Life goes on. Police accusing the americans of vandalizing a gas station. Announcer this is new day with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your new day. It is friday, august 19th, 6 00 in the east. Dont adjust your set. Youre not seeing double. Chris is off this morning. Poppy harlow joins me. Great to be with you. We were joking earlier, you had the haircut first, my friend. Im glad thats on the record. We have a lot to talk about this morning. Up first, donald trump doing something rarely seen in this election cycle. Hes expressing regret. Trump conceding that sometimes he says the wrong thing. But the republican nominee did not say anything specific about what he regrets. Trumps out of character remorse coming just days after a Major Campaign shakeup. We have every angle covered this morning. Lets begin with our george howell. Good morning. Donald trump at a rally in North Carolina for the very first time
surprising the audience there, saying something that people did not expect him to say. Ive never been politically correct. Reporter donald trump doing what he refused to do throughout his campaign, expressing remorse for his controversial statements. Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you dont choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that. And believe it or not, i regret it. Reporter a complete 180 from the unapologetic tone his supporters have come to expect. And i do regret it. Particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues. But one thing i can promise you this, i will always tell you the
truth. Reporter trump delivers prepared remarks, speaking for the First Time Since his Campaign Reboot and veering away from the brash persona that could doom him in the general election. I think were going to sharpen the message, and were going to make sure donald trump is comfortable about being in his own skin, that he doesnt lose that authenticity, that you simply cant buy and a pollster cant give you. Reporter the republican nominee not saying exactly what he regrets, but his remarks come after a fire storm of criticism for attacking the family of a slain muslimamerican soldier. I dont regret anything. I said nice things about the son. Reporter and he has yet to apologize for attacking republican senator john mccain, who spent five years as a p. O. W. In vietnam. Hes not a war hero. He is a war hero. Hes a war hero because he was captured. Theres a body of American Heroes that id like to see him retract that statement. Reporter trump did express mild regret at the retweeting of a photo of ted cruzs wife heidi next to milan ya. Trump also using the opportunity to show support for flood victims in louisiana. When one state hurts, we all hurt. And we must all Work Together to lift each other up. There may be a long line of people waiting to see what trump regrets. Though, trump and mike pence arrive in baton rouge later today to tour the flood damage there. This comes on the heels of the Baton Rouge Advocate calling on president obama to cut his vacation short, telling him, quote, a hurting louisiana needs you now. Alisyn, poppy . George, thank you. Youve given us a lot to talk about. Lets bring in our panel. We have mark preston, Washington Bureau chief for the lady beast, jackie cokucinich, and
former speech writer for george w. Bush, david frum. Mark, because it is so noteworthy, lets play again what donald trump said last night about expressing regret for some things hes said on the campaign trail. Lets listen to this. Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you dont choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that. And believe it or not, i regret it. And i do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Now, the crowd at first thought that he was setting them up for a punch line. At first. But then they got it. Is this, what were seeing, the Kellyanne Conway effect already on the campaign . I believe it is. And i also think its something that if donald trump was able to continue to pursue, then he will be a much more formidable candidate heading into november. However, that speech was 12 hours ago, and well see 12 hours from now, will donald trump pivot back to the way he was before. I can tell you, last night was one of his better moments, if not his best moment in the campaign. He was very serious. He was very solemn. He was very focused. But i think the interesting jackie, you make the point this is not some stunning act of contrition. That was not a steve bannon moment, right. So how does he tow the line . How does he walk the line between the best of Kellyanne Conway and the best of bannon and being trump . Balance hasnt really been his strong suit. If you actually listen to what he said, he didnt apologize for anything. He said he regrets some things he said, but again, there were no specifics there at all. So well have to see in the coming days. One speech does not a pattern make. So i think mark is right. Were going to have to keep watching. I guess its like kellyanne is the good angel on his shoulder and steve bannon is the bad angel on his shoulder. Well have to see if hes pinging back and forth throughout this election. Then hes just going to look inconsistent. So its going to be fascinating to watch. Thats for sure. David, heres some of the things that trump has said recently that could be considered regrettable and maybe he was referring to. Heres our list. He called president obama and Hillary Clinton the founders of isis. He, as you know, called for some sort of Second Amendment action against Hillary Clinton that many people thought was a threat or a call to arms somehow. He suggested the Sexual Harassment victims for example, if ivanka, his daughter, were sexually harassed, she should find another career. He suggested that muslim gold star mom wasnt allowed to speak because of their culture. He suggested the election could be rigged if he loses. What do you think he was referring to, david . Well, he reminded me of Jesse Jacksons memorable apology at the 1984 democratic convention. Jackson had gotten himself into a lot of trouble with a flurry of antisemitic remarks and associations. At that convention, he delivered a very memorable apology. Its on video on youtube. You can watch it. It obviously didnt turn things around for jesse jackson. He never did become the democratic president ial nominee, but it rehabilitated him as a force in american life. He was jackson was heading in 1984 into the territory where you cant be a regular on american television, and he was pulled back into the territory where you can. What donald trump is doing now, turning around a campaign is hard, but elevating a debacle into a respectable defeat, thats not hard. You just have to refrain from making terrible mistakes. Its interesting, mark preston. He also said last night he wants to make leaders in his party
somewhat uncomfortable. Right. That stood out to me a lot. What did you make of that . It was interesting he actually included that in the speech last night. He has been saying that over and over again, but i think for him, it was a way for lack of a better term, a dog whistle to his supporters to say, listen, i might be becoming more of a traditional candidate, but im still going to say what i believe, just not with as much bravado. I was with donald trump in iowa last year when he was unable to tell a group of social conservatives, about a thousand of them, that he would ever express forgiveness from god ask for forgiveness. Yeah, ask forgiveness. Politically appalling because you wouldnt say that in that type of room. Here we are 13 months later, and hes at least trying to turn the campaign around. About 80 days left. The question is, can he do it. To davids point, who knows. I want to play a portion of that speech poppy is talking about. The tone and substance were different than what weve heard if recent weeks. Listen to this. Has hillary ever apologized for lying about her illegal email server and deleting 33,000 emails . Has Hillary Clinton apologized for turning the state department into a pay for play operation, where favors are sold to the highest bidder, which is exactly whats happening . Has she apologized for lying to the families who lost loved ones at benghazi . Has she apologized for putting iran on a path to Nuclear Weapons . Has she apologized for iraq, for libya, for syria . All right, jackie. Thats not the one i was hoping for. I was hoping for the one where he said, i want to be the voice
for every forgotten part of this country thats been waiting for a better future. Because that was the one where he expresses sort of more of a vision, an optimistic vision for the future. The one we played was more, i think, quintessential trump, but a little bit different. What did you hear . You know, in the clip you just played, i heard a politician. I heard someone who can actually stay on message and someone who had something to say about his opponent that had a focus. He had a message there. He had the call response that wouldnt get him in trouble. Hes on a teleprompter. Hes never gotten in trouble when hes on a teleprompter. Hes Getting Better at it, thats for sure. That was far and beyond better than what weve heard in the past with him on a teleprompter. However, when he gets off message, when he gets kind of wild is when he doesnt have that sort of structure. So if theyre able to keep him in that sort of space, thats good news for the Trump Campaign. And david frum, to you, what
trump also said last night is he and his running mate mike pence will go to baton rouge. Theyre going to go there today. Clearly hes making a play here to improve his numbers also with africanamericans. I mean, hes polling at 1 among africanamericans. He said last night, i will be, quote, amazing, for africanamericans. Then you have this Washington Post headline out this morning that says, there may not be enough bluecollar white men in america to elect trump, literally. So what do you make of the strategy going to baton rouge and also not just making it a photo op . The governor of louisiana said, all right, youre welcome, but make a big donation. Dont just come for photos. Look, i dont know theres a lot of room for donald trump among africanamericans, but there are many other americans who arent africanamericans who prefer not to see africanamericans insulted and suggesting theyre rioting in cities all over the place. So that would be a step forward. To jackies point, you know, one of the things that i, as a
speech writer, hopes come out of this campaign is the teleprompter. Read whats on them. A proper campaign, the candidate chooses the people who do the writing for him. The people who do the writing for him, they spit ball. They try things out. They cull the stupid ideas. They avoid the things that might be unintentionally offensive in ways that you wouldnt think of in the very first heat of the moment. They then compile words that are your words because theyre working for you and they reflect your thinking. They put them on a teleprompter. Read the teleprompter. As someone whos a fan of the teleprompter it doesnt mean youre dumb. It just means youre being prepared and careful. Panel, thank you very much for all this. Well talk to you later in the program. All right. Turning now to the olympic controversy. Reuters this morning reporting that u. S. Swimmer jimmy feigen will pay 11,000 to a brazil yn charity. This payment connected to the story of a gunpoint robbery that police there in brazil say was a lie, made up by ryan
lochte and three other of his swimmers. Two of those athletes talked to Brazilian Police. They will now be returning to the United States, literally landing in just moments. Our Senior International correspondent live in rio with the latest. My goodness, nic. This story has changed time and time again in just the past 24 hours. Reporter what hasnt really changed is embarrassment. Im sure everybody involved feels. James feigen making that 11,000 to charity so he can get his passport back and be allowed to leave the country. That means all four swimmers would be bound back for the u. S. The police themselves, despite c police contradicting their statements, i dont think anyone wants to see this embarrassing affair continue here. Swimmers gunnar bentz and jack conger on their way back to the u. S. After Brazilian Police claim they admitted ryan lochtes story about being robbed at gun point in rio was
not true. The u. S. Olympic committee apologizing for the actions of four team usa swimmers, saying in a statement, the behavior of these athletes is not acceptable, nor does it represent the values of team usa. We apologize to our hosts in rio and the people of brazil for this distracting ordeal. Brazilian police say the athletes were not robbed, and that they are not victims. Police say they were held by security at this gas station after urinating in the back alley and vandalizing a bathroom. The athletes were really disturbed somehow. He was actually very kind of angry. So there is the use of a weapon to control probably one of them. The answer, yes. Reporter the Surveillance Video shows one of the athletes bending over, seeming to pull up his pants before an attendant appears. They then leave the alley, attempt to get into a taxi, but its not theirs. Once in the correct car, an
armed Security Guard approaches, demanding they stay until police arrive. Theyre later seen sitting on the curb, hands in the air, with lochte standing and appearing to take something out of his pocket. The athletes were told they had to pay for the damage they caused. They left their money p almost to pay for the damage they caused, and leave the place before the police could arrive. Reporter ryan lochte is back in the u. S. , remaining silent after brazilian Officials Say his account on sunday was fabricated. We got pulled over in our taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge. They pulled us over. They pulled out their guns. Reporter but lochtes attorney is backing up his clients claim, saying a gun was pointed at the swimmers, and they were forced to get out of the cab and give up their money. No matter what are country you are in, that is robbery. And robbery is a serious crime. Now, the u. S. Olympic Committee Statement came out late last night, trying to draw a line, navigating through the brazilians story. Theyre saying james feigen changed his testimony in order to get his passport back. Im sure at a later stage, we may hear some of these swimmers suggest they said what was necessary to be allowed to leave the country and calm this all down. Still, a line being drawn, maybe successfully, under what has been a very embarrassing three or four days of different stories and at the end of the day, the issue of Armed Robbery in the host city of the olympics at the top of the headlines. Very embarrassing and very confusing. Nic, thanks so much for explaining it to us. So what does this mean for the careers of these four swimmers . Will their sponsors drop them . Thats next. Get between you and lifes dobeautiful moments. Llergens flonase gives you more complete allergy relief. Most allergy pills only control one inflammatory substance. Flonase controls 6. And six is greater than one. Flonase changes everything. Only those who dare drive the world forward. Introducing the firstever cadillac ct6. By finding a policy to fit your budget. [ coughs ] sorry, tickle in my throat water would be nice, but that would go right through me. Ghost problems. Well, this morning the u. S. Olympic committee is apologizing for the actions of ryan lochte and his three teammates. Brazilian police say their story about a robbery at gunpoint was actually vandalism and not a robbery at all. Reuters this morning also reporting that one of the swimmers is paying an 11,000 fine to settle the dispute. That money going to charity. Ryan lochte, though, through his attorney, still sticking to his story, saying, yep, it was a robbery. Lets bring in cnn sports analyst Christine Brennan. Also with us from brazil, marcos. Thank you both for being here. Christine, where do i begin . Youve got the Brazilian Police coming out in this long press conference yesterday saying this was not robbery at all. Also saying they should apologize to all the people of rio for smearing the name of our city. Then youve got the usoc, the olympic committee, coming out and essentially throwing them under the bus. Reporter yeah, well, when
the Brazilian Police and the u. S. Olympic committee are agreeing, i think we have a consensus here. And that statement from the u. S. Olympic committee that came out late last night was remarkable. I think it was correct to apologize, to say that the behavior of these four swimmers was unacceptable. To say they basically had hijacked the last four, five days it of the Olympic Games. I think its the right thing to do. Usa swimming also came out with a strongly worded statement. It is a mess. I know a lot of people are probably saying, what in the world do we believe . But as representatives of the United States, ryan lochte and his three teammates had to behave better. Theres no excuse for what they did, no matter what the exact facts are. Its an embarrassment, and the u. S. Olympic committee made that clear in its statement. Professor, there are a lot of twists and turns that have happened in this story, but there does seem to be one germ of truth in it, in that after the vandalism that happened at
this bathroom, these guys, these u. S. Swimmers, there were guns pointed at them by Security Guards and they did have to pay cash in order to leave the scene. Obviously, thats not how vandalism is handled in the u. S. Is there any way to chalk this up to