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Trump Under Fire. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 1, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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


[15:00:55]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go, top of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Within minutes, we will hear from Donald Trump. He will be speaking after a rough past 72 hours. It's precious time since this presidential election is now just 99 days away. Trump is holding a town hall. In fact, we just heard I believe he will be taking some questions at a press gaggle, so stay tuned, because we want to take the whole thing.

I know a lot of people are wondering exactly how he will emerge from these multiple controversies he's now facing, including, first of all, this talk of Vladimir Putin not invading Ukraine, when Putin already has, his call to move the presidential debate for reasons never cited before, but most intensely here, Mr. Trump's response to the parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier, Humayun Khan.

Khan's father spoke today about how Trump has clashed with him. Khizr Khan spoke -- this is the father -- spoke at the Democratic National Convention, saying that Donald Trump has sacrificed nothing. And he has been challenging Trump to read the U.S. Constitution. Trump has responded a number of times, saying in part that Khan has "viciously attacked him."

But Khan told CNN he just did what Republican leaders should have done long ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHIZR KHAN, FATHER OF KILLED U.S. SOLDIER: We had been -- patiently been subjected to the maligning of this candidate for a whole year. Enough is enough.

Every decent Republican has said -- I apologize if I am a little emotional about this. Every decent Republican has rebuked his behavior, yet nobody stood up and said, enough, stop it, you will not be our candidate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's begin in Columbus, Ohio.

Here is Jeremy Diamond, who is -- we're all watching and waiting to hear from Mr. Trump there at that town hall. Do me a favor first. Set the scene for me. I'm sure you're talking to Trump supporters. How are they responding to this recent back and forth between Mr. Trump and Mr. Khan?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have heard a lot different things from Trump supporters here so far. Some of them saying that they think that Trump went a little bit too far in his comments, saying that he could have been a little bit better.

Others completely dismissing it out of hand, saying it's a media- created controversy, essentially, but one thing is clear from all of the Trump supporters who we have talked to today. It's not dissuading any of them from supporting Donald Trump. And This is kind of what we have seen time and again with these controversies that have bubbled up from Donald Trump's own words.

One thing that I will note real quick is that Donald Trump actually just gaggled with reporters very, very briefly. We also scrambled over to where he was. And he had a few words to say, nothing to say at all about the Khan family or that controversy, simply complaining to us about the fact that there are thousands of people outside, he said, who weren't able to get in for political reasons.

We have not yet been able to independently confirm that. And then we shouted a few questions at him about the Khans and he didn't say a word. So, essentially, going to the cameras to complain about the people who are not able to come into his event here for "political reasons," he said, but not addressing anything, not saying anything new yet about the Khan family and that controversy -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: We will be listening to for him to make those remarks where you are, and we will take it live in full.

Jeremy Diamond, thank you.

Meantime, we did hear from President Obama within the past hour or so, issuing an implicit rebuke of Donald Trump and his comments about the family of Captain Khan.

CNN's White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski, joins me now on what the president had to say.

Michelle, what did he...

(CROSSTALK)

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

Let's set the scene here. He's speaking to convention of disabled veterans in Atlanta, so he's bringing up topics that are important to veterans, things health care and homelessness, but then the president wants to very specifically mention and then emphasize and then emphasize again Gold Star families.

At no time did he mention Donald Trump's name, but it's pretty clear what he's referencing here and why. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No one has given more for our freedom and our security than our Gold Star families.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

[15:05:10]

OBAMA: Michelle and I have spent countless hours with them. We have grieved with them. There's a reason why last week in Philadelphia I was humbled to be introduced by Sharon Belkofer from Ohio, a Gold Star mom whose son Tom, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, gave his life in Afghanistan.

I requested Sharon introduce me, because I understood that our Gold Star families have made a sacrifice that most of us cannot even begin to imagine. They represent the very best of our country. They continue to inspire us every day, every moment. They serve as a powerful reminder of the true strength of America. And we have to do everything we can for those families and honor them and be humbled by them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: You see how the president is careful do this. He's not criticizing anything that might have been said.

He's supporting Gold Star families in a very positive way. Last week at the Democratic Convention, we heard the president take on Donald Trump directly, mention his name, but many, many times prior to that, we see him address it similar to today's address.

He doesn't mention the name, but he will bring up something so specific that there's no question what he's talking about. The White House doesn't like to get into some kind of back and forth with Trump, God forbid a Twitter war. The White House likes to try to stay above that kind of fray.

But the way the president mentioned this today, the fact that he mentioned it at all tells you how important that was to him to say something about it -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Michelle Kosinski, thank you so much. We all should support, obviously, the Gold Star families, whatever side of the aisle you are on.

Since Trump's comments though about the Khans, multiple Republican leaders have had some words from Mr. Trump. Gold Star families have asked Donald Trump to apologize. Veterans of Foreign Wars, a group spoke to just actually last week, have come to the defense of the Khan family.

This quote is from Brian Duffy, the new national commander of the group, saying this today: "Election year or not, the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression. There are certain sacrosanct subjects that no amount of wordsmithing can repair once crossed."

So, let me bring in some voices here.

CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash is with us. Matt Schlapp is here, chairman of the American Conservative Union, and Brad Woodhouse, who once served as the communications director of the DNC Committee and is head of the pro-Clinton PAC Correct the Record.

So, welcome to all of you.

Dana, let me just begin with you first. A point of couple of people have made, where there's a pattern, right? There is a controversy involving Mr. Trump, he doubles down, triples down. People marinate on it. And then the next thing happens and you just sort of move along.

And I'm wondering, because we're talking about, to use the VFW's words, sacrosanct group of people. Do you think this is different?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. It could be.

I am one of many of our colleagues and other political observers, people who have been working in politics for their whole adult lives who have stopped guessing about what works and what doesn't work politically for Donald Trump.

But if I had to, this would certainly be one that is potentially different. But what it's hard for me to understand -- and I would love to know what -- Matt especially, because I used to cover the Bush White House when he was political director, what he thinks just on the purely political strategy here. Purely politics.

BALDWIN: Matt, Matt, she teed you up.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Yes. Just what is the benefit of playing on Hillary Clinton's turf right now? Because the more he responds, the more he talks about it, it's more kind of focused on what Hillary Clinton tried to do for an entire week during the Democratic Convention, which is question his temperament, question his stability and whether he is able to be the guy with his finger on the nuclear button.

So it certainly worked for Donald Trump during the primaries. We know that. He is the nominee, but I'm not so sure about the general election. We will see certainly November 8.

BALDWIN: Matt, what say you?

(CROSSTALK)

MATT SCHLAPP, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Well, I think that Captain Khan is a hero and I think Donald Trump ought to keep saying that. And I think he needs to clearly give a zone to his parents who have suffered the ultimate loss. That being said, when it comes to the war on terror and the against radical Islamic terror, I actually don't think it's a strength of Hillary Clinton.

If you pivot off the people, which is hard to do, because story is one of so many stories which is tragic, and talk about the larger policy goals here, I think actually the American people are with him.

[15:10:05]

Look, it's not that all Muslims are bad. Clearly, that's not the case. It's not the case that Muslims are unpatriotic. There are wonderful members of the armed forces who are Muslim and allies overseas who are Muslim, but they do have a huge problem with fighting this jihadism within their own ranks.

And we as a country have got to be able to face this reality without calling each other racists.

BALDWIN: But why didn't he just say that and make that point vs. get into it with these parents, including talking about the wife who is standing there questioning maybe because of her religion, instead of the fact that she's distraught, she said?

SCHLAPP: He said that -- this gentleman said that Donald Trump had never made a sacrifice ever and that he had a dark soul.

I think that's way over the line as well. Even though he is a grieving father, you could still say things that are over the line. I think we should all be a lot more respectful with each other. I think that's a fair admonition.

And I think if all of these parents of people who have died in this terrible war that has gone on and on and on, and will continue to go on, they're going to fall down on different sides politically. And that's America and we ought to respect that. But I think by the same token, there are larger policy questions here that must get addressed and Donald Trump will address them.

BALDWIN: Brad, what do you think?

BRAD WOODHOUSE, PRESIDENT, AMERICANS UNITED FOR CHANGE: Well, look, Matt and other Republicans and other leaders, they want to change the subject.

If you want to change it to the subject of policy goals, I guess we can talk about the fact that Donald Trump wants to essentially get rid of NATO, that he wants to take Putin's side in the Ukraine. So, we can talk about that type of policy if you want to.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHLAPP: I would like to. I would actually like to.

WOODHOUSE: But the real thing here is these four examples just over the weekend suggest a lack temperament to be president of the United States.

Look, Brooke, I have been in this business a long time. I fought to get Barack Obama elected over John McCain. I fought to get Barack Obama elected over Mitt Romney. I was never scared to death though of either of them becoming president. Someone in the Oval Office who would (AUDIO GAP) or who would potentially act like this scares me to death.

BALDWIN: OK. Are we losing Matt or is it just my screen?

SCHLAPP: Can you hear me?

BALDWIN: OK. OK. I hear you.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHLAPP: Dana said that she covered the Bush White House. Boy, I sure don't remember all those nice things that were said President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney at that time. They were called war criminals. The worst epithets were thrown out there. People said they were living under their tyranny.

The fact is this, which is, if you go back to policy goals, it's Hillary Clinton that had all the missteps when it came to Russia. It was under President Obama's watch that they went into Crimea and had larger plans. By the way, that was largely for energy goals and political goals. If you look at -- position after position, when you look at the war on terror, when you look at the growing threat of ISIS and radical Islamic terror, it is under Obama/Clinton that we have seen this growth.

Let's get to the policy here. This is what the voters want to hear about. And their record is spotty.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Dana.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: I remember covering George W. Bush, just as the opposition to the Iraq War started to grow bigger and bigger and louder and louder in this country.

And I remember -- I'm sorry, I'm blanking on her name, somebody can remind me -- the mother of...

WOODHOUSE: Cindy Sheehan.

BASH: Thank you. Cindy Sheehan.

Her son was killed in Iraq and she camped out in Crawford, Texas. I was covering her for weeks and weeks and weeks. And she was pretty aggressive and said some pretty nasty things about George W. Bush.

But the president didn't respond with sort of personal comments the way Donald Trump has.

Now, that was a different time, it was a different war, it's a different era and a different topic. And maybe we and you as an adviser to George Bush back then didn't get what Donald Trump is getting right now about where the country is. We will see.

BALDWIN: Let me just hit pause on this conversation. I want you all -- this is a great conversation. Stand by with me, because we're also watching and waiting to see Mr. Trump ready to speak in Columbus, Ohio.

I also want to ask you about his comments, not just on the Khans, but also on the -- we mentioned a second ago on Russia, on Putin, what he said over the weekend to George Stephanopoulos about how he said Vladimir Putin won't invade Ukraine, even though he has. Trump is trying to clean it up. We will show you how he's doing that. Will it be effective? Why all of this matters. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:53]

BALDWIN: We're back. You're watching CNN here.

Any minute now, we are waiting to see Donald Trump. He will be speaking at a key battleground state, Ohio. He's in Columbus today. But moments ago, he addressed the press, not at all touching on sort of this current conversation we have been having about this controversy involving his back and forth over Twitter regarding Captain Khan and the parents who spoke last week at the DNC.

Instead, he said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just want to tell you, we have had thousands of people outside, thousands. They were turned away by -- for political reasons, purely for political reasons.

They said in this massive building you're not allowed to have any more than 1,000 people. And that's nonsense. We could have had 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 people. They have all been turned away. You saw them. It's a disgrace. That's for political reasons, they were turned away.

And that's too bad. So we have 1,000 people in there. They won't allow any more. The fire marshal said he's not allowed to allow any more, even though the building holds many thousands of people. So I just want to tell you that. That's politics at its lowest. You ought to check it out, but it's really politics at its lowest. Come on. Let's go have a good time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:20:02]

BALDWIN: So there you have some it, quick comments from Mr. Trump about the crowd. So there's that.

Let me bring my panel back in, Dana Bash, Matt Schlapp, Brad Woodhouse.

Let's get to Hillary Clinton and specifically Hillary Clinton's comments about how she characterized the director of the FBI, James Comey. She said he said what -- this sounds like who's on first. He said what she said about the e-mails was truthful. Here's Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Director Comey said that my answers were truthful and what I have said is consistent with what I have told the American people, that there were decisions discussed and made to classify retroactively certain of the e-mails.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, "The Washington Post" fact-checker has come forward and given her sort of the worst ranking of all, four Pinocchios, Dana Bash, for how they say she mischaracterized Comey's remarks.

BASH: That's right.

And in that article in "The Washington Post," it talks about the fact that she only mentioned the retroactively classified e-mails, but that Comey, the FBI director, also said seven e-mail chains concerned matters that were classified as top-secret special access program level when they were sent and received.

So as this article said she definitely cherry-picked what was and wasn't said by the FBI director. But I think more importantly, just as we were talking before the break about Donald Trump's back and forth and rant against the Khan family, this also speaks to a major trouble spot for Hillary Clinton.

Never mind the substance of the e-mail server and whether she e-mailed classified information. It's the way she responded. Totally anecdotally, I bumped into somebody after I came back from the convention out running errands who said that...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Actually, forgive me, Dana. Donald Trump is on stage. He's talking already about Hillary Clinton. Let's dip in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

TRUMP: I will say a few words.

But outside I met two gentlemen from Piketon who were really represented very badly, very badly by President Obama, and they're going to come up. Come on up, fellow. I just met them. Come on up.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) TRUMP: Because we're going to bring back up jobs. We're not going to

let our jobs go to Mexico and all these other countries. We are going to renegotiate the horrible NAFTA deal, which is maybe the worst deal ever made from an economic development standpoint.

And I'm not just talking in this country. I'm talking about it in the world. We're going to bring back our jobs and we're also...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: We're also going stop radical Islamic terrorism. We're not letting the people come in. We're not letting them come in. And they can play all the games they want, but we're not.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: You know, Hillary Clinton wants a 550 percent increase from Syria coming into this country over Obama.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: And you would actually say, what is she doing? So here's a letter from President Obama to these two gentlemen that have worked so hard and are having a hard time and maybe in just a little while, you can just say exactly what's going on.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Jeff Albrecht. I'm from Portsmouth, Ohio.

We have a plant just north of Portsmouth in Piketon that enriched uranium. And for seven years, Evan (ph) and I have been going to Washington and talking to politicians about saving the plant that enriched Europe. There were hundreds of jobs there. And it's the only -- it was the only plant in the United States that enriched uranium.

I also have the hotel the Holiday Inn in Portsmouth, and then Senator Barack Obama, who was running for president, came and stayed at my hotel and he said, I'm going to get up at 5:00 in the morning and I need breakfast, but you're not open yet. So I says all right, two things, you have to promise me something and you have to get your picture taken with me.

So I fixed him six eggs, six strips of bacon, a big pile of home-fried potatoes, four whole wheat toasts, and a big bowl of oatmeal. And I asked him how do you eat all that? Only meal I will get today.

So he had his picture taken with me, lived up to that promise. And then I said, we have this plant in Piketon that we want to continue enriching uranium, lots of employees. We need the government's help and we also need the old site cleaned up. How do you feel about that project in Piketon?

[15:25:03]

And the man looked me in the eye and he says, I support the Piketon project. So, I want to thank Donald Trump.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's here in Ohio. And I don't know him personally, but I feel like he's the man that if he says I'm going to do something, I'm going do it.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So let's all support Donald Trump.

BALDWIN: All right, so huge applause in Columbus, Ohio.

These two men clearly wanted to keep the jobs, keep the plant up and running there in Piketon, Ohio. And then, as we say on some of these pictures, let me just -- I want to have my panel weighing in.

I think it's worth from almost like a 20,000-foot view.

Matt, to you, on, listen, the significance of Ohio, if you picked up "The New York Times" this morning, there was a piece about how they were reporting that the Trump campaign is really honing in on three states, Ohio being one of them, over the course of the next 99 days to then ultimately win the presidency.

How much of an uphill climb do you think that will be?

SCHLAPP: Look, I don't think we win without carrying Ohio. I think it's that clear.

And I think with the economic displacement Ohio has seen, I think there's a lot that matches up with what Donald Trump's message. They have clearly lost a ton of coal jobs. This particular plant, the Piketon plant, has been a politically sensitive question for many cycles and I think Donald Trump matches with these people who have economic insecurity.

Under Obama, let's be clear, under Obama, for a lot of these people in these sectors, their economic prospects have gotten worse, especially with coal jobs and manufacturing jobs. And if they have a job, their wages have been stagnant for a very long time and they haven't improved under Obama.

The idea of a minimum wage doesn't interest these people. They want to actually make a living wage, a wage where they can raise their kids and take care of their bills. I think those are the types of messages in Ohio and Pennsylvania will that definitely will resonate and I think Donald Trump is in the hunt to win them both.

BALDWIN: As we say, Ohio and Pennsylvania, we were just on TV on Friday watching Tim Kaine and Hillary Clinton board the bus out of Temple University, Brad, in Philadelphia, and leaving for their three- day bus tour through Pennsylvania and then on to Ohio.

WOODHOUSE: Well, yes. Look, Hillary Clinton is not going to cede any territory to Donald Trump in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

And, look, Donald Trump will have to have something beyond a message. Matt keeps talking about his message. We saw a Republican Convention where he didn't put a single policy in play about how he would help these people, how he would actually get the economy turned around, actually create more manufacturing jobs.

He's trying, it sounds like, to wiggle out of these debates, probably because he doesn't have any policies to put on the table to match with the rhetoric that he brings to the campaign trail. He will have to do more on these communities than just talk. He is going to show that he's got some plans to get things done.

BALDWIN: Matt, do you want to respond to that, the wiggling out of the debate comments there?

(CROSSTALK)

SCHLAPP: Well, the wiggling out of the debates comment is one question, which I think Donald Trump will need the debates.

I think the last thing he wants to do is wiggle out from them. He just doesn't want to put them against NFL football games and other big marquee events. Let's let the American people watch these debates. We have a clear contrast.

Trump wants to -- we have the highest corporate tax rates on the globe and Trump wants to lower those rates. If corporations can actually go back to increasing jobs instead of just hiring lawyers, our economy could actually get going. We have trillions of dollars on the sidelines that aren't investing in these plants.

We have to stop the regulatory burden of this climate change fantasy and we have to make our tax rates competitive with the world and we can compete with the world. We have the greatest workers on the globe, let's start competing.

(CROSSTALK)

WOODHOUSE: You know what, Matt, you know what? Before we start talking about tax plans, how about we have Donald Trump release his taxes? How about we see those taxes?

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Hang on, gentlemen.

Let me just bring Dana. Let me bring Dana back in, because we -- let's not -- I don't want to talk about tax returns right now, though it's a valid point he makes.

Finally, though, on the debates, because it has been a piece of conversation over the last couple of days about Mr. Trump and he's saying, hey, really, the issue is these debates are up against mega NFL football nights. He was saying I heard from the NFL, and the NFL is saying, well, actually we didn't send anything to Mr. Trump. What's -- has anyone tried this before? To move them?

BASH: I'm sure they have, just not in a public way.

As both of our friends who are also on with us know, there is massive negotiation that goes on with both campaigns, with both candidates, and the Presidential Debate Commission. Generally, it's not the date. It's things as mundane as the temperature in the room.

But still there are a lot of negotiations. I think Donald Trump is doing what he has done very successfully in his life. He's trying to get himself leverage for whatever it is that he wants in the future.