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Clinton Talks About "We" Rather Than "Me"; Dow Up 205 Points; Supreme Court Back to Work, Honoring Scalia; Political Gambling; El Chapo's Wife Speaks out. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 22, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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


[10:30:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So how does Clinton go about convincing voters she's in their corner, not just fighting for personal glory? Well, step one appears to be talk about we instead of me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're all in this together. We all have to do our part. We need you to be part of that exciting journey we can make together. With your help, that is the tomorrow we will build for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So will the change in tone work? Joining me now to talk about this, Jamal Simmons, Democratic strategist and co-founder of CRVIII, Inc., and Sally Kohn, "Daily Beast" columnist and CNN political commentator. Welcome to both of you.

JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.

SALLY KOHN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to see you.

COSTELLO: You know, Sally, I'm just curious, because I'm just trying to think if the same argument would work with Donald Trump, and if people would think he was all in it for him and if they would fault him for that.

KOHN,: Well, look, there's no question Hillary starts off with a sort of deficit in this are and it's because she's a well known politician, if it's because of the different standards that women are judged against men, you know, we can sort of speculate as to why that is, but Trump is an interesting example. Because apparently people think he is -- they trust him a lot because he just says whatever he thinks even though most of the things he says are pretty outrageous and ridiculous, and it makes you think there's a sort of inverse relationship between trust and credentials, to actually be a thoughtful, leaderful (sic) President of the United States.

You know, people should know that, apparently according to surveys, the most trustworthy person in America is Tom Hanks. And the president or past president who we trust the most is Jimmy Carter. And I don't really see Democrats or Republicans clamoring for him to be president. I think this is a really -- no, but I mean, this is sort of a reality TV kind of issue to be bringing up as opposed to actual credentials for leadership.

COSTELLO: Well, I think people really Donald Trump because they want something different from the establishment, right? It has nothing to do with anything else, but it has everything to do with that.

On the issue of trust, though, if you look at the exit -- entrance polls, rather, from the Nevada caucus, they show that just 12 percent of Democratic caucusgoers say Hillary Clinton is trustworthy. So whether or not trust really matters when it comes right down to it, it seems to matter this time around, Jamal. Or am I wrong? Because Hillary Clinton obviously is trying to do something about that.

SIMMONS: It's a tricky question, this question of trust. Because the question is do you trust someone to babysit your kids? Or do you trust someone to hold your wallet while you go to the bathroom? Like, this thing about trust is different.

I think when it comes to politicians, nobody trusts any politicians, for the most part. But the question is, among the other people running, do I trust you enough to go into a room and advocate on behalf of me and my family and look out for me, even when I'm not watching? And I think that's the question that Hillary Clinton is trying to get to today by her talking about it's an elephant in the room. Am I in this for me? Am I in this for you? And I'm going to show you I'm in this for you, and if I'm on a campaign, I want to also find people who have benefited from Hillary Clinton's work for them, maybe when he was in the Senate, maybe when she was in Arkansas, people who can get up and testify to the fact they were in need, they went to see Hillary Clinton, and she helped solve a problem for them.

COSTELLO: So is her use of "we" effective, Sally? Because Bernie Sanders talks like that all the time. He never says I.

KOHN: Yes, I mean --

COSTELLO: He doesn't have a trust issue, by the way.

KOHN: Well, no, but, again, let's also bear in mind, he's also far newer to the American public.

And, look, there's also sort of optics to this. And I wasn't being too glib when I said there's a reality TV sort of dimension that's entering American politics, which is that we seem to increasingly like our politicians to be less like politician-y, right? And to sort of speak off the cuff and seem more real and authentic.

And, again, whether that's what you actually want in the White House and in positions of leadership is an interesting question.

The other thing is let's be clear. We're doing it right now. This is a story. This is a narrative that has been built up about Hillary Clinton, largely by the right, absorbed Democrats and the mainstream, including her critics, and repeated by the media. And people believe Trump tells it like it is because they keep hearing from people like us that Trump tells it like it is. Right? We have to be careful in not sort of repeating the smears. And again, let's focus on the issues and what's really at stake.

SIMMONS: But, Carol, at the end of the day, no campaign is really about the candidate's past. It's always about the voter's future. And so Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, any of those candidates that are running, Rubio, they've to be speaking to aspirations of people, understand their anger -- as I think Hillary Clinton is getting better at showing that she understands the anger people have -- and then laying out a vision that people can buy into and vote for.

COSTELLO: But aspiration and vision, they're not cutting it this time around, Sally. People are angry. They just want someone to kick the bums out.

KOHN: Yes. I mean -- look, again, let's be clear of what that anger is. Apparently 31 percent, according to a new poll, 31 percent of Trump supporters in South Carolina want to ban gay people from entering the United States.

[10:35:06] So if that's the sort of, quote, unquote, anger that's being marshaled in this election, I don't think any of us want any of it. Right?

Yes, we are frustrated that -- I think American people in general are frustrated that the recovery from the great recession has been going disproportionally to the very wealthy and not to the working class and to the poor. I think people are frustrated at the direction of foreign policy. People are frustrated certainly that we haven't fixed environmental crises and other challenges in this country.

But the question becomes what are you going to do about it? You need solutions. You need to not just stoke people's anger, make them more afraid. And let's be clear, Republicans know when voters are more afraid, they vote Republican. So yes, Jamal is exactly right. Hillary Clinton has to set out a vision, and I think using the we language is thoroughly appropriate and say where is she trying to take this country. This isn't about me; this isn't about my past. This isn't about whatever you've heard about me from the right. This is about a direction for the future and who can get us there.

COSTELLO: There are tangible things out there that independent voters and moderates think about, like Benghazi, like the e-mail controversy, like even Whitewater, because that's hanging out there in the wind, right? Jamal?

SIMMONS: That's already baked into the cake. I mean, I think people -- this is the benefit about being around for so long. Hillary Clinton has been in the public eye since I was in college. All right? And so she really understands -- and this is like the early 1990s. So people already understand who she is. Now what they want to know is, OK, Hillary, we know who you are. We know you fight for people. But are you fighting for me? And she's got to sort of lay out how she's going to fight for them.

I'll tell you, you talked about aspiration and I'll say something about a Republican here, which is unusual. But I think Marco Rubio is telling the best story of any campaign that's out there. He's a son of a kid from humble beginnings who's making his way to the top. And everybody in America wants to believe that that's something possible if not for themselves then their children. You've got to marshal the anger, show people you get it, and then connect that to a vision for the future. And that's Hillary Clinton's challenge.

COSTELLO: All right, I have to leave it there. Jamal Simmons, Sally Kohn, thanks to both of you.

SIMMONS: Thank you.

KOHN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Supreme Court back in session for the first time since Justice Scalia's death. How he's being honored, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:41:45] COSTELLO: Let's head out to Wall Street because guess what? Look at the Dow there. It's up 205 points. Oh, it's a beautiful number, isn't it?

Christine Romans is here to tell us why this is happening this week. Because it wasn't so long ago we were talking about, oh, a recession. We're slipping back into a recession.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNNMONEY CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know. It started last week. You had a couple of really good days last week. And last week, Carol, the Dow actually cut its losses in half for the year. So suddenly there was feeling that, wait a minute, everyone is talking about a global recession. That's not guaranteed. And, in fact, some of the underlying numbers in the American economy are still pretty good. So you have people starting to buy stocks.

The other issue here is you have oil prices are rising. Oil prices up 7 percent right now. That is a big move. That means all the energy companies, the banks are higher. Anything that's in basically natural resources, those stocks are higher here. And I've been telling you for weeks that oil and stocks have trading like this for some time. So when you get a pop in oil, you get a pop in stocks.

But overall there is this feeling, Carol, that maybe all those losses were overdone and there are some values in the American stock market again, frankly. Just -- long hal, think for the long haul. Right?

COSTELLO: Thanks, Christine, as usual.

The Supreme Court back in session today for the first time since the death of Antonin Scalia. And one of the seats draped in black wool as a tribute to him. Before starting the oral arguments, Scalia was known to have enjoyed, Chief Justice Roberts honored his colleague.

CNN's Pamela Brown was there. Good morning.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDNET: Good morning to you, Carol. It was certainly a somber start of the justices' first day back after the death of their friend and colleague, Antonin Scalia. And right off the bat, Chief Justice Roberts addressed his death. He said his chair, draped in black, signifies the period of mourning after the unexpected death of their colleague, Justice Antonin Scalia.

He then went on to talk a little bit about this bio, and said that Justice Scalia authored 292 opinions. And he said, and he was known for his occasional dissent from time to time. That prompted some laughs in the room because, as we've been talking about, Justice Scalia was known for his fiery and blunt dissents.

Chief Justice Roberts went on to talk about how Scalia was our man for seasons and we will miss him beyond measure. He said that he had an irrepressible spirit that they will never forget. And it's very true, Carol. Part of his legacy was how he was during oral arguments. He was larger than life, he brought humor to the bench. He really changed the way article arguments were by asking questions right off the bat and making them contentious at times. And so Chief Justice Roberts talked about how much his absence is deeply felt here today, certainly a difficult day for the now eight justices on the wench. Carol?

COSTELLO: All right, Pamela Brown reporting live from the Supreme Court this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it is the last chance for the GOP to strike it rich before Super Tuesday. Trump, Rubio, Cruz, all raising the stakes in Nevada. So who would you bet on? I'll talk to a professional, next.

[10:40:54]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING: "VIVA LAS VEGAS" - ELIVS PRESLEY)

COSTELLO: You can't talk about Las Vegas without showing Elvis, right?

Donald T rump is hoping to hit the jackpot tomorrow in Nevada, in Las Vegas too. His rivals Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz now trying to up the ante, going all in after getting beat in South Carolina. Today all three candidates will be in Nevada trying to rally voters ahead of caucus night.

So which way will the cards fall? Let's ask political gambler and analyst Paul Krishnamurty. He's also a columnist for "Politico". Thank you so much for being here.

PAUL KRISHNAMURTY, POLITICAL GAMBLER & ANALYST: Hi Carol.

COSTELLO: Hi. Before we get into the thick of the conversation, you're from Britain. Why do people in Britain think of this American election?

KRISHNAMURTY: I think -- they love gambling on it. They're very, very interested in it, much more so I would say than possibly any other election beyond the British election. And I think this year, particularly because of Donald Trump and to some extent Bernie Sanders, it's just really captured their imagination.

[10:50:05] COSTELLO: What adjectives do they attach to the election?

KRISHNAMURTY: Adjectives. Um, crazy. Possibly unpredictable, given Donald Trump is doing so well.

COSTELLO: Yes, we get the gist.

KRISHNAMURTY: Entertaining, definitely. Entertaining for sure.

COSTELLO: A word we can all agree on. It has been rather entertaining at times.

You actually left home to follow the candidates here in the United States. That seems a little crazy to me.

KRISHNAMURTY: Yes, an interesting little project. So if I was in the U.K., normally I would spend the year staying up through the night, watching this, watching the coverage, watching the results shows, analyzing it, gambling on it. And so this time I thought no, I'll see the country, I'll go visit some primary states and take the pulse of the American people as I go, and maybe write a book along the way as I go.

COSTELLO: Oh, interesting. So I want to go back to the beginning for a second, because what is a political gambler? How do you make your money?

KRISHNAMURTY: Well, so I'm a professional gambler. And I gamble on sports mostly, but politics is another big market because it's something I have a lot of knowledge in. I studied it at university a long time ago. And it involves predicting elections, predicting leadership contests, um, predicting other outcomes like, for example, whether Britain will stay in the European Union or not.

And in Britain, the gambling industry is huge. It's like a 24/7 stock market kind of situation. You know, you've got websites like BetFair which are peer-to-peer exchanges. So you can bet on a candidate when you think they're going to rise and sell them when you think they're going to fall.

COSTELLO: So how much money have you made or lost so far?

KRISHNAMURTY: So far I'd say I'm about 5,000, $7,000 up. I've a lot of big positions in the mix, though. So, for example, I have a lot of big position on Marco Rubio and a big position on Ted Cruz winning the nomination. So hopefully we'll get some more out of that and there's a long way to go.

COSTELLO: So that is what you're betting on. So on the Democratic said you're betting on who to win?

KRISHNAMURTY: Hillary Clinton. I'll be very surprised if she wasn't win. Very surprised.

COSTELLO: And on the Republican said Cruz or Rubio and Trump?

KRISHNAMURTY: Rubio right now. I backed Rubio again last week before South Carolina in anticipation that he'd finish second. And I think that now the race is moving toward a two or three-runner race, I think he will seal off Donald Trump because Rubio is -- does a lot better head to head between the pairs. And he's a lot more electable.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if Rubio makes you a rich man.

Paul Krishnamurty, thank you so much for being with me this morning.

KRISHNAMURTY: Thanks.

COSTELLO: A pivotal political event this Thursday. All five candidates will join in a presidential debate Thursday night, 8:30 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:57:33] COSTELLO: "I will follow him anywhere". Those are the words from the Mexican drug lord, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman's wife. The former beauty queen is now speaking out for the first time since her husband's recapture.

Rafael Romo is in Atlanta with more on this. Good morning.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Good morning, Carol. Emma Coronel Aispuro, the former beauty queen rose to fame in 2007 when she married Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel on her 18th birthday. Now she says she's deeply concerned about her husband because of the conditions Guzman is enduring behind bars. Among the things she said in an exclusive Telemund interview is El Chapo has developed high blood pressure and that she fears for his life. And Carol, she confirmed that he's being watched 24/7, that he's being watched constantly, and that El Chapo is guarded by trained dogs. .

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMA CORONEL AISPURO, EL CHAPO'S WIFE (via Translator): What they're doing is very cruel. They're trying to make him pay for his escape. They say that they're not punishing him. Of course they are. They're there with him all day long, watching him in his cell. They're there all day long. They're doing roll call every hour. They don't let him sleep. He doesn't even have privacy to go to the restroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: The 26-year-old who was born in the United States told Telemundo she met her husband at a dance. She was, listen to this, 17 at the time and Guzman was nearly 50. She made headlines in 2007 when Mexican media reported her marriage to El Chapo, again, when she turned 18 years old. The couple has twin girls born in California in 2011, children who hug the TV, Coronel says, each time their father's image comes on.

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: OK, so how does she feel about this actress that was communicating with El Chapo?

ROMO: She was specifically asked about that and she says I'm not jealous at all. I admire Kate del Castillo very much. And she says her relationship, her marriage, remain intact. There hasn't been any problems with El Chapo. But then again, that's what she's saying publicly. Privately, it may be a different thing, Carol.

COSTELLO: So this young woman, this 26-year-old wife of El Chapo, has she visited him in prison?

ROMO: She says she has been able to be there only once for 15 minutes, and that there wasn't really an opportunity to talk about many things because of the limits imposed on her, Carol.

[11:00:01] COSTELLO: I can only imagine. Rafael Romo reporting live for us, thank you.

Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Boulduan starts now.

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