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What Does Icy Sanders-Warren Feud Mean For Iowa?; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) Reacts To How A Woman Can Win A Presidency Question; President Trump Signs Phase 1 China Trade Deal. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 15, 2020 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

FORMER REP. CHRIS CANNON (R-UT): They haven't had the opportunity to shape the case.

And to get now with, you know, prior to this segment, you were talking about some of these e-mails and things, the texts that have come out. What are you prosecuting? What the House did or what you hope will happen? Or what you think might be the evidence that you could discover in a trial?

It's a very frustrating thing, I would think for the House Managers to be in a position where they don't have a case to present. They've got a case to develop and that's got to be deeply frustrating.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: What do you think the biggest challenges that they'll be facing, these women and men, these seven?

CANNON: The fact that it's a Republican Senate, and the rules are going to be Republican rules, and that's probably going to be quite frustrating to them.

BALDWIN: Now imagine, on top of all of that, you have a President who will likely for the first time in history be tweeting during this trial. I mean, you laugh, but Congressman --

CANNON: And pleading to 70 million people. It's amazing. Yes, it's brand new. And in fact, I've got say, this is -- I'm a little in shock right now, because I walked in, I got a text that one of my colleagues and friends passed away suddenly.

BALDWIN: Oh, sorry.

CANNON: And so if I might say In Memoriam of Nate Jacobson, let's live like lions and not like mewling pussycats. And the problem with this trial is there's a lot of mewling and not a determined path to discover the truth and figure out where we're going and to recognize that we have an election coming up in a year. Let the American people decide, and we're living in -- for the managers. What a problem.

They've been told by Nancy Pelosi that if Trump gets reelected, they're going to impeach him again. It just seems to me that this whole -- in fact, if I can just vent, Congress has given up its power. They have become mewling pussycats, and unlike 1819 and 1910, when you had a Congress with Uncle Joe Cannon, not related by the way had power.

And now we've got these people that just live to get reelected. It's really frustrating.

BALDWIN: On both sides of the aisle, is that what you're saying, Congressman? I mean, Republicans and Democrats?

CANNON: Absolutely. This is both Democrats and Republicans.

BALDWIN: All of the above.

CANNON: This is all about the institution of Congress, and we're seeing the weakness of Congress in this, pardon me, it's a silly process. And I'm deeply frustrated by it because the American people are not represented by a government that has a balance of power.

They're represented by a President and people who will whine about the wall and whine about budgets, and then they impeach him instead of trying to create an environment that's better for all Americans. Very frustrating to me, and I think to your viewers.

BALDWIN: Having a former Member of Congress, come on and vent and speak the truth, you are welcome anytime. Chris Cannon, thank you and I am so sorry about the loss of your friend and I appreciate you still coming on TV and talking to me. I will let you go. But for now, thank you very much.

CANNON: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Coming up next, Senator Elizabeth Warren addressing the question that for some reason is still being asked in the year 2020. Can a woman become President of the United States?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they've been in are the women. Amy and me.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We will discuss with a woman who certainly knows a thing or two about winning elections in this country. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:38:11]

BALDWIN: A streamlined debate stage last night in Iowa allowed for close scrutiny between two progressive candidates, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. They clashed after Warren accused Sanders of telling her he didn't believe a woman could win in 2020 during a private conversation they had in the end of 2018, and when asked about that conversation on stage Warren, got in this zinger. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARREN: Look, this question about whether or not a woman can be President has been raised and it's time for us to attack it head on.

And I think the best way to talk about who can win is by looking at people's winning record. So can a woman beat Donald Trump? Look at the men on this stage. Collectively, they have lost 10 elections. The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they've been in are the women. Amy and me.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You heard the audience responding to that line. Amy Klobuchar also took a swing at the issue of women running for higher office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you say to people who say that a woman can't win this election?

KLOBUCHAR: I hear that. People have said it. That's why I've addressed it from this stage. I point out that you don't have to be the tallest person in the room. James Madison was five foot four. You don't have to be the skinniest person in the room. You don't have to be the loudest person. You have to be competent.

And when you look at the facts, Michigan has a woman governor right now and she beat a Republican, Gretchen Whitmer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And just like that. Magic. Guess who we have today? The Michigan governor who got named there during the debate, Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Governor Whitmer, a privilege to have you on. Thank you.

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): Oh, thank you, Brooke. Glad to be here.

BALDWIN: So let's go back to Elizabeth Warren because she could have done a few things there when she was confronted with that question. She could have called Bernie Sanders out. She could have ignored the whole thing. But instead, she pointed out that being a woman is a strength. What do you make of how she handled it?

WHITMER: I think she handled it beautifully, to tell you the truth. I think every woman who has run has heard the same thing, whether it's from someone in the same party or the other side of the aisle, I know Republican women have heard it. I know I certainly did.

And I ran, I gritted my teeth and did the work and I think that's what women do. And so to hold someone's gender against them is -- it's just ridiculous in today's day and age. I won by the biggest voter turnout in the history of my state. We won

decisively and it wasn't just me, our Attorney General won, she's Dana Nessel; our Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson won.

We swept all of the statewide races in Michigan, and people question whether or not we could do it and we did it decisively.

BALDWIN: And not only did they question it then, you know, you haven't had it easy in your first year, Governor. As a Democratic governor with the State Legislature dominated by Republicans, I know of one Republican lawmaker who thought it was okay to call you bat crazy in public. I mean, we can laugh now, but how -- I mean, just be real with me, if I may, like how much of that do you have to deal with on a daily basis as you are running the State of Michigan?

WHITMER: Well, you know, I don't engage back because it is just a distraction. And I'm a mom, I told you last night, I walked away from the debate for a minute to check on my kids who are in finals week. I've got a lot going on and I don't have time for foolishness or petty arguments.

BALDWIN: But you're still getting the foolishness, Governor is my point.

WHITMER: That's true.

BALDWIN: Like in 2020, you have handily one year race, and you're still getting the stuff.

WHITMER: That's right. And you know what? It's going to happen. And so I just gird myself and keep doing the work. And I think that's what women do.

We have all sorts of pressures, but you know, we're not going to get distracted. I think that's why I appreciated the way that both Senator Warren and Senator Klobuchar handled the question.

BALDWIN: And I'm sure you know, I can only guess that you say yes, you know, of course, you're ready for a woman to be President of the United States, but in talking to voters, in truly talking to voters, do you think America is ready?

WHITMER: I do. And I don't think that it's a question about gender. I do think that it's a question about competency. It's a question about dinner table issues.

When I ran for election in 2018, I ended up winning by 10 points in a state that had just voted for Donald Trump. And I did it because I think it was -- we focused on the issues that matter to people, by showing up and staying tethered to questions about how do we ensure people have paths to skills so they can get in good paying jobs? How do we clean up drinking water? How do we fix the damn roads?

These are the fundamentals that I think were true in Michigan in 2018, and that any one of these presidential candidates would be better off if they stayed focused on those issues. BALDWIN: Do you think though I hear you on issues and yes and amen to

that, but do you think part of it is that Jennifer Granholm helped pave the way that, are right, Michiganders can imagine a woman being in the State's top seat and therefore, you know, maybe the idea of having you in the job wasn't as much of a stretch.

But we have yet to have, even though I know everyone points out, you know, in terms of the popular vote, all the millions more votes that Hillary Clinton receive than Donald Trump in 2016. There are still definitely -- there's a contingent in this country that says no, you know, it's not time and to those people, you say what?

WHITMER: Well, there's no question. We need to have better representation in the C-suites. We need to have better representation in CEOs leading businesses and women starting businesses.

We need better representation in all of these forms, and the more of us who recognize that and do everything we can to empower one another, the better off we all are not just women, but men and women in this country.

And I think that's, you know, what centers all of the work that I do and why, as I see these debates play out, I know America is ready. People question if we were ready for an African-American President when Barack Obama won and he won decisively.

The fact of the matter is, our country needs leaders who are going to do the right thing, who are going to preserve America's moral high ground and our strength in the world by being the best that we can be.

BALDWIN: Governor Gretchen Whitmer there in Michigan. Thank you so much.

WHITMER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Still ahead here on CNN, President Trump follows through on a campaign promise and signs Phase 1 of the China trade deal, but was it worth the damage to American farmers and other industries?

And just in to CNN, the Governor of Virginia just declared a temporary state of emergency at the Statehouse, ahead of a massive gun rally citing threats similar to the ones in Charlottesville. We have those details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:49:12]

BALDWIN: Phase 1 of the U.S.-China deal is now in the books. The agreement between the world's two largest economies is the first step to cooling a trade war that has simmered for more than 18 months.

President Trump has long accused China of unfair trading practices said this on signing the pact today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We didn't. We never had to deal with them. They'd do whatever they wanted.

With this shining, we mark more than just an agreement, we mark a sea change in international trade.

We now have a big investment in each other and then getting along with each other, and this deal is Phase 1. We will probably be able to conclude it with Phase 2. We don't expect to have a Phase 3.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This deal includes promises from Beijing to buy billions more in American goods and services and to protect U.S. intellectual property, but the question remains, will China abide by it?

Lindsey Piegza, Chief Economist at Stifel Financials is with me now and Lindsey, she specializes in research and analysis of world economies and economic trends and activity. Good to have you on. Tell me what did Trump get out of this?

[15:50:16]

LINDSEY PIEGZA, CHIEF ECONOMIST, STIFEL FINANCIALS: Well, it is a step in the right direction. And certainly I do think this will be hailed as a victory for the Trump administration.

But there's still considerable ground left to cover before we can talk about a meaningful trade deal between the U.S. and China.

Now on the one hand, we did see that by signing this Phase 1 deal, the administration was able to bypass a new fresh round of levees that was expected to go into effect at the end of last year.

We also saw that it allowed the Trump administration to lessen some of those levees that were put in place in September, but that still means that a heavy weight of this trade war remains in place.

We're still talking about $250 billion worth of Chinese goods taxed at 25 percent, an additional $120 billion taxed at seven and a half percent, so this is a step in the right direction, but we need to temper our expectations that a Phase 1 deal alone will not eliminate that burden that we've been feeling for the past 18 months in terms of American businesses and consumers.

BALDWIN: But Lindsey, what about China? Will they fulfill their pledges to buy more products?

PIEGZA: Well, as you mentioned, they did make some concessions, not necessarily on the tariff front, but on the export front.

So they've pledged to increase purchases of U.S. exports by $200 billion on an annual basis, as well as -- well, that would include I should say $50 billion of agricultural purchases. But this expectation is over the next two years. Now, if that, in fact

is pushed to the latter end of that timeframe, we won't feel that immediate relief that specifically American farmers are hoping for in the near term, so that remains to be seen.

We've also seen that the Chinese have made a pledge to eliminate a longstanding practice of forced technology transfers, operating under an environment of transparency and fairness, as they say, but we've heard these types of promises before from the Chinese government.

So it remains to be seen whether or not they will follow through. They have a long history of making deals and then breaking them. So we would look to the enforcement mechanism of whether or not we will see the Chinese step up to the plate and actually follow through with some of these promises made at the Trump administration.

BALDWIN: And especially with the election 10 months away and how this, you know, next steps and Phase 2. We will explore. Lindsey Piegza, for now, thank you so much for your economic smarts. It is appreciated.

PIEGZA: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Just in to CNN, moments ago, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a temporary emergency banning all guns and other weapons at the State Capitol. A live report is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:28]

BALDWIN: Some breaking news. This massive gun rights rally coming to the Virginia State House has ignited a temporary state of emergency. Democratic Governor Ralph Northam just announced a temporary ban on firearms on the grounds of the State Capitol.

Jason Carroll is our CNN National Correspondent and so this is all about MLK Day and this rally.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Right. And you remember they had already banned guns inside the Capitol that just happened as well. But look, the Governor is saying that this is based on what he called credible, serious threats coming from, in many cases, from hate groups from outside the state, coming from militia group.

He also says what these groups were trying to do, according to this Intelligence was to disrupt this gun rights rally that's going to be taking place on Monday. So what did he do? As a result, he is declaring a state of emergency. It goes into effect on Friday. It'll end on Tuesday.

He says not only does it include guns, but he says it also includes sticks as well as chains, and he basically laid this all out in a press briefing that just wrapped up just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RALPH NORTHAM (D-VA): What we have seen and heard in recent weeks has the potential to go far beyond these constitutionally protected rights. We are seeing threats of violence. We're seeing threats of armed confrontation and assault on our capital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: So again, this temporary ban, Brooke, goes into place on Friday evening. It will end on Tuesday evening.

The Governor is also asking for all non-essential personnel to stay home. He wants this to be as safe as possible. And look, all of this taking place in the backdrop of what happened back in, you know, Charlottesville back in 2017.

You'll remember that Unite the Right rally, a lot of the protesters who showed up there were armed. You remember law enforcement was in some ways criticized for their response. You remember a young woman died when that white supremacist ran over her with a car. They don't want to see a repeat of any violence.

And so what they're trying to do is trying to get ahead of this by enacting this temporary ban. Of course, this temporary ban is also upsetting a number of gun rights advocates who feel as though they're being punished there in the state by this democratically controlled Statehouse.

And so, but again, you've got this government saying, look, we're dealing with credible threats here. This is our best response.

BALDWIN: Okay. This is all for Monday, MLK Day and this big rally. All right, I'm sure you'll be covering it there in Richmond. Jason, thank you very much.

CARROLL: You bet.

BALDWIN: And thank you for being with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin here in New York. Let's send it to Washington. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.

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