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Power Ball New High; Polls Show Sanders Leading; Clinton Campaign Worried; Obama's Last State Of The Union Speech; Hillary Clinton Interview Airs Tonight; Biden Says Sanders Doing Heck Of A Job; Train Hero Honored Tonight At State Of The Union; Joe Biden Opens Up. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 12, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: -- world record. And I sound like a broken record, because it is a world record and it continues to be so. So, good luck. I hope you don't win over me. But then again (ph).

Nice to have you. Wolf next. See you tomorrow.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Jim Sciutto. Wolf is on assignment today. It is 12:00 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa, 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 8:00 p.m. in Istanbul. Wherever you're watching from around the world today, thank you for joining us.

And we begin with developments in the presidential race. New poll numbers just released within the last hour show Bernie Sanders pulling ahead of Hillary Clinton in Iowa. The Quinnipiac University poll shows Sanders at 49 percent, Clinton at 44 percent. That is just outside that poll's margin of error. This is the first major survey to show Sanders with a substantial lead over Clinton in that crucial early state of Iowa.

Another poll released earlier today gives Sanders his widest lead so far over Clinton in New Hampshire, the other crucial early state. The Monmouth University poll shows Sanders ahead there by some 14 points, 53 percent to Clinton's 39 percent. Sanders says Clinton has stepped up her attacks on him, because, he says, her campaign is in trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, obviously, in that scenario, what people do is start attacking. Suddenly, Bernie Sanders is no longer a nice guy and he's wrong on this and he's wrong on that and he's wrong on that. That is not surprising when you have a Clinton campaign that is now in trouble and now understands that they can lose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: The Clinton campaign has launched an all-out blitz in Iowa and New Hampshire today and it's a family affair. Chelsea Clinton is making her campaign debut in New Hampshire, while Hillary Clinton is on the trail in Iowa. Clinton kept up her attacks on Senator Sanders on gun control and also on health care reform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He wants to roll Medicare, Medicaid, the children's health insurance program, Affordable Care Act program and private health insurance into a national system and then turn it over to the states to administer. Now, if that's the kind of revolution he's talking about, I am worried, folks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN National Correspondent Sunlen Serfaty joining us now from Manchester, New Hampshire. So, Sunlen, you have two new polls today. Hillary Clinton trailing Bernie Sanders now in both Iowa and New Hampshire. The numbers in New Hampshire, that lead very big. Sanders says Clinton is in trouble. Is her campaign starting to exude worry as we get closer to those dates?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, there was already a sense of anxiety within the Clinton campaign before these poll numbers came out. So, these new poll numbers in Iowa and New Hampshire really are going to do little to alleviate that anxiety. There certainly is a sense of concern and urgency to really close the enthusiasm gap, especially as these early states head to the polls in just a few weeks. And that's one of the biggest reasons why we're seeing Hillary Clinton really start to hone right in on Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail, really start to make electability arguments against Bernie Sanders.

And today, in Ames, Iowa with no exception. She devoted a huge majority of her speech today, really going point by point after Bernie Sanders on everything, as you said, from guns to health care to his stance on Wall Street.

So, really a reading between the lines. And her final closing message to these early state voters, Hillary Clinton is giving a big clue about what she is most concerned about at this moment and that's Bernie Sanders -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Sunlen Serfaty in New Hampshire.

As the race for the White House heats up, President Obama's term in office, of course, is winding down. The president will deliver his final State of the Union speech tonight. Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas joining us now to talk about what he'd like to hear from the president.

Representative Castro, it's great to have you on. You, of course, have endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. You look at these two polls, these are not good numbers this close to those races in New Hampshire and Iowa. What's your read?

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D), TEXAS: Well, I think that, you know, I've said all along that this is going to be a competitive race. At one point, she was ahead by about 30 points over Bernie Sanders. And no race like this has ever been won by 30 points. And so, I think the difference will be in single digits. But I do think that Hillary Clinton will pull out the nomination.

SCIUTTO: Sanders got some surprising help today in an interview with Joe Biden with our own Gloria Borger. And he took a bit of a stab, a not so veiled stab it seemed to Hillary Clinton, saying that Clinton was, in fact, late to the game on income disparity in the country and bucked up, in a way, Sanders. What -- do you think he intended -- do you think the vice president intended to take a stab at the Democratic frontrunner or who was the Democratic frontrunner?

[13:05:03] CASTRO: You know, I don't think so. I think they've been long-time working partners for years. I know that the vice president, I'm sure, respects Hillary Clinton's work when she was in the Senate and as secretary of state. And also, somebody who, even in her private life before she was in politics, was somebody who stood up for workers, for children, for people who fell to domestic violence. You know, somebody who was really a champion of the people. That's who Hillary Clinton is.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you, as well, about tonight's speech. Of course, the president's last State of the Union. If you saw it today on NBC, with -- an interview with Matt Lauer, he asked President Obama what he would tell his younger self, in effect, if he was just embarking on his term. And this struck me because the president said that the White House can be isolating, that you have to communicate better.

In effect, it seems, that he's been hearing some of the criticism that you hear in Washington and outside Washington, that he's been insulated, that he hasn't communicated well with the American people, for instance on the threat of terrorism.

And I wonder if you agree with that criticism and do you see a president somewhat humbled, as it were, by that criticism and becoming aware that he's got to do a better job as the months wind down?

CASTRO: Yes, well, listen, I'm not going to disagree with a president who's going through a self-analysis after seven years in office. He's also faced opponents in the Congress who have been much more obstinate, much more determined, in fact sometimes solely determined on his failure. So, he's had a tough road here and really is a president who brought the country back from a brink of a great depression and disaster. So, he's got a legacy that he can really celebrate tonight.

SCIUTTO: Joaquin Castro, thanks for joining us. We look forward to hearing the speech this evening.

CASTRO: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: So, a lot to discuss with our political panel today. I want to bring in Political Commentators Donna Brazile, Alex Castellanos. Donna, if I could begin with you. You look at these numbers for Secretary Clinton, beyond the headline figures, there's also data in here that's equally worrisome, maybe even more worrisome for Hillary Clinton, in terms of how committed voters are, for instance to Sanders versus Clinton. Sanders 55 percent say they're completely decided. Only 49 percent of Clinton supporters. Sanders' supporters 90 percent view them -- rather Democrats view him favorably, 73 percent for Clinton. How worrisome are these polls for Hillary Clinton as we get closer to Iowa and New Hampshire?

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, as someone who has been in many, many political battles, of course a campaign should worry every time a poll comes out. But they should not stop focusing on what the real goal is and that is to make sure that they get out to the people that have committed to them in Iowa and New Hampshire to go out and vote because in those states, retail politics matter. These polls should give them some indication that there's a weakness in their brand, there's a weakness in their operation. And perhaps they can figure out how to make sure that they can close the gap.

But I have to say this about Bernie Sanders. He has found a sweet spot within the Democratic coalition. There has always been a hunger for someone with the kind of passion, the kind of, what I believe, vision that Senator Sanders has, in terms of dealing with -- closing the inequality gap, making sure that our children are able to get the education they need. And ensuring the middle class is healthy and prosperous and not just the wealthiest top 10 percent.

So, this is a vigorous debate that is happening in the Democratic Party. It couldn't come at a, I think, a very interesting time as we get ready to head to the polls in just a few weeks.

SCIUTTO: Alex, Hillary Clinton was supposed to run away with this race. I wonder if, from the Republican side, you're relishing the sight of some internal battling here as we get closer to New Hampshire and Iowa?

ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, it's such a sad day to watch the Democratic front runners struggle like this but I think I'll get over it.

No, look, I think Hillary Clinton could still lose Iowa and New Hampshire and still win the Democratic nomination. A lot of the Bernie Sanders' voters aren't really voting for Bernie Sanders. The last time a Clinton ran for president, it was a new Democrat, said that the era of big government is over. Bill Clinton did. The Democratic Party has moved left since then. This is Bernie Sanders' party as far as its soul and what it believes, Elizabeth Warren's party.

And the most powerful thing that a Democratic primary voter or caucus voter can do now is not just to ratify Hillary Clinton's nomination but to pull her to that message. I think a lot of Bernie Sanders' voters, at the end, understand Hillary may be the nominee. But this gives their vote right now a real purpose. Hillary, love us, capture our message, represent our angry populism.

SCIUTTO: Donna, I want to ask you because, again, speaking to internal battles. It was interesting to hear, and I wonder what you make of it, the vice president, in an interview with our Gloria Borger, call out Hillary Clinton, in effect, for being late on income equality is an issue. Meanwhile, saying that Bernie Sanders was there from the beginning. How much of a damage is that, you do you think? And do you think that was an intentional swipe at Hillary Clinton from the vice president? He didn't exactly back off it this morning when he spoke with NBC.

[13:10:28] BRAZILE: Look, I like Joe Biden. And I think what he said to Gloria Borger has some resonance. Look, Bernie Sanders was on Capitol Hill while Hillary Clinton was putting out fires across the world. I mean, look, if you want to talk about it in terms of a time line, you know, maybe Joe Biden is right, in terms of who got to the issue first.

But, you know, in my judgment, I don't think it matters who got to issue first. It matters that we get it right because too many people in our country are suffering. And we are talking about tactics and strategy but we're not talking about the anguish and pain of those who are still looking for work, who are worried about whether or not they can make ends meet. And I think that is the most important passion that you find in a Democratic Party.

So, it's not left or right. It's about right versus wrong. And if you are right on these issues, then make sure that you can help people, especially those who are sick and those who need help. That's what matters to the Democratic Party.

SCIUTTO: Donna Brazile, Alex Castellanos, thanks very much for joining us today. I know you'll be watching the speech tonight as well.

BRAZILE: I can't wait.

SCIUTTO: Hillary Clinton -- I'll see you there.

Sitting down with CNN's Alisyn Camerota, that interview will air tonight at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Vice president, Joseph Biden, praising, as we said, Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, saying he is doing one heck of a job on the campaign trail. His comments on Hillary Clinton not quite as glowing. His candid interview with CNN is next.

Plus, Spencer Stone, you may remember his name. The Air Force staff sergeant who stopped a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train. It'll be among those honored at tonight's State of the Union address. He's going to me live here on CNN just ahead.

[13:12:09]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:16] SCIUTTO: President Obama is preparing for his final State of the Union address tonight. These new pictures just in to CNN of the president walking outside the White House. Right now, final preparations are being made on The Hill. It will also be a big moment for the man who will be seated directly behind President Obama. That, of course, Vice President Joe Biden. In a wide-ranging and candid interview with CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger, Vice President Biden talks about his time in the White House and his close relationship with the president. Gloria began by asking him about the race for the Democratic nomination, and hot button issues such as gun control.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Last week the president was talking about gun control and he wrote a piece in which he introduced a litmus test for his political support of Democratic candidate. And he said, either you're with us all the way on gun reform, or I'm not going to support you.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I don't think he said that. What he said was, unless you have a reasonable position on guns.

BORGER: Well, doesn't that mean either you're with us or --

BIDEN: No. No, it doesn't.

BORGER: Well, so let me ask you this then. Bernie Sanders, Senator Sanders, has a history on this. He has, in the past, voted to protect gun manufacturers from liability. Is this a shot across the bow at Bernie Sanders?

BIDEN: Well, Bernie Sanders has said that he thought the president's approach is the correct approach. Bernie Sanders said that he thinks there should be liability now. And so --

BORGER: Well, he -- he said he's -- he might reconsider his position.

BIDEN: Yes. Well, OK. But he -- look, one of the purposes the president has, and I have, we want to affect the attitude of the nominees. We've worked too hard the last seven years to take the party to a place and the country to a place we think it should be. And so what little influence I may have and he may have on who the nominee is and what the nominee says, we're not going to be shamed (ph) (INAUDIBLE).

BORGER: So does Bernie Sanders have to change his position on gun manufacturers in order to have your support --

BIDEN: No.

BORGER: And you out there campaigning for him --

BIDEN: No.

BORGER: Should he be the nominee for the presidency?

BIDEN: No. Bernie Sanders has to do is say the Second Amendment says, which he has of late, the Second Amendment says you can limit who can own a gun. That people who are criminals shouldn't have guns. People who are schizophrenic and have mental illnesses should not own guns. And he has said that.

BORGER: So he's OK with you? BIDEN: Yes, he's OK. Look, Bernie's doing a -- is doing a heck of a

job. I think we have three great candidates out there. I really mean this. They're actually debating issues.

BORGER: Donald Trump, right now, is the Republican frontrunner, no doubt about it. Let me ask you, is he qualified to be president of the United States and the leader on the world stage?

BIDEN: Anyone the American public says they want to be president is qualified to be president. I know that sounds like I'm avoiding the question, and that's not my style.

BORGER: You are. You are.

BIDEN: No. No.

BORGER: OK.

BIDEN: I want to make that clear at the front end. I think, though, he's an incredibly divisive figure. The country has never done well when the leader of the country appeals to people's fears as opposed to their hopes. That's what worries me about Donald Trump. If Donald Trump gets the nomination and wins the election, if he's as smart as I think he -- he's going to regret having said the things he's said and done. The whole idea, as we were talking before, about how to pull the country together for God's sake, pull the politics together down here, how does Donald Trump do that? How does Donald Trump, on the tangent he's on now, trying to separate people based on their ethnicity, based on their origin, based on -- I mean it's just -- it's just -- it's divisive. It's not healthy.

[13:20:06] BORGER: Well, you know, he -- Putin has called Trump an outstanding and talented personality. And Trump has said about Putin, at least he's a leader. You deal an awful lot with foreign leaders. How would you see Trump on the world stage?

BIDEN: I would -- I would hope he'd have an extremely qualified staff with him. I would hope he'd have people from the last administration, other Republican administration who were substantively grounded in --

BORGER: You saying he's not substantive?

BIDEN: No, he's not, so far. Now that doesn't mean he can't be, but he has no background in foreign policy. It's one thing to have an assessment of Putin's personality, and Putin of him. That's OK. But tell me what he knows about strategic doctrine. Tell me what he knows about the nuclear equation with the United States and tell me what he knows about China's Soviet -- or China and Russian relations. I mean, I don't know. Maybe he's keeping it all a secret. But he hasn't spoken to any of the substance so far. None of the substance. So I think he would be -- most world leaders would hope that he had a couple of crash graduate courses before he started to try to exercise the role of president.

BORGER: As we all know, you were thinking long and hard yourself about running for the presidency and you decided it was a no-go. And you've said you regretted it every day.

BIDEN: Yes.

BORGER: Tell me why.

BIDEN: Well, in response to a question, I did say that. Look, I made the absolute right decision for my family, and I made --

BORGER: But do you regret it (INAUDIBLE)?

BIDEN: Well, what I regret is, and I'm still going to be able to do it is, I care deeply about these issues. I've spent my whole adult life, since I was 29 years old, working on foreign policy and domestic policy. And I care deeply about it. And so I regret -- to the extent I regret not having a louder voice on it, but we're -- I'm the vice president of the United States for another year in office and we have an opportunity to get a lot more done. We've done a great deal not withstanding the fiction on the other side. We've done a great deal. We've taken this country from chaos to recovery. We're on the verge of resurgence. We genuinely are better positioned than any nation in the world economically and politically. And so there's so much we can do. And the opportunities we have in life science, and the opportunities we have in the breakthroughs that are going to occur in the next four to six years are astounding.

BORGER: Let me ask you about the race.

BIDEN: Yes.

BORGER: That you're not in.

BIDEN: Yes.

BORGER: And now we see that Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are actually running neck and neck in Iowa and in New Hampshire. Why do you think Hillary Clinton is struggling?

BIDEN: Well, first of all, I -- I've been of the view, and I don't know that you and I have talked about it. I don't want to say that for certain, but we may have. I thought for the last six months they were neck and neck in both places. I never bought the idea that there was somehow that -- and remember when he was up by 15 points in New Hampshire and he was down by 15 points. That's not the -- that's not the way this process works, as you and I both know. I'm much older than you, but you've covered a lot of this.

BORGER: Uh-huh.

BIDEN: And so I'm not surprised that it is viewed as neck and neck. But I'm also will be surprised if the pundits turn out to be right. They hardly ever are on Iowa and New Hampshire. So I'm not --

BORGER: But why is she struggling? I mean you say, I mean we consider, she was an overwhelming favorite and --

BIDEN: Well, I -- BORGER: But -- but --

BIDEN: I -- I think that's part of the reason.

BORGER: He's a Democratic socialist.

BIDEN: Yes, but if you -- I mean, you know, if Bernie Sanders never said he was a Democratic socialist, based on what he's saying, people wouldn't be calling him a Democratic socialist. That's how he characterizes himself in sort of European terms, the Democratic socialist parties in Europe. But --

BORGER: But why is she --

BIDEN: But --

BORGER: Having trouble?

BIDEN: Well, I think that -- that Bernie is speaking to a yearning that is deep and real and he has credibility on it. And that is the absolute enormous concentration of wealth in a small group of people with the middle class now being able to be shown being left out. There used to be a basic bargain, if you contributed to the profitability of enterprise, you got to share in the profit. That's been broken. Productivity is up. Wages are stagnant.

BORGER: But Hillary's talking about that as well.

BIDEN: Well, it's -- but it's -- it's relative new for Hillary to talk about that. Hillary's focus has been other things up till now and that's been Bernie's -- no one questions Bernie's authenticity on those issues. So --

BORGER: And they question hers, do you think?

[13:25:01] BIDEN: Well, I think they question everybody's who hasn't been talking about it all along. But I think she's come forward with some really, really thoughtful approaches to deal with the issue, but I just think -- and, look, you know, everybody, you know, it's the old thing, no one -- everybody wants to be the favorite. No one wants to be the prohibitive favorite. And so it's an awful high bar for her to meet that she was the absolute prohibitive favorite. I never thought she was the prohibitive favorite. I don't think she ever thought she was the prohibitive favorite. So I think it's -- I think it's, you know, everything's sort of coming down to earth, just settling in, but it's not over.

BORGER: So if Hillary Clinton should lose Iowa and New Hampshire, is there any way that you would possibly take another look at this race?

BIDEN: No. I -- look, I, first of all --

BORGER: The door is shut?

BIDEN: First of all, even if Hillary loses both, I haven't thought this through, it's a long way to go to the nomination. And, you know, so it's one thing theoretically to win both of those. She's going to South Carolina. It's going to be pretty rough sledding down there for Bernie and for -- and another guy who's in it, O'Malley. He's a qualified guy. This guy is a serious governor. But --

BORGER: So you're -- you're closing the door?

BIDEN: No, I don't think -- I don't think there's any door to open.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Always a straight talker.

Just ahead, we've got more of this very candid interview with the vice president. He'll talk more about his life and his relationship with President Obama, including a very personal story about how the president offered to help when the Biden family faced a potential personal and financial crisis.

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