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Women in Media say Fire Manager; Analysts Predict Trump Cabinet; Clinton Targets Trump in Ad. Aired 2-2:30p ET
Aired March 30, 2016 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: In "The Situation Room." For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next. For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" today with Pamela Brown starts right now.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Pamela Brown, in today for Brooke Baldwin. Great to have you along with us on this Wednesday.
Let's get right to it. We are six days from the next big Republican contest in Wisconsin. And check out this new poll just coming in to us from Marquette Law School. As you can see right here, it shows Cruz in the lead with 40 percent support from likely GOP primary voters. He's up 19 points from last month, while Donald Trump is in second, followed by John Kasich.
And this also just in to CNN this afternoon. Sixteen conservative women who are a part of the news media are now calling on Trump to fire his campaign manager. Corey Lewandowski, as we know, has been charged with simple battery in Florida after a video, we see right here, showed an encounter this month between him and a reporter. Still, Trump is standing by his top aide. This is what he told our Anderson Cooper at CNN's Republican town hall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I almost fell to the ground. I almost fell to the ground. She didn't almost fall to the ground. She - he - he got in her way. And, by the way, she was grabbing me. Am I supposed to press charges against her? Oh, my arm is hurting.
ANDERSON COOPER, MODERATOR: You suggesting -
TRUMP: Anderson, my arm is just killing me. It's never been the same.
COOPER: You're suggesting you might -
TRUMP: Excuse me. Excuse me. I didn't suggest.
COOPER: Yes, you did.
TRUMP: I - I tweeted. No, no, I tweeted. I asked the question -
COOPER: A tweet is a suggestion.
TRUMP: Should I press charges?
COOPER: Right. Are you going to?
TRUMP: Sure. I don't know. Maybe I should.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: All right, so let's talk about all of this with Barry Bennett. He's a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, and Ben Carson's former campaign manager, as well as Molly Ball, who is a political writer for "The Atlantic," and CNN political commentator Ana Navarro.
Ana, first to you. I've got to ask, do you agree with these women who are coming out asking for Trump to fire his campaign manager?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I do, but I think it's a moot point. I think there's absolutely no chance that Donald Trump will do as much. Look, I think this is a ridiculous situation that has escalated to this level because of the campaign manager's inability, unwillingness to apologize, to issue a, you know, simple apology at the moment it happened. Things happen in the heat of a campaign. Things happen in the heat of a post-debate spin room. You know, these things are usually like mosh pits.
You know, it would have been such a simple act to just say, you know what, tempers flared. It might have gotten a little bit out of control. I'm sorry. I don't think we would be where we are today, where we have now been discussing for 48 hours, if not more, what happened there and the legality of it, and just the ridiculous, ridiculous conversation that has so little to do with the policy issues that are confronting this nation. I - you know, I - I - this just gets - getting more and more surreal by the day, by the hour, Pam.
BROWN: So, Barry, to Ana's point, why didn't he and why doesn't he just apologize? Why - what about Trump? I mean as we've heard him say, he's standing by his campaign manager. He won't apologize either. Do you approve of the way they're handling this situation?
BARRY BENNETT, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Well, I agree with Ana that this is beyond absurd at this point, right. What she accused them of at the beginning, even though she's never even talked to the campaign, was that someone grabbed her and threw her to the ground. Donald Trump was just wandering around and he approached her and then someone grabbed her and threw her to the ground, which, obviously, that never happened. The videotape is very clear about that.
You know, I also agree with Ana - I'm sure Molly's had this too, you get into these media scrums and, I mean, you know, the first thing that goes out the window is etiquette. You have the microphones sticking people, shoving. Everybody wants to get to the guy who's doing the talking. So, you know, I think it's time to move on. This is ridiculous. Let's talk about the issues. Let's talk about the economy. Let's talk about our failed government. Let's talk about, you know, our safety. And let's start talking about the things that matter to people.
BROWN: And let's talk about this new poll, Molly. This poll coming out from Marquette University showing Cruz holding a double digit lead in Wisconsin. Do you think that this publicity, everything that's going on surrounding Trump, could be hurting him?
MOLLY BALL, POLITICAL WRITER, "THE ATLANTIC": Well, it seems to be - I mean it's interesting to hear Barry say that we should move on and talk about the issues because it's Trump who doesn't seem to want to do that. I mean he was boasting today about how this controversy over Corey Lewandowski has overshadowed Scott Walker's endorsement of Ted Cruz. And, you know, last night at the town hall repeatedly was changing the subject when he was pressed on issues. So if there's anyone who doesn't seem to want to talk about the serious issues in this campaign, it seems to be Donald Trump. I mean -
BENNETT: Molly, that's not fair.
BALL: OK. Tell me - tell me how some - anything I said isn't true.
BENNETT: I mean the top - what was the - what was the lead on this program? Was the lead on this program Scott Walker's endorsement of Ted Cruz? No.
BALL: OK, exactly.
BENNETT: Donald Trump didn't set that. This is what's news.
BALL: But - but -
BENNETT: He just stated a fact.
[14:05:00] BALL: Well, but Donald Trump picks this fight instead of -
BENNETT: It doesn't mean he doesn't want to talk about the issues.
BALL: Instead of having Corey Lewandowski apologize, or instead of firing him or putting this whole thing behind him, he made it into a bigger deal. He dared her to file a police report, and that was the only way that she could get any justice for what happened to her.
BROWN: Barry, does she have a point here, that Donald Trump is fueling the fire in order to take away from this other news about Scott Walker's endorsement and so forth? Do you think that's a valid point?
BENNETT: Well, I think there is a reality that this is why (ph) everything the media is talking about today and not Scott Walker. Whether or not that was Donald Trump's intention, I have no idea. I don't think so.
But, you know, I'm sure he would rather be talking about the immigration problem, the heroin problem, the ISIS problem, the economy problem. But this is what we're talking about today.
BROWN: Well, another thing we're talking about -
NAVARRO: Guys, can I just tell you, if either of you two -
BROWN: Go ahead, Ana. NAVARRO: If either of you two think that even without this entire Michelle Fields/Corey Lewandowski controversy that's going on we would be speaking about Scott Walker's endorsement today, you guys - you guys have much bigger impression about Scott Walker than I think most TV producers do.
BROWN: And just for the record, we did talk about it yesterday when the endorsement was announced.
NAVARRO: Right, for about - for all of 15 minutes, Pam, OK, because the attention deficit span that's going on in the news world, in the political world, is pretty great right now.
BROWN: I can't argue with that, Ana.
I also want to talk about this news that came out of our town hall yesterday where you saw all the GOP candidates back away from that loyalty pledge that they signed a few months ago. Let's take a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think nominating Donald Trump would be an absolute train wreck. I think it would hand the general election to Hillary Clinton.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Honestly, he doesn't have to support me. I'm not asking for his support. I - I want -
ANDERSON COOPER, MODERATOR: Would - do you pledge -
TRUMP: I want the people's support. Honestly, I don't want -
COOPER: Do you continue to pledge whoever the Republican nominee is?
TRUMP: No, I don't anymore. Look -
COOPER: You don't?
TRUMP: No. We'll see who it is. I mean -
COOPER: You won't promise to support the Republican nominee?
TRUMP: And he was essentially saying the same thing.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got to see what happens. If the nominee is somebody that I think is really hurting the country and dividing the country, I can't stand behind them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So, Ana, clearly this pledge doesn't carry much weight.
NAVARRO: Yes, Pam. So they are backing away from the pledge to support the Republican nominee. This is my face of shock. I - look, I - and this race has gotten incredibly personal, incredibly dirty, incredibly controversial. It is in the gutter. It is not about policy issues. And the more emotional that it gets, the more in the gutter that it gets, the lower the level of the rhetoric that it gets, the more difficult that it gets for there to be unity at the end of this process. And that's a real problem for whomever ends up being the nominee. If any of those three guys is the nominee, it becomes a real problem because I don't see how we can win unless we all get behind one candidate, unless we all get under one tent.
And it's gotten so contentious, so ugly, that it's getting to be a very difficult feat for, you know, for the people who support one or the other. There's going to be one batch of winners, there's going to be one batch of losers at the end of it. And the schism between those two camps is getting greater and greater by the day.
BROWN: Yes. And to Ana's point, Molly, whatever you think of this pledge, this no doubt puts the RNC in a tough spot and shows just how fractured the GOP is right now.
BALL: Yes, in case it wasn't already obvious, look, this pledge was never worth any more than the paper it was printed on, but there's this hilarious delicious irony here which is that the pledge was invented to keep Donald Trump in the tent. The pledge was invented as a way to prevent Donald Trump from wandering off and starting an independent candidacy when and if he didn't win the nomination. Now that he is the favorite to win the nomination, it's the other candidates who are suddenly saying that they don't stand by the pledge. And so that, of course, opens the door for Trump to say, well, if they're not going to abide by it, I don't have to abide by it either. But the whole thing is - was just a farce to begin with and there was never any way of enforcing it.
BROWN: Yes. And as Ana sort of said, you know, I don't think anyone was surprised by what happened there.
Barry, to you, because another point that came out of the town hall last night was what Trump said on the three services of government. Let's take a listen to that and I'll talk to you on the other end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, the greatest function of all by far is security for our nation. I would also say health care, I would also say education. I mean there are many, many things. But I would say the top three are security, security, security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: OK. So, Barry, some would say that this sounds more like a Bernie Sanders platform than a true conservative's platform.
BENNETT: I think what he was talking about and what he was talking about is those are the three biggest problems facing us today as a country, health care, which Obamacare has failed miserably, costs are way up and coverage is nowhere near what we were - what we were told it would be. Our education system is in the shambles. I mean in the inner city, gun violence kills by the ones and twos, but our education system wipes out hope by the entire generation. And we've got to fix these things. We've got to quit talking about them in Washington and fix them. And that's what he meant to say.
[14:10:11] BROWN: Health care, housing, and education.
All right, also, Barry, I want you to listen to Anderson call out Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: You retweeted an unflattering picture of her next to a picture of your wife.
TRUMP: I thought it was a nice picture of Heidi. I thought it was fine.
COOPER: Come on.
TRUMP: I thought it was fine. She's a pretty woman.
COOPER: You're - you're running for president of the United States.
TRUMP: Excuse me, I didn't start it.
COOPER: Well, but that's -
TRUMP: I didn't start it.
COOPER: But, sir, sir, with all due respect, that's the argument of a five-year-old.
TRUMP: I didn't start it. No, it's not the - it's the argument of a -
COOPER: Yes, the argument of a five-year-old is, he started it.
TRUMP: Excuse me, you would say that. That's the problem with our country.
COOPER: Every -
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: All right, pretty heated there. Barry, do you agree Trump needs to tone it down?
BENNETT: I think everybody should tone it down, right? I mean you've got this group that used the picture of Mr. Trump's wife, which is a super PAC that's headquartered apparently inside Carly Fiorina's offices. Carly is defending him on the stage. I mean it's - it's crazy. Ana is absolutely right, this whole thing is beyond absurd at this point. We've got a couple months left. Let's get through it. Let's go to the convention. Let's have a beer summit at the convention. I'm buying, Ana. And - and get this thing (INAUDIBLE).
NAVARRO: I don't drink beer. You've got to - with me you've got to do either red or white wine. Or scotch. BENNETT: Well, I - I like the red. Bigger the better.
BROWN: All right.
NAVARRO: Beer bloats me too much.
BROWN: We'll leave it there. Thanks, guys. Barry Bennett, Molly Ball, Ana Navarro, thank you very much.
BENNETT: Thanks, Pam.
BALL: Thank you, Pam.
BROWN: And, by the way, any moment now, Donald Trump to speak live at a rally. We're going to dip in.
Plus, one political analyst predicts WHO Trump would pick - who, rather, Trump would pick for his cabinet should he become president. He'll reveal those.
And it could become one of the biggest issues of the election in a battleground state, big business from the NBA to the banks fighting back over a new bathroom law. Details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:16:03] BROWN: The race for the White House where Washington and Wall Street collide. Investors scrambling to figure out what each candidate might mean for the economy and their portfolio. And the unpredictable 2016 cycle has proven to be a head-spinning numbers game. Joining me now to discuss this, a man who actually advises these nervous investors. Chris Krueger, senior policy analyst for Guggenheim Security.
Thanks for coming on, Chris.
CHRIS KRUEGER, SENIOR POLICY ANALYST, GUGGENHEIM SECURITIES: Thanks for having me.
BROWN: So before we get into which candidates are keeping investors up at night, you've actually been crunching the numbers and you came up with six states that you believe can still stop Trump. What did you find? Tell us about that.
KRUEGER: Well, Wisconsin is really the first of the six, that's next Tuesday. Wisconsin, then following New York, then you have an Indiana race in May, and then really the last day of the primary is June 7th. That's when California really looms large.
And it's not just that Trump has to lose one of these states. Cruz and Kasich really have to combine to win a majority of the delegates in all six of these to keep Trump from that key number, which is 1,237. 1,237 delegates is the only number that really matters now, much like in the electorate college in the fall, 270 being the only number that matters there. But these six states are really the dominos that would have to fall to
deprive Trump of the nomination, and we'll see how they begin next Tuesday in Wisconsin.
BROWN: So from your calculations, what is the probability that Donald Trump will reach that magic number?
KRUEGER: We have a 70 percent probability that Trump hits that 1,237 number. And, you know, with Wisconsin - you know, you have a lot of these states that are primed for Trump. And it's not even so much that it's a one-on-one with Trump against, you know, the never Trump crowd, so to speak. It's this continued - the continued fracture field between Ted Cruz and John Kasich, continues to allow Trump to win these winner-take-all states with a plurality, not a majority.
BROWN: So you describe your political views as, quote, "Switzerland." But which candidate do investors fear the most from your research?
KRUEGER: Well, I mean, Bernie Sanders clearly would be the one who would give investors the most heartburn. You know, with, on the Republican side, you know, John Kasich, you know, I think certainly would be one that investors would feel a little more comfortable with. With Donald Trump, it's, you know, investors thrive on predictability and certainty. And with Trump, you know, that's not a commodity that comes too frequently to the fore.
BROWN: And you've also, speaking of Trump, crafted this hypothetical Trump cabinet. Who is in that cabinet? I was looking over it, and one of them was someone who just endorsed Ted Cruz, right?
KRUEGER: Right. It's - well, look, I mean, you know, -- I mean Hillary Clinton was Barack Obama's secretary of state. So, you know, there are two -
BROWN: Anything can happen.
KRUEGER: Anything can happen. For us, though, looking at who could be in a Trump cabinet, it's - Trump has said routinely he plans on having a number of military leaders. That would make a lot of sense. It would follow in sort of the footsteps of a Ross Perot taking a Jim Stockdale and others sort of in that mold. But, you know, Jim Webb is a - was a Democrat, ran, obviously, against Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. He's said he would have real trouble voting for Hillary in the fall. He's exactly the type of voter in the fall, if Trump is the Republican nominee, who will be sort of the older Reagan Democrat, the disaffected sort of blue-collar, predominately white voters that would make up sort of the Trump coalition. So someone I think like that is someone to keep an eye on in a number of those sort of so-called or former Reagan Democrats that could well flock to Trump come November.
[14:20:05] BROWN: All right, Chris Krueger, thank you so much. Interesting perspective there.
KRUEGER: Thank you.
BROWN: And up next on this Wednesday, the battle for New York. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on a collision course, both claiming the empire state as their home turf. Today, Clinton strikes with a political ad targeting the Manhattan billionaire, but with Bernie Sanders still winning states, is it too much too soon?
Plus, North Carolina under pressure, and now feeling major backlash from big businesses. More than 80 major companies taking a stand against a controversial new law. We'll discuss after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:11] BROWN: And just a short time from now, Bernie Sanders hosts a town hall in Wisconsin. He is scrambling to woo supporters and win back some ground against rival Hillary Clinton. The Wisconsin primary is just six days away, 86 delegates are on the line and, of course, we'll bring you some of Sanders' town hall live right here next hour.
And, meantime, Sanders is slamming Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. Speaking with CNN's Erin Burnett, Sanders weighed in on the arrest of Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, charged with battery for allegedly grabbing a reporter. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What has concerned me very much about Donald Trump is the edginess of calls to violence around his campaign. What I found absolutely shocking, not only this campaign manager's action, but he was prepared, or at least indicated that he was prepared to pay the legal fees for somebody who quite openly sucker punched somebody -
ERIN BURNETT , CNN ANCHOR: Punched someone.
SANDERS: Right, knocked them down. And when you say you're going to pay the legal fees for somebody who commits a gross act of violence, what you're really telling your supporters is that violence is OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Trump says he will not fire Lewandowski and that the reporter is exaggerating.
Meantime, the battle over the empire state is already heating up with Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders claiming New York as their home turf. And now Clinton is striking first, unleashing her very first New York television ad. And while it does not specifically mention her rivals, it's quite clear who she's targeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When some say we can solve America's problems by building walls, banning people based on their religion, and turning against each other, well, this is New York. And we know better.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: All right, so the ad shows footage of violent rallies, including a Trump supporter punching a protester. Let's talk it over with Clinton campaign chief strategist Joel Benenson.
Joel, thanks for coming on.
JOEL BENENSON, CHIEF STRATEGIST, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN: Thanks for having me.
BROWN: So you watch this ad and it looks more like an ad for the general election. Have you already moved on from Bernie Sanders?
BENENSON: No, I think the ad is for New Yorkers who know that Hillary Clinton has been fighting for the values that New Yorkers hold dear to them. This is, as she notes in the ad, and as the ad is communicating, a very diverse state. It's where people come in through Ellis Island. Generations of immigrants have. So many New Yorkers are first, second generation here. These are important values to be talking about in this campaign because it's about who we are as a country.
So it's very much an ad that's relevant as we head into this primary. And certainly she's been speaking out - you just showed a clip of Senator Sanders. She's been denouncing Donald Trump's calls to violence and his divisive rhetoric since the first day he started doing that on the stump. So it's great that Senator Sanders is joining in that. It's very important that I think all New Yorkers reject that kind of tone.
BROWN: But this ad clearly is targeting Donald Trump, even though he's not named explicitly. Does this mean you fear Donald Trump in New York, who is also claiming New York as his home turf?
BENENSON: Well, I - you - look, you've got everybody who's got, you know, New York connections here. Senator Sanders is a native New Yorker from Brooklyn. Donald Trump, obviously, is here. So you've got three people from New York.
You know, I, again, I think the point here is that we're electing a president to represent the country. These primaries are about where people are going to take the country. And the value of our diversity is front and center in who we are as Americans. And Hillary Clinton has been making that case from day one, that everybody, no matter who you are, where you're from, what you look like, should be able to live up to your God given potential, because the only way America can reach its potential is if all of us do. I think it's a unifying message. It's one that's an important test for any president. And I think she's making the case that she's the best person to be president of the United States.
BROWN: Right, but does she fear Donald Trump in New York?
BENENSON: Does she -
BROWN: Is she concerned about Donald Trump's appeal in New York, considering this ad is focused on him? BENENSON: No, I think we're running in a primary against Bernie
Sanders and we're making a case throughout this campaign, as Bernie Sanders is, about which one of these two Democrats is better to represent the Democratic Party going forward. And just as we have throughout a host of states, we've won most of the primaries. We're ahead in pledged delegates. We're ahead of Senator Sanders in the popular vote among Democrats by about 2.5 million. But we want to keep building our pledged delegate lead here. And our message about diversity and the appreciation of that diversity in New York is a really good starting place here to have the debate going forward that we're going to have.
BROWN: All right, Joel, I don't need to tell you this, but you caused some waves when you said Clinton would only debate Sanders in New York if Sanders changes his tone. Watch this.
[14:30:04] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENENSON: But Senator Sanders doesn't get to decide when we debate, particularly when he's running a very negative campaign against us. Let's see if he goes back to the kind of tone he said he was going to set early on. If he does that, then we'll talk about
