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Rock Icon David Bowie Dies at 69; Mexico Begins Proceedings to Extradite 'El Chapo'; Sean Penn's Controversial Interview with 'El Chapo'; Poll: Cruz Leads Trump in Iowa, Trump Dominates in New Hampshire; Clinton, Sanders Neck and Neck in Polls. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired January 11, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Penn's meeting was made possible by a mutual connection, Mexican actress Kate del Castillo.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via phone): Senator Sanders voted with the gun lobby, and I voted against the gun lobby.

SEN. SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We certainly do not want to see a right-wing extremist in the White House. I think Bernie Sanders is the candidate.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's the problem. It's called uncertainty. Is he a natural-born citizen? Some people -- I don't know.

CUOMO: Musical genius gone after an 18-month battle with cancer at the age of 69.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Three days ago that David Bowie had his 69th birthday and released a brand-new album.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was constantly changing. Constantly growing. Constantly seeking to break boundaries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. Music fans around the world waking up to sad news. David Bowie, the iconic British rocker, has died of cancer just two days after his 69th birthday.

CUOMO: Bowie just one of the few musical geniuses to have influence over five decades. Ever since the Sixties, it's been his look. It's been the way he did it musically, lyrically. His latest album was just released on Friday. Music fans, celebrities, politicians all uniting in an obvious feeling of loss here. Incredible tributes, the mural wall we showed you in London. We'll show it to you again throughout the morning. Just beautiful tribute to a man who meant so much to so many.

CNN senior media correspondent, host of "RELIABLE SOURCES," Brian Stelter joins us now with more. We just lost an original.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: A shocking loss. And as people wake up this morning, learning the news, we're hearing from so many other artists paying tribute. "The Rolling Stone" has just weighed in on Twitter a couple minutes ago, calling him such a kind man, an extraordinary musician and a true original.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC: "CHANGES")

STELTER (voice-over): Legendary British singer David Bowie, who indelibly influenced generations with his eclectic persona and groundbreaking sound, dead at age 69 after an 18-month battle with cancer.

Bowie's publicist confirming the icon "died peacefully, surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in his loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief."

His son tweeting, "Very sorry and sad to say it's true. I'll be offline for a while. Love to all."

DAVID BOWIE, MUSICIAN (singing): Is there life on Mars?

STELTER: An illustrious career spanning over 40 years. Bowie was born in South London as David Jones.

BOWIE (singing): Ground control to Major Tom.

STELTER: Bursting onto the scene in 1969 with the smash hit "Space Oddity."

BOWIE (singing): ... check ignition and may God's love be with you.

STELTER: And later as his ethereal space alien alter ego, Ziggy Stardust.

BOWIE (singing): Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Weird and Gilly and the Spiders from Mars.

STELTER: Bowie's flamboyant theatrics and a fashion-forward style becoming a signature hallmark of the genre-defying pop fixture.

BOWIE (singing): There's a starman waiting in the sky.

STELTER: His music a rally cry for misfits everywhere. In 1996, Bowie was inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame and awarded a Grammy lifetime achievement award ten years later.

His longtime wife, supermodel Iman, a steady fixture by his side, Bowie a master of reinvention, continued working, dipping in and out of the public eye, releasing his latest album, "Blackstar," just days ago on his 69th birthday, much to critical acclaim. The album topping charts in the U.K. and the U.S. BOWIE (singing): Something happened on the day we met.

STELTER: Highlighting Bowie's unparalleled ability to continue to push the envelope, even after four decades in the industry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STELTER: His longtime manager, Tony Visconti, saying on Facebook this morning that that last album was a parting gift to all of us.

PEREIRA: So moving, the timing of that. He knew, obviously, that the end was near, and to release it two days before his death.

STELTER: His battle with cancer was very private. It was a secret until this morning. It had been going on for a year and a half. And so many of his songs were about life, what it meant to be alive, as well as about mortality. He said, in a recent interview, that he liked to continue exploring new kinds of music, because it was a new challenge. It was something new for him to do that kept him alive, kept him changing. He went from industrial rock to airy folk pop to hip-hop in moments, as well. Trying it all, experimenting all throughout the years.

CAMEROTA: Once again, he's just one of these artists who you realize, once they're gone, how they actually were the soundtrack of your life. You know, how all of these songs, you can relate to that moment in time in your life. He was just, you know, really instrumental in that way.

[07:05: 09] CUOMO: It wasn't a gimmick. He was a real artist. You know what I mean? It wasn't just the hair and the makeup. He adapted all. I remember in the '80s, his resurgence that he had, when videos became a big deal. He grabbed on early. That's what artists do: they find a way to interpret what's new.

CAMEROTA: That's right.

STELTER: He'd been making movies. He'd been starring on Broadway. It's the music, though, that I think will all stay with us.

PEREIRA: I can imagine a lot of people will be around his star on the Walk of Fame today as they learn the news. Brian, thank you.

Other news we're watching, actor Sean Penn caught up in a real-life drama involving that Mexican drug lord, Juan "El Chapo" Guzman. Penn conducted a secret interview with El Chapo for "Rolling Stone" magazine back in October. This bizarre twist turning into a punch line for Ricky Gervais at last night's Golden Globes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICKY GERVAIS, COMEDIAN: I want to do this monologue and then go into hiding. OK? Not even Sean Penn will find me. Snitch.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PEREIRA: Meanwhile, there's some conflicting information about whether Mexican authorities were informed about this interview. Now they want to talk to the actor. CNN's Nick Valencia is live from Mexico City with the latest for us -- Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

The formal paperwork for El Chapo's extradition has been filed by the Mexican government. A senior law-enforcement official here in Mexico tells me that we could see El Chapo in a U.S. courtroom as early as this summer. Meanwhile, over the weekend, a day and a half after his capture, we're hearing from El Chapo in a rare interview. In his own words, he talks about his life and his role in the world of drug trafficking.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOAQUIN "EL CHAPO" GUZMAN, DRUG KINGPIN: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

GRAPHIC: This interview is for the exclusive use of Kate del Castillo and Mister Sean Penn.

VALENCIA (voice-over): In a two-minute clip posted to RollingStone.com over the weekend, notorious drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman gives an exclusive interview to Mexican actress Kate del Castillo and Academy Award winner Sean Penn.

GUZMAN (through translator): It's a reality that drugs destroyed. Unfortunately, as I said, where I grew up, there is no other way. There still isn't a way to survive. Another way to work.

VALENCIA: El Chapo speaking while on the run, follow-up question through a face-to-face meeting he had with Penn in October.

GUZMAN (through translator): All I do is defend myself, nothing more. I do not start looking for trouble.

VALENCIA: This photo of the two taken just three months after the drug kingpin escaped out of a maximum security prison in central Mexico.

Now Mexican officials want to question the Hollywood A-lister, along with this famous Mexican actress, Kate del Castillo. She's credited with linking Penn to the heavily-guarded fugitive. Penn writing in "Rolling Stone," "I take no pride in keeping secrets that may be perceived as protecting criminals."

Guzman's desire to talk to the actors about making a bio pic about his life could have been the slip-up that led to Friday's capture. Castillo forging a friendship with El Chapo after a 2012 tweet critical of the Mexican government. CNN receiving contradictory information about whether or not the Mexican government knew about the interview before it was published to "Rolling Stone's" website.

A senior Mexican law enforcement official says no. However, a separate source tells CNN they were well aware and that it aided in finally catching the world's most wanted drug lord.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: El Chapo is back in the Altiplano Penitentiary. It's Mexico's most secure prison. Coincidentally, it's also the very same prison he escaped from back in July. The concern, of course, is that he could escape again. A source does tell me that he is being heavily guarded and is under 24-hour surveillance -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Nick, the reporting really counts on this one. Thank you for keeping us in the know.

So, did "Rolling Stone" and Sean Penn have the right to do this, and was it right do it? You have the law, and you have ethics. Let's discuss.

Frank Sesno, director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. Also, as you know, a CNN alum, former Washington bureau chief and great. We also have Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor.

Let's start with the law, Counselor. Did "Rolling Stone" -- with a would be any exposure legally for them or their for-contract journalist Sean Penn?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I don't think they have any legal exposure. This was journalism. This was interviewing a bad guy. We interview good guys, and we interview bad guys. And it was a big scoop, and he was a very news-worthy figure. And there is nothing illegal, as far as the facts as we know them as to what "Rolling Stone" did.

CUOMO: Now, in terms of the unknown, if there were any facilitation of movement or of where he stayed, accommodation to El Chapo, then you get a very different thing (ph).

TOOBIN: Right. If they supplied him with means to escape, if they brought him weapons, if they helped him move around the country. But there is absolutely no evidence of that. This seems like they -- finally, they located him. They went there, and they talked to him, and that was it.

CUOMO: So then you get to whether this was right to do. Mr. Sesno, how do you see the situation, Professor?

FRANK SESNO, DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: I absolutely think it's right to do in the sense of do we have a right, and does "Rolling Stone" or Sean Penn have a right to talk to El Chapo? They have a right to talk to El Chapo just like CNN, Peter Bergen, had a right to talk to Osama bin Laden when he was on the run and when he was a wanted man.

Whether it's journalism or not is another question. Sean Penn isn't a journalist. To my knowledge, he has never played one on TV. And what he did was he made news, like Dennis Rodman made news when he went with Vice News to North Korea. But I'm not sure I'd call it journalism.

TOOBIN: One of the things I like about journalism is there's no bar exam. There is no certification. And as far as I'm concerned, Sean Penn was a journalist. He actually has done interviews before. He interviewed Fidel Castro. Look, that article isn't the article I would have written based on an -- based on an interview with El Chapo, but I say...

CUOMO: The criticism is he's sympathetic to the people he's talking to.

TOOBIN: Sympathetic, and the article is very long-winded and pretentious. But so what? I think it was journalism. Not everybody who is a journalist is a full-time journalist. And I think, you know, he got something that any of us -- I certainly would have welcomed the opportunity to interview El Chapo. I suspect you would have, too. And, you know, he got it and we didn't; and my hat's off to him.

SESNO: I just think...

CUOMO: Go ahead, please.

SESNO: I just think -- I don't disagree, and I think we have to be not pretentious about what journalism is because that's changed, too. There are more voices, and the more the merrier.

But I think we also have to be very smart, and the public has to be very smart about just exactly what this was. This was an opportunity to talk to El Chapo. The actual interview was not really an interview. It was a series of questions that were posed to him by his own people. Sean Penn wasn't there he says -- and he says it in the article -- to follow up and press. It's not the kind of interview that you would do, Chris, or would want to be associated with, or if you were, you'd be waving red flags all over the place.

Jeffrey, I agree it's a very long-winded piece. It's very self- referential. It's a polemic, but that's OK. You know, Ernest Hemingway did a form of journalism in his way, and everybody has got a different voice.

But I think we have to be very clear about what was and wasn't asked of this man, about how he was pressed and about how sympathetically this is conveyed.

CUOMO: The one protection I'll provide to Mr. Penn is I always feel that people are so quick to say, "Well, I tell you what would I have asked him." You're with the head of the Sinaloa cartel in some Mexican jungle. You're not going to start unleashing the haymakers on the guy, I promise you that, because you want to leave that jungle, as well.

TOOBIN: And by the way, he did admit or brag that he was the biggest drug dealer in the world. So it wasn't exactly like he was pretending he was a simple Mexican farmer.

CUOMO: Right. But I mean, those questions weren't like how can you kill 100,000 people? What kind of person are you, you kill your own -- You have to be practical, because you want to live.

Now, one of the things that Ricky Gervais said, Frank Sesno, last night, as a joke at the end, he said, "Snitch." Now, Penn -- Sean Penn finds himself in a very precarious position, because the timing of the arrest of this guy and the interview is going to be too close for both sides of this agenda. Right?

If you're a partisan of these, you know -- these despicable drug dealers, they're going to say, "Wow, that's a little convenient." And right after he's talked to the guy, he gets picked up, and the Mexican government says they knew he was there.

And then on the other side, you got, "So what? You were going to protect the existence of a guy who's this bad and wanted by U.S. authorities?" Where do you come down on?

SESNO: I would come down probably where Jeffrey does. You know, that's coincidence; that's life. That's whatever it is. Sean Penn did his, quote unquote, "job," as he saw it in this case. He went and talked to the guy. He's not part of law enforcement. He's not an extension of law enforcement, and he's not part of El Chapo's protection squad.

TOOBIN: I think it's -- he doesn't have a lot to fear from the Mexican authorities, from the U.S. authorities. I would be uncomfortable as a journalist with the violent drug cartel having even the slightest thought that I was responsible for the arrest of El Chapo.

CUOMO: The timing not good in that way. However, we have no facts to tie those two together. That's very important to note, especially for those who like Sean Penn.

Jeffrey Toobin, thank you very much.

Frank Sesno, as always, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Very interesting, Chris.

Turning now to politics, the Iowa caucuses just three weeks away, and the new polls find the race tight on both sides of the aisle. New poll numbers show Texas Senator Ted Cruz with a tight lead over -- in Iowa over Donald Trump. But Trump has a crushing lead over his rivals in New Hampshire. We have live team coverage beginning with CNN's Athena Jones.

Tell us about what these numbers mean, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Well, it means there is a big battle for the top prize in Iowa, and now Trump has gone from raising what he said were other people's questions about Cruz's citizenship to out and out declaring that Cruz isn't a natural-born citizen.

It's succeeding in raising questions in some voters' minds, according to the voters our folks talked to on the ground in Iowa and Nevada over the weekend. So it's no surprise that Trump isn't letting up on this. Take a listen to what he told his crowd at the rally in Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can't have a person running for office even though Ted is very glib. And he goes out and he says, "Well, I'm a natural-born citizen," but the point is you're not. You've got to get a declaratory judgment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now, of course, Cruz says it's not an issue. Legal experts agree. take a listen to his response to all of this on "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Substance of the issue is clear and straightforward. As a legal matter, the Constitution and federal law are clear that the child of a U.S. citizen born abroad is a natural-born citizen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So this constant drumbeat from Trump is forcing Cruz to respond repeatedly. And now Rand Paul is jumping in to raise similar concerns about Cruz, saying that Democrats will challenge this and it will have to be decided by the Supreme Court -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Meanwhile, on the Democratic side -- thank you so much, Athena -- Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in a virtual tie in both early states. The new CNN poll shows Clinton having trouble pulling away in Iowa. Sanders still leading in New Hampshire. Sanders also out-performing Clinton in a hypothetical match-up against Republicans, the top Republican.

Senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny live in Washington on the Democratic race -- Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Michaela.

I mean, Hillary Clinton is the Democratic frontrunner or is she? She's not only locked in a tight race with Bernie Sanders in Iowa and New Hampshire. She's also running neck and neck with Republicans in hypothetical head to head match-ups. Take a look at these numbers.

In New Hampshire, Clinton and Trump essentially tied, and she runs behind Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Now Sanders has almost a 20 point edge over Trump and Cruz and nine over Rubio.

Now in Iowa, take a look at these numbers. Clinton runs stronger against Trump, but still is falling behind Cruz and Rubio. And Sanders is far better against Trump with closer contests against Cruz and Rubio. Now, all of these are hypothetical match-ups. Hypothetical again, but

it's one of the challenges facing Clinton. How strong of a Democratic general election candidate would she be if she wins the nomination?

But it's the polling with Sanders that's a much more urgent concern. In Iowa and New Hampshire, the race is uncomfortably competitive for Clinton just three weeks before the voting begins in the Iowa caucuses.

And she argues she's the only Democrat who can win the White House in November, but it's an open question if her promise of electability, so reminiscent of the argument she made eight years ago against Barack Obama, will be embraced or actually backfire with those Democratic primary voters -- Chris.

CUOMO: Especially when you just showed those polls showing Bernie Sanders doing better against the GOP big shots than Hillary does. All right, Jeff. Thank you very much.

So in other news, the number of people suspected in a New Year's Eve crime spree in Cologne, Germany is climbing. More than 30 people are now being sought by police. There are more than 500 individual criminal complaints from about 380 a few days ago. Authorities say this was a mob attack by North Africans that at least 40 percent of the cases were sexual assaults.

Critics of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal immigration policy are using this as an obvious reason to crack down.

CAMEROTA: A symbolic show of solidarity in the skies over South Korea. The U.S. flying a B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula just days after North Korea claims it detonated a hydrogen bomb. The bomber flanked by U.S. and South Korean fighter jets. A spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command calls this is a demonstration of America's commitment to its allies.

PEREIRA: Bad news. Only $4 richer, Alisyn and I are. Good news.

CAMEROTA: We won.

CUOMO: Thanks for cutting me in.

PEREIRA: You'll get your 40 cents.

CUOMO: Sure.

PEREIRA: Meanwhile, lottery fever gripping the nation and with good reason. That Powerball jackpot soaring to a record $1.3 billion, with a "B," dollars for Wednesday's drawing. That number likely to climb again. No grand prize winners in the drawing on Saturday.

CAMEROTA: How is that possible?

PEREIRA: I don't know. The chances of hitting all six numbers are one in 292 million. We say that to kind of discourage you from buying the tickets. Is that what we do? CUOMO: Why discourage people?

PEREIRA: I don't know.

CUOMO: I'm glad you lost. I'm glad you only got $4. They were going to cut me out. They were going to cut me out.

CAMEROTA: We're going to split that latte with 23 other people.

PEREIRA: What would you do with the money? Settle this argument. What would do you if you won this historic jackpot? You can tweet us, @NewDayCNN, or @NewDay, rather, or post your comment on Facebook.com/NewDay.

CUOMO: And would you cut someone out who you sit next to every day whose idea it was do this originally?

PEREIRA: I'll do the math. Let us know.

[07:20:06] CAMEROTA: Meanwhile a new poll finds Senator Ted Cruz leading in Iowa. What happens if Trump loses Iowa? We pose that question next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: The political clock ticking closer to the first-in-the- nation caucuses and primaries, just 21 days, Chris, until Iowa and 29 days until New Hampshire. And new polls show the 2016 race tightening on both sides.

So here to break down all of the numbers and his theories is Michael Smerconish. He's a CNN political commentator and host of CNN's "SMERCONISH."

Michael, great to see you. You have been candid with us on this show always about your theories. And about how often they have been misguided.

CUOMO: Not right.

CAMEROTA: In terms of this race...

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Chris, yes.

CAMEROTA: Because who could predict it. Let me pull up the latest numbers and get your thoughts. These are Iowa Republican caucus goers. Ted Cruz is winning narrowly there over Donald Trump 28 percent to 24 percent. Marco Rubio a distant third at 13 percent. What do you think of these numbers?

SMERCONISH: So I think you would rather be Ted Cruz in Iowa. You would rather be Donald Trump in New Hampshire, which I know we'll get to. What's stunning to me is the split in Iowa among those who are likely caucus goers and those who are potential caucus goers.

[07:25:16] Donald Trump leads among the newbies, those who are new to the process, those who have never caucused before. But it's Ted Cruz who has the likely Iowa participant.

And I think what's important to underscore is that voting in the Iowa caucus is not what most of us around the country are akin to, which is checking a box by going into the ballot booth or maybe even doing it at home. You've got to go and invest time to be a participant.

So the question is this. Does Donald Trump have ground game this Iowa? We're going to find out in 21 days.

CAMEROTA: Here's the number that you were talking about, because Donald Trump wins if it's potential caucus goers. That -- this is correct, caucus goers, that you were referring to. That's for Ted Cruz, 28 to 24. The numbers flip if it is -- when you look at all of the potential GOP electorate. Then Trump wins. So we hear you in terms of that's how Trump can pull it off.

CUOMO: The big question becomes why? What is motivating the discussion in that state and the other ones as the poll goes along, because the numbers change. The numbers are random. We've heard all the mitigating on polls.

But what do you think the narrative is that is playing for Cruz versus playing for Trump?

SMERCONISH: For Cruz, I think it's evangelical Christians. When you look at the internals on any of these surveys. And you're right, there are differences among them, but one of the constants is how he's breaking away from the pack or really has broken away from the pack with evangelical Christians.

I don't know, Chris. Does that mean that, in their hearts, they look at Donald Trump, and they're disbelieving of him when he says my favorite book is the Bible? I think it's religion in large part. You saw that Marco Rubio commercial where he laid his religion on the table and began running it in the Iowa in the last couple of days.

It's because they all realize that evangelical Christians are the single most important constituency in Iowa. Why does Donald Trump, though, have such resonance? It's this outsider message. It's the same message that has Bernie Sanders at the other end of the political spectrum doing so well against Hillary Clinton.

SMERCONISH: Right. So that's another surprising. I mean, you can tell us if it surprises you, but these new polls say that they are much closer, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, than previously thought.

Let's look at Iowa. At one time Hillary Clinton had a double-digit lead a couple months ago over Bernie Sanders. Now they are neck and neck, 48 percent to 45 percent. What do you see here, Michael?

SMERCONISH: And Alisyn, what's interesting is that the split that we just identified among the potential and the likely voters on the Republican side of the aisle doesn't exist among the "D's." There's a consistency here among those who participate in caucuses and those who are the most expansive pool. What explains it? I think in Iowa and New Hampshire it's two-fold. I

think that Bernie Sanders has a message that is resonating among Democrats the way that Trump has a message resonating among Republicans.

But there's something else. It's the internals of her surveys that show she has a problem of trust and honesty among both Republicans and Democrats, far more obviously among Republicans.

And so it's not just Bernie. You know, she's got a lot of bona fides going for her. But there are some net negatives that she just has not been able to shake.

CUOMO: Well, she is net negative right now. In terms of her plus/minus, positive to negative. The negative number is higher in a lot of polls. And that's what has the thinkers in and around her campaign worried. It's not, wow, we didn't anticipate Bernie's message. It's more resonant. It's we believe people are listening to him, because they don't want to listen to us and they don't like the GOP. How do they turn that around?

SMERCONISH: And Chris, what's interesting is that, despite those net negatives in the head to heads in the generals, she wins them. She wins them by varying margins. But I think that's a reflection of her opponents. Right? Because what it says is that you have people who are going out and saying, "Do I trust her? Now I really don't trust her. Am I voting for her? Yes, I guess I'll vote for her." What does that say about all the opponents?

CUOMO: She's not doing as well as Bernie does, though, in those head to heads, Senator Sanders.

SMERCONISH: That's absolutely true. Now the question then becomes, OK, so what if he wins Iowa? What if he wins New Hampshire?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

SMERCONISH: What if he puts the two of them together back to back. But when you look forward on the electro calendar, and you take into consideration the number of people of color who will participate when you get to Nevada, when you get to South Carolina, who are not going to be a factor in Iowa and they're not going to be a factor in New Hampshire, the dynamics change, and they benefit her, not Bernie.

CAMEROTA: OK. Michael Smerconish, always great to get your perspective.

SMERCONISH: See you, guys.

CAMEROTA: Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. With all that being said about Hillary Clinton, why isn't she far ahead of Bernie Sanders? And would she be in real danger if Sanders wins Iowa and New Hampshire? We'll have our analysts discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)