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High Stakes Debate between Democratic rivals ahead of South Carolina Vote; Interview with Hillary Clinton Supporter Robert Wolf; GOP Candidates Blitzing South Carolina. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 11, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:01] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I don't even know what that means.

PEREIRA: Yes.

COSTELLO: So I'll just skip over that.

CUOMO: But it's positive. You can skip over it by the way.

COSTELLO: So you guys have a great day.

PEREIRA: You too.

COSTELLO: See you later. NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the first match-up after the New Hampshire takedown. Bernie Sanders on fire and tonight face-to- face with Hillary Clinton. Will she unleash a new strategy?

And no pressure in South Carolina?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now it's up to South Carolina to pick a president.

COSTELLO: But can Donald Trump's rivals convince voters who the billionaire shouldn't be?

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can you imagine Donald Trump as president of the United States? We will be worse off than we are now.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The hard thing about Donald in the short term is, he doesn't have any policy positions.

COSTELLO: And 125 miles per hour winds, huge waves. The nightmare finally over for thousands of vacationers. But the storm just beginning for the cruise company.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That guy should be thrown in jail right now. Thrown in jail.

COSTELLO: Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

We are now just 12 hours away from what could be the single most important Democratic debate yet. Hillary Clinton considered the shoe- in just months ago now scrambling to regain momentum. Bernie Sanders eager to build on his crushing defeat of Clinton in New Hampshire. Both facing off for the first time since the primary there and both ramping up their efforts to win African-American support.

In just a couple of hours Clinton will receive a key endorsement from the political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus and Sanders ramping up his efforts to court African-American leaders as the first primary of the south looms next week.

We're covering the candidates, their campaigns and their challenges, but first let's focus on the debate. CNN's Brianna Keilar live in Milwaukee this morning.

Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Right now the narrative is that Hillary Clinton lost the New Hampshire primary and Bernie Sanders is really soaring high on the victory there. So the goal for Hillary Clinton is to turn around that narrative and the goal for Bernie Sanders is to keep it going with momentum going into the Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina primary.

So we'll be seeing them debate tonight. Of course we expect Bernie Sanders to be pressing his economic message as he has on what's really been a bit of a whirlwind tour on some shows. He did "The View," he did the "Late Show" last night, he met with Reverend Al Sharpton, and he talked a lot about his economic proposals. We expect as usual that he will pivot towards that in this debate.

Hillary Clinton has been painting Bernie Sanders' proposals for Medicare for all, for free public college as unrealistic. But I think we're also expecting that she's going to focus a little bit more on issues that are tailored towards African-American voters and Hispanic voters as she looks to these constituencies going into Nevada and going in the South Carolina. So tonight what you'll be seeing in this PBS "News Hour" Democratic presidential debate, you'll be seeing the sixth time that Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have faced off.

This is going to take 95 minutes where they meet and debate here at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. They'll have a couple of quick breaks. One a little longer than the other. But they are really going to be battling this out trying to keep the narrative or shift the narrative where they want it to be, Carol. And I should also mention that you can watch this debate. We're going to be airing it on CNN. You can also watch on your local PBS channel to see who comes out on top in this debate. Very important debate. COSTELLO: All right. Brianna Keilar reporting live from Milwaukee

this morning.

Both Clinton and Sanders as I said are fighting for minority voters, especially from the African-American community. Clinton already has a strong edge in that competition and in a couple of hours it gets even stronger.

Joe Johns here with a closer look at that. Good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. The Congressional Black Caucus political action committee is endorsing Hillary Clinton at this time. She has strong ties to members of the caucus. In fact she served in Congress with many of them. And the head of the Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee is from New York. Gregory Meeks. So he says that endorsement is coming today. But not all the members of the Congressional Black Caucus proper have endorsed her as of yet.

All of this drama against the backdrop of this debate occurring in Wisconsin and the move to South Carolina as the primary approaches.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): Bernie Sanders raising over $6 million in the 24 hours after polls closed in New Hampshire. Gaining momentum before tonight's crucial PBS Democratic presidential debate, descending on New York City in a victory lap, celebrating his sweeping win in Tuesday's primary, bringing his antiestablishment message to the "Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

[09:05:02] SANDERS: Our campaign finance system, our election system, and our economy is essentially owned and controlled by a relatively small number of people, whose greed in my view is really wreaking havoc with the middle class of this country.

JOHNS: And the daytime-talker, "The View."

SANDERS: This country is supposed to be a nation of fairness and we're not seeing that fairness.

JOHNS: Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton laying comparatively low after her crushing defeat. No longer the undisputed Democratic frontrunner, tonight's critical debate could help her get her campaign back on track. The former secretary of state already making changes, promising a more aggressive edge. The challenge for Sanders going forward will be capturing the African-American vote. A key piece of the Democratic electorate and the pivotal South Carolina primary later this month.

Courting the African-American vote Sanders took his campaign to Harlem Tuesday meeting with civil rights leader Al Sharpton.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: One of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus who has not said who he's endorsing yet is James Clyburn, the powerful Democrat who is the third member -- the third ranking member in the House of Representatives. He's still holding off as of yet. We also have to report this morning that Todd Rutherford, the South Carolina House minority leader, is also endorsing Hillary Clinton. So people very much coming together for her.

Those are establishment politicians, Carol. It will be interesting to see what happens on the ground.

COSTELLO: Yes. And by the way Representative Gregory Meeks will be joining us in a minute. So stick with us for that.

Joe Johns, thank you very much.

As Hillary Clinton prepares for tonight, her biggest challenge may be the actual foundation of her campaign. After being trampled by Sanders in nearly every single category of New Hampshire voter, her staff now in a rush to rethink and retool her message. In an effort to recapture the fire that once had her seemingly on a track straight to the White House.

I'm joined now by Robert Wolf. He's a Hillary Clinton supporter and a three-time presidential appointee and outside adviser to President Obama.

Welcome, Robert.

ROBERT WOLF, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Nice to see you, Carol. Thanks for having me on.

COSTELLO: Nice to have you here. I'm really glad you are here. So we heard that the Clinton camp is calling donors to try to calm them down. Have you gotten a call?

WOLF: No. You know, I think it's -- the media has taken this victory and really has run with it. I think, you know, people have to remember we still have 48 states to go and Bernie ran a great campaign in New Hampshire. But I think --

COSTELLO: But even he was surprised by the large margin.

WOLF: Yes -- no, listen, you can't take away the results. He did a -- he did a real good job and the voters came out and that is good for the overall Democratic Party, having a more voter turnout. But you know, as you know I'm close to the president. Eight years ago we got the call from New Hampshire that he lost to Secretary Clinton when he was up seven points that day and lost by eight. So, you know, nothing is ever a straight line and there is going to be bumps in the road. But --

COSTELLO: Do you think that she -- Hillary Clinton should retool her message? Because Bernie Sanders is so clear. He's got one strong message. Hillary Clinton seems to be all over the place.

WOLF: You know, I wouldn't necessarily agree with that. Certainly Bernie's message on being this incredible progressive and income inequality is resonating and by the way it should resonate. But I don't think the debate is on who's more progressive? The debate has to be on who is better for the economy? Who is better on foreign policy? And who's going to make sure we have the next right Supreme Court justices as changes take place.

So as you're watching Hillary Clinton in tonight's debate, what should she do?

WOLF: Listen, as a guy who has been in the market for 30 years the market is trading down big. The fed is really nervous. Jobs have been slow, growth is slow. I think we should go back to what the people are really going to care about. And that's going to be about the economy, jobs, wage, infrastructure.

COSTELLO: That's Bernie Sanders' message.

WOLF: But it's not his message, and this is no disrespect to Bernie but his policies add up to a $17 trillion spend. That is not happening. It is not plausible. So at the end of the day I think we also have to understand that there is something going on where people are for the most part listening to the rhetoric but not really listening to the practicality of it. And so I'm just hopeful at the end of the day as we continue to go through these primary times that people are listening to, you know, the detail of the policy and it is much more broad based.

COSTELLO: Jay Carney came out and said that President Obama is leaning toward Hillary Clinton. He clearly favors her, although he has not endorsed her or any other candidate. You talk to President Obama. Is he leaning toward Hillary Clinton?

WOLF: Listen.

COSTELLO: Will he endorse her at some point?

WOLF: Listen. My gut tells me it's highly unlikely he'll endorse anyone until the primary is finished or it seems to be a clear winner. But he did pick her as his secretary of state, which is one of the most important, you know, foreign policy and diplomatic roles there is in his administration and that was immediately after choosing his vice president.

[09:10:03] So listen, he obviously has a lot of respect for her. They have a very strong relationship. They worked together. But I also think for him it's incredibly important that a Democrat's elected and that his legacy continues and they continue.

COSTELLO: Would you like to see him perhaps say -- say more outwardly favorable thing about Hillary Clinton? Would that help her?

WOLF: Well, listen, certainly as a Hillary supporter I'd love to love him to say, I'm supporting Hillary. But I don't think that is going to happen with the sitting president. And I think he has been in different interviews saying that, you know, one -- from one example, he was very clear that if you are not for gun reform he will not support you. There is no question who is much more forceful when it comes to gun reform. And you know that is important to me. My wife actually works at Sandy Hook Promise. So, you know, I look at those issues and, you know, I've been with the president. He said that was his worst day, OK, in all of his time as being president was Newtown. So you have to look at, you know, kind of, some of the vibes he's saying but I don't think he's going come out.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about young voters for just a second.

WOLF: Yes.

COSTELLO: Because I talked to one young feminist, young woman who said Hillary Clinton is just an old white rich person. Why should I listen to her? And that sounds really harsh but young people are gravitating around Bernie Sanders because they like his idealistic message.

WOLF: You know, he's doing an incredible job with the millennials and getting out the vote and his popular and his messaging works. In the sense up here's free education and here's free healthcare. I think at the end of the day though we've only been in two states. Yes he's done a good job with the young. And I think that is a good thing by the way. For us to win as the Democratic Party we actually need the young voter turnout.

COSTELLO: That's right.

WOLF: I mean, with the president who was incredibly important, I actually think she will also get the young turnout. But today Bernie's done a better job. We need to improve.

COSTELLO: Let's see what happens. Robert Wolf, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it. Thank you so much.

WOLF: Thank you for having -- having me on.

COSTELLO: You can watch the PBS "News Hour" Democratic presidential debate tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN or on your local PBS station.

And still to come in the NEWSROOM, Marco Rubio unplugged, tearing into the Donald Trump and others. What he's saying to supporters in South Carolina right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:30] COSTELLO: Marco Rubio on the stump in Hilton Head, South Carolina, not holding back on his attacks on the Democrats, Jeb Bush and Donald Trump. As you know, he's battling for the state as the GOP field gets smaller.

Today, this is Rubio's first rally since Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie announced they were suspending their campaigns. We'll keep an eye on this rally for you.

Jim Acosta is with me this morning in Greenville this morning. Actually, he's keeping an eye on all things GOP in South Carolina.

Tell us more, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

You know, South Carolina is well known for its cutthroat politics and very likely to get down and dirty the next nine days before the South Carolina primary. And Donald Trump is going to find out this out all too well. He's firmly in place as the front runner on this field, but the rest of the GOP pack is determined as ever to bring him down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you have victory you don't need sleep.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Only one candidate is clearly leading a shrinking field of GOP contenders.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm your guy.

ACOSTA: Marching on to South Carolina.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, it's up to South Carolina to pick a president.

ACOSTA: Donald Trump riding high after his huge New Hampshire win seemed to switch his campaign tactics Wednesday night, choosing not to go after most of his GOP rivals.

TRUMP: This whacky socialist guy Bernie.

ACOSTA: This time hitting his Democratic opponents hard, Trump sounding more like a general election candidate.

TRUMP: This guy Sanders is ranting like a lunatic.

Do you think Hillary Clinton, who's terrible -- do you think, Hillary, look at what she did -- look at the damage she did.

ACOSTA: But the front runner couldn't resist taking a jab at his most vocal GOP attacker Jeb Bush.

TRUMP: He's a low energy person. I said -- no I said he's a stiff. And I said if he was in the private sector, he wouldn't be able to get a job.

ACOSTA: What's left of the GOP field now has a target squarely on the brash billionaire's back.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can you imagine Donald Trump as president of the United States? We'll be worse off than we are now.

RUBIO: The hard thing about Donald in the short-term is he doesn't have any policy positions.

CRUZ: The only way to beat Donald Trump is to highlight the simple truth of his record. It is not conservative.

ACOSTA: Senator Rubio is taking the high road addressing Chris Christie's decision to drop out of race, less than a week after their debate spat.

RUBIO: I think Chris was someone who somehow concluded that attacking me would help him in his campaign. Obviously, it didn't work. I think he's very talent, very likeable, and I think he has a future if public service beyond what he's doing now in New Jersey.

(EDN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, Carol, I had a chance to catch up with the Trump campaign manager last night at this event here in South Carolina. And he noted the fact that nine days before the South Carolina primary, that is forever -- that is a lifetime in politics. But they are pretty confident in their strategy. They are not changing it one bit.

They are going to continue to jump ahead to these states that are looming ahead on the campaign calendar. That includes Louisiana and Florida. Trump is going to be in Louisiana today. He's going to be in Florida tomorrow.

So, they are not worried about taking time away from South Carolina to go to the other states that are ahead on the calendar. They basically did that very same thing when all of those candidates were scrapping and fighting in Iowa and then New Hampshire. Trump was jumping ahead and setting the table essentially for these later contests.

And Cory Lewandowski feels like they are very well prepared, very well-adjusted for this battle that's coming ahead, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Jim Acosta reporting live from Greenville, South Carolina.

South Carolina is known for its nasty politics. So much so "The Charleston Post and Courier" has launched a website encouraging readers to contact the paper if they receive offensive mailings or robocalls.

[09:20:07] They even want South Carolinians to upload photographs of the items in question.

And John Kasich is about to find out just how nasty it can get in that state. The Ohio governor already facing attacks after surging to second place in New Hampshire. He talked about that and more with CNN's Jamie Gangel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Fasten your seatbelt. And you have exceeded expectations. But now, the pressure is on.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I don't have any more pressure -- you know --

GANGEL: Come on, you're in South Carolina now.

KASICH: But, look, look, look. Pressure is a mom that's got three kids and the husband walked out the door. Pressure is not what I'm doing.

I mean, you know, as long as I do what I think I need to do, whatever the outcome is, I'll be fine with.

People were on our bus and interviewing me and looking at us for months. They come on the bus, they say it is like Zen. Why is everybody so calm?

GANGEL: Jeb Bush went on the air this morning and he said, John Kasich has nothing in South Carolina. They're saying you have no money, you have no ground game. Can you compete here?

KASICH: Well, yes. We're going to compete here. We don't expect to win here.

GANGEL: Some of these other states, the attack ads are already on the air. Are you going to hit back?

KASICH: Well, I'm not going to sit there and be a marshmallow, or some kind of a pin cushion, people just pound me. I mean, where I come from, the blue-collar town that I come from, if you came in and beat our football team, we just broke all the windows on your bus. I mean, you know, that's just a joke, by the way. But I mean, the fact is I'm not going to just sit there and let somebody pound on me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joining me now is Darrel Rowland, public affairs editor for "The Columbus Dispatch".

Welcome.

DARREL ROWLAND, PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDITOR, COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: I think voters want to get to know John Kasich a little more. That's why we invited you on. You have been around a long time in the state of Ohio. He says he's Zen, but in Ohio, he's known for his temper. So, which is it?

ROWLAND: Carol, he's been remarkably self disciplined in this campaign. I've frankly been with him more than any other reporter in the country during this presidential campaign. I was with him when he campaigned for governor, and people who work with him in early campaigns.

It's totally different story. That is guy who in an intemperate moment a few years ago called a cop who pulled him over for a speeding ticket an "idiot cop," not once but three times at a public meeting. Nothing like that happening now. In fact, he's portraying himself as, you know, sort of the angel of light against all this darkness, of all these negative ads that are being used against him. You will notice in the segment that the folks criticizing Donald Trump, John Kasich wasn't in there. That is the tact he's decided to take. It will be an interesting balancing act. As he said in an interview, he doesn't want to be the marshmallow the pin cushion, whatever. So, not attacking but then responding to attacks will be a fine line to walk.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

So, Kasich is billed nationally as the compassionate conservative. He says, he isn't going full conservative. He says there is a role for government to play.

Why say that in this particular political climate?

ROWLAND: You know, I think he doesn't care quite frankly. Every politician says he is his own man or, you know, I'm my own woman or whatever.

I think Kasich means it. He is to a place in his political career. He's a second term governor. He is in Congress for 18 years. He is going to do what he wants to do. And I don't think his message is going change a lot in South Carolina. I think he's going to emphasize jobs more.

I think he's going to emphasize jobs more. I think he's going to emphasize his 18 years on the House Armed Services Committee for sure. But he's still going to talk about reaching across the party aisle because he thinks that even in conservative states, in the heart of hearts, most Americans want people to work together and get things done. So, we're going to see if that works.

COSTELLO: We'll see.

OK, I'm just going to talk about how conservative he really is, because on the other hand Kasich is about to sign an Ohio bill that diverts taxpayer money away from Planned Parenthood. A move critics say would harm poor women in Ohio. So, how conservative is he?

ROWLAND: Well, you know, in 2016 that is an interesting question. In most years, Kasich is pretty much a quintessential conservative. Yes, he's against Planned Parenthood funding but I don't know there is anyone for Planned Parenthood funding in the Republican field.

He's against abortion but for exemptions for incest and rape, for the life of the mother. That sort of puts him in the Republican field. That doesn't necessarily make him the most conservative.

[09:25:03] So, in some ways that is struggle for soul and the heart of the Republican Party, John Kasich insists this is what conservatives should be. It should be about conserving. It should be about helping your brother, helping your sister, but that is true conservatism and government should be there but only as the last resort.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Darrel Rowland, public affairs editor with "The Columbus Dispatch", thank you for being with me this morning.

ROWLAND: Thank you, Carol. Good to talk to you.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in THE NEWSROOM: stock futures signaling a massive selloff this morning. We'll go live to the stock exchange for the opening bell.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

OK, let's head right to the New York Stock Exchange, because traders are bracing for a sharp selloff at the opening bell. Alison Kosik joins us live.

It has something to do with oil prices, right?