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Interview With Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf; Kelly Ripa Returns; Northeast Votes. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired April 26, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:25]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me.

Folks, it is Super Tuesday yet again, this time in the Northeast. Voters in five states are going to the polls right now to cast ballots in both Republican and Democratic primaries.

On the Republican side, you have these 172 delegates. They are up for grabs today in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. And Donald Trump has a good shot at running the table tonight. He is the only Republican candidate who still has a shot at clinching that nomination prior to that July convention, even as his two rivals have now joined forces to, as they're hoping, crush his chances.

As for the Dems, 384 delegates up for grabs for them. Hillary Clinton, she, too, is hoping for a five-state sweep. Of course, that would push her much closer to the finish line, as Bernie Sanders is hoping for a miracle.

Secretary Clinton, she is already turning her attention to Indiana's primary. That is one week from today. And any minute now, she will be touring a steel plant in Hammond, Indiana.

And that is where we find CNN national correspondent Ryan Young.

But let's begin in Baltimore with Brian Todd, who is standing by.

Folks voting today, what are they telling you?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, this is a huge day for the front-runners and voters here are expressing that to us. This is the Mount Washington Lower School Predict here just north of Baltimore. We're going to come in here.

This is where people have lined up earlier today to come and vote. It requires a civic commitment and also a physical commitment. You have got to hike up these stairs here. Our photojournalist Floyd Yarmuth and I are going to take you up the stairs and into the area where people are checking in and voting.

A big story in Maryland during this cycle is heavy turnout, especially for early voting. They had early voting available, Brooke, from April 14 to April 21 and they had a record turnout. Hundreds of thousands of people on both sides turned out for early voting in Maryland. A steady turnout today.

You have got a little bit of a lull here, but only because it's kind of a pre-rush hour lull here. People checking in here at the station. You tell them what party affiliation you are and then they give you a ballot, a paper ballot, and then you go over here and cast your vote. At that point, you come over here to the tabulator and put it in there and then they send it off to the voting board headquarters.

We mentioned the two front-runners, Trump and Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton dominant in this district. She was expected to do well here in the Baltimore area and also in Prince George's County, Maryland. Those are her strongholds. She is holding to them as far as the exit polling we have done.

It's a sampling of people coming out of here. Donald Trump is an interesting story here, though, Brooke, because he is also hoping to cement his large lead in these Northeastern states and is expected to do well, but here in Maryland, there's kind of a bit of intrigue going on. The sitting governor, Republican Governor Larry Hogan, has said he does not support Trump.

He has not come out and said who he is supporting. He had endorsed Chris Christie. He's not saying he's going to endorse Kasich or Cruz, but he's saying he definitely does not want to support Trump. Is that going to have an affect on Donald Trump's turnout and on his standing here on how the vote goes for him? We don't know.

He is ahead in the polls in Maryland. He could still score a big victory and capture the crucial delegates that he needs here and elsewhere. But it's interesting today that the sitting governor, Larry Hogan, a Republican, says he doesn't want Trump to be the nominee, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Brian Todd, as always, great spin around the polling place. Thank you so much there in beautiful Baltimore.

And now, Ryan Young, to you. We're watching and waiting to see Secretary Clinton in Hammond, Indiana, touring that plant. Tell me why she's there.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're told the reason why she will be coming here is to talk about manufacturing in this country. We know that getting the middle class back in terms of conversation that everyone's having is big because of manufacturing places just like this one.

She's going to talk about the imbalance between countries like China and the American economy and in terms of trying to get steel back out there. She said she's going to focus on American-made products. You can see the workers all standing here getting ready for her to show up here.

We do know she's going to have a tour of this facility. Right now, we are on that wait. You know how that works, Brooke. We just wait to see when she shows up. But we know she is going to talk about this because in this state one out of every five workers is employed in manufacturing, so it's a big deal here in this state.

Bill Clinton's also going to be in Indianapolis, so the conversation will continue about putting people back to work and getting them in the manufacturing field.

BALDWIN: Already thinking ahead to Indiana. So much emphasis there May 3. Ryan Young, we will stay in close contact. Thank you very much, the hurry up and wait.

[15:05:00]

Let's bring in our panel, David Catanese, senior politics writer for "U.S. News & World Report." Also have with me CNN's chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, and CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger.

Welcome, welcome.

Dana, to you first, on this whole allegiance between John Kasich, Ted Cruz, not exactly spelled out clearly. You know, maybe Kasich's getting out of Cruz's way in Indiana, but he's still saying, hey, Hoosiers, vote for me. Is this doomed?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It depends -- to answer that question, it depends how you define what this is. And what I mean by that is, you know, John Kasich has known to be -- been known to be a little bit grumpy at times.

And I think that this is one of those situations where when he was asked about the variations of this deal yesterday, he didn't exactly stay on message, the way that probably his aides would have liked to. And, surprisingly, the people in the Cruz camp weren't as bothered by it, and here's why.

It's because the Cruz campaign, as you and I talked about yesterday, they have been resisting this kind of alliance or any kind of alliance with the Kasich campaign for weeks, more than a month, really.

And the reason is because they didn't think that they could get anything out of it. Now they think that they can get something out of it, and that is a clearer path to winning and a winner-take-all state in Indiana, which is simply extremely crucial for Ted Cruz to be able to have the bragging rights to tell the delegates at the convention, because that's all we're talking about right now for Ted Cruz, that he should and could be the nominee.

So, for that goal, for the Cruz campaign, they still feel like they're OK, because they feel like John Kasich is not going to spend resources there, he's not going to be spending time there, at least campaigning. And those are two important ways that campaigns and candidates get votes.

They don't expect John Kasich to be telling his voters, don't vote for me, vote for Ted Cruz. And, frankly, as Gloria said many times yesterday, very astutely, that would even more so play into the Trump argument that this is all rigged.

BALDWIN: Gloria, you want to weigh in?

(CROSSTALK)

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Can I?

Just to add to Dana, when I looked at John Kasich yesterday, I was looking at an ambivalent candidate who wasn't quite sure that this was something he really wanted to be doing, but knew that in order to kind of try and ensure his survival or even Ted Cruz's survival, he ought to be doing it.

BASH: Exactly.

BORGER: This wasn't a candidate who was kind of gung-ho about this. This was a deal that was cooked between the staffs, and sometimes, you know, you have to drag your candidate into something kicking and screaming.

And I think we saw John Kasich kicking and screaming and saying, I'm not quite sure about this. Vote for me in you want. I'm not telling anybody how to vote. And you had Cruz out there saying, John Kasich is no longer competing in Indiana.

It was two very different candidates here. I think Kasich if he had it to do all over again, who knows whether he would.

BALDWIN: OK. Let me move off this, because, David, I want to get to Trump tweeted this on Bernie Sanders, and we know that Trump's been all about the process and the delegates.

He tweeted: "Bernie Sanders has been treated terribly by the Democrats, both with delegates and otherwise. He should show them and run as an independent."

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Hold your thought. Hold your laughter. Senator Sanders' wife, Jane, she was just on CNN a little bit ago and she responded to that. Here she was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE SANDERS, WIFE OF BERNIE SANDERS: I think that we have been very clear right from the beginning that we will not play the role of spoiler. The reason that he was active and he decided to run in the Democratic Party was just that.

We cannot afford a Republican in the White House. We cannot afford a Republican appointing Supreme Court justices. So, Bernie will not be running as an independent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, thoughts? DAVID CATANESE, "U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT": Well, when you hear it

from the candidate's wife, that is pretty emphatic. This wasn't even a strategist. This came directly from Bernie Sanders' wife, who said this is not happening.

Look, of course, Donald Trump wants Bernie Sanders to run as an independent and divide the Democratic Party. He wants to wreak as much havoc on the Democratic side of the aisle through the summer as what we're anticipating from the Republicans.

But, look, that is a pipe dream. I think it's very unlikely to see Bernie Sanders peel off. I think, look, the question is, he wants the stay in this race for another month, through California. I think this is probably going to be another tough night for him, where he is beaten probably across the board.

He probably has his best chance of victories in maybe Rhode Island and Connecticut, where the polls are still tight. But I think you will see some calls from Democrats for him to move on to get out of the race from Clinton supporters if he goes zero for five tonight.

[15:10:00]

There's no indication that he is going to do that either. He wants to stick this out for his movement.

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Dana. You want to jump in?

BASH: Yes.

I just want to add, I also think it is pretty obvious that Donald Trump trying to stir up trouble here. And why wouldn't he?

BORGER: Sure.

BASH: By trying to, you know, kind of create a rift there.

But there's something else, and that is that it's maybe hard for a lot of people to wrap their minds around, but there is some crossover between Bernie Sanders voters and Donald Trump voters. You know, for the most part, the two of them have incredibly different solutions to how to fix problems, but they have diagnosed similar problems that people are relating to.

So I think that, as I said, it's number one about trying to stir up trouble in the Democratic Party, but it's also, you know, kind of a not-so-subtle reminder, like, hey, you know, if you're not so happy, come over my way.

BORGER: But, you know, I think that Bernie Sanders right now is sort of trying to cope with reality. You know, it's not hard for these candidates. When you have run long and hard, and suddenly you look at the math and the math says to you, you know, I have got to win an overwhelming majority of the delegates and I'm not going to be able to do that and forget about the superdelegates, even if you don't include them. And if you're Bernie Sanders now, and you're a Sanders supporter or

his staff, you might be thinking about what you're negotiating for and what you're negotiating for at the convention and what you're negotiating for with Hillary Clinton, even as you continue to run. But you have got to keep your people enthused.

BALDWIN: Yes. I think that's a fascinating conversation with how Senator Sanders would even handle all of his followers if and when Hillary Clinton clinches.

BORGER: Right.

BALDWIN: Meantime, final thought. This might be the best sound bite of the day. I want all of you weighing in.

This is a Hillary Clinton surrogate maybe gone awry. Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM CARPER (D), DELAWARE: How many of you remember Donna Summer? Put your hands together for Donna Summer. Donna Summer. One of the great divas. Let me hear you say Donna. Summer. Diva. Extraordinaire.

All right. We are going to channel Donna Summer here for a minute. All right? Here we go. Here we go. This is the audience participation part of the show. A lot of great songs. One of them comes to mind. In fact, I asked them to play it here today.

And it goes something like this. She works hard for the money. So hard for the money. She works hard for the money, so we better treat her right. Let's say -- OK, we're going to say it together. She works hard for the money.

So she works hard for, so we better -- all right, let's do it. Joe Biden likes to say that -- Joe -- let me say Joe Biden. Joe Biden. During the 2008 campaign for president, and Barack and Joe going around the country, I don't know where it came from, but I heard somebody say somewhere the words Joe and Obama.

And I just kind of like put them together. Joe-bama. I love to say it. Can you say Joe-bama? One more time, Joe-bama. All right, guys, isn't it great? All right. How about one more time? Joe-bama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: David?

CATANESE: I don't know if it was the best line to say she works hard for her money and associating that with Hillary Clinton.

I can see that actually ending up in a Republican attack ad later on, associating her with working for money, but, look, it looked like he had too much time to fill there. They needed another speaker or something.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: He referred to Secretary Clinton as a governor. He referred to her as her eight years in the House. Gloria and Dana?

BORGER: I think it's always a good idea to have prepared remarks.

BALDWIN: Have notes.

BORGER: When you're speaking before an audience, I think it's a good idea to have some notes and not do some riffs, like you might be able to do in the Senate floor, although I doubt he would do that on the Senate floor.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Listen, Tom Carper has been around for a long time.

BORGER: Yes.

BASH: Before he was senator, he was governor. He clearly feels comfortable in front of a crowd, especially a Democratic crowd in Delaware.

I think Donna Summer's probably looking down from heaven going, interesting.

BALDWIN: Huh?

I was just like, what would Donna Summer think?

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Thank you all so much. I appreciate it. She probably would have been some -- thank you all so much. We will see you on into the wee hours of the big night here on CNN, Super Tuesday.

Meantime, next, Bernie Sanders refuses to answer whether he would support Hillary Clinton without conditions, but he doesn't stop there.

Plus, Kelly Ripa back on her show today for the first time since her, you know, several days of not showing up, and not only did she get extremely honest about what happened behind the scenes, a surprising announcement about her co-host. We will have that for you. Dan Abrams is here.

Also breaking today, involving the estate Prince left behind, his sister now filing these court documents, saying the legend did not have a will. So if that's the case, what happened to his millions and his music?

[15:15:13]

You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And we're back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

If Secretary Hillary Clinton's win in New York sets the stage for her nomination, sweeping today's five primaries will perhaps raise the curtain for her. It is possible she could leave Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders with no real path to the Democratic nomination.

But Bernie Sanders is defiant at the notion of dropping out. I want you to watch as CNN's Chris Cuomo asks Senator Sanders if he would unconditionally support Hillary Clinton if she were to become the nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (VT-I), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think what the democratic process is about, Chris, is going to the convention and arguing about what the platform should be.

I happen to believe the United States should join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee health care to all people as a right.

(CROSSTALK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But if that's not where the party comes out, Senator, would you still -- would you still support her?

[15:20:05]

SANDERS: Chris, Chris, Chris, media spends too much time speculating. Let's see what happens. If we don't win this thing, we're going to have a lot of delegates in Philadelphia fighting that fight. And I'm not convinced, and you don't know what the delegates there will do. If you do, please tell me. But you don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf.

Welcome, sir.

GOV. TOM WOLF (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Thank you, Brooke. Good to be with you.

BALDWIN: I know you are one of the state's 21 superdelegates. You support Secretary Clinton, stumping with her on the trail. But let's get to Senator Sanders, keeps being asked, if Secretary Clinton were to clinch the nomination, you know, would he signal to his supporters, go out, go Clinton all the way? And he's essentially said, quoting him, "We are not a movement where I can snap my fingers and say to you or anybody else what should you do, that you should all listen to me. You shouldn't. You should make those decisions yourself."

My question to you, how should he handle this tone-wise if Secretary Clinton just runs away with it this evening?

WOLF: Well, I think he should recognize, as we all, that he's brought great ideas and great energy to this campaign, but that it's essentially over.

I think Hillary will do well today in all the primaries, especially here in Pennsylvania. And I think she will be the nominee. And I think we ought to -- as she said in New York, we ought to start reflecting on the things that unite us, rather than the things that unite us.

Same time that he makes a good point that there will be a very good conversation in Philadelphia, and our party will be better for that.

BALDWIN: What about the fact that Senator Sanders refuses to say whether he would support her without conditions? I have heard him say he doesn't feel like the Clinton campaign has done enough to really answer the issues that many of his, you know, youthful supporters face today.

WOLF: I think he's saying he is not willing to speculate. That's what I heard.

BALDWIN: Yes.

WOLF: And I think that's fine. When we get to Philadelphia, I think there will be a good conversation. He and his supporters will be very much there for that conversation and I think we will leave Philadelphia a much stronger party.

I think all of us have to keep looking at what the alternative is. We need to be a good party for the United States, because the other party is not going to come up with, I think, good ideas or good candidates.

BALDWIN: We look back to 2008, because I was interested to see when ultimately Hillary Clinton jumped on the Senator -- then-Senator Barack Obama bandwagon, and it was at the beginning of June. It was June 7 when she said, you know, let's take our energy, passion, and strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama.

But it did continue on until June. And they did fight it out over some of those superdelegates. So, isn't it fair for Senator Sanders to stay in until the end?

WOLF: I think he -- as he said, he has followers who have independent minds and they're going to do what they decide is in the best interest of their ideas.

But for the party, we need to gather together. We need to start thinking about all those things that bring us together, that unite us, not divide us. And actually I think the sooner we get to that point, the better.

BALDWIN: OK.

Just quickly, on superdelegates, Bernie Sanders' strategy, sway the superdelegates. As a superdelegate, do you think you should vote with personal politics, the district, the state? What say you, Governor?

WOLF: I say Hillary Clinton is the better candidate. I think she is going to be the next president of the United States. She is qualified. She has the attitude, the brain for the job. I support her because she is best for the United States.

BALDWIN: OK. Governor Tom Wolf in the great state of Pennsylvania, thank you so much for the time, sir. I appreciate it.

WOLF: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Still ahead here, we're going to talk about Donald Trump and FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly calling a cease-fire in their intense feud. We will look at who could come out on top in this new deal between the two of them.

Plus, Kelly Ripa back on "Live" for the first time since she was blindsided by the news that her co-host is leaving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY RIPA, "LIVE WITH KELLY AND MICHAEL": Our long national nightmare is over.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right, so having a little fun this morning, but she also had a very serious message for her fans and for ABC. Hear that and how Michael Strahan responded next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:02]

BALDWIN: They're together again, Kelly Ripa rejoining Michael Strahan. There they were, hand in hand, smiling ear to ear, looking gorgeous in that red from head to toe there, as they were greet live with a standing ovation, the two putting the drama of Strahan's upcoming departure to "Good Morning America" behind them, and Kelly Ripa explaining to the audience why she was a no-show for a couple of days after what was a pretty stunning announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIPA: In that time, I gained some perspective. I always speak from the heart. I didn't want to come out here and just, like, say something I might regret.

So, what transpired, though, over the course of a few days has been extraordinary, in the sense that it started a much greater conversation about communication and consideration and, most importantly, respect in the workplace.

I am thrilled for Michael.

I am thrilled for you. This is a tremendous opportunity. And I couldn't be and we couldn't be prouder of you and everything we accomplished together.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

MICHAEL STRAHAN, "LIVE WITH KELLY AND MICHAEL": I'm so happy you're back.

RIPA: Oh, thank you.

STRAHAN: And one thing I know about you is...

(APPLAUSE)

STRAHAN: And you love this show. You love the fans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)