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President Trump Takes a Swipe at Democrats and Mitt Romney at National Prayer Breakfast; Buttigieg and Sanders in Virtual Tie as Iowa Awaits Full Results; Democratic Candidates Battle it Out in New Hampshire as Iowa Keeps Counting; Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders in Virtual Tie as Iowa Awaits Full Results; Bernie Sanders Raised $25 Million in Month of January; Trump to Address Public After Senate Voted to Acquit Him; Romney Faces Backlash for Impeachment Vote. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired February 06, 2020 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:12]
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.
You've waited, and it's a dead heat. Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders now separated by just 0.1 percent in Iowa with 97 percent of the votes now in. The final count could come this morning.
Bu there's another number we're following today. $25 million. The Sanders campaign announcing an incredible fundraising haul for January.
HARLOW: Yes, it's a big number. And as the candidates battle it out in New Hampshire, the president is starting his victory lap this morning holding up an acquittal newspaper headline as he arrives at the National Prayer Breakfast. He is making a statement at the White House in just a few hours.
Let's begin, though, with the 2020 race. The candidates well into campaigning in New Hampshire now even as we await the final Iowa results. They certainly didn't expect to be in this position with a week -- less than a week ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
Jessica Dean is with us.
Good morning, Jess. And let's start with Mayor Pete Buttigieg and what he is saying about what is really now a very narrow lead.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right. It's a very, very tight, tenth of a percentage point now. And you guys, Pete Buttigieg had told his supporters, look, when it's all said and done you can probably expect an incredibly tight race. But what did Pete Buttigieg also do? He took advantage of the fact that there was no for sure narrative or result coming out of Iowa so that they were victorious and has really ridden that story line all the way here into New Hampshire.
So he's really been able to take advantage of the fact that they were these muddled results kind of coming in that we still don't know on, gosh, Thursday now, what those final results are. So he is forging ahead like so many. Like all of the 2020 candidates. The bottom line is now Iowa has already happened. New Hampshire is what comes next, and they have to focus on that. That's why he came immediately here and has been on the ground talking to supporters here.
HARLOW: Jess, besides the numbers which are huge for Bernie Sanders, I mean, $25 million in January is more than he raised in the same month in the 2016 election.
DEAN: Yes.
HARLOW: It's not the $36 million that President Obama raised in 2008 in January, but it's still a lot. What is he saying about cutting into Buttigieg's lead this morning?
DEAN: Yes, I mean, that is a very, very big number. So let's put that aside for a second. We know that Bernie Sanders and his campaign wanted an outright victory in Iowa. My colleagues Greg Krieg and Ryan Nobles have been reporting on this. We know that they wanted to be able to be decisive, to come out of that.
Again, what Iowa was all about is really momentum when you get here to New Hampshire. And they wanted to be able to claim that. And that was frustrating to them because now, here we are, with these super tight results. No real clear winner at this point when it's so, so close. So that, of course, is frustrating to them.
But, Poppy, as you mentioned, this number today, this $25 million fundraising number, wow, I mean, what a huge number. And it shows longevity, durability for this campaign. They are putting that out there. They're saying, we are in this for the long haul. And that number, that, as you alluded to, is more than some candidates. Joe Biden for one, many others raised in all of the fourth quarter of last year.
HARLOW: Yes.
DEAN: So it's a major number. It comes from 1.3 million donors. The average donation I think is $18. They can go back to that well over and over again. So while they're frustrated, they can't claim an outright victory right now, they do have that bonus coming here into New Hampshire.
SCIUTTO: Yes, it comes as Elizabeth Warren is talking about saving money going forward.
Let's talk about Joe Biden as the final numbers come in here, solidifying what is, by all accounts, a disappointing fourth place finish for him. So what is he saying now, and how does he attempt to turn it around in New Hampshire?
DEAN: Yes, that campaign, the Biden campaign, Joe Biden himself, they are very eager to look forward to New Hampshire, to focus on New Hampshire. He talked about this a little bit yesterday at an event and also on our town hall. I'll let you listen to some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, let's put this in perspective. There are a total of, what, 44 delegates who are going to come out of that and it looks like it's going to break down somewhere between seven and 15 among the top four of us. You need 1900 delegates to become the president of the United States -- become the nominee. So it's -- I expected to do better and I expected that our organization would perform better, but the fact is I'm happy to be here in New Hampshire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Yes. He said that a couple of times. Very happy to be in New Hampshire. As I said, when you're talking to their campaign, to their allies, they're ready to focus on what comes next which is next Tuesday's primary here in New Hampshire. And we saw notably from Joe Biden yesterday, we also saw him really striking a much more direct attack at Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders.
[09:10:06]
Calling them out by name, going after Sanders about Medicare for All being a Democratic socialist, a self-described Democratic socialist. Going after Pete Buttigieg's experience.
So, Poppy and Jim, a very sharp, sharp attack from Joe Biden that we did not previously see when we were in Iowa. So it will be interesting to see how that plays out, especially on the debate stage and then over the weekend here in New Hampshire.
SCIUTTO: Yes. He knows he has to take voters away from both Buttigieg and Sanders to improve his position in New Hampshire. So he's taking shots at them.
Jessica Dean on the ground there, thanks very much.
Just hours from now we will hear from the president after the Senate vote to acquit him in the impeachment trial. John Harwood is at the White House.
John, something of a victory lap this morning at the prayer breakfast.
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is a bit of a victory lap, but it's more than just that. The president struck a triumphant tone when he walked into that prayer breakfast with Nancy Pelosi, held up the newspaper showing acquittal. But this president doesn't hide when something gets under his skin when he's angry. Didn't hide his anger at Nancy Pelosi either on Twitter or in the chamber for impeaching him and then later for ripping up his State of the Union speech after he gave it.
And he's angry at Mitt Romney for denying him that partisan impeachment label that he wanted to stick on this process. Mitt Romney stood up, said no. He committed an appalling preach of the public trust and the president's responded by posting a vicious video about Romney on Twitter, by calling him a failed presidential candidate who, if he had tried harder, could have beaten Barack Obama.
His son, Donald Trump Jr., is advancing the idea that he should be expelled from the Senate. And by the way, that process only makes the point that Adam Schiff made that many Republicans said they were offended by a couple of weeks ago when he said that the White House had warned that your head would be on a pike if you defied the president. Well, the president and his allies are trying to put Mitt Romney's head on a pike. They're not happy with what happened.
We will see the president around noon, we believe, and I expect that both of those emotions will be on display when he speaks.
SCIUTTO: Yes, I mean, one thing you rely on, the outrage is situational as always.
HARWOOD: Extremely.
SCIUTTO: John Harwood -- yes. At the White House.
So what are senators saying about the president's acquittal? CNN congressional reporter Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill with more.
And an interesting message even from some of the Republicans who acquitted him, Lauren Fox, is that the behavior not appropriate and they hope that impeachment taught him a lesson.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly what we heard from moderates like Susan Collins who voted to acquit the president, but what we heard from her essentially was that she hoped the president had learned his lesson, although she wasn't so sure that he had. Here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So why do you have that feeling that he has changed, that he learned a lesson?
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-MN): Well, I may not be correct on that. It's more aspirational on my part. It's more that I hope that he's listened to the many voices in the Senate who have pointed out that the call was very problematic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOX: And the most shocking moment yesterday, of course, happened with Mitt Romney went to the floor and announced that he was going to convict the president on both of the impeachment charges against him. And I think the reaction that we saw from his Republican colleagues while openly they were saying, you know, this is up to each individual senator, this is a vote of conscience, they were struggling behind the scenes with the fact that this was someone who was supposed to, they thought, follow the party line. He chose not to. And in a way, took away their ability to make this a
partisan impeachment. That attack, of course, very important for people like Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who wanted to go out and make the case that, no, they couldn't support more witnesses. No, they couldn't get more documentation because the House had undergone an impartial process. And that was part of their struggle all along.
They eventually of course came to the realization that Mitt Romney was going to vote how he was going to vote. But a shocking moment. Many Republican leaders thought that he was going to vote a different way. That floor speech of course a very shocking moment yesterday.
HARLOW: Lauren, something else that we learned overnight is that House managers in this impeachment trial actually approached the lawyer for John Bolton trying to get a sworn affidavit testifying to what he saw and heard from the president. And that he didn't give it. What does that tell us?
FOX: Well, I think that that's very revealing. And, remember, it was kind of shocking when John Bolton said that he would be willing to come before the Senate if he were subpoenaed because he had fought that or at least his lawyer indicated they would fight that in court if the House asked for it.
HARLOW: Right.
FOX: So the fact that this all came out as basically the House saying, OK, if you say that you're OK testifying before the Senate, if we can't get more witnesses in a vote, would you sign an affidavit basically him refusing to do so leads to questions from Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, as to what Bolton's motives are. Whether or not he's trying to sell a book. I think that's one of the questions.
But Schiff has been very clear. No decisions have been made yet about whether or not the House will actually subpoena John Bolton, Poppy. And I think that's something, obviously, the next stage of this. And it'll be a good indication of whether or not the House really wants to double down on what they've already done related to impeachment.
HARLOW: Yes.
FOX: I know there are a lot of moderates ready to move on.
HARLOW: Well, if you ask Jerry Nadler, they're definitely continuing this. So maybe --
FOX: Exactly.
HARLOW: Maybe everyone should get on the same page.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HARLOW: Lauren, thanks for the reporting.
SCIUTTO: And he may yet be subpoenaed by the House. An emotional moment last night as the former vice president Joe Biden
spoke about a life-long personal struggle at CNN's town hall. You'll hear it just coming up.
And Senator Mitt Romney has drawn a line in the sand. Now he's public enemy number one for President Trump and his allies.
HARLOW: Plus, a look at what life is like inside two weeks of quarantine during the deadly coronavirus. We'll take you live to Beijing with that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Well, there's a prayer breakfast on today. The president just referencing the impeachment in pretty strong words. Have a listen. Make your own judgment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our great country, and your president, have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people. They have done everything possible to destroy us. And by so doing, very badly hurt our nation. They know what they are doing is wrong, but they put themselves far ahead of our great country.
Weeks ago, and again yesterday, courageous Republican politicians and leaders had the wisdom, fortitude and strength to do what everyone knows was right. I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong, nor do I like people who say, I pray for you, when they know that, that's not so. So many people have been hurt that we can't let that go on. And I'll be discussing that a little bit later at the White House. We're joined today by two people whose faith inspires us all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Well, it appears the president taking a shot there at the prayer breakfast, we should note, at both Mitt Romney, accusing him, it seems, of using their faith as justification for doing -- the president said, for what they know is wrong, but also seem like he had words there for Nancy Pelosi too.
HARLOW: Joining us now to discuss, Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona and Mark Hayward; reporter for the "New Hampshire Union Leader". Good morning to both of you. I guess --
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning --
HARLOW: I guess -- Mark, let's begin with you, obviously, he's taking a --
MARK HAYWARD, REPORTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADER: Right -- HARLOW: Clear shot there at Mitt Romney who certainly made history as
the first -- you know, the first senator to ever convict a president of his own party in a Senate impeachment trial.
HAYWARD: Right --
HARLOW: How does this play in, or does it not, to the thinking of New Hampshire voters, so many of whom are independent and, you know, it's an open primary.
HAYWARD: It is an open primary. And I think in this primary with so many independents, 40 percent of the voters in New Hampshire are independent. They're going to likely vote Democratic just because that's where all the action is.
SCIUTTO: OK, Maria Cardona, let's look to 2020 now in this primary. As you look at these numbers -- and again, it's neck and neck between him and Buttigieg coming out of Iowa now. And in New Hampshire, Sanders is strong in most of the polling. Is it safe to say that he's the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination now?
CARDONA: I think it's too early to say that. And as we have seen with polls, right, I mean, everything can change day-to-day. So I don't think it's really safe to say anything at this point, Jim. I think we have to see what the voters in New Hampshire end up voting like. We know that they are notoriously independent, not just by their own party affiliation, but also they don't like to be told. They like to be different than what Iowa does.
So we'll see what happens. I think going into it, there's no question that Pete and Sanders are the strongest going into New Hampshire. But we have also seen that right now Joe Biden has a lot of strength in South Carolina and in Nevada. Obviously, the win for both Sanders and Pete in Iowa could change that. That's why I'm saying that it's really -- you know, sort of foolhardy to say that anything is clear at this moment, Jim.
But I think that's one of the reasons why this primary is so exciting for people who are voting in it, both Democratic primary voters as well as independents who are going to be able to participate in New Hampshire.
HARLOW: Mark, you make the important point I think, that what happens in New Hampshire, if history is a lesson for us, often up-ends what we saw in Iowa, right?
HAYWARD: Of course, and it might be that Buttigieg and Sanders don't want to embrace the front-runner status because so often, you go out of Iowa, you're the front-runner, you get a lot more scrutiny, people give a second -- a second thought to you, and all of a sudden, someone else has come from the inside and taken the contest in New Hampshire.
[09:20:00]
SCIUTTO: No question, and of course, Joe Biden been the target, a lot of fire because he had up until this point, at least in national polling, front-runner status. But Maria --
CARDONA: Right --
SCIUTTO: Cardona, as you look at Joe Biden, you can say with confidence that it was a disappointing showing for him in Iowa. Test in New Hampshire, I mean, Bill Clinton famously called himself the comeback kid finishing third in New Hampshire --
CARDONA: Right --
SCIUTTO: After a disappointing performance in Iowa. What does Biden have to do in New Hampshire, or does he have to do much there? Can he rely on South Carolina later?
CARDONA: I think that he needs to try to be as strong in New Hampshire as he can. I think that if he comes in more than third or like fourth or fifth, it's going to be really hard for him, even going into South Carolina as the supposed front-runner there. And I think he acknowledged that in the town hall last night, how disappointing it was both, you know, for him and his campaign, they're showing in Iowa.
They expected to do better. I think that, that means though, that their campaign is going to do everything that they can in terms of whatever it is they can do going into New Hampshire to be as strong as possible, to be able to claim, you know, first, second or third status. And then that will help him going into --
SCIUTTO: Right --
CARDONA: South Carolina as he is still the front-runner there. But again, everything depends on what he's going to do placing in New Hampshire in terms of how strong his front-runner status is will be going into South Carolina --
SCIUTTO: Yes, like they say in baseball, that's why you play the games.
HAYWARD: I think --
SCIUTTO: See what the results are.
HAYWARD: Yes --
SCIUTTO: Sorry, quickly before we go, Mark.
HAYWARD: I think Joe Biden is a base candidate. He has to rely on endorsements from Democratic politicians here and unions who have been strong for him.
HARLOW: Right --
HAYWARD: They're his base. He has to rely on them --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
HAYWARD: To get out. And for the other candidates to split the independents who notoriously don't --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
HAYWARD: One, machine politicians.
SCIUTTO: Yes, and to your point if I can go --
HAYWARD: If he can do that, if he can solidify his base, he'll do much better than he did in Iowa.
SCIUTTO: Yes, and to your point, Biden got a big union endorsement, I think just yesterday.
HARLOW: Right --
SCIUTTO: Mark Hayward, Maria Cardona, thanks to both of you --
HAYWARD: Yes, right --
SCIUTTO: We'll certainly stay on top of this --
CARDONA: Thanks so much, Jim.
SCIUTTO: You still have questions for the remaining Democratic candidates. CNN hosts the last of the Democratic presidential town halls before the New Hampshire primary. That continues tonight live only on CNN, starting at 8:00 Eastern Time.
HARLOW: The president just unleashed on Democrats after his impeachment trial and his acquittal. This was at the national prayer breakfast, clearly taking a swipe there at Mitt Romney, you'll hear that ahead.
SCIUTTO: And we're moments away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Stocks are set to climb when trading begins amid new signs of easing tensions between the U.S. and China in their trade war, just a few weeks after they signed phase one of the trade deal. China says it will reduce tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. imports. Those cuts go into effect next week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:25:00]
HARLOW: Well, it is the National Prayer Breakfast, but that is not stopping the president from clearly taking shots at Democrats, and at Republican Senator Mitt Romney. Take a listen to this just a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Yesterday, courageous Republican politicians and leaders had the wisdom, fortitude and strength to do what everyone knows was right. I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong, nor do I like people who say, I pray for you, when they know that that's not so. So many people have been hurt, and we can't let that go on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Well, the president very clearly taking a shot at Romney's religious reasoning for his impeachment vote. Listen to Romney explaining what he described as a difficult decision yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I am. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong. The grave question the constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor? Yes, he did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Joining us now, CNN's John Harwood is at the White House. Doug Hyde; former communications director for the RNC, and James Schultz; former Trump White House lawyer. James, if I could begin with you, you just listen to those two comments there, clearly an emotional moment for Mitt Romney as he announced his decision. The president at a prayer breakfast.
In your view, what answer, what comment is more in the spirit of the prayer breakfast, in the question of religious faith?
JAMES SCHULTZ, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: Like this really doesn't come down to religious faith at the end of the day. And I don't believe Mitt Romney made this.
