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One-on-One with Governor John Kasich; Trump and Clinton to unveil Economic Plans; Iran Executed Nuclear Scientist Accused of Spying; Ohio in Play in 2016 Presidential Elections; Women Discuss Presidential Campaign Messaging. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 7, 2016 - 17:00   ET

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


[17:00:02] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. So glad you're with us this Sunday evening. We begin tonight with politics and more polling in the race for the White House.

The latest polling not exactly something Donald Trump is likely going to tweet about. This national polling finding Hillary Clinton is up by 8 points over Trump among all registered voters. In a two-way matchup, Clinton maintains that eight-point edge even when you factor in Libertarian and Green Party candidates.

The survey done by ABC News and the "Washington Post" caps off what has been a tumultuous and very rough week for Trump after his feud with the parents of a fallen soldier. This weekend he is trying to get back on track, trying to get back on message. He is doing that by attacking Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Unstable, Hillary Clinton. And you saw that. You just saw that where she basically short- circuited. The people of this people don't want somebody who is going to short-circuit up here. OK? Not as your president.

Remember, ISIS is looking, folks. This stuff is so amazing. It amazes me actually. Honestly, I don't think she is all there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right, well, Trump talk -- talks about Hillary Clinton and tries to appeal to some Republicans, there is one Republican in particular that he has not won over. That is Ohio Governor John Kasich. Kasich sending shockwaves through his own party when he skipped the GOP convention, even though it was in his own home state of Ohio. He sat down, he spoke in a fascinating exclusive interview with our Jake Tapper about that and a lot more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And Paul Manafort said you were embarrassing your state of Ohio when you skipped the convention in Cleveland. You talked about the pressure that you felt people telling you, you needed to go, you needed to endorse. Were there back channel efforts to get you to come to the convention?

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: No, not really --

TAPPER: And who put --

(CROSSTALK)

KASICH: Look --

TAPPER: And who put the pressure on you? Who put the pressure on you --

KASICH: No, no, I mean, people would call who were longtime friends of mine, and say, you know --

TAPPER: You need to do this for yourself?

KASICH: Well, they say a couple of things. First of all -- no, you know, you need to support the party and secondly, you know, don't give the impression that you're a Clinton supporter. You know, that's just kind of this thing, you know. Well, let me be clear, I'm not. OK. I see four years of gridlock with her, total gridlock, and meltdown and -- in economics. I mean, I -- OK, so that's one thing.

TAPPER: What do you see right now?

KASICH: Well, I see gridlock there, too.

TAPPER: Were you surprised when Donald Trump declined to endorse Speaker Ryan, Senator McCain and Senator Ayotte?

(LAUGHTER)

KASICH: Well, yes, I thought it was a little bizarre.

TAPPER: Your nominee for president, the Republican presidential nominee said John McCain is not a hero. He prefers people who were not captured.

KASICH: Yes. Well, I don't agree with that. I don't agree with that. OK. I think John McCain is a hero.

Look, Jake, here's the thing. All throughout this anybody can say, OK, you know, Trump said this, you say that. Why don't you slug him over the head? Look, my actions have spoken louder than any words.

TAPPER: Your refusal to endorse him.

KASICH: And think about this. I want to know when anybody had a convention in their state when they were the governor who didn't go in the convention hall. I mean, some people were really furious with me about that. But I did what I thought I needed to do. And you know what, I never went in that hall to promote myself. I -- and I wanted -- believe it or not, I wanted to show respect to the nominee. And my going up there and disrupting his deal was not my -- what I intended to do. TAPPER: Can Trump win Ohio?

KASICH: He is going win parts of Ohio where people are really hurting. There will be sections he will win because people are angry, frustrated and haven't heard any answers. But I still think it's difficult if you are dividing to be able to win in Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All right, to talk about that and a lot more, with me now Washington correspondent for the "New Yorker," Ryan Lizza, political editor at Redalert.com and Trump supporter Scottie Nell Hughes, also with us, Democratic strategist and Clinton supporter Maria Cardona.

Thank you all for being with me. Scottie, let's start with you. So Kasich says, yes, it's going to be difficult for Trump to Ohio. But you look at Trump and he touts his deal-making abilities, says he's the best deal-maker out there. What is it about his inability to get Kasich on board? Why can he not seal that? Because even you have admitted on our air he needs this.

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, TRUMP SUPPORTER: He does. You know, that's what every Republican needs, the state of Ohio. So the question, and I think Jake probably asked Governor Kasich, what can Donald Trump do to win your support? Or at the very least stop being the worst torpedoes that are being aimed right now at the campaign are coming from the same folks with R's beside their name.

[17:05:01] You can sit down and continue to do interviews with Mitt Romney, John Kasich, Lindsey Graham, we can even add a little bit John McCain in there, and they're going to be the worst sticks of dynamite that you use to try to implode the Donald Trump campaign.

What do they want? What is going to make them happy? Because what they're risking right now is going up against the millions of other Republican -- supporters who might not be thrilled with Mr. Trump but by god he knows that he is a lot better than Hillary Clinton and are tired of seeing our party. You don't see one Democratic governor sitting down and knocking Hillary Clinton. And it's not because they're 100 percent agree with her. It's because they know that's what's best for their party.

So these folks that are aside are just basically trying to sabotage and until they give us a solution for the problem why are you continuing to do these interviews?

HARLOW: Yes, but you also see some Republican lawmakers, members of Congress, Senator Mark Kirk walking away from Donald Trump.

All right, stand by because I want you guys to listen to one more thing that Kasich said in this interview with Jake, confirming it seems the "New York Times" reports that Donald Trump Jr., Trump's son, floated the VP offer to a Kasich aide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: Donald Trump Jr. called you and try to sought out your feelings, your interesting in being the vice president and said, you would be able to run domestic and foreign policy. Is that report --

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Is that report true?

KASICH: I never got a call. Apparently my aides did.

TAPPER: Donald Trump Jr. did call one of your aides and had that conversation?

KASICH: That's what the reports are. But, you know.

TAPPER: But -- but, I mean, your aides said that that's accurate?

KASICH: That's what one of them has told me, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Ryan Lizza, to you, I mean, Donald Trump, Jr., denied this. I believe he said something like, what do you think I am, a meathead to do something like that? But what do you make of that?

RYAN LIZZA, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORKER: It's sounds -- there is clearly some conversation. I think the denial is over exactly what they offered Kasich, right?

HARLOW: Right.

LIZZA: How wide his portfolio would be. And you know, he's obviously confirmed that something happened. You know, just probably go back to -- and kudos to Jake for getting Kasich on the record for confirming that because there was a bit of mystery there.

HARLOW: Right.

LIZZA: Just to get back to what could -- you know, what could Trump do to win over some of these holdouts, you know, I think Kasich has been a little vague about that. I don't know exactly what he wants. But another Republican who has been very tough on Donald Trump is Jeffrey Flake of Arizona.

HARLOW: Yes.

LIZZA: And, you know, he spelled out in detail repeatedly what he wants and it's the big issues that are separating Trump from the establishment of his party. It's a more serious immigration plan from this wing of the party. Not just build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. It's a more specific backing away of the ban on Muslims. That's a big problem for a lot of Republicans.

And on trade, I think there's obviously some big disagreements. So you know it comes down to it, and then finally the more political things just running a more disciplined campaign. But those are big policy disagreements and a big political ask. So, you know, I do think that Trump, if he wants to be president he needs to reach out to some of these important players especially the governor of Ohio. But he's going to have to -- you know, he's going to have to give a little.

Just look at Bernie Sanders, to get Hillary Clinton, look how much she had to give Bernie Sanders to get his full endorsement, right?

HARLOW: Right.

LIZZA: And that's what Trump has to do, as the leader of the party he's got to give ground on some policy and some politics.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: And Maria --

HUGHES: Can I just say one thing --

HARLOW: I want to get Maria Cardona in here, guys, because, you know, what's interesting, you heard Kasich say in that interview, Maria, with Jake, you know, I think Hillary Clinton would be a disaster especially for the country. So he was in no way sort of leaning towards her whatsoever.

When you talk about Hillary Clinton she is someone who's been on the main stage for 25 years. People know everything they think they need to know about her, or at least they think they know everything they need to know about her. Who was she trying to convince to come on board? What's the play here for the undecided because she is so well- known on the national stage?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think two things. And we saw this play out in the convention. Yes, people do think they know a lot about her. But I think what they still don't know perhaps are her motivations in terms of why does she do what she has done for more than 30 or 40 years. And that is what you saw at the convention, too, give light as to we know her resume but who is the woman behind the resume. And that's why I think that she's gotten such a bump out of the convention because people saw a more personal side of Hillary Clinton. Her motivations, her commitment.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Or Trump has had a really bad week.

CARDONA: Her commitment to working families and children. And so that is I think going to be the message going forward, plus, though, she will also continue to contrast her commitment of 40 years. And her experience and temperament to be president versus Donald Trump who we have seen even Republicans in his own party can't support him -- have come out to support her.

[17:10:04] HARLOW: Scottie, before we go I do want to get your take on what we played at the top of the show and that was Donald Trump last night in New Hampshire talking about Hillary Clinton saying, I don't think she is all there. What does he mean? I mean, you can hate your opponent, but it's another thing I think to question their mental capacity.

HUGHES: But isn't that what she's done to him for the past few weeks? I mean, it's one thing, and it's funny that Maria sat there and mentioned people coming from Republicans crossing over and people can trust her, they know her. Well, she's one of those that can sit there and smile and laugh and meanwhile, you don't necessarily -- you would not think the woman that we up on the stage is accountable and responsible for all of the corruption and all of the distrust and all of the lies that we continue to hear out on the campaign.

HARLOW: But I'm not talking about --

CARDONA: Because she's not.

HARLOW: I'm not talking about honest or trustworthy.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: I'm asking about the specific words, I don' think she's all there. She certainly has questioned his temperament, saying he's unfit to be president.

CARDONA: Yes.

HARLOW: But are you saying that she also has questioned his mental capacity?

HUGHES: Absolutely. Democrats have questioned his mental capacity over and over again.

CARDONA: Michael Bloomberg did.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Scottie, what was she getting at of there? What was he getting at there?

HUGHES: Well, they're just sitting there and questioning her temperament, and sitting there and questioning -- you know, like I said, you can sit there and smile all you want, but what is her actions? Well, you can sit there and smile, you know, it's the typical southern response, you can sit there and smile while you're putting arsenic in the sweet tea. The question right now is, is who do you learn to trust --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Weird image.

LIZZA: Remind me never to have sweet tea at Scottie's house.

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: Last night it was throwing vases, tonight it's arsenic and sweet tea.

LIZZA: Yes.

CARDONA: It's a desperate move by the -- by the Trump campaign really.

HARLOW: I got to get a break in. Thank you all, you'll be back with me. Ryan Lizza, Scottie, Nell Hughes.

CARDONA: Thanks, Poppy.

LIZZA: Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: And Maria Cardona.

Coming up, Hillary Clinton seizes on a positive jobs report to make her case on the economy. Donald Trump, though, says these numbers are not a bright spot that we need. We will sort it out, duke it out with two economists, including one just named to Trump's economic team.

Also you could call Colorado purple, a key swing state this go around, so why isn't Trump spending more to beat Clinton there? We'll break down the numbers.

And a story that seems pulled straight out of a spy novel. A nuclear scientist put to death in Iran for allegedly spilling secrets to the United States. The details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[18:15:22] TRUMP: I am going to be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. I will tell you that.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: In my first 100 days we will work with both parties to pass the biggest investment in new good-paying jobs since World War II.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right, this election, like so many before comes down to the economy and jobs for so many Americans. Donald Trump, set tomorrow in Detroit to unveil his economic plan. Hillary Clinton will give a major speech on the economy on Thursday in Detroit.

When you look at the jobs numbers on Friday we found out 255,000 jobs were created last month, unemployment still below at 5 percent, at 4.9 percent. The Clinton camp says the nation is out of the ditch and needs to build on progress. The Trump campaign says that way at all. They say the media and the Clinton machine is describing an economy that doesn't exist for most Americans, that it's an economy enjoyed by her donors and her special interests. And one suffered through -- every day by millions of Americans.

Let's debate it. Andy Green is with me. He's the managing director of Economic Policies at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and Peter Navarro is with us. He's an economic adviser to Donald Trump. He just told me all the footnotes are done on the speech for tomorrow in Detroit for Mr. Trump.

So let me begin with you, Peter. Because when you look at the Moody's analysis of Trump's jobs plan previously, they figured it's going to cost 3.5 million jobs, unemployment is going to hit 7 percent, home prices are going to fall and the rich are just going to get richer. And let me note that the head economist --

(CROSSTALK)

PETER NAVARRO, ECONOMIC POLICY ADVISER TO DONALD TRUMP: Are you -- just to be clear, Poppy, are you referring to the study done by Mark Zandy, the --

HARLOW: Let me finish my question --

NAVARRO: Lies, then lies. And Mark Zandy's statistics.

HARLOW: Let me finish my question to you.

NAVARRO: Well, that was a hit right off the bat. Sure.

HARLOW: Let me finish what I was going to say, Mark Zandy, the lead economist for Moody's, contributed the maximum amount, $2700, to Clinton's campaign. He supported President Obama's stimulus when he also advised John McCain. So -- and it's not just him. It's a team of economists at Moody's.

So given that will the plan that we hear from Trump be different tomorrow?

NAVARRO: Let's focus on the plan. This is in the spirit of the Olympics. It's a gold medal plan that is going to knock it out of the park. It's going to announce the most -- biggest revolution since the Reagan revolution in the '80s. It's going to cover energy, regulatory reform, taxes and trade. And the whole port of this is to get us back, to double our growth rate, which we enjoyed prior to the major trade deals that Hillary Clinton helped enter into in terms of NAFTA, China, and the WTO South Korea and the FTA.

So this is going to be a comprehensive plan. It's going to create millions of jobs for American workers. It's going to create trillions of dollars over decades so that we can pay for infrastructure, Medicare, Social Security and our national defense. And it's really truly visionary. It really does go back in the spirit of Ronald Reagan. And I think people are going to be really pleased when they hear all of the things that are in there for the American people, the American worker, American manufacturers.

HARLOW: Andy, jump in here because, look, the jobs numbers were strong but you've still got wage growth that is improving. But it's at 2.6 percent. And the Fed always notes you need at least 3.5 percent wage growth to really have a healthy economy so a lot of Americans are feeling it. And they see this anemic growth, they see the economy growing at 1.2 percent and they want more.

ANDY GREEN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC POLICY CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: Absolutely. I mean, I think that the economy, the track record that President Obama has is a strong one. There are 14 million jobs that have been created, 255,000 last month. But clearly a lot more needs to be done. Secretary Clinton has a plan to reduce inequality and grow the economy and make sure the profits --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: But is it different? Is it different enough from President Obama's track?

GREEN: Well, I think the question is, is Secretary Clinton going to be able to have the support of the Republicans in Congress? You know, this is frankly half of the Boehner and Paul Ryan economy that they've obstructed every time President Obama has tried to invest in infrastructure to lower the cost of college, to make equal pay for equal work. And Secretary Clinton, you know, is going to be pushing really hard to make progress on that front.

And if I could just add about everything I have seen and I have not seen the actual details of the Trump plan tomorrow, but when I hear deregulation and I hear, you know, things like regulatory reform and I think they're talking about tax repatriation, you know, these are things that go back to the George W. Bush economy that had billions of dollars of giveaways to the corporations that don't need them, that are stashing their money offshore, that shipped jobs overseas, and created financial deregulation that caused the 2008 financial crisis.

HARLOW: So, Peter --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: So, Poppy, I can assure --

HARLOW: Peter, let me jump in here and ask you about --

NAVARRO: Sure. Yes.

HARLOW: Peter, let me ask you about this. So Trump has said that he will if necessary slap a 35 percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico, from China. When you look at that, do you think that that will really help as an economist? Does that not spark a trade war? Does that actually bring these manufacturing jobs back here because a lot of these frankly are jobs that are jobs of the past for this country. How does that tariff help?

NAVARRO: Follow me here, Bill Clinton shoe horned China into the World Trade Organization into 2001. Over the last 15 years our growth rate has been cut in half. We've lost over 70,000 factories and we got over 20 million Americans that can't find a good job at a decent wage.

Now China is the biggest cheater in the world. They don't abide by any of the rules on currency manipulation and illegal exports subsidies. The tariff that Trump proposes is not an end game. And the purpose is not just to put tariffs on, it's to use it as a negotiating tool to stop China's cheating, and I can assure you if we have trade deals --

HARLOW: But Trump is always the one that says don't show your cards, don't -- you know, don't tell them what you're going to do. So you're basically saying, it's just a threat.

NAVARRO: You don't show your cards but you darn well show your negotiating tools. And look, Ronald Reagan was a free trader, back in the early 1980s when Japan cheated he slapped a 100 percent tariff on Japanese semiconductors. It was a defensive move. Not a protectionist move.

HARLOW: Andy?

NAVARRO: And this is really -- this is a battle between philosophies. Let me just say this, Poppy, real quick, because we've got Obama/Clinton using the standard Keynesian policies, which during the last eight years of Obama --

HARLOW: Peter, I got to let Andy respond.

NAVARRO: -- he's increased the deficit from $10 trillion and $20 trillion.

HARLOW: I got to let Andy respond.

GREEN: Yes, I mean --

HARLOW: I got to let Andy respond.

GREEN: If anybody who thinks that the way that my colleague here is proposing is the way to deal with China, has never dealt with China. Look, we've got to be very targeted and look at the things that are going to raise labor standards, raise environmental standards, reduce the amount of subsidies. We're going to need a lot stronger trade enforcement. And Secretary Clinton has a plan to bring manufacturing and targeted investments here in the U.S. I think there is a lot more to be done. But, you know, I think frankly Paul Ryan and John Boehner need to own what they're doing in terms of --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: But here's the problem, Poppy.

HARLOW: Look, I think it's also important for both candidates -- Peter, it's also important for both candidates to be very honest to the American people about the way the global economy has changed and what manufacturing jobs actually could come back and which could not come back and how technology has changed things.

Before I let you go, Peter, I have to ask you because you have just been named on Friday to Donald Trump's economic team of advisers, let me pull up that team. 13 people, five of them named Steve. Not one woman, not one African-American. Why? Why not one woman or one African-American?

NAVARRO: Look, I see this again as a typical media bias.

HARLOW: What?

NAVARRO: I mean, the headline should read Trump --

HARLOW: How is that -- no. No.

NAVARRO: Trump puts together a brilliant team to help bargain on behalf of the American people.

HARLOW: Wait --

NAVARRO: And instead we wallow in this muck of political correctness.

HARLOW: Peter. Peter. Hey, Peter?

NAVARRO: I mean, you can go there.

HARLOW: It's not about being --

NAVARRO: You're discriminating against people named Steve? Come on now. That's not fair.

HARLOW: Absolutely not. It's not about being --

NAVARRO: We got really good Steves on the team.

HARLOW: It's not about being politically correct. Study after study show the diversity of thought in corporate boards --

NAVARRO: What is it about then?

HARLOW: Study after study show that the diversity of thought in corporate boards, diversity of thought and representation in the corner office makes a business difference, when you look at a 2011 study by Catalyst, it showed that companies with a high representation of women on boards significantly outperform companies with no female directors.

When you look at a McKenzie study, it showed that advancing women in the United States --

NAVARRO: Poppy, you know, it's like --

HARLOW: Could grow the U.S. economy by $2.1 trillion.

NAVARRO: I think what you're doing now, Poppy, is you're --

HARLOW: So I'm asking you --

NAVARRO: You're filibustering when you have a guest here.

HARLOW: -- why not a diversity of --

NAVARRO: So let me respond to all of these things.

HARLOW: Why not a diversity of thought?

NAVARRO: Again, what I'm telling you is what the American people are going to get with that Trump team and it will have women in it. What they will get as tough smart negotiators who will finally negotiate on behalf of the American worker, American domestic manufacturers, rather than doing what Hillary and Bill Clinton have been doing for 23 years, negotiating on the part of the multi-national corporations, which have been offshoring our productions to China and in Mexico.

GREEN: Poppy, can I --

NAVARRO: And to the rest of the world at the loss of all our jobs. So let's -- look, I got one thing on my bucket list, Poppy. I want one election to be only about economies and jobs so that this country can be great again. And I'm hoping that we can do that rather than wallow in this politically correct muck.

HARLOW: Yes.

NAVARRO: This is a brilliant team that's going to get better and bigger.

HARLOW: No question about the smarts of this team, I'm just asking about the lack of diversity.

Andy, 30 seconds to you and then I got to go.

GREEN: Yes. I mean, this team really represents who Donald Trump is, and I think if you -- you really want to wonder why women are paid 79 cents for every dollar than men make. Just look at that team and you'll know.

[17:25:09] If I can also add, that it really is representative of who Donald Trump is. It's got oil company owners, banks who are seeking deregulation, an investor who work closely with a major investment bank to go -- to make billions of dollars going short on the housing market in 2008.

I mean, this is a -- this is a group of investors and, you know, I want to put my colleague here aside. But this is a group of investors who are making money betting against the American economy. And betting to de-regulate the American economy.

HARLOW: I don't think you can categorize all 13 of them that way. You need some business leaders, but guys --

NAVARRO: Dan DiMicco, CEO of Nucor Corp Steel?

HARLOW: I've got to go. But to --

NAVARRO: I mean, this guy has fought the good fight against China for a decade, trying to save steel workers jobs in Michigan and Ohio.

HARLOW: I got to go but, Peter -- Peter, as you said -- NAVARRO: Thank you, Poppy. Glad to be with CNN on a Sunday.

HARLOW: Women will be added so we'll be watching. Thank you both.

NAVARRO: I guarantee it.

HARLOW: Thanks.

Coming up, Iran, executing a nuclear scientist. Was he spilling secrets to the United States? What exactly happened? Also the timing of all of this is critical. We'll discuss it. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: A nuclear scientist in Iran is dead, just executed there on charges of spying for the United States. Take a look at this. This is previous footage of Shahram Amiri. Iranian officials convicted him of treason, convinced that he had a connection to what they called the "great Satan."

[17:30:03] That is how Iranian officials refer to the United States in their explanation of his execution.

Ramin Asgard is with me. He is a career American diplomat. His specialty is U.S.-Iranian relations. You previously worked at the State Department under both President Obama and President George W. Bush. Briefly, if you can, walk us through the significance of Amiri.

RAMIN ASGARD, FORMER U.S. DIPLOMAT: Amiri was, depending on which version of the story comes to light, a defector, a nuclear scientist, a double agent. He was privy to sensitive information about the Iranian nuclear program and at some point came into touch with officials of the United States. And he kind of represents the shadow world of the long Cold War.

HARLOW: Yes.

ASGARD: The long covert Cold War between the United States and Iran.

HARLOW: But as we look at this video -- I think we can pull it up again, of him walking off the plane when he went back to Tehran after 2010, he was really greeted with this hero's welcome, so what transpired between that and now being in prison and then executed in Tehran?

ASGARD: Well, there could have been facts that came to light, there were some revelations recently that came up in some e-mails. There is also the possibility that the Iranian government continued to create a narrative that this person had a public persona of somebody who was coming back to the fold. However, in the background they never really trusted him again.

HARLOW: So the timing of this, of his execution, is very critical?

ASGARD: Yes. HARLOW: Right, I mean, this comes on the heels of the developments

this week, the $400 million coming in cash on the plane to Tehran, the day that the four Americans were released and the optics of all that.

ASGARD: Right.

HARLOW: And then this execution.

ASGARD: Right. And the optics -- you have to remember the optics in Tehran are that this government has made a deal with their longtime enemy, trading for cash the national security of Iran. All of the people that were released were accused of spying and treason on behalf of the United States. So they had traded cash for Iranian national security and they needed to now restore their authority, restore the fact that they're vigilant.

HARLOW: The hard line.

ASGARD: The hardliners in Iran.

HARLOW: And especially the hardliners ahead of the 2017 presidential elections.

ASGARD: Absolutely.

HARLOW: Right? I mean, the world choice, calling the United States the great Satan in this explanation of the execution also telling.

ASGARD: Yes. Yes. And that is kind of just a return to some very, very hard lined language of enemy, great Satan, that had kind of fallen out of favor under President Rouhani, but now, you know, it's important to know, Poppy, this was a press conference that was held by the judiciary purpose.

HARLOW: Yes.

ASGARD: This wasn't a leak, this wasn't a comment to a reporter in the newspaper. This was a -- they wanted this story out and they wanted this story to have a message, primarily at home but abroad as well to the United States.

HARLOW: Do you think that message was effective?

ASGARD: I think the message out there is that cross us and we will hold you accountable. We're still here. You know, you know, the friendly smiling face that Rouhani and Foreign Minister Sharif were trying to present abroad, these are not these people. And we're still here and we still consider the United States a number one enemy.

HARLOW: Reasserting power to those in their own country who feel like they sold out to with this deal?

ASGARD: Right, absolutely. And starting to position the foundation, the basis for the support of the nuclear agreement is weakening. The supreme leader has taken some pretty hard positions against it, against the United States' trustworthiness, and now the hardliners in a sense are piling on and trying to push the point.

HARLOW: Ramin Asgard, thank you.

ASGARD: Thank you very much.

HARLOW: Important perspective. Nice to have you on the program.

ASGARD: Thank you.

HARLOW: All right, coming up, we'll take you to Colorado, a key battleground state that could help Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump win the White House. So why is the Clinton camp really pulling back the spending ads in the state, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:37:10] HARLOW: One thing we know about this election is that if you live in a swing state, your vote really, really matters. So if you're in Colorado right now, listen up, that is a place where more than one third of the electorate considers themselves independents. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump using very different strategies in Colorado trying to engage people on the ground.

Our Kyung Lah reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the battleground state of Colorado, the ground war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm getting people registered to vote.

LAH: Taking aim with real and augmented retail politics. Clinton campaign workers playing "Pokemon Go" to register potential voters. And using other attention-getting draws.

(On camera): A cello? For real?

ANTHONY CARSON, REGIONAL ORGANIZING DIRECTOR, COLORADO DEMOCRATIC PARTY: A cello. You just have to be unique especially in a battleground state like Colorado where the stakes are so high.

LAH (voice-over): Battleground Colorado, twice elected Republican George W. Bush, then gave Barack Obama back-to-back victories. This year, the state is showing signs of leaning Democratic. Some recent polls give Hillary Clinton a double-digit lead. Another potential advantage, since 2012 Democrats have registered more voters than Republicans.

And the ranks of Latino voters continues to grow up to 15.3 percent higher than the national average. 14 Clinton campaign offices are up and running in the state. Hundreds of workers are on the payroll, the operation expected to triple by early October.

EMMY RUIZ, COLORADO STATE DIRECTOR, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: So we're not going to take anything for granted. For us our ground game is critical.

LAH: Democrats has spent $5.6 million on Colorado TV ads while Trump's supporter has spent $230,000. The Clinton camp now polling TV ads, saying Trump isn't on the airwaves or frankly on the pavement.

(On camera): Are you seeing the Trump's operation out there?

RUIZ: No, I haven't.

LAH (voice-over): The Trump plan in Colorado is far different. Yes, there are some worker knocking on doors but only a handful are on the payroll, most are volunteers. The Trump campaign has just five offices relying instead on an extensive Republican national state and local network in place since 2013. The campaign not worried about being outgunned in the traditional ground game.

ROBERT BLANA, CHAIRMAN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN IN COLORADO: Her game plan is the same old tire worn up paradigm we've seen for years and years and years. Trump brings a brand new different level of energy. Colorado will be decided in large by a group of people in middle of America.

LAH: In Colorado, more than one-third of voters are registered independent like Marc Sabin. He supports Trump.

MARC SABIN, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I will do it as an independent. So I will contribute directly to Donald Trump. I do not contribute to the GOP.

LAH: Loyalty to Trump, not party, an X factor not lost on both sides. And with both candidates having high unfavorability numbers, it's leaving some independent voters uncertain of which way they'll go in November.

CARA MILLER, INDEPENDENT VOTER: I'm not sure either of them as President but --

[17:40:07] LAH (on camera): So how are going decide then?

MILLER: I don't know. I guess the lesser of two evils.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: And that's something we heard from a number of independents here in the state, especially those leaning towards Clinton, they already know what they don't like, they now want something to like.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Denver.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Indeed. Kyung, thank you so much.

Coming up next, inside Donald Trump's strategy to win over female voters. Is his daughter Ivanka the key?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) IVANKA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGHTER: He is color blind and gender neutral. He hires the best person for the job, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Much has been made of Hillary Clinton breaking a glass ceiling. Certainly the glass ceiling of presidential politics. So what do female voters make of this political milestone.

If you look at the latest CNN-ORC polling it shows Clinton has a pretty commanding lead among female voters, 49 percent support her to 30 percent of registered voters behind Donald Trump.

Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump's daughter, has been one of her father's supporters. She introduced him at the RNC. But how can she help him bring on board more of those female voters?

My friend, my colleague, Fredricka Whitfield, sat down with a group of women voters and asked them just that.

How critical, Fred, do they think Ivanka is when they go into the polls?

[17:45:04] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's very interesting because just to give you an idea who made up the panel.

HARLOW: Right.

WHITFIELD: We had a culture writer, an economic correspondent, Trump supporter, Clinton supporter, and a family issues journalist. And all of them have a keen view on what's being said on the campaign trails and by whom, and they are sizing up the issues from equal pay to being invited to the table. And so on the issue of Ivanka Trump, since you asked, they used words like poised, smart, accomplished and having the ear of her father. But whether Ivanka symbolizes a certain sensitivity or consciousness of Donald Trump to issues important to women, well, that sparks quite the exchange of words.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think a lot of women including myself don't want to be viewed through the prism of gender. We want to be spoken to as our male counterparts. And when Donald Trump speaks about making the economy better, I as a woman understands that helps me, it helps my male counterpart. He is speaking to me as a person, not as a woman.

MICHAELA ANGELA DAVIS, CULTURAL CRITIC AND WRITER: To talk as if -- that there is some sort of utopia, that one day the light switch came on and it's equal for everyone, that is equal for women, that is equal for Muslims, that is equal for black people. Like so to talk as -- speak to me like person, perhaps if I was a privileged person I could take that positioning. Right? But because I'm coming from the position of knowing that we're working from a deficit we have to act as if we're in today. That we are not equal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And while they love the notion of measuring a man or woman, you know, a father or a mother in part by the character or behavior of their kids, some really frowned that the idea of any candidates' kids being in a position of doing cleanup duty or offering clarification for their mom or dad wanting to be the president of the United States.

HARLOW: It's a fascinating panel, Fred, I know we saw a lot more of it today and a lot more on CNN.com as well. Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Sure thing.

HARLOW: All right, coming up next, from an impoverish childhood to unbelievable powers and riches to that, heading into a Mexican prison. We take you inside the infamous escape and capture of the drug lord known as El Chapo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

[17:50:56] HARLOW: All right. Some very sad news to share with you just into CNN. A young boy has died on the world's tallest water slide in Kansas. Police are investigating what is being called an accidental death at the Schletterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas. The death occurred on the Zurik, which is more than 160 feet tall, according to the water park's Web site. The park is closed right now. They are cooperating with this investigation. A spokesperson said the thoughts and prayers of everyone there are with the family. We'll update you as we have more.

All right. Right now the former drug lord known as El Chapo was sitting in a Mexican maximum security prison waiting to find out if he will be extradited to the United States to face trial. Joaquin Guzman El Chapo is blamed for the murders of more than 10,000 people. The story about his life, about the drugs that he and his cartel imported, also deals with his power and his greed, and CNN premiers a fascinating new film, a look inside all of it. It's about El Chapo's drug kingdom and how he was finally taken down. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Before dawn, in the northern Mexican City of Los Mochis, 15 elite Mexican Marines bust into what seems like a normal middle class home, looking for one of the world's most wanted criminals. The drug lord they call El Chapo for short. A man with an uncanny ability to evade capture and a loyal army of heavily armed thugs.

(On camera): It's bullets flying everywhere, so the team has to split in half. Half goes down this way where there's a bedroom. The other half has this difficult task of trying to make it up the stairs. In this bathroom, they came to and just bashed it open. They find a woman in here. There is another woman back there.

(Voice-over): But El Chapo is not anywhere on this floor. Downstairs the other team moves through the hallway.

(On camera): You're now in the bedroom that the men were most fiercely defending. They did not want the teams to get in here.

(Voice-over): When the Marines do get in, they find two men armed with semiautomatics. Suddenly the men change their tune and no longer want to fight. They want to surrender.

In the closet they find two more men who also surrender. Marines don't know it yet, but those men are buying time for the kingpin to escape. Searching, Marines find machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and grenades. There are five dead guards and six others to arrest.

But no El Chapo. Where is he?

(On camera): Here's your answer. It looks like an ordinary closet, but it isn't. You see this up here? It says "Hood" on it like from an old car? When you pull on it, this door pops open to reveal a signature El Chapo move.

(Voice-over): A tunnel connected to the city's sewer system and to freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once again, Chapo, aka Harry Houdini escapes. There is a trap behind the mirror in a closet.

CUOMO: El Chapo slips into the escape hatch behind the mirror and runs about half a mile through the sewer, popping up in a manhole in the middle of the street. The billionaire and his guard the carjack the first ride they can find. This blurry video shows it happening. They flee, realize they've been spotted, ditch it, steal another, head out of town and don't make it.

[17:55:10] One of the most wanted, wealthiest men in the world is found wet and filthy in a red Ford Focus by officers looking for the stolen vehicle, not him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right, so be sure to tune in tonight to Chris Cuomo's special report, "GOT SHORTY: INSIDE THE CHASE FOR EL CHAPO." That is 8:00 p.m. Eastern only right here.

Coming up next, one-on-one with Governor John Kasich, Donald Trump's former rival in the presidential primary, addresses the campaign rumor that has been swirling for months. Did Trump's camp float a VP offer by him?

You'll get the answer next and much more from CNN's exclusive interview with Governor Kasich, Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARLOW: Top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

We begin with presidential politics and brand new polling in the race for the White House that finds Hillary Clinton ahead of Donald Trump. Not just ahead but doubling her margin. A "Washington Post"-ABC News survey has Clinton with an eight-point lead among registered voters. When you factor in third-party candidates, Clinton still pulls out eight points ahead. The poll comes at the end of what has been quite a tumultuous week for Donald Trump. He's made a move towards party unity in the past several days endorsing Paul Ryan, Kelly Ayotte and also John McCain.