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CNN NEWSROOM

The Importance of Ohio; Interview with Clinton Campaign's Brian Fallon; Former Top GOP Aide to Christie Now Backing Clinton; Women Leaders Around the World. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 2, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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


[15:30:08] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: So on Ohio, the importance of that money also definitely plays out here. Hillary Clinton., her super PACs have already spent $13 million on TV ads there. The Trump campaign in contrast has yet to spend a dime in Ohio. But super PACs supporting the Republican nominee has taken more than a million dollars for ads.

So Maeve Reston, our CNN National Global Reporter, let me just bring you in here in terms of pennies, nickels and dollars and in this major discrepancy, what is that tell you, what's the strategy here?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL GLOBAL REPORTER: Well, I mean, this is the discrepancy that we're seeing in Ohio but also around the country I know from, you know, polling those numbers right before the convention that you have, you know, Clinton and her allies spending some time, six times or more what Trump and his allies are spending some of these battleground states.

What it tells us is that, Trump ran a very unconventional campaign during the primary, and now his team is racing to catch up. Just before the convention, they told us that over the next month they're going to be really ramping up their ground game in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania.

We haven't really seen evidence of that yet. And so far, the Republican Party and the state party in places like Ohio are really shouldering the burden of identifying those voters and going out and doing the door-knocking. So Trump is really taking a big gamble here. And we'll have to wait and see if he really puts those boots on the ground.

BALDWIN: I don't have to tell everyone, you know, you have to win Ohio right to win that White House. And I know that is, you know, equally important this year. But what are the issues? Maybe what is issue number one? I have to imagine it is economy when I think of Ohio and plants and jobs, and then who's leading?

RESTON: Well, I mean mostly the polls in Ohio that we've seen have been basically a tie. And it will be really interesting to see whether the convention bounces that both candidates got have really affected the polls in those battleground states. But I know just going out door to door when we were in Ohio talking to voters that certainly economy is still the top of mind concern for voters.

But there are a lot of swing voters out there who were talking about trying to parse out the differences and who they think has better judgment in the White House. And you heard a little bit about in Jessica's piece just now.

But a lot of them say they're nervous about what comes out of Trump's mouth. They're not sure who he would surround himself with in the White House. At the same time, they have a lot of issues with Hillary Clinton's judgment because of the e-mail scandal, of course. So there are a lot of voters out there that are just kind of trying to figure out who they feel most comfortable with in the White House and we'll have to see how the campaign rolls out over the next couple months.

BALDWIN: 90 days to figure it out. Maeve Reston, thank you so much.

And just a quick heads-up to all of you, do not miss General John Allen in an interview on "The Situation Room" today. You saw him pretty powerful speech there in Philadelphia at the DNC. The former Commander of Forces in Afghanistan as you know supporting Hillary Clinton. He has warned, the Trump presidency could cause a military crisis. Don't miss the interview on "The Sit Room" 5:00 Eastern here on CNN.

Coming up next, a top DNC official step down over the WikiLeaks e-mail leak, we'll get reaction live from Hillary Clinton's press secretary. Plus, what he thinks about Donald Trump calling Hillary Clinton the devil. Stay here

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:56] BALDWIN: Hillary Clinton, not on the campaign trail today. She's actually attending the funeral of a friend, but her name and her party surely making news.

Clinton's Press Secretary Brian Fallon is with me now from Clinton H.Q. there in Brooklyn. Nice to see you Brian.

BRIAN FALLON, CLINTON'S PRESS SECRETARY: Thanks for having me, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So let me just begin with the news of top DNC officials leaving over the WikiLeaks e-mail scandal. We learned about that the CEO, Amy Dacey, she's out along with the CFO, communications director, all in the wake of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, you know, out. Were these moves today were necessary?

FALLON: Well, Brooke, I actually think that this is quite natural since you have a new chair coming in. Donna Brazile has taken over on the heels of Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepping down. And so, naturally we're building a leadership team over at the DNC under new Chairwoman Donna Brazile for the stretch run here of this campaign.

Some people will remain in place for instance Brandon Davis who's been the Chief of Staff that joined the DNC a couple months back when we clinched the nomination. He's going to continue running things. And so I think that there is a strong sense of stability there. We're confident that the Democratic National Committee will be in great shape to help us get over the hump and win this race in November.

BALDWIN: OK. Let me move on to what we saw President Obama speaking today in the east room. He was talking about TPP specifically. He indirectly referenced his good friends, one of whom as we well know is Hillary Clinton, and whether or not, you know, how she falls on the issue of TPP. She's changed positions, the Transpacific Partnership.

You know, she was before Secretary of State, we now know she's against it. Let me just play a little bit of what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, right now I'm president and I'm for it. And I think I've got the better argument. And I've made this argument before, I'll make it again.

[15:40:00] We are part of a global economy. We're not reversing that. And I've got some very close friends, people I admire a lot. But I just disagree with them. And that's OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Can you respond to that first for me?

FALLON: Well, obviously, Secretary Clinton has the highest regard for President Obama. I think you saw that last week on the convention stage in Philadelphia. And she has the greatest respect for him but this a place where they have an honest good faith disagreement. It's not the first good friend of hers with whom she disagreed on this issue.

Last week, obviously, Governor McAuliffe of Virginia also staked out a very strong position in favor of TPP. She disagreed with him as with well. This was ...

BALDWIN: Well, he said last week, and that made news. And I know John Podesta jumped in and said he was wrong. But he said, you know ...

FALLON: Right.

BALDWIN: ... when she's elected that she would support it. So can you just explain to me, Terry McAuliffe, a very, very good friend of hers, why he would say that?

FALLON: Well, he had no basis for saying it and actually in the days after he made those comments he acknowledged that at he's never had any conversation with her to that effect.

And the reality is, she's against the TPP now. She'd be against it in a lame duck after this election and she'd be against it in January as president. And her running mate, Tim Kaine, agrees with her on that. She's been very clear about the tests that she will subject any potential trade agreement to. And in this case, the TPP fall short to that test when it comes to ensuring that we get wages rising again in this country.

BALDWIN: OK, let me ask you about Syria, Brian. We know that there are reports of two new chemical gas attacks activists are saying that it was chlorine gas that was used on innocent civilians in Idlib province and a doctor's actually told CNN that he has treated patients with the effects, you know, injuries that are consistent with chlorine gas.

Activist are blaming the Assad regime, the government denied that they're blaming terrorists up for that, and actually a second attack in Aleppo. And these are the types of attacks that President Obama said were a red line. How would Hillary Clinton handle today's situation if she ran the White House?

FALLON: Well, I can't confirm the accuracy of those reports. I don't know who might be responsible for that. But obviously, the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate. Hillary Clinton had spoken out in very clear terms about the Assad regime. She has called for instance for a no-fly zone which would in part among other utilities of having a no-fly zone. It would give a safe haven for some of those that are being targeted by the Assad regime in this ongoing conflict in Syria.

So, there's number of steps that she has laid out. She has given speeches at the council on foreign relations at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, laying out her plans for dealing with, number one, the treat that we face from ISIS, both abroad and here at home in terms of domestic homegrown radicalization. But we just have to deal with the Assad regime.

BADLWIN: But, Brian, I'm sorry, forgive me, but would she then say based by your answer that the Obama administration isn't doing enough?

FALLON: I think she's called for an intensification of what the Obama administration is carrying out right now with respect to Syria. She has called for added special forces, and indeed after she called for that a few months back, the Obama administration adopted that very approach and increased the number of special forces that were operating in that region.

BALDWIN: Finally, Mr. Trump calling her the devil. Response?

FALLON: This I think is just the latest sign that Donald Trump's candidacy is unraveling. He's coming off of a convention that turns out was negative for him. There was a Gallup poll that came out that showed that a majority of voters actually are less likely to support him based for having watched his convention. He spent the last 5 days on his heels defending this fight that he has needlessly picked with a gold star family, the Kahns.

And just in the last 24 hours, he's even lost a sitting Republican member of Congress, Richard Hanna from New York, has come out and crossed partisan aisles to endorse Hillary Clinton.

And for our part, I think you've seen in the polls that have come out in the aftermath of our convention that we have momentum. Hillary Clinton's numbers are up, including her favorability levels. We just announced new fund-raising totals for last month that show that we have 54 percent of our donors last month were new donors to this campaign.

So I think that the wind is at our backs. We have a great sense of momentum coming out of our convention. And Donald Trump I think has resorted to name calling because, again, his campaign just continues to unravel.

BALDWIN: We have a new development coming up. You may want to stick around and watch this. Brian Fallon, thank you very much.

Coming up next, Chris Christie has, of course, long, long been one of Donald Trump's fiercest defenders. And now, this long behind member of Chris Christie's inner circle is breaking ranks with Republicans, announcing exclusively to CNN why she plans to vote for Hillary Clinton this November. Do not miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:51] BALDWIN: Just in to CNN, another top Republican advisor splitting with her party over Donald Trump's candidacy. A big name in the Republican Party, Maria Comella says she's now throwing her support behind Hillary Clinton.

This is important because she was a former top aide to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as you very well know goes way, way back with Donald Trump and his, you know, supported him ever since he exited the presidential race.

So joining me now with details, you will first see right here on this program, CNN's Special Correspondent Jamie Gangel who just finished this interview. Spill it.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Literally, literally moments ago.

BALDWIN: Two minutes ago. What she said?

GANGER: This is really stunning because we have yet another well- respected Republican strategist who is breaking ranks and saying that they are not going to vote for Trump. We had Sally Bradshaw yesterday.

What is I think even more interesting here is that obviously Chris Christie endorsed Trump so publicly. And Maria is part of his inner circle. Was really ...

BALDWIN: Has been for a long time.

[15:50:00] GANGEL: ... for a long time since 2009. And really the person who helped launched him to the national stage. So it's a big deal for her to do this. She said, I just want to quote, we just finished the interview she said, "I'm voting for Hillary Clinton in November and I'm voting for her because I don't believe it's enough to say you aren't for Donald Trump. My mom and dad were Republicans, but they didn't always vote for Republican. There are times when the principle Trump," and then she said, "no pun intended party and we have to be OK with acknowledging that."

BALDWIN: What draw her to this point?

GANGEL: So she says that she's been thinking about it for a long time that it was a culmination of Trump fanning the flames. And she also was very disturb abide what happened with Kahn Family, the parents of the Muslim-American soldier who spoke out.

And I just want to read a little bit of what she said from that. She said about Trump that she said, I wish I could say I'm shocked about what he said but I'm not, "Donald Trump, had been a demagogue this whole time, praying on people's anxieties with loose information and fallacious rhetoric, drumming up fear and hatred of the other. Instead of trying anything remote like unifying the country, we have a nominee who would rather picked fight because he views it as positive news coverage. It may me him media savvy, but it doesn't make him qualified or ready to be president."

So like Sally Bradshaw, she is not mincing words.

BALDWIN: Did she talk to Governor Christie? Does he know he's doing this?

GANGEL: He does not know. She said that she felt that, the one thing Governor Christie would respect is that, she is her own person and that she has her own opinions about it.

BALDWIN: Yesterday, it was Sally Bradshaw, today Maria Comella, two Republican women, interestingly enough. Jamie Gangel, make sure you read her entire interview online go to cnn.com.

GANGEL: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you for jumping on the desk and sharing that with me.

Let me bring in Matt Katz, the journalist whose follow the career of Governor Christie. And, Matt Katz, what do you think?

MATT KATZ, REPORTER, WNYC, NEW JERSEY RADIO: Wow.

BALDWIN: Wow, right?

KATZ: It's a huge deal. I mean, this is the most important person in the governor's office to Christie until she left last year to take that role which was the chief messaging officer but really she was the co-campaign manager for Chris Christie's presidential campaign.

She helped to shape his image nationally and in New Jersey. The YouTube videos that made him famous, the cable TV news hits, everything that we know about Chris Christie, Maria Comella has had a hand in.

So the fact that she is so very publicly going against her old boss on this, is a big news and trend news. It's going to be the talk of New Jersey for the coming days but it's also very significant I think for the Republican Party in general. And where they are? This would be Trump.

BALDWIN: That Katz, thank you, it is a wow. It is a wow. Jamie Gangel, I thank you as well. Again, read the entire interview at cnn.com, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:21] BALDWIN: We know that Hillary Clinton victory come November 8th would absolutely make American history, but it could also make for dramatic change in the western world. Because if you think about this, right now the leader in Germany is Chancellor Angela Merkel, just in the last couple of weeks we have Theresa May, the new P.M. in the U.K. And if Clinton wins that could mean, three female leader in some of the world's most powerful countries.

And Carol Lee wrote about it in "The Wall Street Journal" just this week. She's the paper's White House Correspondent.

And so, Carol Lee, you know, let's just share with everyone, you and I was sort of chatting one of these conventions a couple of days ago. And we're thinking, hang on, executive you think about it. That is history, that is a first, what do you think?

CAROL LEE, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, it's really remarkable compared to - obviously Europe is going through a dramatic crisis, and they test the alliance between the U.S. and Europe are being tested in a way that we have not seen in a long time. And so it used to be that you would see men making decision and having impact. Decisions that would have impact for decades coming out.

It could be this three women and that's just not something we've seen before, that's also historically different from the roll that women played, particularly if you would look at World War II, a supportive role and then they were asked to go back in the home, and most of them did, but there had a real sidelines kind of position.

And if Hillary Clinton wins, we will have these three women on the world stage making major decisions that is not something that we have seen before.

BALDWIN: You pointed out in your piece, when you think of mega powerful Trifecta of the west, Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaulle, and FDR, and now fast forward, potentially these three ladies. And I think also you point out so well, the - I think the world is cross here you use in your piece, right? I mean just to tell into buzz the issues, for each of these women, potentially Hillary Clinton.

LEE: Well, you have -- Europe is dealing with the migrant crisis that have that the worst one since World War II. You got new terrorism threats that are significantly rattling Europe, and you have the NATO alliance being tested by Russia in a way that hasn't in a really long time.

And so all of these things are swirling together a real crisis, the president was in Europe not that long ago in and he said that this is a political -- and then you have Brexit and there's political crisis is going, you know, and there's dynamic that's happening there, that's very different.

And so, you have all of those things happening at once and the real - it's going to be the real challenge for whoever is elected in November.

BALDWIN: Just to think about if she were to be elected, you know the conversation, what do you need place to be in, in 2016.

Carol Lee with "The Wall Street Journal", thank you very much, come back, come back. Come back.

LEE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: I'm Brooke Baldwin, you got it. I'm Brooke Baldwin, thank you so much, have a wonderful Tuesday. But stay right here, "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.