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Sen. Amy Klobuchar Announces 2020 Bid For President; Doctor: President Trump in "Very Good Health". 3-4pm ET

Aired February 10, 2019 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:11] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome back. Thanks for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

The Democratic field for president continues to expand. At any moment now, we're expected to hear from Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar live from a very snowy, blustery Minneapolis, where she is expected to announce her bid for president on this very cold and snowy day there. It's roughly 12, 14 degrees. We will take you there live as it happens.

Klobuchar will join a credit field of candidates who've already announced their candidacy or have formed exploratory committees hoping to face off against Donald Trump in the next election. Five of those candidates have campaign events scheduled today in different parts of the country.

All right. So let's begin with CNN national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux in snowy Minneapolis. I can see the accumulation of snow on your hat alone, Suzanne. So, you know, Klobuchar is --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Right. So she picked quite a day to do this. But folks are already there enthusiastic. What's happening?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I mean it's been snowing here for the last couple of hours. And you're right as well, 14 degrees, but it has not dampened the excitement, the enthusiasm of the some of hundred people has been out here as well as the volunteers. You've been hearing from local mayors over the last 20 minutes or so. We'll be hearing for more officials.

But we expect momentarily that the senator will be out here. She'll be out here with her 90-year-old father as well, a former newspaper man, a journalist himself, and they'll be rolling the official announcement out very shortly. We expect her to talk about the fact that she does not have a political machine. She doesn't come from money, but she has a lot of family, a lot of friends and neighbors and grit. And that seems to be, Fred, what people really love her -- love about her here in Minnesota. They call it Minnesota nice. I want to show you a little bit of the backdrop here and give you a sense of the atmosphere. You no longer see the skyline of Minneapolis. That was really a big draw here, but they did expect the snow.

Also, behind us is the Mississippi River, and you're going to hear her use that as a metaphor for a connector, if you will, a connection that runs through the country and brings all of the Americans together. And that really is the focus of her campaign. It's going to be about the heartland, that she is coming from the heart, and people know and feel that she is somebody who tells it like it is, gets the job done.

We have talked to many people here who say that over and over, and that's going to be part of her campaign speech, if you will, later today. So, again, it's snowy, it's cold, but they've got hot chocolate and cookies and a heck of a lot of enthusiasm out here. It is, as you mentioned, Fred, going to be a very crowded and competitive field.

What she is banking on and hoping is that her Midwestern roots that are going to appeal to those moderates in the party, in the Democratic Party, not the progressives or those where the party seems to be moving towards the left, but those who want to stay in the center, reach across the aisle, get some things done in a bipartisan way, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, a very a unique launch that's already standing out in a very different way. All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much. Of course, we'll be going right back to Minneapolis there as soon as the Senator takes to that snowy stage there.

Meantime, a handful of 2020 Democratic hopefuls are on a campaign blitz, a fresh off, his sixth stop tour in Iowa, Senator Cory Booker, making two stops in South Carolina, which is the first southern state to vote in a primary 2020. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand who has not officially announced is also in South Carolina. This morning, she attended a church service in North Charleston, South Carolina.

And in the next hour, Senator Elizabeth Warren is about to speak to voters in Iowa City on her first full day as a presidential candidate. An earlier stop in Cedar Rapids as she took a jab at President Trump implying that he may not even be president by 2020.

All right, with me now is Dave Jacobson, a Democratic strategist, and John Thomas, a Republican strategist. Both are also CNN political commentators. It's good to see you both.

All right. So, Dave, you first, you know, where does Klobuchar, you know, fit in to this crowded Democratic field, a presidential candidate just ahead of her making her formal announcement there for a very snowy Minneapolis?

DAVE JACOBSON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, Fred, I think she's going to carve out the space as the pragmatist as someone who can appeal to those sort of Midwest voters that we lost in the 2016 president election, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. And I think, that's -- those are three key battleground states that we're, of course, going to have to win this go-round.

So, I think, you know, her sort of Midwest background is going to have wide-ranging appeal from a pragmatist perspective. She's going to try to brand herself as someone who's the consensus builder. And I think that's something that the Democratic Party needs where right now we're very sort of big 10 party.

[15:05:07] And I think, you know, part of the conversation needs to be where are we going to go as a party, as we move forward towards 2020? And so I think you've got sort of the progressive wing, the Democratic socialist wing, but this is more of the pragmatist common sense wing. And I think it's definitely a healthy part of the conversation as we move forward.

WHITFIELD: And John?

JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Fred, you know, yes. I agree with a lot of what Dave said. I think the challenge, though, with that argument is the fire and intensity right now in the Democratic Party is not with a pragmatic, sensible, moderate approach. It is with the further left, the further progressives in the party.

And you can see, as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez takes new policy positions. Many of the leading Democratic presidential contenders can't control their enthusiasm but to jump on that train. That's where the enthusiasm is. And, Dave, in primaries, it's usually where the fire and intensity is, is where you need to be, because that's the biggest lane for these candidates.

WHITFIELD: So, Dave, is that true? Is that where the enthusiasm is or it's just that's what's getting some attention right now?

JACOBSON: Look, I think John is absolutely right. The intensity and enthusiasm obviously swirling around the progressive left. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't have more pragmatic conversations from candidates like any Klobuchar participating in the dialogue that we have with the upcoming 2020 election.

Actually, Le Pen in op-ed for cnn.com talking about the critical importance of having a number of debates, given the fact that we are such a wide-ranging tent of a Democratic Party, I think it's absolutely vital that the Democrats battle it out in terms of a battle of ideas. We need to have a conversation with ourselves and with the American people on where we want to take the country.

I think it's great that there are so many candidates. And in fact, Fred, as of now, with Amy announcing today, there are more women than men who have actually declared their candidacy for president of the United States. I think it's something that we desperately need as a party.

And I think that she's got a lot to contribute. But I think John is absolutely right. There is tremendous enthusiasm with the progressive wing on issues like climate change and Medicare for all. And those, of course, as well need to be part of the dialogue. WHITFIELD: So, then, John, that Klobuchar, you know, has, according to this 538 congressional voter tracker, that she has voted with Trump interest, 31 percent of the time. How -- I mean, that's one distinction between her and perhaps the other Democrats who have thrown their hats into ring, but how is that either an asset or liability for her?

THOMAS: Well, it's an asset for her I think in a general election if she is the nominee. It's a certainly a liability I think in the primary win. I think the question and I don't think any of strategist know the definitive answer at this point is the secret sauce to getting through a primary simple -- on driven on an issue-based election, or is it about who can stop and who is best to defeat Donald Trump. Who will say no 100% of the time to Donald Trump?

So look, if compromise with the Democrats is what we're looking for, she's marketable here. But I actually think it's going to handicap her. She may, in fact, depending on who gets through this primary, maybe just positioning for vice president because I don't know if her brand of politics makes sense in a primary.

WHITFIELD: And so, Dave, you know, now that you have more candidates in the race, it seems the gloves might be coming off a little early in terms of really focusing on the target, which would be, you know, on President Trump. Do you see that there is going to be less of Democrats turning to each other, you know, and trying to knock off, you know, the popularity of the contenders by criticizing each other and more so in focusing on President Trump?

JACOBSON: I think it's a balancing act, Fred. I mean, I think we're going to -- Democrats are going to run two parallel tracks. We're going to run a scorched campaign to justify why we need change against Donald Trump. But simultaneous to that, every candidate that's running is running to win.

And so, actually, Axios this morning put out a story talking about the opposition research that has been shuffled by campaigns to reporters. And that's why you have sort of got these stories coming out in recent days. Just on Friday night, of course, there was a story about Amy Klobuchar and her relationship with her staffers and sort of the toxic sort of dynamic with some, perhaps, disgruntled employees from her office. Similarly, Elizabeth Warren who announced just yesterday --

WHITFIELD: Yes. Could that potentially impair her?

JACOBSON: Look, I mean, we'll see. It's obviously, very early on, but definitely I think that, you know, the gloves are coming off. And I think between that and obviously, Elizabeth Warren just yesterday, you know, the issue of course with her past history claiming that she is a part Native American. You know, you've got that dynamic with that baggage versus Kamala Harris --

WHITFIELD: And she didn't make any reference to that during her, you know, announcement however.

JACOBSON: Yes. (CROSSTALK)

JACOBSON: Right? I mean, no, no, no. She's got to move forward ahead and try to find herself --

THOMAS: You know what is --

JACOBSON: Go ahead.

[15:09:59] THOMAS: You know what is interesting, Fred, though about the Elizabeth Warren announcement is as much as this the Native American issue continues to plague her in her campaign, in a way, she has an asset that every other Democratic presidents contender is creating right now and that means she's in a fight with Donald Trump on Twitter. And that is an insanely valuable asset to have as we enter this primary season.

WHITFIELD: And she said she's ready to fight. I mean she says she is fighter and, you know, she knows it's going to be a hard-fought race and she says she is fighting to the end. So she made that pledge and appeal, and it look like she really meant it.

THOMAS: And it's not -- and a lot of this Democrat -- a lot of these primary challenges, these candidates face real tests. Now, I don't know if the Pocahontas charge is going to be her fatal moment, but remember, Barack Obama had to give an address to save his campaign career in a Democratic primary when lots of people counted him out. So it's about how you handle these scandals and what timing --

(CROSSTALK)

THOMAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: OK.

THOMAS: When these scandals hit and how you handle it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dave Jacobson and John Thomas, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much, and of course --

JACOBSON: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: -- we're all standing by. Still to hear from U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar there out of Minneapolis. Very snowy conditions right there on the Mississippi River. We'll take you there live as it happens.

And now just five days until the deadline on border negotiations, but is a deal any closer to being done all these weeks after the historic partial U.S. government shutdown ended?

And Virginia Governor Ralph Northam says, he's not going anywhere despite calls to resign over a raise his photo in his medical school year book. Why he said it's better if he stays in office?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:15:51] WHITFIELD: All right. Live pictures right now of a very hearty group there in Minneapolis as they wait the introduction now of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar who was expected to throw her hat officially into the ring. They are at a place called Boom Island. It's a park that's right there in the Minneapolis along the Mississippi River. And apparently in her speech, she'll be making references to the Mississippi using it as a metaphor for her message trying to connect people just as the Mississippi River connects so many states in America.

And you see the folks there. They are not at all, you know, deterred by the conditions. It is very cold. It's hovering between 12 and 14 and 16 degrees there. It's very snowy. Campaign officials say to help keep everybody warm and enthusiastic, they brought in 100 gallons of apple cider and 100 gallons of hot chocolate to keep everyone warm there. And there she is, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, three-term senator, soon to throw her hat into the ring officially. Let's listen in.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, (D) MINNESOTA: Whoa. Hello, everyone. Welcome, America, to Boom Island. Where are we?

AUDIENCE: Boom Island.

KLOBUCHAR: Now, we don't let a little snow stop us. We don't let a little cold stop us. Like are you guys even cold?

AUDIENCE: No.

KLOBUCHAR: Tell the truth. Now, when I said that elected leaders should go not just where it's comfortable but also where it's uncomfortable, this is what I meant. Now, John and I want to first thank our amazing and incredible team and staff for putting this together. Unbelievable. Also, the city of Minneapolis parks, thank you. All the incredible people that turned out.

My friends, Tina Smith and Governor Walz, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, highest ranking Native American state official in our nation. Our congressional delegation, thank you. Mayors, commissioners, legislators. Oh, I forgot, my dad who's 90 years old. And you always want to thank your in-laws. Bill and Marilyn from Mankato.

Thank you, Dudley D. who traveled with Prince for so many years for being here. Hey, if Prince could do the half-time show in all that rain, I can do this in this snow. Sound of blackness, thank you, Rabbi Zimmerman. Thank you friends from across the country. This is why we live here. Thank you, greater Minnesota. Thank you our suburbs and thank you the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

We are gathered here today on this beautiful Mississippi River, America's great river, running straight through the middle of our country, through the heartland. It takes its name from the Native American word, for the father of waters. It starts small up north. And like so many of you as a kid, I got the thrill of going up there and claiming that I jumped clear over the Mississippi River. It then gets wider as it flows down here to the Twin Cities and then to Wisconsin where my mom was born.

[15:20:05] And then down to Iowa, a place where we in Minnesota like to go south for the winter, or at least I do. And then to Illinois, a state that boasts a lot of extraordinary presidents, from Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama.

Then the river meanders down to St. Louis, where you'll find a big arch, a gateway that honors our country's pioneers. Onwards to Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. went one April day to join sanitation workers fighting for their dignity. Where he preached about the mountaintop and how he'd seen the Promised Land.

And then to Arkansas and Mississippi. All the way down to New Orleans where the spirit of resilience abounds. The Mississippi River, all our rivers that connect us, to one another, to our shared story. For that is how this country was founded, with patriots who saw more that united them than divided them.

And that is how this city, the Mill City, and our country prospered, right along this river and our nation's railways and roads, grounded in the common belief that prosperity shared leads to better lives for all. And this is how we became the world's beacon of democracy, one in which everyone matters.

We start in this place where about a mile downriver, on a beautiful summer day, a big bridge collapsed into this river. I said on that day, that a bridge just shouldn't fall down in the middle of America. Not one of the busiest bridges in our state. Not a bridge just a few blocks from our house where John and Abigail and I drove over nearly every day. But it happened.

And suddenly the eyes of the nation were on our state. And that day America saw in a very visceral way that everyone matters. Everyone. They saw it in the off-duty firefighter who dove into the murky water, over and over again, looking through those cars and trucks submerged for survivors. They saw it in the story of Paul Eickstadt, the semi- truck driver, who sacrificed his own life by veering off the road to save a school bus full of kids.

They saw it in the school staff member, Jeremy Hernandez, who rescued each and every kid on that miracle school bus as it hung precariously next to a guardrail after plummeting thirty feet. Later, we worked across the aisle to get the federal funding and we rebuilt that I-35W bridge in just over a year. That's community. That's a shared story. That's ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

But, my friends, that sense of community is fracturing across our nation right now, worn down by the petty and vicious nature of our politics. We are tired of the shutdowns and the showdowns, the gridlock and the grandstanding. Today on this snowy day on this island, we say enough is enough.

Our nation must be governed not from chaos but from opportunity. Not by wallowing over what's wrong, but by marching inexorably toward what's right. And it has to start with all of us. My family's story is like so many of yours. On both my mom and my dad's side, they arrived in this country with nothing but a suitcase. But they made a home here. It was cold. OK, maybe not as cold as this. They didn't know anyone. But like so many immigrants, they wanted a better life for their families.

My grandpa worked 1,500 feet underground in the mines up North on the Iron Range. He never graduated from high school. He saved money in a coffee can in the basement to send my dad to college. My dad, whose here at age 90, got a two-year degree from Vermillion Junior College, and then finished up at the great University of Minnesota. He became a journalist.

[15:25:11] As a young Associated Press reporter he called the 1960 presidential race for John F. Kennedy. He covered the 1968 conventions. He interviewed everyone from Mike Ditka to Hubert Humphrey to Ronald Reagan to Ginger Rogers. Freedom of the press wasn't some abstract idea to dad. He embraced it. He lived it.

My mom, a proud union member, taught second grade in the suburbs until she was 70 years old. Her students, now grown, still come up to me on the street and tell me she was their favorite teacher.

So today, on an island in the middle of the mighty Mississippi, in our nation's heartland, at a time when we must heal the heart of our democracy and renew our commitment to the common good, I stand before you as the granddaughter of an iron ore miner, the daughter of a teacher and a newspaperman, the first woman elected to the United States Senate from the State of Minnesota, to announce my candidacy for president of the United States.

I am running for this job for every person who wants their work recognized and rewarded. I'm running for every parent who wants a better world for their kids. I'm running for every student who wants a good education. For every senior who wants affordable prescription drugs. For every worker, farmer, dreamer, builder. For every American. I m running for you.

And I promise you this, as your president, I will look you in the eye. I will tell you what I think. I will focus on getting things done. That's what I've done my whole life. And no matter what, I'll lead from the heart.

OK. Let me be blunt, for too long leaders in Washington have sat on the sidelines while others try to figure out what to do about our changing economy and its impact on our lives, what to do about the disruptive nature of new technologies, income inequality, the political and geographic divides, the changing climate, the tumult in our world.

For a moment, let's stop seeing those obstacles as obstacles on our path. Did we view the snow as an obstacle? No, we did not. Let's see those obstacles as our path. This is what I mean. There are insidious forces every day that are trying to make it harder for people to vote, trying to drown out our voices with big money. It is time to organize. Time to galvanize. Time to take back our democracy. It's time, America.

Time to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and get the dark money out of our politics. It is time to stop discriminatory actions by restoring the Voting Rights Act. It is time to pass my bill to automatically register every young person to vote when they turn 18.

You see the obstacles that they're throwing at us with big money and limits on voting, they're obstacles but they're also our path.

[15:30:05] They are how as Paul Wellstone would tell us. They are how we organized.

Here's another one, climate change. The people are on our side when it comes to climate change. Why? Because like you and I, they believe in science. That's why in the first 100 days of my administration I will reinstate the clean power rules and gas mileage standards and put forth sweeping legislation to invest in green jobs and infrastructure. And on day one, we will rejoin the international climate agreement.

The obstacles? They are our path.

Here's another challenge. Way too many politicians have their heads stuck in the sand when it comes to the digital revolution. Hey guys it's not just coming, it's here. And if you don't know the difference between a hack and slack, it's time to pull off the digital highway.

What would I do as president? We need to put some digital rules of the road into law when it comes to people's privacy. For too long the big tech companies have been telling you, don't worry. We've got your back, while your identities, in fact, are being stolen and your data is being mined.

Our laws need to be as sophisticated as the people who are breaking them. We must revamp our nation's cybersecurity and guarantee net neutrality for all. And we need to end the digital divide by pledging to connect every household to the internet by 2022, and that means you rural America. I mean, come on, if they can do it in Iceland, we can do it here.

We need to train our workers today for the jobs of tomorrow and strengthen our economy by planning ahead. That means respecting and recognizing educational certifications and two-year degrees and making it easier for people to get them. And yes, that means comprehensive immigration reform. It is time, America.

And by the way, we should close those tax loopholes designed by and for the wealthy and bring down our debt and make it easier for workers to afford child care, housing and education. That is what I mean by shared prosperity. But we can't get there if people can't afford their health care and that means getting to universal health care and bringing down the costs of prescription drugs.

Last week my guest to the State of the Union, who is here with us today, was Nicole Smith-Holt. Nicole's son Alec, a 26-year-old restaurant manager from the southern suburbs, aged off his parents' health insurance.

Three days short of his payday, Alec, a diabetic, wasn't able to afford his insulin. He tried rationing it to save money. It didn't work and he died. This disgrace should never happened in the United States of America. Not with a simple drug that's been around for nearly a century.

The obstacle to change? The big pharma companies think they own Washington. Well they don't own me. And they don't own Nicole.

We are teaming up to pass meaningful legislation to bring in competitive safe drugs from other countries. To stop big pharma's practice of paying off generic companies to keep their products off the market. We're going to harness the negotiating power of 43 million seniors. That's a lot of negotiating power. And lift the ban on negotiating cheaper drug prices under Medicare.

I have always believe in doing my job without fear or favor. That's what I do as a senator and that's what I did as a prosecutor.

[15:35:04] And that means not only convicting the guilty but protecting the innocent. That's why I have and why I will always continue to advocate for criminal justice reform.

That's why, in a state where we all value hunting and fishing and the great outdoors, I am not afraid to join the vast majority of Americans, including many gun owners, to stand up to the gun lobby and put universal background checks and commonsense gun legislation into law. It is time, America.

And a safer world isn't just about what we do here at home. Even if you want to isolate yourself from the rest of the world, the rest of the world won't let you. International problems come banging at your door, just as opportunities come knocking.

We need to stand strong and consistently with our allies. We need to be clear in our purpose. We must respect our front line troops, diplomats and intelligence officers who are out there every day risking their lives for us. They deserve better than foreign policy by tweet.

And one last obstacle that we must overcome to move forward together. Stop the fear-mongering and stop the hate. We may come from different places. We may pray in different ways. We may look different. And love different. But we all live in the same country of shared dreams.

In Minnesota we have the biggest Somali population in the country. And we are very proud of that community. A few years ago at the height of the angry rhetoric, a Somali-American family of four went out to dinner right here in Minnesota. This guy walked by, he looked down at them and said you four go home. You go home to where you came from.

And the little girl looks up at her mom and she said, mom, I don't want to go home. You said we could eat out for dinner tonight. I don't want to eat dinner at home. You think of the innocent words of that little girl. She only knows one home and that's our state. She only knows one home and that's the United States of America.

Walt Whitman, the great American poet, once wrote these words, "I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear." For Whitman those were the songs of the mechanics, the carpenters, the masons and the shoemakers. And those carols are still being sung today. They are now also the songs of our sisters and brothers, a chorus of different faiths, races, creeds and ways of life.

E pluribus unum. Out of one -- out of many, one. It is more than a motto, America. It is the North Star of our democracy. It is the North Star of our effort.

I am asking you to join this campaign. It is a homegrown one. I don't know if you can even see our number because of the snow, but you can check Amy at 919990.

I don't have a political machine. I don't come from money. But what I do have is this, I have grit. I have family. I have friends. I have neighbors. And I have all of you who are willing to come out in the middle of the winter, all of you who took the time to watch us today from home, all of you who are willing to stand up and say people matter.

I'm asking you to not look down and not look away anymore. I'm asking you to look up. To look at each other. To look to the future before us. Let us rise to the occasion and meet the challenges of our day.

[15:40:11] Let us cross the river of our divides and walk across our sturdy bridge to higher ground.

As one faith leader reminded me this week, to pursue the good, we must believe that good will prevail. I do believe it and so do you. So let's join together, as one nation, indivisible, under God, and pursue the good.

Thank you and God bless America.

WHITFIELD: Three-time U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar throwing her hat into the ring, vowing that she will lead from the heart, saying that she is running for every American. I am running for you, and she says e pluribus unum, out of many, one.

All right. Suzanne Malveaux is there in the snowy, blustery conditions there, 12, 14, 16 degrees, whatever it is, it is down right cold and its very snowy there and very enthusiastic crowd there. Susan.

MALVEAUX: Well, Fred, it was really quite incredible. I mean, I don't doubt that she might have had a space either somewhere near that podium but she made that entire speech without gloves, without a hat. We saw a snowcap Amy Klobuchar the Senate there finally officially making her announcement that she is throwing her hat into the ring with much anticipation here. And she first said she was announcing, that she was making a big announcement after the State of the Union Democratic response. So now it is official. There's a lot excitement enthusiasm around this of course. And what she did predictably is really characterized herself as the candidate for everyone. I don't know how many times you can actually count when she said heart or heartland, but that really is the focus, the fundamental part of her thesis, her campaign slogan moving forward here, Amy for America, and she wants people to understand that she is that person. And we had told you before that it's about the grit, it is about her neighbor, her family, her community.

Really somebody from humble beginnings, humble means who has a story, an American story as someone from households of immigrants, her parents being immigrants coming to this country and working very hard to make sure that she achieved the very best that she could, and that she did the same for her own family.

She also talked about seeing challenges, seeing obstacles as ways of moving forward, and that that is something that many Minnesotans respect here. They know her very well. And I think the big challenge for her, Fred, here is that this is an introduction. It's a big introduction. Can she carry this momentum forward? Can she actually introduce herself in a way that people embrace the kinds of things that she is supporting? She has a modern agenda but she also has a liberal agenda.

I mean you heard her talk about taking on climate change and cybersecurity and health care and those types of things. The quality for everyone that the Democratic Party certainly spouses, but not some of those other measures that go beyond that. I mean, Medicare for all or abolishing ICE, those are things that she does not support.

But she certainly has a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of momentum here. In the days and weeks ahead will be critical for her as she gets her name out to the rest of the country. Loved here in Minnesota, very well- known as a competent senator in Washington, but unknown very little name recognition beyond that. And so that will be the big challenge for her and getting out of the snow, getting to into rest, cross the rest of the country to get her message out, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Right. I need to underscore your point about the obstacle she says, you know, let's see those obstacles as our path, and then even vowed promising, you know, if elected, she would also restore the U.S. involvement in the climate agreement. She did make a vow, a pledge of immigration reform. I mean, she took it further by, you know, trying to be very detailed about how she would tried to bring new policy if she were in the White House.

MALVEAUX: And, Fred, one of the things that's very important and that what you've also hear from her campaign in the days ahead is really the case for electability. The fact that if there's anybody who could beat Trump perhaps, it could be Amy Klobuchar because of her roots in the Midwest, because of the kind of message she carries and because of her winning record. I mean she has won double digits here in her own state. She has never lost a race here.

[15:45:08] She has earned respect and the credibility of many Republicans, of many rural voters, of many working class voters. And what many of the Democrats believe were neglected the last go around and if she can win some of those states in the heartland, in the Midwest that she would stand a better chance that maybe some of the other Democratic potential status a case that she will be making.

But she will have to, in the primary season, went over some folks that are not necessarily represented a great numbers here in the Minnesota, African-American, Latino-Americans, and others who are more progressive and left leaning. She will have to bring a message that resonates with them as well.

WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux in a very snowy Minneapolis there in Boom Island. Now take part in some of that hot chocolate or hot cider that's being distributed.

MALVEAUX: Oh yes, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:31] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. President Trump's doctor says he is in, "very good health," after performing the President's second official physical in office. Dr. Sean Conley performed the nearly four-hour exam on Friday, and Trump had a glowing bill of health last year, but sources tell CNN that a year later he has not changed much when it comes to his diet and exercise. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta gives us his take.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, of course it's the last sentence in the statement that is the most important. Dr. Sean Conley, physician to the President, writing, "I am happy to announce the President of the United States is in very good health. And I anticipate he will remain so for the duration of his presidency and beyond." Obviously good news.

No one can predict the future. No one has a crystal ball. But that statement is made after four hours of a physical examine with 11 different consultants. So, a pretty thorough exam, it sounds like. The question always with these physical exams for the President, is the President fit to lead? Dr. Ronny Jackson, who was the President's doctor last year, he gave an enthusiastic yes at the time.

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RONNY JACKSON, TRUMP'S CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISOR: In summary, the President's overall health is excellent.

GUPTA: A remarkable scene last January in the White House briefing room. Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor at the time, enthusiastically endorsing the health of President Trump.

JACKSON: All clinical data indicates that the President is currently very healthy and that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency.

GUPTA: Here's what Jackson told us. The President was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 239 pounds, just one pound shy of being clinically obese. Resting heart rate, 68. Blood pressure, 122 over 74. Total cholesterol, 223, a little high. Triglyceride, 129. Good cholesterol, 67. Bad cholesterol, 143.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you explain to me how a guy who eats McDonald's and fried chicken and all those diet cokes and never exercises is in as good a shape as you say he's in?

JACKSON: It's called genetics. I don't know. Some people have, you know, just great genes. You know, I told the President that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old. I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He doesn't have heart disease, is that what you said?

JACKSON: That he does not have heart disease. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he had a CT-scan before that showed he has calcium in his coronary blood vessels?

JACKSON: He does. He did. He had a -- so I think -- so technically, he has nonclinical atherosclerotic coronary -- coronary atherosclerosis.

GUPTA: That's heart disease. President Trump's coronary calcium score last year was 133. According to the Mayo Clinic, the score of 100 to 300 is associated with a relatively high risk of a heart attack over the next three to five years.

President Trump doesn't smoke or drink. As of last year, he was taking five medications daily. Ten milligrams of Crestor to lower his cholesterol, 81 milligrams of aspirin for heart health, one milligram of Propecia for hair loss, a daily multivitamin and Soolantra Cream as needed for rosacea. Dr. Jackson also said he administered a cognitive exam to the President.

JACKSON: The reason that we did the cognitive assessment is plain and simple because the President asked me to do it. He came to me and said, is there something we can do, a test or some type of screen that we can do to assess my -- you know, my cognitive ability.

GUPTA: And this is what the Montreal Cognitive Assessment looks like. Jackson said the President got a 30 out of 30, a perfect score.

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GUPTA: And, Fred, obviously, it was a simple statement released on Friday about the President. We anticipate more results coming out, blood work that was done, diagnostic testing that was done. That will be coming out some time this week.

There were also some recommendations that were made by Dr. Jackson, who you just saw there in the piece. He told the President he needed to lose 10 to 15 pounds, wanted him to improve his diet, cut back carbs and fat, and lower the cholesterol. We'll get a better idea of just how good a patient the President has been. Fred? WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

All right. Teachers at Denver's public schools are set to walk off the job tomorrow after talks broke off this weekend with the school district. The teachers are looking for an overhaul of the salary system. The union says teacher pay varies from year to year because the district's pay system uses unpredictable bonuses to compensate for low base pay.

Several teachers tell CNN they have to take second and sometimes even third jobs just to make ends meet. This would be the first teacher strike in Denver in 25 years.

[15:55:06] It is the most powerful social media company on earth, and tonight CNN goes inside Facebook to find out what's really going on behind closed doors. Join CNN's Laurie Segall for a special report "Facebook at 15: It's Complicated." That airs tonight at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

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WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you for being with me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We are five days away from another potential government shutdown if lawmakers cannot reach a deal to fund the government. And optimism that bipartisan negotiations would yield a deal acceptable to both sides has now given way to some concern.

Sources tell CNN bipartisan talks have reached a standstill, and concern is growing that a deal won't be reached by the Friday deadline. White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney making it clear this morning that another painful shutdown --