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Clinton, Kaine Hit Trail in Philadelphia; Breaking Barriers at the Conventions. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 29, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:07] HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now I, like Tim, I had the great pleasure of serving in the senate with Senator Bob Casey and I appreciated his tenacity, the attention to detail, the work he did for you every single day. And so I want to thank Bob and I want also to recognize who I hope will be his partner in the senate come November, Katie McGinty.

(APPLAUSE)

And I hope the next attorney general for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro.

(APPLAUSE)

This has been such an vigorating, exciting week. As I said last night we heard from the man from Hope, Bill Clinton.

(APPLAUSE)

And we heard from the man of hope, Barack Obama.

(APPLAUSE)

And I was so excited to introduce to America our partners, it -- its going to be fun to travel with, both Tim and Ann because they -- they are going to demonstrate to the country what the people of Virginia already know. There's no better people to have in your corner than Tim Kaine and Ann Holten.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I -- I don't know about you but I -- I stayed up really late last night. It was just hard to go to sleep. We -- oh thank you thank you. It -- it was so exciting and but I -- I have to tell you it was also kind of overwhelming. I -- I take deeply, and with great humility the responsibility that this great campaign imposes on us.

There is no doubt in my mind that every election in our democracy is important in it's own way, but I cant think of an election that is more important certainly in my lifetime. And its not so much that I am on the ticket. It is because of the stark choice that is posed to America in this election. So when I did -- when I did wake up this morning -- thank you.

(APPLAUSE) When I -- when I -- when I did -- did start moving and Bill and I started drinking our coffee or asking that it be administered through an IV --

(LAUGHTER)

-- we suddenly looked at each other and we realized, as of tomorrow we have 100 days to make our case to America.

(APPLAUSE)

So what better place to kick off this campaign than right here in Philadelphia where it all started 240 years ago. I -- I believe with all my heart that our founders came together to create one nation because they understood what we understand. We are stronger together.

(APPLAUSE)

And -- and as we pointed out during our four great days of our convention you heard something very different from the Republicans didn't you?

We -- we might as well have been talking about two different countries or as someone said to me "two different planets." Donald Trump painted a picture, a negative, dark, divisive picture of a country in decline. He insisted that America is weak and he told us all after laying out this very dark picture that I alone can fix it.

Now as I -- as I watched and heard that it set off alarm bells because just think about what happened here 240 years ago. Think about our founders coming together, a Declaration of Independence, writing a constitution. They set up our form of government, the longest-lasting democracy in the history of the world.

(APPLAUSE)

And you know, they did it. They did it -- they did it because they knew they didn't want one person, one man to have all the power, like a king.

And think about George Washington, our first president. After he served, he stepped down voluntarily. People around him couldn't believe it. But he said, no, this is the example we should set.

A democracy requires something from all of us, not just people we elect, but every single one of us, and Washington set that example. And I don't know any founder, no matter how -- how strong they were, how smart they were, who believed that only they could solve our problems. So...

AUDIENCE: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!

CLINTON: And I'll tell you something else.

AUDIENCE: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! CLINTON: I'll tell -- I'll tell you something else. They also expected a kind of raucous debate in America. But at the end of the debate, we have to come together and get things done, don't we?

(APPLAUSE) So, as Tim said, we are going to get on a bus as soon as we leave here and we're going to drive through Pennsylvania and into Ohio. It's kind of nostalgic for me. My dad was born in Scranton. I spent every summer of my life up in northeast Pennsylvania. My father, my brother went to Penn State, so I know...

(APPLAUSE)

I -- I know how beautiful this commonwealth is and how wonderful the people are.

But we've got work to do. I'm not satisfied with the status quo. I'm not telling you that everything is just peachy keen. I'm telling you we've made progress, but we have work to do if we're going to make sure everybody is included.

(APPLAUSE)

And -- and you know, I think that we've got to have more good jobs. We've got to raise wages. We've got to tackle inequality. We've got to make this economy work for everyone, not just those at the top.

(APPLAUSE)

And -- and if you listened really closely to the Republican Convention, you know that Donald Trump talked for 75 minutes and did not offer one solution. In fact, his -- his speech, his whole convention seemed more about insulting me instead of helping the American people.

(APPLAUSE)

So here's what I've said I will do, and we're going to get to work on the very first day. Within the first 100 days of our administration, we're going to break through the gridlock in Washington and make the biggest investment in new good-paying jobs since World War II.

(APPLAUSE)

We're going to do it in infrastructure, technology, clean energy, advanced manufacturing.

(APPLAUSE)

And I'm also going to pay special attention to those parts of our country that have been left out and left behind, from our inner cities to our small towns, from Indian country to coal country, from communities ravaged by addiction and places hallowed out by plant closures.

Anybody willing to work in America should be able to find a job, to get ahead and stay ahead. That's my goal. (APPLAUSE) So on our bus tour, we're going to be visiting a few

places where people are making things. I find it highly amusing that Donald Trump talks about make America great again. He doesn't make a thing in America except bankruptcies.

(APPLAUSE)

So there's a lot to be done my friends and I'm excited. I'm excited to have Tim and Anne as part of this team. And I'm excited to have the 42nd president of the United States as part of this team.

(APPLAUSE)

The four of us are going to barnstorm the country because, as a very smart president who just so happens to be here today once said, there is nothing wrong with America that can't be cured by what's right with America.

(APPLAUSE)

So now, we had a great convention, but we've got to go out and we've got to fight for our vision of the future. And I can't do it alone; I need each and every one of you.

Here's what I'd ask you to do, please join us. Go to HillaryClinton.com or text join - J-O-I-N - to 47246 to be part of this campaign and we are hiring organizers here in Pennsylvania and across the country.

(APPLAUSE)

And between now and election day, we are going to register three million more people.

(APPLAUSE)

And we're not just going to register them, we're going to get them to commit to vote.

(APPLAUSE)

We feel deeply the responsibility for continuing the work that started down the road from here 240 years ago. Now, nobody who looks like me was thought to be possible to run for president back then. No one who looked like Barack Obama was thought to be possible.

(APPLAUSE)

But contrary to Donald Trump, I believe every time we knock down a barrier in America it liberates everyone in America.

(APPLAUSE)

I have to say, last night after - after the end of our convention, I knew - I knew that every parent in this country could look at their son or their daughter and now say the very same thing. You too could be president of the United States. Thank you all. God bless you.

[13:43:38] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine at Temple University in Philadelphia wrapping up their first event, their first rally after the Democratic convention. Bill Clinton was there as well as Tim Kaine's wife, as well.

They're clearly well pleased, John King, with the results, the outcome of the convention. The convention last four days, started off on a sour note with the sensitive e-mails released, forcing the resignation of the chair, Debbie Wassermann Schultz, but they got over that and went on to four days of major speeches that were very important.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT & CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS: The convention was a success, from their point of view, and they hit the messages that they wanted to hit. The Republicans may disagree. Democrats like their program. Now the question is if you got a little mojo coming out of the convention, can you keep it going, build on it and add to it, and where is the most important place to take advantage of the highlight. Look at where they are going, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Youngstown, more conservative -- I'm not saying they're conservative -- but more conservative, blue collar towns, places where you have Independents and swing voters and guys who work with their hands. She's trying to make the case, I'm on your side and I'll fight for you. Maybe I'm not your favorite politician but I'll fight for you.

This is the important phase of the campaign because they have to think, where are we going to target? Where will we spend our money? Where will we spend the time of our candidate? What is the electoral map? How do you shape the map? 59 days until the debate. The debates will be the key time of the campaign. But now you try to shape them after getting the most favorable position as possible in this phase.

[13:45:19] BLITZER: And they are going to be on a bus. They are going to be together. They are going to go throughout Pennsylvania and then on to Ohio. If they can carry those two states, if Donald Trump loses Pennsylvania and Ohio, he's going to have a tough time being elected.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It makes it really hard for him to win if he keeps the Romney states, he still needs to figure out where he can get 64 and you imagine a place like Pennsylvania and Ohio would have to be a part of that.

I will say, as a campaign reporter, covering those bus tours was always so great because you get to see America and people are excited and it's just so much fun and you're on this bus and people are waving and in small towns, it's just such a classic campaign move. They' be on this bus tour just like the Clinton and Gore campaign.

KING: That's an interesting point you make. Hillary Clinton is running a much more traditional campaign. The convention was traditional. The bus tour is very traditional. Republicans had different speakers, mostly the Trump family, and they didn't want to travel together. They went their separate ways. This race is a contrast in every single way.

BLITZER: Donald Trump is going to have a campaign rally later today in Colorado. We'll live coverage of that on CNN as well.

Up next, we know Hillary Clinton made history by becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major party here in the United States, but who else broke barriers at the conventions? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:51:00] BLITZER: Now that the Democrats and republicans have held their respective conventions, one thing has become very clear. We saw quite a few convention firsts, including Senator Bernie Sanders calling for Hillary Clinton to become the first female presidential nominee of a major party in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT: I move that all votes, all votes cast by delegates, be reflected in the official record. And I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States.

(CHEERING)

SARAH MCBRIDE, FIRST COUNT TRANSGENDER DNC SPEAKER: Four years -- four years ago, I came out as transgender while serving as student body president in college. At the time, I was scared. I worried that my dreams and my identity were mutually exclusive. Since then, though, I've seen that change is possible. I witnessed history interning at the White House and helping my home state of Delaware pass protections for transgender people.

PETER THIEL, FIRST OPENLY GAY RNC SPEAKER & INVESTOR & CO-FOUNDER, PAYPAL: Now we are told that the great debate is about who gets to use which bathroom. This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares!

(CHEERING)

THIEL: Of course, every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Peter Thiel speaking at the Republican convention. That was a first for a Republican convention. We saw some firsts at the Democratic convention.

The presidential historian, Allan Lichtman, is with me, a distinguish professor of history at American University in Washington, D.C.

From a historians' perspective, what emerged in your mind? ALLAN LICHTMAN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN & PROFESSOR OF HISTORY,

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: The Donald Trump convention was truly unique historically. It was the most singularly personal convention in the history of the republic. Not only did you have his children as his major speakers -- absolutely unusual -- but it was almost entirely centered on the individual and personality of Donald Trump, and the party didn't even seem to matter. That really fit with his theme that I am the one to fix things. This is kind of the ultimate expression of what we've seen in recent years, Wolf, and that is the candidate- centered campaign. Now we have the totally candidate-centered convention. Extraordinary.

BLITZER: What about on the Democratic side?

LICHTMAN: The Democratic side was more obviously a traditional kind of convention bringing in the big celebrities. Their main, of course, emphasis was to draw a contrast, which I thought was kind of unique. Mr. Khan, this father of a slain American hero, speaking directly to the opposition presidential candidate saying, I don't think you understand our Constitution. I don't think you understand the kind of sacrifices that we make. I don't think you understand our diversity, and you, sir, have never sacrificed yourself. Amazing moment.

BLITZER: Listen to Hillary Clinton accepting the nomination. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: And so, my friends, it is with humility, determination, and boundless confidence in America's promise that I accept your nomination --

(CHEERING)

CLINTON: -- for president of the United States!

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: It's taken a long time, but this is the first time a woman has accepted the nomination of a major political party in the United States.

LICHTMAN: It's one of the three great milestones in terms of the diversity of the presidency. The first was in 1928 when Al Smith, the Democrat, became the first Catholic to be nominated by a major party. He lost, but that paved the way for John Kennedy in 1960 to shatter that religious barrier, which was very important. Then of course, we had Barack Obama in 2008, and now Hillary Clinton.

What's amazing about this, too, is most observers 15 years ago, most observers said, we're going to have a woman president probably before an African-American president. But now we've seen the reverse, and the two perhaps even coming together, depending on the outcome of the election.

[13:55:23] BLITZER: It is going to be an exciting election. Exciting campaign season over the next three months. Three presidential debates, one vice presidential debate.

From your perspective as a presidential historian, Allan Lichtman, you'll have a lot to write about in the coming years, whatever the outcome.

LICHTMAN: Right. And two such different visions of America.

BLITZER: Very different conventions and two very different visions. We'll see what happens.

Thanks very much for joining us.

LICHTMAN: My pleasure, Wolf.

BLITZER: That does it for us. Thanks very much for watching. I'm back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For our viewers in North America, NEWSROOM with Brooke Baldwin will start right after a very quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)