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Interview with Sen. Tammy Baldwin; Mitt Romney to Speak Tomorrow on Presidential Race; Internet Hammers Chris Christie; Supreme Court to Hear Abortion Case. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 02, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:03] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Your Senate colleague, Bernie Sanders, to just drop out of this race?

SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN, (D) WISCONSIN: You know, the primaries on both sides still aren't over, but I thought that Hillary had a huge, huge step forward last night, with the victories in multiple states on Super Tuesday. So, it's not mathematically impossible for someone to catch up, but I think she had a really huge step. And we're seeing that also on the Republican side as you are discussing.

B. BALDWIN: As you just were listening to in that last conversation. Let me play some sound from Bernie Sanders. This is just from last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I-VT) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I have said is that this campaign is not just about electing a president. It is about making a political revolution. And what that revolution is about, is bringing millions of millions of people into the political process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

B. BALDWIN: Senator Baldwin, if he keeps hammering this message, are you OK with him still doing that while still in this race?

T. BALDWIN: You know, I have to say that the primary isn't over, as we know. And frankly, I encourage anyone who brings more voters into the process. But you heard from Hillary last night as she gave her speech that she is now focused on November. She is focused on bringing this country together against a likely opponent who is all about division.

And the big difference between our nominee and the eventual Republican nominee is that we're going to come together and seek common purpose once we have the nominee.

On the Republican side, they really face, as you're seeing, a moral test. Are they going to stand by and stand with a person who's been endorsed by David Duke, the former head of the Ku Klux Klan? And right now, I think the Republicans are failing that moral test. B. BALDWIN: Senator, you mentioned bringing voters into politics and

one stark ....

T. BALDWIN: Yeah.

B. BALDWIN: ... difference between your party and the Republican Party is voter turnout. I mean, Donald Trump is doing precisely that, people are turning out in droves for these primaries and caucuses. In your turnout, I mean, you see -- we see all these red arrows downward on the screen. I'm worried -- how worried you are in terms of this being problematic on your side looking ahead to the general election?

T. BALDWIN: Well, I think that once people get the stark contrast of somebody who's all about division, and frankly, pitting parts of America against each other, and somebody who's about bringing us together in common purpose, a candidate like Donald Trump who wants to build a wall versus a candidate like Hillary Clinton who wants to remove barriers and build ladders of opportunity, I think you're going to see a dramatic shift.

B. BALDWIN: OK. Senator Tammy Baldwin, thank you.

T. BALDWIN: Thank you.

B. BALDWIN: Coming up next, Mitt Romney wading into the muddied waters of this current race for president. Will this establishment favorite be able to change his party's collision course, looking ahead to November? We'll discuss that.

Also, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie taking heat for his new found role endorsing Donald Trump. But could this cozy relationship cost him his job?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:41] B. BALDWIN: Breaking news we've been covering this afternoon, the fact that we've now learned that Mitt Romney is apparently set to speak his mind about this state of the Republican race for president.

The 2012 Republican presidential nominee will reveal some more of his opinions about the state of the Republican Party tomorrow morning from the University of Utah, 11:30 a.m. Eastern.

A source close to Romney tells CNN, no endorsement is expected. But now, pundits are obviously having a field day trying to predict exactly what it is he will be saying.

Joining me now, Republican Consultant Susan Del Percio, sorry, the, I don't know if that snapped (ph), one time administration official with former NYC, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Conservative Strategist and Pollster Lisa Boothe, and U.S. News & World Report, Senior Politics Writer, David Catanese. So, welcome to all of you.

And David, we have a little bit of reporting on what, you know, Romney is supposed to say as far as the other candidates. But what are you hearing?

DAVID CATANESE, SENIOR POLITICS WRITER, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT: Well, where has he been, would be my question.

B. BALDWIN: Yeah.

CATANESE: You know, look, with 15 states have voted. You know, hundreds of thousands of votes have been cast. Now, Trump looks like the front-runner. Mitt Romney is going to come out and talking. And it looks like he is going to repudiate Trump without endorsing one of the other candidates.

But this smells like too little too late. And it's all because if you're a mainstream establishment Republican, you didn't believe Trump was real. You didn't believe August was real. You didn't believe September was real. You thought this was all a bubble that was going to burst once the votes were cast.

And now, coming in March 2nd to try to save this thing -- I mean, Trump hasn't been saying anything new, you know. He's had the same rapport, the same confrontational bombastic tone. And now, Mitt Romney is deciding to act? This is a long Hail Mary pass it looks like.

B. BALDWIN: Well, Susan, let me turn to you because we were talking, you know, last week, he came out and was attacking Trump on the tax returns. Now, all of a sudden, he'll be speaking tomorrow. We do know that he will be criticizing Trump. To what degree? I don't really know. But, you're saying, he's doing it now because why?

SUSAN DEL PERCIO, FORMER OFFICIAL IN MAYOR RUDY GUILANI ADMINISTRATION: Well, two things, one, I think he's doing tomorrow because like last week, it's right before a debate. So whatever issues he brings up, it'll play in tomorrow night's debate.

And the second reason is, he is a better messenger than some of these Super PACs or former spokespeople for different campaigns. You need -- you know, he was the last person to run for president from the Republican Party.

[15:40:04] He is a Republican figurehead. Yes, he's part of the establishment.

But he -- when he delivers a question to Donald Trump or attacks Donald Trump, people really listen and eats up the time. The biggest question I have is, will Trump take the bait?

B. BALDWIN: Well, Lisa, what do you think? I mean, this has obviously the potential to backfire. We've been watching them back and forth on Twitter. Does Trump take the bait?

LISA BOOTHE, VICE PRESIDENT OF POLITICAL POLLING, WPA RESEARCH: Well -- and he very well may, but does that mean anything, and does it change the dynamics of the situation? I think that's the big question mark.

B. BALDWIN: Could he get more supporters out of it?

BOOTHE: Well, there's been a lot -- well, potentially. I mean, there's been a lot of ammunition that has been thrown Donald Trump's way. But the reality is he had significant wins in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada as well as Super Tuesday last night and has indicated his dominance in various regions of the United States.

I mean, he's won in the north. He's won in the south, he's won in the west, and he has also picked up, you know, different parts of the Republican delegation along the way. And what he's been doing is running this rage against the machine type of campaign that's resonating with Republican voters who are angry. They're angry with the establishment. They're angry with people, quite frankly, like Mitt Romney.

So I don't know if he is the right messenger at this moment for this anti-Trump rhetoric and the reality as this comes down to math, you need 1,237 delegates ...

B. BALDWIN: Yeah.

BOOTHE: ... to the convention out of that 2,472, and Donald Trump is well on his way.

So my question to Mitt Romney was, where were you two weeks ago? Where were you a month ago? And that is at the point where ...

B. BALDWIN: To David's point.

BOOTHE: Yeah, exactly, to David's point. At a point when maybe it would have made the difference. Or what we've seen throughout this process so far, maybe it would have just emboldened him.

B. BALDWIN: So, David, back to you, you know, we've talked about obviously the number of delegates that is the most important part. But it's also the numbers in terms of record turnout on the Republican side. And you look the Donald Trump with regard to that.

I want to play some sound. This is Former Governor Mike Huckabee speaking just last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The establishment Republicans are all, you know, bed-wetting over this. And they don't seem to understand that we have an election.

Look, I just believe that at some point we need to recognize. If you want to oppose Donald Trump, do it, but don't pretend that somehow that all these voters who have gone out and voted for him are stupid. They're not stupid.

I tell you what they are. They're angry. And they're angry at the very establishment who is going nuts because Donald Trump is doing so well and they don't get it that they're the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

B. BALDWIN: Susan, David, how do these, you know, establishment leaders, these louder (ph) voices, these anti-Trump folks. How do they, you know, not disparage this pro-Trump folks and get them on their side?

CATANESE: They're in a vice. You're not seeing -- look, you got one U.S. senator who has come out and said he will not vote for Trump. And I believe today, you have a governor, Massachusetts, who said he will not vote for Trump.

But frankly, you got all these statements from the speaker, to Mitch McConnell, who are repudiating tactics but they won't even say the guy's name, because it's dicey to vet here. I mean, the conventional wisdom is Trump is going to be a drag on the ticket. He's going to bring the whole party down, this is going to blow up the party. But look at the numbers that you just cited.

B. BALDWIN: Yeah.

CATANESE: Record turnout on the Republican side. So, if you're a senator or in a Senate race in Colorado, do you want to put your arm up to Trump and not go near him and repudiate him? Or, do you think he's going to bring you a tailwind? And I think that's the unknown right now. And that's why you see a lot of these establishment figures walking the line. Repudiating some of the tactics, some of the language, but not going as far to say, "We can't have him, we won't vote for him."

B. BALDWIN: David Catanese, Lisa Boothe, Susan Del Percio, thank you all very much.

DEL PERCIO: Thank you, Brooke.

B. BALDWIN: Again, we will be watching to see what Mitt Romney says tomorrow at the University of Utah.

Next, though, we talk about Chris Christie. Chris Christie and the look on his face might have stolen the show from his former Republican rival, who he has now endorsed, Donald Trump, last night. Why some are now calling on the New Jersey Governor to resign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:10] B. BALDWIN: Chris Christie, becoming an internet punching bag of sorts, slash, people really sympathetic toward him as they were watching him during that news conference last night with Donald Trump. A lot of people joked that he was being held hostage and that he was asking himself, "What I have done?"

Well, I can tell you this, that six of his home state newspapers were asking that with quite a serious tone, calling on him to resign, calling him everything from an embarrassment to an utter disgrace.

So joining me now, Matt Katz, is a reporter for WNYC Public Radio and he literally wrote the book on Chris Christie. It's called "American Governor, Chris Christie's Bridge to Redemption." Matt Katz, awesome to have you on.

MATT KATZ, AUTHOR, AMERICAN GOVERNOR, CHRIS CHRISTIE'S BRIDGE TO REDEMPTION: Thanks, good to be here.

B. BALDWIN: OK, so you've been covering Christie since 2011. You saw this last night. What did you make of his face, his eyes, et cetera?

KATZ: I mean, clearly, it looks strange. And I'm not discounting that at all. And it was bizarre to sit there and watch what was happening.

But I will say this, from somebody who's seen him at hundreds and hundreds of public appearances, when he stands behind somebody at a podium, that's just how he looks. He's got that, like, dour expression. His eyes are darting back and forth. His hands are hanging by his side. So, this was not that unusual in terms of his facial expression and his body movements.

But, the fact that he stood behind Trump for so long and then never said anything after introducing him, and because he just dropped out of the race and this guy, you know, is the reason why he had to drop out of the race, and because he's getting so much -- in so much trouble at home as you mentioned for being with Trump, that it was very easy to laugh at this and to look into it and then try to see something in there that may be wasn't there.

B. BALDWIN: Well, what was the hashtag on the internet, it was like #freeChrisChristie or something like that, right?

[15:50:01] KATZ: Yeah, free Chris Christie. I mean, yeah, he look like a hostage or a servant or, you know ...

B. BALDWIN: Yeah, yeah.

KATZ: ... there are all kinds of interpretations.

B. BALDWIN: Tell me about the relationship, just going back.

KATZ: Yeah, they met 14 years ago. Christie was a federal prosecutor. He had a meeting with Trump's sister who's a federal judge. And Trump's sister said, "Donald wants to meet you." So they went to Trump Tower, Christie did, and had a meal with Donald and Donald ordered for Christie. And then they would have, you know, periodic meetings. They had dinner with their wives where Trump would talk the whole time as Christie recounts it. And, Trump sat in the front row of Christie's inaugural mass in 2010 when he first became governor.