Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Russia Suspected of Hacking DNC Emails; Donald Trump's Campaign Rhetoric Criticized; Zika Virus Reported in Florida; Donald Trump Campaign's Possible Ties to Russia Business and Political Interests Examined; Friendship Between Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump Examined. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired July 30, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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


[10:00:00] MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST: -- perspective, but there are time constraints. What else? Joseph who says, "The debates will be the highest rated show since "Seinfeld" or "Friends" finales excluding Super Bowl. Advertisers are doing backflips." Yes, I'm doing a backflip as well.

I'm going away on vacation. I'll see you back here in two weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. officials now saying it is likely it was Russia that hacked 20,000 e-mails.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wouldn't it be nice if we actually did get along with Russia?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The timing raising questions about whether it was an attempt to influence the U.S. election.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what their motive is. Do I believe they have done it? That's certainly the way it looks.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have 100 days to make our case to America.

TRUMP: No more Mr. Nice guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to win. We have to win.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary Clinton must never become president of the United States of America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're absolutely sure?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, 100 percent. No doubts in my mind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three men and one woman in south Florida believed to be the first cases of this kind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zika doesn't just bite Republicans or Democrats or independents. It bites everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome this morning. We so appreciate your company as always. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. CNN Newsroom begins right now. And it is a busy weekend for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. In just a few hours they will be in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, their first stop for their bus tour today across Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Democrats have been the target of three cyber-attacks, the latest one, a hack on a computer system that's crucial to Clinton's effort to win the White House. CNN's Dianne Gallagher is live from Washington. So what kind of information did these hackers get?

DIANE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Victor, essentially this is a DNC data program. It's hosted and served by the DNC, maintained by the DNC, but it is used by campaigns including the Clinton campaign. And what is on it is basically a list. It's a voter data base that includes information like your contact information, your participation rate. A Clinton aide did tell us this isn't talking about your Social Security number, your credit card number or anything like that. And they do insist that their internal servers that had their e-mails, their internal communication, things like that, those were not breached. Totally separate thing. But still, Senator Dianne Feinstein who is on the Senate intelligence committee, ranking Democrat there, said that all the campaigns should be worried now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D) CALIFORNIA: I think it should be pretty clear that both campaigns should be aware that there is a problem out there. And I think until the technical people can come up with some solutions, which are more ironclad, and I don't know whether that can be done or not, everybody should be cautious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: And, of course, this Clinton campaign hack is the third hack that we're finding out about just this week of a Democratic organization. The fundraising arm of the DCCC of the Democratic Party also hacked in. Of course, the DNC hack, Victor, that we learned about earlier this week that kind of got the convention off to a rocky start and ended Debbie Wasserman Schultz's position there.

BLACKWELL: Yes, a rough week last week for the Democrats, at least it started that way. It ended pretty well. Let me ask you. It's unlikely Clinton will mention this in Johnstown today. Where else is she headed? And what about Donald Trump and Mike Pence?

GALLAGHER: So chances are Hillary Clinton is probably not going to highlight this on her bus tour with Tim Kaine across the rust belt. She is starting off in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that's about 12:45 kicking off. She's then going to head on to Pittsburgh and she's going to end her evening in Youngstown, Ohio. She's going to continue on in Ohio and both Cleveland and Columbus tomorrow as well, kind of reminiscent of that 1992 bus tour that the Clintons did with the Gores. Getting Tim Kaine to this part of the country is very important. Victor, Donald Trump and Mike Pence both at home in their respective states New York and Indiana this weekend with no scheduled events.

BLACKWELL: All right, Dianne Gallagher from Washington, thank you so much.

PAUL: Let's bring in Sean Spicer, chief strategist and communications director of the Republican National Committee. Good morning, Sean, good to see you.

SEAN SPICER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Good morning, Christi.

PAUL: Same to you. So I want to ask you first and foremost coming off of that report, any concerns that there could be some hacks within the RNC?

SPICER: Well, we take every precaution necessary. We are constantly updating our systems. Obviously, this is a great concern. And so we'll continue to monitor the situation. But we're -- we have not had anything to report at this time.

PAUL: All right, I want to start with things Donald Trump has said in the last 24 hours, particularly concerning tone and temperament. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm making the gloves off, right? Yes? Take the gloves off. Take the gloves off.

(APPLAUSE)

[10:05:02] TRUMP: I think I have a great temperament. I beat 16 very talented people and I've never done this before. You don't do that with a bad temperament. I'm leading her in the polls as you probably have noticed. And I think I have a great temperament. I have a temperament where I know how to win. She doesn't know how to win, she's not a winner. She doesn't know how to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: What might have stood out to a lot of people, Sean, is the fact that he said the gloves are off. Haven't the gloves been off? We are kind of wondering what that means, because it's already been pretty harsh?

SPICER: I think what that means is we both have gotten past our respective conventions. We're now clearly in the general election phase. Both sides have their respective vice presidential picks named, and we're heading into the election ready to go.

PAUL: So we're not going to see a change in tone from him necessarily? SPICER: I don't think that's what he wants. The reason he has done

so well is because he is who he is. He's not fake. He tells it like it is. Sometimes it's not as pretty and nuanced as Washington politicians like, but I think that makes people want to engage in Donald Trump and trust him more than they trust Hillary. Just during convention week, his Facebook page reached 175 million people. That was the total reach of his Facebook page. That's just unheard of. There is a desire to be part of this Trump movement that most politicians would kill for. It's authentic, it's real, it's undefined. It's different than anything that's ever had before.

And I think what happens is that a lot of folks in the media and a lot of pundits and, frankly, a lot of political operatives want to put this campaign and this cycle in a box based on the last few and say this is how it is supposed to works. This is what you're supposed to say. And Donald Trump defies all that because I think he's tapping into something that the American people are dying for, which is authenticity and somebody who is not going to part of the status quo, which is what Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine represent.

PAUL: These are all good points. It is also entertainment for some. So it may be all the people that are flocking to him just want to know what he's saying as well. Maybe they aren't on the Trump train, necessarily. But speaking of tweets, he did tweet about the upcoming presidential debates, and I just want to read this to you. He said, "As usual, Hillary and the Dems are trying to rig the debates so two are up against mayor NFL games. Same as last time with Bernie. Unacceptable." Here's the thing, Sean. The commission on presidential debates is nonpartisan, it's nonprofit. And if you Take a look at the website, they set these dates for the debates back in September of last year. So help us understand the rhetoric being rigged, because that seems to be what he's intimating.

SPICER: If you look back is that put out an entire critique of the presidential debate. Just because it's bipartisan doesn't mean it's good. I think there's been a tremendous amount of criticism of the way the presidential debate system has works. I think it does need a lot of revamping. It announced those dates without any consultation of the parties, without any consultation of the candidates.

PAUL: But there were no nominees at the time.

SPICER: Fair enough. But my point is that it doesn't mean it's a good system. I think the idea that the people make all these decisions about campaigns and parties in a vacuum is it a problem. And I think, frankly, it's bipartisan. If you ask Democrats, they'll express similar concerns about how this process has worked. That entire system needs to be relooked at. I think the Annenberg Study presents a lot of good reasons why the system is flawed as it stands. And I can understand this. Just think about it, you announce debates on a night that major NFL games are going with top teams are playing off against each other and you wonder why people are upset about that. Of course he's got a good point. This was a dumb idea and it should be revisited.

PAUL: OK, Hillary Clinton campaign has a pretty tough ad out right now featuring Trump in his own voice. Let's listen to it here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: As you can tell them to go -- themselves.

I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I won't lose any voters, OK. It's like incredible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Sean, we talked about this a couple weeks ago. You're a dad. There is a certain respect that we all want to make sure we give the office, the commander in chief, and we go home and tell our kids not to call people names, not to put up with people who do it to us. Is there a part of you what wishes his message was delivered differently?

SPICER: As a dad, I try to emulate my dad. I think I had the greatest dad growing up and an amazing mother. That's who I emulate. I think if you want to look at both candidates and say, I could run a series of clips of Hillary Clinton as well and say, do you want to emulate that, do you want to emulate somebody who took the trust of our country, swore they would uphold keeping the secrets safe, and then put them on a private server to evade protection.

PAUL: Would you sit down with your kid and say, I want you to be like that?

[10:10:00] SPICER: No, but I can also tell you that I can find a dozen if not more than that clips of the DNC saying nasty things about Donald Trump. Christi, here's the thing, is that it is always about Donald Trump. Look at -- let's talk about the Dem convention for a second. Speaker after speaker after speaker were booed, people walked out. They booed a recipient of the medal of honor. They booed Leon Panetta. They booed a four-star general. They booed Hillary Clinton 18 times.

I think that the Clinton campaign is doing a sleight of hand here because what they don't want to do is focus on the deep divisions within the Democratic Party. The fact of the matter is I vehemently disagree with some of the people on that stage, but they deserve respect. Leon Panetta served this country with distinction. He is a good man. I may disagree with him, most Republicans disagree with a lot of his policies. But the idea that he stood up at the convention and was booed down is unbelievable that we are not talking about the lack of respect and the massive divisions in the Democratic Party when it comes to somebody like that. You may disagree with me on Panetta. You may disagree with General Allen, you may disagree with the recipient of the medal of honor, although I don't know how you do that, but booing from a convention stage of your own part is unbelievably disrespectful and a massive problem for the Democratic Party.

PAUL: But the Republicans booed Ted Cruz?

SPICER: You're absolutely right. But they booed Ted Cruz for not standing on the stage to support the nominee. And I'll take that every day of the week. If you show up at the convention and don't support the nominee, yes, you will be booed. They booed people who were supporting the nomination at their nomination. That's vastly different. They had a massive walk out. We didn't. I get it. The only person that got booed at the Republican convention was the one individual who did not stand on that stage and say too much is at stake, vote for Donald Trump.

PAUL: I got you. Sean Spicer, thank you for taking time for us.

SPICER: Thank you, Christi.

PAUL: Appreciate it. Have a good day.

BLACKWELL: For more on the tone on campaigns, we have our panel to weighing in. Tharon Johnson and Amy Kremer are back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:04] BLACKWELL: Welcome back. Quarter after the hour now, the general election is about 100 days away now. And Donald Trump says the gloves are off. Let's talk about what that means. Here with me Amy Kremer, co-founder of the group Women Vote Trump, and Tharon Johnson, a former Obama campaign staffer and a Hillary Clinton supporter. Good to have you both of you back.

JOHNSON: It's good to be here.

BLACKWELL: So this is a common chant at the Trump rallies, "Lock her up." I want you to watch what Donald Trump said after it was repeated in Colorado.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Lock her up!

TRUMP: You know what? I've been saying -- I've, been saying -- let's just beat her on November 8th. But you know what? No, no, you know what? I'm starting to agree with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Starting to agree with that chant, "lock her up." Why the change?

AMY KREMER, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: He says the gloves are coming off. I guess that's part of the gloves coming off. But I want to make it clear that there's not anybody going out there whipping these people to say this. I think it is genuine, authentic. And what it is about is her being held, having a different set of rules. Laws apply to her differently than they apply to you and I. And people are angry about it. When the FBI, when she has a chance to delete 33,000 e- mails and the FBI doesn't bust her door in and take her server where you know that if it were you and I they would be busting in our door to take her server, that's concerning to people. THARON JOHNSON, FORMER OBAMA CAMPAIGN STAFFER: I think Donald Trump

has made a fundamental decision that he's got to be the Donald Trump that we have seen for over a year. I think --

KREMER: That's the genuine Donald Trump.

JOHNSON: Yes, but the missed opportunity there is that he's running for president. The conventions are over. We have 100 days left. What he could have done, Amy, is that he could have said to his supporter, listen, let's not use that type of tone, let's not do that. Be very statesman like and presidential. Instead he's letting the supporters, whether they need motivation from Donald Trump or not, chant "lock her up." How divisive --

KREMER: He's interacting.

JOHNSON: Yes, but I'm saying he is now 100 days away. I think that the problem is that he's not fit to really kind of go into that statesman like, and it just only solidifies what people have been saying about his temperament. Again, he's running for president. The president is supposed to heal people and bring folks together. And he's letting these folks chant as his rally, and that is just inappropriate.

KREMER: I have to say we are more divided than we have ever been. Our president has not brought us together like that. We are a more divided nation than we have ever been. And obviously there is something is going on here where people are gravitating towards him. When you talk about the temperament --

BLACKWELL: Is he closing that divide by saying his opponent should be locked up?

KREMER: I think he's interacting with his supporters, and he is saying the gloves are going to come off. I mean, imagine how, as a person, how he must feel. I couldn't have taken all that came at him from the Democratic convention. And it was speaker after speaker after speaker. At some point you have to push back.

BLACKWELL: Let me come to you on Hillary Clinton. She is going to Nebraska on Monday to try to pick up the electoral vote there because it's by district there instead of the entire state. Sitting down with FOX News, that interview is going to air this weekend. She obviously is reaching out beyond her base. But her unfavorables are exceedingly high with the group she's now reaching out toward. What evidence is there that this will work?

JOHNSON: Well, the goal here, Victor, is to get 270 electoral votes. And so what they are doing in the campaign, because I was there four years ago, is you are looking at different pathways to 270. What she's doing by going to states like Nebraska, she's going to visit states like Georgia and Arizona, these are all states that are actually changing and leaning more blue. But I think that, listen, the race is in the middle. You can't forget, we had 125 million people vote in 2012. It's probably going to be around that number if not higher. She can't do it alone just with Democrats. She's got to have a message that's very attractive to independent women. And I think she's doing a very strategic decision, it's a good decision, to go with the states that typically lean red.

KREMER: I think both of them, though, are trying to appeal to the independents. And her negatives are up there. And look at the number of people --

BLACKWELL: How is Trump getting those independents?

KREMER: He's reaching out to them as well. You'll see --

BLACKWELL: But how?

KREMER: No, I think the way he'll get them is by talking about the things important to people, jobs and the economy and safety and security, our national security. That affects everybody. And we don't want four more years of the status quo, and I think a lot of independents feel the same way.

BLACKWELL: We have to wrap it there. Amy, Tharon, thank you both. Christi?

PAUL: Miami, florid has the first cases of locally transmitted Zika virus. CNN's Nick Valencia is there to check it out. Hi, Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Christi. We are in ground zero. This neighborhood is the ground zero spot for the first cases of locally transmitted Zika virus in the continental United States. I'm Nick Valencia in Miami, Florida. After the break, we'll tell you what the department of health is doing to combat the virus. You're watching the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:23:38] PAUL: Well, blood centers in south Florida are now screening all their donations for the Zika virus after the state reports the first non-travel related case of the virus in the U.S. The CDC says the infections were from mosquito bites. All of this happening just north of downtown Miami. And now the state's responding to try to stop it obviously from spreading. CNN's Nick Valencia joining us from Miami.

How are they responding, Nick, in the sense of trying to protect women who are pregnant, specifically there, because I have to think they feel very vulnerable right now?

VALENCIA: That's certainly the concern. But you would be surprised to learn, Christi, that there are some people we have spoken to in this area this morning who had no idea about the local transmission of the Zika virus here. Having said that, they are tourists. This has been a concerted effort by the local department health officials here to try to get the news out via text message, phone call, local radio, news. They want to make sure people know they are aware that they are at risk in this neighborhood.

The good news in all of this is the department of Florida health officials have taken necessary precautions in the weeks leading up to the announcement yesterday by the governor, things like trying to trap mosquitos in this area, trying to get rid of standing water, and also spraying in an area that they suspected all along was infected. Earlier this morning we did see a Miami-Dade county official here spraying insecticides, going block to block to try to limit exposure to those here in this area.

[10:25:01] Earlier we spoke with chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta about perhaps the next steps to be taken by health officials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't think, and I have talked to several folks at the CDC, I don't think first of all that there's going to be any recommendations that come from the CDC that suggest that women delay pregnancy even in Florida or south Texas or Louisiana where this is most likely to spread. But it is obviously of concern. I think they are going to recommend what they have been recommending all along, that women take precautions in terms of just wearing long sleeves, even in the summer months, wearing insect repellant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The department of health officials say that they believe the local transmission has been confined to this area just north of downtown Miami, one zip code. They are however going door to door to test other people here in this area, asking for blood samples, urine samples to make sure no others have contracted this virus. So that testing we should expect that to continue I the days and weeks ahead. Christi?

PAUL: Nick Valencia, live for us there, we appreciate it, Nick. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: It's a question that's been asked several times during the campaign and increasingly in the last week. Does Donald Trump have ties to Russia? We have an in-depth look coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have nothing to do with Putin. I have never spoken to him. I don't know anything about him.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But when he brought his Miss Universe Pageant to Moscow in 2013, Trump said he spoke personally with Putin.

TRUMP: I was in Russia, I was in Moscow recently, and I spoke indirectly and directly with President Putin, who could not have been nicer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: And I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you. We are approaching the 100-day mark until the general election.

[10:30:00] And Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine, are going to be out talking to voters today. They are on a bush tour of Pennsylvania and then Cleveland and Columbus tomorrow. This is happening as the Clinton campaign says hackers breached a really important computer system they rely on. Democrats are worried since there were two other hacks on part organizations. Officials say Russia may be behind the attacks, but the Russians have denied having anything to do with it.

PAUL: And the Clinton campaign is accusing Russia of hacked, as we said, the Democratic National Committee's e-mails in order to help Donald Trump. That is their contention. Trump's denying that. He says he has no ties to Russia, past or present.

BLACKWELL: CNN's senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin fin has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The current controversy over Donald Trump's Russian connection comes from a dug up quote from 2008 made by his son, Don Jr. The younger Trump reportedly told a real estate conference that family members made a half dozen trips to Russia, that several buyers have been attracted to our projects, and Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. And according to Don J. back in 2008, we see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.

But what you can't see in Russia is a lot of Trump. An attempt to build a Trump Tower in Moscow fell through before it began. And CNN can find no projects that were actually completed in Russia. The only real ventures, an attempt to sell vodka to Russians which failed. And in 2013, Trump made millions when he partnered with a Russian billionaire to host his Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow. Trump appeared in a music video with his billionaire Russian partners rock star son --

TRUMP: You're fired!

GRIFFIN: And boasting of the pageant's success, Trump even tweeted "Trump tower Moscow is next." He trademarked not one but eight different combinations of his brand and name in Russia, and that was it.

DIMITRI K. SIMES, THE CENTER FOR NATIONAL INTEREST: He tried to negotiate deals. He was present in Russia. He tried meeting with Putin. It did not work out.

GRIFFIN: Dimitri Simes, the president of a Washington think tank that encourages stronger relations between the U.S. and Russia, says when it comes to any relations, especially in business between Trump and Russia, they are very hard to find.

SIMES: I'm not aware of any merger, business endeavors on Trump's part in Russia.

GRIFFIN: The real story may be that Trump's business endeavors in Russia turned out to be failures?

SIMES: What I can say with certainty is that the Trump Organization is not a major presence in Russia. When you talk to Americans who invest in Russia, they never mention the Trump Organization as a serious player in Russia.

GRIFFIN: Trump has had better luck dealing with Russians living in the U.S., sort of. He partnered with the Bayrock Group, a company run by Soviet immigrants and according to a lawsuit filed, financed by Russian and Kazakhstan money. Together the developed Trump properties in Fort Lauderdale and New York, and they planned on opening a Trump Tower in Moscow. But Trump said in a deposition, that plan ended after media reports started to question Trump's net worth and the partners with Russian ties in the U.S. backed out.

Trump did make news with another Russian-related deal. He sold his Florida mansion to a Russian billionaire for $95 million, Trump walking away with a tidy $54 million profit.

While Trump may have limited ties with Russia, the real connection may be the man who seems to be running his campaign. Paul Manafort has been a U.S. Republican campaign adviser for decades, but he raised international eyebrows when he became a political consultant to this presidential candidate, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort helped Yanukovych get elected in 2010 back in the days Yanukovych was still friendly with the United States. Manafort says he was trying to encourage Ukraine to become friendly with Europe.

PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I was involved in activities that related directly with U.S. Europe and European foreign policy.

GRIFFIN: Since then Yanukovych's government crumbled, he fled to Russia and urged Vladimir Putin to invade his own country, which Putin did. In 2014 the U.S. sanctioned Yanukovych for threatening the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

CNN reporter finds Manafort has Russia clients. He has advised Russians in the United States. But he has no ties to the Kremlin.

The question now is, is Paul Manafort now advising Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin may not be such a bad guy after all and that Russia had a right to invade the Ukraine? And that if elected President Trump should leave Putin and the Ukraine alone? A question silly to some has become serious when Donald Trump was asked about it.

[10:35:12] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you became president would you recognize the annexed peninsula as a Russian territory?

TRUMP: We'll be looking at that, yes.

GRIFFIN: A point reiterated when Trump's campaign reportedly changed the Republican Party platform to take a much more pro-Russian view of the Ukraine conflict.

MATTHEW ROJANSKY, DIRECTOR, KENNAN INSTITUTE: There's a lot of this coincidence that is very troubling around this specific issue, especially when you consider just how substance-free most of the other issue areas in the campaign have been. But on Ukraine they are taking this very firm position, and it's not clear why. That I think is troubling.

GRIFFIN: So it really something? Is Donald Trump really somehow connected to Russian political interests, to Putin and Putin's view of the world because he has an adviser that advised a Ukraine candidate six years ago, or is this all just like Donald Trump's business endeavors in Russia, lots and lots of talk, but in the end, as they say in Russian, nonsense?

Drew Griffin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right, our thanks to Drew there.

Politicians spent two weeks putting on the best case for why their candidate should win. But they have not yet convinced everyone. Up next, we'll talk to two people who are still undecided, and we'll hear why they still have questions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:11] PAUL: It's 40 minutes past the hour. And the general election, 100 days away, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton battling it out for the swing states. Donald Trump hitting Colorado yesterday before he heads to Ohio on Monday. Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine taking a bus tour through the rust belt, each of them trying to woe the independent and undecided voters who can make or break this race.

What do they need to hear? Well, you know what, let's talk to a couple of those voters. We are joined by Bryan Solomon-Puertas who will vote for a third party, and Sara Zervos who says she's a Republican but she's voting for Hillary Clinton. Thank you both for being with us, we appreciate it. So I wanted to ask you, first of all, Bryan, did you watch the convention? And what was your take away?

BRYAN SOLOMON-PUERTAS, INDEPENDENT VOTER: I work in the evenings so I wasn't able to watch the conventions live, but I listened to a lot of political podcasts and I was able to watch the speeches later. My feeling is that we have two candidates with pretty high name recognition. People know who they are. I don't think anyone's mind was really changed. And my -- where I feel as an independent, they didn't say much to me. I mean, the Democrats made a small effort with having Mike Bloomberg as one of the speakers, but I didn't really feel like they were speaking to me.

PAUL: So real quickly, Bryan, you said you are going to vote for a third party. Which third party, do you know yet?

SOLOMON-PUERTAS: No. I consider myself a progressive independent. So New York, with the electoral votes, it's such a deep blue state. It hasn't gone to a Republican since 1984 with Ronald Reagan. And Trump is no Reagan. So I feel freed up to be more strategic with my vote. So I'm going to take a look at some of the third party candidates. I haven't made my decision yet, but that's more likely where I'll be going. If I live in more of a swing state like Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Florida, then I would feel more constrained to vote for the lesser of two evils. And that's really the choice independent voters have. We didn't get to vote in the primary. I didn't get to help pick a candidate I believe in. So that is really the issue I feel more strongly as an independent, being able to be included in the process.

PAUL: And that has been an argument of Bernie Sanders that a lot of independents didn't get to vote. Sarah, what made you decide to, as a Republican, choose Hillary Clinton at this point?

SARA ZERVOS, REPUBLICAN VOTING FOR HILLARY CLINTON: You know what, actually, it just happened a few weeks ago. And it wasn't as a matter of watching the policy debates and watching the Republican convention, but it was a scene I saw that took place, I think, at the convention that really shocked me and it tilted me to the Hillary camp. And that was one where there was a woman holding a sign that said "no racism, no hate." And that is not very controversial. I think most of us can align ourselves with that message.

But what happened was there was an elderly couple grabbing the sign from her hands, and a couple gentlemen throwing a flag over it trying to suppress the lady's speech for pronouncing this message. And what clarified in my mind is that as an independent voter I tend to pick one policy issue that I think is going to be critical in the next four years, and usually that's the economy.

This time around I think it's the actual society rifts that we're facing because the role model and chief, our future president, is laying the groundwork for how people behave. And ultimately with Trump showing us that it's OK to punch people that we don't agree with, that it's OK to call our colleagues names, it's really bringing out the worst in Americans.

And America really is a society that has peacefully co-existed with many different races, many different religions, many different sexual preferences, and that is in danger. So as I witness that event, it really pushed me to the other side. I'm not very optimistic about the economic policies of the Democratic platform, especially as they become Bernified, but at this point I have to vote according to the societal rift issue.

PAUL: So you made your decision based on what you saw amongst people who are on the floor of the convention, but not necessarily Donald Trump himself. I'm just wondering, is there anything that he can say since you are a Republican that would entice you to vote for him?

ZERVOS: I think that, you know, I was really hoping as he became the presumptive delegate into the actual nominated Republican candidate that he would change his tone and start bringing people together. And we're all sick of this divisive term, but in reality it's just every single time he speaks he's pitting one type of class of people against another. And it is us/them mentality. And I think that is his core personality. So unless he decides to change on a dime, it would be hard to change my mind now.

[10:45:14] PAUL: Bryan, the latest Rasmussun poll taken on Thursday shows Hillary Clinton at 43 percent, Donald Trump at 42 percent. So this is a race that is truly up in the air. Voting for a third party, do you fear that you are handing the race to either one of these candidates?

SOLOMON-PUERTAS: In New York, because it's such a deep blue state, I don't feel a risk personally. If I lived, as I said, in one of the swing states, I might feel more wary of doing that. But voters should vote for a candidate they believe in. They shouldn't vote just to vote for a winner. That's part of the problem we have is because have a first pass the post system where it's winner take all, voters feel constrained to only vote for one or the other.

PAUL: Sure.

SOLOMON-PUERTAS: And this -- right now there's 150 million registered voters. There's maybe about 65 million independent voters that aren't really being spoken to that their main issue is the process of how we get people elected, how we get policy made. And that's what is important to me is no matter who gets elected, they are going to have to deal with the hyper-partisan Congress that is obstructionist to the other side. Politicians can't reach across the aisle. They can't compromise, they can't be independent-minded, mostly because of the closed primary elections where you have five percent to 10 percent of the voters, the most extremist dogmatic, ideological elements picking who the candidates are. That's who they respond to once they get elected.

PAUL: You're both in strong company there. An awful lot of people as we continue to hear on a daily basis have not decided what to do with only 100 days to go. So we appreciate the fact that you shared your thoughts with us on how you're reconciling all of this to come to your own conclusions. Bryan Solomon, Sara Zervos, thank you both.

SOLOMON-PUERTAS: Thank you.

ZERVOS: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Donald Trump says the gloves are off. The Clinton camp says that Trump is dangerous. No love lost between those Trumps and Clintons, but there's another pair that's holding strong to a friendship despite some public battles. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amid the campaign's fury, an unlikely alliance, Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton, fierce political foes, steadfast personal friends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:51:16] BLACKWELL: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are ramping up the attacks as we now are in the general election. But despite the vitriol and the name-calling, their daughters have remained close friends. But now Trump said that's becoming an issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I asked Ivanka, do you like Chelsea? I do, dad. Really? Yes, I really do. Oh, I wish you didn't, it would be a lot easier, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Well, Tom Foreman takes a closer look at the bond between Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton and the speculation as to whether it can survive the election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Lying crooked Hillary. She's a liar.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump talks about make America great again. He doesn't make a thing in America except bankruptcies.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amid the campaign's fury and unlikely alliance, Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton, fierce political foes, steadfast personal friends. Chelsea says it's so.

CHELSEA CLINTON: Our friendship has nothing to do with politics. We were friends before the election and will be friends after the election.

FOREMAN: And Ivanka does too, telling "People" magazine we're both incredibly supportive of our parents as we should be, but we also continue to have great respect for one another.

A dozen years ago when their families where friends, the two met and found they had things in common. They still do. Both are married, mid-30s with Ivy League educations and children. Both grew up with famous fathers facing personal turmoil. And both have taken a deep interest in their parents bid for the White House, indeed introducing them at their party's conventions.

CHELSEA CLINTON: My mother --

IVANKA TRUMP: My father --

CHELSEA CLINTON: And our --

IVANKA TRUMP: Next president --

CHELSEA CLINTON: Hillary Clinton --

IVANKA TRUMP: Donald J. Trump.

FOREMAN: But there are sharp differences, too. For example, after Ivanka praised her father's record for hiring and promoting women, promising he'll do the same as president --

IVANKA TRUMP: He will fight for equal pay for equal work.

FOREMAN: Her friend Chelsea quickly shot back.

CHELSEA CLINTON: How would you father do that given it's not something he's spoken about? There are no policies on any of those fronts that you mentioned on his website.

FOREMAN: With the race growing only nastier and each woman pushing so far for her parent to win, it's fair to wonder if their cross-party friendship can survive.

CLINTON: A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.

TRUMP: I just beat 16 people and I'm beating her.

FOREMAN: Amid the scorching rhetoric, Ivanka says they have not seen each other lately, although asked about a daughter's summit to ease campaign tensions, Chelsea said --

CHELSEA CLINTON: It isn't something that occurred to me but it's certainly something I would consider.

FOREMAN: Not a bad idea. After all, Thomas Jefferson famously said never thought anyone should lose a friend over politics.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:58:18] PAUL: So I want introduce you to another of this year's top 10 CNN heroes.

BLACKWELL: A woman providing support to families with babies hospitalized in intensive care unit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARRIE MEGHIE, CNN HERO: These babies are in the NICU for not days but months at a time. When your child is in the hospital for a long-term stay, you think of all the medical expenses or things of that nature. But when you end up with the reality that this is going to cost you so much money, it is not something that the people expect. It's definitely significant burden on families and there are a lot of babies who are alone a lot of the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: To watch more, go to CNNheroes.com.

PAUL: Some of the biggest names in golf we'll be watching this weekend in the PGA championship on TV. BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes is here with more on the surprising names

that missed the cut.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, guys. It is moving day at PGA championship. Some big names will not be there this afternoon. Three of the top ten players in the world missed the cut yesterday, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, they are all out. Phil Mickelson was in a world of trouble yesterday on the first hole. His first shot was so bad that it landed on the street next to the course. The wild ride out on the first hole took him into the woods, actually up a cart path as well. It took seven shots for Phil to get it into the hole, but he bounced back to shoot even par on the day to make the cut. Two other guys who have never won a major are tied for the lead at the halfway mark. Robert Streb and Jimmy Walker are nine under par. World number one and defending PGA champ Jason Day is only two shots off the lead.

A whopping $1.4 million will be awarded later today in the E League championships. Some of the world's top video gamers have been locked in a computer combat playing Counterstrike Global Offensive. They have been doing that since May.