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Mitt Romney Not Running in 2016 Election; Goodell to Address Media; Super Bowl in Two Days; Fierce Battle Against ISIS; Still No Word on Fate of ISIS Hostages; NFL's Roger Goodell to Address Media

Aired January 30, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, 9:00 p.m. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We begin with a major announcement today that could potentially have a really significant impact on the 2016 presidential race here in the United States. Republican Mitt Romney says he will not, repeat, not run, make a third run for the White House. He revealed his intentions to stay out of the race in a conference call with supporters just two hours ago. He also gave the reasoning for his decision. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS: I believe that one of our next generation of Republican leaders, one who may not be as well-known as I am today, one who has not yet taken a message across the country, one who's just getting started may well emerge as being better able to defeat the Democrat nominee. In fact, I expect and hope that to be the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, joining us here in Washington, Kevin Madden. He's a CNN Political Commentator, a former Romney campaign adviser and spokesman. Also with us, CNN's Dana Bash and Gloria Borger.

Kevin, I was surprised, given all the body language, the statements, the activity he was doing for the past month or so. What about you?

KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. No, I was very surprised because, publicly and privately, it had all the indications that the momentum was moving in a -- towards a direction that he would do it. If you look at the San Diego speech from a week ago, if you look at the Mississippi state speech, all of those had the trappings of a presidential campaign. I mean, complete with sending out the excerpts of a speech beforehand. So, -- and even privately, Governor Romney said, in conversations that he had with me when he confirmed that he was thinking about it, he said, if you want to be president, you have to run for president. So, I thought that that really -- that deep-seeded belief that he's right for the job would ultimately trump all of the other considerations that he was (INAUDIBLE.)

BLITZER: So, why do you think he decided not to run?

MADDEN: Well, I think this had a case of the head versus the heart. And I think the heart told him that he's right for the job and that he would do a good job. But I think the head, I think all of the things that it would take to run a campaign, the odds would be stacked against him this time. It wouldn't be as open a field as it has been in his previous runs. I think all those considerations and even some of the remarks that he made. I think that this is a party that doesn't need that type of commotion, that should look towards the future. I think all of that actually outweighed it.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN WHIF POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, he was encouraged by all the early polling, of course, which showed him doing so well. But I think, you know, the staff had a big meeting with him. I think they laid it all out beforehand. And Romney is someone, as Dan (ph) has been talking about today, and I -- that looks at the metrics of everything. I think there was an issue of splitting funders with Jeb Bush, splitting staff. And I also -- you know, I just think he felt it was going to be a tough slog, that he might not triumph at the end and that that would be very difficult to put his family through again.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BLITZER: And we are told, by the way, that there was some division among his family, his sons, others. His wife, apparently, was on board, Ann Romney.

BASH: And Ted Romney.

BLITZER: Yes, but there were some issues, as far as the family is concerned, but that's by no means the only reason he decided not to run.

BASH: No. And, look, I mean, obviously, I defer to Kevin because he actually is the person here who knows Mitt Romney and worked for him more closely on one of these elections and campaigns. And I actually think, just what I'm hearing from people who are talking to him now, you're dead on, that, yes, he's a metrics guy. He's a data-driven guy.

BORGER: Yes.

BASH: That's who he is. That's how he operates. And he -- and he got that back. But people who I'm talking to insist that it's not that he couldn't raise money. Certainly, he wouldn't probably raise as much as Jeb Bush.

BORGER: Yes, yes.

BASH: It's not that he couldn't attract talented staff. He could. It was -- at the end of the day, it wasn't, as you said, --

BORGER: It didn't feel right. BASH: -- in the -- in the heart, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel right for him. But I will just say, taking our viewers behind the scenes on how this unfolded for us this morning. When I first reported at 7:00 a.m. Eastern, I think, that he was having this call and that he had made a decision, because of what you were saying, that he had these campaign-like speeches, you know, pictures going out on Twitter, an Instagram photo that he hadn't done since 2012, these kinds of things, all signs were pointing to go. Then, I talked to some people after I was kind of leaning into that, strongly suggesting with a wink and a nod, to roll back a little bit, that it wasn't necessarily a done deal.

BLITZER: You know, Kevin, he says he's not running. But he did have one intriguing little -- tiny little loophole there. Let me play the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I've been asked, and will certainly be asked again, if there are any circumstances whatsoever that might develop that could change my mind. Accordingly, I'm not organizing a PAC or taking donations. I'm not hiring a campaign team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He said, unlikely. That seems unlikely. He used the word, unlikely. So, is he leaving the door slightly, slightly open?

MADDEN: Unfortunately, yes. This is -- it goes back to the remark that Governor Romney made earlier which is that it -- no matter how many times he says that he's not running or sends an indication that he's not, there is always that possibility that something may happen that may change his mind. That, you know, a one in a million chance. Well, so, it's, like, so, you're telling me there's a chance?

But I think there would be very little credibility left were he to change his mind again.

BORGER: Right.

BASH: Yes.

MADDEN: And there was going to be another round of consideration. I think we can accept, with a certain level of finality, that Mitt Romney is not running.

BORGER: You know what? In September, that was the thesis that Mitt Romney would be the white knight. When you talked to the Romney people in September, they said, you know what? He's leaving the door open because maybe if things fall apart, he'll be the one to the rescue. After this, I don't think he can do that.

BASH: Yes.

BORGER: I think that --

MADDEN: This is a Rubicon moment, in a certain sense.

BLITZER: Dana, let me get your thoughts.

BASH: Yes.

BLITZER: At least in the short term, it looks like this a win for Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, because he's going to attract a lot of those establishment, big-money Republicans that Mitt Romney, obviously, had on board.

BASH: And Chris Christie --

BLITZER: Chris Christie, to a lesser degree.

BASH: And Chris Christie, to a lesser degree.

BLITZER: Given some of the problems that Chris Christie has had --

BASH: Absolutely.

BLITZER: -- in New Jersey.

BASH: Absolutely.

BLITZER: But I think Jeb Bush, the former Florida Governor, emerges and I'm anxious for all of you to weigh in --

BASH: Yes.

BLITZER: -- but what do you think?

BASH: No, absolutely. And, look, I mean, I -- who knows if this was part of his decision making, despite the fact that they say he would have attracted, you know, fine talent. Jeb Bush was already starting to gobble up really important people in Iowa and elsewhere. So, --

BLITZER: But they were appealing to the same Republican base.

BASH: They were appealing to the same Republican base. Can I just also refer you to (ph) one thing I should say. I've confirmed that Chris Christie and Mitt Romney are actually having dinner tonight in New York City. And maybe will feed into the speculation that maybe he's not totally closing the door. I'm told that he's not going to endorse anybody --

BLITZER: Yes.

BASH: -- for a long time, if at all, until the --

BLITZER: Romney had met, the other day, --

BASH: -- probably the general.

BLITZER: -- with Jeb Bush in --

BASH: Exactly. BLITZER: -- Utah, too. What do you think?

MADDEN: I would expect that --

BLITZER: Is this a nice win for Jeb Bush right now?

BORGER: Some people don't want (INAUDIBLE.)

MADDEN: Well, first, I would expect that's right that he won't have an endorsement that's really early. I think he's going to let the process play out more. Yes, and it was very competitive in that -- for that fund-raising network. That is, also, I think, to the benefit of Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. But this becomes the first big test between both of those candidates, those prospective candidates. Which one of them can quickly move to lock down those donors? It's a very successful, a very large fund-raising network. It's going to be an important asset for any candidate if they can get some of those donors.

BORGER: You know, one of the problems or one of the things Romney was looking at, I'm told, is that he looked at the field and said, I'm the only one who's actually been to the Super Bowl before. And when he looked at Jeb Bush, he didn't think he was a fabulous transactional politician. He thought Chris Christie, perhaps, had been damaged by, you know, bridge gate or whatever we call it. And so, I think that he looked at the field and said, I'm the only one who's been through this. He thinks Jeb will have problems with Wall Street vetting, et cetera.

BASH: And that matters.

BORGER: And that matters.

MADDEN: Yes.

BORGER: And that --

MADDEN: Yes, but at the heart of that, I think that's absolutely right. Gloria's right. At the heart of that was this deep-seeded belief that I know the governor probably still has. But, again, it was -- it was overrun by some of these other considerations that he would have been the right president.

BLITZER: All Right.

MADDEN: That he's better than all those guys.

BORGER: And he still believes that.

BLITZER: We got a -- we got a --

(CROSS TALK)

MADDEN: That's right.

BLITZER: All right, guys. A big story here in the world of politics in the United States. The Republican presidential nominee, the former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, is not, not going to run for president, once again. Kevin, Gloria, Dana, thanks very much.

And this important note to all of our viewers, Dana will be hosting "STATE OF THE UNION" Sunday morning, 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Dana, hosts "STATE OF THE UNION" Sunday morning. Check it out.

We're two days away from one of the most watched sporting events in the entire world. We're talking about the Super Bowl here in the United States. And this season, there's been a lot more talk, though, about off-field issues than what happens on the field. And in just about 20 minutes or so from now, we expect to hear from the National Football League commissioner, Roger Goodell, who will give a so-called state of the game address and then answer reporters' questions. And one of those reporters in the room will be our own Rachel Nichols who's joining us live from Phoenix right now. That's the site of the Super Bowl.

So, Rachel, a lot of issues out there right now. Give us a little preview. What do we expect to hear from the commissioner?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ADVISOR: Yes, this is an annual address that the NFL commissioner gives at the Super Bowl. And he'll talk about the good things in the league. And there's certainly a lot of metrics trending in their favor. Viewership is extremely high. Of the 30 fall programs that were most popular on television, 28 of them were NFL games. The Super Bowl last year, the most watched television program in American history ever. So, popularity is very high.

But, of course, there's plenty of issues within the NFL. There is the mishandling of their player conduct issues. Domestic violence when Ray Rice punched his wife in the face. When Adrian Peterson was brought up on charges of beating his son and how the NFL responded to that. Goodell will be under pressure to talk about how the league is moving forward and improving on those issues.

And, of course, Wolf, there's going to be questions about deflate- gate, the investigation into the New England Patriots because there's been criticism on all sides, even from the players here. Seattle Seahawks corner, Richard Sherman, brought up that there's a huge conflict of interest. Robert Craft, the owner of the New England Patriots, not only technically employs Goodell but they're very close friends. So, there'll be questions to see just how stringently the NFL is looking into this. On the other side, there's people in the Patriots who thinks they're too -- they're looking into it too much. So, he'll be hit from both sides there, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Rachel, I know you're going to be in that news conference. We're going to have live coverage. But we're going to carry the commissioner, Roger Goodell's, news conference in about 20 minutes or so. It's scheduled to begin from Phoenix at the Super Bowl.

And tomorrow, another important note, 4:30 p.m. Eastern, for our North American viewers, please be sure to watch kick off from Arizona, hosted by Rachel. And, get this, the Hall of Fame quarterback, Dan Marino, 4:30 p.m. Eastern tomorrow, Saturday.

Up next, fierce fighting between ISIS militants and Kurdish Peshmerga forces. At stake, the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in Iraq. We'll have the latest on the ISIS assault.

And we'll also have more. There are new developments on the hostage crisis. Lots of news happening today. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: We're following several major developments in the fight against ISIS underway right now. Relatives of two hostages held by the terror group are pleading for their loved ones to be released, but there's still no word on the fate of that Jordanian pilot or the Japanese journalist, both of whom are being held by ISIS. ISIS has demanded the release of a female terrorist held by Jordan in exchange for at least releasing the Japanese journalist, but they have shown no proof of life yet that the Jordanian pilot, an F-16 fighter pilot, is still alive. The latest deadline passed more than 24 hours ago.

The ISIS militants have launched an assault, meanwhile, on the oil- rich city of Kirkuk. In northern Iraq, they attacked a hotel used by local police. It was their headquarters. But Peshmerga and other Kurdish forces later raided the hotel, took control from the militants. And a senior Kurdish Peshmerga general, meanwhile, has been killed in heavy fighting against ISIS. The brigadier general was the highest ranking operational commander in the Peshmerga brigade in Kirkuk.

Let's get some more insight on what's going on on ISIS and other issues fueling tensions throughout the Middle East. Congressman Adam Schiff of California is the top Democrat in the House Intelligence Committee. He's joining us from Philadelphia right now.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

Let's get the latest on this prisoner exchange, if you will, the two hostages held by ISIS, maybe in exchange for that woman who's a convicted terrorist in Jordan. What's the latest? What are you hearing about that?

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, we're staying on top of it. And I was just briefed this morning through the Intelligence Committee. There's nothing that I can report yet. It's still, I think, very murky and, obviously, all of us are very concerned about the well-being and the livelihood of both the Jordanian pilot and the Japanese journalist. Unfortunately, the track record of those that ISIS parades in the yellow suits has not been very good. And a lot of what ISIS is trying to do is trying to recruit more followers, trying to terrorize people and that makes them a very difficult group to have any confidence they're going to release these people unharmed. So no word yet and a lot of anxious families in Jordan and Japan. And we're watching and trying to be of help in any way we can.

BLITZER: Jordan, which as you know is a very, very close friend of the United States, King Abdullah works closely with the U.S., they have been asking ISIS through indirect channels for at least proof of life that the Jordanian fighter pilot is alive. Do you know whether or not he is alive? Is there any evidence that this pilot is still there?

SCHIFF: Wolf, I can't comment in particular. You know, we're, obviously, trying to help Jordan in every way possible. And I think the situation is still murky. Jordan is in a very difficult position. They have to ensure they take every effort to get their pilot back alive. But it's very hard. And I think without proof of life, Jordan can't possibly move forward. The worst case scenario would be for Jordan to release this woman only to find out later that ISIS has either killed the pilot or kills the pilot thereafter. So I think Jordan very sensibly is going to insist on proof of life. And I'm not sure that much progress has been made along that front. So I think we have to respect whatever decision Jordan makes. They're a rare island of stability after the Arab spring in the region and a key partner. And this is, obviously, going to put a lot of pressure on their continued willingness to participate in the campaign against ISIS.

BLITZER: The last I heard, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that ISIS was maybe, maybe willing to exchange the Japanese journalist for the convicted female terrorist in Jordan. But ISIS was never going to include, at least the indications I was hearing, include the Jordanian fighter pilot as part of the deal. I don't think Jordan is going to accept the deal to free this terrorist in exchange only for the Japanese journalist. But tell me if ISIS is even willing to think about releasing that fighter pilot.

SCHIFF: I don't know the answer, Wolf. And I think you're right, in terms of the public reporting on this, I haven't seen any public statements by ISIS that they're willing to exchange the pilot for al Rishawi. If they're not, though, then I don't think this goes forward. I don't see how Jordan can possibly make any deal that doesn't include their own pilot. And we can certainly understand that situation. If this were an American captured service member, we would be doing everything possible and there would be no deal without their release. So I don't think ISIS has made that offer, certainly not publicly anyway. And I don't see how anything could go forward unless the Jordanians can get their pilot back.

BLITZER: Yes, we certainly hope that the Japanese and the Jordanian hostages being held by ISIS are released and released quickly.

SCHIFF: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Very quickly on Kirkuk. What's going on in that oil-rich town in northern Iraq right now? Because we have been getting these reports ISIS was launching some sort of attack there.

SCHIFF: Well, I think ISIS is feeling a lot of pressure. They've lost ground in the Kurdish areas. They've lost some ground to Iraqi special forces. They had the symbolic loss in Kobani. At the same time, they're very lethal, but they are worried, I think, about pressure being put on Mosul and supply lines being cut off to Mosul. And this may be an effort not so much to reclaim territory around Kirkuk, as to put pressure on the Peshmerga, relieve some of the pressure they're starting to feel in Mosul. The other significant development, Wolf, I think we have to keep an

eye on, too, though, is this allocation of a massacre of Sunnis by a Shia militia in the presence of Iraqi troops. If that proves to be correct, it would be a tremendous setback to us and to the Iraqis on the political front, which is just as important as the military front because it may lead Sunnis elsewhere to believe that they can't part ways with ISIS and expose themselves to the dangers of the Shia militia.

BLITZER: That's a very -- potentially a disastrous development. Do you know how many people were massacred?

SCHIFF: I don't know. I've just seen the public reports on this. Obviously we're trying to get confirmation. And this is of the utmost seriousness to the al al-Abadi government. If, in fact, there has been this massacre after the liberation of this town in the Diala (ph) province, it's going to be a tremendous setback for the cause.

BLITZER: It certainly is. It's going to undermine the new Iraqi government and it's going to make matters, which are horrible right now, even so much worse. You're absolutely right.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

SCHIFF: You bet.

BLITZER: And we'll be following this story and staying on top of the potential for a swap, let's see if that happens, and all of the other dangerous developments unfolding right now in Iraq, Syria, elsewhere in the region.

But on a very, very different note, we're only minutes away right now from Roger Goodell's annual state of the NFL address. Coming up, our panel of experts will discuss a long list of issues that the NFL has faced, the questions that are likely to be asked of the NFL commissioner on this the two days before the Super Bowl.

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BLITZER: We're just moments away now from hearing from the National Football League commissioner, Roger Goodell. He's scheduled to give his so-called state of the NFL address and then answer reporters' questions. Rachel Nichols is in the room. She's joining us on the phone.

So what do we expect, Rachel? Set the scene a little bit for us. What's it like in there?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS (via telephone): Well, I've been to a lot of these over the years and I've got to tell you, this is the biggest room and biggest set-up I have ever seen. There are more than 800 chairs in this auditorium for Roger Goodell's press conference. And most of them are filled. And there are still people streaming in.

So you remember that press conference, that very controversial press conference that he gave in September where he was not able to answer a lot of the media's questions in the league's handling of the domestic violence incidents that they had had. That was a relatively small group of press because it was an impromptu press conference, just got called a few hours earlier. Roger Goodell did not have time to prepare for that the same way.

This is a press conference where there is media from all over the globe. And Goodell and his staff have been prepping for this for weeks. So it's going to have a very different tone.

BLITZER: All right, stand by, Rachel. I know you're going to be -- hopefully asking some questions of the commissioner. He's come under a lot of fire several times this season. First, there was the Ray Rice affair, the Baltimore Ravens player who was caught on camera beating his then-fiance. The NFL fumbled the investigation, eventually suspending Rice indefinitely. Several other stars, including the running back, Adrian Peterson, was - were suspended for off-field violence and now what's called deflate-gate, the must less heinous act of deflating footballs, engulfing one of the league's most popular teams, the New England Patriots, and most well-known players, Tom Brady. It's been an unwelcomed distraction for the league during the lead-up to the premier sporting event, the Super Bowl this Sunday. Remember, this is a game that last year was seen by more than 111 million people worldwide, was broadcast in 198 countries in more than 25 languages.

And the National Football League is the world's number one league. It generates more than $10 billion a year in revenue. That dwarfs the top European football league, the English Premier League, which makes around $4 billion. It's that financial success that also earned Roger Goodell more than $44 million last year alone.

Joining us now, our CNN Sports analyst, the "USA Today" columnist Christine Brennan, our CNN commentator, ESPN's senior writer, LZ Granderson, and Gabriel Sherman, who's written an excellent article about Goodell for "GQ" magazine.

Christine, what's the biggest challenge facing the commissioner right now?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Wolf, I think it is as sounding honest, sounding truthful, sounding like he cares and like there are results coming. And I think that's, as Rachel pointed out, that's what didn't happen in September. He has had all this time now to prepare. My sense is he will come out here and be stronger and more forceful. He will be facing a lot of tough questions. And I hope it's not all about deflate-gate, as you alluded to. So much of a minor story, even though it's important, compared to domestic violence, the personal conduct policies. There are huge issues involving the NFL. In many ways, the NFL is a mirror of our society and I think that's what --

BLITZER: All right, all right, hold on. Christine, hold on.