Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Bernie Sanders Holds Rally in California; Donald Trump Claims He Can Solve California's Drought if Elected President; Rains Flood Parts of Texas; Vladimir Putin Criticizes Missile Defense System in Romania; Libertarian Convention Being Held to Choose Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates; U.S. Infrastructure's State of Disrepair Examined. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 28, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:00] BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- that we have a presidential candidate insulting Mexicans and Latinos.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: Why he thinks it makes sense to insult Muslims --

(BOOS)

SANDERS: -- to insult women and veterans --

(BOOS)

SANDERS: -- and to insult African-Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Dan Simon is in Santa Barbara there. So, first of all, he is hammering this message about billionaires buying elections for a while now. Why do you think it resonates with California voters?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're talking about idealistic young people who are his supporters. And they really want to see the money thrown out of politics. And these are the people who come to Bernie Sanders events. We are at a city college here and we have thousands and thousands of young people who have stood in line for hours to come see Bernie Sanders. He is still speaking behind me.

And Suzanne, California has suddenly become a very important state. If Bernie Sanders can somehow win here, and the polls have showed this race to be very, very close, then he will have a lot of leverage going into the convention in July. Obviously the delegate math seems to be insurmountable for Bernie Sanders. But he still wants to carry all the convention. And of course now California has become a very pivotal state in this election. Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: And Dan, before I let you go, real quickly, how did that crowd respond when he once again asked Trump for that debate that he really wants? SIMON: You can imagine they went crazy for it. They would really

like to see that debate. It would be something to see. But as you heard Donald Trump say yesterday, that is not going to happen. It has allowed Bernie Sanders to open up a whole new line of attack on Donald Trump, and expect to hear him repeat that line over the course of the day and probably tomorrow as well, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Dan Simon, thanks, be well.

We're going to talk more about this battle for California's delegates. Joining me, Hilary Rosen, she's a CNN political commentator, Democratic strategist, and a Hillary Clinton supporter, and Harlan Hill, Democratic strategist, Bernie Sanders supporter, joining us from New York. Thank you, both of you. Good to see you. Let's play a little bit of Sanders message from just a couple of minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: We pride ourselves on being a democracy. But in many respects, democracy in America is being undermined by a corrupt campaign finance system.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: Democracy is not a very complicated process. It means that you have a vote and you have a vote and you have a vote. One person, one vote, that's democracy. Democracy does not mean that billionaires should be able to buy elections.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So this is something he has been hammering about billionaires buying elections for quite a while now. But it seems to me, at least, Harlan, that he believes this is a message that specifically resonates with California voters. Why do you think that's the case?

HARLAN HILL, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: I think it is one of the most liberal electorates in the country. And I think that this is something they are acutely aware of there. But I would actually extend the narrative beyond just campaign finance reform to the general DNC protectionism. We've seen since day one, before he even announced, the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz in particular has done everything within her power to advance Hillary Clinton as the sole contender for the Democratic nomination, everything from coin flips to super-delegates to a manufactured data controversy. She has done everything in her power to advance Hillary Clinton and not give Bernie Sanders a fair shake. That goes beyond just campaign finance reform in my opinion.

MALVEAUX: Hilary, you want to weigh in on that before we go to something else next. I assume that's something you disagree with.

HILARY ROSEN, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: It's just factually inaccurate. Unlike Reince Priebus, who declared Donald Trump the winner from three-quarters of the way in, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has always been neutral and supportive of the Sanders campaign. This whole manufactured thing about whether it's debates, which, by the way, were the highest rated Democratic debates in the last three cycles, to databases where she was following what the lawyers wanted her to do.

Look, here is what's going on. In so many respects, I think Bernie Sanders is absolutely right that money corrupts politics. But what it really corrupts is the legislative system, and we have seen that over and over again. But you can't really argue that Bernie Sanders hasn't been able to get his message out. He is raising more money than Hillary Clinton. He is raising more money than Donald Trump. Billionaires are buying the Republican primary, but Bernie Sanders has had a real voice. And that's -- so kind of complaining that he hasn't makes no sense. I think what we need to focus on is working together and figuring out how to get money out of the legislative process.

[14:05:11] HILL: Hilary, he has had a voice in spite of the DNC. He has had a voice in spite of the DNC. And through their state parties they have done everything in their power to fund Hillary Clinton and to advance this narrative that she is the only one that can face Donald Trump in November. When you actually look at the data, actual facts, Bernie Sanders is the one who is best prepared to do so. So if we're going to deal in the facts, let's be honest about it.

ROSEN: This is what we can be honest about, which is that the primary voters are speaking. Hillary Clinton has almost 4 million more votes than Bernie Sanders does. If you take the super delegates out of this race, Suzanne, Hillary Clinton still wins. You can get Bernie Sanders the super delegates from every state that he won and he still doesn't match Hillary Clinton in delegates. So any which way you cut it, the primary voters are supporting Hillary Clinton. I don't really like this narrative that the election is being stolen from Bernie Sanders. People really like the things he said. I'm a Hillary Clinton supporter. I really like the things he said. But I really don't like it when his supporters somehow suggest that he has been cheated. Ideas matter. Trust matters. Democrats have to get united and stop with these accusations.

HILL: In historic numbers, Democrats in the general electorate overwhelmingly distrust Hillary Clinton as a candidate and as a person. So if we are talking about trust, she loses that too.

ROSEN: You must be having a lot of fun with this today. What can I tell you? The voters speak.

MALVEAUX: Go ahead, Hilary, please.

ROSEN: The voters are speaking. Look, Democrats are going to be united. The most important thing is beating Donald Trump in the fall. California is a big, important state in the primary, but as we have seen whether Bernie Sanders wins or whether Hillary Clinton wins doesn't really change the overall delegate math. Hillary Clinton, I think, is going to win California, but Bernie Sanders has definitely closed the gap, and there is a lot of excitement about his ideas. We have to figure out how to make sure that the party is united.

MALVEAUX: And Harlan, I want to give you the last word here very quickly because we are running o of time. But what does Sanders hope to accomplish with California?

HILL: He is back two points in the average I just looked at. If he wins there, I think that he has momentum that can't be denied going into the convention. And I want to see what sort of reconciliation we can have going into the convention. If there is no reconciliation, millennial voters are going to stay at home. And they were out for Obama in 2008 and 2012. Hillary Clinton can't win without them this fall.

MALVEAUX: I am hearing the word "reconciliation," and that sounds like that is significant. So we'll see how this goes. We'll see how California plays out as well. Hilary Rosen and Harlan Hill, thank you very much. Good to see you both.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump telling California voters that he is going to solve the state's five-year drought.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to solve your water problem. You have a water problem that is so insane, it is so ridiculous, where they are taking the water and shoving it out to sea.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: I just met with a lot of the farmers who are great people. And they are saying, we don't even understand it. They don't understand. Nobody understands it. And I have heard this from other friends of mine in California where they have farms up here, and they don't get water. I said, oh, that's too bad. Is it a drought? They said, no, we have plenty of water. I said, what's wrong? Well, we shove it out to sea. I said, why? And nobody even knows why. And the environmentalists don't know why. They are trying to protect a certain kind of three-inch fish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So Trump did not go into detail about how officials who have opened up the water nor what science supports this claim that the drought is not real, but he did tout himself as a champion of the environment, saying, quote, "I received many, many environmental rewards, really, rewards and awards."

Two people, turning to another story, dead and more injured after Texas hit with extreme flooding. We have a live report from the ground in Texas. That's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:12:31] MALVEAUX: We are following dramatic rescues in parts of east Texas where flooding has killed at least two people. Three others are now missing. The area has been pounded by record breaking rainfall, and flooding has already damaged hundreds of homes. This weekend, parts of Texas will still be underwater.

Joining me now on the phone is meteorologist Chad Myers. Chad, tell us about what is happening here. Texas has been experiencing record rainfalls and the death tolls adding up now due to recent storms. The wild weather, is this going to let up any time soon?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It does let up today, and really it lets up for the next two or three days. But another round of very heavy rainfall comes in on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week, which obviously, there is nothing you can do about the water now. It is already on the rise and in some spots still rising.

This is an area about 40 to 100, kind of a long, thin line, northwest, miles northwest of Houston Texas. And it has already received between 16 and 20 inches of rain with the latest rainfall on top of flooding we talked about, Suzanne, only two weeks ago. So there's just no place for the water to soak in. It is just running off, running into the bayous, running into the creeks and the streams, and running into neighborhoods.

Some of the pictures that we've been seeing are actually disturbing where people are in their homes, crawling out windows, getting into lifeboats, being rescued with these high water vehicles.

Now, there are some other things going on, too. Some of the dams and levees in the area are not breaking but weakened. There is significant pressure on the back of these levees. If you are in the area and you hear the sirens or something to get out, is that important to get out now. They are not going to put these sirens out and these warnings out unless there is some type of danger. You can see some of these pictures where well up into the garages of these homes, that's about a six or eight foot door, and it is already halfway up into that home itself.

Water is still rising, a dangerous situation. We focused so much this weekend, Suzanne, about the tornadoes. We had tornadoes in Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and we probably had 100 by the time we added them all up. Over the week, there was 100 tornadoes. But the focus should have probably been on the dangers of the flooding. I think the tornado is an imminent thing. It's happening right now. Flooding takes a long time. It is not sexy. It is a hard story to cover. A lot of times by the time you get to the flooding, it is already gone. That's why it is called flash flooding. This is river flooding, significant flooding where water is still having to get all the down to the Gulf of Mexico. That's another 40 or 80 mile run on a river.

[14:15:07] So even if you didn't get a lot of rain, let's say the Galveston all the way down to Port Aransas, you are not seeing the rainfall totals, but you are going to see the water because it has to get to the Gulf of Mexico somehow.

MALVEAUX: Certainly, we are seeing the impact of that now. Chad, thank you for your excellent reporting. I want to bring in Cynthia Jamieson. She is the homeland security planner for Montgomery County, Texas. Thank you for joining us. Can you tell us how the agency has prepared for this? CYNTHIA JAMIESON, HOMELAND SECURITY PLANNER FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY,

TEXAS: Yes. We have called in all of our resources, and we stand at the ready. We stay in a continued state of readiness just to make sure we are there and available if the residents need us. They are doing high water rescues and doing as much as we can.

MALVEAUX: What do we know in terms of what the residents need?

JAMIESON: At this point, we need for the residents to know that we are available and they can call us at any time and we can do our best to get to them and get the help that they need. If they need assistance, in other words, if they need to be rescued, they need to call 911.

MALVEAUX: All right, well, we are watching this developing story and we are seeing some of these rescues and people giving each other a hand, but, obviously, cars underwater, some houses submerged, a very serious situation as three people are missing, two people dead at this point looking at these aerial pictures. Clearly, this is a town in an area that's in desperate need of help. We want to thank you, Cynthia Jamieson, for taking time out of your busy day. We know you have a lot to tend to now, so we do appreciate that. And we're be giving more updates as we learn more information.

In New York, officials have pulled up the wreckage of a vintage World War II plane that plunged into the Hudson River. This happened last night. Police say they have also recovered a pilot's body, 56-year- old William Gordon. He was the only one on board. And the video here that is so awful because we actually see the moment that his plane crashed. Witnesses say they even saw the pilots struggling to get out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could actually see the pilot struggling. He was there for about 30 seconds to one minute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was very upsetting because you know you watched somebody die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The plane was flying in a photo shoot to promote an upcoming air show.

Ahead, over 100 doctors agree that the Olympics need to be delayed or moved out of Rio due to the spread of the Zika virus. We are going to be live in Rio up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:21:32] MALVEAUX: More than 100 prominent doctors and professors want the Olympics to be postponed or even moved out of Brazil because of the Zika virus. In a letter to the World Health Organization doctors called the Zika outbreak unprecedented and insisted it would be unethical to hold the games knowing the risk to public health. In just a couple of months, people from all over the world are going

to pack into Rio de Janeiro, and perhaps the biggest hey could catch Zika and take it back home. Our Ivan Watson is following the story from Brazil. And Ivan, how are health officials, first of all, responding to this letter and to this call to move this out of Rio?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's become a public argument, basically, Suzanne, between health care professionals. You have the World Health Organization now responding to this very public challenge coming from about 150 doctors and medical researchers. The World Health Organization is saying, hey, it is OK to hold these Olympics here. We do not see a global health risk to holding the Olympics here. The WHO saying there do need to be some health precautions. Pregnant women should not come here to the Olympics, and people need to protect themselves from exposure to mosquitoes, stay in places with air conditioning, wear bug repellant, wear long sleeve shirts, et cetera, et cetera.

But the challenge did come from this group of 150 doctors and researchers around the world, and they said this is a big risk. We simply don't know enough about the mosquito born Zika virus, and having a half million people come in from all around the world here, some of them contract the disease and then potentially take it back home to their countries, that that would be very, very irresponsible. So the debate, the very public debate, continues.

MALVEAUX: And Ian, you are there. You are on the ground. What are the people in Brazil saying, what are they thinking here? There are a lot of people there that have the Zika virus who have not felt protected themselves.

WATSON: Absolutely. A taxi driver I went with yesterday tells me his sister caught Zika, and he knows other people who got the disease. So people here are worried about it. Some of the health advisories that the WHO has put out is to stay away from poorer neighborhoods where the water treatment isn't as good, where the sanitation isn't as good.

There are millions and millions of people in this town living next to open, raw sewage and next to these very precise conditions and exposed to the kind of mosquitos that not only carry the Zika virus but also yellow fever and dengue fever. And those are really difficult diseases to catch. These are things that Brazilians lived with every day.

Now, the government here, they say that in the winter months here, it is the winter in the southern hemisphere, that the mosquito count goes down. They also say they are trying to exterminate mosquitos right now. And there are public awareness campaigns and posters up all over the city warning against mosquitos. But this is a reality that the people here live with. And it is going to be a reality that both the athletes and the visitors are going to have to deal with as well.

MALVEAUX: Ivan Watson, they have a lot to sort out there in Brazil. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Stay safe.

Coming up, the Libertarian Party dream ticket, how two former governors could be in jeopardy now. We're live at the party's conference in Orlando with the details up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:28:04] MALVEAUX: The presidential race shaping up to be a divisive election. According to a new poll nearly half of all voters would consider a third party if Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump headed up the major parties. But if you're one of those voters, where are going to turn? The Libertarian Party says it is ready for the spotlight. Here is CNN's Victor Blackwell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands are gathering for the Libertarian convention this weekend in Orlando, voting for their presidential nominee, hoping their pick is a viable alternative for dissatisfied voters. But who are they?

GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Fiscally conservative, socially liberty. And hey, when it comes to these military interventions, I'm a real skeptic.

BLACKWELL: Gary Johnson, former New Mexico governor, the frontrunner for the Libertarian nomination.

JOHNSON: I am all about smaller government. I think government tries to do too much and in the process it taxes too much. Living your life, personal freedom, I think most Republicans fall in that category. I think most Americans fall in that category.

BLACKWELL: The platform a mix of ideas from each side of the political aisle. Pro-gay marriage and decriminalization of most if not all drugs in favor of slashing government benefits and reducing economic regulations. Their appeal taking hold. The party says they are seeing a 30 percent spike in membership. And the new poll shows Johnson with 10 percent support across the country. He needs just 15 percent to earn a spot at the national debate podium next to the Republican and Democratic nominees.

JOHNSON: Just appearing in the polls I think has a self-fulfilling prophecy of what is this guy really saying? If I'm the nominee, I'm going to be the only candidate on the ballot in all 50 states.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Let me check on the Libertarian Party convention. Libertarians are gathered in Florida to select their presidential ticket. That's happening this weekend. Our own Phil Mattingly is there for us in Orlando. So Phil, tell us about this. We have seen the development over the last couple weeks and months. They are trying to get their dream ticket together, these two former governors. But it now looks like that potentially could be a trouble this weekend. What happened?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So the interesting thing here is we've all been preparing for weeks, maybe even months, for a contested convention in Cleveland. We are trying to break down delegates, we want to know state delegate rules and all those things we could count on the floor in Cleveland. Donald Trump made that completely irrelevant.

But that is actually happening here right now. Gary Johnson, who is the frontrunner, the 2012 nominee for the Libertarian party, his team thinks he is in pretty good shape to lock up the presidential nomination for the Libertarian Party. But the ticket holder that he wants, Bill Weld, the potential vice-presidential nominee, he is struggling right now. And what is happening behind the scenes is exactly what we thought would be playing out in Cleveland.

Gary Johnson's team, about 20 people according to his advisers, are working behind the scenes to wrangle delegates to get behind Bill Weld. This is a struggle for a couple of reasons. One, over the last 48 hours, we have seen Bill Weld really struggle to connect. Based on his record as governor of Massachusetts Gary Johnson thinks he is the perfect Libertarian candidate. But what he said, his conversation with people on a debate here last tonight, he was actually booed and even jeered. He's just not connecting very well, and that makes all the behind the scenes work that's going on right now extremely crucial.

Gary Johnson making it very clear he will still run if Bill Weld is not the vice presidential nominee. But it is going to be hobbled if he doesn't. You heard from Victor's package, this is a real opportunity. That's how it is perceived right here. You want your best ticket out there. Gary Johnson has seen things. If Bill Weld is not on that ticket, they don't have it anymore.

MALVEAUX: And Phil, when do we know the outcome? Is that the end of the weekend?

MATTINGLY: Yes, that's exactly right. We'll know by the end of tomorrow. There is a big presidential debate tonight with Gary Johnson, John McAfee, Austin Petersen, the other kind of primary candidate that's here. That will happen tonight at 8:00 p.m. But by the end of the weekend, we will have our answer, whether or not Bill Weld is able to persuade that crucial group of delegates right now who at this point, some of whom are preferring to him as Republican-lite, which is a bit of a derogatory term at a Libertarian convention. If he and Gary Johnson's team can persuade the delegates that the best ticket they have, maybe it's not the most in line with pure Libertarian principles, but the best ticket they have to really get them on the debate stage and make an impact on the 2016 election includes Bill Weld.

MALVEAUX: All right, Phil Mattingly, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

I want to talk about the Libertarian Party, the possible impact of a third-party ticket on the November election. Joining me CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, also with me is Basil Smikle. He is the executive director of the New York Democratic Party. And is it not kind of significant we are talking about this today?

(LAUGHTER) MALVEAUX: The Libertarian party when we are covering the conference, this means something, right, Ron, that we are actually addressing this in a serious way? The question is can they compete seriously in the general election? Can they play the role of spoiler potentially?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure. In a closely divided country almost anything matters. The Libertarian party has had an interesting kind of conundrum. On the one hand when Gary Johnson describes it as fiscally conservative and socially liberal, that actually does describe a lot of Americans. And potentially you could say there is an audience for what they are saying.

The challenge they face is they take each of those to an extreme that many people have trouble going that far. On the fiscal side, they would, for example, phase out Social Security and replace it with a voluntary system. And as I recall their platform, I apologize if I don't recall it correctly, they would legalize prostitution, not to mention most drugs on the other side.

So I think they take these ideas to a place where not many Americans ultimately will follow. But in a close election I think they could have an impact particularly among young people where Donald Trump faces enormously high unfavorable ratings among millennials, but Hillary Clinton has really struggled to connect with millennials too. If they run a campaign focused heavily on legalizing marijuana, you could imagine that being an impact particularly in some swing states.

MALVEAUX: I'd imagine so. Basil, I want you to weigh in on this because we have polls that show nearly half the voters, they're not satisfied with Trump, not satisfied with Clinton. They would like a third party candidate. So who should be more concerned about this, Clinton and the Democrats or Trump and the Republicans?

BASIL SMIKLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW YORK DEMOCRATIC PARTY: My guess is it is actually the Republicans. I just anecdotally remember the documentary on George H. W. Bush, 41, when he was asked a question about Ross Perot. You could tell he was still seething because he blamed him for his loss. So I do think it impacts Republicans more than Democrats.

I would also say I think there is some intellectual and philosophical connective tissue between Libertarians and Republicans. But I don't know that the Republican electorate is really feeling this right now. If that were the case, Rand Paul would have done a lot better. Donald Trump was pretty successful at dispatching him. So I think there is some road ahead for them, but I'm just not sure this is the election year where they make up substantial ground.

[14:35:07] MALVEAUX: I like the expression "connective tissue" like that. Ron, weigh in here. Gather Johnson ran on the Libertarian ticket back in 2012, got just one percent of the national vote. A few current polls now showing him getting about 10 percent in a three-way matchup when you look at Clinton and Trump. So listen to what he says earlier about what he needs in order to compete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHNSON: The only chance of winning is to be in the presidential debates. To be in the presidential debates, you have got to be in the polls. Just put us in the polls. I think by putting us in the polls, there will be attention drawn to what it is that we are saying. You know what, if that happens, anything is possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right, Ron, anything possible in this election season. If he is included in the polls and debates, does he rise?

BROWNSTEIN: Look, I think if you put Alf Landon, who was the 1936 Republican nominee in the polls with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, they would probably poll 10 percent. I don't think 10 percent of Americans have an informed opinion about Gary Johnson that led them to say they would support him in that one poll. What that is a reflection of is that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are both starting this election with unfavorable ratings at around 55 to 60 percent. It's unprecedented to have two nominees at this point who have so much resistance in the electorate. So there is kind of a none of the above instinct.

Yes, if you can get in the debates, you will broaden your audience and get a bigger vote. That's what Ross Perot proved in 1992. But I think this ticket does better with less attention, rather than more. I think as they get more exposure for the specifics of their idea as opposed to being a none-of-the-above candidate, I think their support would narrow rather than widen. But as I said, I think the one concern, and I think this is a year where it may be more concerning for Democrats, is their ability to appeal to young people on their socially liberal ideas, particularly the legalization of marijuana.

MALVEAUX: And Basil, Johnson and his potential running mate, Bill Weld, both former Republican governor, I covered Weld back when he was the governor of Massachusetts, do you think that this candidacy, the two of them will pull the votes from Trump when you take a look at these two as Republicans? This is something they are using to put that out there as more appealing potentially?

SMIKLE: That's exactly right. At a time when even though we are seeing more Republicans in the quote-unquote "establishment" trying to find a way to get close to Donald Trump and sort of be accepting of Donald Trump, I do think that over time you are going to see more and more Republican leaders have to get behind him because they are thinking not just about winning presidency. They are also thinking about their down ballot races as well, something that as the head of the Democratic Party in New York I think about as well.

So I think using the -- it is going on and saying, yes, we are Republicans, too, so it is OK to sort of vote for us I don't think really helps in the cycle, because in fact Donald Trump's message is the system is rigged, and what he has been able to successfully do is get Republican leaders to sign on to that messaging and then try to support the ticket down ballot.

MALVEAUX: All right, Ron Brownstein and Basil Smikle, we have discussed the Libertarian conference. This weekend we will see what happens. Thank you so much. It's significant we are even addressing it. I really appreciate it.

Ahead, a warning from Russia's president, why Vladimir Putin says countries should not help the U.S. with its missile defense system in Europe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:09] MALVEAUX: A warning today from Russian president Vladimir Putin. He said Poland and Romania should not get involved in the U.S. missile defense shield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: If yesterday in those areas of Romania, people simply did not know what it means to be in the crosshairs, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security. I repeat that these are retaliatory measures, retaliatory. We will not take any first steps. It will be the same case with Poland. We will wait until Poland takes certain action. We won't take any action, no action. We won't take any action until we see rockets in areas that neighbor us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: I want to talk about this. CNN global affairs analyst, contributor for "The Daily Beast," Kimberly Dozier, and CNN military analyst retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thank you both for being here. This is a very serious matter. And Kimberly, I want to start off with you here because we heard President Putin saying that Romania does not know what it means to be in the crosshairs. What do we think he means by this?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, it is hard to tell how much of this is for domestic consumption and how much of this is aimed at scaring the people within Romania to pressure their government. You've even had commentators within Russia talking about turning Romania into a nuclear smoking ruin. So there is a lot of rhetoric here.

This is part of the messaging back and forth. The U.S. has said this missile defense shield for years is being built with an eye to Iran and protecting Europe from Iran. Russia has said, well, now there is a treaty with Iran, so you don't need it. That missile installation could reach Russian cities. So they have a point.

MALVEAUX: General Putin said that Russia wouldn't make the first move. Why is he making this threat now?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: He has made these threats repeatedly, Suzanne. This goes back to 2009 and in fact prior to that there were also attempts at building various missile shields. As Kimberly just said, initially it was against Iran.

But in the meantime, you have seen multiple threats against Mr. Putin about turning various nations and using nuclear weapons against them. So again, this has deteriorated from a long-term or a long-range anti- ballistic missile system into short and medium-range systems. And Poland has already signed on the original signatory with Czech Republic. They fell off the radar. Romania stepped forward and said, yes, based on the positioning, we could place the devices here. But we are in step two, phase two of a four phased employment of these missiles that started in 2009 and goes up to 2022. So again, Mr. Putin doesn't want this missile to be placed. He sees threats as a way to counter it, and that's what he's doing.

[14:45:03] MALVEAUX: And Kimberly, follow up on this. Putin said the U.S. didn't negotiate about Russia about where it is putting the shield. What do you make of that?

DOZIER: U.S. officials counter that Russia didn't negotiate when it sent several thousands of troops into Ukraine and annexed Crimea. So the back and forth of this political war is playing out with small chess moves on the ground. One of the things the U.S. is doing now is to have a third combat team, 4,500 troops, rotating through Europe in addition to the ones that are already there, and putting them in all of the countries that are friendly toward the U.S. and border Russia. The message is, if you want to try to gobble up one of these countries the way you did with Ukraine or Crimea, you are going to have to take on U.S. troops on the ground, even in small numbers, and that symbolism is something that will hopefully keep Russia at bay, U.S. officials think.

MALVEAUX: And General, what is the U.S. responsibility here if Russia decides to take action against Romania or Poland?

HERTLING: Kimberly hits it right on the head. Add to the things that she said, these are countries that have been threatened by Russia in the past. And in fact all of these countries have asked for protection through NATO. They are all, by the way, NATO countries as well, Poland and Romania both. We also have requests from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and several other countries for U.S. forces. That third heavy brigade combat team, something that we fought for when I was the commander over here in Europe to maintain over, which was degraded, but it is now coming back with something you put a heavy presence on the ground to counter these threats. These are all NATO countries that are asking for this equipment, for this personnel and for this backing, Suzanne, and I think it is our desire through NATO not just for U.S. forces but for other NATO countries to provide forces as well.

MALVEAUX: All right, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling and Kim Dozier, we'll have to leave it at that. Thank you so much for your insights, really appreciate that.

HERTLING: Thank you, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Power outages, outdated technology, this is the state of America's train system. What is it going to take to fix it? That's up next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOSEPH H. BOARDMAN, AMTRAK CEO: The salt is eating away at concrete. It is eating away at the rails.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:51:03] MALVEAUX: You're looking at pictures just moments ago. The flooding in the suburbs of Houston, the floodwater is rising now. We know there is a lake in the area which could be contributing to this. At this point, we know there is no rain in the area. And so far this flooding has killed at least two people. Three others are now missing. We're going to continue to monitor the story and bring you updates in the next hour.

And switching gears now, if you commute to work by train or you are using the rail system to travel this Memorial Day weekend, you may notice this -- cracks in America's crumbling infrastructure. In some part of the country like around New York City, the rails technology are outdated and even falling apart. Rene Marsh why and what's being done about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Deep inside the 106-year-old Hudson River tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, the concrete is cracked and crumbling. After super storm Sandy flooded the tunnel, the situation became urgent.

BOARDMAN: The salt is eating away at concrete. It is eating away at the rails. It is eating away at the cables that go through here for power.

MARSH: Amtrak's CEO Joe Boardman calls it one of the most glaring examples of aging railroad infrastructure in the United States.

BOARDMAN: This is the busiest corridor in the western hemisphere. We got here because we didn't maintain our infrastructure.

MARSH: Every day about 230,000 riders pass through it. The tunnel has been plagued by power failures. Power cables are 80 years old, causing shutdowns and massive delays for days.

The repair backlog for 450 miles of rail from Boston to Washington, D.C. alone is $20 billion. Aging infrastructure has also contributed to deadly derailments.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amtrak has shut down the entire northeast corridor.

MARSH: In May, 2015, Amtrak 188 traveling more than two times the 50 miles per hour speed limit jumped the tracks in Philadelphia. Eight people were killed and more than 200 injured. Thousands of miles of railway lacked technology called positive train control that can automatically slow speeding trains.

Why has the industry as a whole taken so long to put that technology in place?

BOARDMAN: It takes time to make sure that works right.

MARSH: Across the country, 30 freight and passenger train accidents, 69 deaths and more than 1,200 injuries, could have been prevented had that technology been in place. But it is not just safety. It is speed. In Japan, bullet trains are capable of going almost 200 miles per hour. That speed would cut a six-hour Amtrak ride down to two- and-a-half. The fastest train in the U.S. can go 150 miles per hour, but usually travels at half that.

BOARDMAN: We can have that kind of service along this corridor, but you would be talking $151 billion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to be able to show the benefit of the dollar you invested.

MARSH: Anthony Foxx heads the department of transportation.

ANTHONY FOXX, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I think members of Congress struggle because they actually require a longer than a political term to take root.

MARSH: But for the busiest strip of track in the western hemisphere, speed takes the backseat to the urgent need to stop the crumbling.

Amtrak does frequent inspections of track and the tunnels just to maintain safety. It relies heavily on the federal government for funds. It gets about $1.6 billion per year. But you heard in the piece the backlog of repairs is $20 billion. So it is not enough what they are getting from the federal government. China's government, on the other hand, in comparison spends $128 billion last year on its rail infrastructure.

Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: A big interview coming up in just a few moments. From now on CNN, Bob Dole goes one-on-one with Ana Cabrera. He is the last World War II veteran to lead a major party ticket. That conversation kicks off in just a few moments right here on CNN.

[14:55:12] Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Suzanne Malveaux in for Fredricka Whitfield. We'll have much more in the Newsroom. It all starts after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. It's noon in California, 3:00 in the afternoon here in New York. I'm Ana Cabrera and it's great to have you with me. You are live in the CNN Newsroom.

Donald Trump did what Donald Trump does best on the campaign trail today in California. He really zeroed in on one of his audience's most sensitive issues and he pressed hard. This was in Fresno, California. Trump telling a fired-up crowd there that if they elect him, their devastating historic drought, what scientists are calling the worst water shortage in 1,200 years, will be over. He says he will end it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to solve your water problem. You have a water problem that is so insane, it is so ridiculous, where they are taking the water and shoving it out to sea.

(APPLAUSE)

[15:00:00] TRUMP: And I just met with a lot of the farmers, who are great people. And they are saying, we don't even understand it. They don't understand it. Nobody understands it.