Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

New Hampshire Primary On Tuesday As Sanders And Buttigieg Lead The Polls; Joe Biden Releases Ad Attacking Pete Buttigieg; Iowa Caucus An Embarrassment And Disgrace Says Bernie Sanders; Two U.S. Soldiers And Six Injured In Afghanistan Attack; Coronavirus Tops 900 Surpassing The SARS Pandemic; The Oscars, Hollywood's Biggest Night. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 09, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right. Thanks so much for being with me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Good afternoon on this Sunday. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. And they are hoping to get it right this time, the Democratic Party about to try a redo and hold an election with gigantic impact on who could be president for the next four years.

And I say redo because the first time Democrats tried to count votes this year, it was a train wreck. In just two days, the New Hampshire primary, voters in small towns like this one will cast secret ballots, old-school style, on paper.

And the pressure is really on in New Hampshire for the Democratic Party there, to get it right after the Iowa caucuses spun away into such chaos that we still don't have the definitive clear winner there yet.

New Hampshire officials and voters are just hoping to avoid the same outcome. And something else here is different this weekend -- the tone of the race, particularly how the Democratic candidates are talking about each other.

The most public battle right now is between former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Indiana mayor, Pete Buttigieg, who has suddenly eclipsed Biden in most of the polls, they are going back and forth over qualification or experience.

And the Biden campaign is even making digital ads knocking Buttigieg as not ready for the national stage. Pete Buttigieg was on CNN with Jake Tapper earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: So take a listen to this brand new digital ad from vice president Joe Biden's campaign which was just released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe Biden helped lead the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which gave health care to 20 million people. And when park goers called on Pete Buttigieg, he installed decorative lights under bridges.

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)

TAPPER: What's your response?

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know, it's a typical political attack and it's too bad because, you know, so many communities, communities like mine in South Bend, we know that we might look small from the perspective of Washington, but to us it's what's going on in Washington that looks so small and small minded.

And you know, communities, whether they're my size or rural communities or even neighborhoods in our biggest cities that feel completely left behind are frustrated with being made into a punch line by Washington politicians.

TAPPER: After CNN's Jeff Zeleny pointed out that Biden made a similar inexperience attack on Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race, former Vice President Biden replied, "This guy is not a Barack Obama." What do you think of that?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, he's right. I'm not and neither is he, neither is any of us running for president. And this isn't 2008. It's 2020. And we are in a new moment, calling for a different kind of leadership.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: And to give you a feel for just how much difference a year can make in this race, we first want to show you a university of New Hampshire poll from February of last year. Senator Bernie Sanders was leading in the state at 26 percent followed by Joe Biden at 22 percent.

Pete Buttigieg, then mayor of South Bend and relatively unknown outside of Indiana polled at just one percent. Again, this is last year. And here is the CNN/University of New Hampshire tracking poll released just this morning.

Sanders is still leading at 28 percent, but Buttigieg has soared to 21 percent and Biden has slipped to just 12 percent, indicating the momentum in New Hampshire is right now with the former South Bend mayor and not with the former vice president.

CNN's Jessica Dean joins us from New Hampshire now. And Jessica, you're on the ground with the Biden campaign. And over the last couple of days, we've seen a much more aggressive tone coming from the former vice president especially toward Buttigieg. Is that continuing today? JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been interesting, Ana.

He's actually in the middle of a town hall event right now, talking to voters, taking their questions. And just a few moments ago, he was talking about party unity and bringing together Democrats.

So, we have not, here at this event, heard him taking those direct hits at Pete Buttigieg at Bernie Sanders that we had heard. You played a little bit of that ad, Jake Tapper asking Pete Buttigieg about that earlier. We did hear the vice president talk a little bit about it earlier today. Take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I congratulate -- I congratulate Pete. I congratulate Bernie. They did a great job and they were really well-organized, better organized than we were in Iowa. But I don't think that that -- I have viewed from beginning, and I really mean this.

I have viewed from beginning that you have to take the first four as one. You got two primaries and two caucuses back-to-back basically.

[17:04:59]

Not a single person has won without overwhelming support from the black community, overwhelming, overwhelming. Okay?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And what Joe Biden and his campaign has said over and over again, is that he is the candidate that has overwhelming support from black voters. That has what he's bared out in polls so far -- the campaign really looking to Nevada, to South Carolina, when a more diverse population is voting in the nominating process.

But, Ana, the reason we've seen this shift in his tone is look, his campaign always said we don't have to win Iowa and New Hampshire to get to Nevada, South Carolina, Super Tuesday, where they think they are primed to do very well.

But what they didn't want to see is exactly what's bearing out in these polls, which is Pete Buttigieg on the rise and above the vice president, thus, the sharpening of attacks yesterday. But to answer your question, it's been more about party unity and issues at this particular town hall so far.

CABRERA: Okay. Now, what are you hearing from voters there in New Hampshire about the importance of their primary especially after the chaos in Iowa?

DEAN: Well, it's interesting. I was talking to some voters before this started, kind of getting a feel for it, and one woman said that she's lived here in New Hampshire.

This is the first time she's ever participated in this process, go in to see candidates, really taking part enough because she's been influenced by Donald Trump, that she said she had enough of his policy, she's getting involved.

But, Ana, there is certainly a pervading feeling that they really want to get this right. They know that all eyes are on them after the debacle in Iowa and they are making guarantees right now, both the people that will be voting in the primary, but also the people who are running the primary, that this primary night is going to go much more smoothly than last week.

CABRERA: Okay. Fingers crossed for all people there. Thank you very much, Jessica Dean. We will check back. Joining us now is former Democratic governor of Michigan and CNN's senior political commentator, Jennifer Granholm. And in the interest of transparency, I should point out Governor Granholm helped prepare Joe Biden for some of the early debates in this 2020 race.

Governor Granholm, let me just ask you about how unprecedented this moment right now. We know no candidate has ever finished worse than second in New Hampshire and gone on to win the nomination. But again, right now, we're in an unprecedented Democratic race.

For example, no candidate has ever skipped the first four contests and then gone on to win which is what Michael Bloomberg is trying to do. And we also have more major candidates than ever in the race at this point, 11 candidates right now. So, are all bets out the window?

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I totally think you're completely right. I keep saying, in normal times, we would say that past is prologue, right? We would look to history for trends. I think we should throw all of that out.

I mean, I think it's clear in New Hampshire Bernie Sanders is probably going to win. It's clear that those polls, et cetera -- I don't even trust polls anymore, but I think he's been consistently ahead. Obviously, he's a neighboring state senator.

But I do think that it is true that we are in a weird time because the president is such an aberration and that is spilling over into the Democratic primary.

So for example, you don't see normally where a president's approval rating is, you know, pretty much even and yet the direction of the country is 17 points under water. People hate the direction of the country, and yet you've got an approval rating because the economy is doing well.

We have a singularly, frankly, horrible behaving president and that, I think, that weird anomaly is spilling into the Democratic primary because people so want to beat him that they are just not sure who is going to be in the best position. And I will just say one other thing -- okay, go ahead.

CABRERA: I didn't mean to interrupt you, but I was going to say for the longest time it seemed like, you know, vice President Biden was trying to present himself as the polar opposite as far as character compared to President Trump and was really staying away from attacking opponents because that is such a Trump-like thing to do. GRANHOLM: Yes. Yes.

CABRERA: And yet, this weekend it's been different. We showed that Biden attack ad at the top of the show. And when Pete Buttigieg was asked about it, he responded by basically saying what I did as mayor may seem small to Washington folks, but it mattered to people in my community. Don't make us a punch line. What do you think about the message in that attack ad? Smart strategy or could it back fire on Biden?

GRANHOLM: Well, you know, it's always -- it's really tricky in a Democratic primary, right, because primary voters do not want to see Democrats attacking one another.

I do know that the Biden team felt like he was being attacked first by his experience as vice president, being belittled and he feels this is a response to that.

Bottom line, if people do want to see a fighter, they just don't want people to knock out other Democrats. They want to see that fight against Donald Trump. And I do know that there is something to the notion that we are just in the very beginning of this.

[17:10:00]

I mean, if only 2 percent of the delegates will be chosen after New Hampshire. I mean, if you think about it, a marathon is 26 miles. That is like two-tenths of one mile of a marathon. And remember that Bill Clinton only won one of the first 11 contests so I don't think this is over yet for anybody -- for anybody.

So, it's kind of -- it's a great moment for democracy although I do know the longer it takes for us to center on a candidate, the better it will be for the Republicans. So I hope we at least start to see that narrowing after Super Tuesday.

CABRERA: But it has been a rough start. We still don't even have the official results from the mess that was the Iowa caucuses.

GRANHOLM: Yes.

CABRERA: The national co-chair for the Bernie Sanders campaign, Nina Turner, is claiming that what happened with the vote count in Iowa looks "fairly intentional." Senator Sanders was also asked about this. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Do you think the Democratic Party is trying to openly hurt your campaign?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, all I can say about Iowa is it was an embarrassment. It was a disgrace to the good people of Iowa who take their responsibilities in the caucuses very seriously. They screwed it up badly is what the Iowa Democratic Party did. TAPPER: Do you think the Democratic Party, whether the Iowa

Democratic Party or the DNC was trying to hurt you, though?

TAPPER: I have no idea and that's, you know, we're going to monitor the situation closely, but that's not my impression at this point. We are taking on the entire establishment. We're taking on corporate America. We're taking on Trump and the Republican establishment.

And there are a lot of people in the Democratic establishment who are not to say the least, enthusiastic about Bernie Sanders, but I'm not casting any aspersions on, you know, political aspersions. The incompetence there in Iowa was just extraordinary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Governor, what do you see as the broader impact of the way the 2020 voting has begun including some Democrats questioning the electoral process?

GRANHOLM: Okay, first of all, I think that people should listen to what Bernie Sanders just said. He is not casting aspersions on it. Remember, if the Democratic Party, whatever that means, because Bernie is being elected by a bunch of people who are part of the Democratic Party.

If they were trying to somehow manipulate the election so that Bernie wouldn't come out on top, they sure didn't do a very good job of it because he came out on top or at least one of the top two. It's not clear and he's going to probably come out on top in New Hampshire.

So, I think it's ridiculous to cause to people to believe that the outcomes of these elections are to be -- that there's conspiracy underneath it. Yes, there may be incompetence, but it's not a conspiracy.

But the second thing is, to your bigger point, we need to get rid of caucuses. We have to have primaries. And the first four states that are right now under -- they should be on the same day. We should have Nevada, we should have South Carolina, we should have New Hampshire and Iowa on the same day, all primaries -- first day.

CABRERA: We've heard the president -- we've heard the president mocking Democrats for what happened in Iowa.

GRANHOLM: Well, whatever. He's going to do that. Of course.

CABRERA: Well, hold your thought -- hold your thought because I want to play what he said.

GRANHOLM: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They couldn't even take a simple tabulation, and yet they're telling me how to run the country and how to run health care. I think they've tried their votes on computer. They give it all the money that the Democrat spent and the votes are fried. They have no idea who won. They have no idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: No idea who won is not true because, again, we know more or less the playing field what the state of the race was there in Iowa, but this morning, DNC Chairman Tom Perez was asked if he had considered resigning because a lot of people are saying, you know, you are the king of the DNC right now and, you know, how do you not claim some responsibility for what happened in Iowa.

He said no, he had not considered resigning. What kind of difficult position is Perez and do you believe he should resign?

GRANHOLM: Absolutely not. I think that people are trying to scapegoat him. I think he has done a hell of a job as DNC chair. He has given all his money, all that he's raised money for parties. He's completely redone how super delegates are impacting the nominee.

He has done an amazing job. I think people ought to knock it off, quit putting him in the middle of a circular firing squad, realize, A, it is really a hard job. But he has really tried to be fair about it. And by the way, we've got all of these races to go.

You're just going to knock somebody out in the middle without an idea about who -- it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. Everybody needs to calm down. Everybody needs to focus on New Hampshire and these next four states and the Super Tuesday and we will go forth and have a nominee.

CABRERA: We also just learned today that billionaire Michael Bloomberg who is not competing in New Hampshire has crossed the $350 million mark for ad spending. He's hiring like crazy, with more than 2,000 staff and 125 campaign offices around the country. What kind of a force does that make him? Put this into perspective for us.

[17:15:00]

GRANHOLM: Again, this is historical. I mean, that is just so many people. He is scooping up all of the talent of people who have left these other campaigns and paying really well for all of them.

So, I don't think anybody can rule him out. I think his strategy of sort of swooping over the top and landing into Super Tuesday in a favorable spot is probably ingenious.

And I also think that -- I mean if, for whatever reason, this whittles (ph) out more quickly, especially that moderate lane, then Michael Bloomberg could come in and people feel like we've got somebody who can beat Trump.

So, I don't know. I mean, I think it's a really wild strategy. Democrats don't like nominating billionaires, but I do think in the end, he may end up having a good Super Tuesday. He's also going to be on the debate stage in Nevada so that's going to be interesting.

CABRERA: Right, right. I had to think about when you said Democrats don't like nominating billionaires. There haven't been any other billionaires besides President Trump who ran before this, you know, election season, and now we've got three of them in the race with Trump, Steyer and Bloomberg.

GRANHOLM: There's one other thing. Ana, can I say one other thing --

CABRERA: Sure.

GRANHOLM: -- because there's sort of a dark horse -- I don't mean to be using that metaphor about Duval Patrick, but the fact that he is the governor of Massachusetts obviously, and he's campaigning in New Hampshire. They know him.

If he gets one delegate, just one delegate he, too, could be on the Las Vegas debate stage. And he is a singularly talented person. So I don't -- I just do not think this is over yet and I don't think anybody who is writing people off should continue to do so. Let's see what happens, how it plays out in the whole month of February.

CABRERA: Okay, buckle up. We've got long ways between now and November.

GRANHOLM: Buckle up, yes.

CABRERA: So many things could change. Thank you Governor Granholm. And stay with CNN for the big picture, special live coverage of the New Hampshire primary. It starts Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. eastern here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

CABRERA: New details today about an attack in Afghanistan that killed two U.S. soldiers and injured six other servicemembers. A military spokesman says someone in an Afghan uniform opened fire on a joint U.S.-Afghan operation on Saturday. That attack happening in the eastern part of Afghanistan.

And defense officials tell CNN that the two soldiers killed were U.S. Special Forces. They have been identified now as Sergeant First Class Javier Gutierrez of San Antonio, Texas and Sergeant First Class Antonio Rodriguez of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Both were just 28 years old. Joining us now is retired Rear Admiral John Kirby. He is also a CNN military and diplomatic analyst.

Admiral, what more can you tell us about this joint operation or ones like it?

JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: One of the keystones of our job in Afghanistan is to conduct partnered operations. Some of them are in an advise-and-assist capacity where we're simply helping Afghan National Security Forces do their jobs.

Others are more in a counterterrorism mission and some of those we do unilateral ops. I don't know exactly what this mission was. Clearly, it was partnered, most likely because these are Special Forces soldiers. It was probably in the counterterrorism realm, but we just won't know until the Army is able to provide us a little bit more detail.

These are common. This is a part and parcel of why we're in Afghanistan, to help Afghan National Security Forces learn how to defend their own people and their own country a little bit better.

CABRERA: Now, the U.S. military has not determined as far as we know whether this attack was carried out by an Afghan soldier or just by someone wearing a military uniform. But if this gunman was an Afghan soldier, what kind of implications could there be?

KIRBY: Well, they're going to have to look at force protection measures writ large across these partnered operations. They'll probably look at vetting in sort of how these soldiers get chosen for these kinds of operations.

But look, Ana, this could be everything from the extreme version of a Taliban-inspired, you know, pre-coordinated attack to maybe just a dispute that turned violent, unfortunately, and maybe even the American soldiers weren't even the target of this soldier as he started to shoot.

So we just don't know right now. I don't think that depending on what they learned, I don't think that there'll be a huge impact on the idea of partnered operations or the mission writ large, the strategic mission to prepare Afghan National Security Forces to do a better job defending their own country.

But there could be tactical considerations that have to be taken into effect, going forward. Again, depending what they learn here really is going to matter a lot about what the motive was.

CABRERA: Okay, Rear Admiral John Kirby, I really appreciate it. Thank you.

KIRBY: You bet.

CABRERA: We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:00]

CABRERA: The establishment candidate versus the fire brand outsider. Sound familiar? Only thing is, we're not talking about Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. We're going back 16 years to the primary race that pitted Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, a decorated war veteran, against Vermont Governor Howard Dean who rallied progressives around his message of standing up to Republicans and President Bush.

In the end, though, Kerry won New Hampshire by 12 points and to quote the famous bumper sticker here of the prevailing logic for these "Dated Dean, Married Kerry" voters was selecting a candidate who could appeal to a wider majority of moderate voters and beat Bush in November.

Former Democratic presidential candidate, former Vermont governor and former DNC chairman Howard Dean is here with us now. And governor, when you see the dynamic that is playing out in this 2020 primary race right now, does it feel a bit like deja vu to you?

HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Only a little bit. By the time we got to New Hampshire, there were really only three viable candidates. That is not true now. I'd say there were six -- it's possible that you'll get out of New Hampshire and go ahead to South Carolina with six viable candidates, including Mike Bloomberg.

CABRERA: And to that point we have two candidates in this race from neighboring states, just like in your contest.

H. DEAN: Yes.

CABRERA: How much influence does that have in New Hampshire especially in this case with so many more candidates competing?

H. DEAN: It has a big influence. I mean, Bernie clearly did well last time because he's from Vermont. Elizabeth -- the thing is that television from both states gets into New Hampshire. So these folks have years and years of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

They are familiar people. They know -- some they feel like they know who they are, which is probably true. So, it is certainly is helpful to be from either Vermont or Massachusetts.

[17:29:57]

CABRERA: Why do you think, though, Bernie Sanders is running so far ahead of Elizabeth Warren given they are both in a similar part of the Democratic ideological spectrum, presenting themselves as progressive with similar messages about, you know, changing it up, beating corruption and going after the billionaire class for example, and yet Bernie's breaking through whereas Senator Warren doesn't seem to be as much?

H. DEAN: Well, I don't know, but that's not really a New Hampshire phenomenon. That started in Iowa.

CABRERA: True.

H. DEAN: So, it's a very interesting question. I wonder about that myself. I really do not know why that is. You'd really have to ask voters that question.

CABRERA: Yes. And one of the reasons I bring it up here is because they are the two senators who are from the neighboring states to New Hampshire.

H. DEAN: Right, No, I agree.

CABRERA: Yes. As we've discussed here about this weekend, Biden has been changing things up after a disappointing finish in Iowa where it looks like he will come in fourth. He is promising not to go down, though, without a fight. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'll be very blunt with you. And my staff is going, oh, my god. He's going to be blunt with you. I can't hardly wait for Trump. Not a joke. I can't hardly wait to debate him -- and looking for authenticity -- authenticity. I'll be damned though if I'm going to go down when the whole country is at stake here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Governor, you yourself, gave a very famous speech after your Iowa loss. That became known as the Dean scream, but you later said that speech didn't have anything to do with your loss, and that you had already lost. When does a candidate know it's over for me versus this may just be a little bump in the road?

H. DEAN: Well, I hung into Massachusetts. I came in third. I mean, it was always John Kerry, John Edwards and Howard Dean in every single race starting in Iowa. I did manage to come in second in New Hampshire instead of third, but it was pretty obvious to me by the time we got to Wisconsin that the race was over.

The race almost never ends for a candidate like Joe Biden after two states. It just, I mean, he's been around for too long. It will end for some people after two states.

I do think this is the largest field we've ever seen that's going to come out of New Hampshire surviving, unless there's a big surprise that nobody expects. I mean, the debate was fascinating. Amy Klobuchar who is in fifth did very well. And then you got Mike Bloomberg, who hasn't participated yet, but who is still in double digits in the national polls.

CABRERA: Right.

H. DEAN: So I think that no matter what happens, it's quite possible that six candidates go on to South Carolina no matter what the finishing order is.

CABRERA: Okay, so we have 11 candidates currently in the race by our count.

H. DEAN: Right.

CABRERA: How many candidates do you think will be making that call after Tuesday's primary to say good-bye?

H. DEAN: You know, I think that depends. I mean, there were other candidates that hung on after New Hampshire when I was running, but nobody took them seriously and they didn't get air time and they weren't going anywhere.

So, you know, whether you drop in or drop out and don't drop in or whatever, it's really partly your own decision and how much you want to hang in there and try to get your message out, but the handwriting is pretty much on the wall. It just that it's not going to be on the wall for as many people this time in New Hampshire as it was -- as it almost always is.

Usually, you only get three tickets out of New Hampshire. And I don't think that's what the case is going to be this time. I really don't.

CABRERA: I imagine money might come into play, but that maybe and one of factors --

H. DEAN: Money is a big piece of it, but people talking about that, and for Amy Klobuchar came in fifth in Iowa and she raised $2 million off the debate the other night.

CABRERA: Yes, on Friday.

H. DEAN: So, you know, I mean, we just haven't settled on a candidate yet and I don't think we will until -- I think the earliest we're going to settle is after Nevada and I think we're going to go into Super Tuesday without having a clear idea of who the front-runner is going to be.

CABRERA: I do want to ask you as we still wait the final results from Iowa, what do you make of the calls for DNC Chairman Tom Perez to resign following what happened, the big mess of the Iowa caucuses?

H. DEAN: I don't see how this is Perez's fault. You know, I mean, this was unfortunate. Having run in Iowa, I'm very fond of the people in Iowa. They certainly didn't do any of this on purpose. This was a text screw-up, and text screw ups happen all the time.

I can remember of trying to redo the tax department when I was governor, and my motto became, it cost twice as much as they told you, it takes twice as long and then you have to do it twice. So, probably the fault was you can't put in an app and then all of a sudden expected everything is going to go smoothly.

And the truth is, the Iowa is in the rearview mirror at this point. You had two front-runners come out of Iowa, Pete -- one of whom is a surprise, who is Pete Buttigieg, and Bernie Sanders. And Joe Biden didn't do as well as he hoped.

It's a new day on Wednesday morning. And I just think all these folks, different things can happen. We have no idea what's going to happen in New Hampshire. You should never believe the polls until the election is over.

CABRERA: Yes. And New Hampshire has a history of surprising people every now and then. I think back to the Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama dynamic and the polls, you know, having Hillary Clinton down, I think it was 12 points, before she came out and won that primary in 2008.

H. DEAN: Right.

[17:34:59]

CABRERA: Former Governor Howard Dean, I always appreciate having you on with your insight on so much of this. Thank you.

H. DEAN: Thanks for having me.

CABRERA: And with the election right around the corner now, take a look back at some of the most hard-fought presidential races throughout history with our new original series "Race for the White House." It returns next Sunday night at 9:00 here on CNN.

Now, to the still worsening coronavirus as the death toll continues to rise, health officials are rushing to contain its spread, including taking drastic measures to keep those infected quarantined. We'll have a live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: The deadly, fast-moving coronavirus is spiking yet again. Another 91 people died in mainland China on Sunday and that brings the worldwide coronavirus death toll to more than 900 now worldwide, surpassing the 2003 SARS outbreak that killed 774 people.

[17:39:57]

Right now, there are more than 40,000 people worldwide infected with coronavirus. Most of them are in mainland China where the outbreak began in the city of Wuhan. CNN's Will Ripley joins us now from Tokyo. And Will, you are outside a hospital where an American woman is being treated. What more can you tell us?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She is Rebecca Frazier from Oregon, Ana. She is the woman who we profiled right when this all started to unfold here in Japan. And when we arrived here at this hospital, which is one of dozens of hospitals across Japan that are treating coronavirus patients, the Japanese government not releasing which specific locations they are.

But I was pretty surprised. There is no indication that there are coronavirus patients here. We're right in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood in Tokyo. But when I was actually able to interview Rebecca, she's doing great.

She's not showing any symptoms of coronavirus. She actually spoke to us, waved to us from her window here. And I'm really looking forward to sharing this interview with our viewers. It's going to be airing tomorrow on "New Day" because the vast majority of coronavirus patients are not severe cases.

This is absolutely something that people need to take seriously. They need to protect their health. And if people are over the age of 60 or if they have pre-existing conditions like diabetes and heart disease, this can be a very deadly, serious illness.

But a lot of people are not even showing any symptoms. And Rebecca is one of them. Most people, the vast majority, are recovering, they are getting better and I think that is the underreported angle here.

So, I think that people need to keep that in mind and hopefully, that will help dial back some of the hysteria just a bit, despite the fact that this is a global health emergency and a very serious situation.

CABRERA: So Will, how did she find out that she had coronavirus if her symptoms are fairly mild, which is great news to hear? What is she experiencing?

RIPLEY: She had some minor symptoms. She had a bit of a sore throat. She had a bit of a fever and they gave her a throat swab and she was surprised, frankly, that she had the virus. If this was not corona virus, if she had a cold or she had the flu, she would not be in this hospital right now. She certainly wouldn't be under quarantine.

But because of the fact that scientists know so little about this virus, that's why they're taking these extraordinary measures. But people, I think, you know, there tends to be this panic surrounding coronavirus. And the media, you know, we are partially to blame for that.

So I think this will be helpful for people to see and hear from someone who has the virus and is very upbeat. In fact, I think in some ways having the virus has made her much less afraid. It has helped her to overcome the fear that a lot of people are feeling right now.

CABRERA: We certainly wish her all the very best and a swift recovery. Will Ripley, thank you for that reporting. We look forward to your interview.

Coming up, it is Hollywood's biggest night, but there is controversy over the nominees even before the stars hit the red carpet. We'll explain. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:00]

CABRERA: We are now just hours away from Hollywood's most glamorous night, the Academy Awards, now in their 92nd year. And what might be most surprising about this year's awards is how unsurprising they may turn out to be.

There's no host, for instance, and while most of the awards seem preordained, there is a showdown for best picture between two very different movies. Here are the nominees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

MATT DAMON, ACTOR: You ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was born ready, Mr. Shelby. Hit it.

JOE PESCI, ACTOR: A friend of ours is having a little trouble. A friend at the top.

AL PACINI, ACTOR: Hi you, Frank. This is Jimmy Hoffa.

ROBERT De NIRO, ACTOR: Nice to meet you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think I can do this.

JOAQUIN PHOENIX, ACTOR: My whole life, I didn't know if I even really existed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Meg, Amy, Beth and Jo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I love about Nicole, she is a mother who plays, really plays.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't get there in time, we'll lose 1,600 men, your brother among them.

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: It's official, old buddy. I'm a has been.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

CABRERA: And the winner is, Brian Stelter, CNN chief media correspondent and anchor of "RELIABLE SOURCES." You're always a winner in my book, Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: We're all winners. These were great films.

CABRERA: The biggest award perhaps is one that isn't really up in the air, but who is favored?

STELTER: Yes, the kind of race in the best picture category it seems to be according (inaudible) study this and live this, is between "1917" and "Parasite." "1917" is that incredible Sam Mendes film. It looks like it's all done in one shot following two men through World War I on a harrowing mission.

It's an amazing film for those who haven't seen it yet. In fact, you know, I thought about going to see it a second time. It's that intense. "Parasite" on the other hand is a film that is unlike any that's really ever been up for all of these awards.

If it wins best picture, it will be the first film in a language other than English to ever win the main prize. It's the first file with a primarily Asian cast that would win best picture. So, there are a lot who are rooting for "Parasite" and the inclusiveness that would represent as well tonight.

[17:50:05]

CABRERA: And that's funny you mentioned it because diversity has been one of the biggest criticisms about the Oscars recently in recent years, and this year is no different. There is no female nominee for best director, despite Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" being nominated for best picture.

And there is only one African-American, Cynthia Erivo, nominated in the acting category for her role in "Harriet." Do you expect that to be called out tonight?

STELTER: I do and I certainly hope it is called out tonight. This has been a multiyear conversation, sometimes organized around the #oscarssowhite. But there are several different categories where these films -- the film world and these awards are not reflecting real life, are not reflecting America and the world that these movies are made for.

Hollywood is increasingly producing films for the entire world, the entire planet, and yet it is still not really a boy's club -- it's a white boys' club, and I mean that in terms of the makeup of the Academy as well.

The Academy has been trying hard to bring in younger filmmakers and younger producers to bring in more people of color and bring in more women, but it's a multiyear process. It's taking -- it seems like it's taking quite a long time.

And the nominations reflect the fact that it is still stacked toward older, white men in the Academy, which means in the group of people that make up these nominees and pick the winners.

CABRERA: A lot of people think Joaquin Phoenix is the front-runner to win best actor for his role in "The Joker."

STELTER: "The Joker."

CABRERA: But I understand a lot of people will be watching what he says in his speech. That's really what has people hanging.

STELTER: Yes, this might be one of those spots where he will address this subject because he has been outspoken during this awards season. For example, at the BAFTA's -- when he won at the BAFTA, he said I think we send a very clear message. He thinks Hollywood sends a clear message to people of color that you're not welcome here.

He said we have to dismantle the system and structural racism in Hollywood. He has been speaking in this way all season long. So, he may have a very prominent stage to do that later this evening.

And by the way, you know, I mentioned "Parasite" and "1917" being the top contenders, but I do think we'll see "Joker" win something tonight, "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood" likely to win some prize tonight. And Netflix, every year, there's more of a Netflix prominence at these awards; "Marriage Story," other Netflix films like "The Irishman" also up for awards.

CABRERA: What's missing, though, is a host just like last year.

STELTER: That's right, yes.

CABRERA: Is this the new norm, do you think?

STELTER: Well, I like host. I think shows need hosts.

CABRERA: Me, too. STELTER: But I think for the Academy, it's a hard job to fill. Nobody

wants to be the host. They see -- they think there is a little up side to doing it.

CABRERA: So much scrutiny.

STELTER: And sometimes it means the show will end a few minutes earlier than it usually does, which won't be a nice thing. Look, ultimately, this is about celebrating creativity and hopefully, diversity in film making. So, you know, you don't need a host to do that. They can get out of the way and focus on the nominees and on the prizes.

But I do think the range of films -- it was an extraordinary year for Hollywood, and it's nice to have a break from all the bad news.

CABRERA: Yes no kidding. Because I am a parent, I'm sure you can relate, although I don't know how you do it. I don't think you sleep. But I often don't have a lot of time for movies, so I wait until the Oscars and then when I see who wins, that's like -- then I make my list of what I, you know, got to prioritize.

STELTER: Totally. Exactly.

CABRERA: Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

STELTER: All right. Thanks.

CABRERA: And reminder to catch Brian on his "RELIABLE SOURCES" show every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. here on CNN.

"Saturday Night Live" spared no expense poking fun at the Democratic candidates following a roller coaster week in politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayor Pete, you initially claimed victory in Iowa and then Senator Sanders claimed victory a few days later, leading to some major infighting. Who do you think really won?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCAIL BREAK)

[17:55:00]

CABRERA: With the chaos in Iowa and the New Hampshire Democratic debate, there was no shortage of content for "Saturday Night Live." Here's their take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayor Pete, you initially claimed victory in Iowa, and then senator Sanders claimed victory a few days later, leading to some major infighting. Who do you think really won?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, the issue in Iowa was math? Oh, I wonder who they could have called to help them out with that. What? I meant because my pin, racist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's take a quick word from our sponsor tonight, Bloomberg. Are you a registered Democrat thinking these can't be my only choices? Then try Bloomberg.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no, you're not going to outpour me, all right? My campaign -- my campaign is broke as hell. My biggest contributions are the pennies from loafers and whatever the concerned moms of Bernie bros can afford.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, people, you know, say I'm not very popular among minorities. They have been referring to me as Mayo Pete, but I assure you, I am not that spicy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's hear your closing statements. Senator Klobuchar.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why am I not doing better?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know how or why it happened, but I am king of an army of internet trolls called Bernie bros. Could I stop them in their tracks? Of course. Should I? Yes. Will I?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Biden, you have 60 seconds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What? Hell, the doctor said I have six to eight months!

[17:59:59]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I meant for your closing statements.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)