Return to Transcripts main page

AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Bill Clinton Accusers Discussed; Michelle Obama Speaks in New Hampshire. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired October 13, 2016 - 12:30   ET

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


[12:30:02] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New accusers of Bill Clinton, they're going -- what they're going to do in the last 20-plus days is they're to go harder, go deeper and dirtier into these allegations against Bill Clinton. So it seems like it's the same thing.

GINA LOUDON, HOST "AMERICA TRENDS WITH DR. GINA": Well, they said they're going to counter punch and Mr. Trump has never denied that he will. And he be has to, frankly. This is an outsider who came on and took on the entire establishment, the Republican establishment, Democrat and media establishment. We expected last minute near the campaign and Mr. Trump will always fire back at that.

But I think that the focus will be on proving that these women who have made these allegations that Mr. Trump has evidence that none of it is true. And so I think we can expect that. And I also think we can expect him to then try to refocus on the issues, which is what I think people are going to care about when they get into the actual ballot box.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Jerry Falwell Jr. just did tell us Bob that Donald Trump told him that he had evidence, which will call into question the credibility of the women making these accusations. Matt Borges, Ohio RNC chair, told us yesterday that Donald Trump promised that nothing bad happened there was no other shoe to drop.

And then Mike Pence, his running mate was on CNN and he too said Donald Trump essentially promised him that there was no inappropriate contact. Listen, I hope, do we have that, to what Mike Pence said?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Governor, if it came out, if there were evidence that came out that this was more than just locker room talk, that in fact, Donald Trump had done those things that he said he had done to women, then would you drop off the ticket?

MIKE PENCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, Alisyn, he said last night very clearly that that was talk, not actions, and I believe him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: And I believe him. Bob Cusack, is that a problem now, as woman after woman after woman comes forward with stories out in the press? BOB CUSACK, EDITOR IN CHIEF, THE HILL: It is a problem. The Republican Party right now is in disarray when we're talking about the senate going to Democrats and possibly even the house. That's a problem for the GOP. I think overall, the key word there is evidence, but when you have so many women coming forward, and if you have more coming forward in the weeks ahead this is really going to hurt Donald Trump.

He needs to get this behind him. I think, you know, this e-mail issue is being just overshadowed. Wikileaks releasing a lot of e-mails about the Clinton campaign by this sex scandal and access, how it would -- and the bottom line is Donald Trump needs an October surprise that will help him and then he needs to hit a grand slam in next week's debate. Otherwise, this thing's other.

BOLDUAN: Angela, are you concerned when we hear the , you know, Donald Trump strategy going forward is the scorched earth kind of path of they're going to go harder against Bill Clinton. They say that they have new accusers they're going to roll out against Bill Clinton. Does that concern you?

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So, absolutely, Kate, but part of it is, I don't think this is a new Donald Trump policy. This has been Donald Trump's way of operating from the outset. We can think no further than the primary contest, when he tied Ted Cruz's father to the assassination of JFK. He's always run a national inquirer type of campaign and it's no different now.

It's dirty, it's below the belt. The interesting part now is it's below his belt. While this campaign representative here Gina or Surrogate says that this is not the kind of campaign they want to run they want to talk about issues that really matter, how dare you. This is an issue that matters to women and men all over this country who have been sexually assaulted, who have been raped, who have been molested, and all of that, and so this is an issue that matters.

The one silver lining out of this, John and Kate, is that there are women and men coming forward with #NotOkay and so many others to finally say they can face their abusers because of Donald Trump's record with women and these types of scandalous activities he's engaged in. Whether they've been underage women, the pageantry, all of those things, these are now the people that are coming forward. So that is the one silver lining here, people finally have courage to speak up.

So I actually think it is an issue that matters and it needs to be discussed. We have a perverted commander in chief. Not only is the country's national security at risk, we have all types of people who will be afraid of this bully and it's time out for them.

BERMAN: Guys, hang on -- I'm sorry to interrupt you Gloria, but I think Michelle Obama is taking the stage. If we can get the video feed in. Let's listen to what the first lady have to say here, Michelle Obama speaking in Manchester, New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: My goodness.

[12:34:59] You guys are fired up. Well, let us say hello, everyone. I am so thrilled to be here with you all today in New Hampshire. This is like home to me. And this state -- thank you for a beautiful fall day. You just ordered this day up for me, didn't you? It's great to be here.

Let me start by thanking you fabulous governor, your next U.S. senator Maggie Hassan. I want to thank her for that lovely Introduction.

I also want to recognize your congresswoman, Ann McLane Kuster who's a dear, dear friend. You're soon to be congresswoman once again, Carol Shea Porter. All of whom have been just terrific friends to us. And you're executive council and candidate for governor, Colin van Ostern.

And of course, thanks to all of you for taking the time to be here today. Thanks so much. That's very sweet of you. I love you guys too. I can't believe it's just a few weeks before Election Day. As we come together to support the next president and vice president of the United States, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. And New Hampshire is going to be important as always.

So I'm going to get a little serious here. Because I think we can all agree that this has been a rough week in an already rough election. This week has been particularly interesting for me personally because it has been a week of profound contrast. See, on Tuesday, at the White House, we celebrated the international day of the girl. And Let Girls Learn. And it was a wonderful celebration. It was the last event that I'm going to be doing as first lady for Let Girls Learn.

And I had the pleasure of spending hours talking to some of the most amazing young women you will ever meet, young girls here in the U.S. and all around the world. And we talked about their hopes and their dreams. We talked about their aspirations. See, because many of these girls have faced unthinkable obstacles just to attend school, jeopardizing their personal safety, their freedom, risking the rejection of their families and communities.

So I thought it would be important to remind these young women how valuable and precious they are. I wanted them to understand that the measure of any society is how it treats its women and girls. And I told them that they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. And I told them that they should disregard anyone who demeans or devalues them. And that they should make their voices heard in the world. And I walked away feeling so inspired just like I'm inspired by all the young people here. And I was so uplifted by these girls.

That was Tuesday and now here I am, out on the campaign trail in an election where we have consistently been hearing hurdle hateful language about women, language that had been painful for so many of us. Not just as women but as parents trying to protect our children and raise them to be caring respectful adults. And as citizens who think that our nation's leader should meet basic standards of human decency.

The fact is that in this election, we have a candidate for president of the United States who, over the course of his lifetime and the course of this campaign has said things about women that are so shocking, so demeaning. I simply will not repeat anything here today.

[12:39:54] And last week we saw this candidate actually bragging about sexually assaulting women. I can't believe that I'm saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women. And I have to tell you that I can't stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn't have predicted.

So while I'd love nothing more than to pretend like this isn't happening and come out here and do my normal campaign speech. It would be dishonest and disingenuous to me to just move on to the next thing like this was just a bad dream. This is not something we can ignore. It's not something we can just sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election season because this was not just a lewd conversation. This wasn't locker room banter. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predator behavior, and actually bragging about kissing and groping women, using language so obscene that many of us are worried about our children hearing it when we turn on the T.V.

And to make matters worse it now seems very clear that this isn't an isolated incident. It's one of countless examples of how he has treated women his whole life. And I have to tell you that I listened to all this. And I feel it so personally. And I'm sure that many of you do too, particularly the women. The shameful comments about our bodies, the disrespect of our ambitions and intellect, the belief that you can do anything you want to a woman. It is cruel. It is frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts.

It's like that sick sinking feeling you get when you're walking down the street minding your own business. And some guy yells out vulgar words about your body. Or when you see that guy at work that stands just a little too close, stares a little too long, you feel uncomfortable in your own skin. It's that feeling of terror and violation that too many women have felt when someone has grabbed them or forced himself on them and they've said, "No" but he didn't listen. Something that we know happens on college campuses and countless other places every single day.

It reminds us of stories we heard from our mothers and grandmothers about how in their day the boss could do whatever he pleased to the women in the office and even though they worked so hard, jumped over every hurdle to prove themselves, it was never enough. We thought all of that was ancient story. Didn't we?

And so many have worked for so many years to end this kind of violence and abuse and disrespect but here we are. In 2016, and we're hearing these exact same things every day on the campaign trail. We are drowning it. And all of us doing what women have always done, we're trying to keep our heads above water just trying to get through it. Trying to pretend like this doesn't really bother us. Maybe because we think that admitting how much it hurts makes us as women look weak. Maybe we're afraid to be that vulnerable. Maybe we've grown accustomed to swallowing these emotions and staying quiet because we've seen that people often won't take our word over his. Or maybe we don't want to believe that there's still people out there who think so little of us as women. Too many are treating this as just another day's headline, as if our outrage is overblown or unwarranted, as if this is normal just politics as usual.

But New Hampshire, be clear, this is not normal. This is not politics as usual.

This is disgraceful. It is intolerable. And it doesn't matter what party you belong to, Democrat, Republican, Independent, no woman deserves to be treated this way. None of us deserves this kind of abuse.

[12:45:03] And I know it's a campaign, but this isn't about politics. It's about basic human decency. It's about right and wrong. And we cannot endure this or expose our children to this any longer. Not for another minute, and let alone for four years. Now is the time for all of us to stand up and say enough is enough. This has got to stop right now. Because Conservatives, if all of this is painful to us as grown women, what do you think this is doing to our children? What messages are our little girls hearing about how they should look, like how they should act? What lessons are they learning about their value as professionals as human beings, about their dreams and aspirations. And how is this affecting men and boys in this country. Because I can tell you that the men in my life do not talk about women like this. And I know that my family is not unusual.

And to dismiss this every day locker room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere. The men that you and I know don't treat women this way. They are loving fathers who are sickened by the thought of their daughters being exposed to this kind of language about women. They are husbands and brothers and sons who don't tolerate women being treated and demeaned and disrespected.

And like us, the men are worried about the impact this election is having on our boys who are looking for role models of what it means to be a man.

In fact, someone recently told me a story about their 6-year-old son who one day was watching the news, watching the news together. And the little boy out of the blue said I think Hillary Clinton will be president. And his mom said, "Well, why do you say that?" And this little 6-year-old said, "Because the other guy called someone a piggy." And he said, "You cannot be president if you call someone a piggy."

So even a 6-year-old knows better, a 6-year-old knows that this is not how adults behave. It's not how decent human beings behave. And this is certainly not how someone who wants to be president of the United States behaves. Because let's be very clear, strong men, strong men, men who are truly role models, don't need to put down women to themselves to feel powerful. People who are truly strong lift others up. People who are truly powerful bring others together. And that is what we need in our next president. We need someone who is a uniting force in this country. We need someone who will heal the wounds that divide us, someone who truly cares about us and our children, someone with strength and compassion to lead this country forward. And let to you, I'm here today because I believe with all of my heart that Hillary Clinton will be that president.

See, we know that Hillary is the right person for the job because we've seen her character and commitment not just in this campaign but over the course of her entire life. The fact is that Hillary embodies so many of the values we try so hard to teach our young people. We tell our young people, work hard in school. Get a good education. We encourage them to use that education to help others which is exactly what Hillary did with her college and law degrees, advocating for kids with disabilities, fighting for children's health care as first lady, affordable child care in the Senate.

We teach our kids the value of being a team player which is what Hillary exemplified when she lost the 2008 election and actually agreed to work for her opponent as secretary of state, earning sky- high approval ratings serving her country once again.

[12:50:06] We also teach our kids that you don't take short cuts in life and you strive for meaningful success in whatever job you do.

Well, Hillary has been a lawyer, a law professor, first lady Arkansas, first lady of the United States, a U.S. senator, secretary of state. And she has been successful in every role any more experienced and exposure to the presidency than any candidate in our lifetime, more than Barack, more than Bill. And, yes, she happens to be a woman.

And finally, we teach our kids that when you hit challenges in life, you don't give up. You stick with it.

Well, during her four years as secretary of state alone, Hillary has faced her share of challenges. She's traveled to 112 countries, negotiated a cease-fire, a peace agreement, a release of dissidents, she spent 11 hours testifying before a congressional committee. We know when things get tough, Hillary doesn't complain. She doesn't blame others. She doesn't abandon ship for something easier. No, Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in life. No.

And Hillary, we have a candidate who has dedicated her life to public service, someone who has waited her turn and helped out while waiting. She is an outstanding mother. She has raised a phenomenal young woman. She is a loving loyal wife. She is a devoted daughter, who cared for her mother until her final days.

And if any of us had raised a daughter like Hillary Clinton, we would be so proud. We would be proud.

And regardless of who her opponent might be, no one could be more qualified for this job than Hillary. No one.

And in this election, if we turn away from her, if we just stand up and allow her opponent to be elected, then what are we teaching our children about the values they should hold. About the kind of life they live what are we saying in our hearts, in our hearts, we all know if we let Hillary's opponent win this election, then we are sending a clear message to our kids that everything they're seeing and hearing is perfectly OK. We are validating it. We are endorsing it. We're telling our sons that it's OK to humiliate women. We're telling our daughters that this is how they deserve to be treated. We're teaching all our kids that bigotry and bullying are perfectly acceptable in the leader of their country. Is that what we want for our children?

And remember, he won't just be setting a bad example for our kids but for our entire world. Because for so long America has been a model for countries across the globe, pushing them to educate their girls, insisting they give more rights to their women. But if we have a president who routinely degrades women, who brags about sexually assaulting women, then how can we maintain our moral authority in the world? How can we continue to be a beacon of freedom and justice and human dignity?

Well, fortunately, New Hampshire, here's -- we have everything we need to stop this madness. You see, while our mother, grandmothers, were often powerless to change their circumstances, today, we as women have all the power we need to determine the outcome of this election. We have knowledge. We have a voice. We have a vote.

And on November the 8th, we as Americans, we as decent human beings, can come together and declare that enough is enough. And we do not tolerate this kind of behavior.

[12:55:00] Remember this. In 2012, women votes were the difference between Barack winning and losing in key swing states including right here in New Hampshire.

So for anyone who might be thinking that your one vote doesn't really matter or that one person can't really make a difference, consider this. Back in 2012, Barack won New Hampshire by about 40,000 votes which sounds like a lot. But when you break that number down, difference between winning and losing this state was only six votes per precinct. Just take that in. If 66 people, each precinct, had gone the other way, Barack would have lost.

So each of you right here today could help swing your precinct to win this election for Hillary just by getting yourselves, your families and neighbors and decided to vote. You can do it right here. But you could all help swing an entire precinct for Hillary's opponent with a protest vote or by staying home out of frustration. Because here's the truth, either Hillary Clinton or her opponent will be elected president this year. And if you vote for someone other than Hillary or if you don't vote at all, then you are helping to elect her opponent.

And just think about how you will feel if that happens. Imagine waking up on November the 9th and looking into the eyes of your daughter or son or looking into your own eyes as you stare into the mirror. Imagine how you'll feel if you stayed home or if you didn't do everything possible to elect Hillary. We simply cannot let that happen. We cannot allow ourselves to be so disgusted that we just shut off the T.V. and look away. And we can't just sit around wringing our hands. We need to recover from our shock and depression and do what women have always done in this country. We need you to roll up your sleeves. You need to get to work. Because remember this when they low, we go, yes, we do. And voting ourselves is a great start. But we also have to step up and start organizing. So we need you to make calls and knock on doors and get folks to the polls on Election Day. And sign up to volunteer with one of the Hillary campaign folks who are here today just waiting for you to step up.

And young people -- social media. Share your story of why this matters. Why it should matter for all people of conscious in this country. There is so much at stake in this election.

See, the choice you make November 8th could determine whether we have a president who treats people with respect or not, a president who will fight for our kids, for good schools, for good jobs, for our families or not, a president who thinks that women deserve the right to make our own choices about our bodies, health or not. That's just a little bit of what's at stake. So we cannot afford to be tired or turned off. And we cannot afford to stay home on Election Day. Because on November 8th, we have the power to show our children that America's greatness comes from recognizing the innate dignity and worth of all our people.

On November the 8th, we can show our children that this country is big enough to have a place for us all, men and women, folks of every background and walk of life. And that each of us is a precious part of this great American story. And we are always stronger together.

On November 8th, we need to show our children here in America we reject hatred and fear. And in difficult times we don't discard our highest ideals. No, we rise up to meet them. We rise up to perfect our union. We rise up to defend our blessings. We rise up to embody the values of equality, opportunity and sacrifice that have always made this country the greatest nation on earth.

[13:00:07] That is who we are. And don't ever let anyone tell you differently.