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Trump Lays Out Economic Plan, Tax Reforms; A Look Inside Aleppo, Syria During Ceasefire; Clinton Campaign Reacts to Trump's Economic Promises as Clinton Returns to Trail. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 15, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00] GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right, first of all, I have to say, I've never met a pessimistic presidential candidate who gives an economic plan and says this isn't going to provide "X" percent growth, this isn't going to be more money in your pocketbook, you know, that's fine. So we have to take every candidate with a grain of salt that way. Look, I think there is a real economic debate about whether these kinds of tax cuts are going to make the kind of 4 percent growth that Donald Trump is predicting, particularly since there's no budget cut side to this. Entitlements are allowed to grow. Defense spending is allowed to grow. The only budget cuts I could really find were what he calls the penny plan. He says would reduce nondefense, non safety net spending by 1 percent of the previous year's total. So it's a different kind of sequester. It's just kind of saying I'm not going to make these decisions but I'm just going to lop off 1 percent every year. That's the only cuts that I could really see. And, you know, you kind of just have to buy in to the whole economic theory of it or you don't.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Basically, you're saying the U.S. is going to want to increase defense spending, not going to touch Social Security, not going to touch Medicare. He says that's off limits. He doesn't want to touch that.

But he says you can make -- you can find the money through waste, fraud and abuse, because there's a lot of money that the federal government wastes. He says you can come up with billions of dollars to pay for these new initiatives he's looking for.

JUANA SUMMERS, CNN POLITICS EDITOR: Sure, I mean, I'm not an economic expert but I think if you spoke to someone about this and we've seen this after the speech is they're saying sure, that may be out there, but to pay for the things that Donald Trump is propose, the numbers just may not add up.

The thing that's interesting to me is that politically this is a good place for Donald Trump to be in, right? Polls show that voters trust him more to teal with the economy than Hillary Clinton, for the most part, although polls also show she more understands the needs of the middle class. Giving speeches like this, purely on a strategic point, whether or not you agree or disagree with the substance of the speech in his plans, is a good spot for him to be in if he wants to continue to gain more voters, to win more over, rather than some of the other, say, distracting issues he's been known to talk about on the campaign trail that are a bit more divisive. BLITZER: In an election -- I want to get, Matea, her thoughts on this

-- is it still the economy stupid?

MATEA GOLD, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: I think that is going to be a prime motivator for voters and the challenge for Democrats and Hillary Clinton to push back against some of the things that don't add up in Donald Trump's speech is there are, despite indicators of an economic recovery and despite new evidence that household median income is up there are pockets in this country that are not feeling that.

BLITZER: Voters, Jackie, they're going to like Trump's cuts in taxes, because who wants to pay a lot of taxes?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right, but then there are, if you start a trade war with China and Mexico and you see job loss or go up, they're not going to like that.

When you talk about -- I just want to go with what Juana was saying -- when you talk waste, fraud and abuse, one of the reasons budget reform is so hard is because one person's waste fraud and abuse is someone else's critical program. That's why the specifics are so important. You're going to be facing a battle every single day over some of these things he might want to cut.

BORGER: The maternity leave is also paid for by fraud and unemployment insurance. And so that's another issue. Do you believe you can get the amount of money needed for this kind of maternity benefit out of waste, fraud and abuse? Some people say absolutely not. I don't know. I don't actually know what the number would be. I'm not so sure they do either.

BLITZER: Here's what's encouraging.

BORGER: They say the $5 billion.

BLITZER: The five of us were talking about an issue, the economy --

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: -- taxes, stuff like that, that should be at the forefront of this presidential debate.

BORGER: What happened on Dr. Oz? We have to go there.

BLITZER: We'll get there.

(LAUGHTER)

Thanks very much to all of you.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, by the way, they will share the same stage in just 11 days from now at the first presidential debate. Look for CNN's live all-day coverage Monday, September 26th. [13:34:04] Another story we're following, you're about to see the

Syrian city of Aleppo the way it hasn't been seen in years, relatively quiet. No explosions or gunfire, no deaths in the street. It's the third day the ceasefire that appears, at least for now, to be holding. We have a CNN crew inside what's left Aleppo. This is a CNN exclusive. We're going there live. We'll talk with our man in Aleppo right now, Fred Pleitgen, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The ceasefire in Syria has been extended for another 48 hours but the diplomatic war of words rages on. Take a look at this, from a Russian drone over rebel-held Aleppo watching over the city. The U.S. and Moscow are accusing one another of ceasefire violations. The pause in the fighting does allow us to see what Syrians are dealing with. Destruction is simply everywhere. So many are desperately in need of help. But diplomatic red tape is holding up U.N. aid trucks at Turkey's border with Syria.

Senior correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is one of the few Western reporters inside Aleppo.

Fred, what are you seeing where you are?

[13:39:] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we've been able to get to a lot of areas here in western Aleppo that have absolutely been destroyed. We were in one frontline area called Cian (ph), which had a lot of houses absolutely flattened but still had people living in those houses trying to make do. The folks we speak to say they're not sure whether or not the ceasefire's going to last. They've had ceasefires here in the city in the past and they've always unraveled after a few days.

Simply having that calm right now certainly is worth a lot. We saw a couple of kids who, for the first time in a long time, were able to go outside and collect firewood. Their parents were going to use that to make some food. The ceasefire itself is something welcome by the people here but at the same time they're not sure whether or not it is something that's going to be longer term.

On the other hand, I've been here a few times, Wolf. I have to say the destruction here is a lot more than the previous times that we've been here. Even the road into Aleppo was a lot more destroyed. You had that very heavy fight here in the city between the rebel forces and the government leading up to that ceasefire, and that certainly has left its mark on the city that's already been so battered because it's been right on the front line almost these entire five years of the civil war -- Wolf?

BLITZER: What do you know about Russia's accusing the U.S. of not abiding by the ceasefire?

PLEITGEN: Yes, it's something we've heard from the Russians. They put out several statements during the course of the day where they, on one hand, were saying they believe the U.S. is disingenuous about the way they handled the ceasefire. They believe it was rebel forces who continued to shell government positions. They say the breaches of the ceasefire that have taken place so far have only come from what they call U.S.-backed rebels. And they say they've seen dozens of those happen not just in the Aleppo, but in other areas as well. Of course, the U.S. takes a very different view. They say they're not sure whether the Russians are really serious about this ceasefire. And they say there's been violations from both sides.

Just getting back to what we've seen on the ground, Wolf, we did hear some outgoing fire throughout the time we were here, but it was a lot less than you would have heard at other times. So, by and large, really does appear as though it's a lot more quiet than it used to be.

That war of words continues even as the two sides are trying to find a way to get aid into the city. I was just at the road that that aid is supposed to come down but still, of course, a lot of negotiations that need to happen between the U.S. and Russia but then also between the rebels and the government forces as well -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Because we know there's a whole bunch of U.N. trucks, convoys, with a lot of aid waiting in Turkey on the border to come in. Why won't these rebel groups allow that aid into Aleppo?

PLEITGEN: Well, you know, it's a really complicated situation. It's not just the rebel groups that are the problem. You have the rebel groups, on the one hand, that obviously have to give these trucks safe passage. They are to say you're allowed to go through the area and make sure the U.N. remains safe. Otherwise, it's impossible to send these trucks. On the other hand, the Syrian government also has to give its permissions for these trucks to move. There's apparently 40 trucks waiting on the border between Turkey and Syria, 20 of them ready to go immediately, packed with food, very badly needed here right now. Unclear when those trucks are going to make it. There seems to be preparations for possible aid delivery in the city.

BLITZER: Let's hope that beings quickly because the folks there, they need it desperately.

Fred Pleitgen is on the scene for us in Aleppo.

Fred, be careful over there. We'll stay in close touch with you. Thank you very, very much.

Other news we're following, Hillary Clinton campaigning once again today, this, for the first time since doctors ordered her to rest and recover from pneumonia. Where she is right now, her campaign's reaction to Donald Trump's economic promises he made today. Hillary Clinton's campaign press secretary standing by to join us when we come back

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:37:31] BLITZER: Hillary Clinton's back on the campaign trail this hour. Later, making an appearance in North Carolina after taking a few days off to recuperate from pneumonia.

Joining us now from New York to talk about the campaign, Hillary for America campaign, press secretary, Brian Fallon.

Brian, thank you very much for joining us.

BRAIN FALLON, HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN PRESS SECRETARY: Good afternoon, Wolf. How are you?

BLITZER: Good, thank you.

We saw her come back, speak very briefly with reporters. She looked good, she sounded good. How's she feeling? Is she completely recovered from pneumonia?

FALLON: She's feeling much better. Think she's going to continue to take the antibiotic per her doctor's orders. But she's much better. In fact, I think if she had her druthers, she would be back out there on Monday, but we all thought it was the best course of action to rest. She did watch President Obama when he campaigned for her in Pennsylvania. She did spend some time working on the remarks she'll deliver today in North Carolina. We are spending these next few speeches that she's going to be making talking about her aspirational vision for the country, what Stronger Together really means.

I think it's important we get beyond the day to day back and forth. I think by now people are starting to learn why Donald Trump is uniquely unfit to be president of the United States. But we want to do more than just communicate that message. We want to talk about what Hillary Clinton would focus in on as president. That's what she'll talk about today.

BLITZER: It will be a substantive speech in North Carolina.

Trump laid out his economic plan before the Economic Club of New York just a little while ago. Among other things, he says he wants to establish a national goal of reaching 4 percent economic growth. He vowed to reach 3.5 percent annual economic growth. But he also took a serious swipe at Hillary Clinton. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Not one single idea she's got will create one net American job or create one new dollar of American wealth for our workers. The only thing she can offer is a welfare check. That's about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: OK, Brian, your reaction?

[13:49:41] FALLON: Well, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine have literally written a book on how to get wages rising. They published an entire volume that laid out their plans on how middle class households. It's called "Stronger Together" available for purchase on amazon.com and on "The New York Times" best-seller list.

But Donald Trump is playing catch-up in a hurry. His campaign has been devoid of policy until now. And in typical Donald Trump fashion, he's making it up as he goes along. The one consistent thing he saw on his speech is he doubled down on his tax proposal to lavish huge tax breaks on people like himself and big corporations. This is somebody in Donald Trump who wants to cut the estate tax, cut corporate taxes on big corporate interests. It would be a huge tax cut for people like himself and his family. Just the estate tax alone would save him approximately several billion dollars in terms of -- in inheritance that he would pass on to his kids someday. This is trickle-down economics on steroids. He has no plans to pay for these tax cuts. In fact, the middling amount of cuts that he announced today would cut to the bone very important programs like food safety, and still it doesn't come close to covering the cost of his extreme policy of tax cuts for the wealthy. He doubled down on that approach as he tried to give a makeover to his economic plans but he has no serious credible plans for how to get wages rising again in this country. Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine do.

BLITZER: A CBS/"New York Times" poll out today shows this race is very tight right now among likely voters nationwide. Take a look. Hillary Clinton and Trump are tied with 42 percent. Polls also this week shows that the key battle ground states like Florida, Ohio, Nevada and Iowa, very, very close as well. Why has this race tightened so dramatically?

FALLON: Well, there's no question, Wolf, I won't dispute the idea that this race has tightened, but this is the race we expected to run all along. In fact, I think the effect you're seeing now, this tightening is something people probably expected to happen earlier in August. I think we had a very good convention bounce after our convention this summer. And then if you recall what Donald Trump went ahead and did was engage in a bunch of taunts and insults of people like the Khan family and insulting Gold Star families led us to jump to an even more exaggerated lead in the national poll, which is I think distorted people's outlook in the race. We always knew the race would be tight. That's what we've built our campaign for. That's why in states like Florida and Ohio we have more than 50 offices open in each of those two states alone. We have more than 300 offices open in the key battleground states. We'll have a voter registration drive continuing to go over these next few weeks so we get more voters registered to participate.

And, look, I think there's a good thing that can come out of these polls which is that if any supporters of Hillary Clinton or those that are rejecting Donald Trump who are starting to at all take anything for granted, I hope these polls serve as a wakeup call for them. We have to work hard in these next two months. This race will be close all the way to the end.

BLITZER: Brian Fallon is the press secretary for the Clinton campaign.

Brian, thank you so much for joining us.

FALLON: Thank you, Wolf, for having me.

BLITZER: Donald Trump says it's time for a businessman of his caliber, not a politician, to be the president of the United States. But if he were in charge, what that look like? Some hypothetical numbers. Trump's senior economic advisor is standing by. We'll discuss with him when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:04] BLITZER: Donald Trump made lofty promises in his economic policy speech delivered in the past hour before the New York Economic Club, promises, some experts say, he will simply be unable to keep. Trump today vowed that, if elected, the U.S. economy will average of 3.5 percent economic growth every year. That's a level that hasn't been reached in the past 12 years. Trump also promises his plan will add 25 million jobs. And he says all of this will be deficit-neutral.

Let's talk a bit more about his plan with one of the people behind it, David Malpass, Trump's senior economic advisor, who is joining us from New York.

David, thanks very much for joining us.

DAVID MALPASS, SENOR ECONOMIC ADVISOR, DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Hi, Wolf, happy to be here.

BLITZER: Let's go through the critics. Just-released analysis by Oxford Economics, estimates Trump's policy would cost the U.S. $1 trillion over the next five years and cost four million jobs. I assume you've seen that analysis. Your reaction?

MALPASS: You know, I haven't looked at it. There are lots of economists around there. A lot of people are simply against change. They're for the status quo, and all of their clients are part of the status quo. They don't want to break out of it. I don't think there's too much to that kind of a study.

BLITZER: On what basis do you think there could be at least 3.5 percent, he says 4 percent, maybe higher, annual growth, and he says he could do that for, what, 10 years? Is that realistic at all?

MALPASS: Sure, that would be an average growth rate. And the U.S. averaged 3.5 percent growth all the way from World War II up through 2000. So that's the normal for the U.S. economy. Somehow, we've shifted and allowed people to say, oh, no, we're not good enough, we should only grow 2 percent a year, which is what we've been doing these last seven years. So we have to break out of that mind-set. And Trump, I thought today, was very good because he was optimistic, he was strong, and he set the right clear tone. You could really understand him. And I think that's what's coming through to the public.

BLITZER: Trump says he wants to increase defense spending significantly. He doesn't want to touch Social Security or Medicare. He's got other ideas to spend more money but he wants to cut taxes. Waste, fraud and abuse, is that enough money to pay for all of this?

MALPASS: You know, there's lots of ways to pay for it. One is cost cutting in the federal government. It's grown too big. But Trump talked about the Penny Plan, which is the idea of cutting by 1 percent each year the spending and that way it's gradual and people can within the federal government. And of course, holding harmless and not touching Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or the Defense Department. That gives you a billion dollars.

There's also a lot of savings, a lot of growth, and a lot of new revenues that come from regulatory reform. We're doing this big program for regulatory reform. I don't know if you heard Trump say one of the first things he would do is dismiss t regulators because they haven't been doing the job well. That's a way to get the economy growing faster, creating jobs. The big beneficiary is the middle- class because -- and the lower incomes -- because they've been left out of this big boom that's been happening in New York.

BLITZER: You just heard the press secretary for the Clinton campaign, Brian Fallon, saying Trump wants to eliminate the estate tax and that would save him and his family potentially billions of dollars that could go for taxes. Your reaction to that?

MALPASS: I heard the guy on a little bit before. I was happy to hear him say how much they're spending in states where their polls are going down. The Clinton campaign is spending giant amounts of money and not really getting results.

On the estate tax, Trump would eliminate it. There are lots of beneficiaries, but one of the biggest is small businesses and people who are aspiring to have an estate that Uncle Sam would want to tax. They have to hire a lawyer -- in case, just in case, they get rich, they have to do a whole estate plan, and that's really costly. So the point of this is to simplify the tax code. And remember, Trump said that there would be basis step up at death, which means the untaxed capital gains in the economy now would begin to get taxed, so it's actually going to bring in revenues.

BLITZER: He would, though -- if there were no estate tax, he would save a lot of money, assuming he's worth $10 billion, as he says he is.

Unfortunately, we have to leave it, David, on that note.

David Malpass is the senior economic advisor.

MALPASS: I'm not sure that's right either.

OK, thank you.

BLITZER: We'll continue this conversation down the road.

Appreciate it very much.

MALPASS: Nice to see you. Thank you.

BLITZER: That's it for me. Thanks for watching.

The news continues right now, right here on CNN.