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Rubio Bashes Trump, Clinton and Sanders; Insults Fly as Trump and Rubio Escalate Attacks; The Latino Factor; Democrats Vote in South Carolina Primary; Donald Trump Holds Rally Days Before Super Tuesday. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired February 27, 2016 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00] SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And a president who believes that our solutions are not found in a big federal government. They are found in our homes and in our communities. And if it's even found in government, it's at the state level, not in Washington, D.C.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
RUBIO: For the first time in eight years, you're going to have a president that follows the Constitution. And that means on my first day in office, in my first moments in office, I will cancel every single one of Barack Obama's unconstitutional executive orders.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
RUBIO: Every one of them. When you make me president, when you make me president, we are going to have a president that embraces a free economy. Free enterprise works, I know it, because my parents, we're not rich people. My father was a bartender and my mother was a maid. And the reason why they had a job is because free enterprise works. Because someone who had access to money risked that money to open up a hotel and hire them.
Free enterprise works because it is the only economic model in the world where you can make poor people richer, and you don't have to make rich people poorer.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
RUBIO: We are going to save free enterprise. We're going to fix our tax code. I have a plan out there to do that. We are going to roll back these crazy regulations that come out of the federal government. We are going to save Social Security and Medicare and balance our budgets. We are going to fully utilize the energy resources that God has blessed America with. And we are going to repeal and replace Obamacare once and for all.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
RUBIO: When I'm president of the United States, you will have a real commander-in-chief, not like the weak one that we have right now. The world has become a very dangerous place. There is a lunatic in North Korea with nuclear weapons. And some would say a lunatic trying to get -- ahold of nuclear weapons in America. But that's different.
We have a lunatic in North Korea with nuclear weapons. We have the Chinese government taking over the South China Sea, building up their military, stealing our inventions, and making Donald Trump's ties.
(LAUGHTER)
RUBIO: And hats. Yes. It's amazing, he's going to bring back jobs from overseas, but he makes all his tacky clothes in China and in Mexico.
And in Russia, Vladimir Putin is sowing instability in the Middle East and in Europe. You have in the Middle East Iran --
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You're listening to Marco Rubio outside of Atlanta in Kennesaw. Perhaps this has been the most fiery and perhaps even comical Marco Rubio that we have been able to see in a very long time. He's rallying support there in this perhaps last-ditch effort. He hasn't won a contest yet. But he -- and he reiterated that. You got to win a contest. Haven't done that yet. But he is hoping that the folks there in Georgia, one of the 13 states, Super Tuesday states, will get behind him.
Hello, again, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, live for you from Columbia, South Carolina, at the University of South Carolina where Democrats are voting today. But that hasn't stopped Republicans like Marco Rubio stumping in various states leading up to Super Tuesday.
We're also waiting right now to hear from Donald Trump. A rally could start at any moment now there in Arkansas. And perhaps his folks were listening to Marco Rubio who was unleashed there, who went as far as saying that Donald Trump, he is not some great businessman, why is he hiring foreigners to do the jobs of Americans? And he even classified Donald Trump as being protected and privileged. That he is not a tough guy. He has been protected and privileged his whole life.
Some of the questions that now the Donald Trump camp perhaps are entertaining, thinking about, how will they respond to the words of Marco Rubio.
Just moments ago, before Marco Rubio took to that huge crowd there in Kennesaw, he had this to say when addressing reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: I don't care if I have to get in my pickup truck and drive around the country like I did when I ran for the Senate. Donald Trump will never be the nominee of the party of Lincoln and Reagan. He's going around telling people he's this great businessman, was successful in business and will do the same for America. I hope not. He took four companies into total bankruptcy.
Part of what con artists do, you know, they come to you and they try to help you -- make you believe that they're something that they're not. It's how he got people into Trump University, and then they realized it was a con, and they lost their money. We're not going to let that happen to the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Marco Rubio there in Kennesaw, Georgia, saying he's going to stay in the race as long as possible.
Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is in Bentonville, Arkansas, where you're seeing to the right of the screen, that's the live shot location of the Donald Trump location, to rally -- I'm sorry, my producer, say that one more time?
[13:05:14] JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What's going we had the campaign for just a moment --
WHITFIELD: OK. So apparently, people are -- go ahead, Jim.
ACOSTA: Yes -- no, I was just going to explain, we saw this in Iowa, and I didn't want our viewers to miss this because it could happen right in the middle of our live shot here. Donald Trump did this flyby in his plane in Iowa a few weeks ago. We believe he's about to do just now to sort of put on a show for his supporters here in Bentonville, Arkansas, you know, kind of revs up the crowd and they're playing the theme music to "Air Force One" right now. Of course Trump's plane is referred to as Trump Force One. So a little bit different than the plane used by the president of the United States. But that should be happening any moment.
You were just talking about Marco Rubio and those comments that were directed at Donald Trump just a few moments ago, you know, saying that Donald Trump may want to sue the guy that does his makeup. You know, this is -- this is the exchange of insults we've heard over the last 24 hours. Marco Rubio has obviously made the decision that to take on Donald Trump he has to outdo Donald Trump.
But, you know, and I want to just sort -- some sound that we heard from Donald Trump yesterday, because he was really answering this criticism from Marco Rubio, sort of trading insult with insult. Let's play a little bit of that and if that plane comes in here, Fredricka, I'll let you know. Let's play a little bit of what Donald Trump said yesterday about Marco Rubio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's a -- no, he's nervous basket case. Here's a guy -- you had to see, wait. You had to see him backstage. He was putting on makeup with a trowel.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: No. I don't want to say that. I will not say that he was trying to cover up his ears. I will not say that.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Out of nowhere, he goes -- on live television, here's our response, he choked just like he did with Chris. He's a choker. He choked with Chris. And all of a sudden, he's being drained, and he goes like this, remember? I said, where is he? And then he comes back with water. And honestly, water is fine. But it should be in a glass. He's got the label of the company here, and he's drinking -- and I've -- honestly, I've never seen anything like it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Here we go. OK, Fredricka, so you might be able to make this out here in our shot. Maybe this is slightly ridiculous to be doing this, but we are following the Trump plane as it's circling the hangar here.
This is part of the showmanship of the Donald Trump campaign. It does rev up the crowds. This is part of the reason why you see these big crowds showing up for Donald Trump at these events. We believe that the GOP frontrunner is going to be joined by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, unless those travel plans have changed.
And just to give you a sense of the other endorsements that are coming in. Mike Huckabee's daughter, Sarah Huckabee-Sanders, was just speaking to the crowd a few moments ago. Not the former Arkansas governor, but his daughter. So Donald Trump is starting to line up support from some corners of the GOP establishment.
And one thing I'll tell you, Fredricka, as we're waiting for Donald Trump to land here, is that some of this criticism from Marco Rubio appears to be touching a nerve. In the last hour or so, Donald Trump has been sending out tweets, sort of responding to this criticism from Marco Rubio, saying that, you know, he didn't get $200 million from his father as Marco Rubio said during the CNN debate on Thursday night. He said it was $1 million and he paid the money back.
He also said that he is planning on releasing his tax returns just as soon as he gets underneath this IRS audit that is apparently under way. So even though he's been saying that these taunts from Marco Rubio are not affecting him, and Chris Christie is also saying that, Donald Trump does feel like he has to respond which is sort of something you haven't seen a whole lot of during the course of this campaign.
Of course, we'll keep the camera focused on the tarmac there and let you know when Donald Trump lands, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: OK. So, Jim, I know it's going to be hard to hear me because you've got, you know, the music that's being pumped up there. I mean, this really is political theater on a whole new level. You talk about Trump Force One. And we talk about the comedy, the thread of comedy now. You heard Marco Rubio who called it "Hair Force One." He is getting very personal now. He was talking about, you know, the spray tan of Donald Trump, Hair Force One.
ACOSTA: Right.
WHITFIELD: He was also calling him a con artist, which we've heard for a while now, with this kind of fly-in. Clearly, Donald Trump, as you said, he's been tweeting. He has to respond to what he's been -- this new Marco Rubio. The Marco Rubio who is going for the jugular.
ACOSTA: Right. He is going for the jugular.
[13:10:01] But, you know, Donald Trump may answer all of this on Super Tuesday. Keep in mind, you know, if he really sweeps through the states, and we should add the caveat that there is some proportional allocation of delegates on Super Tuesday. It's not winner take all. So he won't completely put away his rivals on Tuesday if he does as well as his polls are indicating. That may put a lot of this to rest because it may show once again that when you attack Donald Trump, he attacks back. And sometimes it doesn't always work out.
We saw Jeb Bush employ this tactic down in South Carolina. He had sort of had it, and went after Donald Trump, it didn't work out for Jeb Bush. Ted Cruz has tried it as well. It has not worked out for Ted Cruz. But Marco Rubio is sort of -- he is doing this on steroids. And really, I mean, just trading insult with insult with Donald Trump.
Will that ultimately work? We're going to have to wait and see. It has obviously created an opportunity for Marco Rubio. He's getting a lot more coverage. His speeches are being run gavel to gavel. He didn't have that kind of benefit perhaps as much before but at the same time you're right, Fredricka. There are some questions that are being raised. And I think Donald Trump, you know, saying this morning over and over again on twitter that he's going to release his tax returns as soon as he gets underneath this audit.
That is an indication that, yes, some of what Marco Rubio is saying is having an effect. And I will tell you, you know, we do understand Marco Rubio releasing his tax returns later on today. We don't expect any bombshells in there like Mitt Romney was saying might be lurking in Donald Trump's taxes. But these are questions that are being raised.
You know, frankly, Fredricka, a lot of people inside the Republican establishment have been asking this question all along. Why is -- why hasn't anybody really gone after Donald Trump, opened up the opposition research?
WHITFIELD: Right. Why now?
ACOSTA: And so the Marco Rubio campaign has decided, well, you better do it now, now or never, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, we're going to find out if now could indeed make an impact after Donald Trump has done so well in the first contest of this race.
Jim Acosta, thank you so much, we'll check back with you as Trump Force One comes in for a landing. I kind of feel like the music was getting louder and louder the more you and I, Jim, were talking. All right, so now there's a bit of an impasse.
So Donald Trump's views on immigration may have helped him become the Republican frontrunner. Views that many believe made him unpopular particularly with the Latino community. Former Mexican president Vicente Fox comparing Trump to Hitler in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICENTE FOX, FORMER MEXICAN PRESIDENT: He reminds me of Hitler because we just have to see this huge talking that Hitler had in the beginning. He's going to use the executive power to do what he likes, without considering that he has a Congress, and he has a Congress with Republicans and Democrats that he has a judiciary, that he has governors, that he has a very censorship, and that is a democracy that should be the example for the rest of the world so he's behaving very, very, very poorly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Former Mexican President Vicente FOX there, as you also see, to the right of the screen, Trump Force One, as he likes to call it, making a landing there in Bentonville, Arkansas. Before addressing a huge crowd there for a rally in Arkansas, one of the 13 Super Tuesday states.
So let's talk more about the entrance polls. Take a look right here. Entrance polls from the Nevada caucuses, showing Trump capturing the Hispanic vote. But we should note that was a very small sample of voters.
Let's talk more about this with Rachel Campos-Duffy, she's the national spokeswoman for the LIBRE Initiative, a nonprofit aimed at helping the Hispanic community. Also Republican strategist and author of "Los Republicano" Leslie Sanchez. And CNN's senior Latin American affairs editor Rafael Romo also.
So, Rachel, first, let me talk to you about Vicente Fox's comments there, making the comparisons of Donald Trump with Hitler. And this on the heels of what we just heard Marco Rubio describing Donald Trump as a con man. Coming out very strong at this portion of the race. Now just days away from Super Tuesday.
So, Rachel, what's your reaction to what Vicente Fox is saying? And whether that resonates particularly among the Latino voters?
RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, NATIONAL SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE LIBRE INITIATIVE: So what Marco Rubio is saying, calling him a con artist, calling into question his practices versus what he says on the stump, you know, I'm for the American worker, but then showing evidence that he's hired undocumented workers when it was convenient for him and his bottom line, those things are really effective punches that are landing and I think causing a lot of Republicans to take a second look at him.
Vicente Fox is actually helping Trump because, look, the Hispanic voter is an American first and doesn't like to have some foreign leader intervening or commenting on the election.
[13:15:11] Moreover, all of us Hispanics have a lot of empathy for the people who come here searching for opportunity. We don't have as much empathy for those in political power in Mexico and other Latin American countries that are driving policies, corruption, all kinds of things that are actually driving these people over to our country looking for opportunity.
And Vicente Fox knows that if it was in his corner, that the Mexican government would be, you know, facing a lot more pressure to reform its government, get rid of corruption and introduce policies that offer opportunity and alleviate poverty. So he's not really an honest broker in this. And so I think he's actually helping Donald Trump.
Marco Rubio's hits are landing hard, and I think at a -- unfortunately late in the game, but maybe enough time to make a difference and cause people to take a second look.
WHITFIELD: So, Leslie, do you see that there are real conflicting messages here? Because you have to look back sometimes before you look forward. When you look at the Nevada races, you heard Donald Trump, you know, really boasting the fact that he captured most of the Latino vote. But then you have "Washington Post" polls saying that it was like 8 out of 10 Latinos who do not support Donald Trump. So which is it? I mean, who is Donald Trump appealing to moving forward? Particularly as it pertains to the Latino vote?
And I know they don't, you know, vote as a monolithic, you know, support for any particular candidate. But how do you make sense of the real contrast and conflicting messages here?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Sure, you know, unraveling all of this is going to be complicated, but the bottom line, Donald Trump does have an effect on the Latino vote in two ways. For folks that were already left of center or even newer immigrant populations there is a lot more of a negative perception. And I will tell you, especially in western states. You're seeing a lot of younger, kind of gen-Z kind of folks that are -- Latino students are in high school.
This is their first political experience, they're getting mobilized and they're associating a few different words together, Donald Trump, racism and the Republican Party. That is a dramatically negative effect. And you saw that in Iowa, we had high school students who've never participated in election politics get engaged to go against the GOP.
At the same time I have to reiterate a kind of what Rachel's point is and to your point, there is a vast variety of views among Latino voters in this country especially the southwest who are just as concerned about immigration, are very frustrated with the GOP, and want to see something done. A sympathetic ear to that and treat people with respect, but they are just as frustrated and are going to split, I think, in favor and you will see some who favor Donald Trump's rhetoric.
WHITFIELD: And Rafael --
CAMPOS-DUFFY: I think it's also important --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: OK. Go ahead. CAMPOS-DUFFY: I was just going to say, you know, the economic
interests are very different. There's a tendency in the punditry class and in the political class to sort of conflate undocumented Hispanics with citizen Hispanic. In the state of Nevada, for example, many of those Hispanics who are citizens are competing for jobs with some of those who are undocumented in the hospitality industry, for example. And there has been a huge influx of undocumented Hispanics that moved to Nevada during the housing boom. So it's a lot more complicated, I will say, I will what --
WHITFIELD: OK.
CAMPOS-DUFFY: Reiterate what Leslie is saying that this has long-term implications in terms of conflating words like Republican, racism and some of the things that Donald Trump has said that have been unhelpful in trying to move the Hispanics forward.
WHITFIELD: OK. So, Rachel, hold it there.
Rafael, I wonder, you know, as Leslie just described, you've got, you know, Latinos in the west who may vote very differently and still are thinking about immigration in different ways. But you've got, you know, very conservative Florida. You know, Marco Rubio, you know, representing Florida. And you've got the fact that, you know, Cuban Americans may vote differently, think differently, than what I'm told by many Puerto Rican Americans. And so this appeal of Latinos to Donald Trump is not that simple. And it really depends on, you know, the regional dynamics as well of this country.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Yes. Definitely clear. And that's a very good point, Fred. You said it before, and I have to say it again, when it comes to the Latino voting bloc one thing is clear, it's not -- it's not monolithic. There are Cuban Americans in the mix who tend to be Republican and conservatives, then there are Puerto Ricans who have recently moved from the island to Florida voting Democratic.
[13:20:06] And Mexican Americans who, frankly, are just all over the place just to name a few subgroups. They went Democratic for Obama in 2012 with 71 percent of the vote but George W. Bush got 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, the best showing ever for a Republican. So when Donald Trump was talking about being number one with Latinos Tuesday, he was talking, Fred, about a very small group of them who are registered Republicans and who participated in the caucuses, about only 125 people by our own estimate. So, no, it is too early to tell that Trump has solid support among Latinos in the country as a whole.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you to all of you. Appreciate it.
Again the right of your screen, you're seeing Donald Trump's plane arriving here in Bentonville, Arkansas. We're going to continue to monitor developments there as he emerges from the plane and then addresses the large crowd.
So sorry, Rachel, Leslie, we're out of time. And appreciate it, Rafael. So, Arkansas, one of the 13 Super Tuesday states, going to keep close
watch on this rally taking place, especially on the heels of the words we heard from Marco Rubio, calling Donald Trump a con man. Will Donald Trump respond? After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Columbia, South Carolina. While we're in the midst of a Democratic primary here, candidates are stumping across the country because we're only three days away now from Super Tuesday. There's Bernie Sanders in Austin, Texas, one of the Super Tuesday states. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Shut down a factory here in Texas and move to China if they can make five bucks more in doing it.
(CROWD BOOS)
[13:25:02] SANDERS: The wealthy campaign donors who are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to try to buy this election who have unbelievable power over the legislative direction of Congress, the corporate media which determines what you see and what you --
WHITFIELD: All right. Bernie Sanders there in Austin, Texas. He's not spending anytime because his camp is saying he's spending a lot of time in South Carolina while the Democratic primary is happening today. Meantime, here in South Carolina the polls are open until 7:00 tonight. Up for grabs, 53 delegates in this Democratic primary.
Hillary Clinton is right now in Alabama. She actually comes into South Carolina with a sizable delegate lead over Bernie Sanders. And we understand Clinton will be spending the evening here in South Carolina at what she's hoping to be a victory watch party in a state that she lost to Barack Obama back in 2008.
Will this be redemption for her?
I want to bring in Joe Johns who is at a polling station for us.
And Joe, are you no longer in Lexington, South Carolina, or have you changed your location? Where are you?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Columbia, South Carolina, now and this is Forest Heights Elementary School. They've seen well over 200 people come through here since the morning, I'm told. There was a line when they first opened up, polling started around 7:00 Eastern Time. State wide, the state polling commission is describing turnout as low or light to moderate. And that would encompass not just Columbia, but Charleston, South Carolina, Greenville, and some of the other pockets around the state.
So we are obviously go to be waiting for 7:00, when they finally get down to counting the votes. And there are also a lot of absentee votes, we're told, about 53,000 which is well up from 2008. And Hillary Clinton, of course, depending and hoping for a big turnout here in South Carolina. She's been pressing to try to get the African-American vote out here in the primary, to try to propel her into Super Tuesday. We'll see if all that happens -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Joe Johns, thank you so much. Just down the street here in Columbia, South Carolina, at a polling station. Appreciate that.
OK, meantime, we continue to watch there out of Bentonville, Arkansas, and doesn't this look like now a familiar duo? We're talking about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie now speaking, and you see just to his right is Donald Trump. Let's listen in as they prepare for Super Tuesday.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I'm told to be here today to let you all know that I endorse Donald Trump for president of the United States.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: We got a lot of work to do between now and Tuesday. We need Arkansas. We need Arkansas to be big and strong for Donald Trump. We need it to be Donald Trump on Tuesday. Are you ready?
(CHEERS)
CHRISTIE: It's been great to travel with Donald over the last couple of days. And I'll tell you, I found it very interesting. Very interesting to watch some of the things that some of Donald's opponents are saying about him. Yes, well, you think you're booing now, wait till you hear this. You know, I saw Senator Rubio just saying -- just saying that he -- that he is going to work every minute he can to become the nominee for president. Well, that would be a real switch for Senator Rubio since he doesn't work much at all.
Now I'm not just making this stuff up. Let me tell you exactly what Marco Rubio has done since he's been a United States senator. Seems to me when you're a senator and you're on some committees, you should actually show up for work. Do you have to show up for work? Well, let's see what Marco Rubio did. He says he's got great foreign policy experience because he served on the Foreign Relations Committee. Now he has missed, during his time in the Senate, 60 percent of all the meetings of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Hey, Marco, show up for work for the American people.
Marco Rubio says that he's going to help create jobs. The only person in this race that's created jobs is the guy standing right there, Donald Trump.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: How about this? Marco Rubio says he's going to create jobs, and he's on the small business committee in the Senate, and he's missed 85 percent of the meetings as senator. He's on the Commerce Committee to create economic activity.
[13:30:05] He's missed 80 percent of the meetings of the Commerce Committee. Since he's been in the Senate, he's missed 68 percent of all of the committee meetings he's been assigned to. Let me say something clearer, this guy shows up for work every day. He works hard. He's built incredibly successful businesses.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: And let me tell you, one message to Senator Rubio, wherever you are right now, unlike the United States Senate, president of the United States is not a no-show job, so you're not qualified.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: Senator Rubio -- Senator Rubio says that, you know, Mr. Trump didn't start these businesses and create all this wealth. Let me tell you something, I've known this family for 14 years, personally. And let me tell you what he did. His father who started off with a small business in Brooklyn and Queens, New York. Not Manhattan, everybody. Brooklyn and Queens. And he worked hard to help build a business. And he helped his son with a very small bit of help right at the beginning of his career. A $1 million loan that he expected.
And listen, we as parents know we lend our kids money we want it back, right? Well, Mr. Trump's dad was no different. He lent him that money and he turned a $1 million loan into a $10 billion fortune. That's the kind of guy we want as president of the United States.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: This is a family that has stood up and sacrificed for America when America needed to be sacrificed for. He has stood behind our veterans.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: He has helped people in need every time he's asked. This family has done what the American dream is. And he wants to bring the American dream back to every American family, and he will.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: Ladies and gentlemen, we don't need more professional Washington politicians in the White House, do we? We want an American who knows how to work hard, how to stand up and how to speak the truth, and there's no one who speaks the truth like Donald Trump?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: And let me tell you one other thing. You've seen when the pressure has been on. When the pressure's been on, Donald Trump like it was Thursday night in those debates, he stood up like a man. He fought back. He fought hard, and that's the way he'll fight for you.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: And then when the heat was on, Senator Rubio in those debates, you saw what happened. He melted. He melted. I had a ringside seat for one of those, didn't I? Right? And Donald Trump did it again the other night when he looked at him and said, I'm the only person on this stage who's ever hired anyone. He's exactly right.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: We need a president who's not only going to make America great again, but we're going to need a president who's going to make America proud again. Proud to be Americans. Proud to be working hard. Proud to raise our families in a place that is safe and secure.
We need someone who is going to stand up to the people who are fighting against us and the rest of the world. Donald Trump is going to be that man to stand up for America.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: And, so, I'll tell you this, when terrorists attack America in the future, Donald Trump won't apologize for America. He'll stand up for America.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: I'm thrilled, so thrilled to see this packed airport hangar. Now are you ready to fight for Donald Trump, come Tuesday?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: You ready to show up and vote and give him a win in Arkansas on Tuesday?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CHRISTIE: Well then, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and privilege to introduce to you the next president of the United States of America, Donald Trump.
TRUMP: Wow. Thank you, Chris. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.
Look at this turnout. This is incredible. And there are many people outside that can't get into the hangar. The fire marshal won't let them in. Oh, fire marshal, let me talk to you, please. Please. But it's such an honor, and you know, we've had tremendous results here. And I think we're going to do very well here. We're going to do well everywhere. I think the only place we're tied actually is Texas, we're tied in Texas. And I think we have a really good chance of winning Texas. People are so tired of these politicians, it's all talk. No action.
[13:35:01] And I've been watching it, I've dealt with them all my life. I've been watching it all my life. I got a little glimpse of it just now coming in. I watched this lightweight Rubio, total lightweight, and little mouth on him, bing, bing, bing. Bing, bing, bing, bing.
And his new attack is he calls me a con artist. I'm a con man, right? You know, I built a great business. And believe me, I wish my father loaned me $200 million or gave me $200 million. I wish he had $200 million in those days. I'll tell you what, I wish my father gave me that money. I borrowed a tiny amount of money, $1 million, I started a business, it's worth much more than $10 billion right now. I filed unbelievable statements with the FEC, Federal Elections, and the press knows, they fully understand because they went down there, they were, like, a bunch of ants. They were all over the place.
And they were so disappointed to see what a great company it is. Some of the great assets of the world. Very little debt. Tremendous cash flow and it says it all. First time I've ever done that because I'm a private company. And believe me, if I didn't have a good statement I wouldn't have been able to run because I wouldn't have been able to file. And the filing is amazing. And the company is amazing.
And the reason I tell you that is because that's the thinking we need. We have $19 trillion in debt. We're going up to $21 trillion as a country. Our country is a mess. We're losing our business. Companies are moving into Mexico. They're moving to China. They're moving to Ireland. Pfizer just announced they're going to move to Ireland. Great company. They're moving to Ireland. They're moving all over the world. They're leaving us.
And our numbers, that 5 percent number you hear unemployment. Total fiction. It's probably 25 percent, could even be 30 percent. Because when somebody looks for a job and they give up like most people do, they go home, they say, I can't do it anymore. They're considered statically employed.
We have a really problem, folks, and we're going to get it solved. OK? We're going to get it solved.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But I will address, you know, little Rubio. This guy has a fresh mouth. He's a very nasty guy. And I actually thought that Ted Cruz was a liar, but Rubio is worse. I mean, he's worse. And I watched -- I must tell you, one of the reasons I love having Chris. And Chris called me a couple of days ago, he said, you know what, what you have is a movement. I've never seen anything it. He said, and he's a pro. He's one of the real endorsements that I wanted. And he called me. I would have called him, I was sort of like getting ready to call him. And out of the blue Chris called and he said I want to endorse you and your campaign. I've never seen anything like it. And many people have never seen anything like it.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Peggy Noonan who is terrific. She writes a fantastic piece today in "The Wall Street Journal" talking about it. What's happening is amazing. "TIME" magazine, a few weeks ago, a cover story, the movement that we've created. But just to address, so I was in New Hampshire which we won, by the way. We, not me, we. We won. And I saw a meltdown of a human being like I've never seen. It was Rubio. And it was Chris who started. And I'll tell you what, he is one prosecutor, isn't he? In all fairness.
But he started. And he looked at Rubio, and they went back and forth, all of a sudden -- and you have to understand, I'm in the center -- I've been the center for every single debate now which is nice. Center means good. I told CNN, well, are you going to announce that I'm number one? No. I said well, nobody is going to know I'm number one unless you announce it. They said you're in the center. I said, I don't care. Nobody knows that. But they don't want to do that.
They should do that, right? But thye don't want to do that. They never want to do that stuff. They never want to do anything good. I'm not just talking about them, I'm talking about the other ones, too. The media, the most dishonest human beings on earth, I'm telling you.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: The most. And we're going to -- by the way, while I'm on that subject, I am going to do everything I can, if I win, they write false stories, they write nasty false stories and they know they're false, I've had some written more than I've ever seen before in the last period of a few months. They write false stories you can't really sue because the libel laws are essentially nonexistent.
We're going to open up the libel laws so when they write falsely, we can sue the media and we can get the story corrected and get damages. All right. Believe me.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: So important. And you know what, it will be amazing how honest they become. Right now they can say anything they want to say. Some day in the not too distant future if I win, they're not going to get away with the stuff that they get away with and I think we all feel -- don't we all feel that way? It's terrible. Very, very dishonest people. But I watched Chris go after this lightweight Rubio. I call him lightweight Rubio. I watched it.
[13:40:04] And I'm sitting here and he's over here, somebody on my left, doesn't matter. And he's over here, and I see him starting to sweat. Like I have never seen anything like it. Thank God he has really large ears, the biggest ears I've ever seen, because they were protecting him. It was going -- I have never seen any human being sweat like this guy.
And he said the Obama statement, once. And that was fine. And then he said it twice. And I'm standing -- I had nothing to do with it because Chris is over here. He's over here. Just to my right. He said it a second time. And I said, oh, that's strange, going like this. That's strange. Then he said the same exact words. You know, he memorizes phrases, like the con man. I saw Bret Baier yesterday say I never -- he said con man so many times during the interview. Trump's a con man. Trump's a con man.
The last thing I am is a con man, folks. I built a great business, OK? I built a great business.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And by the way, think of this, then I do a television show call "The Apprentice" and it becomes one of the top shows on television, tremendously successful, and by the way, they wanted to renew me, and I couldn't do it because I was doing this. And Steve Burke, the head of Comcast, great guy, comes into my office. Donald, we want to renew you, I said, Steve, I'm going to run for president. You can't do both. OK? It's called equal time laws or whatever it's called but you can't.
He said, please, please. I said no, I'm going to do this. And we chose because I have a big, you know, stake in "The Apprentice" going forward and everything else. And we chose Arnold Schwarzenegger. Let's see how he does. Right? Let's see. I hope he does well but who knows? Right? I know Trump did well. Fourteen seasons. So I had this tremendous show that was one of the most successful shows on television, and really one of the most successful. And we came up with the impression, "You're fired." And it's been -- it's been great.
And you got know my kids, Ivanka, Don, Eric and a lot of other people. And my family, I'm so proud of. But -- so we do a show, it's greatly successful. I do books, right. I do the "Art of the Deal." One of the most successful -- probably the most successful but one of the most successful business books and books of its kind ever written. And I did many other books. 12 other books. Many best-sellers.
And then I built this business that is unbelievable. Some of the greatest assets in the world. Turnberry in Scotland. Doral in Miami. Buildings all over the place. Big chunks at the Bank of America building in San Francisco. Built a city practically on the west side of Manhattan. A big chunk of 1290 Avenue of the Americas, biggest floor plates in New York. Just about the biggest floor plates, I think they are the biggest floor plates. And just built 40 Wall Street, Trump Tower, so many things.
And then I listen to this light little nothing say Trump's a con man. Isn't it a disgrace? I mean, seriously. You know, it really is -- maybe it will make the libel laws also so we can sue lying politicians, you know, because --
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But -- but, you know, it's very insulting when you hear it. And thank goodness I have this where I can get off and counteract it b they say things that are so wrong. Now I don't know what Cruz is staying but these two guys are in big trouble. They're in big trouble. Yes. It's almost like who cares, but they're in big trouble. Rubio's won nothing. He couldn't get elected dog catcher in Florida. They hate him in the state of Florida. No, no, think of it. He's a politician, and Chris went over it, never
votes, never anything. He couldn't right now if he ran for office in Florida, he wouldn't get elected to any office. They cannot stand him because Florida is like a second home. They cannot stand the guy. And he abandoned them. Think of it. He runs for Senate. He wins, they give him their confidence. He wins. And before he even runs he is looking for another position. And he never goes to vote on some of the most important bills. He's never voting. They hate him in Florida.
That's why I'm up 22 points. Can you imagine? We have -- we have a sitting senator, at least with Cruz, we're even. That's not so great for him either. Because he's a sitting senator in Texas. So -- but in Florida, we have a sitting senator, and I'm up by a tremendous amount, every poll. Because they can't stand the guy.
Now here's the story. He sat and he stood, and I thought he was going down. And I said, man, I think he's choking. I love -- you know, I love -- it's called human, whatever, I love watching whatever happens. I said, I'm about to witness history. This guy's going down. This guy's going down. And I'm looking and I'm getting ready because, you know, it's like a lot of people, I'm a pretty strong guy.
[13:45:02] And I'm getting ready to grab him because I thought he was -- I thought he was out. And he starts sweating. And honestly, this is true. He's got a problem. I've never seen a human being sweat like he sweats. So Chris Christie is grilling him. So he says it twice. Now he says it a third time, I said, now that's not good, because three times the exact same line, memorized. And then a fourth and then a fifth. And I'm looking like wow. But I'm getting ready to grab him, because I'm telling you, he's going down.
I have never -- it looked like he jumped in a swimming pool with his clothing on and then came back. Now for the last debate, I go back and I see him with makeup and it's like he's putting it on with a trowel, OK. And then he got very aggressive right at the beginning. Now I knew they were going to do that, both of them, they double- teamed me because -- and I got great reviews. You know that every single poll, Drudge, Slate, I think "TIME" magazine, every single poll had me winning that debate, which is amazing, every single.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Not all of the pundits had me winning but every single poll. And many of the pundits, but not all of them, some of them no matter what, if I was Abraham Lincoln debating, he was a very good debater. They'd say it wasn't a great night. A couple of them would say it wasn't a great night. I thought it was a great night but -- right?
But I was double-teamed by these two. But with Rubio, just to finish off with him, so I knew it was going to be one of these nights because everybody was saying, they've got to do it, they have no choice because they're getting killed. We're way ahead. We're way ahead nationally. We're way ahead here and every place. We've got to win. We've got to win Arkansas. We've got to win Arkansas.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We've got to win. Maybe I'll start shopping permanently at Wal-Mart if we win Arkansas.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: I'll never go anywhere else. We've got to win Arkansas. I love it. I love the people of Arkansas. I know so many people, they are great people, these are great people. But just remember this -- that's right, thank you. But just remember this, politicians are never going to get you to the promised land. They're never, ever going to get you to the promised land. And things were said in previous speeches and probably by Cruz also but I didn't get to see Cruz, which is just false, so many things I've done so well.
For instance, they talked Trump University. It's a small deal, very small. But I got sued by a lawyer who sues. They sue because they want to see if they can get some money back. I could have settled this numerous times. I could settle it now. But I don't like settling suits. Because when you settle lawsuits, everybody sues you. It's a little business story. I have friends, they settle lawsuits and they can't understand why are they always sued. I don't settle lawsuits.
We have people at Trump University that wrote -- most of them, that wrote statements and they wrote the statement where, I love the school and I love this, for some reason -- I never saw this before -- we call them report cards, they did like report cards, essentially report cards, where at the end of the class, at the end of the period of time, they did a study, they did a report card on how you like it.
Some even did film clips where they actually are in film saying great things. The person that started the suit wrote a great statement saying, it was fantastic. And did a film clip saying that it was fantastic. And they just asked that she be taken out of the case. She doesn't want to be in the case anymore. And the reason they want is because she's a terrible plaintiff because she said all these great things about Trump University. And she's on film saying how great it is. So they put in a motion which of course the papers don't write this. They put in a motion saying to take her -- her name is Taralof or something. Take her out of the case. The reason they want her out of the case is she is a horrible, horrible witness.
She's got in writing that she loves it. And I could have settled it and when I saw her documentation, I said why would I give her money? She loved the case and she's on tape. Why would I give her money. I probably should have settled it but I just can't do that. Mentally I can't do it. I'd rather spend a lot more money and fight. The --
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: No, you got to. You got to. Hey, it would have been much easier if I settled, it would have probably been cheaper but I don't care. It would have been much easier -- it would have been cheaper. It would have been much easier but just so you understand, so these people, all it is, is people put up something and now they get letters, can you get your money back? We'll get our money back, yes, let's join.
The attorney general of New York, this is all a civil case, by the way, it's a simple civil case. The attorney general of New York meets with Barack Obama in Syracuse.
[13:50:04] The following day, he sues me. What they don't say is I believe $15,000 or a lot of money was paid to the attorney general by the law firm in California. See, I'm giving you sort of a life experience because is this more interesting than talking about trade? A trade is easy for us. Trade is easy. But this is sort of like -- this is almost like a story on success, because this is the way the world works. This is sort of the way the world works. So the attorney general gets a campaign contribution from the law firm that's suing me.
All of a sudden the attorney general, his name is Eric Schneiderman, not respected in New York, doing a terrible job, probably is not electable in New York but who knows, and he meets with Obama, gets a campaign contribution, I think. I think it's $15,000 and all of a sudden he meets with Obama in I believe Syracuse and the following day or two he brings a lawsuit against me.
Now much of that lawsuit has been won by me. He's appealing it. It's on appeal right now. But much of that case, it's a long time already, but much of that case we won. It's won. I don't mean we settled. We've won much of that case. They missed the statute of limitations and most of it is going away but nobody writes that. Nobody wants to write that.
The rest of it we're doing very well. We have a very hostile judge because to be honest with you the judge should have thrown the case out on summary judgment but because it was me and because there's a hostility toward me by the judge, tremendous hostility, beyond belief, I believe he happens to be Spanish, which is fine. He's Hispanic, which is fine, and we haven't asked for recusal which we may do but we have a judge who's very hostile. Should have been thrown out.
Wasn't thrown out, and I say, I'd rather go to court because when you go to court and you have witnesses get up there and then they have to say, but why did you sign a document saying that you love the school, et cetera, et cetera, why should you pay money for that. So I just wanted to give you a little bit of the parameters because you keep hearing about Trump University. So it's a civil case. It's a sleazebag law firm that does these class action cases. They're very routine and I will win the case in the end.
I just didn't want to be forced to settle and I could have settled it before I did this and I knew somebody would try and use it for publicity, but I believe I can turn it around just to show you how dishonest these people are and that's the case.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And just to finish, if I didn't have a hostile judge in California this case would have ended years ago, would have ended a long time ago. OK, are you ready? So that took place with Rubio. Rubio's going
nowhere, I think he's going nowhere. Hasn't won at all. They're fighting. Now what they want to do is they want to take Trump on individually. They're all fighting. I saw this morning, we should get out, this one should get out, that one should get out, Kasich should get out, he's a nice guy, by the way, even though -- but he's a little tougher than you think. He's another one.
He's very nice, oh, just so terrible you're fighting, it's so terrible, it's so terrible. He's always on the end, you know, close to getting out. You know, when you're on those end positions, I won't mention what I told other people but when you're on the end position that means you're close to, it's close to over. But every time these two guys were hitting me he looks like oh, that's so terrible that you guys are fighting. You know, we should have peace.
That's all good but the worst ads that were taken against me were taken by Kasich, and you know, like he's such a nice guy and he is. He's fine, but I'm in the -- I'm in New Hampshire, which we won. By the way, we won in New Hampshire. We won in Nevada. We won Nevada. We won South Carolina, it was so beautiful. And I'm watching them. I actually tweeted today we won South Carolina. We won South Carolina, what a great memory, and now I'm watching Bernie and Hillary fighting in South Carolina, and I have the victory on the Republican side.
And you know what I saw, which was amazing, we had the largest turnout in the history of South Carolina. I won by tremendous numbers, right? Landslide, right? Landslide. Beyond. And don't forget that was supposed to be 100 percent Ted Cruz. That was going to be his, you couldn't beat him there, impossible to beat him. Not only did I beat him we killed him by what was it like, 20 points? Some unbelievable amount.
I won with every single category. I won with women, with men, with evangelicals, with military, with the vets. We won with rich, we won with less than rich, we won with highly educated, we won with pretty good education, and we won with people that didn't do so much with the education but they're doing well anyway, I love them, OK. I love them. I love them. They're my people. They're my people.
[13:55:04] But we won with virtually every category and then we go to Nevada and we went -- I mean, that was a blowout. We just won with everything. And I felt it, because that was the caucus. I was a little worried with the caucus stuff because caucuses can get a little dishonest. Can I say that word, dishonest?
And I went to one caucus, which is the biggest one in Las Vegas, and I'll tell you, there was such love, they went crazy and there were probably 2,000 people in the room, and of the 2,000 people, 100 people maybe, I don't even think that, were possibly going to vote for somebody else. Everybody was on our side, and I said this is a good sign. I got back to the room, it was long before 7:00 when the polls actually closed over there at 7:00 and they're already saying this thing is over, because they've all over the state it was the same way. And we ended up getting a tremendous victory by, it wasn't even a contest. So -- (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Again, with evangelicals, with military, with everybody. So it's been like a great, great experience, and part of it is anger, and part of it is you're tired of the politicians. You're tired of guys --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TRUMP: You're tired -- you know what? I'm tired and you're tired of guys like little Rubio who -- you know, little mouthpiece, goes like a mile a minute. We're tired of these people. They're never going to get anything done. They're never going to get -- hey, by the way, Rubio bought a house for $178,000. He sold the house for $380,000, probably the only good deal he ever made.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: To a lobbyist, who I think was in front of them or close to, in front of them up in the Senate, this was in Florida, wanting something approved. Now that's really dishonest. Rubio stole from the Republican Party, but you know what happened? They said you stole from the party. He says, no, I didn't. Yes, you did, you had a driveway built. No, I didn't. Yes, you did, oh, OK, well, he reimbursed them. OK?
And for some reason he didn't get indicted. Why doesn't he get indicted? I guarantee you one thing Chris Christie would have indicted him so fast.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But why doesn't somebody look into his house deal? Why isn't -- how can he make that kind of profit on a house to a lobbyist? And that's a problem.
People are controlled up here by lobbyists, you know that, right? We have the lobbyists and the special interests that have total control over these folks, but not Ben, because Ben is not controlled by them, although I don't know, is he getting money from -- I don't even care, Ben's such a nice guy. And by the way, what Ted Cruz did to Ben Carson was a disgrace in Iowa. That was a disgrace.
He said Ben Carson has left the race because he went to Florida. He was heading out to Florida, which is where he lives in all fairness. Ben Carson has left the race and vote for us. And at caucus, you know, you can actually take the people and walk around. I don't like caucus. I like you walk in to a voting booth, you walk, you vote and you leave like what you people are going to do, OK? I don't like this caucus stuff.
But they said Ben Carson has left the race, vote for us, and they wine him and dine him and bring him around, I bet you thousands of votes, and I would have won Iowa in my opinion if that happened because these extra votes went to him. And you know what? Honestly, if we had a strong Republican Party, they would disqualify him for what he did honestly. I mean, if I were the head of the Republican Party, I wouldn't throw him out, you know, maybe for Canada we'll throw him out, we'll see about that.
But -- because that's a serious problem. You know, he's being sued and I didn't sue him, I'm so non-litigious it's amazing, but he's being sued now. I heard he's being sued because was born in Canada, lived there four years. Who knows? I always thought you had to be born here like on this soil, right here in Arkansas.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: So we'll find out what happens. Hey, I hope that's not the reason he has to get out. I hope we beat them, but you know what? Ted has that problem, but if I were the head of the Republican Party, I would disqualify his Iowa situation. He also did another thing. Did you ever see that? Voter violation. Did you ever see this? It's like a fraudulent document. Looks like it came out of a government agency, so professional, says voter violation, and it talks about you're in violation of all these things.
Listen to this. Essentially, this isn't exact but close enough. But if you vote for Ted Cruz and bring this in and vote for Ted Cruz, the violation is canceled. And you have people that honestly sort of believe it. I looked at one of them and I said, man, that comes right out of a government agency. That's a fraud. And I saw lawyers talking about it on some of these crazy talk shows and they said, they said it's a fraud. I mean, it's like a fraud.
I would have disqualified him from his victory in Iowa because you can't do business like that. You just can't do it. You can't do it. Then you take everybody, move them up a notch, now I won four in a row.
