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CNN Live Event/Special
CNN's Republican National Convention Coverage, The First Lady's Speech And President Trump In The Rose Garden; Tradition Destroyed In The RNC; Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo Delivers Speech From Jerusalem. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired August 25, 2020 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: We just need to talk about it openly. And you, the media, had the platforms to make that happen.
To the media industry and as a country, I ask that we all commit to helping in our fights against drug addiction by talking about it even more. Especially as we battle the COVID pandemic, we need to remember that suicides are on the rise as people who are struggling with loneliness and addiction feel they have nowhere to turn.
Parents, please talk to your children. Teachers, and caregivers, pay attention to signs of addiction. Lawmakers, pass legislation that allows those who ask for help to do so safely, and without fear, and to provide resources for organizations that help people impacted by addiction.
When the stigma is removed, people will no longer be ashamed to ask for help and lives will be saved.
And if -- if you're struggling with addiction, there is no shame in your illness. Please seek help. You are worth it.
In my next four years as first lady, I will continue to build upon Be Best and work with individual state to pass legislation to take care of our most vulnerable.
I plan to continue the work I have started with children in foster care, as well as in minority communities and tribal nations. I want to ensure children are being protected and communities have the resources needed to combat drug addiction and child neglect or abuse.
Like my husband and the administration, I will continue to encourage education that supports a child's individual needs. It is vital that children are given the building blocks to succeed.
I also look forward to continue my work to restore the people's house, which is a lasting symbol of pride for our nation. I believe this iconic home needs to be cared for and preserved so it can be enjoyed by the people of this country and visitors from around the world for years to come.
I'm passionate about this beautiful house -- the grounds, and all they represent.
And now, I have a special message for the mothers of this country.
This modern world is moving so fast. And our children face challenges that seem to change every few months. Just like me, I know many of you watch how mean and manipulating social media can be, and just like me, I'm sure many of you are looking for answers how to talk to your children about the downside of technology and their relationships with their peers.
Like every parent in this country, I feel there are so many lessons to teach our son. And the responsibilities as his mother but there's just not enough hours in the day to do it all. I remind myself that I'm more fortunate than most and still have days that I look for wisdom and strength to do the very best I can for him.
To mothers and parents everywhere, you're warriors. In my husband, you have a president who will not stop fighting for you and your families. I see how hard he works each day, and night.
And despite the unprecedented attacks from the media and opposition, he will not give up. In fact, if you tell him it cannot be done, he just works harder.
Donald --
(APPLAUSE)
Donald is a husband who supports me in all that I do. He has built the administration with an unprecedented number of women in leadership roles and has fostered an environment where the American people are always the priority. He welcomes different points of view and encouraged thinking outside of the box.
I know I speak for my husband and the family when I say we are so grateful that you have trusted him to be your president. And we will be honored to serve this incredible country for four more years.
(APPLAUSE)
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As you have heard this evening, I don't want to use this precious time attacking the other side, because as we saw last week, that kind of talk only serves to divide the country further.
I'm here because we need my husband to be our president and commander- in-chief for four more years. He is what is best for our country.
We all know Donald Trump makes no secrets about how he feels about things. Total honesty is what we as citizens deserve from our president. Whether you like it or not, you always know what he is thinking. And that is because he is an authentic person who loves this country and its people and wants to continue to make it better.
Donald wants to keep your families safe. He wants to help your family succeed. He wants nothing more than for this country to prosper and he doesn't waste time playing politics.
Almost four years ago, we went in to Election Day completely underestimated. Despite what is being said again this year, I know, just as you do, that Americans will go to the polls and vote on the behalf of their families, our economy, our national security and our children's future. To vote for those ideals is not a partisan vote, it is a common sense vote, because those are goals and hopes that we all believe in.
I believe that we need my husband's leadership now more than ever in order to bring us back once again to the greatest economy and the strongest country ever known.
God bless you all, your families, and God bless the United States of America.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: The first lady of the United States, the president of the United States, in the Rose Garden over at the White House. The first lady doing something that I don't think any that the other speaker so far in these two days of the Republican national convention have done, addressing pointedly and movingly the number one crisis issue facing the United States right now, the coronavirus pandemic.
As she expressed her deepest, deepest sympathies to all those who have suffered, the families who have lost loved ones, those who are still suffering, who are still ill, she promised that her husband would work for treatments, and a vaccine to take care of everyone.
It was an important statement on her behalf and as she and the president leave the Rose Garden to head back towards the residence at the White House, you can see her walking over there now.
Jake, it was a very moving speech by her and she specifically said she did not want to do what almost everyone else at this convention so far has done. Attack the other side. She doesn't want to further, she said, divide the country, an important speech by the first lady, indeed.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And in doing so, she was such a stark contrast from her husband, the president, and so much of this convention expressing not only reluctance, she said, I don't want to use this precious time attacking the other side, because that kind of talk only serves to divide the country further.
Not only that, but expressing strong sympathy for individual suffering through the two major crisis facing this country right now, the coronavirus pandemic which has also, which is almost not even been mentioned.
Although it was mentioned in past tense by an economic adviser, Larry Kudlow as if the crisis had been averted and it has not and then talking about the racial unrest and the problems with American history, a harsh reality that we are not proud of parts of our history. These are things that we have not heard.
I have to say, not only is it in contrast with her husband, Dana, it's almost a contradiction from her husband and the kind of presidency he has led and the kind of convention that he has been throwing.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, our colleague, Kate Bennett reported earlier that she did not run her speech by the West Wing, didn't run it by the campaign, it was entirely her own.
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And we saw and heard that, and maybe heard why that was so. Because she did touch on and did speak to the reality that is going on in a way that we haven't heard many other, if any other speakers really do. I mean, most of the speakers tonight really focused on bread and butter touchstone Republican issues and even Trump issues, politically speaking. She acknowledged what people are feeling, whether it is from the COVID virus, or from the racial unrest.
The one thing that I do have to say though, Abby, as a mom, I perked up when she started to talk about the fact that it's so hard for parents with children with social media, and technology and then I think she probably lost a lot of people by talking even further about it without acknowledging our maybe even just the irony was too rich that a lot of the intense and vicious attacks that come on social media come from her husband these days.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I mean, in so many ways the speech, it was sort of in conflict often with the reality of his, her husband, his presidency, but it seemed that Melania Trump really just wanted this to be her own. This was toward the end there. It almost sounded like, you know, her own pitch to the American people for four more years of Melania Trump as first lady, much less about four more years of Donald Trump as president.
And that is extraordinary. You know the decision that she made even just to walk out to that stage by herself on her own really taking a stand is notable.
You know, I want to go back to what she was saying about her comments about racial unrest because I thought that that was really notable considering that there has been a lot of lip service to President Trump's relationship with black Americans, but very little commenting on the reason for the unrest.
And you know, I thought Melania Trump tried to go a little bit further than some of the other folks did and talked about, urging people to stop the violence even though, she said, it was in the name of justices.
She also urged people to, in her words not judge anyone based on the color of their skin. But I will tell you, I have heard that a lot in these last two nights and it struck me as a kind of euphemism. I want to know what she means by that. And if she is going to take a stand on racial justice, it would nice to hear her say it more clear terms. BASH: Yes, I mean, Abby, she would talk about the fact that she has
been reflecting on the racial unrest. You know, it seems pretty basic, but it is way more than what we have heard about what's going on the streets right now. Other than law and order or cities are burning and Democrats are really hurting it.
I do also want to mention that as you have sort of eluded to, Abby, this was very much her own speech. There were moments where she was kind of saying please vote for my husband again, this is about my husband, but not a lot. It was much more about her and the administration and her reflection on what it has been like to be the first lady.
TAPPER: I want to say something about the racial aspect of this. I would like to know more as well, because, you know, I can't forget that she supported her husband's birther conspiracy, the racist lie that the first black president was actually born in Africa.
So, that is something worth thinking about when one considers her rather progressive comments about racial reconciliation and the ugly history of racism in this country.
But moving to today's speech, and after comments in the past, I think you have to give her credit for embracing the cause of so many people in this country who are very vulnerable, which again, is not something that you necessarily have heard a great deal about during this convention. Although, we have heard about addicts and we have heard about foster care, but Melania Trump giving voice to some people who are very vulnerable in the society. And that's, that's obviously something to be heralded, Wolf?
BLITZER: Yes. And she addressed the sensitive issues, unlike so many in the other speakers on day one or day two. Kate Bennett is with us. Our White House reporter, who covers the first lady of the United States and has written extensively about the first lady including a book, take us behind the scenes a little bit Kate, because you're doing exceptional reporting on all of this. What went in to this presentation tonight?
KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think in many ways Wolf, this is very classic Melania Trump. I was just speaking with a source who said that very on par for the first lady. That she is focusing on herself and the positive things that she can talk about, where her husband doesn't have, there's not a whole lot of positive to say. She wanted this to be an up lifting speech.
[23:15:05]
We noticed that she referred to the president as Donald, a number of times. She usually says my husband or the president and I. That was done on purpose to help humanize and show some behind the scenes of their relationship.
And talking about the race issue and I agree with Jake, she was a supporter of the birtherism conspiracy, and this time, I -- as I reported in the spring, when she does divert from the president's messaging as she did after the killing of George Floyd, the West Wing becomes frustrated with her.
This is a first lady who has done what she feels she wants to do when she wants to do it regardless of whether it falls in line or in sync with the president. And I think we are seeing some of that tonight in a much broader scope from her, again, we are watching her sort of step back from what he's done. What he is about his rhetoric.
And again, focus on parts of the country and again serving as that compassionate voice in an administration known for quite a bit of bluster.
BLITZER: And what was so nice was to hear, in fact the first responders, the hospital workers, the teachers who are really on the frontlines right now. It was a nice moment from the first lady's speech. Kate, I want you to stand by.
You know, Jake, there was before the first lady we heard the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo speak. He was on the roof of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem overlooking the Ole City.
You can see the Ole City of Jerusalem behind him. He was on an official State Department, diplomatic vision -- mission to Israel and going to other countries in the region right now.
It was -- I think it was almost unprecedented that a Secretary of State, a sitting secretary of state, who only a month ago admonished all state department diplomats and personal not get involved in politics would deliver a political speech at this political convention.
TAPPER: And in fact, previous secretaries of state have avoided it assiduously, Colin Powell in 2004, John Kerry in 2016. Hillary Clinton in 2012, I could go on and on. I don't know that it's ever happened, certainly not in modern history. Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State trying to make the argument that he was there as a private citizen.
But let's be honest, that's a joke. He is a Secretary of State. He is standing on top of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem talking about the president's foreign policy accomplishments.
He was absolutely not there as a private citizen. Maybe he paid for the, his presence on top of that hotel as a private citizen but certainly he is the Secretary of State. That's one of the reasons why this tradition has been there for so long, so as to be the Secretary of State for the entire country to represent the entire nation, the United States of America.
One other thing about that is I do have to say, in terms of Melania Trump's speech, the first lady's speech, and again, it was a very powerful speech.
But I can't help but note that obviously we have another norm, another tradition destroyed in this Republican convention and that is the idea that she is speaking from the White House. She didn't have to speak from the Rose Garden, she could have spoken from the Mellon Center, or somewhere else. But she spoke from the people's house. Again, these symbols are supposed to be that they are for everyone in
the United States, he is everyone's president, and she is everyone's first lady.
When they speak in a political convention, they are eroding that norm, and I hope Republicans who are not saying anything about this today, appreciate that when there's a Democratic president and there will be at some point in our nation's history, there will be another Democratic president, that norm, that tradition is gone.
BASH: Yes.
TAPPER: And you don't get to complain about it.
BASH: Well, it doesn't mean that they won't as you know, Jake. It's where you stand depends on where you sit. But in this particular situation, the Democrats have been accusing the Trump campaign of taking advantage of the COVID crisis, and the fact that they can't have big rallies and using the people's house as you called it as a backdrop in a way that is unprecedented and just not right.
And remember, when they talked initially about using the White House for some of the convention events you heard Republicans on Capitol Hill rolling their eyes saying they are never going to do that, that is not possible, that is not appropriate. Well, here they are, they are doing it.
One other thing I want to say on the same theme about norm busting, on Mike Pompeo's speech, it's not just that he did it on official business. Saying it was a private citizen. It's also the content of his speech. I mean, it was very much the content of the president's foreign policy.
Of going through what the president has done in terms of things on the world stage that he thinks give him the right for a second term and give voters a reason to vote for him. Well, those are things that Mike Pompeo is working for the president on in his official capacity. So it is completely mixed up, Abby.
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PHILLIP: Yes, I mean, it was a speech that had he not just introduced himself as Mike Pence, he was speaking in his capacity effectively as Secretary of State, but I was -- I'm sorry, Mike Pompeo. But I would also say, I found that speech to kind of fall flat in a lot of ways. Maybe it was the delivery.
But for all of the effort being placed to put him in that particular place, the content was not particularly compelling. There were other speeches tonight that I do think were compelling. But just before he spoke was the Attorney General of Kentucky, Daniel Cameron.
TAPPER: Powerful. Absolutely.
PHILLIP: A black Attorney General and a rising star in the party, a protege of Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. And he did something really important for Republicans tonight. He went after some real weaknesses for Joe Biden.
These comments about if you don't vote for me, you ain't black. The other comments about whether black voters are a monolithic voting bloc, that was an important thing for someone to do, and he was the one to do it.
And I thought he made a pretty powerful case, you know, he has in himself, an interesting story. He is clearly someone that Republicans think they need to spotlight, but I want to say one thing, he mentioned at the very beginning of his remarks the name of Breonna Taylor.
She was killed in her home during a no-knock raid. He is the man with the power to prosecute the people who were a part of that raid, activists have been calling for it for months. So, I thought it was extraordinary that he would utter her name tonight.
TAPPER: Absolutely.
PHILLIP: He is the man who has the power to bring that case to some kind of resolution.
TAPPER: Absolutely, a star turn for him, one other thing that I just want to say about Secretary Pompeo's remarks. He said something that I thought was so jarring when he said that President Trump had held China accountable for COVID-19. Although he didn't say COVID-19, we should also point out that the first lady Melania Trump was the only one that I've heard call it COVID-19, as opposed to the China flu or whatever.
President Trump did not hold China accountable for COVID-19, he was attesting to President Xi in January and February, and March, and maybe since then, he has, but early on he was taking President Xi's word for it, Wolf.
BLITZER: And what would have been really powerful, I'm glad the first lady did address directly the number one issue facing the country right now, the coronavirus.
But just imagine, in that Rose Garden, all those people sitting there, relatively close together if they would have been wearing a face mask, all of them, the powerful message that would have sent to the American people that face masks save lives at a delicate moment like this.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they weren't wearing facemasks and that was painfully obvious at least to this reporter. Anderson, over to you.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Wolf, thanks very much.
Melania Trump also pointing out quote, how mean and manipulative social media can be, no sense of irony in that or she also said total honesty is what we deserve from our leaders. Gloria, what did you make of tonight?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I just want to follow up with you the Melania thing, because while I do think supposes are the best character witnesses for their husbands in this case. I think that total honesty quote was the thing that kind of struck me. She said honesty is what we deserve, and then she said that her husband didn't want to waste time playing politics.
And so, she had given this, this humble speech, which is also something we haven't heard a lot of humility at this convention, particularly about Donald Trump and the administration. But she was humble about her job and then she talked to the nation about COVID and then suddenly said, but you know, my husband is honest and I think that was sort of discordant with the rest of her speech.
I think that her tone was so different from the rest of this convention and coming after Pompeo, who I thought by the way was a pretty wooden speaker and whom we know from John Bolton's book has disagreed with Donald Trump particularly over North Korea. I thought that that he really fell flat tonight.
COOPER: David?
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. You know, we should note that Pompeo was not just standing there as either the Secretary of State or a private citizen, he was standing there as a guy that wants to run for president in 2024.
BORGER: Right. That's right.
AXELROD: We have now seen four people in the last two nights on the platform who could be candidates in 2024 and that's why he, I'm sure he wanted to be there. And he wants to see, be seen as supporting the president in his goals.
Look, Melania Trump's speech was a kind of (inaudible) it was completely out of step with the rest of this convention and as has been noted, I think that the, as a production, you know, I think they are doing pretty well to be honest with you. President Trump is a television man. This is a reality show. He is used all the techniques of reality shows.
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There was a hump of high cholesterol red meat stuffed within kind of image softening buns. There will be plenty for fact checkers to be working on for days to come. Based on both what they said about Trump's record and Biden's record. But I think one of the most jarring scenes was the naturalization ceremony at the White House.
The most anti-immigrant immigration president in our lifetime, trying to soften his image on this issue, even as he has made it much harder for legal immigrants to become citizens and for legal immigration in this country. So, there's a great deal of cynicism associated with this. But as a political production, I think they are doing pretty well.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, I thought -- go ahead. COOPER: Also Nia, I imagine a number of the people in that
naturalization ceremony came from what the president in the past has referred to as shithole countries. So, it is somewhat jarring to see him smiling and welcoming them because clearly what we know he has said in the past is, does not seem to reflect that feeling.
HENDERSON: You are right, and that was only the instance in that ceremony. I think a similar instance in the pardoning, that was in the first hour of the president has on occasion said very harsh things about people needing to be in jail for long sentences for defacing a monument.
So, there are a lot of jarring parts about this, but I thought tonight was a really perfect night and much better off been last night. You saw them really go for all the groups they need if Donald Trump is to win in November, African-American men, with that Daniel Cameron speech, the A.G. of Kentucky. The Florida Lieutenant Governor talking about Cuba and tagging Democrats as socialism and suburban white women, with what I thought a real home run speech by Melania Trump.
You know, and then we can talk about her being a birther and she certainly was that. But in some ways I think she sounded like a suburban mom, talking about being reflective about the social justice movement. I think a lot of white suburban women are in that position.
She humanized herself in the beginning of the speech and then at the end, she humanized her husband. So, I think for a lot of these voters, particularly people who might be uncomfortable with Donald Trump's rhetoric, they are giving them reasons to get back on board with Donald Trump.
BORGER: Here's why it was human. She acknowledged the pandemic. She acknowledged everything that everyone is going through and extended her sympathies. The rest of these evening, it was as if they have sort of skipped over the pandemic. I was noticing that Larry Kudlow, when he spoke to the pandemic and said, it was awful, past tense.
AXELROD: Yes, and he, and he spoke of the economy ask if we are in full recovery.
BORGER: Right.
AXELROD: We have 10.2 percent unemployment. There's a lot of suffering in this country. You know, this is pure Donald Trump as well. Which is deny the reality and try and create a new reality.
And the question is, that may work for his supporters the question is, does it attract anybody new when people are living this pandemic, they are living through this economic crisis. So, it, does, you know, does the reality show match the reality? And if it doesn't, how do they resolve that dissidence?
COOPER: Yes. You heard certainly a wide variety of speakers tonight. I want to find out how much they diverged from the facts. Our fact- checker Daniel Dale joins us. Daniel, what stood out to you tonight? DANIEL DALE, CNN FACT CHECKER: Well, first lady Melania Trump said we
deserve quote total honesty from our president, we certainly haven't got that, Anderson from President Donald Trump and we didn't even get it from speakers tonight. There was a whole bunch again of false claims.
Some from Trump's own family. For example, Trump son, Eric claimed that his father had accomplished and I quote, "peace in the Middle East." Now, Trump did help brokered the Israel/UAE deal, but come on, that's laughable. War rages in much of the region, from Syria to Libya. Thousands of troops are still in Iraq, the Israeli Palestinian conflict obviously continues.
Eric Trump also said, like many speakers before, that Joe Biden has quote pledged to defund the police. He has not. He has explicitly repeatedly rejected that. Eric Trump also said, that Biden has quote, pledge to take away the second amendment, but this is common conservative rhetoric. But Biden hasn't pledge repealing the amendment. He has proposed gun control measures including a non- mandatory buy backs of so called assault weapons.
Larry Kudlow, Trump's economic adviser said that Trump took over an economy on what he said was the front end of a recession. I don't know what front end means exactly. But there was no recession in the late Obama term. The economy was growing, the growth had slowed in 2016, to 1.7 percent there were no quarters of negative growth in 2016. You need two straight for a recession.
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COOPER: Also, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi repeated claims she made about Biden and Ukrainian prosecutor during Trump's impeachment proceedings when she was on Trump's legal team. You fact- check those claims back then, as well.
DALE: I did. They were false then and they were false now. She suggested that Biden had pressured Ukraine to get rid of a prosecutor who was investigating the company where Biden's son Hunter sat on the board.
The issue with this prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, was that he was not investigating the company or much of anyone, according to Shokin's former deputy and Ukrainian anticorruption activist. In fact, the reason that U.S. diplomats, the E.U., the IMF, and those activists wanted Shokin fired was because they said he was unwilling to investigate elite corruption.
That wasn't all, Anderson. We also had tonight Cissie Graham Lynch, the granddaughter of the evangelist Billy Graham, saying that Trump was the first U.S. president to speak to the United Nations about the importance of religious freedom.
I just did a quick Google search and brought transcripts of President Obama, President Bush, the other President Bush, President Reagan, all talking to the U.N. general assembly about religious freedom. We also had Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that Trump held China accountable for covering up the coronavirus. Well, maybe arguable, maybe belatedly, but it's certainly worth noting that before he turned on China, he repeatedly praised China's handling of the virus, including specifically saying that the U.S. appreciates its -- quote -- "transparency."
COOPER: Daniel Dale, appreciate it. Thanks. Obviously, a lot more to check on.
Rick Santorum, what stood out to you tonight?
RICK SANTORUM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: First, overall, great night. I agree with David Axelrod. I mean, the production value is here, they had two weeks to put this together. It looked -- I mean, unlike sort of these hostage videos that you saw during the Democratic National Convention, I mean, this was a beautifully produced show that at least I found myself, you know, two hours interested, like, wow, I didn't feel like I was sitting here for two hours. That tells you something about the quality production. That's number one.
Number two, Melania's speech, I think, is probably the biggest takeaway from this. It was a remarkable speech. I mean, she -- she separated herself from Donald Trump.
I mean, you can criticize and say, oh, you know, she is different, but at the same time, you know, this is Donald Trump's wife and that maybe shows you a little bit more about Donald Trump personally, that he has an incredibly strong woman who can, who is, you know, able and willing to go out and speak for herself and tell her mind. And she did it beautifully.
I can't really remember a first lady's speech. I mean, obviously you know, Dr. Biden's speech last week was a good speech, but this really was about her and about her perspective on things. To me, it was just a very comforting thing. I think it will be for a lot of people out there who have questions about Donald Trump.
It will give people comfort that, you know, this is a pretty stable person here who has a pretty good sense of things and, you know, this is Donald Trump's wife. This is the guy, you know, she is with all the time.
That's a great -- I always said when I was in politics, you know, I learn more when I met candidates that I was campaigning for, their spouses always told me more about them than the candidates did. I think that tonight was an insight into Donald Trump that I think is going to be very helpful to him.
COOPER: Ana?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, BIDEN SUPPORTER: Look, if I had been in a desert island for the last 12 years and suddenly dropped down tonight and heard her speech, I might agree with Rick. But I haven't been on a desert island, I've been in the United States of America, and I know she has been complicit with the birther theory and conspiracy.
I know that she is talking about anti-bullying on the internet when her husband is the biggest bully out there, when he uses the presidential bully pulpit to bully other Americans. And I know children, we have heard about children using his words to bully other children.
I can tell you what struck me, frankly was I thought it was a better night today than it was last night. But then again, that was a low bar. Last night was absolutely horrifying, terrifying. There was a point when even my dog was hiding under the bed, right?
(LAUGHTER)
NAVARRO: The screaming was outrageous. Today, it was, you know, the decaffeinated Trump children were on and it was, you know, a much more even toned policy-driven type of night. It had a lot more personal stories from regular people, less political hacks, and less politicians.
But it also struck me that the politicians who were on there, at least half of them, were people who have said horrible things about Donald Trump. Rand Paul called Donald Trump and orange windbag, you know. And then you had, you know, Jeanette Nunez, my lieutenant governor, who tweeted when he was running, wake up, Florida voters, Trump is the biggest conman there is, no substance, anti-Israel, supports KKK.
[23:35:03]
NAVARRO: And I also have to tell you because I know her, you know, I know her well, Pam Bondi, I thought was -- I mean, it was -- it was so ironic, so dripping with irony and cynicism. It was the pot calling the kettle orange.
Can you imagine going on there and talking for minutes and minutes and minutes about nepotism when you are doing a convention, a Trump convention, for a man who has taken nepotism from both sides?
He has benefited from nepotism and the loans and the bailouts from his daddy, and he has doled it out to his children and even their spouses and their girlfriends. He has got daughter-in-law on the campaign payroll. He has got the son's girlfriend. Jared Kushner is in the White House for no other reason than being Ivanka's husband. Ivanka is in the White House for no other reason than being his daughter. And you want to talk to me about nepotism?
COOPER: David Urban wants to talk to you.
(LAUGHTER)
DAVID URBAN, MEMBER, TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT 2020 ADVISORY BOARD: Look, I know that you talked about this earlier, Van got on to talk about this earlier, but I think it was very powerful that the opening with Jon Ponder and his FBI agent best friend Richard Beasley and the story of redemption in a time that our country is so torn apart right now by racial division, by policing, I thought it was a great story. It was a good thing to see. I know Van has been a big proponent of really trying to advance beyond the first step to the second and third step. I thought it was a very powerful opening, and I thought it was very powerful closing with Melania.
As Axe and Nia both commented, it gives people a reason to kind of get back on the Trump train, people who may have questioned whether they were getting on or not. I think she provided a great deal of comfort, spoke to things that were a concern to a great deal of Americans: race, COVID, opioid addiction, suicide. She really did an incredible job. I thought a very strong opening, very strong program, and a very strong closing tonight.
COOPER: Van, we have not heard from you.
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Look, I think the first lady did great. She really did. And I appreciate that she talked about the pandemic. I appreciate that she
actually said the word "Islam." She actually had all this talk about religious freedom throughout, the thing which we will get to later on.
But it really did not seem like religious freedom for everybody because you have the Muslim ban or whatever. She actually said "Islam," so I appreciate it.
Clinically looking at this thing, it looks to me that this is their attempt to try to turn some weaknesses into some strength on corruption, on gender, and on race. You have somebody going after Hunter Biden, trying to hang the corruption charge on him because people are going to hang it on Trump.
On the gender thing, they kind of lift it up. They got a lot of great women who work in the White House. But they are exaggerating in terms of the historical numbers. They actually don't have historical numbers. They do have great women, but again, trying to deal with this gender gap.
And then on the question of race, there is real concern in this country that this president is too close to white nationalists and white nationalism. And frankly, yesterday, they did not do themselves any favors when they are going, you know, saying, don't put poor people in the suburbs and saying restorative justice is going to -- you know, don't let people out of prison because they cannot afford bail.
They did a lot of stuff last night that did not work. Tonight, they came forward the pardon, the immigration and the naturalization. I think they are trying to deal with some of their weaknesses, but they've got real weaknesses. They are showing you where I think they're weak. They got weaknesses on the corruption charge, the gender gap and race, and that is what they are trying to deal with tonight.
COOPER: ON the corruption thing, I mean, wasn't Pam Bondi did -- I don't have this in front of me, it's from my memory, but didn't Trump give her a contribution and she was going to be overseeing something that would have affected him and then, she -- they finally had to return it?
NAVARRO: Yeah. I think she received the $25,000 contribution, if I remember correctly. And it may have been from the Trump foundation. Look, she has known Trump for a long time. She is actually one of the politicians who didn't bad mouth Trump in 2016 as opposed to those later in life converts like Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz who were unrecognizable from where they were in 2016.
And there has been a close relationship. You know, she has been a Mar- a-Lago person. She has been a Trump person from practically day one. So -- but yes, there's been a lot of questions about that. It was written about here in Florida.
But look, to me, today -- yesterday was Trump is not a racist day and today was Trump is not a misogynist and Trump is not an anti-immigrant day. What when you have to re-explaining that, it tells you that you got a problem.
[23:40:04]
JONES: Can I say one more thing, too?
COOPER: Go ahead, David Urban, and then Van.
SANTORUM: I just think --
COOPER: I'm sorry, Rick. I didn't know who was talking.
URBAN: Go ahead, Rick.
SANTORUM: It was me. Sorry about that. Yeah, thanks. Nobody mentioned Mike Pence's video vignette. I thought that was a very powerful segment. You know, you can say, well, it's trying to gloss over things. I think it was trying to show that, yeah, everyone knows Donald Trump is a blustery, you know, New Yorker who doesn't hold to the truth in a lot of the things that come of his mouth and come from his Twitter feed.
Yeah, everybody sort of baked that in. What they are trying to say is, yeah, he is that, but look at all the good things that this guy has been able to do, things that you don't see, things -- stories that are real, and the positions at least to the base because -- David has talked about this a lot. David Axelrod and David Urban both have said, you know, this is about making sure you are rallying the base.
As someone who is -- my wife and I were sitting there, you know, watching this and we were saying, you know what, this excites me. I mean, these are great stories.
Abby Johnson getting up and talking the pro-life cause and just in a compelling way, and, you know, the policeman adopting that, the woman who is crack addicted -- heroin addicted, excuse me, those are stories that pull at the base but it shows, you know, that Donald Trump is connecting with these people, that Donald Trump is sort of fighting for these people. And we are these people. And that was, I think, a very strong element of the show today.
COOPER: Van, what was it that you were --
JONES: I understand what you're saying. I think that's what they were aiming for. I just want to just give you the other side of it. There's a way that I think a lot of people can feel left out. This is -- in convention, you said you felt left out.
Listen, I'm a Christian. I'm a person of faith. A lot of people on the left are people of faith. A lot of the people who voted for Joe Biden in South Carolina and rescued his campaign are bible believers and churchgoing African American Christians, a lot of people who are fighting against the Muslim ban and see ourselves as fighting for religious freedom.
I don't feel that we were being spoken to. I think there's a way that the left is all of these people. They are godless, they don't care, and they don't get it. And you are throwing away a lot of people of faith who are proud people of faith who are part of the Democratic Party.
So, I understand -- look, I agree, there were some touching moments, there were some heart-warming moments, but there were some heartbreaking moments, too, in terms of the people who I think were left out.
COOPER: David Urban, do you think this brought people maybe who are independents or, you know, suburban women who, you know, if you believe polls have been turning away from this president, do you think it kind of either brought them back or just gave them enough to consider, you know what, I will vote again for Donald Trump?
URBAN: Anderson, I think what the goal is here is to give people permission to vote for Donald Trump, right? So, if you are, you know, a leaner, if you are an independent, if you are a Democrat, if you are a Republican, and you are leaning, like, you know, you might vote for Trump, you might not show up, this gives you now permission.
You hear many different voices. You hear the Florida lieutenant governor speaking. You hear African American attorney general. You hear people who have benefited from right to try, compassionate use of, you know, medical practice. You hear Melania at the end talking about don't be ashamed to be addicted. You know, come out of the shadows. It gives people, I think, maybe who are leaners (ph) permission now to go in the booth and pull it for Donald Trump.
COOPER: Van, a cynic might say that -- I mean, I think David is absolutely right. Cynic may hear that though and say, well, it is giving white moderate voters permission to -- because they heard from someone who is black, they heard from a woman who supports Donald Trump, and different groups addressing specific concerns that are out there.
URBAN: Anderson, I would just say --
COOPER: Sorry, David.
URBAN: -- they haven't heard that before.
JONES: Right.
COOPER: Fair enough.
URBAN: Maybe they heard it for the first time.
COOPER: Fair enough. Van?
JONES: I think a lot of people are going to feel that way. That you are trying to create a permission structure for people, maybe not even, you know, scraping off some black votes and Latino votes, but trying to create a kind of a comfort low (ph) and permission structure for people who are frankly white folks who look at a lot of this stuff. They want to believe their eyes. And what they have seen has not been a warm and fuzzy president.
[23:45:00]
JONES: They haven't seen -- if Donald Trump wanted to show a warm and fuzzy face every day, he could do it. He is the dominant personality on planet earth. People have not seen some of the stuff because for whatever reason, he has not wanted to show it as much.
So, what I would say about this is simply this. Number one, I believe for sure that you got a lot of people who will see it the way that you do. I think some people are going to see more cynically.
And when you have somebody -- for instance, when you have this attorney general, that attorney general that you are proud of, that he is a rising star in your party, he should -- if he wants to impress African Americans, he should arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor.
That is the attorney general that people have been begging to take that kind of action. That would be much more impressive to the black community that some of the other stuff.
COOPER: Ana, I think you want to say something. We got to go.
NAVARRO: Yeah. You know, funny enough because I hear a lot of Republicans talking bad about identity politics, but I saw a lot of identity politics, and I have seen it in the last two days. It is not a coincidence that we have had two Cuban Americans talking about communism and fleeing communism, and very compelling stories. I think both of those stories were very compelling.
He is making a honed-in message and a big play for the Cuban American vote in South Florida and to win the state.
COOPER: Yeah. Up next, an inside look on how the Republicans will take on Joe Biden tomorrow. We will be right back.
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[23:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: A while ago, the first lady of the United States was walking into the new Rose Garden over at the White House and delivering a speech. We are learning more about what happened in the Rose Garden tonight during the first lady's speech.
Kaitlan Collins is joining us. Kaitlan, take us a little bit behind the scenes. What have you learned?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you saw all of those attendees there in the Rose Garden this evening for the first lady's speech, the recently renovated Rose Garden.
And one thing that was an obvious question that people had because you did not see hardly any masks on the attendees in the Rose Garden was whether or not they were tested for coronavirus before they went out there, given that the president was sitting in the middle of a lot of the guests and whatnot, of course, the first lady, who was just a few feet away.
But tonight, the White House is not answering that question and is instead referring us to the campaign. The campaign is also not answering that question and instead saying they just met with a coronavirus contractor and they followed all the protocols that were suggested by an individual.
Wolf, you got to think that if they had to sit everyone in the Rose Garden, they would have said it, but either way, they are not saying right now.
What was obvious though was you saw the first lady open up her speech by making probably the most extensive remarks we have seen on coronavirus during this convention, but also from some of the people who work in this White House over the last several months as we have been dealing with the pandemic.
Melania Trump came out. She said for people who are feeling anxious or alone, she understood. She extended her sympathies to those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. She struck a very different tone than her husband, the president, who of course just a few weeks ago when talking about the death toll said, it is what it is.
She also struck a pretty different tone than what we heard from Larry Kudlow and Secretary of State Pompeo tonight. Larry Kudlow is speaking about the pandemic as if it's in the past, saying it was awful and it was tragic. And of course, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is saying that the president had confronted the Chinese president over the outbreak, when instead and in reality we know that he has praised him for being transparent and said he handled it well.
BLITZER: Yeah. My point is that even if everyone in the Rose Garden, all the guests had been tested, it's still would have sent a powerful signal to the American public about wearing a mask if they would have seen all those folks in the Rose Garden wearing a mask.
Jim Acosta, you are getting some information about the vice president of the United States, Mike Pence. He is going to be delivering a major speech tomorrow night.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. I talked to a Trump campaign official about that speech. This official said look to Vice President Mike Pence to -- quote -- "take some lumber to Joe Biden tomorrow." Those are the words from this one Trump campaign official.
Pence doesn't typically see himself as the attack dog. We have seen that over the years. He tends to do it with a smile on his face, according to this official I spoke with earlier this evening. But the vice president knows he has a job to do, and Pence is not expected to spend much time going after Senator Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's running mate. This isn't about Kamala, this official said.
But a separate campaign official I spoke with said it has been difficult at times for the campaign to define Joe Biden. The "sleepy Joe" attacks from the president have not resonated as well as some of the campaign would like.
So Vice President Pence does have his work cut out for him. But unlike Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, unlike the DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, it is perfectly fine for the vice president to be politicking during a convention. He's allowed to do that. He is the vice presidential nominee. Wolf?
BLITZER: Interesting. You know, Jake, two days down, two days to go in this republican convention. Give us a thought of what you are anticipating in the next two days.
TAPPER: Vice President Pence is the head of the Coronavirus Task Force. I have to say so much of the republican convention for whatever successes they have had seems to be on a different planet where almost 180,000 Americans haven't died of this horrible virus.
Melania Trump said that her husband will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic. That's not accurate. The president has yet to update the national strategy or even create a national strategy to take this on.
So I'll be waiting to hear to see if Vice President Pence allows for the reality of what's going on, Dana.
BASH: Yeah. And meanwhile, what we saw tonight and we will see if it happens tomorrow night was a real attempt by the Republicans to do to get back to basics, talking about the economy and the way that the economy before the pandemic helped people, from the lobstermen in Maine (ph) to the dairy farmer in Minnesota.
So, it gave the economic stories of real people that voters can relate to. But also are the cultural differences.
[23:54:57] BASH: You heard not only someone talking about in very stark terms antiabortion sentiment, but cultural changes in this country that are going way too fast for a lot of people, that really helped Donald Trump get elected in the first place.
PHILLIP: You know, as you were saying, Dana, I was thinking throughout the night that this kind of felt a lot more like the Republican Party of George W. Bush more than a Republican Party of Trump.
It is because, as you said, they went back to basics on some of the stuff, going back to some basic, you know, anti-abortion messages, talking about the economy, bringing up even sort of the specter of compassionate conservatism with the story of the police officer who adopted the baby of an addicted woman.
So that was a softer message and actually made for a smoother night and a more empathetic night. I will see if they continue that trend tomorrow. It's really a stark difference from what we saw on Monday night.
BLITZER: The campaign producers, they did an excellent job producing if you (ph) agree or disagree, but it was well produced.
All of us will be back tomorrow night for more coverage of day three of the Republican National Convention. Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon pick up our special coverage right after a quick break.
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