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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Backtracks on Immigration Again; Clinton Unleashes Attack on Trump, Ties Him to Racists; Two Nuns Brutally Killed in Mississippi; U.S. Navy Fires Warning Shots at Iranian Boat; Inside the Secret Network Fighting Against ISIS. Aired 7-8p ET.
Aired August 25, 2016 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:08] JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next, breaking news, Donald Trump's immigration flip-flop tonight. Is he flip-flopping, again?
Plus Hillary Clinton unleashes a scathing attack tying Donald Trump to racists. And, tonight, Trump punches back right here on CNN.
And more breaking news, two nuns found dead tonight. Their killer still on the run. What's the motive?
Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Jim Sciutto in again tonight for Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news. Another stunning reversal from Donald Trump on immigration.
Just moments ago, Trump appeared to flip-flop on his immigration flip- flop. Here's what the Republican presidential nominee said to Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So if they haven't commit a crime, is there going to be a path to legalization? I'm talking about citizenship.
(CROSSTALK)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: No. There is not a path -- there is no path to legalization.
COOPER: We talk about paying taxes --
TRUMP: Unless people leave the country -- well, when they come back in, if they come back in, then they can start paying taxes.
COOPER: So they still have to leave the country?
TRUMP: But there is no path to legalization, unless they leave the country and come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Now this comes less than 24 hours, after Donald Trump said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They'll pay back taxes. They have to pay taxes. There's no amnesty as such. There's no amnesty.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Right.
TRUMP: But we work with them. Now, OK, but when I look at the rooms and I have this all over, now everybody agrees we get the bad ones out. But when I go through and I meet thousands and thousands of people on this subject, and I've had very strong people come up to me, really great, great people come up to me.
And they've said, Mr. Trump, I love you, but to take a person that has been here for 15 or 20 years and throw them and the family out, it's so tough, Mr. Trump. I mean, I have it all the time. It's a very, very hard thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: But keep in mind, for the last year of his presidential run, Donald Trump has been saying this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You're going to have to send people out.
I would get people out, and I would have an expedited way of getting them back into the country so they can be legal. They've got to go out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But how do you do it in a practical way? You really think you can --
TRUMP: They've got to leave.
We're going to have a deportation force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Jason Carroll OUTFRONT tonight.
Jason, Trump appears to be backtracking on his immigration backtrack. You are following the campaign very closely. What's going on here?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a good question. I mean, look, here's what I can tell you, man. I've listened to all of that sound, and a number of people out there have heard these sort of different sort of positions that Trump has had on this issue.
Look, I think what we're going to get from the campaign is that Donald Trump has been consistent in one way. He's been consistent in saying no amnesty, no path to citizenship. But, Jim, what is clear here is that it's not clear. And the only one who seemingly can clear it up is Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): When it comes to immigration, Donald Trump is still talking tough.
TRUMP: If you want to have strong borders, so that people come into our country, but they come in legally through a legal process, that doesn't make you a racist. It makes you smart.
CARROLL: But Trump now signalling he might be reconsidering his pledge to deport all of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: No citizenship?
TRUMP: No citizenship.
HANNITY: Everyone agree with that?
CROWD: Yes.
HANNITY: All right.
TRUMP: Let me go a step further. They'll pay back taxes. They have to pay taxes. There's no amnesty as such.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: It's an approach that aligns Trump with some of his former Republican primary rivals.
GOV. JOHN KASICH, (R-OH) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're not going to throw them out. I'm not in favor of getting rid of them.
FMR. GOV. JEB BUSH, (R-FL) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There ought to be a path to earn legal status.
CARROLL: Back then, these candidates were frequent targets of Trump's relentless attacks on their immigration views.
TRUMP: Bush is weak on immigration.
CARROLL: In an interview today, Jeb Bush criticized Trump on his new tact.
BUSH: All the things that Donald Trump railed against, he seems to be morphing into. It's kind of disturbing.
CARROLL: As Trump threw a hard line when it came to those in the country illegally saying he will deport them. His campaign today insisted there was no shift in his position.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: By insuring nothing has changed in terms of the policies. This man is not for amnesty.
CARROLL: Trump's new approach on immigration comes as he held a roundtable today with Hispanic and African-American fellows from the Republican Leadership Institute, part of his continued outreach to minority voters.
TRUMP: A very important part of the message for me is the African- American community, because they have really been let down by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats.
CARROLL: The meeting comes on the heels of Trump's attacks on Clinton for her commitment to minority voters.
[19:05:05] TRUMP: Hillary Clinton is a bigot who sees people of color only as votes, not as human beings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And Jim, back to the issue of immigration. I've spoken to a number of Trump supporters. Many of them tell me, whether it be right here in New Hampshire or where we were in Texas and Austin. They tell me that, if they find that Trump, is quote, unquote, "Softening his position on immigration, they tell me that they won't end up voting for him."
One man in particular I spoke to, he is first generation. His family comes from Italy. He said his family came here legally. He told me, quote, "Now is not the time to be compassionate to those who break the law."
And he also brought up a very good point, Jim. He said the reason why he liked Donald Trump -- frankly, the reason why so many people like Donald Trump is because he's not politically correct. We've heard that many times before. But also because he speaks in plain language that people can understand.
So, but clearly, this message on immigration is muddled. Again, the only one who can clear this up is Donald Trump. As you know, he is expected to give an immigration policy speech. That's going to be next week in Phoenix on Wednesday. Perhaps at that point, the campaign can finally put this issue to rest.
Jim?
SCIUTTO: We will see you, Jason Carroll in New Hampshire there.
OUTFRONT now, the former chief of U.S. Office and Citizenship in the George W. Bush administration, Alfonso Aguilar. He is a Donald Trump supporter. Hillary Clinton supporter, Jonathan Tasini. Pastor Mark Burns; he's a Donald Trump supporter.
Former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz, that's Amanda Carpenter. Donald Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany. And executive director of the New York State Democratic Party Basil Smikle. He is a Hillary Clinton supporter.
So, Kayleigh, you heard those comments. It's not the first time we talked about it today.
How is this not a backtrack on the backtrack?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, if you listen specifically to what Donald Trump said in the second sound bite to Sean Hannity, he said I listen to voters, voters tell me I'm too harsh on this policy. They want me to soften it. He never committed to softening it. He did say I want to look at softening my policy, but he never committed to not deporting 11 million people.
He was listening to voters. I think that's a good thing. And, today, he doubled down on the policy. He's always taking this, that he wants immigrants to be here. He likes immigrants. He wants them to be a part of this community, but he does believe in the rule of law.
SCIUTTO: Basil, do you buy that?
BASIL SMIKLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW YORK STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: I don't. And, look, we can debate the particulars of immigration policy and immigration reform. But the fact that I want to hone in on here is that he doesn't know what he's doing.
Donald Trump does not know what he's doing with respect to immigration. And his Republican colleagues, who he vanquished off the stage during the debates had, even though I may disagree, some kind of idea of what immigration reform should look like and be like.
He pushed them off the stage by basically taking a far, harder line on immigration reform than any of them had. He stuck to that and dug in his heels much deeper than any of them head for a good chunk of his campaign. But we're 75, 76 days out. "His immigration policy is to be determined," quote, unquote from his campaign manager. And, to me, that signals that he doesn't really know what he wants to do, but what he does want to do is win. And to me that is sound policy no matter what we're talking about here.
SCIUTTO: You heard our Jason Carroll. He's been talking to voters on the campaign, who say, listen, if he pushes -- you know, if he backtracks on this, he's going to lose my support.
How much of a concern is that for the Trump campaign?
ALFONSO AGUILAR, PRESIDENT, LATINO PARTNERSHIP FOR CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES: Well, I'm sure it is a concern. But I think Trump supporters, those who oppose immigration reform are still going to go with Trump. They're very loyal to Mr. Trump. I don't think they're going to leave him, they're going to stop supporting him if he changes his mind on how to deal with the undocumented.
But let me say this --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: But this is not a fringe issue for the campaign. I mean, it's a defining issue for Donald Trump's campaign from the beginning.
AGUILAR: Well, but from the beginning, and let me say, I think on this issue specifically on the undocumented, he actually has been consistent. From the very beginning he said, I want people to leave the country. The good people. Those who have no criminal record would be allowed to return.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: But the thing is yesterday in the interview --
SMIKLE: It didn't matter --
(CROSSTALK)
AGUILAR: No, no, no. But let's be clear, let's be clear. He's always said it from the very beginning.
(CROSSTALK)
SMIKLE: Well, it doesn't matter. Good or bad, they have to go.
AGUILAR: So the question is, does that happen -- the people without criminal report, do they have to leave the country or could they actually -- and they come back or could they do that touchback inside the country, going to an embassy or a consulate.
If that's the case, then it's not a major reversal. It's an adjustment of his position.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Amanda Carpenter, I have to give credit where credit is due. Ted Cruz supporter, who holds a very similar position to what we're hearing now from Donald Trump, at least immigration.
You predicted Donald Trump's positions would change.
AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, here's the thing and the thing that makes me want to put my head through this glass table is that Republicans have been fighting about the word amnesty since about 2006, when we had the first comprehensive immigration reform bill.
[19:10:10] What does amnesty mean? Everybody says they're against it. Conservatives. People who had been attracted to Donald Trump's hard line immigration message has defined amnesty as both citizenship and legal status, and also touchback amnesty where people are allowed to voluntarily leave the country, go back home and then just -- they have some kind of legal protective status.
SMIKLE: That's voluntary. That's not deportation.
CARPENTER: We don't know what Trump means, because he said, well, they'll just leave. We don't know how they're going to leave and come back. Donald Trump has to forget what his policy is. He has to be pressed on what he believes amnesty is, because a lot of people among his base supporters think any kind of legal status is amnesty. Because that's where the debate has focused for many years now.
SCIUTTO: And that's the central question.
Pastor Burns, you're a Trump supporter. Are you concerned that this is confusing for even Trump supporters?
PASTOR MARK BURNS, EVANGELIST & DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think it's important that we understand the voice of the people should be dictating the policies, not just an individual. We are as the Americans should be dictating what we want our candidate to do. And that's what Hillary Clinton has done. And has forgotten the voice of the people and just created whatever she wants to do, say at hide and whatever she wants to hide.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: That's a nice try, but I did ask you about Trump's specifically.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNS: But it's the same, because as we're talking about Trump flip- flopping. Trump is not flip-flopping. Trump is just listening to the voice of the people. The voice of the people is -- is -- is the mouthpiece in which Donald Trump is echoing to the world. So if -- if -- if the people are telling Donald Trump you're being too hard, it is right for any candidate to say --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: That's awesome. We will have more time later.
JONATHAN TASINI, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: The problem we're having with this debate is that we're dealing with a conman, and the first thing that Donald Trump tried to do in the primaries was con conservative voters and Republicans.
Once he finished with that, he had to deal with the general electorate. And now he's trying to con those people who have basically rejected him. Donald Trump is losing this election by a landslide. And now they're looking around with his new adviser and saying how do we now con the electorate to believe that we're actually not racist and we're not trying to basically target people and throw people out of the country.
SCIUTTO: Listen, I want you to hold that thought. We have the luxury of time tonight. We are going to come back.
You can see more of Anderson Cooper's interview with Donald Trump. That is next at 8:00 Eastern Time right here on CNN.
And OUTFRONT next, breaking news as Clinton takes off the gloves tying Trump to racism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Through it all, he has continued pushing discredited conspiracy theories with racist undertones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Plus Donald Trump pushing back at Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She's totally bigoted. There's no question about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: What is he talking about there? And the story behind this priceless expression.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:16:02] SCIUTTO: Breaking news tonight.
Hillary Clinton accusing Donald Trump of making America hate again in what might be her harshest attack yet. Clinton says that Trump is running a campaign built on, quote, "prejudice and paranoia and taking hate groups mainstream."
Trump fighting back already tweeting, quote, "Hillary Clinton's short speech is pandering to the worst instincts in our society. She should be ashamed of herself."
Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton opening a new blistering line of attack tonight against Donald Trump.
CLINTON: He says he wants to make America great again, but more and more it seems as though his real message seems to be make America hate again.
ZELENY: In Reno, Clinton going farther than she's gone before, pinning Trump as divisive, dangerous and radical.
CLINTON: The last thing we need in the situation room is a loose canon, who can't tell the difference or doesn't care to between fact and fiction. And who buys so easily into racially-tinged rumors.
ZELENY: She said Trump and his new advisers are peddling hate by embracing an alt-right philosophy linked to the white nationalist movement.
CLINTON: This not conservatism as we have known it. This is not Republicanism as we have known it. ZELENY: Campaigning in New Hampshire today, Trump said Clinton was spreading smears and lies.
TRUMP: I want you to remember these three words, shame on you.
ZELENY: More than a full-throated takedown of her rival, Clinton also, all but shamed Republicans from aligning themselves with Trump's rhetoric.
CLINTON: This is a moment of reckoning for every Republican dismayed, that the party of Lincoln has become the party of Trump.
ZELENY: And Clinton also took aim at Stephen Bannon, the Trump's campaign new CEO, whose Web site Breitbart News routinely publishes conspiracy theories and offers a racially-tinged world view.
CLINTON: A fringe element that has effectively taken over the Republican Party.
ZELENY: As Trump seems to be trying to moderate and soften his tone --
TRUMP: Believe it or not, I regret it.
ZELENY: Clinton is intent on reminding voters of Trump's greatest and most controversial hits.
CLINTON: Now Trump is trying to rebrand himself as well, but don't be fooled, we know who Trump is.
ZELENY: The Reno speech is the latest in a series of addresses trying to undercut Trump's perceived strengths. From national security --
CLINTON: He is temperamentally unfit.
ZELENY: To his business acumen.
CLINTON: He's written a lot of books about business. They all seem to end at chapter 11.
ZELENY: Tonight she's also extending a hand to skeptical Republicans as she tries to lure them away from Trump.
CLINTON: Every day, more Americans are standing up and saying enough is enough, including a lot of Republicans, and I am honored to have their support in this campaign.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: And, Jim, interestingly, she talked about Bob Dole. How his convention in 1996 told any racists in the Republican Party to leave. She talked about John McCain, and how he stood up to people who questioned Barack Obama's faith. And she talked about George W. Bush who said right after 9/11 that Muslims love Americans, too.
Her audience here to this speech were Republicans. But, Jim, the question is, are they listening? Is she a credible messenger for this type of argument. She, of course, is so well-known. Her negatives are nearly as high as Donald Trump's. She's trying to make this case here and it was one of the most sober, serious speeches she's given. The question is, will they listen?
SCIUTTO: How many Republicans did she win over?
Thanks very much, Jeff Zeleny.
My panel back with me.
Kayleigh, you listen to Clinton's speech today. She was using Trump's own words against him. His own words. Quotes. How does he argue with this?
MCENANY: Well, first, I would start by saying if he's been this bad on race issues going back to the 1970s, she probably shouldn't have gone to his wedding and embraced him and his wife like her and her husband did.
[19:20:00] Second, I would point out that Donald Trump is trying right now. He is trying to make an overture to minority communities in a way, this is in the words of Allen West, the former Republican black congressman, in a way that no Republican nominee ever has in history.
He sat in a table today with our good friend Pastor Mark Burns over there, listening to the issues in the black community, trying to be responsive and trying to find a way to reach out. I think he's trying. And to have a speech devoid of not one policy proposal, maybe you can name one, but I didn't hear a single policy proposal in the whole speech. I think it's pretty sad that she's taking this.
SCIUTTO: Basil, 75 days to the election, can he turn on that dime?
SMIKLE: No. Succinctly, no.
You know, look, he's -- Jack Kemp, for example, the Republican who has actually done really good outreach to communities of color, and sadly, he's passed away, but that to me was where Republicans could have done more in communities of color. And what he's done, what Donald Trump has done, he's spoken at black people, not to them. He's not gone to them. He's tried to get the support in absentia by not going to their communities. He's going to every other community he wanted support from, but not the black community.
And in all respect, I know the pastor is over there, and maybe he's come to your church and so on, but his -- you know, his luxury towers are less than three miles from Harlem. He has not been to Harlem. I'd like for him to come to Harlem and go to a black church and talk about what he's going to do for the black community. He has not done that.
And I would just say very quickly, I know that Hillary Clinton has had a career, where she's focused on racial and economic justice. She talked -- she was one of the first -- and I will say this, she was one of the first to talk about Trent Lott losing his position as majority leader of the Senate, when he was talking -- when he was embracing Strom Thurmond.
So these are things that I know that she's done throughout her career. I don't think what Donald Trump has done, in my opinion, has reach out to the black community. In fact, I think he's done nothing.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Pastor, I want to get your view, but I do want to play a new Hillary Clinton campaign (OFF-MIKE) doubling down with a big ad buy on this message about Trump ties to racists.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reason a lot of Klan members like Donald Trump is because a lot of what he believes, we believe in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump would be best for the job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am a farmer and white nationalist. Support Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Those are powerful messages.
Are they going to turn off mainstream voters?
BURNS: Well, you know, the fact of the matter is, first of all, I should say Hillary Clinton should disavow that. She should disavow that, because that is -- that is low. That is -- it is a cheap shot at his best at the highest caliber, and she who is a polished politician should know she shouldn't be playing ball like that.
SCIUTTO: Are you denying that these groups have expressed their support?
BURNS: What I'm simply saying is this, we should be talking about Hillary Clinton and Robert Byrd. We should be talking about her strong ties to the former grand wizard of the KKK. We should be talking about not just the ideal of Donald Trump or the -- or the -- or the interpretation of Donald Trump being a racist, let's talk about Hillary Clinton's failed policies.
The impact that it has had on the African-American communities. Why African-Americans are still suffering today. We can talk about -- we can say go to the African-American communities, we can say let's do what you typically would do in a presidential race, singing "Kumbaya," tap dance, high-five black people but nothing gets done. Bye, bye, thank you for your vote. I'll see you in four years.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: This is the root of the argument here, Jonathan, in that he says -- he accuses Hillary Clinton of basically taking black voters for granted, counting on their support and not delivering change to them.
How does Hillary Clinton answer that argument?
TASINI: Well, first of all, let's look at what the Democratic Party has done not just for African-American voters, but for all people of color. And, frankly, all working people.
Right now, in the Democratic Party platform, it is now policy to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. That will help every single working person, African-Americans, people in their city. Donald Trump opposes -- excuse me
MCENANY: We're not talking about --
(CROSSTALK)
TASINI: Excuse me. Excuse me. Let me finish.
Donald Trump opposes a federal minimum wage. He wants the state to do that.
If you look at actually concrete things of what Hillary Clinton is taking to better -- frankly because the Democratic Party has put that in place as policy, that is real change.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Let's give Alfonso a chance.
(CROSSTALK)
TASINI: I'm not finished.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: One moment. Let's give Alfonso a moment to contribute.
(CROSSTALK)
AGUILAR: That's beyond rhetoric. Jonathan, you are absolutely right. Those are policies that are advanced by Democrats. But they're advanced to pander to minority communities.
(CROSSTALK)
And take the Latino community for example. The big government policies of this administration, they haven't helped Latinos. Latinos are in poverty. We have the lowest wages in the country, below African-Americans. We need growth.
(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go back to the --
SCIUTTO: Hold on --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Give us a second so we can get back to his point.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNS: OK. So he said, listen, we're talking about the $15 minimum wage. I think it's insulting to think African-Americans should be aiming for a $15 minimum wage when there is so much more money to be made.
(CROSSTALK)
That's insulting to think that that's -- thank you for giving me my bonus.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Was that a fair point? Is it insulting?
(CROSSTALK)
SMIKLE: I'll do you one better.
(CROSSTALK)
Beyond the rhetoric. No, no. I'll do you one better.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNS: Out there, and 25 percent African-Americans --
(CROSSTALK)
SMIKLE: Reverend, I'll do you one better.
BURNS: Listen, let me finish. Because I want to finish your statement.
25 percent -- 25 percent of small business are African-American. $2.1 trillion made overseas. You want to give me $15, and have me say, hallelujah, I made it to the promise land? That's foolish!
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: I want to bottle that emotion because we're going to have you back after this break. Basil, Amanda, I'm going to come back to you.
You're going to have to hold your thoughts.
(CROSSTALK) BURNS: All right. All right.
SCIUTTO: Hold that energy. We're going to be back with the panel.
Please stay tuned tonight for Anderson Cooper's interview Donald Trump. That's going to be right after this, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
And OUTFRONT next, in that interview, Donald Trump standing by his charge that Clinton is a bigot.
Plus more breaking news, the U.S. firing warning shots at an Iranian vessel a day after this dangerous encounter between Iran and the U.S.
Is Iran playing with fire here?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:30:43] SCIUTTO: Welcome back.
More breaking news: Donald Trump doubling down on his charge that Hillary Clinton is a bigot. Here's what he told our Anderson Cooper in an exclusive interview tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You called last night Hillary Clinton a bigot. Previously, you called her policies bigoted. You directly called her a bigot.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: She is a bigot, because when you look at what's happening to the inner cities and you look at what's happening to African-Americans and Hispanics in this country where she talks all of the time, she's talking -- look at the vets, where she said the vets are being treated essentially just fine, that it's over exaggerated what's happening to the vets not so long ago.
COOPER: How is she bigoted? Bigoted is having hatred toward a particular group.
TRUMP: She's selling them down the tubes, because she's not doing anything for those communities. She talks a good game.
COOPER: So she has hatred or dislike of people?
TRUMP: Her policies are bigoted because she knows they're not going to work.
COOPER: But you're saying she's personally bigoted.
TRUMP: She is. Of course, she is. Her policies and she comes up with the policies, and others that believe like she does also, like she came out with policies over the years. This is over the years, a long time. She's totally bigoted. There's no question about that.
Look at what -- COOPER: But it does imply that she doesn't -- she has antipathy, she
has hatred toward --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I think she is extremely, extremely bad for African-Americans. I think she's been extremely bad for Hispanics. You look at what's happened with her policies and the policies of President Obama and others. Look at the poverty, look at the rise in poverty and look at the rise in violence.
COOPER: But hatred is at the core of that or dislike of African- Americans?
TRUMP: Well -- or maybe she's lazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: My panel back with me now.
Basil, essentially the argument there that Donald Trump is making is that she's taken her -- her policies are taking black voters for granted and just not serving their needs. What's your response?
BASIL SMIKLE, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: It's idiotic number one, let's go back to Jonathan's point about the Democratic platform, broadly, and I'll get to Hillary and $15 minimum wage, paid family leave, but also an end to the death penalty which, if you look at the criminal justice system has disproportionately impacted African- Americans issue of the death penalty, number one.
Number two, if you look at things like education and economic development and she's created schools dedicated to African-American Latino young men to increase and improve their college-going rate and their college to career rate, number one. Also, she has worked with pastors throughout the state of New York to increase their opportunities for economic development. That's housing. That's jobs.
So, she's actually done the work and she's done the work on the ground. What Donald Trump has done, what Donald Trump is doing is talking at the African-American community and not engaging them.
SCIUTTO: Amanda, which party has served African-American interests better?
CARPENTER: I mean, it's hard to say because different parties been in control, but I really want to talk about Donald Trump's use of the word bigot last night because I don't know what audience he is speaking to. Words like that come out like a sledgehammer.
You can see the woman standing behind him. It was almost like she got physically hit. So you have to ask yourself, why did Hillary Clinton give the speech like she did today?
She's talking to women like that woman in the audience. She showed up at a Trump rally and she wanted to clap and support Donald Trump, and then he just physically almost drives her away from him and so Hillary Clinton just lucked out so well this cycle. For years she worried about a vast right-wing conspiracy and she's actually running against a conspiracy theorists that walks and talks, and now, she gets to talk about it.
SCIUTTO: Kayleigh, is Donald Trump in effect, giving her ammunition?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: No, I don't think so, because I find it a little ironic where you know, concern about this one word he used when Hillary Clinton gave an hour-long speech devoted to painting Trump as a racist. She stood beside Elizabeth Warren --
SCIUTTO: Because of his comments, quoting his actual comments.
MCENANY: He's not a racist and if he was, there would be people out that works for him, that work alongside him that that this man is a racist, he hasn't done that.
(CROSSTALK)
CARPENTER: Bannon who symbolizes the alt-right.
(CROSSTALK)
CARPENTER: Any he only made it worse with Steve Bannon because he does not have good people around him.
MCENANY: It is irresponsible to call someone a racist who you attended his wedding embraced him when it was politically convenient for you --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Pastor Burns, your thoughts, quickly, and I go to Jonathan.
PASTOR MARK BURNS, EVANGELIST & DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: In reference of Donald Trump being a racist, I think it is preposterous --
SCIUTTO: To be fair, she never called him a racist. She did not use that term.
BURNS: The fact is I'm a black man from the Deep South, OK, I know what a real racism is. Only a month ago, I was refused to be sold a product simply from the color of my skin. The store had a whole bunch of rebel flags and they were clearly not happy --
SCIUTTO: Are you saying in effect that neither candidate is a racist?
BURNS: I don't think that we should even focus whether or not the candidates are racist or not because LBJ was clearly not in favor for black people when he signed the civil rights bill. That's not really the issue.
What I think is when will the candidate hear and listen to voice of the people and will the candidate be willing to actually perform and get things done and not just talk about it? SCIUTTO: Jonathan and then, Alfonso?
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Party to party and we'll start with Alfonso.
ALFONSO AGUILAR, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think the whole point here is there is a certain bigotry in the message and the policies of the Democrats.
BURNS: Yes.
AGUILAR: When Hillary Clinton says in her acceptance speech at the --
SCIUTTO: Bigotry, talks about hate for another person because of their physical attributes. That's a strong charge.
AGUILAR: Right. But Democrats have been calling Republicans for a very long time and it's ironic that I now hear Democrats, even Hillary Clinton, praising Bob Dole and Jack Kemp whe at the time, they would say that they didn't care about minorities, right?
SMIKLE: No, no --
AGUILAR: No, no, let's be fair.
But I'll say this, and bigotry in the message when Hillary Clinton says there is systemic discrimination against Latino people in this country, systemic discrimination, that's absurd, and it's insulting and condescending to Latinos. There is a bigotry in the economic message when you --
SMIKLE: You don't think there is systemic --
AGUILAR: Systemic against Latinos? Absolutely not. That is totally ridiculous and the majority --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: I want to go before we run out of time, because you heard both from Pastor Burns saying that in effect it's insulting to African-Americans and Latinos to be told that they are -
JONATHAN TASINI, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: But I want to take off what Kayleigh said about employees who have worked for Donald Trump. So, here is a quote from a fellow named John O'Donnell from Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, clearly worked directly with Donald Trump. Here's what he said Donald Trump said. This is Donald Trump speaking.
"I've got black accountants at Trump Castle and Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money. I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys with yarmulkes every day. I think the guy is lazy", Trump said of a black employee.
MCENANY: He never said that.
TASINI: "And it's probably not his fault."
MCENANY: It's hearsay.
TASINI: Let me finish. "It's probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is. I believe that. It's not anything they can control."
MCENANY: Donald Trump did not say that and he's elevated (INAUDIBLE) one of the highest levels in his company because --
TASINI: This is the -- this is in the context of -- this is in the context of Donald Trump calling Mexicans murderers and rapists.
MCENANY: He never did that.
TASNI: That's not true, Kayleigh.
(CROSSTALK)
MCENANY: It's called nuance.
SCIUTTO: This is a story we're going to continue to cover. But thanks to the panel on a number of issues tonight. We appreciate it.
Please, don't miss Anderson Cooper's interview tonight with Donald Trump. That is next right after this, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
And OUTFRONT next, breaking news, two nuns brutally murdered, the killer is still on the run tonight. Why were they targeted?
Plus, more breaking news. Iran harassing a U.S. warship again, this time the U.S. fires back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:42:22] SCIUTTO: Breaking news: two Catholic nuns found dead tonight in Mississippi and their killer still on the loose. Sister Paula Merrill and Sister Margaret Held brutally stabbed in their home near Jackson.
Our Martin Savidge is OUTFRONT tonight.
Martin, what do we know at this point about who committed this horrible crime?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't know a whole lot, Jim, but authorities are giving us at least a glimpse of what their investigation is looking like, and it is really mystery as to why these women who have done so much good have been killed in such a horrific way.
The authorities are saying their bodies were found inside their home. The scene there was described as grisly and the women were brutally murdered, believed to be stabbed to death. And they were found together inside this house in Durant, Mississippi. It's in the central part of the state, a rural area.
And the women apparently had been working in a nearby clinic, in the town of Lexington. It's about ten miles away. And according to people who know them, they had served patients, thousands of them because they're nurse practitioners in a deeply poor area.
So, again, we've got women who are doing something tremendously good in their neighborhood, but apparently this morning for work, they didn't show up. And coworkers got very concerned, they called police. The police went to the house. They saw signs of forced entry. When they went inside, they found the two nuns and it appears that they had been murdered as a result of someone using a knife.
The key here is a missing vehicle. The car belongs to the two women, find the car authorities believe it could go a long way to leading them to a suspect who right now they say they don't have, Jim.
SCIUTTO: But we do believe now a man hunt under way. What do you know about that?
SAVIDGE: Well, there is and the question is, is it one person? Is it more than one person? So far, we haven't heard of witnesses that are coming forth.
This is a neighborhood where the houses are close together. It's not like farmland where they're separated by miles. So, the question is, did someone hear something? Did someone see something? And when exactly did these murders take place?
Those are questions that the authorities are still working on. The Mississippi Bureau Investigations also on it, too. But the whole state is deeply shocked. The governor says they are heartbroken and they won't rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: It's a heartbreaking story. Martin Savidge, thanks very much.
OUTFRONT next, a secret network stealing ISIS bombs. We'll take you inside the operation. CNN worldwide exclusive. That is coming up.
Plus -- this woman's face said it all. Jeanne Moos has the story behind it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:48:41] SCIUTTO: Breaking news: another high-stakes confrontation at sea. Tonight, U.S. officials say the Navy fired three warning shots at an Iranian patrol boat after it repeatedly harassed American ships. This comes just a day after four Iranian vessels conducted a high-speed intercept of an American war ship. You can see those ships in this video here closing in on a U.S. destroyer that was filming the incident throughout.
Barbara Starr is OUTFRONT tonight from the Pentagon.
Barbara, just how dangerous are these encounters becoming? BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, tensions are
definitely rising. So, this was just yesterday when there were actually three encounters in a 24-hour period between the U.S. Navy and the Iranians. One of them leading to warning shots being fired. It was at the northern end of the Gulf, two small U.S. navy patrol boats got harassed continuously by an Iranian boat and the Iranian boat wouldn't back off, at one point, coming within 200 yards of one of the Navy ships. They fired flares, they sounded warning horns and they even tried to call the ship.
They did have a brief bridge-to-bridge conversation with them, and the Iranians still did not back off, the navy ship then taking the unusual, but not unprecedented step firing three warning shots into the water to make the Iranians back off and finally they did.
[19:50:02] SCIUTTO: So, multiple incidents within days. I know it's always hard to judge intentions, but does the U.S. military have a sense of what Iran is trying to accomplish here?
STARR: Well, as you know, they believe that these are all ships from the Iranian revolutionary guard corps navy. This is the most militant wing of Iranian's military and security services. They often come out into the Gulf. They believe it is harassment.
But you only need to look at video that you showed right at the beginning, approaching so close at such high speeds, looking like they're virtually on a collision course with the U.S. Navy. It could not be more dangerous, narrow pieces of water, a lot of concern about the miscalculation and an inadvertent incident -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Miscalculation certainly is the biggest fear.
Thanks a lot, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
The secret war against ISIS. A shadowy underground network is locked in a defiant battle with the terror group and tonight, we have an exclusive inside look at their tactics, including using ISIS' own roadside bombs against them.
Arwa Damon is out front from Erbil, Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Operating deep within the shadows of ISIS territory in Mosul is a network so secretive even its own members do not know each other's identities.
The letter "M" spray painted on Mosul's walls. "M" from "Muqawama" the resistance, the message to ISIS, we are here, we are among you.
The Mosul battalions watch for weaknesses in ISIS' defenses, carrying out hit-and-run operations, or waiting for a moment to strike isolated targets, like this checkpoint on the outskirts of the city.
This man Abu Ali is one of their liaisons. (on camera): How did the Mosul battalions even manage to initially organize themselves?
ABU ALI, BATTALIONS LIAISON (through translator): It started as two friends who trust each other, and they would arrange to target ISIS in a particular point.
DAMON (voice-over): The same happened elsewhere, and by the end of 2014, the Mosul Battalions had formed.
Their weapons are basic. What they found and hid in the city or what they snatch from ISIS.
ALI: The roadside bombs they use, they would steal from ISIS. ISIS puts bombs in certain areas, and those who have previous military experience would go and steal those bombs and place them where they target ISIS.
DAMON: They operate in two to three-man cells, independent of one another. No cell knows specifically of another, no fighter knows the name of more than two others.
Abu Ali called a man he says is with the battalions in Mosul. He's speaking from orchard just outside of the city. Talking on the phone is punishable by death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We carry out assassinations, sniper operation against senior ISIS members. We target the houses that they live in.
DAMON: Distorted voice in this video says they assassinated an ISIS fighter. The images been show what they say is the dead man's I.D., pistol and suicide belt.
And Abu Ali said says they are providing through intermediaries intelligence and coordinates to the coalition.
Here is the aftermath of a strike they say was based on their information. And they are waiting for what they call "zero hour", distributing leaflets warning ISIS its end is coming.
They are ready, ready for the day the Iraqi army breaches the city and they rally the people to rise.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: Jim, they're not the only resistance that currently exists within Mosul or the only one that is waiting for this so-called "Zero Hour". There is another group that calls itself the Peace Battalions. They aim on mobilizing once the Iraqi army arrives and fighting begins in the streets of Mosul and their job, their task is going to be to protect the people and prevent the kind of looting and chaos that we saw following the U.S.-led invasion of Baghdad in 2003, Jim.
SCIUTTO: That's a fascinating story. Arwa Damon in Erbil, Iraq.
Next, this picture could be worth a thousand words. Jeanne Moos on this Trump supporter's priceless expression.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:58:12] SCIUTTO: Donald Trump often leaves people speechless, but one woman seemed to say everything with just her eyes.
Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What happens behind Donald Trump doesn't stay behind Donald Trump.
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton is a bigot!
MOOS: It goes viral. The latest Trump supporter to react with shock at the Donald's words was pounced on by a critic who wrote, "We are all this woman's face."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was classic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's hilarious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This lady -- eee!
MOOS: Just over two weeks earlier, it was Daryl Vickers' (ph) jaw that dropped.
TRUMP: Although the Second Amendment people --
MOOS: When The Donald ripped on how gun supporters might stop Hillary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe he said it. It was a joke.
MOOS: Darryl says he's still voting for Trump.
TRUMP: We can't play games.
MOOS: We've seen one guy feed another chips behind the Donald.
And who could pay attention to Hillary when sticker boy chewed over her speech.
But sometimes it's hard to tell genuine supporters from pranksters who managed to sneak in the clown for the cameras.
Pranksters like the guys who got behind Clinton.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Incredibly grateful.
MOOS: Wearing "Settle for Hillary" shirts.
At the Trump rally, the same pair showed up wearing arm bands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump arm bands. MOOS: The Donald may say --
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton is a bigot!
MOOS: But Trump is a spigot of startling statements.
This woman's face was more mobile than her hands, which only managed to feeble two claps, and when he's not provoking funny faces, Trump is no slouch at making his own.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Thank you for joining us tonight.
Don't forget, you can watch out front any time on CNN Go. And also don't forget, that on "AC360" tonight, Anderson Cooper speaks to Donald Trump in an interview. And "AC360" starts right now.
