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Democrats Vote in West Virginia, GOP in West Virginia and Nebraska; Sanders Talks White House Hopes During Late-Night; Voters Hitting the Polls in West Virginia; Jon Stewart Blames Democrats for Trump's Rise; Inside the Raging Civil War in Syria. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 10, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Tornadoes ripping through Oklahoma and the plains. Now another threat moves in today.

Let's talk in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Good morning to you. I'm Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello on this Tuesday. Thanks for being a part of your morning with us.

We want to turn now to presidential politics. It's not quite a super Tuesday but two more primaries are under way this hour, and right now polls are open across Nebraska, one of Donald Trump's stepping stones to the Republican nomination. There are 36 delegates at stake there, and another 34 delegates up for grabs in West Virginia. Even a clean sweep for Trump, the last Republican standing, will leave him about 100 short of clinching.

And Hillary Clinton could face a loss in West Virginia, a state that overwhelmingly supported her eight years ago. Bernie Sanders is hoping a big win will show that his message still resonates.

But the big drama looms ahead. Donald Trump sitting down with the Republican leaders that he has criticized and threatened, and to diffuse the tensions, one of Trump's vanquished rivals is reaching out before Thursday's meeting.

Our correspondents are covering both parties and all angles at this hour. Let's begin with the Republicans. CNN's Phil Mattingly in New York with a closer look -- Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Pam. For the first Tuesday in months, Donald Trump is not fighting Republican opponents, but he's still fighting the Republican Party. All eyes on that meeting on Thursday between Donald Trump and Paul Ryan. Also Donald Trump and Senate Republicans. This coming after days where the tensions have only ratcheted up between the two sides of what is becoming a pretty full hearty debate.

Still, even in the wake of Sarah Palin at one point threatening Paul Ryan's seat or at least willing to help try and unseat Paul Ryan, Donald Trump trying to de-escalate the rhetoric. Donald Trump surrogates doing the same. Take a listen to what Ben Carson, a prominent Trump supporter and former Republican presidential candidate, told CNN's Erin Burnett last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: You heard today Paul Ryan say, look, if Donald Trump doesn't want me to host his convention chair, I won't -- I'll step aside. Should Paul Ryan step aside?

BEN CARSON (R), TRUMP SURROGATE: Well, first of all, Donald Trump is very much looking forward to their meeting on Thursday. And I think you're going to find probably a lot more harmony than you think. A lot of the things that have been said and that have been magnified are not actually the positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And Paul Ryan in interviews with Wisconsin media sounding a similar tune, saying he really wants to just meet Donald Trump. He doesn't know him very well and they both have a similar goal, unity for the party.

Still as Trump looks forward in his campaign, obviously the need to lock up donors, the need to lock up supporters, also the need to pick a vice presidential candidate and yet another top tier Republican has removed his name from that list. This time Marco Rubio, the Florida senator and the former presidential candidate saying in a statement yesterday that he is taking himself out of consideration. Basically pointing to the fact that while Republican voters have, quote, "chosen Donald Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee, my previously stated reservations about his campaign and concerns with many of his policies remain unchanged."

And this is an important point obviously. We remember at the height of the Republican primary that Marco Rubio and Donald Trump went after one another in a very, very personal way. There had been rumor that the Trump campaign was considering reaching out to Marco Rubio. At this point Marco Rubio putting all of that to rest.

And it's worth also noting, Pamela, looking at another former opponent now. Ted Cruz saying yesterday that he will hold on to his delegates. Now why are you wondering does Ted Cruz want more than his 570 delegates when he gets to Cleveland in July? We don't care about delegate math anymore, right? Well, not quite. Those delegates will still have a vote when it comes to the Republican Party platform.

Obviously Cruz and staunch conservative supporting Cruz very wary of the direction policy-wise Donald Trump plans on taking the party. That's why Cruz is hanging onto those delegates, the hope that they can help shape the party platform going forward.

Again, Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee. Donald Trump will have the requisite delegates necessary get the nomination. But there are still be fights behind the scenes. There will still be fights on the convention floor for how the Republican Party shapes itself going into the general election. That, Pamela, is why Ted Cruz is hanging on to those delegates he fought so hard for.

BROWN: Yes. Not over until it's over. Phil Mattingly, thank you so much for that.

And for Bernie Sanders on the other side a win in West Virginia today would keep his hopes of being the Democratic nominee alive. With just five weeks left until the final primary, Sanders is making a final and furious push to get out the vote. Sanders talked about his campaign to late night host Stephen Colbert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here is the story, it's a narrow shot, but we still have a chance to win a majority of the pledged delegates. We're going to fight for every last vote and at the end of the day I hope and believe that we'll all going to win this.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": But at a certain point, don't you have to say, I'm not going to get the thing that I want? I mean, look at me, I'm never going to get my candy.

SANDERS: You've got to believe, Stephen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:05:05] BROWN: Senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is tracking the Democrats' race.

Joe, it seems those comments Hillary Clinton made back in March are coming back to haunt her there in West Virginia.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: So it seems. We won't know until the end of the day, though, Pamela. Bernie Sanders keeps plowing ahead in what continues to be an uphill battle. There is some indication he is likely to do well in the West Virginia primary, though there hasn't been a lot of statewide polling. He's out on the West Coast today, and Hillary Clinton is campaigning in Kentucky, also zeroing in on Donald Trump but steering clear of the more personal attacks Trump has been leveling at her and her husband, the former president.

A lot of what Clinton is doing is focusing on policy. The campaign posted an ad on her Twitter feed that touches on some of Trump's comments about fiscal and monetary policy that have been raising eyebrows. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am the king of debt. I do love debt. I love debt. I love playing with it. I would borrow knowing that --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: 37 delegates up for grabs in West Virginia in the primary today. The Kentucky primary is next week -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Joe Johns, thanks so much for that.

And right now voters are hitting the polls in West Virginia. Jean Casarez is with voters there in Charleston.

You've been speaking to voters there, Jean. What are they telling you there?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Pam. We're hearing a lot of things. We're learning so much from the voters.

I want to tell you here at the polling place, people -- it's a constant stream. People are bringing their children. Families are coming together. You just see the passion in the West Virginia voter for this primary, and it could be record-setting according to state officials.

We just spoke with a female voter who didn't want to go on camera but allowed us to tell her story. She's registered Democrat, so she has to vote Democratic in this primary. She voted for Hillary Clinton, but she says she is so concerned about the economy of West Virginia she believes in the general election she may vote for Donald Trump.

Now one thing we're learning from the people of West Virginia, it's all about the economy, it's all about coal mining, and it's not only the miners that are losing their jobs and the coal mines that are not operating at full capacity. There's a domino effect. There's the suppliers to the miners, there's the handlers of heavy machinery that help operate the mine, there are the assistants, there are the accounts, there are the attorneys that negotiate the contracts for the mines, and state officials that have to do with the mining industry. All of them are impacted and the people care about that.

We want to show you the early voting ballots that have been cast because this is truly historic for this state. It sets a record. 2016 you can see almost 101,000 early vote were cast. Compare that with 2012, the last presidential primary, over 57,000, and then in 2008 almost 69,000 people. So you can see there's quite a record here, and they think it will be reflective today.

We also spoke with one person that said that even though Donald Trump is the only Republican candidate, they believe they will vote for him today because they want that vote to count. They can't forget what Hillary said about closing down mines and having coal miners lose their jobs, although she retracted that, said that was not what she meant at all.

And finally one voter said it's all about new industry coming to West Virginia, and that means Bernie Sanders because he is the one that has the passion and cares truly about the people of this state to make it once again prosper -- Pam.

BROWN: Jean Casarez, thank you so much for that.

And as the 2016 race edges closer to a Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump face-off, some Democrats are wondering how to effectively wage war against an unconventional Republican nominee. And now comedian Jon Stewart is taking aim not only Trump but also those on the left for failing to avoid a Trump candidacy in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, COMEDIAN, WRITER, DIRECTOR: The door is open to an (EXPLETIVE DELETED) like Donald Trump because the Democrats haven't done enough to show to people that government that can be effective for people can be efficient for people, and if you can't do that, then you've lost the right to make that change and someone is going to come in and demagogue you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Joining me now Robert Zimmerman, Hillary Clinton supporter and Scottie Nell Hughes, a Trump supporter.

Thank you both for coming on. We do appreciate it.

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Good morning.

BROWN: Good morning to you. Robert, I'd like to start with you just in the wake of what we heard from Jon Stewart. Is he right? Do Democrats have only themselves to blame for the rise of Donald Trump?

ZIMMERMAN: You know, Pamela, I'm a Jon Stewart devotee but quite frankly I'm really kind of disappointed and fed up with commentators and analysts who take the easy way out by simply -- blaming both sides. Trying to look like they're above the political fray and just want to blame everyone. That's a safe but also an inaccurate path to take.

Donald Trump has emerged because the Republican Party for the past eight years has rewarded the most demagogic and divisive behavior. It was Congressman Joe Wilson screaming "You lie" at President Obama during the State of the Union or for that matter Donald Trump who to this day refuses to admit that President Obama is an American, United States citizen.

[10:10:12] And so that's why we have Donald Trump because of the climate the Republican Party has created. It's also worth noting that President Obama's approval ratings are roughly the same where President Reagan's approval ratings were at this point in his presidency, over 50 percent, about 51 percent. So it says that there's a good degree of confidence in President Obama and in the direction he's taking our country.

BROWN: So just to be clear, you don't think Democrats played any role at all with the rise of Donald Trump?

ZIMMERMAN: Absolutely not. I think it's really an easy and an inaccurate and a cheap answer. I think at the end of the day it's the Republican Party that's encouraged the kind of demagogic behavior that brought Sarah Palin to the forefront, that's rewarded divisive rhetoric by people like Laura Ingraham and for that matter Ann Coulter, that's made Rush Limbaugh, the intellectual thought leader of the Republican Party. That's why you have a climate where Donald Trump now emerges.

BROWN: Clearly his message is resonating with millions of people. But you have to look at what he's saying, Scottie. He has repeatedly said it is important to be flexible when pressed on changes in his policy but flexibility could also mean flip-flopping which typically is a bad thing. It doesn't seem that way for Donald Trump, but does flexibility mean he's going to Etch-a-Sketch to the middle as we keep hearing that concern from conservatives and Democrats?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, first of all, let me just -- let me go against Robert on this one issue. I think Jon Stewart is absolutely right. I think both the Republican and the Democrat voters are completely frustrated because they thought they were electing something to office that had not fulfilled the promises that they gave them on the campaign trail. That's why you see in states like Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, key usually red states are now one point difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the latest Quinnipiac poll.

So there's frustrations being expressed by the voters on both sides of the aisle and I'm not going to sit there and blame those talking heads, with by the way Robert Zimmerman, you and I are one of those, we fall into that category. So I'm not putting the blame on them. I'm putting the blame on the politicians that sold a false bill of goods on the campaign trail.

Now as for the flip-flopping issue, I think it's more about being open minded. So many times in the Republican Party and I think this is where the Democrats have fallen into that trap, they look at an issue as being black and white. That there is a yes or a no, and there are some issues that are like that, but when it comes to ideas, the reason why we're getting nothing done in Washington, D.C., right now that benefits main street is because Republicans are being so hard and they're being unrealistic because they live in Washington, D.C.

They don't experience the problems that we here on main street has to deal with like Obamacare, like dealing with raising costs, like dealing with high gas prices when have them and the cost of food and the cost of living going up, and downgrading our education. Those sorts of issues we're having to deal with.

So I think when you talk about -- it's not flip-flopping. It's called flexibility and you know what, I'm going to be a realistic conservative and go what exactly is going to help, and when you --

ZIMMERMAN: Scottie, we're not talking about --

BROWN: Robert?

ZIMMERMAN: Scottie, we're not talking about being open-minded. We're talking about a candidacy that has no point of view and no integrity to their positions. I mean, Donald Trump began this campaign as being --

HUGHES: That's your point of view.

ZIMMERMAN: Donald Trump began this campaign being a self-proclaimed self-funder because, as he pointed out, he said he was really, really rich. Of course, now he's grabbing every special interest dollar he can find to fund his campaign.

HUGHES: No, he's not.

ZIMMERMAN: And likewise, you've seen Donald -- likewise you've seen Donald Trump rejected by the conservative leaders of our country, rejected by the Republican establishment, even rejected now by the evangelicals. So, of course, he's open-minded because he's desperately looking for a constituency.

BROWN: Robert --

ZIMMERMAN: At the end of the day, if you think his position on women, or his ban on Muslims coming into our country, or his discriminatory rhetoric --

HUGHES: Robert --

ZIMMERMAN: -- and racist rhetoric towards Mexicans is open-minded, then I think you better look up that word again.

HUGHES: Robert, stop reading the fairytale of the talking points you're reading and actually get the facts and truths because it matters in this campaign. First of all, you have evangelicals -- even last night you had one of the highest evangelicals come out and actually endorse Mr. Trump, including the majority of evangelicals. Hence, why he won the evangelical south.

Then you look at -- you're sitting there and accusing him, by the way, you accuse him of taking special interest funds. That is false. What he said, though, is he's going to help the Republican Party fund- raise. He didn't say he himself --

(CROSSTALK)

ZIMMERMAN: So help the Republicans -- he benefits from those funds.

BROWN: Realistically he needs to raise for himself, Scottie. I mean, last --

HUGHES: He's helping the Republican Party -- well, and of course, but it's not saying you don't see Donald Trump out there campaigning for dollars. Like we're seeing Hillary Clinton sending out fundraising e- mails by the day, several of them trying to fund raise to get money so why not Mr. Trump helping out the Republican Party because there are --

ZIMMERMAN: But he also benefits from that money, Scottie. We both know how it works. That's the reality.

HUGHES: If he fundraising for himself? Is he saying donate to me? No. That is a fact. ZIMMERMAN: Absolutely he is. You can go on his --

BROWN: And Hillary Clinton, by the way, is doing the same thing where she's raising money for the party and for herself.

ZIMMERMAN: Of course.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: But the question is, will it hurt him at all among his voters who have liked the fact he's been self-funding his campaign?

[10:15:03] That is not something that I think is sustainable through the general where you have to raise so much money but we'll continue this discussion. So much more to dissect here.

ZIMMERMAN: OK.

BROWN: Robert Zimmerman, Scottie Nell Hughes, thank you very much.

ZIMMERMAN: Thank you.

BROWN: And by the way, today on "THE LEAD" CNN's Jake Tapper will have an exclusive interview with Marco Rubio. This will be Rubio's his first interview since dropping out of the Republican presidential race. That's at 4:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

And still ahead, two months ago Russia claimed it was pulling troops out of Syria, but our cameras captured a very different story on the ground. A dramatic and exclusive scene and report up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A development in Syria's civil war. State media reports a ceasefire in the embattled city of Aleppo has been extended for 48 hours. Despite the temporary truce in place since last week, local residents still report sporadic rocket attacks. Back in March Vladimir Putin said most Russian forces would be withdrawing from Syria, but the picture on the ground doesn't bear that out.

Our senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen reports from Damascus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[10:20:09] FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): This is the Russian intervention the world has come to know, but Russia's footprint in Syria seems to be far bigger than just combat jets.

There are thousands of troops stationed at its main air base, disciplined and highly motivated. We caught up with this first lieutenant during his boxing practice.

"I'm glad to serve my country here," he says. "And I'm not afraid. What is there to be afraid of in Syria?"

The West has criticized Russia saying its air strikes target mostly moderate anti-Assad rebels. The Russians claiming they bomb only ISIS and other terror groups. But while Moscow says it's withdrawn most forces from Syria, on an embed we saw what appear to be several bases in western and central Syria with a variety of attack helicopters.

Also, a brand new base in Palmyra for its demining crews, with dozens of fighting vehicles and even anti-aircraft missile systems. On top of its own assets, the military spokesman says his forces closely cooperate with Bashar al-Assad's troops.

"We receive a great deal of information from the Syrian general staff," he says. "They are on the ground and close to the rebels. As for the military technical cooperation, of course, we help them as well."

None of this seems to indicate a full Russian withdrawal from Syria anytime soon, and for many in the government-held part of Damascus, that's just fine.

Violence still rages in most of the country. Reconciliation seems nowhere in sight and neither is an end to Russia's involvement in the conflict.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Fred Pleitgen reporting from Damascus.

Well, a man with a knife goes on a stabbing spree in a German train station. One person is now dead and three others injured after the attack near Munich. Police arrested a 27-year-old German man in connection with this attack and they're now questioning witnesses about what exactly happened, including whether the suspect shouted "Allahu Akbar," God is great in Arabic. They say a political motive cannot be ruled out at this point.

And still ahead on this Tuesday morning, Donald Trump says she plays the woman card, but Hillary Clinton supporters are not afraid to play a hot hand. A new ad tries to widen the gender gap between Trump and women voters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:26:59] BROWN: Checking our top stories on this Tuesday. Tornadoes tear through five states with the worst storms hitting Oklahoma. At least two people there were killed, and those who survived said it was a close call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I hear it coming, but where are we going to go, woman? We ain't got no place to go. You know, this is going to be my time.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: More severe weather is on the way today and we're going to get an update from Chad Myers in just a few minutes.

We are now getting a look at the damage done as a wildfire in Canada continues to burn out of control. Entire neighborhoods in the city of Fort McMurray are gone but officials say a good part of the town was saved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL NOTLEY, ALBERT PREMIER: The hard work and the dedication and the smarts of these first responders has it appears saved almost 90 percent of the city of Fort McMurray, including the hospital, municipal buildings, and every functioning school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The fire has torched over 2,000 homes and buildings. More than 90,000 people were evacuated and there is no timeline for when they can go home.

Well, Mexican drug lord El Chapo Guzman could be one step closer to standing trial in Brooklyn, New York. A Mexican judge has ruled Guzman can be extradited to the U.S. The ruling follows Guzman's transfer to a prison closer to the U.S. border with Mexico, but the ruling does not mean the extradition will begin soon. The timeline for the move isn't yet clear.

Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans flocked to the main square in Pyongyang for a highly choreographed parade on Tuesday. It marked the end of the nation's first Workers Party Congress in nearly four decades. Leader Kim Jong-un presided over the celebration which included military-style floats, a brass band, and people carrying flags and flowers as we see in this video.

Well, good morning to you. I'm Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello. Thanks for joining us this morning.

Donald Trump may be trying to woo Republican leaders this week, but he's not letting up on one very familiar attack when it comes to Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She's married to a man who was the worst abuser of women in the history of politics. Remember the famous, I did not have sex with that woman? And then a couple months later, I'm guilty. And she's taken negative ads on me. She was an unbelievably nasty, mean enabler, and what she did to a lot of those women is disgraceful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well, many voters heading to the polls today saw those biting tabloid headlines back in the '90s, but younger voters did not necessarily.

Here is CNN's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: January 1998, Bill Clinton is furiously and falsely denying a sexual relationship with a White House intern, and one day later First Lady Hillary Clinton blames not the president but his political foes.