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Candidates Make Final Push in New Hampshire; Bill Clinton's Harsh Attacks on Sanders. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired February 08, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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


[10:00:13] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. We begin with a battle for New Hampshire.

Today the presidential candidates are out in full force, making their case to voters just hours before tomorrow's primary. Donald Trump getting ready to rally supporters in Salem. You see him about to walk through that door maybe. Soon we'll see Governor John Kasich holding a town hall as well.

All of this after Rubio -- Marco Rubio's debate performance and attacks against him have dominated the headlines for the past two days. Here's the senator. He's holding a town hall in Nashua, New Hampshire.

We're following all of this with our team of political reporters. But first let's talk about another fight that's brewing on the Democratic side.

Bill Clinton going after Bernie Sanders. The former president unleashing a verbal assault on his wife's rival, accusing Sanders supporters of being sexist, blasting the Vermont senator's health care plan and even labeling him dishonest and hypocritical. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you're making a revolution, you can't be too careful about the facts. You're just for me or against me. Anybody who takes money from Goldman Sachs couldn't possibly be president. You heard that sort of in the last debate, didn't you? Well, after that CNN report yesterday, he may have to tweak that answer a little bit. Either that or we're going to have to get us a write-in candidate, but -- I know. It's funny. I can tell you. No, see, get online and go look. I practically fell out of my chair when I saw it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins me now with more on this.

Jeff, has Sanders responded?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: They have responded, Carol, but the fact that Bill Clinton is going online to look at stories about Bernie Sanders tells you all you need to know about the state of play here in New Hampshire and as this race moves forward.

The Sanders campaign was watching that very carefully. They did respond this morning just a short time ago. They said this. They said, "It is disappointing that President Clinton has decided to launch these attacks. Obviously the race has changed in New Hampshire and elsewhere in recent days."

It certainly has. The race is on. They know that. I am told by a senior adviser to Senator Sanders, he is not going to address this as he campaigns today in New Hampshire. He's not going to engage with Bill Clinton, but the reality here is this race is very close. Bernie Sanders has -- he has a lead in New Hampshire, but we don't know how durable that lead is or how big that lead is.

I talked to some supporters of Senator Sanders yesterday to try and get the sense of why they're supporting him, why they are backing him and if they're going to stick with him. Let's listen to this conversation with a grandmother and a granddaughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Had you ever considered supporting her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eight years ago I did.

ZELENY: So what changed?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think she is believable. I just -- I don't have the good vibes about her that I had about Bernie.

ZELENY: You're two women of different generations and not voting for -- right. And not voting for someone who could be the first woman president. Does that give you any pause at all or?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I did start out this election supporting Hillary because I thought, you know, it's time to have a woman president. We finally just took a huge leap of bound, electing someone who is African-American, why can't we have a woman? But then Bernie ran for president, and I love his ideas. You know, it's time for a political revolution and it's time to pay attention to the middle class because we are diminishing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So talking to voters like that really brings the polls to life here. What the challenge is for Secretary Clinton here in the final day. That was someone who supported her eight years ago and supports Senator Sanders right now.

Hillary Clinton realizes that she has an uphill road to climb. In fact, she said that exact same thing last night here in Manchester.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love campaigning in New Hampshire. I really do. I know I've got an uphill climb. I'm asking people to really consider this a job interview. Who is ready to do the job on day one? Who can be president and commander-in- chief?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So a bit of a one-two punch. Bill Clinton is urging voters to pay closer attention and scrutinize Senator Sanders. Hillary Clinton, of course, is hoping her old supporters come back around. So both of them, all the Clintons in fact will be campaigning out there together throughout the state of New Hampshire today, Carol. One more day until stop number two on the road to the White House -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Jeff Zeleny reporting live from New Hampshire. Thanks so much.

So Bill Clinton, as you heard, is on the attack calling a group of rabid Sanders supporters, the so-called Bernie bros sexist trolls. And you heard what Jeff Zeleny presented as well.

With me now Tad Devine, who's a senior adviser for the Sanders campaign. Welcome.

[10:05:03] TAD DEVINE, SENIOR MEDIA ADVISER, BERNIE 2016: Thank you, Carol. Good to be with you.

COSTELLO: Good to have you here. So Bill Clinton unloaded on Senator Sanders accusing him of selling a pipe dream to supporters, saying Sanders, too, has taken money from wealthy donors, calling Sanders a hypocrite for voting for a bill to deregulate Wall Street. Your thoughts?

DEVINE: Well, that's a lot. OK.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I know.

DEVINE: I'll take them one at a time. But the bill -- the bill he voted for as I recall was actually signed into law by President Clinton. So, you know, I'm not sure he should be attacking about that.

You know, as to attacks from people online, I mean, Bernie has disavowed them. We don't want people to act like that. And unfortunately people have done that, we just think it's reprehensible. You know, we're trying to run a positive campaign that talks about what people should do to end the rigged economy that's held in place by a corrupt system and campaign finance. That's what the message. That's what the campaign is about and we're going to keep talking about it.

COSTELLO: But some might say that Bernie Sanders himself has gone negative when he promised he wouldn't. DEVINE: Well, listen, I don't see it that way. I mean, you know, I

think we have -- you know, we have a lot of ads on TV right now that talk about America and the future of this nation and Bernie's vision for where he wants to leave it. They talk about issues like equal pay and a living wage and having health care for all and, you know, the kind of country we can achieve.

Now admittedly, in order to do this, we're going to have to change the system. And I think Bernie understands that. I think the reason he's connecting so powerfully with people all across this country is he's diagnosed the problem. The economy is rigged, it sends too much wealth to the top, and that rigged economy is held in place by a corrupt system of campaign finance. And I think people understand that if we're going to change things, we have to change the system.

He's talking about it. And I don't think it's pie in the sky. I think people understand if we're going to do this, we have to take on the system itself.

COSTELLO: Well, I think --

DEVINE: And if we do, we got hope for change.

COSTELLO: I think that the Clintons are calling it pie in the sky because both Houses of Congress are controlled by Republicans. And anything that Bernie Sanders president, right -- Bernie Sanders as president is going to get through isn't going to pass especially when it comes to Wall Street.

DEVINE: Well, here's a story. If Bernie Sanders wins the nomination of the Democratic Party and if he is elected president of the United States, I can guarantee you that the electorate that is going to come out to accomplish that is going to be one that elects a lot more Democrats to the House and the Senate. And I think we have a shot at both those bodies. So we can change American politics the way Barack Obama did in 2008. You know, he won two states, North Carolina and Indiana. The Democrats had not targeted for generations. And he won them even though the only age group he won was 18 to 29-year-olds.

So many of them came out and so many of them voted for him that he was able to change the nature of American politics. And that -- that's what Bernie Sanders is capable of doing. And I believe only Bernie is capable of doing that.

COSTELLO: All right. Well, let's go back to Bernie Sanders' supporters because over the weekend Gloria Steinem, a famous feminist, and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright scolded young women for not supporting Hillary Clinton. Albright saying, "Just remember, there's a special place in hell for women not supporting each other." Low blow?

DEVINE: Well, you know, my reaction is that we're thrilled that so many young women in particular are coming out and supporting Bernie Sanders. They're looking at his ideas, they're looking at his plans.

(CROSSTALK) COSTELLO: But specifically about these comments from Gloria Steinem.

DEVINE: They believe he's someone who can change politics.

COSTELLO: Specifically all those comments.

DEVINE: Well, sure. Sure. OK. Let me take them one at a time. Gloria Steinem, I think shortly after she made those remarks on live television, which I can tell you -- you're talking live television, you say things maybe you'll later regret. Said that she regretted it and she apologized for it, and we accept that. As to Madeleine, I've had the privilege of knowing her for many, many years, this is something she's said a lot of times. I think I understand what she's saying. I would respectfully disagree that if young women in particular or older women or any women, or anybody wants to support Bernie Sanders because they think he'd be the best president, that's the right thing for them to do:

COSTELLO: OK. And just one last question about this issue of gender. There's a group -- I don't know, I don't know if I'd call it a group. But they're called the Bernie Bros by the Clinton campaign. And they go online and they throw women political pundits and harass them online. Senator Sanders came out and said what?

DEVINE: Well, yesterday Jake Tapper asked him about it and what Bernie said, and I couldn't agree with more, is that, you know, we denounce anyone who pursues those tactics. That's not the kind of support we want in this campaign. Bernie is trying to run in affirmative and a positive and upbeat campaign. And, you know, we just can't stand it that anyone would do things like that and we want to keep as far away from it as possible.

COSTELLO: Because, you know, we got an e-mail from one of these women who is a pundit and writes online. She's had to block 300 people from her Twitter account who were supposedly those Bernie Bros.

DEVINE: Well, listen, again, I don't know what we can do other than denounce people for doing things like that and saying that that's not the support that we want. We want people to support Bernie for his ideas and not to engage in this kind of vitriol.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Tad Devine, thanks for stopping by.

[10:10:02] All right. Let's head back to New Hampshire and Chris Cuomo, he's live in Manchester.

Hi, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NE WDAY": Carol Costello, you blocked me on social media before. I think you should disclose that when discussing the topic with other people.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: It's a great discussion. It was a great discussion and it was great that you followed up getting him to answer specifically to what had been said on the women front on both sides. This is a way we advance our understanding of the campaign. It's good to hear that, Carol. Thank you.

So here I am in Manchester. We're waiting for the votes to start. They start, of course, famously at midnight tonight, but really tomorrow morning is when the polls open. But this is going to be the first real primary. OK. A caucus system is different. You're going to have crossover of independents here. How does that play? So the last minute pitches are very, very important.

We have Senator Marco Rubio, he's getting a lot of attention, and not all of it for the right reasons on the Republican side right now. His rivals are all over time. They say what you saw Saturday night when he had a tough time in their estimation, was the real Rubio. He can't deal with the pressure. He can't deal with these questions. And that's why he kept repeating the same line multiple times. He says he was repeating it because that's the important thing to say. But here's the sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And let's dispel once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing.

Let's dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing.

Here's the bottom line, this notion that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing is just not true.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There it is.

RUBIO: He knows exactly what --

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 -- this is a president who's trying to change this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Senator Rubio is making an obvious point that he believes President Obama is doing what he's doing on purpose. Yes, he said it a thousand times, but guess what GOP voters liked that line, and he says that's why he's going to repeat it and keep saying it all day today as Rubio says his focus is President Obama, not who he is running against. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: Now I am going to continue to say it. Barack Obama is deliberately carrying out a strategy to change America. He wants to redefine this country. And we're going to continue to say the truth. Barack Obama is systematically trying to carry out an effort to change this country. The issue is that he is carrying out an effort to change the country.

Voters across the country and especially here in -- in New Hampshire got to hear me say repeatedly the truth that Barack Obama is trying to redefine the role of government in our country and America's role in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Three big factors here to look forward here in the turnout in New Hampshire. One, same-day registration and you can have party crossover so an independent can vote in the Republican or the Democratic elections. So how's that going to fall?

Why is that matter? Because there's as many as one-third of the electorate here still undecided when you look at CNN's poll of polls. As many as 33 percent still don't know what they're going to do. They played a huge role in Iowa.

The third one, Mother Nature. OK. Take a look at any of the maps. And they're showing you that there's some yuck coming this way. They're saying about three to six inches, and that really should matter in as hardy a place as New Hampshire. But you never know. And every factor matters in fact.

Let's bring in CNN's Phil Mattingly. He's in Hudson, New Hampshire, where again it's all about the last-minute pitch. Chris Christie in the spotlight in a new way. The question is what will be the impact on him from Saturday night, Phil Mattingly?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, if you want to underscore the urgency of this moment for candidates, one undecided voter at this town hall just informed Christie that she hadn't decided which way she was going to go. Chris Christie proceeded to get down on one knee in front of her to talk about his Social Security and Medicare plans.

But, look, the Christie campaign is more than happy to hear Marco Rubio try and defend the line that he repeated over and over again. The big question becomes for them, is this a moment that just hurts Marco Rubio or is this a moment that just helps Chris Christie?

One thing we do know, Chris, everybody is jumping on it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's got to earn it. There's no coronation here. He's not going to get it. He's not going to get a layup. The whole Washington establishment can't just say part the waters, Marco's coming. And the debate on Saturday proved why that's important that all of us get challenged.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm standing there, and I'm saying, did I hear that five times now? I mean, you know, what's going on here? And it was, you know, obviously a sound bite that he likes. But you can use a sound bite once but you can't use it five times.

CHRISTIE: I think the whole race changed last night because you know there was a march among some of the chattering class to anoint Senator Rubio. I think after last night that's over. The fact is that Senator Rubio is unprepared to be president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Chris, at this town hall, it took Chris Christie all of three minutes to resume his attacks on Marco Rubio. Clearly he thought Saturday night was his moment, trying to capitalize that with just a few hours left to make his final pitch to voters -- Chris.

CUOMO: You know, and Phil, as we've all been pointing out in a very real way, the race for New Hampshire is a race for second. And that's why Rubio has a big old target on his back.

[10:15:06] Phil Mattingly, thank you very much for nailing it for us once again.

So still out in front of the pack, though, a man who is not in any kind of race for second in his own mind is Donald Trump. He is doing something very rare for him. And he's holding a town hall meeting right now. This is not usual for him. He's speaking directly with voters in Salem, New Hampshire. Now this comes as he is back to putting Jeb Bush in the crosshairs.

Manu Raju is live at that town hall. And you know, if he is targeting you, Donald Trump is a very good knows for who is a threat. Maybe this is somehow a compliment to Jeb Bush.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Potentially, but also, Chris, as we know, Donald Trump has sort of thin skin, and Jeb Bush is the one guy who's been going after Donald Trump as he's been doing for months and as he did at Saturday's debate.

Now Jeb Bush himself is fighting a bit of a two-front war. He's going after Donald Trump because there is a very strong anti-Trump contingent among voters here. Remember 36 percent of voters according to our recent CNN poll have ruled out supporting Donald Trump. That is far more than any other candidate in the field. Bush believes he can do OK if he peels away from some of those voters who refuse to support Donald Trump.

But also he's got to worry about of course that so-called establishment lane that we've been talking a lot about. The other governors who are running and also Marco Rubio. I think there's a feeling within the Bush camp that they are making some headway, but they need to have a strong showing. If they're in the single digits come Tuesday it's going to be very hard to make the case that they are the true alternative to Donald Trump and that they can be -- that Jeb Bush can be the party's nominee, all of which, Chris, just raises the stake for Tuesday. CUOMO: Absolutely, Manu. Well put. We are going to watch who

finishes second, third, fourth, and then after that, it gets very dicey. How long you can continue? And that's why all eyes are on New Hampshire.

Manu Raju, thank you very much.

So looking ahead, it's a lot more show for you to hear. We're going to look at what happens in these final hours before the primary. With one-third of the electorate undecided here in New Hampshire, everybody is in a frenzy to get right up to the finish line before voting starts so who could be going home after this election?

Now it used to be thought right up until Saturday night's debate that only one governor would make it out of New Hampshire. What about now? We'll discuss when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:21:21] CUOMO: With the most recent debate behind them, Republican candidates are taking their pitch directly to the New Hampshire voters this morning. Right now Donald Trump and Governor John Kasich are holding dueling events in a bid to reach supporters just one day before the primary. Trump and Kasich joining several of their rivals fanning out all over the state today.

Let's discuss the state of play, who needs to do what, how many move on and et cetera, et cetera. Conservative columnist S.E. Cupp, and Hugh Hewitt, host of the aptly named "The Hugh Hewitt Show."

S.E., let's start with you. The old thinking was only one governor makes it out of New Hampshire. Now, after the debate performance on Saturday night and a bunch of new trending polls, it's anybody's game. Do you buy that? If so, why?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think the stakes are different for each of the three governors. I think for John Kasich, he has known for quite some time, and I think he's right, that his long term goal, really, is a VP pick. I think he's valuable to any contender that would win the nomination. And so that's why you've seen him really run a very happy warrior kind of campaign, not taking on too many candidates. So I'm not sure New Hampshire is all that consequential for him actually.

For Chris Christie, I think it's actually do or die. He has put all his legs into the New Hampshire basket and I think if he doesn't have a good showing there, the rest of the map looks pretty tough for him.

For Jeb Bush, he's actually on the rise in South Carolina, the next primary state. He's got a very good ground game in South Carolina. It's a moderate state both among Democrats and Republicans. So I think he could play well there. So I think as long as he has a good finish in New Hampshire, Jeb Bush, you know, will live to see another day.

CUOMO: Hugh, Jeb Bush actually in the Monmouth poll that just came out. It goes from 4 percent to 13 percent in just several weeks. And that doesn't even include polling on the day of this debate on Saturday that everybody is talking about.

What is your take about what the exit is on that for Marco Rubio? Is it him just pounding in a message that he thinks will resonate, or was it him being exposed for someone who can't take the pressure?

HUGH HEWITT, HOST, "THE HUGH HEWITT SHOW": A few things, Chris. I'm in Boston where it started to snow and they've closed the schools. So who knows what tomorrow is going to be. I think Jeb Bush is rising because he had his best debate performance of the season and he unleashed the kraken, Barbara Bush, right? And I also believe that Donald Trump won tomorrow night but not losing Saturday night, and especially by throwing a hammer at former secretary of state, Clinton, his closing remarks about her server, the two standards for the Clintons, et cetera.

So I think Trump is going to win but what S.E. mentioned about we don't really know the lay of the land. Jeb Bush is going to go to South Carolina for sure. John Kasich is going to probably win. I think he's going to come in second tomorrow after Donald Trump, and I think Marco Rubio is actually, along with Ted Cruz, benefitting from media overkill. Because there's nothing that conservatives rally to so much as a conservative being attacked by mainstream media.

And I'd be interested to know if you and S.E. agree with me that the pile-on on Cruz vis-a-vis Carson and Rubio vis-a-vis his repetition of his general election campaign theme isn't helping both of them.

CUOMO: S.E., what's your take?

CUPP: Yes, you know, look, what Marco Rubio is doing is very strategic. For one, he wants to be the candidate who can win, and the numbers show that most Republicans coming out of Iowa who said winning was the most important priority for their candidate, thinks that Marco Rubio is that guy. So he talks about President Obama because he talks as in a general election candidate.

[10:25:02] So he knows he's not actually running against Ted Cruz and Chris Christie and Jeb Bush and Donald Trump. He's running against four years of failed policy. So that's why he hammers that message over and over and over again. He also anticipates that Chris Christie who also repeats himself on the campaign trail was going to say just like Barack Obama, Marco Rubio, one-term senator comes in without the right experience. Anticipating that, he pivots that to say we thought Barack Obama was inexperienced. He knows exactly what he's doing.

So all of this was planned. I don't think this was a mistake that Marco Rubio had at that debate state and the fact that no one emerged a winner from the night means that he wasn't a loser, I don't think. I think -- I think he was exactly right that the attention on Marco now is good for him going into New Hampshire and South Carolina.

CUOMO: That's interesting. A very unconventional take from what we're hearing from the other candidates. But after all, they do want to eat Rubio as lunch. CUPP: Right.

CUOMO: So we'll see what happens.

HEWITT: Yes.

CUOMO: S.E., Hugh, as always, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

All right. So still to come, John Kasich bets it all on New Hampshire. You just heard S.E. Cupp says she doesn't think he has to do that well. Hugh Hewitt says he may come in second. Well, guess what? It seems that Governor Kasich is playing for the big ring or nothing. He says he'd be a horrible vice president. So what's his strategy here and beyond? We'll tell you when we come back?

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