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Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders Turning White House Race Upside Down; Jeb Bush Pivots to Policy as Poll Numbers Slide; Police Video of Ferguson Shooting Released; Some Inmates Claim Guards Blamed, Beat Them; Feds: Mississippi Couple Tried to Join ISIS; Nurses Union Endorses Sanders for President. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 12, 2015 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:03] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And that's why we are so appreciative of you, sir. Thank you for your service to the country and thanks to all the people who came together and do the right thing. He does say he's going to avoid the interstate from now on if he can help it.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm with him on that one. That's the good stuff.

CUOMO: It is, right?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Excellent stuff. All right. Let's turn to "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello. It begins now. Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It does. Good morning. Have a great day.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Sanders surging. Even Trump is feeling the Bern.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I felt badly for him. But it showed that he's weak.

COSTELLO: And you've got mail. Now the Justice Department is getting Hillary Clinton's mail finally. She's turning over her private server and thumb drive.

Plus, honeymoon with ISIS? A Mississippi couple's sinister plan after tying the knot.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

We begin with the race for the White House that no one saw coming. Donald Trump leading the pack for Republicans while Bernie Sanders mounts a furious challenge to Hillary Clinton among Democrats.

Let's pause for a moment and let that sink in.

A Democratic socialist from Vermont and a billionaire reality TV star surging. Who knew? Or should I say only in America? Both men sitting atop the polls for their respective parties in New Hampshire. That critical first in the nation primary. Mr. Trump covering all his bases, poking fun at Sanders for allowing Black Lives Matter activists to swarm the stage in Seattle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would never give up my microphone to a protester like Bernie Sanders.

TRUMP: I would never give up my microphone. I thought that was disgusting. That showed such weakness. The way he was taken away by two young women. The microphone. They just took the whole place over. I felt badly for him, but it showed that he's weak.

You know what? He's getting the biggest crowds and I'm getting the biggest crowds. We're the two getting the crowds. But believe me that's not going to happen to Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN Politics reporter MJ Lee and CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny are here to parse the numbers.

MJ, let's start with you. What are the polls showing?

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's break down the numbers a little bit, Carol. In the New Hampshire poll among Democratic voters and likely Democratic voters we have Sanders with a clear lead over Hillary Clinton. So this is not great news for her. The numbers, Sanders at 44 percent, Hillary Clinton is at 37 percent. No one else really comes close, which is not surprising. Biden is at 9 percent. And then everyone else in the field is close to 1 percent or a little lower.

Let's take a look at the Republicans now. Donald Trump with the lead in New Hampshire as well. He is at 18 percent followed by Jeb Bush at 13 percent. John Kasich got a huge surge actually after what was a strong performance in the first debate on Thursday in Cleveland. He is at 12 percent. So Sanders and Trump are leading in New Hampshire.

COSTELLO: It's just amazing. So Jeff Zeleny, what does it all mean?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's definitely -- the heat of the summer has upended the race. The question is will this go into the fall or is this sort of a temporary thing that voters are just, you know, looking around a little bit?

There are some similarities, not ideologically but sort of enthusiastically about Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. There is a sense that both of them, for their respective corners, represent, you know, this anti-Washington sort of anger and angst that's out there. Can't get nothing done so let's try something different.

The liberals love to hear Bernie Sanders, how he talks. And conservatives and others love to hear -- you know, they find Donald Trump refreshing. A little too soon to know if this is going to carry on. But Donald Trump, what this does show after the debate when so many people thought he had done himself in, clearly that is not the case at this point. But polls as we know are a process. They're not a definitive thing. They change constantly. So we'll keep our eye on them.

But the Clinton campaign, I promise you, Carol, has their eye on Bernie Sanders particularly in New Hampshire. He's from next door Vermont. So what he says really sounds good to so many Democratic voters up there.

COSTELLO: All right. Jeff Zeleny, MJ Lee, thanks to both of you. I appreciate it.

While, the Donald and Bernie show plays out Jeb Bush is fighting for airtime. Once the man to beat, Bush is trying a brand new tactic. Yes, he's talking policy. He actually laid out his foreign policy and blamed America's shortcomings on Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Where was Secretary of State Clinton in all this? Like the president himself, she had opposed the surge, then joined in claiming credit for its success. Then stood by as that hard won victory by American allied forces was thrown away. In all of her record-setting travels she stopped by Iraq exactly once.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:05:10] COSTELLO: Bush is a winner in the late-night sweepstakes, though. Stephen Colbert tweeting. "Jeb Bush will be on 'Late Show with Stephen Colbert' September 8th. My first GOP candidate. Luckily I do 200 shows a year, so I think I can fit them all in."

With me now to talk about this and more, Iowa State Senator Charles Schneider and Bush supporter.

Welcome, sir.