Trump, Clinton, Neck-and-Neck in New National Polls; Clinton Tries To Get Under Trump's Skin, Questions His Worth
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next. Hillary Clinton's new attack. The target, Donald Trump's wealth. Is he not as rich as he claims and why does this issue hit such a nerve. Plus, Donald Trump surging past Hillary Clinton in a new poll. Now the slim lead in a general election match-up. Can he win it all? And new details on EgyptAir Flight 804 and the chilling final goodbye from the cockpit tonight. Let's go OUTFRONT. And good evening to all. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, Clinton on the attack. Hillary Clinton's harshest words yet against Donald Trump, going after what matters most to him. His business record.</s>HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, ask yourself. How can anybody lose money running a casino? Really.</s>BURNETT: This as polls show Trump surging ahead of Clinton. The "Washington Post" ABC News poll has Trump ahead of Clinton by two points. Now, that's within the margin of error. But here's the bottom-line. It's an 11-point swing in Trump's favor since March. Another poll by "The Wall Street Journal" and NBC News also shows Trump surging eight points in the past month alone. Now that poll is also within the margin of error. And in that one, Clinton is leading by three points. This comes as Trump just moments ago in a phone call with CNN clarified his position on guns in schools, saying school officers are trained teachers should be the ones carrying guns. It comes after the presumptive nominee rejected and supporting arming teachers in classrooms in the same interview. A lot to get to tonight. We begin with Sara Murray though who is OUTFRONT tonight at Trump Headquarters in New York. And Sara, Trump today with a big play to try to capitalize, build momentum in those polls with a meeting at Trump Tower.</s>SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Erin. Today, Donald Trump met privately with Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee. This one of the leading Senate Republicans, the latest sign that Donald Trump is trying to bring the party together, get Republicans behind him. And, of course, all of this is happening as the general election polls look tighter than many pundits expected.</s>MURRAY (voice-over): Skeptics protected a Donald Trump ticket would mean a blowout victory for Hillary Clinton.</s>DONALD TRUMP (R), GOP PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE: Now I'm going to start focusing on Hillary. That's going to be so easy.</s>MURRAY: But new national polls reveal a race that's rapidly tightening. A "Wall Street Journal" NBC News poll puts Clinton at 46 percent, compared to Trump's 43 percent. Her three-point edge down from a double digit lead just a month ago. A "Washington Post" ABC News poll also shows a dead heat with Trump at 46 percent support, and Clinton at 44 percent. As speculation whirls over who Trump might choose for a VP, the billionaire businessman met privately with Senator Bob Corker today who brushed aside questions about joining the ticket.</s>SEN. BOB CORKER (R), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I have no reason whatsoever to believe that I'm being considered for a position like that. You know, I'll say that until I'm blue in my face. Again, this was a meeting between two people who didn't know each other, except over phone calls.</s>MURRAY: Trump allies say Corker's foreign policy experience could be an asset to the first time presidential candidate. Even if he doesn't make the VP short list.</s>CORKER: We talked bigger picture. Really relative to foreign policy. Domestic issues that matter.</s>MURRAY: Meanwhile, Trump is still aiming to consolidate his conservative base. And he's turning to a potent issue. The second amendment to rally voters.</s>TRUMP: I don't want to have guns in classrooms. Although in some cases, teachers should have guns in classrooms.</s>MURRAY: But he's delivering a muddled message saying he doesn't want to see guns in classrooms.</s>TRUMP: I'm not advocating guns in classrooms.</s>MURRAY: And in the next breath, suggesting trained teachers should be armed.</s>TRUMP: Teachers should be able to have guns. Trained teachers should be able to have guns in classrooms.</s>MURRAY: And in the latest signal of Trump shifting positions, Trump the candidate mocks the concept of climate change on the trail.</s>TRUMP: So Obama is talking about all of this with the global warming. A lot of it is a hoax.</s>MURRAY: But Trump the businessman isn't so dubious. According to Politico, Trump's company applied for a permit to build coastal protection for a seaside golf resort. The reason, rising sea levels and other effects of climate change.</s>MURRAY: Now Erin, tonight Donald Trump spoke to CNN's Jeremy Diamond in an effort to clarify his position on guns once again. He said he would not eliminate all gun-free guns in schools, only in some cases and also said that school resource officers, that he meant by trained should be the ones who are trained to carry guns -- Erin.</s>BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Sara Murray. And OUTFRONT tonight, John King. So, I don't know, you know, when we see this meeting at Trump Tower today, this is Donald Trump trying to get the party behind him. He's a man who loves a good poll. When it's good for him. Big swing in these new polls. And it's a big-time in Trump's favor, again and again. Why is he doing so much better in such a short period of time?</s>JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me quickly add the caveat. It's a national poll, Erin and we elect president state by state. Mitt Romney was very close in the polls blown out in the Electoral College. Number two, it is May in the elections in November. And why is Donald Trump doing better in the polls? Number one, because this is over. The Republican race is over. And we saw this go back to -- look, and right after John McCain clinched in 2008. He actually went into the lead in the national polls back then. Because the Republican Party, like then, has now mostly, mostly consolidated around Trump now while the Democratic Party is still dealing with this. Bernie Sanders still in the race. Sanders supporters don't like Hillary Clinton. Independents like Bernie Sanders more than Hillary Clinton. So in the new national polls, when you look at the numbers, Sara just talked about them. Essentially, you know, Trump is up two points. That's a tie in the "Washington Post" poll. Clinton up three points. That's a tie in the "Wall Street Journal" poll. Why is it? Independents have come Trump's way since the polls a month or two ago. And Hillary Clinton is not completely consolidated Democratic support because of Sanders supporters, forgive me. Some of them are still holding their nose.</s>BURNETT: Right. And you would anticipate that that would change. Now, the other thing I find interesting is in one of the polls we got today, you know, late tonight in the "Wall Street Journal" poll, John, you know, the incredible unfavorables, we had said this for the two most unpopular candidates really in modern history and Hillary Clinton was slightly less heated than Donald Trump, now they're tied. Now they're tried. People don't like either one of them.</s>KING: And so you have at least half of these supporters of each candidate saying they're there because they're voting against the other person. That's what, A., tells you you're probably going to have a pretty nasty race. Because these are two candidates. Look at them. This is the "Washington Post" ABC poll but very similar numbers as you know in the new NBC Wall Street Journal polls as well, 41 percent of registered voters view Hillary Clinton favorably. Four in ten registered voters. It's the same for Donald Trump. They are both viewed unfavorably by almost six in ten voters. So, you're starting off such negative ratings and you both very well known. She's known in politics, he's known as a celebrity real estate development, now politics. It's hard to change these numbers when people think they know you so well. So what does this tell you? It tells you, number one, they're viewed very negatively and also suggest when you have candidates like this, Erin, that you got a negative race.</s>BURNETT: Well, and the other thing, of course is how much, how long does this last? You talk about Hillary Clinton once Bernie Sanders, if he does lose, I know he still says it's an uphill climb, he can do it. But she obviously is likely to be the nominee. Will Sanders supporters get behind her? Will these polls change dramatically or do you think we're going to see this sort of head-to-head, back and forth, all the way to the fall?</s>KING: I think without a doubt, we're going to have a very competitive election all the way to the fall. I will say this by going back to this map here, and you look at the race for president, 2012. Remember, Mitt Romney was actually pretty close in the national polls throughout the general election and he lost an Electoral College blowout, even though the election itself national election wise polling, national vote wise was pretty close. Why do I think this is going to be very close to the end? Look at how these two are split. Hillary Clinton is the candidate of choice when people say experience and temperament to be president matter. But who will change D.C.? Donald Trump has a slight edge in the economy right now. If this election is about changing a dysfunctional Washington. He wins. If the election is about a steady, experienced hand. She wins. That's what the next few months are about, Erin, trying to define and convince the voters what should be issue number one.</s>BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to John King. And of course you could see from that if being honest and being trustworthy is what matters, we don't have a president come November. OUTFRONT tonight, Trump supporter and former Navy SEAL Carl Higbie. Sanders supporter Sally Kohn. Former communications director for Ted Cruz's campaign Alice Stewart. Clinton supporter Wendy Davis. Trump supporter Jason Osborne and David Gergen, who served as adviser to four presidents Reagan and Clinton among them. You see the polls, Carl. Can Donald Trump really win this? Because I think John King points out something crucial, right? Mitt Romney had it very tight in the national polls and he got blown out in the electoral.</s>CARL HIGBIE, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Right. Something I think we need to take into consideration here is you have somebody so far outside the political spectrum. Conventional politics is a boxing ring. Donald Trump is a street fighter. He's going to get in and Hillary Clinton is just not going to be able to defend his blows when it comes to the first debate. I think it's going to be over after the first debate.</s>BURNETT: Wendy, what about the polls, the surge we have seen for Donald Trump? Because you can say margin of error you want, but certainly 11 points in one poll, eight points in another. That's dramatic.</s>WENDY DAVIS, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: You know, two points ago, you didn't see it, because we didn't have a Republican nominee yet. Now the party is uniting behind him. We're going to see the party unite behind Hillary Clinton, as well. And I agree, I can't wait for that first debate, because I think that's when it's going to be over, as well. Hillary demonstrating her experience compared to his naivete and his inability even to articulate positions, I think is going to draw a very strong contrast between the choices.</s>BURNETT: David, what do you think about the significance of these polls? Because this is now been sort of a cascade over the past few weeks.</s>DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR: Well, first of all, I think the poll suggests that the electorate is still quite fluid. That this could move in many different directions, we just can't predict.</s>BURNETT: Even though they are so well-known.</s>GERGEN: Exactly. We've had a ten-point swing. But secondly, I do think coming at this particular moment, the polls are very, very good news for Donald Trump. Because -- he was -- a lot of people were on the sidelines. I thought this was going to be another Goldwater. It's going to be a blow out on the other way. But if you go back to the Goldwater with Johnson race of '64, Johnson was ahead from June until Election Day by more than 20 points. There was never did this dead heat that you see. Trump has got a lot better chance. And this is going to bring people over. The Bob Corker's of the world are going to see him now because they think he's got a chance to win. B., that maybe they'll hold the Senate. And C., they'll get a better chance to win the House. If it's close.</s>BURNETT: All right. But here's the thing. People don't like either one of them. All right? It's not just the unfavorables, is what John King just pointed out. Half the people voting for each of them are only voting because they hate the other one.</s>JASON OSBORNE, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Right.</s>BURNETT: That is a bad situation.</s>OSBORNE: I would actually be more worried if I were Hillary than if Donald Trump. Because Hillary's numbers are unfavorable numbers have been this way for over two decades. Donald Trump is new to the political scene. He's definitely striking a chord with kind of these Independent voters that are tired of Washington, just like Bernie Sanders.</s>BURNETT: So you're saying his short term unfavorables are less awful than the long-term unfavorables.</s>OSBORNE: I think he has a better opportunity -- we don't know who Donald Trump is, because we haven't seen his bio, other than what his opponents have attacked him with. So, we don't know his upbringing, we don't know his personal story. We know all about Hillary. I think as you start to see Donald Trump on the campaign trail, talking about how he became who he is, beyond just the attacks of he got a million- dollar loan from his father. You know, similar to Terry McCaul off giving a loan to the Clintons for their first mortgage. You know, I think you're going to see a softer side of Donald Trump and people get to understand him a little bit more. And those negatives are going to go down. Whereas Hillary's are going to stay up.</s>BURNETT: Is this going to win you over? I mean, you've been on the receiving end of the nastiest things that Donald Trump can offer working for Ted Cruz.</s>ALICE STEWART, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR TED CRUZ CAMPAIGN: Absolutely.</s>BURNETT: Are you going to -- can this win you over, this softer side that Jason says exists of Donald Trump?</s>STEWART: I think the changing the narrative in terms of their favorability is job number one for both of them. You call back in 2012, Mitt Romney checked all the boxes in terms of who they can help the economy, who they thrust, who they feel would be a great leader. Obama's numbers were bad on the specific issues. But people liked Barack Obama better. He won in the unfavorability checklist and that's why he did so well. So if -- between Hillary and Donald, they are split on who they trust for the economy and education and jobs and national security, they both need to work on the favorabilities, becoming more likeable and connecting with the people. And I do agree that once Hillary is the actual nominee, her numbers are going to go in her favor. Right now the Republicans are rallying behind Donald and he's getting the bump from the united party. Once there is a head-to-head, mano-a-mano in this race, Hillary's numbers will go up. That's when the real raise will begin.</s>BURNETT: Sally?</s>SALLY KOHN, PROGRESSIVE ACTIVIST: Well, look, I mean, they have very different reasons for their unfavorabilities and I completely disagree with what Jason just said.</s>BURNETT: They're both --</s>KOHN: Hillary has been in the public eye for over 20-30 years and those unfavorables are arguably not going up any further. And by the way, they exist because she has been so prolonged -- subject to attacks from the right. I mean, look at --</s>BURNETT: Benghazi!</s>KOHN: Let's take Benghazi. You know, 16 hearings, 30,000 pages of documents. She was found, you know, no culpability whatsoever by Republican committees. And Republicans are still hammering her about it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's because she said what does it matter that these people died. That's why.</s>KOHN: Trump's negatives had so much further they can go out, when people will start paying attention in this race and the fact that he knows so little and has the wrong temperament to lead this country.</s>BURNETT: Pause for a moment. You're all going to be with me right after the break. New information tonight on EgyptAir 804. Where was the plane just before it disappeared from radar? Some new details to reveal tonight. Plus, an exclusive CNN report inside Syria on a secret mission with the top American commander in the region. When in secret, our cameras were there. And one of the most personal issues for Donald Trump. A special report coming up.