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Eyes on the Race of the White House; Coverage of the Iowa Caucuses. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired January 31, 2016 - 17:00   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's it for CNN, thanks for watching. Poppy Harlow has much more of our special coverage of the Iowa caucuses starting right now.

[17:00:15] POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone, top of the hour, 5:00 p.m. here in New York. It is 4:00 in Iowa where all eyes are on the race for the White House Sunday.

I'm Poppy Harlow. So good to have you with me.

You're panning down to the first votes in what has been needless to say quite a roller coaster race. Just one day from now, Iowa voters will head to the polls. And today, the presidential candidates are hitting every last stop that they can trying to drum up support and get the votes.

As the old saying goes, there are three tickets out of Iowa. And with so many candidates running on the Republican side, what happens tomorrow night will go a long way to shrinking the field.

Democrats Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, also fanning out across the state and while their focus remains firmly on Iowa, we have just learned that they will make their closing arguments to New Hampshire voters on Wednesday night during a prime time event. A CNN town hall Wednesday night, 8:00 p.m. eastern.

I want to go straight to Des Moines, Iowa. My colleague, Brooke Baldwin is there.

And this is game time. This is when it all matters, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Game on, Poppy Harlow.

You know the deal. We are less than 24 hours away, of course, from Monday, the first of the nation all important Iowa caucus is here. Yes, we are in beautiful Des Moines, Iowa, in front of the state house.

And I want to know - take a moment to talk now about what is happening here in 24 hours, but what is actually happening in New Hampshire in just a couple of days. I have our CNN politics executive editor Mark Preston here with me in Des Moines.

Looking ahead, I mean, it was so awesome having the Democrats here in Iowa, you know, a week ago answering questions directly from people who would essentially be voting for them and so now this is happening in New Hampshire.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Right. So well received here in Iowa. Chris Cuomo masterful if moving questions around and making sure that Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders had a chance to get their message out, but to answer difficult questions from the voters that they are going out and asking for their vote. So as we head to New Hampshire now, while we focus on right now, it just goes to show you that this race doesn't stop tomorrow night. It continues on into New Hampshire. And quite frankly, it could be more acrimonious, it could be more (INAUDIBLE) and it could be more in a crazy way more epic. And what we will do now Wednesday night, Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, Bernie Sanders in a town hall setting in New Hampshire known for its town halls, it could be very interesting.

BALDWIN: You know, this past race and we are in the thick of it, it has been nothing but predictable. But to think here going into Iowa tomorrow night when you look at the latest polling and I know you have been studying all the numbers like the (INAUDIBLE) that we know and love you for, Mark Preston, I mean, it is so extraordinarily close.

PRESTON: It is so extraordinarily close. And with the dividing lines are and the messaging that we are hearing from Bernie Sanders and from Clinton and what they are saying about one another, you know. Up until just a few weeks ago, this was a pretty clean race in the Democratic side. But it just goes to shows you how much is at stake right now when they are now attacking one another. And heading into New Hampshire they can attack all they want, however, Brooke, as you and I both know, it is going to be the voters up there who want to know how they are going to be the dominating one.

BALDWIN: My question do not go too far. Thank you very much for now here.

Let's shift gears. Really, it is hard to go anywhere in the state of Iowa today without spotting a candidate touting the campaign trail. They have been zigzagging, Chris crossing, talking to voters, talking to caucus goers. Our CNN team, of course, is all out in full force as well all across the state of Iowa.

Brianna Keilar is in Des Moines following the Clintons and Jim Acosta is in Sioux City where Donald Trump is speaking later tonight.

Jim, let's start with you. All ready today, Donald Trump has additional harsh words for his fiercest rival, Ted Cruz.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's gotten nasty in the last 24 hours before this Iowa caucuses. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are in a battle Royale for Christian conservatives at this point. That is why the rhetoric is getting so intense.

Donald Trump was on one of the Sunday talk shows earlier today. He called Ted Cruz a total liar. That is because the Cruz campaign is trying to go back and use some words that Donald Trump used in an interview with "60 Minutes" during which he said he supported some sort of universal health care. So now, the Cruz campaign is saying well, if you love Hillary care and Obamacare, you are going to love Trump care. That is what unleashed the harsh attack from Trump earlier today. Donald Trump calling Ted Cruz a liar.

He just finished up an event in Council Bluffs, Iowa earlier this afternoon. During that event, Brooke, he went right after Ted Cruz once again on his Canadian birth, on that Goldman Sachs loan he got back in 2012 to help finance his campaign. So it really has been the fur has been flying something fierce out here in Iowa.

Now, in addition to that as part of that battle for Christian conservatives, Donald Trump has Jerry Falwell Jr. with him. Just about every stop he is making here in Iowa, he with as there earlier today. He will be here this evening at this event here in Sioux City.

And also Donald Trump, we should note, for the second week in a row in Iowa went to church. Church with his wife and his children have been all across the state. So the Trump campaign is really pulling out all the stops. You know, we saw that plane do a fly by and come in for a landing yesterday in Dubuque, Brooke. They are leaving nothing on the field. He is unleashing the Trump arsenal you might say in this final hours.

[17:05:34] BALDWIN: All of the optics, the theatrics, the nontraditional campaigning at play here in Iowa.

Jim Acosta, thank you very much. We will look for that event to kick off in just a little bit.

On the flipside for the Democrats, let's go to my colleague Brianna Keilar. She will be attending this Hillary Clinton event in Des Moines later today.

And you know, Brianna, we have been talking the Clintons would wish we weren't, but we have been discussing what we have gotten from the state department this week as it pertains to her emails. We have heard from the Bernie Sanders camp that they wouldn't bring it up and he did acknowledge with Jake Tapper this morning that it is very serious. How will she respond?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, that's right. She is making the case as she has all along. This is her line. This is what the campaign says, that her -- that she doesn't send emails that were marked classified. And so that's really the line she's sticking to. And she is trying to emphasize that really any concerns over this FBI investigation and into her emails. And the White House will stress not into her but into her emails, that people should not be overly concerned about that.

But this is really the final stretch here and this is an exciting race, Brooke. Neck and neck, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. That latest Des Moines register poll, which normally gets it pretty right, puts Bernie Sanders at 44. Puts Hillary Clinton at 47. It is statistically a tie. And that's you why see them crisscrossing Iowa. Three events for each of them today as they make their final appeal to Iowa voters.

We have seen Sanders, I know you were at the event last night, a lot of enthusiasm. Almost 4,000 students, he is emphasizing that this is a political revolution. That he wants to take care of the middle class. Hillary Clinton saying that she is the one to do that. And she is emphasizing her experience. That she is someone who can actually get things done.

The other thing that we're seeing, though, is this question over who is going to carry on the legacy of President Obama. Both candidates sort of making the case for that but Hillary Clinton's campaign and even some of President Obama supporters hitting Bernie Sanders for his endorsement of a new book out calls "Buyer's Remorse" about how President Obama let down progressives. He is emphasizing or his campaign is, that he thinks that next president has their work cut out for them but also that he says President Obama has done an outstanding job. We see if that really pushes voters here in Iowa either way.

BALDWIN: Brianna Keilar for now, thank you so much. That Hillary Clinton event in Des Moines.

Coming up next, my next guest spent time with Hillary Clinton just last night in Iowa. You will hear new details about how Hillary Clinton is feeling on this eve before the caucuses with a razor thin lead as Brianna was just mentioning over rival Bernie Sanders.

I'm Brooke Baldwin, alongside Poppy Harlow. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:11:29] BALDWIN: We are back here live in Iowa. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You are looking at former president Bill Clinton, out and about, of course, stumping for his wife, Hillary Clinton. Former president in Iowa City at the moment. But let me be clear, we are covering every single one of these candidates on the left, on the right, as they are crisscrossing this state making that final push for caucus voters to show up here tomorrow night.

Enthusiasm and passion though, they are not enough. Right now, these candidates are scrambling across the Hawkeye state trying to convert the passion from all these loud rallies into result. All of the rallies in the world count for zilch, zero, if candidates supporters don't show up for caucus tomorrow.

The Iowa race is still very much undecided. Let me show you how I mean how much today's lot of minute campaign stops could really sway tomorrow's results. Check these numbers out with me. This is from the final Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll, really considered the gold standard here in Iowa. This is what everyone was waiting for this time yesterday, 55 percent of likely Republican caucus goers say their minds are made up. But a whopping 45 percent say, you know what, could still be persuaded.

Let me bring these A-team ladies back in with me. Republican strategist Margaret Hoover and Democratic strategist, Hilary Rosen. Ladies, nice to see you. (INAUDIBLE) in the state. We are going to roll it today.

First to you, I know you spent just seeing Bill Clinton, I want to talk with Hillary Clinton briefly. You spent some time or you spoke with Hillary Clinton last night. How's her mood? How she feeling? She is tight, tight, tight with Bernie Sanders.

HILLARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, saw both her and President Clinton last night. You know, they were relaxed. They had come in from, you know, rallies. They were just seen the Des Moines Register poll showing her ahead.

BALDWIN: Very close. Ahead.

ROSEN: They are very close. But I think, you know, the internal Clinton polls are matching what the Des Moines Register said. So they were relax and confident. And honestly, I think that's quite a change from 2008 where this time in 2008 they were feeling the heat from Barack Obama really intensely. The Clinton team is feeling, you know, cautious but optimistic.

BALDWIN: And that same poll we know Trump is head of Cruz just by a couple percentage points. And so, I'm just sort of looking at you and wondering, listen, today is Sunday. This is a day where so many folks here in the state are going to church. We know Jim Acosta was just reporting. Donald Trump went to church.

That said, listen, people criticized him for the fact he has been married a couple of times. He has evolved when it comes to his stance on abortion. So that's Mr. Trump. Then you have, you know, Ted Cruz, last couple of days, over headlines over how much he has really tithed, which questions is he a true Christian. Where will this is such a toss-up when it comes to evangelicals in the states for candidates.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, evangelicals are split. As you know, Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsement for Donald Trump and Marco Rubio is talking about spirituality everywhere he goes and does speak using very moralistic language. Even when he is talking about larger policy issues.

This is still undecided as you said and often times even that Iowa poll which we all look to has not caught late surging candidates. In 2012 it did not catch the late surge for Rick Santorum, for example, Brooke. And so, you know, some people are saying, is there Marco Rubio surge? Is there not? Nobody knows. That poll ended on the 29th. And they are still three, four days left until people actually got to vote. And so, you're right, it is a ground game right now. And it still could go any direction.

[17:15:01] ROSEN: That undecided vote is significant.

BALDWIN: Forty-five percent.

ROSEN: It is less -- that same poll showed the undecided in the Democratic primary are much fewer, you know, close than less than 20 percent. But the undecided could go anyway. BALDWIN: In a way to persuade the undecided, this is a new piece

today. These mailers. OK? And specifically these mailers apparently from the Ted Cruz camp but to briefly explain to people watching. So if you live here, you can get things in the mail, you know, trying to persuade people to come out and vote. You are looking at a picture, this has apparently come from camp Cruz. You see in the big red block letters voting violation. There is a thing, obviously, social pressure, a lot of it is psychological. They want you to get out to caucus. And so we have heard now from the Iowa secretary of state who has come out and heard about these specific mailers from the Cruz camp and said hang on a second, you know. No, this wouldn't be public and no, you're not scored on your voting record, which is sort of what the Cruz camp apparently was saying. Social pressure that's not new. But if have you seen something like this?

HOOVER: This tactic of the Cruz campaign is using is new. What they have done is put whoever the person who received the mailing is, and then listed Hilary Rosen, Brooke Baldwin, all of my neighbors down the street. And they say, I have gotten and F on my caucus participation. And it is meant to look like an official communication from the state of Iowa to shame me into going to caucus.

Now to be very clear, the state of Iowa does not keep track of who caucuses or who does not caucus. Caucusing is put on and presented by the political parties of this state and has nothing to do with the official, any sort of official actions of the state of Iowa.

The Cruz campaign does not apologize for this at all. Ted Cruz does not apologize for this. He said I will use any tool in my tool kit whether it is shame or whatever it is to get people to the polls to vote for me.

Now to be fair, Marco Rubio's campaign apparently has also used social pressure techniques. But nothing as blatant as the Cruz campaign. And by the way, it may not have worked for Cruz either. Some people have tweeted, thanks, I was on the fence between Cruz and Rubio, now I'm definitely going Rubio.

BALDWIN: I believe (INAUDIBLE) was quote I read in a New York piece -- for now, let's go --

HOOVER: But who knows which way it goes. I mean, some people --

BALDWIN: We don't.

HOOVER: May be effective.

BALDWIN: And that's what is happening.

ROSEN: This is so fashion. This was going to be the campaign of technology, you know, leaving a sticky note on someone's door trying to --

BALDWIN: Mailers. Is what we are talking about the day where. Hillary and Margaret, stay with me. Thank you so much for now. Much more here from the Hawkeye state including hearing and seeing all

these different candidates as we were mentioning crisscrossing, getting caucus goers out to vote, will the fan base and support translate to actual caucus goers? We will also talk to a surrogate from the Bernie Sanders campaign coming up here on CNN.

Special coverage continues after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:21:38] HARLOW: One day until those in the Hawkeye state head out to caucus, that is tomorrow night, it is game day, that is for sure. Critical first in the nation move that could determine a lot in this race for the White House. It is turning out to be a real nail-biter on both sides.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has been on the move as has her husband, former president Bill Clinton. They will both appear in an event tonight in Des Moines alongside their daughter, Chelsea. Their final push before those votes in Iowa coming as brand new CNN poll of polls show Clinton leading Sanders by just three points in Iowa, 47 percent to 44 percent, Martin O'Malley with four percent.

Joining me now, former Democratic governor of Michigan, senior advisor now to the pro-Hillary super PAC. Correct the record Jennifer Granholm. Thank you for being with me, governor. I appreciate it.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), FORMER MICHIGAN GOVERNOR: Poppy, I just love this time of the year. It is so exciting. Thanks for having me on.

HARLOW: Yes. You are welcome. It is exciting. No one is getting much sleep. We want to get right to the email issue. Got 24 hours to go before Iowans head out to caucus. You got Hillary Clinton still fielding questions about her private email server. This is as for the state department came out Friday that it will not release these 22 emails because according to the state department they contain quote "top secret information." Listen to what Clinton said this morning about it and her rival Bernie Sanders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is like Benghazi, you know. Republicans are going to continue to use it, beat up on me, I understand that. That's the way they are. But after 11 hours of testimony, answering every single question in public, which I have requested for many months, I think it is clear they are grasping at straws.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think this is a very serious issue. I think there is a legal process right now, taking place. And what I have said, and you know, and I get criticizes, you know. Bernie, why don't you attack Hillary Clinton? There is a legal process taking place. I do not want to politicize that issue. It is not my style.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: He says there is a very serious legal process at play.

Governor, why shouldn't democratic voters right now, be concerned, be afraid that if Clinton is their nominee, she could face legal consequences prior to the general election.

GRANHOLM: Well, the Democrats who are looking at this and believe me, the Democrats are much more interested in the substantive issues that Bernie Sanders are talking about. But on the email stuff, I mean, she has said repeatedly that she did not create these emails. That she were not marked classified at the time she received them. There was a totally separate process within the state department for how you receive and review classified emails. These were not part of that.

Dianne Feinstein, who is head of the committee looked at this. She has said there is nothing to it, on these emails. That she should not be held responsible for emails that she did not create and that were not marked classified. So all in all, this is really as the campaign has said, this is really a dispute between the state department and other agencies about what can be marked as classified retroactively. So the statute required that you have to knowingly remove classified information. This does not apply.

HARLOW: Let's talk about something I found fascinating in Monday's "New York Times." David Axelrod, former chief strategist for Barack Obama, before he was president, when he was running. He wrote a big strategy paper and he quoted part of it looking at all the way to 2006, 2007. And here is what he wrote at that time.

Voters rarely seek the replica of what they have. They almost always seek the remedy. The candidate who has the personal qualities the public finds lacking in the departing executive.

So governor when you couple that with a look at the U.S. economy right now, most recent numbers, U.S. economy grew very little at the end of this year only 0.7 percent. Are you worried that this the president's legacy will be a detrimental to the Clinton in the general election? I mean, we have been seeing her, especially in the last debate, really reach out and hug him and embrace him and say I'm going to stand up for his record. But given even what David Axelrod said that many voters look for something very different from the existing president.

[17:25:53] GRANHOLM: They do especially if the existing president was George W. Bush and has a disastrous presidency. This president has made progress every single step of the way. His numbers on job creation, him, of course, I come from Michigan, having saved the U.S. auto industry. Getting Obamacare in place. Having 17 million more people insured.

Every single step that he has taken are steps both that Democrats, independents and even some Republicans would admit are a good thing. The number of sheer jobs created under President Obama versus the Republican presidents are -- it's amazing. It is more than twice as many. So I think that if you can educate people about what the true record of this president is and then say, not only will you embrace that past but you will build a future for people to continue to move the progress forward, I think that's what she is going to be able to say. And certainly in these primary answers in the caucuses, Poppy, as you know, making sure that you say that you're going to build on this foundation for Democrats is really important.

HARLOW: All right. Before I let you go, very quickly, I do want to ask you this because it was interesting, on Friday in Dubuque, Clinton said to Iowa voters quote "I would rather under promise and over deliver." When you look back at the platform of hope and change that President Obama ran on and won in Iowa back in 2008, this is a different strategy. Why?

GRANHOLM: Well, she is going to deliver. I mean, some people think it's exciting to be inspired with great ideas. But if you can't turn those ideas, if you can't put feet to your prayers, if you can't turn those ideas into reality, what's that inspiration for? So a lot of Democrats like me get goose bumps and are inspired by the fact that somebody is actually going to get stuff done.

She is not only going to address the issues that Bernie Sanders is talking about, she will do stuff about it and she has propose these policies that are extremely detailed and specific about how she will get it done even if you happen to have a Paul Ryan at the helm in the House when she is elected. So that's to me the difference. Getting it done is super inspirational.

HARLOW: Pragmatism versus idealism.

GRANHOLM: Well, I wanted to say, listen. It is idealistic.

HARLOW: What would you call it?

GRANHOLM: She is definitely a pragmatist but she is a progressive who gets things done. And she's idealistic. She is moving the ball towards those ideals. And every step, every policy that she has put out are doable policies. And that to me is the combination of idealism an action.

HARLOW: Governor, I got to get to my friend, Brooke Baldwin, who has a representative from Bernie Sanders camp. Got to get both sides in here. Thank you for your time.

GRANHOLM: You bet.

HARLOW: I appreciate it.

To Brooke now in Des Moines - Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, Poppy. Thank you so much.

Let me bring in the top man from the Bernie Sanders camp. He is Jeff Weaver, Bernie Sanders campaign manager. So nice to have you on, sir.

JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Glad to be here.

BALDWIN: You have been listening to that conversation. Before I get through my questions, I just wanted to give you the opportunity to respond.

WEAVER: Sure. I mean, you know, this idea that secretary Clinton is going to get things done and Bernie Sanders is not, is really a false argument for a couple of reasons. Bernie Sanders was in the U.S. House of Representatives over a decade-long period as an independent caucusing with the Democrats and Republican-controlled house. Got more amendments passed by voice vote than any other member of the U.S. House of Representatives. People don't know that. Worked very hard two years ago with John McCain to create the greatest overhaul of Veterans healthcare in the history of the United States of America, working with the Republican. So Bernie Sanders has a strong record of actually getting things done in Congress.

The other thing I would say, the governor said this that secretary Clinton is a progressive that likes to get things done. The problem is that a lot of what she wants it get done isn't so progressive, right. She supports the death penalty. She has previously voted for fence along the Mexican border. She has supported bad trade deals, right? She has infrastructure program that is relatively small compared to Senator Sanders. She doesn't support making colleges and universities tuition-free. So again, she wants to get things done but a lot of that is not too progressive.

[17:30:00] BALDWIN: So let me tell you this. I mean, I was at a rally last night with nearly 4,000 people, primarily young people. I mean, I listen. I have been sitting from my porch in New York and finally to be here in Iowa to feel and to witness it with my own eyes, it was pretty extraordinary. And when I talk to a lot of these young people, what is it that this sort of (INAUDIBLE) congressman, it is so, you know, refreshing and they keep telling me it is because he tells the truth, OK. This is what they told me.

But on the flipside, this is what we read in "the Washington Post" this week. This is an opinion piece. Mr. Sanders is not a brave truth teller. He is a politician selling his own brand of fiction to his slice of the country that eagerly wants to buy it. He would be in brave truth teller if he explain how he would go about rationing healthcare like Europeans do.

You talk to critics of Senator Sanders, they say that is not at all feasible American 2016. We saw how difficult Obamacare was. What is your response to that?

WEAVER: Look. Thankfully we're not running for president of the "Washington Post" executive board. Look. I would prefer you have said to the "Quad City Times" editorial written right here in Iowa where they talk about Senator Sanders being the only candidate in this race who has the courage, the integrity and the ability to take on the billionaire class, the rigged economy and to restore the American middle class. That's the reality.

You know, "the Washington Post' editorial board, this editorial board that supported the Iraq war and has got it wrong on other occasions. So I will stick with the "Quad City Times" here in Iowa and the people of Iowa and not, you know, the board in an establishment newspaper. BALDWIN: Important to hear the perspectives on that. Not everyone,

you know, who drinks the Bernie Sanders kool-aid, as thousand people did last night in that Iowa, you know, field house, you know. And when you talk to all these young supporters, and I know you got this question, but how do you, a, get them out Monday night. And b, they are in these university cities. You need them state-wide.

WEAVER: Right. Look, so your second part of your question first. He does have a tremendous amount of support statewide. There are in fact young people all over Iowa, not just in college town, (INAUDIBLE) college towns. That is certainly true. But he has support among young people across the state, working people, middle income people, across the state, men and women. He does have support in college towns. And I'll tell you what, folks are going to get out. You know, they come to Bernie's rallies and, you know, last night you went to a concert. But his standard rally is an hour and half or two hours of him talking about politics, economics, facts, granular facts, and statistics. Young people are coming out and cheering.

You know what? Young people do want to be involved in politics but they are put off by establishment politics, establishment economics. It doesn't sound reel to them because it's not and they are responding to Bernie's authentic message on these issues and they are going to come out.

BALDWIN: Jeff Weaver, thank you very much.

WEAVER: Happy to be here.

BALDWIN: And speaking of senator Sanders, he will be, of course, we will be following him to New Hampshire. We're all headed that way next. Wednesday night, these Democratic candidates have agreed to take part in this town hall. Closing arguments next to the New Hampshire voters during prime time town hall event. That's 8:00 eastern right here on CNN this coming Wednesday night.

Meantime, Iowa is the story. Much more here from the state capital live. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Poppy Harlow in New York.

More coverage, special live political coverage in front of the first in the nation caucuses after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:36:12] BALDWIN: And we're back here live in Des Moines, Iowa. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And while Donald Trump has been celebrating his lead here in the Hawkeye state, there is plenty of work to be done if he wants to be president of the United States. And there were some warning signs in the latest poll. The poll indicated that 55 percent of women held an unfavorable view of him while among voters who consider themselves evangelical, 56 percent view him unfavorably. Troubling numbers for any politician, especially here on the eve of Iowa's caucus.

So let me bring in Katrina Pierson, the national spokesperson for the Donald Trump campaign. Nice to see you here. Thanks for joining me. KATRINA PIERSON, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Nice to see

you.

BALDWIN: First, just how confident are you going into tomorrow?

PIERSON: We feel really great. The people on the ground here have been phenomenal. We're very confident we are going to win here in Iowa and then head on to New Hampshire. And it has been a lot of fun. The people here are really ready for change. They are tired of politicians coming through begging for money. And then going to office and doing nothing. Mr. Trump is not a politician. He means what he says. He says what he means, and voters support him.

BALDWIN: What if, though, when you look at so many different polls, bottom line, what if he comes in second tomorrow night? How will that change the game or strategy heading into New Hampshire?

PIERSON: Well, I don't think it changes the game. Donald Trump wasn't picked to win Iowa regardless and politically it isn't going to hurt him. It will hurt him personally because he does want to win Iowa. He is very committed to this campaign. But if he doesn't win Iowa, it is not going to hurt politically.

BALDWIN: How do you mean not hurt politically?

PIERSON: Well, because he doesn't have to win Iowa to go on to New Hampshire. His polling ahead in all the other states moving forward. We are ahead in Iowa today. We are very proud of that. Mr. Trump has been fighting really hard through all of the media exchanges, through all the politicians. And I think he has done a really great job and we are very proud of him.

BALDWIN: We have been watching, obviously, the sniping back and forth especially between Mr. Trump and Ted Cruz, his closest rival. Just today, Donald Trump said, and I'm quoting, "look, Ted Cruz is a total liar. I'm so against Obamacare. I have been saying it for two years in my speeches. I'm going to repeal and replace Obamacare." He said this on ABC this week. I don't know where he gets this. That he is a total liar. Would you share that same sentiment when, you know, you were saying all of those nice things when you were volunteering for Ted Cruz's campaign back in 2012?

PIERSON: Well, granted, we weren't dealing with these issues back in 2012. We are dealing with these issues today. And Mr. Trump does feels that his position have been distorted particularly about Obamacare because he has been very open, outspoken about Obamacare and getting rid of it just as many of the other campaign have done. But we have also seen a lot of the politicians in the last election cycle come out against Obamacare, raise a ton of money get to office and then ended up funding it.

BALDWIN: But calling someone a liar, it sounds like a third grade word to me.

PIERSON: Well, it is not true so it is a lie if it is not true, correct? And we all know that Mr. Trump doesn't use to how use politically correct language. He is very real. And that's one of the reasons why a lot of people support him is because he is not going to play those games.

BALDWIN: OK. Katrina Pierson from the Donald Trump campaign, thank you so much for stopping by.

PIERSON: Thank you. Good to be here.

BALDWIN: It is so important to hear from all these different campaigns here in this final push ahead of the first in nation caucuses here in Iowa tomorrow night.

Coming up, he is the oldest candidate running for president with a lot of support as we mentioned a moment ago, comes from the youngest voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EZRA KOENIG, VAMPIRE WEEKEND: I think it is really cool that young people are supporting him because he doesn't have the classic signifiers of cool. You know. Our generation gets accused a lot of being entitled and shallow and things like that. And here are these kids fired up about 74-year-old man, hair kind of messy, not classically stylish. You know what I mean?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We talk about Bernie Sanders' taste and oh, so much more. Pretty smart interview with the lead singer of Vampire Weekend who was headlining this event. They got just about 4,000 people. A lot of young people. Why? We'll talk about that next.

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[17:43:40] BALDWIN: Listen, there have been a lot of surprises in this race to the White House and perhaps one of the most surprising is how Bernie Sanders, 74-year-old Bernie Sanders, is electrifying young people.

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BALDWIN: This campus rally last night, that's typical. Thousands turned out to support a candidate old enough to be their grandfather. As I mentioned, he is 74 and the oldest in the field. But each of his multiple campaigns stops yesterday and really every day, senator Sanders has used that enthusiasm to fuel his run for the White House. And in Iowa the race is up for grabs.

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SANDERS: Our campaign is the campaign that is generating excitement and energy that will result in a high-voter turnout. Republicans win when voter turnout is low. Democrats win when voter turnout is high.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: So will young voters drive that high turnout? It is an improbable but undeniable alliance. I went to this rally last night, two hours in Iowa City, because I wanted to see it, I wanted to feel it. I wanted to see why these young people are so totally fascinated and refreshed by this set to congressmen. And I talked to Vampire Weekend. This is an awesome band with a bit of music nerds. So I wanted to hear them hear for the first time in a year and a half. And I asked the lead singer, you know, why did you want to come to Iowa? It is the first for him to be part of the political process. This is what he told me.

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[17:45:11] BALDWIN: Why Bernie?

KOENIG: I mean, it's rare that -- I think I feel the same way that a lot of people who are out there feel. It is rare you get a candidate like this. A dude who's literally been saying the same thing for decades. And thank God we have You Tube and we can go back and watch his speeches. Like '91 voting on the Persian Gulf War. This guy is saying the same thing he's saying now. He is predicting gnarly things that might happens based on in same foreign policy. And just feel so good to support a dude who is doing that as an independent to boot.

BALDWIN: You talk to so many people, too. And they say, you know, there is something intangible about Bernie Sanders that is really resonating with a lot of people, but they sort of all know, all right, he won't get nomination ultimately. It will be Hillary Clinton and that's fine and I'll root for Hillary down the road. Does that sound familiar to you?

KOENIG: Yes, of course. I think people are saying that less and less now.

BALDWIN: Because it is so close?

KOENIG: Because it is close.

BALDWIN: Do you think he has a chance?

KOENIG: Of course he has a chance. I mean, look at the polls. He literally could win Iowa and New Hampshire. I mean, that is an argument that we hear with Obama back in the day.

BALDWIN: What is it then, I mean, this man is, we would be -- I think he would be 75. He would be the oldest president. He has been in Congress for decades.

KOENIG: Yes.

BALDWIN: What is it about him that is so refreshing, especially for all the young people you are drawing tonight?

KOENIG: Yes. Right. I mean, that's a good question. I think it is really cool that young people are supporting him because he doesn't have the classic signifiers of cool, you know. Our generations get accused a lot of being entitled and shallow and things like that. And hear all these kids fired up, a 74-year-old man, hair kind of messy. Not classically stylish. You know what I mean? And that's amazing. And if anything --

BALDWIN: I think he would be OK with that assessment.

KOENIG: No. I read his book. He talked about like when he became mayor. He was like, I had to buy a suit. I didn't have a suit. Then I had one suit. And it was like the fact that that's the dude firing kids up, I think also proves a lot of what people say about millennials to be garbage, as we knew the case to be for a long time just like the other - these kids who have suffer so much from the insane economic policies of generations before, that they are like somehow their brains are warped by it and here they are I think making a really sensitive and empathic choice in who they are supporting.

BALDWIN: So what is it though? You still haven't put your finger on it? What is that magic that Bernie Sanders may have?

KOENIG: I mean, I don't know if it is this complicated. For a long time - I mean, I remember, even before I knew who Bernie Sanders was, I would be a kid, like on c-span, the vote in the house, and then you see RDI. One vote, I.

BALDWIN: Who is that guy?

KOENIG: And that was Bernie then. I mean, and then - and then in the Senate it was him too. With no disrespect to (INAUDIBLE) and other independents, but we have seen so much stuff we don't like in both parties. Over and over again. I think it is really hard for young kids, who were like seeing past and all sorts of binaries, you know. This is like the generation that is like of gender binary, looking at race in a way that other generations didn't. So of course this generation is going to try to see past the Democratic Republican binary. So one of the simplest way to say why is Bernie different, what are people say about him, that he is a true independent.

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BALDWIN: Thank you, Ezra, for the time there backstage. By the way, I did say, you do realize, you are calling the potential president, dude. He says, listen. Let's call everyone dude. But that was Vampire Weekend. We just have to wait and see if, you know, all that young fan base actually translate to caucus goers here in Iowa tomorrow night.

We have so much more coverage here, obviously, over the course in the next couple hours ahead of the first of the nation caucuses. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Poppy Harlow standing by in New York. We will be right back.

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[17:52:47] HARLOW: We are the final stretch, just about 24 hours to go until Iowans head out to caucus. And if the saying goes there, there are only three tickets out of Iowa. The latest Des Moines Register Republican poll shows those tickets, they just go to Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

Here is how Politico put it today interestingly. Somehow against all the evidence, Rubio has successfully spun that he is only gunning for third place here. In sharp contrast, Cruz's campaign touting its superior ground game has openly opined for a predicted victory.

Peter Beinart, contributing editor for "the Atlantic" is with me.

All right, let's talk about this because you got Rubio in third in Iowa, third in New Hampshire, third in North Carolina. At the same time, he said to Jake on "STATE OF THE UNION," he said I think this is going to be a longer than usual process, it's going to be very unusual, highly contested.

On top of that, you have the head of the Republican Party in Iowa, Jeff Kaufman comes out and he says expectations in my opinion are far more important than a person getting first place. Is Rubio right? Is the game different this time?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It could be. For one thing, the two guys who are expected to finish ahead of him, Cruz and Trump, both have a lot of establishment opposition. And if after New Hampshire the other kind of more centrist establishment candidate like Jeb Bush and John Kasich and Chris Christie kind of fall by the wayside, I think it's entirely possible that a lot of people who were rally around Marco Rubio because they're so concerned about the electoral consequences of nominating either Trump or Cruz. And that will probably get Rubio even more money than he has. He's already well-funded.

So you could imagine that sense of desperation might fuel Rubio's candidacy even if he finishes third in South Carolina after finishing third in New Hampshire and Iowa.

HARLOW: How problematic do you think it is for Ted Cruz if he does not take Iowa?

BEINART: I think it's difficult for him because Iowa is a stronger state for him than New Hampshire. If he loses -- if Donald Trump wins both Iowa and New Hampshire, he's going to be the strong front-runner. I think Cruz -- if Cruz lost both, I think then South Carolina would be very, very important to him given that people have always assumed that the south with its high percentage of evangelicals would be a good state for him.

[17:55:04] HARLOW: All right. So let's look on the Democratic side, because they're some who are looking at what Bernie Sanders came up publicly and said and surprised a lot of us yesterday. He said we're going to win in a lot of people so up and we are going to lose if they don't in Iowa to caucus. And some people wonder, why would you say that? Why would you say we're going to lose? If anything, with any death move by Sanders to have this sort of lower expectation and surprise to the upside.

BEINART: I think part of what people like about him is that he is more honest than most normal politicians. He doesn't speak as much in kind of scripted political speak.

HARLOW: Let me ask you this. Do you believe that he is more honest? Or do you believe that he is perceived as being more honest?

BEINART: I think that he is -- I think he is genuinely more authentic in the way he speaks. I don't think there is a kind of a playbook for how you operate as a politician. And he veers from it more than others do. For instance, the way his refusal to attack Hillary Clinton on her emails, for instance, even though I think --.

HARLOW: But he did pretty much this morning to Jake on "STATE OF THE UNION." He said this is a very serious issue.

BEINART: Right. It was like a little passive aggressive about that. He said I'm not raising it as an issue. It is a serious issue. But overall, in general over the past few months, given that was really a weakness of hers, the whole character issue, I think it's still striking that (INAUDIBLE), he stuck to policy. I think he's right on the substance. I mean, he needs a lot of younger voters who have not necessarily traditionally turned out and don't turn out with the same level of expectancy that other voters do. And if they turn out, he is likely to do well. All the polling shows that how well he does is depend on how you model the polls and what kind of turnout you expect.

HARLOW: Give me your headlines? Give me your two headlines for the Democrats and Republicans Tuesday morning.

BEINART: I think that Hillary Clinton, even if she loses, I think she can come back. I mean, she has shown throughout her career she can come back and she has a firewall in South Carolina.

HARLOW: Wait. So the headline for Tuesday morning on the Democratic side is Hillary loses, but this is a long road.

BEINART: Right.

HARLOW: What's the Republican headline?

BEINART: I think it's so hard to predict. I mean, in my gut, I think that Donald Trump is going to be -- not do as well the polls suggest he will be. And I think that ultimately, it's not going to be Donald Trump's night. But you know, so many of us --

HARLOW: Ted Cruz's night?

BEINART: I wouldn't be surprised if all three of candidates were actually pretty bunched up. Which I think would be considered a victory for Rubio.

HARLOW: All right. We will be watching. Right. He's still far below them in the latest poll.

Thanks so much, Peter Beinart. Appreciate it.

BEINART: Thank you.

HARLOW: Ahead, we have much, much, much more from Iowa. It's the final countdown ahead of the crucial caucus tomorrow night.

In the next hour right here on CNN, you will see Clinton, Cruz, Bush, Sanders, all speaking on the former president Bill Clinton, all happening in the Hawkeye state, all live right here on CNN.

Back in a moment.

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