McCain's Reelection Race; What If Trump Quits?
COOPER: About 40 minutes or so until the CNN Libertarian Town Hall. More now on the turbulence inside the GOP and the Trump campaign. Nearly Trump running mate, Mike Pence, is breaking with Donald Trump. He says with Trump's blessing endorsing House Speaker, Paul Ryan.</s>GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I strongly support Paul Ryan, strongly endorse his re-election. He's a long-time friend. He is a strong conservative leader. I believe we need Paul Ryan in leadership in the Congress of the United States.</s>COOPER: Trump, of course, I remember made a point yesterday of not endorsing him or Senator John McCain. Our Gary Tuchman caught up with Senator McCain and has this report.</s>GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right away, John McCain made it clear he preferred not to talk about issues involving Donald Trump.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: Before you go any further I have said everything that I want to say.</s>TUCHMAN: But there were certainly questions to ask Arizona Senior Senator after Trump said he would not support McCain in his primary raise later this month. And Mr. Trump said yesterday he will not support you. My question is, if presidential election were today, would vote for Donald Trump for president?</s>MCCAIN: I have said that I would support the nominee of the party. And let me just say to you, that is the last time. If I change my view or my position, then you will be among the first to know, OK?</s>TUCHMAN: Donald Trump has not treated John McCain with a lot of respect during this campaign. This past summer Trump said the former Vietnam POW was not a hero.</s>TRUMP: I like people that weren't captured, OK?</s>TUCHMAN: Many Republicans denounced Trump at the time for saying that and many of them are not supporting Trump, but John McCain, the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is not one of them, at least yet. Are you comfortable with Donald Trump possibly having control of the nuclear arsenal?</s>MCCAIN: I -- anyone that the people of this country choose to be the commander in chief and the president of the United States, therefore, can lead this country and will lead in a responsible fashion, anyone who is elected president fairly of this country and that's the way that our democratic system works. That's the way our government works. The American people select the next president of the United States knowing full well what the role of the commander-in-chief is. Therefore, I have the utmost respect for the verdict of the people.</s>COOPER: And Gary joins us from Chandler, Arizona. Did McCain have anything else have to say or anything else to say about the fact that Governor Pence and Trump don't always seem to be on the same page as we saw with Pence's endorsement of Ryan?</s>TUCHMAN: Well, you can see Anderson, presidential politics was not John McCain's favorite subject today.</s>COOPER: Yeah, clearly.</s>TUCHMAN: We did ask him about Trump and Pence -- yeah, very much so. We did ask him about both the candidates. He said it's not his job to critique Trump and Pence. He did say, however, that it's his job to focus on the state of Arizona which is not an unusual thing for a senator or a congressman or a governor to say when they are running for re-election. I think it is important to tie (ph) though, Anderson, while he said nothing negative anything about Donald Trump today to us. He also did not say anything positive.</s>COOPER: Gary, appreciate it. Thanks very much. Back with the panel. I mean, David, it's so interesting because when Donald Trump has continually gone after John McCain on the things John McCain is perhaps best known for -- I mean, his, you know, heroic service turning to be an amore is, you know, being held as a POW. And yet John -- I mean, I'm just -- how is it that John McCain can continue to say he will -- is it just politics?</s>CHALIAN: It is, because John McCain needs Donald Trump's base of support to help him win this election ...</s>COOPER: Right.</s>CHALIAN: ... for re-election ...</s>COOPER: But he's got a primary coming up for the ...</s>CHALIAN: He got a primary first but he needs it also in the fall. He needs that core base of support that his -- that are fans of Donald Trump. That's going to be part of John McCain's winning coalitions. He doesn't want to do anything to necessarily offend them. Now, you saw that Mike Pence came out to endorse Paul Ryan today. I don't if know that that will happen with John McCain also but you sort of see Mike Pence now playing the yin to Donald Trump's yang and doing sort of clean up. What he meant to say was -- that sort of -- it seems to be Mike Pence's job these days on the campaign trail.</s>COOPER: If Donald Trump continues to have the kind of week that he had, Andre -- I mean, you're a supporter of Donald Trump, does that give cover to more Republicans to back away from him or -- yeah, does it give cover for more Republicans, do you think? Or do you think you're going to see more Republicans starting to back away?</s>BAUER: If he continues and the media has pounded on him somewhat ...</s>COOPER: It's been a tough week.</s>BAUER: ... he's taken a lot of hits. You know, the more hits you take, the easier it is for someone to get off the train. If he rebounds quickly and asserts himself as a real leader, it probably diffuses the last few days of bad days. But you can't continue like downward slope without pumping the brakes every now and then.</s>COOPER: Do you think McCain is going to stand by his endorsement of Trump? I mean, at this point ...</s>BAUER: Probably, so. He -- McCain is a shrewd politician and he's been there a long time and he knows -- and I think he's held it -- he's done very well on how he handled himself. He's a gentleman. I have see endorsed him the first time he run for president. And, you know, he's in a tough spot, he's in a quagmire but he's kind doing it (ph) well.</s>COOPER: Yeah -- I mean, he's got this tough primary Errol, on the August 30th. How does he continue to walk that line?</s>LOUIS: Well, he has said, in fact, that it's going to be one of the hardest races he's ever had to run. There's no question about that. I mean, he and other down-ballot candidates have been trying to figure out a way to sort of rhetorically separate themselves from Trump. And I'll tell you, one thing that makes it a little easier for them is that the comments are so outrageous, and there's so distant from what any elected official would say or has said that it's believable when they say, this guy doesn't speak for me. You know, it's very hard to sort of find somebody who -- everybody could point to and say, that's a Trump Republican.</s>COOPER: And Tara -- I mean, you're a Republican, you're not a Trump fan clearly, do you want to see others Republicans full support with Donald Trump?</s>SETMAYER: Yes.</s>COOPER: You do?</s>SETMAYER: Absolutely.</s>COOPER: Because?</s>SETMAYER: Because what do we stand for as a party if we continue to support what Donald Trump is doing.</s>COOPER: So you're looking -- you think that for long term ...</s>SETMAYER: Yes. For the health of the -- for the health of the Republican Party, for the conservative movement, Donald Trump doesn't represent anything for the conservative movement, even if he got for being gets elected. You can forget it because he's done after conservatives. He's shown that he has absolutely no respect in regard for what the -- what real conservatism means. And I've always said that people like Paul Ryan and others should have stood by and said he should earn our vote and unless he does, I'm not giving it to him. And here's a perfect example of that.</s>COOPER: Andre, Governor Perry, you know, for instance says, the number one issue is Supreme Court that's why I'm going with Donald Trump, even though he was the first candidate entered (ph) for the primary season to blast Donald Trump on his face and things like that. As a Republican and as a conservative, do you worry about a long-term damage to the party if -- I know, Donald Trump continues -- if Donald Trump implodes in some way or does a bad job?</s>BAUER: There is a double-edged sword. He's bringing new folks ...</s>COOPER: Right.</s>BAUER: ... to the party which is what he tried to do. So he has a lot of new excitement in the party ...</s>COOPER: Right.</s>BAUER: ... from folks that aren't involved and haven't been in the past but he is also alienating some of the core base that says these are two outlandish issues for me to digest.</s>COOPER: Right. But you don't think it can do permanent damage? I mean, you think the party is stronger than that?</s>BAUER: Oh, because we're really only a two-party system and the parties have gotten further and further apart. It's -- the identity is hard to leave the party.</s>SETMAYER: Let me say something really quick about that. CBS came out with a poll that showed only 55 percent of conservatives are willing to support Donald Trump where you had George Bush and Mitt Romney -- I mean, I'm sorry, McCain and Romney had up in the '80s or so, George Bush too. There are -- the conservative movement is being pulled apart by Donald Trump because there are so many of us that look at it, who character perspective. And as far as the Supreme Court is concerned, the Senate is the most important aspect of the Supreme Court. A president can nominate whoever they want, but they have to be approved by the Senate.</s>COOPER: Right. Right.</s>SETMAYER: If the Republicans lose the Senate, we only have a four- seat means property (ph), then it's a moot point whoever is the president. We can't trust Trump with anything that he says.</s>COOPER: A lot more to talk about ahead, including the contingency plans. Some Republicans are actually mapping out just in case Donald Trump suddenly quits the race, if that's even possible. If that would happen, what would it take for a new nominee to be picked? Isn't even possible? Tom Foreman actually walks us through what the rules are. Coming up at the top of the hour, Gary Johnson and his running mate, William Weld, join me for CNN's Libertarian Town Hall. We'll be taking questions from the audience. (Inaudible) is going to be interesting. Please stick around for that. We'll be right back.