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Clinton, Sanders Clash During New Hampshire Town Hall; Trump Vs. Cruz Attacks Get Uglier. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired February 04, 2016 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[09:00:20] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Clinton versus Sanders. Who's more progressive?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Sanders has set himself up to be the gate keeper on who's a progressive.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can't go and say you are a moderate on one day and be a progressive on the other day.
CLINTON: I'm not going to let that bother me. I know where I stand.
COSTELLO: The Democrats duking it out on Wall Street, Iraq, veterans' care at CNN's town hall. Who won over voters?
Also.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ted Cruz goes out. You talk about liars.
COSTELLO: Trump on a tear saying Cruz stole Iowa.
TRUMP: That voter fraud.
COSTELLO: Cruz's response?
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think people are interested in a temper tantrum or you could call it a Trumper tantrum.
COSTELLO: Plus an inappropriate relationship. A string of social media clues. What investigators are saying about the Virginia Tech student accused of killing a 13-year-old girl. As the middle schooler is laid to rest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nicole touched many people throughout her short life.
COSTELLO: Let's talk, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. At any moment now President Obama set to deliver his annual remarks at
the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. Congressional members from both parties will be hosting this event. You can see Roma Downey there and her husband Mark Burnett are speaking now. The filmmakers have made a number of religious films but when President Obama takes to the podium we'll bring you back to the National Prayer Breakfast.
All right. Let's talk a little election time politics. Two candidates, one stage and a fierce fight to win over voters in New Hampshire. For the first time after a razor thin victory in Iowa, Hillary Clinton battled Bernie Sanders on the same stage at CNN's town hall. The presidential candidates clashing on policy, what it means to be a progressive and who's the real underdog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, MODERATOR, CNN TOWN HALL: Are you still an underdog?
SANDERS: Of course we're an underdog. Secretary Clinton obviously ran here in 2008. And she won. Her husband ran here several times before that. So this is her fourth campaign and her family here in New Hampshire.
CLINTON: I have an uphill climb and I'm going to climb as high and hard as I can because I want to make my case for the people of New Hampshire.
COOPER: Do you feel you do better when you're fighting from behind?
CLINTON: You know I don't know. I --
COOPER: Does it bring out something in you?
CLINTON: Well, the intensity of the experience and the importance of trying to convey what is at stake in this election, because to me obviously Tuesday is a really big deal with the primary. But the goal has to be to prevent the Republicans from getting back into the White House and undoing all the progress that has been made and President Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In addition to some tough policy questions from voters, there were also some lighter moments like when Sanders was asked about his age.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: You would be 83 at the end of your second term.
SANDERS: But, you know, thank goodness.
(LAUGHTER)
SANDERS: Let's not be ageist here.
COOPER: I'm not, I'm not.
SANDERS: You know, I am thank God in good health.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And in one of the most humanizing moments of the night Clinton tells voters how she stays grounded and keeps her ego in check.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Regardless of how hard the days are, how difficult the decisions are, be grateful, be grateful for being a human being, being part of the universe. Be grateful for your limitations, know that you have to reach out to have more people with you to support you, to advise you. Listen to your critics. Answer the questions. But in the end, be grateful. Practice the discipline of gratitude.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Let's bring in CNN's senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar along with CNN Politics executive editor Mark Preston. They're both in Manchester, New Hampshire, this morning.
Brianna, I want to start with you with more on last night's town hall.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this was really a battle for liberal credentials last night, Carol. These two candidates appearing jointly for the first time since Hillary Clinton eked out that win in Iowa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDERS: Of course we're an underdog. We are taking on the most powerful political organization in the country and that's, you know, the Clinton organization.
KEILAR (voice-over): Only five days away from the New Hampshire primary Senator Bernie Sanders taking off the gloves during last night's Democratic town hall, jabbing Secretary Clinton over which candidate can claim to be progressive.
SANDERS: You can't go and say you are a moderate on one day and be a progressive on the other day. Some of my best friends are moderates.
[09:05:03] I love moderates. But you can't be a moderate and a progressive. They are different.
KEILAR: Clinton pushed back at his assertion when she took the stage.
CLINTON: I said that I'm a progressive who likes to get things done. And I was somewhat amused today that Senator Sanders has set himself up to be the gate keeper on who's a progressive because under the definition that was flying around on Twitter and statements by the campaign Barack Obama would not be a progressive. Joe Biden would not be a progressive. KEILAR: Sanders forcing Clinton to defend her relationship with Wall
Street.
SANDERS: I do not know any progressive who has a super PAC and takes $15 million from Wall Street. That is just not progressive.
KEILAR: The former senator from New York stumbling a bit when Anderson Cooper asked her about paid speeches from investment giant Goldman Sachs.
COOPER: But did you have to be paid $675,000?
CLINTON: Well, I don't know. That's what they offered. So --
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: You know, every secretary of state that I know has done that.
COOPER: But that's usually once they're office and not running for an office like you.
CLINTON: Well, I didn't know --
COOPER: You must have known --
CLINTON: Well, to be honest, I wasn't -- I wasn't committed to run. I didn't -- I didn't know whether I would not --
COOPER: You didn't think you were going to run for president?
CLINTON: I didn't.
KEILAR: Clinton tackling another tough subject when an audience member asked her about her vote for the war in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What have you learned since that vote that could give me confidence that you wouldn't make a mistake of that magnitude again?
CLINTON: I think that's a very fair question. You know, I did make a mistake and I admitted that I made a mistake.
KEILAR: That mistake, one that Senator Sanders has repeatedly gone after.
SANDERS: The key foreign policy vote of modern American history was the war in Iraq. The progressive community was pretty united in saying don't listen to Bush. Don't go to war. Secretary Clinton voted to go to war.
KEILAR: But Clinton standing firm.
CLINTON: All I can do is to just get up every day and work to do what I believe our country needs. Find ways to help people whether it's on mental health or addiction or autism or student loans, whatever it might be. And I trust the American people. I trust the people of New Hampshire to see my lifetime of work and service and to sort out all of the static and to know that I will work my heart out for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And on a personal note these candidates were asked, Carol, about spirituality. You heard Hillary Clinton talking about practicing gratitude. She also said that she's leaned heavily on her faith during politically and also personally trying times.
And then Bernie Sanders who recently made a little news by making it clear that he's not really into organized religion talked about spirituality and how he sees that. He said basically that he sees that everyone is in this together and they're connected and they should care about each other as they deal with challenges and he's sort of pivoted back to his economic message with that.
COSTELLO: All right. Brianna Keilar, thanks.
I want to bring in Mark Preston now. Anything stand out to you? Anything that would change a voter's mind?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Well, you know, what's interesting about the town hall last night, Carol, was that we've heard these candidates go at it over and over and over again about the major policy issues that are facing the nation. But what we saw last night and as Brianna, you know, just stated right there we've got to look a little bit inside their soul, so to speak. What makes them work, what makes them think, how do they get through day, what do they think about religion.
These are issues, these personality issues are really, really important in a campaign and oftentimes we don't get to see it. They are very guarded. But in a format like this in the town hall of these questions are coming from voters, voters that they are trying to get to support them, I think really opens a window into their souls for these voters to make a decision on Tuesday.
COSTELLO: It was very interesting. In some ways I think a town hall is much more effective than a debate.
PRESTON: Yes, you know, you know, that's -- it's an interesting thing. Why these town halls -- and we were very successful in Iowa last week. Why they are so successful right now is that at this point in time, this moment in time when voters are really focusing on these candidates as people, we know their policy positions. They have been debating several times over, OK, what is the next step? Why do I want to vote for this person?
Likability is a major component in the decision-making process and I think that last night that was on that stage. And when Chris Cuomo did it out in Iowa as well a week ago it really helped to open some windows, Carol, into how these candidates think.
COSTELLO: All right. Mark Preston, thanks so much.
OK. So one of the big fights last night was over who's progressive and who's not. That fight went into overdrive. A sample.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Secretary Clinton said some people call me -- well, I'm paraphrasing. Some people call me a moderate. And I proudly, you know, say that I am a moderate. That's what she said.
[09:10:04] So all I say you can't go and say you're a moderate on one day and be a progressive on the other day. Some of my best friends are moderates. I love moderates. But you can't be a moderate and a progressive. They are different.
CLINTON: Under the definition that was flying around on Twitter and statements by the campaign Barack Obama would not be a progressive. Joe Biden would not be a progressive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So with me now, Nomiki Konst, the Democratic strategist and executive director of the Accountability Project and a Bernie Sanders supporter, and Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic strategist and a Hillary Clinton supporter.
Welcome both of you.
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
COSTELLO: OK.
NOMIKI KONST, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: All right.
COSTELLO: I can't wait to have this conversation.
ZIMMERMAN: Here we go.
COSTELLO: So --
KONST: Ready to fight.
COSTELLO: Yes. They've been fighting already. So, Nomiki, why is Bernie Sanders the gatekeeper of who's progressive and who's not?
KONST: I think that, to quote Hillary Clinton, was a low blow. I mean, this is the woman who's institution, who's been pushing out candidates from the presidential campaign as far as two years back. She's locked down every nomination in every primary state, every endorsement. She is an institution. She is the gatekeeper of the Democratic Party so that was a low blow.
But to go to the progressive point here, you know, Bernie Sanders in my opinion embodies millennials as a 72-year-old man. He's a millennial trapped in a 72-year-old man's body with 40 years of experience. And so -- wait, wait. When you put that up against an institution, you know, all of the things that we're talking about, income inequality, sexism, institutional sexism, institutional racism -- (CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: On spirituality fits into the millennial. Right?
KONST: Exactly, I mean --
ZIMMERMAN: By the way, can we move past the cliches here? This is a great debate for political pundits with too much time on their hands. Let's look at the issues and what they stand for. That's how you define who these people are and what they believe in. I mean, you have Planned Parenthood --
COSTELLO: Sure. OK. Well, let's look at the issue, Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: When you have Planned Parenthood endorsing her - -
COSTELLO: Let's look at the issue.
KONST: But they didn't endorse her in 2008. Remember that.
ZIMMERMAN: Nomiki, don't interrupt. When you have Planned Parenthood stepping and endorse her, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Abortion Rights Action League, Barney Frank, he authored the Dodd- Frank Wall Street regulatory bill stepping up and endorsing her, that says a great deal --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Let me get a word in. But two of the big issues that millennial are especially concerned about and progressives are concerned about, big money from Wall Street, right, and donations, and also war. They don't like war. And that's just -- those are the two main issues in the progressive playbook. Hillary Clinton was asked about donations from Wall Street. Anderson Cooper pressed her and this is what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Look, I made speeches to lots of groups. I told them what I thought. I answered questions.
COOPER: But did you have to be paid $675,000?
CLINTON: Well, I don't know. That is what they offered. So --
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: All right. So I just want to add to that because this is according to the "Washington Post." They looked at the latest FEC reports and they reveal that Hillary Clinton reached a major milestone during the fourth quarter of 2015. Through the end of December donors at hedge funds, banks, insurance companies and other financial services firms had given at least $21.4 million to support Hillary Clinton's run. ZIMMERMAN: Right. But nobody has a tougher record in terms of
standing up to Wall Street than Hillary Clinton does. Understand in New York state --
COSTELLO: So no one has a tougher record yet they're given all this money?
ZIMMERMAN: Excuse me. Excuse me, Carol. In New York state, Wall Street is one of the largest industries in her state. Yet she --
KONST: So they bought her out.
ZIMMERMAN: Let's not -- I mean, that's disgraceful.
KONST: Well, she's their senator.
ZIMMERMAN: Don't interrupt, Nomiki.
KONST: That's just true.
ZIMMERMAN: Let me finish my point. The bottom line is when it came to standing up for Wall Street regulatory reform, taking on the housing crisis, standing up to CEO compensation and the abuses of that, she led the Senate and she was a leader in the Democratic Party. And let's be clear about this. Bernie Sanders didn't stand up to his special interests in Vermont when he voted five times to repeal the Brady Bill and to oppose it, and when he stood up repeatedly to support the gun lobby in Vermont. Yet she took on one of the biggest industries in her state.
KONST: Speaking of talking points.
COSTELLO: OK. Well -- OK. Let me go to the Bernie Sanders thing.
KONST: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because you know, he often talks about he voted against the Iraq war.
KONST: Right.
COSTELLO: But you get the sense that Bernie Sanders would not vote for a war of any kind. And sadly sometimes war is necessary. So is Bernie Sanders willing to go there?
KONST: Well, I don't -- I wouldn't say war is necessary. I think conflict is a natural --
COSTELLO: No, no, no. Sometimes war is -- World War II was necessarily.
KONST: We're going back in time here, we have a diplomacy, we have --
(CROSSTALK)
KONST: I understand that. COSTELLO: But he was alive then. He is 74.
KONST: He was alive then. But you know, understanding that, when I watched him last night talk about his positions on foreign policy he is taking a thoughtful approach. He doesn't go to war first just like Barack Obama did. He said I want to start with diplomacy. I want to work with the Mideast. I want to have a coalition in the Mideast before you step in. Every single moment Hillary Clinton had to choose between sending troops or not sending troops. When she was in the situation room, when she was talking with Joe Biden, and she was working with Barack Obama, guess what, she chose -- she was on the side of sending troops. She is on the --
ZIMMERMAN: Well, that's just incorrect. She negotiated the Gaza peace accord. She brought the parties together to put the toughest sanctions on Iran in its history. She --
(CROSSTALK)
KONST: It wasn't a question whether we are sending troops or not in Iran.
ZIMMERMAN: By the way, there were many in the Senate that were advocating sending troops and she stood up for negotiation and achieving peace and that's to her credit. Let's also remember something else, Carol, as we have this discussion, just because, Nomiki, groups may disagree with you, let's not try to insult them by calling them institutional.
[09:15:17] Human Rights Campaign has been at the forefront of rights for the gay and lesbian community. NARAL and Planned Parenthood has stood up for women's wealth, let's not insult him.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Last word.
NOMIKI KONST, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: If we're going to fair here, you know, when we're talking about these things like institutional sexism and racism, this starts in places like Wall Street. Who's fighting for equal pay right now? It is Wall Street. Who's accepting money from Wall Street? Hillary Clinton. More than any other candidates, including Republicans, she's accepted more money from Wall Street. And that is --
(CROSSTALK)
ZIMMERMAN: You're trying to find facts to justify your conclusions.
COSTELLO: I have to leave it there.
ZIMMERMAN: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Are all of you awake now?
Nomiki Konst, Robert Zimmerman, thanks to both of you. KONST: Thanks.
COSTELLO: All right. We're waiting for the president to speak at the national prayer breakfast. We're going to bring that to you live.
Also coming up in the NEWSROOM, the primaries inch closer, the punches get harder. A look at the GOP infighting and the Trump-Cruz main event.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:17] COSTELLO: Live now to the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. This is the National Prayer Breakfast.
Right now, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett are speaking. They are producers of the TV mini series "The Bible". You hear them talking right now.
When they are done, President Obama will come to the podium and we expect him to speak about the importance of coming together, to embrace our common humanity and how faith can help us overcome fear. When the president begins speaking, I'll take you back live to Washington.
The clock is ticking and the insults flying for Republicans trying to seize momentum in next week's Republican primaries.
Right now, the New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is holding a town hall meeting in Keene. He's doubling down after the dismal finish in Iowa caucuses. Look for Christie to again take swipes at Marco Rubio who enjoyed a surge in Iowa.
In the meantime, the biggest brawlers are the two front runners with Donald Trump accusing Ted Cruz of stealing votes in Iowa and demanding a do over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh that voter fraud. You know, these politicians are brutal. They are brutal. They are brutal. They are a bunch of dishonest cookies. I want to tell you.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wake up every day and laugh at the latest thing Donald has tweeted, because he's losing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN's Dana Bash live in Manchester, New Hampshire, this morning.
Tell us more, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's kind of hard to imagine that these two men stood on a debate stage not that long ago and said how the other was so wonderful and so nice and now, they are just kind of tearing each other to bits. And I guess that is what happens when we get where we are right now,
and especially after Ted Cruz beat Donald Trump in Iowa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: This guy Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz goes out. You talk about liars.
BASH (voice-over): They went at each other late into the night.
CRUZ: You can call it a Trumper tantrum.
BASH: Ted Cruz unloading on Donald Trump.
CRUZ: For his entire life, for 60 years, he has been advocating for full on socialized medicine.
BASH: On policy and on personality.
CRUZ: Donald has an interesting habit of when anyone actually points to his record of simply stomping his foot and yelling liar.
BASH: Trump shot back saying exactly.
TRUMP: What I hate is when somebody lies.
BASH: Blaming Cruz for Obamacare. The senator who became famous for a government shut down in his quest to repeal it.
TRUMP: Chief Justice Roberts approved Obamacare twice.
BASH: Trump argued that Cruz's early support for Chief Justice John Roberts who ruled twice in favor of Obamacare makes Cruz culpable.
TRUMP: His vote got it over the top. Ted Cruz did that. Ted Cruz gave us Obamacare.
BASH: While Trump and Cruz bloody each other up, another Republican battle is raging among candidates appealing to more mainstream GOP voters in New Hampshire.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you vote for me and I am our nominee, I will unite the conservative movement and the Republican Party.
BASH: In a boost to his effort to prove that, Marco Rubio scored an endorsement from Rick Santorum as he exited the presidential race.
RICK SANTORUM (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We decided to support Marco Rubio.
BASH: But other Republican candidates who need a New Hampshire win to survive are going after Rubio.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Marco Rubio was for amnesty and for legalization. That was his position and then when conservatives told him he didn't like it and he decided he wanted to run for president, he turned tail and ran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And Chris Christie is continuing that line of attack even today. This morning, as we speak, Jeb Bush is also expected to do similar. He's been going after Marco Rubio, his former protege, as somebody who is just not ready and especially coming from people who the two of them know and worked with in Florida.
Carol, what's been most interesting the two days we've been here talking to voters is how many are undecided and really kind of open to hearing these arguments. Not just against one another but more importantly, what the candidates say they are for and what they are going to do. So, it is, despite what the polls say, there is no question it's a jump ball here in New Hampshire.
COSTELLO: All right. Dana Bash, reporting live from New Hampshire this morning -- thank you.
Tonight, Anderson Cooper is interviewing Donald Trump, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, something you probably will not want to miss.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Hillary Clinton says she will get results if she's president, but will that argument get her the youth vote?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:29:06] COSTELLO: To Washington D.C. and the National Prayer Breakfast. Here is President Obama.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- by disruptive conflict, disruptions to our environment. And it all reshapes the way we work and the way we live. It's all amplified by a media that is unceasing and that feeds 24/7 our ever shrinking attention spans.
And as a student of history, I often remind people that the challenges that we face are not unique. That in fact of threats of previous eras, civil war or World War or Cold War, depressions, famines, those challenges put our own in perspective.
Moreover, I believe that our unique strengths as a nation make us better equipped than others to harness this change to work for us.
