decades. now, some of trump's staunch supporters are calling him a genius from figuring out how to do his taxes this way. he is a business failure. a lot at stake. only 36 days left in this election. there's only one day until the vp debate. just six days until the next so, we have all the implications and news coverage. let's begin with senior political reporter manu. >> remember donald trump had been on an upswing. polls showed him beating hillary clinton and then got into a day's long with a latina beauty queen. and about this $1 billion loss in a single year that shines a new light on his own business record. >> he didn't pay any federal income tax. so -- >> that makes me smart. >> reporter: after refusing to release his tax returns for

months, daonald trump and his campaign defending revelations to the "new york times" that trump once claimed a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax return. which legally could have allowed trump to pay nothing in federal income taxes for nearly two decades. >> there's no one who has shown more genius in their way to maneuver around the tax code. >> reporter: trump's high-profile advisors responding by praising the gop candidate's business savvy. >> he's a genius. what he did was he took advantage of something that could save his enterprise. >> reporter: trump, himself, tweeting that he knows the tax laws better than anyone and he's the only one who can fix them. >> trump goes around and says, hey, i'm worth billions and i'm a successful businessman. i don't pay any taxes. you, you make 15 bucks an hour, you pay the taxes. not me. >> reporter: former new york mayor rudy giuliani defending the practice in a contentious

exchange on "cnn sunday." >> most americans take advantage of every deduction available to them. >> most americans pay federal income taxes, sir. donald trump apparently did not. >> reporter: trump campaigning in pennsylvania over the weekend. lobbying unfounded attacks against hillary clinton. despite warnings from gop leaders to stay away from personal attacks. >> hillary clinton's only loyalty is through her financial contributors and to herself. i don't even think she's loyal to bill, if you want to know the truth. >> reporter: and, again, attempting to raise doubts over clinton's health. >> here's a woman. she's supposed to fight all of these different things and she can't make it 15 feet to her car. >> reporter: mocking her recent bout of pneumonia. >> give me a break. >> now, the trump campaign said that the candidate has done everything legal. paid hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes like property and real estate taxes and has

not yet denied the "times" report. tomorrow, also, will be a key moment, as well. we'll see how trump's running mate mike pence deals with questions about the gop nominee's questions. >> yes, we will. thanks so much for all that reporting. we want to bring in former donald trump campaign manager corey and christine quinn. how will voters process this? for two decades donald trump didn't pay income taxes? >> first and foremost, we don't know. the documents are authentic. >> the campaign hasn't denied them. >> here's what we know. "new york times" editor in chief has told harvard university when he's up there speaking he's will tag go to jail to publish donald trump's taxes. that is a felony. so, "new york times" has a coordinated effort now to go out and, amazingly, two weeks after

he says this, he receives a document in the mail one of his reporters does showing it is donald trump's tax returns and they decide to publish it without any authentication. >> they went to the accountant who prepared them. >> but he's not also authorized to release those. >> the deal is that donald trump didn't release his taxes for the first time since 1976. this is what the media has to do. people are interested in his taxes and what he paid. >> look, it's a crime to release someone's taxes and publish them without their permission. >> the pentagon papers says -- >> there is no national interest security to donald trump's tax and i hope he sues them into oblivion for doing this because if it comes out that these aren't accurate, where's the recourse? >> so, i think this is just another classic example of the trump campaign trying to divert from the issue and attack the messeng messenger. that's what we see over and over, ruin the messenger. a tremendous substantiation here

from the person who prepared the taxes and tax experts and, of course, "times" lawyers reviewed all of this before it was released. the legality question. >> they double checked and triple checked and they are very confident that they have the law on their side releasing them. >> however, let me just say that donald trump is a highly litigious person. put the issue really is -- >> the issue and whether or not, by the way, everything he did was legal. >> 100% legal. >> so, where is the -- >> i don't think anybody is saying that we believe what he did was illegal. it pyres ir appears to be legal. that's not the point here. the point here is that donald trump has not, to date, released his taxes. so, clearly, one can assume that he didn't want people to know this. two, donald trump has gone through this presidential campaign saying hedge fund folks, don't pay taxes. that's outrageous. other groups of americans, don't pay taxes. that's outrageous. and criticized other people for

not supporting the needs of americans. and then there he is not paying taxes. and, again, they tried to write it off as a corporate -- just one second. i want tasay in tetto to say in hypocrisy he did hit barack obama. he said barack obama who wants to raise all our taxes only pays 20.5% on his $790,000 salary. do as i say, not as i do. how is this not a -- >> two important things to note. the "wall street journal" poll says 6% of people care about his taxes. second thing to note, is this election really about donald trump's taxes. >> it's about transparency. >> and hypocrisy. >> why don't we actually talk about what the election is about which is changing a broken washington, d.c., and the american people have two choices. they could take a career 30-year politician who has helped design the tax system which donald trump potentially took advantage

of, or they could bring someone in who wil actually change the system. >> hold on. i just want to correct something. 62% of them say they're not comfortable that he has not released them. people want transparency. they want to know about his charitable giving and what tax rate. >> hillary clinton and the money she has taken from the foundation. but no one is talking about it. >> come on, we haven't talked about hillary clinton's e-mails for years. >> but, still, a fact to her foundation and the money that they have taken. >> again, again, attack the messeng messenger, divert the topic. there has been tremendous coverage of the clinton foundation and we saw recently yet another important national charity organization say how great the foundation is. but that's not the issue here. corey, you put out a choice. you said it could be this or that. actually, the choice for americans, do they want to vote for donald trump, a man who clearly yet, again, has shown how hypocritical he is, how he would lie to manipulate the

public and how he will use everything he can to make himself more wealthy. let's be clear. when he wasn't paying taxes, he left countless -- >> but they don't -- >> during the same period of time that we believe he wasn't paying taxes and it has not been, wait, been denied. >> i said he believes. >> we know for a fact he left countless small business people in atlantic city and the surrounding area without being paid. >> i do want to get to that. >> how is that something americans feel good about? >> hillary clinton naz nhas not created one private sector job and paid $100 million since she has left public service. >> let me show you her -- hold on. hold on. let me get to her tax returns. >> how many small businesses -- >> let me show you her tax returns. this is from 2015. hillary clinton's tax returns. her salary $10.6 million. tax rate 30.6%.

paid 3.24 million in federal income taxes and donated $1 million to the clinton family foundation. >> that money from wall street speeches. $10 million, let's see -- where are the transcripts. you can't have them both ways. >> we want transparency. >> here's what donald trump said in the debate and he was very clear about this. i will release all of my taxes the second hillary clinton releases 33 million e-mails. he said i will release all of my taxes as soon as the e-mails. i don't care -- look, four years ago -- >> i have another question for you. >> e-mail didn't exist 40 years ago, it exists right now. >> corey, he has put out any number of -- >> hillary clinton releases her e-mails and donald trump's taxes go out today. >> corey is not authorized to say that. >> he said it. >> hold on. >> he won't release his taxes in full because they will show more

of this. him using the system to put more money in his pocketbook and being very different than average americans. >> 85 million people heard him say that. >> we'll be talking more about it. >> it is, again, diverting and attacking the messenger. >> no one believes that. he'll never -- >> she'll never release e-mails. >> he'll never release his e-mails. >> this show only goes until 9:00 a.m. eastern. thank you. >> the good news is that conversation cleared my sinuses. donald trump's tax problems is only one of many issues facing the republican nominee. can trump turn around his rough week? how is he preparing for his next debate on sunday? time is of the essence, next.

donald trump on several fronts. "new york times" reporting he may not have paid federal taxes for two decades thanks to this massive loss that he recorded back in the '90s and that debate loss he had to deal with. this fight with a former beauty

queen and his tweet storm from last friday and, oh, we're not mentioning that he accused hillary clinton of cheating of her husband this weekend. let's ask cnn political analyst and reporter for "new york times" alex burns and senior editor for "atlantic" ron brownste brownstein. let's start with assessing our own premise. does any of this matter to you and, if so, which and why? >> yeah, it does matter. i mean, donald trump's principle obstacle are the doubts about his personal qualification. going back through the primaries very little debate about the issue agenda hillary clinton has made. put very little of her chips on disqualifying the trump agenda. going into that first debate, many people on his side and many people who sat in chairs like this on this show that he was not the caricature that they painted of him personally. that he could be reassuring and then make a lot of gains. in fact, what the past week has

done, starting with the debate and then the aftermath is give ammunition to all the case, every aspect of the case against donald trump. if you think about it in particular the tweet storm with the former miss universe, it appeared vindictive and appeared volatile and offered ammunition to those who says he was racist and sexist. the entire personal case against him summarized in 140 characters. >> ron, i want to stick with you for one second because i don't want to make alex talk about the "washington post" front page story. you have your finger on the polls of polling and voters and the "washington post" says they're in ohio talking to voters ever since the news broke about donald trump's taxes and voters do care and they don't like the idea that he hasn't paid taxes. how do you think that voters and his supporters will respond to this? >> i think this pushes right at the seam of the cultural divide over donald trump. i think the campaign is right that there is a portion of the electorate that does believe

that his argument that because he is an insider who has manipulated the system, he is the one uniquely positioned to kind of reform it. that he is, essentially, a trader to the leadership class that has abandoned them. that is a portion of the ele electora electorate. the risks from these revolutions and really almost contradictory. one is that he has no civic sense of responsibility to someone who is just out for himself. again, goes back to how his principle obstacles are personal. maybe more important as you saw in the interviews in "washington post" causes voters to question his foundation of his campaign that he has been a brilliant business success that can take the skills and, in effect, do a turn around on the government. so, i do think that there is the case that there are voters who respond to this in the way that he says, but there are others for whom it is going to reinforce personal doubts, which i believe are the personal headwind that he faces. >> alex, is this too deep to make the argument that why would a man who benefits from a

current system change that system thereby doing something that we've never seen him do in this election or outside it, which is disadvantage himself. that's what you're hearing. your tax plan as articulated does not have a headline nobody will ever do what i did, again. does that matter? >> in fact, elements of his tax plan like eliminating the estate tax that would benefit himself and his family members enormously. a lot easier for trump to make the case that he is the best man to fix this system if there were a lot more detail involved in fixing the system as opposed to the broad sense, hey, i gamed the system and now i can game the system for you. it's a subtle difference between the two arguments that i know how to fix the system and i know how to work the system. what he has been saying, i know how to work the system. >> what about what ron just said and that is that donald trump's surrogates say that this shows that he's a genius. look at him. he managed the tax code so he didn't have to pay taxes. good on him.

>> right. >> but what this all stemmed from was that his business went bankrupt. his three casinos went bankrupt in 1995 and his airline went away. >> plaza hotel. >> plaza hotel. how is this genius business? >> this is probably the question for rudy giuliani. but i think there are important and significant new information in this tax scoop. i think what's been really important, though, as well, over the last week, all the stories that ron described is how they're sort of reairing issues that we knew about already. we knew his casinos failed in the 1990s. >> we didn't know he made financial hay prom that and how much he benefitted. >> to the point of, where is the business genius in this? his business surrogates says he totally collapsed and built himself back. the argument the clinton folks are making and probably will continue to make. whalost money in the 1990s working in casinos? >> what does he have to do, ron,

to turn the page on this? he has less than 40 days to go. there is a lot of self-inflicted wound going on here. accusing "new york times" of being felons for putting this out. not going to wash. what does he need to do? >> of course, the clock is running down. he spent an entire week kind of wrapped around the axle on reiterating what he did. i am where i have always been. roughly 60% of the country says that he's not qualified. roughly 60% say they question whether he has the temperament and nearly 60% say he's bias against women and minorities. he's having trouble getting above the low 40s and now even post-debate and even into the low 40s in any poll. that kind of adds up to 100. there isn't another 10% out there. and i think that, you know, their instinct and everything you saw yesterday on the show is to go, you know, again, turn it up to 11 on the accusations against hillary clinton. but i still believed unless he

resolves more of the personal doubts about whether he's capable of being president and he reflects the values we want in a president is going to be hard for him to get from where he is to ultimately where he needs to get in the mid-40s. by all indications they are leading in the other direction by elevating their criticisms of hillary clinton. >> this show does go until 11:00, by the way. we can turn it up. alex, for hillary clinton's campaign it's not good enough, or you tell us, does she have to figure out how to translate that into what that means. that means infrastructure and va hospital and military families. is that what we're going taheo r from her today? >> it would be smart of me not to pay any taxes. she went to north carolina and said, well, he's not paying taxes to support troops, to support the va, et cetera. i do think this all this focus on trump and his problems oever

the la the last week. there is the sense that she needs to get out there and fete people what she's for. donald trump is doing, it seems over the last week, doing his best to make not being donald trump enough in this race. >> the problem for trump is that we're seeing what he does to get in front of it. he went and said she cheated on her husband this weekend and that's a big of concern for his campaign as anything. was going to be on the show this morning, it was a scheduling mix up. we hope to have him on soon. tarm night for the vice presidential debate, watch mike pence and virginia senator tim kaine that begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern. the coverage will start at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow. there is a lot on the line.

this is their one chance to get at each other tomorrow night. bill weld says hillary clinton is the most qualified person to be president. wait a minute, that's not staying on message. >> too honest. >> that will never work. we're going to ask him about that and more when he joins us live.

libertarian vice presidential candidate bill weld making a surprising statement saying that hillary clinton is the most qualified candidate to be president. what about his running mate gary zonso johnson? what about him. bill weld, governor, injecting honesty into a process like this is never recommended. >> it's unthinkable, chris. you're absolutely right. >> so, what do you want to achieve by saying something like that? you know there's a reason that those types of statements aren't said, even if believed in politics. why did you do it? >> well, i said i'm not sure there is anybody more qualified than she is on paper. i mean, she's got quite a resume. six or eight years as a senator. she was known for mastering her

brief in the senate and four years as secretary of state. on paper that is a pretty good resume. pretty good qualification to be president of the united states. i went on to say that i think gary johnson would be the best president because of the policies. fiscal and military and otherwise that he would implement. >> why is your confidence in governor johnson not shaken after his recent gaffes show a lack of understanding of world events? >> well, you know, pop quizzes on tv are just not gary's long suit but i think having the right policies is more important than doing well on a pop quiz. and i think, for example, in syria, i think gary has pretty much nailed it from the beginning saying that it's a mess. the only way out would probably involve russia. but that's no day at the beach given who you're dealing with there and he called for a cease-fire shortly before a cease-fire was negotiated. and then that fell apart, as we know, because it is a mess. there is too many different rebel groups.

you've got isis and just going in in the first place militarily was not a great idea. and gary johnson has said that and that's more important than the place names. >> you know that the situation isn't going anywhere and you're going to have to deal with it as president of the united states. you have to understand its intricacies and this situation kind of leads to the elephant in the room, governor, and i mean this with no disrespect. i respect the ticketer, we did e town hall. you are taking votes from someone. i know there is a dispute about who it is. there is a suggestion as with ralph nader these third parties, libertarian or jill stein will take it away from hillary clinton and are you concerned that you might deliver donald trump a presidency? >> you know, not really. in this year of all years, i think having an alternative to the two establishment parties is a good thing and healthy for the

country. and let's stick with the example that we were talking about. the president has to deal with syria, if you go into syria. but if you are more restrained about your military incursions, then you're not in the middle of a civil war. what the president decides to do can be tremendously important. on the technical question of who we're taking votes from, i'm quite sure at the end of the day we will wind up with a lot more moderate republican votes than we will votes coming from mrs. clinton. that's just my view. but i do think that's right. >> why? >> i just said this before, but i can't imagine anyone who's really a republican voting for donald trump. i consider him what he said he was at the beginning. a liberal new york city democrat and he's doing just the opposite of what everyone in the republican party decided that we had, we republicans, as i used to be, after the 2012 election we said we have to emphasize

free trade. we have to have outreach to latinos and women and all minority groups and people of color. donald trump is just doing the opposite of all of those things. so, it's hard for me to see how he keeps, keeps republicans of good will. >> donald trump's supporters say the fact that he was able to ca forward a loss of $915 million plus for maybe two decades shows he is a business genius. what do you say? >> i say that the net operating loss carried forward is a well-known provision of the tax code. i hate to defend donald trump. believe me when i tell you. but it's not that uncommon. >> well, that size for that duration from someone saying make me president, i'm a great businessman because b coomes a t confused picture, does it not? >> donald trump's business career is a disaster. his use of the bankruptcy code. look at his atlantic city

casinos. every time the little guys got stiffed and donald came out great because he said i'm going to trash this unless you pay me, you know, x million dollars and it's bluffing and bullying. that's his stock and trade in the bankruptcy court. it will be his stock and trade in the white house, if he gets there, which i very much hope he does not do. >> do you believe that donald trump would change a tax system that he ben fits frefits from t degree? >> i think he's a sharp practitioner and he'll take every advantage he can get tax wise. as i say, i don't think his business career is guilt edged or blue chip and that's an understatement. >> i want to go back tathis last premise, though. you said in the town hall and interviews that you are worried about the prospect of a donald trump presidency. but it is a very real prospect.

and that doesn't seem to weigh on your analysis of your own ticket presence in this race. why not? >> no. i mean, if i think we're going to take more votes from trump than from clinton, then i'm happy about that. i am also happy with our platform with gary johnson and bill weld platform which is fiscally responsible and socially inclusive and exhibiting restraint on military matters. i think that's just the right approach. and it's not a bad thing for the country to have somebody standing up and saying, look, here's the way to do it and it respects everyone. it doesn't try to pit group against group and stir up envy and resentment and hatred the way mr. trump does. it won't break the bank the way i have some concern the democratedemocrat e s may hollow out the economy by overspending too much and not militarily irresponsible. gary johnson points out that wars have up intended

consequences. they may be military and they may be economic and they may be moral. the iraq invasion of 2003. i think we paid a moral price for that at the end of the day. >> if poll ststers are someone trust -- >> go aheadp. >> if pollsters are someone you trust and come forward and our data is showing that we draw independence largely and we're biting into clinton's part of that apple. trump's numbers fairly fixed. would that change your analysis of what to do with your campaign? >> you know, it wouldn't change my analysis of what to do. gary and i are both happy warriors. we're running full speed ahead. but i would doubt that analysis, to tell you the truth. >> governor weld, thank you, for coming on to discuss what matters on "new day." thank you, sir. >> thanks much. >> alisyn. chris, if you're not an accountant the details of donald trump's tax returns can be confusing. how billionaires like trump turn

huge business losses into years of personal tax relief. sure, we could have stacked these tires. or put them on a rack. but the specialists at ford like to show off their strengths: 13 name brands. all backed by our low price tire guarantee. yeah, we're strong when it comes to tires. right now during the big tire event, get a $140 rebate by mail on four select tires. ♪

"new york times" publishing tax documents from donald trump that show business losses of $916 million in 1995. that he may have been able to use personally to avoid paying federal income tax for nearly two decades. his supporters call this genius. chief business correspondent christine romans joins with more. a strained analysis at best. how do you see it? >> look, i want to see those tax returns, all of them.

we can really look inside this business. what we know right now for donald trump those losses were a gift that kept on giving. the bigger the loss, the bigger the taxes. the way he structured all the tax breaks to real estate developers could have allowed the presidential candidate to reduce his income tax to zero. all those profits book royalties, he would not have had to pay income tax on that. we don't know which business drove this loss. three failing atlantic city casinos and an investment in the plaza hotel. we don't know when this all happened. the losses filed in 1995 could have covered the three previous years. one thing is clear thrk goal was to pay as little in tax as possible. one thing working in trump's favor, most are limited cooperations. he can provide a loss to offset and special breaks for real estate developers. interest on loans used to finance properties and maintenance costs on his properties. even though the market value of

his property appreciates over time, for tax purposes he is allowed to write it off for wear and tear. the gop nominee paid hundreds of millions in other taxes. pay no more tax than legally required. that's something that is getting a lot of attention this morning. from tax attorneys, his few di h fiduciary is a distraction. >> it's a big word. we're like, okay. sharing duty. >> it's complicated. on a very basic level, this sounds right. no one wants to pay one more red cent than they have to. if these are the rules, he did the right thing in quotes. however, he says, this is actually wrong. this system is rigged. i know it because i know the system so well. i will fix it. in his tax plan is there anything in there that will correct this? >> i don't see anything that

will correct this, in particular. that's why that argument today from surrogates, i think, is pretty interesting. show me exactly where wouldn't happen, again, under his tax code. we just don't see that. >> how about hillary clinton's tax plan. does she take care of some of these things and help the upper echelon that she also is in. >> we know she paid taxes last year and she gave to charity last we're year. we know 1995 donald trump must not be under that audit. donald trump can release more of those pages and hillary clinton wants taraise taxes on the wealthy and use that to pay for some of her other reforms and for tax cuts for the middle class. donald trump wants to cut taxes for everyone, but his tax cuts, his bigger tax cut for the rich. >> meaning her plan, her family would pay more. she personally would pay more -- >> the way i read it, yeah. >> this is messy. because you have to know a lot about his situation and you'll know none of it because it's all privately held.

one of the big questions that jumps out, he got this big loss. $900 plus million. i wonder what money he put up. >> exactly. >> many trump antagonists say he doesn't put up any clash as collateral. >> he loves debt. how many times has he said he loves debt. >> somebody else's money that got lost. >> he loves opm, other people's money. did he use other people's money and take big bets with collateral that is maybe future earnings or future revenue stream and in the end takes $900 million loss that wipes out those real earnings, what i would call real earnings from real income like the apprentice and book royalties so he doesn't have to pay taxes on those. >> wait a second, is that legal to use other people's money that you then claim as a debt and you don't have to pay taxes on? >> no one is claiming any of this is not illegal. >> it's not illegal, but it's shady. that's what people have said over the years. this guy is different.

he cheats people and bullies people and gets people to accept less than what he was charging them. this would be a gross extension of that and goes to what kind of business guy he was. >> is $916 million loss. we know it was a really bad time for donald trump, but he has always talked about that he was able to come back from that and that shows what a powerful businessman he was. he was living lavishly in the years after that. not having to pay taxes, if, in fact, he was not having to pay taxes on those real earnings. >> the retired accountant in "new york times" says he struggled with the income, this is a tax accountant struggled with helping donald trump live a lavish lifestyle while not paying any taxes. >> here's another point that light would be shed if he released his taxes. maybe while he wasn't paying income taxes, he was giving to charity and giving all sorts of money.

but there's no evidence of that that he has given anything to charity since 2008. >> that's why i would like to see the tax returns. yes, they're going to be complicated. no question. donald trump is one of the 44% of americans that has no federal tax burden. 44% of americans don't have a tax burden. he has tweeted in the past about people who don't pay their fair share in taxes. i think that's the irony here. the fact that he had the big loss and then all the years later when he was making money, he may not have been paying into the federal tax. >> no one should question whether he had the legal right. maybe that's why he's being audited. whether or not right to do it. some moral obligation that someone as welty as he should have felt to give more than nothing. >> moral obligation of the tax code. >> zero. i know. but he's running for president. you know, not to be someone who knows the tax code. >> show us the taxes. >> thank you. >> very helpful on some complicated stuff. donald trump and his surrogates turning the heat up

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a second night of tense protests in los angeles after police shot and killed an african-american teen on saturday. the lapd says 18-year-old snell had a gun when he bolted out of a car believed to be stolen and took off on foot. officials have not said if snell made a threatening move towards officers with that weapon. the assistant chief telling reporters more details should be released today or tomorrow. sad news this morning from south carolina where the little boy wounded in last week's shooting at an elementary school has died. officials say 6-year-old jacob hall suffered massive blood loss that led to severe brain injury. the 14-year-old suspect in the three shootings at townville elementary has also been charged in the earlier murder of his father in

a legendary voice of the los angeles dodgers, vin scully, signing off after an astonishing and probably never repeated 67-year career. he signed on dodger legends like jackie robinson and peewee reese. scully grew up a giants fan so it's fitting his last game pitted both old new york rivals that moved west. his favorite player of all time was willie mays who joined him in the booth this sunday for his last. he changed the game. he brought it to life before you even see it. his talent carried him right through. back to the campaign trail. donald trump this weekend launching highly personal attacks against hillary clinton. >> hillary clinton's only loyalty is to her financial contributors and to herself.

i don't even think she's loyal to bill, if you want to know the truth. and, really, folks, really, why should she be, right? >> all right. let's go there. let's discuss this with cnn political commentator and former reagan white house political director jeffrey lord. gentlemen, nice to see you this morning. jeffrey, what does that mean? i mean, let's just, you know, go there and try to parse this. i don't even think she's loyal to bill if you want to know the truth. what does that mean? >> you know, alisyn, i heard this and i have to say i think it's just a throwaway line. i don't think it means anything, frankly. he's in front of a crowd. the crowd is decidedly anti-hillary. he pops it off. this is going to disappear in a media cycle in less than 24 hours. >> we can only hope, jeffrey. do you think it's okay that he goes there? do you think this is, you know, gutter politics?

>> i don't -- you know, we have a lot more important things. and i mean this seriously. people here in my neck of the woods are talking about jobs, are obamacare. i get stopped with people recognizing me to talk about things -- they never talk about things like that. what they're talking about, for instance, the state of obamacare, their health care and how it's affecting their health care costs. i just don't think more than a throwaway line in a speech. >> i agree with you. i get stopped by people all the time. same thing. people want to talk about the issues connected to their it lives. so why does your candidate go there? >> he's just playing with the crowd. it's just humor, that's all. let's confess here, i mean, volumes have been written on the clintons including that kind of suggestion. so, you know, it's not -- >> so is it fair game or not fair game? >> what? >> so is it fair game for him to go there -- fair game isn't the right word. is it strategic for him to go

there or not? >> i just don't -- i just think it's a throwaway line. i mean, this is not a major thing in this campaign. i mean, the main thing is, you know, her treatment of the women that were involved with bill clinton, voluntarily or in the case -- >> that is what they have been hammering. van, how do you see that throwaway line? >> well, first of all, what people are talking about is his temperament. obviously we all care about the issues, we need a leader who will be able it to deal with it. donald trump is like an elementary school on saturday, no class. that is gutter politics of the first order. you're not going to defend it, jeffrey. and part of the problem we have here is this is a candidate who was doing quite well just a short seven, eight, nine days ago. he was disciplined. he was focused. he was scaring the heck out of a

bunch of people. he up on that stage. he got rattled and since then we are in day seven of a meltdown where he is just showing himself just to be erratic and all over the highway because he got rattled. you cannot do that when you're president of the united states. >> van, i just want to talk with you one more second. well, hillary clinton started this at the debate. she brought up machado. how does that have to do with people's paychecks or health care? she went there from 20 years ago. she resurrected this old fight with this old woman that she brought up to try to impugn his character so then, i guess, all bets are off. >> well, here's -- you can say that, however, here's reality. he actually did say the bad things about her and then he doubled down and tripled down and quadrupled down tweeting late at night. whereas there is zero evidence that hillary clinton has been

unfaithful to her husband and, again, mr. lord says, well, he's just popping off. he's just say iing whatever he' saying. the reality is when you are the president of the united states or when you're 30 plus days out from possibly being the president you have to show some discipline, some restraint, some judgment. you can't just let whatever crowd is in front of you dictate what you're saying. >> jeffrey, look -- >> if i may, when barack obama says, you know, quotes that line from "the untouchables" and says if they bring a knife to a fight you bring a gun, we're talking the same thing. does that not involve a president's temperament? >> i don't know, jeffrey. how does who is the bigger philanderer work for donald trump? he, too, had his issues that were splashed all across the new york tabloids in the 1990s, so going back to bill's philandering or hillary clinton's fidelity, how does this work?

>> i think the bill clint clinton/donald trump fidelity issue is the dead letter. what is important is hillary clinton's treatment of women like juanita broderick, be all of whom, and there are a number of them, willing to come forward and talk. her job shaming, if you will, of gennifer flowers, oh, well, she's only a cabaret singer. what's wrong with being a cabaret singer? that is the height of arrogance. this is exactly the way she thinks. >> i hear you, jeffrey. if you want to talk about issues and think that's what voters care most about, why do you and his other surrogates and donald trump keep veering into this, you know, philandering territ y territory? why not just stick with issues then? >> well, for the same reason that hillary clinton did this -- in her case it was very deliberate and brings up miss universe. these candidates say things. it was a throwaway line, humor. in her case this was dead

serious. >> is it a character issue? is there a double standard. if we're going to bring up carriharacter and donald trump' character, then donald trump's campaign will bring up her character and is that where we are and is that all fair game? >> listen, if you want to make an issue about character, that's perfectly fine. in fact, the one thing that we know about presidents is the issues that they run on sometimes are not even the issues they have to govern on. when george w. bush ran for office, we weren't talking about al qaeda. we weren't talking about osama bin laden. we were talking about tax policy. so character sometimes is the only thing that you're going to be able to judge. also, frankly, hillary clinton trying to continue to raise the issue of his horrific mistreatment of women and his contempt for women is a part of his character. i don't have a problem -- >> but then you do have a problem -- hold on, jeffrey. then if they bring up, you know, her treatment of women that bill

clinton was involved in, then that's also fair game? >> listen, i think that she can absolutely explain to the american people that she may not have had kind things to say about people who were cheating with her husband. that's perfectly fine. what i'm talking about is something much more troubling which is how does he continue to fish tail off into ditch after ditch after ditch six, seven days after the debate, and he was trying to actually make a point which, you know, maybe was a legitimate point, and then he throws out this line and he does this to himself all the time. it goes to presidential temperament. it's a tough game. you can raise tough issues. when you raise false issues in a dumb way a month before you're supposed to be elected, it does not give people confidence in your temperament or your judgment. >> van jones, jeffrey lurie, thank you. >> thanks. >> we're following a lot of news. let's t right to it. he didn't pay any federal income tax.

>> that makes me smart. >> the man's a genius. he knows how to operate the tax code. >> trump says, hey, i'm worth billions but i don't pay any taxes. you make $15 an hour, you pay the taxes. >> hillary clinton's only loyalty is to her natural contributors and to herself. i don't even think she's loyal to bill. why should she be, right? >> this is someone who always puts himself first. >> kim kardashian west robbed at gunpoint. >> five people came in with m s masks and guns. they tied her up and then stole her jewelry. >> reality tv star's real-life drama. this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. good morning, everyone. welcome to your "new day." don't adjust your sets. chris cuomo has not transformed into john berman. thank you for pinch-hitting here. great to have you. >> a smarter, more handsome version showing up. >> an upgrade. chris had to take off for a big interview he's doing. tune in tomorrow for that. donald trump's campaign is dealing with a tax bombshell,

"the new york times" revealing trump may have avoided paying income taxes for nearly two decades for business losses totaling nearly $1 billion. >> some of donald trump's supporters call him a genius for this. hillary clinton says that trump's returns confirm he is a business failure. so much at stake with 36 days now until election day, one day until the vice presidential debate. six days until the presidential debate. we have it all covered for you. i want to begin with senior political reporter, the most important number today might be $916 million. >> reporter: good morning. now before last week's debate, remember that donald trump had been on an upswing. polls showed him beating hillary clinton in a number of key battlegrounds but he stadiumblen the debate, got into a feud with a beauty queen and now new questions about whether donald trump even paid his federal income taxes. and about a nearly