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Trump Supporter Punched 78-Year-Old Liberal; Hillary Clinton Admitted She Is Not a Natural Politician; President Barack Obama Revealed Exactly How Difficult the Role of Commander-in-Chief Has Been Over the Past Seven Years; 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 10, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: I mean, you know, one argument is Mr. Trump has offered to pay legal fees with some of these folks. He said bring in the stretchers. Should Mr. Trump denounce the violence in this rally?

ANDY DEAN, FORMER PRESIDENT, TRUMP PRODUCTIONS: OK, well, first that guy is 78 and throwing a punch like that. That reminds you of the (INAUDIBLE) clip. I mean, at his age, we must say that is very, very interesting. But --.

BALDWIN: I'm not giving him credit for throwing a punch.

DEAN: Hold on. Why is it at the Trump rallies, liberals come and then they create chaos, interrupting 10 or 15 times? When you don't see conservatives go into Hillary Clinton and freak out at her rally. It's a lack of respect that liberals have for freedom of speech. And if a 78-year-old guy, which Donald Trump is not in control of. He is a very powerful man but he can't control a 78-year-old man --

BALDWIN: So you're saying --

DEAN: At that age, looks like good exercise --

TIM MILLER, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, JEB BUSH CAMPAIGN: This is the Trump culture though.

DEAN: What culture? 78, that's somewhat impressive.

MILLER: Corey Lewandowski who is the campaign manager for Trump ground -- physically grabbed a female reporter.

DEAN: That is a lie.

(CROSSTALK)

DEAN: A 100 cameras did not capture that. That is an outright lie.

MILLER: This is the culture --.

DEAN: That is dangerous. When you are president - well, soon to be president Trump, the secret service, there's like a mosh going. I've been there and I've been hit over. I don't take it personally. They have to protect the president that is outlandish and damn right defamation.

BALDWIN: Moving on. Can I have a final thought from one of my ladies please?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I want to go to sleep and wake up when it's over. I mean, this is so disappointing that this is what we're talking about. There are real issues that the American people have to confront and we're talking about whether a protester should be applauded -- a Trump supporter should be applauded for punching a protester. This is absurd. It's disgusting. It's embarrassing.

DEAN: No one likes violence.

CUPP: Well, Donald Trump always talks, well, back in the good old days we would have knocked that guy out. He does. I mean, he encourages it.

DEAN: But he'll also say we shouldn't do that.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Can I just say --?

BALDWIN: OK, final thought.

BORGER: Very quickly, I hope that our debate tonight is substantive, full of nuance, about policy and detail and we're not going to talk about anything -- I think after all of this, the American public deserve this.

MILLER: A policy discussion --

DEAN: This is where we agree.

BALDWIN: Andy, Jim, S.E., Gloria, thank you. Thank you so much.

Coming up next, let's talk about Democrats, Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton admitting she's not a natural politician, one of the more revealing moments in that Democratic debate here in Miami. Moderator who asked the question joins me live to break down how both candidates performed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:16] BALDWIN: Perhaps the most candid moment of the Democratic debate here in Miami was when Hillary Clinton admitted she is not a natural politician. My next guest asks all the important questions, especially this one that triggered secretary Clinton's revealing answer, here she was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN TUMULTY, CO-MODERATOR, MIAMI DEMOCRATIC DEBATE: A "Washington Post" poll, just yesterday, found that only 37 percent of Americans consider you honest and trustworthy. Now, when you've been asked about this in the past, you have said this is the result of many, many years of Republican attacks upon you. But Americans have also had 25 more than that years to get to know you for themselves. Is there anything in your own actions and the decisions that you yourself have made that would foster this kind of mistrust?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not a natural politician, in case you haven't noticed, like my husband or President Obama. So I have a view that I just have to do the best I can, get results I can, make a difference in people's lives and hope that people see I was fighting for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "Washington Post" national correspondent Karen Tumulty joins me now.

First of all, congratulations.

TUMULTY: Thank you.

BALDWIN: It is over.

TUMULTY: It is over.

BALDWIN: It was great talk today. And what was that like sitting in there? What was your reaction to her I'm not a natural politician?

TUMULTY: Well, you know, as we're all fin finding out. There have been so many of these debates now. It's always a challenge to get politicians off of their stump speeches.

BALDWIN: She has been asking that question a lot of times.

TUMULTY: Exactly. So you know, I framed it in, OK, let's stipulate that the Republicans have been beating up on you for a lot of years. But what about -- and I was, you know, surprised, too, she engaged it. I mean, she went -- it was a pretty -- especially for Hillary Clinton, who has, you know, who has this stuff down. It was a pretty introspective moment I think.

BALDWIN: It was a moment. There was a moment before the 2008 New Hampshire primary. It was another moment that is being compared to. Here that was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: This is very personal for me. It is not just political, it's not just public. I see what's happening. We have to reverse it. And some people think elections are a game, it's like who is up or who is down. It's about our country. It's about our kid's future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Do you think, though, all this talk about authenticity and natural, does she have a higher standard because she's a woman, or do you think it's because she's a Clinton and she's been in the public Specter for so long?

TUMULTY: I think she got to a really interesting spot there, because when you think of the years of her life where she's been on the national stage, it has always been alongside some of the most gifted politicians of, you know, modern history. First her husband and then Barack Obama. And, you know, again, I found it interesting, she, you know, said I think I'm really doing work here to help people's lives. But I understand that I am going to be, you know, viewed as being sort of next to these shining, you know, naturally gifted politicians. And they both, you know, she doesn't quite -- and has never sort of lit up an audience the way either her husband or the president can.

[15:40:47] BALDWIN: On substance, she went back to -- first we heard the auto bailout bid, was the Detroit debate, and then she brought it back last night. And you know, critics had cherry picked, said she cherry picked pieces of what happened since that time. You know, she lost in Michigan. No one anticipated that. I'm not saying the two are correlated. But do you -- were you surprised that she brought that back up?

TUMULTY: I sort of was. And the only, in part, because -- first of all, it obviously didn't work in Michigan. Her message that Bernie Sanders -- her message judged inaccurate or misleading that Bernie Sanders had been against the bailout could not overcome his message that she is, you know, too much in favor of free trade agreements. So I was a little surprised she brought it back. But look at the calendar. Maybe they're seeing something in their data --

BALDWIN: Ohio ahead --

TUMULTY: Yes, maybe this makes Ohio -- you know, challenges the calculation there.

BALDWIN: And on immigration, final question, you know, Hillary Clinton has moved even further left. Perhaps it's because of she has got Bernie Sanders, you know, with her as her rival, but when you look at the massive differences now, between the Democrats and the Republicans, on this specifically, it is like two different atmospheres.

TUMULTY: They basically -- she and Bernie Sanders both went way further last night than they have in the past.

BALDWIN: Breaking from Obama, deportation.

TUMULTY: Exactly, and saying, you know, if we're president, nobody who doesn't have a criminal record is going to be deported. So basically, you know, there is -- now the gulf between Democrats and Republicans on that issue is huge.

BALDWIN: General election debate. Want to do that one?

Karen Tumulty with "the Washington Post," thank you so much for coming by. I really appreciate it. Nice to meet you.

TUMULTY: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: It could be. Coming up next, it could be the final time these four Republican candidates take to the same stage here at the University of Miami tonight. What does each candidate need to do to really stay viable after this evening? I call him our political guru. He is our political director here at CNN David Chalian. He will have four things to watch for.

You're watching CNN. We're live in Miami.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:13] BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me on what is the most important debate day here for the Republican race for president. The last one before the critical winner take all Florida and Ohio primaries. And CNN is hosting it in a little under five hours.

I love these, you know, sped-up videos to see how we created this amazing set at the University of Miami. Will this be the last time we see Marco Rubio or John Kasich perhaps on a presidential debate stage, you know, the stakes are so high. What should we expect?

Let me turn now to the man I defer to all things politics, David Chalian, our CNN political director. Good to see you.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Thanks. Good to be here.

BALDWIN: The four things you guru are looking for. Starting with number one.

CHALIAN: First one is Donald Trump's tone. I'm so curious to see if he comes in this debate with what we've been hearing from him in the last couple, look, I'm a unifier. I'm going to bring everyone together. Lighter, softer, presidential. I think that's what he wants to do. What I'm looking to see is can he actually execute on that?

BALDWIN: When everyone's attacking him on all sides.

CHALIAN: You know, he calls himself a counter-puncher. But I think nobody walked out of the last Republican debate, that FOX debate in Detroit, feeling good about either their debate performance or a good reflection on the Republican party overall. And so, I think everyone is looking to calculate how do we not emerge from the debate this time looking so chaotic and hot? How do we - and I think Trump will want to change the tone a little bit. I'm curious to see if he can do that while taking in (INAUDIBLE).

BALDWIN: OK. So number one, according to David Chalian, Trump's tone. Number two?

CHALIAN: Rubio's plan C because that's what we're on now. Plan A was sort of, you know, third place, second place, first place become the establishment alternative. That didn't work out. Plan B kicked off in our Houston debate where he wanted to go after Trump really hard and really start to take him down. That didn't work so well. Rubio just said last night that he kind of regretted that and it was a little embarrassing.

BALDWIN: Embarrassing for the kids, he says. CHALIAN: Embarrassing for his kids, exactly. So now what's plan C

because Marco Rubio's in a do or die moment now, truly. I mean, the Florida primary is a do or die thing for him on Tuesday. If he can't win here, he will most likely have to get out of the race. And tonight is the biggest shot he has got between now and the primary to turn his ship around. So I'm curious to see what that plan is on the stage tonight.

BALDWIN: OK. Rubio Plan C. What's number three?

CHALIAN: The main event, Cruz versus Trump. I mean, this is where this race is headed right now. And I think we are going to get a preview of what that looks like, what a true two-man race will look like. Because assume for a moment -- and John Kasich may win his home state of Ohio. Marco Rubio is clearly going to make a strong run here in Florida. But if indeed, as you said in the intro, we are down to two guys after Tuesday, I think we are going to have a preview of what that looks like tonight when from the two of them and how they square off against each other.

[15:50:04] BALDWIN: Trump and Cruz.

CHALIAN: Yes.

BALDWIN: What's your fourth?

CHALIAN: The Ohio factor, the buckeye brawl, I call it. Because John Kasich and Donald Trump, if you look at all the polling right now are in a very competitive contest in Ohio. And Kasich has just quadrupled down on this notion of not getting involved. You start to see Donald Trump needling him a little bit in a way that we haven't seen before but very soft touch for Donald Trump. I'm curious to see if Donald Trump tries to throw some kind of --

BALDWIN: Something.

CHALIAN: -- attack his way to sort of like keep him at bay because I think Kasich is really in a very competitive position in Ohio with Donald.

BALDWIN: OK. Are you excited?

CHALIAN: I can't wait. It's going to be awesome. This is a good moment in the campaign.

BALDWIN: I know. This could be the final with the four and then depending what happens, Ohio, Florida, it could be down to two.

Mr. Chalian, thank you very much.

And a reminder, so much at stake as he perfectly lined out for you. Tonight's CNN Republican presidential debate, the pregame starts at 8:30 tonight eastern time. Opening statements on that debate stage here at the University of Miami, 9:00 sharp, definitely tune in only here on CNN. Coming up next, to say something on the campaign trail, you know, that

is one thing. But to actually make the decision as president is quite another. And so, in this incredible interview, President Obama with "the Atlantic" is reviewing his decisions about the Syrian red line and why he says he is proud he didn't enforce it. That and several other new pieces of information from this fascinating interview. We will break that down for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:55:48] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Republican base for the last seven years, a notion that everything I do is to be opposed. What you're seeing within the Republican Party is to some degree all those efforts over a course of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: While presidential candidates on both sides are continuing to argue exactly about how they would make America safer, President Barack Obama is revealing exactly how difficult the role of commander in-chief has been over the past seven years. In this extraordinarily candid interview with "Atlantic" magazine, the president said he is proud that he did not take out or strike Syria, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in 2013. He said he resents Benjamin Netanyahu's lectures. Those are just pieces of his fascinating 27-page take out on the president's interviews.

So let's talk more about this with Freda Ghitis. She is the CNN.com contributor and a world affairs columnist for "the Miami Herald" and "World Politics Reviews."

So Freda, great to see you again.

FREDA GHITIS, CONTRIBUTOR, CNN.COM: Hi, Brooke, it's great to be with you.

BALDWIN: Beginning with this note that the president says he is proud of not enforcing the Syrian red line, you know, the red line saying if chemical weapons were found he would strike, didn't, how did he explain that to Jeffrey Goldberg?

GHITIS: Well, he says that he is proud of the fact that he resisted pressure from the establishment, from the Washington foreign policy establishment to strike Assad after he broke through Obama's red line. And that's really absurd because the red line was drawn by Obama himself. And the truth is that if we look at what's happening in Syria, there is nothing for anyone to be proud of in what's gone on in Syria. Half a million people dead. The biggest refugee crisis since World War II. All kinds of problems, instability in the region. So there's really no reason for anyone, much less the president of the United States, to find any reason for pride there.

BALDWIN: Well, let's just be precise in what the president said. He said a lot but part of it was, you know, he was about to pull back from the immediate pressures and think through in my own mind what was in America's best interests. And you know, obviously since the U.S. didn't strike, he believed that that choice was in America's best interests.

It's also the first time we've ever heard the president comment on this, the move that stunned U.S. allies. Secretary of state John Kerry learned of the decision and apparently the secretary told a friend I just got f'ed over. What do you make of that?

GHITIS: Well, you know, it's the kind of revelation that is very titillating, you know, for foreign policy observers. Obama sent Kerry out to defend the plan to strike Assad. I mean, this was Obama's own plan that he is saying he is proud of not having followed through on. He changed his mind. He backed off the threat to attack Syria. So he is proud that he didn't make what he now thinks was a mistake or what he at that point decided had been the wrong course of action that he drawn for himself.

The larger picture in Syria is that it has been a catastrophe. So I don't think Syria is a place where Obama should look to find -- to promote his foreign policy views.

BALDWIN: What about the president comparing ISIS to the joker in that 2008 Batman movie "the Dark Knight." What do you make of that comparison?

GHITIS: Well, you know, it's interesting, Obama -- this is a very interesting interview and we have a lot of insights into his way of thinking. He is not terribly introspective. On one of the things that he says he has failed at doing is communicating his way of thinking. So maybe this is a way for him to popularize his frame of mind, to explain how he views ISIS. On terrorism in general he says that he finds it very frustrating to see the level of fear in the United States be out of proportion to the threat that ISIS and that terrorism actually poses to the United States. He thinks terrorism is not as s people think.

BALDWIN: These are just some of the pieces to come out of this extraordinary interview, Jeffrey Goldberg and "the Atlantic."

Freda Ghitis, thank you so much. Thank you for being with me.

Special coverage with Erin Burnett continues right now.