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Donald Trump Lowering Expectations in New Hampshire; Ted Cruz Under Fire for Misrepresenting Facts and Timing of CNN's Reporting on Dr. Ben Carson; Marco Rubio Chokes During the Debate; Sanders: Clinton "Not Accurate" About His New Hampshire Lead; Clinton: "What Happened In Flint Is Immoral"; Some NFL Teams Train Using Virtual Reality. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired February 07, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:16] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everybody. Thank you for so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield with live special coverage from Manchester, New Hampshire. We got a lot on top today. Just two days away from the second primary in the race for president, really is the torch primary. And the candidates are canvassing the granite state from small-town diners to packed auditoriums.

The number of rallies today show how just vigorously these candidates are pushing for posts. We will hear from the candidates as they present their closing arguments to the people of New Hampshire. These are live pictures right now of events for John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Clinton is actually going to be coming to us from Flint, Michigan, today to address the water crisis there.

The candidates are very busy today and so is our team of reporters. Take a look. CNN's chief political correspondent Dana Bash is following the Trump campaign in Plymouth. Athena Jones is at the Jeb Bush event in Nashua and CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny is following the Bernie Sanders campaign in Portsmouth.

So Dana, let's begin with you at the Donald Trump rally. You just spoke to Trump. What is he saying about last night's debate and how he feels he did?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka.

That's right. Just before Donald Trump went on stage, we were backstage and had a chance to talk to him and it was really striking how candid he was about the fact that the stakes were very, very high for the debate. He brought that up kind of unprompted. It's very clear that he realizes that he is so high in the polls, he has the furthest to fall of all of the candidates in the field. So let's listen to part of what he said on that issue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm very, very happy the debate is over with but I enjoyed the experience. BASH: You keep saying this. It is almost like you feel - you look

like --.

TRUMP: No. There was a lot of pressure on the debate, I'll be honest, for everybody. Not just for me. And there's more pressure when I see you and all of your people and everybody else saying, this is a vital debate for Trump. I wish I didn't hear it. When I hear Jeremy saying, this debate is vital for Trump, you know, so it makes it even more pressure. And I have always liked pressure, to be honest with you. I mean, I sort of like pressure. And it came out very well.

BASH: One last question. You did very well in Iowa. I'm not taking that away from you. But as you know because you built a brand on understanding that perception is everything. And the perception, because of the polls where is that you would win Iowa. So if you don't win in New Hampshire, what is that going to do to your political brand? Is it going to be damaged?

TRUMP: So, if I had two seconds, I think I'm doing OK. I would much rather win. I could say to you, if I came in second or third, I would be thrilled, OK. And that way we lower expectation. I know all about expectations. We lower expectations. If I came in second, I wouldn't be happy. OK? So now if I come in second you can go around and say, well -- no, I would much prefer to win in New Hampshire.

BASH: And what would it mean down the road about getting a nomination?

TRUMP: I think we will do fine. I mean, look, we are going to do very well I think in South Carolina. We have tremendous numbers there. I think the SEC is going to be great. Nevada is a place that I have major holdings. I have thousands of employees there. I think we're going to do well all the way down the line and we hope to do really well on Tuesday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And Fredricka, you heard him say that he will be personally disappointed if he doesn't come in first place. I was pretty surprised that he said that. Not that he think that. Of course he thinks that because he has been so far ahead here and because he does have a brand of being a winner and it didn't turn out so well in Iowa. But the fact that he kind of put his expectations, his personal expectations and feelings about this on the table, I thought that was pretty fascinating.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I think all of us are surprised to hear that after his, you know, second runner-up placement in Iowa. He wasn't so happy about it and then he tried to give it more positive spin. So now maybe we have heard from the real Donald Trump.

Dana Bash, from your interview. Thanks so much, Dana. We will check back with you.

All right, Marco Rubio, well, he is back on the campaign trail today after having a rough night and we say rough at that Republican debate. You are being looking at live pictures right now from Hudson, New Hampshire, where the Florida senator is going to hold a town hall. His performance at last night's showdown is getting very harsh reviews today.

Take a look at the Boston herald right there. Rubio choke. Ouch. This all started with rival Chris Christie. He came prepared with an arsenal of attack lines against Rubio and unleashed them after the senator repeated the same rhetoric several times throughout the night about Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:21] SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And let's dis-spell once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn't know what he is doing. He knows exactly what is he doing. Let's dis- spell with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn't know what he is doing. He know exactly what he is doing.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Everybody, I want the people at home to think about this. That's what Washington D.C. does. To drive by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information. And then the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers --

RUBIO: Here's the bottom line. This notion that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing is just not true. He knows exactly what he's doing.

CHRISTIE: There it is, the memorized 25-second speech.

RUBIO: Well, here's the response. I think anyone who believes that Barack Obama isn't doing what he's doing on purpose doesn't understand what we're dealing with here, OK. This is a president who is trying to change this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That was something else.

Let's talk more about the impact from last night's debate and what potentially could happen come Tuesday at the primary in New Hampshire and going forward. I'm joined now by CNN senior political analyst and editorial director for "the National Journal" Ron Brownstein and CNN politics executive editor Mark Preston and CNN political commentator, conservative writer and senior contributor for "the Daily Caller" Matt Lewis joining us well.

All right, gentlemen, good to see all of you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you in the flesh.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Good to see you in the flesh. It's been a long time. My God. I think we were all at the edge of our seat at the same time kind of like biting our nails. BROWNSTEIN: Unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: Unbelievable. So how does Marco Rubio's camp explain what happened? Does this underscore a lack of preparedness? I mean, he had to know that everyone would be going after him.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, first of all, the big story coming out of Iowa was Rubio's opportunity based on his strong (INAUDIBLE) to consolidate that kind of mainstream conservative, more white color black in the Republican party and instead last night was not only a very bad night for him but also a pretty good night for John Kasich, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. And both of those things tend to push in the same direction, which is fragmenting the voters. I think what Rubio's campaign try to explain that there's no way to explain what happened other than, really, a kind of a debate glitch or malfunction and kind of getting rattled under pressure.

WHITFIELD: How do you move on from that, Mark?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, listen. I mean, it is a moment in time and it came at a bad moment in time for him right now because all of the attention have been focusing on him. We hadn't been focusing on, we haven't been focusing on the winner, we haven't been focusing on Donald Trump. We have been focusing on Marco Rubio.

I do think that heading into the primary on Tuesday that this is very bad for him. However, it is still a moment in time. He still has money. He still can recover. It is not too late in the game for Marco Rubio. I mean, he still -- look, he is usually very good on his feet. He was terrible on his feet on the debate.

BROWNSTEIN: And before hearing Matt real quick. The time is really the key question, though, here. Because what Rubio needs and really what the whole center right part of the party needs is for that brand, that wing to consolidate before we go to deep into the process. And to the extent last night --.

WHITFIELD: When is that going to happen?

BROWNSTEIN: That's right. They thought it might happen in New Hampshire. Rubio could separate from the three governors here. But instead, last night makes it more likely that they continue to clamp together, continue to divide that vote as you going to South Carolina which is often in favorable to those kind of candidates. That would give an advantage to Trump and Cruz and add to the nervousness of the party leaders about where this is going.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned the governors, really, this being their night. This was a moment between governor Jeb -- former governor Jeb Bush and Donald Trump on the whole issue of eminent domain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What Donald Trump did was used eminent domain to try to take the property of an elderly woman on the strip in Atlantic City. That is not (INAUDIBLE) purpose. That is downright wrong. And here is the problem with that. The problem was it was to tear down --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I didn't take the property.

BUSH: You tried.

TRUMP: I didn't take the property. The woman ultimately didn't want to do that.

BUSH: That's not true. To turn this into a limousine parking for his casino is not for public use.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Trump, take 30 seconds.

TRUMP: Let me just, you know, he want to be a tough guy. A lot of times, you will have - and it doesn't work very well with me.

BUSH: How tough is it to take property from an elderly woman.

TRUMP: Quiet. A lot of times --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: My goodness. And then, of course, you've got to hear the sound there after the shoosh (ph) moment.

So Matt, let me bring you in here. Hello, Matt, where are you? So Matt, you know, Donald Trump tried to turn this into his favor, you know, by saying, you know, the audience, you guys are the special interest in, you know, I am my own guy. Is that effective?

MATT LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. Look. I have heard some people suggest that eminent domain is as (INAUDIBLE) for average voters to understand. I think they understand this really well. And in fact, the Club for Growth run ads in Iowa attacking Donald Trump on eminent domain on seizing property. And it was the only time during the entire race until the end when Trump actually lost his position in first place.

I think Jeb Bush had a very strong moment last night. I think -- look, if that Jeb Bush, if we had seen that Jeb Bush from day one, he might be in a very different position because I think he stood up to Donald Trump. I think he really, when he talked about Donald Trump taking property from an elderly lady, I think that resonates. And I think that was the first time that Jeb really went to a jab.

(CROSSTALK)

[14:10:42] WHITFIELD: Right. I mean, that kind of graphic really hits home with a lot of people, whether it be true or not or whether it be sort of OK and embellishment, it really did resonate. You can kind of feel it in the audience. PRESTON: I remember eminent domain back in the southern Republican

leadership conference, a big gathering of Republicans back in 2006. I'm going to bring name out that we have all heard a lot. George Allen, the Virginia senator. He was going to be front-runner for the nomination. Of course, he has hid (INAUDIBLE) moment and he was gone in the Senate campaign. He sat on the stage at 8:30 in the morning and spoke to about 400 people. His whole speech was about eminent domain. People were on their feet.

So to Matt's point, it might not be something that resonates with the general public right now, it does resonates with the conservatives now.

WHITFIELD: How much did this moment resonate when there were tiny moments where it seems, at least the governors, were kind of, you know, together? There was a little bit of a brotherhood, if you will. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIE: Well, he deserves credit for his record on jobs. He's done a very good job as governor of Ohio. Never said that John has. He's done a very good job.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, I'm not here -- I like Chris.

BUSH: I trust Kasich and Christie.

CHRISTIE: And by the way, I like Kasich's record, too. He's a good governor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ron, I almost felt like, especially that moment between Kasich and Chris Christie, that maybe if we're both in it, maybe we could team up? Too much to read in there?

BROWNSTEIN: No. Look, I think they all, you know, they all have a common interest now, which is preventing Rubio from getting separation from them in New Hampshire because that really could have been a death blow to all of their campaigns. They have all moved into New Hampshire and if they were even after all of that campaigning, they finished significantly behind Marco Rubio based on momentum out of Iowa.

It would say that the voters they were courting had essentially made their choice. So I think particularly Bush and Christie we have seen on the campaign trail, this kind of sense of coming together to try to slow down Rubio. And Kasich is a threat to Rubio as well. Because again, the voters who are most likely to consolidate behind Rubio, Kasich is also appealing to them and he may be the ultimate beneficiary of Rubio as we decide. Out of the three of them, Kasich is the most likely to finish ahead of Rubio here, I think, in New Hampshire. WHITFIELD: And Matt, it would seem, you know, that Kasich's

performance was very impressive, as was, you know, Chris Christie. You know, when I spoke with him yesterday, he said, you know what, this is choosing time, his words, not mine, choosing time. And it's a matter of distinguishing yourself. And it seems as though he did indeed do that by continuing to be exactly who New Jersey voters have always known Chris Christie to be and John Kasich held his own as well.

LEWIS: Well, look, I think the case with Christie is almost a murder- suicide. I think he took down Rubio. I don't know that he helped himself that much.

But look. I do agree with everything that has been said here. The table was set for Marco Rubio to go into New Hampshire to come in maybe second place to consolidate the establishment lane, it would become a three-man race - Trump, Cruz and Rubio. And everything went wrong last night. Rubio did very badly and then I think Kasich and Jeb had the best debates they have had. So now it's all muddled. This thing is really going to get interesting now.

WHITFIELD: And it's been interesting and even more so. This is like "Survivor" politics.

PRESTON: Right. And you know what, we have talked about four tickets out of New Hampshire, OK. Cruz, correct. Ron's got it right there. Cruz, Trump, Rubio and a governor. Guess what, there's another ticket for a governor to come out.

BROWNSTEIN: You know, I think it might (INAUDIBLE), Christie's long- time chief strategist in campaign said to me after the debate I think correctly, more people are going to be viable after New Hampshire than it initially appear. And ironically, at least in the short run, that is an advantage for Cruz and Trump, each of whom have a more consolidated base in the party. Cruz with the evangelical Christians, Trump with those blue-collar Republicans. It's the third big lane that Matt was talking about that remains divided. That is the more white collar center right mainstream conservative. As long as that remains divided, the other two, I think, have something of a leg up.

WHITFIELD: And we didn't even talk about Carson and Cruz. So we are going to give them more love next time we talk here, OK.

All right. Gentlemen, thanks so much. Ron Brownstein, Mark Preston, and Matt Lewis. Appreciate it.

All right. Tuesday, two days away now, CNN will have complete coverage of the New Hampshire primary all day long. The first primary of the season, but it is the second race in the race for the White House.

All right, then, Thursday, don't miss the PBS "Newshour" Democratic debate. That will air on CNN in addition to your local PBS station. That's at 9:00 p.m. eastern. Don't miss it.

We have more straight ahead live from Manchester, New Hampshire, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:18:25] WHITFIELD: All right. Gorgeous view of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Welcome back to our special live coverage here from Manchester, New Hampshire. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. The candidates are out, particularly the GOP candidates after that heated televised debate last night. Jeb Bush is just winding down a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire. He is coming off, what many are saying, was a stronger debate performance than many had seen from the former Florida governor.

Our Athena Jones is in Nashua at today's event.

So, did he feel like, I don't know, he was energized from his performance last night? Did he seems like a new man there meeting with the people?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

We certainly did see new energy, I think it's fair to say, from Governor Bush. We also saw this during the day at his event yesterday. A lot of enthusiasm in the crowds. I talked to a lot of Bush campaign officials and supporters who have big smiles on their faces after his performance last night. They feel he did a very good job. And they are also pointing, all of them, almost to a person are pointing out what they see as Senator Marco Rubio stumble when it comes to a seeming scripted when it comes to repeating that line you heard him talk about over and over again in terms of the notion about President Obama.

We heard Bush himself tout his own taking it from Donald Trump. He called Trump a loser for questioning John McCain's heroism. That to reference to Trump's remarks earlier this summer doubting whether McCain is really a hero - a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam. He also talked about the fact that he took it to Donald Trump on eminent domain. And without citing Rubio by name, he talked about how the presidency isn't something that is scripted. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:20:08] BUSH: We have two gifted freshmen senators that are also front-running candidates and they are gifted. Look, I have a monkey brain, to be honest with you. I can't say the same thing like -- I can't say it. My mind works differently. It's not like -- message discipline is not my strength. I admit it. Something goes on in there. It's fertile. It is growing. It is challenging. I always question myself. I mean, I'm actually curious, you know. I don't -- it's not all scripted. I think that's actually a strength to be president of the United States. Because you cannot script being commander in-chief.

(END VIDEO CLIP) JONES: Yes. Bush went on to talked about how, you know, terms of phrase are not something that is key to running the country. You can't just say certain lines over and over again. Bottom line here, Fred, there is a real energy. I talked to a lot of folks in the crowd, some of whom were leaning towards Bush, some who are accusing between Bush and Kasich. But the campaign feels strong and believes he can finish in the top three or four - Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Athena Jones in Nashua, thank you so much. We will not far from the Jeb Bush event.

John Kasich has just wrapped up a town hall in that same city. He will be heading down the road to concord for his next town hall scheduled for 3:30 p.m. eastern time today. Kasich made a limited number of appearances in Iowa, instead of putting a lot of his resources into making a big showing here in New Hampshire.

Well, this morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," Kasich said he didn't think a poor debate performance by Marco Rubio would directly benefit him because he doesn't consider himself an establishment candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASICH: I am not in the establishment lane. I have never been the establishment. I'm not anti-establishment. But I make the establishment very nervous.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Why?

KASICH: Because I'm a change agent. Look, when we were reforming welfare for the poor, which I was in favor of, I said we have got to reform welfare for the rich. I'm reforming the Pentagon when we have Republican president. I mean, we don't do things like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We have so much more straight ahead from New Hampshire from both sides of the race.

For the Democrats, the race is getting outside of New Hampshire today. Hillary Clinton is actually in Flint, Michigan. Her message there, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:15] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to our special coverage from Manchester, New Hampshire. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

So Ted Cruz is coming under fire again for misrepresenting the facts and timing for CNN's reporting about Dr. Ben Carson's side trip off the campaign trail. This time, the forum was last night's debate where, once again, Cruz spread falsehoods about our reporting. "The Washington Post" even called out Ted Cruz with this political cartoon showing a caricature of Cruz with a growing nose. The caption reading, "Ben, I'm sorry." CNN's Tom Foreman has a closer look in our fact check.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At absolutely no time has CNN reported that Ben Carson is dropping out of this presidential race. Not on air, not online, not anywhere. And yet around the Iowa caucuses, the Cruz campaign suggested just that and blamed it on CNN. He did it again in the debate. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They didn't correct that story until 9:15 that night. So from 6:30 until 9:15, that's what CNN was reporting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: And that is an outright lie. Let's explain what really happened. Before the caucuses began, our Chris Moody tweeted, "Ben Carson will likely speak at his victory party in Iowa before caucus results are in so he can catch a flight." Then he added, Carson won't go to New Hampshire, South Carolina but instead will head home to Florida for some RnR. He'll be in D.C. Tuesday for the national prayer breakfast." And then he said, "Ben Carson's campaign tells me he plans to stay in the race beyond Iowa no matter the results are tonight." All of that, three tweets in less than two minutes, more than 15 minutes before the caucus is open in Iowa.

And then 45 minutes after this, he hit it again by saying, "folks, Ben Carson is just making a brief stop at home in Florida tonight and campaign says he will be back on the campaign trail by Wednesday." Even if that's what Cruz is talking about, this is well before 9:00, or later than that.

Yes, our campaign staff talked about these tweets because they are unusual. They noted that it would be strange for any presidential candidate to not go directly to New Hampshire. But again, in no way, shape or form did they say Ben Carson was dropping out. That was an assumption made by Cruz's campaign.

This is something that our executives have gone over with the campaign, looking at the timeline. They have been called out for this dishonest handling of it by "the Washington Post," "Politifact," "Politico" and many other media outlets.

So for the candidate to stand on the stage and say it again, it is false. It was false from the get-go and it remains false.

You can find out a whole lot more about our reality checks by going to CNN.com/realitycheck.

WHITFIELD: All right. Tom Foreman, thank you so much.

We want to be clear, CNN has reached out to Ted Cruz and his campaign asking him to join us and address this incident. Thus far, Cruz campaign has declined our requests to appear and has pulled all of their surrogates from CNN. All right. Let's talk more about these misleading statements. Ted

Cruz has been making about our reporting to justify some of his controversial campaign tactics in Iowa.

Dylan Byers is CNN's senior reporter for media and politics. Dylan is with us now.

You had an in-depth article on CNN.com breaking all of this down and what did you find?

DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR REPORTER FOR MEDIA AND POLITICS: Well, exactly what Tom Foreman has said, I mean, none of this is true. And it is sort of shocking just how far Ted Cruz was willing to go in terms of his accusations. I mean, he even went into a timeline, you know, from 6:15 to 9:15 before they corrected anything.

WHITFIELD: And then using names.

[14:30:00] BYERS: And using names. I mean, and calling out CNN talent by name, Dana Bash, Jake Tapper, Wolf Blitzer. First of all, CNN never corrected anything because there was nothing to correct.

The fact that he made such a point about throwing CNN under the bus, scapegoating CNN for a mistake that his own campaign made is really strange.

I mean, we see conservative candidates go after the -- even liberal candidates like Bernie Sanders go after the media all the time. That's red meat.

We know how little trust there is in the media in this country. You can throw that out there and it usually wins you a lot of an applause line at a debate.

This is very strange because this has become such a story in its own right and it's so clear. I mean, you don't have to take CNN's own word for it.

You can read the "Washington Post," "The New York Times," "Politico," "Polifact," "Fact Checker," what have you. They will tell you that there is no merit to this argument.

So why he continues -- why the Cruz campaign continues to hammer this out when it's just a losing cause them is a mystery to me.

WHITFIELD: And there are calculated risks that any candidate is willing to take or would want to take, but this is not a reflection of a calculated risk. I mean, this is almost throwing his entire campaign, his whole -- the campaign on which it is being founded is "Trust Ted." His slogan is "Trust Ted."

BYERS: Right.

WHITFIELD: And this undermines that completely.

BYERS: There's a whole message here that I'm a genuine, trustworthy candidate. Now, of course, meanwhile, his chief competitor, Donald Trump has been trying to brand him as an unlikable guy, who in fact you can't trust, will sort of make political calculations and maneuver, and is not a trustworthy character.

Everything that his campaign is doing right now is sort of playing into that narrative. Remember how Donald Trump tried to brand Jeb Bush as a low-energy candidate.

What Ted Cruz is doing it seems to be the equivalent of Jeb Bush getting up on the debate stage and falling asleep. I don't understand why you're hammering out this issue.

WHITFIELD: This is nearly suicidal, in your view?

BYERS: Well, look, I mean, there are bigger -- for most voters, there are bigger issues. I would say for nearly every voter there are probably bigger issues than a candidate's tiffs with the media. Voters, of course, are concerned about the economy. They are concerned about foreign policy and what the candidate is going to do.

WHITFIELD: But trust is huge?

BYERS: Trust is huge.

WHITFIELD: For the president of the United States?

BYERS: Right. The perception of the candidate is huge and if you are not a hard core Ted Cruz supporter, if you have any doubts about his campaign, the whole thing about what he did to Ben Carson in Iowa is a sticking point.

And why he would continue to play that out, you know, on the trail, it's just a mystery to me. The only smart thing for the campaign to do now is to put it behind them.

WHITFIELD: And Ben Carson seemed like a gentleman about it, but even he just from a viewer's standpoint, he didn't really seem to really buy in. He said, you know --

BYERS: No, he didn't buy that apology at all

WHITFIELD: People know what they've heard. Interesting. All right, Dylan Byers, thanks so much. Good to see you. Appreciate it.

BYERS: Good to see you. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders is out and about in New Hampshire and in Portsmouth. Next, his battle with Hillary Clinton over Wall Street. That's heating up today. Live pictures right now. We'll be right back from Manchester.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:36:27]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Let's go live right now. Bernie Sanders drawing crowds at a "get out the vote" rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Right now, let's listen in. He's talking about Republicans and family values.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- it means when Republicans talk about family values, they want to defund Planned Parenthood. I want to expand funding for Planned Parenthood.

And when Republicans talk about family values, what they are saying is that our gay brothers and sisters should not have the right to get married. I disagree.

Jane and I have been married for 27 years. We have four kids, seven beautiful grandchildren and we believe in family values, but they are very different family values than the Republicans.

When I talk about family values, I talk about ending the international disgrace of the United States being the only major country on earth that does not guarantee paid family and medical leave.

There is legislation, very good legislation guaranteeing three months paid family and medical leave. If elected president, we are going to pass that legislation.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bernie Sanders there talking about his advocacy for health care for everyone. Senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, joining us now from Portsmouth. So Jeff, we also just learned Bernie Sanders gained some more ground in Iowa after a review of the caucus results?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: He sure did, Fredricka. Even as he presses on here in New Hampshire with cries of fighting income inequality and cries of building that revolution he has been talking about.

His team is still keeping their eye on what's happening in Iowa. The Iowa Democratic Party after saying they would not review the results of those caucuses on Monday actually has made a review of 14 precincts.

Neither of them turned out to be -- just like they were on that night but in five precincts, there were different results. We're not talking about a lot of delegates here, but it is a sliver.

So look at these numbers here. The Clinton campaign was actually losing 0.122 state delegate equivalent. So they are at 49.84 percent. The Sanders campaign is gaining 0.1053 state delegate equivalent. Now they are at 49.59 percent.

So translate that into English, what that means is Bernie Sanders did a touch better than we thought on Monday night. The outcome is still the same, as far as we know, but this is a sign that the Iowa Democratic Party is willing to look into other precincts, is willing to look into other things.

So the Sanders campaign has not made a big deal about this. We heard him say at the debate that, you know, we should move on because they essentially split the number of delegates.

But it's certainly something that validates what the Sanders campaign was thinking on Monday night here. He's pressing forward for New Hampshire.

He is trying to hold on to his commanding lead here within, you know, just two more days left until that primary on Tuesday -- Fredricka.

[14:40:00]WHITFIELD: All right, bottom line, it was tight in Iowa but even tighter than anyone thought. Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much from Portsmouth.

All right, Hillary Clinton is in Flint, Michigan, right now witnessing the city's water crisis firsthand. We'll take you there and analyze the impact that crisis holds on the presidential election. All of that, next, from Manchester.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Hillary Clinton is in Flint, Michigan, witnessing the city's water crisis firsthand. Just moments ago, Clinton spoke to the people of Flint on why their crisis needs presidential attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not merely unacceptable or wrong, though it is both. What happened in Flint is immoral. The children of Flint are just as precious as the children of any other part of America. They are just as deserving of good health care, of good education, and of bright futures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's senior political reporter, Nia-Malika Henderson is live from Flint. Did her message resonate? Did people there feel relieved or encouraged that a presidential candidate would take the time out two days before New Hampshire primaries to be there?

[14:45:10]NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes. Hillary Clinton walked into a standing ovation. She walked off of the pulpit there to a standing ovation. People were so moved that there were shouts of President Hillary. There were shouts of hallelujah and Amen as well.

And the pastor, after Hillary Clinton spoke, he got up to the pulpit and he was nearly moved to tears. He was almost speechless at the really rousing call to arms that Hillary Clinton offered to the saints and citizens here of Flint, Michigan, who are dealing with this water crisis that has been going on for almost two years.

She pledged to fight and to keep the spotlight on this issue and to rouse support nationally as they continue to deal with this crisis in Flint.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nia-Malika Henderson, thank you so much, in Flint, Michigan, with the former first lady and presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.

All right, let's talk about Clinton's visit to Flint and the role that the water crisis plays in the presidential race. With me now is Jennifer Granholm, she is the former governor of the state of Michigan and is the senior adviser for Correct The Record, a Hillary Clinton super PAC. All right, good to see you.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, SENIOR ADVISER, CORRECT THE RECORD: Great to see you too.

WHITFIELD: So what's the significance of Hillary Clinton stopping two days before the New Hampshire primary to go to Flint, Michigan, to talk about this? How do you see this translating for voters in New Hampshire and nationally?

GRANHOLM: Well, I mean, it's really a national issue. This may be happening in Flint, but it's really sort of -- Flint has been the poster child for the deindustrialization of America. It was a city that was once almost 200,000 and is now under 100,000.

It's the second poorest city of its size in America. It's a majority African-American city and it's a city that's been forgotten. You combine all of that with this poisoning of this community through pipes that now will have to be replaced and what's that going to cost?

So what the message is that we cannot forget these communities and cities that had been so ravaged by globalization, the loss of these industrial jobs.

But also now by a ridiculous decision to try to save costs, cut cost at all costs, essentially, by switching the water over to a cheaper source, which ended up poisoning the city.

WHITFIELD: So it shouldn't be happening, but you did just paint a picture. I mean, Flint has been a place, people of Flint that have been neglected for a very long time. It's not just the lead in the water right now, but people have felt invisible for a very long time.

So why should they trust a presidential candidate or presumably the federal government to come in and fix when they feel like they've been invisible and forgotten for a very long time?

GRANHOLM: I think that this ends up being a sort of catalyst moment. It's like a Katrina kind of moment where people's eyes are open. They have been invisible and now people are seeing what these families are experiencing.

And I think, everybody, whether they live in Flint or Grosse Point, which is a really nice suburb of Michigan, they can imagine not being able to turn on a tap and get clean water.

What's the role of government if it's not the most basic thing, which is to provide clean water, clean air, and safe food? I mean, it's the hierarchy of human needs, the most basic thing.

So what people see is that there is a role for government to fix these kinds of problems, but also to invest for the long term. This is an infrastructure crisis, but it's also a human crisis too when you think about these kids.

WHITFIELD: It's going to be a big issue of trust.

GRANHOLM: When you say that, what do you mean?

WHITFIELD: The people there who feel like they have been neglected, overlooked. Their water is poisoned and now they have to trust government, whether it's on the local level or federal government.

GRANHOLM: I also think honestly it is going to be a question of who do you trust in terms of who believes there ought to be a role for government in investing in these basic things. The governor of Michigan, who is my successor, he knows how to run governments.

A lot of Republicans see that as their mantra. It's not just about cost cutting. It's about basic human needs. These kids have been poisoned. There's a role for government and there will be an important contrast in Flint where it can happen.

WHITFIELD: Before I let you go, Hillary Clinton had an event and Madeleine Albright was there. She had Corey Booker, you know, New Jersey senator. And it was Madeleine Albright who said, you know, there's a special place in hell for women who don't support other women.

GRANHOLM: No, she said --

WHITFIELD: What did she say?

[14:50:00]GRANHOLM: I love Madeleine Albright and I understand that women of my generation who have worked all of their life to be able to pull the lever for the most qualified woman.

That we feel like this moment is here and why don't the next generation feel it in the way that we feel it? We have to understand that they see it differently.

But for our generation, we see it as something that's so important that we've given a gift to these younger women to be able to vote for a woman president and in working so hard for it.

We feel, a lot of us, like we don't understand why that gift is being turned away. So I think that's what is going on a little bit under the surface, but we have to understand that for this next generation of women.

They want to vote on policy and, you know, they hope and believe I think that a woman will be president one day.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jennifer Granholm, thanks so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. We'll get back to our coverage of the New Hampshire primary in just one moment. But first, let's talk about the Super Bowl, Super Bowl Sunday. Here's what you will not hear during the game tonight. Some teams have been using virtual reality to train for their games.

Coy Wire is live for us from Santa Clara, California, with the details. So Coy, look at that backdrop, it's gorgeous there. You all are ready, aren't you?

[14:55:04]COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, just hours from kickoff. Thousands of fans just starting to flow onto these ground, around the stadium behind.

If I were any happier, there would be two of me. Now all week we've been talking about the intersection of sports and technology. And today, I want to introduce everyone to a maker named Derek Belch, a former Stanford kicker and his company, Strivr, is changing the game of football with virtual reality allowing players to train their brains like they never have before. Check this technology out in "Bleacher Report" by Intel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK BELCH, STRIVR CO-FOUNDER AND CEO: This was my master project while I was coaching at Stanford. It was to come up with a way to train athletes using virtual reality.

All academic at first. Let's see if we can get an "A" on the project and then in December of 2014, he's basically firing me and saying, you've got a great concept here, go do it.

WIRE (voice-over): A 360-degreee camera captures video and then Strivr stitches it together providing seven NFL team including the Arizona Cardinals an immersive training experience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was kind of blown away by the technology initially.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Realtime, real football, seeing it through your own eyes.

CARSON PALMER, ARIZONA CARDINALS QUARTERBACK: I put it on and it took me two plays and I thought, this is so cool.

BELCH: The quarterback has a lot of things to remember and look at in a fraction of a second on the field. Decision-making is absolutely paramount.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I wanted to hitch through my reads whereas if you're just watching on film, there's no reality to it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a former safety, he got me to open up my hips.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want the defendant to open his hips and not drive on the ball. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These fine details that things separate you during the game because it's just inches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we do is so personal with the teams. They trust us.

BELCH: For the most part, we are like this on a daily basis. We're very intimate with these guys. We see what they do on the practice field and hear their calls and know their plays. Nobody else sees it. If we mess up one time, we're done as a business.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Seven NFL teams are using Strivr and it's expanding in the NCAA and NBA. They really like that technology and as a former NFL player, I would have loved this. It's a beautiful day in Santa Clara for the big game, Fred. I wish you were here and I wish you a happy Super Bowl Sunday.

WHITFIELD: Me, too. Thank you. I wish I were there, too, because that looks like too much fun for me. Thank you so much, Coy Wire. I'll be watching. I'll enjoy it that way.

All right. Here in New Hampshire, the candidates are out on their final push. CNN is with them across the state.

Plus, who did last night's Republican debate help? Who did it hurt? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)