Sen. Sessions: Trump is not against trade or immigration

close

Video

Sen. Sessions: Trump is not against trade or immigration

Trump national security policy adviser reacts to State Dept. audit of Clinton server, provides insight on Trump's policy views

This is a rush transcript from "Sunday Morning Futures," May 29, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Happy Memorial Day weekend. I'm Maria Bartiromo. And welcome to SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES.

The magic number. Donald Trump finally gets the delegates needed to clinch the nomination. What is next? Is he any closer to selecting a running mate?

Plus, President Obama weighs in on the Trump campaign from overseas.

And big developments this week in the Hillary Clinton email investigation at the State Department. What did an internal audit find and how does it impact her race to the White House?

Plus, headaches over long waits at the TSA security checkpoints across airports in the country. Is there any relief in sight as the summer travel season gets under way.

We're looking ahead this morning on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES.

(MUSIC)

BARTIROMO: And we begin this morning with the presidential race.

Donald Trump securing the GOP nomination and pulling even with Hillary Clinton in two national polls this week. Now, they are digging in for the fight to come November. The front-runners trading nasty jabs over Second Amendment rights, the 2008 economic crash and former President Bill Clinton's past sex scandals.

Plus, a bombshell this week for the Clinton camp after a State Department watchdog reveals she knowingly broke rules by using a private e-mail server. Trump calling the audit bad news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, R, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's as crooked as they come. She had a little bad news. Some reports came down that weren't so good, but not so good. Inspector general's report, not good. But I want to run against Hillary. Not -- I just want to run against Hillary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARTIROMO: Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is senior member of the Judiciary Committee, member of the Armed Services Committee and chairman of Donald Trump's National Security Advisory Committee.

Senator, good have you on the program. Welcome.

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS, R, ALABAMA: Thank you. Thank you, Maria.

BARTIROMO: First, let me get your take on the inspector general report released this week. The Clinton campaign came out right away and said this is all politics. Other secretaries of states have used the Gmail accounts. What's your take?

SESSIONS: It's not politics. It's fact and it's very troubling facts.
The inspector general works for secretary of state's office. They investigated the former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and they've concluded that she violated a number of rules, significant provisions that require protecting security information.

But not only that, they found that she did not cooperate. Her top people refused to be interviewed in many instances. I think that's a real direct contradiction to what she's been telling the American people for many weeks now.

In addition, you've got the FBI investigation. This was just an internal security review of how she handled it, but the FBI investigation involving potential criminal activity continues.

BARTIROMO: Well, do you think that's going to impact her campaign?

SESSIONS: I think it will. You know, a lot of things could be said, but to me she's following the same old Clinton policies of the 1990s in which they just obstruct and refuse to cooperate with investigations, claim they're cooperating when they're not. That kind of lack of integrity has got to put a cloud over her effort to be president of the United States.

BARTIROMO: Yes. And, of course, she has been talking a lot about what Donald Trump has been saying as it relates to immigration, as it relates to trade. I want to talk to you about that because you've done so much work on immigration. And we all know immigration is probably one of the most fundamental issues for any country, for any election, who gets to live in this country, work in this country, and participate in this democracy is really critical.

Tell us, given all of the work you've done and the commentary out of Donald Trump, what immigration looks like in America in a Trump presidency.

SESSIONS: Well, right now it's totally lawless. Hillary Clinton said just a few weeks ago that nobody should be deported from America who entered illegally unless they commit a violent crime. That's to the left of President Obama's position.

She is basically creating a circumstance where nobody would be detained. It's an evisceration of the law that we have. It's unbelievable. The American people need to know more about her extreme position there.

Donald Trump believes there should be a lawful system of immigration, one that we can be proud of, one that serves the national interest, one that allows fairness when people apply and those who qualify can get in and those who don't, don't. That's what a good, great nation should have. He will ensure that happens. We're going to end the lawlessness and protect the interest of the American people.

BARTIROMO: But how do you walk this balance of ensuring that we have fair trade and lawful immigration but not being seen as an isolationist.

SESSIONS: Well, this is such an extreme justified attack. Of course, Donald Trump believes in trade. He said the immigration system will be -- will have an open door. He's never suggested we would end immigration.

We admit 1.1 million a year lawfully now. And some categories are not justified. They need to be altered.

But he's not saying we're going to end immigration. He's not saying we're going to end trade. We're going to defend the interest of the American people.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

SESSIONS: Maria, there is no doubt, and Professor Borjas at Harvard, expert, top expert in the world, says these immigration flows are pulling down wages of American workers. Why could it not?

We also are going to be able to establish that the trade agreements have not worked well at all, and in fact, have been damaging to the American economy. Why should we do another 5,000-page Pacific trading agreement that President Obama wrote when it's not going to benefit us but actually harm manufacturing in America.

So, I think that's going to -- this is not against trade and it's not against immigration. It's protecting the legitimate interest of the American working person.

BARTIROMO: But can you categorically say the TTP, Trans Pacific Partnership, will not go through by the end of the year? Because the president says he's going to get this through by December. How do we know he's just not going to around Congress again and push it through?

SESSIONS: Maria, you know, maybe he has some idea of trying to go around Congress, but I don't think he can. But they hinted they were going to try to ram it through in the lame duck session after the election when apparently congressmen and women, don't think they'll be held to account by their constituents who clearly oppose this agreement.

So, I'm not overconfident that it will die, but I think it has very little support now. I think it's been falling. It's falling in Europe for the European TTIP agreement it collapsing there. I think these trade agreements are past their due.

BARTIROMO: So, do you think that Donald Trump has been able to convince Paul Ryan of that? Where are the differences and the common ground there? Do you expect the House Speaker to endorse Donald Trump soon?

SESSIONS: Well, I would hope so and expect so. He needs to do that. We don't need to continue to have the speaker hanging out there, in my opinion.

And I know the speaker believes in trade agreements. Any of them, I don't feel he believes he has to read them. They just got to be good.

But I don't agree with that. The American people have voted on that. They've spoken.

Donald Trump has won. And he is crystal clear on this issue. We're not going to have any trade agreements unless it protects the American interests. I think that's exactly reasonable and right.

BARTIROMO: Yes, look, I think it's really important to get you talking about this, Senator, first of all, given all the work you've done over the years on immigration. And secondly, because Americans are afraid. The American people are not only afraid of -- first of all, they've got foreigners taking their job and now technology.

You see companies going to robotics. So, people do need to understand really the substance of your position given the fact all we see are headlines. And Hillary Clinton is using these headlines. Donald Trump wants to ban Muslims. Donald Trump said this, you know, about various groups.

Do you think he's going to be able to make the case to the American people come November?

SESSIONS: Absolutely. And we're going to move forward with that.

Tufts University just produced a report and said this trade agreement will reduce 450,000 jobs in America. This is not going -- that's not benefiting America. And their other data that's going to show how wrong they've been in previous predictions about previous trade agreements. The emperor has no clothes in these trade agreements.

We're going to be able to show Donald Trump's instincts and advocacy for decades questioning these trade agreements has been correct. It has hurt the American working person. And we've got to protect American interests and put America first.

BARTIROMO: Senator, would you like the job of vice president?

SESSIONS: Maria, I've got enough to do right now. Donald Trump is going to pick a great vice president. Somebody that can serve the interest of this country, who can be a good president if called upon, who could be an ally to him personally and philosophically. And there are some good people out there and I'm sure he'll find the right person.

BARTIROMO: All right. We'll be watching.

Senator, good to have you on the program this morning. Thanks so much.

SESSIONS: Thank you.

BARTIROMO: Good to see you.

Senator Jeff Sessions there.

As Donald Trump secures the nomination, we are looking ahead toward the convention.

We're also looking at this weekend. Will the nightmares come to an end at TSA checkpoints? Congressman Peter King will join us in just a few minutes.

Follow me @mariabartiromo, @sundayfutures. Stay with us as we look ahead on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're rattled by him and for good reason because a lot of the proposals that he's made display either ignorance of world affairs or a cavalier attitude or an interest in getting tweets and headlines instead of actually thinking through what it is that is required to keep America safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARTIROMO: That was President Obama earlier this week in Japan. He was talking about Donald Trump's presidential campaign. As Trump locks up the nomination, there are still a lot of questions on whether he can unify the Republican Party going forward.

Joining me right now is Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker. He's also the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Sir, good to have you on the program. Thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. ROGER WICKER, R, MISSSISSIPPI: It's great to be here.

BARTIROMO: So, do you think Donald Trump can unify the party?

WICKER: I do. I'm a senator who goes over and visits with House members. I try to do it at least once a week. And so, just yesterday, I was visiting with a group of house members. It really, it seems to me that the party is coming together. We know Donald Trump is the nominee.

And within the room there, there were people that supported a variety of candidates. But Donald Trump is the nominee. He is actually leading in the Real Clear Politics poll average right now. He's leading Hillary Clinton.

And we've seen good poll numbers and I think he's a potential winner.

BARTIROMO: So, Senator, are you supporting Donald Trump?

WICKER: Oh, absolutely. I made it clear during the whole process I was going to support the nominee of the party. But as soon as he became the presumptive nominee, that particularly Wednesday when everybody else dropped out and I could comment about it, as chairman of the senatorial committee, I made it clear that he's my man. I'm a Trump delegate to the national convention in Cleveland.

BARTIROMO: I want to go back to the comments Obama made from Japan in a minute, but let me stay on this point for a moment, because we know that immigration and trade have been two issues, that, you know, the divisions seen very differently. We know that's Donald Trump's platform, immigration and trade.

Can you talk to us about where the common ground might be between, you know, those who push back on something like TTP, like House Speaker Ryan, the Trans Pacific Partnership, and Donald Trump who says, look, this is not going to happen. This is a failure and it's taking jobs from Americans.

WICKER: Well, let me tell you, I'm not overly delighted with the type of Trans Pacific Partnership that the Obama administration negotiated. I'm for a trade agreement with our Pacific friends. I think it would be helpful to have agreements with the people that are competing against China, might get China to be a better actor, you know. They're not part of the TTP.

BARTIROMO: Right.

WICKER: I think Donald Trump's position is that we need trade. We just need to negotiate good agreements, strong agreements that preserve American jobs. So, in personal conversations that I've had, that people like former trade representative Rob Portman have had with Donald Trump, I think there's more common ground there than you might think. He wants us to trade. He just wants a good, strong agreement negotiated.

BARTIROMO: OK. So, it sounds like you think there is common ground.

WICKER: I do, absolutely.

BARTIROMO: Do you have any sense of when we will see Paul Ryan endorse Trump?

WICKER: No. But I do believe the chairman of the convention is going to support the presumptive nominee. They're working through some things. I think it's good with conversation I've had with my brothers and sisters in the House of Representatives.

OK, let me go back to something that we just heard from President Obama while he was in Japan this past week, and he said, look, world leaders are rattled, rattled by Donald Trump. Does this concern you?

WICKER: You know, it concerns me that the president would take a political message to an overseas forum like that. You know, I can just imagine how Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton would have answered that question as president of the United States. I think they would have probably said, look, I'm over here representing the American people. I'm over here trying to gauge in diplomacy. There's a time for political speeches but a press conference in a foreign country is not such a time.

So, I think it's totally inappropriate for President Obama to be saying that sort of thing. Just like the other day he was at a graduation speech. I mean, there were Republicans and Democrats in that crowd, and yet he starts making jokes about a potential nominee for president. I think his timing and his sense of when it's appropriate to be political is very tone deaf.

BARTIROMO: It's interesting, because this is all about America right now. We're in an election year obviously.

WICKER: Right.

BARTIROMO: And we know that Americans --

WICKER: He's over there representing you and me.

BARTIROMO: Right. And we know Americans are upset. They don't like the fact their wages haven't moved and they're afraid of people taking their jobs.

I was thinking, imagine if there was an election in India, China or Japan. And you heard the leader of those countries say, you know, America is really upset with all of this. America is rattled.

WICKER: You know, I could imagine people in India might have said, well, so what, we're going to make our own decision about the future of our country.

Let me just say this, Maria. You know, Donald Trump has surprised a lot of people this year. And I think part of his appeal is that Americans see him as a strong leader that's going to stand up for America on an international station.

BARTIROMO: Sir, good to have you on the program. Thanks very much.

WICKER: Thank you so much.

BARTIROMO: We'll see you soon, sir. Senator Wicker there.

A report from an Obama-appointed inspector general meanwhile hitting at Hillary where it hurts the most, saying she clearly broke federal rules with her email scandal. What this means for the campaign, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back.

Lots of reaction this past week to the State Department audit into Hillary Clinton's emails from the president to members of Congress. The report found that she and her did not follow the proper guidelines. But a Clinton spokesperson blames politics and an investigator who once worked for a Republican senator.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN FALLON, CLINTON CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: There were reports a few months back suggesting -- affirming the fact that one of the top individuals in that office, the number two official in that office, had a connection -- had formerly worked for Senator Grassley, who, of course, has been one of Secretary Clinton's chief antagonist on this issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARTIROMO: Joining us right now is Peter Schweizer. He's the author of "Clinton Cash", and executive producer of the documentary "Clinton Cash."

Peter, it's good to have you on the program. Thank so much for joining us.

PETER SCHWEIZER, AUTHOR & PRODUCER, "CLINTON CASH": Thank you for having me, Maria.

BARTIROMO: So, we heard throughout the week, after that inspector general report came out this past week, that Clinton actually broke the rules. Did not preserve government documents properly, and we keep hearing all week from her team saying this is all politics.

What's your reaction?

SCHWEIZER: Yes. I mean, this is typical. I mean, the Clintons do it and, of course, other people do in Washington as well, when they can't deal with the message, in this case that the inspector general of the State Department said they broke the rules and they knew they were breaking the rules, if you can't deal with a message, you attack the messenger.

I think most people have kind of had enough of that strategy. I don't think, frankly, it's not going to work. It's not going to work on the emails. It has not related as it relates to the Clinton Foundation scandals and whatnot.

So, they're going to have to be frank and honest with the American people. The problem is that, you know, people don't give a lot of credence to what she says. The polls show a large majority of Americans don't trust her believers. So, even if you do start telling the truth, are people actually going to believe you?

BARTIROMO: Well, you know, I mean, it was somewhat disingenuous to say, this is just politics because other secretary of states have had Gmail accounts. The trust is, is no one has had a server in their home, other than Hillary Clinton, so nobody could get to her government e-mails.

So, let me ask you this, you previewed or launched your 'Clinton Cash' documentary at the Cannes Film Festival last weekend. What's the most damning or important sort of charges coming out of your book and this documentary that we need to know about?

SCHWEIZER: Well, I think it shows this pattern of pay to play. That people give large sums of money to the Clintons, either through the foundation or in speaking fees, and as secretary of state, they got favorable action from her shortly thereafter.

Probably, the single most damning case would be the Russia/Uranium deal.
People are very surprised to find out that 20 percent of uranium assets in the United States today are run by a Russian state-owned company, which is run, of course, by Vladimir Putin. And, by the way, Hillary State Department signed off on that deal.

Most troubling that as this transaction was going down and they were seeking government approval from Hillary State Department, eight investors involved in this deal who made a lot of money donated a combined $145 million to the Clinton Foundation. That to me in and of itself demands investigation, large sum of money at the time that these investors had a matter sitting on her desk at the State Department.

BARTIROMO: Wow, that encapsulates what this story is about right there, because there was massive conflict because she's in this position of power in the government and you're seeing those same people dealing with her donating to the Clinton Foundation.

OK. Let me ask you this, that investigation is ongoing. We'll probably see more on the e-mail scandal in the coming months because we know that the FBI wants to wrap up this investigation. So, they'll come out with their reports soon. But the foundation investigation may go on past the election, right?

SCHWEIZER: That's correct, Maria. They're related, by the way. I mean, I'm absolutely convinced, why did the Clintons set up a server private from the State Department apparatus? They say it's for convenience. That's ridiculous.

The reason is they didn't want people to have access to their e-mails. Why did they not want people want to have access to their emails? I think it's precisely because of these kinds of transactions and discussions that they had with Clinton Foundation donors and people paying for speeches.

I think the Clinton Foundation investigation is the more important of the two, that in a sense the e-mail investigation is setting up and leading to the details and as it were, the smoking guns that we're going to see in the Clinton Foundation investigation. Now that you've got Terry McAuliffe involved as well, I think it just shows that the FBI is taking this extremely seriously.

BARTIROMO: All right. We will leave it there. The documentary is called "Clinton Cash". Peter Schweizer, great to have you on the program this morning. Thanks so much.

SCHWEIZER: Thanks, Maria.

BARTIROMO: We'll see you soon, sir. Thank you.

What a mess at airports across the country, meanwhile. Passengers fighting long waits at TSA security checkpoint this is holiday weekend. What's causing all of it and does it get fixed? Congressman Peter King of the Homeland Security Committee is next.

We'll look ahead with him on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWARD KURTZ, FOX NEWS ANCHOR, "MEDIA BUZZ": Live from America's Election Headquarters in Washington. Good morning. I'm Howard Kurtz.

Tropical depression Bonnie now being downgraded to a tropical depression, still making for a wet Memorial Day weekend as it makes landfall in South Carolina. Forecasters say the storm expected to move slowly north today.

And overseas, Vladimir Putin is warning that Russia will retaliate for the U.S. and NATO allies placing a defensive missile shield in Eastern Europe. The Russian leader not saying what countermeasures he has in mind.

Coming up on "MEDIA BUZZ", we'll get coverage of Donald Trump's tabloid attacks on the Clintons, the billionaire who secretly finance Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker and my interview with the gun rights activist who blew the whistle on deceptive editing in Katie Couric's gun control documentary. That's coming up at the top of the hour. I'm Howard Kurtz in Washington.

Now back to Maria and SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES.

(MUSIC)

BARTIROMO: Well, it's a busy holiday weekend this weekend at our nation's airports. The agency tasked with keeping us safe is under fire. Of those long wait times to get through security checkpoints. Some travelers waiting as long as three hours, missing their flights. TSA admitting this week as the summer travel season picks up, the problem will not be going away anytime soon.

Republican Congressman Peter King is joining us right now of New York. He's a member of the Homeland Security Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intel.

Good to see you, sir. Thanks so much for joining us, Congressman.

REP. PETER KING, R, NEW YORK: Thank you, Maria. Thank you very much.

BARTIROMO: Let me kick it off and thank you for your service to our great country as we remember all of our veterans who died in active service this Memorial Day weekend. Thank you for your service, Congressman.

KING: Yes, I was proud to be in The Fighting 69th of New York. They've done an especially good job in Iraq and Afghanistan. A number of deployments, a number of causalities but they’re overcapacity, they're oversubscribed.

(CROSSTALK)

BARTIROMO: I want to give an opportunity to give a big shout out to our military men and women this weekend.

But let me kick it off with the TSA, Congressman. What is going on and what weeds to be done?

KING: Yes, unfortunately, it was the perfect storm. You had a new director coming in, Admiral Neffenger, this summer, right at that time. Inspector general report came out showing 85 percent to 95 percent of the contraband was making it through TSA inspectors. So, TSA then under the new director really started tightening up their procedures.

As a result of that, the lines are getting longer. At the same time that was happening, they cut personnel because they hoped -- they assumed 25 million people were going on sign up for pre-check program, which wouldn't require as much scrutiny. Instead of 25 million, it was only 9 million. So, you have 16 million more passengers than they thought. You have extra scrutiny, extra testing going on.

In addition to that, you have tens of millions of more people taking planes, air passengers. So, it was the perfect storm. And, again, I think TSA was too late in facing up to it.

Having said that, I do have confidence in Admiral Neffenger for turning this around.

BARTIROMO: Right.

KING: This is an awfully big ship to turn around. But he was in before yesterday, actually earlier this week, testifying before the Homeland Security Committee. He did, I thought, a good job.

So, hopefully, it's going to turn around. It's already gotten significantly better at JFK Airport in New York. Again, the lines are too long. With the Memorial Day weekend, we're not going to really know. I, again, am assuming the worst, but let's hope it gets better, though.

BARTIROMO: Yes, it's certainly a busy weekend. That's for sure. But he says he needs more money, more staff to really put a dent in this and cut down on wait times.

Meanwhile, you have you to worry about who's getting through security. We learned this past week a New York City man attempted to join ISIS, tried to help undercover informants get to Syria. What do we know about ISIS in America right now, Congressman?

KING: Yes, I would say, Maria, this is a real threat. And too often, it's ignored in the newspapers, they criticize the police and the FBI for surveillance and monitoring. The fact is we have a number of ISIS operatives, actual operatives living here in this country.

But in addition to that, we have lone wolves, people who follow ISIS on the internet. They're inspired by ISIS. Just last year in New York before Fourth of July, we had five ISIS operatives arrested in New York City, in northern New Jersey. Their intent was to attack Fourth of July celebrations, thousands of people.

ISIS has mastered the use of the Internet. One area, they get deranged people, people who respond to these psychotic messages. So, that's one group.

Then, you also have people who are committed Islamist who take orders from ISIS over the Internet. And also, they recruit people to go overseas. We have over 250 Americans fighting in Syria on behalf of Islamist terrorists.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

KING: In addition to that, we have almost 10,000 Europeans who have gone to Syria and they can go back to Europe and fly into the U.S. under the visa waiver program.

So, this is ongoing. That's why the NYPD, that's why the FBI, that's why they're working around the clock 24/7. The arrests shouldn't be a surprise. It's -- in fact, we can expect more. I'm not talking any particular case. I'm just saying, they're out there.

BARTIROMO: So, this individual, Mr. Alimehmeti, 22 years old, arrested in the Bronx because he was charged with providing material support to the terrorists. He also tried to travel to the Middle East to join ISIS on two different occasions.

KING: Right.

BARTIROMO: Where are we in terms of the Syrian refugee crisis, Congressman? What do you think needs to be done? Do you expect any major change to this program before the White House turns over?

KING: No, not under this president. I don't think we should be allowing Syrian refugees into the country, because we cannot vet them. There are no records. There are no county records. There's no birth certificates, there's no marriage certificates. There are no records.

And we know ISIS intends to sneak people with these refugees into the country. You just get two or three come into the country and you've got another Boston marathon, another San Bernardino.

BARTIROMO: Sure.

KING: Another Paris, another Brussels.

BARTIROMO: All right. We will leave there. Congressman, always a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks very much for joining us this morning.

KING: Thank you, Maria. Thank you.

BARTIROMO: We'll see you soon. Congressman Peter King there.

The Trump campaign losing a staff member plus the fallout from the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation. All on our panel's docket. We'll join up with the panel next as we look ahead on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Time for our panel.

A shakeup with the Trump campaign. One adviser out, national political director Rick Wiley leaving the Trump team this past week. He had only been on board for just a few weeks.

So, is this a big deal?

With me now, Ed Rollins, former principal White House adviser to President Reagan. He is a FOX News political analyst and manager of a super PAC supporting Donald Trump. And Joe Trippi with us this morning, former Howard Dean campaign manager and FOX News contributor.

Gentlemen, good to see you.

ED ROLLINS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you. Good to be with you.

BARTIROMO: So, Wiley is out. Rick Wiley, big deal, Ed?

ROLLINS: I think it has some impact. There's been a lot of pushing and shoving in this campaign for a period of time. Paul Manafort was brought in, he's kind of a veteran. Corey has been the campaign manager since the beginning, and each has sort of a camp. And I think at the end of the day, Wiley was part of the Manafort campaign, he kind of roughshod people over there early on and get back to Trump and Trump decided to make a decision.

Where it's key is -- he's the guy who ran Walker's campaign, (INAUDIBLE) pretty early.

BARTIROMO: Right.

ROLLINS: And he was political director of the RNC.

So, as we're now moving to the RNC running the Trump campaign, which isn't a good idea, he was a guy who knew all the players.

BARTIROMO: I thought Paul Manafort was really the guy in charge and he's from Paul Manafort's --

ROLLINS: I'm not sure of that. He has the title, but he runs the Washington operation and the convention and Corey runs everything else.

BARTIROMO: I see.

ROLLINS: Corey is the guy that's basically closest to Trump. Trump is very loyal to his people and Corey basically has people very loyal to him.

BARTIROMO: Corey Lewandowski, yes, sure.

Joe, how do you see it?

JOE TRIPPI, FORMER HOWARD DEAN CAMPAIGN MANAGER: It's both a good sign and a bad sign. It's always good when you have that kind of friction between two different factions in a campaign to kind of, like, shove one of them -- for the candidate to make a decision, be decisive and move things away.

On the other hand, this was somebody who actually understood how a national campaign needs to run and a lot of the mechanics and operatives in these states, the important states, that had to be put together.

So, I mean, look, I've been in a camp -- in a presidential campaign where half of the other senior people were out to get me or I was -- I mean, that we had --

BARTIROMO: Politics --

TRIPPI: Whenever you see that --

BARTIROMO: Politics is an ugly sport.

TRIPPI: It doesn't end up well, and so, you want to end it. It takes a decisive candidate to do that. I'm just not sure this is the right person to do this.

ROLLINS: I'll say this to your point, though, I think Trump made a quick decision, I wanted to take care of those who were there early on, particularly the person who's running Florida and was being pushed aside. And he made the decision and it's perfect time to make a decision. He's now wrapped up delegates. He's going to California for a big victory and then he's going to convention. So, he's cleaned up now and at the end of the day, they've got a lot of other things put in place.

BARTIROMO: Well, they're all looking forward to California on June 7th and New Jersey. California is the biggie there.

So, let's talk about that in the face of what we just learn this past week, and that is Hillary Clinton, the e-mail scandal. Joe, how do you see this report from the inspector general that, in fact, Hillary Clinton did break rules with her handling of her emails?

TRIPPI: Yes, I don't see it having much impact on the primaries in New Jersey or California, or the primaries on June 7th. I think, look, Democrats have basically made their decision about this. I think, look, in the -- Republicans have, too. This is definitely going to be a very big and important attacking point from the -- you know, in the general election.

Legitimately so, she made the mistake. She's going to have to wear it between now and November. But I don't see it having much of an impact at all in the -- in the Sanders/Clinton race going through California.

BARTIROMO: He keeps winning, though, Joe.

TRIPPI: Well, Obama won -- or lost 9 of 12 states at the end. This actually -- and right now, you know, whether she wins California or not, she'll have the delegates she needs before the polls even close in California because of what happens in New Jersey and the other states before we even get there.

ROLLINS: I agree with that, but she's limping badly. I think to a certain extent she's being exposed, noting a good candidate and this poll out in California now that has Sanders two points ahead of her.

If Sanders somehow upsets her or basically comes even in the sense the delegates, because it's still proportional, you know, he goes into the convention with some momentum, doesn't change the end game, but I think it hurts her. Equally as important with the senior senator from Massachusetts now out there basically running hard, I think people see as an alternative. Pocahontas as Mr. Trump unaffectionately calls her, but I think she's a strong candidate, making some very strong points, and I think a lot of Democrats are saying maybe we've had Hillary and the Clintons around too long. And I think this issue yesterday clearly blows her case up that what she was doing was legitimately illegal.

TRIPPI: I think, look, both Trump and Clinton offer a target-rich environment to their opponent.

BARTIROMO: It's true.

TRIPPI: I don't think there's a whole lot of room right now in the -- Elizabeth Warren coming after Trump. People are happy about that in the Democratic Party. They don't see it as another candidate --

BARTIROMO: Would she ever choose Elizabeth Warren as her running mate, you think?

TRIPPI: I don't know the answer to that.

BARTIROMO: Would she ever choose Bernie Sanders?

TRIPPI: I don't think so. I think both of it is hers -- generationally I think she would want someone younger and demographically that would pose a bigger problem to Trump. For having somebody good on the attack, Elizabeth Warren has done the best out there, given all the Republicans who couldn't figure out how to attack him and scoring any points.

BARTIROMO: Let's slip in a quick break because the Democrats are dealing with another crisis we'll talk about. Is DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz on thin ice, just weeks before the party state convention?

We'll talk about that with the panel next. SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back and we are back with Ed Rollins and Joe Trippi.

And Debbie Wassermann Schultz, head of the Democratic National Committee and convention, is really under fire right now, and she is basically saying that she -- it's not her fault that it was coronation for Hillary Clinton.

What do you think about all of this, Joe?

TRIPPI: Look, there's been a lot -- clearly a lot of division in the party. Clearly, the Sanders campaign and a lot of his supporters believe that she tipped the scale on everything from debates to the way that the system works. I think, you know, that's a reality.

I just don't see -- we've never -- I have never seen a chair be changed at this point in the process, and I think it's possible that she may not be the chair moving forward. But that I think would have to be her decision.

She has to decide in the best interest of the party, it's better -- I don't want to be a distraction, I want to move aside and let somebody else take the helm, help unify the party. Otherwise, I don't see anybody demanding.
I don't see Hillary Clinton, the nominee --

BARTIROMO: No, they're friends, right?

TRIPPI: Yes, I don't see that happening.

BARTIROMO: What about -- I mean, how damaging was this, Ed, because the fact is, they were only a handful of debates. They did bury the debate on Saturday night.

ROLLINS: There's no question, Sanders and his people, which are more important to Sanders at this point in time, clearly think that the Democratic National Committee was against them, and she in particular.

BARTIROMO: And he's supporting Wasserman Schultz's competitor.

ROLLINS: My sense is, if she wanted to do the right thing, she would step back aside and focus on her congressional district. I don't think she's going to do that. I think it's a distraction. I don't think she's going to be a very effective personally though.

BARTIROMO: By the way, Terry McAuliffe last week said he is cancelling plans to appear on Ohio fundraiser to avoid being a distraction. Federal investigators are probing his personal finances and foreign sources of income.

ROLLINS: They should. He's a former party chairman, Terry, we all know and appreciate, has always been right at the center of raising money, some legitimately, some not so legitimately, and I think it just reminds people when he was the chairman of the party and the chief fundraiser for the Clintons, they rented out the bedroom, Air Force One. No one is shocked by this, and I think to a certain extent, he's done the right thing stepping away from that --

TRIPPI: Look, he's done, doing I think in credible job as the governor of Virginia, I think there are allegations with no named sources or anything else. So we don't know. I think that he has done the right thing. Why go to Ohio and be a distraction. These people have tough races right now, they don't need a bunch of questions about Terry McAuliffe or anybody else.

BARTIROMO: But you've got to say, it's been a tough week for Clinton, right, whether it's the inspector general report, or you know, more walk around --

TRIPPI: And that's true. What's so fascinating about this election year is, so here's a tough week where you think Trump would be scoring and instead he is on the attack against who, the Republican governor of New Mexico, Martinez. I mean, here you have new cycles that are definitely painful on the Democrat -- you know, inflicting some pain on the Democratic side, and he is stepping on it, you know, on his way.

ROLLINS: A week ago or a month ago, it was all about the Republican and their bad convention, what have you. He now has some momentum. She's now struggling on the other side. So, I think by the time we get to the convention, we're going to have a knockdown, drag out fall campaign.

BARTIROMO: I did -- I second that.

All right. Short break and then more ahead for the week on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back.

Ed Rollins, what are you looking for?

ROLLINS: Ryan has to get off the dime here and basically get his party behind this. He's the only standout that matters.

BARTIROMO: So, you're waiting on Paul Ryan?

ROLLINS: Absolutely.

BARTIROMO: Joe, what are you looking at for the next couple of weeks?
What your point?

TRIPPI: Can we pick the same thing?

BARTIROMO: Yes. Of course, you can.

TRIPPI: Because I think -- I don't get what Ryan is doing. I mean, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. And Trump is going to be the nominee. So, I'm looking for him to rally and sort of try to bring some of the caucus over to Trump. If he doesn't do that, that starts to point to a more difficult convention and unity that Trump is going to put together. I don't think the Martinez attack helped him.

BARTIROMO: Yes, you've got to believe that it happens before June 7th.

ROLLINS: Absolutely, it has to, otherwise, I think if he doesn't, Trump is forced to run against Congress, run against Washington which where he is comfortable and that's not good for Republicans.

BARTIROMO: Yes, really great analysis, as always.

Joe Trippi, good to see you.

TRIPPI: Good to see you.

BARTIROMO: Thanks so much for joining us.

Ed Rollins, always a pleasure.

ROLLINS: Thank you. Have a great weekend.

BARTIROMO: Have a great rest of the Memorial Day weekend. That will do it for us on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES.

I'm Maria Bartiromo. I will see you later on this week with "Mornings with Maria" from 6:00 to 9:00 Eastern on Fox Business Network.

'MEDIA BUZZ' begins right now with Howie Kurtz.

Content and Programming Copyright 2016 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2016 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.