Melania Trump Issues Statement, Demands Retraction and Apology
BURNETT: Breaking news. We're waiting for Donald Trump to take the stage in a rally in Cincinnati tonight. This comes as Trump's running mate Mike Pence just spoke and for the first time addressed the growing number of women who are accusing Trump of sexual assault.</s>GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: As the media spends so much time on unsubstantiated allegations against my running mate, allegations that he has categorically denied, they denied the hard evidence or any coverage of the hard evidence of nothing less than the corruption and the deceit of the Clintons and the Clinton machine.</s>BURNETT: And tonight, despite the damning claims against Trump, his supporters are not giving up on their nominee. Ed Lavandera went to talk to them OUTFRONT.</s>ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Trump faithful are standing by their man.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd rather have a guy in there that likes women than a cheat and a liar and a thief who's going to rob the country.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- with all of these issues about women. They didn't care about anything but Clinton was assaulting women and he was assaulted to a point that it went to court and Hillary was covering up for him and intimidating these women.</s>LAVANDERA: In the last day at least four women have come forward claiming Donald Trump grope them or kissed them against their will. But at this Trump campaign rally in West Palm Beach Florida, his supporters question the motivations of the women making the accusations.</s>ROSA CASTILLO, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: If somebody touch me in the wrong way, I Rosa Castillo will stand up and speak and say what I have to say and -- happen. I would not wait twenty years when the man is running for president and use that against the man. Why you did not report it back in the day? Why? Because you being paid now? The corruption pay you good money for you come out now and say this?</s>TRUMP: And so now, we address the slander and libels that was just last night thrown at me by the Clinton machine.</s>LAVANDERA: Trump is in full attack mode, whether it's his opponent, the media or his accusers.</s>TRUMP: These people are horrible people. They are horrible, horrible liars and interestingly, it happens to appear 26 days before our very important election. Isn't that way amazing?</s>LAVANDERA: Trump accused the Hillary Clinton campaign of pushing these stories of sexual misconduct.</s>TRUMP: These vicious claims about me of inappropriate conduct with women are totally and absolutely false.</s>LAVANDERA: Fact or fiction these supporters don't care about the allegations against Trump. They want to focus on the Clintons.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get rid of her. She's garbage. She's a cheat. She's a liar --</s>LAVANDERA: End Erin, Donald Trump also said today in Florida that they have substantial evidence to prove that these accusers are lying and that that information would be released at the appropriate time. That wasn't done today but all of the people that we spoke with at the rally here today in Florida standing by Donald Trump unfazed by these latest accusations -- Erin.</s>BURNETT: All right. Ed, thank you very much. OUTFRONT now, our panel Scottie Nell Hughes, a Donald Trump supporter. Lisa Bloom, the attorney for Jill Harth who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Donald Trump. Abby Phillip, a reporter for the Washington Post and Mark Preston, the executive editor for CNN Politics. I just want to start here with the breaking news. I don't know if you all had a chance because it literally is just crossing into my e-mail right now. Melania Trump has just come out with a statement, a demand for a retraction and an apology specifically related to the People Magazine reporter. She's the one who told the story of how she was interviewing Trump and Melania together. Melania left and then Donald Trump accosted her within seconds said they would have had an affair. Stuck his tongue down her throat. Later was in a massage room waiting for her when she came in there. That's part of the account. It ends with her saying that she bumped into Melania on Fifth Avenue. And this statement says that that is not true. It says, at the time in question, Mrs. Trump would not even have recognized Ms. Stoynoff, that's the People Magazine reporter if they had encountered one another on the street and saying, your publication of this false statement is actionable and gives rise to claims of damages. So they are taking issue, Mark Preston with three things. Saying the reporter never bumped into Melania Trump outside Trump Tower after the incident happened. That the little exchange was reported in the magazine between Melania and this reporter where she sort of gave the little baby baron a squeeze on the foot never happened. But what I find fascinating Mark Preston is it doesn't dispute any of the actual events that were sexual assault.</s>MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well because how can Melania Trump say that they occurred. They didn't occur when she wasn't there. I mean, look at, here is the problem right now for Donald Trump. This is the second time we've seen his wife have to put a statement out in less than a week defending her husband against charges of in this case sexual misconduct on Saturday afternoon on the basis that he was a good man and that he didn't mean anything by the comments that we heard on that "Access Hollywood" tape. When we see Donald Trump out there on the campaign having to open up all of his rallies trying to defend himself from multiple allegations, it just shows you that his whole campaign right now is in absolute tail spin. I don't know how he's going convince people that, A, he didn't do it, and that B, that he has the fortitude to be the president of the United States in this final 26 days. It's very, very difficult.</s>BURNETT: And Scottie, what is your response to this? Because Melania Trump here is questioning one aspect of this story that she personally would have knowledge of. She doesn't question the sexual assault itself in this particular letter. And this is not a statement saying, I support my husband or I stand by my husband. It is not anything even remotely close to that.</s>SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well I think Mark is correct. She only addressed the issues that concerned her. Her previous statement this week did say that she believes all these allegations are false and that she's standing by her husband. And the words said were not the man that she had been able to do.</s>BURNETT: Talking about the tapes.</s>NELL HUGHES: Once again --</s>BURNETT: Talking about the tapes.</s>NELL HUGHES: Once again --</s>BURNETT: Right. Nothing about any of these allegations, specific women that have come forward.</s>NELL HUGHES: Because she already addressed it. Listen, this is going to happen every day. You might as well go on file 26 more names probably that's going to happen. The Clinton campaign and the minions in the media are going to continue to pour out because they don't want to discuss once again the issues. We're talking about hearsay. There is no hard proof proving that any of these women allegations are true. This is complete mud-slinging and maybe if there was an ounce of truth to any of them, it looks a little bit bad when you're doing this 26 days before the allegations. You should have done this if you really were concerned about your safety and what it happened to you and about future victims not being assaulted, you should have done this with in time if it actually happening, not to --</s>BURNETT: Now, to be clear, to be clear, I just want to say that many of these women, the one I know saw the tape of Trump saying the thing about the Tic Tacs and it was so jarring for her because it happened to her that is why she spoke. Some of the other women are coming forward because when Anderson Cooper asked Donald Trump if he ever did the things that he is talking about in the tape, he categorically said no. So, they came out, they say because he lied directly in the debate. Lisa Bloom, how many women are calling you? We talked about ten women in some capacity have come forward. Are you getting a lot of other calls?</s>LISA BLOOM, VICTIMS' RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes I am. And by the way my client Jill Hart did come out around the time that it happened to her she says back in 1997 --</s>BURNETT: Right.</s>BLOOM: -- perhaps her claim at least could be taken seriously. Yes I am getting calls from a lot of women who are absolutely terrified. I spent hours and hours every day over the last week talking to women who are terrified because Donald Trump is out there threatening to sue people. And slamming them publicly. And they know what they are in for and frankly I have to advise them of the good and the bad. Yes it is terrifying to come out publicly when you are just an ordinary person in a situation like this. It could also be very empowering to walk through the fire and tell your truth. But it is not something that most people can do. Even with a big mouth lawyer like me by their side. This is something that is really very scary for a lot of people.</s>BURNETT: So, Abby, how worried is Trump about this? Okay? He's slamming and saying, it is categorically untrue. These women are all saying he's liars. There is of course an irony in him saying, Bill Clinton's accusers should be heard but this women shouldn't be. Putting that aside, how worried is the campaign about this right now?</s>ABBY PHILLIP, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Just the fact that he had a speech scheduled today for 12:00 in which the entirety of it was devoted to this issue, it is clear sign that they are -- worried may not be the right word but infuriated is one way.</s>BURNETT: Infuriated. Yes.</s>PHILLIP: And consumed by it. I mean, this is consuming his campaign. And that in essence is actually the problem. I mean, Donald Trump needs to shut this down. He can't control other women come forward or not. But he has to shut it down. But he's not going to because it is personally going to him. He wants to fight back and that instinct is what is going to cause this to continue and continue.</s>BURNETT: The cycle to continue.</s>PHILLIP: It is a cycle.</s>BURNETT: Mark?</s>PRESTON: You know, just very quickly, you know, to what Scottie said. I think it is important to say, we haven't seen Melania Trump out there defending her husband since all of these allegations, these physical allegations and altercations taken place. She did come up with a statement after the tape was put out saying that she was repudiated by what he said. But we haven't heard her based all of these allegations from multiple women. I think that's an important point.</s>NELL HUGHES: Can I ask a question to this Mark though -- what could she say? You look at other people and including Mr. Trump who has come out and every single thing he has said, from his words, from his tone, other people part of his organization and they are ripped to shreds. Never have I heard somebody give them a compliment or that is, you know, that is good that they were honest or even in his apology. So what could Melania say in her last time that she came out and spoke, she was completely ripped to shreds. What could she say that --</s>BURNETT: This is plagiarism in a speech --</s>BLOOM: This is not about Melania Trump. I mean, Melania Trump shouldn't be responsible for Donald Trump's actions any more than Hillary Clinton should be responsible for Bill Clinton's actions --</s>NELL HUGHES: Well, that's also called honesty and truth. And this is Pandora's Box because right now what we're saying is that women can come out and throw these things against anybody. Even against the people, within our own companies right now because there is no actual --</s>BLOOM: Yes. But most of them have corroborating witnesses from ten, twenty years ago. So were they all plotting twenty years ago that they told a friend because they knew that in 2015, 2016 Donald Trump was going to run for president? This could be a very long term conspiracy.</s>NELL HUGHES: Nothing was ever documented. It is not documented. In fact as many people that these women --</s>BLOOM: -- trial, a witness's testimony is evidence. What do you want? Videotapes? I mean, that is not how the real world works.</s>BURNETT: There were witnesses. There were witnesses in these cases. Of course --</s>BLOOM: But why --</s>BURNETT: -- sexual assault as we all know is very complicated. I hit pause, all of you staying with me. Next, we're standing by for Donald Trump about to speak live in Cincinnati as Ivanka Trump is back on the trail today. Our Dana Bash tried to catch up with her.</s>DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Ivanka, what was your reaction when you heard your father's tape?</s>BURNETT: A damning video of Donald Trump talking about Mike Tyson and rape.