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Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Dominate First Showdown; Poll: Carson Closes in On Trump; Clinton Nods All Night Long; Israeli Troops Deployed to Enforce Security. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired October 14, 2015 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:11] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
American voters who tuned in to see a fight instead saw a debate. And last night's showdown the Democratic candidates played nice. At least compared to the bare knuckle brawls of the their Republican counterpart.
Hillary Clinton stayed on message. Bernie Sanders found a wider audience. And the three underdogs elbowed into the spotlight, if only for a moment.
CNN's John Berman live in Las Vegas on this morning-after. Good morning.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a fascinating debate, Carol. You saw the experience of Hillary Clinton. You saw the passion of Bernie Sanders. And you saw the granite of Lincoln Chafee. For whatever that was worth.
This morning, five campaigns declaring victory. Take a look, though, what a debate it was.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN (voice-over): It may have been the first Democratic debate but it was clear it was not Hillary Clinton's first rodeo. Running down a debate checklist with surgical precision.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would not ask anyone to vote for me based on my last name.
BERMAN: Her name, check. Her appeal to the grassroots and pragmatic wings of the party? Check, check.
CLINTON: I'm a progressive. But I'm a progressive who likes to get things done.
BERMAN: Her gender? Check, check, check.
CLINTON: I think being the first woman president would be quite a change from the presidents that have had up until this point.
BERMAN: Even apparently joking about an extended trip to the bathroom during commercial.
CLINTON: You know it does take me a little longer. That's all I can say.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN DEBATE MODERATOR: That's right.
BERMAN: But on what might have been the biggest must-do on her list, addressing the question surrounding the use of her private e-mail for national business, she had a surprising assist from her leading opponent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails.
CLINTON: Thank you. Me too. Me too.
BERMAN: Even earning a smile and a handshake.
Clinton didn't exactly return the favor. In one of the sharpest exchanges of the night when asked about Sanders' record of voting against certain gun control measures.
COOPER: Secretary Clinton, is Bernie Sanders tough enough on guns?
CLINTON: No. Not at all. I think that we have to look at the fact that we lose 90 people a day from gun violence.
SANDERS: What can I tell Secretary Clinton that all the shouting in the world is not going to do what I would hope all of us want, and that is keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have those guns.
BERMAN: Sanders, the self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, touted his battle against income inequality.
COOPER: You don't consider yourself a capitalist, though?
SANDERS: Do I consider myself part of the casino capitalist process by which so few have so much and so many have so little? By which Wall Street's greed and recklessness wrecked this economy? No, I don't.
BERMAN: Former Maryland governor, Martin O'Malley, looking for a breakout moment hit hard on foreign policy.
MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Leading us into Iraq under false pretenses and telling us as a people that there were weapons of mass destruction there was one of the worst blunders in modern American history.
BERMAN: As for former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, polling in the single digits and barely campaigning, he fought to be noticed.
JIM WEBB (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been trying to get in this conversation for 10 minutes. I've been waiting for 10 minutes. I will say this -- COOPER: You're over your time, though.
WEBB: Well, you've let a lot of people go over their time.
BERMAN: While former Rhode Island governor, Lincoln Chafee seemed to struggle to answer questions about his record.
LINCOLN CHAFEE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Glass-Stegall is my very first vote. I just arrived. My dad had died in office. I was appointed the --
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Are you saying you didn't know what you were voting for?
BERMAN: Perhaps the most telling maybe aspirational was when Hillary Clinton was asked to list her enemies.
CLINTON: Well, in addition to the NRA, the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the Iranians.
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: Probably the Republicans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: You can tell Hillary Clinton thought the debate went well. You can tell the Clinton campaign thought the debate went well. But so does the Sanders campaign. Bernie Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver told me a short time ago that the campaign has raised $1.3 million or did raise $1.3 million just after the debate -- Carol.
COSTELLO: John Berman reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.
By far, though, the defining moment in that debate, hands down, was this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Let me say something that may not be great politics. But I think the secretary is right. And that is that the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails.
CLINTON: Thank you. Me too, me too.
SANDERS: You know, the middle class, Anderson -- and let me say something about the media as well.
[09:05:04] I go around the country. Talk to a whole lot of people. Middle class of this country is collapsing. We have 27 million people living in poverty. We have massive wealth and income inequality. Our trade policies have cost us millions of decent jobs.
The American people want to know whether we're going to have a democracy or an oligarchy as a result of Citizens United. Enough of the e-mails. Let's talk about the real issues facing America.
CLINTON: Thank you, Bernie. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Progressive blogs insist Bernie Sanders won the debate for Hillary Clinton. As Campaign for America's future put it, quote, "Sanders united the crowd and helped Clinton turn the page." Clinton said. "Thanks, Bernie," and as you saw, she shook her rival's hand. And then the Democratic crowd went wild.
With me now CNN political director, David Chalian, and CNN senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. Welcome to both of you.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Carol.
COSTELLO: Just making sure you're still awake because I know you had a late night last night and a very early morning this morning so thanks so much for being with me.
So, David, what was it like in the room when that exchange went down?
CHALIAN: Well, I wasn't in the room. I was in our production truck, Carol, at the time of the debate. But I will tell you that you could hear that the audience loved that moment of Democratic unity. And this is why I think it was a smart play for Bernie Sanders. I know some folks may believe he sort of gave up a political weapon in his arsenal. But Bernie Sanders going after Hillary Clinton on e-mails is never going to work for him.
The Democrats were so eager and excited to see him put this -- try to help and put this controversy behind not just Hillary Clinton but behind the Democratic Party. And that is why I think it was a smart move for him and I think he probably did himself some good.
COSTELLO: So, Jeff, did that exchange put the e-mail controversy to rest? Because I'm thinking it probably didn't in the long run.
ZELENY: Well, Carol, in the long-term it does not put it to rest, as Anderson Cooper pointed out last night. Of course in the -- that was a Democratic primary crowd, primary audience listening to that. So David is absolutely right. It's not a winning issue for Bernie Sanders to go after Hillary Clinton on e-mails but he did use the moment to actually go after the media and, you know, say all of these things that he says we're not talking about enough. Income inequality and other things. So I think that was a -- it was a calculated moment by Bernie Sanders.
Anyone who thinks that he was only trying to help out his old Senate colleague and friend Hillary Clinton is missing it a little bit. He has been saying this on the road. His supporters, surprisingly, Carol, they love Bernie Sanders much more than they dislike Hillary Clinton here. But in the short-term no doubt about it. She was happy at that moment. But we're going to reset all of this when she testifies next week before that Benghazi committee in the House of Representatives.
COSTELLO: Yes, that should be quite interesting. A fascinating spectacle if I might say so.
So, David, there were gaffes during the night. Perhaps the biggest gaffe for Hillary Clinton was her answer to the Keystone Pipeline question. When asked why she was slow to announce her position on the Keystone Pipeline she said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: You know, we know that if you are learning you're going to change your position. I never took a position on Keystone until I took a position on Keystone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So David, say what?
CHALIAN: Listen, I do think you're right that that was maybe the worst piece of video that will exist for Hillary Clinton from the debate, Carol. But I just want to say she obviously had I thought a commanding performance at the debate. She accomplished so many of her goals as John Berman pointed out in his piece. But I think she gave a little gift here to the Republicans going forward. I think you can see the Republican National Committee making a little YouTube video about any given issue that she's waiting on and then sort of using the line of attack that she's waiting for political purposes to put her finger in the wind, see where things are, and then come down on a decision.
That's not a narrative that Hillary Clinton wants to feed and I think she gave them a little piece of video, but I don't think that that moment takes away from how hugely successful the night was for Hillary Clinton.
COSTELLO: OK. And a last question for you, Jeff. Interestingly most political analysts say Hillary Clinton won that debate. But if you go online and you check out Google and Facebook and Twitter, Bernie Sanders won hands down. Why the discrepancy?
ZELENY: Well, Carol, there's no question that Bernie Sanders has a big group of followers on line. On Facebook, he's been actually a star for many years. Not just since he started running for president here. So if you like Bernie Sanders going into this debate you love Bernie Sanders coming out of the debate. He -- you know, he reinforced everything that it is that you liked about him and that you found so strong about him. But I think in the moment, David is definitely right, that Hillary Clinton had a commanding performance on that debate stage. But we always know that that is not all that matters.
[09:10:01] In the 2007, 2008 presidential campaign, she was often the better debater than Obama and he won the election because he inspired and tapped into the sense of enthusiasm. What she has to do now going forward is to play off of this debate. She's basically given some Xanax to the Democratic Party. People who are worried about, you know, can she still perform? Yes, she showed that she can still perform in a very strong high level way in somewhat of a weak field that she had a very good performance here.
But Bernie Sanders is still very, very, very much in this. So we are going to see -- you know, perhaps he could even rise in the national polls because of this because he was exposed to so many more people here. So the race does not end here. In some ways it's actually just beginning with this first debate -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting. Jeff Zeleny, David Chalian, thanks to both of you.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, new poll numbers have Ben Carson on the way up. Get ready for a Donald Trump smack down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:08] COSTELLO: As the Democrats finished their very first debate, this morning, a FOX News poll finds that the GOP race is getting a lot tighter. In fact, Ben Carson has narrowed the lead down to just one point with support for Carson nearly doubling in the last two months.
CNN's Athena Jones joins us with more on that.
I'm awaiting Trump's reaction as we speak, Athena.
(LAUGHTER)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you may not be surprised. He's already reacted.
Good morning, Carol.
But I've got to tell you, there are a few interesting points in that poll. You saw Ted Cruz is now in third place. He's the only other candidate in double digits, at least in this poll. And then Carly Fiorina only at 5 percent, that shows or suggests she hasn't really been able to capitalize on her post-debate momentum after CNN's debate in Simi Valley in September. So, that's interesting.
But, of course, the most interesting of those numbers is that Ben Carson figure, only a one percentage point gap there between him and Trump.
This is at least the second poll that has shown Carson really creeping up on Donald Trump, nipping at hit heels. And as you mentioned he gained a lot. In the previous poll, he was only at 12 percent, the previous FOX poll. So, he gained 11 points between August and now.
And take a listen to how Donald Trump reacted to these latest numbers and what he says his plan might be now going forward. Go ahead and play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): Probably at some point, yes, which I actually look forward to doing. I can't do it though. He's been so nice to me, George. I can't do it.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: What's the number one issue for you to take him on?
TRUMP: Well, I think there's a lot of issues. But one of them would be experience. I mean, Ben is a doctor and that's what he's been doing, and the question is, is he capable of negotiating with China and Russia and Iran and all of the things you have to do? And, you know, there will be a lot of things but I think at this moment I'm not going to go into them. There will be a lot of things having to do with capacity, having to do with experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: So, Trump there was talking about how he's now going to have to go after his now chief rival Ben Carson now that he's creeping up on him in the polls. I mean, in recent weeks, they have really held their fire against each other. Trump even defended Carson last week over his comments about the Oregon school shooting. But now, Trump is saying, look, I'm going to have to attack him and he's signaling very clearly what areas he'll try to attack Dr. Carson on -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, I'm taking bets when that will exactly bin to happen. You can join in the pool later, Athena. Thanks so much.
JONES: Thanks.
COSTELLO: And a reminder to tune in for a CNN exclusive, a one-on-one interview with Ivanka Trump. She's set to join "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper, and "OUTFRONT" with Erin Burnett today, 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
Sometimes, it's what's not said that speaks volumes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Instead, we can talk about affordable college, making college debt free and all of the issue, which is why -- and I see the chair of the DNC here, look how glad we are actually to be talking about the issues that matter most to people around their kitchen table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So, O'Malley may be talking. But Hillary Clinton is the one getting her point across. Classic move, showing not just that Clinton agrees with her opponent, but she's making them agree with her as well.
How you asked? Well, let's bring in body language expert and author of "The Power of Body Language", Tonya Reiman.
Welcome back, Tonya. TONYA REIMAN, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT: Thank you for having me.
COSTELLO: OK. So, let's start with Hillary's manic nodding.
REIMAN: Right, yes.
COSTELLO: What does that mean?
REIMAN: So, typically, if I'm talking to you and I do this, what's going to happen? You're going to nod.
COSTELLO: I'm nodding right now, right?
REIMAN: Exactly. So, what does that is it actually gets you more along the lines of believing what I'm saying. If you're nodding, internally, your brain is saying, hey, yes, that's right, because I'm nodding yes. So, she does this and it's a technique that well- polished politicians can do in order to get more people on their side, especially the undecided voters.
COSTELLO: So, and any movement from the candidate who's not talking will direct your attention, right?
REIMAN: Exactly. You want to agree because you are constantly nodded your head with her. And she does it really well.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
OK. So you also notice that Mrs. Clinton gave a certain kind of smile during her answer to a Benghazi question. Let's watch that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR/DEBATE MODERATOR: Secretary Clinton, you are going to be testifying before Congress next week about your e- mails. For the last eight months, you haven't been able to put this issue behind you. You dismissed it. You joked about it. You called it a mistake.
What does that say about your ability to handle far more challenging crises as president?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I've taken responsibility for it. I did say it was a mistake. What I did was allowed by State Department but it wasn't the best choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So, she's pretty much smiling in different ways throughout.
REIMAN: But, you know, it's not even just a smile. It's kind of tight mouth. In addition to that, though, it's the extended eye closure that you note there.
When she's being ask about this, if you see her blink is slow. So, she keeps her eyes closed more than just a new beats. And we do that to block out the visual stimulus. We don't want to hear it. We don't want to see it, and if we don't see it, we can pretend it's not happening.
So, that's really another thing to help us, that protects us. So, we have that and in addition that smile, that tight mouthed smile and moving her body back in forth, which is like a shift in position to begin with.
And so, here, you can see that there was a great deal of discomfort and that tight mouthed smile just gives it away.
COSTELLO: That's so fascinating.
REIMAN: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK. So, you also mentioned Bernie Sanders face right after he shook hands with Hillary Clinton.
REIMAN: Yes, that was classic.
COSTELLO: So, let's talk about that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Enough of the e- mails. Let's talk about the real issues facing America.
CLINTON: Thank you, Bernie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So what do you see in that exchange.
REIMAN: OK. So first of all did you say that shake? It was a little awkward it was kind of like a chopping. But in addition to that, after that, Bernie then smiles.
But if you watch slowly the smile turns into a slight look of contempt on the one side of his mouth, a slight look of contempt. Almost like OK. Did help her? Did I want to help her? What was the goal there?
So, that was an interesting facial expression coming from him.
COSTELLO: Oh, I love that.
REIMAN: Yes.
COSTELLO: And you also mentioned that Hillary Clinton was no nodding through the whole thing.
REIMAN: Of course, she's a bobble head so that everyone will agree with her.
COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about Lincoln -- poor Lincoln Chafee.
REIMAN: Poor Lincoln Chafee, yes.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about him. He actually bounces when he answers questions. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINCOLN CHAFEE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As we look ahead, if you are going to make those poor adjustment calls at critical time in our history, we just finished with the Vietnam era and getting back into another quagmire. If you are looking ahead and you sort of looking at someone who made that poor decision in 2002 to go into Iraq, when there was no real evidence of weapons of the mass destruction in Iraq -- I know because I did my homework.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So, was he on his tippy toes? I mean --
REIMAN: So, what happens is when we feel powerful, we tend to bounce up, right? IT gives us that little boost of energy. We're taller, we're bigger, we're more in control.
But he's more like dancing. So, he swerves and moves. And he moves too much. And when he's answering his questions, he's kind of spinning himself in circles.
So, even here when he was trying to make a significant point, you can't take him serious.
COSTELLO: Interesting. Oh I wish we could go on for forever.
REIMAN: We saw that with Webb. We saw that with Webb as well, just as a clear point, when he was talking about his opponent in Vietnam, the guy who couldn't be there because he was apparently no longer around. But you saw that pride. And he did a very large bounce when he talked about this enemy. So, that's again, that pride, hey, I'm big and I'm tall, that's what we do to be the alpha.
COSTELLO: And he had excellent posture throughout.
REIMAN: He's a military man.
COSTELLO: He's a marine, right?
REIMAN: Yes, that's right, excellent posture.
COSTELLO: Tonya Reiman, thanks so much. It was a lot of fun.
REIMAN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM: Black Lives Matter was on the lips of most of the Democrat candidates last night. But did anyone on the stage really connect with minority voters?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: New security measures are now in place across Jerusalem, trying to put an end to a wave of deadly violence that shows no signs of letting up.
Today, hundred of Israeli troops sent into the east Jerusalem, certain neighborhoods locked down. This is coming the day after Secretary of State John Kerry said he would travel to the region in an effort to calm the situation.
CNN's Erin McLaughlin live in Jerusalem with more.
Hi, Erin.
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
That's right. In the wake of yesterday's deadly violence that killed three Israeli civilian, Israeli authorities announcing a series of steps they say to calm things down. Some of the steps are controversial, including the easing of Israel's gun laws, making it easier for some people to purchase guns in self defense.
They are also today deploying some 300 Israeli soldiers to patrol alongside Israeli police in cities across Israel, very unusual step. And then they are setting up check points in areas they say of friction and incitement specifically in some Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. They say they are also setting up roadblocks blocking some of the streets.
And then, in addition to that, today, Israeli police today announcing that they are not going to be returning the bodies of yesterday's attackers to the families in order to avoid, they say, the funerals from becoming points of incitement.
Now, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday saying that this is to settle the score with murders, saying that it's meant to calm things down. But Palestinian officials acting in outrage, saying that the only way to stop the violence is to end Israeli oppression of Palestinians -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Erin McLaughlin, reporting live from Jerusalem this morning. Thank you.
(MUSIC)
COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
The first Democratic debate is in the bag but with just five candidates on stage, it was possible to touch on many issues facing voters today. One of those key issues, the Black Lives Matter movement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Do Black Lives Matter or do all lives matter?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Black Lives Matter.
MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The point that Black Lives Matter movement is making is a very, very legitimate and serious point.
CLINTON: We've got to do more about the lives of these children.
JIM WEBB (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As a president of the United States, every life in this country matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: With me now to discuss is Star Parker, the founder and president for the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.
Also with me is Patti Solis Doyle, a CNN political commentator and former campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Welcome to both of you.
STAR PARKER, CENTER FOR URBAN RENEWAL AND EDUCATION: Thank you.
PATTI SOLIS DOYLE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Thanks for being here.
So, Star, was there any startling proclamations last night? Didn't seem like there was much time spent on minority issues, frankly.
PARKER: Well, we had five white, wealthy liberals trying to convince us to one up each other that Black Lives Matter.
