCO RUBIO, FORMER U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The time for fighting each other is over. It's time to come together.
SCOTT WALKER, WISCONSIN GOVERNOR: A vote for anyone other than Donald Trump in November is a vote for Hillary Clinton.
[15:05:02]RAJU: Trump also getting more support from one of his kids.
ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: It is such an honor to be here for a man I love so, so, so, so much.
RAJU: The Republican nominee listening in the audience as his son, Eric, praised him.
ERIC TRUMP: My father has revitalized rundown neighborhoods, shaped sky lines across the country and turned dreams into reality his entire career.
It's what he does. It's who he is.
RAJU: And after days of denying Melania Trump's speech was plagiarized --
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I can't move on because you keep lying about it. Did a portion of the language of that speech come from Michelle Obama's
speech, yes or no?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as we are concerned, there are similar words that were used.
RAJU: On Wednesday, a Trump aide offered to resign over the firestorm, admitting that it was a mistake to lift passages for Melania's speech from
Michelle Obama's 2008 address.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought it was terrific the way she came forward and said it was a mistake that I made. She thought it
was very unfair to Melania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, a lot to talk about. Let's bring in CNN political analyst, Alex Burns. He is a national political reporter for "The New York Times."
We are also joined by CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, a senior editor at "The Atlantic." Thanks to both of you.
Alex, first of all, what shall we be looking out for today in Donald Trump's speech?
ALEX BURNS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, I think the bar for Donald Trump to clear keeps getting higher over the course of this convention. If
you think back on the first three nights that we've seen here in Cleveland, there has not been a single evening where the Trump campaign's desired
message has been the prevailing story line coming out of the night.
They have not been able to deliver a strong coherent message on jobs or the economy. They've done a decent job of tearing down Hillary Clinton,
but really the whole burden of carrying a positive forward-looking message for this campaign falls on Donald Trump in that 10:00 hour.
GORANI: And we've talked a lot about the big top names in the Republican establishment not present here, not least the two Bushes, the two living
Republican presidents right now or ex-presidents. But we've seen a lot of Donald Trump's family.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm a little too young, but you have to go back to the 1964 Republican or 1968 Democratic convention to
find a party that was as divided as we have seen this week.
Ted Cruz, as is his wont, took it to the confrontational edge by coming here and not endorsing Donald Trump. But if you listen to the
language of Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, even Scott Walker, none of them said a word praising Trump's temperament or qualifications.
The most they could muster was he would basically sign the priorities of the Republicans in Congress. You compare the speech that
Ryan gave last night introducing Pence and what wasn't there --
GORANI: And how warmly he referred to his character.
BROWNSTEIN: It's so different than anything we've heard about Donald Trump by anyone who isn't either friends, family, or has the last name Trump.
GORANI: And it's very unconventional. We were discussing in the break, his daughter is introducing him tonight, not his spouse, which you would
expect normally.
BURNS: You have a prominent, popular, articulate leader of the Republican Party. You know, Mitt Romney, John McCain, they had people like Marco
Rubio and Condoleeza Rice out in front in these prime time hours, the future stars of the party. That's how Barack Obama got on a path to the
presidency, his prime time convention speech. The folks who are front and center this week are mostly blood relatives.
BROWNSTEIN: This is not irrelevant because I think if you look the whole landscape. The biggest single challenge that Trump faces coming out of
this convention is that 60 percent of the public has consistently said in polling that they do not consider him qualified to be president.
That number, 60 percent, is also the share of college-educated whites who say they do not consider him qualified to be president. And the
fact that he doesn't have this validation, the common validation you get from other elected leaders in the party saying, yes, this is someone I can
envision as president.
Mitch McConnell today repudiated his comments the near times yesterday about NATO, in the middle of the convention, after repudiating
him on the Muslim ban and on deportation. Yesterday, a panel I did, there was a leading member of the House who said, the House Republicans would
block him if he start to implement his promise to deport 11 million people.
So for someone who needs to convince the country that he can be president, there's a lot of noise going on.
GORANI: Those comments on NATO, "The New York Times" conducted a foreign policy interview with Donald Trump, and it's raised eyebrows around the
world. He was asked if a Baltic State like Lithuania or Estonia, you know, if states don't pay their bills or dues to NATO, should they expect
guaranteed protection in case of Russian aggression. And he wouldn't say yes to that.
BURNS: The interesting things was he wasn't even asked about the bill- paying. He was asked if one of these states were subject to aggression from a non-NATO member would the United States step up and defend them.
His immediate response was, well, have they paid their bills, right?
This breaks with a cornerstone of bipartisan U.S. foreign policy going back to the Second World War and unlike a lot of the things that
Trump says that the party then scolds him for and he walks back, this is not just a gaffe or a random misstep. This is at the core of his political
philosophy.
BROWNSTEIN: And that's why the national security republicans have been the most likely to defect from Trump.
[15:10:02]Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser for the first President Bush, Richard Armitage, the deputy secretary of state for the
second President Bush, Hank Paulsen, the Treasury secretary, Mark Salter, the chief aide for decades to John McCain.
They have all said they're voting for Hillary Clinton. I would not be shocked to see some of them in Philadelphia next week.
GORANI: The Republicans are in a very tough spot, though, because if Hillary Clinton is elected, she will nominate at least one Supreme Court
justice, possibly two or more, who knows, and they will essentially have a left-leaning Supreme Court for decades to come.
BURNS: This is the sort of bargaining process that we've seen this week that, you know, Ron was pointing out that a number of the congressional
leaders have not exactly given full-throated character testimonials to Trump.
What they have been doing is trying to make a number of sort of lateral arguments for why voters who are not entirely on board with Trump
ought to just swallow the bitter pill and go for him anyway.
BROWNSTEIN: I think that's the strongest argument he has to hold the Republicans, the Supreme Court. My prediction is if Hillary Clinton runs
ads in some of the swing counties and metropolitan areas in the country touting her Republican endorsements, Trump will respond with ads about the
Supreme Court. That's the best way to pull Republicans back away from her.
GORANI: And typically in a convention, this is really the most important speech. He, of course, also has to get the whole show back on track after
all these controversies and distractions. What does he need to do?
BURNS: He just needs to make a case to the country for why he is truly prepared to perform the duties of the president of the United States.
Something that Trump aides, that Pence aides said earlier in the week they were going to try to do in the vice presidential acceptance speeches, talk
about why the ticket is really qualified to do the job.
GORANI: Mike Pence has been not very present, we haven't seen him much, and he hasn't been able to get the spotlight trained on him especially
yesterday after the Ted Cruz speech.
BROWNSTEIN: He is not a figure who is going to command the spotlight. I agree with Alex, the key measure of this week and whether a success is not
so much what happens in the horse race. You can get closer to Hillary Clinton by driving up her negatives this week. That can be rolled back.
What I think Trump has to do is deal with the personal doubts that he faces, particularly among these white collar, college educated white
voters where he's significantly underperforming relative to other Republicans. Sixty percent of them in the latest ABC/"Washington Post"
poll said he is not qualified.
GORANI: And if it stays that way --
BROWNSTEIN: He can't win.
GORANI: -- it becomes mathematically -- well, I mean, many people thought Brexit was mathematically impossible to get through, and that referendum
surprised everybody.
BURNS: That's a great point. A lot of people think that if there were a referendum on Trump's policies, if you put on the ballot withdraw from
NATO, that would stand a much, much better chance of passing muster with voters than electing a person whose character and temperament voters have
real doubts about.
BROWNSTEIN: Also the blue collar voters most receptive to the Trump-Brexit message are much bigger share of the vote in the U.K. than they are in the
U.S.
GORANI: Where it's become the demographics of changed so much. Alex Burns and Ron Brownstein, thanks so much for joining us on CNN. We really
appreciate it. We'll have a lot more from Cleveland. But now on to other stories.
Among those stories, the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are just over two weeks away, but Russian track and field athletes will not be
participating after a top court dismissed their appeal to overturn a ban. The country is dealing with major allegations of widespread state sponsored
doping. Russia, predictably, reacted with fury. The sports minister called for the group in charge world athletics to be disbanded.
Meanwhile, in Brazil itself, police have arrested ten people suspected of planning terrorist attacks during the Olympics. The country's
justice minister said the group pledged allegiance to ISIS but had no direct contact with the militants.
Let's go live to Shasta Darlington. She in Rio with more. What more can you tell us, Shasta?
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, the announcement was made today by the justice minister himself, saying this was the first time
Brazil has arrested anyone for suspected terror plots. What he said was it was a loosely organized group. He called them amateurs.
While they had pledged allegiance to ISIS, they hadn't really gotten very far in the planning process. The government had been monitoring these
individuals, all Brazilian nationals for some time, because of comments they were making on messaging apps like Whatsapp and Telegram.
Where they were celebrating the attacks in Nice, where they were celebrating the attacks in Orlando, where they were praising ISIS, but it
was when they really started to make a movement towards planning something, planning an attack that the police moved in.
According to the minister, one individual was trying (inaudible) buy an AK in an arm site in Paraguay. Others were talking about trying to get
target practice, even martial arts training.
So when these details started to emerge, the police moved in and they are now in custody. Of course, they're reviewing laptops and
telephones, hoping to get more details -- Hala.
GORANI: What's security like now? Because we saw from police officers, security personnel in Brazil, some protests a few weeks ago saying they're
not getting paid, that they're not getting remunerated for their work. What's the situation like there?
[15:15:10]DARLINGTON: Well, Hala, the mood here in Rio really has changed. You're beginning to feel the city in lockdown. There are soldiers out on
street corners. They're expecting a total of 85,000 troops and police and firefighters to secure the city during the games.
And a lot of those have already moved in. You can see warships off the coast of Copacabana Beach. They already have the National Guard
stationed outside the venues.
After the Nice attacks, they said they're really going to spread the parameters out even further, add more checkpoints. So they are getting all
of these pieces into place.
What's interesting here is they've said all along that they're taking the possibility of a threat very seriously, but at the same time,
Brazil has no history of terrorism, no home-grown networks.
And yet these latest arrests are stepping up the pressure, stepping up really the focus on what security is doing here. And we expect that
even residents are going to start to get edgy at this point -- Hala.
GORANI: Shasta Darlington in Rio, thank you.
We are getting new details on the attacker who killed 84 people in Nice last week in Southern France. A French prosecutor says Mohamed
Bouhlel plotted his attack for months and had help doing it. Five suspects already in custody are being investigated for their alleged roles in
helping Bouhlel, who drove a truck into crowds of people out celebrating Bastille Day.
Still to come this evening, much more from right here in Cleveland. Donald Trump may be turning his back on some of America's crucial allies,
but it appears he forgot to tell his running mate.
It is very similar to cancer. That is how the Turkish president is describing the failed coup attempt against his government. The latest on
the fallout, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Turkey is one day into a three-month state of emergency declared by the president following a failed coup. Critics around the world fear
that it will lead to human rights abuses in Turkey.
But Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the radical measures are not a threat to democracy. That's his promise. The state of emergency allows the
president to assume the responsibilities of the prime minister, more powers to Erdogan.
Laws can be pushed through parliament with greater speed. The constitutional court has been weakened. Rallies and meetings can be banned
along with magazines, newspapers, and books.
The president's spokesman is defending Erdogan's decision to impose this state of emergency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IBRAHIM KALIN, TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN: Right now all the security measures have been taken to make sure that, you know, such a crime doesn't
happen again. Now, of course there is a lot of soul-searching and questioning within the army as well.
Because they are also asking themselves, you know, how this could have happened, because, you know, the chief of the army was arrested, was
taken hostage by his own private secretary, and of course, few other people around him. Other top commanders were taken hostage.
[15:20:11]Can you believe that? You are betrayed by your own people whom you had trained, whom you had trusted your life with, and the security of
this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, post-coup, the Turkish government has detained, dismissed, or fired almost 60,000 people they say were somehow connected to the
attempt to overthrow President Erdogan.
Police are looking for two suspects in an attempted kidnapping. Investigators say two men of Middle Eastern appearance attempted to grab a
serviceman while he was out jogging near RAF Maram (ph) Air Base.
The victim fought off one suspect. The other attacker who had a knife became distracted allowing the servicemen to run away. Police are
unsure of the motivation and the investigation is ongoing. There is a map to let you know where this all went down. We don't have more details,
though.
The new British Prime Minister Theresa May is in Paris, her second visit to a European leader in as many days. She met with the French
president, Francois Hollande, after meeting with German Chancellor Merkel yesterday.
Negotiating the U.K.'s exit from the European Union, unsurprisingly was the main topic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: As I've said before, Britain is leaving the European Union, but we are not leaving Europe, and we are not
walking away from our friendship with France or any of our other European partners.
Britain and France are two allies that stand together looking out to the world, fighting for the values we share. As I said in my first speech
as prime minister in the British parliament this week, we share a firm belief in the values of liberty, legality and fraternity, and together we
will always defend them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Theresa May. Now the recent killings of police officers in Louisiana and the United States and Texas is on the minds of many delegates
here at the RNC. The excessive use of force by police is also in the spotlight.
Now a new incident is sparking outrage around the world. A man in Miami, Florida, says he was shot by police while he was assisting an
autistic patient. You can see Charles Kinsey in this clip lying on the ground with his hands up.
Kinsey is a behavioral therapist. He says he was helping his patient when the police arrived. They were responding to a 911 call about
an armed man. Kinsey says he pleaded with police, telling them his patient only had a toy truck. But he ended up getting shot in the leg. Kinsey
gave his side of the story from a hospital bed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES KINSEY, HOSPITALIZED WITH GUNSHOT WOUND: I went to the ground like this with my hands up. I'm laying down here just like this. And I'm
telling them again, sir, there's no need for a firearm, I'm unarmed, he's an autistic guy, he had a toy truck in his hand.
When he hit me, I'm like, I've still got my hands in the air, I said, I just got shot. I said, sir, but why did you shoot me? His words
to me, he said, "I don't know."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Let's get back to the Republican National Convention here in Cleveland, where Donald Trump is just hours away from making his victory
speech. Despite all the fanfare, one of the striking things about this year's convention is the long list of big name Republicans who did not show
up.
Jake Tapper took a walk on the convention floor to see who is missing in action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCEMENT: To the announcement of the delegation --
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": I'm here on the floor of the Republican National Convention, and it is a very exciting moment. Donald Trump's name
is being formally placed into nomination, but I have to say having covered so many conventions, one thing is very different about this convention,
there are a lot of very notable absences. Where is Senator Lindsay Graham?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know Mr. Graham's schedule and he wasn't elected as delegate, I am, and I'm from Eakins, South Carolina. That's
what matters. I have a vote tonight and he doesn't.
TAPPER: Where are your senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake? They are not here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I could care less if they are here. I'm supporting Donald Trump and I don't care what the establishment does because without
them we can still win.
TAPPER: Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are not here right now at this exciting moment for the Florida delegation, where are they?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, they are probably home watching the primary convention here. I was a Jeb Bush fan when it started out, but Florida
spoke very loud and clear. Every single county except one voted for Donald Trump. I'm going to be supporting the state of Florida in their request.
[15:25:03]TAPPER: Do you think that was a little Floridian slip there? Do you wish that every single county voted for Jeb Bush?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't put words in my mouth.
TAPPER: Would it have been great for Mitt Romney to be there casting the delegates for Massachusetts for Donald Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, right now, it is the people's movement right now. This is a grass roots movement.
TAPPER: Not about the elites?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not about the other politicians, it's about the grass roots movement coming together and supporting our nominee.
TAPPER: George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, neither of them are here and it's not because they're out doing boat repairs. They're not here because
they don't support Mr. Trump, does that bother you as a Texas Republican?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love both of those gentlemen, and I'm sorry that they're going to miss out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Jake Tapper there. It's Donald Trump's big night here at the RNC in a few hours. His statements about NATO could cause problems with
America's allies, certainly some level of concern. I'll chat about it with the Republicans' policy adviser, coming up next. Stay with us on CNN.
We'll be right back from Cleveland.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back, everybody. Anticipation is building for the biggest speech of Donald Trump's political career. He will be accepting the
Republican presidential nomination tonight at the convention here in Cleveland.
Trump did a walkthrough of the stage a short time ago along with his daughter, Ivanka, you see on his left. She will be introducing him, which
I'm told is unconventional, you would normally expect the spouse or a top Republican establishment figure, but that is not happening.
Also among the top stories, Brazil has arrested ten people suspected of planning terror acts during the Olympic Games in Rio. The country's
justice minister said the group was inspired by ISIS and organized mainly online. No specific targets were mentioned. Police are still looking for
two suspects.
A French prosecutor says the man who drove his truck through a crowd in Nice last week had help in preparing the attack and that he had been
planning it for several months, in fact. Eighty four people died, hundreds more were injured in the attack on Bastille Day in Southern France.
Pay your dues. That is apparently what Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, is saying to some of America's biggest allies. In
an interview with "The New York Times" he said, quote, "You can't forget the bills. Many NATO nations are not making payments. That is a big
thing. You can't say forget that. Trump's comments seem to contrast with what his running mate, Mike Pence, said on this stage behind me last night.
[15:30:01] CNN's Phil Mattingly reports.
CNN's Phil Mattingly reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump, undermining his running mate, Mike Pence, on the biggest night of his career. Pence
detailing his approach to foreign policy to an enthusiastic audience at the Republican National Convention.
GOVERNOR MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We cannot have four more years apologizing to our enemies and abandoning our friends. Donald
Trump will rebuild our military and stand with our allies.
MATTINGLY: But that's not what Donald Trump is saying in a new interview. "The New York Times" reporting that Trump is questioning whether he would
automatically defend NATO members.
When specifically asked about Russia's aggression towards the Baltic States, Trump says he would only come to their aid if they, quote, "have
fulfilled their obligations to us."
This is the second major policy discrepancy on display this week between the Republican nominee and his newly minted running mate.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That was a war that we should end because Iraq did not knock down --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your running mate voted for it.
TRUMP: I don't care.
MATTINGLY: Despite these differences, the Indiana governor and former congressman making the case for a Trump presidency last night.
PENCE: Donald Trump gets it. He's the genuine article. He's a doer in a game usually reserved for talkers.
MATTINGLY: Declaring that the GOP ticket is an agent of change.
PENCE: Hillary Clinton wants a better title and I would too if I was already America's secretary of the status quo.
MATTINGLY: A star turn for Midwestern Mike, a staunch social conservative, Tea Party supporter, and devout Evangelical who actually supported Ted Cruz
before Indiana's primary. Pence catapulting on to the national stage last year after signing a religious law, criticized for discriminating against
gays and lesbians.
PENCE: This isn't about disputes between individuals. It's about government overreach. I'm proud that Indiana stepped forward.
MATTINGLY: Trump applauding Pence's speech on Twitter, the GOP still getting to know each other. Trump awkwardly air kissing his running mate
after his big speech. Their unity not quite the photo-op moment of past Republican tickets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Now NATO's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, gave a statement to CNN after Trump's interview with "The Times." It says, quote,
"Solidarity among allies is a key value for NATO. This is good for European security and good for U.S. security. We defend one another. Two
world wars have shown that peace in Europe is also important for the security of the United States."
Let's discuss Trump's comments about NATO and how his foreign policy platform could take shape in tonight's speech. Peter Navarro is a policy
adviser to Trump and also the author of "Crouching Tiger."
And Ian Bremmer is a political scientist and the president of Eurasia Group. Thanks to both of you for being here with us.
Should NATO countries like the Baltic States be worried after these comments by Donald Trump to "The New York Times?"
IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT, EURASIA GROUP: Sure they should. I mean, the real question is whether Donald Trump really means you're fine as long you're
paying your 2 percent. By the way, the Baltics are some of the few countries that do pay the suggested sort of percent of GDP on defense,
they're holding up their end of the bargain.
It's the Canadians. It's the Italians that aren't or is he saying NATO needs to be basically waste binned because it's no longer fit for purpose.
Most countries aren't really engaged? If that's the case, of course, then the Baltics are in pretty serious trouble.
GORANI: Peter Navarro, what is it that he is saying?
PETER NAVARRO, TRUMP POLICY ADVISER: I think the story is a total false narrative, I don't think it's really fair to Donald Trump. There's no
contradiction there. What Donald Trump is acknowledging, and which is true, is that this America of today isn't the America of the last 40 years
where we can afford to pay for everything in both NATO and in Asia.
GORANI: They're not paying for everything.
NAVARRO: Well, we pay a disproportionate share, and there is no question we would probably agree on this, that there's free riding, right? Here is
the issue. All Donald Trump is saying is that, look, in order for these alliances to be strong, which he very much desires, we have to recognize
this fundamental problem. It's a fundamental problem in finance. We all have to carry the load here together, in that way we can be strong.
GORANI: But Ian, the implication is there that if you do not therefore pay your dues and you for instance are the victim of Russian aggression, you're
on your own. He is saying that.
NAVARRO: He's using that as a negotiating posture to get people talking about this issue so that we can begin to eliminate this free rider problem.
GORANI: Interestingly I heard that from Trump supporters outside, just ordinary Trump supporters, they're all saying --
NAVARRO: I'm sorry. You framed that in a totally false way. There was no contradiction between those two statements.
GORANI: He said it word for word.
[15:35:04]NAVARRO: The idea that we need people to pay for their share in Europe and being a supporter of the alliance.
GORANI: Is there a contradiction --
BREMMER: I don't think there's a contradiction.
GORANI: But Obama is not saying you're on your own or implying you're on your own if you don't play your dues.
BREMMER: Obama is the one that is talking about free riders. Obama is the one that has done less in the Middle East as a consequence. The Germans
have just came out. They didn't say much about it, but in their new policy statement on defense, they say they need to get the 2 percent, why, because
Obama is pulling back.
Now, I think Trump is grabbing that ball and he is running farther down the field with it. There's no question that there's a reason why, and one
thing that you didn't mention, Peter, is that despite the fact that a lot of people in America that are saying, we need to put America first, there's
not a single ally out there who supports Trump out there. Not one.
GORANI: Right. Let me ask you this, though. Wouldn't Vladimir Putin now be essentially saying to himself, this is a green light, after Ukraine and
Crimea, for me to do anything I want if Donald Trump is elected president?
NAVARRO: We have a president in the White House now who has been a kumbaya strategy, the idea that you can negotiate with any strong man in the world.
You take the two biggest ones, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping.
Neither one of those people respect Barack Obama. Weakness invites aggression. So we have with Putin, the Crimea, all the aggression in the
Ukraine, possible threats.
And the same thing in Asia. We have Xi Jinping running wild in the South China Sea, building fortress garrisons on land that they claim, that they
don't really have a legitimate claim to.
Donald Trump is peace through economic strength, that's where it begins, peace through military strength. The bottom line here is Putin and Xi
Jinping will respect Donald Trump. He will set red lines they will not cross, whereas Barack Obama --
GORANI: You don't think Putin, the Chinese leader, they do not respect America? Is that your --
BREMMER: I think it's certainly true that Putin doesn't respect Barack Obama and I think that he --
GORANI: Would he then respect Donald Trump?
BREMMER: Look, I think Putin would love to see Donald Trump won. He is the only leader out there who feels that way, because he believes -- he
also supported Brexit and he believes a weaker Trans-Atlantic alliance, one where the Americans are saying you guys pay for it yourself and if you
don't pay your fair share, we're gone.
There will be some countries that end up hedging. The more countries that hedge, the less the likely sanctions against Russia, the more they can
divide and conquer. The Chinese don't want Trump.
NAVARRO: That's a spin which I agree can be made. But I think Vladimir Putin will love Donald Trump and Trump will love Putin because those two
gentlemen can respect each other in a strategic rivalry and basically come to agreements about red lines that should not be crossed.
GORANI: I understand, but I want -- go ahead.
BREMMER: I just want to say the one that's very interesting about Trump, which I thought was quite consistent in the way he discussed it with "The
New York Times," was he said, look, we can't be asked to promote values all the over the world when we're not even living up to them at home, people
are killing police officers and all sorts of human rights abuses.
That's a very compelling point, because most people around the world look at the U.S. and say we are hypocrites. Now when that's happening, when you
are leading, but you don't actually live up to your values, there are two choices.
You can either choose to live up to you values at home or you can choose to lead less. What Trump is saying very clearly is that those values that
we've been leading with internationally, we should stop.
As a consequence Turkey -- as long as Turkey pays its fair share, the fact that Turkey has values which are radically different than those --
GORANI: Rounding up judges, cracking down on defense --
BREMMER: That's a real difference from Hillary Clinton that deserves to be discussed.
GORANI: Peter Navarro, I have to ask you, because we are CNN International, our viewers are all over the world. Some of the things
Trump has said specifically about Muslims have offended people to no end.
This idea that Muslims should be banned from America, whether it's temporary, whether it makes sense for national security reasons even though
they don't believe it makes any sense whatsoever. How do you defend that? How do you defend in 2016 a policy like that?
NAVARRO: He's absolutely correct on this. If you have a flood of people coming into this country who are Muslims, and you don't have a proper
vetting procedure, then you run the risk --
GORANI: It's a two-year process of vetting.
NAVARRO: So be it then --
GORANI: It is one of the most comprehensive and extensive vetting processes.
NAVARRO: -- in the last 37 days, as the speaker outlined last night, Newt Gingrich, we've had the most horrific kinds of things happening, they'll
continue to happen. And we can't afford --
GORANI: They're not refugees from Muslim countries committing these horrific acts.
NAVARRO: -- the vast majority who are peaceful should understand that the problem America has is we cannot let a flood of refugees in here that we
have not properly vetted because --
GORANI: Those are two different questions. A flood of refugees and banning Muslims is not the same groups of people. You can have refugees
who are Christians.
NAVARRO: He said it was a temporary ban until the State Department got its act together and the State Department does not have its act together.
BREMMER: I think what's interesting --
[15:40:01]GORANI: You travel a lot and you've heard this a lot I think from --
BREMMER: Of course, I have. Again, I mean, you know, countries like Saudi Arabia, the U.S.-Saudi relations got much worse under Obama. It would get
a lot worse if Trump became president.
But let's be clear, there's a reason why establishment foreign policy types on the Republican side, none of them are here. It's because Trump comes
from a very different perspective.
What I find interesting is on foreign policy, Trump is tapping into real support base in the United States. The average American looks at $2
trillion spent on failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and said why did we do that?
The average American looks at NAFTA and the TPP and says we did not benefit. That's from the Republican establishment and the Democratic
establishment. I think Trump on the populist foreign policy front is tapping into something that Hillary has to address --
GORANI: A real frustration. It is real. Ian Bremmer and Peter Navarro, thanks to both of you for joining us on CNN. We appreciate it.
This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Ted Cruz is facing the wrath of Republican delegates for not endorsing Donald Trump. We'll speak to one Trump
supporter who is simply furious.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Some of Donald Trump's former presidential primary rivals have taken to the stage to endorse him, Chris Christie, Ben Carson. But Texas
Senator Ted Cruz had other ideas. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: If you love our country and love your children as much as I know that you do, stand and speak and vote your
conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Let's speak to Jan Morgan. She is the national spokesperson for Citizens for Trump. She used to support and in fact endorsed Ted Cruz but
switched her allegiances to Donald Trump.
What did you make of Ted Cruz's speech yesterday? He did not endorse Donald Trump and you've said you're furious.
JAN MORGAN, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, CITIZENS FOR TRUMP: Absolutely, I'm enraged. I thought it was classless. It was very gracious of Donald Trump
to offer Mr. Cruz that opportunity. While I didn't really expect that Ted Cruz would officially endorse him, I didn't expect that he would use the
hashtag never Trump phrase of vote your conscience because everybody knows what that really means. To say you should go up and down the roster and
pick the candidate that you know is going to promote our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
GORANI: But what's wrong with saying vote your conscience? That's what democracy is all about.
MORGAN: Exactly. Except that voters have already spoken on this issue. We know that this race is not really about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.
It's about the person who is going to select the next three to five Supreme Court justices who will serve for decades to come.
GORANI: That's the key isn't it for you and so many Trump supporters.
MORGAN: It is. We're looking at not the next term or two terms. We are looking at decades of Supreme Court justices, who will make decisions that
will change the face of this country depending on who is in that position.
[15:45:12]GORANI: Now, you support Donald Trump now why exactly? Why did you switch from Cruz to Trump long before this speech?
MORGAN: First of all, I didn't switch from Cruz to Trump. I withdraw my endorsement of Ted Cruz. I started seeing things surface about his
character throughout the campaign that finally really surfaced last night for everyone to see, things like that that concerned me about his
character.
When he stood up on national television, remember the protest in Chicago, the violent outbreak, when he blamed Donald Trump for the actions of
anarchist thugs outside of that rally that was the final straw with me.
GORANI: In what way did he blame Donald Trump?
MORGAN: He said that it goes back to the culture of the campaign, that the candidate is responsible for the culture of the campaign. If he really
means that, then we have to say that what happened with Dr. Ben Carson from the Cruz campaign that Ted Cruz has to be responsible for that.
GORANI: You don't think there's any truth to the fact that there has been a culture of anger, of violence, that there has been violence in some of
the arenas where Trump events have taken place, you don't think that has to do with the candidate?
MORGAN: No, I do not. It has to do with the fact that we're in a cultural war in this country. This is much bigger than Donald Trump or Hillary
Clinton. To us it really is about the face of this nation and the future and we've got to stop being politically correct. We've got to get control
of our country again. The people need control. We're tired of --
GORANI: Jan, I have to tell you, we've seen all around the world, in countries where there are wars, terrorist attacks every few days,
unemployment is over 15 percent, where GDP declining, there's disease, refugee crises, this is an amazing country, Jan. Why does the Trump
campaign continue say that they need to make it great again? Isn't it great already? Many people would do anything to get here.
MORGAN: Those of us who remember a day when we weren't having people beheaded in our courthouses --
GORANI: Where people getting beheaded in what courthouse?
MORGAN: In Oklahoma two women were beheaded. That is the first for our country --
GORANI: And so I'm not aware of that story but certainly --
MORGAN: A lady like you in the news business?
GORANI: I'll take your word for it that one isolated incident may have happened somewhere in Oklahoma.
MORGAN: We've had terrorist attacks in America. This country is not going to tolerate, we're not going to put up with it. The people of the U.K. are
not putting up with it either. What we want to avoid is what has happened there.
We're doing it in a way that we don't have to have a total revolution, but we have taken away the Republican Party from the establishment and the
people now have control. We are seeing history take place. This is a very exciting time.
The atmosphere is electric. One of the things that I really want to stress that I noticed the first day I was here, that I thought was amazing about
the change we're seeing in the Republican Party.
The first day I was here, I spoke at a rally called America first, and what struck me was the diversity of the base of people there in support of
Trump.
GORANI: Because I'm not seeing much diversity in the crowd here.
MORGAN: There was so much diversity, Hala. There were gays for Trump, Muslims for Trump, women for Trump, African-Americans for Trump. It was a
huge group of people there, a very diverse base.
GORANI: I haven't seen as many of the Muslims for Trump as you mentioned, may have I should have. You mentioned gays for Trump, we have the head of
the Log Cabin Republican representative, the head of the Log Cabin Republicans coming up in the next block.
Jan Morgan, thanks very much. We really appreciate your time here on CNN International. Thank you very much.
Don't forget you could check out our Facebook page, we'll have some of our conversation with Jan and other top interviews, facebook.com/halagoranicnn.
Coming up, which was harder for Caitlyn Jenner, coming out as transgender or coming out as a Republican? I'll discuss what some are calling an anti-
LGBT party platform with the president of the gay Republican organization. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:34]
GORANI: As the Republican convention continues in Cleveland, someone made one of Donald Trump's biggest wishes come true, a wall. The artist
"Plastic Jesus" built a small, you could call it a tiny, tiny wall around Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
American flags and barbed wire included, it's all poking fun at Trump's vow to build a wall along the southern border of the United States to block
Mexican immigrants from entering.
Many members of the GOP identify as socially conservative. The 2016 Republican platform reflected this quite a bit. It calls for the Supreme
Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage to be reversed.
It goes on to say that sex discrimination is being wrongly redefined to include sexual orientation. Needless to say, the Log Cabin Republicans are
not thrilled about the platform.
The gay Republican organization released a full page ad attacking the platform. It reads, "Losers, morons, sad," no, these aren't tweets from
Donald Trump, this is what common sense conservatives are saying about the most anti-LGBT Republican platform the Republican Party has ever had.
But since then, some RNC speakers sounded a more inclusive note. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: If our enemies had their way, not a single woman in this room could define her future. If our
enemies had their way, gays, lesbians, and transgender citizens would be put to death as they are today in the Islamic State in Iran.
If our enemies had their way, every person on earth will be subject to conversion by the sword and to a cruel and violent system of law. There
would be no individual liberty. There would be no equality. There would be no freedom.
CRUZ: Whether you are gay or straight, the Bill of Rights protects the rights of all of us to live according to our conscience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: My next guest is the president of the Log Cabin Republicans, Gregory T. Angelo. Thanks for joining me. Do you support Donald Trump?
GREGORY T. ANGELO, PRESIDENT, LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS: We haven't made any sort of declarations as to an endorsement of Mr. Trump. I have said going
back to August of last year that were he to become this party's nominee, he would be the most pro-gay nominee this party has ever had, and I stand by
that.
GORANI: But you're at the convention. Shouldn't you at this point either be endorsing or not?
ANGELO: No. Usually as history goes, the Log Cabin Republicans withhold making those decisions until the fall. We not only have to convene as a
Board of Directors, but we'll be doing our quadrennial survey of our members around the country to find out how they feel about a potential for
a Trump --
GORANI: Is that how you decide whether or not you endorse a candidate, usually, typically?
ANGELO: Well, certainly, yes, we are the largest and grassroots organization representing LGBT conservative straight allies. It's
important that whatever decision we make is representative of at least the majority of our members.
GORANI: A lot of people around the world will have one question for you and you know what that is, how you can be gay and a Republican when on the
platform you have, we support the right of parents to consent to medical treatment for minor children, every child deserves a married mom and dad.
Why are you a Republican?
ANGELO: I'm a Republican not because of what the party says about LGBT people in its platform, a largely symbolic document but in spite of those
things. I stated in no uncertain terms how I feel and how Log Cabin Republican members around the country feel about those anti-LGBT planks in
the platform. But look at other parts of the platform, support for second amendment, appeal of Obamacare, tax reform --
GORANI: And those are more important than those social values or the social values enshrined in the platform that you fundamentally --
ANGELO: I'm not saying they're more important. They're also LGBT issues. Radical Islamic terror is also an LGBT issue. On those things we agree
with the preponderance -- if not the overwhelming majority of the platform.
GORANI: But Mike Pence, he is the vice presidential pick, has said in the past that being gay is a choice, gay marriage would lead to societal
collapse. I mean, I realize that you have other issues where all well rounded individuals are not just defined by your sexual orientation. But
this so goes against the way of life of gays and lesbians in this country that it must be difficult to marry these two things.
ANGELO: Certainly the Pence choice as vice president wasn't my personal number one pick, but look at this way, Mike Pence can and did do more to
damage to the LGBT community as the chief executive of the state of Indiana as opposed to being in a largely symbolic position of vice president where
he is going to be going overseas to attend funerals of (inaudible) foreign dignitaries.
[15:55:07]I would rather have him in that position than continuing to push and sign into law anti-LGBT legislation in the state of Indiana.
GORANI: What have you made of the people attending this convention? Jan Morgan who is the president of Citizens for Trump said it was all inclusive
and very diverse. Quite frankly, it's not a diverse crowd. I see pretty much only white faces, a few minority faces. What do you make of it?
ANGELO: Well, just coming here as a Republican who is a member of the LGBT community and president of the Log Cabin Republicans, I've received
overwhelming support from a crowd here, a crowd that is welcoming. You might say it doesn't look diverse but they are welcoming of all people,
especially LGBT Republicans.
The reception that I and our members have received here from delegates is not reflective of the party platform. You wouldn't know how inclusive and
welcoming the party is if you just judge us based on that document.
GORANI: Caitlyn Jenner was one of your guests of honor. She, of course, is transgender, formerly Bruce Jenner. She has said in the past it's been
difficult for a transgender to come out as conservative. I mean, what were your impressions of her?
ANGELO: Well, Caitlyn Jenner, welcome to the club. I have long said I feel far more welcome as a gay man in Republican circles than I frequently
do as an openly Republican man in gay circles.
GORANI: Interesting. Really why is that? Do you feel like the gay community is not necessarily tolerant of conservative gays and lesbians?
ANGELO: There's a perception among most if not the overwhelming majority of the guy left that if you come out as gay, you must be a Democrat,
because they do things that are good like supporting LGBT equality, but you then must support the entire liberal litany of positions that are espoused
in their platform, things that I do not agree with.
GORANI: Gregory T. Angelo, the president of the Log Cabin Republicans, thanks very much -- or the national executive director, thanks so much for
joining us.
This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Thanks for watching. I'm Hala Gorani. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper is up next on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
