'This Week' Transcript: Gov. Chris Christie and DNC Chair Donna Brazile

Rush transcript for "This Week" on August 28, 2016.

ByABC News
August 28, 2016, 9:10 AM
Donna Brazile, left, and Chris Christie to appear on "This Week."
Donna Brazile, left, and Chris Christie to appear on "This Week."
AP Photo|Getty Images

— -- THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOR 'THIS WEEK' ON August 28, 2016 and it will be updated.

ANNOUNCER: Starting right now on THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, war of words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton is a bigot.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A man with a long history of racial discrimination should never run our government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Both candidates trading the toughest jabs yet. As Donald Trump makes a blunt appeal to minority voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What the hell do you have to lose? Give me a chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: But after a big flip on immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There certainly can be a softening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Where does Trump really stand?

And can Clinton answer new questions about donors to her foundation? This morning, key supporters on each side, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and DNC Chair Donna Brazile, here live.

Plus, a nation divided.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you look for when you're patrolling?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Soldiers on guard. A growing refugee population. And persistent fear. How France is fighting the terror threat.

From ABC News, it's THIS WEEK. Here now, co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC ANCHOR: Good morning. We've come to expect harsh rhetoric in this campaign but this week may have been one of the ugliest weeks so far. The candidates unleashing heated words about race, bigotry, and intolerance. Donald Trump chasing the minority vote and hurling a blistering accusation at his opponent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton is a bigot who sees people of color only as votes, not as human beings worthy of a better future. She's going to do nothing for African-Americans. She's going to do nothing for the Hispanics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: Hillary Clinton tying Trump to the so-called alt-right movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Donald Trump has built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia. He's taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over the Republican Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: But both candidates also facing problems of their own making this week. The Democratic nominee dogged by new charges of inappropriate access given to Clinton Foundation donors while she served as secretary of state.

And Trump, now seeming to waffle on a cornerstone campaign promise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RADDATZ (voice-over): It has been a signature theme since day one.

TRUMP: They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists.

RADDATZ: Trump promised to deport every immigrant here illegally, even families and children.

TRUMP: They're going to go with them. Everybody…

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Sure, it has got to be a family unit.

RADDATZ: And how exactly would Trump deport an estimated 11 million people?

TRUMP: You're going to have a deportation force. And you're going to do it humanely.

RADDATZ: But then, this week, at a town hall on FOX News.

TRUMP: And there certainly could be a softening, because we're not looking to hurt people.

If you have somebody that has been in the country for 20 years, has done a great job, has a job, everything else, OK, do we tell these people to get out, number one? Or, do we work with them and let them stay in some form?

RADDATZ: On Thursday, Trump tried to clarify.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You used the word softening, even last night on "Hannity," you talked about…

TRUMP: Well, I don't think it's a softening. I think it's…

COOPER: But 11 million people are no longer going to be deported?

TRUMP: I've had people say it's a hardening, actually.

COOPER: But 11 million who have not committed crimes…

TRUMP: No, no, we're then going to see…

COOPER: There's going to be a path to legalization, is that right?

TRUMP: You know it's a process. You can't take 11 at one time and just say, boom, you're gone.

RADDATZ: Saturday in Iowa, Trump changed tack.

TRUMP: In recent days, the media, as it usually does, has missed the whole point on immigration. They have missed the point.

RADDATZ: Offering a series of new, specific policies to make America less hospitable to undocumented workers. Using E-Verify to deny them jobs. Cutting them off social services. Aggressively going after criminal gangs.

But violent criminals make up a small fraction of the 11 million undocumented immigrants. What will happen to the rest, those Trump has long promised he would round up and deport?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RADDATZ: I'm joined now by Governor Chris Christie, a former presidential candidate and one-time Trump opponent, now the chair of Trump's transition team.

And, Governor, let me start with this simple question: Will Donald Trump try to deport all undocumented workers or just those he refers to as the bad ones?

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Listen, I think that he has been very clear on this. We're not going to have amnesty . What we're going to do is to get those who are breaking the law out of the country as quickly as possible to make sure then that you deal with people in a humane way. I think that's what he's been saying. He's been saying that I think for as long as I've been listening to him of late, and that's what he's going to do.

RADDATZ: Well, dealing with them in a humane way, does that mean taking all of those 11 million undocumented workers, pushing them out of the country?

CHRISTIE: Well, I think what he has said is that people are not going to be eligible for legalization or citizenship unless they leave the country and get back in line. Now there's going to be, you know, some decisions he's going to have to make as president regarding those folks, and I think what he's said let's first get all of the bad actors out of the country. And I think that's what's really important.

And then he wants to look at this situation and deal with it in a humane way, and quite frankly, you know, I think this is the kind of thing people expect from a president of the United States, that they will approach these things thoughtfully and smartly and I’m confident that that's exactly what a President Trump will do.

RADDATZ: Would you acknowledge then that that does sound like a softening from his original statements about getting everyone, 11 million undocumented workers, out of the country with a deportation force?

CHRISTIE: Listen, I think that the key to this, Martha, and the way to look at it, is that this is a guy who has been very consistent on no amnesty, no legalization, for folks who have been coming to the country illegally. And that has always been the underpinning of his policy along with the building of the wall on the United States-Mexican border. And those things have remained completely consistent.

I think what you expect of every candidate and ultimately of a president is to listen to the facts and to deal with things in a way that's smart and direct. I’m confident that’s exactly what President Trump will do.

RADDATZ: Do you think this will turn off some of his supporters who originally liked that idea of getting everyone of the country no matter what?

CHRISTIE: No. I think what it's going to do is put an even greater highlight on the fact that Hillary Clinton has a 100-day amnesty plan, where everybody here, no matter whether you've been a criminal or not, no matter how you got here or not, is going to wind up becoming American citizens under Hillary Clinton's plan. And I think when voters look at that, they’re going to say that's not what we want to have happen in this country.

And so, remember, this is a binary choice. It's going to be the approach that Donald Trump takes or the approach that Hillary Clinton takes, not some other approach. And the Clinton approach is just a completely unacceptable one, it's an unlawful one, and it's one that voters who have supported Donald Trump from the primary going forward are not going to turn around and support and they're certainly going to want to make sure they do everything they can to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House. And that will mean voting for Donald Trump on November 8th.

RADDATZ: Governor Christie, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told a New Jersey publication that Trump is softening his stance and that is partially because of your prodding him to do that. Did you recommend this?

CHRISTIE: Listen -- and, Martha, you know, I ran for president, as you know. I ran for governor twice. And I've been the governor now for nearly seven years. I find that the people who are my best advisors are the people who are smart enough to give me really good advice and smart enough to keep their mouths shut about what advice they give me. And so if I want advisors that way, that's the kind of advisor I'm going to be for Donald Trump.

I've said consistently, the advice I give to Donald is to Donald. And that's based upon our friendship over the last 14 years and the way I would expect to.

So Rudy can talk about whatever he wants to talk about. He's my friend, I like him a lot and respect him, but I don't talk about the advice I give to Donald Trump.

RADDATZ: OK, let's -- let's turn to the subject of race. As part of his outreach to black voters, Trump has described life for African-Americans as marked by poverty, crime, and violence. The vast majority of African-Americans do not live like that and many found those words offensive.

Do you find that an appropriate outreach?

CHRISTIE: I think that when you have any folks in our population who live under the threat of violence, who live under the threat of crime, who don't have the opportunity that others have because the schools in our urban areas are a dreaded failure, because of the positions that Hillary Clinton has taken and the people who support her, that I think any candidate should speak out to say that that type of thing is unacceptable. And I think what Donald is saying is that it's unacceptable to him that members of the African-American community -- and I'm sure he will say this about other communities as well -- who live in violence, who are subject of that, or who do not have the educational opportunities that every child in this country should have so they can reach their fullest potential, that that's unacceptable.

And what he's saying is that a Trump presidency will address those kind of things head on without caving into the special interests like the teachers union, which Mrs. Clinton has completely sold out to. Reversed her position on charter schools, reversed her position on changing the way our urban education is run, because she has sold out to the teachers union.

RADDATZ: So you had no problem…

CHRISTIE: Donald Trump won't do that.

RADDATZ: … with Donald Trump’s language on that? On the reach out to the minority community.

CHRISTIE: Listen, what…

RADDATZ: No problem at all?

CHRISTIE: I like -- no, listen, my view on it is that you have to look at what the message is. And the message is that if anybody lives in those circumstances in this country, that's something that the government should be working to try to change.

And Donald Trump is not going to give in to the special interests in this country, like the teachers' union, who say that substandard education in our urban areas can only be fixed by giving it more money and that that’s all they’re going to do about it and not change the underlying problems that we have on violence.

We need to support our police officers and make sure that community policing becomes something that becomes the standard across the country.

These are the things Donald Trump has talked about.

RADDATZ: Speaking of violence, there was another tragic shooting in Chicago on Friday; the cousin of NBA star, Dwyane Wade, caught in the crossfire and killed while pushing a stroller.

And this is what Trump tweeted.

He said, "Dwyane Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed, walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying: African-Americans will vote Trump."

Four hours later he tweeted his condolences.

But is that an appropriate way to say, "Vote Trump"?

CHRISTIE: Listen, if people want safer streets, they want police supported, then they should vote for Donald Trump because that’s what he’ll do. He’ll appoint an attorney general, who will send very clear messages about how law enforcement is to be pursued in this country.

And, quite frankly, we have seen liberal policies in cities like Chicago, like New York and others, have led to increased crime.

And, Martha, the fact of the matter is, we need to have a very clear message. We haven’t had that from the current president. And you’ve seen the violence in his home city of Chicago. This is just another example.

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: He also called this --

CHRISTIE: You all focus on process. But you all focus on process, Martha, instead of the message.

The message is that that type of thing happening. Let’s focus on what happened.

What happened was the murder, the murder of this person pushing a stroller, it's unacceptable in an American city to continue to have this level of violence and the level of violence in Chicago is unacceptable.

That’s what Donald Trump has said and that’s what he’ll change when he’s President of the United States.

RADDATZ: Governor Christie, he also called Hillary Clinton a bigot this week.

Do you believe that Hillary Clinton is a bigot?

CHRISTIE: I’ll tell you this, this type of discourse in the campaign is just unwarranted. But it was started by Ms. Clinton. Ms. Clinton has started the idea of calling Donald Trump those types of names.

And the fact is that, once you are the person -- and Ms. Clinton is the person who injected this type of commentary into this race -- once you inject that type of commentary into this race, you can’t then sit back and start complaining about it or have some of your handmaidens in the media complain about it.

The fact is that she’s been the person who started this type of conversation in the campaign. She should be ashamed of herself.

RADDATZ: OK, thanks very much for joining us this morning, Governor Christie.

CHRISTIE: Great to be with you, Martha. Have a good weekend.

RADDATZ: And we turn now to the Clinton campaign, facing those fresh questions about The Clinton Foundation. Let's bring in Donna Brazile, interim chair of the Democratic National Committee.

And, Donna, you heard what Chris Christie just said.

He said, "It's Hillary Clinton's fault. She started it."

DONNA BRAZILE, INTERIM CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Well, first of all, let me just say it's good to be back on THIS WEEK.

And secondly, I want to just say something very, very personal. As you know, Louisiana has undergone a lot of flooding over the last couple of weeks. And I just want to thank the American people for their generosity and supporting so many victims of that terrible flooding.

RADDATZ: We're all thinking of them.

BRAZILE: Now 53 years ago, as you know, Martha, Dr. King led a very historic march here in Washington, D.C. It was a march for jobs and freedom. It was a march to raise expectations that this country could live up to its ideals.

As I have watched this debate, this conversation about bigotry, about racism, I find it all misplaced.

First of all, Donald Trump has not held an event in the black community. He has not gone to a black church, as Hillary Clinton has done. He's not gone to historical black colleges -- Hillary Clinton. He's not met with the mothers of children who have been slain and killed from violence in the country as Hillary Clinton has done.

So I'm not here to talk about bigotry in the sense that I don't know what's in Donald Trump's heart. I hope that it's a heart of compassion.

But I can tell you about Hillary Clinton's heart. This is a woman, who, after law school, went down to my native South. She went down, after graduating from Yale Law School, to help poor kids, to help disabled kids. This is a woman who has shown over and over again in her career that she will elevate this conversation but, more importantly, she will get things done so all Americans can prosper and grow.

RADDATZ: But, Donna, this week in a speech, she really excoriated Donald Trump, tying him to the so-called alt-right, saying his campaign is "make America hate again," releasing a video that shows white supremacists praising Trump and ending with the words, "If Trump wins, they could be running the country."

Are Democrats really suggesting that if the GOP takes back the White House it would be run by white supremacists?

BRAZILE: Well, first of all, it was Ken Melman (ph), the chair of the Republican Party over two decades ago, a decade ago, who apologized for the offensive way that Republicans ran campaigns, dividing the country.

There's no question that Donald Trump has said things that are very unsettling. I mean, whether it's comparing Mexicans to rapists, demonizing Muslim Americans, excoriating the federal judge who was handling the case.

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: But she's tying Trump to white supremacists.

BRAZILE: I'm getting there. Look, there's no question that Donald Trump has had ample opportunity to distance himself from the kind of racist language that comes from some of his supporters.

Look, I know you can't choose your supporters out there. I know people have embraced him. He may not have embraced them. But he has every -- he should distance himself. This sort of alt-right movement is very disturbing. It's almost like a renaissance of racism and we have, as Americans, as, again, on this day, a day that we observe the 53rd anniversary, we should denounce the kind of racial conversation that comes from --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: He had 13 million -- more than 13 million voters in the primary, probably get many in the general election.

Are you saying, is Hillary Clinton saying, that the core of those supporters support bigotry?

BRAZILE: First of all, Hillary Clinton, who got over 15 million Americans who supported her, Donald Trump has tried to spread this -- what I call this so-called venom. No one is demonizing or even saying anything as intemperate as Donald Trump has said about blacks living in squalor conditions.

No, there's -- Hillary Clinton is talking to all Americans. She's talking about jobs, she's talking about how to make this country stronger in terms of our national security. She's talking about opportunity for our young people.

So, no, no one is spreading any kind of rumors or saying anything about Donald Trump supporters or, for that matter, the supporters of Ted Cruz and everyone else.

RADDATZ: I want to move to The Clinton Foundation. There was major news about Secretary Clinton this week. Newly released e-mails obtained by ABC News show that Clinton Foundation officials looking for invitations for major donors to State Department events, including a presidential speech, including sitting next to Vice President Biden.

Do you see any problem with that -- ?

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: You know, based on what I have seen, I understand that there's a -- just a new round of fresh eyes looking at more e-mails that might be released. I've been dealing with another situation involving e-mails that were leaked, private information that has been put out in the public --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: Let's stick with The Clinton Foundation --

BRAZILE: -- well, I got to stick with what I know. I'm not an official of the State Department.

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: -- do you have a problem with that commingling?

BRAZILE: First of all, Martha, the way I look at it, I've been a government official. So, you know, this notion that, somehow or another, someone who is a supporter, someone who is a donor, somebody who's an activist, saying I want access, I want to come into a room and I want to meet people, we often criminalize behavior that is normal. And it's -- I don't -- I don’t see what the smoke is.

I understand why it's being discussed. But like I said, I've been dealing with another situation, another e-mail situation. The DNC was the victim of a cybercrime, an attack. And that has been my focus, not the focus of another round of e-mail controversies.

RADDATZ: Let me go back to the Foundation and then we will get to the DNC.

This week, Bill Clinton sent a letter to foundation donors, saying that if Hillary Clinton is elected, we will immediately implement the following changes: the Foundation will accept contributions only from U.S. citizens, permanent residents and U.S-based independent foundations, whose names we will continue to make public on a quarterly basis.

And we will change the official name from the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation to The Clinton Foundation. While I will continue to support the work of the foundation, I will step down from the board and will no longer raise funds for it.

Why are these changes appropriate if she's elected president but not when she was secretary of state?

Is that acknowledging --

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: I'm a reporter. I've been a big supporter of The Clinton Foundation. Back in 2001 and 2002, people forget that Bill Clinton went to Harlem and set this foundation up. They've helped millions of people across the globe and here in America. I think they've been -- they have shown over and over again that they're willing to be transparent and that they have gone beyond the letter of the law, to show that they're trying to make sure there are bright red, green, purple lines that will separate them from any type of conflict.

RADDATZ: And, Donna, back to those DNC e-mails, what is your concern here?

Julian Assange had said there will be significant releases over the coming weeks, coming months.

What are you most concerned about there?

BRAZILE: We are victims of -- the DNC and other institutions are victims of a cybercrime led by thugs. We know from the company we hired, Kraus Stripe (ph), that there was Russian involvement in this to destabilize not just our institution, the Democratic Party, but our democracy itself.

So we have taken appropriate steps to ensure that we have the safest possible system. We're working with federal officials.

But I have to -- once again, the notion that we're going let some person, you know, put out personal sensitive information across the world, jeopardizing people's privacy, and we're interviewing him as if he's going to have a smoking gun for October. The smoking gun is that we're interviewing somebody who is involved in a cybercrime and not calling him a criminal.

RADDATZ: OK. We are going to have to have to leave it there. Thanks so much for joining us. Good to see you.

And coming up, more on Trump's wavering stance on his immigration policy. Will it alienate his base?

And Clinton's answers to those fresh foundation questions. Will voters buy it? Our Powerhouse Roundtable weighs in on all that.

But first, we traveled to a front line in Europe's war against terror, where fears of radicalization are rampant and ethnic tensions are coming to a boil. How is France combating ISIS and what can the U.S. learn from their fight?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: To the African-American voter, great people, to the Hispanic voter, who have been absolutely treated terribly, I say -- what do you have to lose? What? I will fix it. I'll be able to make sure that when you walk down the street in your inner city or wherever you are, you're not going to be shot, your child isn't going to be shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: There's Donald Trump making his blunt appeal to minority voters on Wednesday, together with our partners at SSRS, we ask our online opinion panel for their one-word reaction to that video. 56 percent had a negative response, reacting to Trump's statement with words like liar and lies, disgusted and stupid. 37 percent had a positive response describing Trump's outreach to minorities with words like hope, hopeful, truth, and awesome.

When asked which candidate they think would do more to help minority communities, 64 percent said Hillary Clinton, 36 percent Donald Trump.

And we'll take on this week's heated debate over race later with our Powerhouse Roundtable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RADDATZ: Hillary Clinton's motorcade there pulling into an FBI office in White Plains, New York, Saturday, where Clinton received her first national security briefing as a presidential candidate. Both she and Trump must prepare to take the reins in the fight against ISIS well before stepping into the Oval Office.

With the world on edge, we went to France, which has been hit so hard by repeated attacks to explore what the fight against radicalization there might be able to teach us here at home.

We found a nation deeply divided and a cultural war over, of all things, swimwear, causing dangerous new rifts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RADDATZ: Late August, the height of France's sacred summer break, but these waters are roiling with bitterness and cultural division.

This week, tensions centered on Muslim beach wear, the so-called burkini.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't see why it bothers people that someone has on a little more clothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): At a certain point, it's got to stop. We're a secular country.

RADDATZ: seaside mayors drawing a line in the sand against the modest but obviously Muslim swimsuits. A massive beach brawl after tourists took surreptitious snapshots, that viral photo showing police officers forcing a middle aged woman to remove it in public.

Then Friday, France's high court ruling the burkini ban a blow to fundamental liberties.

UNIDENITIFIED MALE: It's an effect, it's not the cause of the problem.

RADDATZ: This is Bruno Golnish (ph), a leader of the anti-immigration National Front. He invited us to his old farmhouse in a village outside Paris.

Are you France's Donald Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says America first, we say (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) the French people first. So -- which is quite natural.

RADDATZ: For Golnish (ph), the problem the burkini symbolizes is multiculturalism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even if 1 of 1,000 of them are -- willing to -- to take part -- to the jihad, it means that there are several thousands of people.

RADDATZ: The French government says there are more than 8,000 Muslims in French territory who have given some sign of radicalization.

One of them, this 18-year-old we're calling Omar. He asked us not to show his face.

One day a man started coming around Omar's neighborhood, talking about ISIS as a humanitarian group.

OMAR, FRENCH CITIZEN (through translator): He said Syria is where our Muslim brothers are and that we had to help them. They're in trouble.

RADDATZ: Did you know what ISIS had done to people?

OMAR (through translator): No. I just wasn't informed about it really. I thought it was more like an organization for supporting the people over there.

RADDATZ: But then came the Charlie Hebdo attack.

This is Omar's mother.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He goes, mom, mom, look, look at the terrorist attack. I actually smiled and said, he's finally going to understand, these are not Muslims.

RADDATZ: The fear here is that France's intelligence apparatus still hasn't caught up to the fast-moving, flexible tactics of the Islamic State. Take Bataclan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nine of those terrorists were well-known.

RADDATZ: Samia Mactouf (ph) is a lawyer for terror victims across France.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's unbelievable. He was under judicial supervision.

RADDATZ (on camera): Do you think ISIS can be stopped?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope so. That's what -- that's the aim of all -- everybody. The problem today that there's no specific profile of a terrorist. Anybody can be terrorist. Because they hide. And this is one of recommendations of ISIS.

RADDATZ (voice-over): That sums up much of the concern over welcoming war-weary Muslim refugees. Entering Paris, you see refugees with nowhere to go. Massed together. Sleeping on street corners in makeshift camps as Parisians go about their lives around them.

Just a few subway stops away, battle-ready soldiers at France's most iconic landmark. The Eiffel Tower. Notre Dame.

We finish our trip with a visit to the home of another French politician. This time, centrist Senator Natalie Goulet (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Xenophobia, you know, it scares me a lot. The people that are fighting on the beach for a swimming suit, it's crazy. It's like a -- a civil war atmosphere.

RADDATZ: She warns that the rhetoric and division could have lasting effect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the kind of speech, the kind of atmosphere we have in this country, it's very easy for ISIL to say, see, you're French but it's not your country. Your wife, your sister, your mother, they're not respected.

RADDATZ: ISIS has a stated goal in the West. Eliminate the gray area. That place where Muslims can feel fully Muslim and fully French, or British, or American.

Goulet worries some Western policies may be aiding in that goal with deadly consequences.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RADDATZ: So let's bring in the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter.

And, Michael, when you look at what's happening in France in terms of trying to ban the Muslim swimsuits, they've already banned full face veils, what do think the effect will be?

MICHAEL LEITER, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL COUNTERTERRORISM CENTER: Well, I think it certainly really can cause a schism, and schism is exactly what ISIS will look to take advantage of. Banning the burkini doesn't produce terrorists. But it does make the people who are already alienated, who are already disenfranchised, I many cases, economically disenfranchised in a place like France in many of those neighborhoods, and make them say, ah, ISIS's message is true and real.

We can't be French and Muslim at the same time. And that's exactly what ISIS wants that population to think.

RADDATZ: So what lessons do you think we can learn here, and you heard that lawyer as well. And she talked to me a lot about the intelligence being stove-piped. That they know these people out there but they just aren't sharing the information.

LEITER: So you have the intelligence front and the engagement front. On the intelligence front, the French are better than many of their European counterparts. But they are really challenged in two specific ways.

One, the volume is just too much. They can't keep up right now. And second, they still have an open border in Europe. And they have a Europe which doesn't have an integrated intelligence system like we do in the United States.

And it's going the take them a very long time to get there. The second is the engagement piece. And the French have been challenged by this. And the Belgians have, as well. We in the U.S., frankly, are better off.

We have a Muslim population which is better off economically, better engaged, and less drawn to the fight in ISIS. But as we've seen in places like California and elsewhere, we still have a threat, even if smaller.

RADDATZ: And when you look at vetting here, is it enough?

LEITER: I think the vetting we have for refugees is vastly better than the Europeans have. An extensive work by the U.N. before they even get to us. And then all of our intelligence community working to vet these people. And most of them are not military age males.

So I think the refugee problem is Europe is vastly worse than we have in the United States.

RADDATZ: OK. And I want to move east. Also this week, it was a very busy week for me. I want to Estonia and took part in some joint exercises there between the U.S., the Estonians, the Swedish. And I got to ride in the backseat of an F-15 that I've done before but never anything like this.

Those vertical takeoffs are quite challenging. But it was an amazing ride to see what they are doing. And obviously, what this is about is deterring the Russians. Do you think we're going about that in the right way?

LEITER: I think we have started accelerating over the past two years. It's a modernization of NATO. It's at air, it's at sea, it's undersea, it's in cyber. Estonia in 2007, hit by Russian cyber-attacks. So what you see there with those exercises are critical.

We need additional funding for more U.S. combat brigades in Europe. NATO needs to continue to modernize. It is starting to show with the Russians but these exercises are central to show that the alliance is firm, especially as the E.U. starts to have some weakness on the economic front.

RADDATZ: OK, thanks very much for joining us, Michael. We're going have much more on that next week.

Coming up, Trump's mouth getting him in trouble again. And pressure building on Clinton after those new emails about the foundation. Our powerhouse "Roundtable" on the two campaigns' latest woes.

And the high school band playing their fight song, how their music is lifting a town left devastated by historic floods.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, TV TALK SHOW HOST: How you to prepare for a debate with Donald Trump?

CLINTON: I'm here to ask for your help.

(LAUGHTER)

CLINTON: I want to take it serious. I want to talk about what I think we can do and how important it is. But you have got to be prepared for. like, wacky stuff that comes at you.

TRUMP: I look very much forward to it. It will be a very interesting -- but especially that first one is going to be a very interesting evening. I think it's one of the -- going to be one of the highest-rated shows in television history. We'll find out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: Yes, just under one month until the first general election debate. Trump and Clinton already preparing. But what will each candidate have to do to appeal to undecided voters? Our "Roundtable" takes that on, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID WRIGHT, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: What do you make of the change in tone that we've heard this week on the immigration issue?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's very positive.

WRIGHT: You're not hearing any shift in tone on immigration?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not at all.

WRIGHT: None whatsoever?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None whatsoever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK to move a little bit to the more compassionate side. But let's follow the rules.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that he probably is headed in the right direction. But I want to see what that plan says.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: ABC's David Wright, talking to voters and Senator Joni Ernst at the "Roast and Ride" in Iowa yesterday, getting their reaction to a possible shift in Trump's immigration stance.

Let's bring in our roundtable now: Purple Strategies chair and strategist for a pro-Trump super PAC, Alex Castellanos; ABC News contributor and Republican strategist, Ana Navarro; former national press secretary for the Bernie Sanders campaign, Symone Sanders and Democratic strategist and deputy campaign manager for Obama in 2012, Stephanie Cutter.

That was quite a mouthful.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

RADDATZ: So, Alex, let me start with you. Let's talk about the big issue of the week: immigration. Sounded to me from Chris Christie, from what Chris Christie said, that he really is rethinking sending all 11 million undocumented workers out of the country.

So is this is smart pivot or a flip-flop?

ALEX CASTELLANOS, CHAIR, PURPLE STRATEGIES: Who says Republicans aren't the party of evolution?

(LAUGHTER)

CASTELLANOS: So, no, I mean, Republicans get accused of not listening and learning. And I think on this issue Donald Trump is listening and learning. And now, of course, he's being criticized for that.

RADDATZ: Is he listening and learning because he saw the polls and most of the exit polls said -- ?

(CROSSTALK)

CASTELLANOS: You know, it's funny the way democracy works --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: -- listening and learning --

CASTELLANOS: -- the voters. But that's not a bad thing.

You know, Hillary Clinton has flip-flopped on Iran, war, she's flip-flopped on campaign finance and how does she explain it?

She says, well, you know, information changes. We learn and grow.

RADDATZ: OK, Ana, what he's saying was slammed as amnesty by the most conservative parts of the party about six months ago, when it came from Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, John Kasich.

So will this change matter to his supporters?

You heard the people David Wright was talking to. Some seem to like it.

ANA NAVARRO, ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think this week has been a debacle for Donald Trump. We have seen him hold more immigration positions than the Kama Sutra. And it's all been in one week.

It's been so hard to keep up with. Different people hear different things because he has been saying so many different things.

I don't think this works, because, look, you can change the words a person says. You can change the words a person reads off a teleprompter. You can't change a person's heart.

Hispanics are not going to forget --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- too far --

NAVARRO: -- Judge Curiel. African Americans are not going to forget that he started the birther movement. I don't think Jewish folks forget the anti-Semitic ad against Hillary Clinton.

The problem that Donald Trump has is that most humans have a memory. And we're not going to forget it within one week.

The other problem he has is that he has based his campaign on immigration. It's been a pillar of his campaign from day one. And here we are, two months out, and he still has no policy.

(CROSSTALK)

CASTELLANOS: -- way too far here. I mean, first of all, the anti-Semitic ads, a graphic mistakenly put it -- and this is turning into a, how morally superior are we, the elite in Washington, to Republicans, again?

And that's a pretty poor way to try to lead the country.

And, secondly, I think it's still pretty clear that Donald Trump is the anti-illegal immigration candidate in this race.

By the way, that's not what he should be focusing on right now. He should be focusing on the economy --

NAVARRO: Alex --

CASTELLANOS: -- drawing -- moving things forward. So, yes --

NAVARRO: -- but, Alex, an African American -- an African American woman was shot this weekend, not only an African American woman; her name was Nykea Aldridge. She was the mother of four.

And his first reaction is to say "I told you so. Vote for Trump."

Forget being unfair --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Was he raised by wolves?

CASTELLANOS: -- if -- wait a minute --

NAVARRO: Who has that as a first reaction upon somebody's death, Alex?

CASTELLANOS: -- if Republicans should be called racist because of what they say, is it fair to ask if Democrats are racist because of what they have done?

Their policies that have --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: I want to hear from our Democrats on this.

SYMONE SANDERS, BERNIE SANDERS FMR. NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY: This argument from a lot of Republicans that we've seen -- that we've heard as of late is that, oh, Democrats are the ones that have ruined these communities across the country.

We forget that a lot of these cities are situated in states with Republican-held legislatures, with Republican governors --

CASTELLANOS: Thirty years --

SANDERS: -- the Republican Party --

CASTELLANOS: -- and decades of Democratic policy --

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: -- the Democratic Party has made -- has made people of color, has made LGBTQ individuals, has made Muslims and so on and so forth, Latinos, Hispanics, African Americans part of the party. Our chair is an African American woman. We have opened up this party. And black people are not beholden to the Democratic Party.

CASTELLANOS: So tell me that --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: I want to get Stephanie in here.

STEPHANIE CUTTER, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: -- ridiculous that --

(CROSSTALK)

CUTTER: -- defend the Democratic Party.

Alex, I understand that you're supporting Trump and you need something to say about him. But this is just ridiculous to say that Hillary Clinton is a bigot but Donald Trump has some sort of --

CASTELLANOS: If you're going to -- no, it's not, because if you say that Republicans are bigots because of what they say, can we -- what can we --

(CROSSTALK)

CUTTER: Walk me through exactly what he has done through his 34-year -- it's the front page of "The New York Times" today, that his family --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: And Hillary Clinton was calling him some things, too.

CUTTER: -- African Americans and Jewish people for 30 years of his career.

CASTELLANOS: Do you think the Democratic policies for the last three or four decades have been a success for what they have done for black people?

CUTTER: -- I think the Affordable Care Act is giving --

CASTELLANOS: -- we're the richest country --

CUTTER: -- African Americans access to health care that they didn't have before. Donald Trump wants to overturn that. You want to overturn that.

CASTELLANOS: -- black populations are --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: Symone, jump in on this.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: -- that Republicans are interested in the inner cities. But I haven't seen any policy, actual policy prescriptions from Donald Trump --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: -- and then we're going to move on to --

CASTELLANOS: I'll give you one.

SANDERS: -- definitely not more police officers.

CASTELLANOS: Would you like one?

Let's open up our schools. Let's open up our schools. Education, give every parent, regardless of race, class or color, equal opportunity to choose the best schools.

(CROSSTALK)

CASTELLANOS: Democrats are against that. Donald Trump is for it.

CUTTER: -- which party is actively trying to restrict the ability of African Americans to vote?

The Republican Party.

CASTELLANOS: Not the one I'm in.

(CROSSTALK)

CASTELLANOS: -- totally wrong. You know what?

I believe everyone who votes should have an ID. And I believe the Republican Party should be working --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish it was that simple.

CASTELLANOS: -- get more people --

(CROSSTALK)

CASTELLANOS: How can you live in today's culture without an ID?

SANDERS: There are many people, Alex, because actually you speak from a position of privilege, Alex. There are people -- that's a position of privilege, the fact that you're -- the fact that you have to question how can -- I think everybody should have an ID, that's a position of privilege.

There are people --

CASTELLANOS: So why do you oppose open --

SANDERS: There are people that cannot --

CASTELLANOS: -- so that every parent -- look, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are great parents.

SANDERS: -- do not live in communities where there is a driver's license place close.

CASTELLANOS: Can I praise your president?

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama chose the best school for their kids. God bless them. Good for them. They're great parents.

Why don't we let every American choose the best school for their kids?

That's what Republicans want, that's what Donald Trump wants.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: That's not what Donald Trump is talking about. I find it interesting, --

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: What I have heard from Donald Trump this week is again, he's doubling down, tripling down, if you will, on his divisive language against African-Americans in this country. He is being very unclear and he is doubling down, still, on the fact that he is discriminating against Hispanics and Latinos in this country. Donald Trump is still running the same race he was running a year ago, he just has on different shoes.

RADDATZ: I want to turn to the Clinton Foundation.

Another topic you might enjoy.

CUTTER: I do have one point, though, that we haven't covered on the Donald Trump. Let's be clear, he's not doing this to appeal to African-Americans, he is doing to it try to convince a segment, a large segment of the Republican Party that he still doesn't have supporting him because they think he's a racist.

SANDERS: And they don't want to vote for a racist. They don't to vote...

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: We are going to the Foundation emails now, like it or not. Here we go.

NAVARRO: The new emails show what looks like Clinton Foundation officials asking for favors from senior State Department people. This is obviously going to keep going for several months, probably through election day. You might also have more emails leak out. How big a problem do you see this for her?

CUTTER: Well, I think -- your language shows the weakness of the argument. It looks like. There isn't -- at worst this is an optics problem. There is no wrongdoing, or at least nobody has demonstrated any wrongdoing. And since...

RADDATZ: But no one has demonstrated any wrongdoing...

CUTTER: Martha, since the story was released, it's actually been debunked. I mean, they are looking at 3 percent of all meetings that she took in her tenure at the State Department. And she's meeting with Nobel Laureates, Melinda Gates.

You know, to the extent that the Clinton Foundation is recommending meetings with people, these people are well-known and have enormous stature in their own right.

RADDATZ: Is it that simple?

NAVARRO: It's not that simple. It's very complicated. It's this perception of blurred lines between the philanthropy, the business, and the political world of the Clintons. And it's why people like me, who actively oppose Donald Trump, feel like political orphans, because we can't quite get there with her, because of this untrustworthiness.

The part that really bothers me and it really hasn't been covered is that her top aide, Huma Abedin, was working for all these people at the same time. The Foundation, personal office, the consulting firm.

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: Yes, you may, very quickly.

CASTELLANOS: Would any of us at this table suggest that it's OK to sell 20 percent of U.S. uranium production to Russia? Probably not. Hillary Clinton's State Department signed off on that while the guys, the businessmen who made millions off the deal, contributed millions to the Clinton Foundation. That's why Hillary Clinton has made the killer mistake, by the way in this campaign, it's going to kill her, which is she said it's so wrong, it's terrible, we're going on have to stop all these taking money from foreign governments, as soon as I'm elected.

RADDATZ: OK. You have ten seconds. You have ten seconds.

The debate, what is -- what does Donald Trump have to do in this debate?

NAVARRO: At this point, I think he just has to be Donald Trump, because any other thing won't sell. We know him. We know his brand. You can't repackage or rebrand the guy. He is who he is.

RADDATZ: And Hillary Clinton, what does he have to do? I mean, it's a very different kind of debate.

CUTTER: Well, first of all, I think Hillary is going to use this debate for a very different purpose than Donald Trump. I think she's going to use it to lay out much of her vision of this country.

I do think it's important, though, to not allow Donald Trump to try to have a personality transplant in this process. The real Donald Trump needs to be pulled out. I don't think that will be a very difficult task, by the way. I think that he is unable to control himself. We've seen it over the course of the last week. He cannot control himself.

RADDATZ: OK, we're going to have to stay tuned for that and see if that happens. Thank you all for coming.

Coming up next, the inspiring story behind this beloved high school band bringing hope and healing to a town still struggling after devastating floods.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sometimes when these kinds of things happen, it can seem a little bit too much to bear. But what I want the people of Louisiana know is that you're not alone on this. Even after the TV cameras leave, the whole country is going to continue to support you and help you until we get folks back in their homes and lives are rebuilt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: President Obama offering support to the Baton Rouge community hit hard by devastating flooding that's leaving many students with nowhere to go just as the new school year starts.

Students in parts of West Virginia know exactly what that feels like. Floods that killed 23 people also destroyed schools, including Richwood High, the heart of a small town, that was utterly devastated.

And that's where we found the pride of Richwood: the state champion Richwood marching band and a story of hope and resilience. We were there the first high school football game of the season, a Friday night light in a dark time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN HAMMONS, RICHWOOD HIGH SCHOOL DRUMMER: I was up on the mountain. I watched the water come in. So -- very scary to watch. I watched the football field slowly get covered up with water.

GREG JAMES: When I first saw the devastation, I thought, how are we going regroup this? But you know, when I saw the vast number of people, wow. They came to help.

KENDRA AMRICK, RICHWOOD HIGH SCHOOL TWIRLER: Richwood is a little old town. We don't have a whole lot left here, but, we do have a very big band and we're very proud of our band.

JAMES: We were not going to sit down and let a flood devastate us. We jumped in. We got our stuff cleaned up. We worked. We found alternatives. We made things work.

MADISON, RICHWOOD HIGH SCHOOL: The band has honestly helped me keep a positive outlook on everything. It's kept my mind on things. I was affected by losing my home. The damage was so bad that insurance wouldn't cover everything.

Right now, my family of six is living in a single-wide trailer, which isn't the best circumstances. But it's better than nothing.

We have lost so much, but we're still moving on. And we're still going on as everything is normal, and that just goes to show you how strong we really are.

Tonight, I want the community to know that everything is going to be OK. That there is still hope and that hopefully, when they see the band, they'll be just as excited as all of us are to be out there performing on Friday night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're over on the sidelines. And, the drum major calls us. And we yell out, express. Hearing all the people scream it makes me smile, makes me feel really good.

Nothing is ever going beat us.

This band's more than just a band to many of the kids here, it's family. It's everything. We're strong, we're Richwood strong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, four.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RADDATZ: Richwood strong. We'll be right back after this from our ABC stations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RADDTAZ: And that's all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us.

END