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New Day

Hillary Clinton Campaign. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired April 13, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:32:08] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This election is about you. I don't want to hog your limelight. I am leaving. Look at me go. Bye. I'm gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aren't we such a fun, approachable dynasty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: No signature lip bite from Hammond, though.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: No.

CUOMO: You know, he was so good at that.

CAMEROTA: Not in that one.

CUOMO: "Saturday Night Live," of course, sending up one of the most complicated relationships in all of political history, but how large will Bill Clinton loom in Hillary's 2016 bid? We was nowhere in the video. We haven't heard about him for many of her surrogates today. So, let's take that on and all the other men in her life. We mean that in a benign way. Let's bring in Paul Begala and Democratic strategist and co-chair of a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC and long time adviser to President Clinton, that's Paul Begala, of course. And Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist, who's a supporter of Jeb Bush and adviser to other GOP candidates.

Hello to both of you.

So, we see the big announcement. We saw the video out there. We get kind of the theme. No Bill, Begala. What's going on with that? You can't keep him quiet.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, no, nor should you. I will point out that "The Washington Post" recently did a poll and 73 percent of Americans view Bill Clinton's presidency favorably. That's a statistical tie with the pope. And the pope didn't have to raise taxes or pass gun control. So he's a great asset.

But, still, Hillary needs to be judged not by the president she married and not by the president she served, although they will help her. This has to be on her own. And I love how she's announced, not just the video, which is about people, not her. Then she got in a van and started driving out to Iowa. I love that. She doesn't - she - she will be helped by her husband. She'll be helped by President Obama. But she's going to have to win this on her own.

CAMEROTA: Ana, what do you think about the strategy to not use Bill Clinton for a long time? I mean that's the plan. The plan is at -- for these first month, you will not see Bill Clinton.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would say forget not using Bill Clinton. They almost didn't use Hillary Clinton in that announcement. It was 90 - 90 - it was 90 seconds into a two-minute video before you saw a short little snippet of her.

Look, I think Bill Clinton is one of the best political strategists out there. I know him. I like him. He - his big problem is that he doesn't outshine her. It's very difficult when you have them on the same stage, and she, or anybody else, is following him if he's spoken, not to look, frankly, mediocre in comparison because Bill Clinton is one of the best orators out there. He's folksy, he's authentic, he's genuine, he's funny. He's got the pulse of the people. And Hillary Clinton has always had trouble with that. She's guarded, she's scripted, she's safe.

CAMEROTA: Right, so why not use him more?

NAVARRO: She's rather boring and blah.

CUOMO: Yes, but she's got to run.

NAVARRO: Well, because -

CUOMO: I mean and she's spent a lot of her time defending him, you know, so he's been able to be more charismatic.

But go ahead, Ana, you answer the question.

[08:34:57] NAVARRO: And because - you - you know, why not use him more? Because, number one, it's hard to control Bill Clinton. As good as he is, it's hard to control him. When it comes to his wife, he can go postal in no time. Let me tell you. I've had arguments with him about his wife and he loses his temper in about a nanosecond. So I - you know, I think he's got to control his temper and I think he's got to control -

CUOMO: Yes, husband first.

NAVARRO: And he - the reason, you know, you (INAUDIBLE) him more is because if you put him out there, he steals the limelight.

CUOMO: Yes, look, he's stealing this conversation.

BEGALA: Well - right.

CUOMO: Begala, let me ask you something though on a little bit of a different tack. They've come out ugly early on the other side. Even Ana's boy Jeb Bush put out that video - he hasn't even declared yet - but he went right after her. Is that playing into the strategy for team Hillary that -

BEGALA: Yes.

CUOMO: Let them come and be purely negative, we're going to be better than that because we know the country's tired of the hate.

BEGALA: Yes. And Hillary is a very good counterpuncher. She's not a very good puncher. In other words, when she was a front-runner against Barack Obama, she didn't run very well. She's a really good counterpuncher. And I think these Republicans, they - I know everybody in the Republican party hates Hillary and that's fine. This is all - politics ain't bean bags, so I'm not like whining here. But they need to define themselves. They're also going to have somewhere in one of Jeb's mini mansions they're having a discussion not about how to handle Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, who are populars, what do we do about "W"? Thank God he's like painting selfies of his toes in the bathtub. But he's going to be the albatross around Jeb. And then all of them have to deal with the Republican Congress which has -

CUOMO: There was a couple of cheap shots there fast, Begala. You got the mansions in there and the selfies and the toe shots.

BEGALA: Well, the Republican Congress -

NAVARRO: Well, you know, but - but - but my darling Paul - Paul got it a little bit wrong. It's not Jeb who's got many mansions. He's got one townhouse in Coral Gables. I think you were talking about your friends the Clintons.

CUOMO: Oh.

BEGALA: They have some very nice homes as well. But they are beloved. And her husband's beloved. This is a problem Jeb has is that he - like he issued this statement. He attacked Hillary with foreign policy. And I watched earlier on our program, (INAUDIBLE), who was a former Hillary aide, pointing out, well, gee, for Jeb to talk about bad foreign policy, he's going to have to deal with his brother's legacy, who, you know, a lot of people believe did not tell the truth leading us into a war, which is the worst thing a president could do.

CAMEROTA: Ana, let's talk about -

NAVARRO: Let me ask you this, why isn't he going to have to -

CAMEROTA: (INAUDIBLE) -

NAVARRO: Well, wait, wait. Why is he going to have to talk about his brother's legacy when he was a governor in Tallahassee, Florida? I mean and - who's going to make him talk about his brother's legacy in Iraq?

BEGALA: Me. I am.

NAVARRO: The senator who voted in favor of it?

CAMEROTA: But, Paul, Paul, yes, I mean, why is he responsible for his brother? BEGALA: Because - well, he was a governor and he endorsed everything

his brother did and we need to know, will he follow these policies or will he move away from them? The same way we're going to ask Hillary, as we should, where has President Obama been right, where has he been wrong? You have to ask all the Republicans, but especially, of course, Jeb, what did "W" did right, and it's a very short list, what did he do wrong, where will you break? You have to make these things clear in a campaign and -

CUOMO: But how fair is that? It's like - if you asked Hillary Clinton, obviously who has some unique insight on this, right, although I do criticize my brother all day long.

BEGALA: Right.

CUOMO: (INAUDIBLE) if you are running, can you really be expected to take on your husband? Can you really be expected to take on your brother? You know, would people even really want to hear that? You really think they expect objectivity on that basis?

BEGALA: Not on a personal basis of course, but you have to answer these policy questions. You do. And, frankly, the problem is not equal and opposite. Overwhelmingly, 73 percent of Americans think President Clinton was a good president. Much fewer Americans think "W" was a good president. So it's not an equal and opposite problem. Hillary is a high class problem. She's associated with a president people love. "W" - I mean Jeb has an unfair problem in part but it's his problem. He's associated with a president people hate.

CAMEROTA: Well, but -

NAVARRO: But -

CAMEROTA: Hold on, Ana, I just want to bring in -

NAVARRO: Paul - Paul -

CAMEROTA: We've been talking about the - hold on one second, Ana, because we were talking about the men in Hillary Clinton's life and there's one other man that today is relevant in her life and that's Marco Rubio. And I just want to ask you, Ana, is he - was he disappointed that Hillary chose yesterday for her announcement, since this was long going to be his announcement day?

NAVARRO: You know, I don't think so. I don't think it has that much of an impact. And, frankly, you know, I would say that anybody who's ever heard Marco Rubio give a speech knows that he is one of the best orators out there. He knows how to put on a performance. They know how to produce a show, his people. I have great expectations. I think Marco is going to give the speech of his life in a very historical, significant, and beautiful building here in Miami, surrounded by a hometown crowd and I think it's going to be a very good moment for him.

The truth of the matter is, everybody's going to have the moment where they are the bell of the ball of the debutante's ball. It's going to be their day. And I think we're all going to be talking about Marco tonight and tomorrow because I expect him to bat it out of the, you know, park. He is a great orator, is going to be a great contrast for him with Hillary Clinton.

CUOMO: So are you, Ana. You, too, Paul. There was some very good verbal judo being used there. Luckily, your karate and judo is no match for Camerota and mine.

BEGALA: Thanks so much, guys.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, guys. Great to see you. We'll see you again soon, of course.

NAVARRO: Bye.

[08:39:52] CAMEROTA: So, as we've been talking, after decades in the public eye, there are still things that we do not know about Hillary Clinton. From Yale to Arkansas, Washington, D.C., there's still more of her history to explore. And our Gloria Borger has an in-depth look at what we don't know, coming up.

CUOMO: Played football as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here are the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

Number one, Hillary Clinton heading to Iowa, kicking off her campaign for president. She says she's running because every day Americans need a champion and she wants to be that champion.

Calls increasing for charges against a second officer in the Walter Scott shooting for allegedly fudging the police report. Mr. Scott was laid to rest this weekend in South Carolina.

Congress back in session for the first time since the framework of an Iranian nuclear deal was announced. Secretary of State John Kerry and other top officials will be holding a closed door meeting with House members tonight.

Turkish officials upset with Pope Francis after he called the 20th century mass killings of Armenian genocide during Sunday mass. Officials have summoned their ambassador now to the Vatican for consultations.

Nobel Prize winning writer Gunter Grass has died, best known as the author of "The Tin Drum." Grass passed away this morning at a clinic in his native Germany at the age of 87.

For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

Chris.

[08:45:02] CUOMO: All right, Mick. Boxing can help kids who are at risk become a better person, get on a better road, but the person who's trying to help them get into boxing, oh, boy is she going to wow you. She is "The Good Stuff."

Also, Hillary Clinton. We're going to hear a little bit more about why she thinks she's the right person for you.

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PEREIRA: We all know her, but do you really know her? Who is Hillary Clinton? It's a question that deserves more attention as she begins what she hopes will be a 14-month march to history.

CNN's chief political analyst Gloria Borger has some insight for us this morning into Mrs. Clinton's past that could really impact her future.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: I do. For the past month, Michaela, I've been talking to people who know Hillary Clinton the best and I asked them what she's like away from the cameras and why she's decided to do it again after three decades in the public eye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORGER (voice-over): Unless you've been living on another planet for the last few decades, there's one political star that's been unavoidably present.

GOV. TERRY MCAULIFFE, (D) VIRGINIA: Not too many people with one name, Hillary, I guess a few others, Madonna and a few others. But everybody knows Hillary.

BORGER (voice-over): Maybe not as well as close friend Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, but well enough to be on a first-name basis. As in Hillary, the young Watergate committee lawyer. Hillary, first lady of Arkansas. And First Lady of the United States. Hillary, senator from New York and presidential candidate. Hillary, secretary of state and presidential candidate.

[08:50:22] HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm running for president.

BORGER (voice-over): It was a decision that surprised absolutely no one. Least of all, old family friend and adviser, Paul Begala.

BEGALA: It's not just I have to do this, I have to make history, I have to be the big shot, they have to play "Hail to the Chief" when we walk in the room.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D) CALIFORNIA: She doesn't need it, but she wants it. She's put a lifetime into herself, in a way, in preparation for it.

BORGER (voice-over): It was clear, even back at Yale Law School in the '70s, when she met this fellow. BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I actually tried

to talk Hillary into leaving me when we were in law school. It's the God's truth. You have more talent for public service than anybody in my generation that I have met. And I shouldn't stand in your way. You should do this. She looked at me and laughed, she said oh, Bill, I'll never run for office.

BORGER (voice-over): She was the original good wife. Writing her own role.

HILLARY: This health security card will represent a right of every citizen.

BORGER (voice-over): And public defender in chief.

HILLARY: -- is this vast right-wing conspiracy.

BORGER (voice-over): Despite a brutal personal struggle.

BORGER (on camera): What did you learn about Hillary Clinton when you went through some of the tougher times?

MCAULIFFE: It was tough. This was about their family. And she wanted to keep it about their family. You know, when tough times come, she's able to deal with it. Deal with it herself. And is able to continue to move on.

BORGER (voice-over): "An essential skill," says Democrat Bill Daley, who has managed both a presidential candidate and a White House.

BILL DALEY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I don't know what they can say about her that hasn't been said about her in the past, in a negative sense. So you know, she's got a pretty strong shield around her.

BORGER (voice-over): It's a shield that can keep the voters at arms length so that after all these years in the public eye, there's still something elusive about Hillary Clinton.

BEGALA: People who've never met either of them have a very clear sense of who Bill Clinton is. They love him. They call him Bill. But you think he would like come and have barbecue with us? With Hillary, there is a distance.

HILLARY: This is very personal --

BORGER (voice-over): The plan is to have the voters meet the real Hillary. The warm one. Virtually one on one.

BEGALA: Nobody, nobody I've ever seen better at that.

BORGER (voice-over): So they can finally see the woman her friends describe.

MCAULIFFE: A lot of fun. Tremendous amount of fun. She's got a great belly laugh. She and I will sit out, you know, on vacation, talking policy. Might have a cocktail or two. You know. I mean, she's a load of fun to be with.

FEINSTEIN: I think she's a very complete person. But I think the most important thing is that what her experience has given her. You know, we have men who come here for one or two years, get a few puff pieces, and they go out and they run for president.

BORGER (voice-over): That's a far cry from Hillary Clinton's long and sometimes controversial story.

HILLARY: I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had tea.

BORGER (on camera): You know, she comes with baggage. There are negative perceptions about the Clintons as paranoid, too protected, even arrogant, that came up during the whole e-mail controversy. Will that matter?

DALEY: I think the misconceptions, there are certain people that are -- that are fixed in those, with those beliefs, and they've been for 25 years. You're not going to change them. What you've got to do is basically talk to the future about what you want to do with the country.

HILLARY: Thank you.

BORGER (voice-over): In 2008, Clinton ran on her resume.

HILLARY: I will bring a lifetime of experience.

BORGER (voice-over): And the campaign let the woman thing take a back seat.

BEGALA: I do think the last time she ran they tried very hard to keep it a secret. But she is a girl.

BORGER (on camera): But she was a woman?

BEGALA: Right, she's a woman.

BORGER (voice-over): Do you think the tug of history is very strong?

FEINSTEIN: I think she knows she carries the cause and if a very qualified woman can hold that job and perform well, that's a big thing.

BORGER (on camera): Do you think it will be harder for a woman to run for president, even in 2016?

FEINSTEIN: Oh, I think it is harder. And I think she knows it's harder. And women are tested in ways that men are not. And that's another discussion, but --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BORGER: It certainly is another discussion. And I'm sure we'll be having it at length as Hillary Clinton hits the campaign trail for the next couple of years.

PEREIRA: You know we will, Gloria. What a great and interesting look. Thank you so much for that.

BORGER: Sure. Alright.

[08:54:58] PEREIRA: Got a little Good Stuff coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Time for The Good Stuff. Heather "The Heat" Hardy, professional boxer. She will beat you like an egg but you would be a mere warm-up compared to what this lady out of Brooklyn has taken on in her life. From sexual assault to homelessness, just about everything bad you can imagine, this single mom has been there and done that and done it well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER HARDY, PROFESSIONAL BOXER: Every day is just a fight to stay positive and a fight to survive.

Boxing saved my life. It was the first time I ever fought really hard at something, and realized that I had a chance to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: See that nice thin nose she still has? That's because she's good at not getting hit. Heather's undefeated, right, rising star. But she has left nothing behind. She's all about giving back. This is what she does now. She works with at-risk kids and gives them the same shot at boxing that she got.

PEREIRA: That's awesome.

CUOMO: It's called Give a Kid a Dream and it grabs kids who are headed nowhere, and often they're headed in bad places, and gets the juvy parole officer involved, the school guidance counselors involved, and helps them turn around through boxing to channel the anger, get some discipline. If you'd like to learn more, you can check them out online. That's why she's The Good Stuff.

PEREIRA: I love it. So fantastic.

CUOMO: That's great. Excellent.

PEREIRA: Not just a photo-op. She's trying to help these kids.

PEREIRA: Nope. Not at all.

CAMEROTA: Alright, got it. Time now -

[09:00:00] PEREIRA: -- for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

PEREIRA: See how we shared that today, Carol?

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: You see that? Togetherness.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It looked so well rehearsed, too.

PEREIRA: Didn't it? Didn't it seem like that? Yeah. I thought so.

COSTELLO: It did. Thanks, guys. Have a nice day.