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GOP Candidates Criss-Cross New Hampshire; Cruz Says People Not Interested In Food Fight; Clinton And Sanders Field Voters' Questions; Clinton Explains Vote In Favor Of Iraq War; Sanders Says Faith Is His Guiding Principle; Trump Goes Retail; Zika Health Emergency; Trump in New Hampshire; Zika Virus Scare. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired February 04, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 4:00 p.m. in Rio De Janeiro, 8:00 p.m. in Raqqah, Syria. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, presidential politics here in the United States and the mad dash for votes in New Hampshire. Republican candidates, they're crisscrossing the state right now, just five days before the first in the nation primary. Most of the candidates have multiple campaign events in New Hampshire today. They're also sharpening their attacks on one another ahead of Tuesday's primary.

But Texas senator Ted Cruz says he's taking the high road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald and others have tossed more than a few nasty personal attacks my way. I can't control what they do but I can control how I respond. And I have not responded in kind and I do not intend to respond.

I don't think the people are interested in a food fight. But I think the most important decision for the men and women of New Hampshire is who do you trust?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, made no apologies for taking on some of his Republican rivals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, there is a real choice here. And, yes, I have spoken a lot about Senator Rubio the last two days, because I think it's an important choice you're making between Senator Rubio and me or Senator Cruz and me because those guys, while they're both good people, they are not ready to be president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's get some more now on how this presidential race is shaping up in New Hampshire. Paul Steinhauser is the political director and anchor with NH1, former CNN Political Editor.

He's also joining us now live from Manchester. Paul, thanks very much for joining us. I want you to give us a lay of the land. You spend all your time in New Hampshire these days. Donald Trump maintains a sizeable lead over Ted Cruz in New Hampshire, at least according to some of the more recent polls. But Cruz has at least some wind at his back, coming off his victory in Iowa.

So, what's the state of this race right now, your best estimate?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, POLITICAL DIRECTOR, NH1: It's still a race for second place here. You know, Wolf, Donald Trump has been the front runner, the clear front runner here in New Hampshire, for quite some time. Right now, it's second-place battle between Cruz, between Senator Rubio, between the three governors who basically are going to be concentrating here rather than Iowa. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Ohio Governor John Kasich and Chris Christie who you just played that sound from.

Wolf, I've got to chuckle. You played that sound from Ted Cruz a moment ago. I talked to Ted Cruz an hour and a half ago on board his campaign bus in Portsmouth, and he had some choice comments about Donald Trump and about Marco Rubio. So, maybe in front of the audience he's playing nice, but when he talks to those of us in the media, he's not so shy -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Even yesterday, he was really going after Donald Trump, basically suggesting he's not qualified to be commander in chief, saying if he gets mad, he could nuke, what did he say, Denmark, if he would. Basically, he said he's not ready. Trump is really going after him as well, repeatedly calling him the Canadian-born Ted Cruz, saying basically he's a liar and a cheater, and that he -- and he falsely won that contest in Iowa.

So, it's getting ugly. But what's really intriguing, sort of beyond that, and you know this well, is this battle that's unfolding between Chris Christie and Marco Rubio. Chris Christie is making no -- he doesn't think Rubio has done anything that sets the stage that makes him qualified to be president.

STEINHAUSER: Yes, Chris Christie has been criticizing Marco Rubio for quite some time. They've been going back and forth and it's really been heating up just in the last few days. It shows the expectations game here and especially for Rubio.

You know, Rubio maybe got a free pass in Iowa and beat expectations. Here now, he's considered one of the favorites to finish second. And he's got to battle those three governors. He really didn't have to worry about them in Iowa. So, the expectations are much higher here for Rubio and he'll have to match them, I guess you could say.

I talked to Rubio this morning onboard his campaign bus just about a mile away from where Cruz was and he definitely was pushing back against both Trump -- I'm sorry, against both Cruz and Christie.

So, yes, it gets heated but that's what you would expect in the final days -- Wolf.

BLITZER: It gets heated, indeed, but did he really lash out vociferously against Cruz and Christie?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, he did. Yes, he did. I was asking Senator Rubio about the comments that Governor Christie made in the last couple days that Rubio is the boy in the bubble, that he doesn't want to answer reporter questions. And he basically told me, you know, when things aren't going well for some of my rivals, they lash out. And that's what you'd expect.

But, you know, Rubio trying to remain positive. He says, listen, he's aren't personal attacks. This is all policy for him.

BLITZER: Paul Steinhauser, we'll stay in close touch with you. Thanks very much. Good luck in these coming days.

[13:05:00] STEINHAUSER: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: In CNN's very powerful town hall last night, former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and the Vermont senator, Bernie Sanders, they spoke about what it means to be a progressive. They fielded questions from voters. Both candidates got high marks for how they did last night. One topic that Senator Sanders keeps talking about, Hillary Clinton's vote in favor of the Iraq War back at the end of 2002. Here's how she answered a voter's question about her decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did make a mistake and I admitted that I made a mistake. And in large measure, that mistake really arose from the Bush administration's approach to what they thought they could accomplish in Iraq. The very explicit appeal that president Bush made before announcing the invasion, that getting that vote would be a strong piece of leverage in order to finish the inspections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's bring in CNN Political Commentator Ryan Liza, CNN Politics Executive Editor Mark Preston and Jonathan Martin, he's an inside politics contributor, National Political Correspondent for the "New York Times." Guys, thanks very much.

According to our reality check team, then Senator Clinton, she voted against that amendment that would have put more emphasis on U.N. inspections. They rated her answer, though, as false.

Let me start with you, Ryan Lizza. What do you think of how she handled that specific issue?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think I would disagree a little bit with that rating. I mean, look, there was a legitimate case of if you gave the Bush administration -- and, frankly, I can't believe we're still talking about this 12 years later. But if you gave the Bush administration that vote, that it would

strengthen their hand at the U.N., that was the argument. That turned out to be a catastrophic mistake for most of the -- I think most Republicans. And not just the Democrats who supported it, but most Republicans agree with that these days.

The shocking thing is, 2008, Obama hammered her with this, and this is the issue that he won that primary with. And all these years later, and it is still relevant, the fallout from that war is driving all of the issues in the Middle East today and she is still answering for it. And, frankly, her answer is as complicated and nuanced and as difficult to explain as ever.

BLITZER: But Jonathan, she does make a good point when she says, yes, she made a mistake. That was a bad vote. But -- and it was a big issue as all of us remember in 2008, one of the reasons Barack Obama got the nomination. But then, she then goes on to say when he became president, he trusted her and asked her to be secretary of state.

JONATHAN MARTIN, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK TIMES": Right.

BLITZER: She served the secretary of state for four years. Basically, she is saying get over it. What do you think of that reply from her?

MARTIN: It's a pretty -- it's a pretty smart move on her, basically using her tenure as secretary of state as a political tool to sort of help her push back against these questions about her liberal credentials.

Look, there are a group of, Wolf, progressives that are never going to get over the fact that she supported the war, that have larger issues about her ideologically. But for those Democrats who are going to be voting in the primary here and beyond who are more gettable for her. The fact that she served president Obama for four years is an important credential.

And I think you're going to see that kind of pushback used, not just on questions about her vote for the Iraq War but on a host of issues. She will use President Obama and her service in the administration as a political tool to, you know, challenge Bernie, basically.

BLITZER: What do you think, Mark?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: I mean, look, Jonathan's absolutely correct. She is trying to cloak herself, you know, under the Obama administration, her tenure there. And just not on the Iraq War. You know, Bernie Sanders, last night, went after her pretty hard, you know, not just on the Iraq War. He talked about the environment, the Keystone Pipeline, the financial services industry. He said that a real progressive wouldn't accept $15 million in Super Pac donations.

But what we're hearing from the Clinton folks is that she is an Obama progressive. And if she -- you know, Bernie Sanders wants to go head- to-head with her going into this primary from here in New Hampshire on Tuesday and onward, then he's got to be basically attacking president Barack Obama as well. And as we know, heading into South Carolina, Barack Obama is pretty well liked down there.

BLITZER: Among Democrats in South Carolina, to be sure. Indeed, among Democrats all over the country, for that matter.

Ryan, we did get a glimpse of Senator Sanders in the town hall last night. Something we don't often see. When he was asked about his Jewish faith. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- guiding principle in my life, absolutely it is. You know, everybody practices religion in a different way. To me, I would not be here tonight, I would not be running for president of the United States, if I did not have very strong religious and spiritual feelings.

[13:10:02] My spirituality is that we are all in this together. And that when children go hungry, when veterans sleep out on the street, it impacts me. That's my very strong spiritual --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, Ryan, what do you think? How did he handle that?

LIZZA: Well, first of all, it's -- that forum last night was one of the more interesting ones we've had this campaign. The questions from the audience and from Anderson were just terrific. And you've got a side of these candidates that we just hadn't seen before.

He's not a candidate that wears religion on his sleeve, right? Imagine if Ted Cruz had been asked that question or even -- you know, or similar to Hillary Clinton. Candidates who can talk about their faith and how it's central to their lives. Bernie Sanders brings everything back to policy, right? So, barely talked about spirituality. He sort of moved it to a question about politics, and how we're all in this together which is sort of the foundation of his Democratic socialism.

I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that may be the real Sanders religion, rather than anything more -- any more formal faith. He's about politics and policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said it himself there, too.

BLITZER: He did get some unique -- excellent insight into both of them. And I want to go a little bit deeper on this. Let me bring back Jonathan. I want you get your response. Hillary Clinton, she fielded some deep introspective questions last night as well. Listen to how she responded when a rabbi there asked her about balancing ego and humility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLINTON: Regardless of how hard the days are, how difficult the decisions are, be grateful. Be grateful for being a human being, being part of the universe. Be grateful for your limitations. Know that you have to reach out to have more people be with you, to support you, to advise you. Listen to your critics. Answer the questions.

But at the end, be grateful. Practice the discipline of gratitude.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Jonathan, she got pretty high marks --

MARTIN: Yes.

BLITZER: -- for that answer, didn't she?

MARTIN: She sure did. And I tell you what, talking to some Democrats last night after the debate, including some who are close to her campaign, the relief was apparent on their faces that she had really done a good job at this -- at this -- at this forum. And there was a sort of unspoken but clear wish, you know, why can't we get this, Hillary Clinton, at every public event? This really shows a side of herself there that, you know, folks don't always see when it comes to the Clinton character -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What did you think, Mark?

PRESTON: Well, Wolf, you know, I spoke to representatives of both campaigns afterwards, and they both walked away feeling really good about this. And the reason being is we have litigated over and over and over again the differences they have on policy positions.

Now, when voters go to the polls, we all know that, yes, they are voting on policy, but they're voting on personality. And we're at this moment in time in the campaign right now, Wolf, where you actually can lift a window up and get them to try to come out a little bit more and show us their personality and show us, quite frankly, their soul.

And I think that's what we saw on the stage last night, Wolf, which made it really enlightening. You know, not only for voters here in New Hampshire, but for voters all across the country that are going to see these candidates come into their states in the coming months.

BLITZER: One final question for you, Ryan.

LIZZA: Yes.

BLITZER: Explain to our viewers here in the United States why both of these Democratic candidates, they want to call themselves progressives, but they're reluctant to call themselves liberals.

LIZZA: Well, it's a very easy answer to that, Wolf. The right, the conservative movement has done a pretty effective job over the last few decades of turning the word, liberal, into a bad word. And so, frankly, the left got rid of the word liberal and started calling themselves progressives and that's the -- that's the -- that's the moniker they use now.

BLITZER: It certainly is. All right, guys -- go ahead. Do you want to weigh in, Jonathan?

MARTIN: I said full circle because, you know, originally, progressives were the name of the first liberals, Wilson and T.R. So, it's sort of come full circle here in the last century, I said.

BLITZER: That's a good point. I love it when you guys have that political history that you can show off with. Guys, thank you very much. Good discussion, indeed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Up next, on the campaign trail with Donald Trump, as he changes strategy in an effort to close the deal in New Hampshire and beyond.

Also coming up, a health emergency now declared in Florida over cases of Zika. I'll speak with one of the government's top experts, Dr. Anthony Fauci of NIH. We'll get the latest on what's going on as far as the threat level is now concerned.

[13:14:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:18:38] BLITZER: Donald Trump's meeting this hour with business leaders in Exeter, New Hampshire. It's one of four events being held by the billionaire today.

With us now from Exeter is our chief political correspondent Dana Bash.

Dana, this is a pretty small event, unlike the huge rallies he typically holds. He had, what, 12,000 people who showed up at a rally for him in Little Rock, Arkansas, last night.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

BLITZER: So is there some sort of change in the works right now?

BASH: There certainly seems to be. It feels that way. First of all, about the venue, yes, this is a small, historic building. It's the Exeter Town Hall. It's been around since 1860 or so, even before that.

But more importantly, it was the tone that Donald Trump took. It was really back to basics. He talked about the fact that he is not bought and sold by lobbyists. He talked about the fact that he, you know, wants to stop illegal immigration. That, you know, seems to be, OK, we know that's Donald Trump's message, but it has been interest first a lot with insults, with talking about polls. We heard none of that today. Listen to a snippet of the kind of tone he took.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm getting money from nobody, except for the small donor. So I'm self-funding, essentially. Self-funding my campaign. Meaning, when it comes time to negotiate the cost of drugs, we're going to negotiate like crazy, folks. So you're -- you're talking right there, one item, one item, government waste, one item, 300 and maybe more than that -- $300 billion. I mean can you imagine that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:20:17] BASH: So not only, Wolf, did Trump keep this really focused on the kinds of things that he can bring that other lifelong or longer term politicians can, he also is changing up the kind of approach he's taking. He has not done very many -- I don't think any -- true retail stops that are generally, you know, the norm on the campaign trail, especially for a presidential candidate here in New Hampshire. But he left here. He's going to meet with business leaders here in Exeter. Then he's going to a shift change at a police station. It shouldn't be an, oh, wow, moment, because it's what politicians and candidates do. But so far, Donald Trump hasn't. And that's a change.

BLITZER: Yes, it certainly is. He did, last night at that big rally he had in Little Rock, he minced no words going after Ted Cruz, accusing him of stealing that Iowa caucus' win.

BASH: Yes, he did.

BLITZER: Listen to what he said last night about a mailer that had been sent out by the Cruz campaign in Iowa. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He's putting in houses voter violation, and he's giving people, you are -- you have an "f" because you haven't voted enough, bah, bah, bah, down the line. I've never even heard of anything like this. It is so dishonest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Cruz has started firing back against those attacks, maybe not this morning, but yesterday he certainly was. This war between Cruz and Trump has really escalated.

BASH: That's right. You know, I just got through telling you that he didn't mention his opponents. He had one slight illusion to Ted Cruz, talking about an anchor baby in Canada, but didn't mention his name. But it was a very different scene and event, as you just played last night.

Ted Cruz has been firing back, which is also new for him. He had been trying to keep his responses at bay. But not any more, both last night and also this morning. Listen to Ted Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is very rattled right now. He told the entire world he was going to win Iowa. And then he didn't win. And his reaction is, he got very angry. You know, he said, how stupid could the people of Iowa be? I assume the next question he's going to ask is, how stupid can the people of New Hampshire be? You know, my view of it is, this is a job interview. And -- and I don't think people are interested in temper tantrums. I don't think people are interested in insults and attacks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Wolf, I'm not sure if you can hear me. I just lost you also. I'm just going to toss back to you in case you can.

BLITZER: We certainly can, Dana. Thanks very much. And we'll stay in close touch with you.

By the way, Donald Trump is sitting down with Anderson Cooper in New Hampshire today for an interview about his campaign in New Hampshire, his fight with Ted Cruz. You can watch the interview later tonight on "AC 360," 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

Coming up, the nation's health experts issuing brand-new guidelines on the Zika virus. The advice they now have for pregnant women, even if they've never been near the outbreak. Plus, how the state of Florida is now getting ready ahead of the virus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:27:52] BLITZER: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here in the United States is out with new advice for pregnant women as they monitor the spread of a dangerous mosquito-borne virus linked to a rare brain defect in babies. They're now urging expecting mothers to be more careful about partners who have traveled to areas where the Zika virus is circulating. The governor of Florida, Rick Scott, he's about to hold a news conference in Florida just a few moments from now. You're seeing live pictures over there. He'll discuss the public health emergency he has now declared in four counties, Santa Rosa, Lee, Hillsborough and Miami-Dade counties. There you see the four counties in Florida where the health emergency has been declared. After learning -- he did so after learning that nine cases of the virus were brought to the state by international travelers.

Joining us now to talk about this is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the NIH, here in Washington, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Dr. Fauci, we had you on last week. We always have you on to talk about infectious diseases. But since -- since last week we learned that a case of this virus was sexually-transmitted in Texas. Some are saying that potentially is a game-changer. Is it?

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIR., NATL. INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a game-changer, but it does add a new dimension to how we have to address the adequate control of spread of this infection. The fact that there was a clearly very well-documented case of sexual transmission adds the dimension, as what the CDC is addressing with their new recommendations, that when men travel to the region where they could have been exposed to Zika, when they come back, if you have a wife that's pregnant or a girlfriend that's pregnant and you're going to have sex with her, that you clearly should use consistent and correct use of condoms because if the theoretical and now reality of the possibility that you can transmit it sexually, you certainly would not want to infect your pregnant wife or your pregnant girlfriend with Zika, since the fact that you can have it in your semen and spread it is something that you need to address. And the best way to do that is by being cautious in the sense of using the correct and consistent use of a condom.