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Sanders & Clinton Clash in Heated Democratic Debate; Sanders & Cruz Capture Key Weekend Wins; Former First Lady Nancy Reagan Dies at 94. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 07, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:00:02] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is raining lead in Flint.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you watch these Republican debates, you know why.

CLINTON: If you're going to talk, tell the whole story, Senator.

SANDERS: Let me tell my story. You tell yours.

CLINTON: I will.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want Ted one-on-one, OK.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The scream you hear is utter terror.

TRUMP: Do you think ISIS is obeying the laws?

They're chopping, chopping, chopping. And we're worried about waterboarding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The world mourning the loss of Nancy Reagan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her first, second, and last goals was to take care of Ronny.

NANCY REAGAN, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: When you balance it all out, I've had a pretty fabulous life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. We're just having a little water and coffee here. It's a good point. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton clashing like never before at last night's Democratic debate in Flint. The two candidates challenging each other over the economy, guns, and Wall Street ties.

CUOMO: There is a lot of talk about tone, but the real story is the contrast. You've got a real look where these two are different and how each handled the big moments last night may weigh heavily on the results tomorrow and in the general election. We have all the angles covered, beginning with senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar, live in Detroit.

Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Chris, good morning to you. Because of where this debate took place, Flint, Michigan, there was a lot of focus on the failure of government and what these two candidates would do.

But Michigan is also a labor stronghold. So you saw Hillary Clinton landing punches on Bernie Sanders' position on the auto bailout, Bernie Sanders landing punches on Hillary Clinton's passport for trade agreements. But as you mentioned, it was the tone of the debate that also came into question.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLINTON: It is raining lead in Flint. And the state is derelict enough coming forward with the money that is required.

KEILAR (voice-over): With Michigan's primary looming, contaminated water and lost jobs dominated.

SANDERS: Children in America should not be poisoned.

KEILAR: Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary Hillary Clinton sparring more aggressively than ever before over Wall Street ties and the economy.

CLINTON: I voted to save the auto industry. He voted against the money that ended up saving the auto industry.

SANDERS: If you are talking about the Wall Street bailout, where some of your friends destroyed this economy...

CLINTON: You know...

SANDERS: Excuse me, I'm talking.

CLINTON: If you're going to talk, tell the whole story.

SANDERS: Let me tell my story. You tell yours.

CLINTON: I will.

KEILAR: Sanders supported a stand-alone auto bailout bill that failed, but voted against a larger bill that included money to bail out Wall Street and money to bail out the auto companies. Sanders cutting Clinton off a second time to make his point.

SANDERS: I said let the billionaires themselves bail out Wall Street. Shouldn't be the middle class of this country.

CLINTON: OK.

SANDERS: Wait a minute. Can I finish? You'll have your turn.

KEILAR: Clinton optimistic about growing the economy.

CLINTON: We're going to the stop this kind of job exporting, and we're going to start importing and growing jobs again.

KEILAR: Only to be slammed by Sanders over trade agreements she supported two decades ago.

SANDERS: I am very glad, Anderson, that Secretary Clinton has discovered religion on this issue. But it's a little bit too late. Secretary Clinton supported virtually every one of these disastrous trade agreements written by corporate America.

KEILAR: And butting heads again over gun control.

SANDERS: Essentially, your position is there should not be any guns in America, period.

CLINTON: That is like the NRA...

SANDERS: Can I...

CLINTON: No.

SANDERS: Can I finish, please?

KEILAR: Post-debate, Clinton's campaign chair telling me Sanders's performance was a disappointment.

JOHN PODESTA, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: He repeatedly said he wants to run a positive campaign. In recent days, it seems a little more negative, a little more desperate. And I thought -- I thought his tone tonight bordered on the disrespectful.

KEILAR: The Sanders campaign dismissing the charge as a distraction.

JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: They don't want to talk about her bad trade record. They don't want to talk about her record of taking Wall Street contributions. They don't want to talk about these things. It was really a bad night for the Clinton people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Our thanks to Brianna Keilar for that.

So four big states in play tomorrow, following a weekend of split decisions. Bernie Sanders is hoping to get on a roll, after winning three out of four contests with Hillary Clinton. Ted Cruz hoping to turn the GOP race into a two-man battle after tomorrow, following a couple of big wins over Donald Trump. Here to break it all down for us, CNN anchor John Berman. Hey, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's almost like the candidates decided to share this weekend. Bernie Sanders picked up three states: Kansas, Nebraska, Maine. Hillary Clinton had one win and one win only, but it was the biggest state in terms of delegates, Louisiana, and she won there by a big margin. She now has 12 state victories total. Bernie Sanders has eight state victories total.

Hillary Clinton is far ahead in the delegate count: 1,147 for her; 498 for him. Yes, that does include super delegates. Send the Twitter hate my way. But even without super delegates, she still has a 200 delegate lead. She is roughly halfway to the amount she needs to clinch the nomination.

As for tomorrow, 188 delegates at stake. Michigan the biggest prize. Mississippi will also vote.

The Republicans, now Ted Cruz, they both won two states, so Donald Trump's were squeakers. Ted Cruz won by big margins. Marco Rubio won in the territory of Puerto Rico. He won going away. Puerto Rico cannot vote in the general election. But if delegates count every bit as much as everyone else's in the primary.

Donald Trump now has 12 total state wins. Ted Cruz has 6, Marco Rubio with Minnesota now and Puerto Rico under his belt. As far as delegates go, Ted Cruz won the most delegates this weekend. He is now creeping up in this race. He has 302 pledge delegates. Donald Trump at 389. Marco Rubio now very far back at 149. And you can see where John Kasich is right now.

A total of 150 delegates up for grabs on Tuesday in Hawaii, in Idaho, in Mississippi, in Michigan. Like the Republicans, Michigan the biggest prize for the Republicans. A big day tomorrow. And then one week from today or one week from tomorrow, Chris, you have all those winner-take-all states.

CUOMO: And that's when everything really takes the change. J.B., thank you very much.

Let's break all this down. Let's start with the Dems. We're joined by senior spokesperson and advisor for the Hillary Clinton campaign, Karen Finney.

Good morning, Karen Finney.

KAREN FINNEY, SENIOR SPOKESPERSON/ADVISOR, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN: Good morning, Chris Cuomo.

CUOMO: All right. Let's take on this -- this angle of tone last night. Make the case for why you are troubled by Bernie Sanders's tone last night.

FINNEY: You know, I thought it was at times a little bit disrespectful. And there were times where it seemed it felt a little bit desperate. Some of the -- both the tone and sort of the nature of the attacks and, frankly, some of the -- some of this answers just -- I found a little bit troubling.

For example, when talking about, you know, racial blind spots and suggesting about white people don't understand black people because they don't live in ghettos, I found that very disturbing, I have to tell you.

CUOMO: All right. So in answers, that's -- that's obviously subjective. The tone is subjective, too, but you really think that Bernie Sanders was disrespectful? Like this tone deserves discussion based on what we've been seeing in the GOP.

You know, this was like "Kumbaya" last night. This was a good productive discussion they had on points of contrast. When someone is saying something about you that's not true, how polite are you supposed to be? You were really offended by what happened last night?

FINNEY: Well, can I just say, Chris, if we're going -- we can't go by the reality show television that you can't even let your kids watch that we're seeing on the Republican side.

Like let's not lower the bar to that point. Overall, I thought it was a very good debate. And I frankly thought that it showed the core differences between the two of them. Because what you saw from Hillary Clinton, I believe, was a progressive who wants to get things done.

She had specific ideas about things that she wants to get done. Like the idea of the claw-back, like the idea, which is if you are a company that has, you know, received certain tax breaks and you then move jobs overseas, we're going to take that back. That's a very specific idea.

Instead, from Bernie, I felt like -- from Senator Sanders, what you heard time and again, everything came back to Wall Street. Wall Street, Wall Street, Wall Street. He didn't even have an answer, and in the Motor City, basically, or just, you know, miles from the Motor City as to why he voted against the auto bailout.

So I actually thought that it was -- it showed the contrasts. I mean, I do think that Bernie is a single-issue candidate. He brings everything back to Wall Street. You saw that time and again last night. Even on race he brought it back -- the issue of race, brought it back to Wall Street. Whereas I felt like Secretary Clinton had more specific ideas, more specific thoughtful policy ideas. And she has a record to run on of things that she has done and things that she wants to build on.

CUOMO: And Bernie Sanders, Senator Sanders was using that last night as a sword and a shield. Right? His theory of the case is that you have to look at what Hillary Clinton has believed in the past; this is what she believes now. And that we need to do things differently, and we need to not play the same old games.

A big point of illustration was on fracking. I want to play one piece of sound last night, because it has a metaphor effect. Let's play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you support fracking?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Secretary Clinton?

CLINTON: You know, I don't support it when any locality or any state is against it, No. 1. I don't support it when the release of methane or contamination of water is present. I don't support it, No. 3, unless we can require that everybody who fracks has to tell us exactly what chemicals they are using.

[07:10:15] SANDERS: My answer -- my answer is a lot shorter. No, I do not support fracking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now, Bernie Sanders used this last night as a difference between the old way of politics and the new way of politics. Your take?

FINNEY: Well, my take on that is, OK, you don't support fracking. But what would you do? What are the -- are there any conditions under which you would support it? What would you do about what's happened?

CUOMO: He says no. He says it's wrong. You don't compromise when something is wrong.

FINNEY: But here's -- here's the problem with that, Chris. That's fine. But what would you do? And I feel like with Bernie, time and again...

CUOMO: I would say no fracking.

Finney: But what are you going to do with those companies that are currently doing it. That's my point. Time and again, he gives these answers where it's unclear. So what is the policy beneath it? What is powered -- like his health care plan. How are you going to pay for it? What do you say about the fact that some people suggest that it may actually end up costing middle-class taxpayers. Or it may end up hurting poor people.

As in last night, how come he didn't -- I mean, he couldn't answer the question about the auto bailout. He couldn't answer questions about why -- you know, his response on gun safety issues. I mean, he was all twisted in that as to whether or not -- I think he ended up saying he doesn't support liability for manufacturers, but he did. But then he didn't. I mean, it was kind of all over the map on that answer. And these are specific questions.

And so I guess my point is bringing that back to Wall Street or not having a specific answer for those things or not being able to articulate a policy or a strategy, I think is a real problem.

CUOMO: You've definitely got -- you've definitely got a very different look at the two different takes on what's going on in the country. FINNEY: Yes.

CUOMO: The question about tone is just because, if you think that Bernie Sanders was a little bit over the line last night, what does that say about the ability of Hillary Clinton to take on Donald Trump if he gets to the general and he does, too?

FINNEY: Well, I think that Hillary Clinton did just fine last night. I mean, I actually, I thought that -- again, she gave thoughtful, substantive answers, whether or not you agree with the policy. And I just -- you know, we just have differences of opinion. I think Senator Sanders made a number of mistakes. And look, I think he'll have to be answering for those today. I mean, I don't think you can come and say -- and not have an answer for, you know, things like the auto bailout or things like, you know, your policy on gun safety measures.

So -- and I think she did great. I thought she had substantive answers, thoughtful answers, able to articulate a policy, able to articulate a strategy on each of those questions. Whether or not you agreed with it, that's one thing.

But let me tell you something, Chris. One thing I know about Hillary Clinton, she is tough. And she has -- if you think about all the money and all the attack ads that have been run against Hillary Clinton over the years. And this woman is still standing. She is leading. She has got more votes than anybody on both sides. So I think, you know, she's proven what a tenacious fighter she is. And I think it's pretty clear who's going to be the person who's going to effectively fight for people in this country.

CUOMO: Karen Finney, thank you for making the case for Hillary Sanders -- for Hillary-Sanders, that would be a good one.

FINNEY: I like that.

CUOMO: Thanks for being on NEW DAY, as always, Karen Finney. Appreciate it -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: A Democrat's hybrid dream.

Another big election showdown tomorrow. Over the weekend Republican front-runner Donald Trump and closest challenger Ted Cruz tied for numbers of wins. Does that mean they're headed for a convention showdown?

Trump also calling on Marco Rubio to drop out.

CNN's Jason Carroll with more on the GOP race, live from Tampa.

Hi, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Drop out, Alisyn? No way. Marco Rubio's campaign begins he can win the state of Florida. Rubio has said it himself. Even though we see Trump leading in the polls, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens later on today when Rubio has his rally. We'll see if he continues to criticize Trump, especially on this controversial issue of torture.

As you know, Trump initially said he would abide by laws regarding torture. He then seemed to change his position, saying he would try to expand the laws. Listen to how he explained himself over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You have to play the game the way they're playing the game. You're not going to win if we're soft and they're -- they have no rules.

Now, I want to stay within the laws. I want to do all of that, but I think we have to increase the laws, because the laws are not working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Well, Trump will not be getting the support from one of his own. Former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, says he's throwing his support and endorsement behind John Kasich. Trump began saying, no matter. This is a two-man race between himself and Ted Cruz. Trump, for his part, will be campaigning today in North Carolina, also in Mississippi. Cruz will be right here in Florida tomorrow -- Alisyn.

[07:15:16] CAMEROTA: Jason, thanks so much for all of that.

Stay with CNN for the most comprehensive political coverage. Tomorrow is Super Tuesday two. Wednesday brings another Democratic debate in Miami. And Thursday, a Republican debate in Miami. NEW DAY will be there for both. A full week of political events right here on CNN.

Nancy Reagan is being remembered this morning as both a devoted partner and a fierce protector of her husband's life and legacy. The former first lady died Sunday at the age of 94. She will be laid to rest next to her husband, Ronald, at the Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California. And that's where we find our Stephanie Elam this morning. Good morning to you.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

Nancy Reagan died two days after what would have been her 64th wedding anniversary to the man that she was fiercely loyal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (voice-over): A country in mourning for one of the most influential first ladies of the 20th century. During a campaign that has so invoked Ronald Reagan's legacy, the Republican presidential candidates quick to express their condolences.

Donald Trump called Mrs. Reagan, quote, "an amazing woman." Ted Cruz said that she will be "remembered for her deep passion for this nation and love for her husband."

A moment of silence for her at the Democratic debate Sunday. The president and first lady Michelle Obama say they're grateful for her life and pray she and her beloved husband are together again.

Born in New York City and raised in Chicago, Nancy Reagan began her career as an actress in Hollywood, where she met fellow actor Ronald Reagan in 1949.

[07:15:07] The two married in 1952, beginning one of Hollywood's and Washington's most enduring partnerships.

REAGAN: Everything just fell into place with Ronny and me. We completed each other.

ELAM: Nancy played a pivotal role in the rise of her husband's political career, from governorship to the presidency, always by his side, gazing adoringly.

REAGAN: I don't remember thinking anything except for, "My gosh, here he is and he's president."

ELAM: As California's first lady, she focused her efforts on helping Vietnam veterans. As America's first lady, she championed the fight against drug abuse, bringing national attention to the issue with her "Just Say No" campaign.

She had her own special grit -- President Reagan's fiercest protector, never leaving his side after an assassination attempt.

Later in life, she nursed her husband during his battle with Alzheimer's and became a leading activist, raising millions for research.

REAGAN: It's sad to see somebody you love and have been married for so long, and you can't share memories.

ELAM: After his death in 2004, she remained committed to preserving her husband's legacy, a symbol of the Republican Party.

REAGAN: When you balance it all out, I've had a pretty fabulous life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: Preparations are already under way here at the Republican Library for a large private memorial service for Nancy Reagan. There will be a time, though, when people will come -- the public will be able to come and pay their respects. Some people have already been leaving flowers.

However, in lieu of flowers, they're actually hoping that people will donate to the library instead. That was Nancy Reagan's request. Michaela, Chris and Alisyn, back to you.

PEREIRA: Isn't that a beautiful way to do that and also all the work that she does with Alzheimer's? Our family was touched by it. To have somebody such a staunch supporter of further research.

CUOMO: Ahead of her time. You know, at a time that her husband's party wasn't as embracing of stem cell research, she pushed for it. Drugs, her looking forward to the idea of drugs are going to be coming out of your medicine cabinet. How right she was. Really ahead of her time.

And watch your loved ones slip away. Something so many people can relate to.

CAMEROTA: And she was so public about watching your loved ones slip away so easily that so many people can relate to.

CUOMO: All right. So let's take a little break. When we come back, so Donald Trump's split contest with Ted Cruz on Super Saturday. In fact, Cruz actually picked up more delegates. What does this mean? Is this worse for Donald Trump or for Marco Rubio, especially looking ahead to the big four states tomorrow. Michigan the biggest prize. We have a member of Team Trump next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:23:22] CAMEROTA: Four more states up for grabs for Republicans tomorrow: Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan and Mississippi. In the states that voted over the weekend, they divided the delegates between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, with Marco Rubio picking up Puerto Rico.

Here to discuss the race is Katrina Pierson. She's the national spokesperson for the Trump campaign.

Good morning, Katrina.

KATRINA PIERSON, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: So did it surprise you and Mr. Trump that the results were divided over the weekend between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.

PIERSON: No, actually, not at all. We have seen historically that there are caucuses that tend to go for Senator Cruz, whereas primaries go to Mr. Trump.

And we also saw the establishment really try to circle around Marco Rubio, which he was fundamentally rejected by the voters. And so as the race tightens, we're going to look forward. We're looking really good in states moving forward.

CLINTON: Let's look at the delegate count right now, because as of this weekend, Donald Trump has 389. Ted Cruz has 302. Marco Rubio won 49, John Kasich 37. Both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are in the 300s. There is not a big divide between those two.

Obviously, Donald Trump is still the front-runner. But they're both in the 300s. Do you think that that makes the scenario of this going all the way to the convention and then playing out in some sort of brokered convention more likely?

PIERSON: Well, I think that is a possibility, considering how we do see this push to try to prevent Mr. Trump from winning. But I also say that Senator Cruz has picked up some delegates. He is in the 300s. He lost some of the states that he needed to win early on. The states moving forward are well-primed for Mr. Trump. And we are about to head in to winner-take-all, so we're really excited, looking forward to it. Mr. Trump's going to continue campaigning and sharing his message to make America great again.

[07:25:08] CAMEROTA: I want to get you to comment and clarify one of Mr. Trump's messages. And that is on his feelings on water boarding and torture. Because he said some differing things over the weekend than he had at the debate, so let me play for you what he had said just over the past four days.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What do you think of waterboarding? I said it's fine. And if we want to go stronger, I'd go stronger, too. Because frankly, that's the way I feel. I've never had any problem leading people. If I say do it, they're going to do it.

As far as the waterboarding is concerned, we have to stay within the laws. But you know what we're going to do? We're going to have those laws broadened. Because we're playing with two sets of rules. Their rules and our rules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So Katrina, what does that mean, have those laws broadened? What would that look like?

PIERSON: Well, thank you for the opportunity to clarify. Because Mr. Trump's position on waterboarding has not changed during the debate, when he said, "If I give the order, they're going to do it." But there was this huge backlash of people taking him literally and then saying that he would violate Geneva Convention rules, which is not the case.

Mr. Trump was just clarifying that we cannot continue to play by different sets of rules when we have people who are beheading Christians and selling their children into slavery. So he does want to go to the Congress. He does want to go to the council and see how we can better combat terrorism. Because what we're doing now is simply not working.

CAMEROTA: But Katrina, why would Mr. Trump want to play by the rules that ISIS is setting? Why would the U.S. ever take a page from the ISIS playbook of torture?

PIERSON: Well, Mr. Trump isn't talking about doing beheadings. I mean, we can look and see how, when the United States invaded Pakistan and killed Osama bin Laden, there were some violations there, as well.

We are talking about terrorism, which does require a different set of rules. We have rules of engagement where are soldiers hands are literally tied in many case. You can look at the movie "13 Hours" and see that.

Mr. Trump is talking about putting Americans' lives first, building up the military and actually fighting ISIS. Right now we're telling them we're not going to come after you. We're not going to hurt you. If we capture we we're going to put you in prison and give you fish sandwiches. Mr. Trump is not going to be that nice when it comes to terrorism.

CAMEROTA: When have we ever said to ISIS we're not coming after you? We're not trying to fight you? That's not the U.S. Policy: We're not coming after you; we're not trying to fight you. And when he said he's going to change the laws and change the rules, what would those new laws and rules be?

PIERSON: Well, actually, the United States policy is go ahead and infiltrate the Syrian refugees and we'll bring you in by the hundreds of thousands to terrorize Americans here on their U.S. soil.

That's the current policy. Mr. Trump is wanting to go back to the Security Council and to his administration when he is president and say, "what can we do? What can't we do? And how do we best fight back against terrorists so that they're not encouraged to come and kill Americans?"

CAMEROTA: Does he mean doing this with Congress or doing this around Congress?

PIERSON: He means doing this with Congress, which is exactly why you heard him say within the law. The press release that came out was talking about staying within the guidelines of the Geneva conventions. He's talking about going back out there and doing what needs to be done to fight terrorists.

CAMEROTA: So in other words, he is -- would be pushing to make waterboarding a tactic?

PIERSON: Well, ultimately, that's the CIA's decision. They were the ones that did that to begin with. But he doesn't want to take it off the table. The last thing you want to do is tell terrorists that we're not going to do anything to you if we capture you. And that's Mr. Trump's point.

CAMEROTA: OK. Katrina Pierson from the Trump campaign, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

PIERSON: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right. We have the sad task of remembering Nancy Reagan this morning. She is gone after 94 years on this earth. She was one of the most influential first ladies of the 20th century. Her marriage to President Ronald Reagan was a true love story. We have a look at a really remarkable legacy ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)