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Trump Heads to Mexico Ahead of Major Immigration Speech; Former Mexican President Fox Criticizes Trump Visit; ISIS Attempting New Launch Attacks in U.K. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 31, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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


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[13:33:03] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump is meeting today in Mexico City with the Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. After that sit-down, Donald Trump flies off to Arizona where he'll give what his campaign is calling a major speech on immigration later on tonight. A speech that was supposed to come last week but was delayed until tonight as the candidate crafts his message to voters. It's a critically important issue here in the United States.

Joining us, California Democratic Congressman Linda Sanchez, the chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; and joining us from New York, Boris Ephshteyn, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign.

Congresswoman, did Hillary Clinton miss an opportunity by not accepting that invitation from President Pena first?

REP. LINDA SANCHEZ, (D), CALIFORNIA & CHAIRWOMAN, CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS: I don't think so. I mean Hillary Clinton is focused on what she needs to do to win the Presidential election, and that's talking to voters here in the United States. I think it's pretty fool-hearty for Donald Trump to take a break and travel outside the country to somehow try to elevate his stature when we're less than 100 days from the election and he's doing so poorly in the polls. Clearly he's not focused on what he needs to do here in order to win the presidential election.

BLITZER: We're actually 69 days away from the election.

Boris, let me let you respond to that. Why did he decide to accept the last-minute invitation and head off to Mexico City today?

BORIS EPHSHTEYN, SENIOR ADVISOR, Donald TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: With all due respect to the congresswoman, first of all, Donald Trump is up in a lot of the polls, up in the "L.A. Times" poll, in tied in several others. He's either up with or tied in Florida, Ohio, and very close in Pennsylvania and Michigan. We're doing absolutely fine in the polls. And he's taking a few hours to be the real leader that he is. Donald Trump is the true leader in this country. That's why he was the first one to go to Louisiana when the floods happened. That's why he's the first one to respond to attacks in Brussels, Nice, Orlando. He's going to be meeting with the leader, the president of Mexico, because he was invited to talk about the real issues that face our two countries and provide leadership where it needs to be. This is an agile leader, negotiator --

(CROSSTALK)

[13:35:15] SANCHEZ: It's not leadership to demonize --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Hold on. Hold on.

EPHSHTEYN: I let you finish. I let you finish. Let me finish.

Donald Trump will always meet face to face with those he needs to negotiate with. The narrative that he's not welcome, I'm not sure that's true. Donald Trump never said anything bad about Mexico. He said we don't want illegal immigrants in this country. We want a country and a border. Hillary Clinton wants to swing or borders open, 100 percent amnesty.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Let me remind you what Donald Trump said about Mexicans, that they're rapists --

(CROSSTALK)

EPHSHTEYN: That's incorrect.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: -- that they're killers, that they're drug dealers. He has said repeatedly he wants to build a wall, which, by the way, a wall exists in much of our --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Boris, hold on. Let her speak.

SANCHEZ: It is not leadership to demonize a community, to bash them verbally, to use venomous rhetoric, to incite people, sometimes to violence against a community, and then accept an invitation and think everything is going to be forgiven. I want to warn the GOP of one thing. In the Los Angeles County, I don't know what polls you're looking at, sir, but in L.A. County, you cannot get your hands on a Trump pinata because they're sold out and on back order. So for every child that's --

(CROSSTALK)

EPHSHTEYN: So we may lose L.A. County.

SANCHEZ: And for every child that's taking a whack at a Trump pinata, that's a voter that the GOP has lost for a lifetime.

BLITZER: All right, Boris, go ahead.

SANCHEZ: And they are not going to forget that. They are not going to forget that.

(CROSSTALK)

EPHSHTEYN: So we may lose L.A. County, even though I'm not convinced of that.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: You said he was up in the polls in L.A. County.

SANCHEZ: No, I said that the "L.A. Times" national poll has us up by two points. And Reuters, we're down by five or 12 points over the last several weeks and now we're tied in the Reuters tracking poll. Donald Trump is doing great and the reason is because the voters see a binary choice, which is Donald Trump, a true leader -- Donald Trump is offering fresh ideas, and Hillary Clinton failed at everything she's done. Look at her speech to the American Legion. It was a bore. That's why the crowd was so quiet. All she can do is attack Donald Trump. She doesn't have new ideas because she's been out there over 30 years and failed at everything from the D.C. bar to being the worst secretary of state in the country's history. She's telling the veterans she's going to be there for them. While she and Barack Obama, while she was secretary of state, and under Barack Obama, the V.A. caused for thousands and thousands of veterans to be killed while they were in line for treatment. The Obama/Hillary ticket was a failure. The Obama/Hillary presidency was a failure. She cannot be allowed to be president.

BLITZER: Congresswoman, go ahead.

SANCHEZ: He can use whatever outlandish and outrageous talking points to try to distract from the fact that Donald Trump is not doing well, despite the assertions --

EPHSHTEYN: Look at the polls.

SANCHEZ: -- to the contrary. She's leading in most polls. You have a serious problem --

(CROSSTALK)

EPHSHTEYN: Not in the Reuters poll.

SANCHEZ: -- with many groups of voters that Donald Trump has insulted, women, Muslims, minority communities, Latino communities. Those are the emerging electorate and --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: What do you like about Hillary Clinton's candidacy?

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Hold on, Boris. Hold on.

SANCHEZ: I'm sorry. A true leader is not rash in his decision- making, does not insult other leaders of other countries. A true leader doesn't alienate your friends and your allies and then just think that from one day to the next you can, by one visit, change that dynamic.

(CROSSTALK)

EPHSHTEYN: He obviously has not alienated the leader of Mexico because --

SANCHEZ: Leadership is working with other people.

EPHSHTEYN: When I may respond?

BLITZER: Boris, I want to point out --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: It's not going it alone. You cannot go it alone with today's complex problems and say you're a leader.

EPHSHTEYN: May I respond?

BLITZER: Boris, quickly, first of all, that "L.A. Times" poll, that online poll, doesn't meet CNN's polling standards. I want to point that out.

But do you think Donald Trump will tell the Mexican president later today when they meet that the U.S. will build the wall and that Mexico will pay for it?

EPHSHTEYN: We're also tied in the Reuters poll, Wolf --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: That's also an online poll.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: That doesn't necessarily meet CNN's standards. But go ahead.

EPHSHTEYN: The margin of error in the NBC poll. We could talk about polls until we're blue in the face. Here's the bottom line. To answer to your question, there will be a constructive discussion on all issues. Illegal immigration, of course, we need to stop illegal immigration in this country. Donald Trump didn't say anything about Mexicans. He said that a lot of illegal immigrants that come in this country create crimes. That's what Kate Steinle's family said. She was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant in a sanctuary city. Donald Trump will end sanctuary cities. Donald Trump will make sure we build a wall. Good friends would make good neighbors. And we need to stop illegal immigration into our country, just like Mexico wants to stop illegal immigration into its own country. Those are issues that will be discussed along with NAFTA, a 22-year-old agreement, that needs to be updated. There are supposed to be supplemental agreements on labor and the environment that were never passed. We need to make sure that happens and make sure that all sides of NAFTA -- it's not just the U.S. and Mexico -- that all members are getting the maximum utility, but, first and foremost, the United States. That's what Donald Trump will do. That's why I'm here, to talk about the strength of Donald Trump. Clinton supporters can only attack Donald Trump. They don't have anything positive to say about their failed candidate.

SANCHEZ: Boris, I --

(CROSSTALK)

[13:40:33] BLITZER: Boris Ephshteyn, thanks very much.

Congresswoman, unfortunately, we're all out of time. I promise you will continue this conversation down the road.

Representative Linda Sanchez of California, Boris Ephshteyn, a Trump campaign senior advisor.

The former Mexican president, Vicente Fox, he tells CNN that the trip by Donald Trump to Mexico City should not be happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICENTE FOX, FORMER MEXICAN PRESIDENT: He is not welcome to Mexico by 130 million people. We don't like him. We don't want him. We reject his visit. I don't understand why President Pena has offered this opportunity. I think it's nothing more than a political stunt. Trump is using Mexico, he is using President Pena, to boost his sinking poll numbers. I think this is a big mistake on part of the President Pena.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Afterwards, Trump tweeted, quote, "Former President Vicente Fox, who is railing against my visit to Mexico City today, also invited me when he apologized for using the "F" bomb." Fox tweeting right back, quote, "I invited you to come and apologize to all Mexicans. Stop lying. Mexico is not yours to play with. Show some respect."

Let's talk about all of this and more, get Mexico's reaction to Donald Trump's surprise visit today to Mexico City. I'm joined by our senior Washington correspondent for CNN Espanol, the anchor, Juan Carols Lopez, once again. And joining us from Mexico right now, Josh Partlow, the Mexico City bureau chief for "The Washington Post."

Josh, what's the atmosphere there towards this meeting that's about to happen between Donald Trump and President Pena?

JOSH PARTLOW, MEXICO CITY BUREAU CHIEF, THE WASHINGTON POST: I think people are completely shocked from people on the streets to the highest levels of government here. Very few people had an idea yesterday, including, I've been told, cabinet ministers, that this visit was going to happen. From everything I've been able to learn, this was almost a formality, this invitation, and no one expected that Donald Trump would say yes. It's been shock and outrage now at President Pena Nieto that he would invite the man who is probably one of the most unpopular Americans out there here.

BLITZER: I assume, Josh, logistically, for the Secret Service, for the U.S. embassy personnel, it's a nightmare this hastily called visit by Donald Trump to Mexico

PARTLOW: Yeah, I think it's been total chaos. People have been trying to plan protests. There are some people convening on the streets of Mexico City ready to express their dismay. The logistics of where this is going to take place. What we're hearing now is that they will be meeting in the Mexican presidential palace and then making statements to the press. But all the logistics, from his landing, which take place any moment, if it hasn't already, were obviously planned last minute.

BLITZER: Juan Carlos, it's a question a lot of people are asking, the Mexican president, was this simply short of a formality to invite both of these candidates to come visit Mexico City so we can have a conversation. Did he actually believe Donald Trump would accept the invitation?

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN ESPANOL ANCHOR & SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Presidential candidates have visited Mexico in the past. It's a low-key affair. They go and meet with Americans who are living in Mexico because it's a very strong tie. But this is surprise it happening, and the timing of when it happened. He was probably expecting it to happen. Maybe the crisis he's facing with his low popularity and the issues facing in Mexico led him to believe this might spark something else. The question is, what can he do to get out of it.

BLITZER: Does the Mexican president, Josh, think that a meeting like this could boost his popularity among Mexicans?

PARTLOW: If he thinks that, he's probably one of the only people who does. Everyone else thinks he only has things to lose from having this meeting. He's already, like you mentioned, suffered from plenty of scandals, from conflicts of interest scandals from the government, rising violence. Lately, he's been accused of plagiarizing his law school thesis. His popularity is really low and he's battling from one problem to the other. He's got a State of the Union address coming up this week. All of the attention had been on what's he going to say in terms of positive accomplishments, and now this comes in where he invites Donald Trump, which has set off the outrage in Mexico City. I guess he can look -- that he might think he can be the statesman, take the high road and meet whoever is going to be the politician here, you know, or the possible president, but that's about all I can expect.

[13:45:27] BLITZER: Josh Partlow, thanks very much for joining us.

Juan Carlos Lopez, thanks to you as well.

Coming up, ISIS announces the death of one of its key figures. But who killed him? The details of how Russia and the United States are publicly arguing over whose strike took him out.

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[13:50:09] BLITZER: A U.S. defense official tells our own Jim Sciutto that Russia's claim it killed the key ISIS deputy, Abu Muhammad al Adnani, is laughable saying, quote, "We stand by the statement we conducted yesterday. We conducted a strike that targeted Adnani. We are assessing the results of that strike." ISIS says it will avenge the killing of its senior member. Al Adnani played an integral part in the organization. He directed some of ISIS' more important operations, including the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels.

We're also learning from a senior European counterterrorism official that new intelligence indicates ISIS has stepped up efforts to try to infiltrate operatives into the U.K. to launch new attacks.

Let's discuss these developments. I'm joined once again by our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. And our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, joins us from the Pentagon right now.

Jim, even during a gaggle, a conversation aboard Air Force One, the White House press secretary, Josh Ernest, said there are no facts to substantiate Russia's assertion that it was are responsible for the killing of al Adnani. But has the U.S.-led coalition confirmed who actually killed Adnani?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No, they say they are still assessing at this point whether he is dead. This normally takes some time. The process involves some open-source information, things like ISIS yesterday announcing that Adnani is, indeed, dead, but they want to corroborate that with other information from the ground until they reach a high confidence level that, in fact, he is killed.

It is interesting, just left the Pentagon briefing room here. You basically have the Pentagon, the White House all but calling Russia a liar on this. The Pentagon press secretary punching holes in the Russian story here saying, one, they have not seen the Russians use precision-guided weaponry as was used in this strike. Two, that they haven't seen the Russians devote, in his words, Peter Cook's words, much effort to tracking Adnani before this point, whereas the U.S., Peter Cook said, has been trying to track him for some time here. And it is those reasons that give them confidence that it's their strike.

We did ask Peter Cook if they had any evidence that Russia was operating in the area at the time and might have had a strike that could possibly have targeted Adnani, and the answer from the Pentagon was, again, they have no facts to support the Russian claim. The U.S. standing by its claim that they targeted Adnani. The only remaining question is, can they confirm that he is, in fact, dead.

BLITZER: Assuming, Nic, he is dead, what does it mean for ISIS? How much of a setback would this be? How quickly, for example, potentially, could he be replaced?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They could replace him very quickly, Wolf. The reality is that this is an organization, a terror group, that's built upon trust, and that's probably the most important thing that's been broken here, because he is someone who has a long lineage of trust with Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. That's not something that they can replace. Physically replace him with somebody else, absolutely, they could do that. The command structure, key people -- and he was one of them close to Baghdadi -- but built these what they call councils that run anything from military operations to financing the terror group. There will be a pool of people who can replace him.

But this was a guy whose voice resonated in the living rooms and bedrooms across Europe, even in the United States, with some of the sort of lone-wolf type attacks he called for. We can see how those were followed through by some of these wannabe jihadis. The attack in Nice was just one example of that. So, they will replace him.

But this is a significant setback for them. This is a time when they're losing teeth in Iraq, territory in Syria and in Libya as well. They'll put forward another voice, but it perhaps won't carry the same weight, won't have quite the same trust within the organization, if we look at the way over the past decade or so al Qaeda leadership structure was broken down over time. This is what's happening here. Ultimately, it weakens the organization. This is a voice that called for terror. It was a voice that was answered on the streets of Europe and in the United States as well. That it is gone is a positive. They'll find another one.

BLITZER: Quickly, Nic, what can you tell us about this report from this western European counterterrorism official that there is indications ISIS is about to step up a terror attack against the U.K.?

ROBERTSON: Well, of course, Europe has gone on a much more forward- leaning approach to countering the terror threat having seen what happens in Brussels and France. More people have been arrested, more interrogations, more knowledge gained by counterterror officials. In Britain, the assessment has been from these interrogations that they are learning ISIS wants to penetrate the United Kingdom. They would really like to attack there. There are several reasons they haven't been able to do it. One, Britain is an island so there is no land connection. That, of course, has been key for al Qaeda to slip -- ISIS, rather, to slip people around Europe, crossing in the free passport zone. They can't do that getting into Britain. They have to show a passport. They can get tracked down and recognized. Weapons also much harder, not impossible, weapons much hard to get in the U.K. than they were, for example, than we saw in Brussels or Paris -- Wolf?

[13:55:29] BLITZER: Jim, how seriously are U.S. officials taking this ISIS threat that they will now retaliate against the U.S. for the killing of al Adnani?

SCIUTTO: They take it very seriously. They do say Adnani's, if his death is confirmed, is a significant blow because he's had such a central operational role in many of the attacks against the West. They credit him, in effect, for attacks that killed some 1,800 people. This is in Paris, this is in Brussels, in Turkey as well. But when you have strikes like this that take out significant leaders or losses on the battlefield that ISIS attempts to show its strength, its relevance, its resilience by attempting to carry out further attacks abroad. So they will take a threat like that very seriously.

BLITZER: Jim Sciutto, Nic Robertson, guys, thanks very much.

That's it for me. Stay with CNN. Much more coming up on Donald Trump's meeting with the president of Mexico right after a quick break.

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