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CNN NEWSROOM

First Presidential Debate Tonight; Moderator Preparation. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 26, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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


[09:30:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Brynn Gingras is following this from Charlotte for us.

Good morning.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you.

And those two videos released by police just one day after Keith Scott's wife released cell phone video of the incident, of course, mounting pressure from the public and the Scott's family to release those videos by police. But at this juncture, they really don't answer some of the major questions that still are pressing with this investigation. Most notably, was this shooting of a black police officer against Keith Scott justified? And that's a major question that this public is asking at this point.

Those videos also don't really change the narrative of what both sides say. The Scott family says that Keith Scott was not acting aggressively toward police. The police say that he was breaking the law and that's why the deadly force was need. So that's where we're at, at this point in the investigation.

We should note, in addition to the videos being released, police also released three pictures of evidence in this case, one a handgun they said was found at the scene and also a holster and also a marijuana cigarette. They say that Scott was actually smoking marijuana and that was part of the reason why he was breaking the law and he also owned a handgun, which he shouldn't have been in possession of.

So, again, more evidence coming out. it looks to be that this will be the end of the evidence that we see while this case is still under investigation by the state.

At this point, a protest, they have calmed down here in Charlotte for the past few days and that did lead the mayor to lift the curfew here in Charlotte. We do know, though, of a sit-in that is scheduled later today. The public is calling for the resignation of Charlotte's mayor and the police chief.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Brynn Gingras reporting live from Charlotte this morning, thank you. Golfing great Arnold Palmer has died. The 87-year-old four times Masters champion was golf's first millionaire player. He helped popularize the sport on TV and around the world in the last '50s and early '60s. Admired for his actions on and off the course, he once said his career was driven by the enjoyment of three things.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD PALMER, FOUR-TIME MASTERS CAMPION: I enjoyed people. I enjoy the golf game and I enjoyed the competition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Palmer died last night while awaiting surgery -- for heart surgery at a Pittsburgh hospital.

I'll be back.

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[09:36:59] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My version of the American dream is that I won't keep waking up every day to see another black body unmercifully slain by law enforcement on social media.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looking at what works now, what doesn't work at all now, and dreaming and working towards a better tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whatever makes you happy, if -- if you feel free, then you're living the American dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ah, the American dream. Trump supporters say it's dying. Clinton supporters say it lives. Both candidates on stage here at Hofstra in a matter of hours to talk about America's direction.

With me now, Donald Trump supporter and CNN political commentator , John Phillips, and Hillary Clinton supporter Jeff Weaver, who also worked as Bernie Sanders' campaign manager.

Welcome to both of you.

JEFF WEAVER, FORMER CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR BERNIE SANDERS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: OK, so, Jeff, you heard those young people talking about their version of the American dream. Hillary Clinton needs those voters to vote for her come November. So what does she have to say tonight to make them excited about her candidacy?

WEAVER: Right, I think a lot of the young people that we met out during the campaign season, when the senator was running for president, sent us a very clear message that they want to hear a positive, substantive message about how a candidate is going to make the country better.

Obviously, there's been a lot of back and forth in this campaign and I'm not putting blame either on the media or on candidates, but there's been a lot of negativity back and forth between the Candidates and I really think tonight is an opportunity to turn the

debate around, have the dialogue focused on the substance of what each candidate is going to do for the country. And I think when that happens, people -- young people are going to see that Hillary Clinton is a much better candidate, head and shoulders above Donald Trump for sure.

COSTELLO: And, of course, John, Donald Trump also has problems with young voters. According to Quinnipiac, 62 percent of people under the age of 34, 18 to 34, would consider voting for a third party candidate. So what are they not seeing in Donald Trump?

JOHN PHILLIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, they not only have this problem with Donald Trump, they have this problem with many Republican candidates. Young voter who were a key part of the Obama coalition. If Hillary Clinton is going to win, she needs to do something to bring (INAUDIBLE) people, to liberals, to minorities, and so far she hasn't done that.

And I think a key part of why that hasn't happened is you have Gary Johnson on the ballot. You look at those numbers in the CNN poll in Colorado, he's doing double digit there. He's essentially running on the legalized marijuana platform and in Colorado that plays and that attracts a lot of young people who would otherwise go to Hillary.

COSTELLO: So what do you think is the Gary Johnson candidacy, Jeff? Is that the thing that's foiling it for Hillary Clinton with young voters?

WEAVER: No, I think ultimately young voters will come back to Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders will be out with her on Wednesday at an event in the University of New Hampshire. He's going to be around the country with Hillary Clinton or campaigning for Hillary Clinton in down ballot Democrats. And I think we have to take forward this positive message that they, together, as you know, Carol, have crafted a plan to create free tuition at public colleges and universities for families making under $125,000. This was part of a key plank that Senator Sanders had in his campaign that was so exciting for so many millennials.

[09:40:06] Also that we're going to make college debt-free for everybody. We're going to create a country that is inclusive, that does end, as one of the young people on your -- on the clip said, the violence that African-Americans are facing in this country all too often. These are the kinds of issues that are going to excite and unite young people behind Hillary Clinton's candidacy. And the question is, will she have an opportunity tonight to get that message out to people or will it turn into, you know, a Trump sort of name calling event, which we hope it does not, obviously.

COSTELLO: Well, let's hope not for the sake of the country we talked at substance, right? WEAVER: Yes, absolutely.

COSTELLO: So, John, let's talk about educated white voters. Usually Republicans have a lock on those voters. Donald Trump does not. So, he does need to explain a little bit more about his policy in a way that says to educated voters that he really does know what he's talking about. So -- so what does he need to do?

PHILLIPS: Well, I think that's actually an opportunity for Trump because if you look at the ABC poll, Trump is doing better among Republicans than Hillary Clinton is doing among Democrats. He's brought the guys back into the tent. He needs to go out there tonight and give Republican women, women that went out, that are college educated, and voted for Romney, a reason to come back in the tent. And that's doable. If you're looking for voters that -- that are getable for him, it's voters that have a history of voting Republican in presidential elections.

COSTELLO: So -- so what can he say to say to those educated women, you know, I hear you, I understand your issues, this is what I'm going to do for you?

PHILLIPS: I would go back to Republicans themes. Like I said, many of them voted for Romney last time around. If he talks about traditional Republican themes, going after ISIS, building the wall on the southern borders, those sorts of things, brandishing his identity as a businessman, I think that will give them something to come back.

COSTELLO: Will that do it, Jeff, because I would -- I would guess that -- that many Republican women, educated voters would say, you know, it bothers me of some this stuff that Donald Trump has said about women in the past and you can bet Hillary Clinton will bring that up on stage tonight.

WEAVER: No, absolutely, Carol, you're 100 percent right. You know, his comments in the past about women have been very offensive and I think whether you're a Republican woman or a Democratic woman or an independent woman, women, you know, were very negatively moved by those comments. And I have to tell you also, I think women, you know, are acutely aware of discrimination in our society and are also put off by his discriminatory comments against Latinos or against Muslims or against people with disabilities. You know, I think there's -- you know, people who have, as a community, faced hardships and discrimination understand what it's like for other communities. And so I think there's a lot of affinity there in terms of people who have been on the receiving end of Donald Trump's sort of bigoted barrage.

COSTELLO: And I just, you know, lastly, because I don't have much more time for this segment, but I want to talk about expectations because, John, the Trump campaign has set the bar really low. They said he hasn't even really studied for this debate. I don't really believe that, by the way, because I can't imagine somebody appearing on a national stage and not studying for it. But the bar is set so low. How can Donald Trump possibly lose?

PHILLIPS: Well, he did well in the debates in the primary and a lot of people thought that he would have problems with those debates. His numbers just kept going up. He kept racking up the victories. I think he'll do just fine tonight and he'll have an opportunity to give a test run to his new catch phrase, "you're tired."

COSTELLO: You're -- that's a -- so, Hillary Clinton cited the expectation game, Jeff. Everybody kind of expects her to win because, you know, she's done a million debates before and she's been, you know, debating just one candidate and, you know, she's known as this policy wonk. So how could she possibly lose?

WEAVER: Well, she is -- she is a policy wonk, frankly, and, you know, we experience that during the primary process. You know, she's very -- she comes in very well versed on all of the issues and has a deep knowledge of the substance on those issues. You know, obviously, Donald Trump could try to disrupt that kind of discussion with his normal one liners, but I think, you know, Hillary Clinton is not as good on the -- on the sort of one liners. She's a much more substantive candidate than that and I think sometimes, you know, for people who are looking at this as entertainment, he may come across as more entertaining and quotable. But in terms of the substance of what she is going to offer the country in terms of health care, in terms of jobs, in terms of climate change, she's going to beat him hands down because so far, unless he has some new proposals we haven't seen yet, so far he has very little to offer the country.

COSTELLO: All right, I have to leave it there. Jeff Weaver, John Phillips, thank to both of you. I do appreciate you stopping by.

WEAVER: Thank you.

[09:44:42] COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, to fact-check or not, it's a debate over the debate. Is it up to the moderator to fact- check?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is a beautiful day in Hofstra University on Long Island. Ahead of tonight's presidential debate, another debate is going on, should the moderator fact check the candidates? Former moderators Bob Schieffer and Jim Lehr both say it's up to the candidates to act as the first line of defense and fact check one another, but they also believe moderators need to set the record straight. So, how will Lester Holt play it tonight?

Let's bring in CNN's Brian Stelter and former debate moderator Carole Simpson to talk about that.

[09:50:01] Welcome to both of you.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So, Carole Simpson, Lester Holt, how do you think he's feeling at the moment?

CAROL SIMPSON, FIRST FEMALE & AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE MODERATOR: I think he's feeling a little bit worse than I am. I am so excited and so anxious, I've got butterflies. I'm just waiting for this debate. But I'm sure he probably has them, too. It's a scary thing to have to do what you have to do, and he has to do.

COSTELLO: I have heard, Brian, that Lester Holt is shutting out all the chatter.

STELTER: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: He's like in a dark room somewhere preparing.

STELTER: That's right. I tried to talk to him about this last week. He has not given any interviews about his plan. But, you know, he knows how to relax. He's a bass guitar player. I bet he probably brought his bass with him for a little bit of unwinding through all this.

But, Carole's right, he has an incredibly tough task ahead of him. In some ways a no-win situation. But, you know, he's working for us. He's working for the viewers at home and I think he knows that. He's surrounded by a great team of preparation -- of people helping him prepare and he knows what he's doing.

COSTELLO: And, Carole, this is so different from when you moderated that debate in 1992 with George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and Ross Perot faced off, right? This time the two candidates really dislike one another, right? It's going to be very contentious from the get-go. So, as a moderator, how do you handle that?

SIMPSON: Well, I have been saying this weekend, and I've been watching everybody talking about what's going to happen. Nobody knows what's going to happen. I don't think the candidates know what's going to happen. But I think something is going to happen tonight because they've been like tea kettles and the bubbles are bubbling and near the boiling point. And I think there will be some fireworks.

But I think this debate should be as different as this presidential campaign has been. Why should we expect a moderator who plays the role of how I had to play straight and narrow when you've got people that might be saying incredible things. I think the moderator has to step in.

COSTELLO: Well, and it's interesting you say that because Brian Stelter just informed me in the break that the candidates' microphones will be on the entire time.

STELTER: I think that's one of the most interesting details here. Yes, that's right, Clinton and Trump's mics will always be on. So if they're interrupting each other, we will hear all of it, no matter what. That also means if Clinton has a coughing fit, the way she recently had on the campaign trail, that will be heard as well. There's no commercial break. There's no interruption. There's no bathroom break for 90 minutes. That makes it very different from the primary debates where there were several breaks in between.

We know that Clinton will get the first question. She'll have two minutes to answer. Then Trump will have two minutes. And then, for about ten minutes, they will go back and forth. And that's where it gets interesting.

COSTELLO: OK, so Clinton will talk because she won this coin toss, Carole, right?

STELTER: A coin toss, yes.

COSTELLO: And Brian tells me they won't tell him who flipped the coin. Why not?

STELTER: It's so secretive.

COSTELLO: Why?

SIMPSON: That's crazy. It's a coin.

STELTER: But that's how it was, right? That's how the commission is. This commission is so secretive.

SIMPSON: Yes. I was talking to Mike McCurry (ph) and asking him why I wasn't named moderator. I would love to be the moderator tonight. Don't want to take it away from Lester Holt, but I think I would play a whole different role in terms of, I don't like to say fact checking, but if you're a journalist and you know that someone is standing in front of the American people and telling them an untruth, I think it is your obligation as the moderator, acting on behalf of the American people, to get the truth. That's what we are, we're truth tellers. At least the journalists that were of my era were. I'm not sure about today's.

COSTELLO: Oh, ow.

SIMPSON: But I think the moderator should really call to task.

COSTELLO: Well, here's the thing, Brian, there are ways you can ask a question to prevent a candidate from lying, right? You can -- you can start with that. And then --

STELTER: You can start with some basic facts. Put them on the table and not dispute them.

COSTELLO: That's right.

STELTER: And if Trump -- Trump does have more of a challenge. He has a more tenuous relationship with the truth if we were to be generous. Lester Holt can bring him back to reality by asking him for his sources of information and by encouraging Hillary Clinton to follow up. A lot of this will come down to Clinton following up on Trump's misstatements and vice versa, but I do believe Holt will be ready to step in when necessary. My sources at NBC say he will not be a potted plant onstage.

COSTELLO: Yes, OK, so -- but I will tell you this, Carole and Brian, that the Trump camp has already set it up that the media will be unfair so they want Lester to lose before the debate even begins. Listen to what Kellyanne Conway said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: If Mr. Trump has any disadvantage going into tomorrow night's debate, it's that he's not really treated fairly. And that's pretty obvious if you read many of the print reports, if you turn on almost any station at any point in the day, the coverage varies from incomplete, meaning it's all about him and saying (INAUDIBLE) against him, to, you know, overtly biased.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:55:17] COSTELLO: OK, I found that difficult to understand, so hopefully you guys could have understood it better than I could. But basically she said that the media -- did you hear it? OK. So basically she says that, you know, if they go overboard on the fact checking, like who knows if the media's really telling the truth, right, if they jump all over Mr. Trump and they don't jump all over Mrs. Clinton it will seem unbalanced from the get go, Carole.

SIMPSON: It has been unbalanced from the get-go since the primaries started. I am embarrassed by how the press has handled Donald Trump. Every call, every tweet, every appearance, every rally, the networks have put him on television, radio has put him on television. They have given him so much exposure and I don't see how they can say it's been unfair because everything he's had to say, he's gotten away with and we have let the public see all that.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see how it goes tonight, Carole, and hopefully we'll make you proud as journalists. I hope so, because I greatly admire you. Carole Simpson, Brian Stelter, thanks so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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