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New York Votes In Primaries Today. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired April 19, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:02]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: I can assure you, they're paying close attention and they have much to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Given what's happening out here in this important mission that you're involved in, why do you think this election is so important?

PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS JAMES ALLEN, U.S. NAVY: One of the few things they have direct control over is the military.

You have got to look at it and say, who is going to take the best care of the people itself, whether they have the knowledge to do it themselves or they have to knowledge to pick someone with the best advice, whether it's from a Democrat or Republican, whoever it is. Doesn't matter who it is coming from, but find the best advice and listen to it.

BALDWIN: I know you all, as active members, you can't comment on any candidate specifically. So, I won't ask about a potential President Clinton or a potential President Trump. What is the most important quality in a commander in chief?

LT. PRECIOUS MCQUADE, U.S. NAVY: Being a leader.

So, we're leaders, each and every single one of us out here every day. So, the president, you're leading our nation. You're the commander in chief. We are going to take orders, you know, from you essentially. We have got our chain of command. But that's what it takes is someone who is willing to make the right decision, and for us living these sacrifices, you know, real time, to execute the orders given.

BALDWIN: You're not a total dark hole. So how much are you following what's happening back home, updates on the war on terror? Brussels, what was your immediate reaction?

ALLEN: Sadness. It sucks. It's sad for the people there and people involved. We hope that we can find a way to keep pushing to keep -- to prevent things like that happening in the future.

MCQUADE: We have a huge part in, you know, curbing some of the terrorism that is happening in the world.

BALDWIN: Does that frustrate you, what you're doing out here and, yet they have been successful elsewhere?

PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS JOHN ADAMS, U.S. NAVY: It's not necessarily frustrating. But to do our job, this is part of it, to protect our country and the human race itself, the idea of getting everybody on the same page and hopefully our country can solve things diplomatically. That would always be the best solution.

And that's why we have our presidential terms as short as they are, to try to give new perspective and new insights and capitalize on what past presidents have done.

BALDWIN: What do you think the biggest misconception is from back home toward you all?

ADAMS: Our emotions towards the people that may be doing this doesn't go that far. We don't hate anybody. But we do need to make the proper decisions without that emotional connection.

And that's -- I think that's what it's all about, is making the best decision for our country and for the world, essentially.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You are watching CNN. Thank you so much for being with me on this Tuesday. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We are in the midst of the first New York Republican primary in generations that actually counts. In fact, voters are right now playing a direct role in who the next presidential nominee will be for both parties. Republican Donald Trump, Democrat Hillary Clinton, they're trying to stay out front, both of them having voted today.

Both face rivals who are coming off of a serious string of victories. But while Clinton needs a simple win, Donald Trump needs to win big. He has to break 50 percent statewide and within each congressional district. That way, he can take all 95 Republican delegates in his quest to reach the magic number of 1,237 and then clinch the Republican nomination.

And as Trump vies for votes, his campaign leadership is going through a shakeup. More on that in a moment.

But first to the polls we go this afternoon.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is in Brooklyn. And Miguel Marquez is in Lancaster, New York. Easy for me to say.

Miguel, to you first. How's voting going?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is big.

For an example, the last time that we had sort of a competitive or an interesting primary in New York was 2008 with Obama and Clinton. At that point, we had about 33 percent turnout. We are running well ahead of that in Erie County and it seems across the state as well. This is Lancaster just outside of Buffalo, a very, very busy polling station here. There's about eight different voting districts represented here. They check in here. They go then in with their voting districts over there. They vote behind those I have been them baby booths today, these privacy screens that are here, and then they run their votes through a machine right over here.

They are running about 15 percent, perhaps 20 percent of the electorate. We aren't even to the busy part of the day yet. That will be later in the afternoon as people get off work, polls open here until 9:00 p.m., very, very high interest, because both the Democratic and the Republican nominees matter and New York matters in this primary race.

[15:05:05]

And don't forget, there are three New Yorkers running in this race this time -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, Miguel Marquez there for us all day, casting votes in Lancaster, New York, thank you.

To Brooklyn now and Brynn.

How's the turnout been thus far?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's been pretty good, Brooke.

I want to show you quickly behind me. This is where actually people finish their voting. They hand in their ballot and then they are able to walk on out of here. And, Brooke, I really want to speak to the excitement people are really having about voting in this particular primary.

We have seen grandparents bring in their grandchildren. I actually saw one teenager walk out here with her mother and she turned to her and said, I now feel like an adult. You can see a lot people are excited about actually casting their ballot.

And why wouldn't they be? We know that Brooklyn has somewhat become the epicenter, at least for the Democratic primary. And we also know that we have seen it in the numbers. Voter turnout, as we have been hearing from people who are official, saying it is high here in the borough of Brooklyn and that may mean Bernie Sanders is on a roll.

He said, historically, at least recent history, when voter turnout is high, he does well. But I will say, I have been talking to a lot of voters and there are a lot of people casting their ballot for Hillary Clinton. One gentleman saying today he likes her experience, he likes her dedication, and it's not so much that he doesn't like Bernie. He just says he doesn't really have a plan. He has a dream, but he doesn't have a plan.

So, certainly, this is a borough we will be looking out for and we will see how it goes, Brooke. BALDWIN: It's interesting, though. I talked to the Clinton camp this

morning and on turnout they said, what are they talking about? Any time voter turnout has been high, our candidate has done well.

So, there's that. Brynn and Miguel, thank you so much out and about with voters in the great state of New York.

OK, so are the details of this Trump campaign shakeup. National field director Stuart Jolly out. Jolly resigned just two days after Trump met with his senior staff. Rick Wiley, meantime, is now in leading Trump's ground operations. Wiley, interestingly, used to be campaign manager for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

Trump's senior press representative just told me these changes are about adding talent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEALY BAUMGARDNER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR REPRESENTATIVE: We're bringing on the top talent in order for us to get to 1,237, so we don't have to worry about a contested convention.

We bring on the top-notch talent in order to do that. And that's exactly what you're seeing.

BALDWIN: Who's in charge?

BAUMGARDNER: Corey Lewandowski remains the campaign manager, absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK.

With me now, CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash, chief political analyst Gloria Borger, and CNN political commentator Van Jones, who used to serve as an official in the Obama administration.

Happy New York primary day to all of you fine people.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

Dana, I'm going to turn to you first because you just heard the Trump spokesperson saying Corey Lewandowski still very much the campaign manager. Everything else is just rumors and speculation. She said they're just adding talent. Other people have questioned as to whether or not maybe Trump isn't satisfied. What's up?

BASH: I think it's a little bit of both, maybe a lot of both, that first and foremost this has been -- I think for people who understand how any organization is run, if they understood how lean and mean the Trump organization has been to this point and he's been able to get where he has gotten, to this front-runner status and then some, it's pretty astonishing.

They -- it's basically Corey or has been Corey Lewandowski, the campaign manager, and a few other staffers and effectively one communications person, Hope Hicks. And so they have to expand. They are expanding.

Paul Manafort, who we talked a lot about last week or the week before when he first came on, is officially in charge of the delegate selection process going towards the convention. I think he's like the convention campaign manager, but he's clearly taking on a much greater role in order to help the campaign get to that process and get to that final point.

And then Rick Wiley, who you just named, he has a lot of experience within the Republican Party historically at the Republican National Committee, and so he is obviously taking a much more robust role. So, look, it's time that they brought in some veterans, where they have just been kind of going mostly based on Donald Trump's gut, which has been OK so far.

BALDWIN: Right. He's doing all right.

BASH: Yes.

BALDWIN: And on your point about being lean and mean to begin with, Gloria, you know, I was listening to Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, this morning on "NEW DAY," saying this is what oftentimes happens with this insurgent campaign, lean and mean, working out of small quarters somewhere, not spending a whole lot of money, and then here you go, all of a sudden, you have this huge success, rolls in and you have changes.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure.

BALDWIN: That has to happen on both sides of the aisle.

BORGER: Right. And it doesn't only happen with insurgent campaigns, Brooke. It happens with any campaign.

[15:10:03]

Usually, at some point, most of the campaigns I have covered, there's new blood that's brought in because there have been issues. And I think the issue that quite frankly that Trump campaign had was a certain overconfidence. After winning and winning and winning, they didn't think they'd ever be in the situation where they had to start counting delegates and recruiting delegates and courting delegates.

That was not something I think any of them had in mind. And when they had an opportunity to consolidate the support that they had, they didn't take it. They didn't use it. And then he had the loss in Wisconsin and then he had his own mistakes and then he had some bad poll numbers.

So it makes an awful lot of sense if you're Donald Trump. You take a look at the lay of the land. And you say, wait a minute. You know, we need some help here. It doesn't mean that Corey gets fired. What it means is that you have other people with different skills who can help you sort of right the ship, which is what they need to do, because they don't want to have ballots at a convention.

BALDWIN: That's right.

BORGER: They want to get to 1,237 before the convention.

BALDWIN: Exactly. Right.

Before they do, Van, let me just pivot to the Republican race in general. We're talking Democrats after the break. So, staying on Republicans and here in New York, you have had -- open any paper, look at the front of any tabloid, you have talks of New York values and what does that really mean and people eating pizza with forks, John Kasich.

BASH: What?

BALDWIN: Who walks away, Van, in your opinion, the most dinged up, the most bruised up after tonight?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, first of all, let me just say, when it comes to Donald Trump, we do have to say, yes, he has a campaign shakeup.

You don't see Cruz having a shakeup. You don't see Clinton having a shakeup. You don't see Sanders having a shakeup. It does lend the impression that his campaign is sort of a hot mess, that they're trying to figure out how to fix while flying they're plane. And I do think that that does go to his core claim for himself that he is a great leader. He's this winning leader. And yet he doesn't seem to have picked a winning team to get him all the way across the finish line.

I just think it's -- yes, it's true sometimes you have changes, but this is very late in the game for this major of a change.

BASH: I don't agree.

(CROSSTALK)

JONES: Now, in terms of people getting dinged up, you know, I just think, if you're Kasich, you just -- I mean, you wish you were more dinged up. It's unbelievable how invisible this guy has been.

He is an incredibly accomplished leader. He was a leader in the Congress. He's been a successful governor. This must be a nightmare to be in what should be much more favorable territory for him, and he's not even usually worthy of being attacked. It's almost like he is just a tourist in New York watching the election happen.

So, I think really he suffered the most. You would have expected, if he was going to catch fire someplace, certainly, Trump is going to get most of the attention, but, you know, Cruz has collapsed in New York and yet somehow Kasich is not rising.

BALDWIN: Let me ask all of you to stick around. We talked Republicans. I want to get to the Dems and the moment Bernie Sanders may be circling on his calendar in the weeks ahead.

Plus, here's the thing about beer with some folks. Brings these riders together on a commuter train in New York. They are loud. They disagree. They ride the train home together, and they will join me live. We will talk to these New Yorkers about who they're voting for and why.

And you have heard the protests involving George Clooney's fund-raiser over the weekend for Hillary Clinton and other Dems. But what happened behind closed doors? We will talk live with a couple who won the chance to wine and dine with them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:25]

BALDWIN: Welcome back. You are watching CNN on this Tuesday, this New York primary day, big battle under way to clinch the delegates in New York's Democratic primary.

The state could be a game-changer for Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, the Clintons casting their ballots early this morning. Senator Sanders greeting voters as they were out and about at the polls as well.

Secretary Clinton has been leading in the battle for the state's 247 delegates, but Sanders is fighting and he is fighting hard.

Let's bring back our panel, Dana Bash, Van Jones, Gloria Borger.

Kicking it off, Dana Bash, is this. If and when Clinton wins tonight, what is the big next moment for her? What's the date they're all circling on the calendar?

BASH: They're circling now, the Bernie Sanders campaign is circling June 7, which is the final contest before the convention. It's California and a few other states, which drives the Clinton campaign bonkers, as you can imagine, because even if and when Hillary Clinton wins New York, all of the delegates are proportional.

It's actually quite complicated, the system in New York, which is even more complicated than for normal times, only to say it gets complicated. But the bottom line is that he can still lose and capture a fair number of delegates.

So that is why you have seen Hillary Clinton, you know, not taking it for granted and campaigning all over the state.

BALDWIN: She keeps saying that over and over, not counting my chickens before they hatch.

BASH: But particularly because so much of the Democratic vote is where we are, in New York City and all its boroughs, and that why she is basically -- I saw someone refer to it as basically like the United Nations form of campaigning, not that she went to the U.N., but she went to every single ethnic group, which in New York City is pretty much every ethnic group that exists, campaigning for votes, because so much of the vote on the Democratic side happens and matters here.

BALDWIN: Van Jones, to you. What do you think if you're waking up tomorrow after all of this tonight and our friends -- all of you are on late this evening. What will surprise you the most?

JONES: Well, I think that there could be a surprise with regard to the performance of Sanders when it comes to African-American voters.

You know, he's just had such a hard time breaking through. If he is ever going to break through somewhere, it has got to be here. The reality is, he has the Working Families Party, which is kind of a local powerhouse behind him. They have deep reach in the black community. Also, the transit workers have come out for him, deep reach in the black community.

You have got Ben Jealous now going around saying that they're seeing a surge when it comes to the black vote. It doesn't mean that he can win, but it would be interesting to see, can he finally break out of this kind of 13 percent, 22 percent, you know, 27 percent, embarrassingly low performance when it comes to black voters?

[15:20:05]

If that happens, very interesting tonight.

BALDWIN: Gloria, to you. I'm going to play a little sound and I want everyone to watch and I want your comments on the other end. This is essentially a mash-up of the relationship over the years between the Clintons and Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton is a fantastic woman who I have known for a long time. Hillary Clinton is a joke. If she gets in, she is like a joke. She got schlonged. She lost. She is terrible. I'm a big fan of Hillary. She is a terrific woman.

Everything that's been involved in Hillary has been losses. I say she doesn't have the stamina to be a good president.

She's a friend of mine.

She should not be allowed to run.

I think she was treated very poorly. Hillary, that's not a president. With Hillary Clinton, I said be at my wedding and she came to my wedding. You know why? She had no choice, because I gave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I like her. I don't like her. I like her. I don't like her.

BORGER: OK. BALDWIN: Here's what fascinates me. Here we are. New York is their home state. They're indirectly competing against one another. They are still both April 19 fighting for their party's nomination. I just find that -- I find it fascinating.

BORGER: Right.

Talk about the definition of a love-hate relationship. Here you are. You have got it. Look, this is going to a big night for both of them. If Donald Trump wins the lion's share of the 95 Republican delegates, he is that much closer to the magic number before the convention and there's a narrow path for him to do it.

If she wins in the high double digits, she moves on to the Northeast, where she's polling very well, and she's looking at the rear-view mirror and looking at Bernie Sanders and saying, you know what, Bernie, you have got to start winning with Democrats. This is a closed primary in New York. Only Democrats can vote. And if you want to win the Democratic nomination, you can't depend on independent voters.

So, it's going to be a big night for both of them. And, you know, honestly, they both want to face each other in the fall. And wouldn't that be an interesting race to cover, Brooke?

BALDWIN: Wouldn't it, indeed?

BORGER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Got to get to Cleveland first and see how that all happens as well.

BORGER: Yes, we do.

BALDWIN: We will be watching all of you through the evening, all of our primary coverage here on CNN. Dana and Van and Gloria, thank you so much.

BORGER: Sure.

BALDWIN: Listen, we have heard from our brilliant analysts. Now a chance to hear from voters in New York.

CNN talked politics last month with a number of commuters there on the train to Long Island. A couple of them will join me to talk about who they voted for in today's Republican primary and why.

Plus, President Barack Obama leaving any moment now for Saudi Arabia in the midst of this firestorm over what role that country may have played in 9/11 and this bill, bipartisan bill in Congress. We will take you live to the Saudi capital coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:31] BALDWIN: Primary day here in New York. And for the first time in

years, decades, the vote really, really matters. And to find out what voters are thinking right now, you need not go any farther than a New York City commuter train.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clinton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will probably exercise my right to not vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Possibly Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. He will not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's making it a very interesting campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's so unpresidential, it's unbelievable. I would take four more years of Obama over this guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With Hillary being the only chance that the first woman is elected president, does the first female president excite you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So the short answer is, yes. Like, I would love to see a woman govern, but I would never vote for someone just because they're a woman. I wouldn't be happy just because some female is leading the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she is going to win the election. She has a solid base of supporters. And I think it will probably be a pretty close-run election, but I think she will be the next president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you look at her resume, she's the person who is most qualified for the job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we should throw out Ted Cruz still.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you can't elect a guy whose own party despises him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The one thing I think the Republicans struggle with, the cynicism and the negativity that they purvey -- and I'm a Republican and I will say this -- is distressing, I think, and it's going to hurt them in the general election, because everything is gloom and doom, because everything is going to hell.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who said it's gloom and doom?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said the place is going to hell. Donald Trump says...

(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make America great again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump 100 percent, but he's not a Republican. Bernie Sanders is a...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not a Republican? He's leading the Republican field.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm saying that what they should be doing, in personal view...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's leading the field because...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should be a little bit more optimistic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cheers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make America great again.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So we took them. We grabbed them before they get on the Long Island railroad.

We have Tom McGinley, a Donald Trump supporter, Kevin Sullivan, a John Kasich supporter.

Gentlemen, so nice to meet you. I love that piece that we -- thanks for letting us shove some cameras in your faces. And I'm sorry I'm not providing the booze. You can have the later on the train home.

That said, you have been riding this train for 10 years. You have gotten to know each other, and along the way obviously you're starting to talk politics, as this has been sort of this unprecedented election.

Kevin, to you first. Why is John Kasich your man?

KEVIN SULLIVAN, NEW YORK VOTER: Well, I think we need somebody who has experience in government.

BALDWIN: State executive.

SULLIVAN: Obviously -- Ted Cruz does obviously have Senate experience.

But, you know, Governor Kasich has been a congressman for many years. I think he's done a pretty good job with Ohio. I think he has credibility. I think he's probably a better person to work with Democrats across the aisle.

And I think we need somebody that can bring those types of, you know, skill sets and experience, you know, to the task.