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Presidential Race; Cruz Fights Back; Haley's Response; Flint, Michigan, Residents Seek Clean Drinking Water; Powerball Jackpot Hits $1.5 Billion Tonight. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired January 13, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: These first contests, there will be a lot of disruption in this race.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Donna, is it possible that Bernie Sanders could take the minority vote away from Hillary Clinton?

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, people said in 2008 that President Obama couldn't, and you saw what happened. Look, I don't think it's about taking it away. It's about competing to energize and to really talk not just about cultural issues, but economic issues. I mean people of color, minorities of all stripes, they want a president who will continue to make economic gains the way this president, President Obama. And they also would like to see the next president fight for some of the big issues and values that we all believe in because, as you know, some of the -- some of the great things that President Obama has accomplished, like healthcare, that -- that will be under attack from the Republicans. So I think Bernie Sanders understands that he has to go south, as well as west and east, in order to capture the -- what I believe the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. But, you know what, it's a competitive race and it's good for the party and it's great for the country.

BROWNSTEIN: Carol --

COSTELLO: All right, I have to -- I have to leave it there. Sorry. Ron Brownstein, Donna Brazile, thanks to both of you.

BROWNSTEIN: All right.

BRAZILE: Sure.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley refusing to back down after saying Republicans shoulder some of the blame for tense political relations in this country. Why she's telling her conservative colleagues to look in the mirror, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Senator Ted Cruz is sitting atop a new poll out of Iowa, but simmering underneath, possible signs Donald Trump's birther attacks are starting to hurt the Texas senator. A new "Des Moines Register"/Bloomberg poll shows Cruz with 25 percent support. That's a six point drop over last month when he had 31 percent. But Cruz is fighting back, knocking Trump for reportedly playing "Born in the USA" at his rallies.

[09:35:10] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he may -- may shift in his new rallies to playing "New York, New York," because, you know, Donald comes from New York and he embodies New York values. And, listen, The Donald seems to be a little bit rattled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So is he? Athena Jones live in Washington with more on all of this.

Good morning, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, I don't think Donald Trump would say that he's rattled, but it's pretty clear that he's keeping up this birther attack on Cruz. Doesn't look like he's going to let up anytime soon. And this new poll shows that Cruz's lead over Trump went from 10 points last month to just three points now. But it's not all clear that it's completely this birther issue.

Cruz, of course, being the frontrunner is under attack from all sides, including from folks like Marco Rubio. And this poll, this same "Des Moines Register"/Bloomberg poll, showed that just 15 percent of the folks they talked to said that they were bothered by or concerned about Cruz's citizenship, 83 percent said they weren't concerned. So it -- maybe this isn't baked in. We know Trump is continuing to hammer on this. We know from our folks at Trump and Cruz events on the ground in Iowa that this issue is coming up. This poll was conducted between Thursday and Sunday. So it's possible that these birther attacks are continuing to sink in.

Bu in a larger sense this poll confirms what we've been talking about for several weeks now, which is that the race in Iowa is very, very tight. No matter what poll you look at, it's a battle between Trump and Cruz. Sometimes who's on top changes a bit. But it's Trump and Cruz on top. There's a battle for third place going on between Marco Rubio and Ben Carson. Everyone else is at five percent or below. Folks like Chris Christie and Jeb Bush, they're at three and four percent. So not even on the screen in this case. So that's not good news for them.

And also talking about Marco Rubio, for all the talk about Trump and Cruz, Rubio, this is a good poll for him. He's moved up from fourth place to third place. He's the only so called establishment candidate who's anywhere near the top. And I spoke to Rubio's campaign today. They're very pleased with the progression that he's making in Iowa. And remember, Carol, we've got 19 days until the caucuses. That's still two debates that are going to take place in those 19 days. And even this poll and other polls show that a lot of people in Iowa still haven't made up their mind. This poll that was 56 percent of folks they talked to said they either could change their mind about their first choice or hadn't even decided on their first choice. So 19 days is a long time in primary politics, Carol.

COSTELLO: It is. Athena Jones, thanks so much.

Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina is refusing to back down after the governor took some heat from some of her conservative colleagues for using her response to the State of the Union to say that Republicans share some of the blame for divisiveness in this country. Here's a little of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: While Democrats in Washington bear much responsible for the problems facing America today, they do not bear it alone. There is more than enough blame to go around. We, as Republicans, need to own that truth.

The foundation that has made America that last best hope on earth hasn't gone anywhere. It still exists. It's up to us to return to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And today on "New Day" she drove the point home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: We need to look in the mirror. We need to look at how we've been spending. We need to look at our debt. We need to look at how we're handling national security and all those things and say, OK, we're going to be a positive role in this. We're going to start to move forward and get out of all the political rhetoric. There's too much of that. If we're really going to do something, we need to show action, not words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) and syndicated columnist S.E. Cupp.

Welcome, S.E.

Can you hear me?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I have you.

COSTELLO: Oh, good. Good. I was afraid there for a second.

So, welcome. I'm glad you're here with me this morning.

CUPP: Sure.

COSTELLO: So, after Nikki Haley said that last night in her response to the president's State of the Union, Ann Coulter, a conservative, was pretty vicious in her attack against Haley, tweeting that Donald Trump should depot Haley -- she's the daughter of immigrants, but, news flash, she was born in South Carolina, Nikki Haley. So what should we make of this, if anything? CUPP: Well, I -- I can't comment on Ann Coulter because I really -- I

truly believe she's a performance artist. I don't even think she -- she really believes the things that she says.

But I think it's really sort of lamentable that conservatives, who admit that some Republicans have been unproductive, is somehow suddenly a self-loathing Republican or less committed to the Republican Party. I don't think it's a stretch to say that some Republicans have been unhelpful, whether it's, you know, attempting to shut down the government or some of the rhetoric that Republicans have used. I think -- I think it's crazy to suggest that all Republicans are perfect and all democrats are jerks.

[09:40:23] And so I think what she said, which were really just a couple of comments in a much larger commentary on correcting President Obama's sort of fantasy land version of the country that we're living in right now, I think those comments, though, were a good reminder to voters and to Republicans that if we're going to move forward and we're going to convince more than half of the country to vote for Republicans again when it comes to winning the White House, we've got to be honest. We've got to be productive. We've got to be introspective and reflective.

So I thought the tone was -- was right on. I thought it was remarkable the way that she painted a contrast not only with President Obama's, you know, unrealistic version of where the country is, but also Donald Trump's doom and gloom apocalyptic, dystopian, sort of barbarians at the gate America. That was a really interesting and I think useful contrast and line that she walked.

COSTELLO: Well, one of the most interesting things is Governor Haley told Don Lemon that the RNC, the Republican National Committee, approved her speech. Reince Priebus tweeted afterwards that she did a great job. I'm talking about Haley. He said, "our party is the new, young and diverse party."

CUPP: Yes.

COSTELLO: And, as you know, there's this split between establishment Republicans and, of course, more conservative Republicans like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. So was this the RNC's way of like campaigning against Donald Trump and Ted Cruz?

CUPP: No. I mean long before Donald Trump, the RNC has been engaged in a very introspective look at the Republican Party and the mistakes the Republicans made in 2008 and 2012 and have been interested in reaching new voters. I mean, you know, how crazy is that? And so the idea that they liked, you know, Nikki Haley's speech, which was introspective, as much as it was -- as much as it was vocally sort of, you know, calling out the president and Democrats for the failures they're responsible. I'm not surprised that the RNC really took to that kind of language. And it's a good reminder that there are Nikki Haley conservatives out there. There are lots of them. They might not look like or sound like Republicans of yesterday, but I'd be willing to bet there are a lot more Nikki Haley conservatives than there are Donald Trump conservatives, if there even is such a thing. COSTELLO: Well, we'll see. The caucuses are coming up really fast.

Nineteen days.

CUPP: Yes.

COSTELLO: S.E. Cupp, many thanks to you.

CUPP: Sure.

COSTELLO: Donald Trump will respond to all of this criticism tonight on CNN. He'll join "Erin Burnett OutFront" starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, desperate measures to get clean water to one Michigan city. The man who just took Flint's water crisis straight to President Obama, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:46:37] COSTELLO: FEMA is now stepping in as the city of Flint, Michigan, deals with an emergency water crisis. This morning the National Guard is walking door-to-door with volunteers, delivering clean, lead-free drinking water to people. Michigan's governor Rick Snyder activated the Guard yesterday, many questioning what took him so long.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SNYDER (R), MICHIGAN: The point is, is we had inaccurate information back from the people that have responded. And we eventually got the right information and we took prompt action when we got the right information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Snyder has been widely criticized, protesters calling for his arrest. One resident hoping Snyder sees the pain he says the governor caused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want him to stay in office and see the mess he's created here. I want him to see the people he's hurt and his administration has hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ryan Young is following this story from Chicago. Tell us more, Ryan.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you know, people are really angry about this. You're talking about lead in the water levels. And in fact we all might take this for granted, the fact that when we go to the water fountain, we get clean water.

I contacted some people in Flint, Michigan, and they told this right here, a bottle of water, is very scarce to find in that area. In fact, to even brush your teeth, you have to have another source of water. And for months people claimed they had no idea the unsafe levels were inside their own drinking water supplies. This happened after Flint, Michigan, decided to switch off their water from Detroit, Michigan, and start using water from the Flint River. And of course that had some lead in it. And when it came to the lead pipes in the area, they did not treat that. And once it went into the homes, now you have people who have high lead levels in their bloodstream.

We've also been told only 2 percent of the population have been tested. So a lot of people are going around town looking for waters like this. They have to go to community centers to find clean water. And we're talking about brown, brackish water that people have been dealing with for months, and they said it smells as well. And lead obviously has long-term effects.

Now there's a congressman in the area who put out a statement and talked about the idea of why he wants the governor to start pushing forward with some more initiatives to get clean water back into people's hands. In fact, I'll read from the statement. It says, "Flint needs more action and less talk from Governor Snyder. It is important to remember that this crisis was created by a state- appointed emergency financial manager, and it is the state's ultimate responsibility to act and make it right."

That statement goes on to say, "At the State of the Union tonight, I spoke to President Obama and reiterated my call for federal assistance due to lack of sufficient response from the state. I will continue to do everything I can to get immediate resources to help address the ongoing crisis."

That's from Congressman Dan Kildee. Look, people have been talking about this for quite some time. In fact, I heard one church supervisor talk about breaking down water bottles from six packs to three packs so people could ride home with it on their bikes. You're talking about an economically disadvantaged area where people are still paying for their water bills despite the fact that most of them can't even use the water. So they're really looking to see the help from the National Guard, hoping there will be a change and hoping that FEMA will step in and take over for that state that's obviously, they feel, has been too slow to act.

COSTELLO: All right, Ryan Young reporting live from Chicago, thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:50:00] JIM CARREY, ACTOR: So you're telling me there's a chance. Yes!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Hey, yes! Your Powerball chances aren't that great, though. But it's not stopping all these people from lining up for their tickets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Powerball fever is here! It's real. I can attest to that. Yes, I'm in the office pool. In the meantime, in Georgia, people have been lining up throughout the morning waiting for a ticket. It's all because of the record $1.5 billion jackpot.

What are the odds of winning, you ask? Well, it's 1 in 192 million. That means you're more likely to get attacked by a shark or, even worse, killed by a cow. But it also means you have just as good a chance as anyone else. Because if you don't play, you can't win, right?

Someone hoping you'll take that chance is Gary Grief; he's the executive director of the Texas Lottery. Welcome, Gary.

GARY GRIEF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TEXAS LOTTERY: Good morning, Carol. Who wants to be a billionaire?

COSTELLO: I do! I have my tickets ready to go! So is this one of the most exciting times in your lottery career?

GRIEF: Oh, far and away the most exciting times in all of the lotteries, all around the country. As everyone knows, unless you've been living in a cave somewhere, $1.5 billion jackpot on the line for tonight. That's the annuitized estimated amount. If you choose the cash value, $930 million.

COSTELLO: My head is swimming. So how many tickets have been sold so far?

GRIEF: Carol, we have sold more than $2.5 billion worth of Powerball tickets since the last time the jackpot was won back in November 4th. Now, it's a - everyone needs to know, of that amount, more than $1 billion has now gone to good causes around the country like public education, college scholarships, help for our veterans and senior citizens.

[09:55:07] This is a win-win for the entire country, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, it is. But it is also a big win for the lottery. OK, so let's say no one wins the drawing this time around, too. How big would the jackpot get?

GRIEF: Carol, someone's got to win tonight. That's my hope. But if they don't, we will decide later on this morning what that prize might roll to. But I don't even want to think about that. Someone's bound to win tonight.

COSTELLO: Wait, wait, how do you decide that? Do you get a meeting and go, well, I think it should be, like, $2 billion. Like, how do you decide?

GRIEF: We'll look carefully at where sales ended up last night and where sales are through early this morning, and then make that determination sometime after the noon hour more than likely.

COSTELLO: OK. So here's the thing. Word is -- and I read this in "The Los Angeles Times" this morning and it was fascinating -- that you guys changed the rules last year to combat slumping sales. In other words, you made it more difficult to run -- to win, rather, because people weren't so jazzed about winning a $300 million jackpot, but boy, they could be really jazzed about winning a $1.5 billion jackpot. So how did you change the rules that made it more difficult for people to win?

GRIEF: Well, isn't that interesting, Carol, that people were no longer getting excited about just a $100 million or $200 million jackpot. So we made the change. We increased the odds of winning the top priz -- we increased those from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 292 million. And I think you can see that our players have responded to that change with incredible excitement. Now, we had a winner one into that change, back last November. So that just shows you never know if you might be holding that winning ticket.

COSTELLO: But it does beg the question, I mean, where does it end? Let's say you change the rules again and make it even more difficult to win. How big could that jackpot go?

GRIEF: Carol, I hope it ends tonight. That's what we're all hoping for. And I actually hope that more than one person wins that jackpot across the country. What a great time.

COSTELLO: Yes, it is. Well, I'll be watching for the winning numbers, my winning numbers tonight. Thanks, Gary.

GRIEF: Good luck, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you very much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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