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Police Conduct Raid in Brussels Searching for Evidence Related to Terrorism Activities; Ted Cruz to Pick Up Majority of Delegates in Colorado; John Kasich Attacks Ted Cruz in New York; Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton Campaign in New York for Democratic Presidential Nomination; Jordan Spieth Leading in Masters Tournament. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired April 09, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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


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[10:00:08] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: It is so good to have your company this morning. I'm Christi Paul.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Martin Savidge in for Victor Blackwell. It's 10:00 in the east coast, 7:00 in the west. CNN newsroom begins right now.

PAUL: A new raid in fact is just wrapping up in a Brussels neighborhood. Dozens of officers moved into the area as residents were being evacuated.

SAVIDGE: This comes a day after authorities say they arrested a sixth suspect with alleged ties to the Brussels and Paris attacks. On the phone, global affair analyst Kimberly Dozier, and at the scene of that raid, Fred Pleitgen. Fred, have the authorities wrapped up the operations there?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martin. They seem to be in the process of wrapping up the operations here. I want to step aside. You can see that the area that was cordoned off has been significantly decreased. There is a police vehicle blocking off the immediate road to the residential building that was being searched a little earlier. However, we are actually now right in front of that residential building. And we can show you exactly where the raid apparently took place. It is on the fourth floor of this building right here. It is still unclear what if anything the police might have found there.

What I can tell you is that a couple of minutes before some of the cordons were lifted, we saw a lot of police forensic units come out of the buildings with very, very large brown bags that appeared to be full of evidence. They put those inside a van, but then they drove off and shortly after that the cordon was lifted.

Now, we did see some police officers earlier combing through the area. There is a vacant right next to this building seemingly searching for something. Again, not clear whether anyone was taken into detention, not clear whether they found anything of any interest. However, of course, this is part of the wider anti-terror operations that have been going on here in the city for the better part of about 20 hours now, which has resulted in the arrest of six people, including those very high value targets that were sought in relations to both the Paris and the Brussels attacks.

SAVIDGE: All right, Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much, on the scene of the latest raid by the authorities in Brussels. And now we will take a deeper look at all of this.

PAUL: The fight against ISIS and how it could be affected by the raids that we are watching, joined now by CNN contributor and author of "ISIS, Inside the Army of Terror" Michael Weiss, also going to be talking to Kimberly Dozier, CNN global affairs analyst as well.

But Michael, I do want to start with you. As you watch what is happening in Brussels today, this being one of the number of raids in the last few weeks, do these raids affect the Brussels cell specifically or is it a major blow to the entire organization?

MICHAEL WEISS, AUTHOR, "ISIS, INSIDE THE ARMY OF TERROR": Not a major blow to the entire organization but it certainly affects what I would call the European cells. When you capture somebody alive, they are filled with human intelligence. They will tell you the names of their confederates, the last known whereabouts of where these operatives have been. This is why I think you are seeing this escalation. Now they have got six people in custody. That's a pretty good haul.

CNN reported yesterday that there were as many as a dozen known ISIS operatives on this European bulletin that were still at large. If the net is closing in on them that is both good and bad. Bad because, as we saw with the Brussels attack, that was an operation planned months in advance but the timing of it was accelerated because Salah Abdeslam had been captured. And as you guys know when one of their comrades is taken in it means that the cops are hot on their tail. So if there is anything that is in the late stages of being planned now, there is a likelihood that it could go off sooner. And I think this is the sort of fear at the moment, that the more success has been made the more dangerous things become, ironically so.

PAUL: That is what I wanted to ask you is whether there should be preparations for security in the expectation of another terrorist attack because all of these leaders and suspected terrorists have been captured now. But would that just be higher security in Brussels or would it be elsewhere throughout Europe as well?

SAVIDGE: It has to be everywhere. The specific countries that I keep hearing both from former ISIS members and from U.S. intelligence are Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and Belgium. Germany I was told by a recent ISIS defector, the plan was to send female suicide bombers to set things off, and themselves included, as a way to destabilize the German government and to exacerbate the refugee crisis there.

So ISIS, as I keep saying, the organization is now in a sense bifurcating into two. They have their domestic arm, the caliphate project remaining, nation building and so on, and then they have the very prominent and now robust foreign operations arm.

[10:05:02] And the foreign operations arm is increasingly being led by European nationals, not by Arabs. So this is a very dangerous state of affairs.

PAUL: Are you surprised that all of these suspects are staying in this area of Brussels or are staying in Brussels at all with the arrests that we have seen, you know, this flood of arrests in the last few weeks?

WEISS: Not really. If they could hightail it out of there and go to another country or even repair back to Syria, they would. Think about it. They come from these communities. These communities in a sense created these jihadis. This is where they were radicalized. This is where they imbibed the jihadi ideology in mosques from people who were not even active members of ISIS but just sort of in the constellation of this ideology.

And again, Salah Abdeslam lived for four months one block away from his childhood home, and nobody dropped a dime on him, nobody informed. He was pretty safe there. In the region, in Iraq and Syria, where ISIS is superimposed the so called caliphate, these are the areas that I refer to as the briar patch if you remember the briar rabbit fable, don't throw me in the briar patch, but you will get pricked by the thorns but I'm quite comfortable and safe here. It is very much the same thing in European cities and capitals. They feel in areas like Molenbeek or even in areas of London that they are at me, that they are not even living in Europe anymore. They are living in some kind of colonial outpost of ISIS territory, believe it or not.

PAUL: Kimberly Dozier is on the phone with us now, CNN global affairs analyst. Kimberly is there a sense that we are seeing more raids because the people that they are bringing into custody might actually be talking?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: This is the hope that they are not making some of the same mistakes they made with Salah Abdeslam where they didn't question him for long enough or ask him what are the future plots you have planned, though it's not clear if he would have answered these questions.

The other thing they can do is exploit what they find with these people as they arrest them, cell phones. They seem to be rolling up a lot of people who were childhood friends, guilt by association. But the Belgium rules of evidence are fairly strict. They obviously have to have more than that.

To Michael's point I think one of the reasons that they are able to find some of these people still in these neighborhoods is that it's worked before, staying and hiding in place. Those communities also have a lot of people who are fearful of getting involved with the criminal elements that they keep to themselves so there is not as much loyalty going on, and sometimes you don't know who the neighbor is because it is just better that way. We also have to look at long term how the ISIS trainers may have told these people to operate, to lie dormant until the time was right at a time of their own choosing. We don't even know if they needed to be signaled by ISIS to carry out some of these plots. So in a sense they are following their regular marching orders, go home, stay home, keep your head down, you probably won't get caught.

PAUL: Michael talked about the likelihood that another terrorist attack could be expedited because of these arrests. How disruptive do you think the arrests are, though, to some of these plots?

DOZIER: There is really no way to know how many elements there are to a specific plot or that people who were involved can get together with the five people who are left, say 12 people in a ring and seven might now be arrested.

Now, the last time I was in Belgium just after Salah Abdeslam had been arrested, and that weekend Belgian officials were warning of plots that they were aware of but they didn't have much specificity, and they were asking the international community for help. So that is one of those things where you can logically assume that if the people who are hiding in plain sight feel like the cops are getting too close, will they carry something out? We know that is what spurred the Brussels airport and subway attacks. We can't know what is in their minds right now if they are still out there wherever they are.

PAUL: Very good point. Michael Weiss, Kimberly Dozier, I so appreciate your insight into this. Thank you for being with us.

SAVIDGE: There is much more ahead in the CNN newsroom, including a wild scene that is awaiting Ted Cruz in Colorado today. It is the campaign inside the campaign. Wait until you see how Republican delegates there are picked.

PAUL: And Donald Trump is off the campaign trail. He's still on Twitter, though. The Republican frontrunner weighing in on the Democrats' fight over who is really qualified to be president.

[10:10:00] SAVIDGE: And also Secretary of State John Kerry makes an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. He is there to help that government, which is in danger of collapse. Can his trip make a difference, especially for the cause of peace?

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SAVIDGE: Happening now, the Republican race for the White House is moving to Colorado, a state that has its own rather unique take on the process.

PAUL: No voters are lining up at the polls. Nobody is gathering at local caucuses. Rather state party members are the king makers. Senator Ted Cruz has already effectively won the state, picking up 21 delegates so far. CNN's Ana Cabrera joins us from Colorado Springs where the state convention is starting next hour. So Ana, help walk us through this process, will you, and good morning to you.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Christi and Martin. Some 6,000 Colorado party insiders are going to be gathering here in Colorado Springs today. All of the activities are supposed to start in about an hour from now, and they will be electing the remaining 13 delegates that will represent Colorado at the RNC come July. And there are hundreds of people who want to fill those 13 slots. So it will be an exciting day here.

We do expect to see presidential candidate Ted Cruz give a speech to this crowd this afternoon. He is the only presidential candidate expected to stop here in Colorado today. He has a lot of momentum coming into the state convention. We mentioned that 21 of Colorado's delegates have already been elected and it has been a Ted Cruz sweep so far. That happened at the district conventions which wrapped up yesterday. We had a chance to talk to one of the delegates who was elected about why she is throwing her support behind Ted Cruz and not John Kasich or Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN CORAN, COLORADO DELEGATE FOR TED CRUZ: I want to fight for pro- life issues, for our Second Amendment, for our religious liberties, and I am a national delegate because I do believe that Cruz is the man, the only one with a proven record and a history that he has been fighting for these issues. And so I wholeheartedly pledge and support Ted Cruz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:15:03] CABRERA: So Colorado's remaining 13 delegates will be chosen today. Every vote counts. As we know, 1,237 is the mark the candidate has to hit to clinch the Republican nomination, and it's looking unlikely that anybody is going to have that going into the Republican convention. And if this results in a contested convention, some of Colorado's delegates could be even more in play because not all of the delegates have to pledge to a specific candidate going into the convention right now. Four of those delegates are on pledge, but everybody saying at this point that they are going to back Ted Cruz.

PAUL: Very good point. Ana Cabrera, good to see you. Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Let's talk about the state of the GOP race. Joining me now to do that is CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Good to see you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Martin.

SAVIDGE: So we just heard that Ted Cruz is looking like he is on the verge of getting a clean sweep there in Colorado. What does this tell you about the state of Donald Trump and his ground game?

BROWNSTEIN: First one broader point -- Colorado has to be one of the six or seven most important swing states in national politics now, and it really seems kind of absurd to have delegates picked by a process that involves thousands of people instead of hundreds of thousands of people. I think it is a broader issue about as primary has become more intense fought in every state whether these non-primary systems can withstand the scrutiny they're getting.

Having said that, there's no question that what Donald Trump has done in this race is focus on big events and the big states and he's put much less kind of elbow, shoulder into the smaller states, the caucuses, all of these complex processes, and it's coming back to bite him. If he was pulling away from the field as he was earlier it wouldn't matter. In a world where every delegate matters trying to get to that first ballot majority, he is being hurt by his lack of attention to the detail, especially in these complex states that are not holding primaries.

SAVIDGE: There almost seems to be a naiveness about this. Overnight Trump tweeted, quote, "Isn't it a shame that the person who will have by far the most delegates and many millions more votes than anyone else, me, still must fight." Doesn't that capture the moment of Trump's campaign and what it's going through here?

BROWNSTEIN: Absolutely. The rules are the rules. You have to receive a majority of the delegates to be the nominee. If he is the person with the most delegates and the most votes theoretically that should put him in position to get the additional delegates he needs if he doesn't get them through the primary and caucus process itself.

I think his biggest problem at this point is that Trump has significantly deteriorated as a potential general election candidate since last fall. If you look at his numbers now, his unfavorables with key groups in the electorate in his head-to-head against Hillary Clinton are very weak, and they reflect all of the controversies that have afflicted him on the campaign trail. And because they are weak I think he is in a difficult position to try to convince people who don't have to vote for him at the convention to vote for him. So that is why you have this conventional wisdom about the convention developing that if he does not get there on the first ballot it is going to get much harder for him very quickly.

SAVIDGE: And speaking of convention wisdom, if we might, we know that Trump has branded himself as an outsider, but he just beefed up the role of one of his veteran strategists, that's Paul Manafort. He spoke to CNN yesterday. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP'S CONVENTION MANAGER: It depends on who you talk to if I'm part of the establishment or part of the antiestablishment. But the point is that I understand the establishment. I have run campaigns. That doesn't make you the establishment. What makes you the establishment is if you buy into it. I'm not a lobbyist. I haven't been involved in lobbying in 20 years. I don't spend much time in Washington anymore. Am I involved in politics? Yes. Do I have relationships that go back into the system? Yes. Some of those relationships see me as the bridge to Trump now. They want to be for Trump. They didn't have a way in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Donald Trump will tell you that nothing worries him, but it would seem by this new hire that he is indeed worried.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, and that was a great interview yesterday by Chris Cuomo yesterday. Absolutely. And this is something that should have happened a long time ago. This campaign has operated without any of the usual structure that campaigns have to build.

And one thing we have learned, and I have covered presidential politics since 1984, running for president cannot be a one man band. It is an enormous organizational undertaking. It's kind of the D-Day of American politics. Especially now, Martin, where we are in this position where we are seeing all 50 states matter, that hasn't been the case most often. You go from 1984 until now there have been very few races that have gone all the way to the end and that have managed -- that have contested all of the states on the calendar, and Donald Trump simply has not been organized for that kind of arduous, full- scale combat. And I think bringing in this kind of professional help is something that they needed to do.

[10:20:03] The question is whether it is too late and whether too many opportunities have slipped off the board for him already to reach that first ballot majority that many people think is going to be his single best chance to get this nomination.

SAVIDGE: And that is why we say time will tell. Ron Brownstein, always good to see you. Thanks very much for joining us.

And a programming note, CNN hosts a town hall with Donald Trump, that will be Tuesday night, 9:00 eastern. It will include his family, Melania and Invanka Trump. Anderson Cooper is the host, and that will be Tuesday night, 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.

North Korea is making yet another claim about its weapons development program. Is that regime really one step closer to making more powerful nuclear warheads?

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SAVIDGE: Some stories making headlines this morning, on the heels of his trip to Iraq Secretary of State John Kerry made a surprise visit to Afghanistan.

PAUL: He arrived this morning looking to shore up the unity government that he helped establish nearly two years. Secretary Kerry will hold key meetings with leaders amid political infighting and a sharp deterioration in the security across the country.

SAVIDGE: Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert sexually abused at least four boys decades ago federal prosecutors in Illinois have alleged. The claims date to when he was a high school wrestling coach in the 60s and 70s. Prosecutors say that one of his alleged victims was only 14.

PAUL: Moments ago protesters were outside Downey Street demanding the resignation of British Prime Minister David Cameron. Take a look at the pictures we're getting here. They are upset about his links to offshore finances revealed the Panama Papers data breach. Cameron reluctantly admitted that he owned shares in a fund set up by his late father to avoid paying taxes, and now he says he mishandled owning up to that truth. And North Korea claims it has tested a new engine for intercontinental

ballistic missile.

[10:25:02] The state run news agency reporting the test. CNN cannot confirm it, but earlier this year North Korea claimed it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb and that they managed to miniaturize nuclear warheads to fit on ballistic missiles. Those are their claims this year.

Another terror raid is wrapping up in Belgium this hour.

SAVIDGE: After yesterday's dragnet nabbed six suspects. We will bring you the very latest from where it happened.

PAUL: First, though, this week's business travel takes us to country music capital Nashville. It is something really fun to do when you are off the clock.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the Music City jamboree. The jamboree is a tour of Nashville but it's also live comedy and live music. And it becomes a sing along. You see the normal things but mostly the show is on the inside of the bus.

We let everybody take part in sing along like they have always wanted to their favorite country songs. We make them laugh.

We do have some non-country fans but we have bar classics that everybody will know. We get people from everywhere. We get them from the northern part of the United States, Australia, Scotland. We have had some Swedes on here.

We always like to find something different and fun to do in a different city. You get entertainment with comedy at the same time you get historic places in Nashville.

It's the best city in the whole world. It has gotten this very creative energy and at the same time is has that really great small town feel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[10:30:35] PAUL: It's 30 minutes past the hour right now, and a law enforcement raid is wrapping up at this moment in a Brussels neighborhood. Dozens of police officers flooded the area a bit ago and residents were even evacuated.

SAVIDGE: This is all coming a day after authorities arrested six suspected terrorists involved in the Brussels and Paris terror attacks. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is at the scene. He's live with the very latest on the raid. Good morning, Fred.

PLEITGEN: Hi, Martin. You are absolutely right. That raid is indeed coming to a close right now as we speak. But we have been able to get some more information for you about what exactly happened in that raid. Remember, a little earlier I was telling you that the raid centered around the fourth floor of the building you can see right behind me.

We now know that it is actually the third and the fourth floor, and apparently on those two floors several doors were knocked down by the police officers. We spoke to residents who live in there who say the officers raided a lot of the apartments and then padlocked the doors after they left and told residents they have to pick up the key somewhere else to actually get back into their apartments.

Now what we don't know yet is whether or not the police have found anything inside that building that is of any interest. Judging by the fact that most police have left now, we don't believe that they necessarily have found anything that could be terror related in any way, shape, or form. But of course the raid itself is one that has been going on because of the ongoing terror sweeps that the Belgian police is conducting here in the greater Brussels area for the past around 20 hour or so. Of course that led to the arrest of Mohamed Abrini, one of the main suspects in both the Paris and Brussels attacks and also other people who are high value targets for the police here, as well.

The police are saying they are very satisfied with the way things are going but of course they are keeping that very high operational tempo up just to make sure that there isn't anybody who could be dangerous for the population here.

SAVIDGE: And the fear is as a result of previous arrests we have seen new terror attacks, right?

PLEITGEN: Yes. That is absolutely right. You have the arrest of Salah Abdeslam who of course many people said was one of the logistical planner of the Paris attacks, someone who they say drove a car, who drove some of the Paris attackers to the scene of the attacks and then later fled back here.

Three days after he was arrested we had the Brussels attacks. We had the attacks on the airport and on the subway station. So certainly the authorities have learned from that. One of the things they apparently did is they asked Salah Abdeslam about all of his ties to the Paris attackers but they never really asked about whether or not there were other plots in the works. And so three days later you have the attacks, it is a very big concern of the authorities here that something similar could happen again. That is why you are seeing these terror sweeps around the city today.

SAVIDGE: Good to have you on the scene. Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much.

PAUL: John Kasich has fewer delegates than Marco Rubio who dropped out. But Governor Kasich says he is not going anywhere. We are speaking with a former senator who is backing Kasich about the Ohio's governor's path to the nomination and his new target in New York this morning. It's not Trump. It's Ted Cruz. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:37:26] PAUL: It's crunch time. The Republican National Convention three months away now, and a contested convention is on a lot of people's minds, thinking it is certainly a possibility. The candidates are fixing their gaze on New York right now with just 10 days to go before 95 delegates are up for grabs. The potential spoiler for frontrunner Donald Trump is John Kasich. The Ohio governor now going on the offensive, not against Trump, though. He is targeting Senator Ted Cruz. His new ad takes direct aim at Cruz's New York values slam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New Yorkers aren't stupid, Ted. After we were hit, we rallied, rebuilt, but remembered. So when you smear New York values in Iowa for votes, we remember that, too. Now you come here and conveniently say you love New York. Forget about it, Ted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: We are going to discuss with former senator John Sununu, the New Hampshire campaign chairman for John Kasich, and Ron Nehring, the national spokesman for the Ted Cruz campaign. Gentlemen, good to have you with us. Thank you.

JOHN SUNUNU, NEW HAMPSHIRE CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN FOR JOHN KASICH: Good morning.

PAUL: Good morning. John, I'd like to start with you if I could, please. What is the strategy for Governor Kasich to target Ted Cruz right now as opposed to Donald Trump?

SUNUNU: This is about honesty and authenticity. John Kasich has it. Ted Cruz obviously said one thing in one place and now is trying to walk back the remark.

It is also about what Ron Brownstein said, winning every vote and winning every delegate, coming in with the strongest roster of delegates you can. And at that convention one question on the delegates minds, one question they are going to be asked, who is best prepared to lead the country, and who will win? What Republican will lead the party to victory in November? And in every poll John Kasich beats Hillary Clinton. Ted Cruz loses. He loses to Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump loses to Hillary Clinton, and someone like that at the top of the ticket won't just lose the presidency. They'll lose our Republican Senate seat in New Hampshire, in Ohio, in Pennsylvania. That is why John Kasich is going to come into the convention with momentum, and that is why I think he is going to be the nominee.

PAUL: We should point out, Ron, that Governor Kasich is currently ahead of your candidate in New York. Are we going to see some sort of shift or push from Ted Cruz to try to turn around some of the backlash that has been given to him?

RON NEHRING, NATIONAL SPOKESMAN, TED CRUZ CAMPAIGN: After about 30 losses in the states by John Kasich who continues to run even behind Marco Rubio in terms of the number of delegates that he has, it is not surprising that the Kasich campaign would continue to flail around and look for some type of strategy to gain some type of momentum.

[10:40:06] But at the end of the day John Kasich is going to arrive at the convention. We presume he will stay at the race as a spoiler all the way until the end. He will arrive at the convention with the fewest number of delegates. He'll have zero momentum and he continues to run as a spoiler.

In terms of our campaign, we recognize that New York state is home state territory for Donald Trump. He has the home team advantage there. We are the visiting team. And that is completely understandable. If he doesn't win his own state then that draws up a serious question. But we recognize this is a long ballgame and we organized our campaign to go all the way to the end until June 7th. That is why I became California chairman of the campaign way back in August, recognizing this process could go all the way to the end and we're ready for that.

PAUL: And he makes a point, John, that Governor Kasich is third in the delegate count but he is still trailing not just Donald Trump and Ted Cruz but also Marco Rubio. How do you counter that at this point when he is trailing a guy who is not even in the race any longer?

SUNUNU: Look, Marco Rubio failed to win a critical swing state, his home state of Florida. John Kasich won his home state, not just any state, but Ohio. And if a Republican doesn't win Ohio a Republican will not get elected be president. And frankly, Ted Cruz can't win Ohio. He can't win "News of the World". He probably can't even win Colorado.

So that's critical, someone who will come into November, beat Hillary Clinton. John Kasich is the person to do that.

We are also heading into states where you have pointed out John Kasich runs stronger than Ted Cruz, in New York and Pennsylvania, in Connecticut, in Rhode Island. This is a stronger area. John Kasich beat Ted Cruz in the New England states with the exception of the caucus in Maine. So I think this is an area of strength for John Kasich. He is going to win more delegates.

Marco Rubio is holding his delegates in place because he doesn't want Donald Trump to be the nominee. And I think that's really smart tactically. It will be an open convention and the Ted Cruz spokesman was claiming it wouldn't be, that he was going to get a majority two or three weeks ago. That's not going to happen. It will be an open convention and those delegates are going to listen to the candidates. They are going to say who has the experience and the vision to lead the country. John Kasich has balanced budgets, cut taxes everywhere he's gone. He's never lost an election, and every poll shows him beating Hillary Clinton not just nationally but in critical swing states.

And I think that's going to weigh on those delegates, and that's why I think he is going to pick up delegates on every ballot. In 1860 there was a contested convention, Abraham Lincoln came in trailing the businessman, a flamboyant guy, Seward from New York, and Lincoln pulled it out. John Kasich isn't Abraham Lincoln, but the lesson of history is wait to see how those delegates vote on the floor. And John Kasich will be the nominee and next president of the United States.

NEHRING: What is it with senators being on these shows and filibustering? That's kind of interesting. Does every senator who just gets on the programs and just filibusters ad infinitum? Look, John Kasich has zero momentum in this race going forward. He's purely running as a spoiler. He has no pathway to get to the nomination whatsoever, and that is the situation which we face right now. That is the reality going syndicated columnist George Will. John Kasich will not be the Republican nominee for president under any circumstances. That is purely a fantasy. He is flailing around looking for some type of strategy to change the dynamic here after losing in about 30 states. It is hard to say that someone is a more electable candidate when they have lost over and over and over again in about 30 states. It's hard to say you're the more electable candidate when you keep losing to either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.

SUNUNU: It is hard to say you are more electable if you get beaten by Hillary Clinton in every national poll.

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: Gentlemen, I'm sorry, we are running out of time.

SUNUNU: This is about beating the Democrat.

NEHRING: This is a filibuster for the senator here.

PAUL: Thank you so much.

SUNUNU: You had your chance.

PAUL: Thank you so much. We'll have to wait and see how all of this pans out. We know polls don't always tell the full story by the time we get to it. Sometimes they do. So we appreciate hearing you voice today. Thank you for making the time for us.

SUNUNU: Thank you.

NEHRING: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are battling over who is qualified to be president. And with the New York primary just days away that war of words is getting ugly. We'll tell you what they are saying in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: At this hour Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is at a campaign event in New York. You are looking at live pictures of that right now. Hillary Clinton will be headlining her own event soon. It is just days now before the New York primary. The candidates are

locked in a war of words, even Bill Clinton joining the fray, now suggesting that Sanders has different standards for Clinton because she is a woman. Take a listen to what Sanders told our Jake Tapper about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I appreciate Bill Clinton being my psychoanalyst. It's always nice. But the reality is ever since Wisconsin when that became the six out of seven states that we have won in caucuses or primaries, I think the Clinton campaign made it public and they have told the media that here in New York they are about to become very negative, about to beat us up. And I just want them to understand that we have tried to run an issue-oriented campaign but that we are not going to be attacked every single day. Our record is not going to be distorted. We are going to fight back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Let's bring in Philip Levine who is mayor of Miami Beach, Florida and a Hillary Clinton supporter, and then we have got Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America and a Bernie Sanders supporter. Charles, I'll start with you. What does Sanders really believe about Clinton? Surely he is not believing that she is not qualified.

CHARLES CHAMBERLAIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA: I think the question of qualifications, obviously when you look at the experience that Secretary Clinton has that stands up. But the question here is about judgment. And what Sanders is saying is when we look at the issues and we look at the question of voting for or supporting terrible trade deals like NAFTA or the Panama Papers or when it comes to how you are funding your campaign with $15 million worth of Wall Street money, or when we are looking at whether or not you voted the right way on the most disastrous foreign policy decision in modern times, the Iraq War, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama were both on the right side when it came to whether or not we should go fight in Iraq, and Hillary Clinton was on the wrong side.

[10:50:21] SAVIDGE: I think the question I asked was whether he felt that Mrs. Clinton was somehow qualified to be president. We weren't going to the record of Bernie. So what does Bernie believe as far as her qualifications?

CHAMBERLAIN: It comes to questions of judgment. I think what he is saying is that voters need to ask, does her judgment qualify her for president? This is a primary campaign. And when you are in a primary, you are drawing contrasts.

SAVIDGE: Let me ask you this. Bill Clinton has joined this battle and he has basically come out and said apparently Bernie Sanders is, he is implying he is sexist here. How do you make that judgment jump?

MAYOR PHILIP LEVINE, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: First of all, thank you, Martin. And I have got to say this. I'm not here to defend Bernie Sanders, but we know he is too bright of a man to qualify and say that Secretary Clinton is not qualified for the position. We know that. And I think when these campaigns get very heated things happen. I understand that.

SAVIDGE: So does that apply to Bill Clinton, then, with what he came forward and said in the heat of the campaign?

LEVINE: When President Clinton speaks he is defending his wife. He is one of the most popular two-term presidents in the United States of America who has helped to elect a lot of Democrats, including our President Obama on the second term with that incredible speech he gave at the convention.

But I think more importantly I think what we have going on here in New York is we have two home teams. We have the Mets against the Yankees, we have the Giants against New York. Don't get fooled by Senator Sanders strong New England accent. He is a New Yorker. He must win New York to survive this primary. So I think it's getting very, very heated, and of course we all know Secretary Clinton is very qualified for the position. We'd hire her as CEO of the United States of America any day of the week.

SAVIDGE: Phil, do you think we are just talking because they are so ramped up and the fight for New York is so important?

LEVINE: I think absolutely, no question about it, Martin. And of course we all love the media, but the media has to sell advertising. And these are great advertising points to talk about.

SAVIDGE: Charles, do you think this is really just coming out of the heat of passion?

CHAMBERLAIN: This is a classic campaign. We are at a primary race where we're trying to draw contrasts between the different candidates. Go back to 2008 and right now eight years ago you had Hillary Clinton campaigning on Jeremiah Wright, on William Ayers --

SAVIDGE: But it seems that we have taken a turn there, that we are no longer talking about the issues. Now we are talking about the person. And is that what it has come down, to try to delineate one as a sexist or one as unqualified? Is that how the voter is supposed to make a decision?

CHAMBERLAIN: I would again say that this isn't about issue of qualification based on experience. That is a question of judgment, and that is the issues, which is exactly what Bernie has been running on all along. So there is nothing new in this campaign to be saying qualified, unqualified, judgment, lack of judgment. The question is who is going to be better for America? Who is going to rebuild the middle class? And the case Bernie Sanders is making is that I'm the one that's going to make the right decisions because I'm not funded by Wall Street. I know to be against bad trade deals. I voted the right way when it came to the war in Iraq. And that's the point he's trying to make.

SAVIDGE: Mayor Levine, how would you summarize it?

LEVINE: Martin, I think when you start talking about judgment we can talk about Senator Sanders' vote to give all these gun manufacturers immunity. When you ask the mothers of all those African-American youths that were killed by weapons, when they ask about Senator Sanders judgment to allow immunity to these gun manufacturers, that is a question of judgment and that is something that the people of New York will decide.

SAVIDGE: And you are right on that. Mayor Levine and Charles Chamberlain, thank you both for joining us this morning.

LEVINE: Thanks for having us on.

SAVIDGE: A programming note. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both appear on state of the union with Jake Tapper tomorrow morning at 9:090 eastern right here on CNN. And then this Thursday night Clinton and Sanders face off in a CNN Democratic debate live from Brooklyn, New York. Wolf Blitzer will moderate that, and that is Thursday night at 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: And right after the break we are taking you to the Augusta National. History possibly being made, first time a player could win Masters back-to-back since Tiger Woods 14 years ago. Stay close.

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PAUL: Jordan Spieth is halfway to winning back to back Masters titles, and golf great Tom Watson playing his final round.

SAVIDGE: Andy Scholes has more from Augusta in this morning's Bleaker Report. Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CERTAINLY: Hey, guys, good morning. The big question out here this weekend in Augusta is anyone going to be able to catch Jordan Spieth and keep him from winning back to back Masters. Spieth actually had his first over par round of his Masters career yesterday but he was able to still hold on to the lead. He has led six straight rounds here at the Masters, tying Arnold Palmer's record. Spieth has just a one shot lead over Rory McIlroy coming into today. Rory looking to complete the career grand slam this weekend, and golf fans are in for a treat as Spieth and McIlroy will be paired together for todays' third round.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would rather be playing with someone less threatening, to be honest. He has certainly proven himself in majors. But I think it will be a really fun challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really need to focus on me and focus on everything I need to do well to hopefully be sitting up here on Sunday with one of those on.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SAVIDGE: Yesterday's second round was an emotional one for the great Tom Watson. The eight time major winner playing his final round ever at the Masters. The crowd gave Watson a huge ovation as he walked up 18 for the final time. At 66 years old he said I just can't keep up with the young guys anymore. He won the masters twice during his career.

Many guys here are trying to find a way to slow down Jordan Spieth. Henrik Stenson, he got pretty creative. He posted this picture on Instagram with his daughter with the caption, "Alice told me "Don't worry about Spieth, daddy, he is going to be late for his tee time." And you see her down there messing with Spieth's tires.

[11:00:00] Spieth made his tee time, so no worries there. Alice's plan didn't really work, guys.