Putins play. New questions about his possible influence over donald trump after he takes his praise of putin to a Surprising New level that his opponent calls scary. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the Situation Room. Donald trump and Hillary Clinton exchanging fierce new attacks portraying one another fit to be Commander In Chief. Trump accuses clinton of a criminal cover up in her email controversy and producing policies that produce ruin and death. Trump trying to shift the focus to clintons controversy as he faces new criticism for remarks he made during a National Security forum overnight. Clinton is ratcheting up her rhetoric as the race against trump tightens. She claims that isis is rooting for trump to win the presidency. She slams trump for trash talking about americas generals when he said u. S. Military leaders have been reduced to rubble under President Obama. Pence also is standing behind trumps claim that russias Vladmir Putin is a stronger leader than President Obama. Hillary clinton is calling trumps praise of putin scary and unpatriotic. Ill talk about all this with the leading house republican. Our correspondents and analysts are standing by as we bring you the full coverage of todays top story. Sarah murray in ohio where trump has been campaigning. Whats the latest . Wolf, trumps set out to talk about Education Policy today in ohio but he could not help rehashing some of those issues that came up during last nights security forum. He insisted he was an early opponent to the war in iraq despite evidence to the contrary and didnt pass up the opportunity to lay into clinton over her use of the email server. Waging warfare over who is qualified to serve as Commander In Chief. Last night was another test a and donald trump failed again. Reporter trump launching into a lengthy defense today. I opposed going in, and i did oppose it despite the media saying yes, no, yes. I oppose going in. Reporter theres no evidence to prove his early opposition. In fact, his earliest public statements suggests he supported the war. As for clinton, she took to the tarmac today denouncing trumps preference for Vladmir Putin over President Obama. Thats not just unpatriotic and insulting to the people of our country, as well as to our Commander In Chief, its scary because It Signatures he will let putin do whatever putin wants to do. Then make excuses for him. Reporter thats after trump lavished praise on putin wednesday night. I think i would have a very Good Relationship with putin. Hes been a leader far more than our president has been a leader. Reporter clinton also taking task of him offering details. He says the plan is still a secret but he doesnt have one. Thats not only danger but should be disqualifying. Reporter trump explains he has plan. Hes just not ready to reveal it. I have a substantial chance of winning. If i win, i dont want to broadcast to the enemy what my plan is. Reporter the gop nominee saying hell rely on the input of generals to help craft his antiterrorism agenda. I think under the leadership of barack obama and Hillary Clinton, the generals have been reduced to rubble. They have been reduced to a point where its embarrassing for our country. Reporter as clinton seized on the moment to lash out against trumps temperament. We saw evidence thats hes unfit and totally unqualifiered to be Commander In Chief. He trash talked american generals. Reporter trump also generating controversy last night for standing by this tweet for Sexual Assault in the military. In 2013 on this subject, you tweeted this, quote, 26,000 unreported Sexual Assaults in the military. Only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men and women together. Its a correct tweet. Reporter trump says he left with the impression the Intelligence Community isnt pleased with the obama administration. I have pretty good with the Body Language. I could tell they were not happy. Reporter an assessment clinton scoffed at. I think what he said was totally inappropriate and undisciplined. I would never comment on any aspect of an Intelligence Briefing that i received. Reporter now donald trump did eventually turn to Education Policy today but there were a few awkward moment whence talking about the threat of terrorism when he was calling Hillary Clinton a liar when it came to the way she used her private email server all at a Charter School of cleveland in front of a couple of rows of children. Thank you. Lets go to brianna keilar. Whats the latest there . Hillary clinton still had to address her emails and not put this issue to rest. Today taking questions about why shes taken the option of conventional forces on the ground in iraq or syria to fight isis before even, perhaps, winning the election before she taking this off the table before she would step foot in the white house. Reporter Hillary Clinton still sensitive to liberal worries about her iraq vote made a promise to voters. Were not putting Ground Troops into iraq ever again and were not putting Ground Troops into syria. Were going to defeat isis without committing american Ground Troops. Reporter today shes facing questions about whether shes ignoring the fact that Special Forces are already in combat in iraq and syria. And if shes restricting her options for defeating isis. I think putting a big contention of american Ground Troops on the ground in iraq and syria would not be in best interest of the fight against isis and other terrorist groups. I think it would fulfill one of their dearest wishes, which is to drag the United States back into a ground war in that region. Reporter clinton is criticizing donald trump for a lack of command when it comes to Foreign Policy and National Security concerns. Its like hes living in his own celebrity reality tv program. You know what, donald, this is real reality. This is real people. This is real decisions that have to be made. Reporter President Obama providing back up from his foreign troop to laos. I dont think the guy is qualified to be president of the United States and every time he speaks that opinion is confirmed. Wow. Reporter clinton is again tangled up in her email controversy for parsing words about whether she and aides transmitted Classified Information through her unclassified email system. She did the fbi, said, but clinton offered this defense. There were no headers. There was no statement, top secret, secret or confidential. I communicated about classified material on a wholly separate system. I took it very seriously. Reporter just as she took the military issues forum. Too seriously, according to the head of the rnc. Priebus tweeted Hillary Clinton was angry and defensive the entire time. No smile and uncomfortable. Upset she was caught wrongly sending our secrets. I dont think take anything seriously that comes from the rnc. We were talking about serious issues last night. Reporter perhaps the part from last night that most frustrated the Clinton Campaign was when donald trump said i was totally against the war in iraq. A statement that is false and there was no pushback. In fact, Hillary Clinton putting out an email, her campaign putting out a fund raising email imploring people to make donations. The subject of it, matt lauer who was the moderator and it accuses him of failing to fact check donald trump who did not voice concern about the war in iraq until the tide of Public Opinion was really already turning and it says many outlets lack the wherewithal to call him out saying the campaign will be responsible for Fact Checking and that will require resources meaning money. Thanks very much. Lets talk about the president ial race with the leading republican in the congress in the last hour. We were joined by congressman duncan hunter. Hes a strong donald trump supporter. Right now Adam Kinsinger is here in the Situation Room. Thanks for much for coming in. Thank ys. You said you dont see how you could support donald trump in part because you said i dont know what he stands for in Foreign Policy. Has he done anything since then to reassure you that would enable you to support him . Not yet. The one thing i wish he was inconsistent on is the area of russia. Hes been consistent. That is an admiration for a very brutal leader. Keep in mind somebody thats been, believe has killed journalist and put down political oppositions and occupies neighboring territory and holds up the Iranian Regime and the Syrian Regime to kill half a million people. They, themselves, the russians bomb medical facilities and innocent civilians. I dont have any i dont think putin is reacting out of strength. I think he reacts and does what he does out of weakness. Any admiration for this guy is extremely disappointing. You served add Commander In Chief in the wars and iraq and afghanistan. Who, in your opinion, would make a better Commander In Chief . Donald trump or Hillary Clinton. Its always a tough one to answer. I havent seen much from donald trump that says he would be a great Commander In Chief when we talk about syria, isis and russia. At the same token, i have the same response for Hillary Clinton. I agreed with going into libya. I think it needed to happen but the idea of leading from behind and the lack of follow up that occurred after that was also disappointing. I think this exchange of ideas between the two is good. It brings Foreign Policy to the forefront. This is something that hopefully over the next couple of months through the debates and everything else, they can really explore these issues and the American People can see what theyre made of, including me. There seems to be a disconnect between trump and his top military advisor, michael flynn. I spoke with him here in the Situation Room yesterday. I want to play these two clips. The exchange i had with the general followed by what trump said at the forum last night. Do you have confidence in the current leadership in the u. S. Military with drumpl accept them or would he want new generals . I think we have all the confidence in the world in the Military Leaders that we have. These are lifelong servants, courageous people who have given it all, and i think what they need to be able to do is unleash our military capabilities as well as other capabilities that we have inside our Government System in the Intelligence Community and some other capabilities that we have to be able to really go after and defeat this enemy. Get this thing over with. Youre going to convene a panel of generals and youve already said you know more about isis than those generals. Theyd probably be different generals. Im looking at the generals today you probably saw, i have a piece of paper i could show it. 88 generals endorsed me today. Those are all retired admirals and generals. When he says hed have a whole bunch of new general, that doesnt express confidence in the current batch. It doesnt. This is unfortunate. He had a good teleprompter speech. To say youre going to fire all the generals. A new commander can fire them and make changes but say they have been reduced to rubble and youll fire them all does a disservice to the men and women that serve with stars on their shoulders. When he said he knows more about isis than the generals do, how do they react . We laugh about it. Its obviously not true. He doesnt know more about isis than the military. The military has been studying this issue for a long time. Many of these generals and high ranking officers and people in military for a while have been engaging the predecessor of isis, al qaeda and iraq. I dont think he knows more than the generals. Youre a republican. Let me ask you about the Hillary Clinton statements. She doubled down this morning saying she would never, ever allow u. S. Combat Ground Troops into iraq or syria. She said that very clearly. Maybe some special force, drone strikes, air strikes but no more u. S. Combat troops on the ground in iraq and syria. Was that smart of her to say that . I dont think so. I think hillary was trying to probably acquiesce to her base. Especially when it comes to Foreign Policy, never say what youll never do because you never know whats going to happen. Ground troops is there in the u. S. Interest to defend not just in iraq but here at home. We have more to discuss including what donald trump is saying about the two Intelligence Briefings hes received so far. Much more after a quick break. If youre searching other travel sites to find a better price. Stop clicking around. The lowest prices on our hotels are always at hilton. Com. So pay less and get more only at hilton. Com. Remember here at ally, nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. Whos with me . Im in. Im in. Im in. Im in. One, two, wait, wait. Wait wheres tina . Doing the hand thing . Yep we are all in for our customers. Ally. Do it right. Lots of vitamins a c, we are all in for our customers. And, only 50 calories a serving. Good morning, indeed. V8. Veggies for all. 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Ask your doctor if nonprescription ibgard is right for you. Ibgard calms the angry gut. Available at cvs, walgreens and rite aid. Were back with republican congressman of illinois. Donald trump and Hillary Clinton trade new attacks just hours after they both took part in a forum on National Security. One of the interesting things that trump said is hes now received to classified Intelligence Briefings from the u. S. Experts. He claim that based on the Body Language he witnessed there, they dont believe that the president of the United States is doing the right thing. Not anything they said but just the Body Language. You buy that . No. I do think the Intelligence Community is very fed up with President Obama. I think the Military Community is too because of what is perceived and what is a lack of leadership in the world, new fronts popping up everywhere. I dont think a candidate for president should ever even discuss the security briefings. Theres a real sanctity in that and the other thing unless hes a Body Language expert, i dont think thats appropriate to say. Youre still in the military just a couple of weeks this the reserves. A tweet came up that he tweeted back in 2013 on Sexual Assault in the military. 26,000 unreported Sexual Assaults in the military. Only 238 convictions. What did these genuises expect when they put men and women together. Theres 200,000 women serving in the military right now. When you see that, what do these genuises suggest. The first half of the tweet i agree with. Its sad theres less convictions but to say what do you think when you put men and women together. I served with a lot of great women in the military that are just as competent to men to destroy the enemy and defend this country. I dont know what he was thinking in 2013 when he put it out. I think he ought to apologize for it. He said last night, the tweet was correct. He used the word correct. He didnt have a problem with what he tweeted. On your personal experience serving together with women, what have you seen . The women are heroes. With the technology we have in the military and it really taiks as much as anything, brains to go out and defeat the enemy. I fight with some very heroic women. These are women, as a reservist and a pilot, maybe 10 to 15 are female. Theres obviously in a male environment. Have you seen Sexual Assaults and harassment . I havent seen it. They do very well in the military. In my realm as a pilot, theyre just as competent. Thank you. Cnns new interview with republican Vice President ial nominee mike pence after recent disagreements with his boss. Why is he defending trumps charge that american generals have been reduced to rubble. After trumps new praise of Vladmir Putin, renewed questions about whether putin would be able to manipulate trump if he were to win the president. Healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. The east and the west are mine. The north and the south are mine. All seems beautiful to me. I know more about isis then the apprgenerals do. Age. John mccain, a war hero. Hes not a war hero, hes a war hero because he was captured. I like people that werent captured ok. Donald trump compared his sacrifices to the sacrifices of two parents who lost their son in war. How would you answer that father . What sacrifice have you made for your country . I think ive made a lot of sacrifices, built great structures. Ive had tremendous success, i think. Those are sacrifices . Wont replace the full value of your totaled new car. The guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. No, i picked the wrong Insurance Company. With Liberty Mutual new car replacement™, you wont have to worry about replacing your car because youll get the full value back including depreciation. And if you have more than one Liberty Mutual policy, you qualify for a multipolicy discount, saving you money on your car and home coverage. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Seconds can mean the difference between life and death. For partners in health, time is life. We have 18,000 people around the world. The microsoft cloud helps our entire staff stay connected and Work Together in real time to help those that need it. The ability to collaborate changes how we work. What we do together changes how we live. Tonight, Donald Trumps running mate is backing up his controversial claim that russias Vladmir Putin is a stronger leader than President Obama. Republican Vice President ial candidate mike pence sat down with our chief Political Correspondent dana bash. She had the exclusive interview with governor pence. How did it go . Reporter you know mike pence has distanced himself from donald trump countless times but not now. He was here to give a speech comparing Ronald Reagan to donald trump. Even though we remember very well that the then soviet union, Ronald Reagan said they are awful and called them the evil empire but now that donald trump is saying that Vladmir Putin is a good leader, pence is saying thats just fine. Last night donald trump said that Vladmir Putin has been a leader far more than our president has been a leader. Do you share that view . I think theres a great analogy between the time Ronald Reagan was willing to name what was the greatest threat to the people of the United States. He called it an evil empire. Just a few short weeks ago in youngstown, ohio, donald trump, unlike President Obama and Hillary Clinton, was willing to name what is the greatest threat to the people of the United States today which is radical islamic terrorism. In case of both men, they identified the Signature Threat of the time. They named it. They challenged it and developed a strategy to move against. Donald trump said that Vladmir Putin has been a leader far more than the president of the United States. Do you share that view . Well, remember rojds reagan spoke boldly. Im talking about donald trump. If you can answer the question. You can walk softly and carry a big stick. You can speak boldly and plainly but have relationships. Do you think that Vladmir Putin is a stronger leader than the current president . I think its inarguable that Vladmir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than barack obama has been in this country. Thats going to change the day that donald trump becomes president of the United States of america. Look, youve seen incidents i dont need to tell you because you were in congress. He has Obarack Obama has a true democracy. Vladmir putin doesnt have that. Thats exactly right. Donald trump said last night he doesnt like the system. While were on Foreign Policy, i have to ask you, you mentioned last night that mr. Trump said the generals, quote, have been reduced to rubble under President Obama and Hillary Clinton. Do y do you agree with that . Is that how a potential Commander In Chief should speak about the Military Brass . I think the American People are troubled with the Foreign Policy and Military Policy of barack obama and Hillary Clinton thats caused the wider middle east to literally spin out of control. We have seen Civil War In Syria and libya. Mr. Trump was specifically talking about the generals. Generals have been reduced to rubble. He wasnt talking about i actually think in all due respect, i think he was talking about the Commander In Chief reducing the influence to rubble. I think the truth is that the leadership that we have had at the top and you heard donald trump talk about that last night. Let me ask you about that in terms of plans. Mr. Trump also said last night that he has a secret plan to defeat isis which he says doesnt want to broadcast. Youre his running mate. Has he shared his plan with you. You dont have to tell me the plans. I can tell you what he laid out yesterday and what he laid out in youngstown, ohio. Is a plan to bring in Military Commanders within 30 days for and to have their recommendations, including added to his thoughts and his ideas of how we can hunt down. You havent seen the plans . Im going to keep our private conversations private. What youre hearing donald trump say is were going to have leadership that is focused and determined. Do you think the military will be able to come up with a brand new plan to defeat isis that they havent come up with under President Obama . It sort of suggests the duty by the military. Military commanders serve at the pleasure of civilian authority. The Commander In Chief makes the call. We have to do it. The truth is that could mean troops on the ground. Ground if you really want to go for it. You know what it takes. Are you and mr. Trump willing to go that aggressively in a way that mr. Obama just isnt. What i can tell you is that donald trump as Commander In Chief is not going to signal to the enemy what we will or will not do. To anybody in the Military Who Saw that and thought that he was being critical of the military, not so much or in addition to the current president , what would you say . I dont think they would take it that way. I really dont. Frankly, as i Campaign Around the country and i see the tremendous support we have among veterans and active duty military personnel. Wolf, pence told me that he plans to release his tax returns by the end of the week. That means tomorrow since its friday. He also revealed to me he is engaged in traditional debate prep. Donald trump said hes not going that route. Hes doing mock debates to prepare but pence says he is. He even already had stand in for tim kaine who is his democratic opponent. He said hes working hard for that debate which is october 4th. Wolf. Of course it is. Thanks very much. Good work. Lets get to our political panel. I guess hes trying to clean up some of the more controversial comments that donald trump made about the generals and putin. Is that his role . Its certainly one of them. I guess you can say the same of all of donald trump surrogates if you look at Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani and jeff sessions. They have to go out in the news and interviews with us and try to explain what donald trump means by a lot of what he says. Mike pence has done really uniquely good job of it. He hasnt, i think its really notable because a lot of republicans, when he took this role, thought he was on a Suicide Mission but he hasnt created any controversies of his own. He hasnt sort of tarnished his reputation in any meaningful way and he hasnt led the campaigns message in another direction. He stayed really on message but in a way thats made Donald Trumps positions and his words sound a lot more palatable for a broader audience. A couple of things hes doing different than donald trump is hes releasing his tax returns. He also said the president of the United States, barack obama, was born in the United States dpru donald trump is saying i dont want to talk about that anymore. Hes not necessarily 100 on board. Hes a traditional politician who knows he will have to live with some of these outlandish statements or positions by trump after this elections over if the trump pence ticket doesnt win in terms of releasing the taxes. Hes been prepared for this because hes run for office before. In terms of the birther comments or the Birther Position of donald trump, he knows thats a ridiculous position thats been disproven many times over. I agree with rebeccas analysis of the way hes sort of smoothed over a lot of controversies. I think his Statement Today that President Obama is inarguably a weaker leader than Vladmir Putin just does not stand up. These controversial comments that donald trump making, you study the polls very closely. Is there any indication at all thats hurting trump . I think it is. The greatest myth in this campaign is that donald trump is a teflon candidate. The north star is that 60 of the country and others since june 2015 said hes not qualified to be president. That number has never changed. 60 say hes racially biassed against minorities and women and 60 says he doesnt have the temperament to be president. Hillary clintons own weaknesses have tightened this race. If you look at the polling, donald trump has a lot of trouble getting above the low 40s this national and key state polls. Its a reflection of his hard core 60 of the country that to date is not convinced hes a plausible president. Thats his biggest problem. Thats a selfcreated problem and the one that belies the idea hes a teflon candidate. Priebus had a controversial tweet. He said Hillary Clinton was angry, defensive the entire time. No smile and uncomfortable. Upset she was caught wrongly sending our secrets. No smile. Those two words general rating some commotion. Whats been the reaction . Hillary clinton said shes not going to take advice from the rnc but the reaction is a lot of people look at that and feel its sexist. Would you ask a man to smile . Would you ask a smile during a National Security forum . This wasnt a dinner party. This was some pretty serious stuff they were talking about. It really comes down to this. Some people, and i think rightly so, feel its a double standard or a double mandard. The reason it doesnt work so well for priebus to have said this is it came right on the heels of donald trump saying does she look president ial, fellas. Give me a break and doubling down on that. He said things about megyn kelly. Blood coming out of her where ever. The list goes on and on. Its not going to help him. Hes trailing considerably with women overall and much more with single women and women of color as well. Trumps problems in this race are much more about the assessment of his personal quality. He doesnt help his cause with that kind of language. You see that as well, rebecca . Absolutely. Its a Polling Problem for him. Donald trump needs to appeal to women and hes not going what he needs to do. Part of the problem is his rhetoric. Its not necessarily sexist remarks but women in focus groups are saying that they think hes petty, immature and too vengeful, doesnt think about what hes saying. There are women he does appeal to. We have much more to discuss. Were getting in new poll numbers in four key battleground states. Youll need to know what the latest numbers are. Well take a quick break. Well be right back. This ones got detachable keys it comes with a pen so you can write as you please this mac doesnt have any of that its less useful like a hat for your cat surface has touch and a beautiful screen you can see things like theyve never been seen this mac doesnt quite compare its slower, heavy, and a bit square fold it in half, hello when you start lighter than air, you can doodle a heart yes its plain to see the surface pro 4 is made for me soon, shell be bingestudying. Get back to great. This week 50 off all backpacks. Office depot officemax. Gear up for school. Gear up for great. man honey, whats a word for large blaze . wife] fire. [man] thirteen letters. [wife] fire. [man] thirteen letters. [wife] really big fire [burke] conflagration. Seen it. Covered it. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum safety doesnt come in a box. Its not a banner that goes on a wall. Its not something you do now and then. Or when its convenient. Its using stateoftheart simulators to better prepare for any situation. Its giving offshore teams onshore support. And its empowering anyone to stop a job if something doesnt seem right. At bp, safety is never being satisfied. And always working to be better. Were back with our Political Team and new polls in crucial president ial battleground states. Lets take a look at these polls. Well put them up on the screen now. In pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton, 44 . Trump, 39 . North carolina, clinton, 42 , trump, 38 . Ohio, 41 for trump, 37 for clinton. In florida, 4343, a tie. Those are pretty close numbers. They are conducive, similar to a National Poll figtightenin that were seeing. You look inside them, the reason why clinton is ahead in North Carolina and pennsylvania, behind in ohio has less to do with the groups behaving differently than the composition of the groups in the different states. Theres a lot of consistency across the states. Trump is big among noncollege whites and shes up big among nonwhites. Whats different is how many of those voters are there in each of the states. Thats similar to what we saw in that Washington Post of all 50. Theres a lot of consistency from state to state. Donald trump is strongest in the places with a lot of blue collar whites and Hillary Clinton is strongest where theres democratic. You take a look at gary johnson, candidate in all four of these states. 9 . 14 in ohio. 8 in florida. If its a close race between the two candidates, he could do well. He didnt help himself today when he had a problem dealing with aleppo. It looked bad. Some people said it was disqualified but it was a big loss for him. He was asked by an interviewer, something about aleppo where theres a huge refugee crisis. He said what is allepo. If it had not just been in the news because of reported Chlorine Gas Attack the day before. It could have been more accusable. Libertarians jumping at the chance to provide a different Foreign Policy Point Of View and he didnt offer that. His response too. He was asked about it on the view. Joy behr said she thought it was disqualifying and he sort of hems and hawed at her. If you want to be president of the United States, you have to know these things. On the one hand its good for him to be getting any exposure. His name idea is very low especially relative to the candidates. To have him out there, thats a good thing for him but its never a good thing when youre shown to not know im not 100 sure of that. The details of that platform. When they say were for more Economic Freedom and less social oversight. Thats socially to lly tolerant. Ending Social Security and legalizing prostitution is a point that who does he take more votes away from, Hillary Clinton or donald trump . I think he hurts Hillary Clinton more with young people. The biggest deterioration is young people. 75 say they have an unfavorable view of donald trump. Shes polling to 45 to 50 among them. Thats one reason why the race is so close. You think Hillary Clinton will go after gary johnson because he is hurting her . Today she was asked about allepo in this problem that he had identifying it and she didnt go hard after him, made it clear you should know where it is. I think young people have a problem with gary johnson not knowing where allepo is. They are paying attention to this. They are aware of this crisis. You agree, rebecca . They see these pictures that are heart wrenching. At the same time his name is not donald trump and Hillary Clinton. You look at the unfavorable ratings and thats all you need to know. Thats why i think hes better off if hes more rece recessed. In the last 24 hour, all three candidates created a problem for themselves the on Foreign Policy. The Allepo Problem for gary johnson. I think donald trump is starting to lock himself into this idea that he will wait to hear what the generals say and secretary clinton, this thing about this thing about not putting any Ground Troops in iraq and syria when he have Ground Troops in iraq and syria. She and donald trump will have another shot. This is the day that gary johnson had a press junket and he blew it. Theres more coming up including fall out from controversial Donald Trumps praise i accept your nomination. For the presidency of the United States. Remember here at ally, nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. Whos with me . Im in. Im in. Im in. Im in. One, two, wait, wait. Wait wheres tina . Doing the hand thing . Yep we are all in for our customers. Ally. Do it right. Then smash it into a tree. Your Insurance Company raises your rates. Maybe you shouldve done more research on them. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Just one of the many features that comes standard with our base policy. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Breaking news this hour. Donald trump eegs running mate is defending the praise of russian president Vladimir Putin. In an interview with cnn, mike pence tells dana bash, quote, its inarguable that putin has been a stronger leader than barack obama has been in this country. Brian todd has more now. Hillary clinton is calling trumps praise of putin scary. She calls it scary, unpatriotic and insulting. But tonight this is going beyond politics. Security experts, people who spent careers protecting america are telling us that trump is walking a a dangerous line in his praise of Vladimir Putin and that hes being played by the former kgb officer. Donald trump is gushing again over Vladimir Putin. If he says great things about me, im going to say great things about him. He called him brilliant. Putin said he called him bright. But its trumps comments about the leadership made to nbc news which have brought serious fallout. The man has very strong control over a country. Its a different system and i dont like the system, but certainly in that system, hes been a leader far more than our president has been a e leader. Putin, the man who invaded ukraine, annexed crimea, backs bashar al assad, crushes those who oppose him inside russia and may well be responsible for the hack of the Democratic National conventions computers. That Vladimir Putin outshines President Obama. Fresh meat for Hillary Clinton. It is scary because it suggests he will let putin do whatever putin wants to do. And then make excuses for him. But trumps embrace of putin isnt just scaring trumps rival. Im uncomfortable comparing the president of the United States to someone who has turned out to be a dictator. Phillip mudd at the fbi and National Security council is also troubled by trumps declaration that he would have a Good Relationship with putin. In places like europe, syria, iran, where america has critical policy interests, putin has interests that are in variance. In syria, he supports the continuation of the assad regime. The americans do not. By contrast, experts say putin believes Hillary Clinton will be more formidable. Vladimir putin would prefer that trump became president than Hillary Clinton mostly because he really dislikes Hillary Clinton. Some believe putin is manipulating trump by stroke his ego. Former cia director said this to abc news. Donald trump didnt even understand that putin was playing him. So in putins mind, i have no doubt that putin thinks that hes an unwitting agent of the russian federation, although putin would never say that. How might putin manipulate trump . I can imagine at least in the early chajs putin getting trump to believe everything he says by flatte flattery, taking trump serio seriously, complimenting him on his Leadership Ability and then being a negotiator which he always is. But analysts belief if trump wins the presidency, a dangerous confrontation between trump and putin is more likely. She calls it, quote, two mentally unstable aggressive men with nuclear buttons. The Trump Campaign wouldnt respond to that or the other comments. Trump said his come prelims of him would have zero impact on their relationship. Why does putin hate Hillary Clinton apparently as much as he does . Analysts say putin doesnt trust her going back to when feels the u. S. Allowed gadhafi to be killed during that libyan uprising. Also putin believes that Hillary Clinton would be more aggressive toward his military, Es Peshls Ily along the borders of eastern europe. Putin believes Hillary Clinton would start another cold war with him. Its going to be a fascinating next two months as we get ready for this election here in the United States. Brian todd, thank you for joining us. Thats it for me. Thank you for watching. Im wolf blitzer in the Situation Room. Erin burnett out front starts right now. Donald trump taking aim at americas generals. Hillary clinton says no more troops in iraq as polls show trumps lead shrinks. Plus the Putin Obsession is, is it a smart political move or is trump being played . What is aleppo . The three words haunting gary johnson tonight. Lets go out front. Good evening, im erin burnett. Bitter battle, Hillary Clinton, donald trump in the biggest clash of the campaign so far launching nasty personal attacks on who is fit to lead america at war. Tonight clinton slamming trump saying hes scary and dangerous. Its hard to forget what trump d