Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Trump to Tour Flooded Areas in Louisiana; Trump Expresses "Regret" in Rare Move; U.S. Olympic Committee Apologizes for Swimmers. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 19, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:00] CAMEROTA: I bet you are. That's really, really beautiful. Coach, Savanna, Quinn, Charlie Green, Katherine Redding, best of luck with all of your dreams and your futures as gymnasts as well.

Thanks so much for being with us on NEW DAY this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: "NEWSROOM" with Erica Hill, in for Carol Costello, picks up after this very quick break. Have a great weekend.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: NEWSROOM, on a Friday morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Erica Hill, in for Carol Costello. Thanks for being with us.

We are following two major stories this morning. Stunning new developments out of Brazil. CNN has learned the American consulate may have known all along that Ryan Lochte was never involved in a robbery and asked Rio police to keep that story quiet. We'll have more on that in a moment.

But first, Donald Trump debuting a new move on the campaign trail. The presidential pivot. Any moment now we are expecting Trump to arrive in Louisiana. That's where he and VP pick Mike Pence are expected to tour the region that's drowning in the state's historic floods.

Meantime, last night in Charlotte, it was a rare act, during his second speech where he read off teleprompter, Donald Trump expressing regret over his rhetoric of the past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sometimes in the heat of debate, and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words, or you say the wrong thing. Believe it or not, I regret it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: A change in word, critics, though, noting that while Trump expressed remorse, he never actually said the words, I'm sorry, nor did he state which of several controversial comments he regretted. From Louisiana's damage to the political fallout and frankly

everything in between, we have you covered this morning. We want to begin with Rosa Flores who is in Livingston Parish.

Rosa, good morning.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning. Well, this is what Trump is going to find when he arrives here in Louisiana. It's been days since this flood started, and take a look. Some homes are still under water. If you look closely on these homes, you'll actually be able to see the water line, and of course, I mean, it has been days. My team and I actually were on a boat in this community earlier this week, and of course, the water is receding, but it's receding very closely.

Now we have very few details, Erica, regarding Donald Trump's visit to Louisiana, because it was made last minute, and so you know, everybody is kind of coming together, scrambling to put it all together.

Now all of this comes after a second shake-up to the Trump campaign, and also, after President Obama has been criticized with the biggest newspaper in Louisiana, criticizing him for not coming to visit the devastated area, and instead, playing golf in Martha's Vineyard.

Now he did send members of his Cabinet yesterday, Secretary Jeh Johnson was here in Louisiana yesterday. During a press conference, you know, I asked him a two-pronged question. First of all, I said, Mr. Secretary, will you recommend for President Obama to visit Louisiana, and what will you tell them about what you saw. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The president can't be everywhere. I will be briefing him on what I see here and what the status of our recovery and response efforts are. Administrator Fugate did the same thing after his visit here two days ago. So the president is closely monitoring the situation.

FLORES: Will you recommend that he come visit?

JOHNSON: As I said, the president can't be everywhere. I know he has a very busy schedule this fall and in the coming days. And he is closely monitoring the situation. We know the chief executive of the entire U.S. government, you can't be everywhere. Including places you would like to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now shortly thereafter, Governor Edwards here from Louisiana threw a lifeline at the president. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN BELL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: If he's going to visit, I would just assume it'd be a week or 10 days, 14 days from now. And I will tell you, it is a major ordeal. They free up the interstate for him. We have to take hundreds of local first responders, police officers, sheriff's deputies and state troopers to provide security for that type of visit. I would just assume have those people engaged in the response rather than trying to secure the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now Governor Edwards releasing a statement today about Trump's visit. He says, quote, "We welcome him to Louisiana, but not for a photo op. Instead, we hope he'll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the Louisiana Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of the storm."

[09:05:10] Now as we take another live pick here, you can see that some of the water still in these neighborhoods, water still in these homes, again, you can see the water line in some of these homes, especially in that garage there, Erica. So recovery, very much still a part of this flood zone, and of course we don't know exactly where Donald Trump will be visiting, but we understand he will be visiting or probably will be visiting some of these affected areas.

HILL: And we will be watching that following and bring it to folks live.

Rosa Flores, appreciate it. Joining us from Livingston Parrish this morning.

Does a new executive team mean a new Donald Trump? Well, the candidate broke with his aggressive style on the stump last night, expressing remorse over comments he has made.

Chris Frates is covering this story for us from Washington. Chris, good morning.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Erica. Well, do you remember that ad campaign back in the 1990s, the softer side of Sears. It helped put the struggling retailer back on track when it faced some troubles. Well, it appears Donald Trump whose campaign is facing its own struggles might be trying his own version of that, showing voters a more contrite sympathetic side.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've never been politically correct.

FRATES (voice-over): Donald Trump doing what he refused to do throughout his campaign, expressing remorse for his controversial statements.

TRUMP: Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words, or you say the wrong thing. I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it.

FRATES: A complete 180 from the unapologetic tone his supporters have come to expect.

TRUMP: And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues. But one thing I can promise you this, I will always tell you the truth.

FRATES: Trump delivering prepared remarks, speaking for the first time since his campaign overhaul, and veering away from the brash persona that could doom him in the general election.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I think we're going to sharpen the message and we're going make sure Donald Trump is comfortable about being in his own skin, that he doesn't lose that authenticity that you simply can't buy and a pollster can't give you.

FRATES: The Republican nominee not saying exactly what he regrets, but his remarks come after a firestorm of criticism for attacking the family of a slain Muslim-American soldier.

TRUMP: I don't regret anything. I said nice things about the son.

FRATES: And he has yet to apologize for attacking Republican Senator John McCain, who spent five years as a POW in Vietnam.

TRUMP: He is not a war hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a war hero.

TRUMP: He is a war hero --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five and a half years as a POW.

TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK, I hate to tell you.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R) ARIZONA: There is a body of American heroes that I would like to see him retract that statement.

FRATES: Trump did express mild regret after re-tweeting an unflattering photo of Ted Cruz's wife Heidi next to his wife Melania, later telling the "New York Times," quote, "It was a mistake."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRATES: Now Trump and Pence arrive in Baton Rouge a little bit later today to tour the flood damage there and the trip comes on the heels of a Baton Rouge advocate newspaper calling on President Obama to cut his vacation to Martha's Vineyard short, telling him, a hurting Louisiana needs you now. So we'll see if Donald Trump and Mike Pence make a little bit of political hay out of that on their trip to Louisiana, Erica.

HILL: We will indeed be watching for that. Chris Frates in Washington this morning. Chris, thank you.

Here to discuss further, Kayleigh McEnany, a Trump supporter, Sally Kohn, "Daily Beast" columnist and a Clinton supporter, and Jason Johnson, politics editor for the Root.com as well as a political and communications professor at Morgan State University.

Good to have all of you with us on this Friday morning. Kayleigh, I want to start with you. There was some surprise last night and it's carried over into this morning on what we heard from Donald Trump. First of all, he was using a teleprompter. He said I regret some of the things I say. That he's going to be truthful. We just saw on that piece from Chris as recently as August 2nd, he said, I don't have any regret, I don't regret anything. Which Donald Trump is it? Is this the new Donald Trump and does it stick? Does it last?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, I don't think it's the new Donald Trump. I think he realized that his comments have caused some pain and he wanted to have a mea culpa with the American voter and say I've never intended to hurt anyone or offend anyone. And so he gave this apology. And I think Democrats will probably hear them in just a few months critic this apology. I'm not sure critiquing a moment of humility is going to gain them any new voters.

HILL: Is it critiquing or is it what we do on both sides, right? We question what a politician really says, and in this case, he said, I regret some things. And I regret some things that in his words caused personal pain. But he didn't get specific. Would that not have been more effective if he said, I specifically regret saying this about this group, or this person or -- is that not more effective, Kayleigh?

[09:10:07] MCENANY: I don't think so. I think he just needed to say if I caused anyone pain, I am sorry for that. And it's quite a contrast to Hillary Clinton who says she made a mistake and then comes out and essentially lies about it, and says I've been truthful even though I made a mistake, and then we find out she hasn't been truthful on a myriad of things with regard to her e-mails from the FBI director. So I like this apology. I don't like apologies that are not heartfelt and are followed up by lies, which is what we've seen from Hillary Clinton.

HILL: So you say this one is heartfelt?

MCENANY: I do. Yes.

SALLY KOHN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean -- OK. First of all --

HILL: Sally is chalking it a bit.

KOHN: I'm sorry, but when Donald Trump says, trust me, I'll always tell you the truth. Look, he -- both PolitiFact and the "Washington Post" fact-checkers have repeatedly deemed him for pants on fire liar. He has said "Washington Post" has written, as has PolitiFact, that at least three out of four assertions that Donald Trump has made throughout the course of his campaign have been patent lies which he gets fact-checked on and then repeats.

By the way the average, according to the "Washington Post," for politicians, some politicians, there are truthful, the average is about 10 percent to 20 percent. Donald Trump hovers around 78 percent just not telling the truth repeatedly. Number two, let's just note, and listen, if he wants to change his way, stop insulting people, stop insulting Gold Star families, stop calling on, you know, Second Amendment supporters to maybe do something about Hillary Clinton getting elected. Stop insulting heroes like John McCain. I'm all for it, too.

But Donald Trump has needed a teleprompter just two times in this campaign. One was to talk about foreign policy which he asserts he knows more about than the generals. And two was to apologize. He needed a teleprompter to apologize.

MCENANY: I will say, I have to address this quickly. I love you that bring up fact-checkers. There have been studies done on these so- called fact-checkers, and they find 2-1 that they credit Republicans as lying and Democrats as not lying. So these so-called fact-checkers don't quite check the facts.

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: I'm going to let Jason Johnson on this one. Go ahead, Jason.

JASON JOHNSON, POLITICS EDITOR, THEROOT.COM: I have to say, this goes on and on. I can't understand how this has lasted so long. It is so clear that Donald Trump isn't sincere. I would rather -- first off, what's the word we didn't hear? We didn't hear I'm sorry, OK? That's where you have an apology, like your grandma tells if you're sorry, you wouldn't have done it to begin with?

He meant everything that he said. He should just own it and say, look, sometimes, I'm a little rough around the edges, sometimes I'm a little impolitic, but that's how I am and that's how I'm going to run the country.

Nothing that he said yesterday was particularly impressive. And here's the key. If you are going to say that you regret some of your comments, you can't end your speech by saying, again, that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama started ISIS. There were some good things in his speech yesterday. I love when he said, I'll never put a donor over a voter. He should have been saying that all along. But no one in their right mind believe that he's actually sorry when he doesn't use the word sorry.

HILL: I want to play a little bit more of what he had to say that definitely raised a few ears around here. He is as we know trying to make more of an appeal to African-American voters. Here's how he made that pitch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If African-American voters give Donald Trump a chance by giving me their vote, the result for them will be amazing. Look how badly things are going under decades of Democratic leadership. Look at the schools. Look at the poverty. Look at the 58 percent of young African-Americans not working. It is time for a change. What do you have to lose by trying something new?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So there is the pitch, Jason. What do you have to lose by trying something new? And if you do look at the poll numbers, in terms of Donald Trump and African-American voters, he's got nowhere to go but up. So you might as well try something. And there has been consistent criticism that Democrats maybe once again taking the African-American vote a for granted. That said, Jason, is this an effective pitch? How's that playing?

JOHNSON: Yes. Erica, both of these things can be true. Democrats take the black vote for granted and the Republicans never make a sincere effort. What have you got to lose is like the worst Match.com response ever. Like hey, go out with me. What else are you doing on a Friday? That's not a policy. That's not a pitch.

Donald Trump can say specific things he's going to do for small business people. He's going to cut their taxes. Donald Trump says there's specific things I'm going to do for veterans, I'm going got make sure you're taken care of them. Why can't he come up with a specific policy for African-Americans?

MCENANY: He has.

JOHNSON: Why can't he talk about criminal justice? Why can't he talk about education? Why can't he say something --

MCENANY: He has.

JOHNSON: -- to the NAACP? He has said nothing that is specific for African-American voters. And here's the key. There are about 15 percent, in some states, 20 something percent of African-Americans who will vote for Republican candidate. You saw it in Texas. You saw it in New Jersey. You saw it with John Kasich. He is doing worst than several of the candidates who were running against him in the Republican primary. This is Trump's fault for not having specific policy.

MCENANY: He has.

HILL: We are unfortunately out of time on that one. But here's the good news, we have 81 more days.

[09:15:01] MCENANY: And I hope people watch his speech, because there were specifics in there like charter --

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: Kayleigh McEnany, Sally Kohn, Jason Johnson, appreciate all of you being with us.

Still more to come on NEWSROOM, two Olympic swimmers arriving home, lugging the baggage of scandal and embarrassment. We'll have those latest details, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HILL: Live pictures to you here. That, of course, Mike Pence, there he is arriving in Louisiana, just getting off the plane in Baton Rouge, as we learned, of course, both he and his running mate, Donald Trump are expected to be in Baton Rouge today.

Exact plan, as we learned from Rosa Flores isn't clear. This was put together quickly, so we are awaiting more details as to where they'll be going during their time in Louisiana. The government -- the governor at one point talking about the importance oftentimes when people are coming, criticism about President Obama not being on the ground yet.

[09:20:03] The governor stressing that the -- it is sometimes easier to stay away for the bit, because of the sheer logistics it takes when you have people of this stature who have these security requirements, and concerns. It will be interesting to see who they speak with, who they meet, where they head today.

Again, Mike Pence arriving there in Baton Rouge and we'll continue to monitor that situation as we watch for Donald Trump's arrival as well.

Returning now to the story out of Rio, from Rio, in fact, to Miami. Two Olympic swimmers back in the U.S. The robbery scandal has followed them home, casting a long shadow over the games themselves.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Rio with more on this for us.

Boy, talk about some changing details in the last few days. What's the latest this morning, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You say story. I mean, it has been stories, frankly, plural, and very messy ones. Yes, we know this day is probably the last of the four some, James Feigen will try to go home, after the reported $11,000 payment to charity goes through, that will probably release his passports, according to reporting allows him to leave.

But then still we've had the United States Olympic Committee to dry a line, issuing an apology to Brazil really on behalf of the swimmers, the representatives of swimmers involved urinating, involved possibly some kind of vandalization, at that gas station during this toilet stop.

But it has overshadowed the ends of the games here. It's unclear if an armed robbery really took place. It may be an issue to perception, frankly, but still, what a mess it has caused.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): This morning, swimmers Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger arriving back in the U.S. after Brazilian police claimed they admitted Ryan Lochte's story was not true.

The U.S. Olympic Committee apologizing for the action of four U.S. swimmers, saying in a statement, "The behavior of these athletes s not acceptable, nor does it represent the values of team USA. We apologize to our hosts in Rio, and the people of Brazil, for this distracting ordeal. Brazilian police say the athletes were not robbed, and that they are not victims. Police say they were held by security at this gas station, after urinating in the back alley and vandalizing a bathroom.

FERNANDO VELOSO, CHIEF OF CIVIL POLICE (through translator): the athletes was disturbed somehow. He was actually very, kind of angry, so there is the use of a weapon to control probably one them. The answer yes.

WALSH: The surveillance video shows one of the athletes bending over, seeming to pull up his pants before an attendant appears. They then leave the alley, attempts to get in a taxi, but not theirs. Once in the correct car, an armed security guard approaches, demanding that they stay until police arrive. They're later seen sitting the curb and Lochte taking something out of his pocket. The athletes were told they had to pay for the damage they caused.

VELOSO (through translator): They left their money just to almost like to pay for the damage that they caused and leave the place before the police could arrive.

WALSH: Ryan Lochte is back in the U.S., remaining silent after Brazilian officials say his account was fabricated.

RYAN LOCHTE, U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMER: We got pulled over, in our taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge. They pulled us over, they pulled out their guns.

WALSH: But Lochte's attorney is backing up his client's claim, saying, "A gun was pointed at the swimmers, and they were forced to get out of the cab and give up their money. No matter what country you are in, that is robbery and robbery is a serious crime."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Now, the question, there is no dispute it seems at this stage about the actions behind that gas station building and the urinating. It was when they came to the front and the full court was as the U.S. Olympic Committee says, the fact that the security guards had firearms on display was that somehow a role in the money being handed over.

If you hear the police, it was simply compensation given voluntarily. If you listen to Mr. Lochte, they said they were robbed. We may never get to the answer of this. This is 6:00 a.m., after a night of celebrating. But this has overshadowed the end of the games.

HILL: Nick Paton Walsh for this morning in Rio -- Nick, thank you.

There are a lot of layers to peel away. We want to bring in two different perspectives for the conversation. CNN legal analyst Laura Coates is a former federal prosecutor. Leigh Steinberg is a sports agent and sports attorney.

Good to have both of you with us.

As we look at this, you expected this backlash in Brazil. They're seeing a lot of this backlash.

Leigh, for Ryan Lochte, his career in many ways, he has done well. He has made money.

[09:25:00] He has been in multiple, multiple games. What is left at this point? Has this done his career in?

LEIGH STEINBERG, SPORTS AGENT: Here, you have an athlete who has almost $6 million worth of endorsements from seven major endorsers, and this is an incident which has covered by thousands of different reporters, both electronic and print. And it is overshadowed all the other Olympians who have spent their whole lives to get to this moment. So it has cast a pall over all of that, and not very popular with all of our Olympians from Katie Ledecky to our fabulous gymnasts.

What he needs to do, and has need to do quickly, is come forward, if I were advising him. I would have him go back to Brazil, do a press conference, admit that he was wrong, apologize to Brazil, to the other athletes, to every constituency, admit wrong, make a gesture towards trying to somehow make it right. And then he could move on.

He wants to go to another Olympics, but right now, he is a villain in the eyes of the American public, and also, the international community. So, he needed to move quickly.

What happens now is you get this viral cycle of Lochte villain, Lochte villain that goes over and over again, and by the time it is done, if he doesn't act and these other three swimmers don't apologize themselves, not the committee, this will be an enduring image that people view them through.

HILL: So, that's the public perception angle of it. We mentioned even just here "The Daily News" this morning calling them the "Lochte mess monster", which is, of course, probably not what you want to home to.

But, Laura, from a legal perspective, if he did follow Leigh's advice, what kind of ramifications could he face? What kind of potential charges are still a possibility, if any at this point?

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, providing false testimony to a police officer. Kind of like how we think about perjury here in the United States, but I would advise him really not to go back to Brazil, because if he goes back to Brazil, he has different ramifications and less protection than if he is actually abroad.

Why people care about this case, Erica, and why the perception is so bad is not because it is a matter of semantics, whether he believed he was robbed or not. The point is it is not the story he gave the officers in Brazil. It took away resources from possibility prosecuting other crimes and put a stain on Brazil that was not necessarily needed to be there.

And so, when you take a false report to police, people get very angry, particularly when you try to besmirch an entire nation that's already grappling with the perception that it came out host a very secure Olympics. It would be the same thing in the United States.

HILL: There is also the issue of the three younger swimmers who are younger than Ryan Lochte. There's some questions as to how this all went down, who may or may not have been the ringleader in terms of the story or stories that we were hearing. What is the extent of the damage, Leigh, on these three younger swimmers and their careers?

STEINBERG: It has a negative impact on the way they're perceived. I go through this in damage control with American athletes occasionally. And the lawyers always want to have the best facts for their case. When I tell the lawyers, the leverage your position is have repentant athlete, have the athlete apologize. It takes all the sting out of the case. But here, they've been mum. We haven't heard a thing from them.

The committee stood in front of them. They need to step up and take responsibility. We understand that young men make mistakes. It is not the hugest thing in the world. As long as they take responsibility, and show their repentant, then the healing process can begin and overtime, it goes away. But as long as they sit silent, and --

HILL: The silence is deafening, right.

We'll be watching to see what we hear, of course, two of them just arriving back in the U.S. we'll continue to follow that.

Leigh Steinberg and Laura Coates, appreciate you being with us this morning.

COATES: Thanks, Erica.

HILL: Coming up next hour, I'll speak with a former swimmer who found himself apologizing to the world after pulling a prank at the Seoul Olympics. What does he have for the four young swimmers, coming up.

Also still to come, a plane full of cash. Leverage, not ransom. A state department speaking out about that $400 million handed over to Iran. And the critics are pouncing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)