Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Cruz, Rubio, Carson Square Off in South Carolina; Cruz Versus Trump Fight Escalates; Interview with Representative Mark Meadows; Obama Not Attending Scalia's Funeral; Interview with Star Jones. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 18, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[09:00:04] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the hottest four-letter word on the GOP trail? Liar.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whenever anyone points to their actual record they start screaming liar, liar, liar.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you say something that isn't true and you say it over and over again and you know that it's not true, there is no other word for it.

COSTELLO: And that is just round one. Tonight round two of the CNN Republican town hall.

Also the Democrats in a dead heat in the Nevada desert. Fighting for the minority vote.

Can Clinton keep Nevada in her column? Or can Sanders sway the Silver State?

Plus, just get on with it. Straight talk from retired Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor over that open seat battle.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

We're now just two days away from the Republican primary in South Carolina as the candidates are scrambling to lock down votes. In round one of CNN's town hall with Anderson Cooper the candidates made their closing arguments, selling themselves, jabbing each other and condemning the nasty tone that has descended on the GOP field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: If they want to engage in personal insults, if they want to go to the mud, I'm not going say the same thing about them. I think the people of South Carolina deserve more than people just throwing mud at each other. RUBIO: These things are disturbing and they need to be addressed, and

I'll address them, but that's not the core of my campaign. I spend 99 percent of my time talking about America's future but if someone says something that's not true and I don't clear it up, well, that's not fair then people may think well, then it's true.

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What was going through my mind is, will these guys in any way remember what happened in 2012 when they tried to tear each other apart, which was probably the only reason that President Obama was able to win reelection with a record that no one could have won on?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Tonight round two of the CNN town hall meetings. John Kasich, Jeb Bush and Donald Trump will field questions directly from voters. Also in the audience tonight 90-year-old Barbara Bush. The former first lady is hoping to bolster the sagging campaign of her son Jeb.

We have a lot to cover this morning so let's begin our coverage with CNN's Athena Jones. Good morning.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You mentioned the word liar, also disturbing, unhinged, unstable. The rhetoric in this race has been getting more heated and more charged with each passing day.

And last night the candidates kept hitting each other even as they tried to win over South Carolina voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (voice-over): Three out of six Republican candidates sitting down for an in-depth CNN town hall. The night's hot topic, the truth. And who is telling it. Marco Rubio says it's not Ted Cruz.

RUBIO: I said he's been lying because if you say something that isn't true and you say it over and over again and you know that it's not true, there is no other word for it. And when it's about your record, you have to clear it up.

JONES: Cruz says it's not Donald Trump or Rubio.

CRUZ: Both Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are following this pattern, that whenever anyone points to their actual record to what they've said, to what they've voted on, to what they've done, they start screaming liar, liar, liar. I mean, it is the oddest thing.

JONES: And Trump in a dueling town hall says it is not Cruz.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We certainly want to keep somebody honest.

JONES: The billionaire even sending the freshman senator a cease and desist order for one of the Cruz campaign's ads about him. CRUZ: I don't think anyone is surprised that Donald is threatening to

sue people. He's done that most of his adult life. But this letter really was -- look, I've practiced law 20 years. And this letter really pressed the bounds of the most frivolous and ridiculous letters I've ever seen.

JONES: Dr. Ben Carson says the American people will decide who's being deceitful.

CARSON: I think the American people are smart enough to be able to understand bluster and rhetoric versus truth.

JONES: But all three candidates agree that Apple should abide by a court order to aid federal investigators in hacking the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. Something the tech company sees as government overreach.

CRUZ: We should have done more to prevent that attack but after the fact we ought to be using every tool we can.

CARSON: There is probably very good reason for people not to trust the government but we're going to have to get over that.

RUBIO: I do know this. It will take a partnership between the technology industry and the government to confront and solve this.

JONES: Rubio taking the stage just a day after President Obama criticized him for distancing himself from an immigration bill he once supported predictably shot back.

RUBIO: President Obama has no standing to talk about immigration because his party controlled the White House, the House and the Senate for two years and they did nothing.

JONES: Later addressing a topic that's been a mainstay of the Democrats' campaign, U.S. race relations.

RUBIO: I also know that in this country there is a significant number particularly of young African-American males who feel as if they're treated differently than the rest of society.

[09:05:03] And here is the bottom line. Whether you agree with them or not. I happen to have seen this happen. I'm not sure there is a political solution to that problem but there are things we can do.

JONES: Something else unexpected the candidates' taste in music.

CARSON: I primarily like classical music.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: You like EDM.

RUBIO: I do.

COOPER: Electronic dance music.

RUBIO: Yes. COOPER: Have you ever been to a rave?

RUBIO: Well, no, no. I've never been to a rave. No. Never been to a rave.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: Well, I don't know.

RUBIO: This is the Republican primary, Anderson.

COOPER: Well --

CRUZ: I just called to say I love you, I just called to say I care. I cannot sing to save my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: So there were some fun moments amidst the attacks. I think Ted Cruz may have left out a few words of that Stevie Wonder classic. But anyway, looking ahead to tonight, the second round of CNN's town hall. As you mentioned we'll hear from Donald Trump, John Kasich and Jeb Bush. And of course Jeb Bush is going to have that special guest, his mother Barbara Bush, with him. She's joining him on the trail once again to try to help her son win over or finish strong I should say here in South Carolina. This is a contest that could make or break him --Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Athena Jones, reporting live from South Carolina this morning, thanks so much.

So Ted Cruz is enjoying a major perk of last night's forum. He could rail against Trump without Trump firing back. Expect that to change tonight when the billionaire seizes the spotlight in round two of the CNN town hall meetings.

CNN Politics reporter MJ Lee is in South Carolina, too, where Trump is about to hold a rally. Good morning.

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Carol. Things are really getting nasty out here in South Carolina, just two days outs from the GOP primary race here. Lots of punches being thrown between all of the candidates. All of this as a new CBS poll out this morning shows Donald Trump once again leading the GOP pack.

Let's throw those numbers up on the screen. Trump leading in first place at 35 percent. Followed by Ted Cruz at a distant second place at 18 percent. Followed by Rubio at 12, Kasich at 11 and Jeb Bush, who has been campaigning so hard in this state recently, he is at the bottom of the pack at 4 percent.

Trump this morning firing off a number of tweets, boasting about his poll numbers. Clearly happy to see this new CBS poll showing him leading the pack just two days away from the South Carolina primary.

Now I want to talk a little bit about what we saw last night at the CNN town hall. The town hall setting is interesting because as you know the candidates are not actually on stage together. But that doesn't stop them from attacking one another on the stage. We saw some of that in Athena's piece. And of course we are expecting part two of that to take place tonight in Columbia at the second CNN town hall when John Kasich, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush will take the stage.

And of course as, you know, Trump and Bush have a political feud of their own ever since Trump went after Bush's brother, former president George W. Bush for his handling of the Iraq war and the 9/11 terrorist attack. Things have been very tense between them so we are expecting lots more sparks to fly tonight at the CNN town hall -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. We look forward to it, we think. MJ Lee reporting live from South Carolina.

All right. I'm into breaking news to pass along to you. President Obama will indeed visit Cuba next month. The president just tweeting out the news before the historic trip. He'll be making that trip next month.

It's been 90 years, 90 years since a sitting U.S. president visited the island nation. The Obama administration formally reopened ties with Havana in late 2014. And as the president tweeted this morning, and as I said, the president will visit Cuba.

All right. Back to politics. As Ted Cruz tries to sway voters, he's shrugging off attacks from Donald Trump, including a cease and desist letter he received after running an ad about Trump's position on abortion. Cruz's message to Trump, go ahead, sue me.

With me now Republican congressman and Ted Cruz supporter, Mark Meadows. He represents the people of North Carolina. Welcome, sir.