Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Obama, Senate Fight over Supreme Court Nomination; Pope Francis Offering Blessing in Dangerous Border Town; Nikki Haley Endorses Marco Rubio; Surprising Presidential Poll Numbers as Rapper Makes Controversial Clinton Comment. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired February 17, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: As President Obama chooses his replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, he is also scolding Senate Republicans who say they will block whomever he nominates. But some are calling the president a hypocrite, pointing back to 2006 when then-Senator Obama supported the filibuster against confirming conservative Justice Samuel Alito and also voted against the nomination. Just today, about an hour ago, the White House came out and said the president regrets supporting that filibuster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: As the president alluded to yesterday, he regrets the vote that he made because, frankly, I mean, as we've discussed, Democrats should have been in the position where they were making a public case. That's what Democrats should have done. And they shouldn't have looked for a way to just throw sand in the gears of the process. And frankly, looking back on it, the president believes that they should have just followed his own advice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Republicans showing no sign of backing down from their threats over Obama's nominee. But is there a person who could force the GOP's hand on this?

My next guest says yes. He names the person. It is someone extremely familiar with the high court because she sat on it, former Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Joining me William Blake, assistant professor of political science at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. He floated this idea in an op-ed in the "Baltimore Sun."

Thank you for being here.

WILLIAM BLAKE, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE: My pleasure.

HARLOW: Let's get your reaction to what Josh Earnest just said, basically, came out and said the president was wrong, he admits it. He shouldn't have, as he put it, thrown sands in the wheels of the way government should work. What's your reaction? BLAKE: Well, every Supreme Court confirmation since Robert Bork's

failed attempt has been markedly different. Justice Scalia liked to point out that he was confirmed unanimously.

HARLOW: Yeah.

BLAKE: But we're in a different political environment now. And if President Obama is worried about a Senate filibuster, I think the single best way for him to minimize the chance of a filibuster is to put forward just O'Connor's name.

HARLOW: All right. So she's 86 years old. Obviously, you write about that as an asset in this piece, in this light. At the same time, doesn't the president want to nominate someone and get them confirm who will sit on the court for a long time?

BLAKE: Sure. Ideally, that's what any president would like to do, especially when the justice he's replacing had been nominated from the president of the opposite political party. But President Obama is in the last year of his term. The Senate is controlled by an increasingly polarized Republican party. I'm not sure how much he can steer the court significantly to the left and have that legacy last for 20 or 30 years. So in the meantime, he could keep the court fully staffed. I think an O'Connor nomination would sail through. And that would serve the Supreme Court in the short-term. In the long run, whoever wins this coming presidential election will then have the chance to really shape the long-term direction of the court.

HARLOW: Your argument here about the president nominating Sandra Day O'Connor, it could happen. It would be a huge surprise if it happened. I'm interested, I mean, you studied this stuff, who else do you think he could nominate that would be just a shock to everyone?

BLAKE: I think that my suggestion from my op-ed that I co-wrote with my friend and colleague, Hans Hoccer (ph), from Arkansas State University -- I think that -- we've been sort of criticized for being too out of the box on this one. I'm not sure what direction President Obama is going to lean towards. It really depends on whether he wants a fight with the Senate this year or not.

HARLOW: Look, I think it's really interesting what you point out, the fact that, you know, this is a woman who was nominated to the court by Ronald Reagan. If we've heard one name more in this election on the Republican side than anyone outside of the candidates, it's been Ronald Reagan. That makes it tough for Republicans in the Senate to try to block it?

BLAKE: I think you are absolutely right. As we argued in our op-ed, a vote against reconfirming Sandra Day O'Connor is an admission that the patron saints of the modern-day Republican Party made a mistake. I think Republicans would be in a very difficult position justifying keeping Justice O'Connor off the court.

Again, this is where her age comes into play as a potential asset. Because nominating a nearly 86-year-old is certainly unorthodox. And so Senate Republicans would not be able to go to their base and say, we are fighting over the future of the court for the next 25 years. Instead, they would really be fighting over what happens in the next year or so.

HARLOW: William Blake, a fascinating read in the "Baltimore Sun."

Thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Erin, back to you.

[14:35:07] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Poppy.

As Republicans get ready to face voters during our CNN town hall here, where I am in South Carolina tonight, it has arguably been the nastiest day on the campaign trail. Incredibly nasty. Fights erupting. Ted Cruz calling Donald Trump's bluff over a lawsuit threat. Just moments ago, a major endorsement. Someone backed Marco Rubio who could move the leader.

And in Nevada, Hillary Clinton's lead, it was a stunning lead, gone, evaporated into thin air days before the caucus there for Democrats. What Bernie Sanders is doing in the 11th hour to pull off a major momentum-building surprise.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:07] BURNETT: Welcome back. I'm live in Greenville, South Carolina. We are just hours away from CNN's town hall with the Republican candidates. Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, all tonight facing off with voters. And then Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, and John Kasich also facing off with voters. A big, big day here in South Carolina.

But first, the pope and his big visit. A scary moment at a Mexican stadium turning Pope Francis's visit into, well, he had a flash of anger today. He was greeting a crowd when someone apparently grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go, pulling him down on to a young man in a wheelchair. Pope Francis apparently yelled at the person in the crowd. A very tense and frightening moment. Something we've never seen from this pope before. It comes ahead of the Catholic leader bridging two countries, holding an open-air mass at place once called the murder capital of the planet. Pope Francis will pray and bless 400 people at the border fence.

Ed Lavandera has a story of one dramatic person who paid a dramatic price just to stay alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARLOS GUTIERREZ, LOST LEGS IN ATTACK IN MEXICO: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carlos Gutierrez finds peace on a bicycle rolling past El Paso's desert landscape. It might not seem like a big deal, but when you hear his story, you will realize he's lucky to ride.

Five years ago, Carlos Gutierrez was a successful business man in Mexico, a comfortable life with his wife and two sons. Until he says two dirty police officers started demanding money. The extortion demands went on for a year, until he couldn't afford the pay any more. The cops made him pay with his legs. Then he told Carlos they would cut off his sons' heads next.

GUTIERREZ: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAVANDERA (on camera): The three men that attacked him chopped his legs off with an ax. And he says almost five years later that that's a sensation and a feeling that he still feels. That sometimes he feels like his legs are still being chopped at and cut.

(voice-over): After the attack, Gutierrez left Mexico to seek asylum in the United States, and with the gift of prosthetic legs, started riding a bike. And he hasn't stopped. So we joined him.

(on camera): Carlos says it was riding a bike out here after he got his prosthetic leg that made him feel free again and able to do whatever it's wanted. That's why he started riding and riding and riding, miles and miles.

(voice-over): "This is my great therapy," he tells me as we coast over rolling hills.

Gutierrez will enjoy a special moment when Pope Francis visits Juarez and walks to the border to help highlight the plight of migrants and the victims of Mexican violence. Gutierrez is part of a small group that will stand on the border's edge and look into Mexico for a blessing from Pope Francis.

GUTIERREZ: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAVANDERA: And that is why Carlos Gutierrez is hopeful about what lies on the road ahead for his family.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, El Paso, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BURNETT: The breaking news, a major endorsement here in South Carolina. The wildly popular Republican governor of this state, Governor Nikki Haley, with an 81 percent approval rating, has come out and endorsed Marco Rubio for president. Many thought she would not wade into it, not make an endorsement before the primary, but she did.

I want to go to our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, who joins us from a Marco Rubio rally in South Carolina.

Dana, many people surprised she came out and did this. But this, Marco Rubio is hoping, will move the needle for him. Right now, in our latest CNN poll, he is third behind Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And I

should say that Marco Rubio has been speaking for about 45 minutes. He has made no mention of the endorsement. Not surprising since he obviously is going to let the governor be the one to say it first. I'm told that that event is going to happen at 6:00 p.m. eastern tonight at his prescheduled event here in South Carolina then.

A little bit more information I can give you, I'm told also by a source familiar with this process that the governor is going to not just give the endorsement that she is going to hit the trail with Marco Rubio for the remaining day, basically, day and a half before the actual South Carolina primary, which is on Saturday. So we really are very down to the wire here.

[14:45:14] But here's what my understanding is, that both Nikki Haley's advisers and more importantly Marco Rubio's advisers are hoping that there are still so many undecided Republican voters.

Anecdotally, Erin, I spoke to several of them here who tame to hear Marco Rubio who said they genuinely say they have no idea who they are going to support. Somebody with her kind of popularity could push them over the edge to vote for Marco Rubio.

You asked me earlier this hour why him? Another answer to that question could be that they are very similar in their backgrounds, but more importantly, in kind of they are personas and character, especially vis-a-vis the Republican Party. They are the same exact age. Both quite young, 44 years old and they both kind of have, you know, immigrant stories. She is the daughter of immigrants. He is the son of immigrants. And they are both kind of trying to push forward to the next generation. That is her whole calling card and certainly his calling card, what he has been talking about on the stump here and what he talks about nonstop for his presidential race.

So it is potentially a big, big plus for Marco Rubio, especially shows voters who are deciding between Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and even John Kasich. Those tend to be more Nikki Haley voters. That's a big deal for Marco Rubio and this state, which is so, so critical to potentially weeding out who could be that so-called establishment choice in the Republican Party -- Erin?

BURNETT: Dana, thank you very much.

You heard that round of applause where Marco Rubio is speaking. As we said, the formal endorsement coming from the governor of this state in just a few hours.

Dana pointed out, 51 percent of vote, in the latest poll, are leaning towards someone or undecided. 49 percent are definitely, definitely have made up their decision. But keep in mind that 51 percent leaning or undecided compares to 38 percent for Donald Trump, who is, by far, the front-runner. You can see why Nikki Haley made that decision to wade into this with hours to go before the primary.

The Republican candidates are going to be answering questions directly from voters here in South Carolina tonight. Some of those undecided voters, what will they be asking? Ben Carson, Marco Rubio will be taking questions tonight. Marco Rubio with that endorsement. Tomorrow, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush and John Kasich taking questions, 8:00, here on CNN.

Next, as Hillary Clinton sees her lead evaporate in Nevada, her campaign is responding to a Bernie Sanders supporter, a famous rapper who says, and I'll quote, "A uterus doesn't qualify you to be president." That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:51:57] BURNETT: A Democratic deadlock in Nevada. A new poll from CNN is a major wake up call. Just one point is all that separates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in that state. It is a statistical dead heat, a tie, with just three days to go for the caucuses there. Could the folksy Democratic Socialist from Vermont take the win in Nevada? Do you think it could happen?

Meantime, in the GOP field, to say Donald Trump is dominating that would be an understatement, my friend. 45 percent lead in Nevada right now. That's what he holds. He is doing better than his next three rivals combined.

Joining me now to talk about it, Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, of New York, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC.

Thank you for being here. I appreciate it. Nice to see you in person.

REP. GREGORY MEEKS, (D-NY), CHAIRMAN, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS PAC: Good to be here.

BURNETT: Let's talk about this statistical dead heat, 47 to 48 percent with Clinton ahead by one point, well within the margin of error. This comes after a land slide victory for Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire. The Clinton campaign at that time said it is the neighboring state to his. Our candidate does better with minorities. What do you make of the Clinton supporters?

MEEKS: The former secretary has said she is going to have to fight. That's why there have been operatives on the ground. I think in the end the people on the ground know what they are doing. It is a close election but it will be a hard fought victory for her.

BURNETT: This is a state that caucuses rather than primaries. Some argue that helps Bernie Sanders. Does this get you shaking in your boots a bit?

MEEKS: Not at all. When I look at the states going to follow, special South Carolina and what you have where real primaries and Democrats who will be voting foyer Democrats at that time and folks will look and examine the records of both Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders. And they will see. I mean, there is clearly no comparison. Especially when you talk about the African-American community and the long history she has had of fighting and working and trying to make things better for African-Americans. When you put their records side by side there is no question. And when you move into South Carolina and Louisiana and some other states where you have actually primaries --

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: What about the fact that you've still got the crime bill for example, in '94 that she -- now Sanders voted for it.

MEEKS: Absolutely.

BURNETT: But her husband, as president then, is the one who signed it into law. She supported it. And they both admitted since that was harmful to African-Americans.

MEEKS: Let's not take it out of context. At the time there were some members of the Congressional black caucus that voted for it.

BURNETT: A lot of black pastors supportive of it.

MEEKS: Let's not isolate those years on. That there was also a period of time from 1992 to 2000 when Bill Clinton was president where the African-Americans saw the greatest economic gains of all time. The economic rate was the lowest it had been. People began to accumulate wealth so much so that Brooklyn was said to have been the first black president.

[14:55:00] BURNETT: Since it was pointed out that some of the economic growth that happened then and the deregulation that happened since has hurt African-Americans since.

I want your response to this. A high-profile rapper, Killer Mike, comes out and talks about female body parts and the presidential election. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KILLER MIKE, RAPPER: I told to James a few weeks ago and James said, Michael, "A uterus doesn't qualify you to be the next president of the United States."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: What do you make of those comments? He said I was repeating what someone else said. He stood at the podium and said that.

MEEKS: The African-Americans, a lot of them around Mr. Sanders, I respect some, and others I think are misguided. Many of them have been critical of President Obama from day one.

BURNETT: What's your reaction to his comments, he said a uterus do you want qualify you to be president.

MEEKS: Let him be accountable for his own statement. It seems to me that speaks for itself. I mean, there is no question that having the first female president of the United States would be a step in progress for the United States just as having Barack Obama. I think it would be something that's good when we look at for example, chancellor Merkel over in Germany and what she's doing for women there. Hillary Clinton can do for women here and stand up. I don't want to get involved in that regard. Hillary Clinton stands for -- you know, and she is running for president based upon the record she has as the first lady, as a Senator of the state of New York. I work closely with her as the secretary of state of this country. She has a record. If you look at the diversity she has had on her staffs -- I don't know if Bernie had color on his staff.

BURNETT: Sanders --

(CROSSTALK)

MEEKS: Now --

BURNETT: On his staff now.

MEEKS: -- I'm talking about while he was a member of the House or a member of the Senate. Whereas, I can show you person after person in the Clinton administration. Whether it was in the White House as the first lady, or whether as the Senator from New York or whether secretary of state. There has been a clear scenario with Senator Clinton of her engagement for her entire -- I was going to say her entire political career. But no. Her entire adult life she has been engaged in working for justice for folks.

BURNETT: We've got to go. I wish we had more time. Come back on the show.

MEEKS: All right.

BURNETT: Appreciate it.

It's going to be quite a fight. One point separating them in Nevada. And then we have South Carolina for the Democrats the following weekend.

Thank you very much.

MEEKS: Thank you.

BURNETT: Nice to have you on.

Next, it has been a nasty, nasty day on the campaign trial. Donald Trump sending a "cease and desist letter" to Ted Cruz. Cruz holding a news conference to call what he says is Trump's bluff. We will take you live to South Carolina next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)