Interview with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
ERIN BURNETT, HOST: OUTFRONT next, a Republican Senate candidate in hot water after comments about legitimate rape. Will the chairman of the party call for him to drop out? And an autopsy just released in the case of a handcuffed man who was shot and killed while in the back of back of a police car in handcuffs. Do findings add up? And Maria Sharapova, one of the most recognizable faces in tennis, the highest paid female athlete in the world, and she has a big plan off the court? She tells us about it. Let's go OUTFRONT. Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, a migraine for Republicans.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was calling you and letting you know that I'm announcing today that we are going to stay in.</s>BURNETT: Not what a lot of Republicans wanted to hear today. That's a little known congressman from Missouri. And he's thrown his entire party for a loop because instead of talking about jobs or Medicare tonight, the Republican Party is talking about abortion. Republican Congressman Todd Akin who's running for Senate against Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill says he will not step aside despite widespread outrage over this --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about in the case of rape, should it be legal or not?</s>REP. TODD AKIN (R), MISSOURI: From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. You know I think there should be some punishment but the punishment ought to be in the rapist and not attacking the child.</s>BURNETT: Today, Akin tried to backtrack.</s>AKIN: I used the wrong words in the wrong way. What I said was ill-conceived and it was wrong.</s>BURNETT: It's hard to think how you could come up with a statement that specific and tortured if you didn't actually believe in it. And even if it was a mistake, it's hard to know which word he was talking about when he apologized. Rare, legitimate, when it comes to rape? Rape, of course, is never legitimate. And the FBI says one forcible rape actually occurs every 6.2 minutes in the United States of America. And as for pregnancy, a study published in the "American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology" estimates that 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year. Now both parties have jumped on Akin's comments. Mitt Romney said this late this afternoon.</s>MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: His comments about rape were deeply offensive and I can't defend what he said. I can't defend him.</s>BURNETT: That was an -- CNN affiliate WMUR. The president also agreed.</s>BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The views expressed were offensive. Rape is rape.</s>BURNETT: Now Democrats were then quick to make this about the coveted women's vote. The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee Debbie Wasserman Schultz said, quote, "The real issue is a Republican Party led by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan whose policies on women and their health are dangerously wrong. I'm outraged at the Republicans trying to take women back to the dark ages." So seizing one comment and turning into something about the entire party, but the thing is, is this isn't a small problem for Mitt Romney because he currently trails President Obama by eight points among women voters. So if this gets traction among them, it could matter. So take a look at this. In 2008, women made up 53 percent of the electorate and they voted for President Obama 56 to 43 percent over John McCain. You move that by a few points and you can win the entire election. I'm going to show you those numbers in a moment. But now Democrats are trying to link Akin's position on abortion to that of Paul Ryan and this is where it gets dangerously close to home for Mitt Romney. Paul Ryan, along with Akin, co-sponsored the Sanctity of Human Life Act. It's a so-called personhood amendment and he did so as recently as 2011. Now that bill made no exceptions for rape or incest or anything else. Now Paul Ryan himself in terms of his personal views on abortion has long said he is opposed to abortion in all cases, except for when the life of the mother is at risk, meaning he's opposed to it in the cases of rape and incest. This is not something that Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney want to have become a major issue. Never mind that Ryan and Akin are now linked by the fact that they were co-sponsors of the bill on this topic. So what will the Republican Party do? OUTFRONT tonight, Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee. Good to see you, sir. I know not what you want to be talking about right now. But let me just say, so Senator Scott Brown, Senator McConnell they've all come out, called it outrageous or saying that Mr. Akin should step out of this race within the next 24 hours. Tea Party Express has urged him to step aside. Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee is saying get out. We're not going to give you more money. He could get out by the -- by Tuesday before the general election. That's tomorrow. Should he get out?</s>REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Well, certainly, you know first of all, if it was me and -- I wouldn't say anything that dumb as he has. But if it was me and I had an opportunity to let someone else run to actually give ourselves a better chance of winning, I would step aside. And so, listen, what he said, Erin, was biologically stupid. It's something that nobody on either side of the aisle agrees with. It's a bizarre statement and it's something that I think he needs to seriously think about. And like I said, if it was me, I would step aside and let someone else run for that office.</s>BURNETT: All right, so I mean you're making that pretty clear. The answer is, yes.</s>PRIEBUS: That's pretty clear, Erin.</s>BURNETT: Yes, I think all right --</s>PRIEBUS: Pretty clear.</s>BURNETT: I just want to make it loud and clear. It's my job, make it painfully obvious. But let me ask you this then -- so what can you do? I mean you've heard him say -- you know he's saying now he doesn't plan to get out. Obviously he's got 24 hours. He can still do it. But what are you going to do to get him to make the right choice? Who's going to make those calls to him?</s>PRIEBUS: Well I mean ultimately he has to make these calls, I mean right? I mean we all understand that. I mean and so we're hopeful that he hears these things that people are saying on both sides of the aisle and that this is not mainstream talk that he's referring to in his descriptions of whatever an illegitimate rape is -- you know that's not even something that we could conceive of.</s>BURNETT: Yes.</s>PRIEBUS: So we're hoping he hears these things and you know so we're here down for our convention. Obviously we're getting ready for a big election and this is not what the election is going to turn on, Erin. This is going to turn on the president's promises, what he delivered, where this economy's at and these are the things that people care about. But in the meantime, we've got to deal with this situation and we are.</s>BURNETT: All right, so let me ask you this because I want to make the point first of all, something you know painfully well. But I want to put it up here. The latest Gallup poll registered voters' choice for president, and this is broken down by gender. So right now, the president leads among women 50 percent and trails among men. So women, 50 percent plan to vote for President Obama, 42 percent for Governor Romney. Now, when you just do the math on this, it comes out to statistical edge between women and men that this election would go for Barack Obama. If you move the women vote by one percent, statistical edge goes to Romney. If you move it by two, he wins the whole thing. So women really matter, right? I mean this issue of abortion -- I mean this --</s>PRIEBUS: Oh of course --</s>BURNETT: I know you don't want the whole thing to revolve around this. But if it did, it could mean the whole election.</s>PRIEBUS: Right, but, Erin, I think you're making a false assumption here. And that is that you're making the assumption that women are pro-abortion. And I don't believe that. I actually think that most women are pro life. And so I happen to believe you can be pro women and pro life. And so I think you're making sort of a logical leap that isn't really based on fact. Maybe there are other reasons for the outcomes of these polls. But you're assuming that it's because of abortion and I just don't believe that.</s>BURNETT: OK, well let me -- let me -- hold on.</s>PRIEBUS: So I think you can be pro life, pro women and at the end, what women really care about is the economy and where we're going in this country.</s>BURNETT: All right. I agree with you, you can be pro life and pro women. But let me give you this --</s>PRIEBUS: Sure.</s>BURNETT: -- because I do have more numbers for you. Paul Ryan co-sponsoring with Akin the amendment that said abortion should not be allowed in any case. And Paul Ryan has made it clear, right that he thinks only in the case of the life of the mother. So not in the cases of rape or incest that's what we know about Paul Ryan. Gallup poll taken in June of last year, abortion in cases of rape or incest, 75 percent of Americans think that should be OK, so that means --</s>PRIEBUS: Listen --</s>BURNETT: -- in this dramatic case, most people, 75 percent of Americans of whom I'm sure a lot are women, do not agree with Paul Ryan.</s>PRIEBUS: Well first of all, that's not true. Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney's position is that they're pro life with the exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother, but --</s>BURNETT: Well that's Mitt Romney and I know --</s>PRIEBUS: -- the bill that you all keep --</s>BURNETT: -- Ryan's on the ticket --</s>PRIEBUS: No, no, no that's not true --</s>BURNETT: But Paul Ryan's position historically has been, according to CNN's reporting --</s>PRIEBUS: No, that's not true --</s>BURNETT: -- that he does not support it in the cases of rape or incest.</s>PRIEBUS: Well first of all that's not true. But the point that I'm making is that what you're referring to and what these reporters are referring to in this bill is the question of whether or not you should be able to use taxpayer money to fund abortions. That's a totally separate issue. And on that issue, that's an 80 percent winner for us. And so you know you can pick and choose all these numbers all day long. The fact of the matter is most women are pro life. This election is not coming down to this particular Todd Akin issue. We're very proud to be a pro life party and we are and I'm pro life. And I think it's a winning issue. But the problem with Todd Akin is that he's taken it to a level that no one in the mainstream is in agreement with. And you're seeing both parties say that.</s>BURNETT: And so the bottom line is you say that -- I understand your point on Todd Akin, that you think that he is not -- is not something that anyone would support in the mainstream and I would imagine he's not welcome at the Republican Convention where you are right now either.</s>PRIEBUS: Well listen, if it was up to me, Erin, I will tell you, I would prefer that Todd Akin do the right thing for our party and our candidates and I would prefer him not come.</s>BURNETT: All right. Well thank you very much, Chairman Priebus. I appreciate taking the time. Hopefully next time we'll be able to talk about the economy which I know is what you wanted to talk about. OUTFRONT now is John Avlon. So this is interesting and especially given the tension that we had there over the position. They don't want to talk about the specifics of when someone supports abortion or doesn't support abortion. That is not something the Republican Party wants to talk about.</s>JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No and you could feel the force of the pivot with Reince Priebus' word right there, dumb, biologically stupid, bizarre, that ain't subtle language from the RNC chairman. He wants to get off this topic as fast as possible and just saying --</s>BURNETT: Yes.</s>AVLON: -- look, he wants this to be in yesterday's papers because he knows at the end of the day that the longer this is in the headlines, the more of a loser it is. But the real question is, as you said, the real implication of the position of oppositional abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Now today, the Romney/Ryan ticket came forward with a statement making it crystal clear that that ticket opposes -- is pro life with exceptions for rape and incest. That is not --</s>BURNETT: Right, which is what Chairman Priebus was trying to say, that's the ticket.</s>AVLON: As of today, but historically what he was saying hadn't been accurate. Paul Ryan throughout his career --</s>BURNETT: Yes.</s>AVLON: -- had opposed abortion even in cases of rape and incest and that's what difficult for them today is this bill he co-sponsored with Todd Akin that introduced the phrase forcible rape and that is what's raising a lot of question marks. It's not the conversation Reince Priebus wants to have. It's not the conversation that the Romney ticket wants to have.</s>BURNETT: Right.</s>AVLON: But until and if this guy gets out of the race tomorrow -- and that was a less-than-subtle nudge by the chairman of his party -- this is going to be in the conversation. They don't want to have this conversation because of those pivotal women voters. They want to have a conversation all about the economy.</s>BURNETT: Well if legitimate and illegitimate rape are words that they think are biologically stupid, forcible rape would go in the same category -- all right thanks very much to John Avlon -- just to be you know using your words and inconsistent. Ahead, why the president is afraid he could lose to Mitt Romney. Just one of the surprising details to emerge from a new book on the Obama reelection campaign which sort of reads like the "Us Weekly" of the campaign, which is why we really enjoyed it and a new record tonight for Apple. But the achievement may not be as good as it sounds. And a man who was shot and killed while handcuffed in the back of a police car, the autopsy report out late today. Does it add up?