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Biden Takes Aim At Fellow Democrats As His Poll Numbers Slip; NYT: Handful Of GOP Senators Tried To Stop Trump From Firing Sondland; A Day In Wuhan, Life At The Center Of The Coronavirus Crisis; Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) Is Interviewed About Iowa Caucuses; Global Death Toll From Coronavirus Surpasses SARS; Dems Make Weekend Push Ahead Of New Hampshire Primary; Fran Drescher Opens Up About Battle With Cancer. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired February 08, 2020 - 20:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you so much for staying with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

It is the race to decide who will stand alone against President Donald Trump at the polls come November. And this weekend with the New Hampshire primary looming, one-time runaway frontrunner Joe Biden is doing something he used to caution against, he is taking shots at one of his own.

Joe Biden lashing out today against suddenly surging Pete Buttigieg in person and in a new T.V. ad. Biden making fun of the former mayor's small-town resume and responding to CNN about another newcomer selection a few years saying about Buttigieg, this guy is not a Barack Obama. Here is Joe Biden this afternoon in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you get attacked, you've got to respond. I've kept my mouth shut for a long time. I haven't responded at all, but it's been constant, a constant assertion that the problems that we're facing today are somehow because of our administration. That's simply not true. And so we want to compare records, it's easy to do.

I get it. He is a good guy. He's a great mayor. But guess what, he was a mayor. He's a good guy, but the idea of passing a budget as mayor of a town the size of Manchester and managing $900 billion with less than 1 percent fraud or abuse picking up his city and thousands of cities across the country is ridiculous.

By the way, the reason I'm running is because of my experience, not in spite of it. I was able to put together major international coalitions. I was able - I was the guy that Barack would send to make sure things got done overseas in addition to the secretary of state. When I spoke, everybody knew I spoke for the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let's get to CNN's Leyla Santiago in Manchester, New Hampshire. And there's a big event happening there behind you tonight. All the candidates are speaking. I'm wondering how is this feud playing there? Does this come across as a cheap shot or the way the game is played?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Listen, right now at this event, what these Democrats are focused on are their very own candidate that they are hoping to push toward a win in the New Hampshire primary. Speaking right now is Congressman Chris Pappas. And he actually just asked everyone here, hey, who do you think it's going to win?

And so as you might imagine, every single campaign, which has a section here, started chanting out the name of their candidate. That's part of the purpose of this. They are trying to show strength in their organization right before these candidates hit the stage to make a case, many of whom will make a case for electability.

I got to tell you, I spent part of my today speaking to voters and the very same thing or the one thing they said that seemed to be across the board was that each one was looking for a candidate they believed could beat President Trump in a general election. That's what undecided voters are using as a decision-maker here in New Hampshire.

Now, in a little while, organizers tell me that Mayor Pete Buttigieg will be the first to speak at this event. And right now, while we see this area filled with Democrats, on Monday, Ana, this will be a very different crowd. We expect a lot of MAGA hats because President Trump will be here in Manchester to also rally support. So bottom line, all eyes on New Hampshire, Ana.

CABRERA: At least for the next two and a half days. Leyla Santiago, thank you for that great reporting.

Now, just this afternoon, Biden released this new attack ad targeting what he sees as Pete Buttigieg's lack of experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Both Vice President Biden and former Mayor Buttigieg have taken on tough fights. Under threat of a nuclear Iran, Joe Biden helped to negotiate the Iran deal. And under threat of disappearing pets, Buttigieg negotiated lighter licensing regulations on pet chip scanners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Now, in response, the Buttigieg team said, quote, the vice president's decision to run this ad speaks more to where he stands currently in this race than it does about Pete's perspective as a mayor and veteran.

[20:05:05]

Joining us now, New York Times Politics Editor Patrick Healy and CNN Presidential Historian Douglas Brinkley.

Patrick, one major donor and longtime supporter of Joe Biden told CNN this. Many think Joe has to be more aggressive, less self-effacing and call it like it is. Bernie and Pete are unelectable. Can that strategy work with only three days left until the primary?

PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Exactly, Ana. It's really risky. You know, he's rolling out this new line of attack that really goes against the Biden brand. Joe Biden is known for his warmth, for his collegiality, he's known as a party leader, an elder statesman.

And sort of here he is making really scorching personal attacks on Pete Buttigieg who, the reality is, beat him in the Iowa caucuses. Joe Biden came in a pretty humiliating fourth place. Buttigieg and Sanders look tied. And Buttigieg and Sanders are well ahead of Biden now in the New Hampshire polls.

I don't think we ever thought we'd see a point where Joe Biden was starting to look desperate, but the reality is, as he came out of the debate last night, he didn't make these of any kind attacks and now suddenly he's springing with this offensive, going after Buttigieg, invoking Barack Obama. Again, Ana, for those of us and like you who covered this race for more than a year, it's just a sudden kind of turn of events that I think speaks a lot to Biden.

Now, whether voters buy it, whether they say a mayor can't be president, we'll see, but it really is a big turn.

CABRERA: Right. And you mentioned the turn in the polls with Buttigieg up six points since last month, Biden down six points. Now, there's a ten-point gap between the two. Biden is trying to make this contrast, Doug, that Buttigieg us young and Biden has the experience. You will recall it was an issue that came up during another famous campaign during Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. Let's take a quick walk down memory lane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Doug, is Biden coming off with that same kind of swagger and competence of Reagan or is this sounding more like desperation from a candidate trailing Pete Buttigieg in the polls?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: We will soon see. But Joe Biden cannot come in, you know, fourth. He can't lose out to Elizabeth Warren. He's about two points ahead of her now. He has to leave New Hampshire as one of the big three along with Sanders and Buttigieg. By the time they get to South Carolina, Joe Biden is sitting pretty there right now. I mean, it's a state with 60 percent African-Americans in the Democratic primary there, and so Biden looks good. And if he could come in third and then win there, I think he thinks this is his formula to success. There's a Latino population in Nevada that likes Joe Biden, union in Nevada. So I think Biden learned the lesson of Iowa. I can't come in fourth. He came in fourth in Iowa, can't come in fourth and decided to try to present himself as fighting Joe Biden, not the sleepy Joe Biden that Donald Trump has been painting him as.

CABRERA: I want to talk about another candidate. Amy Klobuchar raised $2 million just after a debate performance that included moments like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a president that literally blames everyone in the world, and we have not talked about this enough. He blames Barack Obama for everything that goes wrong. He blames his Federal Reserve chair that he appointed himself. He blames the king of Denmark. Who does that? He blames the prime minister of Canada for, he claims, cutting him out of the Canadian version of Home Alone 2. Who does that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Patrick, do you see Klobuchar playing spoiler?

HEALY: She could, Ana. She had the most effective performance at Friday night's debate. And at her event this morning in Durham, New Hampshire, she had a huge crowd for Amy Klobuchar, by her standards. They were turning people away. There's a lot of excitement. And a lot of people in the crowd told our reporters there that they decided watching her in the debate last night to support her.

I have to say, Ana, we heard that from quite a few people at the Durham event. She had another good one tonight in Hanover. Now, she is well behind in those polls. She looks like she's sort of a fifth place performance in the polls right now. But as we've seen time and again in New Hampshire, the last 72 hours are critical. Candidates can make a big move. She's definitely worth watching.

CABRERA: Doug, you have Bernie Sanders from neighboring Vermont, Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts.

[20:10:01]

Historically, how much edge does it give a candidate to be from a neighboring state?

BRINKLEY: Well, it should give an edge. In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the New Hampshire primary like 80 percent. You might say, that was a long time ago, but in 2004, John Kerry got 38 percent of the vote, way ahead of John Edwards of North Carolina and Wes Clark of Arkansas.

So I think the fact that Elizabeth Warren is flat with this being her neighbor state is a problem for her. Meanwhile, Bernie looks like he is set up perhaps, it looks like, to be able win in New Hampshire. And so I see Elizabeth Warren getting her lanes getting closed out. It was a fight between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on the left, and I see Bernie really going forward while she's sinking.

Klobuchar is in an interesting position. She's a growing constituency. People are loving her. Everybody knows she's a great senator. She tracks in red counties in Minnesota well, and she also is perfectly suited to be a vice president for somebody, meaning if Biden could procure the nomination, Biden, Klobuchar going right into the heartland would be good. So we have not heard the end of Amy Klobuchar in 2020.

This summer is going to be 100 years of women getting the right to vote, and you're going to have to have a Democrat woman on the ticket, whether it's as the presidential nominee or V.P.

CABRERA: Patrick, there was also this statement sent out by Andrew Yang today. If we miss this fundraising goal and our target finish in New Hampshire, he writes, I don't believe we can continue contending at the same level. It's that simple. How much trouble is his campaign in?

HEALY: Well, usually after Iowa and New Hampshire, you see the field start to thin further. And the reality is Andrew Yang was way back in Iowa. He is working his heart out in New Hampshire. He's having several events a day. His event earlier today in Nashua was very strong.

He had a very good crowd. But the question is, is there -- there's so many candidates in the race right now, Ana. Is there enough of a sort of compelling message coming from Yang? It is a distinctive message. But is it a compelling message and people think, boy, he can really beat Trump, we're willing to vote for him?

So I think you're hearing in that statement, Ana, that if he does not surprise, which is probably a top three finish in New Hampshire, it's sort of hard to see where it goes from here after that.

CABRERA: Doug, Bill Clinton famously said New Hampshire made him the comeback kid for these candidates who maybe didn't perform well in Iowa. Is there a lesson to take from his campaign?

BRINKLEY: Absolutely, that you don't have to win New Hampshire, but you got to be first or place or show. I think you've got to come out of there in the top three at this juncture. I don't any longer think about Iowa and New Hampshire in the historic terms I used to. I kind of agree with Joe Biden. It's really about the big four morphed as one, meaning how do you come out with South Carolina and Nevada with Iowa and New Hampshire.

And it looks like Bernie and Mayor Pete have got credentials. And if Biden wins South Carolina and Nevada, you're looking at the fight between those three until Mr. Bloomberg comes to town.

CABRERA: Right. He is waiting in the wings with big money and ready to pounce on Super Tuesday. Doug Brinkley and Patrick Healey, great to have both of you here. Thank you. HEALY: Thank you.

BRINKLEY: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: President Trump fires witnesses who testified in his impeachment inquiry, one, a decorated war veteran, the other, a big time supporter. The question now, who's next? We'll talk to John Dean.

Breaking news on the spread of the coronavirus, the death toll now surpassing the SARS epidemic.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[10:15:00]

CABRERA: Welcome back. This just in, brand-new reporting from The New York Times a handful of Republican senators attempted to stop President Trump from firing the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, who, of course, was a key House impeachment witness.

Fired Friday along with Sondland, another impeachment witness, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a Purple Heart recipient and the top Ukraine expert at the National Security Council. He was escorted out of the White House. His twin brother, by the way, a National Security Council attorney, was also fired.

A good time to talk with former White House Counsel to former President Richard Nixon and current CNN Contributor, John Dean.

John, GOP senators asking the president not to tire fire Sondland but he did it anyway, what does that tell you about what may lie ahead with possible revenge from this president?

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it certainly tells us he won't listen to any good advice from anybody. That's just something that if his gut tells him, I want revenge, he's going to pursue it. He was told earlier with people like Andrew McCabe, don't fire him. He was on his last day before he retired, and he fired him so he couldn't get his pension.

We're seeing the same sort of thing with Vindman, who had announced he was departing and left. So the fact that others stood up for Sondland who didn't want to be part of the exodus after the testimony shows very poor judgment.

CABRERA: You personally were the Watergate whistleblower, who went before Congress and you helped bring down a presidency. If congressional Republicans had shrugged off what you revealed and President Nixon stayed in office, what do you think that would have meant for your fate?

DEAN: Well, Nixon actually asked for my letter of resignation knowing I had told him very openly I was going to cooperate with the prosecutors, which troubled him deeply for understandable reasons. CABRERA: Yes.

DEAN: I also told my colleagues that they should get lawyers because of what I was going to say. They didn't listen to me and Nixon was afraid of me at that point. It really kind of surprised me that he backed off and waited until I told him -- I wouldn't leave voluntarily until Haldeman, the chief of staff, and Ehrlichman, his top domestic adviser also left because they were part of his problem.

[20:20:13]

And so, you know, I'm looking at this situation. We have another authoritarian president just like Nixon. Nixon was an authoritarian behind closed doors. Trump is an authoritarian in the rose garden, where he sells himself on that.

So I think what's going to happen in the future is that Trump is just going to cut a wide swath. He's going to try to go after people like Adam Schiff, which is going to be hard to reach. He's in a safe congressional district. But Trump is talking to people about what he can do to someone like Schiff and others who were involved in the impeachment process.

CABRERA: Well, look what he's doing to Romney as well, who voted, of course, to convict on the one article of impeachment.

We also have a U.S. official telling CNN that Sondland was more or less a dead man walking after statements like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON SONDLAND, FORMER AMBASSADOR TO THE EUROPEAN UNION: Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret. Everyone was informed via email on July 19th, days before the presidential call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Vindman's lawyer put out a very powerful statement saying, quote, Lieutenant Colonel Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right frightened the powerful. Truth is not partisan. If we allow truthful voices to be silenced, if we ignore their warnings, eventually, there will be no one left to warn us.

Watergate, of course, led to a generation wanting to be the next Woodward and Bernstein. What will be the result after watching -- what would be the result after watching how those who came forward have been treated?

DEAN: Well, I suppose some will be reluctant to certainly go forward publicly, but the leaks, Ana, are going to continue, and they're going to get ferocious. There's a lot of evidence that he suppressed. There are documents that he suppressed.

There is Bolton's book, which he's trying to suppress. So evidence is going to come out of his wrongdoing, and it's going to hurt him. It's something that the Republicans really kicked down to the Voters. So it is on the ballot in 2020 in November. So this issue is not going to go away.

CABRERA: I want to read you something that Marco Rubio tweeted. Colonel Vindman wasn't fired. He's still an army officer. He was assigned to NSC to serve the president who has a right to have people he trusts on his staff.

Sondland was a political appointee. No point in having a political appointee who no longer has the president's confidence.

John, what's your reaction to that?

DEAN: Well, you know, that certainly doesn't apply to Vindman's brother who did not testify and who is guilty by association by blood. So, you know, that's the kind of silly talk that a guy like Rubio will use to justify this kind of action.

He knows as well as anybody that it's revenge, that he was a vital person on the National Security Council, that they're in the process of hollowing out the National Security Council. They're removing maybe 50, 60, 70 people who they have slight suspicions, might be leaks or might not be Trump supporters. So they don't care what's going to happen, and they're gutting one of the vital processes that assists a president.

If Trump is out in November, the next president is going to have great difficulty with the damage he's doing at both the State Department and the National Security Council.

CABRERA: Do you think, I mean, as things stand, there is going to be a chilling effect around the president right now in which people who may see anything that they consider, you know, worrying or if they say wrongdoing that they would be hesitant to come forward?

DEAN: He hasn't gotten to the whistleblower yet. While Rand Paul may have read a name he thought was that of the whistleblower, it really hasn't gotten any public currency. Certainly, the chief justice is the presiding officer at the impeachment trial shot down Rand Paul's question which named allegedly the whistleblower.

So there are people and there are protections still in place. I don't think that he has shut off all descent. I don't think he's frightening everybody. It's kind of a hollow strength to show that you demand loyalty in this way and can't earn it out of respect.

CABRERA: John Dean, great you have to here as always. Thank you.

DEAN: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: Back to our breaking news, scary spike in the death toll from the coronavirus. The latest on the spread and what health officials are most concerned about now.

Plus, a day in Wuhan, empty streets, endless days inside and no end in sight, what life is like for those living at the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis.

[20:25:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: More now on our breaking news. The death toll from the Wuhan coronavirus spiked today. At least 805 people have now died from the virus worldwide. In China's Hubei Province alone, 780 reported deaths, including the first American fatality.

The death toll from this virus has now surpassed the total number who died during the SARS epidemic. There are nearly 35,000 confirmed cases worldwide, the largest number, of course, in China. The cases are being seen 27 other countries and territories.

[20:30:00]

And in the U.S. there are still a dozen reported cases in six different states.

Since this virus first surfaced in Wuhan in December, medical staff and hospitals there have become so overwhelmed. They are now taking only the most critically ill patients.

In an effort to stop the virus from spreading further, that entire city has been living under quarantine for more than three weeks.

CNN's David Culver talked with Wuhan residents as they cope with this international health crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Within the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus, an eerie silence. The streets of Wuhan, China, a city 11 million people call home, mostly empty.

But even in self-quarantine, locals like Wu Chen keep moving.

WU CHEN, WUHAN RESIDENT (through translator): I live in the (inaudible) area of Wuhan.

CULVER: The start of day 21 when we chatted with Wu, he's only left his place three times.

WU (through translator): I don't really have any real difficulties in daily life right now, except that I'm extremely bored at being confined at home.

CULVER: Most of his time spent in his apartment with Balza (ph), his cat.

WU (through translator): I stopped going out from about January 13th because I feel the epidemic is quite serious and it is relatively safer to stay home.

CULVER: From cooking to practicing good hygiene, the 26-year-old graphic designer records videos to keep entertained. Belts to make several appearances. Having friends over isn't really an option.

WU (through translator): Every residential compound has got the order, not allowing any outsiders from coming in.

CULVER: But Wu wishes the rest of the country was a bit more understanding.

WU (through translator): The epidemic is in no one's control. I know maybe the people of China are biased about Wuhan people, plus the government didn't resolve problems in time.

Although it was a small number of people who flew out of Wuhan and spread the epidemic, all the Wuhan citizens are now carrying the blame. I don't think that's sensible.

JUSTIN STEECE, U.S. CITIZEN LIVING IN WUHAN: We're in a local Korean store, as you guys can see, it's starting to get pretty cleared out here. So I'm going to grab some food while I got the chance.

CULVER: American teacher Justin Steece gives us a feel from an expat's perspective, he is awaiting the proper paperwork to evacuate his wife, who is Chinese, and their 1-month-old baby. He and many others here becoming at-home health safety experts.

STEECE: Next thing I want to do is I want to take eye protection. Well, I don't have a pair of medical safety goggles. I do have my handy dandy eyeshades here, which I really like these.

CULVER: Back inside Wu's home, a daily temperature check followed by a game of hide and go seek with Balza.

WU (through translator): I believe the epidemic will pass, and for us ordinary people, all we can do is take good care of ourselves.

CULVER: Day 22 is still hours away.

David Culver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: The New Hampshire primary is just three days away. But what happened in Iowa still haunting some candidates, including Senator Elizabeth Warren. We'll talk about what she's doing differently now with Congresswoman Deb Haaland, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:35:15]

CABRERA: Welcome back. The New Hampshire primary is just three days away, but at least three of the frontrunner candidates have yet to move on from the Iowa debacle. The campaigns for Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders have all submitted evidence of inconsistencies with last Monday's caucuses.

Right now, Buttigieg holds a very slim lead over Sanders, but thanks to a faulty caucus count app and jammed phone lines, there are still many unanswered questions about those final results.

For more, I want to bring in democratic congresswoman, Deb Haaland of New Mexico, the national co-chair of the Warren 2020 campaign.

Congresswoman, great to have you here. Thank you.

REP. DEB HAALAND (D-NM): Thank you for having me, Ana.

CABRERA: What can you tell us? What inconsistencies has the Warren campaign identified in the Iowa caucuses?

HAALAND: You know, I'm not quite sure about the inconsistencies from Iowa. But what I can tell you is that here in New Hampshire, people are on fire for Elizabeth Warren. I spent the entire day on the ground helping to kick off canvasses. There was a huge canvass right here in Manchester.

And people are out on the doors, on the phones, everyone is working extremely hard to make sure that on Tuesday, we get our voters out to vote. There's still some undecideds, we're working on those. I canvassed and knocked on doors today myself, and I think she's doing an amazing job, really focusing right now on New Hampshire.

CABRERA: We heard so much about the Elizabeth Warren ground game in Iowa, and yet she took third place in Iowa, trailing her fellow progressive candidate, Bernie Sanders, by eight percent. Also trailing Mayor Pete Buttigieg by that same margin as well.

How has that performance there and that perhaps disappointing outcome altered the strategy there in New Hampshire?

HAALAND: So we're not -- we were not disappointed with Elizabeth Warren's performance in Iowa. She actually outperformed where everyone thought she should be. So I think here in New Hampshire -- I mean, I was on the ground today, and it's astounding, really, how much energy there is for Elizabeth Warren in every single town that we went to.

So I think that the number of volunteers -- and I met people from all over the country who are here helping her to get out to vote this GOTV weekend.

I just think that it's a ground game at this point, and the staff and the volunteers here in New Hampshire are doing an amazing job of getting people out. There was such a large canvass this morning here in Manchester. They had to send people to other locations because they didn't have enough packets to go around.

[20:40:07]

So everybody's excited on the ground here, and that's really what I know because I saw it with my own eyes.

CABRERA: So you're feeling that energy on the ground? You're right. That's something that we can't feel from here because we're not on the ground. But we do have this new polling that just came out today. Elizabeth Warren is now out of the double digits and she's trailing three other candidates, Bernie Sanders is at 28 percent, Buttigieg at 21 percent, bidden at 11 percent, and Warren at nine percent.

Add in this particular question that was asked of these people who were sampled, it asks which democratic candidate they would not vote for under any circumstance, and Warren took second there at 16 percent. How concerning is that poll to you?

HAALAND: Well, of course I have run campaigns of my own, on my own, you know, primary campaign, which is the one that mattered to me. I was behind in the polls and I ended up winning by 15 points.

You know, they say that the only poll that matters is the one on Election Day. I think we would be remiss as volunteers and supporters of Elizabeth Warren if we threw our hands up and said, you know, this election's over.

We're going to keep fighting just like Elizabeth Warren is fighting. We're going to fight for every single vote. We're going to knock on as many doors as possible. And I just think we need to wait and see what happens on Tuesday.

CABRERA: Pete Buttigieg, I'm told is onstage now there in New Hampshire where all the candidates are participating in this big dinner tonight. He narrowly edged out a win in Iowa as we discussed.

Does Warren consider Buttigieg her biggest threat for the democratic nomination?

HAALAND: You know, I don't think she does quite frankly. I think -- you know, if it's -- this is what I know about Elizabeth Warren. She is focusing on the voters. She is focusing on the -- you know, the folks who are here, working hard to help her to win.

She's focused on the plans that she has for our country. She's focused on ensuring that she will dream big and fight hard. I honestly don't feel that she spends a lot of time, you know, thinking about what threat she has. I think she spends the time thinking about every single voter that she can ask for their vote. And that's exactly what all of us are doing here as well.

CABRERA: Congresswoman Deb Haaland, I really appreciate you taking the time. Thank you very much.

HAALAND: Thank you.

CABRERA: Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Amy Klobuchar, may not be in the top four, but coming off her highly praised performance in Friday's debate, Klobuchar has what some politicos like to call the Big Mo. And if money is any indication her campaign claims she raised more than $2 million in the hours following last night's debate, she may have some of that Big Mo.

CNN's Kyung Lah is in New Hampshire where Klobuchar volunteers are going door to door.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's make this happen. Let's get her this win in New Hampshire.

(APPLAUSE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The final push in New Hampshire.

(KNOCKING)

The last chance to convince the undecided.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we want to beat Donald Trump, we have to nominee Amy.

LAH: Senator Amy Klobuchar, her campaign is still trying to prove it's a contender.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got to see if this is the right house.

LAH: As the hours wane before this primary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to tell you that I love Pete Buttigieg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people indicated they were for Mayor Pete, but things change.

LAH: Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are the frontrunners out of Iowa.

(APPLAUSE)

Klobuchar is running fifth, but on the heels of Joe Biden. And she hit double digits, better than what polls show before the caucuses. And that's enough, say supporters, to keep her fighting for democratic votes.

SUE CORBY, KLOBUCHAR SUPPORTER: I would love it if we could send one candidate out of here with a groundswell, with a lot of support behind them, but we're not going to.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We owe it to the people of New Hampshire.

LAH: In Friday night's debate, Minnesota's senior senator took on Buttigieg directly.

KLOBUCHAR: I think this going after every single thing that people do because it's popular to say, it makes you look like a cool newcomer, I just -- I don't think that's what people want right now. We have a newcomer in the White House, and look where it got us. I think having some experience is a good thing.

(APPLAUSE)

LAH: This after a muddled Iowa caucuses makes New Hampshire voter Tod Tenney nervous.

ROD TENNEY, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: Senator Klobuchar would be my first choice for vice president.

LAH: She is running for president.

TENNEY: I understand that, but only one person can be the nominee. I think there's a little anxiety building, some concern, not enough for people to make decisions yet, but it's coming.

[20:45:08]

LAH: What happens if this keeps going on and on and on and on?

TENNEY: I think it weakens the possibility of defeating Donald Trump if they continue to sort of argue amongst themselves.

LAH: On whether she might be the potential spoiler in this race...

KLOBUCHAR: Oh, no.

LAH: What do you want to say?

KLOBUCHAR: I don't think that at all. I think that, you know, we have five candidates. I think this race is going to go on for quite a while.

LAH: is debate among these five candidates, these top five candidates healthy for the party?

KLOBUCHAR: I think it is, actually, because we have to continue in making the case, at least I will, that you want a president that is going to have plans and not pipe dreams that can actually get things done.

LAH (on-camera): Senator Klobuchar has a packed weekend here in New Hampshire campaigning, leading up to the New Hampshire primary. She is looking to capture the moderate vote, the independent vote. That's what her campaign believes she will be able to do here, and the fact that all the buzz after the debate is about her and not so much about Joe Biden, only potentially helps her here in New Hampshire.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Thanks, Kyung.

Up next, actress, Fran Drescher, talks with me about starting a new chapter of life after fighting cancer.

Part two of my wide-ranging interview live in the CNN NEWSROOM when we come back.

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CABRERA: You think you know Fran Drescher, but you don't even know the half of it. Yes, she is a talented actress, writer, and producer, still going strong in her 60s with a new sitcom, "Indebted."

But out of the spotlight, what she has experienced in life is remarkable. I sat down with her for a wide-ranging conversation in my role as a contributor on Christiane Amanpour program, Amanpour and company which airs on CNN International and PBS.

Earlier, we brought you part one of our discussion where Fran Drescher talked about being a rape survivor. Here's part two of our conversation, finding out she had cancer.

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CABRERA: As I understand it, it took eight doctors and two years to determine you had uterine cancer?

FRAN DRESCHER, AMERICAN ACTRESS: Yes. I was misdiagnosed because I was actually too young and too thin for the average woman who gets uterine cancer.

But 25 percent or one in four of us are young and thin. So it seems to me that, you know, doctor number one, who said I was too young for an endometrial biopsy should have just given it to me. It's a simple two- minute test that she could have done in her office.

But doctors tend to be bludgeoned by big business health insurance to go the least expensive route of diagnostic testing. And many of them subscribe to the philosophy, if you hear hooves galloping, don't look for zebra, it's probably a horse.

So for intents and purposes, it seemed like I was perimenopausal because I was kind of at the right age for that. But truth be told, I wasn't. I had cancer. And I was being mistreated for a perimenopausal condition that I didn't have.

And I started to realize that there are many grave illnesses that, at the earliest most curable stage, what I call the whisper stage, mimics far more benign illnesses.

So, if you're happen to be dealing with a doctor who isn't trying to rule out the zebra because they're so convinced it's got to be a horse, then you're going to slip through the cracks.

And I was lucky because even after two years and the doctors, I was still in stage one because uterine cancer happens to be very slow growing. I always say to people, save your Christmas club account for test and insurance will pay for because the best gift you can give your friends and family is a long and healthy life.

CABRERA: And I know that that's the mission of your Cancer Schmancer Foundation is to help raise awareness.

DRESCHER: And you see, there was -- immediately after the cancer, silver lining started to kick in. Because I was still in this mode after the rape that I had be the strong one and not really give in to my pain.

It was hard for me even to share with my parents. I had to have my sister tell them because I never wanted to cause them stress. It was so hard for me to tell them. I had her tell them.

And then over the years between the rape and the cancer, and frankly, I think part of the cancer was because I held in the pain from the rape. So, it's almost poetic that I should get a gynecologic cancer of all -- of all things.

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CABRERA: Fran Drescher also told me that through this all, she learned it's OK to ask for help. And she is now focused on helping others with the Cancer Schmancer movement, her own non-profit focused on cancer prevention and detection.

Thank you so much for being here, I'm Ana Cabrera. I'll see you back here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. And with all eyes on New Hampshire and the primary on Tuesday, don't miss CNN's coverage. All the candidates are speaking right now at the 100 Club Dinner in Manchester. So I want to leave you with Senator Amy Klobuchar on stage right now. Good night.

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[20:55:15]

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