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Big Night Upcoming for Donald Trump at GOP Convention; Chris Christie Disapproves of Cruz's Convention Speech; Cruz's Campaign Manager Has Negative On-Air Response; Roger Ailes Still In Talks to Leave Fox. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 21, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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


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[10:34:30] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is a critical night for Donald Trump after three days of protests and unpredictability he will attempt to get the GOP back on message. And prove to America that he belongs in the White House, when he accepts the Republican nomination for President.

So, for more on just how important this night is, I'm joined by syndicated radio host, Michael Medved. Donald Trump supporter and co- chair of "Women vote Trump," Amy Kremer, CNN Political Commentator and Clinton supporter Maria Cardona, and CNN Political Commentator and political strategist, and veteran of two GOP presidential campaigns, Margaret Hoover. Welcome to all of you.

MICHAEL MEDVED, RADIO HOST: Thank you.

COSTELLO: All right, Amy I'm going to start with you because it's been quite a morning. It appears that the Republican Party is in disarray. So what does Donald Trump need to say tonight?

AMY KREMER, CO-CHAIR, "WOMEN VOTE TRUMP": Well I think he needs to have an inclusive message, bringing people together. I disagree with you that it's in disarray. I think actually what happened last night with Ted Cruz, those fence -- the people that were sitting on the fence, I think they have made their decision and they have gotten on the Trump train now. And we're going to move forward.

The die-hard Cruz fans were never going to support Donald Trump. So I think that last night was a good thing. And I want to hear Donald Trump tonight ...

COSTELLO: Really?

KREMER: ... talk about being inclusive and bringing everybody together.

COSTELLO: So did, weirdly, Michael, Ted Cruz do Donald Trump a favor?

[10:35:45]

MEDVED: I think he did. I think this was a great moment for Ted Cruz, frankly. I think he showed courage and principle. And that he meant what he said. And Newt Gingrich gave the best possible interpretation of what Ted had said. He said, "look, stand by conscience, support any candidate who defends the constitution." Now it's up for Mr. Trump to show that he will, in fact, defend the constitution.

I believe that tonight he has to show that he can not only unite Republicans but unite Republicans and Democrats. He's famous for making deals. What he should emphasize is that making a deal means reaching agreement. And that's what he wants to do.

He wants to make deals all over the place. Not only with his fellow Republicans, but with Democrats, with foreign nations. And bring people together to agree on principles about making America great again. COSTELLO: So Margaret have we seen an example of Donald Trump

bringing people together?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: I mean, you're talking to a Republican who has been to every convention since 2000, worked in the Bush White House, worked the windy join (ph). I mean a Republican wants to win a national election. And this convention is an unmitigated disaster.

Cruz was not helpful to Trump. There is no party unity. And by the way, there is nothing Donald Trump can do to get a good third of Republican primary voters and Republican supporters to vote for him tonight. There's nothing he can say.

COSTELLO: Nothing?

HOOVER: Because this isn't about one speech. This is about a series of events, a series of actions that can convince a Republican electorate that this man can be an acceptable candidate for president.

MEDVED: Can I ask you a question?

HOOVER: Shoot (ph).

MEDVED: Because I've been an almost never Trumper. A very reluctant Trumper. But if he echoed what his son, Donald Jr, did on Tuesday night, if the Trump team (ph) ...

HOOVER: I would feel much more comfortable.

MEDVED: I know but if he did that ...

HOOVER: But that would be one speech.

MEDVED: I understand. But if he echoes that in speech after speech after speech. If he brings that same strategy to the debates. If he shows that he's actually taking it seriously now ...

HOOVER: Wouldn't that be wonderful, Michael? We have been waiting for that four months now. All of us thought, OK as soon as he secures the nomination we're going to see a more serious Trump. We're going to see a more disciplined Trump. We're going to see -- but what we see is the man actually doesn't even have discipline.

This is a man who is categorically the most unfit to be president. And he is to the Republican ...

KREMER: Woah! This is the thing, Margaret. You're a politico. You've been to all these conventions. What about the American people out there? They're tired of this. They like it that this is not your usual convention. They like it that Donald Trump is not a politician. And that he speaks his mind and doesn't backpedal and spin the way that other politicians do.

HOOVER: There is so much about Trump that is absolutely noteworthy and important. I mean, we all like the fact that he's shaking up the establishment. There's a lot of us that feel like there might have been something hopeful that came out of this. But what we have seen time, and time again, is an inability to execute on anything positive that he's channeled.

MEDVED: But the one thing (ph) ...

KREMER: One great (ph) ...

HOOVER: The challenge to the Republican Party is going to be untangling so that what Trump has channeled that is constructive. Where can -- what can the Republican Party learn and channel from the real angst and economic grievances that Trump followers (ph) feel? And how are we going to address that and internalize that in a constructive way?

But then taking away (ph) the white manifest (ph), the negative parts of the Trump support, right? The Republican Party really does have to resolve (ph). But you're not seeing anything ...

(CROSSTALK)

KREMER: See, I -- with all due respect, I don't think this is just about the Republican Party. I think this is about America. And about the future of this country. And I do want to hear him bring people together. Because we are more divided than we have ever been, I believe.

And so I do want to have -- hear a message of unity. But I don't believe focusing on Party, going forward, I mean yes, this is a Republican convention and he needs to bring people together. But there are independents out there that do not identify with the Republican Party ...

COSTELLO: Speaking of ...

KREMER: ... and he needs to get them on board, too.

COSTELLO: Speaking of bringing people together, because he does have to get independents on board, right? And if he does become President of the United States, he has to work with Democrats. So if he continues to say things like, "Crooked Hillary," and people continue to chant things like, "send her to jail, put her behind bars," during the convention, what does that do to independents who lean left and democratic voters who maybe think what Amy thinks? That it's time we unify.

CARDONA: I think it highlights the fact that this is a man who is unfit, completely unprepared to be president. As a democrat, I have loved watching this convention.

MEDVED: Of course.

CARDONA: But, as somebody who understands how conventions should be run, I think these last three days -- which have been a complete debacle, and have emphasized dissonance, discord, dishonesty, and divisiveness -- is something that people need to consider in terms of how this man would actually manage the country.

OK, conventions should be very scripted events, right? The fact that he let Ted Cruz on that stage without having an -- some kind of rock solid agreement that he was ...

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: The Trump campaign read his speech.

MEDVED: And it shows his strength, it shows his strength that he was ...

CARDONA: But -- and let his -- have him (ph) come on anyway, right? Reading his speech and then having an agreement to say, "OK, maybe you don't endorse but you're going to say good things about the Party, you're going to say good things about me, about wanting to work with me," you know, blah, blah, blah. There are ways to get this done. If he can't even negotiate for Ted Cruz to come ...

KREMER: It was a win-win for Donald Trump, though ...

MEDVED: He didn't (ph) ... By the way it was a ... it was a time (ph), it was a time (ph) ...

CARDONA: ... on that stage to say good things, then what does it mean ...

KREMER: ... It was a win-win for him ...

CARDONA: ... what does it mean about this man who has put his business career and his negotiating skills on the line. And to say, "I will be a good president because I know how to do deals." He couldn't even do a ...

KREMER: Maria, it was a win-win for Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Hold on for just a second, I have some news coming into CNN.

MEDVED: OK. COSTELLO: Governor Chris Christie, who of course is a very strong

supporter of Donald Trump, he wasn't very happy with Senator Ted Cruz's remarks this morning or last night at the convention. Let's hear what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: I think it was awful. And quite frankly I think it was selfish. And he signed a pledge and it's his job to keep his word. And Donald Trump gave him the opportunity to speak here at this convention tonight. And I think it was too cute. And I think he saw by the end of the speech that the crowd was waiting for him to do the right thing, and realize that once again he wasn't going to do it. And I think the performance you saw up there is why Ted has so, so richly deserved the reputation that he's developed on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK so Ted Cruz's campaign manager, Jeff Roe lashed out at Christie's criticism of Cruz's speech. Saying on the Chris Stigall -- I apologize if I mispronounce the name -- the Chris Stigall radio show, he said the New Jersey governor had, "turned over his political testicles long ago." And I'm sorry that I had to say that on television. But that's what he said.

MEDVED: OK but Donald Trump, by allowing that last night -- and he was in the hall when Ted Cruz was due. He was listening to it, he didn't wince, he didn't shake his head, he didn't shake his fist. I -- again, I've been to a lot of conventions, too. I was in Chicago at -- when I was a Democrat and a kid in 1968.

Dick Daily shook his hand at Abe Ribicoff when he said something he didn't like. Donald Trump listened, respectfully, to Ted Cruz. He allowed him to speak.

COSTELLO: Donald Trump interrupted the end of his speech by going out on the convention floor. He got tired ...

MEDVED: He didn't go on the floor. He went into the -- he went ...

COSTELLO: He distracted attention from Ted Cruz's ...

MEDVED: OK ...

COSTELLO: ... speech. So you can't really say that.

MEDVED: He went into -- he went in to listen to what -- and the fact that ...

HOOVER: You couldn't hear Ted at that point, anyway.

COSTELLO: With people booing (ph) ...

MEDVED: And the fact is ... the fact is that look, I am very critical about -- of Trump and many of the things he's said, and many of things he's done. He has to turn over a new leaf, I agree. It's poor the people booed Ted Cruz. It's poor the people are chanting "lock her up," which is -- makes you feel like you're seeing a scene from Young Frankenstein. With people with torches.

But what you saw, by allowing Ted Cruz to speak, is the idea that Donald Trump knows what Newt Gingrich said, which is if you are looking for conservative principle, there really is one way to vote in this upcoming election.

COSTELLO: OK.

MEDVED: And I think what we're going to see tonight is, in fact, a much more presidential Trump following the encouraging lead of his son.

COSTELLO: OK.

KREMER: And Mike Pence.

: How many times have people ...

MEDVED: And Mike Pence, yes.

: How many times have people said that, Michael? How many times have they said, "OK" ...

MEDVED: Hope springs eternal.

: Now he's going to pivot. OK, now he's going to bring people together. OK, now he's going to tell us why he deserves to be President. He hasn't done that yet so why should we expect for him to do that tonight?

MEDVED: If, if he -- if he doesn't tonight he's going to lose ...

COSTELLO: OK, I've got to end it there. I do, I'm so sorry ...

MEDVED: If he doesn't do it tonight, he will lose the election.

CARDONA: He's going to be Trump.

COSTELLO: And I'm left with my burning question about Melania Trump. Because where's she ...

CARDONA: Yeah.

COSTELLO: Do you think she'll show tonight?

KREMER: Like, I loved her. I think so.

CARDONA: She has to. She has to be there.

COSTELLO: You think she will?

MEDVED: Of course she will show ...

CARDONA: It'll be ... It'll be a whole lot bigger of a story if she's not there.

MEDVED: And can I tell you something? It's really a tough job to make a supermodel married to a billionaire seem like a sympathetic victim. But I think that a lot of her critics have done that.

COSTELLO: Oh no, I don't think people really feel sorry for her.

MEDVED: Right, I know. But because the criticism of her, which is so over the top. OK look, again, I am not a Trump fan. But this is two paragraphs she clearly didn't mean it, didn't know what she was doing. She has a tough time with the language, OK? But she came across as someone of dignity and someone who is nice and sweet, and classy. Give her a break.

HOOVER: It's that whole episode (ph) ...

CARDONA: Absolutely, and I hope she comes to Cleveland here, I do. I do have to end this here, I have to end it here. Michael Medved, Amy Kremer, Maria Cardona, Margaret Hoover, thanks so much, I'll be right back.

[10:45:30]

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COSTELLO: Good morning, I'm live in Cleveland, thanks for joining me. Donald Trump is raising new questions about the United States' role in NATO and whether the U.S. would step in on behalf of allies under attack. Telling the New York Times that he would decide whether to come to a NATO ally's aid only after reviewing whether those stations have fulfilled their obligations to us.

So let's talk about that with Paul Rieckhoff, he's the founder and CEO of "Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America," a non-partisan non- profit. Welcome Paul.

PAUL RIECKHOFF, FOUNDER, CEO, "IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA": Great to see you, ma'am.

COSTELLO: Nice to see you. So what do you think of Donald Trump's comments on NATO?

RIECKHOFF: I think they're really out of step with where our military is, where our foreign policy's been. It's definitely a curve ball. I think a lot of folks are struggling to catch up with the latest comments. But I think veterans are really looking for a more comprehensive approach to how he's going to address national security, the veterans community, our military.

There are 22 million veterans in America. They're bipartisan and they vote. Our members voted over 93 percent. So they're really paying close attention to all these comments. And even to the fact that Mike Pence, last night, is the son and grandson -- sorry, he's the father of -- a veteran. And his father himself was a Korean War veteran.

So that's a new angle for our community. I think we're going to be looking for those kinds of signals and signs.

COSTELLO: What does Donald Trump need to say in tonight's speech. Because he's expressed his support for veterans many times ...

RIECKHOFF: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... in the Primary season, right?

RIECKHOFF: Yes, he needs to get down to basics and give us specifics. I mean it's easy to say, "I'm going to clean up the V.A.," right? That's like saying, "I'm going to clean up Washington." It sounds great in the media ...

COSTELLO: He says he's going to accept personal calls. He'd make a personal call to get things done.

RIECKHOFF: Right, right. Yeah well that's not going to work. OK? I mean you'd better get a lot of phones for that. Because there are millions of veterans in this country who need help. But we need to hear about how he's going to reform the V.A., how he's going to improve the backlog. Will he defend the G.I. Bill? Right now the Senate's trying to cut the G.I. Bill by $3 billion. And Trump hasn't said he'll oppose that. So we want to hear specifics about that and how he's actually going to help our veterans get to the front of these lines.

COSTELLO: He says he wants to modernize the army. But that will cost like $500 billion, right?

RIECKHOFF: The Army's pretty modern. I mean this comment that we need to rebuild our military, I mean our military is the greatest military on earth. That's not a partisan statement. But again, we need to hear specifics. What does that actually mean for the private serving overseas?

And we also want to hear that he remembers that there are folks in Iraq and Afghanistan right now. We've heard Benghazi probably ten times more than we've ever heard Iraq and Afghanistan. And people are in Iraq and Afghanistan right now. So the military wants to hear that they're not forgotten.

There are going to be folks watching right now, tonight, from Iraq and Afghanistan. They want to hear that the future Commander in Chief remembers them.

[10:51:20]

COSTELLO: He said again that he wanted to really crack down hard on ISIS but he never really says how many troops he would send ...

RIECKHOFF: Right.

COSTELLO: If that would involve boots on the ground. Do you know what his policy is when it comes to getting rid of ISIS?

RIECKHOFF: No we don't. When it comes to the troop numbers for example, I think that's been a moving target. Recently the President made a statement about troop numbers in Afghanistan that was a bit of a surprise. And I think, again, we're concerned that the rest of America is watching Kim Kardashian and not what's happening on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So troop numbers matter, how long we're going to be there matters. And the fact that we're tired. You know, the military's been at war for going on two decades and we need to know that our Commander in Chief understands that we're tired, we need support, and we need specifics.

You can't just throw that rhetoric out there because now veterans have become the new populus to plause line (ph). It's easy to say, "I love veterans." Everybody stands up, you get a big rounding -- round of applause. But how are you actually going to do it? That's the hard stuff.

COSTELLO: Paul Rieckhoff thanks for stopping by.

RIECKHOFF: Thank you, ma'am.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it, thank you so much. And we're also following an evolving story on Fox News. Is the end in sight for Roger Ailes? Amid allegations and sexual harassment. The exit of longtime CEO of Fox News could come as soon as today.

CNN Senior Media Correspondent Brian Stelter has been following this story. So what's the latest?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: The latest is that no one has heard from Roger Ailes. He is -- was the mastermind of Fox News, but I've spoken with hosts, producers, correspondents, commentators, and nobody at the network has actually heard from the boss.

So that's -- because he is in talks to leave. And it could happen today. If not today, tomorrow. But consider that on the day Donald Trump formally collects his Party's nomination, Roger Ailes could be leaving Fox News. Roger Ailes, who has helped the GOP enormously for the past 20 years by creating this virtual public square for the conservative movement.

Donald Trump has been in touch with Ails though, I can tell you that is one person Ails is talking with. They've been on the phone -- now they've been friends, of course, for decades. But even in the wake of this sexual harassment controversy, with the number of women coming forward accusing Ails of harassment, he has been getting advice from Trump. They've been in touch communicating.

So we will see if Donald Trump maybe ever wants to weigh in on this. But for now ...

COSTELLO: Maybe he'll take over Trump's campaign -- I'm just joking.

STELTER: That actually has come up, you're not the first to talk about that ... COSTELLO: Oh come on!

STELTER: You're not the first to say that. Before Ails created Fox News, he was a consultant for Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and others. There've been rumors out there that maybe Ails would actually go back to politics. I don't think any of those talks have actually happened. But crazier things have happened in Roger Ailes' life.

COSTELLO: OK. I have been interested in watching the ratings for Fox during this Republican National Convention. Because you would think they would be blowing everybody away. Because this is their bailiwick.

STELTER: Yeah, actually the numbers are down from where they were in 2012 during the Republican National Convention. Fox usually dominates during these conventions. They are number one again this year but they're also not doing as well as they did four years ago. CNN has actually grown quite a bit up (ph) from 2012. MSNBC up as well. I think what we're seeing is that Fox doesn't have quite the grip that it used to have on either conservative viewers or on moderates who are interested in Republican politics.

Overall what's interesting about the ratings this season, this election, this convention that is, is that they're not quite as high as the people were expecting. There hasn't been a Trump ratings bump. Yeah, the numbers are OK, they're fine. But they're not up in the way that we've seen from the debates where Trump was, for example. So we'll see what happens to Fox, ABC (ph) ...

COSTELLO: So let me ask you this. If Fox's ratings were what we have come to expect ...

STELTER: Yeah, yeah.

COSTELLO: Would Roger Ailes be out, even amid all these sexual harassment allegations from these women?

STELTER: You know what, certainly sometimes when you have high ratings you can be in -- you can have a stronger position, a stronger amount of leverage as well (ph) ...

COSTELLO: Because it's not like these allegations just came to light like yesterday.

STELTER: Well I think the reality though is that we're talking about the Murdochs who have been looking at Ails for a while. Maybe looking at a way to move on from him for a while. These sexual harassment allegations are troubling, very disturbing to the Murdochs. And they've decided to take action for that reason.

Whether they are true or not, that we can't establish. Ails has firmly denied these allegations against him. There are many women and men at Fox News who say they don't believe this stuff, they don't recognize this version of Ails. But I've spoken with several women who do say they do have disturbing stories about harassment by Ails.

COSTELLO: Did you talk to some alleged victims? ...

STELTER: Right, that's right.

COSTELLO: ... What did they tell you?

STELTER: They described various instances of harassment, some of it more severe than others. In some cases, him asking them to turn around so he can see the back side. In some cases asking to see their legs, things like that. In other cases even suggesting they should meet off campus, out of the building, so he could express himself more personally. In no case, there's been -- in no allegations did anything actually happen, sexually, between Ails and any of these women. But there are a number of women who do have stories to tell. And they are speaking in some cases with Gretchen Carlson's attorneys.

COSTELLO: All right, Brian Stelter, thanks for the update.

STELTER: Thanks.

COSTELLO: We'll watch what's happening over at Fox News. Thank you for joining me today, I'm Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan after a break.

[10:57:10]

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