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S.E. Cupp Unfiltered

Democrats Prep For Articles Of Impeachment, GOP Eyes Senate Trial; Sources Say, Moderate Democrats Growing Anxious, Warn Against Including Mueller Report In Articles Of Impeachment; CNN Poll: 50 Percent Of Americans Support Impeaching And Removing Trump; Biden Works To Cement Position At Top Of Dem Primary Field; Biden Picks Up Kerry Endorsement; Buttigieg Endorsed By Three Former Obama Officials; Kerry: Biden Is "The Strongest Candidate To Lead Our Party And Lead Our Country"; This Week: Harris Drops Out; Warren Shifts Messaging; Buttigieg Scrutinized Over Previous Consulting Work; Bloomberg News Won't Investigate 2020 Dems; Candidate Bloomberg Dismisses Criticism From Staff. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 07, 2019 - 18:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00]

S.E. CUPP, CNN HOST: Welcome to UNFILTERED.

Here's tonight's headline. Dinner is served. The Mueller report was an amuse-bouche. The Ukraine hearing is an appetizer. Now, after months, in fact, years, of eluding, threatening and, in some cases, promising to impeach the president, the Democrats' main course has officially arrived.

This week, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi formally asked that articles of impeachment be brought against President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Today, I am asking our chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUPP: Now we await the dessert, a Senate trial next month, in which a Republican majority will ultimately decide whether or not to convict the president, a man they have largely supported and protected since the day he was sworn in.

But as filling as this all may have been, it's what comes after the meal that matters most, the bill. That's right. There was always going to be a political cost to impeachment. It's just a question of who will end up paying.

Of course, there's the possibility that President Trump ends up paying the lion's share. These hearings, in which career civil servants and Trump appointees, shared their serious concerns and the facts of the case that Trump abused his office for his own political gain, have undoubtedly damaged the president. Republicans were left floundering in defense of a president who kept admitting to what he was accused of. And probably for that reason, the White House announced last night it will not participate in the House's, quote, baseless proceedings.

Also unhelpful, Rudy Giuliani this week doing exactly the thing that started this whoa mess, going to Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden dirt. According to CNN reporting, a Democratic internal poll surveying 57 battle ground districts from October to November found independent support for impeachment surged.

But there's also a strong possibility that Democrats pay the bulk of the bill for impeachment. Despite a laser focus on the Ukraine and the abuse of power and compelling corroborating evidence, hearings that were mostly professional and substantive, opinion on impeachment among Democrats and Republicans largely hasn't changed. The country is basically split on the middle with 47.7 percent supporting impeachment, and 43.8 percent not according FiveThirtyEight's latest polling tracker.

When House Democrats vote to impeach the president with likely zero Republican support, Justin Amash has indicated he will vote yes on three articles of impeachment. But, remember, he's now an independent. Well, that could look pretty partisan. And when the Senate doesn't vote to convict and remove the president, that might look like a failure on the part of Democrats to actually do something that constrains the president.

Finally, if impeachment results in losses for Democrats in swing districts in November, and if it helps Trump get re-elected, well, clearly, Democrats will have paid the price for a politically fraught, if principled, exercise in futility.

There's also a third option, of course, that Democrats and Trump end up splitting the bill. Now, may be Democrats will pay the immediate price, but longer term, the Republican Party suffers most for rubber- stamping this president's abuses of power and corruption of the office.

GOP may one day have to answer for folks like Congressman Doug Collins, who framed the investigation of Trump's attempted bribery scheme this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DOUG COLLINS (R-GA): This is not an impeachment. This is just a simple railroad job. And today is a waste of time, because this is where we're at. So I close today with this. It didn't start with Mueller. It didn't start with the phone call. You know where this started? It started with tears in Brooklyn in November 2016 when an election was lost.

So we are here, no plan, no fact witnesses, simply being a rubber- stamp for what we have. But, hey, we got law professors here. What a start of a party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUPP: Here's the deal. Remember, impeachment is political. So whether you believe Democrats were right in principle, that doesn't mean this will pay off politically.

Since the first mention of an impeachment inquiry, I have asked Democratic lawmakers on this show whether pursuing this will still be worth it even if it results in Trump getting re-elected and Democrats losing seats. They all say yes. We won't know if that's really true until November.

[18:05:01]

Those, my friends, are the stakes. In the short-term, how will public support for and against impeachment play out? In the medium term, 2020, who benefits? And in the long-term, years from now, how does history remember this moment?

As veteran political writer and campaign whisperer Joe Klein put it in the Washington post this week, Republicans are racing toward a dead end of

their own. Their tribe is dwindling, which maybe why they fight so desperately. Why they nominated and defend the president so indefensible, why they use Russian disinformation to smear Ukraine and potential rivals.

In democratic republic, this cannot be a winning strategy in the long run. For the moment though, the Democrats play chess while the Republicans stage a UFC cage match, and right now, the lawyers are losing.

Political Columnist Joe Klein joins me now. He's the author of Primary Colors.

So let me ask you, Joe, if Democrats end of voting down party lines to impeach the president with no Republican support, is that still a convincing win?

JOE KLEIN, AUTHOR, PRIMARY COLORS: No. I think that, look, impeachment is about the most serious thing you can do in this democracy.

CUPP: Yes.

KLEIN: And we've been overdoing it. The Republicans overdid it with Clinton, the Democrats are overdoing it now. I think they have a solid legal case, but impeachment is a political act. This is about something that happened in Ukraine, which is a place that most Americans probably can't locate on a map.

And I think that for impeachment to be a plausible political action, it has to be bipartisan. And in this case, with the Republican support for Donald Trump, they might even support him if he shot somebody on Fifth Avenue.

CUPP: Right. KLEIN: And so I think the more prudent course for Democrats would be to continue the investigations. You know, in my opinion this man knows no bottom when it comes to corruption. Continue the investigations, and then let the public be the jury next November.

CUPP: Yes. So you write in your column about the tactics that both parties are using. Democrats are focused and lawlerly. Republicans are sort of anarchists. Do you think that that could blow up for Republicans though considering so many independents now seem to be siding with the Democrats on impeachment?

KLEIN: Well, in the past, it hasn't often. I think that, you know, the straightened legalism of the Democrats, especially Jerry Nadler, have you four law professors --

CUPP: Scholars, right.

KLEIN: Oh, come on, I mean, really. The president clearly abused his office.

CUPP: Right.

KLEIN: The case against him was strong. Adam Schiff built it brilliantly.

CUPP: And the witnesses were, I thought, they'd been saying --

KLEIN: As a father of a foreign service officer in the State Department, I was proud. And I think that those witnesses really did a lot to help the State Department psychologically recover from the battering it's received over the last three years, but it's still not enough.

CUPP: So you referenced Clinton. As you know, that impeachment helped his approval numbers. You know Trump will use in all year to his advantage, to say, look, they tried to get rid of me, but they couldn't. They tried to override the will of the people, but they couldn't. And I'm a victim of this political witch hunt. Will this ultimately help the president?

KLEIN: Probably not all that much. I think that his support is pretty baked in at this point. But one thing that he can do better than almost any other politician I've seen is spin bad moves. I mean, the Mueller report should have been a disaster for him, but no collusion, and in this case, no quid pro quo. And I doubt if he even knows the Latin, but he always manages to find the headline and he has enough support to make it a dangerous thing for Republicans to oppose him.

CUPP: Republicans aren't done either. Trump's legal team plans to triple down on these unproven Biden corruption claims in their Senate trial, which could end up damaging Biden's candidacy, planting seeds of doubt, brining all this stuff up against, smearing him on a very big stage. Isn't that a political risk for Democrats as well?

KLEIN: I think it already has hurt Biden. I mean, I don't think there's any excuse for allowing your son to do business in the Ukraine?

CUPP: When he has no experience in that sector.

KLEIN: Clearly, Hunter Biden is a troubled soul. And, clearly, Joe Biden is a wonderful father, but this is very difficult in a country now that's really sick of politicians self-dealing.

CUPP: Yes. I think it will be a problem for Biden as well, and a legitimate one.

As I mentioned, I've been asking Democratic lawmakers who come on the show if this will have been worth it even if Trump ends up winning and Democrats end up losing seats.

[18:10:05]

Of course, they all say yes, because it was, in their view, the right thing to do. And I believe they believe that. But do you believe that it will have been the strategic thing to do if Democrats suffer politically for it?

KLEIN: Well, whether or not they suffer politically, it was the right thing to do to investigate this guy. I have thought from the beginning that impeachment was a bridge too far. I think the investigations should continue. I am really curious about what's in those tax returns.

CUPP: Sure.

KLEIN: And there are other things, you know, that he's done and and is doing, and I'm really curious about a continuing relationship with the Russians.

CUPP: Right.

KLEIN: Because they are not our allies, and they're doing a terrible thing in Ukraine.

CUPP: I was just talking to our colleague, Joe Lockhart, before the show, and he said something really interesting, which I know he's going to write about and talk about. He said that Democrats should vote to impeach the president, but not take it to the Senate for conviction, just continue to investigate so Democrats will get the last final word on it and the investigation gets continued.

KLEIN: I think the tide is kind of moving in that direction now. A lot of thoughtful Democrats are trying to wonder how do we get out this box canyon, how are we going to get out of this. Maybe we should censure him in the House.

CUPP: It might be too late for that.

KLEIN: But it might too late. And it's sad they've gotten themselves to this point.

CUPP: Political Columnist and author of Primary Colors, Joe Klein, thanks so much for joining me. Great insights.

KLEIN: Thank you.

CUPP: OK. After one more hearing on Monday, House Judiciary will draft articles of impeachment against the president. I'll talk to one Democratic lawmaker about what happens next.

And later, Warren and Biden and Buttigieg, oh, my, holing the latest shake-ups on the campaign trail.

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[18:15:00]

CUPP: How's this for the holidays sneaking up on you? House investigators will present their findings to the Judiciary Committee on Monday. Following that, the committee will finalize articles of impeachment, setting up a vote in which Donald J. Trump will likely become only the third U.S. president to be impeached, all before Christmas.

So we know impeachment is coming, but exactly what Democrats will include in the articles of impeachment is the major question now. Don't be surprised if the Mueller report makes a cameo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): President Trump welcomed foreign interference in the 2016 election. He demanded it with the 2020 election. In both cases, he got caught, and in both cases, he did everything in his power to prevent the American people from learning the truth about his conduct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUPP: Some moderate Democrats are super worried though that going broad is a bad idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you think about adding Mueller evidence to potential obstruction of justice charge?

REP. MAX ROSE (D-NY): Here's what I would say to that. I was against going going through with impeachment, previous to this Ukraine matter. So with the understanding that I'm not going to entertain any hypotheticals, I was very serious when I came out and said that, very serious.

RAJU: Do you think the Mueller evidence should be part of this as well?

REP. GIL CISNEROS (D-CA): I think we need to stay focused on Ukraine, And that's where it's about and that's where me and my colleagues wrote the op-ed. It was about Ukraine and the president put our national security at risk, and that's what I'm ready to vote on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUPP: Broad or narrow, that is the question.

I'm joined now by the Democrat's chief deputy whip, Congressman Dan Kildee of Michigan. Welcome, Congressman.

So moderates in your party have been pretty outspoken this week about keeping the articles focused on Ukraine. They fear that dredging up Mueller kind of feeds into the GOP's witch hunt narrative. Do you think findings from the Mueller report should be included in articles of impeachment?

REP. DAN KILDEE (D-MI): I do think possibly, but only in this sort of nuanced sense. The Ukraine issue is the central issue. It's the issue that unified the Democratic caucus. And a lot of those new members, particularly those who are sort of considered national security Democrats were really moved by the Ukraine story and what an affront that was to U.S. national security.

But the president's willingness to interfere with and obstruct this investigation can't be ignored and will likely constitute an impeachment article. It's hard to put together an article of impeachment that deals with obstruction that ignores the damning information in the second volume of the Mueller report.

CUPP: Right.

KILDEE: So while the Mueller report itself has lots of other aspects to it, Mr. Mueller was really clear in the way he presented the obstruction discussion. He made it clear that he was going to adhere to Justice Department policy that a president can't be charged with a crime, and by implication, made it very clear that only Congress can use its tools to deal with the president that's willing to obstruct justice.

So my view would be that Ukraine is front and center. It's the thing that people, first of all, across the country understand. It was a threat to our national security. But the obstruction, the grotesque manner in which this president has obstructed any investigation into his work, I think, can't be ignored and the Mueller report provides really serious information in that regard.

CUPP: I'm wondering what you think. There are some moderate Democrats, you've got some in your state, Elissa Slotkin, who helped the Democratic Party win the House in 2018. Some of those Democrats are worried about impeachment and if it goes too broad and if it goes too far at all. What are you hearing from voters in Michigan in your district?

KILDEE: Well, obviously, we hear about it from people on both sides of this question, people are very animated on it. And it's important that public opinion be one of the things that we consider. But it can't be the determinant. When I swore my oath to the Constitution, I didn't say I would only uphold the Constitution on days when it's convenient, on days when it's easy, even if public opinion isn't completely there.

[18:20:03]

The reason to hold public office is not to do things that allows you to stay in public office. The reason to hold public office is to do the things that are easy and the things that are hard, even if that means there's a political price to be paid. I take this job seriously and I think we have to do what we are required to do under the law.

CUPP: No, and I know, because I've had you on. We've talked about this before. I know it's a given. You believe this is the right thing to do. You just laid out why. And I don't -- I don't disagree. As you know, though, impeachment is political and I don't think Nancy Pelosi would have called for articles of impeachment if she believed there would only be downside.

So, you tell me, so what is the reward for Democrats? Is it just good feelings upholding your obligation? Where do you think Democrats will reap political benefits of having done this, because you have to believe that there will be some?

KILDEE: I think there will be and I think, in part, it's hard to really measure what the short term implications are. The short-term implications, meaning, for the next election are, I think, difficult for anybody to predict.

What is, I think, far more predictable is what's the long-term implication for Democrats and for anybody who cares about this in five or ten years. We will be the party who upheld the Constitution. In five or ten years, Republicans will have been the party that were so committed and focused on protecting a president, a single person, that they will be defined in that fashion.

So in the long-term implication, both historical and political, I think, are going to be far more harsh on Republicans who are defending this guy.

CUPP: Yes. I think you and I agree completely on that. We'll have to say in the short term, as you said, what measurable political consequences come of all of this. Thanks for joining me and I know I hope you will join me again. Thanks very much.

KILDEE: Absolutely. Thanks, S.E.

CUPP: Okay. Dan Kildee, thanks so much for your time.

As we continue to look ahead to the consequences of impeachment, more on the political upside and fallout for the 2020 presidential race.

And a little later, the ever buoyant Joe Biden on top again. So is anyone a real threat?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: Politics is not even a consideration of this. This is about protect and defend the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUPP: Politics is not even a consideration in this? I for one don't believe that, and, if true, why not? Impeachment is political and its consequences are real. Take this for instance, a Senate trial means that two of the top three polling candidates, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, will be pulled off the campaign trail for that trial, likely in January, just weeks before the first votes in Iowa. That's a real consequence.

Another, The Washington Post found that an average of 86 percent of Democrats support impeachment, while 87 percent of Republicans oppose. Look at that. A New York Times polling analysis finds most people would give up their preferred outcomes on the healthcare, the environment or taxes if it meant getting what they want on impeachment.

Think about that. Impeachment is now the defining feature of today's political landscape, trumping all the policies Democratic candidates want to run on. So politics isn't even a consideration, that's either a lie or a mistake.

OK. Here to discuss, Assistant Editor David Swerdlick and Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton. Welcome back, guys.

David, Democrats in swing districts stand to lose the most at the moment. And they're the only ones really expressing some concern going forward. Do you think Nancy Pelosi is paying enough attention to them?

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think she's paying enough attention. You don't get to be the speaker of the House, let alone the first woman speaker of the House, if you can't count votes, if you can't recount (ph). There are 233 Democrats in the House. I think there's a couple of vacancies, but, normally, you would need 218. She can lose 14 or 15 votes.

CUPP: Well, I don't think anyone is worried about her getting the vote. She's going to get the votes. But the question is to what result for some of these Democrats in moderate states.

SWERDLICK: I totally get the point you're making about this being inherently political, although it is also legal. And I get your point about there being real consequences both for Democrats in the House and for the candidates.

That being said, whether people believe what Speaker Pelosi said in that clip or not, she is saying, look, at some point we, the Democrats in the House, have to exercise or constitutional and prerogative, whether people accept that or not, and we can't get essentially punked by President Trump. We have to say, look, we know we can't remove him but we control one chamber and we are going to impeach Trump. CUPP: But, Shermichael, might they get punked by President Trump if this ends up to his advantage?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: What if they were to lose that chamber, and I'm just doing the hypothetical. That's not likely right to lose the House.

But the reality is if you look at the 42, 43 moderate Democrats who beat Republicans in 2018, a significant percent of them actually won by 10 percent or less. Now, as a guy who is a political operative, I can tell you, those are winnable seats. You could win some of those.

And that's why, S.E., if you look at some of the critiques or concerns rather, I should say, by some of those moderates about how broad you make this thing, many of them have said, please do not include anything about Robert Mueller.

And I would add this in. Donald Trump is not going to be convicted in the Senate. I completely agree with Democrats that there is a moral and ethical duty here to hold the president accountable. But when he goes out after January, February, March and says, look, they impeached me, they knew nothing was going to happen, this was was one big political charade, then what and what does that mean for those persuadable voters?

SWERDLICK: So, sure. I know they know those risks. I think the the speaker knows those risks. That's why she didn't want to go ahead with impeachment after the Mueller report. She went on Ukraine.

I will not only say that not -- I agree with you that not only will the president not be removed by the Senate, I actually think the Democrats might lose a vote or two in the Senate, like, say, Senator Manchin (INAUDIBLE) I can see that happening.

CUPP: But the reverse of that for someone like, say, Susan Collins, who was kind of against the ropes in Maine for her Brett Kavanaugh support, she's kind of in some danger. Could what she does in the Senate impact her in as precarious a way as some of the Democrats are looking for (ph)?

[18:30:08]

SINGLETON: No, I definitely think so, but I think if you're Trump and you're counting - well, not Trump but maybe people advising Trump counting the vote, but certainly he isn't doing it.

CUPP: Yes.

SINGLETON: You can lose three or four Republican votes and I think Mitch McConnell ...

CUPP: Oh, yes, they would need to lose 20 in the Senate.

SINGLETON: ... Mitch McConnell is going to have to give some room for senators such as Joni Ernst, such as Collins and others who are in competitive ... CUPP: Right. Murkowski maybe.

SINGLETON: Murkowski who are in competitive races next year to say, hey, if you have to take this to assure your reelection, do what you have to.

CUPP: Even four senators who are non-precarious races, Mitt Romney said after 2024 ...

SINGLETON: Mitt Romney is another one, yes.

CUPP: ... he might still vote against or, I'm sorry, for it.

SWERDLICK: Yes. The incentives for Romney, if Romney ever wants to be president, he's got a vote to remove otherwise he becomes irrelevant as a political figure in this whole calculus. Maybe Murkowski, I'm going to go maybe Murkowski on you guys. I don't see Collins. I'm not going to say never. I'm not going to predict.

SINGLETON: Well, look at our history is what you're saying, right?

SWERDLICK: Her history ..

SINGLETON: Sure.

SWERDLICK: ... her recent history on a tough vote ...

SINGLETON: Fair enough.

SWERDLICK: ... was the Kavanaugh vote. She voted with the home team on the Kavanaugh vote. I don't see why that changes. She could get primaried from her right by someone like Governor LePage if she were to break from Republicans on this.

CUPP: That's right.

SWERDLICK: I just think the incentives work strangely on both sides of the aisle.

CUPP: It's all fascinating stuff. You guys are going to come back, so don't go too far. I'm going to have you weigh in on a huge week of 2020 News in a little bit. But first focus on the front runner, spoiler, it's still Joe Biden.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:16]

CUPP: In THE RED FILE tonight, Joe Biden's buoyancy. Today is the last day of the former Vice President's no malarkey bus tour through Iowa where he was feeling poetic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's been the greatest honor I've ever had, but there's many more promises to keep, miles and miles to go before we sleep for real.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUPP: The next stop on the campaign trail for him, the early primary state of New Hampshire. Despite uneven campaign trail and debate performances, Biden has remained afloat, buoyed by name recognition in an extensive career in politics. This week in addition to his bus tour through Iowa and an attempt to spark enthusiasm and boost his faltering poll numbers there, he released a powerful campaign ad that contrasted his foreign policy chops with reaction from world leaders to Trump that painted the President as a literal laughingstock.

Biden picked up the endorsement of former Secretary of State and former Democratic nominee for president, John Kerry, who has also joined him on the campaign trail. But it wasn't all good. A run-in with the hostile voter at a town hall showed a different side of Biden, not one that everyone liked but he is still on top.

So here to discuss is former Mayor of New Orleans and CNN Political Commentator Mitch Landrieu. Mr. Mayor, Biden has been taking heavy incoming from his Democratic rivals from the moment he entered the race. He's had gaffes, he's had far from perfect moments, and yet he has remained a frontrunner through all of it to what do you attribute his staying power?

MITCH LANDRIEU, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that people know him and people like him and he's been around a long time. And I think that people felt good about him when he got in the race. Candidates go up and they go down from time to time, but I think it's been quite amazing that from the beginning as you said he stayed on top.

He had a pretty good week last week notwithstanding the interaction that he had with that constituent, but some people like it. They felt like it was time for him to punch back and who would say that he just quoted Robert Frost. That was amazing.

CUPP: I know. I know.

LANDRIEU: So I think that was crazy. But I think he had a good week. I think as you get into Iowa, when you get it to New Hampshire he's a little bit underwater there. And I think he knows that it's game time and he ...

CUPP: Well ...

LANDRIEU: ... I think he - I'm sorry.

CUPP: ... yes. No, I mean I didn't mean to interrupt, but I think he does know that and it shows. Like that ad that he put out I thought was really smart, positioning Biden as the foreign policy leader and Trump as the foreign policy disaster. But I wanted to know what you thought, could that also maybe backfire, because a lot of democratic voters don't agree with some of Biden's foreign policy decisions.

LANDRIEU: Well, I think that's probably true. All these candidates have strengths and weaknesses. But what has been consistent is that he has stayed at the top of the polls. A lot of democratic operatives is expecting him to fall and they expected him to fall sooner than this, which is why I think he saw Mayor Bloomberg get in the race and Governor Deval Patrick.

CUPP: Yes.

LANDRIEU: But amazingly so he continues to do fairly well in the national polls. I win New Hampshire very different. I think they're in play. Mayor Buttigieg has done well there. Elizabeth Warren is done there and I think that's why the Vice President put a big footprint there this week and it looks like it went fairly well from all of the indications that we've been able to see.

CUPP: Well, don't get me sad. I don't want to talk about Deval Patrick and Mike Bloomberg, you're just going to get me angry. So let's go on to John Kerry's endorsement. John Kerry's endorsement is interesting. It's not insignificant. It's also not surprising, right? They're of the same era. They're of the same administration, the same political mold. Do you think Biden needs the endorsement of some younger fresher party leaders to make a real impact?

LANDRIEU: I think there's no question. I mean every one of these candidates would love every endorsement that they could get. I think you saw a couple of these candidates Trumpening some local and state elected officials. I mean every one of them counts and every one of them matters. You'd rather have them than not have them.

CUPP: Yes.

LANDRIEU: And, of course, some of them are better than others but Secretary Kerry, I think, had a pretty good reputation internationally. And I think given the ad that the Vice President put out about the world leaders laughing at President Trump, it seemed to be thematically consistent.

CUPP: Yes, sure.

LANDRIEU: So I think it was in that plus form, actually.

CUPP: So Biden's opponents have tried, as you know, to paint him as insufficiently progressive. And for voters like me, that's actually his biggest selling point. Are candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders actually doing Biden a favor and helping to sell him to moderates?

LANDRIEU: Well, listen, we have 21 candidates and all of them span the entire spectrum. However, this race has always been about one thing, whether or not the Democratic Party is ready for a revolution of whether or not the country really wants a transition. And moderates have real inserted themselves later in the campaign than earlier.

CUPP: Yes.

[18:40:03] LANDRIEU: And I think we're in two camps. It'll resolve itself one

way or the other. I think that the country wants a transition rather than a revolution. And I think they're looking for somebody that's going to govern the whole country, not just a certain part of the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. So I think they help him a little bit, but that battle is not over yet and that debate is yet to really form fully so we'll see.

CUPP: Oh, that battle is not over. I mean, it's going to be like a murder mystery at the end.

LANDRIEU: Yes, no question.

CUPP: Elizabeth Warren is going to have to take on Bernie and Bernie is going to have to take on Elizabeth Warren, and Biden is going to have to slay Buttigieg. I mean it's going to be a bloodbath.

LANDRIEU: Now, the other surprise is how open the race is still at this point.

CUPP: Yes.

LANDRIEU: I mean, I've predicted three or four months ago wrongly that we would be down to two candidates by now, but that's not happening.

CUPP: Oh, no.

LANDRIEU: And a lot of these candidates have really kind of ascended and done really well. Elizabeth Warren has really been very strong. Bernie Sanders has has great staying power and then Pete, of course, is running an amazing campaign. So I mean, who knows, but the most surprising thing to a lot of people is Biden's staying power.

CUPP: Yes. Well, down to two wishful thinking, two just came in.

LANDRIEU: No question.

CUPP: I already said their names. I'm not going to say them again. All right.

LANDRIEU: Right, we're going on the other direction.

CUPP: Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Yes, that's right.

LANDRIEU: Thank you so much, S.E.

CUPP: OK. Thanks as always.

LANDRIEU: Good to be with you.

CUPP: Thank you. OK. Beyond Biden, there's still a dozen other candidates in the Democratic primary, but it will look very different in a few short weeks. That's becoming a concern. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:45:35]

CUPP: The 2020 race for President got a huge shake up this week, California Senator Kamala Harris stunned with her announcement that she's quitting. Some other noteworthy news from the campaign trail, Elizabeth Warren now seeing her steady rise begin to bottom out has done some retooling including a new focus on trying to take Pete Buttigieg down a peg.

As for Mayor Pete, he is facing some new scrutiny for his three year stint as a McKinsey consultant. A record he initially said an NDA prevented him from discussing. This week he has asked McKinsey to release him from his NDA so he can allay any concerns over the clients he worked for during that time.

Back with me to discuss all of the campaign shifts and what impact they'll have moving forward, Assistant Editor at The Washington Post, David Swerdlick. Republican Strategist, Shermichael Singleton.

Shermichael, first on Senator Harris.

SINGLETON: Yes.

CUPP: I've got to be honest, I think she jumped out too soon. The field is still huge. It's shifting. It's changing by the minute. Anything could have happened to bump her up. Plus, she have qualified for the next debate.

SINGLETON: She did.

CUPP: Why not at least wait that long?

SINGLETON: All right. I think money was an issue. I think there was also some concern from my understanding about some bridges potentially in her home state of California. I think she's also thinking about her long-term political career.

CUPP: Yes.

SINGLETON: I think as a strategist, some of the mistakes that I think the campaign overall need ...

CUPP: OK.

SINGLETON: ... should -- took it to be a candidate of all things for all people.

CUPP: Yes.

SINGLETON: She never really sort of defined who she was. Why are you doing this? What are your two or three points?

SWERDLICK: Yes.

SINGLETON: What's your key constituency? So when you do dip, you have that base of supporters that can sustain you. CUPP: Yes.

SINGLETON: And I think those are some critical campaigns that or critical questions that all campaigns have to ask themselves very early on. And because of their inability to do so, I think that played a part in why she saw dip and never recovered.

CUPP: Well, and I think also -- I mean, she made a decision to sort of hide. I thought her best asset ...

SWERDLICK: Being a prosecutor.

CUPP: ... being a prosecutor.

SINGLETON: Prosecutor, yes.

CUPP: Because she felt like she had to, that put her in a real tough spot in terms of distinguishing herself. David also with her dropping out, the racial makeup of the primary changes.

SWERDLICK: Sure.

CUPP: Cory Booker, Julian Castro have both talked about that. Is it a problem for Democrats now that the top tier of candidates is all white?

SWERDLICK: Ultimately, I don't think it will be a problem.

CUPP: OK.

SWERDLICK: But I do think it is noteworthy that you started with this incredibly diverse field.

CUPP: Yes.

SWERDLICK: And it's the big four leading the race are all white. But ultimately, I think for Democrats, the bigger issues are about whether they go down the more progressive or the more moderate length.

CUPP: Ideological, (inaudible) ...

SWERDLICK: Yes. Can I just say one thing about it?

CUPP: Yes.

SINGLETON: This is one time where we definitely agree about Senator Harris, 1979 Roger Mudd asked Ted Kennedy, "Why do you want to be president?" He couldn't quite answer it.

CUPP: Yes.

SWERDLICK: She never quite was able to say here's why I want to be president, saying Kamala Harris for the people is not (inaudible) ...

SINGLETON: Yes.

CUPP: Well, the good news for her and I said this before is I think she'll get another chance at it.

Shermichael, Elizabeth Warren is now going after Mayor Pete.

SINGLETON: Yes.

CUPP: Is that smart?

SINGLETON: You know I think there are a lot of things to criticize Pete on. I think going after McKinsey three years from, what, 10-year 1945 [00:03:32], I don't know if that's smart.

CUPP: Yes.

SINGLETON: Like I think if I'm advising Elizabeth Warren, I would focus on his record as a mayor in South Bend, particularly as it pertains to African-Americans.

CUPP: Sure.

SINGLETON: That's where I think it would hit him very, very hard. I wouldn't take the avenue that he's taking.

CUPP: Of the corporate ...

SINGLETON: Right. And I would also add, if I could quickly, S.E., that now that Mayor Pete is the frontrunner in Iowa, he's going under a lot of scrutiny right now.

CUPP: Yes.

SINGLETON: A lot of tough questions have been asked about his fundraisers.

CUPP: That's right.

SINGLETON: Why he hasn't made it public. We know that a lot of different Democratic voters like for those things to be public.

CUPP: To the media, yes, right.

SINGLETON: And his having a very difficult time answering those questions. And I think if he wavers too much in this, he may find himself in trouble. I think Joe Biden as the Mayor from New Orleans, former mayor was just talking about it, Mitch Landrieu, it showed a very strong standing this past week.

CUPP: Yes.

SINGLETON: I would say if you look at the past, there's still opportunity for someone like Biden or Warren to surpass Mayor Peter at this point.

CUPP: David, it's so interesting, because I remember Pete Buttigieg's early entree into the race and how much press he did. And I remember saying Joe Biden should do what Pete is doing and really talk to anyone anywhere anytime. SWERDLICK: Yes.

CUPP: And yet now as we look back, it seems like the media might have been a little easy on Pete, lots of great glossy coverage.

SWERDLICK: Yes.

CUPP: Maybe not enough scrutiny. He's getting it now.

SWERDLICK: As he should.

CUPP: As he should, but do you think the process sort of just - a little too late waking up to investigating who Pete Buttigieg is.

SWERDLICK: I think there was an appropriate amount of scrutiny when he was behind in the pack now that he's a front runner.

CUPP: He gets more.

SWERDLICK: There is more and there should be more scrutiny.

CUPP: Yes.

[18:50:07]

SWERDLICK: He probably, to your point, benefited from the fact that he's peaking late in the race when now the field has narrowed and he's got fundraising and name recognition behind him.

CUPP: Oh, sure.

SINGLETON: If he had faced more of this scrutiny, say, six months ago, it might have been harder for him (inaudible) ...

CUPP: Well, as a NASCAR fan, I can tell you this thing is like a NASCAR race.

SWERDLICK: Right.

CUPP: You only have to win the last race.

SWERDLICK: Right. It's like the slingshot move in the 1850 [00:00:30] ...

CUPP: You don't have to be winning the whole thing. That's right. All right. David Swerdlick, Shermichael Singleton, thanks so much for being here. I'll be right.

SINGLETON: Thanks, S.E.

SWERDLICK: Thanks, S.E.

CUPP: There is one more candidate to talk about and well I'm going to need to speak to your manager.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:54:53]

CUPP: Mikey doesn't like it. Working for Mike Bloomberg apparently requires some sacrifices. One of them, real journalism. The recently announced candidate for president raised eyebrows with a ban he placed on Bloomberg media reporters. They are not allowed to investigate him, his finances or any of the other Democratic candidates. They can, however, investigate the Republican incumbent President Donald Trump.

Trump has retaliated by banning Bloomberg reporters from his rallies so we all lose. Despite criticism from past Bloomberg reporters, one former news director said it relegated his political writers to stenography journalism. Mike defended this disturbing and frankly autocratic policy by saying, "We just have to learn to live with some things." Adding Bloomberg reporters, "Get a paycheck. But with your paycheck comes some restrictions and responsibilities."

Now, from a journalistic point of view, this is a lot of things self- interested, hypocritical, corrupt, illiberal, undemocratic and well unacceptable. If this is any indication of the kind of President Mike Bloomberg would be, we don't need another self-interested, power- abusing, press-silencing, democracy-bashing, accountability-dodging king want to be in the White House. Bloomberg reporters deserve better and so the voters.

OK. One quick programming note, tomorrow, join Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa live as they name the 2019 CNN Hero of the year. "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUNE," Sunday night at 8 p.m. on CNN. I'll be there. OK. That's it for me. Up next, CNN NEWSROOM with Ana Cabrera.