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Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is Interviewed about her Campaign; Voters Head to Polls in New Hampshire; Coronavirus Cases Double on Cruise Ship; Thirteenth American with Coronavirus. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 11, 2020 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

SEN AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I've been able to do it in a big, big way. And I think that's what we need to build this coalition. And that's why you see people showing up at my events.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: What number does your campaign think you will come in, in New Hampshire?

KLOBUCHAR: I don't know. I just know I'm going to work my heart out for every single vote and to the very end. That's what I do.

CAMEROTA: Have you thought about what state you could win in?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, we just keep going. And, for me, it's been like this. You know, it's been -- I'm in one of these things. A lot of people have come down. I just gradually go up.

And we're just going to be headed to Nevada. We already have a team there. There's some interesting things for me there. I have worked a lot on immigration reform in both right when I got to the Senate, got attacked for standing up for immigrants in my own state in many attack ads and really have the creds when it comes to that.

CAMEROTA: Well, I do want to ask you a little bit about the demographics of Nevada and South Carolina because much has been made about how Mayor Pete Buttigieg has a problem with black voters. Do you worry about the same thing with Hispanic voters or black voters?

KLOBUCHAR: First of all, I have a track record of working on a lot of these issues and I just -- people have to get to know me. In my state, I've done very, very well with African-American voters in my elections. It's easy to check out. And I have the support of a number of African-American leaders in Minnesota, as well as Hispanic leaders. And, in fact, they've come and campaigned for me in different states, including Nevada.

I have the support of Linda Sanchez in the neighboring state of California. She has endorsed me. And so I've just got to keep getting the word out. And with African-American voters, it's a lot about economic opportunity. Something I lead with in every speech I give. And then it is also about voting. And I actually am leading a number of those bills, registering every kid to vote when they turn 18, getting rid of gerrymandering. That's my bill I lead. Getting rid of voting purges. So I'm going to have a story to tell.

CAMEROTA: President Trump is also going to be in Manchester.

KLOBUCHAR: Yes. A lot of traffic issues I heard.

CAMEROTA: He gets a good turnout.

KLOBUCHAR: Yes.

CAMEROTA: He's -- I mean they -- the last time he was here, I think he got something like 11,000 -- north of there.

KLOBUCHAR: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And so is it hard to compete with that kind of enthusiasm?

KLOBUCHAR: I don't think so at all. I think right now we have still something like 10, 12 candidates in this race. They don't all make it on the debate stage. And when that winnows down, we will have that enthusiasm and much, much more.

CAMEROTA: Senator Klobuchar, thank you for your time.

KLOBUCHAR: OK. Thank you.

CAMEROTA: We'll be watching throughout New Hampshire.

KLOBUCHAR: Very good.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

KLOBUCHAR: All right. Thanks you.

CAMEROTA: Great to talk to you.

KLOBUCHAR: This was so great.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: She's not worried about the enthusiasm, as you heard there. And we will be gauging it here at this polling place.

Meanwhile, one time frontrunner Elizabeth Warren is now casting herself as an underdog. So how well does she need to perform today?

And how concerned should the Democrats be about the candidate who is not on the ballot today, and that's Michael Bloomberg?

All that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:57]

CAMEROTA: OK, voters are already showing up here at the polls in New Hampshire. We've been watching a steady stream of them arrive at this elementary school where I am in New Hampshire. Sorry, in Manchester, New Hampshire.

So let's talk about what this means for some of the candidates. What today they have to accomplish. I'm talking about Senators Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, former Vice President Joe Biden, all of them, of course, hoping for strong showings today.

Back with us are Abby Phillip and Alex Burns.

So, Abby, is there a way for everybody to say that, you know, New Hampshire, it was either great for them or doesn't matter? I mean I'm thinking of Amy Klobuchar, who is surging right now in the polls here, so that's a victory for her. And then I'm thinking of Joe Biden, who can sort of say, well, I never planned to win New Hampshire anyway.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that this is a total expectations game. So if you beat expectations, if you're Amy Klobuchar and you do -- I mean certainly if you do better than Joe Biden here, yes, they are going to be really excited about that. I think if the Buttigieg campaign finishes close to Bernie Sanders, they will be really happy about that. If Bernie Sanders gets the turnout that he wants, he will be really happy about that. And Joe Biden is just saying, none of this matters, I'll see you in South Carolina.

So, yes, I mean, the race is going to -- these people are all going to still be here when we go on to the next contest and everybody is going to come out of this saying that they have a reason to continue onward.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I do think it's interesting in this campaign, and we saw it to an extent four years ago, Bernie Sanders, one never asks, well, what happens if and when, Alex, Bernie Sanders wins New Hampshire? Shouldn't we talk -- be talking about the fact that Bernie Sanders is in the driver's seat of the Democratic race at this point?

ALEX BURNS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think -- I think two things. If he -- part of it depends on how big he wins New Hampshire, right? That if he wins New Hampshire, a state that he won with 60 percent of the vote, by one or two percentage points over the former mayor of the fourth largest city of Indiana, I don't know that that's the kind of performance for Bernie Sanders where people say, well, I guess he's going to be the nominee, right? That this is going to be a long process.

If he wins the state by, you know, eight, nine, ten points, that's a whole different deal. That's not what we're seeing in polling right now. But if turnout is what Bernie Sanders clearly hopes it will be, I don't think you can totally rule it out.

The other factor here I think is Mike Bloomberg, right? That in a race where you didn't have somebody worth $60 billion sitting on top of the Super Tuesday map which is coming up in just a couple weeks, I think we would be looking at this lineup of candidates and saying, well, sure, there are people here who are beating expectations or performing well, given how they entered the campaign. But who is actually in a position to overtake Bernie Sanders?

We know one person who probably is in a position to at least put up a firewall against Bernie Sanders, and the question for Sanders is, can he get enough momentum in the next couple weeks that $60 billion won't matter.

CAMEROTA: Hey, Abby, how about Elizabeth Warren? Obviously she's from Massachusetts, a neighboring state here. What are the expectations for her tonight?

[06:40:04]

PHILLIP: Well, it's tough for her. I mean I think that she has really plateaued in the last couple of weeks, if not the last few months. And the question for her is, what is a good enough performance here in New Hampshire that will give her the financial momentum that she needs to go further.

She -- I do think she has the organizational structure that she needs to compete in the later states, in Nevada, in South Carolina and even in Super Tuesday, but the problem is the money. She is, remember, not raising money in a traditional way. She's raising it from supporters. And it requires those people to believe you have a chance to win. So she's going to have to beat some kind of expectations here. She's going to have to finish a little bit closer to the top two finishers in New Hampshire. And I think that might be challenging for her given where we've seen her in the polls. But, you know, voters -- voters will decide and we'll find out in a few hours.

BERMAN: And she's trying to pull off already what is sort of a drastic repositioning from being a progressive candidate, just I'm like Bernie Sanders, just I'm Elizabeth Warren, to now portraying herself as a uniter, competing in more of the center of the race, Alex, which will ultimately put her in conflict with the man you just brought up, Michael Bloomberg, $60 billion, who in a national poll is all of a sudden right in it.

BURNS: It is kind of a hair-splitting procedural argument, right, that she's not running as a centrist candidate, she's running as a candidate who is in the center of the primary field, right, that if you set Mike Bloomberg on one poll, Bernie Sanders on the other, she's somewhere in between. And that's fair enough. But it is -- it is a reflection of what a drastic change in positioning this is for her now. That if there's one candidate who, for most of this race, was allergic to talking process, it was Elizabeth Warren. And she still doesn't do it as much as some of the other folks in the race. But the fact that she's talking about the idea of a unity candidate, a compromised candidate in that kind of tactical, strategic language, that's pretty different for her. We heard it in Iowa. We're obviously continuing to hear it now.

CAMEROTA: OK, guys, thank you very much. Great to talk to you.

As I've mentioned, I am at an elementary school. This polling place opened at 6:00 a.m. We've seen very hardy voters already showing up. So we're going to talk to some of them about who they just voted for and why. That's straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:46:20]

CAMEROTA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. I'm Alisyn Camerota, live in Manchester, New Hampshire. This is where the high stakes first in the nation primary is now underway.

So I am here catching up with voters right after they cast their ballots. And I have two here to tell us how they voted.

Joining us now are -- is Heather Frances. She is a grad student and a Democratic voter. And Normand Robidoux. He is a Republican voter.

And, Normand, we wanted to talk to you first because you were the first person to show up before 6:00 a.m. Do you always vote first?

NORMAND ROBIDOUX, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: Usually within the top five. Once in a while I'm the first one at the polls.

CAMEROTA: And why did you want to be the first one to vote today?

ROBIDOUX: Well, you know, for years I had a business where I got up at 2:00 in the morning. So I still get up early. And I figure, if I'm up early, I may as well head to the polls.

CAMEROTA: Who did you vote for?

ROBIDOUX: The man, Donald Trump. Donald J. Trump.

CAMEROTA: And why did you feel -- I mean, you know, there's a lot, obviously, more attention today on the Democratic field because there's so many choices. President Trump doesn't seem to be -- have stiff competition. So why did you feel it was so important to get up and exercise your civic duty here?

ROBIDOUX: Well, seeing that I'm up, I may as well come and hopefully run into some of my friends that voted for him also, because he's the man, you know. He says what he means and means what he says. If he's going to do something, he does it. You might not like his tactics sometimes, but he gets the job done. I didn't vote for him the first time because I liked his mannerisms, I voted because I really thought he could do the job.

CAMEROTA: Heather, so you've just voted. Tell us who you voted for -- if you don't mind, tell us who you voted for.

HEATHER FRANCIS, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: I voted for Bernie Sanders.

CAMEROTA: Why?

FRANCIS: Because -- well, I voted for Bernie in 2016. So I would say I'm a very loyal Bernie fan. And I voted for him because I think he's the most honest out of the Democrats and he doesn't hide behind the establishment.

CAMEROTA: There's a lot of people that we've talked to who had not made up their minds yesterday, you know? We were going around and going to different events and people were still on the fence. When did you make up your mind that you were going to vote for Bernie? Has it been years or in this -- in this particular round were you still considering others?

FRANCIS: I decided in November. I was between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie. But when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Bernie, that's when I made the decision.

CAMEROTA: That is interesting. And what do you think about the debate that seems to be going on within the Democratic Party. I think Pete Buttigieg categorized it as revolution or status quo. It's more like moderate or progressive. Who do you think is going to win out this year?

FRANCIS: I think it's going to be the progressives. I think that's who should have won in 2016 and I think it's what's going to happen this year.

CAMEROTA: Do you think that America is ready for a progressive in the vein of Bernie Sanders? Because, you know, there's lots of independents, there are lots of people who call themselves more centrist.

FRANCIS: I would say America is ready. I just think we're scared.

CAMEROTA: What are we scared of?

FRANCIS: I think we're scared of change. I think we're scared of adding more people to the table, like people of color, Latino voters, immigrants. I think we're scared of opening up the doors to allow people in have a voice in our political electorate.

CAMEROTA: Do you feel scared, Normand?

ROBIDOUX: No, I'm too old to be scared.

CAMEROTA: But what about -- I mean I know you're a Republican. What do you think of Bernie Sanders?

ROBIDOUX: Well, how did it work in Venezuela?

CAMEROTA: There you go. I mean he really captures -- this is, I think, what President Trump is saying and I think that Normand is candidly capturing how Republicans feel.

[06:50:02]

Does it worry you?

FRANCIS: Bernie Sanders isn't a socialist and I think what happens on the media is there tends to be, oh, well, Bernie Sanders is so socialist and I think that he represents more of a different type of socialist when he talks about FDR's new deal and bringing progressive ideas to the table. And I think the branding is misleading and I think that just educating on what Bernie's platform really is will have a really good effect on the impact that he'll make. CAMEROTA: We appreciate you guys. We appreciate you guys sharing your

thoughts on all of this.

Normand, Heather, thank you very much for standing out here in the cold and talking to us.

ROBIDOUX: OK. No problem.

CAMEROTA: Great to talk to you guys.

ROBIDOUX: Thank you very much.

CAMEROTA: OK. John.

BERMAN: All right, there is some other news this morning. The death toll from coronavirus now tops 1,000 people after China just had its deadliest day. Thousands are still quarantined on a cruise ship in Japan. We're going to go there live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:11]

BERMAN: New this morning, China just reported its deadliest day yet since the coronavirus outbreak began, 108 deaths. The death toll has been rising steadily and has now surpassed 1,000 people in China.

A cruise ship off Japan is still quarantined with 135 confirmed cases on board.

CNN's Matt Rivers is live there with the very latest.

Matt.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, yes, it's another bleak record in this coronavirus saga in China. The deadliest day to day rise so far. And it's, you know, raising questions about the Chinese government's ability to contain this virus. We saw in public for the first time in nearly a week China's president yesterday meeting with people at a hospital in Beijing. He's clearly trying to put out this image that China's government has it all under control. But given these death tolls, given the rising number of cases, there's questions about that.

And here in Yokohama, slightly better news today. No new cases reported on board that cruise ship. But multiple officials tell us that that is likely going to change. They do expect the number of cases to increase, positive diagnoses to increase over the coming days. And we know at least 24 Americans have been sickened so far on that ship, and that number could go up.

Now, officials say that anyone who's going to be testing positive for this coronavirus would have contracted this virus before the quarantine took effect, John, but still if you're on board that ship, and we've talked to several people on board, it's a tense situation. Even if you believe Japanese health officials have it under control, still if the cases go up, that's uncomfortable.

BERMAN: It is a frustrating situation and a scary situation for those people on board as the numbers up until yesterday were rising dramatically.

Matt Rivers, please, keep us posted there.

In the United States, a 13th person has been diagnosed with coronavirus. The patient initially tested negative and was released from a hospital in southern California.

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now.

Sanjay, so how can a patient test negative and then positive within less than a week?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

Well, I mean, this is obviously a bit of a concern. But keep in mind, first of all, that with these tests, a new test, a new virus, that there could be a certain percentage of false negatives which describe the scenario that you just laid out there.

What is also -- the way to think about this is that these tests were really designed to find the virus in somebody who is -- who is sick. When you're sick you have much more of the virus in your body. It's easier to find. In someone who has minimal symptoms or no symptoms, even if they are incubating the virus in their body at that point, it may be hard to find.

So one of -- you know, one of the things that you're hearing is that that's why people aren't getting randomly screened if they are asymptomatic. If they have severe symptoms, the test is more likely to be positive. But this is going to be something that public health officials are going to look at, how specific and how sensitive are these tests and how should they best be used?

BERMAN: Sanjay, the head of the World Health Organization just called the outbreak a very grave threat to the world. A very grave threat. What exactly does that mean? What do you take from that?

GUPTA: Well, you know, I think what he was referring to in this scenario was that, look, the vast majority of the cases of coronavirus, 99 percent, are still within -- within China. But you are starting to see, you know, other countries around the world have cases and you're also starting to see people who have never traveled to China, then traveling to other countries around the world and becoming people who are spreading the virus. There was a British businessman, for example, John, you probably heard the story, he had never been to China. He had been to Singapore, subsequently traveled to three countries, and likely was a source of infection in 10 to 11 people.

So the question is, are these the little sparks around the country that are going to lead to larger populations of people getting it? That may be the case. We don't -- we don't know yet. Still, the majority of cases in China. But when you start to see these sparks, I think that's what he was -- he was talking about.

BERMAN: All right. Sanjay, and I know you're watching it very carefully. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.

GUPTA: You got it.

BERMAN: Here in New Hampshire, it is primary day, the first in the nation primary. The polls are open. The lines are long. Democrats looking to choose their nominee. That is the big story this morning.

NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 2020 New Hampshire primary is underway.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The establishment is beginning to get nervous. How do we stop Bernie Sanders and his movement?

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't risk further polarizing the American people.

[07:00:01]

I am here to build a program that all of us can see where we fit.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got the best chance to beat Donald Trump. I can bring our party together.