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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Speech on Economy; Brexit Leader Speaks; Trump Muslim Ban. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired June 28, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Back at 5:00 Eastern on "The Situation Room."

"Newsroom" with Pamela Brown starts right now.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Pamela Brown, in for Brooke Baldwin.

Days after the Brits declared independence from the European Union, Donald Trump, minutes from now, will be, quote, "declaring American economic independence." That's the title of the speech he is about to give at an industrial plant an hour south of Pittsburgh. A senior Trump aide says this will be the most detailed address yet on the economy. And as he puts forth his ideas on job and trade, Trump is poised to pull back on the plan that many observers say helped propel him to victory in this temporary, his temporary ban on Muslims visiting the United States. We're going to have much more on that in just a moment.

But first, to CNN political reporter Sara Murray. She is live in Monessen, Pennsylvania, where Trump is due to speak just minutes from now.

So, Sara, I understand Trump is going to really push his America first concept hard.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, that's absolutely right, Pam. And as you can tell, this is a little bit of a different setting than we're used to seeing for Donald Trump. We are on the factory floor here in Pennsylvania. He's expected to deliver a more formal economic address where he essentially paints Hillary Clinton as this dangerous face of globalism, saying she has pushed for trade deals that have harmed American workers right here in rust belt states like Pennsylvania. And he is going to push the idea that he is the America first candidate. That he will put American workers first above all else. And that if he is elected, in his first 100 days in office, he will push for concrete changes, like abandoning the Trans Pacific Partnership, among other things, that he believes will resonate here with working class Americans.

Now, this is expected to be a little bit more of a media (ph) address than we're used to seeing from Donald Trump. One of his senior aides said that this will be his most extensive economic address so far. So we'll be standing by for that. And, of course, be waiting to see if he has anything to say today on the latest report on Benghazi. BROWN: We'll be waiting to hear from that. You said it's a more formal

address. Does that mean we're going to - he's going to be reading from a teleprompter?

MURRAY: We do expect him to be reading from a teleprompter today. And these are marks that have been prepared ahead of time. He has consulted with a number of his economic advisors who have weighed in on this. So it is a little bit of a different feel for Donald Trump who, you know, as you know, Pam, tends to be very unscripted in many of his campaign events.

BROWN: Yes, to put it likely. Thank you so much, Sara Murray.

As we await Donald Trump's speech on U.S. economic and trade policy, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee also weighing in on the international side of things, drawing parallels between the so- called Brexit and his own campaign after the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union, saying Brits and Americans alike want to, quote, "take their country back." President Obama warning against jumping to conclusions, saying global cooperation, including the U.K., is not in retreat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's been a little bit of hysteria post Brexit vote, as if somehow NATO's gone and the Trans-Atlantic alliance is dissolving and every country's rushing off to its own corner. And that's not what's happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Let's talk about all of this with international business correspondent Richard Quest. He is live in the E.U. Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

So, Richard, you've just spoke with an architect of the leave movement, U.K. independent party leader Nigel Farage. He sounds a lot like Trump. He had a lot to say about U.S. politics. Tell us about that.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, he most certainly did. He is deeply unpopular in the European parliament where he's been for the last 13 years. And, you know, listening to what the president says about - it does sounds like the world is coming down, the sky is falling, the sky is falling. A lot of this is because of the - both sides have whipped up so much hysteria over the past few weeks.

Now, of course, Nigel Farage has got what he wants. And when you listen to what he says about issues of immigration and all those sort of things, he does sound like Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Our viewers in the United States -

NIGEL FARAGE, BREXIT LEADER: Yes. QUEST: Who are watching now and wondering what on earth is going to happen to Britain, how can Britain thrive - I didn't say survive - I say thrive - outside the European Union when the banks have been decimated in the share price and the threats have been very severe.

FARAGE: You know, yesterday -

QUEST: And the pound has fallen 13, 14 percent.

FARAGE: Yes. And the FTSE's up 3 percent today, 12 percent up since its lows in February. Sterling is marginally lower than it was in February. So can we stop this nonsense about the markets? You know, the pound has been in a bear market since July 2014. Fact.

Now, American viewers, imagine if NAFTA was a political union. Imagine if a court in Mexico could overrule everything that Congress did. Imagine if you had free movement of people with Mexico. How would you feel? You wouldn't like it. And what we're doing in the U.K., we're reasserting our democratic rights. And in terms of business and trade, we'll go on trading.

[14:05:10] QUEST: You are starting to sound, in some way, with the similar policies, to Donald Trump. Now he admires the Brexit result. He said it was fantastic. It was brilliant. Do you admire Donald Trump in this U.S. presidential election?

FARAGE: Well, Donald Trump dares to talk about things that other people want to brush under the carpet. But what Mr. Trump is doing in America is very different than what I'm trying to do in the United Kingdom. My problem in politics is far greater than Donald Trump's. We literally have lost our sovereignty, lost our borders, lost our ability to regulate -

QUEST: He would say the same thing about U.S. borders.

FARAGE: Well, the problem that you've got in the U.S. is illegal immigration. Our problem is legal immigration to half a billion people.

QUEST: So you wouldn't be looking to him for too much support, because on the one hand he also says, if he becomes president of the United States -

FARAGE: Yes. Yes.

QUEST: Barack Obama's going to the back of the trade queue wouldn't happen. You'd be at the front of the queue.

FARAGE: Well, and that's great -

QUEST: So you must - so, in many ways, you must hope he becomes president.

FARAGE: Well, I think for the United Kingdom, I think Trump will be better for us than Barack Obama's been. Of that, there's no doubt.

QUEST: And against (ph) Hillary Clinton or are you not going to take sides at this early stage?

FARAGE: There's nothing on earth that could persuade me ever to vote for Hillary Clinton.

QUEST: You're sure you don't want to think about that for a second?

FARAGE: No. Absolutely not.

QUEST: I mean just so you know -

FARAGE: I mean - I mean - I mean she represents the pinnacle elite. It's almost as if she feels she has divine right to have that job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: And Nigel Farage basically, you know, he is - he is charm personified even though he is vilified on a daily basis in this building and in the British press. And, Pamela, I have the menu. I was talking about it in the last hour. The menu that - it's being called Cameron's last supper, because it is his last council meeting after six years as prime minister. They will be feasting on quail and green bean salad with crispy dried fruit pastry triangles, poached veal tenderloin with seasonal baby veg straws. I have no idea what a seasonal baby veg straw is. I'm sure it's going to be tasty because we're in Belgium and the cuisine is good. And I'm sure some viewer will tell me what a seasonal baby veg straw is, but I - it's lost me at the moment.

BROWN: Yes, we'll have to - we'll have to Google that. I'm not sure myself, but it sure does sound pretty good. And that was a fascinating interview. Richard Quest, thanks so much for bringing us that. We do appreciate it.

QUEST: Thank you.

BROWN: And, by the way, Trump's speech on job and trade is now less than 30 minutes away. And expect more policy insights on the horizon from the Republican nominee for president. A campaign advisor says that Trump will soon start calling for a different kind of ban, not against Muslims but against immigrants from nations with known links to terrorism. Trump's spokeswoman told our Brianna Keilar this will not be a change in his policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATRINA PIERSON, NATIONAL SPOKESWOMAN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Well, it's only really a change if you never knew what the ban was to begin with. You know, I know the news media has been reporting that the initial ban was against all Muslims and that simply was not the case. It was simply for Muslim immigration. And Mr. Trump is simply adding specifics to clarify what his position is -

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I think we actually have the sound bite of his initial - one of his initial explanations of the ban.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.

KEILAR: OK. So, Katrina, that was how he explained it. How is this not an adjustment?

PIERSON: Right. That was actually a line from his - that was a line that he read from the policy. The policy in and of itself was an immigration policy. So the context there is extremely important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So joining me now, Amy Kremer, who co-founded the super PAC Women Vote Trump, and Brad Woodhouse, president of the pro-Clinton group Correct the Record, and he used to be the communications director for the Democratic National Committee.

Great to see both of you.

Amy, I'm going to start with you. Would you admit that this is clearly a change in position?

AMY KREMER, CO-FOUNDER, WOMEN VOTE TRUMP SUPER PAC: Well, I - I mean I have to listen to what Katrina said, and it was part of his immigration policy that he was reading. I think he's refining his policy and clarifying. And I think that that is needed. But at the end of the day, Pamela, what I would say is, you know, when - you can look at the Syrian refugees that are coming across the border or you can look at the San Bernardino terrorist - the wife that came in and she wasn't properly vetted. The problem is, our system is broken and it needs to be fixed. And at the end of the day, that's what really this is all about.

BROWN: But is this clarifying or is this changing his position? Because he said in December that this - he's calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. And now it seems that he is backtracking from that. So, you know, I think, he -

[14:10:06] KREMER: But he also said - he also said, until we know what is going on. And so it wasn't his intention, I don't think ever, to completely shut down all Muslims coming into the states. What he's trying -

BROWN: So do we know what's going on now that he's clarifying that it's just the terrorist countries and not other countries?

KREMER: Well, I think he - I - well, I can't speak to that because I don't think he's actually issued any policy. And I think we're all going to have to wait to see what's out there. And that's exactly what everybody's been wanting is to see exactly what his policy is. And I guess that's going to be coming. And then we'll be able to get into more details on it.

BROWN: Brad, respond.

BRAD WOODHOUSE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Well, look. I don't believe Donald Trump has changed at all. I don't think this is a backtracking. I don't think this is a clarification. I mean let's remember the timeline here. After San Bernardino he read what you played a minute ago, which was a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the country. At the time he even suggested that that would be Muslims that were American citizens who were traveling abroad. After Orlando, he made the Orlando tragedy about himself on Twitter within hours and he bragged about - bragged about that policy. He reiterated it in a speech - in a speech later - later that week.

I mean, look, Donald - and this is not the only group that Donald Trump has these feelings for. He's called, you know, Mexican immigrants rapists and murders. He said he wants a deportation force to round up all 11 million and force them out of the country. So I don't think anybody should believe that Donald Trump is for anything but a total ban on Muslims entering the country.

KREMER: That's absolutely not correct. I mean what Donald Trump wants to do is keep Americans safe.

WOODHOUSE: How can you say that's not correct?

KREMER: He wants - because he's - you're saying - you're making it -

WOODHOUSE: How can you say that's not correct? Listen to his words. Listen to what he said after Orlando, after San Bernardino.

KREMER: He wants America - he wants - he wants to be - Americans to be safe.

WOODHOUSE: He's a racist.

KREMER: Let - let me say something to Brad. Brad -

BROWN: Let me - let me - let me jump in here and just -

KREMER: He is not a racist.

BROWN: Can you agree, Amy, that he is - that he is softening his language, the hard line language he used during the primaries here? Because he went from saying there will be a total ban on Muslims coming in, to now, you know, we're learning - hearing from our Jim Acosta and Gloria Borger that now it's not going to be about Muslims, it's about individuals coming from terrorist countries. A lot of his base supported him because of this Muslim ban and other policies like that. Are you concerned that the softening of his language will impact them?

KREMER: But it's not - this is - this is - the thing is, what Americans want is safety and security. That is the number one issue. We want our borders to be secure and for our families and nation to be secure. That's what all of this is about. And like I said, whether you're talking about the woman that came in and committed the terrorist act in San Bernardino, or you're talking about the 10,000 refugees that the Obama administration is going to let in from Syria and Hillary Clinton has said she's going to increase it to 65,000, that's a 650 percent increase.

WOODHOUSE: But he - but after Orlando - after Orlando -

KREMER: Are you willing to risk one American life to let those people in? They need to be properly vetted.

WOODHOUSE: Pamela - Pamela, after - after Orlando, Donald -

KREMER: And you can't properly vet them with no documentation.

BROWN: OK. So then if you can't properly -

WOODHOUSE: After Orlando, Donald Trump -

BROWN: OK, go ahead, Brad.

WOODHOUSE: After - after Orlando, Donald Trump reiterated his support for a ban on all Muslims. And in that case, the individual there was an American citizen. It wouldn't have had anything to do with preventing that attack. Look, I think anyone that thinks that Donald Trump is going to change -

KREMER: But, Brad, there was a breakdown there.

WOODHOUSE: He said yesterday, I do what I - I -- what's that?

KREMER: There was a breakdown between the FBI, the CIA, the local authorities. Somewhere there was a breakdown. And that's exactly what I'm talking about.

WOODHOUSE: I understand that, that there was -

KREMER: And I'm sure you could agree with me that at the end of the day what it -

WOODHOUSE: But it didn't have anything to do with his - it didn't have anything to do with his Muslim ban. And he reiterated support for that afterwards even though this was an American citizen. So if anyone believes that Donald Trump is going to change, they haven't watched Donald Trump in the balance of this election.

KREMER: We know -

BROWN: And we're waiting to see his final proposal on this. So he has not come out to lay out the specifics of this ban and banning people from terrorist countries and so forth.

But, Brad, you know, the argument is being made that he's changing his tune, that he's flip-flopping. But, you know, could the same be said about Hillary Clinton, particularly when it comes to TPP? We know Trump's about to speak on trade. He, no doubt, will hit her on that. What is your response to that?

WOODHOUSE: Well, I don't - I don't think so at all. I mean if you look at the history of Hillary Clinton when she was in the Senate, she voted for some trade deals, she voted against other trade deals. She happens to be against TPP and she's reiterated her opposition to - opposition to that. So I don't think that that charge holds any water at all.

BROWN: Amy, do you agree?

KREMER: She was - she was for - she was for it before she was against it. She's flip-flopped on it. And I don't really know it -

WOODHOUSE: Well, that's not true. That's not true. That's not - that's not true at all.

KREMER: I mean, look, they've got Clinton Foundations around the world. She's taken - It absolutely is true. It absolutely is true.

WOODHOUSE: That is - that is not - that isn't true at all. She worked in an administration that was pursuing it.

KREMER: Go - read her - her book. Reading her book -

WOODHOUSE: When she became a candidate, she came out against it. You're just not - you're just not being (INAUDIBLE) -

BROWN: Do you think Bernie Sanders has influenced her at all, Brad, to go against it, the Bernie Sanders movement and how much, you know, steam he was gaining with the populist movement? Do you think that influenced her at all? Brad?

[14:15:07] WOODHOUSE: Well, I - no, I don't think so. I think she - I think, you know, when she left - when she left the State Department later on the agreement was completed. She got to read it in full and she came out against it. That is the type of thorough consideration that people - that people should have in politics. It's certainly not the example that Donald Trump follows though.

BROWN: All right, Amy Kremer, Brad Woodhouse, thank you so much to the both of you for that spirited discussion.

KREMER: Thanks.

WOODHOUSE: Thank you.

BROWN: We do appreciate it.

KREMER: Thanks.

BROWN: And up next, by the way, after years of investigating and millions of dollars, Republicans in the House finally releasing their report on Benghazi and Hillary Clinton's role. Hear what they found.

Plus, President Obama warning against hysteria over Brexit. And now the man who led the charge is blasting Obama. Hear why as we wait for Donald Trump's big speech. We're going to take it live. Stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: Just in to CNN, the father of the gunman responsible for the terror attack in Orland that killed 49 people is now apologizing for what happened. In a statement he says, "I, Seddique Mateen, and the family condemn and whole-heartedly apologize to the victims and the people of the United States of America for what has happened. Omar does not represent the family, community and Muslims in the United States. Terrorist groups such as ISIS and the Taliban are always rejected by us."

[14:20:10] CNN has also learned that neither of the gunman's family or friends attended his burial.

And I want to go now to Donald Trump. He is speaking about trade in Pennsylvania.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: And I have to say, all of the amazing workers. Gabe said they're the most important. The amazing workers. And I know you've been through some very, very tough times, but we're going to make it better and we're going to make it better fast, OK, just watch.

So today I'm going to talk about how to make America wealthy again. Have to do it. We're 30 miles from steel city. Pittsburgh played a central role in building our nation. The legacy of Pennsylvania steel workers lives in the bridges, railways and skyscrapers that make up our great American landscape.

But our workers' loyalty was repaid - you know it better than anybody - with total betrayal. Our politicians have aggressively pursued a policy of globalization, moving our jobs, our wealth and our factories to Mexico and overseas. Globalization has made the financial elite who donate to politicians very, very wealthy. I used to be one of them. Hate to say it, but I used to be one. But it's left millions of our workers with nothing but poverty and heartache.

We subsidized foreign steel is dumped into our markets, threatening our factories, the politicians have proven, folks, have proven, they do nothing. For years they watched on the sidelines as our jobs vanished and our communities were plunged into depression level unemployment. Many of these areas have still never recovered and never will unless I become president. Then they're going to recover fast.

Our politicians took away from the people their means of making a living and supporting their families. Skilled craftsman and trades people and factory workers have seen the jobs they love shift thousands and thousands of miles away. Many Pennsylvania towns, once thriving and humming, are now in a state of total disrepair. This wave of globalization has wiped out totally - totally - our middle class. It doesn't have to be this way. We can turn it around and we can turn it around fast.

But if we're going to deliver real change, we're going to have to reject the campaign of fear and intimidation being pursued by powerful corporations, media elites, and political dynasties. The people who rigged the system for their benefit will do anything and say anything to keep things exactly the way they are. The people who rigged the system are supporting Hillary Clinton because they know as long as she is in charge nothing's going to change.

The inner cities will remain poor. The factories will remain closed. The borders will remain open. The special interests will remain firmly in control. Hillary Clinton and her friends in global finance want to scare America into thinking small. And they want to scare American people out of voting for the better future. And you have a great future, folks. You have a great future.

These people have given her tens of millions of dollars. My campaign has the absolute opposite message. I want you to imagine a much better life and a life where you can believe in the American dream again. Right now you can't do that.

I want you to imagine how much better our future can be if we declare independence from the elites who led us from one financial and foreign policy disaster to another. Our friends in Britain recently voted to take back control of their economy, politics and borders.

[14:25:16] I was on the right side of that issue, as you know, with the people. I was there. I said it was going to happen. I felt it. While Hillary, as always, stood with the elites and both she and President Obama predicted that one, and many others, totally wrong.

Now, it's time for the American people to take back their future. We're going to take it back.

That's the choice we face. We can either give in to Hillary Clinton's campaign of fear, or we can choose to believe again in America.

Very sadly, we lost our way when we stopped believing in our country. America became the world's dominant economy by becoming the world's dominant producer. You know that from right here, right in this plant.

The wealth this created was shared broadly, creating the biggest middle class the world has ever known. But then America changed its policy from promoting development in America - in, in, in America, to promoting development in other nations. That's what's happening and that's what's happened. We allowed foreign countries to subsidize their goods, devalue their currencies, violate their agreements, and cheat in every way imaginable. And our politicians did nothing about it.

Trillions of our dollars and millions of our jobs flowed overseas as a result. I have visited cities and towns across this country where a third or even half of manufacturing jobs have been wiped out in the last 20 years. Today we import nearly 800 billion more in goods than we export. We can't continue to do that.

This is not some natural disaster. It's a political and politician- made disaster. Very simple. And it can be corrected. And we can correct it fast when we have people with the right thinking, right up here. It is the consequence - it is the consequence of the leadership class that worships globalism over Americanism. This is a direct affront to our founding fathers, who America wanted to be strong. They wanted this country to be strong and they wanted it to be independent and they wanted it to be free. Our founding fathers understood trade much better than our current politicians, believe me. George Washington said that the promotion of domestic manufacturing will be among the first consequences to flow from an energetic government. Alexander Hamilton spoke frequently of the expediency of encouraging manufacturing in, in, in the United States.

And listen to this. The first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, warned that, quote, "the abandonment of the protective policy by the American government will produce want and ruin among our people." He understood it much better than our current politicians. That's why he was Abraham Lincoln, I guess.

[14:29:46] Our original Constitution did not even have an income tax. Instead it had tariffs emphasizing taxation of foreign, not domestic, production. Yet today, 240 years after the revolution, we've turned things completely upside down. We tax and regulate and restrict our companies to death and then we allow foreign