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NEW DAY SUNDAY

Email Leak Embarrasses DNC Chair; Democrats Vote On "Unity Compromise"; Hellish Wildfire Sweeps California, One Body Found; At Least Five Heat Related Deaths In Michigan; Hacked DNC Emails; Donald Trump Doubles Down on NATO Questions; Russia Doping Scandal; Top Business Leaders Abandoning the GOP Aired 6-7a ET

Aired July 24, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Please join me in welcoming the next vice president!

SENATOR TIM KAINE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I could not be any more honored to stand by Hillary's side.

CLINTON: We will offer a very different vision for our country, one that is about building bridges not walls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These e-mails do appear to show some collusion among some DNC staffers in favor of Clinton and against Sanders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are extremely damaging. Bad for the Democratic Party, bad for Hillary Clinton. Bad for Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could threaten the truce between Sanders and Clinton.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to get a lot of the Bernie voters because they didn't treat Bernie right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. In just a few moments, Russian athletes will find out if they are going to the Rio Olympic Games this year. Russia has been plagued by a doping scandal with 67 Russian track and field athletes already banned from competing in Rio. But will that ban be extended to the entire Russian delegation?

Let's bring in our CNN contributor, Jill Dougherty. Jill, the International Olympic Committee is going to announce its decision soon, if all the Russian athletes will be banned. How will this affect the games at large? JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It would be a huge blow to Russia, a huge blow to Vladimir Putin. And I can tell you that the entire city, the entire country here in Russia is bracing for this crucial decision by the IOC whether or not the entire team, all the Russian athletes who want to go to Rio will not be able to go. We'll have more this hour.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jill, thanks so much. We will look forward to that announcement from the IOC. We expect it to come in just moments. We'll get back to Jill there as soon as we get it.

PAUL: Meanwhile, it is the eve of the Democratic National Convention, and the party could have a sudden unity crisis on its hands. There is new fallout this morning as thousands of e-mails surfaced from DNC staffers raising questions about how impartial the group was during the primaries specifically.

Now the head of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz will no longer have a major speaking role at the convention this week. Remember Bernie Sanders and his campaign furious at Wasserman Schultz for what they believe was favoritism to Clinton during that time. Now Sanders' campaign manager is saying someone needs to be held accountable.

CNN senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns is following this story for us. So Joe, is Debbie Wasserman Schultz, are we essentially seeing her being the one held accountable to some degree?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I think you can say that. I mean, this is not the way they wanted to get this started, Christi. The party continues to make concessions to the Bernie Sanders camp hoping to keep the peace.

The Democratic Rules Committee just agreed on what sounds like a task force to try to reduce the number of convention super delegates, which is something Sanders has been pushing for.

Still, there are calls for this accountability and sources in the party leadership widely acknowledged how awkward the situation is right now thanks to Wikileaks.

The decision not to have Wassermann Schultz speak is more than just the chair of the party sacrificing herself for the good of the process. She was criticized by the Bernie Sanders campaign as showing favoritism toward Hillary Clinton through the primaries.

And she and other top Democrats denied it, but the leaked e-mails are evidence of bad blood, for sure, boiling behind the scene. In an e- mail from May, Debbie Wassermann Schultz appears very upset with public statements by Sanders' campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, criticizing the Nevada Democratic Party after protest.

She writes, damn liar, particularly scummy that he barely acknowledges the violent and threatening behavior that occurred. And in an e-mail quoting Weaver as saying, "I think we should go all the way convention." Wasserman Schultz wrote, quote, "He is an ass." Very strong language there -- Christi. PAUL: All righty. So I guess we'll wait and see what happens with all of this. Joe Johns, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right, joining me now to discuss, A. Scott Bolden, former chairman of the Democratic Party there in Washington, D.C. He is a Hillary Clinton supporter and we have Nomiki Konst with us as well, who supported Bernie Sanders during the primary.

[06:05:04]Scott, I want to start with you. Limited Wasserman Schultz to gaveling in, gaveling out, no major role speaking role here. It's said to be an effort to keep the peace. Is that from your perspective going to keep the peace?

A.SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER CHAIRMAN WASHINGTON, D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY: It certainly is a good start. This certainly isn't the way the Democratic Party wanted to start its convention. We certainly knew there were going to be issues between Hillary and Bernie Sanders supporters.

Even though Bernie Sanders has endorsed Hillary Clinton, Hillary is going to be the nominee along with Tim Kaine, and there are bigger tasks to be addressed in defeating Donald Trump.

The lack of her having a significant speaking role is an important concession. But at the same time, what happens behind the scenes and what she's saying to Bernie Sanders supporters and what these Sanders supporters and the Hillary Clinton supporters are saying to each other to put this behind them and fall in line and to take on the Republicans is even more important than these e-mails.

BLACKWELL: It's difficult to fall in line I imagine, Nomiki, when you read e-mails like this. This is from May 5th from one DNC employee to three others there at the DNC.

It might make, I think that's what they're trying to say here, no difference, but for Kentucky and West Virginia, can we get someone to ask his belief, does he believe in a God. He had skated in saying that he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read that he is an atheist.

This could make several points difference with my peeps. My southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist." You, Nomiki, for months have said that the DNC's thumb was on the scale for Hillary Clinton. When you read this, will simply keeping the chairwoman from having a speaking role keep the peace?

NOMIKI KONST, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: That's a great question. I mean, this isn't the only thing that they have done. These emails reveals a small slice of how the DNC operates. That's why I think the Sanders campaign right now is trying to use all the leverage it has.

They won 46 percent of the vote and in some states like New York where the closest -- it's the most close primary, they got 48 percent. So we are half the party.

And I think that we're trying to use the leverage right now to reform the party so that it can be more inclusive. So we clean up this culture. So we don't have the type of language being used.

I mean, that person, that CFO should be fired. Forget about Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She's going to be ousted in January anyways. It's these people who are reinforcing this culture of cronyism, this culture of treating Bernie Sanders and his supporters like outsiders when indeed they actually grew the party.

They brought in new people and they gave a voice to a lot of the people in the party who felt disaffected like myself. I've been a Democrat my entire life. My parents were Democrats.

BLACKWELL: Nomiki, let me ask you before I go back to Scott here. You said that Wasserman Schultz will be ousted in January anyway, but to send a signal for sake of symbolism, should she step down before then?

KONST: I think that she should use her role. I mean, that's not my job. I think there are a lot of other asks would make that are probably more important. But you know, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, should first issue apology.

Second, she should clean up the culture, fire those people. Third, they should reform things like super delegates, which they hadn't, you know, the Hillary delegation yesterday at the Rules Committee voted against reforming super delegates and getting rid of them.

They want to create a commission and through this commission, they should create real reforms like opening up the primaries, changing the way that we fund our candidates and we fund the Democratic Party.

All this stuff is rooted in the culture of the Democratic Party, which has lost its way. And let me very clear here, you know, Tim Kaine, as much as he has achieved in his history and his experience in Washington, in public service, he was part of that culture.

He is the person who changed the model from being a 50-state strategy to the funding culture of the DNC being all about raising money. They find candidates who can raise money.

They don't find candidate who are great community leaders, who have great bases, who are great organizers. They want candidates who can raise $250,000 in six weeks.

BLACKWELL: Scott, let me come to you. We're going to take a quick break, but I want to start with you right after break. We are going to continue this conversation. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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[06:12:57]

PAUL: Well, guess what, just hours before this Democratic National Convention is set to kickoff, there's a compromise now that's been reached between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders regarding the role of superdelegates specifically. A unity compromise would give elected leaders the ability to cast their convention vote for whomever they choose, but the rest of the state's delegates would be bound to the primary and caucus results.

So let's talk about this again with former chairman of the Washington, DC Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton supporter, A. Scott Bolden along with DNC Platform Committee member and Bernie Sanders supporter, Nomiki Konst.

Thank you both for sticking around for us. Nomiki, I want to start with you. Do you believe that the superdelegate decision is going to be enough for Sanders supporters?

KONST: That's a good question. I think that Bernie Sanders who has won pretty much half the party support did not get enough out of what -- I have to be honest here. I think that there's so much that could have been done, so much leverage that could have been used, so much negotiating.

And from the way that the speakers relayed out, very few people have been Bernie Sanders speakers. The dais of both the Platform and Rules Committee is stacked all with Hillary Clinton supporters.

I mean, this is compromise, but it is only one area where they've been willing compromise. Quite frankly, I think we should just eliminate superdelegates. I mean, elected officials are elected officials.

They have a lot of strength in their own communities. They don't need to be propped up. I mean, one superdelegate equals over 10,000 votes. Those are 10,000 people who go out there to the polls and they're invested in their communities.

One superdelegate should not be weighted that way. They're mainly male and they're mainly white and so when you look at the elected officials in the Democratic Party. That's exactly what they look like, too. It doesn't reflect the Democratic Party itself.

PAUL: Those arguments are being held on both sides of the aisle, but Scott, go ahead and --

BOLDEN: Yes, please. Listen, Nomiki and the Bernie Sanders supporters, that's fine. The Democratic Party has a big tent and has welcomed them in, but 48 percent simply isn't the majority. You want to change rules. You want party that is more progressive, then you win. He didn't get enough votes. He didn't get enough states. He didn't get enough delegates.

KONST: It would have been nice. You guys stacked it against us.

BOLDEN: So now the party has acknowledged that Sanders has brought in these people, but you don't get to change or dictate the rules -- let me finish.

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: Go ahead, Scott. BOLDEN: You didn't get the majority and that's how the Democratic Party and the political process in this country works. Now, we have acknowledged the supporters. We have compromised with the unity peace. We've even allowed other progressive platforms -- planks in the platform.

That's what you get when you come up short. But if you want to change the rules, if you want to lead the party, then you win and Bernie Sanders did not win. Hillary Clinton did win. Fall in line and let's go beat Donald Trump.

PAUL: OK, so Scott, let me ask you this.

KONST: OK, I need to respond to this. This is exactly the problem. When you treat Bernie Sanders supporters like they're outsiders, like they came to the party yesterday --

BOLDEN: We're treating you like you're insiders.

KONST: Let me finish. You brought us to the table because we won half the party. When Jessie Jackson came in --

BOLDEN: Less than half the party.

KONST: -- much few voters. He got massive reforms in the party after the contested convention. When Ted Kennedy was challenging our sitting president and he went in and had a contested convention, he had counter reforms to the party. Bernie Sanders has 46 percent of the vote and Hillary Clinton's campaign --

BOLDEN: But you don't have the majority. Win the nomination and you get what you want.

KONST: -- but that's not how this works.

BOLDEN: Win the nomination and you get what you want.

PAUL: Let me jump in here. We understand that. So Scott, let me ask you, because you -- you say he didn't -- she didn't get the majority. Let's face it, Sanders has got a huge following. He's got a huge push behind him. He has endorsed Hillary already.

The question is, do you have any concern that there might be some version of a say, a Ted Cruz speech tomorrow night based on some of the things that Nomiki is bringing up and this Wikileaks?

BOLDEN: Well, I certainly hope not. Here's the thing, Bernie Sanders has endorsed Hillary Clinton. The Hillary Clinton people have done outreach. They've met at the table. They've been on the Rules Committee and had these ongoing interparty discussions.

We appreciate their activism and all the value that they brought to the table. So, no, I don't think he's going to be a bad Democrat. He's going to be a good Democrat, so long as the discussions continue to go forward. You're going to continue to see some managed negotiated concessions or discussions between both sides. Because in the end, the Bernie Sanders really have nowhere else to go, but to stay within this party. They're not going to Trump. They're not going to the Green Party or the Libertarian Party. And so that's why they are at the convention --

PAUL: We don't know where they're going.

KONST: That's not true.

BOLDEN: -- unlike the Republicans. You can say what you want to say. The bottom line is, we're all great Democrats. While we may be contesting some issues on an interparty basis, the bottom line is, we've got to defeat Trump. Nomiki knows that. The Sanders supporters know that.

And Bernie Sanders knows that as well. Look for him to endorse. Look for more concessions in regard to rules and to get more progressive platforms, but we're going to win in November. And everyone under the Democratic tent knows that.

PAUL: So Nomiki, with all of that said, real quickly, we know there are protests being planned by Sanders supporters. Do you think it is important for Sanders to come out and try to thwart that or talk to those people to try to bring some unity to this party going into this DNC?

KONST: You know, there's all different types of Sanders supporters. He represented several movements. I think a lot of these movements feel like they haven't been heard. I really encourage the Clinton campaign and Tim Kaine to listen to these people because they're not going to fall in line.

This is a year when our party has basically said, we've had enough. It is time that we change the way that we function. I think it's really important for the Clinton campaign to reach out to these people, to get down on the ground, hear what they're saying, listen to what they're saying, feel what they're saying not just values, symbolism.

Like putting somebody on stage that represents their values. You really have to connect with them and quite frankly the choice of Senator Kaine was not an indication.

Quite frankly what happened in the Rules Committee yesterday was not an indication. They have a lot of work to do because we don't just fall in line anymore. That's not our country. We'ver really moved on. The party is 70 percent more progressive and we have to reflect that.

PAUL: All right, A. Scott Bolden and Nomiki Konst --

BOLDEN: And the party reflects that as well already.

PAUL: A fiery debate here. If you were not awake, I'm sure you are now watching this. We appreciate both of your voices. Thank you for being here.

BOLDEN: Thank you for having me.

PAUL: Listen, see, no hard feelings, right?

KONST: See you on the floor.

[06:20:05]PAUL: Keep the punches to yourselves, people, when you see each other on the floor.

I do want to give you a programming note here, Bernie Sanders is joining Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. That of course is right here on CNN.

And be sure to watch CNN for full coverage of the Democratic National Convention live from Philadelphia beginning at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow.

BLACKWELL: Ahead, we will turn to the GOP, Donald Trump at odds with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. What is behind that dispute?

Plus, more of these incredible images out of California where a wildfire now spread across 20,000 acres is burning out of control.

Also this major heat wave scorching much of the nation, maybe where you live. Allison Chinchar has that story.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Twenty seven separate states looking at heat advisories, watches, or warnings and we are also talking nearly a dozen record highs for some major cities in the northeast. We'll detail that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Well, the pictures show a terrifying scene. Imagine this, these huge flames sweeping California. The massive wildfire igniting everything in its path and so far at least one man's body has been found in that area.

This is the so-called sand fire near the Sand Canyon north of Los Angeles, only about 10 percent contained and has burned at least 20,000 acres since Friday. Several buildings have been December destroyed. Roughly 300 people have been evacuated from the area and 1,500 homes now are threatened.

[06:25:06]Let's talk about the heat. This extreme heat fueling the wildfires being felt across the country. Roughly 111 million people are dealing with the sweltering temperatures, which are now being blamed for the deaths of at least five people in Southeast Michigan and the town there according to police.

Allison Chinchar is in the CNN Weather Center. How long is this -- this heat dome, as it's called, going to last?

CHINCHAR: For many, it's going to last for at least another week. Some areas could see it for at least another month before we finally start to see it let up. Again, we talked about the wildfires in California where we do have heat advisories out, but it stretches all the way back towards Massachusetts as well. We are talking Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, major cities that are included in this.

But to understand why it affects major cities a little bit more than others, we take a look at the bigger scope here. So here's what we have, we've got the ground.

Now we set up our city. You've got New York City right here. You've your high pressure system that's been built over top. You have the sun that's going to bake those temperatures down onto the ground.

And what's going to happen is all of that heat then settles on the ground. It pushes down towards the surface, which is what we feel, but then it starts to lift. The high pressure prevents it.

It causes the air to sink back down to the ground essentially creating that dome. Cities are even more special because the key thing is due to the asphalt, the pavement, all of those things that are in cities, it traps even more of that heat inside, which is why your city tend to be a little hotter than some of the other more rural locations.

Here we take a look at the hot summer days. Looking at this map, you can see all of the areas in red are expecting a heat index of 90 or higher and the purple areas expecting a heat index of at least triple digits or higher.

BLACKWELL: All right, Allison Chinchar, I don't know if it's good news, but I thank you so much for it -- Christi.

PAUL: Donald Trump going after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell now. There seems to be a rift already just three days after he accepts the nomination. We're going to tell you what's behind all of this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:43] PAUL: Half past the hour right now on a Sunday morning. We're so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.

Let's catch it up on this morning's headlines, political headline starting with Trump going after Mitch McConnell in an interview that's airing today calling the Senate majority leader 100 percent wrong for saying Trump made a rookie mistake in questioning NATO. And the mother of Ambassador Chris Stevens wants Donald Trump to stop using her son's death as part of his campaign, writing in the "New York Times" that her son would not have wanted it.

PAUL: Also, the head of DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, taking a backseat at the convention now opting not to speak in what's being called -- quote -- "an effort to keep the peace" -- unquote -- after 20,000 internal emails were released by WikiLeaks. CNN's senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns following the story for us. These are -- there is some harsh language in several of these leaked emails, Joe. And we see, it seems that Debbie Wasserman Schultz may be taking the fall for some of this. But is that going to be enough to unite this party is the big question?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That is a question. And Christi, this is not the way they wanted to get started. The party continues to make concessions to the Bernie Sanders camp hoping to keep the peace.

The Democratic Rules Committee just agreed on what sounds like a task force to reduce the number of convention super delegates which is something Sanders has been pushing for. And the sources in the party, though, are still acknowledging how awkward the situation is right now thanks to WikiLeaks. The decision not to have Debbie Wasserman Schultz speak is more than just the chair of the party sacrificing herself for the good of the process.

The DNC chair was criticized by the Bernie Sanders' campaign to showing favoritism toward Hillary Clinton. And though she and other top Democrats denied it the leaked emails are evidence of the bad blood that was boiling behind the scenes.

In an email in May, Debbie Wasserman Schultz appears very upset with public statements by Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver criticizing the Nevada Democratic Party protest. She writes, "Damn liar. Particularly scummy that he barely acknowledges the violent and threatening behavior that occurred." And an email quoting Weaver as saying, I think we should go to the convention, Wasserman Schultz wrote, "He is an ass (ph)," Christi.

PAUL: All right. So, Joe, real quickly, is there any indication that this deal that was reached with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in terms of the delegation, that that will be enough for Sanders supporters to move over to Hillary's side? I mean, look, the truth of the matter is, these folks that were behind Bernie Sanders may not go to the polls at all.

JOHNS: Yes, and that's the big concern, I think. So there is some effort even on the Bernie Sanders side to sort of quell some of the anger in the background. He put out a statement this morning making it clear that in his speech on Monday, he plans to hit all the right notes, if you will, citing Hillary Clinton as far superior to Donald Trump in almost every area. But also, giving himself a bit of a tip of the hat of talking about some of the things that he got the Hillary Clinton people to agree to as part of the negotiation coming into this convention. So he's going to try to quell some of that anger, at the same time, cite Hillary Clinton as far superior to Donald Trump in an attempt to bring this party together.

PAUL: All right. Joe Johns, so appreciate seeing you. Thank you.

And do stay close. We're talking next about Donald Trump. And it does seem to be that there's more drama on the Republican side of things this morning. Stay close. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:06]

PAUL: Well, Donald Trump is at odds with Mitch McConnell, chastising the Senate majority leader as -- quote -- "100 percent wrong," after McConnell called Trump's comments on NATO a -- quote -- "rookie mistake."

BLACKWELL: Trump meanwhile doubling down now on his call to check the balance sheet before acting on behalf of a NATO ally telling NBC -- quote -- "if a country gets invaded, they haven't paid," everyone says, "oh, but we have a treaty." "Well, they have a treaty too. They're supposed to be paying. We have countries within NATO that are taking advantage of us. With me, I believe they're going to pay. And when they pay, I'm a big believer in NATO" -- close quote.

PAUL: A. Scott Bolden is back with us. And I want to bring in CNN political commentator and Donald Trump supporter Scottie Nell Hughes as well.

Scottie, let's talk about that real quickly because I'm wondering if -- where is the value being placed here when we listen to Donald Trump? There is an allegiance with NATO and all of the countries that are involved there. Is it smart to seemingly put the protections of other countries against the short-term financial goals?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think you have to look at this as, what is the goal here? Yes, I think if you want to (INAUDIBLE) I don't think Mr. Trump is going to leave any country unprotected. It's just not the tradition of America in the past but I think what he is saying, (INAUDIBLE) right now the United States is burning 72 percent of all defense expenditures that the NATO alliance is having. We are putting in more than all of the other countries together. And we have to do something to equal it back out, to make them pay their dues to belong to this club. So, you know, it's like they're getting a membership free -- due-free membership to the country club and yet when something happens they expect them to come protect them. Now we are because I think that's just how the United States is but sometimes we have to be...

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: He just said we wouldn't.

HUGHES: ... to require them to put money on.

Well, I mean, he said, that you look at these little countries -- and the other question is, we're sitting here -- we got to do something though to make these countries step up and actually protect them.

[06:40:05]

It's more of an eminent threat to them than it is necessarily to us. And we also have to make them also be responsible as well. We are in a war right now. We have a war on terror. (INAUDIBLE)... BLACKWELL: Scottie --

HUGHES: ... but a lot of these countries right now are continuing not to help us with this.

BLACKWELL: Let me jump in here because the point that Christi just brought up, you kind of brushed by. Donald Trump says, they got to pay the bill, then we will certainly defend them.

And you said, well, we're not going to leave anyone undefended. And you say well, and move on. Is Donald Trump advocating for you have to make sure you pay that percentage in order to have that NATO protection as an ally or you don't? There's -- you've got to be on one side of the line here and I didn't hear on which side of the line you believe Donald Trump truly is.

HUGHES: The last time I remember NATO started after World War II. And the question with this is, how do you make these other countries step up and pay their commitments? And it's not just one year that they have not paid their commitment. It's year after year after year.

The United States has taken on this burden. And maybe in the past we've been financially able to. But with $19 trillion in debt, we have to find some way to make sure these countries start stepping up to the plate and fulfilling their commitment. Why are we expected to fulfill our commitment when they're not expected to --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: I still don't know if we got an answer to that, which side of the line Donald Trump will be on or not.

A. SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER CHAIRMAN, WASHINGTON DC DEMOCRATIC PARTY: It's certainly one thing -- it's certainly one thing to say that each party or each nation needs to pay 2 percent of their gross national product. I think no one would disagree with that. Whether they're in a position to do that is a whole another story. And historically this NATO treaty is one of the most powerful and successful in the history of this world.

It's another thing to know that they've got to pay. It's another thing to say as the presumptive -- I'm sorry, as the Republican nominee that you're not going to defend them, you're going to violate the treaty if they haven't paid their dues. It's amateurish. It makes no sense whatsoever. And even the hawk and the defense experts in the Republican Party have called it the way it is, and that is that it's -- it's -- it's a -- it's a -- it's a -- it's a mistake or it's an amateurish move on their part.

This is the fundamental policy difference and why politically that Donald Trump just, one, isn't sophisticated, but, two, our enemies hearing him say that gives fodder to them to conceptually believe that if he becomes president that they -- if they invade Eastern Europe or Western Europe that there is a possibility -- a possibility that the U.S. will not be there. Where they've been there before. That's dangerous. HUGHES: But that (INAUDIBLE) answer your question --

BOLDEN: Let me finish. That is dangerous for a nominee to say that.

HUGHES: You're going on and on.

BOLDEN: I'm going on and on because...

HUGHES: OK. But here's my question for you.

BOLDEN: ... that's a dangerous statement and it's a dumb statement by Trump.

PAUL: Scottie, go ahead.

HUGHES: Here is the question OK? What is the solution? You know, I think they're violating the treaty when they don't uphold their part of it. And their part is to put in --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDEN: You're absolutely right.

HUGHES: So then what is your solution?

BOLDEN: You're absolutely right and you got to force radically (ph) to do that. You're absolutely right about that.

HUGHES: OK. So then why --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDEN: You're absolutely right about that. They have to be pushed but --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Scottie -- Scottie --

PAUL: You've (ph) been (ph) talking the same time.

HUGHES: What is Hillary Clinton proposing?

BLACKWELL: Scottie --

HUGHES: I thought this is the right time

BLACKWELL: OK --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: These names, they're getting confusing.

HUGHES: What has the administration done?

PAUL: OK. Go ahead. HUGHES: What has the administration done?

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: One, they've continued -- they continue to uphold their part of NATO for one. Two, they pushed for these other countries, if they're financially in a position to pay the dues and pay the costs, they've pushed them to do that.

But remember, the alliance is about more than these dues. It's about the strategic advantage and the strategic need for them where they're located and to be part of the totality of an international defense system that has proved very successful and has made us safer in this country, and made Western Europe safer in this country and made all of those countries safer under this treaty. You can't ignore that.

HUGHES: But are we safer -- are we safer right now?

BOLDEN: And for Mr. Trump -- and for Donald Trump to say or even put at risk is just a dumb international policy --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: All right. Scott --

PAUL: Scottie, I think we're going to have you back again later in the next hour and a half.

BLACKWELL: Scottie has been trying to get 15 seconds -- and Scottie, let me give you 15 seconds to respond -- Scottie Nell Hughes.

HUGHES: It's real simple.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

HUGHES: It's real simple. If you feel safer today like most Americans don't, then you would say NATO's working. NATO is not working right now. The deal needs to be renegotiated. That's all Mr. Trump want to do (INAUDIBLE) we need to go back to the table and relook at it...

BLACKWELL: All right.

HUGHES: ... and make sure everybody is paying their fair part.

PAUL: All right. Got that.

BLACKWELL: All right. We find ourselves in a really interesting position with the two of you because when we say Scott or Scottie, it may be difficult for you to decipher who we're asking to continue and we were asking to hold off.

PAUL: In other words, one of you needs a nickname.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDEN: Scott one and Scott two.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Scott and Scottie, thank you so much.

HUGHES: Give us one. Give us one. I'm all for it.

BLACKWELL: All right.

PAUL: Thank you both.

I want to give you a programming note here as well. Donald Trump Jr. is joining Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning.

[06:45:02]

That starts at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:28]

BLACKWELL: 12 minutes to the top of the hour now and we are waiting to hear if the Russian Olympic team will be banned from the games in Rio. Russia is being accused of widespread doping already with 67 Russian track and field athletes banned from the Olympics.

CNN contributor Jill Dougherty is live from Moscow and CNN's Rosa Flores is live from Rio. And Jill, I want to start with you. If you could give us an idea of the mood there and what the expectation is there in Moscow of what the International Olympic Committee's decision will be?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I can tell you, there are probably 387 Russian athletes who do want to go to Rio, who do feel they should be allowed to compete, who are sitting there on pins and needles waiting to find out what the IOC is going to say.

You know, Russia's position is -- there may be some people who have doped, but the people who haven't doped should be allowed to go and you shouldn't punish an entire country because of the sins of may be a few. Now the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency look at it completely differently saying this is a state sponsored program.

So it's not only the athletes of course, president Putin who in the Kremlin is looking at this, wondering what the decision will be. But right now, there is a lot of doubt that they will be able to go, quite frankly. Decision hasn't been made, but that seems to be the feeling. And I have to tell you that a lot of the feelings to blame the United States.

[06:50:01]

Many Russians here think the United States is out to get Russia, that it's, you know, had sanctions against them economically et cetera. And that America essentially wants to demean and destroy Russia. That's the mood. BLACKWELL: Yes. And this is such as remarkable turn. We know that the Sochi games were supposed to be Russia's entree back onto the world stage. And now just a few years later and potentially the entire Russian delegation will be banned from the Rio games.

Let's go to Rio now with Rosa Flores. And, Rosa, what will be the impact beyond just the number of athletes there of if the IOC decides this ban on the entire Russian delegation?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Victor, these games are supposed to be all about athletes achieving their dreams, breaking records. And instead, here we are talking about possible doping and the possible ban of the entire Russian delegation. Definitely not a good thing, especially since Rio has already been plagued by so many other scandals, dramas involving Zika, the political turmoil, crime, security issues involving terror. And so it is just another shadow on these games when people here just want to play the games.

I can tell you that the latest poll shows that 50 percent of Brazilians are against the games, not because of doping or any of these other issues, but simply because of the issues in this country. So, you know, a lot of people here just want these games to go on.

BLACKWELL: Yes and you can add to that list the concerns about the water safety there for some of those athletes and the mad dash to complete the facilities. So we are again waiting for this decision, this announcement from the IOC on whether the entire Russian delegation to the Rio games will be banned. We of course will bring that to you as soon as it comes down.

Jill Dougherty in Moscow for us. Rosa Flores in Rio. Thank you both.

PAUL: Some of the nation's most successful business leaders seem to have left the GOP for the Dems this year. Cristina Alesci is following that story. Hi, Cristina.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning. Yes, some big name switching parties here. I'll have more on who they are, why, and how it may not really help Hillary Clinton. Next.

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[06:56:18]

PAUL: Well, apparently insiders are telling CNN some of the country's richest most successful businessmen are abandoning the GOP the election. Several prominent business leaders we understand deciding to dump Donald Trump and go to Hillary Clinton.

CNN Money correspondent Cristina Alesci joins us with the details here. Cristina, it's interesting if they're going to dump one candidate, OK, if you don't agree, you get that, but to go to the complete opposite candidate makes you go, why is that happening?

ALESCI: Yes, that's right. Hillary Clinton has gained supporters in the c suite. This is coming at Trump's expense. Now, I'm not trying to pretend that these people are going to sway the election. It's a small group but they're important because love them or hate them, they have a unique pulse on economic activity.

For example Jim Cicconi at AT&T, who says he supported every Republican candidate for president since 1976 and former General Motors chief Dan Akerson who has a similar record.

Now, that said these are economic creatures (ph), right? They're not voting necessarily on social issues. And I was looking at their path donations for congressional (INAUDIBLE) and some of them have supported candidates on both sides of the aisle. So this time around, though, they are departing from their presidential voting record.

So why Clinton? It's not necessarily because her policies are so great for their business, but they think that Trump would be a disaster for growth. They're suggesting that Trump will either undermine growth directly with some of his policies or that the divisive negative rhetoric will have a ripple effect. So they have issues with both Trump's style and his substance. That's why you see some Republicans switching sides here.

Now, CEOs who are Democrats have already gone one step further suggesting that the negative campaigning is weighing on the consumer. Starbucks CEO, for example, referencing the political climate during an earnings call just this week. And even though he said there's no direct evidence that people are buying fewer lattes because of this anxiety, you know, he is kind of suggesting there is a link there.

Now, the quandary for Clinton is, I'm not sure that any of the support will help her. The campaign I'm hearing is probably very sensitive about the perception that she's too cozy with industry especially because Bernie hit her so hard on some of those Wall Street speeches that she gave.

PAUL: So what do the business leaders who haven't come forward, what are they saying behind the scenes?

ALESCI: Very interesting. They are saying their biggest problem is with Trump's immigration and trade policy. Trade is freaking everyone out. We've seen this with the biggest lobbying U.S. group the chamber -- the U.S. Chamber of Commerce coming out against Trump's policies, ditching these long-standing deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement would hurt a lot of businesses.

For example, just last week, I spoke to Blackberry's CEO. And Blackberry benefits from NAFTA. It a Canadian company and it sells products not just to U.S. consumers, but to the American government. And its CEO John Chen has always voted Republican and now he's having a hard time supporting Trump.

PAUL: All right. Good breakdown there, Cristina. Thanks for helping us understand more of it. Cristina Alesci, thank you.

ALESCI: Thank you.

PAUL: And thank you so much for sharing part of your morning with us. BLACKWELL: There is much more ahead on the next hour of your NEW DAY.

It starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Please join me in welcoming the next vice president.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SEN. TIM KAINE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I could not be anymore honored to stand by Hillary's side.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: We will offer a very different vision for our country.

[07:00:02]

One that is about building bridges, not walls.