'This Week' Transcript: Live from Philadelphia Democratic National Convention

— -- THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOR 'THIS WEEK' ON July 24, 2016 and it will be updated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Starting right now on THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, Trump's crowning moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I am your voice.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Republicans united against a common foe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary Clinton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary Clinton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary Clinton.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But with Ted Cruz breaking ranks...

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SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can they rally around their unconventional nominee?

And Clinton's big chance -- heading to Philly with her new VP by her side.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Donald Trump says he has your back, you'd better watch out.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the race to the finish line begins, we talk to both campaign managers here live.

And the new email leaks -- did the DNC rig the system for Clinton?

Will this tear a hole in the fabric of the Democratic Party?

Bernie Sanders is here.

From ABC News, it's THIS WEEK live from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Here now, chief anchor, George Stephanopoulos.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC HOST: Welcome to Philadelphia, where Democrats will make history this week with the country's first female nominee.

So many Americans have known Hillary Clinton all their lives. A whole bunch haven't liked her all that much either.

This week, her best chance to convince skeptics, the candidate they know can deliver the change they want. And Hillary kicked it all off in Miami, calling her new running mate the anti-Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Senator Tim Kaine is everything Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not. While Tim was taking on housing discrimination and homelessness, Donald Trump was denying apartments to people who were African-American.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice-over): Kaine opened in Spanish.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

STEPHANOPOULOS: (INAUDIBLE) Trump,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He leaves a trail of broken promises and wrecked lives wherever he goes.

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STEPHANOPOULOS: And validated his new boss.

KAINE: Hillary Clinton is the direct opposite of Donald Trump. She doesn't insult people, she listens to them.

What a novel concept, right?

She doesn't trash our allies, she respects them.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

STEPHANOPOULOS: So Kaine checked off all the running mate boxes, but the Democratic ticket faces some big questions this week.

Will they energize Bernie Sanders' supporters, who are angered by those leaked emails revealing DNC plots against her candidate and then also disappointed by the pick of Tim Kaine, who hasn't always been a progressive favorite.

Number two, can Hillary dispel huge doubts about her honesty, questions that have plagued her all year hammered hard in Cleveland all last week.

And finally, how does someone who's been in the White House, Senate, State Department spanning 25 years convince voters that she can be the candidate of change?

That is the challenge for the Democrats.

Let's bring in Jon Karl for more on all this -- and, Jon, let's begin with this choice of Tim Kaine.

It felt like it was heading in that direction for an awful long time, described as the safe choice. The pick also of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

You saw the speech he gave yesterday.

What is the Clinton team hoping he brings to the ticket?

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly experience, good chemistry with Hillary Clinton. It doesn't hurt that he speaks Spanish.

But, George, Tim Kaine has run for office eight times in the state of Virginia. He is 8-0. He has won every single one of those races. They hope he wins in a state that is key to their strategy.

It was no accident that the announcement was in Florida. The Hillary team -- the Hillary Clinton team believes if they can win Florida and Virginia, they've won the election.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You mentioned all those offices that Tim Kaine has held. And you saw throughout that event yesterday that the Clinton ticket was really doubling down on this idea of experience and trying to draw that contrast with Trump,

KARL: Well, and there's a risk to that, which is he's got the experience. The Trump team would say another word for experience is career politician.

But look at those two announcements. I've never seen two vice presidential announcements more different. Hillary Clinton, you had more than 5,000 people in Florida at an impeccably staged event.

Donald Trump hastily thrown together in a New York conference room, a few dozen people there. Trump and Pence barely spent any time together on the stage.

I think it's a sign of things to come. You'll see Kaine out there a lot with Hillary Clinton. I don't think you're going to see Pence with Trump very much.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What you're also going to see this week here in Philadelphia is all kinds of political star power on the stage. Again, something of a contrast to Cleveland last week. You're going to have two presidents of -- up on that podium, a first lady, a sitting vice president.

KARL: And the big thing that they want to accomplish here is a contrast in message to what Democrats will say is a gloomy and pessimistic, the down message coming out of Cleveland, to hope and optimism here.

Another risk with that is that you've got a vast majority of the electorate saying that they believe the country is going seriously in the wrong direction. But the message here will be hope and optimism and also underscoring the history nature of this, with a woman taking the -- a major party nomination for the first time.

STEPHANOPOULOS: One thing that's similar about the two conventions is they're -- they both kicked off with some skirmishes inside the party. The Democrats working hard to put out some fires now with Bernie Sanders supporters after the leak of those WikiLeaks emails and some grumbling about Tim Kaine.

KARL: Yes. And you -- you have a convention here that is potentially an open revolt against the chair of the Democratic Party, Deborah -- Debbie Wasserman Schultz, seen in those emails quite clearly working against Bernie Sanders during the course of the -- of the primary campaign.

There's a big debate here, George, whether or not she will even speak at this convention. And if she does take that podium, I would expect that she would get loudly booed by many of those Bernie Sanders supporters.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK, Jon, thanks.

Let's talk about this more now with Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook.

Mr. Mook, thank you for joining us this morning.

ROBBY MOOK, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Sure.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's talk about these WikiLeaks leaked emails, a little smoke bomb at the beginning of your convention.

And I have one here from Brad Marshall, who is working at the DNC. It seemed to question Bernie Sanders' religion. "Does he believe in a God?

He has skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist."

You also have other emails where Debbie Wasserman Schultz is calling Sanders' top aide a -- a liar.

Is someone going to be held accountable for these emails?

MOOK: Well, George, my understanding is that Brad has apologized...

STEPHANOPOULOS: He has apologized.

MOOK: -- for that email and I think that's an appropriate step. Obviously, nobody should -- in politics, should be attacked for -- for their religion, ever.

And -- and I think the DNC needs to get to the bottom of the facts and then take appropriate action on any of these emails.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What more is there to know?

We see what's in them.

MOOK: Well, what's disturbing about this entire situation is that experts are telling us that Russian state actors broke into the DNC, took all these emails and now are leaking them out through these Web sites.

Obviously, they have to determine, you know, what's accurate, what -- what's been doctored, what has been doctored. And it's troubling that some experts are now telling us that this was done by -- by the Russians for the purpose of helping Donald Trump.

We said...

STEPHANOPOULOS: For the purpose of helping Donald Trump?

MOOK: That's what some experts are saying. And so a...

STEPHANOPOULOS: Is that what you believe?

MOOK: Well, I don't know. The experts need to tell us that. It was concerning last week that Donald Trump changed the Republican platform to become what some experts would regard as -- as pro-Russian. And so, again, the DNC needs to -- needs to look into this and take appropriate action.

But -- but it's -- it's important to understand the broader perspective of -- of why this is happening.

STEPHANOPOULOS: I want to stay on the WikiLeaks for a second, but -- but you're raising some important questions here.

Do you think Donald Trump is too close to Vladimir Putin?

MOOK: I think what's troubling is how he has praised Vladimir Putin. It's troubling that last week he said that -- or he questioned whether NATO should protect our Eastern European allies.

So yes, I think that's troubling for any American, from a national security standpoint.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And on the WikiLeaks emails, some talk now that Debbie Wasserman Schultz will not have a prime time speaking slot in the convention?

Is that the case?

Will someone else take over the ceremonial chair responsibilities?

MOOK: Well, George, we haven't even announced who our keynote speaker is yet, so talks a lot about the program that needs to get figured out.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You put out most of your speakers.

MOOK: We're working on all that. Well, we haven't put out our keynote and this is a very -- I was just on a call this morning. We're still making decisions and determining that.

So I -- you know, there's a lot of work still to determine who's speaking when.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But -- but does the Clinton campaign believe that Debbie Wasserman Schultz should be disciplined in some way for these emails?

MOOK: I think the DNC needs to get to the bottom of the facts, needs to understand what actually happened here and then appropriate action needs to be taken.

But right now, we're really focused on having a great convention and -- and -- and celebrating the campaign of Senator Sanders and -- and talking about why Secretary Clinton is running, her lifelong fight for kids and families, the specific plans she has to -- to get this economy working for everybody, not just those at the top.

I think you're going to see a tremendous difference between the Republican convention, which was doom and gloom, discord, disunity, attacks on Hillary Clinton. You're going to see an optimistic, hopeful view of our future and specific plans to make people's lives better.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But should we be surprised if we don't see Debbie Wasserman Schultz?

MOOK: I can't say -- you're definitely going to see Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

STEPHANOPOULOS: All right, let's -- let's get onto the pick of -- of Tim Kaine right now. No surprise, Donald Trump has hit Twitter and with some response to Tim Kaine.

One thing he said is, "Why did Tim Kaine have no problem when he took far more money as governor of Virginia than Bob McDonnell? Crooked Hillary and rigged system."

He's referring to that $120,000 in gifts to Tim Kaine, which is legal under Virginia law, but some people have raised questions about it.

Your response?

MOOK: Well, this is a rehashed attack from -- that was launched against Senator Kaine in 2012 by the Republicans. It's been totally debunked. He disclosed all of his donations properly. There was never any wrongdoing whatsoever.

Look, Donald Trump is just afraid because Tim Kaine has had an outstanding reception. You had Jeff Flake, Senate -- Republican senator from Arizona, praising him on Twitter. Trump's trying to, you know, muddy the waters on this.

The fact of the matter is, Secretary Clinton made an outstanding choice in Senator Kaine and we couldn’t be more excited.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Some progressives still grumbling. They don’t quite like the fact that Tim Kaine in the past has supported trade agreements, even though now he said he’s against the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Others say he’s been too lax on banks, hasn’t been strong enough over his whole career on issues like gay rights. And there’s some movement now on the floor perhaps to put another vice presidential candidate into nomination.

Is that going to happen? Are you going to be able to stop it?

MOOK: Look, Tim Kaine is going to be our vice presidential nominee and we couldn’t be more excited about it. I heard from progressives all across the country yesterday lauding this choice. They couldn’t be more excited.

The fact of the matter is Tim Kaine has been a progressive fighter his entire life. This is someone who was a missionary in Central America. This is someone who started his career as a civil rights lawyer, took on Nationwide, one of the biggest corporations in this country, fought them over lending discrimination. He’s going to be -- he’s a fantastic choice and I think you’re going to see a really excited convention.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So another name won’t be put in nomination?

MOOK: I -- look, someone can try something according to rules. But there’s no question here, Tim Kaine is going to be our nominee.

STEPHANOPOULOS: How about coming into this convention, you’re still plagued by these questions facing Secretary Clinton about her honesty in all the polls. Our latest poll also showed that more than 70 percent of Americans say she’s too willing to bend the rules.

It’s pretty clear that ever since that FBI announcement by James Comey you guys have taken a hit in the polls. How much damage has that done and how do you fix it?

MOOK: Well, we’re moving forward. And what you’re going to see here at the convention, again in contrast to the Republicans, is everyday Americans on stage talking about Hillary Clinton’s lifelong fight for kids and families. The real difference she’s made in their lives. What a lot of Americans don’t understand is this is someone who has fought her entire life to make other people’s lives better, to break down barriers, to give people more opportunity.

So that’s something we’re going to focus on here, and I think once Americans understand that, they’ll have a fuller picture of Secretary Clinton.

The other thing she’s going to talk about that Donald Trump didn’t is her specific plans to make people’s lives better, to get this economy working for everybody, not just those at the top. And you’re going to hear an optimistic view of our future. She’s going to unite this country to make a difference in people’s lives.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Talked about the all-star lineup this week. You’ll see a lot of career politicians up there. How has that changed?

MOOK: Well, look, I think you’re going to see a lot of different people on that stage. You’re going to see everyday Americans talking about their lives. You’re going to see some people from entertainment. We’re going to have some music. I -- and look, I would argue more people are going to watch this convention online than on television, so I think you’re going to see people looking at the content for this convention throughout the day. This is 2016, that’s how things work now.

So I think the -- I think the Republican lineup was thin. It wasn’t particularly exciting. It certainly wasn’t optimistic or hopeful and I think you’re going to see that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, is coming up after you. And he, this week he talked about expanding the electoral map. He says they’re going to expand from 12 to 20 battleground states including Connecticut, Oregon, New Mexico, Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin. All of those have been pretty traditional Democratic states. Does that worry you?

MOOK: I welcome Donald Trump to spend a lot of time in states like Connecticut. I think that families there understand what a threat he is, not only to our community, the fabric of our American community, but also to our national security and especially to our economy. The voters in these states are going to resoundingly reject Donald Trump, so I welcome him to spend his time there. We’re focused on the states that we think are the real battleground and we’re very confident in states, you know, like Pennsylvania and Ohio and Florida. We have a very competitive operation.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Robby Mook, thanks very much. Have a good week.

MOOK: Take care.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And we are joined now by Senator Bernie Sanders. He is up in Burlington, Vermont this morning. He's going to be down here in Philly tomorrow.

Senator Sanders, thank you for joining us again.

Have to begin with those WikiLeaks leaks. What did you think when you read those emails? Some pretty harsh stuff in there.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I) VERMONT: Well, I think I told you a long time ago that the DNC was not running a fair operation. That they were supporting Secretary Clinton. So what I suggested to be true six months ago turns out, in fact, to be true. I'm not shocked. But I am disappointed. And that is the way it is.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What should be done about it?

SANDERS: Well, you know, I also said months ago is that for a variety of reason, Debbie Wasserman Schultz should not be chair of the DNC. And I think these emails reiterate that reason why she should not be chair.

But I think the main reason to my mind is not only these emails, the main reason is we need a Democratic Party open, that is bringing working people into the party, that is bringing young people, that bringing all of the people of this country who are sick and tired of an economy that works well for the 1 percent while the middle class struggles.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, let me just interrupt you there...

SANDERS: What our campaign was about, George was -- our campaign was about revitalizing American democracy. I want to see that incorporated into the Democratic Party. And I don't believe that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the person to be able to do that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, should she step aside as honorary chair of the convention right now? And should she be denied a primetime speaking slot?

SANDERS: I think she should resign. Period. And I think we need a new chair who is going the lead us in a very different direction, and that is taking on the billionaire class and fighting for an agenda that works for working family.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate has put out a tweet. She says if Bernie Sanders repudiates the Democratic Party that betrayed him I would welcome him to the Green Party U.S. to continue the revolution.

Any chance of that? And what do you say to your supporters who are now tempted to go join the Green Party?

SANDERS: This is what I say. This is a very momentous moment in American history. To my mind, what is most important now is the defeating of the worst candidate for president that I have seen in my lifetime, Donald Trump, who is not qualified to be president by temperament, not qualified to be president by the ideas that he has brought forth.

We do not need a billionaire president who wants to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the top 1 percent, but does not want to raise the minimum wage. We do not need to have a president who insults Mexicans and Latinos and Muslims and women and veterans and African-Americans, we need a president who brings us together, not divides us up.

We don't need a president like a Trump who doesn't actually, George, doesn't even believe in climate change, let alone wants to do anything about it, rejecting science.

So, right now we have got to defeat Trump, we have to elect Hillary Clinton. We have to elect progressive candidates in the house, and in the senate, and school boards, and city councils. And most importantly, we have got to continue the fight for an agenda to create a government that works for all ofus, and not just the people on top. And that's the mission that I will be undertaking.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You called Donald Trump the worst candidate in your lifetime. He was trying to hug you in his convention speech on Thursday night. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have seen firsthand how the system is rigged against our citizens just like it was rigged against Bernie Sanders. He never had a chance. Her bad instincts and her bad judgment, something pointed out by Bernie Sanders, are what caused so many of the disasters unfolding today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Clearly trying to appeal to some of your supporters right there and to try to appeal to you as well. We heard what you think about him.

But is there any chance you think some of your supporters will be attracted to him? And given what he said and given how he's using you do you regret any of your criticisms of Hillary Clinton?

SANDERS: No.

Look, we are 13 million votes. So, I can't speak for what any one of 13 million people are going to do. But I think the vast majority of our supporters understand that in Donald Trump, and I say this not happily, you have somebody who lies all the time, somebody who wins his campaign just by vicious attacks against his opponents, somebody who has not brought forth any kind of serious agenda to deal with, in fact, the very serious problems facing the middle class and the working class of this country.

Now, why would my supporters be supporting somebody who doesn't want to raise the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, a starvation wage, doesn't want to do that. Why would anybody that supports me support a candidate like Trump who wants to throw millions and millions of people off of health insurance? We need to guarantee health care to all people as a right, not throw millions of people off health insurance as Trump wants to do.

So, I think -- you know, I can't speak for 13 million people, but I think most of my supporters understand Trump has got to be defeated. We need to elect as many progressives as possible. And we need to continue the fight to create an agenda which works for working families and not just for wealthy campaign contributors.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally, we are going to hear from you tomorrow night. How are you going to make the case for the revolution, that revolution you've been a part of, that revolution you've called for to continue?

SANDERS: Well, the case to be made is that we have got to get people involved -- continue to get people involved in the political process at every level, George.

And that means not just for the U.S. Senate but it also means for school board and city council. We need to revitalize American democracy. We need to have people at all -- all over this country, having the courage to take on big money and demand a set of policies that work for all of us and not just for the few.

And that means Medicare for all. That means breaking up the large banks on Wall Street. It means creating millions of jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure.

One of the issues I'm really happy about is that recently, Secretary Clinton and I worked out an agreement on higher education, making public colleges and universities tuition free for every family in America earning less than 125,000 bucks. Didn't go as far as I wanted. But that's 83 percent of the population in this country.

Clinton and I came to an agreement on expanding health insurance. And by making -- and her proposal will allow people to opt into Medicare. And public options will be available all over this country providing less expensive health care.

We have now, I think, the most progress I have agenda, the progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party. So we have got to continue bringing people in, fighting for an agenda that works for working families and having the courage to take on the big money people who today control our economic and political life.

And through Citizens United, by the way, are buying elections right now.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Sanders, thanks for joining us this morning. We'll see you tomorrow night.

SANDERS: Thank you, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: We have heard from the Democrats. Donald Trump's campaign manager, Paul Manafort, is next.

Plus insights and analysis from our powerhouse roundtable right here in Philly. And a happy surprise in Cleveland, no major security problems. Pierre Thomas goes behind the scenes with the Secret Service director, showing what went right last week and the worries ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice-over): There was that dramatic moment in Cleveland. Donald Trump walking into the arena just as Ted Cruz was finishing his speech after that in-your-face challenge from the podium from Cruz. We're going to hear what Trump was thinking from the man himself -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I walked in and the arena went crazy, because there's great unity in the Republican Party and people don't know it.

Had I not walked in, I think that audience would have ripped him off the stage. I think I did him a big favor because it went from boos all over the arena -- you saw what was happening, right.

And why he stood up there, Ted Cruz reminded me of when he was in Indiana, standing with those great people. And they kept calling him Lyin' Ted, Lyin' Ted. It was a little like that in the arena.

He should have left sooner. He could have left. He could had his final (INAUDIBLE). But I'll tell you what, I did him a favor because had I not walked into the arena at that moment, I think they would have ripped him off the stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Donald Trump talking to Showtime's "The Circus" about that showdown with Ted Cruz. We're going to talk about that and more with Trump campaign chair, Paul Manafort.

Mr. Manafort, thanks for joining us this morning. And I do want to get to the convention. But first, a lot of Democrats, starting with the president, leveling some new charges against Mr. Trump this morning. I want to give you chance to respond to them.

Number one, President Obama on "Face the Nation," said that Donald Trump's comments about NATO last week seemed to condition our support for our NATO allies shows a lack of preparedness on his part. And then he goes on to say that the kind of rhetoric that we have heard too often from Mr. Trump and others is ultimately helping to do ISIL's work for us.

Harsh charge.

Your response?

PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: Well, he should be the one to be ashamed of what's going on in the world. The growth of ISIS occurred as a direct result of the policies that he and Secretary Clinton established when they took office in 2009.

The world is an unsafe place today because of his failed leadership, not because of anything Donald Trump has done. I mean, the American people are going to be reminded over and over in this election that these baseless charges by Obama and by Clinton are against man who has been the outsider, not the establishment.

The problems facing the world and the United States today of lawlessness and terrorism can directly be laid to the policies that have come out of the White House and out of the secretary of state's office when Clinton was president.

So these charges not only are baseless but they have no credibility. And we're going to continue to carry the case forward of what's wrong with America because of the failed leadership and what Donald Trump is going to do to correct the problems.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But how about those comments that Mr. Trump made to "The New York Times" about NATO seeming to condition our support for some of our NATO allies?

Even your allies, like Senator Mitch McConnell, said that was a mistake.

Was it?

MANAFORT: No, it wasn't a mistake. He was talking about the members of NATO have a shared responsibility, burden-sharing is what they call that. And the United States has been supportive of NATO and continues to be supportive of NATO. And so is Mr. Trump.

So what Mr. Trump is saying is that it's a two-way obligation. So everybody has to have their -- carry their own weight. It's not a very radical thought, It's just calling the reality what it is. The difference is when you have weak leadership, you don't enforce obligations and responsibilities, things continue to deteriorate.

And that's directly -- it's causing the problems we have in Europe today and in the Middle East, where the leadership of the United States has become insignificant and people don't even care what the President of the United States says anymore.

That's not tolerable. Where there's weakness, there's chaos. And with a weak president, we have got a chaotic world. Donald Trump is going to come in. He's going to provide strong leadership. His positions are going to be very clear. And with that clarity, it is going to become a safer world.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And we also heard Robby Mook, the -- the Clinton campaign director, just this morning, say that Russia was behind this -- this release of these DNC emails, suggesting that there are troubling signs of ties between the Putin regime and your campaign.

That's been echoed this morning in "The Weekly Standard." Bill Kristol, of course, no fan of Mr. Trump, the conservative "Weekly Standard" suggesting that when you look at the GOP platform, (INAUDIBLE) to support Ukraine, it provides some signs that there may be troubling ties between your campaign and the Putin regime.

And he goes on to say this, "If Trump and Manafort don't act to allay these concerns by releasing their tax returns, would it be advisable for a Republican member of Congress to lead an urgent investigation into whether Putin is interfering in the current American election?"

How do you respond to that?

MANAFORT: Well, it's pure obfuscation on the part of the Clinton campaign. What they don't want to deal -- talk about is what's in those emails. And what's in those emails show that it was a clearly rigged system, that Bernie Sanders -- Sanders never had a chance.

And -- and, frankly, I think you're going to see some of that resentment boiling over this week in Philadelphia, because WikiLeaks clearly uncovered what Sanders has been saying and what Donald Trump has been saying, which is that, once again, the establishment and the special interests, you know, picked their candidate, Hillary Clinton, and made sure nothing the people were going to do or say was going to interfere with her selection.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, you're right, you are -- you are seeing those skirmishes on the floor here in Philadelphia this week.

But let me follow-up on that question from Bill Kristol, who, of course, is not part of the Clinton camp.

Are there any ties between Mr. Trump, you or your campaign and Putin and his regime?

MANAFORT: No, there are not. That's absurd. And, you know, there's no basis to it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What do -- what do you make of -- of the criticism of last week's convention, especially Mr. Trump's speech?

He certainly had the crowd in his hands, there was no question about that. Some commentary afterwards said it was too dark, not optimistic enough, not morning in America.

Your response?

MANAFORT: Well, first of all, he had more than the people in the audience in the convention hall. CNN did a poll that said over 30 -- first of all, over 35 million people were watching. And 75 percent of those watching, uh, said that they were supportive of what Mr. Trump was saying and thought he could carry out his promises.

The speech was not a dark speech. It actually was a very optimistic speech.

However, what Mr. Trump said in the very beginning is unlike what you're going to hear in Philadelphia, he was going to tell the truth about what's going on in the country, because all too often, in the past, Washington and special interests and Hillary Clinton as part of that establishment, have tried to say oh, well, things are going to get better, just trust us, we know what to do, give us your -- your vote, we'll go to Washington, we'll make a difference. And after 25 years, the American people have said enough. They get it. They AMB. ) understand that we need real change.

Mr. Trump, in his speech, addressed those issues.

First, he talked about the lawlessness in the United States. He talked about the -- the crisis in -- in -- in the world as far as terrorism is concerned. He talked about the causes of it, which again, related to failed leadership out of the White House and out of Hillary Clinton.

But then, the -- as he rounded up his speech, he talked about a very specific agenda. He said I'm going to be your messenger. I -- I get your -- I hear what you're saying, unlike Hillary Clinton, who said be with me, Mr. Trump said I'm going to be with you, the American people.

And he said this is what I'm going to do. And he went through a litany of things he was going to do, from cutting taxes to creating better trade deals that will return jobs back to America, to building up our infrastructure, to having an energy policy that was going to put America first, to having a health care program that was going to get rid of the crazy costs of Obamacare and allow people to have logical, credible health care programs, to improve veterans rights, so that, you know, veterans can choose the hospitals of their choice and not have to stand in long lines which Hillary Clinton doesn't think is a problem.

On and on he talked about his solutions. It was not a dark speech. It was only a dark speech for the Democrats, who see the -- the end of their days coming.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's talk about electoral politics. You heard Robby Mook right there.

Are you guys really going to be spending money and time in places like Connecticut and Oregon?

MANAFORT: We've got a poll that shows Connecticut is doing -- is -- is almost even. The point is this. The math has expanded. In Mr. Mook's comments, he talked about how they're going to compete in Pennsylvania. Usually, after the convention -- the conventions, Pennsylvania is in the Democratic column. It's an example of how the math is expanding.

Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, where working class Americans have been promised and -- a better life and have seen their -- their -- their paychecks deteriorate in value, where they've, for the first time ever, according to a Pew Poll, Americans -- working class Americans believe that their children's future will be worse than their future.

I mean that's an incredible thing -- find -- finding.

And as a result, in a number of these states, the Democratic coalition is not cracking, it's broken. And Donald Trump is -- has heard those vicious...

STEPHANOPOULOS: (INAUDIBLE)...

MANAFORT: -- he's become their champion. And you're going to see a -- a much wider map. We're going to have many more ways to win. It's Hillary Clinton who's going to have a reduced option (INAUDIBLE)...

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, finally, Mr. Manafort, there's some speculation this morning that Roger Ailes, the ex-chairman of Fox News, is actually going to be advising your campaign.

Is that true?

MANAFORT: I have no idea what -- where that came from and so there's nothing I can say to that. But Roger certainly is a voice who understands the American people and at Fox, he created a -- a -- a news network which really created balanced and fair reporting. And as far as we're concerned, you know, he's going to be missed there.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Paul Manafort, thanks for your time this morning.

MANAFORT: Thank you, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: We have heard from the campaigns.

Our powerhouse roundtable is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAINE: With Donald Trump, it's me first. I'm not showing you my tax returns. I'm going to run a university that will take people's money and rip them off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Democrats are about to anoint someone who represents everything this country is tired of. You know, Hillary Clinton wants a better title and I would, too, if I was already America's secretary of the status quo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: VPs doing their job, attack dogs are out.

We have a big week in Philly ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I'm here tonight as a proud mother, as a proud Democrat, as a proud senator from New York, and a proud supporter of Barack Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: It'll be very different eight years later, she will be the nominee of the Democratic Party.

Let's talk about this week's convention with our roundtable, joined by Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist; Matthew Dowd, our political analyst; Congressman Keith Ellison, Democratfrom Minnesota; Congressman Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma.

And Donna, you get to go first today, because there's all kinds of trouble on the convention floor here. You're also vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

You just heard Bernie Sanders say right there that Debbie Wasserman Schultz should resign over those emails, over that bias against him. Will she? Should she?

DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, first of welcome to Philadelphia. I'm very excited to be here. This is going to be an exciting convention. Now we're now having 18 million tiny cracks. We're actually breaking the glass ceiling. So now that I've gotten that...

First of all, as vice chair, I went over yesterday to see the Sanders campaign. And I apologized. I think, the allegations, the emails, the insensitivity, the stupidity needs to be addressed and we are going the address it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, what does that mean?

BRAZILE: It means that the, first of all this is not just a one-day leak. There will be a substantial number of emails that I understand will be leaked over the next couple of days, weeks, months, because it was not a one-month breach or a two-month breach. Come the find out the Russian hackers -- and I have no conspiracy theories in my hands, I don't know.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Robby Mook said some.

BRAZILE: They have been involved. They were in our system at the DNC for well over a year. So, we will learn more.

Will some people have to step down, be removed, resign? I'm sure at the end of the day, yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Keith Ellison, you're a supporter of Bernie Sanders. What should happen?

REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: Well, I'm with Bernie on this. I mean, we're focused on getting rid of Donald Trump, making sure he is not the president of the United States.

I agree with Bernie, I'm disappointed to read about it, but at the same time, we do have the worst Republican nominee since George Wallace. We have somebody who is so dangerous, in a number of ways, not the least of which is his attacks on the press, in his pulling press credentials.

The first amendment says freedom of the press. He attacks the press regularly. so, I'm really kind of focused on the job at hand. But I am disappointed. But I'm not surprised.

But, at the same time, you know, I have to keep trudging on, organize the people to turn out the maximum number of votes to defeat Donald Trump.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Just the beginning here in Philly. Congressman Cole, you just came from Cleveland, Republican convention. Was it a success?

REP. TOM COLE (R), OKLAHOMA: First, I want to correct my friend. George Wallace was a proud Democrat and ran for the Democratic nomination. He was on that stage down there...

ELLISON: And thank god he got rejected and lost.

COLE: Well, that's fine. But let's be clear on the record of whose party he belonged to.

In terms of the convention, it was a success, quite honestly. This idea that it was doom and gloom, I actually agree with Mr. Manafort, it wasn't. But more than that, 70 percent of the country thinks the country is on the wrong track. 56 percent thinks that the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, should have been indicted.

So, I don't think this is a time for sunshine and roses, morning again in America kind of convention. And I think this fit the serious mood that the country's in and the desire for change that it's expressed.

STEPHANOPOULOS: In his answer right there, he just laid out two of the big challenges for Hillary Clinton this week.

MATTHEW DOWD, ABC NEWS: Yeah, absolutely.

And my fear is, is that we're going to have -- the American public is not going to get the porridge that is just right. I think the Republicans spent way too much time emphasizing that the country is off on` the wrong track and that the people believe the American dream is dying or dead. That's a true statement.

The Democrats have to be careful not the swing the exact opposite way -- everything is great, keep us going, we're part of the status quo, let's just keep it going.

The public is in the middle. And the public wants to hear, yeah, it's a problem. Understand our fears, understand what's going on. But lead us to something more hopeful and optimistic and inspirational. That's what they're looking for.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Getting the balance right, Donna, is a challenge.

BRAZILE: It is, George. But you can say that there's a lot of pain in America, but also have solutions, and to talk about how to make America stronger, safer, et cetera, without what I call persecuting Hillary Clinton. Last week, we heard the Republicans persecute her. And they didn't prosecute a case, they persecuted her. And it was personal. And it was mean-spirited.

And you know what, there came a point when it was just, every -- it was the only thing that united the Republican Party. They've done that for seven-and-a-half years.

DOWD: Besides being mad at Ted Cruz.

BRAZILE: Oh, well. Don't throw him our way.

But, I think this week, Hillary Clinton has a great opportunity to show the American people thatshe understands their pain and she has -- she has a way to solve it. That -- I think she can do that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Keith, did she make the right first step with this pick of Tim Kaine? As we were talking about with Robby Mook, there have been a lot of progressives, not necessarily you, but a lot of progressives who thought he wasn't the best choice.

ELLISON: Well, you know, Tim Kaine has started his career fighting for fair housing. Tim Kaine has a strong progressive record.

Now, look, there's some things that people had difference of opinion on some of the things he said about trade. But he now is squarely against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has made that position very clear. So I'm satisfied. I feel like...

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, this movement to nominate someone else isn't going anywhere.

ELLISON: I don't see it. No. I don't see it.

BRAZILE: And George, there are no minority reports on the challenging superdelegates. We have a commission.

Look, we have reached -- we, meaning the Democratic Party, on the platform process, on the rules. Today the credential committee will meet. We are coming together.

And I want to say one thing, I want to correct myself, I don't like to throw people under the bus. I know members of the DNC staff. I know many of these individuals involved. They are good people. They were not always biased. They have worked to make this a good convention.

DOWD: I want to pause just on the VP -- the two VP picks. I actually thought the Tim Kaine pick was a very good pick, and of course you could see in Hillary Clinton's attitude on that stage, that she was -- you saw her at peace, you saw her full of joy.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Lightened her up a little bit.

DOWD: Looked great. The interesting thing to me about these two picks that were done, both Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, is they were picked by two people with rather large egos. But they both picked people that are sort of viewed as humble servants, humble servant leaders in the course of this.

What I'm fascinated to see, is these are two men of both of deep faith, but from opposite sides. One, a social justice Catholic, the other evangelical fundamentalist. And they approach...

STEPHANOPOULOS: Although he started out as a Catholic.

DOWD: He was a Catholic. Sometimes he describes himself as an evangelical Christian. But they both are deep of faith. And I think it's a great conversation in America, because so much of the faith conversation has been co-opted on one side. Now you have somebody that views faith in the grays and somebody that views faith in the black and white; somebody use faith as saying the kingdom of god is here and now, somebody that views faith as the kingdom of god is in the future and over there.

And I think that's a great conversation.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And congressman, Mike Pence really was well received in that hall on Wednesday night, but he got overshadowed by the Cruz fight.

COLE: He did a little bit. But I think Mike is very reassuring, frankly, to a lot of traditional Republicans. We know him on the Hill. He's well respected on both sides of the aisle, because as Matthew says to the kind of person that he is.

The same thing is true, by the way, of Tim Kaine. I worked with him on Gabriella Miller, research bill for kids with pediatric cancer. We both have the same position on the authorization of the use of military force. I think congress ought to do.

So, I think they're both going to add a lot of debate.

But getting back to another point, if we're worried about the DNC being hacked with servers, what are the odds that the Russians hack something sitting in somebody's closet in their own home? I think this is going to be a very difficult question going forward for Democrats to deal with.

STEPHANOPOULOS: It has been a difficult question for Hillary Clinton so far.

Looking ahead now to this week and the lineup going forward, Matthew Dowd. You heard both campaigns talk about their electoral map. Do you understand when Paul Manafort talks about expanding the battleground to a lot o these traditional Democratic states, is it possible for them to scramble this coalition and play in places that Republicans haven't played for the last 25 years.

DOWD: Well, I think it's very possible for them to scramble their strategy, and yes, not know exactly what it is. I think as -- they're in la-la land if they think they're going to carry Connecticut or any -- a lot of those other states. This is going to be fought, fundamentally, unfortunately, over about eight or nine states in the course of this. And I think it going to be the same eight or nine states that we fought this over in 2012, 2008, and 2004, and in 2000. That's the course of this.

It's unfortunate because 90 percent of America is left out of that conversation, people in California, people New York, people in Texas in the course of this, this map is not going to be fundamentally scrambled. What's going to be scrambled is a bit of the demographics. That's what's going to be slightly scrambled.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Speaking of that, a lot of the young supporters, especially for Bernie Sanders, and I spoke with a lot of them this week. They're just not inspired by Secretary Clinton.

ELLISON: But they are inspired by $15, a union: they are inspired by their pension reform. They're inspired by real financial reform and breaking up the big banks. They are inspired by the agenda.

The most progressive agenda that the Democratic Party has ever seen. And I'm telling you, the young people, when they think about the fact that we're going to do something about college debt, they're excited about that.

I think they're excited about the right things, the issues. That's what we should always be fired up about and I think that's where we're going to -- you know, when you talk about the map, there's also state maps.

And Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are united talking about down-ballot races and making sure we take some state legislatures back. They're going to be excited about that.

And so I tell you, there's going to be -- Minnesota, my state, the Republicans hold the House. We're very, very focused on taking it back in the state of Minnesota. And that's a story all over the country. So I think there is plenty for people to be excited about.

COLE: I think it's pretty hard, down ballot, though, for either candidate, to be quite frank with you, both of whom have negative ratings to have any kind of coattails, just not likely to happen.

This is a unique contest between these two. I think you'll see that the pretty normal politics at work down ballot. We feel pretty good about our odds in the House and reasonably good that they can hang on to the Senate.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You used to run the congressional campaign committee for the Republicans.

What do you say --

(CROSSTALK)

COLE: In good years and bad.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

STEPHANOPOULOS: So what do you say to your candidates this year, who are not big fans of Donald Trump?

What is the best way for them --

(CROSSTALK)

COLE: The best way is to be honest with your electorate. Look, you're running to represent 700,000 people and you know, their interests their views ought to be where you show your campaign.

Obviously based on your principles. So I don’t ever have a problem with a candidate deciding to run with or apart from the top of the ticket. That's pretty usual in politics on both sides. There's not a lot of Democrats in the South that honestly would normally run with a George McGovern or something like that.

So --

DOWD: George, I think it's a very difficult year, I think probably the first in our lifetimes, to try to predict what's going to happen down ballot. We're in a totally disrupted state with both political parties, very fractured in the course of this. And the idea that a dominant third party, Gary Johnson or others, could actually pick up a lot of votes in the course of this and --

STEPHANOPOULOS: They're kind of holding steady, though, below 10 percent.

DOWD: -- but I think what is about to happen in the aftermath of this convention, I don't expect this to be the most positive campaign run on either side of the aisle. I think they’re both going to seek to disqualify the other in the course of this.

But I think what you're going to see in this is you're going to see two major party candidates disliked and distrusted by the population. And they're totally confused about what they're supposed to down the ballot.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That's going to have to be the last word today. Thank you all very much.

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: We'll be here all week long.

And coming up, our exclusive with the Secret Service director.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Security so tight across Cleveland all last week and it did appear to pay off. No major disturbances, a surprisingly calm few days but it wasn't by accident. Months of planning by the best security teams and police in the business, led by Secret Service director, Joseph Clancy.

ABC's senior Justice correspondent, Pierre Thomas, went behind the scenes with Clancy for this exclusive look at what it takes to keep us safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PIERRE THOMAS, ABC NEWS SR. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the climactic moment the Secret Service had been anticipating for months, the Republican nominee nearing the convention hall, about to accept his party's nomination.

JOSEPH CLANCY, SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR: Thanks for all you're doing for us, OK.

THOMAS (voice-over): We caught up exclusively with the Secret Service director just before Donald Trump was set to arrive.

CLANCY: Continue to go back over your plan. You never think you've got the plan perfectly in place.

THOMAS (voice-over): The pressure still intense for the 28-year veteran.

THOMAS: And you still get butterflies, looks like?

CLANCY: I absolutely get butterflies, absolutely feel the anxiety.

And you walk around the post. No issues with credentials. I know we had some during the weeks.

THOMAS (voice-over): In these last critical moments, the director is mindful of recent outbursts of violence, internationally and here at home.

THOMAS: It's been an incredible news cycle, where you've had the horror of Dallas. Then you had the tragedy in Nice.

CLANCY: Well, certainly a reminder that we always got to be ready for any scenario. We should have a plan already in place for whatever we may be confronted with.

THOMAS (voice-over): Security for the conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia has been unprecedented due to the volatile threat environment. Thousands of police and federal agents, including tactical teams, and cops on bike, aerial support, barriers and fences to restrict access to venues, all this despite the fact no specific credible threat has been identified.

So far, so good. The protests in Cleveland were not marked by violence. But with the conventions back to back, no break in between, no one's celebrating yet, not until Philadelphia is over.

CLANCY: These are two very different venues. The landscapes are much different. A lot of the personnel that we're using in Cleveland also are being used in Philadelphia.

THOMAS (voice-over): Long hours for the troops.

CLANCY: And you rolling on to Philadelphia after this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to Philly and then on to Martha's Vineyard the next day.

THOMAS (voice-over): That's not a vacation. The president will be there and that agent will be at his post.

As the Trump motorcade arrives in the bowels of the Quicken Loans Arena, agents swarm out of the vehicles to protect the man of the hour. The opening act of the general election almost over.

THOMAS: When is the moment that you'll breathe a little easier in Cleveland?

CLANCY: Well, it usually takes about 24 hours after an event.

THOMAS: So you got to sleep on it?

CLANCY: You got to sleep on it for a few hours.

THOMAS (voice-over): Only a few…

CLANCY: Either side right there.

THOMAS (voice-over): -- the Democratic convention starts in less than 24 hours.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANOPOULOS: And Pierre joins us now.

Pierre, we heard Joe Clancy there talking about how these are two very different venues.

How do the security challenges differ here in Philadelphia from Cleveland?

THOMAS: The potential size of the protests: Philadelphia has issued permits that will allow thousands to protest. That's bigger than anything we saw in Cleveland. And the potential for mischief is much greater because of that. But because of the pope visiting Philadelphia last fall, they say they're ready for anything.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's hope so, Pierre Thomas, thanks very much. We'll be right back after this from our ABC stations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: That is all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Our entire ABC News team, as you just heard, is going to be here all week long for the convention. "GMA," "WORLD NEWS" and "NIGHTLINE," plus our prime-time specials every night at 10:00 Eastern for the big speakers and livestreaming all day long of all the convention highlights on abcnews.com. I'll see you tomorrow on "GMA."