tv
Trump
Archive
Trump Town Hall CNN April 12, 2016 9:00pm-10:01pm PDT
Archive
9:00 pm
cleveland. >> how does he get there? >> all of the northeast, ups the delegate game with manafort. he does get to 1,237. >> if you missed any of our town good evening, and welcome. it's a big night. a town hall night here again. john kasich and his family last night. right now donald trump and members of his family. republican front-runner answering to new york voters exactly one week before the primary. >> tonight, he's on his home turf. >> this is home. it's great to be home. >> and now after a wisconsin thumping, campaign changes, and a week of bad headlines, donald trump is looking to get his campaign back to its winning ways. >> i love these people. these are my people. man. >> he's back.
9:01 pm
recharging the batteries and zapping his rival. >> it's l-y-i-n' lyin' ted. >> that's not all he's spelling out. >> it's a fix. >> blasting the whole delegate ball game. >> it's a crooked, crooked system. >> so now that he's facing a contest at the convention in cleveland, not a coronation, can his campaign adapt? and will the family name give that campaign the boost it needs? >> i've got so many family members here today. look at that. boy, oh boy. my sons and my daughter. did ivanka do a good job? >> this is an "anderson cooper 360" cnn republican town hall. candidates and their families. voters seeking answers before making a choice that could make history.
9:02 pm
>> national sirius xm satellite radio channel 116 and the westwood 1 radio network, welcome to all of you. we are here with donald trump, his wife, melania, daughters ivanka and tiffany, and sons eric and donald jr. will be joining us shortly. in the audience tonight, republicans all from new york. they came up with the questions they'll ask tonight. we reviewed them to make sure they don't overlap. i'm going to ask the candidate a few questions, myself, as well. this is a chance for voters to hear at length from the candidates and the first time the people closest to them. before i bring out the family, i want to start with donald trump. thanks very much for being with us. >> thank you. >> big day for you. got very good news. you were certified today the winner of the missouri primary. picked up another 12 delegates. great polling numbers for you. new york 1 brook college poll, 60% in new york, way ahead of all the other candidates and even the quinnipiac poll had you around 55%. >> great.
9:03 pm
>> way ahead. you got some good news. you've been very critical of what happened in colorado. i want to reads out only of the things you said. you said the nominating system in colorado is, quote, rigged, disgusting, and dirty. you called it a corrupt deal full of crooked shenanigans. ted cruz is saying you're just being a whiner. the bottom line is the rules are the rules. didn't you just get outplayed on the ground? >> no. i don't think so. look, first of all, you and i watched ted cruz and i watched him very strongly say, well, he's been winning, but, you know, i've won 22 states and he's won 10 and we're really way up in votes, you know, in terms of the voters which to me is very important but it's never talked. i'm millions of votes ahead of him, and as you know, i'm hundreds of delegates ahead of him but the colorado thing was very, very unfair and i thought louisiana was very unfair. i won louisiana. i won it easily. >> the popular vote. >> he got the popular vote. because of all his shenanigans that goes on. >> you call them shenanigans. those are the rules. >> i know the rules very well, but i know that it's stacked
9:04 pm
against me by the establishment. i fully understand it. we had people out there and they weren't hurt. then, in fact, today when it was announced the numbers were announced, they put out something on twitter saying, oh, we stopped trump, essentially, we stopped trump. that was put out by the party in colorado. the point is it was stacked against us. now -- >> but you -- >> we've won our share. >> you could have had a better organization on the ground. a lot of the folks -- >> i don't know if it would have mattered because it was totally set in stone and that's the way it was. you saw republicans that wanted to go and wanted to be trump delegates and they're burning their card on the internet. >> a lot of time, a lot of organization, going out, reaching out to people who wanted to be delegates to run in the process. i mean, it was a whole electoral process to get delegates. >> anderson, we had delegates there, a lot of delegates and they were not heard because the republican party out there was 100% probably controlled by the rnc which maybe doesn't like this happening because i'm a self-funder, i'm putting up my own money. they don't like when i put up my own money because it means they don't have any control of me because i'm working for the people.
9:05 pm
i'm doing for the people. and, you know, when you talk about winning, i've won most of it and i'm not complaining. frankly, there are couple that i won that he's complaining about. i won -- you know, i've been winning far more than anybody else. >> you talk about the rnc, reince priebus, head of the rnc tweeted yesterday, said "the rules were set last year. nothing mysterious. nothing new. the rules have not changed. the rules are the change. nothing different." >> anderson, they changed the rules a number of months ago. the people in -- >> about eight months ago. >> well, it's not very long ago. >> you had a lot of time to prepare -- >> they saw how i was doing and they didn't like it. same thing in florida. now, i won florida in a land slide, right? but they changed the rules so that the winner gets all because they thought jeb bush was going to win. he's the former governor, of marco rubio was going to win. then all of a sudden the first poll came out and trump was leading by a lot and said, what are we going to do, what are we going to do? because that was done so i wouldn't get any delegates. then i won in a landslide and i got all the delegates. sometimes it works to my advantage.
9:06 pm
but colorado is unfortunate because they disenfranchised the voters. they disenfranchised all of these voters -- >> you're saying you don't think the rnc wants you to get the nomination? >> no, i don't think so. i really don't. >> you think they're actively working against you? >> i don't see it. it's not like i have 15 miles of proof but certainly they should want to have a vote of the people of colorado. the people of colorado -- i would have won. i won so many of the votes. i mean, the voting has been phenomenal. that's why i've won so many more states than ted cruz and kasich. >> does it say, though, something about -- okay. you disagree with the process as it was in colorado but you had months to prepare. does it say something -- your critics say it says something about your leadership ability, for somebody who touts himself as somebody who's an organizational genius, who's created this amazing business organization, that you couldn't create an organization on the ground that can beat ted cruz's organization. >> number one, i started with a $1 million loan. i built a $10 billion company. it's a phenomenal company. >> is the business organization the same as a political organization?
9:07 pm
>> a lot of similarities. in this case, i've won most of it. you can say, what about organization? well, how come i'm leading by hundreds of delegates, how come i'm leading by millions of votes? remember this, i was supposed to lose south carolina. i was supposed to lose to bush, new hampshire. i was supposed to lose the entire south. i won virtually everything in the south. i look at your board, i mean, it's all my color, whatever that color is. i guess it's sort of a semi-purple. not the nicest color, but that's okay. but i won the entire south. i won florida. i could say they have a bad organization because cruz was supposed to win alabama, arkansas, he was supposed to win kentucky. he lost all of them. he lost florida. the point is, i mean, if you talk about that, i can say, well, if my organization's not so good, how come i've won many more states than him and millions of votes? >> i just want to read you what corey gardner, a republican senator from colorado said. he's really annoyed at what you've been saying. >> he's a member of the establishment. >> you're insulting these
9:08 pm
delegates who ran who are regular people. >> i'm insulting the system. the system is not a good system. >> he says "how on earth are you going to defeat isis if you can't figure out the colorado gop convention?" >> we can figure it out. it's stacked against us. how come my people went there, delegates, great delegates, they're all over the internet burning up their republican card. how come -- >> how does that stack against you? >> because the republican party in colorado wanted cruz or maybe they wanted somebody other than trump. i don't think anybody really wants cruz. why would they want him? there's no reason to want him. but the republican party wanted somebody other than trump. and you know, the funny thing, i am the only one that's going to beat hillary clinton assuming she runs, assuming she gets out of her problem which she probably will because that's a system that's bad, too. i'll give you another example. i'm no fan of bernie sanders. i'm no fan at all. to me, he's -- forget it. every time i turn on, he's winning, he's winning. every -- week after week, he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins. then i watch you and all of the pundits, they say, but he can't win.
9:09 pm
you know why? it's stacked against him. it really is. it's stacked against him. in his case, it's superdelegates, in my case it's the obvious. but it's stacked against -- >> you said in the past if you weren't being treated fairly, you'd consider a third party run. is that something still on the table? >> it's something i don't want to do. look, i'm winning by a lot. based on the numbers you just gave me from new york i'm leading by more than 40 points >> a good chance of picking up all the delegates. >> everybody else flew town. cruz left town. he talked about new york values like you and i and everybody else, we know about new york values when we saw what happened with the world trade center and how incredible new york was. so i think he left town. i don't think he's going to come back. but i'm winning new york. i think i'll do great in new jersey. i'll do great in pennsylvania. i'll do great in connecticut. rhode island is great. maryland. i mean, i got a lot of states where they know me. the nice thing is the states that know me are the ones that i really do well in. like florida. they know me in florida. i won in a landslide. >> one of the knocks on you, you
9:10 pm
disagree with it, you haven't given a lot of specifics to some of your policies. your campaign has been saying, i think it was last week they started saying you were going to start putting out very specific policy pronouncements. >> i'm going to start doing that, yes. i did one at aipac about concerning israel and it was met with raves. you even said it was good. i did one on -- i'm going to be doing probably ten over the next two months. >> you know when the next one is going to be, what the topic is going to be? >> i'd say early next week. >> do you know what the topic will be? >> we're looking at different ones. i want to talk about unity in the republican party because i think it's very important. but we're going to be talking about the military. we're going to be talking about nato. when i talked about nato last week -- identify been building buildings all my life and doing deals all my life. it's obsolete. everyone is ripping us off. 28 countries. they're ripping us off. it's obsolete.
9:11 pm
a soviet union that doesn't exist. russia is plenty strong. it doesn't cover terror. if it does cover terror, the wrong countries are in. >> you say it's obsolete. >> of course it's obsolete. it was done 68 years ago and hasn't changed. experts on nato say trump is right. these are the people who study it. >> you gave an interview to "usa today" talking about possible vice presidential picks. you did say you would like -- you name marco rubio, you name john kasich. you even named scott walker. >> i said they're people i like. >> right. >> here's the problem. i've beaten them very, very harshly. walker was supposed to win. right after i started on him, he want back to wisconsin, okay? >> and he endorsed senator cruz. >> of course he did. i didn't ask him for an endorsement. how could i ask him for an endorsement? i was the one who got him out. jeb bush the same thing. marco the same thing. i can't imagine they like me too much. >> when you're saying you like
9:12 pm
them as potential vice presidents or -- >> i like them as people. i like them as people. now, could they be involved in some form in the government? yeah. absolutely i think they could. i don't necessarily think for a vice president. >> it's interesting because they are all sort of, you know, you could argue establishment-type candidates. is that -- whoever you would pick for a vice president, we've talked about this before, is that what you would look for, somebody who with political experience on the ground in washington, essentially a washington player who can help you with congress? >> yes. >> without a doubt? >> i'm a business guy. we're going to make great deals on trade. it's right in my wheelhouse. we're going have a strong military, rebuild our military. we're going to take care of health care. i'm going to do so well with so many different things. i want have somebody who can deal with congress, that gets along with congress, that's a washington person. >> can you name one? >> i don't want to do that now. i think it's inappropriate. i think it's the wrong time. i do have people in mind. i have a lot of people -- look, i've been dealing in politics all my life. i know most of these politicians.
9:13 pm
i have great respect. senator sessions, jeff sessions endorsed me. he was supposed to endorse cruz. everybody thought -- cruz, i think it's his all-time most respected senator and cruz would talk about him all the time. senator sessions, senator sessions just endorsed me. and, you know, i have a lot of respect for a lot of the politicians but i would certainly want that to be a political position. >> we're going to take a break. when we come back, questions from the audience for mr. trump. his wife, melania, daughters ivanka and tiffany, and sons donald jr. and eric. that on this second "a.c. 360" republican family town hall. we'll be right back. look at 'em!
9:14 pm
9:15 pm
9:16 pm
man 2: four tours. woman: you worked with computers? man 2: that's classified, ma'am. man 1: but you're job was network security? man 2: that's classified, sir. woman: let's cut to the chase, here... man 1: what's you're assessment of our security? man 2: [ gasps ] porous. woman: porous? man 2: the old solutions aren't working. man 2: the world has changed. man 1: meaning? man 2: it's not just security. it's defense. it's not just security. it's defense. bae systems.
9:17 pm
and we are back with donald trump and joining us his wife, melania, sons donald jr., his daughter just jumped on the stage as well, she's 8 years old. eric is with us. daughters tiffany and ivanka. welcome, great to have the whole family together like this. ivanka, i have to start off with you. congratulations on your baby. how is everything going? >> thank you, everything is going incredibly well. theodore is 2 weeks old as of sunday. >> are you sleeping through the night? >> no, not even close. not even close, but it's a blessing, so we're very happy. >> congratulations. that's the most important thing. i'm curious, when your dad, your husband, i mean, how did the conversation come up? did he -- was there a family meeting like on the brady bunch, i mean, did he call each of you individually and say, you know, i'm going to do this this time and what did you think?
9:18 pm
>> well, i think it's such a personal decision that ultimately it was one he had to arrive to on his own, and obviously as we've all seen over the last several months it's a vicious industry politics, much more so than real estate or anything we've ever experienced, so, but we were just incredibly excited for him. i mean, we know what he's capable of. we've stood by his side for the last decade, in my case, a little bit longer in don's case, and watched him do these deals at the trump organization and we know what he can bring to the country so we're just happy to support him. >> he's flirted with it before. did you think, okay, this time it's actually going to happen? >> i think this time we knew it. you sensed the frustration in 2008, sensed the frustration even more so in 2012 but i think we were young, he has a company, he actually employs tens of thousands of people whose livelihoods and wellbeing depend on the success of the company. i was 28, he's not going to say, here's a billion dollar company, leave it with us and hope the
9:19 pm
people who have been loyal to him for so many years will be okay. we've been in the company much longer, have the decades of experience, he can walk away knowing the people who are so good to him for that period of time are going to be taken care of and he can do what he wants for the country. >> melania, were you nervous for him or instantly like, yeah, let's do this? >> i was not nervous for him but he was thinking about it and i gave him my support and i said to him, you need to go and run and people will take serious and if you run, you will win and i see how people react to him before he announced it. >> tiffany, eric, when you saw him coming down the escalator with melania, did you have any idea that it would go on this long, that it would become what it has? >> it's an amazing success story if you look at it, right, he's been in politics nine months and he's winning the republican party for president of the united states. i mean, it's really an incredible story, but to your
9:20 pm
specific question, i actually remember when you said listen, kids, i'm going to do this, i'm going to hop into the race, i want to self-fund, i want to do it for the country. this is about the country. this country has given me everything. i'm going to give back. it was a powerful moment. i'll never forget that. the moment in the office together, you know, the four of us and it was a special moment for us. >> tiffany, for you, what did you think? >> whenever my father puts his heart and soul into something, he goes full force. when he finally decided to, you know, run for president, i think all of us knew, you know what, here we go. he really just worked so hard. we knew it would be a success. i had no doubt in my mind how would get as far as he has. >> ivanka, eric, it's no surprise, i got to ask you, there was news just this week both of you were not registered to vote in the primary. what happened? >> well, i'm an independent and i've always voted based on the candidate as opposed to based on the party and it was actually a very interesting experience. so we're not a family of politicians. we haven't been in politics very
9:21 pm
long. new york has one of the most onerous rules in terms of registration and it required us to register a long time ago, almost close to a year ago. and we didn't do that. we found out about it sort of after the fact. but it was actually why i started making a series of videos to educate people in each of the individual states because every state is different. most states you can register as late as the day of the actual -- >> when did you realize you weren't going to be able to vote -- >> around a week later. >> is that right? >> yeah. >> eric, how about for you? >> it was the same thing. we fell into the same boat. it was our first kind of foray into politics. we didn't realize how the whole system worked. it was amazes. we actually made it a very big part of the campaign and no one that's been more visible on the campaign than the two of us but we made it a very big part to get that message out. get out, register, go out, vote, here's how you do it. we gave them the tools to go out and figure out that process. it actually was a great educational process for us and one that probably, you know, helped the campaign a lot.
9:22 pm
>> you're seeing the turnout, by the way, so many people registering all the time. you see the people flipping sides to be able to vote for my father. that's pretty amazing. >> do you consider yourself a republican? >> yeah, i've been always. >> eric? >> very much. >> i'm registered in pennsylvania as a republican. >> ivanka, you're still an independent? >> i'm an independent. >> what was your reaction when you found out they weren't going to be able to vote for you in the primary? >> i knew ivanka is independent, i understand why she is. it's hard to be thrilled with what's going on in politics, either party if you look at what's going on. she was an independent. she's going to switch over to be republican at some point. perhaps she wants to see what's going on. i have a feeling she'll be voting in november for me. >> that's no question. >> that's no question. >> there i can vote as an independent. >> i wanted you to meet some of the voters here. this is nicole hart. she is a technical designer from here in manhattan.
9:23 pm
she says she's leaning toward supporting you, mr. trump, but she's got a question for melania. >> hi, melania. >> hello. >> do you feel that you and mr. trump raised barron differently than he did his older children? >> well, it's a different time and different generation, and especially now the time is different. he's not home much. he's working hard. he's on the road all the time. and i'm at home being a parent and to be very happy when we have him home because we miss him. yes, it's a little bit different but kind of still the same. he loves to work, he loves the country. we see he will do something amazing if people elect him to be a president. >> mr. trump, do you think you're a different dad to your youngest, to barron, than you were to your older kids? >> well, i think i appreciate it more. you know, it's very interesting, with all of the children, i've always been, i think, a very good father. was always important to me. a lot of people say my children have done a good job, and they better keep doing a good job.
9:24 pm
but they come to me, friends of mine, very successful people, and their children have problems with drugs and problems with alcohol and problems with a lot of things and they say could you speak to my son, could you speak to my daughter? i'm always very honored to do that. i have so many friends that have asked me to do it. i think now as i've gotten older, i appreciate the fact more. whereas before i was charging forward but perhaps we appreciate life a little bit more. >> this is peggy, she works in real estate. she says her dad actually worked for your father, fred. she says she's voting for you next tuesday and she's got a question for eric. >> hi, eric, how are you? >> peggy, how are you? >> my question is, rather, it's a statement. when i was younger, i formed a very special bond with my dad through football. we used to spend countless hours together watching games and i wanted to know, do you have a special bond with your dad, just the two of you? >> yeah. >> i have many special bonds with my father. we love work.
9:25 pm
right, it's something that really brings us together. we love building. the two of us love machinery, we love building, we love concrete, we love jobs. we'll sit on the phone at 6:00 in the morning and talk about our favorite jobs. i think that brings a lot of fun to us and a lot to the relationship. we also love golf. you know, we go out, we play golf together and it's just something that we really enjoy. listen, there's a lot of things. he has a great sense of humor. he's been the greatest father in the world. he's just always had so much love for us and his whole family. he's an amazing guy. one of my best friends in the entire world. maybe my best friend in the entire world. he's an amazing man. there's really a lot that brings it together. >> thank you so much. >> peggy was saying she worked for your dad. what was your relationship like with your dad? >> it was great. it really became much better when i hit about 20 when i graduated from the wharton school of finance and i started working but i worked with him during summers, but it was a great relationship. >> did you always know you were going to go into this business? >> no, i wanted to be a baseball player, wanted to make movies.
9:26 pm
i had a lot of ambitions as i was growing up but ultimately i decided i'd work for my fathers over the summer. i was in cincinnati, ohio. i worked there. different places. i loved doing it. ultimately when i got out of school, i said this was the right thing to do. we had buildings in brooklyn and queens and i always wanted to go into manhattan. i used to look across the river and see the big buildings and it was something that always intrigued me. i had a great relationship with my father. probably even better when i worked with him. >> this is lilian ortiz over here. she's an attorney from suffolk county, new york. she says she's planning on voting for you but has a question for tiffany. lilian? >> tiffany, good evening to you all. >> good evening. >> what do you most admire about your dad? >> i think i've grown up sees him such a mentor. his hard work ethic is truly inspiring. whenever i'm, you know, at school studying these long hours, i see him on tv without any sleep and making these speeches and just makes me want
9:27 pm
to continue to work harder and prove myself and, you know, keep on pushing to my limit. >> thank you. >> tiffany, your mom revealed just recently that you had your first job interview. i don't know that you wanted her to reveal that. how did it go? >> i think pretty well. >> were you nervous? >> i think everyone's nervous, graduates college, finding your first job. i think i can understand and resonate with a lot of other college graduates at this time. you know, this is the first time you're out in the world on your own. so luckily i have a supportive family, jared, ivanka's husband, my father, my mother has been so supportive. >> what has it been like watching your dad on the political arena? >> it's been amazing. it's a once in a lifetime opportunity truly and to be able to be the daughter of somebody running for the president, election, no up really has that opportunity. it's an education in and of itself. >> yeah. i want you to meet arlene tang,
9:28 pm
she's over here. she's a physician. she says she's undecided. she's got a question for you, mr. trump. arlene? >> good evening, mr. trump. i was wondering do you talk to your wife and children the same way that you speak at the gop debates? >> the same way? [ laughter ] i think i'm much nicer to them. i will say, you know, you talk about the debates, i never knew about debating. my whole life has been sort of a debate, but the politicians, they debate every night. i didn't know how that was really going to work out. and the debates, i love the debates. i really had fun with them. i think i've done well with them. i've been on the center stage every single debate. and i've really enjoyed it, but i will tell you, i speak to my wife and children much, much differently and but it has been an interesting process. they're always saying, be nicer on the debates. i say, they're coming at me from all these different angles, how can i be nice? melania in particular would say, be nicer in the debates. i say, i can't do that. i have to win first.
9:29 pm
>> what do you say to them? because i think i saw mr. trump, you saying on the campaign trail, both melania and also ivanka were telling you to be more presidential. how would you like him to be different? >> just to use nice language. >> better language. >> better language. >> i know you -- >> not all the time. sometimes i agree with it. >> somebody yelled at something at one of his rallies, you were upset at that. >> i was thinking just don't repeat it because next day the press all they will talk is about the word, inappropriate word and that was correct. >> ivanka, what have you said to him about being presidential? >> one of the interesting things about this process, it's very easy to have an opinion on things but when you're not in the arena, it's, you know, a different ball game. i've definitely said things of that kind to him but i also then watch these debates and it's a hard thing to observe because i see them, it's like a cage match. you know, they're jumping on him.
9:30 pm
they're hitting him from the left. hitting him from the right. everyone's attacking him because he's been the front-runner for so long. it's -- he's the man to take down. so while i do sometimes tell him to withhold some of that sort of fire, i also understand it and i think it's instinct and i think it also speaks to his passion and i think that's ultimately what we need. i mean, you have to have tremendous stamina to get through this process. you have to have a fire and a passion. i don't think you can be particularly laid back and make it through this whole experience from one i've observed especially when you're competing against many very qualified people who are quite upset by the fact that you've logged past them. >> you still talked about changing your tone from time to time, maybe even soon. do you think that's actually going to happen? because a lot of people are saying, look, you've been talking about that for a while. >> sure. >> maybe he's not actually capable of changing. >> i'm very capable of doing it. it's easy to do it. it's easier to do it than the
9:31 pm
way i behave right now. >> why not? >> i have two more people i have to take out. [ laughter ] and when i take them out, i will be so presidential you won't believe it then, of course, i'll start on hillary then i'll be a little less presidential. but assuming i win, i will be very, very -- the country will be very proud of me and we will make america great again. you know, my whole thing is make america great again. >> i haven't heard that. >> it's so important to me. i know, it's just so important to me because we have such potential and we're not using our potential. and we're being scoffed at and laughed at by the world. whetheit's trade, whether it's paying for other countries' military and not being properly reimbursed. it's so sad what's happening to our country. that's why we have $19 trillion in debt, going up to $21 trillion in debt quickly because of the horrible budget deal that was just made. i'll be very presidential at the right time. >> this is alan, he's leaning toward supporting you. he has a question for ivanka. >> hi, ivanka.
9:32 pm
you and chelsea clinton are personal friends. has the campaign put a strain on your friendship? with you and chelsea working on your prospective parents' campaigns, is there a common ground where you guys can find an issue to agree on and do you think you'll still be friends with her after this election cycle? >> well, look, we're children and we love our parents so that's the great equalizer and that's the great common ground, so i'm incredibly proud of my father. i'm amazed and truly in awe of what he's accomplished and what he's accomplished throughout the course of his life up until this point. but, you know, the last ten months have really been a whole different level. i think she would probably say the same about her mother, so she's probably very proud of her mother and we certainly would share that i would think. >> this is mitchell bernstein, he's an i.t. director from brookhaven, new york, he says he's leaning toward supporting you. he has a question for all the the women on the stage. mitchell? >> yes.
9:33 pm
you're probably aware the media has gone after your father on several occasions regarding women in general. and i was wondering how you felt about how the media has treated him, how he's presented himself and what you can do in general to improve the relationship and to provide information about how your relationship with your father is in regards to women in general. >> well, i think the facts speak for themselves. i have witnessed these incredible female role models that he's employed in the highest executive positions at the trump organization my entire life. and an industry that has been dominated by men, is still dominated by men but certainly was when he was starting out in his career and he was employing some of these women and raising them through the ranks. so, you know, for me, i think the way he raised me, the way he raised tiffany, it's a testament
9:34 pm
to the fact that he believes in inspiring women, empowering women. he always taught me there wasn't anything i couldn't do if i set my mind to it, if i had deep passion, if i really unearth what it is that i wanted to do with my life then worked very hard to achieve it and i don't think that's the message a father would relay to a daughter who he didn't believe had the potential to accomplish exactly what her brothers could. so, you know, for me, it's his actions speak louder than the words of many politicians who talk about gender equality, but it's not evidenced in their daily employment practices. so i think both at the trump organization and also in a more personal capacity, the type of father he was to a daughter, to daughters, i think evidences how he feels about our gender in general. >> tiffany? >> i think my father, since i've been a little girl, has always just inspired me and had so much faith in me to just be the best person i can be, the best woman i can be.
9:35 pm
every time i speak to him on the phone whether it be at school, when i'm with him in his office in palm beach, it's just, he wants us to do the best and he has the utmost faith that we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to just as well as men, if not better and we're such strong, hard workers. i mean, ivanka, of course, melania, i just truly feel my father is the best father, the best husband that he could be, truly. >> melania? >> he treats everyone equally. so if you're woman and he attacks -- they attack him, he will attack back. no matter who you are. we're all human and he treats them equal as men, so i think that's very important. he doesn't make a difference. and he encourage everybody, man or a woman. >> thank you for your question. we're going to take one more short break. back with the trump family right after this.
9:37 pm
we were born 100 years ago into a new american century. born with a hunger to fly and a passion to build something better. and what an amazing time it's been, decade after decade of innovation, inspiration and wonder. so, we say thank you america for a century of trust, for the privilege of flying higher and higher, together. ♪
9:38 pm
9:39 pm
so when you get home, all you have to do is enjoy it. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. back now with more questions for donald trump, his wife, sons, and daughters. thanks very much for doing this. one of the questions i asked governor kasich and his wife yesterday about his daughters, i want to ask you, melania, which is do you monitor your son's social media? it's a question parents are concerned about given all the things that are going on. do you watch your son's social media presence? >> he has an iphone. he's not on social media yet. he's 10 years old. i think it's too early to be on social media. he's talking about instagram i
9:40 pm
will go into it when i think it's the right age. it's a hard decision to make. i grew up without social media. it was in one way better because i see a lot of bullying kids going on and we need to protect our children. we need to watch over them. >> it seems like bullying just used to be in schools but now because it's social media, it's 24 hours a day, it reaches into the home as well. >> you don't really know. you need to check on your children and talk to them and have conversation with them but it's very important to be close parent and kind of on top of them but still let them be who they are. >> i got to ask you guy, do you monitor your dad's social media? >> impossible task. >> i have no idea what you're talking about anderson. >> are there some days you wake up and look at twitter and you think, really? >> it kind of makes him the person he is, honestly.
9:41 pm
it's so great to not see the sound bites, the traditional politician sound bites you read too often. i mean, he's so authentic. he writes the tweets himself. he doesn't have a team of hundreds and hundreds of people behind him. i think that's what makes him the candidate he is. >> the retweets. the tweets are fine. the retweets get a little shaky. >> they're running focus groups, how do we word this so we tell everyone what they want to hear? when it comes time to actually deliver. his is genuine. the fight, the spirit, lacking in today's politician where they just go with the wind. >> you don't have to retweet people. you can just let it stand. >> you know what's interesting, i started off a number of years ago and i now see that over the weekend, i picked up, like, almost 100,000 people and i have 7.5 million, 7.6 million people there, almost 7.5 million people on facebook.
quote
i have millions. it's really an asset. i really enjoy it, but it's really an asset. you see what's going on. there is some genius there. i mean, you will get -- you will read some of the stuff, there's genius there. you have to find the right genius. but it is a powerful thing. i mean -- >> as president, though -- >> no, i wouldn't be doing it. >> you wouldn't. >> i would do it very little. it's different. right now if i'm fighting one of my opponents i can tweet out things and my feelings. i had it on cnn. there was one instance i was at a town hall and somebody got up and made a negative statement about the president. you probably remember, very negative. they never found out who this guy was. was he a setup or what? >> i know what you're talking about. >> he made a negative statement about the president and they said i didn't defend him. it was a big deal. i remember i tweeted one line then another line and i put it out and it broke into cnn, this major broadcast, donald trump breaking news. it's like, i'm sitting there, i
9:42 pm
9:43 pm
9:44 pm
and -- >> let's meet more voters. this is andrew, he's a small businessowner who says he's leaning toward voting for you, mr. trump. he's got a question for donald jr. andrew? >> hi. definitely got my vote. >> that was good. that's good. thank you. >> i admire how you guys being in the public eye remain more grounded and became so successful. compliment you, father on that, and mom, obviously. and my question is when your parents were getting divorced, how did your father help you get through that? >> well, listen, i don't think it was an easy time. it was obviously a difficult time to go through for any young kid. i was 12 years old. you're at that stage in life where you think you're a man but you're not quite. it was a difficult thing. throughout our lives he's always been there, on his terms. it wasn't a typical let's go play catch in the backyard father/son relationship. we always went to job sites with him. we'd be in his office playing with trucks as a 6-year-old while he's negotiating deals with presidents of major companies. he always made himself available.
9:45 pm
i remember calling from school, boarding school, getting home from school when we were younger. he'd pick up the phone and say, jack welsh is in the office, say hi, don. because we were always present, because we always were -- on his terms, at job sites, it really instilled a work ethic and a value for the business that we're in that it just -- it's what we grew up in, what we understood. when it came time to start running the business and go in there, it was a very natural progression. i always joke i've been working with the company for 38 years because he set that up and it was that work ethic and that foundation that he implanted that allows us to probably do what it is that we do today. so, you know, it's really all him. >> eric, i saw an interview you gave, i can't remember if it's a print interview, where you said the divorce actually brought you closer to your siblings. >> yeah, i think that's right. don is my best friend, ivanka is my best friend. we're inseparable with tiffany. we work together every day, have offices next to each other. we also vacation together. kai spends a weekend at my house, we watched "frozen" together.
9:46 pm
she insisted on sitting on my lap because she got the shy gene. my father and mother did a great job at was actually protecting us from the media, really protecting us from the media during those times and we grew up. as we started gaining a little bit of that iron shield, we became more visible. now you see us every single day and it's something we love doing because we truly love the man to death. we really love our father and our whole family. >> i want to you to meet sherry murray. she is currently undecided. she has a question for melania. >> thank you. mr. trump, you have a bunch family. i'm a mom, as well, my daughter, shyla, and two sons, abel and jace. i wanted to know what you love most about being a mom, melania and also are you guys interested in having more kids? >> well, it's amazing every day. our son is 10 years old and everything is different.
9:47 pm
every day it's, you know, something special. and it's unconditional love and i enjoy every day. i love being mom. very special time. and i'm at home and raising him, teaching him values and morals and preparing him for adult life because sooner or later he will have wings to fly and i will be always there for him, but he will be very independent and ready to go. >> anymore kids? >> we're not really thinking about -- >> ivanka, my mom has been pressuring me to actually have kids. what's being a mom meant to you, how has it changed you? >> i think it's changed me in almost every capacity. i think it's made me a better person, a better wife. i think i'm much more empathetic. once you start thinking about a bigger picture outside of yourself which it's easy to be very self-centered when you're young and you're single and
9:48 pm
obviously it started when i got married and i became a we. then having kids brings it to a whole different level. putting them first and they become very much the center of your universe. >> just seems exhausting. >> it is -- and it's exhausting. >> it is. >> it's really, it's the most amazing type of challenge you really can't prepare yourself for but is so unbelievably rewarding. i feel so fortunate. i have three children now under the age of 4 1/2. >> wow. >> and it's exhausting, but it's the perfect kind of chaos. >> i want you to meet joseph cohen, he's a student at columbia university. says he's undecided. he has a question for ivanka. >> i want to congratulate you on the birth of your son. how did your father react to converting to judaism? >> i tend not to talk about it in a public forum. my father is very supportive. he knows me, he knows and he trusts my judgment.
9:49 pm
when i make decisions, i make them in a well-reasoned way. i don't rush into things. so i appreciate the support he gave me because obviously these decisions are not taken lightly. and it would have been much more hard if i had had headwinds, but he believes in me. he loves my husband. they're incredibly close which i think was obviously helpful. and he has been very supportive of me in that decision as in many others that i've taken throughout the years. >> thanks for your question. this is britney, she's a student at the fashion institute of technology. she says she's undecided. she's got a question basically for all the kids. >> hi. so how intimidating was it to introduce your significant others initially to your father? >> well, i don't think that any of us necessarily got the shy gene. there's not a lot of shy in our family. so i think we're all pretty self-confident, so i think it
9:50 pm
made it relatively easy but it was probably a unique experience for all of us, but, you know, he's been just incredible now, always has been as a father but even as a grandfather. i have five kids of my own and my wife is a stay-at-home mom, takes care of all five of them. her job is a lot tougher than mine. we have a pretty tough job. it's amazing. he's incredibly supportive of that as well. and just seeing him as a grandfather, i mean, i wish something that people could see because it is amazing. it's a side of him you wouldn't see. not something we talk about all that often. it's just incredible. watching him with kai on the golf course or any other situation, it's just pretty amazing. there may have been some intimidation initially but he trusts us pretty well. >> i remember spying on the lunch that my father and husband had in trump towers. >> how did you spy on them? >> i went downstairs, there were a tremendous amount of hand gestures, i didn't know if this was good or bad.
9:51 pm
i was, you know, obviously when you love somebody so much, you hope that the people in your lives love one another. >> do you remember that? >> i'm very fantastically happy with him. i'm very happy with the up in members of the family. >> it's got to hard -- >> he trusts us. we're independent people. all he can do is support us, be a loving father and hope that we're taken care of as well. >> if it's not good, the older brothers will get involved. >> high school was rough for me in that regard. >> there may have been a couple instances. >> is that right?
9:52 pm
>> one or two. >> they're very protective. >> this is joseph from staten island. he's leaning towards you. >> first of all, mr. trump, i respect you as a businessman but more importantly as a father. you swayed me tonight. >> good. >> definitely. my question for you, don, what have you learned as the greatest experience as a businessman from your father and do you think sometimes tone is important and you get more with honey than vinegar so to speak. >> i think without question. what's interesting throughout this process everyone talks about that and tone but there actually comes a time when you have to put the hammer down. there comes a time when being nice and trying to do all this stuff, when people are laughing at your face, you have to actually fight back. that's what's so important about what he does. he's not just going to go every time there's a little change in the winds, he's going to flip. that's not what he does. he's going to fight for the
9:53 pm
american people. tone is important. i've seen him do that for the 38 years i've been working in the company, i've seen him do deals with people from all over the world, different background, different ethnicities, different everything, different personalities. he's able to do that better than anyone. no one can be more endearing. he wins everyone over, when the time is right. but we're at a stage in our country where i think we all believe we're in a time of change, the biggest joke i see is how the politicians talk about how they're great public servants. they're serving themselves. he doesn't need this. but he wants to give back to the country that have been so great to him, that have been so loyal to him. it's given him so many opportunities, whether it be family or business. he wants to go through this brutal process to go through this opportunity. and it's incredibly selfless and it's resonating with the people. >> is there a particular lesson that sticks out? >> absolutely.
9:54 pm
he isn't a guy that sits you on his knee and says this is how you you do this. he let's you learn by experience. he'll let you make mistakes and then follow. but you better be right because if you're not, he'll hear about it for the rest of your life. >> we know you lost your brother from alcoholism at age 43, i lost a sister from alcoholism at age 37. it's a life changing event and you really have to take stock in your life. >> right. >> my question is how did you -- we've seen so many -- the children of so many wealthy people who have, you know, they've ended up being a mess. how did you instill with your
9:55 pm
kids, how did you protect them, how did you instill a sense of personal responsibility with them and what advice would you give for parents whose children may be struggling with addiction? >> it's such an important question and a great question. i had a brother that was a fantastic guy. i talked about this with anderson once -- >> yes, my brother killed himself. >> my brother was this great guy, handsome guy, great personal but he started drinking and it became a real problem for him. he used to tell me, don't ever drink and he said don't spoke. in those days it wasn't the drug thing, it was more the alcohol thing. today you have to add the word drug. he knew he had a problem and he was one of my truly great teachers. my father and my brother. i said that all the time. my brother because of this and other things. he'd say don't ever drink, don't ever drink. i've never had a drink, i've never had a glass of alcohol and yet i own the largest winery in the east coast but that's okay.
9:56 pm
my brother was so instrumental in probably shaping my life because i don't know what the outcome would have been. when my children was growing up, even when they didn't know what drinking was i'd say no alcohol, in drugs, no cigarettes. i'd add cigarettes because i have kids that say they can't kick it. i have so many friends that have that problem. it's a tough world to start out. but when you have that as an additional problem, it's awfully tough to really do it. i tell parents keep your kids away from the drugs and the alcohol. it's going to make their life that much easier. i don't have a longing for drinking because i never drank. i have other problems and we won't talk about them, okay, but the drugs and the alcohol, so important that your children just stay away from it.
9:57 pm
>> was that something you remember distinctly growing up? >> every day of our life. every morning. >> every morning? >> every morning before school. >> as young children it was often accompanied by eye rolling. >> she used to say, "daddy, don't say that anymore." >> but i just felt it was important because i've seen so many brilliant young children of wonderful parents destroyed because they drank or they took drugs. >> i want you to meet diane morgan. she's a teacher here in manhattan who said she's supporting governor kasich. she has a question for you, mr. trump. >> hello. thank you for answering my question. i'm a mom of three, here in new york, ethan, jane and laura. i'm wondering what do you consider the two or three most important financial principles to teach your children or that you've taught your children. >> well, i've always said and i
9:58 pm
make speeches on this and they pay me a lot of money and i give it to charities and i'm happy about it and i love doing it but i always say you have to love what you do. so important. you can never, ever give up. i see so many people where they have talent and they're very smart and i see it even in schools where i went to school, some of the people that weren't really as smart as other people are much more successful now because they were just more driven and they never, ever quit or gave up. and keep the momentum going. but you have to love what you do. you know, if you're in a great business, real estate business has been a great business, but if my children like some other business that wasn't maybe as good a business but they just loved it, i would absolutely tell them to pursue that because you'll never be happy. you have to love what you do. >> i want to ask you in closing to each of you kids, i hate to say kids but it makes me feel younger. is there something in the course of this campaign about your dad that you didn't know?
9:59 pm
>> i think it's an amazing question because we've seen so many. the perseverance. we always knew it was there but going into something as a freshman politician and being the star of the super bowl right now, it's pretty incredible. i think it's not so much i learned anything new, it just reinforced what i already knew about him as just being just the hardest working guy i've ever seen. i mean, it's just the drive, the work ethic that we've seen our whole lives has been reinforced at this stage in his life. after every he's done to want to do this and do this for the country, it's really special. >> it's a passion. he came into this race with so much passion. he put everything into it, kids, go run the company, take on the company, do what you you've done so well, i'm going to do this. his whole career, whether it's building the greatest buildings in the world, building one of great hotel portfolios and now running for president.
10:00 pm
he has the ability to turn things into gold. it's the passion that makes him so successful for what he does. >> he never gives up. he's works harder and harder opinion and he's able to balance everything he's doing on the campaign trail with his business and also taking care of us and being such app amazing father. i think having those two qualities and us receiving so much love from him, even when he's so busy is an amazing quality to have. >> i think one of the things i've always been most inspired by in observing my father is the way that he really inspires others, the way at our company, at the trump organization, he will set a very aggressive, a very bold vision and then really help people find it, help people both unearth their own potential and alsok
538 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNN (San Francisco) Television Archive Television Archive News Search Service Trump Archive Trump Administration Executive Branch ArchiveUploaded by TV Archive on