Awaiting Donald Trump at Rally, Hours Before Primary; RNC Fights Back Against Trump; Interview with Eric Trump
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Next, breaking news. Donald Trump speaking live in this hour just before polls open in the crucial state of New York. This is Trump may fire RNC Chairman Reince Priebus if he's the nominee. Plus, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders battling for every vote. Can Sanders pull it off tomorrow? And Ted Cruz racking up delegates this weekend without any voters actually going to the polls. My guest tonight, Cruz's top delegate hunter. Let's go OUTFRONT. Good evening, I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news. Donald Trump about to speak live, rallying a huge crowds of supporters in Buffalo, New York. This is as we're counting you down to the crucial New York primary. That is where Trump is going to speak at any moment in Buffalo. A voters, though, in the state of New York heading to the polls less than 11 hours from now. You are looking at live pictures from that Trump rally, and the stakes truly could not be higher for Trump as the frontrunner. New York is one of the biggest prizes to date. Ninety five Republican delegates are up for grabs. Trump has held a consistent, comfortable lead in his home state's polls. But he needs more than just a win. A lot more than a win in the state of New York. Ted Cruz has been out muscling Trump in the delegate fight over the weekend. Trump needs to win big to re- establish his dominance in the race and to win all of the delegates in New York or as many of them as he possibly can. Trump's campaign up to 85. This is as Trump is upping the ante with his battle with the RNC saying if he wins the nomination, he might oust the RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. Just moments ago, a top RNC official fired back.</s>SEAN SPICER, RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: The members of the RNC elected and re-elected Chairman Priebus last year. He serves a two- year term. It's no one's decision but the members of the RNC and they made it. So it's end of story. It's frankly, a silly story.</s>BURNETT: Jim Acosta begins our coverage OUTFRONT tonight at that Trump rally that you can see on the screen in Buffalo. And Jim, this is going to be a huge rally. I know he's got a major person introducing him, the Buffalo Bills' coach. How is Trump feeling about his chances in his home state?</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, Donald Trump says he doesn't want to believe the polls right now, because basically, they're that good. And after a string of losses from Wisconsin to Wyoming, Donald Trump is seeking to do something he hasn't done in weeks and that is win a primary. And he wants to do that here in his home state of New York. He'll be out in Buffalo in just a few moments where he's expected to continue blaming the GOP system for these recent setbacks. A system he calls rigged.</s>ACOSTA (voice-over): One day before the New York primary, Donald Trump wants the voters to know how much he loves his home state.</s>DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look at the other folks that are running, they couldn't care less about New York. We do care about New York and we care about New York a lot. And we care about New York values.</s>ACOSTA: And how much he hates the Republican Party system for picking a president.</s>TRUMP: They have a system that's rigged. We have a system that is crooked.</s>ACOSTA: At just about every turn, Trump is warning the GOP of the consequences of denying him the nomination. If he's ahead in the delegate count but just short of the magic number needed to win.</s>TRUMP: You're going to have a very, very upset and angry group of people at the convention. I hope it doesn't involve violence. And I don't think it will. But I will say this. It's a rigged system.</s>ACOSTA: For weeks, he has seen delegates slip away to Ted Cruz in places like Wyoming, where party insiders and activists pick the winner. And even in states where the real estate tycoon has won, like Georgia, some delegates are pledging their support to Cruz, if Trump fails to win on the first round of voting it at the July convention.</s>TRUMP: The fact that you're taking all of these people out and wining them and dining them, nobody does that stuff better than me. I just don't want to do it.</s>ACOSTA: Trump's fight with the GOP is escalating into a new war of words with Cruz. In a tweet, Trump suggested the RNC is in on the scam, saying lying Ted Cruz can't win with the voters so he asked to sell himself to the bosses. Cruz is hitting back.</s>SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald is not a complicated man to understand. He doesn't handle losing well.</s>ACOSTA: Trump is sending a message to RNC officials. If he's the nominee, buckle up. He told the "Washington Post," he would like to put some showbiz into the convention. But Trump is also looking ahead to the general election, meeting with his diversity council, to improve his standing with minority voters.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I say Donald, you say Trump!</s>ACOSTA: Now despite his recent struggles, Donald Trump is poised to go on a big roll over the next couple weeks. The polls show he could sweep all of these states, 95 delegates and then the battle remains in the northeast, where he's also favored to go on and win in places like Pennsylvania and Delaware and Connecticut. And Erin, just a few moments ago, they were doing the wave inside this arena in Buffalo. They are feeling very good. That's because Donald Trump is about to do something he hasn't done in a while. That's win big -- Erin.</s>BURNETT: All right. Jim Acosta, thank you very much. And let's go to Sunlen Serfaty now OUTFRONT with the Cruz campaign. A very different vibe there. Because there's not a major rally tonight. Some in New York votes tomorrow. Today Cruz had a rally though. It was in the state of Maryland. Is he really conceding that New York is Trump's for the taking at this point?</s>SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly it seems that way, Erin. If you look at his rhetoric and quite frankly, also his schedule. Senator Cruz already trying to move past New York, essentially, and look ahead to states that are coming up on the schedule like here in Maryland, like Pennsylvania, where he'll be tomorrow in Indiana, as well. Cruz campaign official telling me tonight that they believe that Donald Trump will do very well in his home state tomorrow. But certainly their hope is really two-fold, is to be able to still pick off delegates from Donald Trump in New York tomorrow. At the same time, also make sure that Donald Trump stays below 50 percent. They have really set the expectations for Trump sky high in his home state. Advisers saying if he does not win, by over 50 percent, that will be a devastating loss for him, in their words. But it is certainly notable that tonight Senator Cruz is focused here on Maryland. He's not having any formal campaign rallies in New York today. He was in New York for closed-door fundraisers and interviews, but not doing any last-minute campaigning there to shore up last- minute votes. So really buckling down, looking ahead here in Maryland. And this will be such a key part of the Cruz campaign strategy going forward. Not necessarily looking at whole states that they can outright win, but rather really putting their strategy at play, and really targeting key spots where they can really turn out the vote in specific areas. To really pick up those delegates along the way -- Erin.</s>BURNETT: Sunlen, thank you. And OUTFRONT now, Tara Setmayer worked as communications director for a Republican congressman. Trump supporter Scottie Nell Hughes. Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League and Jackie Kucinich is the Washington Bureau Chief of the Daily Beast. Let me start with you, Jackie. You just heard Sunlen, Ted Cruz not campaigning in New York tonight, not going to be here when the results come in tomorrow. Can Trump win all 95 of New York's delegates tomorrow?</s>JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE DAILY BEAST: It certainly seems that he's on his way to win big. The campaign for Donald playing that a little bit by a factor of, yes, 10 points.</s>BURNETT: Right. Right.</s>KUCINICH: But still, I mean, he's winning in the -- he is looking like he's winning in the Congressional delegations as well as statewide if he gets over 50 percent, that's what's going to happen statewide.</s>BURNETT: Yes.</s>KUCINICH: So it could be a very good night for Donald Trump. Which would propel him into these next couple contests, where it also -- the ground looks really good for him there, as well.</s>BURNETT: And you use the word propel. Tara, I mean, is it fair to say, look, after Wisconsin there were a lot of people saying, okay, that's it for Trump. That's it for Trump. He's gone. Now he comes back with a big win in New York. Does that put him back in the lead when it comes to momentum and back on the path to nomination?</s>TARA SETMAYER, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR REP. DANA ROHRABACHER: Yes, I mean, I guess. I mean, as long as the media continues to frame it this way, sure. I mean, he's going to win in New York. That's nothing anybody didn't expect. I think the wins for Ted Cruz in Wisconsin in an open primary, it was a pretty handy loss to Donald Trump there. So he didn't like that very much. He's also -- Ted Cruz is also winning the delegate game moving forward. Since March 15th, Donald Trump has only won seven delegates. Ted Cruz has won 133 at this point. So, I mean, this is what it's about. It's a delegate fight, hunt, game, to get to the nomination. That is what the Republican Party does. It's what the Democrats do. That's what Donald Trump signed up to do when he decided to run as a Republican for the presidency. If he is serious about it, I think it's completely disingenuous he's running around complaining about a rigged system when he's won caucus states. He didn't complain about that in Nevada.</s>BURNETT: Right.</s>SETMAYER: He didn't complain about that in Kentucky when he won caucus states. But in the caucus states that he's not winning, where there's delegates, he's complaining that it's rigged. It's completely disingenuous and is actually propaganda.</s>BURNETT: We're going to be talking to Ted Cruz's delegate hunter in just a couple of minutes. Scottie, in this issue though of New York. You know, as Jackie points out, the campaign is really cutting expectations. They're saying they're going to win 85, not 95. All right. But it's crucial here, because as Tara points out, whatever you want to say about the past few weeks, it's Ted Cruz has been kind of picking up delegates here and there and not Donald Trump. So, does he need to get all these 95 delegates tomorrow?</s>SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: But he can still get 85 and that's more than Wyoming and Colorado combined. And so it's still a better number for him. I mean, that's -- it's all about strategy. It's all about being successful in business and he's using these same techniques. You know, Ted Cruz poured millions of dollars into Colorado, putting millions of dollars into Wyoming.</s>SETMAYER: That is not true. He did not pour millions of dollars.</s>HUGHES: He poured money into both of those.</s>SETMAYER: Let's be accurate.</s>HUGHES: You think it cost less than $1 million to get those --</s>SETMAYER: That's not true. Just be accurate.</s>HUGHES: No, you want to talk about -- they have had a great ground game since January of 2015 that cost dollars of money in politics. Mr. Trump realized since he's paying for his own campaign and out paid by facts that he's going to --</s>SETMAYER: Investing in voters.</s>HUGHES: Can I speak?</s>MARC MORIAL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE: What kind of wine was being used to wine and dine these delegates? I mean, is it true that if you will, you have this effort to really convert delegates or switch delegates?</s>HUGHES: And that's what we're seeing. You know, you look in Colorado and this idea that, you know, Colorado -- things don't change, guess what? Back in April of 2015, there was actually a bill on the House floor to actually make it a caucus or that they would actually have an election in Colorado. Four of the Republican representatives who actually killed the bill now sit on Ted Cruz's actual Colorado leadership team. This has been a long-term plan.</s>MORIAL: In advance of -- the rule changes in 2012 before the convention. I mean, rule changes and fight overrules. There's nothing new about that.</s>BURNETT: You brought up a great point. You brought up a great point there.</s>SETMAYER: The one who passed the caucus system in Colorado, which is voted on by the people. So this is such a lie. You guys are lying about what happened in Colorado.</s>HUGHES: No, I'm not. No, I'm not lying about that. There were four --</s>BURNETT: Don't talk over each other because no one can hear you.</s>HUGHES: There's not a lie. There was a bill last April to sit there and say, let's open this up to an election of the people of Colorado. The four members who killed the bill are now on -- Senator Cruz --</s>SETMAYER: It got voted down.</s>HUGHES: The four people who got up there and said that by the state legislature. No, the people of Colorado were not given a choice. And that's why -- if it was -- if they were, then you would not have a -- what we're seeing in Colorado and Wyoming right now. Now, you made a great point right there. The rules changed. That's why these delegates matter so much right now. Because three days before the RNC starts or a week before, all of these rules could be changed. That's why it's important to make sure you have true delegates represent the people who voted and we're not finding that.</s>MORIAL: If the rules aren't on your side, you've got to attack the rules, right?</s>BURNETT: Anybody would if you're on the other side.</s>SETMAYER: The rule to be -- to win the majority of the delegates for the nomination have not changed since 1856. This is nonsense. It's absolute --</s>HUGHES: But why are you sitting there --</s>MORIAL: For example, in 2012, the threshold of how many states you needed to win to get on the ballot.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is different. That's different than winning a nomination.</s>MORIAL: The idea is you can game the system and it's politics, right? So it's fair game. But the question is, now that you've got a contested convention, people will pay attention to the rules in ways --</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The rules do change.</s>BURNETT: Hold on. Hold on.</s>SETMAYER: That was eight months ago and he knew.</s>KUCINICH: None of this Ted Cruz -- like, play double dealing, whatever they're saying, and the double agent that he's recruiting. None of that matters if Donald Trump is able to get 1,237. That's the bottom-line.</s>BURNETT: Yes. On the first ballot.</s>KUCINICH: On the first ballot. If he's able to do that, none of this will matter. And if he gets the question, if he gets like 1,236, what's going to happen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, exactly.</s>BURNETT: And Marc, a quick final word to you though. "Wall Street Journal" and NBC News poll just came out. Very interesting. Terrible unfavorables for Trump. But in terms of Republicans, 63 percent say they would be satisfied if he was the nominee. A month ago, that was only 53. What does that say about the Republican Party? Overall his unfavorables are still the most unfavorable on record according to this poll.</s>MORIAL: But still it's very difficult of any candidate to really be competitive in a general election unless you consolidate your own party base. If you still have 40 percent of the people against you, you have a long road to go in a general election.</s>BURNETT: Right. Interesting. And, of course, just for comparison purposes, last time around everyone in that poll at this time Mitt Romney was at about 72 versus 63 percent for Donald Trump. So next, you are looking at live pictures of a Bernie Sanders rally in Long Island City, New York that you can see right there. It is a gorgeous summer day in New York City. And that is adding to the size of this crowd. We're going to go there after the break. And after raising millions of dollars for Hillary Clinton at a fundraiser, why did George Clooney say this?</s>GEORGE CLOONEY, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: It is an obscene amount of money, the Sanders campaign when they talk about it is absolutely right.</s>BURNETT: I guess he gave his honest opinion. Plus Donald trump saying he'll put some showbiz into the convention. What would a Trump convention look like? I'm going to ask my guest, Eric Trump, tonight. And after little Marco and lying Ted. Now this.</s>TRUMP: And then, of course, we have crooked Hillary. Crooked Hillary, folks.