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Did Joe Biden Say He's Not Running; Hillary Clinton Falling in Polls Against Democrats and Republicans; Will Carly Fiorina Jab Back Against Donald Trump; Possible Copy Cat Sniper on I-10 in Arizona. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 11, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So did Joe Biden just tell us he is not running for president? Remarkably candid, deeply emotional revelations that could change the entire presidential race.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And as Biden rises in the polls, Hillary Clinton is falling, but most alarming for her, it's not just against Democrats. Her lead over Republicans, vanishing in a new poll.

BERMAN: Hello, everyone. I'm John Berman.

BOLDUAN: And I'm Kate Bolduan.

Vice President Joe Biden, raw emotion and really revealing, and offering up new doubt on whether he's going to jump into the presidential race. This all happened during an appearance on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert. He doesn't seem to be holding anything back and he also seems to -- his appearance really seemed to show how Biden is struggling with this very big decision.

BERMAN: He talked about his faith, his parents, the still-searing pain of losing his beloved son, Beau, who died in May of brain cancer.

And I want you to listen very closely here because he pretty much flat-out says that as of today at least, he doesn't know that he has the wherewithal to run for president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, I don't think any man or woman should run for president unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be president, and, two, they can look at folks out there and say, I promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy, and my passion to do this, and I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there. I went out to Denver and I landed at a military base and I met a whole group of military families, which is not unusual on a rope line about 100 yards from the aircraft, and about two-thirds were in uniform. The other were family members. And I was thanking them and I really meant it. This 1 percent is fighting for 99 percent of the rest of us. I was talking about them being the backbone and sinew of this country and all of a sudden it was going great and a guy in the back yells, Major Beau Biden, Bronze Star, sir. Served with him in Iraq. And all of a sudden, I lost it. How could you -- I mean, that's not -- I shouldn't be saying this, but that -- you can't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: We're going to have much more on that in just a moment.

But first, there are also some new polls out overnight showing Hillary Clinton's lead is shrinking and Joe Biden is gaining.

Let's bring in senior political correspondent, Brianna Keilar, for more on this.

Brianna, if confirmation was need, this Democratic primary is competitive.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it has gotten to be so and the Clinton campaign, Kate, has always said it was going to be competitive. I'm not sure that they wanted it this competitive. Look at these numbers here. When you're looking at what Democrats and Democratic leaning voters say about their choice. 37 points for Hillary Clinton. You say, well, look, she's 10 points ahead of Bernie Sanders. True, but this is the closest that he has gotten to her nationally, so this is of concern, and you see Joe Biden at 20 points. He's gone up several points just here in the last month.

Then take a look at what the campaign is really looking at. They are geared in on these early states like New Hampshire and like Iowa. Bernie Sanders for the first time this week topping Hillary Clinton in this Quinnipiac University poll for likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa. This is, of course, of concern for the Clinton campaign and they're really trying to minimize some of the numbers.

Then take a look at the Republican size of things. It shows us that what is really being solidified here is this lead that Donald Trump has, and also this position by Ben Carson in second place. He's up there as well. 27 percent for Donald Trump. That is an enviable position when you look at the third place here being Ted Cruz. And Jeb Bush at 6 percent. And then not even on the screen there, this is very telling, is Scott Walker. When you look at him in Iowa polls, it is just stunning what we have seen, just a dive since July when he was leading at 18 percent. No longer. He is at 3 percent now. That is just -- that is a nose dive there -- Kate and John?

BERMAN: I'm old enough to remember when Scott Walker was all in, in Iowa, when Scott Walker was the one to beat there.

Brianna Keilar, thank you so much.

I want to bring in our political commentators, Paul Begala and Doug Heye, and former deputy chief of staff for then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Paul, I want to go back to the Joe Biden interview with Stephen Colbert. It's absolutely riveting. Listen again to one part that is very telling. He talks about how if you're going to run for president you need to have 110 percent of all your heart and soul in it, and this is what he said. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[11:05:21] BIDEN: I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Every time I watch that, Paul, I just keep asking myself, did Joe Biden just tell us that he's not running for president?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I wouldn't over-interpret it though, John. I watched the tape of the vice president in Pittsburgh at the Labor Day rally, in front of steel workers, they're cheering and chanting, "Run, Joe, run." I've known Joe Biden for 29 years. This is a very authentic guy going through a really researching decision. Now, you know but our viewers should know I advise a super PAC that's trying to elect Hillary Clinton so I'm going to be for Hillary for the end but I'm still a human being and I love Joe Biden and he's a terrific guy. Even the people who are for Hillary need to give him the time and space to make the right decision.

BOLDUAN: Doug, what are Republican insiders saying about that this morning? What are you guys hearing in this Joe Biden?

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, let me say, first of all, John mentioned my old boss, Eric Cantor. When Eric Cantor lost a primary in June of last year, one of the first people to call the majority leader and wish him well and talk to him was Joe Biden. That's the kind of guy that Joe Biden is. He cares about people. He cares about people regardless of whether they're Republicans for Democrats and that shows. One of the things I heard from a lot of people last night e-mailing in between commercial breaks, the really raw and emotional and great television, was what a contrast we're seeing. Hillary Clinton's campaign last week said after 23 years in public life, she's finally going to show her human and her humorous side and actually have some planned rigid spontaneity involved. For Joe Biden, for his entire public life, we have seen the heart and soul of that man. It's why so many people on both sides, whether they agree with him on this issue or that issue, whether they support him for president this time or last time, everybody likes and respects Joe Biden because he's just such a good person. And he shows this real grace, and he certainly showed it last night, that's really rare in American politics.

BERMAN: You know it's interesting --

(CROSSTALK)

BEGALA: I want to defend my friend here. I want to defend Hillary. She is -- I know them both very well. She's a very intensely private person. It is more difficult for her. She does not wear her heart on her sleeve the way Vice President Biden does or the way President Bill Clinton does. She's intensely private. And this is what tees me off, as we say, she showed a little emotion the other day. She gave an interview to David Muir of ABC and she talked about her mother, who was the lodestar of her life, and her mother's past, and she talked about that. And she didn't cry but she, as we Catholics say, she -- (CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: She got emotional.

BEGALA: And the haters, but a lot of people came out and said that's phony, that's inauthentic. It's just harder for her to show her emotions and that's something that people either hate it or love it. But that's authentic Hillary. She's a more private person than her husband or many other politicians.

BERMAN: But Joe Biden's brand --

(CROSSTALK)

HEYE: Mechanically, we would agree you don't talk about doing it, you just do it. So now we all look at it through a cynical political lens because her campaign said this is a campaign strategy. It's not Hillary being Hillary.

BEGALA: That's right. And I suspect the high command of her campaign and especially Hillary herself was furious with that story but you're right about that. You don't talk about your strategy. Just do it. My analogy has been -- I guess I had my first date with my wife in the first Reagan term and when you're trying to woo a girl you don't say I'm going to blow in your nose.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Blow on your nose now?

BEGALA: -- on your ear. You blow -- you do -- I don't know. But you don't telegraph --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Your wife is a very special woman that she --

(CROSSTALK)

HEYE: I was going to say, the authentic Paul Begala right there.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Guys, guys, I want to move on, to save you, Paul, from this moment right now.

(LAUGHTER)

It occurs to me we all say that Joe Biden has to decide by October 1st. Joe Biden himself has sort of hinted he wants to decide by the end of the month. But in all honesty, isn't his one path to the presidency the idea that Hillary Clinton somehow implodes, that somehow things get worse?

I know, Paul, you don't think it will but just play the hypothetical game with me now.

I could start with Doug, so I get an answer out of this.

(LAUGHTER)

But if Hillary implodes, could Joe Biden jump in, in November then? Couldn't he keep his powder dry? Couldn't he continue to say I'm not in it right now but I'm going to wait and see what happens?

BEGALA: Doug, you want to go first or do you want me to get that?

BERMAN: Doug?

HEYE: Well, sure, I'll go first.

I think politically the smartest move for Biden is to wait to see if there's a Hillary collapse, and there may be, there may not be. Certainly Republicans have their own problems, which we have talked about a lot. But I think with Hillary these poll numbers show her real vulnerability and show why this e-mail story has been -- going on for months, has been so disastrous for her campaign. Since February Hillary Clinton has not been able to engage Democratic primary voters on the issues she wants to and have the conversation she wants to. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders is having the exact conversation he wants to have with Democratic primary voters and it's showing. It's early --

(CROSSTALK)

HEYE: -- but it's showing.

[11:10:27] BEGALA: The data are clear here. They are clear. Democrats are not rejecting Hillary. They want a race. They are embracing a race, a contest. She's dropped in the vote against Bernie Sanders, there's no doubt, and he is leading. Those polls are accurate. He's leading in Iowa and New Hampshire. At the same time, her favorable remains 71 in the "Des Moines Register" poll. Although she's losing to Bernie Sanders, her favorables remain high. In our CNN poll, she has the highest enthusiasm of any Democrat running. They are not abandoning --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: It's down, way from what it was.

BEGALA: Of course, it's down from what it was. It was like 200 percent. It was all baloney then, too. Come on. I said that at the time. Down from where it was.

BOLDUAN: I'll give you that. You did say it was baloney at the time.

(CROSSTALK)

BEGALA: But they're not rejecting her. This is an important difference. They're embracing Bernie, who is running a hell of a good campaign, got a lot of energy and a lot of good ideas. There's a huge difference here. Her favorables are still very high. Enthusiasm is very high. She's going to be the nominee, she's going to be the president.

Berman, pick out your dress for the inaugural ball.

BOLDUAN: I can't wait to see that.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: I will get to wear a suit for once in my life. It will be wonderful.

BERMAN: I look good in heels.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Doug -- in heels?

Doug Heye, you can only wait to hope and see that.

Paul, it's great to see you.

BEGALA: Thanks.

BERMAN: Guys, do not miss the Republican presidential debate. It's right here on CNN next Wednesday, starting at 6:00 p.m., and, of course, the main stage at 8:00 p.m. eastern.

Donald Trump, you know what? His numbers rising among women. Hillary Clinton's numbers dropping all around. And right now, Carly Fiorina, that candidate who had her face criticized by Donald Trump, she is speaking live for the first time since that criticism was published. Will she jab back?

BOLDUAN: Good question.

And also this ahead for us in a short time, inside the horror. For the first time, we are seeing images of the movie theater shooting inside that Aurora movie theater, from the theater seats to the killer's booby trapped apartment.

And also this, 14 years ago this morning, families waited and a nation stopped in shock as the world changed forever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:16:16] BOLDUAN: Any minute now we are waiting and expecting to hear from the Republican presidential candidate, Carly Fiorina. She is speaking at an event in Arizona. Of course, the big question this morning, is she going to bring up Donald Trump? Will she mention him by name, or at all, after the insults he lobbed her way.

Here is how she responded to the insult about her face or depending what you hear from Donald, not so much last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGYN KELLY, ANCHOR, FOX NEWS: What do you take that to mean, look at that face, would anyone vote for that?

(LAUGHTER)

CARLY FIORINA, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER CEO, HEWLETT- PACKARD: I have no idea. You know, honestly, Megyn, I'm not going to waste a single cycle wondering what Donald Trump meant, but maybe, just maybe I'm getting under his skin a little bit because I am climbing in the polls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Just maybe. Fiorina, she's going to get a chance to face off -- pun intended -- with Donald Trump at the Republican debate in five days. And it will be a key moment for both of their campaigns.

BERMAN: Oh, yes.

Joining us is talk about this, CNN political commentator, Jeffrey Lord, former adviser to Ronald Reagan. And the Huckabee campaign joins us as well. Charmaine Yost --

BOLDUAN: Formerly, formerly.

BERMAN: -- formerly, which is key, because I think you're very impressed with Carly Fiorina right now and her campaign. Let me ask you this, how big of a deal is this -- I won't call it back and forth because it's mostly one way with Donald Trump -- but how big of a deal is this face controversy?

CHARMAINE YOST, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR, MIKE HUCKABEE CAMPAIGN: I think it's a really big deal, and it's actually turning out to be a plus for Carly because I don't expect her to mention it. She has really risen to the occasion here and proved how gracious she is and how she's sticking to the issues. I think it's a net negative for Donald Trump because he's developing a real problem with women. People keep talking about how it's not hurting him in the polls but it's a lagging indicator of what's going on with women in the country as they're responding to hit after hit after hit of seeing Donald Trump say things that are really offensive to women in general.

BOLDUAN: You think it's going to catch up with him, Charmaine, at some point? When? In the most recent poll, his popularity among women, Donald Trump's is still -- it's only going up. He's plus four from August to September. He's at 41 percent.

BERMAN: He's leading among women.

YOST: This is the thing. Women are starting to pay attention to the race. It's fall now. We had kind of a silly summer with different anecdotes that happened and he's developing a critical mass of things he's said about women, and this thing with Carly was really, really offensive, and his response to it was very Clintonian. Well, I didn't mean her face, I meant something else entirely, and women see this. It was the same thing with his attack on Megyn. He kind of tried to design the terms differently than what he actually said, and I don't think women buy that kind of thing.

BERMAN: I guess it depends on what the definition of face is in this case.

YOST: Exactly.

BERMAN: Jeffrey Lord, bring us to next Wednesday night, because you know this is going to come up, or I suspect it will come up, Donald Trump's treatment of women. The other candidates I'm sure are sure to bring it up, even if Carly Fiorina doesn't. So how should Donald Trump respond? What should he say?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I don't know what he'll say. You know, he should just stick to his guns here. I disagree with my old friend and colleague, Charmaine, there. I just think this whole deal is sexist and condescending to women. To say that women can't be treated equally as men and they're in some sort of protected class is wrong. We passed these barriers decades ago --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: But Jeffrey --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: Suddenly --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Hang on one second.

Jeffrey, Donald Trump himself --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: That Megyn Kelly incident, his numbers went up with women, and I think there's a reason for that. Women are not one-dimensional characters here and they don't take offense like this. Carly Fiorina herself insulted her own opponent, Barbara Boxer, on her physical appearance. Oh, god, what is that hair, so yesterday. So she attacks her opponent's physical appearance. If you're going to go down this road, I think it's a mistake.

[11:20:16] YOST: Jeff, I just don't think -- the difference is that women are looking at this as him taking a cheap shot at women, and he does it continuously. I have to disagree with you really strenuously because I think he's doing this at least somewhat deliberately. As you said, he's a smart man. He's a canny and strategic person. I don't think it's an off-the-cuff remark, and for him to take a jab --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: Why is it not OK to do it to women but it's OK to do it to men?

YOST: Do you know -- you know, I have heard you make that point, Jeff, and I disagree with you there as well. With Donald and his hair and people saying you can't take a jab at his hair, he himself jabs at his hair. He uses his hair as a branding device. So it's something entirely different than women who have -- we've lived our whole lives with people taking jabs at appearance.

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: Women take jabs at other women's appearance. Carly Fiorina herself did this.

(CROSSTALK)

YOST: It's different -- it is different for Donald, Trump though, to be in an interview setting --

LORD: No, no, not in an equal world.

YOST: -- and to say I'm not going to vote for her because of her face.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you both this. Let me ask you both about this. Donald Trump was on FOX News last night, and Greta Van Susteren, she took it to him and really kind of held him to account, and asking was he -- he again tried to say he was not talking about her face around she said this is a long list of kind of insults you've lobbed at women, and here is how he responded. He says it's about entertainment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION (voice-over): Many of those comments are made as an entertainer because I did "The Apprentice." It was one of the top shows on television. I decided not to do it again because I wanted to run for president. But some comments are made as an entertainer and, as everybody said, as an entertainer, it's a much different ball game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: I know you think this has been blown out of proportion, especially in terms of the P.C. realm, Jeffrey. But do you think that's an OK answer, to chalk it up to he's trying to be entertaining?

LORD: Sure, sure. I mean --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Come on!

LORD: -- the presumption is we really believe in the equality of the sexes. Do we or don't we? If we don't, then these are offensive, but if we do, then this is just no big deal. And, you know, frankly when you see the numbers -- one of the other numbers from that CNN poll is that women thought the economy was either extremely important or very important, and the numbers for that were 91 percent. I mean, I think that's what they're concerned about. They're not concerned about, you know, Donald Trump making some entertaining remark. They really believe, as do I, in the equality of the sexes. I think just this whole deal reveals a sort of sexist streak in our society that women -- you know, we're back in Victorian days or 1953 and you can't say this because somehow this is insulting and yet Carly Fiorina herself can do it. President Obama running for president said of Sarah Palin, you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig, and his audience laughed and cheered because he was insulting Sarah Palin. He's been elected president twice. I just -- you know --

(CROSSTALK)

YOST: Jeff --

(CROSSTALK)

YOST: -- this is exactly the point. He is running for president. He said repeatedly he wants to be taken seriously. If you want to be taken seriously as a leader of the free world, you don't say that you're running for entertainer in chief. If that's what he wants to do, then this is an OK strategy, but, you know, talking to "Rolling Stone," that's his opportunity to elevate his language and show he can be a leader, particularly here in the week of 9/11 when this is a very serious time in our country. He put out a tweet this morning that he had to delete that was really offensive. If he does want to be taken seriously, he needs to act seriously, and --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: But he is being taken seriously as these polls show.

YOST: And that's why I'm taking this comment seriously and saying it's not elevating people.

BERMAN: We will all see how seriously it will be taken next Wednesday night.

(CROSSTALK)

Charmaine Yost, Jeffrey Lord, speak no more.

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you both very much.

BOLDUAN: Great to see you both.

Again, to reiterate, the GOP debate, it is coming up right here on CNN, Wednesday, at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. eastern.

I am looking forward to see if Carly Fiorina, what one-liner Carly Fiorina has on this face comment.

BERMAN: Coming up, new fears of a copycat after more shots are fired at cars on a highway in Arizona. Are there now more snipers on the loose?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:28:18] BOLDUAN: New in morning, a possible sniper who has been shooting at vehicles along a busy stretch of Interstate 10 has struck again, or maybe not. There's new fears of a copycat. Two additional shootings on other roadways could be the work of a copycat. Right now, they're treating this as a separate case.

BERMAN: There have been 11 shootings within two weeks on Interstate 10. Luckily, only one minor injury we know of. Police have no suspects, no clues.

CNN's Sara Sidner is live from Phoenix right now.

Sara, I covered a similar thing like this in Columbus, and one of the biggest fears among law enforcement was the idea of copycat shooting. This is the very thing they've been worried about there.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. That's exactly right. 11 shootings they have confirmed, and that included one from yesterday but there were two yesterday that happened off of I-10 on other highways, and a source with knowledge of the investigation told me, look, we are looking at those as potential copycats, and so there is a lot of concern by drivers, as you can imagine. They don't care if it's copycats or if this is the work of a serial shooter. That means there may be two or more people out there taking potshots at drivers as they fly down Interstate 10, one of the busiest highways in Arizona and across the country. One of the country's longest going from Florida to California. There is a lot of concern among folks here and law enforcement itself saying that they are very, very worried that this is going to eventually seriously hurt someone or potentially even kill someone. We know that they've been asking for the public's help. They have been imploring the public to call with tips, and they are getting hundreds of calls according to the head of DPS.

I want to let you hear, there is one group out there that is armed to the teeth and they have reacted to that call, and they're coming out here and they are completely and utterly putting all their focus on trying to find who the shooter is.