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Republican Debate in New Hampshire; Sanders Faces Clinton's "Firewall"; Clinton's Strategy in Flint; Flint's Deepening Health Crisis; Sanders: We Can Win New Hampshire With High Turnout. Aired 4- 5p ET
Aired February 06, 2016 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jake Tapper in Manchester, New Hampshire.
HARLOW: Jake has been very, very busy talking to just about with every single candidate ahead of this Tuesday primary. It's the center of the American political universe this weekend, New Hampshire is.
Two reasons. First of all, we're three days away from the first in the nation presidential primary, also though, this is where seven candidates from the GOP will take the stage tonight in just a few hours for the next Republican debate.
The GOP front runner Donald Trump approaching New Hampshire slight differently than he did the state of Iowa where he did not win the Republican caucuses. In New Hampshire, it appears Trump is cramming in even more appearances, taking even more questions from voters. The state still very much anyone's Republican prize to win. Nearly a third of likely GOP voters in the granite say their vote is up for grabs.
Sara Murray is in (INAUDIBLE) New Hampshire, that is the venue for tonight's Republican debate. When you look at the big picture here and you look at Rubio specifically on stage tonight, ahead of that surprise in Iowa, not a surprise that he came in third but a surprise how closely he came in compared to Donald Trump, what is the focus going to be on Rubio tonight?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICLA REPORTER: Right, the focus is going to be all these other establishment Republicans, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Chris Christie, trying to blunt Marco Rubio's momentum. They see this as the time to prevent the establishment base from coalescing around him. To do that I think you're going to see a lot of these candidates going after Rubio's stance on abortion.
Remember, he said in the first GOP debate of this season that he was opposed to any exceptions to abortion, that means rape, incest, life of the mother and we've seen both Chris Christie and Jeb Bush start to take swipes at him over that. So I would not be surprised if you see that emerge as a fault line on the debate stage tonight.
HARLOW: And it was interesting we heard Senator Lindsey Graham who is backing Jeb Bush say exactly that today when he spoke with Manu Raju. So that's where Marco Rubio the focus is going to be. What about Donald Trump, because so he skips the last debate in Iowa before the caucuses. Tonight he will be on stage. His - one of his surrogates just came on to my show and said he is going to have all of these specifics, but even Anderson pressed him on that this week when they sat down. What specifics are voters going to demand from Donald Trump in New Hampshire?
MURRAY: Poppy, the one thing we learned about Donald Trump is he is completely unpredictable. While he says he is going to show up at this debate, we'll have to see how involved he actually is when he is on stage. Some of these debates he kind of faded into the background and let his other competitors fight it out. Other ones he's been more present. Right now he has a pretty wide lead in New Hampshire so I think that's probably what they are trying to weigh.
Is it better to be in the mix, to be fighting with the other Republicans on stage or is it better to look like you're above it all. One thing we have not seen though is even when he's taking more questions from voters, he's not really fleshing out his responses much, he's still not answering the question, for instance of what he would do on social security or what he would replace Obamacare with.
I have to imagine that's on the debate moderator's minds tonight and that they will try to press him for more specifics just days before New Hampshire voters takes to the polls. Poppy.
HARLOW: I think when you've got 30 percent of GOP primarygoers in that state who have not decided yet and are still up for grabs they want the specifics as well. All right. Sara Murray, we'll be there for the debate. Thank you so much. Sara, appreciate it.
I want to send it over to Jake Tapper in New Hampshire looking at different strategies ahead of the big debate tonight. Jake.
TAPPER: Thanks, Poppy. Let's talk it over with Republican strategist, Margaret Hoover. Margaret, the stakes are high for all of the candidates. But perhaps most for Donald Trump who skipped the last debate.
MARGARET HOOVER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I agree with you.
TAPPER: Had a surprising second place finish instead of first place in Iowa. What would you advise him to do this evening?
HOOVER: Yes. Look, it's an expectations game. I think if he doesn't win New Hampshire he will slowly deflate and become sort of this non- candidate. So if I were advising him before the debate tonight he needs to double down on why he is winning in all the polls, he is the outsider. He is the one who is not part of the rigged political system that all of these guys have been part of and have not been able to get anything done. He has to remind people that he's the independent guy who can actually make it happen and also that he's not beholdened to anyone. That's what's going to play in New Hampshire. This is the live free or die state. They want to know that somebody isn't embedded with special interests and that he is his own guy and he is making his own campaign.
TAPPER: He seems to have been a little modulated on the campaign trail, chastened, humbled. I wonder if you think he needs to bring back the bravado, even the insults.
HOOVER: Well, what happens as we've seen, Jake, is his - his high poll ratings actually dipped when he takes on a more presidential demeanor so he does better when he is able to throw insults at people. I mean that's actually - you know, the populous is angry. When he is reflecting back, what he's seeing in the populous, that's what he does better. So actually a more demurred, humbled tonality doesn't behoove his success at all.
[16:05:02]
TAPPER: So there's been a lot of blow back after Ted Cruz, a, put out that mailer in Iowa - some people including the secretary of state of Iowa said it looked too official and shouldn't have been done the way it was, and obviously on caucus night his supporters, precinct captains told voters, caucusgoers that Ben Carson was taking a break, dropping out, whatever that he was not doing and nobody was reporting that he was. I wonder if it feeds into a narrative about Cruz that is unflattering and might actually the victory and how he won might work against him in New Hampshire.
HOOVER: Yes, he certainly risks developing this patina of the candidate who will do anything to win and that nothing is below him, that his dirty tricks are not below him. Sure, everybody thinks that politics is dirty but that's too low a blow. There is a certain dignity to the voters in Iowa and to the voters of New Hampshire who take the process really seriously. We care, all of us, we care about the integrity of our elected leaders. That's a hit against integrity.
TAPPER: Yes, as you know, the biggest voter bloc in New Hampshire is not Democrats.
HOOVER: Independents.
TAPPER: It's independents. What is interesting is there is competition for these independents not just between Clinton and Sanders but Sanders wants them, Trump wants them, Kasich wants them.
HOOVER: It's across the ideological spectrum, they are all competing. Look. All of it is about perception. If it looks like going in the debate, Sanders is going to run away with it, the likelihood that independent leaning or democratic leaning independents vote for Sanders actually diminishes, and they could all vote on the Republican ticket. If they vote on the Republican ticket their candidate is going to be the most independent leaning Republican, somebody like a Kasich, somebody like a Trump, not somebody like a more establishment Marco Rubio or Jeb. You know, potentially Chris Christie but his numbers just really haven't gotten off the ground.
TAPPER: I'm not going to ask you to give me names but I want you to tell me of the candidates Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie, what number of those three candidates will still be in the race in a week?
HOOVER: One.
TAPPER: You think one of those.
HOOVER: That's my guess. It's Margaret Hoover's guess. But look. When you look at their path, if they don't - they have to score in the top three in order to have a real reason and justification to be able to go on to South Carolina, Nevada and the as you say, primary. Only one of them is going to make the top three. Only one of them is going to make the top three. Jeb will still have the money so Jeb, even if he does come in fourth or fifth here, he could potentially go on. OK. I'm going to revise. Two. Two.
TAPPER: We'll make it a one to two.
HOOVER: One to two.
TAPPER: I'll take -
HOOVER: Not three.
TAPPER: Not all three. Margaret Hoover, thank you so much.
Don't miss the post-debate coverage here on CNN with Erin Burnett and the best political team in television. It all starts in the 10:00 Eastern hour, only on CNN.
Just ahead, we will go live to an event at New England College where former secretary of state Hillary Clinton hopes to broaden her appeal with millennials.
There you see here live, stay with us. We'll go right back to her after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:11:08]
TAPPER: Welcome back. You're looking at live pictures of Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, former secretary of state, on the right side of your screen right there. She is currently holding a student town hall meeting at New England College in Hanucker, New Hampshire.
She is talking about all sorts of issues, taking questions and just briefly answered a question from a student about trust and the lack of trust some voters have in her. She responded by talking about the Republican attack machine and how it can work, sew doubts about somebody and undermines credibility whether it's her or other people, it is effective, not a stupid strategy. She also was asked about Bernie Sanders versus her and she noted that senators have not endorsed her, have not endorsed him, rather, and many have endorsed her. Let's take a listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We currently have a huge climate going on with police brutality in the black lives matter movement. So my question to you is where do you specifically stand on this movement as far as its support and what sort of leverage can you offer the country and safety net for what we can seek to have from your presidency on not sensoring our police departments but allowing others to sort of survive and be here and exist and not feel attacked.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I support what the black lives movement has done and what it has meant. And I think that we need a lot more organized effort to make sure we follow through on the plans for reform. The first speech, the very first speech I gave in this campaign in New York City back in, I think late March, early April, was about criminal justice reform and ending the era of mass incarceration.
And since then I have had a number of very important and frankly emotional meetings with people about this. I do put it in the larger context because it's not just police violence that is ending the lives of young people. Homicide is the leading cause of death for young African-American men. And it's, yes, the well-publicized horrible cases of police killings, and it is civilian killings, gang killings, random killings.
You know, a few months ago I met in Chicago with the mothers of a lot of the young men and women who have been killed. Some by police, some by totally random events like this incredible young woman (INAUDIBLE) from Chicago who came back a week after performing at President Obama's second inauguration, she's across the street from her school in a park with friends hanging out, a random gun shot takes her life.
You know, I spent a lot of time talking to Trayvon Martin's mother. You know, it's just the most - emotionally wrenching experience to sit around a table and listen to the mothers and have them show me pictures of their children. So here's what we have to do and I want you to think about this as two halves of trying to solve this terrible problem. The first is, we must have more accountability for police action. We must have independent accountability whether it's an attorney general or a special board, but we cannot let the sense that there is no accountability to continue. It's wrong.
[16:15:00]
If somebody takes a life and they are wearing a uniform and they are sworn to protect the community then it has to be investigated and has to be justified or there have to be actions taken. There's more we have to do. We have to do more retraining, do more building of relationships between communities, and the police. We did that for a period of time, then it kind of fell off. We've got to reinvigorate it. And we have to have the best standards for police and make sure that they are well equipped and ready to exercise judgment that doesn't immediately lead to grabbing their gun.
TAPPER: That's Hillary Clinton at a town hall meeting here in New Hampshire. She heads into the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday at a disadvantage to Bernie Sanders who is from neighboring Vermont and has found great deal of support here.
Coming up next, Poppy, will talk to a South carolina lawmaker who switched his support from one Democrat to another, specifically from Clinton to Sanders, despite the problem many are anticipating Senator Sanders will have when it's time to vote down south. He has struggled to get African-American support. Stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:20:03]
HARLOW; The race in New Hampshire on the democratic side is an uphill battle for Hillary Clinton, no questions Senator Bernie Sanders is obviously from the neighboring state largely favored to win there on Tuesday.
Joining me now is Justin Bamberg, South Carolina state representative, he has decided to endorse Bernie sanders after initially throwing his support behind Clinton. He says he now believes Clinton represents the status quo and calls Sanders bold. Thank you for being with me.
JUSTIN BAMBERG, CO-COUNSEL FOR FAMILY OF WALTER SCOTT: Thank you for having me. Absolute pleasure.
HARLOW: It's also important to note for viewers especially for context you are also an attorney, you represent the family of Walter Scott who is fatally shot by a police officer in South Carolina last year. Walk me through your thinking. Changing positions, going from a Clinton supporter to now backing Sanders.
BAMBERG: Well, frankly, in the very beginning I never really gave Bernie Sanders the time of day. You know, Clinton has a very high name recognition, I don't think anybody can deny that. But what I did is I took the time to look at Senator Sanders, the issues he was talking about and took the time to find out a little more about him as a person, and what I saw is that a lot of his views aligned with my own, he's also somebody for his entire career has been fighting for social justice, racial justice and economic justice.
HARLOW: That's interesting that you bring it up, right, because let's play the video from back in August when he was actually booed off the stage by supporters of the Black Lives Matter Movement. All right. He was booed off the stage, and that's when a lot of this focus started, people said look, does he have our best interests in mind in terms of the protesters in that movement. Then this week our Anderson Cooper asked him this question. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It's interesting 54 years ago, you were in the front lines of trying to desegregate school housing at the University of Chicago, you were even arrested.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't tell anybody that.
COOPER: What was it that motivated a 20-year-old white kid from Brooklyn to do that?
SANDERS: You know, it's hard to say what motivates anybody. I think as a kid, I did - my parents weren't political. My brother was a little bit. My parents were not. You know, like in any school you see big kids picking on little kids. I resented that. I always did.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: So Clinton we know does better with African-American voters in the south, and particularly in South Carolina, so representative, how do you change those voters' minds and say Sanders is your man?
BAMBERG: Well, I won't say that Clinton does better with African- American voters here in the south and in South Carolina, I believe that more people are familiar with the Clinton name. You know, not many folks down here know anybody from Vermont. But what you're seeing is over time more and more people are being exposed to Bernie Sanders, they are finding out about him, they're finding out facts like he led efforts to desegregate university owned apartments at the University of Chicago.
They are finding out about the things he did for instance when he was mayor in Vermont, and when the workers had cleared the snow from the wealthy part of town he did not let them quit and in fact, he worked with them to continue on and clear the snow from the roads in the less affluent areas of town. The more that people find out about him and who he is, and more importantly what he stands for, you're seeing the support shift even here in the south.
HARLOW: So, some call South Carolina your state a firewall for Hillary Clinton's camp. Obviously you disagree with that and you said to my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, about Sanders, you said "he didn't speak to me as an older white man to a young African-American man." Can you tell me more about that? Is that something you felt from the Clinton camp or expected to feel from Sanders? Why was that the tipping point for you?
BAMBERG: Well, after finding out about Bernie's background, you know, during the conversation, you know, it's easy to listen to just the words that are coming out of people's mouth. You can tell a lot by the inflection in their voice, their body language. The impression that I got from Bernie, personally, was that it wasn't a president to a state rep, it wasn't an older white man to a young African-American person. It was just two individuals talking about things that they are passionate about, talking about issues that are important to them.
It's not every day that you feel that or see that from a candidate. Let me just add that you know, there is a lot of talk about a "firewall" here in the south and in South Carolina. You know, I sort of take issue with that. I don't believe that it's possible that an entire race of people can be characterized as a firewall. You know, what we're going to see is that Bernie is going to continue to gain momentum here, you know, it was once said if you control a man's thoughts you need not concern yourself with his actions.
[16:25:18] Well, what I 'm going to continue to do and what other Sanders ' supporters are going to continue to do is to enlighten voters, enlighten minority voters, enlighten older voters and let them know these are the issues, this is where Bernie Sanders stands.
One thing about issues, Poppy, is that when one issue steps out two more take its place. But what remains consistent is who someone is and what they stand for. And Bernie Sanders has shown that his entire life all 74 years, or less since he has been in politics he has consistently stood for things that benefit the bulk of the American people.
HARLOW: State Representative Justin Bamberg, thank you so much. It's an important conversation to have. I appreciate it.
BAMBERG: Thank you so very much.
HARLOW: Coming up next, you'll hear what Clinton's camp has to say live about that, Brian Fallon, the spokesman for Clinton's camp, will join Jake Tapper. We'll talk about all of it, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Is South Carolina really Hillary Clinton's firewall? You heard my last guest say don't use that word, that's not the case. But it is certainly a narrative that Senator Bernie Sanders' campaign is fighting.
As you heard, Sanders is scooping up support among some African- American voters in South Carolina where Hillary Clinton does maintain a decades old network of political support. My colleague, Jake Tapper, is live for us in New Hampshire with a lot more including reaction live from Clinton's camp.
TAPPER: Thanks, Poppy.
Let's talk it all over with Hillary for America press secretary Brian Fallon.
[16:30:02] Brian, your response to South Carolina state representative and lawyer for the late Walter Scott, Justin Bamberg. He's switching horses. Obviously, Secretary Clinton still enjoys tremendous support, according to the polls in South Carolina. But that's obviously something you are concerned about. People leaving her campaign, going to Bernie Sanders.
BRIAN FALLON, HILLARY FOR AMERICA PRESS SECRETARY: Well, we obviously don't like to see that. But we're still pleased with the level of support we see, including in the African-American community. That said, we know it's going to tighten across the board, including in South Carolina.
But we are pleased by the endorsements we've gotten. You know, this past week would have been the 21st birthday of Trayvon Martin and on Friday, his attorney, Ben Crump, who has been a very outspoken advocate on law enforcement and racial justice, indicated that he is supporting our campaign. Previously, Trayvon's mother has endorsed our campaign and later this month Hillary Clinton will do a meeting with a group of civil rights leaders.
And so, we're continuing to seek to earn and re-earn support in the African-American community, because we don't take it for granted, and we know that even in that community, the race will tighten.
TAPPER: Is it fair to say, Secretary Clinton tomorrow, two days before the primary is going to Flint, Michigan, where that town has endured horrific toxic water crisis, it's a sizable African-American community -- is it fair to say that some of the reason, not all, but some of the reason why she's going there is because she wants to demonstrate to the African-American community, whether in South Carolina or whatever, that she is listening to their concerns?
FALLON: Well, in the debate before this past one, the second most recent debate, she actually brought up the issue of Flint unprompted in her closing statement. And part of what she said in those comments was that we wouldn't see what's happening in Flint take place without it being addressed if it were happening in a wealthier suburban community.
TAPPER: Right.
FALLON: So, I think that --
TAPPER: Which Bernie Sanders said the next debate.
FALLON: So, appreciated him.
TAPPER: It's a sincerest form of flattery.
FALLON: It's a sincerest form of flattery.
But I do think that a big part of why we feel this issue is important is because it's gotten overlooked and this is in many ways representing a community that has been voiceless up until now. There's been some news organizations that properly shone a spotlight on this. But for too many weeks and months the issue went unaddressed, why the governor of that state was able to largely overlook the problems in his own backyard without being held accountable.
So, I do think a big reason why she wants to go is bring attention to the fact that we can't let underserved communities issues tremendous catastrophic things like this contaminated water that's happening in Flint. We can't look the other way on that. She wants to be a president for everyone.
TAPPER: We've heard a lot of complaints about the media from the Republicans, this election cycle. Do you have issues with the media? Do you think that the Clinton campaign and the Sanders campaign are being treated equally and fairly, generally speaking?
FALLON: I'll leave that for others to decide. You know, running for president is a tough task and you're going to be encountering all kinds of scrutiny. Nobody knows that better than Hillary Clinton. That has been true of her entire career in public life and she's used to it. She can handle it.
We've been pleased in the last few weeks to pick up the endorsements of a lot of major news organizations, including in newspapers in Iowa and New Hampshire. You see "The Boston Globe" and "The Concord Monitor" here in New Hampshire. In Iowa, we picked up the endorsement of "The Des Moines Register". Interestingly when that has happened, it's been Senator Sanders going on the attack and criticizing those newspapers for endorsing us.
So, but from our perspective, we welcome the scrutiny and we know it come as part of the job running for president.
TAPPER: All right. Brian Fallon, spokesman for the Hillary campaign, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
Poppy, I'm going to send it back to you in New York.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Jake, thank you so much.
You just heard Brian and Jake talking about the Flint water crisis. I sat down and spoke with the governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, about that, exactly where Hillary Clinton will be tomorrow. You'll hear from him.
Also, you'll hear about Legionnaires' disease in Flint, the deaths connected to it, who knew, what, when. Sara Ganim with me on that, next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VICTORIA MAXWELL, ACTRESS: Cuckoo, gonzo, loco, schizo, psycho, wacko, weirdo.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Victoria Maxwell knows what it's like to be called names. Because of that, this actress who once worked with David Duchovny in "The X- Files", was in denial for five years.
MAXWELL: I was hearing things, seeing things, believing things that weren't there.
GUPTA: Victoria has bipolar disorder, which can cause severe episodes of mania, depression, even hallucinations.
MAXWELL: I ran down the street naked looking for god, in a psychosis. And even that did not wake me up.
GUPTA: A nurse convinced her to seek therapy, it took 2 1/2 years to find the right medication.
MAXWELL: There's a big stigma about being on psychiatric drugs, that somehow it's like because I can't cope, I'm on medication. And no, it's because I have a certain kind of system and in order to function really well, I need medicine. [16:35:07] GUPTA: In 2001, she saw a flyer for a disability festival
and entered.
MAXWELL: Schizophrenic man attacks police. I mean, they never -- they never splash the headline "diabetic man attacks police".
GUPTA: For the past 15 years, Victoria has performed her critically acclaimed shows to help remove the stigma of mental illness, an illness she knows all too well.
MAXWELL: To me, it's about rediscovering joy in your life. And a lot of people don't find that chance, even if they don't have a mental illness.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Hillary Clinton certainly not one to take a day off campaigning but tomorrow she will leave New Hampshire, go to Flint, Michigan, to draw attention to the city's deepening water crisis.
Michigan's governor, Rick Snyder, is facing repeated calls for resignation over calls that, you know, his administration may have known more. Did his administration know about a possible connection between Flint's contaminated water and a surge in Legionnaire's disease before that was disclosed to the public? It is a key question. I sat down with Michigan's governor and talked about the possible link.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[16:40:02] HARLOW: You have said, "To the families of Flint it is my responsibility, my commitment to deliver, I give you my commitment that Michigan will not let you down." There is a concern right now about the spike of Legionnaire's disease and that bacteria in the water. Ten people have died, as a result of it. There has been a four fold increase in the cases quadrupled in two years since the water source was switched.
What do you say to them? Where is your concern level on that?
GOV. RICK SNYDER (R), MICHIGAN: Well, as soon as I learned of it we came out and publicly announced that and action steps to reinforce and put more resources in following up including because of the issue about government failures, about getting more outside expertise to do the analysis. So there's a lot of steps going on to see what is the relationship between these events, they happen to have -- they happened at the same time, so that clearly leads a common sense belief they are connected.
So, we need to do the follow-up to see whatever -- how this relates to, you know, one another and what we are going to do to address this issue also. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right. Our Sara Ganim is with me. She's been investigating the story from the beginning.
This has been a long time nightmare for the people of Flint. The national media and the national public I think is just becoming more and more aware of it. Where do things stand right now?
SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, despite the fact that officials say that lead levels in the Flint drinking water dropped according to recent testing, at a congressional hearing this week, Poppy, a heated hearing, it was clear that the people who live there are still having a lot of anxiety action a lot of worry about that water that's coming through their taps right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GANIM (voice-over): It isn't just the lead in the water that has people in Flint upset and on edge.
CHRISTIAN MAYS, FLINT, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: They look like you skid on the tarmac for five miles. It would feel that way too.
GANIM: Rashes, like these, on Melisa Mays and her three boys.
MELISA MAYS, FLINT, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: When you would try to put lotion on the rashes, it would burn like a chemical burn. So, we were thinking, OK, this isn't right.
C. MAYS: It feels like you're dipping your arm in like iron, like melted iron, because it burns super poorly.
GANIM: This week, Michigan officials announced they will investigate complaints of rashes that residents say they have been getting for two years now, since the water flowing to the homes was switched from the Great Lakes to the corrosive Flint River. Experts say the water wasn't treated as required, a local doctor says people could tell right away.
DR. MONA HANNA-ATTISHA, DIR., PEDIATRIC RESIDENCY PROGRAM, HURLEY MEDICAL CTR: Right when the water switched in April 2014, the residents were complaining. It looked gross, it was brown. It tasted gross, it smelled gross, and there was all of these vague medical complaints of hair loss and rashes, and there's high levels of E. coli, bacteria in the water and they put a lot of chlorine in the water, which was irritating people.
GANIM: In October 2015, when high levels of lead were found in the water and in Flint children, the water supply was switched back to Lake Huron. State officials apologized and some stepped down as a handful of investigations and then class action suits were launched.
PROTESTERS: Justice for Flint! Arrest Rick Snyder!
GANIM: As residents protested, officials knew of the complaints of rashes months before they knew of the high levels of lead and they still did not act. There are calls for Governor Snyder to resign, he says he is sorry and will fix it.
SNYDER: That makes you feel terrible. I wish you would have done something different. In hindsight, it's always hard to say, but there are all of these permutations, and that's just something I'll have to live with.
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: Why would they be paying for water that they cannot even use that is poisoning them. That's not American.
SNYDER: The water still isn't safe to drink. At a heated congressional hearing this week, it was clear that people are still worried.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have rashes, they start off red and then they lead to white spots. It comes from the water. I'm scared. I'm scared. We don't know what's going to happen to us, you know down the line.
GANIM (on camera): What have the last two years been like?
M. MAYS: Stressful.
C. MAYS: Sick, sick, sick, sick.
M. MAYS: Constant tribulation of sick and stress.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GANIM: Congressman Dan Kildee, who represents Flint, met with a congressional delegation in Flint today in the neighborhoods where these people live, talking to them about their concerns and what they can do to fix this. As you mentioned, Hillary Clinton is also taking a break from the campaign in New Hampshire tomorrow to go to Flint.
HARLOW: You spent a lot of time there. I was there, it's unbelievable to think, to be living in that, in the unknown, especially as a parent knowing your child may have lead poisoning which has life-long ramifications. You can't turn around.
GANIM: There's so many -- so many different health ramifications and on top of that, as we speak today, there are people who are -- imagine this, taking a shower with bottled water.
HARLOW: Unbelievable.
[16:45:00] Sara Ganim, thank you so much.
We'll stay on this story for you. We promise.
Jake, to you. Just looking politically at it, right? So, Clinton leaves days before the primary, she goes to Flint. What's your take?
TAPPER: Well, it's very smart politics. I don't want to get into the policy of it because the policy of it is very important and much more important than the politics.
But first of all, her campaign is already setting expectations low for New Hampshire. So, if she does come in second here, one of the reasons they can say is, look, she took time off the trail to do this important thing in Flint, Michigan.
Second of all, a group she really needs to stay in her corner, they are there now, is African-American voters, and women over the age of 45. Both those groups are with her right now. And this is a story that is very -- you know, tugs at the heart strings of those two groups, in particular perhaps because it affects this horrible crisis, affects African-Americans disproportionately. It's also something that affects kids. So, this is something I think that will help down the road.
And third of all, this is a really for her aides and supporters a way that she can really contrast her leadership not only with that of the Republicans such as Rick Snyder, the governor, also with Bernie Sanders, what supporters of Clinton have been saying is Bernie Sanders when this happened called for the governor to resign and then kind of moved on. Whereas Secretary Clinton called for a state of emergency, to be cleared, called to be get federal funding. She is there on the ground, she's meeting with people, she's showing real leadership, not just idealistic speech-making but real leadership. That is how Clinton people are casting this. And I think that's an effective argument.
HARLOW: I think, Jake, no matter where your politics fall, Democrat, Republican in Flint, you're happy that the national attention is on you now, including -- you know, one of the -- one of the front-runners in the race for the presidency because it's been as you know, Jake, months and months with not a lot of people paying much attention to the crisis in Flint. And now, they are happy to have that.
Jake, thank you.
We're going to take a quick break. Up next you'll hear from Jake's interview, he just wrapped it up with Bernie Sanders. What did Sanders say ahead of tonight and ahead of the big day on Tuesday?
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:50:59] HARLOW: Welcome back.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders stumping for votes in New Hampshire today. My colleague Jake Tapper just sat down with him. He joins me now from Manchester.
What stood out to you the most, Jake, from what he said?
TAPPER: Well, it was a wide ranging interview and a lot of topics. But one of the things I wanted to ask him about was this suggestion from the Clinton campaign that the reason Sanders is going to do well here in New Hampshire on Tuesday is because he is from neighboring Vermont.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: You're favored to win the New Hampshire primary.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't make me nervous and don't jinx me.
TAPPER: Sorry, I won't jinx you. I'm sorry.
SANDERS: We think it's going to be close. We're working really hard.
TAPPER: So, Clinton campaign is trying to downplay it. Secretary Clinton the other day pointed out that you're from neighboring Vermont and New Hampshire voters often vote for people from neighboring states. She says it's the neighborly thing to do.
Your campaign said that was an insult. Is that an insult?
SANDERS: Well, in the sense, it is. Look, I mean, obviously, Vermont, New Hampshire separated by a river. We are close states, but you know what? Secretary Clinton won this state in 2008. Her husband ran several campaigns in this state.
When we began this campaign here in New Hampshire, we were 30 points down in the polls and she was much better known in this state than I was. So simply to say you know, if the we win this thing it's because Bernie lives in Vermont, yes, I'm not -- that's not accurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: We talked about a lot more than that of course. Including some of the charges being made against him by the Clinton campaign, some of the charges he's making about with secretary Clinton and what his path to victory looks like after New Hampshire as we've been discussing for the last couple hours, Poppy, some of these southern states really favor Secretary Clinton.
HARLOW: Yes, by a wide margin.
Jake, also tonight, I mean, we're just a few hours from the GOP debate. You've got seven candidates who are going to be on the stage. You moderated these before. What are you looking out for most tonight?
TAPPER: Well, this the race is so wide open and I have no idea how it's going to end. I don't have any idea how the Democratic race is going to end either. But with so many candidates, it's a mystery. And really, it's really getting very, very contentious, not just between Donald Trump and everybody else, but among the candidates, especially those in the, quote/unquote, "establishment lane", Marco Rubio, Governors Christie, Bush and Kasich who staked it all here.
So, I'm looking for the fireworks. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
HARLOW: A lot of fireworks ahead of a lot of interviews for you tomorrow morning, right?
TAPPER: That's right. We're going to have five candidates on.
HARLOW: Wow.
TAPPER: Clinton, Sanders, Trump, Kasich, Christie, and our bosses are so kind and benevolent, they are allowing us to do the show without commercials. A commercial-free show. 9:00 a.m. and noon Eastern tomorrow "STATE OF THE UNION", come for all of your politics, come for your political fix and it's going to be without commercials. I never have been able to say that in my life.
HARLOW: I was going to say Tapper, no pressure. You just got no commercials. We know it's going to be great.
TAPPER: Yes. I'm looking forward to it. Should be fun. Thanks, Poppy.
HARLOW: Again, five of the candidates with Jake, one on one tomorrow morning.
Quick break. Much more live from New Hampshire, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:58:09] HARLOW: All right. Top of the hour, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow. Thank you so much for joining us.
It is a major day in politics, the next crucial moment where Americans cast real votes that matter is just three days away, making this weekend officially the home stretch to the New Hampshire primary.
It is a state that may be smaller than others, but the electorate there does get out en masse to vote, all of the leading candidates stumping as we speak.
Then, when the sun goes down it is debate night in New Hampshire. Only the seven candidates invited by the host network in the GOP debate. There is no so called "undercard debate".
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders, well, between them there is little space. But Sanders has a big lead in New Hampshire. Both are hitting the state hard this weekend.
Let's go live to New Hampshire to Manchester to be exact. That is where we find my friend Brooke Baldwin.
You have been crisscrossing the country in the last week.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Listen, so many CNN-ers have been crisscrossing the country.
HARLOW: I know. BALDWIN: You blink, we're in Iowa, the next thing you know, bada bing, bada bom, we're in New Hampshire.
I'm thrilled to be here. First in the nation primary, of course, in just a couple of days. And about a third, Poppy, about a third of Republican voters tell us here at CNN they still haven't decided which of the candidates they are going to support on Tuesday.
I was just at lunch sitting with someone. He is a Republican, he said, listen, I think I'm going for Kasich, I want a governor to run the country. He hadn't fully decided.
They have the front-runner Donald Trump changing his venue, only Iowa strategy, shaking a lot more people's hands in New Hampshire. Listen, two words here: retail politics.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz and the accusations of dirty pool in Iowa following him into the debate hall tonight. I could list them all, but each of the Republican candidates definitely has some sort of challenge to overcome with the good people here of New Hampshire.
Sara Murray is at this location, the venue location for this debate tonight.
So, Sara Murray, just set the scene for me and talk about, you know, we keep saying the stakes are high.
