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CNN NEWSROOM

North Korea Fires More Missiles; Fractured Republican Party; Obama: Trump Unfit to Serve as President; IOC Deciding which Russian Athletes Can Compete; Run-up to Rio Games Plagued with Problems; Reports of Two Chemical Gas Attacks in Syria; Trump Harassment Remarks Raising Eyebrows; Eric Trump Defends Father's Comments on Harassment. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired August 3, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:13] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour --

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: A hit and a miss. North Korea test fires two ballistic missiles. U.S. officials say one exploded on takeoff. The other was tracked for about a thousand kilometers over the Sea of Japan.

VAUSE: A new day, a new controversy for Donald Trump. This time opening old wounds with senior Republicans, threatening to shatter an uneasy alliance with the party establishment.

SIDNER: And trashing the Olympic Village, one tweet at a time.

VAUSE: Hello everybody. Very great to have you with us. I'm John Vause.

SIDNER: And I'm Sara Sidner in for Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

VAUSE: North Korea appears to have defied U.N. sanctions yet again, test firing two missiles in the past few hours. The U.S. Strategic Command says it detected the launch of two intermediate ballistic missiles, one apparently exploded immediately after launch, the second tracked into the Sea of Japan.

SIDNER: Just two weeks ago, the North fired three ballistic missiles off its eastern coast. Pyongyang has threatened what it called a physical response to an agreement between Seoul and Washington to deploy an advance anti-missile system in the South.

VAUSE: Paula Hancocks is following developments, joins us now live from Seoul. And Paula, we have new information on the range and possibly the type of missiles which were fired.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right -- John.

What we're hearing from the U.S. Strategic Command is they believe there were two missiles, as you say. South Korean military earlier thought it was just one, but they say they believe that they are the Rodon missiles, an intermediate range missile which would account for South Korea, for Japan in its range. It could also potentially, if it flies correctly, reach Guam so certainly a big concern for those in the region when these intermediate range missiles are tested.

We've heard from Japan -- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemning it, saying it's a considerable threat for our national security. It is believed, according to Japanese officials and the defense officials there that this actually landed, the one that did not explode on takeoff actually landed within or near the Japanese economic zone.

Now, this is a body of water that's controlled by Japan. So certainly Japanese officials very concerned by this -- John.

M2: Ok, Paula -- thank you. Paula Hancocks, live in Seoul this hour with the very latest.

SIDNER: Another sign of discord --

Another sign of discord among U.S. Republicans -- the party's presidential candidate Donald Trump is declining to endorse two prominent lawmakers.

VAUSE: Long-time Senator John McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan -- they are both up for re-election. They endorsed Donald Trump and they did it mostly in the name of party unity. Donald Trump, though, isn't doing the same.

SIDNER: Here's what Trump told "The Washington Post" on Tuesday. He said, quote, "I like Paul but these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership, and I'm not quite there yet. I'm not quite there yet."

VAUSE: That sounds --

SIDNER: Yes, it does.

VAUSE: -- familiar. Because this was Paul Ryan talking about Donald Trump back in May.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), HOUSE SPEAKER: I'm just not ready to do that at this point. I'm not there right now. And I hope to, though and I want to, but I think what is required is that we unify this party. And I think the bulk of the burden on unifying the party will have to come from our presumptive nominee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Not quite there yet. Now, Ryan's spokesman said he's never sought Trump's endorsement and they're confident of winning.

SIDNER: Trump once questioned McCain's hero status, if you'll remember, saying McCain was considered a hero because he was captured and that he liked people who were not captured. McCain's office has not responded to our request for comment on Trump's latest comments.

VAUSE: Now, the U.S. President says it's time for Republicans to admit they made a huge mistake in nominating Donald Trump.

SIDNER: Barack Obama said the evidence grows every single day that Trump has no business in the White House. Michelle Kosinski has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president. I said so last week and he keeps on proving it.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A blunt answer to a simple question, but President Obama didn't want to stop there -- unleashing a more than five-minute smack down.

[00:04:50] OBAMA: The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that had made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job.

KOSINSKI: Extending his pointed words to include top Republicans and the party as a whole.

OBAMA: What's been interesting is, the repeated denunciations of his statements by leading Republicans, including the Speaker of the House, and the Senate Majority Leader and prominent Republicans like John McCain.

And the question, I think, that they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? What does this say about your party that this is your standard bearer?

This isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily. There has to come a point at which you say somebody who makes those kinds of statements doesn't have the judgment, the temperament, the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world. There has to come a point at which you say, enough. And the alternative is that the entire party, the Republican Party effectively endorses and validates the positions articulated by Mr. Trump.

KOSINSKI: A warning there, but President Obama also had some words for the current Democratic nominee. Hillary Clinton opposes the TPP, the massive trade partnership with Asia, that Obama has been pushing so hard for.

OBAMA: Well, right now, I'm president, and I'm for it. And I think I've got the better argument. Hopefully after the election is over and the dust settles there will be more attention to the actual facts behind the deal, and it won't just be a political symbol or a political football.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KOSINSKI: This felt like the gloves were off. You heard some of those words that President Obama chose. Going beyond the question, is Donald Trump unfit, and calling him woefully unprepared, going well beyond Donald Trump's recent comments in questioning his knowledge, his common sense, and his basic decency.

Well, Trump put out his own statement slamming what he called President Obama's failed leadership.

Michelle Kosinski -- CNN, the White House.

VAUSE: Political and current affairs commentator Mo Kelly joins us now here in Los Angeles. Mo -- thanks for coming in.

MO KELLY, POLITICAL AND CURRENT AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: We know Donald Trump never one to walk away from a fight. This is what he had to say about President Obama and his comments about Donald Trump. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, he's been one of the worst presidents in the history of our country. I think he's probably going to go down maybe as the worst. We'll see how this all comes out, but he's been one of the worst presidents in the history of our country. And for him to be calling me out is almost an honor, because he truly doesn't know what he's doing. He's been a very, very weak president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He doesn't know what he's doing, but if you look at this politically now, it seems President Obama has seemed to have backed all of those Republicans who endorsed Donald Trump into a corner, now.

KELLY: It's even more subtle than that. President Obama knew exactly what he was doing because Donald Trump is spending his time trying to criticize the outgoing president, as opposed to his competition who he's up against in November. President Obama knew exactly what he was doing.

SIDNER: I have to ask you, though. You know, we have seen Donald Trump over and over again, say things that are controversial and things that he'd been criticized for in a row. And this has happened yet again. I mean are we at the point now in our history where even a presidential candidate, there's no press, nothing you can say that will stop people from saying, I still like this guy because, you know what, he speaks plainly. And that's what his supporters say.

KELLY: Yes, but he has to expand it beyond his base. And when we talk about his base, we're talking about the 13.3 million who may have voted for him in the Republican primary. But that is still short of the 15.8 million who voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary.

Nothing has been shown that the moderates, the Independents, the Reagan Democrats are actually gravitating to such a message. And if we look at the polls, and I'm not one to support polling, but if we look at the polls from what we've seen at this point, this snapshot, it's not resonating.

So if Donald Trump goes down in flames in November, I think this is the first and last time you'll see anything like this.

VAUSE: Ok, well, there was yet again another incredible moment at a campaign rally for Donald Trump when an ex-serviceman gave the Republican nominee his Purple Heart. This is what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[00:10:05] TRUMP: You know, something very nice just happened to me. A man came up to me and he handed me his Purple Heart. Now I said to him -- I said to him, is that like the real one, or is that a copy? And he said, that's my real purple heart, I have such confidence in you. And I said, man, that's like big stuff. I always wanted to get a Purple Heart. This was much easier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He did go on to say it was an honor, but what happened then, just a few hours later on CNN Khizr Khan, the father of the fallen soldier, the hero soldier Captain Khan, went on the attack and slammed Donald Trump. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHZIR KHAN, FATHER OF MUSLIM-U.S. SOLDIER: A man comes to him, a veteran, so kindly -- what a gracious man -- hands him his purple heart. What he does, he receives it, thanks him, puts in his pocket. Later on, pulls it out. I got this Purple Heart, so easy, I always wanted one.

Donald Trump, you had the time, you did not serve. You know what you should have done? And listen to me and I want his surrogates to listen to me. You should have pinned that back to that veteran's chest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the reason why I bring up this exchange is because the whole Khan family story should have been a one-day affair. It's now into the fifth day, and it's taking on a life of its own. It's even gone beyond the original narrative here.

KELLY: Instead of talking about the Khan family, he should have been talking about Hillary Clinton, who received four Pinocchios from "The Washington Post". That's easy fodder. They call that low-hanging fruit.

But instead he's more spending time talking about John McCain. He's talking about Paul Ryan. He's talking about the Khan family. And you wonder, is he a DNC Trojan Horse? Is he supposed to blow up the party from the inside? Because he's not doing anything to help the party. They came out at the convention. They're supposed to have unity at the point. But instead they have more disarray.

SIDNER: I do want to say this though. If you listen to how people reacted to his comments there about the Purple Heart. You heard "Oh" and almost like, "Oh, that's so sweet." He's speaking extemporaneously.

And the people who support Donald Trump, and you mentioned, they are Independents, and that's who he's after as well so he's got to win people over who don't already support. But they say, you know what, we like this guy because he is going up against those who have been in Washington, and we don't like the way they've been working so good for him whatever he does. They like him fighting with the Republicans who are there in the hot seat.

KELLY: But he's already gotten those individuals. What about the VFW who criticized him yesterday. I mean those are the movers and the shakers that mean something long-term -- the people who are undecided at this point. Not the people in the room. He's already got them.

VAUSE: You talked about, you know, having this argument and re- opening these wounds with Paul Ryan and John McCain. This is a lot more than a tit for tat. You didn't endorse me straight away, so I'm not going to endorse you straight away even if I didn't want it. This is (AUDIO GAP) -- didn't have to go there.

KELLY: No, he didn't have to. He already got the endorsements from them. But to publicly chastise them and to publicly not endorse them right before Paul Ryan is going to be primaried that's a personal message and speaks to what Hillary Clinton was saying during the convention. That he's petty, he's temperamental, and he's not someone that you can trust with the nuclear codes because he can be very easily baited. And this is his own party.

SIDNER: Are there behind-the-scenes things going on that, of course, we're not going to know about everything that's going on. But there are conversations from people high up in the Republican party, saying to him, come on, let's talk about this behind closed doors at least, let's keep it there?

KELLY: Oh, yes, and I wonder if there was an RNC hack, what those e- mails would say. Because you know they have to be very displeased. This is the sum of all their fears, when you have the pledge, because they did not know if they would be able to control Donald Trump.

He's not a Republican at heart. His positions are not conservative in nature. He doesn't have any history with them. He's not trying to look to them for fund-raising. So what is the ultimate goal? It's about elevating Donald Trump, not the party.

VAUSE: Ok. Let's go to the Democrats very quickly. The Clinton campaign says July was its best month so far for fundraising. Look at the numbers here. $90 million they say came in, in July. They have $58 million on hand.

And to Trump's credit, he turned that success for the Democrats into a fairly effective attack line. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'll tell you what, 20 people gave her $60 million. And that's what I've been saying, folks. Look, I know the game better than anybody, and the game is played that way. They own her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So he can do it. He can go after Hillary Clinton very effectively, but it's just being overshadowed by everything else.

[00:15:02] KELLY: I don't know if it's being overshadowed, or is he self-destructing --

VAUSE: Drowned out or self-destructing.

KELLY: -- because he's not staying on message. That's not the fault of the Democrats. Donald Trump cannot stay on message more than two minutes at a time. If they could stay on message, I think the mood of the country is such that they're more willing to embrace that.

And that's something that people on the left have been very concerned about, as far as what Bernie Sanders has raised about her competing interests. But if he can't stay on message, it's all for naught.

SIDNER: All right, I want to get to one more moment because this is another one of those moments. Donald Trump hears the sound of a baby crying and here's what he says while he's speaking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Don't worry about that baby. I love babies. I love babies. I hear that baby crying. Actually, I was only kidding. You can get the baby out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Aren't politicians meant to be kissing babies, not kicking them out?

KELLY: Right. You should be kissing them but I mean this is the showmanship of Donald Trump. He wants the moment. He wants to be laughed at. He wants to be liked, which suggests that he doesn't want to do the real work. He wants the applause and the praise, but he does not want the actual job. (inaudible)

SIDNER: I have to get this one last thing in. We have not heard from one important candidate, his biggest rival, Hillary Clinton, silent this whole time, and I suspect that's by design.

KELLY: Oh, that's by design. You don't need to say anything. If all the news is negative about Donald Trump, don't get in the way of that and she's playing the book to a T.

VAUSE: Mo, come back next hour because there's more to talk about. KELLY: I'd be more than happy to. Thank you.

SIDNER: Thank you.

VAUSE: Thank you.

SIDNER: It's not all fun and games in Rio de Janeiro. Some Russian athletes may not find out whether they can compete in the Olympic Games until Friday. That is the day of the opening ceremony.

VAUSE: Ok, let's bring in CNN World Sports' Christina MacFarlane. She is live in Rio.

And Christina, Russian athletes they have a lot to worry about right now. They're waiting to hear about their fate, and the Russian officials have made this impassioned plea to the IOC.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Yes, that's absolutely right -- John. Ahead of the general meeting that was held today by the IOC, Russia's head of the -- the head of Russia's Olympic committee, made an impassioned plea to the IOC not to vote against -- or not to vote in favor of a blanket ban for Russian athletes.

And a couple of hours ago, the IOC members backed up the president, Thomas Bach's decision to do that, to reject a blanket ban for Russian athletes.

Where does this leave us? Well, we're just now, what, two and a half days away from the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games and still a huge amount of uncertainty as to which athletes are going to compete.

You know, we've seen the Russian athletes here in Rio de Janeiro, in the bars, in the restaurants, and many of them still uncertain. They're in training at the moment, but uncertain as to whether they'll be on a plane flight going home before that opening ceremony on Friday.

The decision -- the final decision over their fate, we are expected to come in the hours building up to the opening ceremony on Friday. But it's all come extremely late.

VAUSE: Yes, very late.

SIDNER: Well, it's not just the Russian athletes who have something to worry about right now.

This is turning into quite a difficult time for those who put these games together there in Rio. And some of the athletes are having their say on Twitter. I want to take a look at this.

Australian, Andrew Bogut, who plays basketball, seems less than impressed we'll just say with the Olympic village. He shared his feelings on Twitter with a picture there. And it's #IOCLuxuryLodging, "Putting together a shower curtain so we can shower and not flood the place." VAUSE: Ok. There was another one there, "We believe a bed is not

vital for sleep. Fine-tuned athletes can sleep standing up. We should note he is seven-feet tall.

SIDNER: He also said he's doing all of this under the same hash tag, #IOCLuxuryLodging "Will not comment on our delegate. Penthouse villas in downtown Rio."

VAUSE: So, Christina, all of this is tongue in cheek, but have they now sorted out all of the issues at the athletes' village?

MACFARLANE: Yes, it's funny, isn't it? In the face of really big problems like Zika and the doping crisis, it's the athletes and the athletes' village that has been front and center the past week. And you know, Andrew Bogut has some cause for concern because the Australian team seems to have been hit by a spat of problems in their accommodation. To name just a few -- plumbing leaks, electrical faults, exposed wiring, and to top it all off, last Friday, there was a fire that broke out in the basement of their accommodation and a hundred athletes had to be evacuated.

Now, in response to a lot of criticism that's been coming from the Australian team and some of the other national teams, the organizers have stepped up. They've sent in around 600 people to try and clear up and address some of the issues. And in one case, the British team has actually hired their own plumber to come in before the Olympics to address any immediate concerns.

[00:20:06] So we hope the athletes and especially Andrew Bogut will be feeling somewhat better about it now.

VAUSE: A little bit of that -- very quickly, the most disgusting, possibly the most bizarre incident so far, the Chinese hurdler who was vomited on as a sort of decoy and then he was robbed?

MACFARLANE: This is just the most extraordinary and disgusting story -- John. A Chinese hurdler, Shi Dongpeng, arrived in Rio last week, along with his journalist friend. They were checking into their hotel when they were approached by a drunk man who vomited on Shi at the check-in desk. Shi then ran away to the bathroom to clean himself up. His journalist friend ran after the fellow who vomited on him, who turned out to be a con artist.

When they both came back to the hotel, they found that their bags had been stolen. I mean you just couldn't make this up. It's absolutely incredible, and it highlights once again, the real problem that they have here in Rio with petty criminals.

And we see a lot of military presence around here. There's tanks down here on the street in Copacabana, but you know, it's not really the terrorist threats and the bomb threats that we're hearing about in the news and that we need to be concerned about not just as athletes, as journalists and tourists here. It's those petty criminals and they are very wily.

VAUSE: Maybe you need a water cannon to sort of hose off the mess or something and take care of things.

Christina -- we'll talk to you next hour. Thanks so much.

SIDNER: Now to new reports that banned weapons are being used once again in Syria. Why civilians became seriously ill after a Russian helicopter was shot out of the sky.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Weather Watch across the Americas -- I'm meteorologist Pedram Javaheri with you watching a particular disturbance across parts of western-northwestern Canada. This area of circulation right here has the potential to turn into some significant severe weather across parts of Winnipeg, points south where they're on the upper Midwestern United States over the next 24 hours.

We'll go with afternoon thunderstorms in Winnipeg, highs around 29 there while Chicago makes it up into the 30s, Montreal right at 30 degrees with partly cloudy skies. And again the dominant ridge, a massive heat still not going anywhere anytime soon, in fact it actually expands up to the northwest the next couple days and the heat returns across that region.

You want cool weather, Newfoundland across parts of northeastern United States, the place to be with some milder temperature in store.

But (inaudible) this area is Earl, this particular storm now lining up for landfall sometime early Thursday morning around Belize. If this makes it to Belize as a tropical storm or a hurricane, it would be the first such storm to do so since 2009. Category one is forecast at this point, that will get us up to about 75 or so miles per hour, around 120 kph. And then eventually, a second landfall possible later into Friday evening around southern Mexico, around Vera Cruz is what we're watching in the bay of Campeche.

[00:25:02] So we'll follow that for you and also following what's happening across this region with the active weather, plenty of clouds expected, plenty of thunderstorms expected. Temperatures into the mid 20s.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: There's a disturbing new development in Syria, with reports of two chemical attacks in the north. An anti-regime group says chlorine gas has been used in Idlib Province, sickening about 30 people.

SIDNER: It happened near the site where a Russian helicopter was shot down. Moscow denies a chemical attack occurred and the Syrian government claims terrorist groups launched a gas attack that killed five people in Aleppo.

VAUSE: Joining us now, CNN military analyst Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. And Colonel Francona -- we were talking 24 hours ago about the possibility that the Russians were angry about the downing of that Russian chopper, that there would be some kind of retribution. I mean if you put -- if you join the dots here, it does seem to indicate that there is at least some fingerprints of the regime over the chlorine and the barrels that were dropped by helicopters on this particular town.

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, I don't think there's any doubt that this would have been the Syrian regime. They're the ones that drop the barrel bombs. They've perfected that technique. They use helicopters to do it.

The Russians probably wouldn't bother dropping chlorine. They have got much more effective weaponry, which we saw today in evidence, somewhere around 80 sorties flown by the Russians against that one town where the helicopter went down.

Those horrific scenes that were portrayed all over the Internet of the abuse of the corpses of the helicopter crew really angered the Russians. And we're seeing the retribution. I think we're going to see that continue. They've already identified some of the perpetrators on the ground and they're going to go after them. The Russians have a history of doing this.

VAUSE: Ok. There was also claims of another chemical attack, this one on Aleppo. The regime saying that rebels actually fired chemical gas killing five people. Is that a possibility as well?

FRANCONA: Yes, that's a distinct possibility -- John, because we've seen the rebels use chlorine multiple times over the years. It's kind of the poor man's chemical weapon. It's not technically what most of us consider a chemical warfare agent. But it is effective and it's readily available.

The Syrians have factories that make it, it's used in chemical -- you know, industrial applications. So, it's readily available, it's easy to deliver and the regime has a history of doing it. The only question -- the reason I would question it is because the casualties that we saw tended to be in the area that was besieged. Those are areas that the rebels probably would not have attacked because those are their people in there.

VAUSE: And Colonel, a year ago, the Syrians and other aid groups that went before Congress -- the Syrian opposition, we should say, went before the U.S. Congress, begging to help to try and stop these kinds of attacks. It just seems almost impossible to rein the Syrian regime in.

FRANCONA: I think it is. The only way you could stop these kinds of attacks would be to have a no-fly zone. If the agreement between the Russians and the Americans, the one that Minister Lavrov and Secretary Kerry are talking about actually can be approved, it would essentially ground the Syrian air force. They would not be able to conduct those attacks. I think the chances of that agreement being ratified by the Russians are almost zero.

VAUSE: Ok, Colonel, thank you. Colonel Rick Francona there, giving us some insight and analysis. Appreciate it, sir. Thank you. SIDNER: And just ahead, a new controversy surrounding, you guessed

it, Donald Trump. This time over comments of sexual harassment in the workplace -- why he's being accused of victim-blaming.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:32:20] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles, I'm John Vause.

SIDNER: And I'm Sara Sidner in for Isha Sesay.

The headlines this hour. The U.S. says North Korea has fired two ballistic missiles, one exploded on launch, the other flew about 1,000 kilometers and land in the Sea of Japan. Two weeks ago, the North fired three ballistic missiles off of its eastern coast.

VAUSE: Final decision will be on Thursday on which Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in the upcoming Rio Games. The International Olympic Committee has been reviewing doping test results for the entire Russian team.

SIDNER: Donald Trump facing more backlash, and this time on another controversial comment that he's made. While discussing sexual harassment allegations against former "Fox" CEO Roger Ailes with "The USA Today" newspaper, Trump was asked, "What if his daughter, Ivanka, was subjected to the same kind of treatment."

VAUSE: OK. So this is what Donald Trump said, quote, "I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case."

And like father, like son, here's Eric Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: I think what he's saying is, you know, Ivanka is a strong, you know, powerful women. She wouldn't allow herself to be, you know, objected to it. And by the way, you should certainly take it up with human resources. And I think, you know, she definitely would as a strong person. At the same time, I don't think she would allow herself to be subjected to that. And I think that's the point he was making and I think he did so well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining us now, victim's rights attorney, legal analyst for Avvo.com, Lisa Bloom.

So close. He just had to stop, like halfway through that sentence, didn't have to add that last bit, right?

LISA BLOOM, VICTIM'S RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes. I don't think it was all that close, actually.

VAUSE: OK.

BLOOM: But I think you were right, like father, like son.

So Donald Trump's answer, women who are sexually harassed should just find another company or career. Wrong answer.

It's not the 19th century anymore. You don't have to choose between your dignity and your job. You get to have both. You get to stay, complain, and the perpetrator is the one who can find another job or career.

And it's not true, of course, as Eric Trump says that strong women don't allow themselves to be sexually harassed. I'm a sexual harassment attorney. I have been sexually harassed. I'm a very strong woman with a very big mouth. It happens to all of us. And, you know, whether you're strong, weak.

My clients are grandmothers, teenagers, everybody in between. I mean, that really misses the whole point.

SIDNER: I have to ask you this, does that speak to a larger issue on how people see sexual harassment and frame it, even now? You also hear women talking about sexual harassment in similar ways where, it's sort of blame the victim in the whole thing, or blame the person who's making the accusations?

BLOOM: Yes, Sara, I think that's a very insightful point. You know, we all like to think, it couldn't happen to us. And if it happens to somebody, it must be her fault. But really that's not true.

[00:35:00] You know, as I said, I've represented sexual harassment victims for almost 30 years. I currently represent a lot of them. And it's just, you know, normal women, and sometimes men, from every walk of life, it happens. And the most important thing is to stand up for your rights to complain to human resources. If that doesn't work, get an attorney to enforce the rights that women generation ago fought for and won for us so that we get to keep our jobs.

VAUSE: OK, you touched on the issue of, you know, being a strong woman does not necessarily make you immune to sexual harassment.

Gretchen Carlson who brought the sexual harassment lawsuit against her boss Roger Ailes tweeted this, in response to Eric Trump.

"Sad in 2016, we're still victim-blaming women. Trust me, I'm strong."

BLOOM: Yes.

VAUSE: Megyn Kelly, who is still at "Fox News," one of the star anchor, she simply tweeted this out "Sigh."

BLOOM: And that's probably all that Megyn Kelly can say right now. And think about that. What a strong woman Megyn Kelly is, Gretchen Carlson.

Can you imagine standing up to Roger Ailes? He's probably the single most powerful person in American media. And after she was terminated, then she got an attorney and stood up to him, and initially faced such a backlash.

Ultimately, other women supported her and now he's out. But the first one to stand up, that's always the bravest person. So I really salute Gretchen Carlson.

SIDNER: You know, Donald Trump has brought this issue back into the national conversation. We weren't talking about this to be honest that much since all the things that have happened in the DNC and the RNC and all the conventions.

Does this sort of give you an idea of where he stands and will it hurt him with women. He's already not polling very well with women in general?

BLOOM: Right. Sometimes, I wonder if Donald Trump realizes that women have the right to vote. And that, well, we are going to vote, and that these issues are important to us. So there's this huge gender gap right now where women overwhelmingly are supporting Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump obviously wants those voters. And yet he's called women, you know, let's remember the context: dogs, pigs, fat slobs. He makes fun of women's, you know, Heidi Cruz's appearance, Carly Fiorina's appearance.

So, I mean, this long string of sexist comments. He's been sued for sexual harassment. He's been accused of sexual assault even by his first wife Ivana Trump and by a new accuser.

So, I mean, this just goes on and on and on, and that's the context. He's completely tone deaf when it comes to women.

VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) with the statement by -- especially by Eric Trump, and by Donald Trump, it's not just the sexism issue. There seems like a class issue here, too.

BLOOM: Yes.

VAUSE: Sometimes, there's this sort of -- there's sort of failing to acknowledge that not every woman has the luxury of being able to walk away from her career and starting another job and being financially independent to be able to do it.

BLOOM: Well, that's such an important point. Find another company or career? Are you kidding me?

VAUSE: Yes. How was that?

(CROSSTALK)

BLOOM: Listen, I went to law school for three years. I've been practicing law for 30 years. I don't want to find another career. I want this career. I'm sure you want this career that you've worked so hard for. I'm not just going to go, you know, into fashion, which I would be terrible in, or some other career, right? I mean, this is absolutely not required. And you're right, you know, Ivanka Trump talked in her book about being sexually harassed by construction workers, and then when they found out it was her father's business, you know, they stopped harassing her. We don't all have that luxury.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: Having a billionaire daddy.

SIDNER: Right. Right. To be fair, though, there are women who still support Trump. I've talked to them myself who they see him and they hear some of the things he said, give the guy a break, he's just talking, you know. We all say things.

And that's kind of the response that some of his biggest supporters have, to even comments like this.

BLOOM: Yes. And I know people who feel that way. And I think it's because they're fundamentally decent people. They think Donald Trump couldn't really mean the things that he says.

And I would say to them, consider what Dr. Maya Angelou has said, that when someone shows you who they are, believe them.

Donald Trump has showed us over and over again.

You know, as President Obama said today, this isn't just a one-off gaffe. We could all excuse that, or even two or three times. This is on a daily basis. And there's always a theme. It's always about women, or people of color, or immigrants. That's always the subject of his comments.

VAUSE: Right now, though, it's like drinking from a fire hose. These comments just keep coming and coming.

BLOOM: Right.

VAUSE: It's hard to, you know, to actually sort through them on a daily basis. But, Lisa, thanks so much.

BLOOM: Thank you.

SIDNER: Donald Trump can't catch a break even while he's eating. No, we're not done yet with controversy.

VAUSE: A fast-food faux pas. We'll take a look after the break as the reason why some are mocking the way he eats his KFC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:41:38] VAUSE: In other Donald Trump news, the Republican nominee for president is taking a licking for the way he eats his fried chicken.

SIDNER: CNN's Jeanne Moos tells us why it's ruffled some feathers. Sorry for the puns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every so often, we're treated to Donald Trump food tweets. Remember the "I love Hispanics taco bowl?" And then there was the McDonald's aboard his private plane Instagram, followed now by a KFC tweet in what may or may not be the same seat. But it's the knife and fork that have folks dropping their cutlery and manhandling the chicken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who would do it with a knife and a fork?

MOOS (on-camera): Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump does? Oh, my god, you gotta eat it with your fingers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my hands, yes. I'm a man.

MOOS: How would you eat it?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: With hands.

MOOS: We all know that Donald is a neat nick, a germ freak. So why should critics stick a knife in him for using a knife and fork on KFC?

Maybe because this is Trump's second cutlery faux pas.

The first was when he took Sarah Palin out for pizza.

JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: Are you eating it with a fork! A (EXPLETIVE DELETED) fork!

MOOS: OK, maybe it's not as weird as eating a Snickers with a knife and fork as characters on "Seinfeld" did. The practice spread.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, he's cutting up an almond joy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I saw someone on the street eating M&Ms with a spoon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is wrong with all you people!

MOOS: And why stop at eating KFC with a knife and fork?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really, you should just inject it directly into your artery with needles like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just use your hands, and then use the grease off your fingers to keep the comb-over in place.

MOOS (voice-over): There are no do-overs when candidates eat in public.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I learned early on not to eat in front of all of you.

MOOS: After Hillary resisted eating cheesecake, Stephen Colbert taught her how to do it.

STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: Then you want to take off just a little bit off the top right here. And then just eat as much as you want.

MOOS: Colbert used both a fork and his hands, straddling the issue like some cheesy politician.

Jeanne Moos, CNN...

STEWART: What a (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: He just can't catch a break, but I mean --

VAUSE: Oh, it's a chicken.

SIDNER: I know. Doesn't it make you hungry? It does.

Thank you so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Sara Sidner.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. "World Sport" is up next. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WORLD SPORT)