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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Trump, Clinton Enjoy Northeastern Victories; Trump Makes Foreign Policy Speech After Primary Sweep; Sanders To Cut "Hundreds" Of Staffers; Path For Clinton, Trump After Latest Victories; Cruz Picks Fiorina As Running Mate; Former Speaker Hastert Sentenced; Clinton And Trump Spar Over Playing The "Woman Card"; Source: Prince Had Opioid Medication On Him, In His Home. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired April 27, 2016 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:00:57] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to another hour of "360", we begin this hour with two words, presumptive nominee. That is where Donald Trump has declared himself after sweeping five primaries, it's not a done deal, of course, but he and Hillary Clinton have made the math tremendously difficult are not impossible for their competitor with last night's victories.
Presumptive nominee is also usually designation that triggers a candidate announcing a running mate, Trump hasn't done that yet but his rival, Ted Cruz, has, after not only losing but coming in last in four of the five states, they voted yesterday. Cruz today announced his pick for vice president, Carly Fiorina. At a rally in Indiana, short time ago Trump, he wasn't so impressed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So today I'm in the plane, and I see on television they have a new relationship has started, Cruz and Carly.
Cruz can't win. What's he doing picking vice presidents, he can't win. He can't win. And look honestly, I wish them well, but folks, they're not going to do it for you. They're not going to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Sara Murray joins me now from Indianapolis with more. So Trump today gave always build as a major foreign policy address. Talk to me about the details on it.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Right Anderson, before he got here, it's rock it's rally here in Indiana, he was giving a more formal speech, in Washington D.C., he used teleprompters for it and he used a big chunk of that really just to deliver a take down of President Obama's foreign policy approach that far which he called incoherent.
And he linked -- the link president's approach with Hillary Clinton's essentially saying they will approach at the exact same way, if you electing Hillary Clinton, you're just electing another term of President Obama.
Now what Trump didn't do is layout a very specific vision for how he would act as president. He said he would have an America first approach to foreign policy, and he did say he wants to see a better relationship, a closer relationship with Russia and with China.
But he was careful not to reveal too many specifics and part of that in his view is by design. He feels like America had broadcast too much of his strategy. And he said in his speech today, that it's important to be a little bit unpredictable when it comes to these things, Anderson.
COOPER: In terms of this campaign strategy, he has been going after Hillary Clinton more and more often these days.
MURRAY: That's right and I think what you're seeing is a reflection that Donald Trump does now believed he is the presumptive Republican nominee, he believes he will be taking on Hillary Clinton in a general election, and I think we're starting to see kind of an early preview of what the battle is going to look like.
I think we especially saw a lot of that last night as Donald Trump's victory night event where he essentially said Hillary Clinton is only winning because she's a woman, but he continued to hammer her in Indianapolis tonight, he has labeled her crooked Hillary, I imagine we're going to hear a lot more about that.
And in his foreign policy address earlier today, he revived the issue of Benghazi, and essentially said that Hillary Clinton was asleep at that attack, you know, when that call came in, she did not take responsibility for it, and she was not there when American troops and when American ambassadors needed her. And so I think, we're going to hear a lot more of that, is it is in fact of Donald and Hillary match up in the general election, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Sara, thanks very much.
The trajectory of the race it change for Clinton's win's in four to five state the voted last night, Bernie Sanders he is pressing on, just wrapped up a rally in Bloomington, Indiana. But the strategy may be shifting, Brianna Keilar is in Bloomington, joins us now. Some news coming out of the Sanders campaign today, explain?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. He is significantly downsizing his campaign from a peak, Anderson of about 1,000 staffers that we saw in the beginning of the year all the way down I am told by the campaign manager to about 325 or 350 staffers. I spoke with Jeff Weaver, his campaign manager a short time ago, and he said, this is the natural evolution of any campaign, that because there aren't as many states left they need to contract their ground game of course a lot of folks looking at this, Anderson, saying if you're looking at the long game, if you can give you have a shot at the general election, you would not be downsizing like this. But what is clear is that Bernie Sanders is going to go through all of these contests, he was talking today about that. But he has also been a little more conciliatory talking throughout the day about some unification come this summer of the Democratic Party, and sort of making the case not just for his campaign winning but his campaign having influenced this summer at the convention.
[21:05:06] COOPER: And how is the Clinton campaign responding?
KEILAR: They're welcoming this. They were really upset over the last couple of weeks in what they saw was Bernie Sanders attacking Hillary Clinton. They thought that this was something that was unfair. Bernie Sanders said today, he was doing very little compared to what she will get in the general election. But they think that this may be a moment for her in the next few weeks, not just to focus on Donald Trump but to also focus on herself about what her plan is and also about what her experience is so that she is focused more on the general election and not on exchanging broad sides with Bernie Sanders.
COOPER: All right, Brianna Keilar, thank you.
After last night's victories, both Clinton and Trump have gotten a lot closer to the magic numbers. They need to get the nominations. John King joins me now break it down by the numbers. John?
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Anderson, let's start with the Republicans because this is a break through day for Donald Trump. He's campaigning in Indiana tonight. He says he thinks he can win Indiana. More importantly, this is the first time in this race he is below 50, meaning, Donald Trump needs only 49 percent of remaining delegates to get to the magic number, 1,237, before the Cleveland convention. Can he get there? Yes, he can. Won't be easy in Indiana where he is tonight, where Ted Cruz made his big announcement today, Indiana could be key.
Let's assume Donald Trump, the polls are right, right now and Ted Cruz can't change them. If Donald Trump can shut down, break through the Ted Cruz firewall in Indiana and start to pull away, not only does he increase his math but what a statement that would say after Cruz said, "This is the place I will stop Donald Trump. This is place I make my dramatic announcement of a running mate." If Donald Trump can do that, it changes the math and the psychology of the Republican race. And let's project it out.
With a win in Indiana, let's play it out through the end. Donald Trump leads, he'll get them all in West Virginia. He thinks he'll get them all in New Jersey. In this scenario, we have Oregon and New Mexico go into Governor Kasich but Donald Trump thinks, let's just pick one. Donald Trump thinks he can go in to New Mexico and split those delegates. Let's say, splits them with John Kasich. Pretty modest split there but moves Donald Trump closer.
Then, again, Indiana is key. If Trump wins in most Republicans is going to think this is over, and Donald Trump thinks he can go in and get a big, huge win in the state of California. If it played out something like that, Anderson, with a big win in California after a win in Indiana, look where this gets Trump to 1,232. And that's actually game over. If he gets even close to 1,232 on primary day, the final day, June 7th, because last night in Pennsylvania, 36 of the 54 unbound delegates said, "We think we owe it to Donald Trump." So if he in Cleveland needs our votes, he'll get them on the first ballot. Game over. Donald Trump with a little bit of a cushion to spare. So a big win in Indiana would help Donald Trump's math and not easy, but give him a pretty good prospect of getting to 1,237.
Now, let's switch off and take a peek at the Democratic race. Let me move out of the superdelegates for now. This map is pretty simple, just pledge delegates here but there's a reason Bernie Sanders is laying off field staffers today. Yes, he says he still has plenty of people for the remaining contests, but Hillary Clinton now, 300 plus leads in pledge delegates. She believes game over last night. She wants to roll next week into Indiana essentially for an exclamation point. She won the state narrowly in 2008. She wants to win it again this time to shut down the Sanders campaign finally.
In 2008, it was to keep her campaign going. If that happens, if that's happens Anderson, number one, she pulls out to here. Number two, the Clinton campaign believes that would take it through to the end, get her around 2,195, 2,200, maybe not these pledge delegates to the finish line, but plenty of room to spare when you bring in Clinton's enormous lead among superdelegates. She has 502 right now, 442 for Bernie Sanders. Game, set match in this scenario, she would win big time.
The one thing the Clinton campaign worries about, not that Bernie Sanders can catch up, they do worry that somehow he could pull off a win in Indiana next week. It would be some indication that after all this talk that Hillary Clinton is inevitable, the Democratic Party has a little bit of buyer's remorse. That is why in the next week, expect her not to let up, she'll go for the Indiana win and she believes if she gets it, she move close to the finish line, but mathematically she's got a good case to make and that the final finish line more than within reach. Anderson?
COOPER: John King. John, thanks very much.
Back with our panel. Joining the conversation former New York City council speaker Christine Quinn, who supports Hillary Clinton.
Gloria, let's start with you. If Ted Cruz doesn't win Indiana, does he stop, does he leave or now that he's Carly Fiorina, does he think well, I'll just go to California and?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Go in to California. I doubt he will stop. He probably should. I mean, he doesn't have a mathematical chance at this point, and if he loses Indiana, he probably doesn't have a real chance at all, heading into the convention, I think Donald Trump would be such an overwhelming favorite and the margin is, as John describes, you know, would grow smaller and smaller and smaller for Trump on delegates.
So, you know, I think he would head into the convention from such a position of weakness that it would be a very difficult case for him to make, OK guys, now you have to because Donald Trump is 50 short, you've got to stop and got to give it to me and to Carly Fiorina. Difficult.
[21:10:06] PATRICK HEALY, "NEW YORK TIMES" NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Cruz isn't a guy who wants to walk away and he doesn't easily ...
BORGER: Right.
HEALY: ... I mean, he read, you know, those books on the Senate floor, shut down the government. He ...
COOPER: Right.
HEALY: He's a guy who likes to, sort of, fight until the end and be seen as that and I think what he would love is for Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina to go to California and campaign for weeks head to head against Bill and Hillary Clinton, and if something is remembered, it's going to be -- you know, Ted and Carly just going on the attack, and looking like sort of these very -- sort of strong, conservative, you know real opponents to the Clintons.
BORGER: Right.
HEALY: And, you know, he, he may not win the nomination, for that but I think he will be remembered by a lot in the party, and some people may come to see him, you know, and sort of the authentic voice, maybe four years from now then Donald Trump ...
BORGER: Yeah, he's young.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: But Ted Cruz would be wise to take a key from Bernie Sanders, who was so graceful last night when he realized, you know, he's mathematically barred from attaining the nomination. What did he do? He -- and so many words that, you know, what I'm going to campaign, I'm going to let voters have their vote, but this is about the cause at this point, he basically acknowledged in so many words that he wasn't going to win, because he knew that's what the movement needed, that was for betterment of the party. And for Ted Cruz to burn down this party all the way to California, if Trump was to win Indiana, that would be to me ...
COOPER: The difference though is you get the sense of Sanders would probably vote for Hillary Clinton where Ted Cruz had said he's not going to vote for Donald Trump or that he would have a hard time voting for somebody ...
MCENANY: And Republicans will lose because of people like Ted Cruz if he does choose to take that path and he will be remembered as the guy who cost the Republican Party, the election. And that will not do well fro him in the future.
COOPER: Tara.
TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, Republicans will lose if he nominates someone like Donald Trump who has the negatives through the roof, who will never win Blue States that he claims he'll win, I mean New York, he's not going to win New York in a general election. Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats almost three to one there. Hillary Clinton won twice as many votes as Trump did. Did they really think that Donald Trump is going to win in this Blue States? Absolutely not. Donald Trump has no chance of making up the ground that he has with women, 74 percent of women are unfavorable toward Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: True.
SETMAYER: I mean ...
COOPER: But I've got to say ...
SETMAYER: Who did the (inaudible) ...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: ... but let me just jump in, haven't people been underestimating Donald Trump this entire time? I mean Donald Trump has said things which would have put away other candidates. I mean attacking John McCain or early on, you know, is talking about -- I remember Erika Erickson, saying ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
COOPER: You know he's -- that he can count out the Evangelical vote. Well, he's actually winning the Evangelical Vote.
SETMAYER: Well, primary -- Republican Primary voters are very different in general election voters and that is an important point to make.
COOPER: Right.
SETMAYER: I think that there was an underestimation by the Republican establishment of how angry people were with them. But at the same time, Donald Trump ...
COOPER: OK.
SETMAYER: ... also got a pass very early on from conservative media and a lot of others for a lot of these other ...
COOPER: In the Democratic side, Nomi, I mean what do you want to hear Senator Sanders in terms of tone toward Secretary Clinton?
NOMIKI KONST, SANDERS SUPPORTER: I think he's always had a very positive campaign. I mean maybe it hasn't been portrayed that way but he's always talks about her record versus his record. Her rhetoric's matching her record.
COOPER: Is he can do and talk about the speeches for instance ...
(CROSSTALK) COOPER: ... release the transcripts.
KONST: I think that the when you poll Democratic voters, Primary voters and he's progressives independent that he's brought into equation, you know, they care overwhelmingly about transparency in politics, they care about campaign finance reform and you know, the dark money that follows Hillary Clinton's campaign, I mean, it's -- you can roll your eyes at it, but it's true. I mean she has four Super PAC, she has corrupt the record, that funneling money in funny ways to DNC ...
COOPER: So you want him to still keep focusing on it?
KONST: I think that's very important. I think it's important for Hillary Clinton to address those issues ...
COOPER: Christine.
KONST: Especially, one more note, it's about heating the 2,383 pledge delegate mark. And we keep talking like she's going to get there, but they're tied in California. That's 475 pledge delegates.
COOPER: Christine if that language continues, what does the Clinton campaign do?
CHRISTINE QUINN, CLINTON SUPPORTER: You know, I don't believe that language with all due respect is going to continue from Senator Sanders because I believed Senator Sanders understands what's at stake. He's done an amazing job raising really important issues, getting them focused on in a way we haven't seen in a maybe forever, puts in a really long time and I believe he's going to do the right thing, which is keep hammering away at the issues and transition into full support of Secretary Clinton so we can win the White House, but make no mistake, if there was any hesitation about that, Donald Trump cleared it up last night with his woman card comment.
COOPER: Right.
QUINN: I mean that was outrageous and I would dare Donald Trump to walk around in America for a day with a woman's card in his pocket. It make less money, he'd be more likely to be the victim of Domestic violence, it should be more likely to end up homeless. He has no idea how hard it is to be a woman in America and he should apologize to all of the women in America for that.
MCENANY: That's such an insult to the first generation of feminists who fought the battles to get us where we are. We are equal with men ...
[21:15:01] QUINN: We are not equal with men. Are you out of your mind?
MCENANY: I am equal with men, my colleagues feel equal with men. It is a naive narrative to say that women are somehow so held back and just not on par with men and we're struggling and we're fighting hard battles that are foremothers fought for us. That is delegitimizing. (CROSSTALK)
QUINN: It doesn't delegitimize one thing, but the reality of poverty in America is that poor families are headed by single women, period.
MCENANY: Then, why $15 minimum wage is important, and Hillary Clinton supports $12 minimum wage.
QUINN: Hey, is that women get paid less than men. It is true. An African-American women and Latinos get paid less than white women. Saying the reality of women is not to say we're weak, it is in fact to say that we're strong and we're not going to be duped by people who are telling us it is a cake walk.
And let me also tell you. I have been a candidate as a woman, and the woman car, it gets you called bad names, it gets you commented on your looks, your weight, your hair, your clothes, everything. It's no cake walk either.
MCENANY: Because there are more women graduating from college than men. When you account for differences, like women who decide to stay home and for maternity leave, women are making the same as men.
QUINN: No, that's not true.
(CROSSTALK)
QUINN: They're held back, they get held back.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: OK, OK.
HEALY: I'm just going to take back a little bit to Hillary and Bernie. In one area where there same qualities, where I think that they have been tough at each other, I don't think that it's been positive here and positive there. And I think that he -- no one knows better how painful a moment it is for Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. She went through it eight years ago. This is a very difficult time. Bernie Sanders said today for the first time he acknowledged he has a very narrow path to the nomination. This is a very sort of hard thing for him to go to the scaling down, you know, the campaign is very hard from to go through. I think to some extent where this was a day where we just were seeing a major shift in both political parties, but especially on the Democratic side.
BORGER: And let me add that about Cruz, too. This is just as difficult for Ted Cruz. He put Carly Fiorina there on his ticket because it is his last shot.
COOPER: More ahead, with the panel. Up next, as we mentioned Senator Cruz has no mathematical path to win the deletes he need before the convention. As of today he has a running mate, the strategy there. We will look at that.
And later, former House speaker Dennis Hastert has been sentenced to prison time after being accused of sexually abusing young boys when he was a wrestling coach. This guy is a serial child predator. This is not got attention the story deserves. We're going to focus on this tonight, the charges that led to the sentence, and what Hastert himself has said and hasn't owned up to.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:21:25] COOPER: But despite big losses last night, no mathematical way to win the nomination before the convention. Ted Cruz announced in Indianapolis today that Carly Fiorina is his running mate. There was a light hearted moment we want to share with you. Fiorina was talking about she is been spending more time with the Cruz family on the campaign trail. I was inspired to break into song about Cruz's daughters. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLY FIORINA, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know two girls that I just adore. I'm so happy I can see them more, cause we travel on the bus all day, we get to play, we get to play.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Back now with the panel. Patrick, Senator Cruz, I mean it was interesting kind of -- was this just a kind of big distraction, not the singing, with the actual announcement?
HEALY: Yeah, I think it was ...
COOPER: What happened last night?
HEALY: Part of the changing the subject from Trump's major wins ...
COOPER: Right.
HEALY: ... and finally getting majorities of the vote in five states, you know, big numbers in three way races. But also -- but Ted Cruz and Donald Trump both have a major problem right now, which is their unfavorable numbers.
You know, you had Donald Trump going and trying to start addressing that looking like trying to look like a policy guy, and Ted Cruz sort of bringing on Carly Fiorina, singing, talking about what a lot of fun Ted was. This is a guy you want to hang out with, and, you know, saying some charming things about his family, about his wife Heidi. You know, really sort of trying that you give kind of a warm embrace to the guy. And that is something that running mates hopefully tend to do, sort of draw out another side.
COOPER: Its also running mates also to Gloria are supposed to complement, and you know sort of give something that the candidate may not have or a state the candidate can't reach.
BORGER: Right. COOPER: Does Carly Fiorina really come with that?
BORGER: No, I think she just channels Ted Cruz politically in many ways, she can humanize him, and usually that's not all -- you know the role of the vice president is to bring something some to the table.
HEALY: And attack dog.
BORGER: Attack dog, which by the way Carly Fiorina excels at. She was great in these debates. She can take on Donald Trump, she can take on Hillary Clinton. She has really shown that. She is not going to bring him California, she may bring him in C.D, a congressional district terror there. She is not going to bring him Indiana, but they can divide and conquer, she's a great surrogate, she can go out there on the campaign trail. If I were, you know, if I were on team Cruz, I would say what have we got to lose.
COOPER: What's interesting is Patrick mentioned the last hour, that some of his colleagues at "The New York Times" had looked at the campaign -- the Cruz campaign had done internal surveys about what kind of an impact Carly Fiorina would have on the campaign. It's really kind of a small boost in Indiana.
MCENANY: Yeah, that is negligible at best. I mean this is going help him in the polls. I agree with Gloria that she brings a lot to the table, she is a great candidate, she is a great surrogate for him. But you know this was a desperate move. When states are taken down, there is nothing left for you, you've got to pull out everything you can and this was what that was.
COOPER: Christine, I want to place on Carly Fiorina said about Cruz back in January when she was still in the race. Listen to this.
QUINN: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIORINA: I would say that Ted Cruz is just like any other politician, he says on thing in Manhattan, he says another thing in Iowa, he says whatever he needs to say to get elected, and then he is going to do as he pleases. I think the American people are tired of the political class that promises much and delivers much of the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I mean this kind of thing always happens once a vice president is picked because they do have a record of saying things usually against the person they have run against.
QUINN: Yeah, I mean that's true. This is not the first time in presidential history that's happened, but she just kind of described exactly what she did in a criticism of him, and here she is having spent a really long time, criticizing him, calling him out, calling him the same old same old politician, and now she's singing lullabies to his children. Right, it seems like the ultimate turnaround there. [21:25:14] And I think one of the things that people who were inclined to like Carly Fiorina did like a better was that she seems not from a typical political background. Then I think this is going to raise questions about that.
COOPER: Tara.
SETMAYER: Well, I mean Chris Christie said things about Donald Trump, so did Ben Carson., and anybody remembers what the race between Bush, I mean yeah George H.W. Bush and Reagan, and how bitter that was. I mean this is -- that's part of politics that they came around there also. I think that that's not necessarily really going to matter like people to consider that part of this ...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Still fun to look at.
QUINN: Yeah, of course.,
KONST: With Barack Obama.
COOPER: Right, Brack Obama.
KONST: One second, Hillary Clinton, she will do anything and say anything to get elected.
SETMAYER: Yeah, that's right, so but you know, I think this riding Ted Cruz is political obituary is premature before Indiana. He still has a pathway through the convention. We've had ten contested conventions in the Republican Party, seven of which came out with people who were not the frontrunners going into it.
So, you know, this is everyone is freaking over here, and saying that oh, Cruz is desperate. No, this is a politically strategic move to prepare himself for a contested convention and if Donald Trump does not win Indiana, which it is possible he will not, then he would have to win 70 percent of the delegates in California. That -- Ted Cruz will do well in the month of May in other places. So it's 1,237. He is not the presumptive nominee until he reaches 1,237, not like there, you're not the presumptive Super Bowl champion until the end of the game. Just because you're winning in the fourth quarter doesn't mean you win.
KONST: Same goes with that.
(CROSSTALK)
KONST: Same those for them by the way, 2,383.
COOPER: We got to take a break right here.
Donald Trump slamming Hillary Clinton for playing the "woman's card". Is that a strategy he is going to regret? More on that ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [21:30:53] COOPER: Well there are 16 primary contest left before the July conventions but the frontrunners are acting more and more like it's a two candidate contest increasingly. Donald Trump is putting gender fronts in center, renewing an attack he's used before on Hillary Clinton. The question is could it actually back fire for all the reasons you've already heard about. Gender is a tricky issue for Mr. Trump. Dana Bash has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Riding high and eager to turn towards the general election.
TRUMP: She is playing the woman card left and right.
BASH: Donald Trump is unveiling a page from his playbook against the Democratic frontrunner designed, of course, to get people talking.
TRUMP: Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don't think she'd get 5 percent of the vote.
BASH: Hillary Clinton's campaign clearly sees it as a political gift, trying to raise campaign cash off Trump's woman card comments with this new e-mail saying, Hillary Clinton has won more than 12 million votes, that's 2 million more than Trump because she has the best vision for this country, the chops to get the job done, and an incredible team fighting alongside her and incorporating it into her stump speech.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If fighting for women's health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman card, then deal me in.
BASH: When she ran in 2008, Clinton didn't play up the fact that she would be the first female president until it was too late.
CLINTON: Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.
BASH: This time she is leaning in more.
CLINTON: I'm not asking people to vote for me simply because I'm a woman. I'm asking people to vote for me on the merits. And I think one of the merits is I am a woman.
BASH: Despite that, Hillary Clinton has some work to do with female voters. Half of women view her unfavorably. Still, that's pretty good compared to what women think of Donald Trump. 73 percent, nearly three-quarters of female voters have unfavorable view of him. And in a head-to-head match-up, Clinton crashes Trump with female voters, 60 percent to 33 percent. It's why a chief Republican worry about Trump is that he'll turn off women at the polls.
TRUMP: Well, I think the only card she has is the woman's card, she's got nothing else going. BASH: And like Chris Christie's wife, Mary Pat, may be no fan of Hillary's but her side-eyed glance went viral when Trump said this.
TRUMP: The only thing she's got going is the woman's card, and the beautiful thing is women don't like her, OK?
BASH: Clinton supporters quickly flocked to her defense noting that she is the most experienced person to run for president, man or woman, in some time, while Trump boasts about his own experience as a businessman where he says he promoted women. It is clear gender politics will be front and center in any Clinton-Trump match-up, and both see that as a political advantage. Anderson?
COOPER: Dana, thanks very much. A lot to discuss with the panel. Also joining the conversation, former New York Congressman Rick Lazio, who ran against Hillary Clinton in 2000 Senate race.
Congressman, I mean, does this play to both of their advantages, I mean, at least in the primary election, lead to Donald Trump to his supporters and Hillary Clinton to hers?
RICK LAZIO, FORMER NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN: I'm not sure it plays to the broader base obviously or the general election, but clearly to -- for Hillary, she's -- she can take advantage to some of these comments, something to. For Trump to make progress with Hillary Clinton, I think she needs -- he needs get back and talk about quality of life issues and just talk small businesses. There are 7.8 million small businesses that are owned by women.
He's got a business background. He ought to be using that to try and have them related. This has been the worst few years under this administration for small businesses. There are more small businesses failing than are being created and -- for the first time in 30 years. Trump ought to be talking about that. He ought to be talking about affordable housing and stable situations. You know ...
COOPER: So not the gender card.
[21:35:01] LAZIO: I think he ought to get to the issues to connect with women. That they worry about jobs, they worry about their income, they worry about their small business, they worry about choice in education, they worry about the economy and worry about security. Many of these issues are issues that men care about, too. Focus on them and he'll be able to do what 31 Republican governors have been able to do, which is to attract women and win the election.
COOPER: Christine, long term, does it help Hillary Clinton?
QUINN: Well, first of all, I think it only feeds into the kid of things that Donald Trump has already said very disparagingly about women. It just solidifies the kind of negative view he appears to have of women. I think anything that focuses voters on how qualified Hillary Clinton is, and Donald Trump set the gender issue aside for something -- a second, in saying that basically said she has no qualifications. She has no experience. That comment makes you realize how much experience she has, how much more prepared she is to be president of the United States than he is. That helps her significantly because what you want in a president is somebody who can be president, and all Donald Trump does every day is remind us that he can't and shouldn't be.
BORGER: You know, that the thing about Donald Trump is that he is going to insult Hillary Clinton if she's a woman just as he insults every other person he runs against. I mean it is interesting to me because, you know, yesterday it was ...
COOPER: This what his wife had said it.
BORGER: Right. That's how Kasich eats a pancake, or, you know, he just does it to everybody. My question is, and you ran against Hillary Clinton.
LAZIO: I remember.
BORGER: Do you? And, you know, the question is can you run against Hillary Clinton that way?
LAZIO: Yeah.
BORGER: Would he, will he be able to succeed with his insults if they're not directed towards her femininity but if their just directed toward her policies or, you know, or ....
COOPER: I mean is there such a thing as a woman's card, Congressman did you?
LAZIO: Listen, I think there are certain advantages and I think Hillary Clinton knows what they are, and will her team will exploit them if there's an opportunity if Trump or Cruz who ever the Republican nominee gives an opportunity, I think they'll be effective at exploiting that. I would say, though, to your point that he does sort of this people and equal genuinely.
I think he will if he is a candidate, he will be quite bold and he will be confrontational, and he will call her out on other things other candidates might be afraid to say which could be effective at times.
COOPER: Christine, I mean you run for office and we talk about this a little bit before, is there a woman's card? Are there advantages?
QUINN: So, I think it's odd to say ...
COOPER: More disadvantages or what?
QUINN: I think about to say she's going to exploit being a woman. She is a woman.
BORGER: Right.
QUINN: Right? Do you exploit being a man? You are a man. So, and when she talks about her life as a woman, it is not exploiting it. It is so curious. Right on one hand if she talks about her life as a woman, she is exploiting it.
If she doesn't talk about personal her experiences, she's said to be inauthentic, and trying to craft an image. So she's kind of damned if she does ...
BORGER: Right.
QUINN: ... damned if she doesn't.
COOPER: You said but it's double standard.
QUINN: Above 30 is without a doubt, and this is not just about her, but for women in politics and maybe women in all kind of executive positions or attempts to get there, a double standard. And that reality is one you fight against and you overcome and you work against and we are changing, but you can't pretend it is not the reality. Because if you pretend it is not the reality, you're not accepting it and you're not getting over the reality.
COOPER: There certainly a double standard, I mean for women in news.
BORGER: Oh yeah.
COOPER: You know a news caster, a guy, can be gray hair and, you know, no one is really commenting too much on, you know, how much he let's himself go whereas with women, its ...
BORGER: Oh sure.
COOPER: ... you have to be made up, and look a certain way.
BORGER: Sure. And, you know, that's why, I agree with you. And that was why when Hillary Clinton ran in 2008, she ran on her lifetime of experience, remember that? That was her whole shtick. Then and that didn't work. OK. The lifetime of experience in work and the guy who didn't have lifetime of experience beat her. This time she is running as a woman, I mean not only as a woman ...
QUINN: Right, right, right.
BORGER: ... but she's not sort of not talking about it because I think they realized that there's a virtue in fact to being a woman.
(CROSSTALK)
LAZIO: But that was and there also certain advantages to being a woman. Take it from me in terms on the political.
QUINN: You know, what is not going to take it from you, sir.
(CROSSTALK)
LAZIO: Wait a minute. Well let me just say here like if you're in a debate and you approach a man, nobody is going to comment on that. OK. That was absolutely the point.
BORGER: And do you think if that's were happening now, if you had done the same thing now.
LAZIO: I think its change.
BORGER: And you have approach her.
LAZIO: I think things have changed. I think it was certainly could have be less impactful than it was now 16 years ago.
QUINN: Right.
LAZIO: I think things have change. I think Donald Trump if he's the nominee, will not face the same heat that say I did at that moment.
COOPER: We have to take a break. Thank you for the conversation.
[21:40:01] As we said Donald Trump got in front of a dreaded teleprompter today gave a long promise foreign policy speech. We'll get some insight in Trump's remarks in one of his national security policy advisers the former navy rear admiral who served in Iraq.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well after his five states sweep in the northeast, Donald Trump delivered a long promise foreign policy speech. He pledged to build up the military, destroy ISIS and objective deals and he claims to have tied the nation's hands. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will no longer surrender this country or its people to the false song of globalism. The nation state remains the true foundation for happiness and harmony. I am skeptical of international unions that tie us up and bring America down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Mr. Trump also bashed the Obama Administration's actions in Libya, slamming Hillary Clinton who, of course, was Secretary of State at the time. CNN's Kyra Phillip -- Phillips joins me now.
You had an exclusive interview with one of Trump's national security policy advisers today. What did he have to say?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Anderson, I first met Retired Admiral Charles Kubic in Iraq. His entire career has been overseas, seeing 90 countries. A military leader, naval engineer, business man, I mean, he knows how to deal with the unpredictable.
[21:45:07] And whether it's torture, going to war, or defending our allies, Kubic says, Anderson, that Donald Trump is unpredictable and it's OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So, if Japan and South Korea could not defend themselves.
REAR ADMIRAL CHARLES KUBIC (RET.), NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Right.
PHILLIPS: And North Korea did come after them, would the U.S. step in?
KUBIC: I think as General Dunckern (ph) said, our strategy will be classified, and as Mr. Trump said, our response would be unpredictable.
So, they would have to work that calculus themselves. I don't think anybody is going to telegraph that.
PHILLIPS: From your experience in the region,
KUBIC: Yeah.
PHILLIPS: From what you know, look, you bended the DMZ, you know about this cat and mouse game that takes place.
KUBIC: Right.
PHILLIPS: What would you advise?
KUBIC: My advice would be classified and I would agree with being unpredictable at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I mean, is this just campaign rhetoric though? Because, you know, a lot of people will say, look, you have to let your allies in the world. I mean, know if you have their back, if you actually are going to support them.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's put it this way. People are paying so much attention to Trump, because of that unpredictability and that provocative speech, Anderson. And it's not only creating debate, but it's meant to shake up the foreign policy establishment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Do you think he honestly believes in everything that he's saying or is some of this for show?
KUBIC: I can't say it's for show, but if you look at a politics of getting elected, there's an awful lot of drama in that act going back through our history, so when you talk about, do you mean everything you say, you're talking about issues.
You're trying to crack into a shell of common speak to bring up topics that have been taboo, and in some cases, in order to do that, you have to be kind of brusque and he's doing that, but underlying that is an genuine concern for America and for the direction. He sees America heading, which may be the wrong direction and he wants to basically put it on the right direction.
So, underlying all of the brusqueness is a deep love of America and a deep respect for the American people and desire to set policies that will make America first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And Anderson, Trump also said today, you know, he said, if he's elected president that ISIS will be gone. And when I asked Admiral Kubic, how exactly Trump would do that, Kubic's simple answer, "Because he's Donald Trump.
COOPER: All right, Kyra Phillips. Kyra, thanks very much.
Coming up, searing words from a federal judge today calling Former House Speaker, Dennis Hastert a serial child molester.
The defendant also speaking at his sentencing and what he admitted to is making headlines. And what he didn't say and apologizing is pretty incredible as well.
The question is, did the punishment he received today fit the crime, our Jeffrey Toobin weighs in that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:51:57] COOPER: Breaking news tonight about the investigation into Prince's death. The Law Enforcement Official tells CNN prescription opioid medication was found on Prince and in his home. The same official says, Prince was treated for a possible overdose of pain medicine about a week before he was found dead when his plane had to make an emergency landing.
An autopsy was performed last week. The results, including toxicology reports, are not in yet.
Now to Dennis Hastert, once second in line to the presidency, he got a grilling from a federal judge today who called America's Longest Serving Republican House Speaker, a serial child molester.
The 74 year old who appeared in court in a wheelchair also spoke. And for the first time, admitted to abusing boys while a high school wrestling coach decades ago. But the words he used were, perhaps, surprising. Prosecutors detailed accusation from four boys, now men, that the Statue of Limitations have passed in those crimes.
Hastert ultimately pleaded guilty to breaking banking laws to pay out more than $1 million and a hush money to a victim.
This afternoon, he learned a sentence, 15 months in prison followed by two years, as supervisor at least, which many see as far to leaned in.
Joining me now is our Senior Legal Analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. Jeff, I'm really fascinated by the story, I'm really just horrified by it.
First of all, it seems to have gotten very little attention. I mean, this was a guy who was one of the most powerful people in Washington, lived a life of complete hypocrisy his entire life, he's a serial child predator and he gets 15 months. And I know, I mean, our currency sentence, maybe it's long for currency sentence, which what he's actually being tried for. But, it just seems unbelievably short for a guy who molested children.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Anderson, this story is just so extraordinary.
This man was second in line to the presidency. He was just behind the vice president and he received nothing, but glowing press, virtually, his whole career about what a wonderful coach he had been. His nickname, even in the House of Representatives, was coach. This was something, you know, he -- this was the core of his identity, and he was a serial child molester.
It's an incredible failure of law enforcement, it's a failure of politics, it's a failure of journalism, those of us who covered him, who didn't discover this. I find this story amazingly shocking.
COOPER: And he got away with it. I mean, he got away with it, because the Statute of Limitations has run its course. I mean, even his supposed apology today, all he really said was that "He'd hurt", that was a quote, that he mistreated and then he mislead these kids. He did a hell of heck of a lot more to these kids than just mislead them. I mean, he just ....
TOOBIN: It was.
COOPER: It doesn't even sound like really -- it's -- and he was like, he's never stood up and said, "You know what, I molested children. I'm a serial child molester."
TOOBIN: And as you know, having covered these stories. You know, child molestation is a crime that doesn't affect people just at the time they're being molested, it is a life-long affliction for the victims.
COOPER: It's incredible to me that he's not -- never had to stand up and go into detail about exactly what he did and admit it. It just seems like it's all being swept under the rug.
[21:55:07] TOOBIN: Well, and, I mean, in fairness to the prosecutors here, they did prosecute him for the only thing they could prosecute him for, which is this very bizarre series of payments that he made to one of his victims where he withdrew more than $10,000 in cash at a time without filing -- or he structured his withdrawals so that he wouldn't have to file currency transaction reports.
If he had not done that, if he had simply been a child molester who had then continued to go about his business, none of this would have come to light and he wouldn't have been punished at all.
COOPER: The other hypocrisy here are all these letters and support that were presented in court pleading for leniency from a whole host of people, law enforcement people. Former House Majority Leader, Tom DeLay had the goal to write, "He doesn't deserve what he's going through." I mean, what he is going through? I'm really flabbergasted by this.
TOOBIN: Well, that's what I said -- I mean, that's why this story has not received the attention it deserved, because of the hypocrisy of his life, of how privileged people who commit crimes like a former speaker of the House are treated differently.
COOPER: I mean, if history remembers this guy's name at all, the name Dennis Hastert should be remembered as serial child abuser, serial child molester, not what he did after that as far as I'm concerned.
TOOBIN: Yeah. They've taken down this torch (ph) at the capital. But, that he deserves a lot worst than that.
COOPER: Jeff Toobin, Jeff, thanks.
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
