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Ted Cruz Praised His Wife in Victory Speech in Wisconsin Primary; Amy Schumer Complaining About Being on the Cover in "Glamour" Magazine; 3:30-4p ET

Aired April 06, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

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[15:30:52] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Bottom of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

In his Wisconsin victory speech Ted Cruz took several opportunities to praise his wife, name checking her, thanking Heidi Cruz. His supporters chanting her name just as much as his.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I may be biased, but isn't she going to make an amazing first lady.

HEIDI CRUZ, TED CRUZ'S WIFE: We love you, Wisconsin.

CROWD: Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, Heidi.

CRUZ: She's the child of missionaries, my best friend in the world, and she has become a successful business leader, a loving mom. And every day she teaching our daughters, Caroline and Katherine, that strong women can accomplish anything in the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now a piece of this may be a not so subtle response to Donald Trump's quote "regrettable tweet of an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz."

Let's talk about this with CNN politics senior digital correspondent Chris Moody who wrote a piece all about this and our chief political correspondent Dana Bash who is good enough to be back with us.

So Mr. Moody beginning with you and your CNN.com piece where you say, it was absolutely intentional, all of that last night, all absolutely intentional on the senator's part.

CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS SENIOR DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Heidi Cruz is often standing next to her husband at victory rallies like we saw last night. What was very different was the context, given the amount of attacks that had been leveled by the Trump campaign against Heidi Cruz, things that are very personal even threats about her. What we saw was as she stood up there, you heard the crowd chanting her name. That was an opportunity for them to show the Cruzs that they stood behind her and supported her. It was also an opportunity for ted Cruz to show that he supports her and will defend her which he had been doing over the past couple weeks.

Now, this is an opportunity also for Cruz to make up for what -- for Donald Trump, if you look at his polling numbers with women, they have sunk under water about 70 percent among female voters if you look at that data. Ted Cruz senses an opportunity there. And by highlighting not only his wife's role as a mother but also successful businesswoman in investment banking, or his wife, and also his mother who was in the -- in the computer industry, it's really an opportunity for him to get some of those voters that Donald Trump might have lost for the long term.

BALDWIN: The women vote is very important. We all know that.

But Dana, turning to you, you know, you spent time with her. You interviewed Heidi Cruz around the New Hampshire primary. What do you make of that?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think Chris is exactly right. I do think that some of it happened organically, that the people in the crowd saw her and knew that she had been under fire, obviously, and rallied around her and that's why Ted Cruz being an astute politician, you know --

BALDWIN: Seized upon that.

BASH: Yes, not only wanted to give his wife a hug, but also, you know, politically wanted to show what Chris talked about.

But in this case, Heidi Cruz sort of phenomenon has the benefit of being true. When I say that, I mean Ted Cruz talking about the fact that he is teaching his two daughters the power of having a strong female presence, because she is. She's incredibly strong. Not only did she work for Goldman Sachs which she is on a leave of absence for, she has such an integral role.

BALDWIN: In the campaign.

BASH: Behind the scenes.

BALDWIN: People don't realize that.

BASH: People don't realize that. Behind the scenes, from day one, way before day one, she was helping. Because she has a management business background, she has helped guide the structure of the campaign. She has helped tremendously in dialing for dollars. She is -- everybody says, even people who are opposed to Ted Cruz, they kind of bow at the altar of her fund-raising prowess. She is kind of incredible about that.

And it is only recently my interview with her a couple months ago I guess now and a couple of others, since, that she has done more of a more traditional spouse kind of roll out in that she tried to humanize her husband, which is usually what you see on the campaign trail from the spouse. But before that, she -- it's not that she wasn't involved, it's that she was involved in a very specific, strategic way.

[15:35:26] BALDWIN: You talk about humanizing, you know, your husband. I'm just curious, because anywhere I have been out and about at debates or what not. And you see Melania Trump not too far from her husband. Do you think we will see more of her? They will be putting her out more, or do you think she is helping him at all?

BASH: Yes. In fact just even going through the, as you said the debates, and also some stump events and regular rallies, I mean, you're referring to the picture we have up there, that she actually went and spoke at a rally in Wisconsin, clearly tried to, you know, humanize Donald Trump but also tell the women out there, you know, he's not --

BALDWIN: He's a good guy.

BASH: But we have seen an evolution for Melania Trump. I mean, she was the woman who you saw and didn't hear from for months and months and now start doing some interviews. And then in the spin room, I remember there were times where I would be like, you know, do you want to come over in the spin room after debates and she didn't want to and then started to do it. She started to come over. She started to get more comfortable.

Look, I mean, I can't even imagine what it's like, going back to Heidi Cruz, the two of them, Heidi and Ted Cruz, they met on a political campaign. They met on George W. Bush's 2000 campaign. They are both political animals really. I mean, they have it in their blood.

Melania is not only an immigrant but she is, you know, she is a model. This is not what she does. This certainly not what she signed up for when she said she was going to marry a billionaire real estate mogul. And so, look, it is not easy. So she has been slowly making her way to her comfort zone, I think.

BALDWIN: Surprise. Thrust into a totally different kind of spotlight I suppose.

Chris Moody and Dana Bash, thank you both so much.

BASH: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Straight ahead actress Amy Schumer calling out "glamour" magazine for putting her in their plus-sized issue without letting her know. How the magazine is responding and is the term plus-size in need of a reboot? Model Emme joins me next.

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[15:41:38] BALDWIN: So many of you are talking about this one. So for comedian Amy Schumer, there is nothing funny about her name on "Glamour" magazine's cover devoted to plus-sized women. This is apparently what she is upset about. Check her Instagram. I follow her and this is what she was putting out. And it's gotten like 80,000 pluses like. So she wrote on Instagram. She wrote this, I think there's nothing wrong with being plus sized, beautiful healthy women, plus sized is considered size 16 in America. I go between a size 6 and 8. "Glamour" put in their plus-size only issue without asking or letting me know and doesn't feel right to me. Young girls seeing my body type thinking that is plus size. What are your thoughts? Mine not cool. Glamour or not glamour. So "Glamour" has responded, cover line on special editor which is aimed at women size 12 and up, simply says women who inspire us. The edition did not describe her as plus size. We are sorry if we offended her in any way.

So Model Emme with us. Lovely to see you as always.

EMME, MODEL/AUTHOR: So good to see you.

BALDWIN: I mean, I follow Amy Schumer and saw this on Instagram.

EMME: I want to have cocktails with her.

BALDWIN: I mean, get in line. Do you think her reaction is fair?

EMME: Interesting word fair. I think it's a reflection --

BALDWIN: Would you be irked with "Glamour" magazine if they didn't call you up and say, hey, we're going to put your name --

EMME: A lot of people wouldn't but because Amy, and I don't know her personally, because Amy's work is out there in defending women, and being very bold and brazen and fiercely independent and using her voice in such a great way about saying use your voice if you don't feel that women's bodies are being treated right. And she is -- she's been in "Glamour" magazine before, on the cover OF "Glamour" and "Glamour" is about celebrating the bouquet of beauty.

So I think what happened, it feels like, a multiplicity of things bigger than just Amy Schumer and "Glamour" magazine. Take a step up above bird's eye view women don't like to be categorized period. And this word, four letter, p-l-u-s is truly gotten way too much power. We need to dismantle this thing.

BALDWIN: So even though "Glamour" wasn't saying, you Amy Schumer, plus sized even the fact that her name was associated with a plus sized edition, you can understand, if she - I mean, and I don't know - I mean, somebody who vacillates between a six and an eight as well, and if they were to put, you know, my name and I feel like I work hard it's sort of like a would I be irked.

EMME: You know, the way I saw the cover, I was so happy that glamour had done this edition because the full figured women above a size 12 does not have a magazine at the elk of glamour, at the elk of "Elle" and other major magazines out there. And to see this wonderful edition was great. I thumbed through it. I didn't even relate because it's servicing me. It is a part of a service.

However, because Amy is a 6/8 she probably didn't want to be telling other young girls that were looking at this issue if, in fact, it was something that a girl says Amy Schumer is plus, there was no association to that, other than her just being as one of those wonderful women we love and applaud, right, she didn't want to have a confusion. So --

BALDWIN: What about the fact that glamour didn't reach out. You've been in magazine after magazine.

[15:45:01] EMME: Yes. Well, if I get on a cover of a magazine and it's a beautiful magazine, if, in fact, it was a derogatory magazine, I would not appreciate that.

BALDWIN: But it's "Glamour."

EMME: But this is "Glamour," right.

BALDWIN: It is under the category of who inspire us.

EMME: Two sides of this. There's many points of contact with this issue. It's really not just about celebrating Amy Schumer on being this wonderful voice for women and being on this initial cover with a wonderful group of women. Ashley Graham, hottest thing.

BALDWIN: Smoking.

EMME: Melissa McCarthy, she absolutely is owning and walking the walk and talking the talk delivering what goods into the marketplace. We just -- I think we just need to possibly take the categorization out of the conversation at the same time healing what might be rubbing us the wrong way with --

BALDWIN: I wish we had Amy sitting here. Trust me we have reached out multiple times. I would love to have you on Amy Schumer, come on any time.

BALDWIN: Emme, thank you so much as always. It a pleasure.

EMME: Brooke, thank you so much. Great conversation.

BALDWIN: Important one to have.

By the way, CNN is heading back to the '80s. We're going there. And this time around we are rocking with the music icon.

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BALDWIN: Motley Crue baby, we are going one on one with the one and only Nicky Sixx. Don't move a muscle.

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[15:50:00] BALDWIN: Yes. You know that one from one of the longest running bands ever, the rock 'n' roll phenom, Motley Crue. CNN is celebrating "the Eighties" on Thursday night in this new CNN original series. We are playing back some of the most memorable tunes from that era and Motley Crue was absolutely one of those bands.

The co-founder and lead bassist Nikki Sixx, all of these members, (INAUDIBLE), co-founder Tommy Lee and Mick Mars.

And Nikki, by the way, has a new troupe now called 6 a.m. A new single called "Rise." Here it is.

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BALDWIN: 6 a.m. has a new album coming out. First with the (INAUDIBLE). The tour taking off later this month.

Musician, songwriter, radio host, Motley Crue, co-founder Nikki Sixx is with me.

Nikki, awesome having you on. How are you?

NIKKI SIXX, FORMER BASSIST, MOTLEY CRUE: How are you doing? What's going on?

BALDWIN: I'm excellent. I'm sort of a music lover. And you know, I think of Motley Crue and Poison and other bands it is like I think of hair. What's the one fab from the '80s that you wish was still alive and well?

SIXX: Well, I mean, I came up in the late '70s playing in punk bands. And the concept with Motley Crue was left over from the punk era. And the look was really to not really draw you in but to push you away. It was a bit of a punk rock attitude. It was seeing, you know, how ridiculous you could be. At the same time, at the core of everything for me as a songwriter is two-pronged. One is to entertain you but the other is to make you think. And I think that's what separated us from the other bands was that, you know, it was about the lyrics. That underneath the belly of "girls, girls, girls" there's a dark tale.

BALDWIN: Well, I mean, I wanted to ask you about "kick start my heart." Because people may not realize, when you OD'd on heroin, what was it, 87?

SIXX: Yes.

BALDWIN: You were declared -- you were dead for two minutes. That's what that song was about.

SIXX: I mean, that's definitely what that song inspired. And you know, in my life, I have been lucky to kind of take bad experiences and turn them into a positive. Heroin addiction ended up, you know, rolling out into a book called "the heroin diaries" that helped a lot of people with heroin addiction and is being turned into a Broadway play.

BALDWIN: Incredible.

SIXX: And you know, the '80s was an interesting time, you know. There was a lot of money, there was a lot of fun, there was a lot of stuff going on that we could all celebrate. But there was also a lot of stuff going on. There was a lot of turmoil in the world. And if you think about the Berlin Wall and when it finally came down in '89, that was people rising up. And you know, for me, what I'm doing right now with 6 a.m. is really no different than what's been going on for, you know, centuries and centuries, which is eventually people getting fed up and standing up and speaking their mind or doing something.

And you know, right now in a presidential campaign that is extremely volatile and loud and people like Trump, who I disagree with personally, but nonetheless the point is at least with a song like "Rise" we're saying rise up. If you're for someone like that, you are into what he has to say, you think that's a positive thing for our country, then go ahead and vote for him. But if you don't, vote in the opposite direction.

So many people are feeling helpless. And they're feeling helpless around heroin epidemics and economic issues and the presidential campaign. And that is kind of what I am here like I lived through the '80s and I'm here now, it's 2016, and trying to carry that message on.

BALDWIN: We'll have to talk again with the Broadway bit, but final question, do you have sort of a favorite '80s memory or anything of that sort? That we can share on CNN?

SIXX: That you can share?

BALDWIN: That's shareable?

SIXX: I mean, I think for me one of the most exciting things was when Motley Crue got together and we got turned down by every single record company.

BALDWIN: Wow.

SIXX: And in Los Angeles we were playing 2,000, 3,000-seaters everywhere. And when we first got our first record deal and we put it out and it started spreading around the country, it connected because it was real. And I think that, you know, anybody out there that has a dream, wants to do anything with their life, whatever it is, if you believe in your yourself, I really believe that you can connect with more than just one person, two people, you can connect with a lot of people. Social media is great for that, by the way. I think it's a great thing. Just don't think it's for narcissists only.

BALDWIN: Preach, Nikki Sixx, thank you so much. You host a daily radio show. I heard radio call sixth sense. Thank you so much.

And do not forget brand new episode of "the Eighties" airs tomorrow night 9:00 eastern and pacific only here on CNN.

Nikki, thank you.

We'll be right back.

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[15:59:53] BALDWIN: Country singer and two-time Grammy winner and really let's just call him what he is, a legend, Merle Haggard. Him, as known as country music's outlaw hero died today on his birthday in his northern California home. (INAUDIBLE). He was 79 years young.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me. "The LEAD" starts now.