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Bill Clinton Stumping For Hillary In Cincinnati; Michigan Governor Rick Snyder To Testify Before Congressional Committee About Flint Water Crisis. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired February 12, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:21] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: I want to take you live to Cincinnati, here he is, former president Bill Clinton. Just keep in mind, the day after his wife debated her rival Bernie Sanders.

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BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Supreme Court agreed to revisit the 1962 court decision in Baker v. Carr which said all representatives must represent the same number of people, one person one vote. And the Republicans are trying to sell the Supreme Court on. It should be only eligible voters. Preferably even registered voters. So if you have got a lot of legal immigrants in your district, they don't count. If they're documented even. Never mind the undocumented. The documented. You've got families with a lot of kids, they don't count. I couldn't make this up.

If for no other reason Hillary should be the next president, because she will give you judges that will stick up for your rights and make us go forward together. They are actually talking about breaking public employees. And let me explain it to you.

In states where people say you have a right to work without joining a union, if you're represented by a union and you get all the benefits, the health care benefit, the wage benefits, the retirement benefits, you (INAUDIBLE) to charge you what is called an agency fee. That is you don't have to join us. You don't have to let us use your money to support the candidates we think will help you the most. You have every right to have your politics, but you don't have the right to ride for free, to take a higher pay than you would have already gotten better healthcare than you have ever got --

(END IN PROGRESS)

BALDWIN: We know his wife is in South Carolina today.

Meantime, also in South Carolina, a lot of these Republicans at this faith forum. I want you to hear some sound from Florida senator Marco Rubio, asked about his faith and how his faith would play a role if he were to be in the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First of all, I had an opportunity to visit Mother Emmanuel after that incident happened. And let me just tell you that it is an example of letting your light shine on the world. If you think about that happening in another community, what could have happened, the violence that could have been sued, the division? They lived their faith in an extraordinary example because your faith, you have to -- your faith also -- we're ambassadors of Christ.

And as in sometimes you may meet someone and the only thing they know about Christianity is you. You are Christian and how you behave or what you do is what indicates to them what Christianity is all about. And I cannot tell you what an extraordinary impact it had on people across this country to see someone who have just gone through this brutal horrifying tragedy be able to forgive.

The second thing I would say is anything who ignores the role of our faith in the foundation of our country doesn't understand history. So this is -- I'm motivated by that. And I will be as president of the United States. Let's start with this. What is this country founded on? It is not founded on a political principle. America was founded on a powerful spiritual principle. Here is the principle. It is the truth. Your rights do not come from government. Your rights don't come from your leaders. Your rights don't even come from the constitution. Your rights come from God.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:35:43] BALDWIN: Marco Rubio there in Greenville, South Carolina.

Next, investigating the failures of Flint. Could the health crisis there stretch far beyond the effects of lead poisoning in children? Scientists now trying to figure out if there could be a connection to miscarriages among women there. All of this as we're learning the governor will face a congressional hearing. We'll take you to Flint next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:26] BALDWIN: Michigan governor Rick Snyder will be testifying after all before congressional committee on the Flint water crisis. His office released a statement just today saying the governor asked to go before the U.S. house committee on oversight and government reform to explain what and how this calamity happened and his recommendations for recovery. That hearing by the way is set for March.

Meantime, state officials say they're investigating concerns about a possible link between Flint's dirty water and miscarriages.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more on this frightening potential development.

Do we know, Elizabeth what scientists will be looking for specifically during their research?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, what they're going to do is what's called a retrospective study. They are going to look back and see during the period of time that women were drinking this water, were there more miscarriages than there were before they were drinking contaminated water. It's a tricky study to do because you have to set -- you have to figure out what the miscarriage rate was while people were drinking the contaminated water and what the miscarriage rate would be under normal circumstance. But they're going to look backwards. No one is saying they've seen more miscarriages. I want to make that clear. They're just going to look backwards and see if there were more miscarriages.

BALDWIN: OK, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much on that possibility among women in Flint.

Meantime, we were just playing a little sound from Bill Clinton. Let's now hear from his wife Hillary Clinton the day after the big debate. She is in Denmark, South Carolina, talking about the mass incarceration in the 1990s and her role in any of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To Flint, Michigan on Sunday, because there we have children being poisoned by lead in the water as a result of the governor of their state trying to save money. And refusing, despite citizen's pleas, bringing bottles of brown smelly water from their faucets to show state officials this is what my baby is drinking. This is what we have to bath her in. This is why he has rashes. They were ignored. They were stone walled. The cruelest kind of indifference.

Now, I will say what I said in Flint about the poor state of schools here in South Carolina. If the water had been poisoned in a white affluent suburb of Detroit, if the schools had been falling apart in rich suburbs of Columbus or of Columbia or Charleston, we wouldn't still be talking about it. There would have been an outcry. Action would have been taken.

If the schools of more affluent children were in the condition that too many of them are here in rural South Carolina, that legislature would have acted. In fact, I'm not sure the Supreme Court would have even had to issue the order. These are the kinds of barriers that are standing in the way of Americans, particularly our children and our young people, being able to pursue their own dreams. Now, in my campaign --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hillary Clinton there on the lead poisoning crisis that is ongoing in Flint, Michigan. She spent part of the day Sunday in Flint. Remember, she will be debating Bernie Sanders in flint, the first week of March.

Coming up next, it is a potential scenario come general election time. Donald Trump versus Bernie Sanders. One on one in a debate. What might that look like? We will show you next.

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[15:48:42] BALDWIN: Listen, it's Friday and in politics sometimes you just have to laugh. My next guests are all about that. They are comedians who are waging their own version of Trump versus Bernie debate tour 2016.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a tremendous and incredibly expialidocous (ph) thing you do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute, wait a minute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Trump versus Bernie currently playing comedy clubs across the country.

Here with me now I have Tony Atamanuik as Donald Trump, James Adomian as Bernie Sanders.

Gentlemen, listen. The second they step up here, let me be just totally transparent with you at home, they have been in character the entire time. I don't actually know who you really are.

JAMES ADOMIAN, COMEDIAN WHO PORTRAYS BERNIE SANDERS: Senator Sanders.

BALDWIN: Senator Sanders, so nice to meet you. Mr. Trump.

TONY ATAMANUIK, COMEDIAN PORTRAYS AS DONALD TRUMP: I'm billionaire Donald Trump and there's an imposter running for president, I can tell you that.

BALDWIN: So, senator Sanders.

ADOMIAN: Sure.

BALDWIN: If I may begin with you.

ADOMIAN: No problem.

BALDWIN: Why do you think you're the right person for the job to unify this country?

ADOMIAN: Look. I think, and this is just what I think, I think it's far too long that the top one percent of the top 10 percent of the top one percent of the t 10 percent controls more percentages than all the other percentages.

[15:50:10] BALDWIN: Mr. Trump is shaking his head.

ATAMANUIK: I mean, it's ridiculous. First off, I want to tell you we are losing all the time. I will not turn this flag right side up and that's when the United States is winning and that's when I'm president. You know, I have to tell you. When we started, we had 17 candidates and I have survived every rose ceremony. I have survived every rose ceremony and I am sure when it comes to getting knocked off the island, I will survive.

BALDWIN: Mr. Trump, obviously, a big fan of the bachelor and survivor.

ADOMIAN: I think it's also not fair that 200 percent of everything goes to 1 percent of Mr. Trump sitting next to me. That's what we're fighting against.

BALDWIN: OK. Let me be serious for a second.

ATAMANUIK: Very serious.

BALDWIN: I don't know who I'm talking about. Can we channel Jim and Tony? So you guys are comedians. You're written for 30 rock, you know, broad city, like these are shows, this is what you do for a living. How did you coming together and discover this and how did you find two wigs to make this happen?

ADOMIAN: OK. I will be James. No. What I did is I had a big pile of clothes and costumes and I just kind of dove into it like an Olympic diver.

BALDWIN: And this is what you wound up with.

ADOMIAN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Bravo.

ATAMANUIK: I mean, first of all, I was a silent writer at 30 rock because I don't want to be like I was saying I wrote on the show.

BALDWIN: Silent writer.

ATAMANUIK: I started doing Trump as a lark. I did it as (INAUDIBLE) which is a show at the UCB, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater on Sunday nights. My friend, Shannon O'Neill, who is there, just the director said, you do an incredible Trump. I can't even stop doing it.

BALDWIN: You can't. I'm looking (INAUDIBLE).

ATAMANUIK: I can't. So I started doing them --. And I see it as an act of comedic activism. I want to point out - I want to take everything Trump said and bring it to his final points. So when he is talking about immigrants, I want to take it even further to show people what he is really talking about.

BALDWIN: Are you following all of the twists and the turns to make sure what you've saying is totally on point? You have to follow twitter?

ATAMANUIK: Yes, we watch you.

I have been ahead of trump two months. I have a speech from my show on October 24th talking about coming in second in Iowa.

BALDWIN: So what is next? What's happening in South Carolina, Senator?

ADOMIAN: Well, look. I think South Carolina is down there. It's right underneath North Carolina and I think it's in the top 50 percent of Carolinas in the country.

BALDWIN: It's not looking good for you.

ADOMIAN: Well, of course, if we can close it within 10 percent we're going to call it a victory.

ATAMANUIK: I would promise South Carolina this, first off, we're going to win. It's going to be incredible. But here's the thing, I want to purchase the great pacific garbage patch and make it the 51st state of the United States. I think it's a perfect staging ground for immigrants and people like that.

BALDWIN: How - OK, back to you, Jim and Tony. It is difficult for me. How do crowds react to you? Are they booing, are they cheering? Does it depend if you're in the city or in Vermont?

ADOMIAN: Yes. Generally they boo him and they cheer Bernie.

BALDWIN: Sorry, Trump.

ATAMANUIK: That's all right. By the end they cheer me.

BALDWIN: You win them over. Donald Trump would be proud.

ATAMANUIK: I make real points. I think Donald Trump would not be proud of my impression. Donald, if you're watching, I want to meet you, please. Let's talk in a mirror.

ADOMIAN: Bernie, look, let's get in some hard numbers. I want to read the transpacific partnership back and forth to each other. It will be romantic.

BALDWIN: Final thoughts for the American people?

ADOMIAN: TrumpversusBernie.com.

ATAMANUIK: I was endorsed by a white supremacist group. I think that's all you need to know.

BALDWIN: Jim Adomian, Tony Atamanuik, Donald, Bernie --

ATAMANUIK: You're a wonderful female. I got to tell you that.

ADOMIAN: I give the balance of my time to you. Thank you for your part.

BALDWIN: If people at home could see this -- I have never seen such a massive crowd as I'm seeing right now.

ATAMANUIK: Of course there are people who couldn't get into this -- it was unbelievable.

ADOMIAN: And it's remarkable that I got this much air time on CNN.

BALDWIN: On that note, bye-bye.

ADOMIAN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, speaking of Donald Trump, as in the real one, shaking up the race yet again. Are you paying attention? OK. Threatening on twitter here's the latest. He sue Ted Cruz over not being a natural born citizen. More on that with these real candidates coming up. Amazing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:58:38] BALDWIN: This coming Monday on president's day, three teams of CNN anchors will test their knowledge of all things presidential. It is the CNN quiz show.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This year people want change. Maybe you can believe it. It is not more of the same.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: We're going to win the quiz show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, AC 360: This guy has won 97 times.

Given the smirk on your face, I think you feel pretty good don't you, John Berman?

TAPPER: I heard that Berman won.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He won but you weren't there.

TAPPER: Right. I've never lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Winning.

TAPPER: Winning! Our motto is winning. That's what we're going to bring to the quiz show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.

KING: John's a smart guy. He's better with walls than with people. The King Jones Ticket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No mercy.

KING: Tapper, S.E. Cupp, follow the money.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Save it, save it.

KING: So Berman has won what, three times?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't know. Where's the beef, John Tapper.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Where is the beef, Jake Tapper?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where's the beef, John King?

BERMAN: Senator.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You isn't no John Berman.

BERMAN: That's right.

COOPER: Now they're just being cruel.

KING: I'm John King.

JONES: And I'm Van Jones.

TAPPER: I'm Jake Tapper.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And I'm S.E. Cupp.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Bolduan.

ALL: We approve this message. Sort of.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Let me tell you. That is much harder than it looks. Do not miss the quiz show. This is the race for the White House edition. It is Monday night, 9:00 right here on CNN.

And it's Friday, so I'm going to say good-bye for now. See you back here Monday. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me. Have wonderful weekends but keep it right here.

"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.