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Chris Christie Says Marco Rubio Needs To Come Out Of His "Bubble"; Bernie Sanders To Appear On SNL; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Gives State Of The League Address. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired February 05, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Dana Bash, cub reporter just yesterday, right. Dana, thank you very much. Thank you in Washington for us this afternoon.

Next, CNN has a first look at the new Jeb Bush ad attacking Marco Rubio and his record. By the way, he is not the only one these days. But is the criticism fair? We are live in New Hampshire with a closer look at Senator Rubio's campaign.

And Saturday night, where will you be? Where will Bernie Sanders be? Well, his sort of now infamous stand-in Larry David takes the stage hosting "Saturday Night Live." Could a cameo appearance be in the works? A former "SNL" writer joins me to talk about what is happening behind the scene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:34:57] BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Marco Rubio, his third place finish in the Iowa caucuses certainly elevated him to his rivals' line of fire. They're attacking him for his delivery, what they say is the same speech over and over again. In fact New Jersey governor Christie saying Rubio needs to come out his of bubble.

When CNN asked Rubio why his speeches sound so strikingly similar wherever he goes, Rubio answered, because it's my message. So CNN put together a few highlights of that message.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[15:35:32] SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Glad you didn't say polo.

As long as you didn't say polo.

I hated that game. I really hated that game.

I can't wait to hear how she's going to lecture me about student loans.

I had a student loan.

Because I had a student loan three years ago. When I got to the U.S. Senate I had over $100,000 as recently as three years ago. Three years ago. And I was never going to be able to pay those off

unless I won Powerball or write a book.

There's only two ways to get rid of a student loan. You pay it off or you die.

I paid it off with a book called "an American son."

It's call "American son."

Now available on paperback. That's not a joke, it is available on paperback.

As the son and grandparents of immigrants, I know that enforcing immigration law is not anti-immigrant.

It is not anti-immigrant. It is what sovereign countries do.

We are going add 20,000 new border agents.

We're going to hire new 20,000 border agents.

We are going to finish the 700 miles of fencing and walls the experts tell us we need.

We are probably going to have to pay for it though not Mexico, but I'm just telling.

If we don't know who you are --

Who you are --.

And we don't know why you're coming.

And we don't know why you are coming.

You are not getting into.

Into the United States of America.

You will not be able to get into the United States of America.

And Bernie Sanders the dude is a socialist.

Bernie Sanders is a socialist.

Bernie Sanders is a socialist.

It's not a slur. I'm not attacking him. He's like a socialist. Like a card carrying socialist.

Now, usually that's a slur but no, he's a socialist. He admits he's a socialist.

It is like he says he's a socialist. I think he's a good candidate for president of Sweden. And then I had

these young men from Sweden in the audience that came up to me and they were --.

I thought they were going to chew me out (INAUDIBLE). They said, why would you do that to our country?

Why would you do that to our country?

So I take it back. He's not a good president for anyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: All right. So that's the CNN digital mash-up on Marco Rubio.

Manu Raju is live in Manchester, New Hampshire.

And listen, this is precisely why the Bush camps and especially Chris Christie camps have been hammering him on precisely this. But could we have done the exact same mash-up from other candidates, I mean, these are stump speech after stump speech after stump speech, right?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: You know, a lot of candidates do some similar tacts. That's certainly fair and something we point out in the story we wrote about this situation. You know, Ted Cruz stay on his message. Even Chris Christie often replicated the same jokes and the same story given about 9/11. But none of them do it really to the extent Marco Rubio does. He is relentlessly, relentlessly on message. It is very disciplined, very cautious and very repetitive candidate. Because he believes his message is working.

Now, of course, there are two ways to look at it. In one sense, people say we want a candidate who is very cautious who will not make mistakes. When Marco Rubio's on the campaign trail, one of the things he said to voters is that I will not embarrass you. Why would he embarrass you because he sticks really, really close to his topics? Even in media interviews, he really falls back to his stump speech, during Republican debates he does. He limits availabilities on the campaign trails as well and sticks to those topics.

But on the other side, you have people say that he is not authentic enough. And that is one of the things that Chris Christie has been saying and saying that, you know, we need to bring him out of the bubble to show he is a rehearsed -- more than just a rehearsed candidate. That's one of the criticisms you're going to see pretty intense on Saturday in this debate here, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Manny Raju, thank you very much, Manchester, New Hampshire.

By the way, we talk so much politics as we have been. You know, you may not often hear the words cute and Chris Christie at the same time. But get ready for this one. I want you to meet 7-year-old singing diva who performed the national anthem at Chris Christie's campaign event. This little charmer has the brash Chris Christie practically eating out of her hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Hello, young lady. How you doing? Are we going to go in and do business?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CHRISTIE: Let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm seven. And I've been singing the national anthem for a long time now.

CHRISTIE: And now, somebody I've gotten to know pretty well, she is going to lead us with "the star spangled banner." here you go.

[15:40:02] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we went to Governor Chris Christie's event. It will be really fun because he's nice, he's funny and he has a lot of personality. A lot. Until I'm 18, I can't vote for anyone. But if I am 19 right now, I would vote for Chris Christie. He's nice. He's serious. And he would be a good president. Plus, he said if he does win, he would take me to the White House.

CHRISTIE: Definitely be coming to the White House if I win, of course. What do you think, I'm going to forget who you are?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Say what? She is seven. Chris Christie, you got to keep her around.

Coming up next, Bernie Sanders' alter ego. Larry David will be hosting "Saturday Night Live" this weekend. And the Sanders' campaign says he will be making a cameo. A former SNL writer will join me live with the preview what could be going on inside that writers' room right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:44:57] BALDWIN: Just in to CNN, a senior aide for the Bernie Sanders campaign says the senator will make a cameo appearance this weekend on "Saturday Night Live." His doppelganger Larry David, he will be hosting ahead of the all-important New Hampshire primary, and some are comparing Larry David's near perfect impression of Sanders to the Tina Fey/Sarah Palin moment of 2008.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:45:23] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doomed! We need a revolution! Millions of people on the streets! And we got to do something and we got to do it now!

I'm the only candidate up here who's not a billionaire. I don't have a super PAC. I don't even have a backpack. I carry my stuff around loose in my arms like a professor, you know, between classes. I own one pair of underwear. That's it. Some of these billionaires, they got three, four pairs!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I was there in the audience that night. Let me tell you, he stole the show.

Anderson Cooper even asked Bernie Sanders about the uncanny resemble between these two this week in New Hampshire at our town hall. Here's Bernie Sanders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, AC 360: I understand Larry David is hosting SNL this weekend. He does a pretty good imitation of you. Do you do a Larry David imitation?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anderson, I know you've been in journalism for a long time.

COOPER: Are you doing your Larry David right now?

SANDERS: I am Larry David. And you didn't get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I am Larry David. So it appears tomorrow night the truth will come out, yes, they are indeed two different people.

Joining me, Spike Feresten who is a former writer for "SNL," "Seinfeld," "The Late Show With David Letterman." Your impeccable resume continues.

Spike, awesome to talk to you.

SPIKE FERESTEN, FORMER WRITER, SEINFELD/SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: Nice to talk to you as well.

BALDWIN: So you have worked with Larry David before on "Seinfeld." You sir, wrote the famous soup Nazi episode. So before I ask you about Larry David himself, I mean, what do you think is going on inside of 30 Rock right now, inside of that "SNL" writers' room? How would you write this sketch?

FERESTEN: Well, they have to be so excited that they're going to get these two guys together, you know. And frankly, like you, I want to be sure we're not talking about the same guy, because I have never seen them both in the same room together.

BALDWIN: When you close your eyes, they sound like the same person, 100 percent.

FERESTEN: Yes. When I first saw Bernie Sanders, I said, that's Larry David. That's the Larry I know and love. Even when I watch that impression of him on "SNL," that's the Larry I saw in the "Seinfeld" writers' room. BALDWIN: Knowing Larry David as you do, do you think he sort of saw

Bernie Sanders emerge on the national stage, and he way of wanting the presidential nomination as he was, like, light bulb moment, aha, Lorne Michaels, I have a proposal.

FERESTEN: As I understand it, he and writers of "SNL" both came up with the ideas at the same moment. That the writers were writing a sketch that has Bernie Sanders in it and at the very same time, Larry was getting in touch with Lorne and saying I should play Bernie Sanders this weekend. And so, you know, it just seems like it was just in the air.

BALDWIN: I know these "SNL" writers were sort of salivating over the summer and waiting to get back on because of all these incredible characters on the scene to write about calling jokes. He is the weekend update host. He was one of the writers where he once one of the head writers and he was on last night and he was saying that Larry David's Bernie Sanders impression actually he thinks has made an impact on the campaign. Here's Colin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN JOST, CAST MEMBER, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: Larry's so likable, you know, that it makes, you know, in a crazy curmudgeon way, that he makes Bernie like, oh, yes, Bernie Sanders, I've always liked him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Do you think that's possible? I mean, you know, Jost watches a lot of news and maybe that's helping - I mean, that is certainly I imagine helping "SNL," but do you think it's helping the Bernie Sanders campaign?

FERESTEN: Well, yes. I mean, we all love Larry David so you can project some of that on to Sanders. But I think the moment for me personally is when the politician meets the comedian doing the impression. And we as an audience see this guy has really good sense of humor about himself. And you know, I know Larry pretty well. And I have had a little face time with Bernie Sanders. And they're both great guys. And I can't wait for Saturday night.

BALDWIN: I mean, lift the curtain for so many of these "SNL" fans because I know a lot of these, it is like writers. It's like teams, right, and you write different sketches and so certain writers are on the cold open or the political sketch, whatever it may be. Can you talk about that process and how so many people must have so many ideas on this one this weekend?

FERESTEN: Well, yes, I mean, if you just look at the field of candidates, I mean, Hillary Clinton by herself, my wife can attest to the fact I've been doing Bill Clinton back in the White House, walking through the door, "I'm back, baby." You know, finding old cheeseburgers and candy bars he hid in the wall.

I mean, it's such a rich group of politicians to make fun of that, you know, it's just one of those wonderful elections, you know, it makes me personally miss late night and being on it and writing it. They must be having a great time.

[15:50:04] BALDWIN: They have to. They have to. And I remember, think it was the first episode of this past session of "SNL" where you have Kate McKinnon who plays an awesome Hillary Clinton and then Hillary Clinton herself, right, she rolls up to that bar and it is a great moment where she makes this cameo.

So final 60 seconds, Spike, how would you write the moment when the real Bernie Sanders meets fake Bernie Sanders, aka Larry David?

FERESTEN: Three simple words, hold for applause because I think the audience will be applauding for about an hour when the two of them come together. You know, the rest of it I leave up to the experts at "SNL." They're doing such a great job this season, you know. I don't want to interfere with what they're up to.

BALDWIN: Spike Feresten, thank you very much. Make sure you watch Spike on (INAUDIBLE) network. Thank you for taking the lunch break to chat with us. I know you're shooting season three of "Car Matchmaker" right now. It premieres in June.

Spike, thank you.

FERESTEN: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: All right. Coming up next here, the NFL commissioner announces new rules to increase diversity just days before the super bowl. We'll take you live to San Francisco for those details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:55:50] BALDWIN: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell giving his state of the league address today, days before the historic super bowl 50. He announced some rule changes in the league that include improving player safety to preventing concussions and brain trauma.

CNN's sports correspondent Coy Wire is in the bay area with more on the commissioner's comments.

Coy Wire, what did Goodell say?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke. It's a good day here in the bay. Roger had a lot to say in his press conference. Now, last week, remember the league revealed the 271 players suffered concussions this season. A new four-year high. That's up from 206 a year ago. So in that press conference moments ago, Goodell addressed several questions regarding concussions. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: I played the game of football for nine years through high school. I wouldn't give up a single day of that. If I had a son, I would love to have him play the game of football. I would love to have him play the game of football because of the values you get. There's risk in life. There's risk to sitting on the couch. What we want to do is get people active. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, moving on, we have heard the question all week, is Peyton Manning going to have his last season. He's in his 18th year. He has missed six games this season alone. He has had three neck surgeries in his career. Well, two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, Joe Montana and Dan Marino sat with us at CNN and gave their thoughts about Manning's future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess if he wanted to go play somewhere else, he would.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who takes a chance on him? What will his number be even at the lowest? It's still got to be pretty high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be a lot more than you and I made together at the same time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: The guys had a blast and our kickoff by the bay hosted by my big brother Chris Cuomo and Dan Marino and others. It's going to be a lot of fun, Brooke. The big game less than two days away. Super Bowl 50, sure to be one to remember.

BALDWIN: OK. Could we talk about, Coy, some of the sort of weird side bets ahead of Sunday, you know, like you're in the bay area, people are -- what are the odds of an earthquake happening during the game, 56-1 odds. This is stuff people are actually doing. You're there, what are you hearing?

WIRE: That's a good one. Another fun one is what color will the Gatorade be. What will be the first song Coldplay during halftime? Will the commentators get into an argument during the broadcast? But I think the best, the thing to watch is to see whether or not, I heard Dan Marino is going to throw a pass to Chris Cuomo at some point. And my bet is that that he drops the pass, Brooke. I'm putting all my money on that one.

BALDWIN: OK. So my executive producer, who's in my ear each and every day, he is a bit of a Carolina fan. And I'm just wondering, you know, we're just being real, Coy, you and I on TV, he is hanging on there your every word. How do you think they're going to stack up against the Broncos?

WIRE: The Carolina Panthers are going to stack up extremely well against the Broncos. Vegas thinks they're going to win. Most everyone thinks they're going to win. But I am going with the underdog, Brooke. The last four seasons the underdog has reigned victorious so I'm going to go with them. I think that defense, the number one defense in the NFL can get the job done even against the dynamic cam Newton.

BALDWIN: OK. Eric Hall is thanking you.

Coy wire, enjoy San Francisco. Enjoy the tickets to the big game. Thank you so much.

And by the way, do not miss what we're calling kickoff by the bay. A CNN bleacher report special hosted by Chris Cuomo and you heard Coy talking about that hall of fame quarterback Dan Marino. That is tomorrow at 2:30 eastern here on CNN.

And before I let you go here, let's take a quick look at the Dow, closing bell about to happen on Wall Street. Quickly here, do we have the shot? All right. Wow, a lot of red. Down 222 points as we are encroaching into that closing bell, closing day there on Wall Street.

With that, thank you so much for being with me. We will be live in Manchester, New Hampshire. I'm about to hop a flight right now, got my snow boots ready. We'll be live at the first in the nation primary there. Sure, Jake Tapper will join me.

Meantime, let's go to Washington. "THE LEAD with Jake Tapper" starts right now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Thanks, Brooke.