Trump Heads to Arizona for Border Town Tour, Campaign Rally; Thousands Expected to Protest Trump Phoenix Rally; Interview with Representative Mark Sanford; NYT: McConnell Questions Whether Trump Can Salvage Presidency
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Just hours after his scripted speech about war and unity, will he go back off the rails tonight? The heat is on. Supporters and opponents of Mr. Trump, they're on the streets of Phoenix right now. They are weighing in on his presidency, his policies and his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. We're following the frustration out west as the president ignores an appeal to stay away and feuds with top Republicans. Still simmering. Charlottesville residents demand answers during an explosive city council meeting. Emotions raw after the racist rally and the president's reaction. Even the House speaker here in Washington now declaring that President Trump messed up. And changing his view. The president abandons promises to get out of Afghanistan, admitting he's going with the advice of his generals and against his instincts. New reaction tonight as Mr. Trump's policy is attacked by the far-right. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in</s>THE SITUATION ROOM. ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.</s>BLITZER: We are following breaking news. President Trump returning to campaign mode in Arizona one week after his widely condemned remarks about white supremacists and the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mr. Trump leaves soon for a rally in Phoenix from Arizona's southern border where he's been meeting with the Marines and Border Protection officials. People are on the streets of Phoenix right now. They are awaiting the president. Thousands are expected to protest his visit, giving President Trump a fresh taste of the Charlottesville backlash. The state's top Republicans will be conspicuously absent tonight amid concerns about what he may say and the state of his presidency. Also tonight, "The New York Times" report that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is privately expressing uncertainty that Mr. Trump will be able to salvage his administration following one crisis after another this summer. Right now Republicans are divided over the president's address to the nation overnight, outlining his new Afghanistan policy. Many mainstream GOP leaders are backing his decision to abandon his past calls to withdraw U.S. forces from America's longest military conflict, but the far-right is fuming, accusing him of supporting unlimited war. One of his harshest critics, Breitbart News, the right-wing Web site where Mr. Trump's fired chief strategist Steve Bannon is now back at the helm. This hour I'll talk about those stories and more with Republican Congressman Mark Sanford, and our correspondents and specialists are also standing by. First, let's go to our senior national correspondent Alexander Marquardt. He's in Phoenix at the site of the president's big rally later tonight. Alex, so what can we expect?</s>ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the big question is which Trump will show up. Is it the free-wheeling unscripted Trump that these people here, his base loves, or is it the more scripted, on-message, on-teleprompter Trump that we saw last night in the speech on Afghanistan? The White House is saying very little about what -- the president will actually say, but in the wake of those violent events in Charlottesville, the press secretary saying just a short time ago that we can expect to see more condemnation of hate in all forms.</s>MARQUARDT (voice-over): President Trump arriving in Arizona tonight for a campaign rally facing angry crowds over his response to the violence in Charlottesville and an escalating feud with a fellow Republican, Senator Jeff Flake.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people are weary of war without victory.</s>MARQUARDT: Tonight's rally comes one day after Monday's more serious and somber primetime address on Afghanistan in which the president reversed course on his repeated calls to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.</s>TRUMP: My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts. But all my life, I've heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office. In other words, when you're president of the United States.</s>MARQUARDT: Trump has used past campaign events to rally his diminished base, feeding off the crowd, reveling in their support.</s>TRUMP: With the exception of the late great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that's ever held this office. That I can tell you.</s>MARQUARDT: Tonight's rally coming during a particularly tough time. A new poll showing the president's overall approval at 37 percent. And just 28 percent approved of his response to the deadly violence in Charlottesville.</s>TRUMP: Very fine people on both sides.</s>MARQUARDT: Monday night House Speaker Paul Ryan told a CNN town hall that Trump, quote, "messed up."</s>REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I think he made comments that were much more morally ambiguous, much more confusing. And I do think he could have done better. I think he needed to do better.</s>MARQUARDT: Today Vice President Mike pence coming to Trump's defense.</s>MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The president specifically denounced white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the KKK repeatedly, and he did it on -- he did it when he denounced hate and violence on Saturday. He did it in his address to the nation Monday. And he did it again in the press conference. There was no moral equivalency drawn by the president.</s>MARQUARDT: That fallout has the potential to get worse if the president follows through on pardoning the deeply controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to stop racially profiling Latinos. Arpaio tells CNN he was not invited to tonight's rally, but he was a staunch Trump surrogate on the campaign trail.</s>SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: I'll see you again with Donald Trump because once he becomes president. I know he's never going to forget Arizona. He'll be back and I hope to see him as president.</s>MARQUARDT: Trump also threatening to deepen the divisions in the GOP, engaging in a war of words with Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, a staunch critic. Just last week Trump called him "Flake Jeff Flake, who is weak on borders, crime and a nonfactor in Senate. He's toxic."</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How about the president calling you a nonfactor in the Senate and toxic?</s>SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: I don't worry about it at all. I'm going ahead and doing my job.</s>MARQUARDT: Now in that same tweet that Trump wrote about Flake, he did appear to endorse a challenger in that reelection next year, writing, "Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake." Ward is a former state senator. She will be in the crowd tonight. As for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, we're told by the White House that no action will be taken on that possible pardon today. Press Secretary Sanders saying in a statement just a short time ago, no action will be taken any time today -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right, Alexander Marquardt reporting for us. He's in Phoenix. Meanwhile multiple protests are planned in Phoenix for tonight as the president's visit deeply angers his opponents and even some members of his own Republican Party. Our national correspondent Miguel Marquez following the demonstrations for us. Miguel, what's the situation where you are right now?</s>MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's getting a bit fraught at this point. We have about 10 or 12 different protesters who have come down here to basically be present as the Trump people start to go into the convention center here. I want to show you a little bit of how these things are happening. If you go up high, these are two people having a heated argument. You have police in there in plain clothes who are trying to do two things. Let them have their First Amendment rights and yell and scream as much as they like, and keep them from getting to anything more in terms of physical violence. It is a very difficult thing for them to do clearly. There are several groups, anti-Trump groups certainly, but Jewish groups, pro-immigration groups that are gathering at different points in the city. It is likely in the next several hours they will start to come here. Let me show you the individuals who have sort of come down here so far. These are -- maybe there are now 15 to 20 people who have come down here. They say that they are self-organized and they just want to have a presence here. It did cause some sort of moments with the police down here and with pro-Trump supporters, anti-Trump people, them exchanging very, very heated words. I can tell you the crowds have also started to go into the convention center now, so that will help keep things at a somewhat less of a fever pitch. The first person in line had been here since 7:00 p.m. last night, almost coming up on 24 hours at this point. The president isn't expected to be here for several more hours. And for police, they are treating this like a major event. Whether it's the Super Bowl or the World Series, it's all hands on deck. All police agencies are involved here, even the National Guard just in case things get out of hand. As you know, the mayor here in Phoenix has asked that Donald -- that President Trump not show up here, put off this rally for some time, but he did not do that. And people, I can tell you, Trump supporters have come in from all over the country as well. I met people from Texas, from Florida, from California. They are rallying behind the president -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: How many people can fit into that convention center? Looks like thousands are getting ready to begin to enter.</s>MARQUEZ: There are thousands. Give a look at the line. There are thousands who have been lining up. There will probably be between 15,000 and 20,000 in there by the time it's done. Protesters hope to have up to 10,000, perhaps more protesters, out of the several different protests that they have planned. But it is not clear how this is going to go -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: We're going to stay in very close touch with you. Miguel Marquez on the scene for us in Phoenix. Stand by over there. In the meantime, let's talk a little bit more about the president's trip with Republican Congressman Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.</s>REP. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Yes, sir.</s>BLITZER: This is your first interview since President Trump's response to the white supremacists, the protests, the car attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, last week. What did you make of how the president handled the situation?</s>SANFORD: Well, I think it's been, you know, well stated, and probably overstated at this point. A lot of people were disappointed in his response, that there wasn't immediate condemnation of some of the groups that were, I think, way, way, way out of bounds and any kind of equivalency I think was, again, equally out of bounds.</s>BLITZER: What would you have wanted the president to say immediately? And all of us recall what happened in Charleston, in your home state when there was a white supremacist who went on a rampage.</s>SANFORD: Well, what the governor at that time did and what I think a whole host of local leaders did was to immediately condemn what had happened unequivocally, pure and simple say there is no justification. There can no be righting of the ship. What happened was tragic and wrong period, end of story. And I think if the president had done that in Charlottesville, he would have been applauded for that. There was initially a lag and then there was sort of, well, there were bad folks on both sides. That isn't the time nor the place to go into those kind of subtleties. I think it was, again, a time to be unequivocal in simply condemning what had happened and condemning racism in any form or fashion.</s>BLITZER: The president said there were very fine people on both sides. That's the statement that really irritated, angered so many people out there because on the one side there were white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazis. On the other side there were protesters who opposed those white supremacists. When you heard those words, very fine people on both sides, Congressman, what was your reaction?</s>SANFORD: Well, as I just stated, a bit of shock and a bit of disappointment. You know, I attended business school in Charlottesville, Virginia. I have two boys -- one who is there currently, and one who graduated just a couple of years ago from Charlottesville. I put out a Facebook comment and said this is not the Charlottesville I know. And we need to overcome evil with good which I think was the beauty of what happened in the tragedy that occurred here in Charleston, South Carolina, in the wake of the tragic shooting at the local church.</s>BLITZER: What would you like to see the president say, if anything, about this tonight?</s>SANFORD: Well, I think he has, you know, backed up and made the vice president stated, a number of different points of condemnation. The problem is it was late. And the problem, again, there was that equivalency component that I think troubled a lot of folks. If he wants to, again, come out with further condemnation, I think it would be a good thing. I don't know that this is where it's going to fit in given I suspect much of the conversation, in fact, will be about border wall and what happens next on immigration.</s>BLITZER: A lot of people are wondering why the president decided to hold this campaign rally tonight, this huge campaign rally in Phoenix so quickly after what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia. Here's the question, Congressman. Does this send the right message about trying to bring the country together?</s>SANFORD: You know, you can parse these things to, I mean, a fairly crazy level. And so I -- no. In other words, my first reaction would be no, give it a little bit more of a pause. But in fairness, you know, there's been a long-standing promise he made with regard to immigration policy, in particular securing the border. I think that a lot of Republicans, a lot of conservatives would like to see a more secure border. There was a funding built into the mini bus appropriations bill that was passed in the Congress that would have another 73 miles worth of border wall protection in it. And so, you know, at some point we've got to get onto that conversation. You know, the timing might be a little bit off from my end, but in fairness, there is an important transition in moving forward on a number of issues that I think are going to be very, very important this fall, whether that's on the deficit, whether that's on what comes next and how we fund government prior to the end of the fiscal year, which is September 30th, or indeed what happens next on the border.</s>BLITZER: But is it appropriate 3 1/2 years before the next presidential election for the president to be out on the campaign trail attending these kinds of huge reelection campaign rallies as he's about to do tonight? A lot of people are wondering why.</s>SANFORD: The one place I'm not going to try and get is inside Donald Trump's head. And so, in fairness, he's going to do what he's going to do. You know, as a legislator, I've got to simply react to what comes next from a legislative standpoint and it's going to be an awfully busy season come, you know, a couple -- couple of days from now as we get back into session.</s>BLITZER: Right after Labor Day you guys got a lot of work to do in September including raising the nation's debt ceiling to make sure the nation's full faith and credit is not undermined. "The New York Times" has just reported, Congressman, that the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell was privately horrified by the president's handling of Charlottesville and the relationship has disintegrated so far that the two haven't spoken in weeks. How damaging is this to the Trump presidency?</s>SANFORD: I don't know. Wolf, you're asking me to go off on, you know, a private horror, private speculation, private comment. I mean, I don't know what was said. I don't know what wasn't said. I don't want to get into, again, Donald Trump's mind. I don't want to get inside Mitch McConnell's mind. You know, until they are public about what each is saying about the other, you know, I'll wait and see and see how that plays out. Again, it's conjecture at this point to say what McConnell is really thinking given this report that came from "The New York Times."</s>BLITZER: But, Congressman, if the relationship between the Republican president of the United States and the Republican leader in the Senate, the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, has so deteriorated that they're not even speaking to each other right now, and that Mitch McConnell is privately, according to "The New York Times," expressed uncertainty that the president will be able to salvage his administration. How extraordinary -- you've been around for a while, so have I. This is pretty extraordinary, isn't it?</s>SANFORD: It is. So to that point, which is a different point, I would say it's a real problem because, again, I've been in executive capacity. Your hands, at the end of the day, are going to be driven by what the legislature does or does not do. And you better find a way to work with them because at the end of the day they can, again, stymie your efforts or they can actually move them forward. And so it's a real problem from the standpoint of him advancing his legislative agenda. What's, again, allegedly going on between the president and Mitch McConnell.</s>BLITZER: It's a real problem for so many Republicans, especially in the Senate. They're going to have to pick. Do they stand with the majority leader Mitch McConnell? Do they stand with the president? These two men apparently not even talking to each other. I guess the bottom line question, and I have to take a quick break, but you can give me a quick answer, Congressman. Are you proud of where the Republican Party is right now?</s>SANFORD: Am I proud of it? Oh, Wolf, you've got a lot of strange questions tonight. What I'd say is I think that it is an awfully tense time in politics right now. On the one hand you have a lot of the Trump supporters out there who legitimately are frustrated with their belief that nothing is getting done in Washington that improves their lives. On the other hand, you have people who are saying, wait a minute, some of the institutions that made this country great are being challenged in the process and you're going to have a real tug of war over the weeks, months and even years ahead between those two points.</s>BLITZER: Congressman, I want you to stand by. There is more we need to discuss. We are following what's going on right now in the streets of Phoenix, Arizona. The president getting ready to arrive there shortly. We'll have much more right after this.