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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

GOP Debate Preview; Trump Interview with Adnerson Cooper Discussed; Interview with Actor Michael Kelly. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired March 10, 2016 - 12:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:33:28] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Tonight's CNN GOP debate is the last chance for candidates to shake up the race before voters in all important Florida and Ohio hit the polls.

I say all-important, because both of those states are pivotal winner- take-all contests. Big Kahunas, they're also known as.

The debate is especially critical for Marco Rubio, who is going to be speaking in front of the voters in his home state. And so far, it seems Floridians don't seem to be rallying behind their senator, because he's trailing Donald Trump by double digits in most of the polls.

Rubio revealed in a town hall on MSNBC that he actually regrets now insulting Donald Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO,(R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In terms of things that have to do with personal stuff, yeah. You know, at the end of the day, you know, it's not something I'm entirely proud of. My kids were embarrassed by it. And I, you know, if it I had had to do it again, I wouldn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to talk more about tonight's debate with Senior CNN Political Analyst Ron Brownstein who is also joining CNN's Jason Carroll. Jason Carroll is live inside the debate hall right now.

Ron, stand by for one moment so I get the lay of the land with Jason Carroll. I know it's quiet behind you right now Jason and it won't be later.

But it was last night too. I'm going to get you to hit on two things. Set up the stage for me for the debate tonight and remind me of where you were last night and why it was so quiet?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, first of all, let me set the stage literally, for where I am right now at the BankUnited Center. This is where you're going to be seeing the candidates later on tonight at those four podiums.

Kasich will be at the first, Cruz at the second, Trump at the third, followed by Rubio at the fourth.

[12:35:10] What you're seeing happening right now out here is you've got the lighting director, that woman there and the set director, that man right over there, putting on some of the final details before tonight gets under way.

Jake Tapper, our moderator will be sitting at that desk right over there.

A little bit more talk about Rubio, and in terms of what we're expecting tonight. Again, you heard him saying that he regrets going after Trump in terms of those personal attacks, the way we saw before. So I don't think you're going to be seeing that tonight.

I think what you're actually going to be seeing these candidates do is really go after Trump on the issues. Trying to narrow him down on the issues.

As you know, he's been trailing in the polls here in his home state of Florida, disappointing -- also disappointing in terms of what we saw last night at Hialeah, Florida, near Miami. South Florida, a large Hispanic community. He held a rally there at about 5:00 at a stadium.

And fortunately, the crowd did not turn out, I think, in the way that some people thought. Certainly some of the people that we talked to with a rally there last night, looked around and said, where is everyone. Because the rally was at 5:00.

Some said that perhaps it was because more people were at work and that's why they didn't show up at the rally. But there were others who thought maybe they're not showing up at this point, because they see how this race here in Florida is going to go.

BANFIELD: All right. Jason Carroll, thank you for that. Do appreciate it. It's going to get very exciting in there tonight. Every single one of them has not disappointed debate.

So Ron Brownstein, if I can start with you. Maybe the scene that Jason Carroll just showed up in Hialeah, Florida, was because these polls have been so dismal.

I want to show a brand-new Fox News poll in Florida, if I can. I'm sure the Rubio camp has seen this and can't be too happy it.

Donald Trump is leading Marco Rubio, and not just a little, by 23 points. Donald Trump comes in at 43 percent of the vote among Republicans in Florida. And Rubio comes in at just 20. You can see Ted Cruz trailing at 16. And John Kasich way down at the bottom at 10 percent.

Now if you take that same Fox News poll, and you go north to Ohio, the story changes. But it doesn't change for Rubio. It changes for Kasich. And it completely up-ends.

Look at John Kasich's numbers in Ohio in the Fox News poll. He's at 34 percent to Donald Trump's 29 percent. And that might be why Donald Trump said this. Hold on and take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (R): And we, as you know, we have Ohio, where you have an absentee governor. Absentee. And we're going to have -- no, we're going to have -- I think we're going to do great in Ohio. We'll do great, great, great in Ohio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Do great, great, great in Ohio. But he's calling John Kasich effectively an "absentee governor".

Is this what we can expect more of, Ron Brownstein? He is training his sights now on the guy that could mess up Ohio for him?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well he certainly turns his sights on whoever rises up as a threat. You know, the phrase I've often used over the years is that, in presidential primaries, the fish goes bad on the counter pretty fast.

By which I mean, once voters decide that you don't have a chance to win, they are very reluctant to waste their vote by voting for you. And I think that's the challenge that Marco Rubio has here in Florida.

You know, he's only won one contest on the main land. That was a very small caucus, he's been in single digits lately in a number of the contests. Either where they're putting their hope is actually is in the early vote.

A large number of people have voted early already. Those maybe votes in the bank for Marco Rubio before his recent decline. In fortune, Ohio on the other hand you got a sitting governor who has more of a shot, I think, at taking his home state.

But here's the contradiction in terms. They, you know, they feel, those who don't want Donald Trump as the nominee, need Kasich to win Ohio and they need Rubio to win Florida to deny Trump those delegates.

But if they both win, they probably stay in the race and further fractionate and divide the vote that its' resistant to Donald Trump. So it's not an easy way path forward either way.

BANFIELD: Let me ask you a little bit about what just happened at the top of our show, as well. And it doesn't have to do necessarily with this debate tonight. But it does have to do with what the president just said in front of the Canadian Prime Minister.

He said that one of his regrets -- he said this before, one of his regrets that he hasn't been able to bridge the divide in the partisanship in this country. But then he was specifically asked whether he takes any kind of blame.

And I'm paraphrasing here, for the strident nature of Donald Trump's campaign. And, you know, he said, I've heard this lot of times but I can't imagine, you know, being blamed by the Republicans for this, for their primaries, and for who, they're selecting for their party.

He said, it's novel. It's a fairly gentle tone, but it is specific. And I don't know that it's meant to embarrass the Republicans in front of Canadians in an international stage like that. But what did you make of it?

[12:40:08] BROWNSTEIN: Well, now, I think the argument from some conservatives is that Obama has accelerated polarization of the country in a way that has allowed Trump to emerge. And look -- I mean, each of the last three presidents, Bill Clinton said he would reach beyond politics of left and right. George Bush is a uniter, not a divider. President Obama said, you know, there is not a red America, there is not a blue America.

They each promised to govern as uniters and each of them have left with the country more divided than they arrived. I don't think that's an individual failure. I think it is a structural dynamic of our politics now. And the way we are kind of sorting the parties, both ideologically, demographically, geographically in a way that makes it very hard for them to come together.

I think the bigger factor in Donald Trump is that he's not so -- I don't look at him entirely as a supply side phenomenon. And that he has created the audience. I think it's a demand side phenomenon. The Republican Party has changed, and it is much more blue collar, it is much more open to a protectionist, anti-immigration message. And Donald Trump has provided that message to that audience in a way that no other candidate has. And we are seeing the blue collar side of the Republican Party drive the train in terms of the Trump nomination to a greater extent than we've ever seen it before.

BANFIELD: I will also say this that the president was clear to point out that partisan television and radio, et cetera, has really ramped up that divide. And I will not disagree with him there. I will without question take the blame in having worked in Cable News Now for t last two decades.

All right, Ron Brownstein there's make up (ph), well, thank you, sir. Nice to have you.

You can watch the big Republican showdown tonight here on CNN. Coverage of the GOP presidential debate beginning at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time. The opening statements starting at 9:00 p.m. You will see it only here on CNN.

And we'll be back to the race for the White House in just a moment. But first, the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has virtually disappeared from the headlines. And yet, the suffering sure hasn't.

We have this editon of Impact Your World in which we look at how the Jewish community has come together to take on poverty in that struggling nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Political unrest and economic decline have hit Ukraine's poor hard. Residents struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy. But thousands of elderly, young and displaced families can't afford the basics.

IRINA ZBOROVSKAYA, AMERICAN-JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE: They really did not have any other chances. And that's fairly -- really challenging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Winter presents the biggest challenge.

ZBOROVSKAYA: During the winter, the cost of the utilities is going up. It means that biggest part of the pension goes to cover utilities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is trying to support the poor of Ukraine.

ZBOROVSKAYA: This is the help which can be very basic. Like food, medications, very basic supplies. We provide them with a coal, and in addition with the blankets, with warm clothing. We do our best in order to support them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 96 year-old Liza Kestelman , the support is a God-send.

VOICEOVER: If it was not for them, I can't imagine what my life would be like.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:47:40] BANFIELD: The front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination who previously called for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. decided to take aim at Islam again. This time, he did it in an interview with Anderson Cooper.

Donald Trump also repeated his calls to water board terrorists or worse. Take a listen to what he said to Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Do you think Islam is at war with the West?

TRUMP: I think Islam hates us. There's something, there's something there that there is a tremendous hatred there. There is a tremendous hatred. We have to get to the bottom of it. There is an unbelievable hatred of us.

COOPER: In Islam itself?

TRUMP: You're going to have to figure that out, OK? You'll get another Pulitzer, right? But you're going to have to figure that out.

But there is a tremendous hatred. And we have to be very vigilant. We have to be very careful. And we can't allow people coming into this country who have this hatred of the United States.

COOPER: I guess the question is --

TRUMP: And of people that are not Muslim!

COOPER: I guess the question is, is there a war between the West and radical Islam or is it war between the West and Islam itself?

TRUMP: It's radical, but it's very hard to define. It's very hard to separate. Because you don't know who is who.

COOPER: When you say increase the laws and do more than water boarding, what is that specifically?

TRUMP: We'll work on that with the generals. I'll work it on with the generals.

COOPER: I talked to General Michael Hayden --

TRUMP: Yeah sure he says it's terrible that we talk that way. And, you know, what that's why he's been fighting this war for many years OK.

COOPER: He's a four-star general. Former head of the CIA

TRUMP: I don't care.

COOPER: -- former head of the NSA. He says your foreign policy ideas frighten him.

TRUMP: Oh yeah I know. Well, his -- he frightens me. Because we've been fighting ISIS for many years. And this shouldn't have taken -- this should have been over with quickly.

So that's the problem. We have these people that -- they're frightened, because I'm protecting the terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Be sure to see what else Donald Trump has to say, because he's going to face off against the other candidates once again.

This time, tonight, it is CNN's debate. Our coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time. Opening statements in Miami begin live at 9:00.

You'll see it only here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:53:47] BANFIELD: Some people might say that Donald Trump's infamous pledge, you know, that whole thing of holding up the hand, that it's gone to the dogs. I'm not kidding, because CNN's Jeanne Moos has a look at the pooch who did not want to take that pledge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Repeat after him. "I pledge allegiance to the Donald."

TRUMP: Should we do the pledge? Let's do a pledge. Raise your right hand. I swear I'm going to vote for Donald Trump next week. Raise that hand. I love you!

MOOS: But not everyone loves the pledge. All of those upraised hands remind some of a Nazi salute, which Trump called ridiculous. Though he promised to look into it, because he didn't want to offend anybody.

TRUMP: But when I say raise your hand, everybody raises their hand. They're screaming to me to do it. We want to do it.

MOOS: But they didn't all want to do it.

TRUMP: I do solemnly swear --

MOOS: Look at the furry, four-legged audience member who seemed to be an unwilling pledge participant.

TRUMP: We'll vote for Donald J. Trump!

MOOS: Video of the doggy pledge resistor went viral.

TRUMP: I do solemnly swear ...

MOOS: Inspiring tweets like friends, "Don't let man's best friend vote Trump."

But Donald also has his canine supporters. And the dog reluctantly to raise his right paw went no one as viral as Hillary's famous bark.

[12:55:12] MOOS: But Donald himself seems to have a thing for dogs, at least when it comes to delivering insults.

TRUMP: He was choking like a dog. He couldn't be elected dog catcher. I'm watching Marco sweating like a dog on my right.

MOOS: Trump seems to have a way with pups. Remember the time he yelled at a reporter?

TRUMP: Sit down, sit down. Sit down.

MOOS: Jimmy Kimmel tested the command on actual dogs.

TRUMP: Sit down, sit down. Sit down.

MOOS: Three out of four sat. Sit down and pledge.

TRUMP: I do solemnly swear ...

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN ...

TRUMP: Raise your right hand ...

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: OK. I know somebody who's laughing off to my right, because he's been watching this in his trailer very often. It's Doug Stamper -- no it's Michael Kelly the actor, who plays Doug Stamper on "House of Cards."

Nice to have you here.

MICHAEL KELLY, ACTOR "HOUSE OF CARDS": Nice to be here. Thank you.

BANFIELD: You're laughing, but I know you're crying inside. When you see that Donald Trump campaigning you've been very outspoken about how you're so frustrated that how even this wouldn't fit into your show.

KELLY: Yeah. No I didn't -- I mean who could predict that. You know, I laughed about it for a while. But I think, you know, the American people -- we deserve a leader who's going to operate with proper decorum, knowledge and respect. And I think I'm going to be (inaudible) about it as I can.

BANFIELD: I know you're a Hillary's backer.

KELLY: Yes.

BANFIELD: Look, I have to be honest with you. I just had a parent- teacher conference yesterday. And my fifth grader's teacher said my son is calling some other kids "loser."

And we have our T.V. on at home all of the time. I have tried to say these are not the kinds of words they're allowed to use. But it is tough, it is hard to do.

But I'm just so curious about how you guys are digesting this as a cast, as you go to air with some of the ugliest kinds of possible politics you could create.

KELLY: It's so interesting. It is -- I mean how our show parallels, you know, obviously the primaries are paralleling right now. But also, you know, the most outlandish things. The KKK, I always joke that, you know, we write this a year in advance. I always joke of Beau Willimon can see into the future when he's writing. And, you know, inevitably things always happen on our show that actually happening in real life or similarly. And it fascinates me very year.

BANFIELD: Because Heather Dunbar, who is, you know, running against Kevin Spacey's character ...

KELLY: Right.

BANFIELD: ... for president is also wealthy and self-funding her campaign and ruthless. But please don't tell me, Michael Kelly, that Doug Stamper is close to anything that we have on Capitol Hill ...

KELLY: No.

BANFIELD: ... or anywhere in Washington?

KELLY: Look, I hope not right?

BANFIELD: Because last night, I haven't been able to find a lot of murderers.

KELLY: Yeah, no I certainly ...

BANFIELD: Oh, sorry, spoiler alert! Oops you haven't seen it, I'm sorry.

KELLY: He's a lot of fun to play. You know, he's such a complex character. It's so interesting to get into that. That guy's head and I have a great time doing it.

But, yeah, no, I can't -- let's just hope that there's not someone exactly like that guy there.

BANFIELD: Look, you're super famous, and I'm sure you get stopped in the street all of the time by people who alternately say, I love you, you're creepy.

KELLY: Yes.

BANFIELD: But when you took this role of Doug Stamper, and by the way, if you haven't seen "House of Cards" on Netflix, you're cray-cray.

It is the best thing on T.V. And I'd say you share what's breaking bad some of the best television ever made.

KELLY: Yeah -- I mean --

BANFIELD: But did you know, id you know when you looked at this character at the beginning that it was going to get as ugly and freakish as it has?

KELLY: No. I had no idea. No. I mean, you know, I don't -- Beau will give you little tidbits, little crumbs. I have to call him that --

BANFIELD: Beau Willimon the creator.

KELLY: Yeah, the creator is around or he gives you little crumbs to digest as you go along. But a lot of times, we don't know ourselves. I mean, Rachel Brosnahan who is Rachel Posner in the show and that great story art we have.

She was only going to do two episodes. She is going to be a piece that I use to take down Peter Russo. And then her and Peter had this interesting chemistry and then the two of us had an interesting chemistry. And the writers are like, you know, what that's interesting. Let's follow that story. So no, I didn't know what it would become.

BANFIELD: I have to be honest with you. I feel like it's a very organic show. I did a spot, I think the character I think it played me. And as I was actually doing the scene with Robin Wright, Beau actually asked me, well, yeah, change it up. Tell me how it would really be. You know, he was very willing to incorporate anything I thought as a consultant, almost. It was interesting.

KELLY: Well, yeah, because you're an expert in your field and that's one thing that he does. He and Jay Carson our political consultant. The two of them work so hard to, you know, make sure that everything is exactly right.

If he finds -- he goes and finds -- if we're doing some -- a story about something, like say the -- I don't want to do spoilers for this year. But, you know, if someone's an expert in their field, he's going to ask some -- a thousand questions. And that if he knows that they know more than he does, he's going to really relinquish that.

BANFIELD: I really like him. I met him a couple times (inaudible). He's super smart and super kind, very not Hollywood at all.

KELLY: No.

BANFIELD: Can I ask you something?

KELLY: Yes.

[13:00:14] BANFIELD: I've been on so many different things before I was --