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AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Trump Officially Becomes Republican Nominee; Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Endorses Clinton; Ohio Governor John Kasich Not Attending RNC. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired July 20, 2016 - 11:00   ET

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


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(SHOUTING)

[11:00:22] CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R), NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: Hillary Clinton, lying to the American people. What's your verdict?

(SHOUTING)

DR. BEN CARSON, (R), RETIRED NEUROSURGEON: Are we willing to elect someone as president who has as their role model somebody who acknowledged Lucifer.

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Let's take our fig to opponents with better ideas. Let's win this thing.

TIFFANY TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: My father is so friendly, so considerate, so funny and so real.

DONALD TRUMP JR, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: A president who will unleash the greatness in our nation. That president can only be my father, Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: We're going to win the presidency and bring real change and leadership back to Washington.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman, live from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

And there, look in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's the no-longer presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump. He will arrive here any minute in his Trump-o-copter --

BERMAN: Is that official? BOLDUAN: -- as the now-official Republican nominee, official

since the New York delegation and his son, Donald Trump Jr, put him over the top last night on the convention floor.

BOLDUAN: As the convention goes, maybe third time's the charm here. Day three of the Republican convention set to get under way as the Trump campaign tries to move past Melania's speech-gate. Today, former rivals and his running mate set to take the stage. Does that mean more drama's in store? Pretty sure you can say drama will follow.

Martin Savidge, is awaiting the arrival of the Republican Party's brand-new standard bearer.

Martin, look up what do you see?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be absolutely true Trump fashion that we're going to see play out here. Donald Trump is going to land in Cleveland today. He's going to bring his giant 757 Trump plane and park it right at the airport, right at the foot of the city, right next to the highway. It's a billboard with wings. So he gets out of that and climbs in his helicopter to make the remarkable 800-yard journey to where we stand right now, to land very dramatically at this helipad set up right on the lakefront. You have a magical skyline of the city of Cleveland, bright blue sky. He gets out there and he is met by his running mate and family and friends, and then there could be kind of a rope line thing. It is all about imagery here. He might do a couple of loops around the city in the air with the helicopter that has Trump written on the side. Could have driven it just as easily, but let's face it, it's all about how you make your entry and Donald Trump is a master at doing that.

BERMAN: All right, Martin Savidge, indeed, thank you so much.

Let's bring our panel to discuss, CNN commentator, Christine Quinn, a Hillary Clinton supporter; and former New York City council speaker, Joseph Boreli, New York City councilman and co-chair of Donald's New York campaign; Lanhee Chen is a former Mitt Romney public policy director; and Mary Katharine Ham, CNN political commentator and senior writer for the "Federalist."

Mary Katharine, as we await the landing of the Trump-o-copter --

BOLDUAN: We'll keep our eye back there.

BERMAN: -- we've reached the halfway point of the 2016 Republican National Convention, where are we right now?

MARY KATHARINE HAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Had you told me Donald Trump would land in a helicopter at the RNC and Speaker Paul Ryan would have introduced his nomination as the presidential candidate, I would have said the world turned upside down and the only part o would have believed is the helicopter.

(LAUGHTER) I think it's still possible that he comes out in, like, silk

American-flag shorts with James Brown "Living in America" playing. And I'm not going to hate on the Donald Trump entrance. That's really what I enjoy. He knows how to do those.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Joseph Boreli, who do you have your silk shorts on now?

(LAUGHTER)

Yesterday's theme was "Make America Work Again." One of the things I think is the most memorable -- one of the memorable things that came out of last night was the chanting from the floor we heard over and over again of "lock her up, lock her up," obviously, speaking about Hillary Clinton. Do you like that is the message?

JOSEPH BORELI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I can see why Democrats are upset because it underlines the Republican message that Hillary Clinton is unfit for office, primarily because you have Director Comey out there basically, chapter and verse, indicting her without indicting her. It underscores what Republicans, including Chris Christie, last night, have been trying to say, trying to make a case. I appreciate, again, Democrats may not like that, but they don't get to pick what Republicans chant at our convention.

[11:05:09] BERMAN: Lanhee, is it just Democrats who -- because I've heard from some Republicans right now concerned about swing voters, they think it turns them off. Then there's Senator Jeff Flake, admittedly no fan of Donald Trump, someone who doesn't look like he's going to support Donald Trump, but he tweeted last night, "Lock her up chants were the GOP jumping the shark." Do you think it went too far?

LANHEE CHEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah. I think Republicans have to be careful. Two things you want done at any convention. First, define your own nominee. Second, define the other party's nominee. We haven't seen a lot of definition around Trump until last night. They did a good job of softening the edges around him. The "lock her up" thing does take it a little far but you can't control stuff that comes from the floor. If people feel that way, they're going to say it. There's not a lot convention organizers can do. At this point, they have to continue the indictment of Hillary Clinton on the issues, the problems with Hillary Clinton as a candidate on the issues and to continue to define Donald Trump.

BOLDUAN: It doesn't seem to matter what the theme or the focus is of the night. Maybe folks at home don't care because it has turned into it's an indictment on Hillary Clinton every single night. At some point, if they keep chanting "lock her up, lock her up," with millions of viewers watching, does she need to take that head on?

CHRISTINE QUINN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I think, when the theme of the night is "get America working again," people do care that actually no jobs plans, no economic plans, were put out last night. So beyond the fact it's just incredibly undignified to be chanting that about a presidential nominee. No substance was put out at all to actually tell the American people, many of whom are desperate to work, how they're going to get back to work.

And, you know, Lanhee said you can't control crowd does, but when you've conducted a campaign in a way where you've based it on name calling and bullying behavior --

(CROSSTALK)

QUINN: -- why are you surprised that people react in such a harsh angry way? I've never seen anything like that before. Everybody cheers for their candidate. Everybody may boo when the other candidate's named. But to be chanting that a former secretary of state, a former United States Senator, should be locked up when, in fact, if you look at what Director Comey said in the congressional hearing, he made it very clear that the things people said the secretary lied about were not true, that the e-mails he said were classified --

(CROSSTALK)

HAM: This is the perfect retort, that it was actually quite undignified for the secretary of state to put our national security at risk --

(CROSSTALK)

BORELI: Correct, correct. And this is --

(CROSSTALK)

QUINN: -- the director very clearly said that's not what she did and in fact --

(CROSSTALK)

BORELI: Let's not let it --

(CROSSTALK)

BORELI: But here we are today on message talking about Hillary Clinton's potential criminal charges, which obviously she didn't get, but still indicted.

BERMAN: Right.

Let's talk about tonight, Mary Katharine Ham.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Mike Pence is speaking tonight, the running mate to Donald Trump. He, by the way, does not like being an attack dog. He's written on the subject. What do you expect to hear from him?

HAM: I think he'll have a softer message than, like, go out and do the attack dog thing. Chris Christie is comfortable doing that. I think they'll be a softer edge on that. I think, you know, a lot of these marriages that we're seeing are awkward, right, and this one is going to be --

(LAUGHTER)

-- Paul Ryan and Donald Trump, this one's going to be a little, too. I think he'll be more comfortable out there by himself instead of sitting in the chairs. Pence wants to avoid the idea that Donald Trump is telling him, talk less, smile more, Governor. And this will be an opportunity for that --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: He also has a huge task ahead of him? A lot of the Republican establishment or conservatives, what they like most about Mike Pence is he's -- you know, a true conservative, he, they hope, has a calming effect on Donald Trump. That kind of sets a pretty high bar --

(CROSSTALK)

CHEN: I mean, let's remember one of the major reasons why he's on the ticket. You alluded to this. It is to bring conservatives together. Mike Pence is a guy who I think conservatives in general believe is a guy who is part of the movement, he's trusted. I think what he will do tonight is validate Donald Trump. He will say, look, you can trust this guy as a nominee. R6 conservative, many of us have had our doubts about Donald Trump and I think Mike Pence is there to say, it's OK, guys, you can be comfortable voting for him. He is someone who will do what we want on the key issues conservatives care about.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: I want to get your take. Chris Christie last night seized the moment. We'll hear from Newt Gingrich tonight. It almost seems, at least in Chris Christie's case, you could have had this, this is what you could have had.

(LAUGHTER)

BORELI: First he has a prosecutor comfortable indicting Hillary Clinton, but I think what we'll hear tonight is more about jobs. Lowering taxes for individuals. Creating 150,000 new jobs in Indiana, lowered the unemployment rate --

[11:10:03] QUINN: You know what else is irrefutable. You can say things nicely but what your record says is you're anti-choice, you're anti-woman, you're anti-LGBT. Mike Pence is the one who started this rash of recent terrible anti-LGBT --

(CROSSTALK)

BORELI: He put legislation out --

(CROSSTALK)

QUINN: He is clearly anti-choice, anti-woman, anti-LGBT. And you can say it in the prettiest words --

BORELI: Say it in Bill Clinton's voice.

(CROSSTALK)

QUINN: Bill Clinton never started legislation to take away civil rights --

(CROSSTALK)

BORELI: Federal legislation --

(CROSSTALK)

QUINN: What the governor did is create a rash across the country limiting people's rights so you can say whoever else did it, but he did it --

(CROSSTALK)

CHEN: I don't think the Democrat's playbook is going to work against Mike Pence --

(CROSSTALK)

QUINN: Against Independents, against Independents, that type of anti-choice --

(CROSSTALK)

CHEN: -- this conversation, this is how tone deaf the Democratic Party is --

BERMAN: Pre-buttal for the Mike Pence speech --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: I like it.

BERMAN: We don't have to talk about Mike Pence because we talked about it right now.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Just stay right here with us, we're already on to day four.

Guys, great to see you. Thanks so much for being here.

And much more to come including this, a Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, big business, are they rejecting the business man? A new endorsement that has everyone talking this morning.

BERMAN: Plus, moments ago, Newt Gingrich sat down with CNN and predicted a big surprise tonight. Very, very interesting. An endorsement possibly that no one sees coming.

BOLDUAN: That's a tease.

BERMAN: Yeah.

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[11:15:43] BOLDUAN: Hello, Cleveland. That's a reference for John Berman.

Day three of the Republican National Convention under way. Today's theme in the Q is "Make America First Again."

Speaking of firsts, this morning on CNN, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce made its first ever presidential endorsement, general election endorsement. The group is throwing its support behind Hillary Clinton, not the man famous for his business, Donald Trump.

BERMAN: Here to talk about this, New York Congressman Lee Zeldin. He is supporting Donald Trump.

Congressman, the Hispanic Chamber said this, this morning, on CNN, "Donald Trump has run a campaign of hate-filled rhetoric that has torn people apart." He added, "He has proven himself to be unworthy, unfit for the highest office of this land."

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, first ever endorsement. You reaction?

REP. LEE ZELDIN, (R), NEW YORK: I don't know what issues they are prioritizing. I know there are a lot of people who are here in this country legally that care a lot about the immigration issue. They want to see us do a better job enforcing our current immigration issues. There are economic, national security concerns that members across the country care deeply about. Business issues, economic growth is important. Some people who are Hispanic -- by the way, any raised gender -- they care about not just unemployment. Some people are worried about under employment, not making enough to make ends meet. I'm not familiar with what specifically the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce prioritized --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Just on its face, Congressman, you've got the man who said he's great at business, his entire campaigns based on how great he is at business. He's said over and over again he's going to win among Hispanics. You're looking at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and they say no thanks.

ZELDIN: It really would be important for us to find out exactly what issues they prioritized in choosing. What I have noticed through the years is sometimes an organization might have, you know, a Republican at the helm or a Democrat at the helm and something might get tilted. I don't know who's in charge of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at that table making that decision. I think what's most important is finding out what issues a particular group is prioritizing the most to find out exactly where their priorities are in choosing these endorsements.

BERMAN: Two nights ago, Melania Trump gave a speech. There were sections of it that people say was plagiarized from Michelle Obama's speech, critical of the past of some of the things that happened at the campaign level, the six-pointed star that ended up in the tweet from Donald Trump. You said it wasn't helpful. So this event Monday night with Melania Trump's speech does that go into the category of something that wasn't helpful?

ZELDIN: I think it was a distraction from a -- what was a great night. Theme of the day was "Make America Safe Again." You had amazing speakers, lone survivor. You had families with personal testimonials. Rudy Giuliani had a lot of fire that a lot of people haven't seen in a long time, if ever, with him. And important themes about keeping America safe and improving our relationships with our law enforcement, being more united, identifying the threat overseas. So as all these great speakers are touching on all these really important messages people care a lot about, you know, if it turns out the coverage the next day is about, you know, a few sentences of a particular speech and you have that type of distraction, it's hard to argue it's not -- that it is helpful.

BOLDUAN: Helpful in anyway.

All right, Congressman, great to see you. Thanks for coming in.

ZELDIN: Good to see you.

BOLDUAN: Appreciate it.

Coming up for us, the next chapter in the ongoing battle of Ohio versus Donald Trump. What will John Kasich do next?

[11:19:30] BERMAN: Plus, one Republican Senator says his party has, quote, "jumped the shark." What was said last night that put him over the edge? We are live in Cleveland.

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TRUMP: By the way, we are going to win the state of Ohio. And also, of course, we're going to win the presidency and bring reach change back to Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Donald Trump last night addressing the convention by video after clinching the Republican nomination, also vowing to win the state of Ohio. No Republican has won the presidency without it. His address came shortly after Ohio delegates cast all 66 of its votes for someone else, the governor of Ohio, John Kasich's whose absence from the convention has not gone unnoticed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PAUL MANAFORT, DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: He's

making a big mistake. He's making a big mistake. He's looking at something that's not going to happen. He's hurting his state. He's embarrassing his state, frankly.

TRUMP (voice-over): If I were him and got beaten that badly, I probably wouldn't show up either. He has a problem. He signed a pledge. From a standpoint of honor, I think he should show up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:25:30] BOLDUAN: Lieutenant governor of Ohio, Mary Taylor, is with us now.

Thank you very much for coming in. You're a busy woman.

Talking about you were there on the floor when the delegation cast 66 votes for John Kasich. You also heard boos when that happened. What did that feel like? You're in your state, you're in Cleveland, you're casting votes for John Kasich as you have to. What did that feel like?

MARY TAYLOR, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF OHIO: It's interesting, I didn't hear the boos, so it's good.

(LAUGHTER)

We were making too much noise. I did -- in so way, I felt like there was a lot of deference shown to us and the fact that many of our delegates worked so hard for John Kasich and wanted him obviously to be the choice. And we were out on the campaign trail together. We spent a lot of time together. There's good relationships and bonds there. I think everybody was really proud.

BERMAN: Deference is good because campaign work is hard work.

BOLDUAN: And you won fair and square.

BERMAN: It's not the spirit you hear from someone in the Trump campaign including Paul Manafort who said John Kasich is embarrassing his state by not showing up.

TAYLOR: At some point, they're going to have to sit down and have a conversation. John Kasich. And maybe it's John Kasich and Donald Trump. They're going to have to come to their own personal decisions about how they'll proceed over the next months. I'm not going to speak for governor Kasich and I respect the fact he feels strongly about the position he's taken. And I think it's certainly up to him and his own personal decision about how he wants to go into these next several months.

BOLDUAN: Lieutenant Governor, you know John Kasich very well obviously. Do you think there will be that moment? Do you think they will sit down? John Kasich is firm in his beliefs and he is not budging. He's not showing up to that convention because that's how he feels. Do you think he will sit down with Trump? TAYLOR: I think he's very firm in his beliefs, which is why he's

been so successful here in Ohio. I think he's a very strong principled person. We respect that in him. I think ultimately, at the end of the day, they both want the same things, things for our country. They both understand that restoring jobs and getting people back to work is the most important thing we can do. I guess it's going to have to be up to them if they can agree common goal and then come to a way, you know, we can get there together.

BERMAN: You know Ohio politics well which you know John Kasich has never lost an election in Ohio. His approval rating at like 468 percent here in this state.

BOLDUAN: That's a fact.

BERMAN: I had to fact check that.

(LAUGHTER)

As Republican candidate for president, can you win Ohio without the support of the very popular Governor John Kasich?

TAYLOR: I think it certainly presents a challenge. One thing I've noticed as I've travelled the state, we have a great, strong delegation. Sorry.

(CROSSTALK)

It's driving me nut. Hair in my mouth. I apologize.

(LAUGHTER)

We have a great, strong delegation in the state of Ohio. We have a grassroots campaign. They're excited, they're ready to get out and work for the Republican nominee. But there's no doubt it presents a challenge because Kasich is so strong, he's so popular. So many people have worked so hard for him over the course of these last several elections and over the course of the last year.

BOLDUAN: Let's be honest, can Donald Trump win without Ohio and can he win Ohio without John Kasich? You say it's a challenge but is it even possible do you think right now?

TAYLOR: Well, I think it's probably not possible to win the presidency without winning Ohio. History shows us that. I think Ohio's really important that way. We are the true swing state. We represent the entire country all in one state. I think it's probably going to be tough to win without the people who support John Kasich supporting Donald Trump. And at the end of the day, individually, we're going to have to make a decision about, you know, what are we going to do. Our choice in November is Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. For Republicans who support the principles and values we support, Hillary Clinton is not an option. She's not a choice.

BERMAN: Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, thanks for coming in.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much.

BERMAN: Congratulations for helping put on such a beautiful convention.

TAYLOR: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks for bringing the good weather, too.

TAYLOR: Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Coming up, Newt Gingrich has a bold prediction for what we could see tonight. Newt Gingrich speaks to CNN, next.

BERMAN: Plus, are we witnessing the fall of a giant? FOX News chief, Roger Ailes, reportedly negotiating his exit from the network that he created. New information on that coming up.

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