Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Clinton Pivots to Trump, Courts Sanders Backers; Protesters Gather as Trump Arrives at California GOP Conference; Indiana Newspaper Criticizes All 5 Presidential Candidates. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired April 29, 2016 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And who knows if Donald Trump counter-punches back after hearing the interview. But how does the Clinton camp -- clearly, she's pivoting to November. How does the Clinton camp prepare for a candidate much of the political world has never seen?
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, I think it's important for her to understand that what voters are looking for is someone who can help lead the country, bring the country together and I think Hillary will fill that bucket, a disciplined candidate. She understands when's at stake.
And I do believe if we ever talk about issues and not the sound of someone's voice or what they look like, we may have a very look, Donald Trump is going to say and do anything he can to win. He's going to try to paint a picture of her much like he painted a picture of Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio or even Ben Carson. So, his job is to sort of deconstruct their strengths. And her strength, of course, is that she understands the issues. She can go into the minutia and he'll say outrageous things that we, members of the press, strategists and others, will try to decipher.
Look, gender, we have played the gender card throughout the history of America. We played it back in 1776 when decided, you know, to not listen to Abigail Adams, who said, don't forget the ladies. We played the gender card and getting women the right to vote and, yes, we played the gender card and, you know, putting the hurdles or barriers for women to enter the political arena. So the gender card will be played. And what Hillary Clinton has to do is to stay clear of what I call the debris from Donald Trump.
BALDWIN: OK.
BRAZILE: And just stay focused on the road to the White House and if she is able to do that she'll become the next president of the United States who happens to be the first woman elected president of the United States.
BALDWIN: Well, let's stay on women, because I wanted to play a sound bite from Bernie Sanders' wife, Jane Sanders. Bernie Sanders says he'll stay in the primary, you know, fight, although laid off more than some 200 campaign workers, already talking about the party platform for the DNC in Philadelphia. But Jane Sanders did talk in an interview just about 24 hours ago about Secretary Clinton's use of the private e-mail server when she was at state. Here she was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE SANDERS, WIFE OF BERNIE SANDERS: It's a FBI investigation. We want to let it go through without politicizing it and then we'll find out what the situation is. And that's how we still feel. It would be nice if the FBI moved it along but --
(CROSSTALK)
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX HOST, CAVUTO: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I mean, she is kind of laughing it all off. But, Donna, is there some truth to that?
BRAZILE: You know, I've been asked that question over and over again and here's what I tell people. The FBI is concluding some of the investigations that we have already have heard about, whether it's the State Department doing the inquiry, all of the various intelligence agencies. They want to make sure that there was nothing compromised and the fact that secretary let them do their job. Let them complete the investigations. Let's not put our fingers in it and try to stir it or --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Isn't Jane Sanders saying, all right, FBI, let's get on with it?
BRAZILE: Jane Sanders is a phenomenal woman. And I'm sure they're getting people within their campaign and outside external forces saying shouldn't you be talking about this? Her job is not just a chief surrogate for Bernie Sanders but a right to speak up, her job to say, look, we hope this moves on because I think, like all of us Democrats, we want to make sure that come this fall, come the convention and this fall we can make a convention case of not just, you know, maintaining control of the White House, but also, all of the down ballot races, Senate races, Congressional races. We have a lot at stake. Supreme Court of the United States. And that's what we're going to fight for this fall.
BALDWIN: All right. Donna Brazile, see you this weekend.
BRAZILE: Remember, the gender card, everybody plays it. Like the secretary said, deal me in. Deal me in.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Well, you know, Nia-Malika Henderson said that Donald Trump is playing gender card in his masculinity.
BRAZILE: Of course.
BALDWIN: But that's a whole other conversation. (CROSSTALK)
BRAZILE: Of course! Harriet Tubman will be on the $20 bill. I'm happy. Can I say that to you?
BALDWIN: Let's end with that.
BRAZILE: I'm happy.
See you later.
BALDWIN: Thank you. Thank you, Donna Brazile.
BRAZILE: Bye-bye.
[14:35:37] BALDWIN: Coming up, to Indiana, the governor, Mike Pence, pledging the support to Senator Ted Cruz today. Talking with a columnist for the "Indy Star Tribune," who called Donald Trump a danger for the U.S. and the world.
Plus, we're watching these pictures outside this state convention in California. Live pictures thanks to affiliate there in the skies over Burlingame, California. We're looking for it. There you go. The Trump plane has landed. Soon enough, we'll see the man himself inside of this convention center speaking to a crowd of California Republicans. We'll take it live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right. Want to come up on some pictures here. Protesters gathering outside of the California Republican Convention. That is beginning today. Over the course of the weekend, different Republican candidates will be speaking. You see the presence here.
We are just about 20 minutes away from Donald Trump. He is the first to speak. It's about lunchtime there. We saw the Trump plane on the tarmac just little while down the road. We're watching and waiting to see the motorcade of Mr. Trump's try to attempt to get to this location to speak.
Let's get to Jeremy Diamond who is there on the ground surrounded by these different protesters.
Jeremy Diamond, how will Donald Trump get there?
[14:40:17] JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's unclear right now. We don't exactly know if Donald Trump is going to use this road, but certainly if he does, this is a little bit of a problem. You can see here, you have a couple hundred protesters here essentially lined up in front of the hotel. There's people speaking with bullhorns, and both sides essentially of the gathering a dozen protesters on each side of the road-blocking the road and they're trying to block the road saying they want to keep Donald Trump from being able to speak here in the San Francisco area. So certainly, a pretty vibrant scene here. You have several hundred protesters, cheering, chanting, trying to have voices heard as far as talking out against what they view as Donald Trump's hateful and bigoted rhetoric. Those are the kinds of words that we are hearing from Trump protesters here.
Inside, a much quieter scene. The banquet hall, Donald Trump is going to speak, you have people that, you knowing tables essentially getting ready to have a meal and Donald Trump is supposed to be the keynote speaker. The mission is different from the people out here. Donald Trump in there to speak to the Republican Convention here in the state. Trying to move forward, trying the move the path to get the delegates he needs to be able to clinch the Republican nomination. That path seems a little bit more sure now that he's swept through these five states and what some people called the ACELA primary. Very soon after that, in June, California voting and that's where the brunt of the delegates handed out and that's what could perhaps make or break the nomination for Donald Trump -- Brooke?
BALDWIN: Quickly, Jeremy, you were there last night in the protest, Costa Mesa, outside of the Trump rally. 17 different arrests. You have been covering Trump for months and months. Does anything seem different, the crowd of protesters, or is this what it's been looking like?
DIAMOND: Well, certainly, we have seen protests at almost every single Trump event over the last several months. Of course, in varying degree. Sometimes you have just a dozen people standing outside of a building chanting and sometimes you have things like this where you have several hundred people coming to make the message heard. We are in the San Francisco area, pretty liberal area of the United States and certainly in California. And last night was something else. 17 arrests. You had protesters, some of them not necessarily protesting Donald Trump, but also protesting what they view as police abuse. And they were, you know, damaging police cars. There was a police car, the window smashed in. We saw violence last night and different but it was a little bit reminiscent of Chicago just a little while ago and Donald Trump to cancel a rally and protests there, as well.
BALDWIN: OK.
DIAMOND: A fluid situation. Today, so far, a pretty peaceful scene.
BALDWIN: Let's hope it stays that way.
Jeremy Diamond, thank you very much.
We move to Indiana. Texas Senator Ted Cruz must win Indiana. The state hosts a make-or-break primary next Tuesday. The Cruz camp abuzz, anticipated the endorsement of Governor Mike Pence there. Highly meaningful, highly powerful. He went on air, this local radio station, his endorsement. It wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, (R), GOVERNOR OF INDIANA: It's clear this is a time for choosing. And all of America is looking to Indiana to make a choice. I have met with all three of the candidates as of about Tuesday of this week and I want to say clearly I like and respect all three of the Republican candidates in the field. I particularly want to commend Donald Trump, who I think has given voice to the frustration of millions of working Americans with a lack of progress. And I'm not against anybody but I will be voting for Ted Cruz in the upcoming Republican primary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The governor commending Donald Trump there.
The state's biggest newspaper taking the opposite approach. In an explosive editorial, the paper skewered Donald Trump, calling him "a danger to the United States and the world." In fact, "The Star" called all five candidates from both parties, quote/unquote, "disappointing."
Matt Tully is a member of the editorial board and also a political columnist for "The Indy Star."
Matt, nice to see you.
Governor Pence --
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEW TULLY, EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER & POLITICAL COLUMNIST, THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR: Thank you.
BALDWIN: What was that?
TULLY: That was a cover-all-your-bases endorsement. That was going to the racetrack and putting a bet on all ten horses maybe slightly big bet on one horse and covered all the way. A tough political choice for him. He's a tough re-election battle and ticking off the Trump supporters won't help him in November, ticking off the Cruz supporters won't help him in November and John Kasich didn't campaign here so you can't really endorse him.
[14:45:18] BALDWIN: He didn't campaign. But you wrote a piece saying you think the state's delegates won't favor Trump and likely Kasich even though Kasich supposed to get out of Cruz's way and according to this sort of allegiance thing they had going on in Indiana. What do you think happens?
TULLY: Well, you know, the delegates were lined up to support him on the second ballot in Cleveland. If there was no presumptive nominee after the first vote at the convention. But once Kasich pulled out I think everything changed. Very hard if he comes in a very distant third Tuesday as is likely to happen and going very hard for the delegates if there is brokered convention to side with him if he wasn't even second here in Indiana. Everything changed once he decided to pull out of Indiana.
BALDWIN: We'll be watching Tuesday.
Matt Tully, "Indy Star," thank you. Want to pull away from that to take you back to the pictures in
California here. Donald Trump expected to speak at the California State Republican Party Convention in just a couple of minutes. Hi plane landed. And waiting to see his motorcade, Secret Service, police escort, of course, head down the road to the event location where he will be greeted with hundreds of protesters there. We will take you back to California next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:36] BALDWIN: Really excited about the next show that's going to roll out on CNN. First, let's begin with hard numbers on the prison population. According to the ACLU, the U.S. holds a quarter of the world's the cost $80 billion per year. At the start of the decade, more than two million people were locked up. And within those walls, there's a culture unique to being on the inside.
On this week's "United Shades of America," Kamau Bell meets some of the people on the inside of San Quentin Prison.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: I'm looking around. I see sort of different groups of people in different areas. Are the areas broken up in any way?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They areas are broken up in a way. Just beyond the tennis court, the primarily white guys are. A different couple of areas for those guys. Basketball court, primarily where all the African-Americans are. Little area of land behind us near the shack where the Pisces (ph) --
(CROSSTALK)
BELL: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pisces (ph), individuals from Mexico, south. Not Californians, so to say.
BELL: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then Nortania (ph), northern Hispanic. There's an area they're at. And the yard is segregated based upon some of the underground rules.
BELL: OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: So he talked to the KKK, goes to San Quentin Prison. Here he is. He is Kamau Bell.
What did you find there? What was your biggest takeaway?
BELL: You know, I was an idiot. I walked in there sort of afraid like I thought I'm going to go to prison. What will happen? I'm sucked into the narrative of prisons documentary and scary and gross it is and I like fell in love with the guys and they were all fully developed individuals and did a lot of they are pain felt sad to leave. It's weird to say about prison but I did.
BALDWIN: Who was the number one sort of character you met?
BELL: Rashan Thomas, who writes for the San Quentin newspaper. You can get it on the outside and he's a journalist who writes stories and learned how to do this in prison and would be great on the outside but we don't believe in parole in this society.
BALDWIN: Enjoy the screening Saturday there in San Quinton. We'll be watching. The full episode of "United Shades of America" --
BELL: Thank you.
BALDWIN: -- Sunday nights, 10:00 eastern, here on CNN.
Thank you, my friend.
We have to go back to California. Any minute now, Donald Trump, the Republican front runner here, set to speak in California. You see the police.
Let's stay on this. Police, protesters. Not quite sure what's happening. I believe live pictures here. Just outside. Some of them getting through. Looks like members of the media. This is all happening in front of us. This is the state Republican Convention in California. We know that the primary there is the last and Republicans can vote and June 7th. We have been watching as hundreds -- listen, this is a mix of different people. Members of the media. See the cameras, as well. Police setting up a line to keep some of them from coming in. Donald Trump is the first Republican candidate to speak, at the top of the hour.
Stay tuned. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
[14:58:13] BALDWIN: You are watching CNN on this Friday afternoon here. Just about the top of the hour.
And we want to start front and these are live photos. Burlingame, California, essentially the bay area. You see the sign there. It's the Hyatt Regency and home for a few days for the California Republican Convention. So essentially, inside you have California Republicans who will be attending the convention, listening to candidates speaking over the course of the next couple of days. Now, draw conclusions as you may. I can't tell you exactly who all the protesters are. I see Mexican flags flying high and obviously a line of law enforcement keeping them from crossing the barricade there.
But Donald Trump, Donald Trump according to the tick-tock of the event here is the first Republican candidate to be the next president of the United States. He is set to speak in 60 seconds, or at least supposed to be speaking in 60 seconds inside the Hyatt Regency as the first of these Republican candidates to address this audience.
It's a tale of two different locations here. Obviously, inside, you have California Republicans eagerly awaiting to hear the message of the candidates. Cruz, Kasich, Trump and also Carly Fiorina will be speaking.
But on the outside, folks are furious. I don't know if all of these people are anti-Trump people, anti-Republican, anti-establishment. Keep in mind, a larger picture. This is the San Francisco Bay area. Predominantly liberal, populous. All these folks gathered.
We were talking to Jeremy Diamond, one of multiple CNN crews we have covering this California convention. He's been talking a bit about the crowds out there.
But listen, you're watching this live right along with me. Thanks to our affiliate there out in San Francisco, we have some pictures from the skies.
