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Clinton Wins Big, Focuses on Trump; Michelle Bachmann Talks Supreme Court Nominee, Presidential Race; Can John Kasich Win GOP Nomination. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired March 16, 2016 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:08] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: We are at the bottom of the hour. You are watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
The road to the White House is become increasingly clear for the Democratic front runner, Hillary Clinton. The third Super Tuesday was a massive success for the former U.S. secretary of state. She swept her rival, Bernie Sanders, in four out of five states but maintains a razor-thin lead in Missouri where votes are still being counted. Thus far, she has nearly 1600 delegates, enough to make it pretty clear she will probably win the nomination and likely go up against Donald Trump.
In her victory speech last night, Secretary Clinton wasted no time taking on the Republican front runner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Our commander-in-chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it.
(CHEERING)
CLINTON: Engage our allies, not alienate them. Defeat our adversaries, not embolden them. When he embraces torture, that doesn't make him strong, it makes him wrong.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Joining me now, Brian Fallon, press secretary for Hillary for America.
Nice to have you back on. Welcome, sir.
BRIAN FALLON, PRESS SECRETARY, HILLARY FOR AMERICA CAMPAIGN: Thanks for having me.
BALDWIN: Congratulations. It was a huge night for you guys.
That said, you know, Donald Trump has been saying he hasn't even taken on Hillary Clinton yet. Now it appears to be day one for that. Here's his video. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(BARKING)
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Brian Fallon, your response?
FALLON: Look, Donald Trump has made pretty clear his strategy is to try to pit Americans against each other to get votes. So far it has worked to help him coalesce about 40 percent of GOP primary voters. I don't think it will translate in a general election. In fact, he is having a hard time even unifying his own party, let alone the whole country. That's why you're seeing so many republicans speak out and say they can't support him if he's their nominee. They certainly don't think he could beat Hillary Clinton in a general election. So I think Donald Trump has some work to do within his own party.
We, for our part, are pretty confident that her message that you heard from her last night, about trying people together to break down barriers, to help people get ahead, is the one that's going to carry the day compared to his divisive message of pitting people against each.
BALDWIN: I'm sure Camp Hillary appreciates the Republican infighting. It only helps you, looking ahead to a potential bout in November. But still, he is taking it there, and we still have six months to go, politics isn't all pretty packages. How will you eventually counterattack?
FALLON: Look, we are still focused on sewing up the nomination. I think we made great gains towards that goal last night and we are on a clear path, but we still have to clinch it. Senator Sanders is not going to go away. There will be a time to focus exclusive on the general election. When that time comes, I think that the contrast will be clear between someone like Hillary Clinton and somebody like Donald Trump. Republicans have largely been unable to criticize Donald Trump because they share so many positions like him. But someone like Hillary Clinton will be able to take the fight to him, on issues like the fact that he opposes the minimum wage increase, the fact that he's on the wrong side of pay equity for women, the fact that he opposes the president's executive actions on immigration, to say nothing of his hateful rhetoric towards everyone from Muslims, to immigrants, to women. So I think Hillary Clinton will be in an excellent position if she does become the nominee, which we believe she will.
BALDWIN: David Plouffe has said that Democrats underestimated Donald Trump. Do you think Democrats have learned a lesson from what Republicans are experiencing with Mr. Trump?
FALLON: I think he certainly will be waging a campaign in the most unconventional way. That has proven true over the last several months. Again, I think he has benefitted from the fact that Republicans have treated him with kid gloves to date because they are unable to expose any differences with him on the issues. If you look at the hateful rhetoric he opened his campaign with, talking about calling Mexican immigrant rapists and talking about building a wall and having Mexico pay for it, it took Republicans forever to speak out against that because they were too fearful of their own base.
BALDWIN: That was --
FALLON: Hillary Clinton won't have that problem.
BALDWIN: That was the last however many months, but he would in a sense have an advantage because he it seems like he's already pivoted, he's already thinking, boom, general election, and roll out this video with Hillary Clinton barking. This issue with your campaign is you are still fighting it out with Bernie Sanders and may not fully clinch until the end of May. Talk about that balancing act that your campaign has to accomplish, focusing on the primary fight, can't quite have all eyes on the prize.
FALLON: This goes to a situation that is true of the Republicans but not true for the Democrats. Republicans, whoever emerges, is going to try hard to execute a pivot to sound more reasonable after spending the last several months catering to an extreme base of their party. Democrats, Hillary Clinton, is going to keep talking about the same issues she has been talking about throughout the primary because where Democrats are is right in the mainstream of where the country is. So we are not going to have to execute some kind of message reset. All the issues we have been talking about the last several months are issues that animate general election voters, everything from sensible immigration reform, protecting the Affordable Care Act, pay equity for women, a minimum wage increase, how can we get companies sharing profits with their workers so that things are not continually stakes at the top. All the issues we have been talking about most in the primary are the same issues that will galvanize voters in the general election.
[14:35:47] BALDWIN: Brian Fallon, thank you so much.
FALLON: Thanks for having me.
BALDWIN: Appreciate it. See you next time.
Next, on the Republican side, former Minnesota congresswoman, former 2012 presidential candidate, Michelle Bachmann, will join me. We'll get her take on President Obama's nomination today for the U.S. Supreme Court, this fight that really has already started. Plus, what does she think of the current state of the 2016 presidential race now that Donald Trump is the front runner? Who is she backing in the current campaign? Michele Bachmann, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:40:45] BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin. A political pinata, a sacrificial lamb. It has been less than four
hours since Merrick Garland was nominated to replace U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but pundits are already suggesting he will never be seated. Mitch McConnell has been relentless on his promise not to meet the president's choice, let alone vote. This is all operating under the assumption that the Republicans would win the presidency this year, replace late Justice Scalia with a like-minded conservative, but a possible Donald Trump nomination and a fractured Republican party complicates all of that.
Just before the show started, I talked to former Minnesota congresswoman and former 2012 presidential candidate, Michele Bachmann. Here's what she told me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Congresswoman Bachmann, nice to see you. Welcome.
MICHELE BACHMANN, FORMER MINNESOTA CONGRESSWOMAN & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Brooke, it's great to be on your show again. Thank you.
BALDWIN: Let me begin with the Supreme Court fight. President Obama says he is upholding his constitutional duty, you know, selecting this consensus candidate, and then now it's time that Senate Republicans do their constitutional duty. Do you think the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, is doing the right thing here?
BACHMANN: Yes, he is. Because I think he is hearing from the American people. They are very concerned about the Supreme Court and the direction of the Supreme Court.
I want to say, first of all, that I do believe that Barack Obama fulfilled his constitutional duty. The president is supposed to nominate someone under the Constitution. But also, the Senate has a separate duty, which is advise and consent. The Senate has observed the president in one unconstitutional action after another. They have observed the Supreme Court hand down rulings which clearly don't seem to be in line with the Constitution. This is a part of our checks and balances under the Constitution. I think both sides are acting appropriately under the Constitution.
BALDWIN: This is a potential nominee who, you know, seven sitting Republican Senators, you know, backed back in 1997 and are still sitting on Capitol Hill today, including Senator Orrin Hatch. Does that not make any difference to you, Congresswoman?
BACHMANN: Well, there is a big difference, as you know, Brooke, between being nominated for a federal district court position or an appellant court position and the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court is the last, final buck stop. Those are nine positions. They have to be carefully vetted. And just because Senators support someone for a lower court position does not necessarily mean they support that position for the top slot.
BALDWIN: Let's play the "what if" game. Looking down the road, if the nomination is indeed stalled until the next president is sworn in, let's say the next president is Trump, let's say Donald Trump nominates a Supreme Court justice, do you think that nominee would be conservative enough to satisfy these Senate Republicans?
BACHMANN: That's the speculation of all speculation. No one really knows. I think people recognize in Ted Cruz he is the constitutional conservative candidate that's running right now. People have a lot of high confidence that he would nominate someone who would uphold the Constitution. That's the question about Donald Trump. And yet, Donald Trump is -- will be speaking to that issue, I think, even more. Both Cruz and Trump are the two intriguing candidates that remain on the Republican side. And I think this will be a question, Brooke, that you will hear a lot of reporters ask both of them because this is a very strong, high-priority issue for voters in this upcoming election.
BALDWIN: Yes, they will, starting today.
And on the race for the White House, do you see any scenario where Donald Trump emerges with the magic delegate number or not quite with the magic number but with the most delegates, just maybe shy of that 1237, and somehow doesn't become the nominee, how would the grassroots of the party respond to that?
BACHMANN: That's a great question. I personally don't think that's going to happen. If Donald Trump is within striking distance of the magic number that gives him the nomination automatically, I don't think you will see a scrapping fight at the convention to take that away from him.
BALDWIN: You think they will give it to him?
BACHMANN: Because the people will have spoken. I do. I think it will happen.
Vis-a-versa, I think if it's Ted Cruz and he gets the requisite number of delegates or very close, I think he will get the nomination. I think it will be too divisive within the party. Just like now, with Hillary Clinton, she effectively is now the Democrat nominee, even though all the juice and the energy is behind Bernie Sanders. I think there would be a meltdown if once the candidates got to the Democrat convention and the nod was given to Bernie Sanders as opposed to Hillary Clinton.
[14:45:36] BALDWIN: On the Republican side, let me share an ad -- I don't know if you've seen this, Congresswoman -- by a conservative anti Trump super PAC.
Roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really doesn't matter what they write as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of a (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That should be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There would be blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her -- wherever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: These are Trump's own words used against him. My question, just as a woman, are you worried that Mr. Trump will repel women, especially looking ahead, Independent women voters?
BACHMANN: No. No. Hardly. If you look at the voting so far, he has done very, very well with African-Americans, Hispanics, women, all sorts of demographics. That's what really has astounded people how well Donald Trump has done. Because what people see in Donald Trump is a positive individual who is pledging to make the country great and create jobs, high-paying jobs for Americans. That's what people want. And --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Do you support him, Mr. Trump?
BACHMANN: I haven't come out and endorsed either candidate. I think we were going to see either Trump or Cruz. Both candidates have very strong favorabilities. And I think that either one would do a very good job.
But if you look at the negative speech that Hillary gave last night, she was angry and downcast. And you compare that with the positive speech that Donald Trump gave last night, there is a real sharp contrast. I think that's why we're seeing.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Forgive me for interrupting but --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: -- Much ado about the rhetoric on the Republican side.
Final question, and even Mitch McConnell on the phone with Donald Trump apparently saying, listen, could you disavow some of the violence happening. Why do you think Donald Trump hasn't done that? Would you, if you were in his shoes?
BACHMANN: He has disavowed the violence. It's been very clear that he has. And it wasn't originated by Trump supporters. It was originated by Sanders supporters. It's really Bernie Sanders who needs to apologize and to call on his supporters to stop all of this. We can't have this community organizer agitation. Somebody could get hurt, very seriously. It's got to stop.
BALDWIN: Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, thank you so much.
BACHMANN: Absolutely Brooke. Thanks again. Great to be with you.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: Coming up next, Ohio Governor John Kasich celebrating a massive win in his home state. He says he has what it takes to get to the nomination. But mathematically, does he really? What is his path forward? We'll discuss that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[14:52:08] JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are some big winner-take-all states still to come, including New Jersey, pennsylvania, including, if you go all the way to June, out to California. If you look at it, we could end up with the possibility where out in California, 172 delegates out at the end of the June -- I haven't filled in the rest of the states -- but that could be the thing that puts somebody over the top. So we have to watch this play out as we go forward.
But, yes, the math for Donald Trump is more complicated because John Kasich won tonight. But with a three-man race, a lot of people saying John Kasich staying in could help Trump. When you get into some of these winner-take-all states with three candidates in the race, and if a pattern we've seen in past elections continues, that could be an advantage, Trump.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: John King, at the magic wall, explaining the path forward for Republican candidates.
Genevieve Wood, let me bring you in, former spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee and now a senior contributor of "The Daily Signal."
Nice to have you back.
GENEVIEVE WOOD, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, THE DAILY SIGNAL & FORMER SPOKESWOMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Good to be with you.
BALDWIN: On John Kasich, it is mathematically impossible for the Ohio governor to clinch the nomination outright. What is his best-case scenario?
WOOD: Brooke, honestly, even if you are some who believes in fairy tales and happy ending --
(LAUGHTER)
-- I don't see the yellow brick road for John Kasich. You are right, it's mathematically not possible.
And here is the other reality. There are two things driving the election on the Republican side. There are two lanes, if you will. One is represented by Ted Cruz, a traditionalist. And the other is the more populous side represented by Donald Trump. Both groups share something in common. They thought we had a government that was of the people, for the people, by the people, but they decided, you know, the folks in Washington, that really isn't what they are there doing. They are there for themselves. While they disagree on some of the policy differences and how we get government back in check, I think what is animating them at the foundation really is truly the same. And I don't know that John Kasich plays into that. And I think those are the two winning messages right now.
BALDWIN: You don't see any potential, to go with your analogy of an Emerald City in Cleveland --
(LAUGHTER)
-- for John Kasich whatsoever? Just so I'm catching what you are throwing down?
WOOD: No, you are absolutely right. Even if we had a contested convention, why do we -- I don't see any way where either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz don't show up with the most delegates, as we likely are. Why would John Kasich be the answer to any of that, based on what votes are saying in the exit polls, what they are saying in who they vote for? I mean it doesn't make a lot of sense.
BALDWIN: What about watching Donald Trump last night, you know, normally, after his wins, or sometimes not as massive wins as last night, he will stand out on the podium flanked by the flags and say to his rivals get out of the race. Last night, he did not say that specifically to Kasich or Cruz. I'm curious why that is? How would it benefit Donald Trump to keep them in?
WOOD: He says he wants a two-man race. Last night, I think he was trying to be a little bit more positive. He didn't mention either of them. He mentioned Marco Rubio but didn't mention John Kasich or Ted Cruz.
One of the things that John King mentioned that having three could be helpful to Donald Trump, something else to keep in mind, 14 of the next 22 primaries are closed primaries, meaning only Republicans can vote. That's not been as friendly to Donald Trump as more open primaries have been, where Independents and Democrats can cross over. He has won some of those. I think he has won six. It will be interesting to see with a smaller field how that plays out.
[14:55:37] BALDWIN: Genevieve Wood, we will talk again. Thank you very much.
WOOD: Thank you.
BALDWIN: On the map, the probability of all of this heading towards Cleveland.
Coming up next, one of President Obama's former advisors warns: Do not understatement Donald Trump. Is it possible the Democrats might not be ready if he clinches that Republican nomination? Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:12] BALDWIN: And we continue on. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
