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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump: Nikki Haley is Right, I am Angry; Trump: I Will Do More For Women Than Hillary; Sanders Gaining Ground on Clinton; Interview with Rand Paul; New Video of U.S. Sailors Arrested By Iran. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired January 13, 2016 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:08] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Next, breaking news. Donald Trump telling OUTFRONT, Governor Nikki Haley is right, my interview with the Republican frontrunner this hour.
Plus, Bernie Sanders, he has got the momentum leading Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire. What is behind his surge? A special report from the ground. And ten American sailors released by Iran after they apologized. Tonight new details about the moment the Iranians boarded the American ships. Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening, I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news. Donald Trump telling OUTFRONT that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is right, he is angry. The Republican frontrunner speaking to OUTFRONT just a short time ago telling me he and many Americans are angry about the direction of the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm extremely angry and upset about it. I think it's ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Haley said she was referring to Trump and others last night in her State of the Union rebuttal when she warned against following, quote, "the angriest voices." Her speech bringing a brewing battle within the Republican Party out into the open. Some praising Haley for the message, others like Rush Limbaugh slamming the Governor, saying it was the first time in his life he can remember a response to the State of the Union not the going after the President but after one's own party.
In just a few minutes, my interview with Donald Trump (INAUDIBLE) --
But I want to begin with our senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny who is travelling with the Trump campaign in Pensacola, Florida tonight.
And Jeff, Donald Trump is under attack (INAUDIBLE) prime time address to the nation from the GOP and (INAUDIBLE) --
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, I can tell you out in Pensacola tonight -- his supporters unsurprisingly met Donald Trump (INAUDIBLE) --
Republican voters to begin to back away from Trump. So we have a couple fights going on here on a couple of different fights. One, the establishment and then his own rivals with Ted Cruz. Donald Trump is at the middle getting more arrows than any of his other Republican rivals.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY (voice-over): Another day, another sparring partner for Donald Trump.
GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: What I would say to Mr. Trump is don't take it personally.
ZELENY: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley had those words today for Trump, the day after she challenged the GOP frontrunner's rhetoric in the party's official response to the State of the Union Address.
HALEY: During anxious times, it can be attempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation.
ZELENY: Haley heard some of those angry voices firsthand from conservatives, furious she used such a high profile platform to admonish Trump. Ann Coulter assailed her Indian-American heritage tweeting, "Trump should deport Nikki Haley." Trump said Haley, arising Republican star, was off his short list for vice president.
TRUMP: I wouldn't say, she's off to a good start. I feel very strongly about illegal immigration. She doesn't.
ZELENY: It's the latest sign one of the biggest fights of the campaign is happening inside the Republican Party. Donald Trump tore into Ted Cruz again today raising more doubts over his citizenship. On twitter, Trump wrote, "Sadly there is no way that Ted Cruz can continue running in the Republican primary unless he can erase doubt on eligibility. Dems will sue." Cruz struck back going beyond defending his U.S. citizenship to questioning Trump character in a radio interview, Cruz said it's clear his campaign surge has rattled Trump. He told voters to consider the billionaire businessman's values, suggesting Trump has little in common with voters in Iowa and New Hampshire.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I think he will shift to play New York New York. Because Donald comes from New York and he embodies New York values.
ZELENY: Yet Trump has narrowed the gap with Cruz in the latest Iowa poll from the Des Moines Register in Bloomberg. From ten points a month ago to three points now. In Florida today, supporters lined up hours early to see the show.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'll tell you what, he's scaring the heck out of a lot of these politicians.
ZELENY: Elizabeth Camper is an Indiana native who retired to Florida. She says she stands with Trump.
(on camera): Why do you think even the Republican establishment is so worried about him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he's not going to buckle under to big business.
ZELENY (voice-over): Trump's true believers say they love how he's rattling the Republican hierarchy.
(on camera): So as you stand here now, you'll definitely vote for him or you\re still looking at someone else?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm definitely voting Trump.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: And that is why Donald Trump will come here tonight to Pensacola, Florida with another smile on his face. It is rally after rally in city after city. He knows his supporters are right behind him. Erin, the question is, in less than three weeks' time when those Iowa caucuses begin, if he doesn't win there, will his support start eroding then. But for now, I can tell you, these supporters at least here are directly behind him no matter what the establishment says -- Erin.
[19:05:18] BURNETT: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much live in Pensacola.
And OUTFRONT tonight, the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
And Mr. Trump, thanks so much for being with me. You heard what Governor Haley had to say. She said, you were one of the, quote, "angriest voices." When you hear that, that she's saying you're angry, what is your reaction?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (on the phone): Well, I think she's right, I am angry. I'm angry and a lot of other people are angry, too, at how incompetently our country is being run. I am extremely angry and upset about it. I think it's ridiculous. And, you know, believe it or not, it's make America great again, it's really mine is a campaign of hope and future.
But when you look at this Iran deal, where we're giving $150 billion, we get nothing. We don't even get our prisoners back, and then you see the way they treat us, with guns pointed at these young sailors' heads. And they only let them go, by the way, Erin, just so you understand, to get the $100 billion that's due over the next week. Otherwise, they would have -- you would have never gotten them back, unless I was president, by the way.
So I mean, yes, I'm -- I'm angry, to use the term. I'm angry at the way the country is being run. And by the way, it's -- by the results that we have. We don't have victories anymore. BURNETT: So are you comfortable with what she said? I mean, you know, you heard her. She said resist the temptation of listening to the angry voices. She said, talking about immigration, no one who has worked hard should feel unwelcome in this country. And she said, she is referring specifically to you. She has denounced your temporary ban on Muslims that you've proposed.
TRUMP: Well, that's right, she's referring to me and other people, she said. But I don't care, let her refer to me. That's fine. As far as I am concerned, anger is OK. Anger and energy is what this country needs. And I won't be angry for long. If I become president, we're going to start having great victories and we're going to beat China in trade and we're going to beat other countries in trade and lots. And we're going to have borders.
And we're going to have good health care, not ObamaCare, which is going up 25, 35 and 45 percent. And people can't afford it. We're going to do -- we're going to do some great things and the anger will totally subsist and it will be gone very quickly. As far as Nikki Haley is concerned, I like her. She comes to my office asking me for campaign contributions before I was a candidate.
BURNETT: Yes.
TRUMP: And -- and very substantial contributions. She was very aggressive, I will tell you that. But I like her. She's a very nice woman. But she's very weak on the subject of illegal immigration. And, you know, that's not something that I care for, in terms of somebody's attitude. She's very, very weak on illegal immigration. And that's no good with me.
BURNETT: So, you know, you talked about her coming to, and as you just said, asking for substantial amounts of money. She's responded to that and here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: You know, when I say it about my other friends that are running for president, they don't throw stones. And so what I would say to Mr. Trump is don't take it personally. This is just something that we learned in South Carolina that I'm passing along. Take it if you want and don't take it if you don't. But I think our country will be better if we take it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And you say, Mr. Trump?
TRUMP: Well, I don't know what she means by take it. Does she mean by taking the campaign contribution? That's almost the way that was worded.
BURNETT: She means taking -- taking her criticism of you.
TRUMP: OK.
BURNETT: Taking -- taking her --
TRUMP: Oh, no, I can take criticism.
BURNETT: -- (INAUDIBLE) criticism.
TRUMP: I can take criticism better than anybody. But she said -- it was addressed at me. And my response is -- and I think you heard me say, I think she's a very nice woman, but she's weak on illegal -- on the subject of illegal immigration. And it's a big problem. You have people coming in from Syria. We have no idea where they're from, who they are. It could be a Trojan horse. It could be a disaster.
Take a look at what's happening in Brussels. Take a look at what's happening in Germany. Take a look at what's happening all over. I mean, you know, it -- are we going to -- take a look at Paris. I mean there's a good one for you to take a look at. And I'm not just talking about the attack, I'm talking about the Parisian way of life. It's a whole different place.
And we have to find out -- there's tremendous anger out there and hatred. There's tremendous hatred of us. And we have to find out what's at the bottom of it or we're never going to be able to solve the problem, Erin.
BURNETT: So -- so in --
TRUMP: So I have nothing against -- I have nothing at all --
BURNETT: Right.
TRUMP: -- against Nikki Haley. I -- and I will say that she has been to my office on a number of occasions and, you know, campaign contributions. And I have no problem with that. But, you know, I do think that it's something that can be told. But I don't like her stance on illegal immigration.
BURNETT: So are you all right with her speech then? I mean, you know, she's considered a riding -- a rising star in your party. She was hand-picked by the leadership to deliver that prime time response to the president. And Nikki Haley -- a Haley adviser tells our Dana Bash that they took a look at the speech before she delivered it. They read the whole thing. They didn't make any changes. You know, are you OK with that? Do you feel that that was disrespectful of the RNC?
TRUMP: Well, they have to do what they have to do. Erin, they have to do what they have to do. I'm leading by a tremendous amount nationally. I'm leading in every state, including, actually, Iowa, you know, if you look at the recent polls.
BURNETT: Right.
TRUMP: But I'm leading in every state. I'm leading nationally by very, very large numbers. I'm leading in South Carolina, incredible people in South Carolina. And I'm leading by a tremendous amount. And I -- you know, I have a great relationship with the people in South Carolina and -- and I think that they would agree with me more than they would agree with Nikki. But, you know, she can -- you know, I've -- I'm not going to tell her what they say. She's going to have to say whatever she wants. But --
[19:10:30] BURNETT: So Nikki Haley, is she still on a list, when you look at possible vice presidential candidates, would you still consider her to be on that list? Bottom line, would you trust her? Would you consider her?
TRUMP: Well, she's not doing real well right now, but I'm sure she would be somebody that would be considered. But I would say right now, she's not exactly doing real well. I mean a very important, you know, thing for me is borders and security. And she's not very strong on those subjects. And that would bother me very much.
BURNETT: And what about Ted Cruz? You are running neck and neck in Iowa. You know, some polls have you ahead. Now some polls have him ahead. He has been barnstorming the state on the ground, right, this bus tour, 28 events last week alone. The candidate who usually does that on the ground, lives there, basically, ends up winning that state. You've had a different strategy. Are you worried about Ted Cruz?
TRUMP: Well, first of all, Ted's very nervous, and he shouldn't be nervous. I don't know why. He's so worried about it. I even watch him talking about it and it's -- you can see it. It's ridiculous. He's got to take care of a problem. He has got a problem that the Democrats will be bringing suit, saying that he wasn't born in this country and therefore he's not eligible, essentially, to run for president. There's going to be a suit brought.
Right now, there are people that are mixed. You have Laurence Tribe, a brilliant lawyer from Harvard, that said that this is an unsettled matter. You have other lawyers --
BURNETT: He was a professor of Ted Cruz's.
TRUMP: Who was a professor of his, a very, you know, a very great lawyer. You have other lawyers, numerous other lawyers, that have said the same things. I read stories just over the last 24 hours from -- in various newspapers where other people are saying the exact same thing. Now, the Republicans can't nominate somebody if -- assuming, I think I'm going to win on -- on my own merits. I -- and I'm very, very far ahead.
But if he ever got it, the Democrats are going to bring suit the first day. And, how do you run when you have a suit like that hanging over your head, and almost as importantly, I mean, you're running for office, and you have a suit saying you can't run for office. So, until the judges make that determination. Now, perhaps he can go in and get a declaratory judgement, meaning he can go to court early, but he's got to solve that problem, that's a big problem. He was born in Canada, and, in fact, he was a Canadian citizen. I guess he was --
BURNETT: Yes. TRUMP: -- a citizen of the U.S. and Canada until 15 months ago. So, he's got a problem, and the Democrats are going to bring suit. So, how do you have a candidate -- how do we have our candidate -- we say, "Good luck, Ted. Go out there and get it. By the way, the Democrats are saying in court -- and they have brilliant lawyers saying that they're right, that you don't have the right to run." That's a problem. I don't know how he solves it. He's got to go to court and get it solved.
BURNETT: There are many though that think --
TRUMP: -- I mean, he was born --
BURNETT: -- that it's not an issue --
TRUMP: -- In Canada --
BURNETT: -- He -- he was born in --
TRUMP: -- He was born in Canada --
BURNETT: -- He was born in Canada. I mean, hundred percent true, right? But there are a lot of people --
TRUMP: -- Well there are many people --
BURNETT: -- Even Republicans say this whole conversations absurd. I mean, I talked to Governor Kasich about it --
TRUMP: -- No, they don't say that. John McCain didn't say that --
BURNETT: Fair, John McCain didn't, but --
TRUMP: -- But the very highly respected governor -- by the way, the very highly respected governor of Iowa didn't say that.
BURNETT: Uh-huh.
TRUMP: And, many other people didn't say that, and frankly, a lot of lawyers don't say that. Maybe, most importantly. A lot of legal scholars don't say that. And, I'm not saying anything one way or the other, this was a question that was asked to me of the Washington Post. This how -- I didn't start this. The Washington Post asked me a question, "What do you think? Do you think he's got the right to run for President?"
Now, there is a group, a large group of legal talent that thinks to run for President you have to be -- you have to be born on the land. Now, McCain was born on a military base to two people that were citizens, OK? Of the United States. He was born on a military base, and I understand that very well. And, you know, he was able to skirt that issue, and that's fine, and I fully understand that. This is different. He was born in Canada --
BURNETT: Right, not a territory of the U.S.
TRUMP: -- This is different --
BURNETT: It is different than the John McCain situation, right?
TRUMP: Much different.
BURNETT: But --
TRUMP: Much different.
BURNETT: -- Let me play for you what Governor Kasich --
TRUMP: -- Excuse me, there is a group -- Erin, before you play it --
BURNETT: Yes?
TRUMP: Before you play it, there's a group of people that say you have to be born on the land. OK?
BURNETT: Yes, there are and that's what --
TRUMP: -- And, that's what that means --
BURNETT: -- some of those constitutional scholars are saying. Look, it's a fair point --
TRUMP: We're not going to -- we're not going to know until it's tested, but how can you have it tested if you're running for office?
BURNETT: All right. Let me play for you though what Governor Kasich had to say because, as you know, there are a lot of people who agree with what you're about to hear. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't have time for whether, you know, Ted Cruz is, you know, an American, or whatever. It's -- I'm not interested to tell you the truth, Erin. We have too many problems to be picking at that, it's just -- that lowers debate, and lowers the discussion, and I'm not for doing that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: What so you say to that, Mr. Trump? Right, I mean, I know you're saying you were asked a question --
TRUMP: I agree with it a hundred percent --
BURNETT: -- you didn't bring it up, but you've just brought it up again to me. You're bringing it up --
TRUMP: Erin, you'd be surprised.
BURNETT: OK.
TRUMP: I agree with it a hundred percent, but the Democrats don't. They're going to bring a lawsuit. They've already said they're going to bring a lawsuit. So, they're going to bring a lawsuit, and we'll have somebody potentially running for president who people don't even know if he's allowed for president? I don't like it as an issue. Again, this was brought to me as a question from "The Washington Post." And, in an article from "The Washington Post" a number of top legal scholars have stated that he doesn't have the right to run. So, how can the Republicans put up a candidate that may not have the right to run? In other words, there's a questions as to whether or not he has the right to run. It's a big question.
[19:15:33] BURNETT: You do -- you do like bringing it up though. I mean, I'll give you that other people are saying it's a serious issue, but you are shall I say, stirring the pot.
TRUMP: Excuse me, I don't bring it up. Who asked me the question? I didn't bring this up to you, you brought it up to me, Erin. I'm doing and interview -- I'm doing an interview with you by phone, and you're question was this. I didn't -- I didn't bring this up. I wouldn't have brought it up. You brought it up to me just now.
BURNETT: Well, I brought up was Ted Cruz nervous about Iowa, and then you brought this up.
TRUMP: Ted Cruz -- he's very nervous. I watch him, he's very nervous. He can't answer the question because there is no answer to the question because nobody knows. It's an unsettled matter. As Lawrence Tribe of Harvard would say, it's an unsettled matter, and as many other people would say -- some people go further than that. They say he doesn't have the right to run.
BURNETT: OUTFRONT next, Donald Trump on Hillary Clinton and the charges of sexism. Our conversation continues. You'll hear it.
Plus, Bernie Sanders now leading Hillary Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire. What is behind the sudden momentum, who and why? Because it is sudden. While we went to the ground, we talked to people and you will going to hear the answers.
And in just four hours, the answer to the question everyone is asking. Did I win Powerball? Our report on the wild side of betting on the big one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:33] BURNETT: And now, Donald Trump on his battle with the Clintons. Trump has said Hillary Clinton was an enabler on her husband's sexual improprieties.
Our Alisyn Camerota spoke with Hillary Clinton last night and asked her about that. Let me play that first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have no response. I'm going to let him say whatever he wants to say. He can run his campaign however he wishes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: In my interview with Donald Trump which just finished moments ago, I asked him what he thought about the fact that Hillary Clinton refused to respond to him.
TRUMP: Well, this all began when she said that I had a penchant for sexism. And, it was a statement -- first of all, I have tremendous respect for women. I mean, I will do more for women than Hillary will ever do. So, when she said that, I was very offended by it, and I said what I said, and I guess it got picked up a little bit more than they would've anticipated.
But, you know, in the last debate with the Democrats, my name was mentioned nine times, not one other candidate was mentioned on the Republican side. And, mine was mentioned, Erin, nine times. So, you know, if she's not going to comment I think that's a wise thing because it's hard for her to comment on this subject. This is not a good subject for her.
BURNETT: And, so, you think this is going to continue to be an issue, and a fair issue for her?
TRUMP: I hope not. I hope it's not going to be, but she's the one that started it. I hope it's not going to be. I'm not looking to make it that way. It's a little like Ted. I mean, people bring it up to me, I'm not bringing it up. But, you know, I hope it's not going to be an issue, but it may be. It depends.
BURNETT: You know, I want to ask you about Powerball. You have said that if you won, you'd give the Powerball winnings to vets. Hillary Clinton was asked about Powerball this morning with George Stephanopoulos, and I wanted to play for you the exchange.
TRUMP: OK
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Before we go, you buy a Powerball ticket?
CLINTON: I did.
(LAUGHTER)
STEPHANOPOULOS: And, if you win?
CLINTON: Well, I'll fund my campaign.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. So, the $1.5 billion dollar jackpot, so, I guess, what's that get her, $900 million dollars? She's got to pay taxes, right? Does that change the game for Clinton? What do you say? TRUMP: Well, I don't know what's going to happen with her. I've been watching her. But, I would give my money to the vets, and she would give hers to herself, and I think that maybe shows the difference between the two people.
BURNETT: And, one question before we go, Mr. Trump, there's a white nationalist Super-PAC. And they say they've started a robocall campaign in Iowa. It urges voters to vote for you because of your proposed temporary ban on Muslims, and I wanted to play it for you a brief clip from the robocall. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALE: We don't need Muslims. We need smart, well-educated white people who will assimilate to our culture. Vote Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Mr. Trump, when you hear that, does that shock you? Do you denounce that?
TRUMP: Nothing in this country shocks me. I would disavow it, but nothing in this country shocks me. People are angry. They're angry at what's going on. They're angry at the border. They're angry at the crime. They're angry at people coming in and shooting Kate in the back in California and San Francisco. They're angry when Jamiel Shaw shot in the face by an illegal immigrant. They're angry when the woman, the veteran, 65 years old is raped, sodomized, and killed by an illegal immigrant.
And, they're very angry about it, and -- by the way, thousands of other cases like that. They're very angry about it. So, I would disavow that, but I will tell you people are extremely angry.
BURNETT: People are extremely angry, but to be clear, when he says, "We need smart, well-educated white people who will assimilate to our culture, vote Trump", you're saying you disavow that. You do denounce that?
TRUMP: Well, you just heard me. I just said it. How many times do you want me to say it?
BURNETT: A third would be good.
TRUMP: I said I disavow.
BURNETT: All Right. Mr. Trump, thank you so much. I appreciate your time.
TRUMP: OK. Thank you very much.
BURNETT: And Jeff Zeleny is back with me. Of course he's been covering Trump throughout the campaign and you're with him in Pensacola tonight.
So Jeff, you know, you hear that interview. You know, earlier in the day, it seemed maybe Donald Trump and Nikki Haley would get in a fight, he was going to get the fight with establishments but in this interview, he is saying, look, Nikki Haley is right. I am angry. He is turning his criticism into a positive. Are they running out of ways, the establishment running out of ways to stop him? He's turned this into a positive.
ZELENY: Erin, it certainly seems like that. I mean, we are just about three weeks from those Iowa caucuses. And every attempt that the Republican establishment has made, if it's been some of his rivals, if it's been through advertising, if it's been through the response to the State of the Union Address, nothing seems to work because the supporters of Donald Trump, the anti-establishment, if you will, they're fed up. So they do not take credibly, you know, an attack from, you know, a Republican thought leader. You know, we've seen, you know, former Senator Bob Dole, John McCain, esteemed members of this Republican Party, you know, trying to argue against Donald Trump.
[19:25:24] That is not what the voters want to hear. They are fed up, they are angry. So Donald Trump I think is right when he says that voters are angry. And they will simply going to embrace that. You can see behind me here, there are hundreds, there are soon maybe thousands of people gathered here in Pensacola, Florida and the voters we talked to are squarely behind Donald Trump. Now, the question is, if he will be able to expand his support, if he will be able to sort of grow that into other areas, people who are not here at this rally. And that is really what we don't know. But so far in this large of a Republican field, boy, he can certainly win this at some 30 percent or so. And that is sort of the floor of what he has right now -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much live at Trump rally tonight.
And next, Bernie Sanders also with momentum leading Clinton by double digits in New Hampshire. Clinton attacking Sanders on gun and health care. She's feeling the burn.
And Rand Paul fighting for a place in tomorrow's GOP debate. He is my guest here on set OUTFRONT tonight. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:30:20] BURNETT: Tonight, Bill Clinton on the stump saying that his wife's campaign has always expected Bernie Sanders to surge in the polls. You heard that, always.
Right now, the former president about to hold a rally for his wife in that crucial state of New Hampshire, a state Hillary Clinton is now trailing Bernie Sanders in by double Sanders -- double digits. Sorry.
So what is fueling Sanders surge?
We wanted to know, so Brianna Keilar went on the ground to report it out today. She's OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bernie Sanders with the all-important momentum as the Iowa caucuses are now less than three weeks away. His message resonating in Iowa as well as New Hampshire, where new polls show him leading Clinton by double digits.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In terms of electability in the general election, I think Democrats want to look at Bernie Sanders as a candidate.
KEILAR: So, where is Sanders getting his support? Much more so that Clinton, it's from people who are expected to vote or caucus for the first time. They tend to be younger. A recent "New York Times"/CBS poll shows him doubling Clinton support among voters under 45.
But he's also carrying progressives -- self identified liberals favor him 55 percent to 40 percent.
SANDERS: If a bank is too big to fail, it's too big to exist.
KEILAR: These key blocs of Democratic voters like what they're hearing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He addresses a lot of issues that a lot of Iowans have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From what he says is more of what I'm looking for.
KEILAR: With Clinton's national lead over Sanders shrinking, her campaign is going on offense, hitting Sanders for his moderate record on gun control.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Either we stand with the gun lobby or we join the president.
KEILAR: Clinton is also pushing Sanders to explain how he will pay for his plan to expand Medicare, trying to get Sanders to admit he may have to raise taxes on the middle class to pull it off.
HILLARY CLINTON: A lot of what he's tacked about would be very expensive.
KEILAR: Even Chelsea Clinton making her 2016 campaign trail debut this week took a shot at Sanders.
CHELSEA CLINTON, DAUGHTER OF HILLARY CLINTON: Senator Sanders wants to dismantle Obamacare, dismantle the CHIP program.
KEILAR: He says Clinton is distorting his position on the issues.
SANDERS: As much as I admire Chelsea, she didn't read the plan.
KEILAR: It's the biggest brawl so far between the two campaigns, as Clinton tries to make sure history does not repeat itself.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: Sixty-six percent of Iowans who say this will be the first time participating in what is the rather involved process of caucusing say they also support Bernie Sanders. The Clinton campaign is banking on those folks being unreliable caucus-goers. But remember, it was back in 2008 when first time caucus-goers came out in droves and they helped deliver a big victory for Barack Obama and a stinging third place defeat for Hillary Clinton.
BURNETT: All right. Brianna, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, Anna Galland, she is the executive director of MoveOn.org, which just endorsed Bernie Sanders. And former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, she is the senior adviser of Correct the Record, a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC.
Thanks very much to both of you.
So, Governor Granholm, you just heard Bernie Sanders carrying progressives, new voters, younger voters, the polls are tightening. Clinton says she's not worried about the surge, she expected it to be tight. But I mean, what else is she going to say here? I mean, how can she not be worried?
JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), FORMER MICHIGAN GOVERNOR: Well, everybody who is running a campaign wants to make sure they are running the most robust and aggressive campaign and everybody knows in every campaign that has ever been waged that things get closer and tighter when you get closer to election days. Three weeks out, she is going to be running like she's ten points behind in every state in the country. And if you're not doing that, you're not a good candidate.
So, she's going to be working hard, but I can tell you that the ground game as they call it, the number of people on the ground, the enthusiasm on the ground in Iowa, is what all the reports back that we are hearing, it is palpable, very much -- great excitement for her. So, and, you know, you cited one thing in the lead up to this question which is that progressives were more strongly supporting Bernie Sanders.
But if you look nationally at the favorability, she rocks all of these demographic groups including nonwhites, including Latinos, and including those who self-identify as liberals. She gets better favorability ratings than Senator Sanders does.
BURNETT: All right. So, I want to talk more about that in a moment, but let me talk about one group of progressives, Anna, that you deal with, right? Your group, endorsing Bernie Sanders. MoveOn.org endorsed Senator Obama back in 2008. And your voters, your members have now chosen to endorse Bernie Sanders. Why have they passed on Hillary Clinton twice now?
[19:35:05] ANNA GALLAND, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOVEON.ORG: Well, I can tell you that we had a pretty remarkable thing happen this year. So, we have millions of members around the country, 8 million in total. And we had hundreds of thousands of votes cast this time, over 340,000 people voted which is more than we saw in 2008. And a record percentage of that record vote total went to Bernie Sanders.
And I read many of the comments that people made, hundreds of comments literally that people made after voting and what they said was we need a champion at this moment in history in American history, we need a champion on economic inequality to fight it, we need a champion on corporate special interests in our democracy, we need to fight back and they think Bernie Sanders is that champion.
BURNETT: So, Governor Granholm, I mean, does this worry you is this because when you look at the numbers on the Move On votes, Bernie Sanders got more votes than then-Senator Barack Obama did, which sort of made my jaw dropped, because when Barack Obama ran, I mean, that was hope and change and so many people were inspired. So Bernie Sanders doing better than Barack Obama. Does that make you really worried?
GRANHOLM: Well, it tells me that I think a lot of the younger voters and I think you've on.org probably skews a little bit younger, more millennials, et cetera.
I think that they have not really had a great chance to review Hillary Clinton's policies, because the things that were cited by Anna are the things which she has been championing, as well. And when you get to the general election, you know, I think that when voters look at who is going to be the best to fight it out for them in the general election and beyond, Hillary Clinton is more likely to sustain. She has been vetted.
I mean, Senator Sanders, he hasn't gone through a general election nationally yet. And those -- we know the Republicans will be tough. And we know what they will haul out against Hillary Clinton. She's going to be the one who is left standing and fighting for them and ultimately winning. We do not want to put Ted Cruz in the White House. That is a big gamble to make.
BURNETT: Anna, obviously, when you look at the numbers, Democrats do still expect Hillary Clinton to win the nomination. But when it comes to support, we now see in polls women, more women are supporting Bernie Sanders than Hillary Clinton. Are you seeing that among many of the younger women as part of MoveOn.org, that women are moving away from Clinton?
GALLAND: What we saw in our vote was that the support for Bernie Sanders' message was overwhelming, and it was large enough, 79 percent of our members supported Bernie Sanders in this poll. And what that tells me is that people across the board are fired up about his policies and his track record and his championing of things like breaking up the big banks, expanding Social Security, a $15 minimum wage, aggressive action to stave off catastrophic climate crisis.
So, I think this is an across the board phenomenon of progressives and other people who just want the country to work well for everyone. And, right now, Bernie Sanders is giving voice to that movement better than anyone else is.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you both very much. Next, rising in the polls, locked out of the GOP debate, Senator Rand
Paul, he will be my guest OUTFRONT, right after this.
And American sailors freed from Iran, but only after an apology.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
U.S. COMMANDER: It was a mistake, that was our fault and we apologize for our mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:42:12] BURNETT: Tonight, Donald Trump saying Governor Nikki Haley is absolutely right. Just moments ago, the GOP frontrunner telling me she was 100 percent correct for saying he is one of the, quote, "angriest voices in the United States".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): I think she's right. I am angry. I'm angry and a lot of other people are angry, too, at how incompetently our country is being run. I'm extremely angry and upset about it. I think it's ridiculous. And, you know, believe it or not, it's make America great again. It's really, mine is a campaign of hope and future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT is Republican senator and presidential candidate, Rand Paul.
Senator, thank you very much for coming on the show. Look, there has been a lot of mixed reaction to what Nikki Haley had to say from within the Republican Party. Ann Coulter, for example, said, Donald Trump should deport Nikki Haley who, of course, is the child of immigrants. Marco Rubio, though, said she did a great job. Jeb Bush said she was positive and uplifting.
Do you agree with what Governor Haley had to say? I mean, what she said about angry voices was only part of the criticism for the Republican Party.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been arguing for a couple years now we need a bigger party, that the Republican Party needs to be more diverse, more ethnically diverse, young, old, rich, poor, with earrings, without earrings, with tattoos, without tattoos. I want more people in the party.
But I think calling immigrants drug dealers and rapists and all this over the top bombast of Trump is going to destroy the Republican Party. I think it's a disaster. If I could change the channel, I'd change the channel. I'm tired of hearing about him.
The thing is that he isn't a person for whom we should be showing respect. He's a person for whom we should be showing disdain. He said during the debate, the last debate, he had no idea what the nuclear triad is.
Would we want someone to be in charge of our country that doesn't know what the nuclear triad is, that we could deliver missile by land, sea and air?
BURNETT: Do you respect that voters don't agree?
PAUL: No one has voted yet.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: But in every poll, every poll --
PAUL: No, polls don't mean --
BURNETT: -- since last summer, Senator, they have said they like Donald Trump.
PAUL: A week after the last debate when he didn't realize what the nuclear triad is, his spokesman came out and said that our problem has been that we have not been willing enough to use the nuclear arsenal.
This is who we're talking about. We're talking about buffoonery writ large and no one has voted for him. He's never won any office. And I don't believe he's going to be our nominee, but he's destroying our party by making it --
(CROSSTALK)
PAUL: It begins -- people are look and saying how are you going to grow the party if we're describing immigrants as drug dealers and rapists.
BURNETT: Well, he, you know, you saw his op-ed, I don't know if you did see it in "USA Today", saying he's going to be bringing in new voters. And a lot of interest in him appears to be people who have not voted before. But the "A.P." is now reporting tonight that several top Republicans in party are prepared for a contested convention because there are people who feel like you do about Donald Trump, that if he's the nominee, that it could be contested.
[19:45:10] Do you think that's likely? Would you support it? Is it better for the party to have a contested convention?
PAUL: Well, we won't know any of that until we had votes. We haven't had any states vote. We haven't had a caucus. We're three weeks away from the first voting.
So, I think we get premature, we jump ahead, and we're already talking about Trump this, Trump that. He has not won any election yet in his life. He's not won any nominating contest.
I think we're far from over. I think that there will be a spirited contest. It may last all the way to the convention, but I don't think it's right to sort of prejudge and sort of decide in advance how elections are going to turn out.
BURNETT: So, in terms of the election, I mean, obviously, you are -- you want to be right there in the top tier. You are right now not in the main debate tomorrow night.
PAUL: Depends on who you ask whether I should or shouldn't be.
BURNETT: Right. So, tomorrow night, FOX News says you're not on that main stage and you've said you will not be a part of the, quote/unquote, "undercard debate".
PAUL: But if you read "Politico", "Politico" added up all the polls and said they made a mistake, I should be in the poll. I meet their criteria.
So, my complaint is the criteria is arbitrary and capricious, but two, even meeting that arbitrary and capricious standard, we met it and yet we're still not in it. And so, I -- my question to the Republican Party is, do you want a bigger party or a smaller party when you exclude candidates who meet the criteria, I think that's a big mistake for the Republican Party.
We have a lot of close races. We have a lot of close Senate races that need the liberty movement in the party. The liberty movement can go a lot of different places. They don't always stay in the Republican Party.
It's a big deal and I've tried to keep the liberty movement engaged by giving them a candidate who agrees with them that carpet bombing the Middle East isn't a great idea, collecting all the phone records isn't a great idea, that we have to have a more reasonable foreign policy. Putting all the kids in jail for marijuana is not a good idea.
These are different ideas. I think they should have a place in the Republican Party and I'm disappointed frankly that the Republican Party is choosing to keep a candidate out who actually did meet the criteria.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Senator, thank you very much. We will see if that changes and we see you there tomorrow night. Thank you.
PAUL: Thank you.
BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, new video of the American sailors in custody on Iranian state TV. You will see them admitting that they made a mistake, apologizing to Iran on camera.
And with the drawing just a few hours away, Jeanne Moos on the freak- out over that billion dollar-plus jackpot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:51:08] BURNETT: New details tonight about the moment Iranian authorities boarded two American Navy vessels, arresting 10 American sailors. One of those sailors telling Iranian state television that Iranian patrol boats approached them with weapons drawn, that American sailor apologizing on camera for what the Americans did.
It's not clear whether those statements were made under duress or not but you will see now.
Barbara Starr is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An apology from a U.S. navy sailor.
U.S. NAVY SAILOR: It was a mistake, that was our fault and we apologize for our mistake.
STARR: It is not clear from the video that the sailor was speaking voluntarily. The U.S. government has not yet said under what circumstance the statement was made or if it was made under duress.
But no formal apology from Secretary of State John Kerry during his multiple phone calls with Iran's foreign minister. Kerry offering a diplomatic view of Iran's release of the ten sailors.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I also want to thank the Iranian authorities for their cooperation and quick response. These are always situations which as everybody here knows have an ability if not properly guided to get out of control.
STARR: Iran's foreign minister tweeting in part, "Happy to see dialogue and respect, not threats and impetuousness."
If the U.S. navy investigation shows the boats did drift into Iranian waters, the Obama administration knows it has little to complain about.
CHRISTOPHER HARMER, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR: From a military perspective, what the Iranians did was completely appropriate. Had the situation been reversed, we would have done exactly the same thing.
STARR: But there are these images of U.S. Navy sailors on their knees surrendering to a boarding party of armed Iranian Revolution Guard Corps troops, hardliners in the region, broadcast on Iranian television for the whole world to see.
The U.S. sailors seen tripped of their weapons clearly uncertain what will happen next.
After spending the night ashore, at 12:13 local time, Iranian forces released the American sailors from Farsi Island. They departed on the same two boats they had been captured on and headed to the USS Anzio, a naval missile cruiser positioned in international waters in the Persian Gulf.
From then Anzio, the sailors were transferred to the USS Truman aircraft carrier and then flown to shore. The pressure now on the U.S. Navy to explain how all of this could have happened. HARMER: The fault here is not that Iranians took the Americans into
custody. The U.S. navy somehow got too small, lightly defended, lightly manned only 10 Navy sailors on the boats together. How did the boats wind up inside Iranian territory waters? This is a question the U.S. Navy has to answer.
STARR (on camera): But is the administration taking too light a tone about all of this? Under international maritime procedures, mariners in distress are supposed to be given aid and then sent on their way, not detained -- Erin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: All right. Barbara, thank you very much.
And next, Jeanne Moos on how Powerball is driving so many people crazy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:55:07] BURNETT: The record Powerball drawing is a few hours away, and it's making people crazy. Here is Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have been over powered by --
CROWD: Powerball!
MOOS: -- from a guy waiting in line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One and a half billion dollars, come on. Get real. You've got to have a ticket.
MOOS: To a woman hoping she's in line to be president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You buy a Powerball ticket?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did.
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Late shows, Powerball tip number one, pick only winning numbers. OK?
MOOS: That's what employees at this restaurant thought they did Saturday night as the bartender read off the winning numbers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sixty-three! Yes. Powerball 17!
MOOS: Turns out they were reading the wrong day's numbers but for a blister of 20 minutes they thought they hit the jack poet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 20 minutes most important of my life.
MOOS: A valet and dishwasher quit.
CHARLIE POVEROMO, BARTENDERR, GRISSINI RESTAURANT: He took his apron off, threw it to the floor and said, I'll never wash another dish in my life. Valet guy, one of the customers asked for his car and he said, go get it yourself.
MOOS: Both men got their jobs back.
Buying all those lotto tickets may leave you in a financial hole, but a Texas man ended up in an actual hole.
His family reported him missing when he didn't return from buying a lottery ticket. Ft. Worth police found uninjured at the bottom of a seven-foot construction hole, presumably with his ticket.
Reporters have been asking the same question.
REPORTER: What would you do with it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bunch of hookers and cocaine.
REPORTER: OK, that's not good. We were hoping for a different answer.
MOOS: Only joking, he later told "Inside Edition".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a smart ass.
MOOS: Jimmy Kimmel mocked the media for how we express the low odds of winning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Roughly 25 times more likely to become president or be killed by a vending machine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Replace your GPS with a monkey, your chances of reaching your destination are better with the monkey than winning the Powerball jackpot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be struck by lightning and a bus at the exact --
MOOS: Guess he won't be winning.
Jeanne Moos , CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And thank you so much for joining us. Go see if you win.
"AC360" starts now.
