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DNC Struggles to Raise Funds, Unify Party; Update on Active Shooter Situation in Charleston; White House Gives New Details on Military Transgender Ban; Another Charity Abandons Trump's Florida Resort. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 24, 2017 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00] DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICS DIRECTOR: I hadn't thought about that. And the next frame would be the Trump image moving on, right? And Obama re-emerging.

(CROSSTALK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: If you follow to its logical conclusion.

DAVID NAKAMURA, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: To 2020?

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: We'll continue to watch all of these tweets.

Guys, thanks very much, Jennifer, David and David, two Davids.

Coming up, charities abandon plans to host various events at the president's ritzy Florida resort. Why the cancellations are now stacking up and what it means for the president's bottom line.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Trump's approval rating is at an all-time low now. Republicans are deeply divided. They failed to repeal and replace Obamacare. There's no sign tax reform happening anytime soon. The question, why aren't Democrats taking full advantage of this situation?

That's the question I'm posing to my next guest, Michael Blake, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Michael, thanks very much for coming in.

[13:35:00] MICHAEL BLAKE, VICE CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Good to be with you.

BLITZER: A lot of criticism you and fellow Democrats you're not doing enough to take advantage of Republicans' problems right now. Fundraising, for example, was, what, at an eight-year flow in July. You're not really exploiting this political situation. Your reaction?

BLAKE: First, our thoughts are focused on what's going on in Charleston and hoping everyone is safe down there.

When we think about what we're doing in the Democratic Party, we've been having continual organizing and success on this year. You look at the races we've been able to win across the country is a demonstration that we're building our party and focusing in that manner.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You lost some key congressional races as well.

BLAKE: We lot special election races which were in deep-red districts. In 2009, we won those special elections that are deep-blue districts. Let's talk about the wins. Two races in Oklahoma., special elections races happened in large part because we worked with the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. In New Hampshire, New York, Iowa, a district Trump won by 20 points in November, we won by close to 10 points, a 30-point swing.

BLITZER: So why is the fundraising not meeting the standard. The RNC, the Republican National Committee, is doing a lot better?

BLAKE: They have the White House. They have Senate, the House. Reality is, even with the three Houses, they can raise money but can't pass a bill.

BLITZER: What do you have to do, the Democrats? A lot of Democrats are asking, Republicans have the White House, the White House, the Senate, the state legislatures and a majority of the state governors. What do you have to do to get your act together? Is there new leadership out there that can bring this party and do a little better job?

BLAKE: You're sitting next to one of the new leaders of the party. What we're doing is called Rise and Organize. While the Republicans can reject and obstruct, we'll Rise and Organize. What are we going to do? We're going to focus on how to win hearts, minds and elections. How do we make sure we empower the base, communities of color, Millennials women, LGBT across country? How do we make sure we're focused in all races, from the school board to the Senate, from the city council to the Congress, the state House and the White House? That's the reason we focus in New Jersey. Making sure we don't just have the governor get elected, but also going down-ballot. Looking at Virginia. What are we doing to make sure our candidates win in the local races. In the state of Washington, a great candidate in the 45th district. Special elections in Florida. We're focusing on the ground. While Trump can have tweets and noise, we're focusing on what we're going to do.

BLITZER: Here's what the president said about Democrats in his big speech in Phoenix. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All of the Democrats in Congress, that's the only thing they do well. They do one thing well. You know what it's called. They have no ideas, no policies. They obstruct. That's all they do. Their word is, we resist. They don't resist. They obstruct. It's all their good at. It's all they're good at. That's all they do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Your response?

BLAKE: Well, what we're good at is making sure we fight for health care so that 22 million people didn't lose health care. We're fighting for more better deals so that more people have jobs. We're fighting for a better deal so people can have better schools. We're fighting for better deal for criminal justice reform, for better wages. That is what we're doing. While Trump is tweeting, we're leading. He can continue to have his noise. We're focusing on what we're doing on the ground to help people. We talk about unity and coming together. We're continuing to demonstrate that, like all --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: What are the prospects of some bipartisan cooperation to get legislation approved to help the American people?

BLAKE: You're seeing that. You see the work from Senator Kamala Harris and Senator Rand Paul trying to come together in that manner. The reality is, if Trump would spend more time actually mobilizing people on the ground rather than attacking his own party, maybe we could get things done in that manner. When we talk about what the Democrats are doing, our focus is win hearts, minds and elections. How do we have a great granular focus on the ground? We had more than 200 events last weekend, Wolf. We're going around the country. Think about the efforts we were able to do in Florida. More than 20 voter registration drives. In Wisconsin, more than 3,000 door knocks to get people mobilized on what's happening in these races. That's what's happening on the ground in making sure we get the wins.

BLITZER: Quickly, who are the leaders right now? Name three or four of the top leaders in of Democratic Party?

BLAKE: Look at leaders, it's not just at the DNC. It's Tim Perez, myself, and -

(CROSSTALK)

BLAKE: That's part of that. We can't ignore that. But it's the people on the ground. It's the reason we're able to push back when they were trying to repeal health care. It's the reason why we all mobilized against the misogynist language that came from Trump in the women's march. People on the ground are helping to lead. That's why we have resistance. That's why we have Rise and Organize. That's the new vision coming out of the Democratic Party.

BLITZER: You guys got a lot of work to do. Busy all the time. Going to my home state of Buffalo. Enjoy Upstate New York.

BLAKE: Helping out in Buffalo, helping out in the Bronx, helping out all over the country.

BLITZER: Thank you so much, Michael, for joining us.

BLAKE: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Michael Blake, the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Other news we're following, the sole winner of last night's massive Powerball jackpot claimed her -- get this -- $758 million prize. She described the moment she realized she won during a press conference only moments ago. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:39:56] MAVIS DAVIS, POWERBALL JACKPOT WINNER: I just happened to find out. I was at work. Leaving work at night. And I leave with this guy, Rob, a fireman. We just happen to walk out. He said, I bet somebody won with these numbers with birthdays. I went, oh, yeah. Never going to be me. It's a pipe dream I've always had.

I was reading these numbers. Pulled mine out. I have -- I have that -- I have that. He goes, let me see that ticket. He goes, you just won. I go, you're joking. Come on, please. He said, sign that ticket now.

I couldn't drive anywhere. I couldn't do anything. He followed me to make sure I was safely home, to go and --

(CROSSTALK)

DAVIS: That's how I found out, from him.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Where did you buy that ticket? Were you just there to buy a ticket or something else?

DAVIS: I was just in to buy -- just go in, buy a stack of tickets and, OK, maybe it's me. This is a chance, a chance I had to take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: She took that chance and won $758 million -- million. Remember, that's before taxes, but still. Hundreds of millions of dollars for Mavis Davis. Congratulations to you.

Coming up, the White House is expected to offer new details about its ban on transgender Americans serving in the U.S. military. I'll discuss that with retired Colonel Steve Warran when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:37] BLITZER: Breaking news we've been following. Police have an update on what's described as an active shooter situation in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.

Go to CNN's Polo Sandoval, monitoring developments for us. What are you hearing, Polo?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN REPORTER: Wolf, officials on the ground calling this a hostage situation. Also believed to have been caused by a disgruntled employee, according to the mayor of the city of Charleston. We understand the suspect is still inside a restaurant on King Street, a very, very popular area there in downtown Charleston, with restaurants and stores, not just because of the lunch hour, also a big tourist location as well. You imagine, authorities are making sure they're able to seal off this restaurant.

Again, information just coming in to CNN now confirming what is a hostage situation at a restaurant in downtown Charleston. The suspect believed to still be inside the restaurant, along with multiple individuals.

A little bit of back story here from about an hour ago or so, when this information first came in, or the call initially came in of an active shooter situation unfolding in Charleston. Witnesses described a massive SWAT operation that then followed it. And now that's where we are right now, Wolf. That stretch of road there on King Street between Calhoun and Morris, closed at this hour as authorities there continue to work an active hostage situation in downtown Charleston -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Very popular part, as you say, of Charleston. A beautiful city. Hope for the best.

Polo, thanks very much.

Meantime, getting new details today on the White House's transgender military ban. The "Wall Street Journal" is reporting the Pentagon will receive what are being described as implementation guidelines in the coming days. That, according to the report, which also suggests some of the key instructions include the military stop admitting transgender people. The military must consider current transgender troops ability to deploy when determining whether to expel them. And the Pentagon is getting ready to stop paying for transgender troops' medical treatment regimens.

Let's discuss with my next guest, retired Colonel Steve Warren, a CNN military analyst and former spokesman at the Pentagon.

What happened? The president tweeted he wants to stop transgender Americans from being allowed to serve in the U.S. military. He's the commander-in-chief. So what, now the order is beginning to be implemented?

COL. STEVE WARREN, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Right, Wolf. He sent out the tweet several weeks ago, and now we see the implementing instructions. This is the details that the Pentagon will then use to determine exactly how to move forward with both troops that want to come in to the Army or into the military as transgender and the ones already serving.

BLITZER: If you're a transgender American, I assume, from now on, if this goes into effect, fully implemented, they will not be allowed to serve in the United States military? Is that right?

WARREN: If fully implemented, that is right. Transgenders will not be allowed to serve.

BLITZER: How does that impact the transgender Americans currently serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps?

WARREN: That's what we have to see the details on. Right now, we don't have those details. We know the Department of Defense, the U.S. military made a promise to the transgender men and women serving, and that promise was, you can live in the open now, we'll take care of your medical expenses, and you can continue your service. To break faith with that promise would be unconscionable.

BLITZER: Wasn't the military, the Defense Secretary James Mattis involved in what was described as a lengthy study to determine what is appropriate, not appropriate for the U.S. military? And the president, without waiting for the results of the study, went ahead with that tweet?

WARREN: Right. There was a study from 2015 to 2016. Secretary Mattis, when he came on board in 2017, wanted to do further examination. None of that was completed when these tweets came out.

BLITZER: You just recently retired after many years in the U.S. Army. How does this impact? What is the impact on the morale on troops when they hear transgender Americans will no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. military. Very patriotic, want to contribute, want to serve, but now, because of the commander-in-chief, the president, they will no longer be allowed to serve?

WARREN: Wolf, breaking faith with the troops can have a devastating impact. It really can. When we, the chain of command, make promises to troops, we're expected to uphold those promises. If a promise is broken today, who knows what's going to come next.

[13:50:03] BLITZER: You served in the Army when gay Americans were not allowed to serve. Now they are allowed to serve openly. Has there been any significant problem since the gay Americans were admitted openly into the U.S. military?

WARREN: Wolf, there's been no significant problems. There have barely been any insignificant problems. This transition has been smooth. We found that gay Americans, both men and women, have served with honor, with valor, and with great professionalism.

BLITZER: And I think the assumption was that transgender Americans were also serving with honor as well.

WARREN: We've seen that now. For a year, transgender Americans have been allowed to express themselves and allowed to be open. And we found that some of them are holders of valor medals, all of them are performing their duties in accordance with regulations, and they are across the board performing as expected.

BLITZER: Steve Warren, thanks very much for that analysis. Appreciate it.

WARREN: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: The U.S. Navy has ended search-and-recovery efforts for the nine sailors still missing after the "USS John S. McCain" collided with an oil tanker near Singapore on Monday. Some remains have been found inside flooded compartments of the damaged warship, and that's where the focus will go. One sailor's body has been recovered and identified. He's an electronics technician, third class, Kenneth Aaron Smith, from New Jersey. He was just 22 years old.

The news continues shortly. But as we head to a commercial break, I want to show you the names and the faces of the nine missing sailors from the "McCain" that have been identified by the U.S. Navy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:56:32] BLITZER: Yet another charity now abandoning plans to hold an event at President Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, following the president's response to what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia.

CNN contributor and "Washington Post" reporter, David Fahrenthold, has been reaching out to and tracking all of these various charities.

So, David, what can you tell us about this latest cancellation?

DAVID FAHRENTHOLD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Wolf, the latest was something called the Bethesda Hospital Foundation. It's a big hospital that held one of the most expensive luncheons. So Trump's club had both galas and luncheons. And this luncheon, they could make as much as $95,000 in one day from the luncheon this particular charity put on. Today, that charity has said that they're leaving, going to a different resort a little bit down the coast in Boca Raton, Florida.

BLITZER: Have all of these charities that have abandoned Mar-a-Lago canceled specifically because of Charlottesville?

FAHRENTHOLD: I've been keeping this notebook, Wolf, and you can see on here, there's a lot of red lines, charities that have cancelled. That's all since Charlottesville. Before Charlottesville, Trump was on pace to have, I think, 16 galas and nine other events, 25 total events. Since Charlottesville, so many have cancelled, we're now down to six or seven total events still on the calendar. Some of them have cited Charlottesville or a sort of obliquely cited Charlottesville. But it's key that Charlottesville is -- it's obvious that Charlottesville was is key because all these cancellations have happened since Trump's comments saying that some of those on the sort of white supremacist side of the march were, "quite fine people."

BLITZER: Very fine people, I think, was the direct quote, on both sides, very fine people on both sides.

How much of an impact do these cancellations, when all is said and done, have on the president's bottom line, specifically Mar-a-Lago down in Palm Beach?

FAHRENTHOLD: Pretty significant one. We don't know in this case whether some of these clubs have put down a deposit or if they're going get their money back. But if you add up all the revenue that Trump's club was expecting from these now-cancelled galas, it's somewhere north of $1.7 million that he was going to take in, in rent and facility costs, food and beverage service, things like that. So $1.7 million, and that's maybe a lowball estimate. Take that out of the club that has an overall revenue of somewhere between $15 million and $20 million a year, that's a pretty significant hit. It's not going to shut Mar-a-Lago down but it certainly takes a chunk out of the bottom line.

Perhaps, equally importantly, it robs Donald Trump with the role he had been able to play in this sort of high society of Palm Beach. They had all come to him. His place was the center of all these big, fancy galas. He was the host of Palm Beach. Now his ballrooms are going to be empty on a lot of the nights of this busy winter season.

BLITZER: Well, what about other Trump hotels, other golf resorts, similar developments, similar cancellations happening there?

FAHRENTHOLD: Well, we're looking at that now. And we found a few, anecdotal evidence that it's happening in some places. Donald Trump's goal resorts and hotels are very dependent on big-event businesses, companies, charities, weddings, renting out big ballrooms to sort of unite on their big day. Their special day, they want to put their name next to Donald Trump's. If that business starts to go away, if people start looking elsewhere for event space, he could be in big trouble.

BLITZER: David Fahrenthold, doing excellent reporting.

Thanks very much, David, for that. Appreciate it.

FAHRENTHOLD: Thanks.

BLITZER: That's it for me. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Among my guests later today, the former CIA officer, Valerie Plame. I'll speak with her about the president's attacks on the intelligence agency. Plus, her campaign. Guess what? She has a new campaign to try to buy Twitter and kick the president off.

That's it for me. Thanks for watching. The news continues right now.

[14:00:09] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Wolf, we'll take it from here.