Return to Transcripts main page

Wolf

Mitt Romney Slams Donald Trump; Trump's Policies Would Cause Recession; Romney Calls Trump Phony And Fraud; Trump Campaign Fires Back At Romney; Trump Speaks In Maine On GOP Attacks; Christie Reacts After Romney Slams Trump; Interview with Jane Sanders. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired March 03, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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


[13:00:04] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Busy week for all of us. And that is the stage you need to stay tuned to. Just minutes from Donald Trump speaking live at the campaign rally in Portland.

I'm going turn things over to Wolf Blitzer now. He'll walk you through all of that and more. Thanks for watching, everybody.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Thanks very much for joining us.

We begin with breaking political news here in the United States. This hour, Donald Trump takes to the stage and will respond to Mitt Romney who has just unleashed a no hold barred offensive against the billionaire presidential frontrunner.

Can Romney help stop the Trump juggernaut or is it too little, too late? In a speech a while ago, Romney slammed Trump calling him a phony, calling him a fraud. He went through a point-by-point argument against the possibility of a Trump presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, even though Donald Trump has offered very few specific economic plans, what little he has said is enough to know that he would be very bad for American workers and for American families. But you say, wait, wait, wait. Isn't he a huge business success? Doesn't he know what he's talking about? No, he isn't. And no, he doesn't.

Look, his bankruptcies have crushed small businesses. And the men and women who worked for them. He inherited his business. He didn't create it. And whatever happened to Trump Airlines? How about Trump University? And then, there's Trump Magazine, and Trump Vodka, and Trump Steaks and Trump Mortgage. A business genius, he is not.

Now, let me turn to national security and the safety of our homes and loved ones. Mr. Trump's bombast is already alarming our allies and fueling the enmity of our enemies, insulting all Muslims will keep many of them from fully engaging with us in their urgent fight against ISIS. And for what purpose? Muslim terrorists would only have to lie about their religion to enter the country.

And then, what he said about -- on "60 Minutes." Did you hear this? It was about Syria and ISIS. And it has to go down as the most ridiculous and dangerous idea of the entire campaign season. Let ISIS take out Assad he said, and then we can pick up the remnants. Now think about that. Let the most dangerous terror organization the world has ever known take over an entire country? This recklessness is recklessness in the extreme.

Now, Donald Trump tells us he is very, very smart. I'm afraid that when it comes to foreign policy, he is very, very not smart.

Think of Donald Trump's personal qualities, the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics. You know, we've referred to him as the Donald. He is the only person in the entire country to whom we have added an article before his name and it wasn't because he had attributes we admired.

Now, imagine your children and your grandchildren acting the way he does. Would you welcome that?

Here's what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He's playing the members of the American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the White House, and all we get is a lousy hat. His domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe. He has neither the temperament nor judgment to be president. And his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a Hill.

I'm convinced America has greatness ahead and this is a time for choosing. God bless us to choose a nominee who will make that vision a reality.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Mitt Romney, as you just heard, did not pull any punches in his blunt criticism of Donald Trump. We're going to hear from Donald Trump in a little while. He's got a rally. You're looking at live pictures, coming up later this hour.

Romney said, quote, "Watch how he responds to my speech today." Well, we're going to be hearing the response from Donald Trump momentarily. It's set to get underway in just a little while in Portland, Maine.

[13:05:08] But joining us now on the phone is Trump campaign national spokesperson, Katrina Pierson. Katrina, thanks very much for joining us. Well, give us your immediate reaction to the blistering attack we just heard from Mitt Romney.

KATRINA PIERSON, SENIOR SPOKESWOMAN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN (via telephone): Well, hi, Wolf, it's good to talk to you. I've got to tell you, I wasn't sure if I was listening to a Republican or someone giving a speech at the DNC. Never would I have ever imagined Republicans attacking capitalism or saying you didn't build that or pushing for social justice. I really find this to be an astounding moment in the Republican Party.

But it is quite obvious, Wolf, that those talking points were handed to him by his Wall Street buddies and donors, because they're obviously still detached from the American public. Millions of people are turning out for Donald Trump, because they do believe that Donald Trump does have a plan and a vision for America. That does not include the padding the pockets of Wall Street bankers and the Republicans that keep him in power.

BLITZER: There has -- is it your suspicion that there is some sort of coordinated effort underway right now, Mitt Romney being the front person, if you will, but that the Republican Party establishment figures are behind him, encouraging him to do whatever is possible to prevent Donald Trump from capturing the Republican presidential nomination?

PIERSON: Absolutely. They have all got together and tried to come up with a plan, a failed plan, might I add, to stop Donald Trump from winning the delegates necessary to win. And, you know, all these Republicans that are coming out behind Mitt Romney and pushing Mitt Romney to say these things about Donald Trump, or even, you know -- we're not immune to the Republicans calling their own base names. I mean, Mitt Romney just called Republican voters suckers, for crying out loud.

You have never heard -- and you have followed this for a very long time on both sides, Wolf. You have never heard Republicans go after Democrats in the fashion that they've gone after their own people. And then, they wonder why people want them gone. They have fundamentally rejected the GOP establishment and the way that they have decided to govern because you simply cannot go around talking about cutting food stamps and in the next voice give hundreds of millions of dollars to billion-dollar corporations and say that's a Republican value because it isn't.

We are going to fight for Mr. Trump. We're going to get Mr. Trump the nomination, and he's going to win the presidency and get America back on track.

BLITZER: We just heard Mitt Romney say, and I'll quote him directly, he said, "Watch how we," referring to Donald Trump, "responds to my speech today." And we're standing by to get that response. You're looking at live pictures from that Trump rally that's about to get underway in Portland, Maine.

And then Romney said this, will he talk about our policy differences or will he attack me with every imaginable low-road insult? This may tell you what you need to know about his temperament, his stability and his suitability to be president.

Katrina, what do you think? How is Donald Trump going to respond to Mitt Romney in a few minutes?

PIERSON: Well, I think we're all about to find out. But I will say, with regard to what we're going to see about Donald Trump, Donald Trump won more votes in the state where he was governor than Mitt Romney did. So, the people already know who Donald Trump is.

And this is another thing that they keep -- that they are just not understanding. For decades, Mr. Trump has been the public eye. People know Mr. Trump. You can't convince people that Mr. Trump is something other than he is. They know that he's bold. They know that he's brass. They know he's politically incorrect and they appreciate that about him.

But as for how Mr. Trump is going to respond, we're all about to find out together.

BLITZER: The three other remaining presidential candidates on the Republican side, Dr. Ben Carson apparently suspending or getting ready to suspend his campaign. He's not going to be participating in the debate later tonight. They're all, basically, endorsing what Mitt Romney just said. That could be a lively moment later tonight. You've got three Republican candidates who are probably going to really go after Donald Trump.

PIERSON: Well, three Republican candidates that are losing to Donald Trump, so I would totally suspect they would all try to band together to stop the guy that's essentially winning. No one anticipated that Mr. Trump would be able to win over evangelicals or even turn out Reagan Democrats. Mr. Trump is the only candidate on the Republican side that has built a coalition, the kind of coalition that we've been told for years that we needed to win.

And what we see now are the Republicans who have lost the last two election cycles, who have told us time and time again, John McCain can win. Mitt Romney can win. And they lost. And all these same suits and geniuses now are trying to tell us who can't win. I'm going to side with the people, because we know what's best for the country.

[13:10:05] BLITZER: Katrina Pierson, the National Spokesperson for the Donald Trump campaign. Thank you very much for joining us.

PIERSON: Thank you for having me.

BLITZER: And we're standing by to hear from Donald Trump. We'll get his reaction to what Mitt Romney just said.

But in the meantime, as we await Donald Trump, let's bring in the chief strategist, the communications director for the Republican National Committee, Sean Spicer. Sean, thanks very much for joining us. Let's get your reaction to what Mitt Romney just said. He called Donald Trump a phony, a fraud, who's playing the American people for suckers. What's the reaction?

SEAN SPICER, CHIEF STRATEGIST AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, RNC: Well, I think there are two fundamental rights at stake right now in our country and our party. Number one, everyone's got the right to the first amendment to say what they want, to go out for the candidate they believe, talk about who they would vote for or who they're against. And the second is is, at the end of the day, everyone has the right to vote. The people in our party are going to go out and have their voices heard. And that's where we, as a party, will end up.

Whomever the voters and the activists choose as our nominee, we'll get behind and support. But up until that time, everyone has got the right to go out and express support or opposition to the candidates that they either are for or against.

BLITZER: Did Mitt Romney reach out to the RNC, the Republican National Committee, in advance of his speech today?

SPICER: No.

BLITZER: No communications between him and Reince Priebus, the Chairman, for example, or other Republican Party leaders?

SPICER: All I can do is speak on behalf of the RNC. And no, Governor Romney nor any of his individuals did -- or did associated with him reach out and share with us, you know, what he was going to say or what his plan was.

BLITZER: Let me read to you something that Trump tweeted last night, and I'll put it up on the screen, quote, "Because of me, the Republican Party has taken in millions of new voters, a record. If they are not careful, they will all leave. Sad." Exclamation point.

And here are some numbers that we put together, based on all the, nearly 15 or so, primaries and caucuses so far. Trump -- these aren't poll numbers. These are actual Republicans who have participated in these elections. Trump has 3,341,849. Everybody else is below. Cruz, 2,700,000; Rubio, 2,091,000; Kasich, 644,000. But three -- almost 3.5 million have participated in Republican primaries and caucuses, and they say they want Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee. That's a pretty impressive number, isn't it?

SPICER: Sure, absolutely. And like I said earlier, I think if any individual gets the 1,237 delegates necessary, then they'll be our nominee. We've had 625 delegates awarded so far in this process that has, you know, roughly 2,500 delegates total. So, we're about 25 percent of the process through. There's a ways to go. Right now, he's got about a hundred delegate lead.

If, you know, you look at where he is now, he's about where Mitt Romney was, in terms of the delegate lead. At this point, in the cycle, it will take any candidate -- if any candidate ran the entire table between now and going forward, they would probably take until mid-May, early April -- excuse me, mid-April, early May to clinch the nomination.

So, you know, I think part of this is to keep the racing context of where we are delegate wise and what it's going to take to clinch the nomination.

BLITZER: As you know, Sean --

SPICER: But, Wolf, one other point that's really interesting.

BLITZER: Go ahead. SPICER: I would just say, the really interesting, bigger point that I

would make is that if you look at where we are as a party and where the Democrats are, our turnout in almost every single state, minus one, the first four and the 15 -- the 15 that voted the other night, we are at historic highs.

The Democrats are at lows compared to where they were in 2008. The enthusiasm, whether you're for Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, you know, Ted Cruz, John Kasich or Ben Carson at that point, is much higher than it is for their side. I think we have the enthusiasm and the intensity on the Republican side.

BLITZER: And Donald Trump takes credit for that record turnout of Republicans showing up. Does he deserve some of that credit?

SPICER: Sure.

BLITZER: All right, Sean. Sean Spicer joining us, the RNC communications director. He's getting ready for that debate as well. Thanks very much.

SPICER: You bet, Wolf. See you in Miami.

BLITZER: Thank you.

The New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, is taking questions right now during a news conference in Trenton, New Jersey. Questions about Donald Trump. Let's listen in.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY (live): -- when you don't sit on the sidelines, but you actually get involved in the game. Now, let me be really clear. I am not a full time surrogate for Donald Trump. I don't have a title or a position in the Trump campaign. I am an endorser of Donald Trump.

And after I made that decision with Mary Pat last Thursday to endorse him, I went out on the road on Friday and Saturday with him to announce and reinforce that endorsement. And then, I went out on Super Tuesday with him to emphasize that endorsement. I got back to the state yesterday. I'm going to be in the state for the rest of the week and through the weekend.

[13:15:02] I have no current plans to go back out on the road with him again. But I will at some point, I'm sure, do so. The only plans I have to go away is to finally take a few days off. And March 8th, next Tuesday, is my 30th wedding anniversary. It might be a good moment for me to take my wife away and remind her why she might want to stay with me for a few more years after having put in 30 already. So Mary Pat and I are going to be going away on Tuesday for a couple of days to relax and then I'll be back in the state after that.

So, listen, everybody, we have a lot of work to do. And I'm engaged in all the things that we talked about. Making sure a great budget gets passed and gets passed, you know, by the constitutional deadline on June 30th. Making sure we fight against this constitutional amendment that I believe will force a $3 billion tax increase on the people of New Jersey.

BLITZER: All right, Chris Christie, now going back to New Jersey. He is the sitting governor of New Jersey right now. But you heard him defending his strong endorsement of Donald Trump, which has caused a lot of controversy, not only in New Jersey, but around the country. We'll stay on top of this story for our viewers.

As we go to break, I want to take another look. This is a Trump rally set to begin in Portland, Maine, momentarily. The Republican presidential frontrunner, he's expected to have a lot to say about what Mitt Romney just said about him. Stand by. You're going to hear Donald Trump live this hour.

Also, I'll speak live with Jane Sanders. He's the wife of the Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, and has been a constant presence out there on the campaign trail. There she is. She's standing by live. We've got lots to discuss about the Democratic race for the White House when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:30] BLITZER: In a few minutes, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump expected to speak at a campaign rally in Portland, Maine. We're showing you live pictures right now. We'll, of course, have live coverage as soon as he starts speaking.

In the meantime, Arizona Republican Senator John McCain is weighing in on the attack on Trump by Mitt Romney. Remember, McCain was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee. And he says this. I'm quoting him now. "I share the concerns about Donald Trump that my friend and former Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, described in his speech today. I want Republican voters to pay close attention to what our parties' most respected and knowledgeable leaders and national security experts are saying about Mr. Trump and to think long and hard about who they want to be our next commander in chief and leader of the free world." That statement from Senator John McCain.

Our correspondent Boris Sanchez is in Portland, Maine, right now, getting ready, like all of us, to hear the response from Donald Trump.

So what's it like in that room, Boris, where you are right now?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there's seeming an air of inevitability among these voters here. Hundreds of them are packed into this room. Many of them have been waiting since about 8:30 this morning in line, waiting to hear from Donald Trump.

We can tell you what we're expecting to hear, his greatest hits. You can expect him to talk about building a wall along the border with Mexico. You can also expect him to go after his rivals, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio especially. And we may also see a bit of a pivot here, more attacks on Hillary Clinton after his success on Super Tuesday. You can expect him to focus a bit more on the general election. And, of course, as you mentioned earlier, Wolf, we're expecting to hear really a response to Mitt Romney's direct attacks on Donald Trump. This is a man that just a few s ago Trump called a warm, smart, tough cookie, just what America needs. You can expect that today after Romney's comments, that will not be the tone that Donald Trump takes toward Mitt Romney. So we're just expecting him to come out here in just a few minutes. We'll hear from him soon, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, there's no doubt that Donald Trump's attitude all this time is, if you hit him, he's going to hit right back at you. And I suspect he's going to go right back at Mitt Romney momentarily. We'll have live coverage.

All right, thanks very much, Boris, for that. Stand by.

On the Democratic side, Bernie and Jane Sanders, they've been married, as all of our viewers know, for nearly 30 years. Jane Sanders is joining us right now, the wife of Senator Bernie Sanders, the Republican presidential candidate.

Jane, thanks very much for joining us.

An exciting political day. All these days are exciting on the Republican side, the Democratic side. But talk to us a little bit about your reaction, this extraordinary attack by Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee of four years ago, against Donald Trump. You listened to it. You watched it. What did you think?

JANE SANDERS, BERNIE SANDERS' WIFE: Well, it was devastating. I think Mitt Romney achieved his goal in terms of bringing up all the issues that concern a number of the people that listen to him. And I just listened to what John McCain had to say. On the other hand, that is the establishment telling the people not to support a candidate. So that's a question. I mean, we're fighting that on the Democratic side. The establishment has been on our opponents' side for quite some time. But on Super Tuesday, Bernie won four states and came close and won and he, throughout every one of them, except for Keith Ellison in Minnesota, the establishment, all the elected officials were on our opponents' side. So, you know, there's two sides to every coin.

BLITZER: You -- I know that you probably -- when you're talking to Senator Sanders, you probably mull over the possibility, if Senator Sanders, your husband, were to get the Democratic presidential nomination, who would he rather face on the Republican side, for all practical purposes? There are four Republican candidates still standing.

SANDERS: Well, I think -- I think he could face any of them. If you look at the polls, he's doing better than Secretary Clinton against all of them. By quite a margin against Donald Trump. Now, Donald Trump would be the most fun because the contrast is so clear. He is dividing people. He's dividing them up by race, by gender, by whether you're born in this country or born outside this country, whether you're Latino or -- ethnicity. And Bernie -- Bernie's whole campaign is about bringing people together, to make everybody realize, we're all in this together. That we really need to work together to take back our government, to deal with the issues facing the American middle class.

[13:25:05] BLITZER: What do you say to those Democrats out there --

SANDERS: So it would be fun.

BLITZER: Yes, it would be fun for Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. I can only imagine a debate along those lines if that were to happen. But in order for that to happen, you've got to win the Democratic nomination. And you hear all of those Democratic strategists, the pundits suggesting it may be too late for your husband to win the nomination, that Hillary Clinton is doing much better in delegate -- super delegates. What do you say to them?

SANDERS: Well, the democratic strategists that are on TV often have worked for the Clinton campaign, the Clinton family, over the last 12 years. So we take everything they say with a grain of salt. Our strategists don't say that. What I say is that the more people get to know Bernie, the more they like him. That's an enviable position to be in. So each time -- his trend line has gone from 4 percent at the beginning, as you know, Wolf, to in the 40s and in some of the polls showing in the 50s. So it's tough, but I think that you'll see, for instance, in the four states that he won and the fifth that he lost by 1 percent, the voter turnout was very, very high. So he's energizing people. If people vote, and they vote for what they want instead of what they think they should settle for, I think we'll do quite well.

BLITZER: Yes, he did win four states the other day, on Super Tuesday. How is he going to do this Saturday and next Tuesday?

SANDERS: I think quite well. Maine looks good. Kansas, Nebraska, then Michigan is coming up. And then, in the long run, you have New York and California, Illinois. I mean, these are all states that I think that we can do well in. And it's because they are concerned. They're states that have expressed real concerns about our trade policies. And which there couldn't be a clearer line between the two candidates and the Democratic nomination for that.

Bernie really wants to change the way we have trade. We want fair trade, not just free trade. Not trade that only benefits the corporations, but actually creates jobs in this country and doesn't destroy our environment around the -- in the entire planet. Secretary Clinton has been on the other side on all the trade issues. So that's one area.

Minimum wage. He wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Secretary Clinton won't commit to that. There are a number of issues that we feel really resonate with the American people, and Bernie's fighting the good fight. He's speaking to their quality of life.

BLITZER: Jane Sanders, thanks so much for joining us.

SANDERS: Thank you for having me, Wolf. It was a pleasure.

BLITZER: Thank you.

SANDERS: Hopefully I'll see you sometime soon in person.

BLITZER: Well, I'm going to see you probably Sunday night. Are you going to be at the CNN Democratic presidential debate in Flint, Michigan? SANDERS: Absolutely.

BLITZER: All right. I'll stop by and say hello. I'll be out there, as well. Thanks so much, Jane Sanders.

SANDERS: OK.

BLITZER: Pass along our best wishes to Senator Bernie Sanders, as well. Thank you.

SANDERS: I will. Thanks.

BLITZER: And to our viewers out there, next week is March Madness right here on CNN. It begins Sunday night with CNN's Democratic presidential debate in Flint, Michigan. Anderson Cooper will moderate. It will be followed by the premier of the new CNN series, "Race to the White House."

Then we've got Super Tuesday, number two, with four states voting. Wednesday, CNN simulcast the Univision Democratic presidential debate in Miami. And the next night, Thursday night, it's our own CNN Republican presidential debate in Miami. A week of political events all right here on CNN.

Right now we're standing by to hear from the Republican presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump. He's going to come out on that stage momentarily. You're looking at live pictures coming in from Portland, Maine. We'll have live coverage. This will be his first response to what Mitt Romney just said in that blistering attack on Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)