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Don Lemon Tonight

Coronavirus Cases In The U.S. Continue To Rise; Cruise Ship Passengers And Crews To Undergo Tests; President Trump Blames Obama Over Rule On Testing Coronavirus Patients; Joe Biden's Silent Majority Seen On Super Tuesday; Chief Justice Roberts Rebukes Senator Schumer For Comments About Brett Kavanaugh And Neil Gorsuch; Sanders' Ad Featuring Praise From Obama Leaves Out Important Context; Interview With Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) About The Race For The Democratic Nomination; Interview With Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) About Joe Biden's Next Move After His Super Tuesday Bump; State Of The Race: Joe Biden Leads Sanders By 60 Delegates. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired March 04, 2020 - 22:00   ET

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

[22:00:00]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Did you see the reaction of the people around Biden? Jill Biden, the senior adviser Symone Sanders when these lunging vegans, that's how they were described, stormed the stage last night. I can say and I got vegans in my family.

They had it covered. They did -- well, did you see Jill Biden putting hands? Symone Sanders giving that woman every piece of that that finely tailored jacket.

Thank you for watching. "CNN TONIGHT" with the man who does not that kind of moxie starts right now.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: That's what you call ride or die. That's what I want on my team. Mrs. Biden. Or Ms. Sanders.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Jill Biden. I would like to have seen a little bit more of tight angle in the confrontation. Because can't get passed us. Tony Blauer SPEAR system will teach you that. But she went right up put hands on her and Symone Sanders let her taste every piece of that shoulder.

LEMON: I've just -- listen, I got -- I'm going to read real quick from Symone Sanders here. I said she better not have messed up a fresh manicure. Symone. She says, I'm going to the nail shop tomorrow. That's what she told me last night.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: She is no joke.

LEMON: She is no joke. I want her on my security detail. That's what.

CUOMO: That's what -- she would be the security detail. That's it. LEMON: Hey, listen --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: You and I are only two rules to run. You see her face?

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: With the hands. She should be at the combine.

LEMON: Mrs. Biden is the real deal. And she's looking out for her husband and we should all have a Jill Biden in our life. I got a whole lot of show to get to. I've got a whole segment on Chuck Schumer and I'm going to give my take on it as well.

CUOMO: Good for you.

LEMON: Thank you, Chris. I'm exhausted by the way but we're going to get through this. We got a lot to get to. I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you, sir.

CUOMO: See you.

LEMON: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us.

As the race for the White House is heating up, the coronavirus is spreading in this country and around the world.

Here's our breaking news. There are now at least -- at least 159 known cases here in the United States. Eleven people have died. Ten in Washington State. One in California. Three thousand two hundred eighty-three people have died, that is worldwide.

And we are learning tonight that a cruise ship that was scheduled to dock in San Francisco this evening, it has been delayed. It's been delayed to give time for officials to test passengers and crew members.

California's governor says 11 passengers, 10 crew members have symptoms of coronavirus. What concerns about who should be tested nationwide, how long it will take to get results, our very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he is right here. He is live. Sitting next to me. He's going to answer some questions for us. He's going to answer your questions.

But, with all of this, your president. President Trump, the Trump administration struggling to clear up confusion and mixed signals on testing at a time when Americans need the facts.

The president today got in front of the TV cameras went right to his favorite refrain. And that is, to blame Obama. This time trying to blame the Obama administration for what he claims was a rule slowing down testing for the coronavirus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Obama administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we're doing. We ended that decision two days ago so that the testing can take place in a much more accurate and rapid fashion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Obama, Obama, Obama. OK, let me give you the fact. The fact is if this president really thought there was a rule that was a problem, he had more than three years to change it.

Another fact, there was no Obama era rule change on testing. The Obama administration did propose that the FDA have more oversight over approving diagnostic tests. But that change never went through.

That according to an aide to Republican Senator Lamar Alexander who was chair of the committee that would have considered such a rule change.

There's also the policy expert at the Association of Health -- of Public Health Laboratories who tells CNN, quote, "the FDA did a lot of work on this but there was never a final rule that came out of all that work."

No comment from the White House. When asked who explained what the president was talking about. And reminder, it's this administration that consistently tried to cut funding to the CDC that would fight infections like coronavirus. Funding that was ultimately restored by Congress.

[22:05:01]

But the source close to the coronavirus task force says the president's claim caught some of them really off guard. And made some wince because they don't want to see the virus being politicized.

And I want you to just take a look at this, and I'm not sure what point Congress and Matt Gaetz was trying to make other than well, I know, flex attention. He wants people to look at him.

So, everybody -- everybody, look, look, that's what he wants. He's wearing a gas mask. OK? That's what he was doing as he got ready to vote on a bill that would dedicate some $8 billion to address the coronavirus outbreak. He can't help himself. Whatever. I mean, you know. That's his thing.

He is a staunch Trump ally. He also wore the mask on the House floor. And this photo tweeted by Congressman Jim Himes. All right. Inappropriate antics aside. Whatever.

He did vote in support of the bill. That's a good thing. Passed 415 to 2. With 13 members not voting. The congressman telling Fox News today the coronavirus, quote, "should not be used as a political tool."

Tell that to the president who tweeted this just a few days ago. "I was criticized by the Democrats when I closed the country down to China many weeks ahead of what almost everyone recommended. Saved many lives. Dems were working the impeachment hoax. They didn't have a clue. Now they are fearmongering. Be calm and vigilant."

OK. You heard that. I want you to compare that to President Obama tweeting this today. "Protect yourself and your community from coronavirus with common sense precautions. Wash your hands. Stay home when sick and listen to the at CDC gov and local health authorities. Save the masks for health care workers. Let's stay calm, listen to the experts and follow the science."

Can I read that again? OK. This is the president now.

"I was criticized by the Democrats when I closed the country down to China many weeks ahead of what almost everyone recommended. Save lives. Dems were working the impeachment hoax. They didn't have a clue. Now they are fear mongering."

The only time he mentioned you, the American people was one line when he said be calm and vigilant. Everything else was about himself. Complaining about other people and himself.

And then the former president and something that is very presidential when he's talking never about himself at all. He talks about how the American people can protect themselves.

The former President Obama says protect yourself and your community from coronavirus with common sense precautions. Wash hands, stay home when sick and listen to the at CDC gov and local health authorities. Save the masks for healthcare workers. Let's stay calm. Listen to the experts. Follow the science.

He never blamed anybody else. He never said anything about the Republicans. Nobody was ever out to go him. He was talking about how you can protect yourself and help the American people. Wow.

But the former president was on somebody else's mind today. His ears must have been burning. I want you to take a look at Bernie Sanders latest ad in the wake of Joe Biden's Super Tuesday surge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bernie is somebody who has a virtue of saying exactly what he believes. Great authenticity. A Great passion. And he's fearless. Bernie served on the veterans committee and got bills done.

I think people are ready for a call to action. They want honest leadership who cares about them. They want somebody who is going to fight for them. And they will find it in Bernie. That's right. Feel the Bern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, let's be really clear here. Former President Obama was not -- has not endorsed any of the Democrats vying for the chance to run against President Trump even though you might have thought so from that sound that you -- that ad that you just heard.

But what the ad doesn't say that feel the Bern at the end, Obama said that while trying to get Sanders supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton at the 2016 Democratic convention. He was trying to get people to vote for Hillary Clinton.

We have a deeper fact check on all of this coming up. It's from our Daniel Dale so make sure you stay tuned.

I want to get right now to our breaking news though. The growing coronavirus outbreak across the United States. At least 159 cases confirmed across this country. Eleven people have died and we are now learning about a passenger and crew members -- passengers and crew members with symptoms on a cruise ship that is scheduled to dock in San Francisco.

Joining me now is Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our chief medical correspondent.

Sanjay, thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate it.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Of course.

LEMON: There's been a lot of frustration about testing. Are we doing enough testing? And if not, why not?

[22:10:03]

GUPTA: Well, the first answer is no. I mean, we're clearly not doing enough testing. You can -- you can compare what we've done in this country compared to other countries. Some 500 people I think roughly, Don, have been tested in this country. You know, in South Korea they were doing thousands of tests a day over there.

And the point is that, you know, in order to be able to tackle something in public health you have to know what you're dealing with.

LEMON: Right.

GUPTA: And the first pillar is surveillance. So, you know, I spent some time at the White House today with the vice president. You see a shift now and the importance of testing. They said they're going to get some test out. They're allowing state hospitals and university hospitals to start testing with FDA clearance. They even want to get commercial labs like Quest to start doing this.

So, I think testing is going to become more available. But, you know, this is a tough thing to catch up on. You really needed to be doing this testing early on. And now the testing is going to come. You read the numbers just now.

LEMON: Yes.

GUPTA: They are going to go way up. And people are going to say, my gosh, it's gone from 150 to a few thousand. The reality is those patients are already out there.

LEMON: It says that testing --

(CROSSTALK)

GUPTA: It's the testing that is lag. Not the virus.

LEMON: The CDC says it's investigating another cruise ship with possible --

GUPTA: Yes.

LEMON: -- possible cases. The ship is the Grand Princess. It's supposed to dock in San Francisco now delayed. We saw that happened with the Diamond Princess that was quarantined off Japan. More than 700 cases on board.

GUPTA: Yes.

LEMON: How big of a risk is this?

GUPTA: I mean, the Diamond Princess taught us a lot. I mean, you know, first of all just, to get the terms right. Isolate someone who has known illness, quarantine people who are healthy to keep them from being out in the community because you suspect maybe they have the illness. But you don't know for sure.

There was a gentleman on that ship a previous voyage, 71 year sold. Subsequently diagnosed with coronavirus and he passed away. They think he came in contact with 62 people on the ship. And they've got those people now quarantined to their own state rooms. They are going to be testing them.

But this is the whole concern now. You know, on cruise ships, you know what I mean, people thought it's taking cruises. But even without a coronavirus outbreak as you know the norovirus and other viruses that spread quite easily on ships.

So, the CDC is going to be there when this ship finally comes into San Francisco. They are going to test and they are going to figure out what to do with these passengers.

LEMON: Remember the initial press conference they were wondering, people were wondering why Iran on the travel ban. Right?

GUPTA: Right.

LEMON: We want to ask you. Because globally, let's talk globally for a moment and specifically Iran. More than 2,000 cases there. And that's why and it's hitting top levels of the government killing an adviser to the Ayatollah Khamenei, right? Khamenei. And infecting a deputy health minister.

The virus is spreading aggressively all over the world. How is this playing out compared to other outbreaks, Sanjay?

GUPTA: This is, you know, it's behaving differently in different parts of the world. I mean, you know, Anthony Fauci talked about this today. There's some unusual patterns of this illness in places like Iran. Obviously in northern Italy.

So, you know, I think there's a lot that is still unknown about why that's behaving differently in some of these places. It could be, you know, they're not -- they're not getting a full picture of exactly what's happening over there. It could be that there's different variance to this virus.

You know, the virus does mutate as it gets transmitted from person to person. Typically, when it mutates, it mutates to something less deadly. Because viruses don't want to kill their host.

But take a look at this animation, Don. This is really telling to me. The purple line is the coronavirus. The green line that's H1N1 from 2009. It goes way up there. This is the time that we bought, and then all of a sudden, we overtake H1N1. Right there at the nine-week mark we're above it.

Now if you let that animation play, that's nine weeks about where we are now. Let this animation play and see what happened to H1N1 after that nine-week mark. And boom. It goes there.

LEMON: Wow.

GUPTA: By the end of the year, one year, 60 million people, Don, were infected, had been infected with H1N1. Luckily, most of them, you know, did not get that sick. There were some people who did get sick. It ends up being a more like a flu virus. That's the big question now with this coronavirus. Is it going to behave like H1N1?

LEMON: Yes.

GUPTA: Or is it going to keep more of a --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Let me get a viewer question. And this is from Facebook. He says, if I become ill and quarantine myself at home, what would be the recommended course of treatment, Sanjay?

GUPTA: Well, there is no particular therapeutic for this right now. I mean, there's no antiviral antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. With viral infections there's not many antivirals.

So, there's a list of things that you should be thinking about if you're going to be able to -- you stay home, you know, because you don't want to infect other people. That's a service to your community. Separate yourself from other people and animals.

If you're going to the doctor, you should call ahead. This maybe an obvious one. But you know, as people need emergency room, there are sick people in the hospitals. That's where a lot of the germs are. You're going to be adding another germ, potentially another pathogen to that mix.

[22:14:56] If you are sick, that's the time to wear a face mask. Because now you want to prevent yourself from infecting other people. The face masks are not for healthy people to prevent yourself from getting sick.

Those surgical masks they don't prevent viruses from coming in but they might prevent respiratory droplets from coming out. So, you could wear a face mask, you know, and then all the basic precautions.

At that point, you know, you treat your symptoms. Fever, cough, whatever the symptoms are. But one of the main goals is to not get other people around you sick.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, I've got to go. But people should know it can be deadly but it's not always deadly. People do --

(CROSSTALK)

GUPTA: Mostly not.

LEMON: People do recover from --

GUPTA: Yes.

LEMON: -- from the disease and they go --

GUPTA: Absolutely.

LEMON: -- you know, if they go to the hospital they do go home. And if you are quarantined at home you can't get better.

GUPTA: That's right. Most well.

LEMON: Thank you, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Make sure you watch tomorrow. The doctor and Anderson Cooper they are going to hold a CNN global town hall. "Coronavirus Facts and Fears" live tomorrow night at 10 Eastern. Make sure you tune in.

And you heard Dr. Gupta giving us -- Dr. Gupta giving us the facts about the coronavirus. And next, the former Governor John Kasich is here. He is going to weigh in on the coronavirus and Joe Biden's big Super Tuesday win. That's next. Thank you, Dr. Gupta. I appreciate it.

GUPTA: You bet.

[22:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Here's our breaking news tonight. the CDC reporting that coronavirus is spreading in the United States. There are now at least 159 cases in this country.

Let's get some perspective now from John Kasich, the former governor of Ohio. Governor, good evening. Thank you so much for joining.

JOHN KASICH, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Don. LEMON: Let's talk about coronavirus cases that have been announced in

just the last couple of hours and at least two new states, Texas and New Jersey. People are really worried. Is the White House doing the right thing now you think?

KASICH: Don, I think they are doing much better. I've talked to people about this. I feel as though they've taken command. They were off to a rough start. But what this illustrates are the holes in our public health system. And it didn't start with Donald Trump. This is existed for a while. There need to be concerned about things like pandemics.

And I mention to you a week ago off the air and I think we ever got sad, but there's like 163 something like that critical drugs that we need in this country. They are generic drugs. So therefore, companies don't make much money and these drugs own sometimes, I guess some people say by private equity groups and they're being manufactured in China and India.

And these are drugs we need to have. So, as we go forward, as we learn from this, and we will learn. We can't just waste time. We've got to get about plugging the holes in this whole public health system. Because it does exist.

I'm glad the Congress are going to vote this $8 billion. It seems as though they got that done relatively quickly. I hope that means something for the future. But I believe the administration is doing much better. Better with getting their sea legs.

LEMON: All right. Glad we got that -- we talked about that. Let's talk about the race for the White House right now.

The former V.P. Joe Biden dominated last night really. Exit polls show that top priority for so many Americans is a candidate who can beat President Trump. And you say the way to do that is with a candidate that's closer to the middle. You've always said that. And I'm sure you -- you know, last night showed that.

KASICH: Yes. Don, what's so amazing as I've a couple of notes this. Think about this. College-educated people, Biden did great. Non- college educated people, those are like my daddy, you know, the kind of the blue-collar type. He's able to appeal to them. Something that Democrats have been losing over time.

Of course, the African-Americans are on fire for him. And you know, Jim Clyburn what he did down in South Carolina the kind of turnout. And we are seeing a kind of turnout for Biden that really kind of reflects what happened in the '18 race where the suburban folks were coming out in significant numbers. It's really interesting --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: He got the white vote. He got the white folks.

KASICH: And the thing that --

LEMON: He didn't just get African-Americans. He got the white vote. KASICH: Yes, I mean--

LEMON: He didn't do so well with Latinos.

KASICH: No, no, no. That's right. No, he did not. But I mean, getting both college-educated particularly suburbanized and at the same time the non-college educated. Those are the ones that Trump was able to win.

I have always wondered, in fact, you know, I've said to a Democrat, how did the Democrats happen to lose blue collar Americans? They are always the ones you know -- you know, my father was a Democrat all of his life. I used to say, daddy, you know, why are you for the Democrats? He said, well, the Democrats are for the working men and the Republicans are for the rich. That's what he used to say.

LEMON: Yes.

KASICH: And somehow, they lost the working men. Now my mother became a Republican. She didn't feel that way. But you know, what the heck. Maybe because of their -- of her son. But who knows?

LEMON: But here's the thing. I spend a lot of time -- we talk about this. Trying to, you know, people are always get worked up about what they see on social media. Right? And I always tell people Twitter is not the electorate. Right.

Listen, Tim Miller, he was a communications director for Jeb Bush's 2016 campaign. He voted for the first time yesterday in a Democratic primary. He voted for Biden. And he wrote this for Bulwark.com. He said "Joe Biden's silent majority. He doesn't have arena rallies or Twitter mobs. He has voters."

Miller points to the people who came out and droves in Virginia, the moderate Dems in Texas suburbs. The working-class Dems in Massachusetts. He says this is the new silent majority. Is he right?

KASICH: I think he's very close to it. I think also that I think that probably the Trump people thought that they were going to get Bernie Sanders. Licking their chops. And then last night it changed everything for them.

You know, the other thing, Don, I can remember going to a rally for Mitt Romney and I looked out across this vast sea of people and thought, wow, look at these crowds. He's going to win. He didn't.

[22:25:00]

And so, you know, you can't always judge things by, well, first of all, social media, you can't judge it there, you can't judge it by crowds. You kind of, be on the ground and you got to listen to people.

Remember, most of the people that voted for Biden made up their minds towards the end. But I believe his ability to connect both with college educated and the ones who don't have college education is really impressive. And I've got to say, Don, I mean, his support among the African-

American community is terrific. And what I wonder about is what's Barack Obama going to do? He was -- he was -- Biden was Obama's vice president. What's he waiting for to weigh in? So, Mr. President, we need to hear from you. Soon.

LEMON: Can -- I think you're hearing from him in the vote from African-Americans last night. You're hearing from him.

KASICH: Maybe.

LEMON: Yes.

KASICH: Maybe.

LEMON: Thank you, John. I appreciate it.

KASICH: Thank you. Good to be with you, Don, Lemon. Thank you.

LEMON: You too. You know, it's really rare for the chief justice to call out a senator. But that is exactly what happened today. What Senator Chuck Schumer said and why Chief Justice John Roberts says it was inappropriate and dangerous.

[22:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Minority Leader being called on the carpet by Chief Justice John Roberts. Schumer spoke at rally of abortion rights supporters today, outside the Supreme Court. Inside, arguments were being heard about a controversial Louisiana law regarding access to abortion. Critics claimed the law may result in just one doctor being able to perform abortions in the entire state.

Justices asked questions suggesting that the law which requires doctors to have admitting privileges in local hospitals could serve a valid purpose. Now that prompted Schumer at the rally to attack Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Both of whom were appointed by President Trump. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I want to tell you Gorsuch. I want to tell you Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind. And you will pay the price. You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The Chief Justice John Roberts reacted to Schumer's statement immediately. Basically accusing the Senator of threatening Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. And in a rare rebuke, Roberts released a statement and I quote, this morning Senator Schumer spoke at a rally in front of the Supreme Court while a case was being argued inside. Senator Schumer referred to two members of the court by name and said, he wanted to tell them that you have released a whirlwind and you will pay the price. You will not know what you hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.

Justices know that criticism comes with the territory. But threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate. They are dangerous. All members of the court will continue to do their job. Without fear or favor from whatever quarter.

The rally that Schumer attended was held to put pressure on the Supreme Court to strike down Louisiana's law. And to protect a woman's right to choose. And that's fine. But Schumer's language about Justice Gorsuch and Kavanaugh was threatening. He said you will pay the price. And you won't know what hit you. Those are threatening words. When President Trump uses language that appears to threaten people, I call it out. And yes, President Trump makes harsh remarks about judges all the time. Even recently. And he is wrong when he does that too.

And so is Senator Schumer. He is wrong. The president already calling for action to be taken against Schumer. And one Senator claims he'll introduce a motion to censure him. Abortion is one of the most polarizing issues in our country. It gets people very fired up. But using words like, you will pay the price and you won't know what hit you, they are out of bounds. And don't belong in civil conversation. In a civil society.

I want to talk more about this from CNN Supreme Court Analyst, Joan Biskupic, author of "The Chief."

Thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it. Joan, you wrote a book on Chief Justice John Roberts. Explain why he clapped back so hard, and this is really rare for him. About what Senator Schumer said today?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: You know, you're exactly right. And I just want to say this first as a threshold manner. I do not think criticism of judges should be out of bound. And I don't think the chief was even saying that here, you know, look at the importance of these cases.

You know, reproductive rights. They affect our lives all the time. But what got the chief this time around, right there in front of the Supreme Court, is this case was being argued, Senator Schumer names two particular justices. And as Don, as you recounted, Don, he -- they were threatening sounding statements.

Now Senator Schumer probably would say and he has said since that he really wasn't threatening them. But the language he used constituted something that I think the chief justice rightly called dangerous. You know, not just calling them out by name. But saying, you know, you will regret this.

We will come at you. This fire that he spoke of. But, you know, you showed that tape. And I think viewers can see what he was doing and when he first even mentioned the names of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. He did thumbs down and then turned toward the court building when he essentially said, you know, this is we will come at you.

LEMON: Yeah. Joan Biskupic. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

BISKUPIC: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Now I want to bring in Harry Litman. Harry, Harvard legal scholar Laurence Tribe, who is about as far from right wing as it gets, tweeting this out tonight. He said, these remarks by Senator Schumer were inexcusable.

[22:35:02]

Chief Justice Roberts was right to call him on his comments. I hope the Senator whom I'd long admired and consider a friend apologizes and takes back his implicit threat. It's beneath him and his office. Tribe has been critical of the president's attacks against the courts and he clearly thinks that Schumer cross the line. Do you agree with him?

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, look. That's the question. Was it an implicit threat? You can see why Fox News and even Larry Tribe are saying that. I think Schumer's not that stupid and his explanation that he was quick to offer. That it's about the political whirlwind that Republicans will reap is at least plausible.

We can stipulate that if it was an actual incitement to harm Gorsuch or Kavanaugh, its way beyond the pale. But if it's simply saying here's the political whims you will reap. In many ways, it's tamer than even say Trump who is not only questioned judges bias but has threatened the way Roosevelt did, saying the court packing plant to cut the ninth circuit up if it doesn't issue more congenial rulings to him.

So, I think if it weren't for that context, we wouldn't be jumping to that conclusion. Yes, a threat is way beyond the pale. But political rhetoric isn't. And Roberts, it was very notable how quickly and ferociously he came out of the box today and saw the worst in Schumer's remarks.

LEMON: You don't think Schumer should have said it?

LITMAN: No doubt about that. At best over excited, poorly phrased, etcetera and again, personal threats way out of line. But if what he's saying is there will be political hell to pay in this country, then I think it's within the range of thing politicians say it better that the personal attack.

LEMON: Maybe he should have said that there would be political hell to pay. He should -- that he should had been precise with his language.

LITMAN: No doubt.

LEMON: OK. But listen, just last week. President Trump said Justice's Sonia Sotomayor or Ruth Bader Ginsburg should recuse himself from all Trump related matters. As to Sotomayor or (inaudible) against the Trump administration's legal strategy, should chief Justice Roberts have said something then?

LITMAN: Well, there's been a steady drum beat from Trump, really criticizing judges who can't push back. Calling them bias and really questioning their basic competence. That is certainly not as bad as saying somebody should harm them. But yes, those kind of attacks Roberts has generally let go. Of course they're so recurrent you don't know when to sort of step in. But he sure stepped in quickly today. For what he perceived is a threat. And that's important to note. But yes, Trumps remarks from Curiel on down to Sotomayor and the questioning of basic fairness have been out of line for a president.

LEMON: Harry Litman, thank you.

LITMAN: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Bernie Sanders has a new campaign ad featuring none other than former President Obama. The ad doesn't quite tell the whole story. We will. But is it a part of a new strategy after Super Tuesday? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:40:00]

LEMON: The race for the Democratic nomination looks drastically different today in the wake of Super Tuesday. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, out. Senator Elizabeth Warren is reportedly looking for an exit ramp. With new numbers continuing to come in tonight, well, Joe Biden has a 60 delegate lead over Bernie Sanders.

So let's discuss now. Congressman Ro Khanna, the co-chair of the Sanders campaign joins me. Congressman, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much. Let me tell you what the Washington Post is reporting. Reporting that there have been discussions between the Warren and Sanders camp over a possible endorsement. Would that counter act you think some of the Biden surge the last time? Before I ask you that question, do you know if that's true? Is that true?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): We have had conversations with people, senior people in the Warren camp. And as you know, Senator Sanders called Senator Warren. We have tremendous admiration for Senator Warren's contribution to this race or her policy proposals for progressive leadership. Obviously it would be an honor if she does this side to not continue to have her endorsement. I mean, there's no question that that would be a game changer.

LEMON: Do you think that would counter act some of the surge from Biden campaign?

KHANNA: I think it would show two things. I think it would reestablish momentum on our side. One, it would show that we have a broad coalition for progressive policy. Remember, Don, even though Biden carried some of the states, Bernie Sanders' platform was polling as overwhelmingly popular. Medicare for all. Free public college. Even for those who voted for Biden. So, I think Senator Warren coming along with Senator Sanders would show that the platform that we're running on has broad appeal in the Party. And it would be a big deal.

LEMON: OK. Let's move on and talk about this ad. Senator Sanders has a new campaign out today. I want you to watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bernie is somebody who has a virtue of saying exactly what he believes. Great authenticity. Great passion and he's fearless. Bernie served on the veterans committee and got bills done.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think people are ready for a call to action. They want honest leadership who cares about them. They want somebody who is going to fight for them. And they will find it in Bernie. That's right, feel the Bern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK, so, all right, listen. We want to clarify here. Because here's the problem with this ad. The first portion was edited to remove a line where Obama says he doesn't know Sanders as well as his opponent Clinton.

[22:45:00]

Another line came from back in 2006. And the feel the Bern came from the 2016 Democratic National Convention when Obama was endorsing Clinton. Is this ad misleading Congressman?

KHANNA: Right. There is no implication in any way that President Obama has endorsed Senator Sanders. What President Obama has said in the past is that he respects the grassroots energy that Senator Sanders has brought. And he respects a lot of the progressive contributions. And this ad is intended to convey Senator Sanders as respect for President Obama. And everything that he achieved.

LEMON: OK. Now -- OK. Congressman, I want to be fair to you.

KHANNA: Yes.

LEMON: Because I watched the ad and I watched the three separate entities that it came from. And when you watch it was one an event -- one of them came from an event where Barack Obama -- I think it was then Senator Obama went to for Senator Sanders. I think it was back in 2006. And he was talking to him about -- he was doing an event for him and he was talking about, where did you get that suit from or whatever? And then there was another event that he went to --

KHANNA: Right.

LEMON: -- then it was during the convention where he was talking about, you know, he was trying to get Senator Sanders supporters at the convention to rally around Hillary Clinton. And he said, that even, you know, the Senator supporters can get with that idea.

And then he said feel the Bern and then he just laughed. And the supporters that came from that. And then there was another thing. So, he wasn't exactly endorsing the Senator. And so it seems a little deceptive that the person doing this ad would put it together in the manner that they did. You don't see that?

KHANNA: Well, Don, look. I work for President Obama. I worked on his first campaign in 1996. I worked in his administration. I wish there was tape of the president saying something nice about me. He never has. But every candidate running for president, as you know, has taken footage of the president saying something nice about them.

LEMON: Fair enough. All right.

KHANNA: Bloomberg has done that. Warren has done that. Biden has done that. So, there's no one -- no one thinks that Barack Obama has endorsed Bernie Sanders. Well, we want show is that we're very, very proud of President Obama's accomplishments and that we want to affiliate and build on his legacy.

LEMON: OK. How do say this?

KHANNA: I think it's fair to clarify.

LEMON: It's fair to clarify, it's fair to question that, because Senator Sanders has positioned himself as the antiestablishment candidate. And here he is sort of putting his arms around President Obama. Who is an establishment middle of the road, a moderate candidate? That's why people are questioning this.

KHANNA: Well, I don't know, Don, that I would say that. Like I said, I worked for President Obama. President Obama is my role model and I would argue that President Obama was a totally transformed of change agent. I mean, he was against the war in Iraq. He was the progressive when he runs against Hillary Clinton. He was the first leader of color not just in the United States, but in the western world.

So, I think what Bernie Sanders is doing is acknowledging the transformational campaign that President Obama ran and President Obama recently said that he understands the 2020 is different than 2008 and I think he would want those of us who work for him and others to push in an even more progressive direction. I mean, that's my sense. I can't say enough about how much of a transformational figure Obama was.

LEMON: All right. Fair enough. Fair enough. Thank you and I appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much.

KHANNA: Thank you.

LEMON: All right. What's next for Joe Biden after his Super Tuesday bump? Will his national co-chair Congressman Cedric Richmond, will tell me. He's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:50:00]

LEMON: All right. Joe Biden, expanding his delegate led. Let's just get right to Cedric Richmond. Cedric, he's the co-chair. Cedric, how are you doing? Are you excited?

REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND (D-LA): I'm very excited.

LEMON: So, what's next moving forward for this campaign?

RICHMOND: Well, we go to Mississippi, we go to Michigan, we go to all those other places and we're going to keep taking our message on the road. And I think we're going to keep winning.

LEMON: So, James Clyburn did you guys are solid. But he also said that this campaign needed to be reworked. What are you doing to fix it, to improve what he said?

RICHMOND: Short answer is we're doing whatever James Clyburn wants us to do. The long answer is we talked to whip Clyburn. And now with money and resources we can do things we couldn't do before. So I think that he's happy from the interviews I saw and the conversations we have. So we're just moving forward.

LEMON: Yes. All right. So you said money and resources. Mike Bloomberg dropped out. Does that include money and resources from Bloomberg? Does it include his data, analytics, operation, and --

RICHMOND: Well, the truth is, Don, I don't know. Because I think there are some hard, fast rules and laws against commingling. So we don't know what that looks like. But in the meantime, till we figure out what Mr. Bloomberg is going to do, we're going to keep running the same campaign we've been running.

And so, that is talking directly to voters and telling them our vision. But I don't know how we can coordinate with him, if at all possible. So he may just have to do what he wants to do and we're going to keep doing what we've been doing.

LEMON: But listen, I heard -- I saw one of his people on television. They said they're going to keep their field offices open. They said that they're going to keep their data analytics, you know, operation up and running and they're going to do everything they can to make sure that Donald Trump is not the next president.

[22:55:14]

So if you are -- you know, if Joe Biden becomes the nominee that means helping you. So, I don't --

RICHMOND: Well, he may be able to help us. He just can't coordinate with us. So, I think all those things he wants to do, he has to do on his own. As far as our campaign, we have to run our campaign. And one thing we're not going to do is do what this president has done, and that is skirt the law, break the law and all those things. We're just going to run the traditional campaign, talking to our people.

And if Mr. Bloomberg wants to run an independent effort to help us, then we'll accept it, especially considering that this president has helped with the Russians and everybody else. We will take all the help we can get, but we will not collude or break any laws in any way to do it.

LEMON: I got you. So, listen, throughout this primary everyone has tried to play up their connection with the former President Barack Obama. Today, you know, Sanders jumped in with his -- with that ad that mentioned, you know, the Obama, it wasn't quite accurate. I'm sure you heard the interview before. What is your reaction to that?

RICHMOND: That there's an old blue song that says if you're going to tell it, tell it all. Bernie Sanders, if you're going to say that you're close to Obama, why don't you tell the American people that you thought that Barack Obama should get primaried in his reelection effort. That you said that he was weak. You said that he was a disappointment.

The first African-American president of the United States you decided to call him weak, which is cold. And so, my thing is don't play up all the warm and fuzzy of your loving relationship with Barack Obama when you didn't think he should get re-elected. Just -- let's be truthful about it. If you didn't think he was good, just say it.

LEMON: Yes. I have one piece of advice to you. Don't mess with Simone Sanders.

RICHMOND: Don, that's my advice to you. She broke a nail and Collin Allred who is a Democrat from Texas who played in the NFL stopped me on the floor today to say, I was really impressed by her closing speed. So I'm not going to mess with Simone.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Cedric.

RICHMOND: Thank you.

LEMON: I appreciate it. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)