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Over 100 U.S. Troops Suffer Brain Injuries Following Iran Strike; Trump Revenge Tour?; Democratic Race Intensifies Ahead of New Hampshire Primary. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired February 10, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Here's Sanders and Biden, along with the former South Bend mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm running against a candidate, Pete Buttigieg, among others, who has raised contributions from more than 40 billionaires.

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With a president this divisive, we cannot risk dividing Americans' future further, saying that you must either be for a revolution or you must be for the status quo.

JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come on, man. You think -- these guys -- this guy's not a Barack Obama.

BUTTIGIEG: Well, he's right. I'm not. And neither is he.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Senator Klobuchar says that while Buttigieg's mayor experience is good, her stint in Congress is better.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I actually respect a lot of people that have experience in small towns, but I think the added experience I have is 12 years in the U.S. Senate. It is actually passing bills.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go to our senior national correspondent, Kyung Lah. She's traveling with Senator Klobuchar in the campaign in Exeter, New Hampshire.

And, Kyung, what has her closing argument been to voters where you are?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she's trying to see some of that excitement that she is feeling from that performance Friday night in the debate.

And she says and her campaign says they're really feeling it on the ground here in New Hampshire in these last 24 hours. They're seeing bigger crowds. At this place, for example, this venue had to close its doors, the fire marshal shutting it down, saying that they were at capacity.

This campaign is so excited about the Friday evening debate, that closing message, saying that she sees the voter, that they turned it into their closing ad here in New Hampshire.

Now, part of the voters that this campaign hopes to see are the moderates, the independents. And something that we have noticed is that at every Klobuchar event, there are Republicans who voted for Trump.

I want you to listen to a couple of people who are former Trump voters who don't want to go down that path again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We voted for Trump last time. And we're saying who we can choose this time. We may go with him, but we like Amy, because she seems to be a strong candidate. She had many years in the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: So a little bit of an Amy-or-bust message in that voter.

The question will be whether or not, Brooke, there are enough of those voters to vault her into beating expectations. A reminder, she came out of the Iowa caucuses in fifth place. She's got to do better than that to continue into Nevada, South Carolina and Super Tuesday -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Kyung, thank you, in Exeter.

CNN has learned that Biden supporters and donors want him to be more aggressive after that fourth-place finish in Iowa. And so, if this weekend is any indication, the former vice president has received that message loud and clear, taking direct aim at Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: 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.

BIDEN: I'm not putting a label on Bernie. Bernie calls himself a Democratic socialist. Look, if I don't get the nomination and Bernie gets it, I'm going to work like hell for him. But I tell you what. It's a bigger uphill climb running as a senator or a congressperson or as a governor on a ticket that calls itself a Democratic socialist ticket.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, is in Hudson, New Hampshire.

And, Dana, these attacks, they may please some of Biden's donors, but couldn't it backfire with voters who view him as more of an elder statesman?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: An elder statesman and as somebody who is authentically himself.

And that to date has been -- at least on the campaign trail -- has been somebody who hasn't wanted to go there on these issues, whether it's on the debate stage. He kind of has in some ways, but then, more broadly, he has been very careful not to really go hard -- excuse me for one second.

Sorry. I thought I was getting a message that Senator Sanders was behind me.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: It's all good.

BASH: As I was going to continue to answer that question. Live television, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Live TV, baby.

BASH: But -- yes.

But back to Joe Biden, sort of the -- one of the reasons that he continues to have support isn't just his experience, and the fact that he, according to people who like him and support him, would be kind of chicken soup for the country right now, kind of an antidote to what people see in Trumpism, but it's also that he's his authentic self.

And it doesn't look like he is comfortable in attack mode. You heard a little bit in the sound bite you played, Brooke, but, more broadly, it's his campaign aides. It's paid advertising, the big one this weekend.

[15:05:07]

So we will see if he does it in a more aggressive way, not just on Senator Sanders, but with Pete Buttigieg, which was the subject of the ad this weekend.

BALDWIN: We will see if it pays off tomorrow. In the meantime, speaking of Buttigieg, so we know that both Senator

Sanders and Pete Buttigieg are -- will be asking for recanvass in Iowa.

Do you think, Dana Bash, that that is a smart move politically?

BASH: I don't think they have any choice, because it is such a mess and it is so close. It's understandable, particularly where we are right now, with, it looks like, Pete Buttigieg eking out a win, as of right now, that Bernie Sanders wanted to ask for a recanvass just to see where the votes were.

And then it makes sense that Pete Buttigieg would follow suit, just so they could get a sense. But, bigger picture, Brooke, here we are in New Hampshire. People have turned the page. They want to know -- they have spent, a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of blood, sweat and tears in Iowa, so people want to know what happened there.

But they're moving on to this primary here tomorrow, and, much more importantly, Nevada, South Carolina and Super Tuesday.

BALDWIN: How about -- how about the guy who has chosen to skip Iowa and New Hampshire and head a little bit deeper into the calendar, Michael Bloomberg, right?

The former New York mayor, he has now spent more than $350 million in ads. So, if you do the math, that is nearly 10 times the amount of the Sanders campaign. And, in this new national poll, he has risen, Dana, to third place. Do you think this whole Bloomberg political experiment may be working?

BASH: It might be.

I mean, you used the perfect word, Brooke, experiment. Look, there was an experiment four years ago with a guy who ever had run for anything, and he became president of the United States. Different time, different guy, different party, I get all that.

But that is -- it's the kind of unique breaking all the rules strategy that Michael Bloomberg is going for. And the fact that he is in a national poll doing better than Pete Buttigieg, for example, it's maybe within the margin of error, but it doesn't matter, considering the fact that he is -- that he's in play. He's in play.

And that is going to matter when we get to the states where he is actually going to try to be and will be on the ballot. New Hampshire is not one of them. Iowa, the caucuses, were not one. And the next two are also in that in that same vein.

But when you get to Super Tuesday and beyond, you're -- that's when they're going to be competing for so many delegates. And that is where Mike Bloomberg is really pushing hard, not just on a national level, but in those states, and pushing hard with communities and with the kinds of voters who still seem to be up for grabs, like, for example, African-American voters. You wouldn't think that somebody who has the history like stop and frisk, which is extremely controversial -- that's what -- the policy that he had as New York mayor -- you wouldn't think he would play with the African-American voters, but he also has a lot of African-American leaders, mayors, for example, who have supported him.

So it's a real unknown. And, again, you used the perfect word, experiment.

BALDWIN: Experiment, yes.

Dana, thank you.

And for political junkies from coast to coast, it would be the opportunity of a lifetime. Listen to this, playing host to a presidential candidate in your home.

Check this out. My next guests have been doing that in New Hampshire for more than a decade. And this time around, at least 12 of the Democrats vying for the White House have stopped by their house.

Joining me now from Manchester, Ron and Gerri King.

Ron and Gerri, a pleasure.

GERRI KING, NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENT: Hello.

RON KING, NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENT: Thank you. Hi.

BALDWIN: OK, so your first candidate was Howard Dean. That was back in 2004.

Tell me, how did your living room become the place to be?

G. KING: You know, people ask that all the time. Why do candidates come? And my answer is because we say yes and we serve a lot of food.

I'm not sure we have...

(CROSSTALK)

R. KING: Homemade food.

G. KING: Homemade.

BALDWIN: Homemade food.

G. KING: Ron does most of baking, by the way.

BALDWIN: Well done, Ron. Well done.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: But I have to guess that it's more than the food, guys, because now you hear all these people, like, cooking up a storm in New Hampshire, trying to get all these folks around. It has to be more than that. And can you just -- can you tell me,

indulge me in some stories, I mean, from this past cycle, let's say? Has there been a particular candidate or two who've been the most liked or most exciting, entertaining?

G. KING: Wow, that's tough.

And this is why I'm undecided still. I'm usually canvassing by this time. But the 12 candidates have been absolutely extraordinary. We had Barack Obama when he first ran.

[15:10:05]

By the way, our friends from out of state thought we Photoshopped him in when we sent a picture, because they don't understand New Hampshire.

(LAUGHTER)

G. KING: And this time, we have had 65 to 75 people for many of the candidates and up to 100 and 120 for some of them.

BALDWIN: Tell me a story, though.

You guys, give me some specifics. I mean, I understand you have these folks through and they're extraordinary people, but tell me a story of one of them.

G. KING: Right?

R. KING: Well, it's difficult, because they're all -- they all have different -- different approaches to things. They always respond differently to the audience and to the people in the house.

But I was thinking this morning on the way over here that one of the things I absolutely admire about all the candidates is, they're so brave, because they have no idea what they're going to come into when they come through a door.

So this is a house. This is a very intimate kind of setting. It's homemade food. The smells are in the house. It's all that kind of thing. And our friends are there. But they come through that door having no idea what to expect. And they're hit there with people right as soon as they walk in. The questions are hitting them.

The smells are hitting them and everything else. So it's a whole -- every one of them reacts a little differently to all of that.

I was thinking. Tom Steyer was one of the last people we had in there. And he came in and he was just overwhelmed. His eyes went big and he kind of went back like this. He said: I thought maybe 12 or 15 people.

And there were 125 for him.

G. KING: The staffs help us move our furniture out of the living room, by the way, because that's the only way we can accommodate all those people.

BALDWIN: Yes.

Tell me, why haven't you all endorsed anyone at this point? I understand people are driving past your house, and they're asking, where are their signs? I need to know who they're endorsing.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Why not yet?

G. KING: Well, I will give you an example.

I was on NHPR a couple of months ago on undecided voters program. And they called and said, you willing to come back? And I said, my list has gotten longer, instead of shorter.

I mean, there's a good reason for this. From my perspective, we have wonderful candidates. So the reason that we're undecided is trying to decide amongst so many good people.

R. KING: And, at this level, Brooke, at this level, you can really get down into it. It's not just the sound bite you hear on TV, which most the rest of the country sees, but you really get down in depth.

And if you have further questions, you can go to another house and ask even more detail. So you really get to know people. And so, therefore, you take your time making up your decision.

BALDWIN: No, I mean, it's one thing for a candidate to stand on a stage and talk to thousands of people in an arena, but to stand in Ron and Gerri's living room...

R. KING: Exactly.

BALDWIN: ... eating Ron's baked goods, it's like, how do you choose?

Game time decision is what I'm hearing.

Ron and Gerri King in Manchester, New Hampshire, good luck to you. Thank you very much.

G. KING: Thank you. Thanks for talking to us. Thanks.

R. KING: Thanks, Brooke. Very nice.

BALDWIN: You got it.

Coming up next: another dramatic increase in the number of U.S. soldiers diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, after that Iran strike, and now more than 100 -- 100 -- weeks after President Trump downplayed the injuries as headaches.

Plus, CNN has learned President Trump isn't interested in meeting with North Korea's dictator any time before the November election, despite saying just the opposite a couple months ago. And moments ago, Kobe Bryant's widow sharing an emotional post as she grieves the loss of her husband and daughter. We will share Vanessa Bryant's powerful words.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BALDWIN: Kobe Bryant's widow just published an emotional post on Instagram, along with a video for late husband and daughter Gianna, or Gigi.

And I just want to read it in its entirety for you.

So, Vanessa Bryant in her own words -- quote -- "I have been reluctant to put my feelings into words. My brain refuses to accept that both Kobe and Gigi are gone. I can't process both at the same time. It's like I'm trying to process Kobe being gone, but my body refuses to accept my Gigi will never come back to me.

"It feels wrong. Why should I be able to wake up another day when my baby girl isn't able to have that opportunity? I'm so mad. She had so much life to live. And then I realize I need to be strong and be here for my three daughters. Mad I'm not with Kobe and Gigi, but thankful I'm here with Natalia, Bianka and Capri.

"I know what I'm feeling is normal. It's part of the grieving process. I just wanted to share in case there's anyone out there that's experienced a loss like this. God, I wish they were here and this nightmare would be over. Praying for all of the victims of this horrible tragedy. Please continue to pray for all."

That was Vanessa Bryant just there on Instagram.

We should remind you, a memorial is scheduled for Kobe and on Gianna Bryant on February 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

We are also today learning disturbing new details about how many U.S. service members are still suffering from that missile attack by Iran on a military base in Iraq last month. A U.S. official telling CNN more than 100 U.S. service members have now been diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury following the January attack on the Al Asad Base.

That is at least 36 more cases than the Pentagon disclosed late last month. And just remember, initially, the Pentagon and President Trump said no U.S. service members were hurt in the attack, which was in retaliation for the death of that Iranian commander in a U.S. drone strike.

So, with me now just hire Green Beret Travis Wilson. He is the lead ambassador for the Green Beret Foundation.

So, Travis, thank you so much for being with me. And thank you for your service.

TRAVIS WILSON, LEAD AMBASSADOR, GREEN BERET FOUNDATION: It's my pleasure, Brooke. Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: So, how did you get your TBI?

[15:20:02]

WILSON: Well, I started playing sports as a child, so I like to think that it started there within hockey and football.

But within the military, I have got around six deployments, and all of those combat deployments, and have been IEDed, and among other things. But the biggest one was a halo parachute accident, where I had a canopy malfunction, and I burned in and ate dirt.

BALDWIN: And when you look at you, right, you look perfectly fine. And this is maybe, what, part of the reason why TBI, traumatic brain injury, is referred to as an invisible injury, right, because unlike, let's say -- you have been -- I have been to Walter Reed.

I have seen members of the military missing limbs. But this is different, because you look at you and it appears nothing's wrong.

WILSON: Yes.

I think, with a lot of people, it is an invisible injury. But you don't get to see them at home with their families and the anguish that they go through, the headaches that they do have.

So, like with the guys who -- the 100 soldiers that were involved in Iraq, one of the first signs is a headache. So our president was correct. It was headaches. But that's the first sign and symptom of a TBI. They're going to endure a lot of other things that come with a TBI.

So you really have to follow these guys and track their progress down the road, because they're going to go through some other difficulties.

BALDWIN: Are you surprised the number of these guys who've suffered these TBIs at that Iraq base, that the number has risen so dramatically, so much more than a month later? Or do you think it's just taken a while because they didn't realize what happened?

WILSON: You know, no, I'm not surprised at all.

Those rockets that landed within that base in Iraq were bigger than just an IED. So that overpressure is going to be a lot bigger than an IED blast or an RPG blast or just constant shooting, because that is another thing, is, constant shooting causes those small micro-lesions in the brain, and which causes TBI.

So, no, I'm not. I wouldn't doubt that maybe there will be a few more.

BALDWIN: Let's hope not.

Travis Wilson, I appreciate you. Thank you so much.

WILSON: Yes, ma'am. BALDWIN: Coming up next: The Trump administration is proposing a $12 billion cut to the State Department budget. This is happening as he retaliates against diplomats who testified against him in the impeachment trial.

We will talk about the long-term impacts it could have on U.S. diplomacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:40]

BALDWIN: We're back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, is calling on the nation's 74 inspectors general to investigate witness retaliation, after the president just fired two key witnesses in the impeachment inquiry, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman and former Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.

Several sources say that both men had planned to leave on their own soon after the impeachment trial ended. But the president did not want them to go quietly, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

Not only that. Vindman's twin brother was also forced out.

Chris Cillizza is our CNN politics reporter and editor at large.

And hello, sir.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Hi.

BALDWIN: I see your board. These three men are not alone.

CILLIZZA: Yes.

Now, we did something similar to this last week. There's a lot more people than this who left before they gave testimony to the House.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CILLIZZA: We're just focusing on people who left...

BALDWIN: After.

CILLIZZA: ... or were removed after they gave testimony in the impeachment inquiry.

So this is not a full list. But many of these people -- look, Jennifer Williams, this is someone Donald Trump accused of being a never- Trumper. She was assigned to Mike Pence's office, the vice president's, left early -- by the way, no evidence she had anything to do with any never-Trump movement.

These two obviously have gotten a huge amount of attention, Alex Vindman and his brother. His brother, all we knew was that he was a twin. We didn't really know anything about him, also was at the NSC, National Security Council, Vindman removed from office on Friday.

BALDWIN: Didn't testify at all, by the way, the brother just ousted.

CILLIZZA: Didn't. Not involved. Not involved at all.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CILLIZZA: And then, late Friday night, Gordon Sondland.

Now, this people say, oh, never-Trump, blah, blah. Gordon Sondland gave a huge sum of money to the Trump inaugural. That's how he wound up being the former ambassador to the European Union. And our reporting suggests he didn't want to go. He was made to go.

BALDWIN: OK.

Let me get to this sound.

CILLIZZA: Yes.

BALDWIN: Because Republican Senator Susan Collins said this about the president's impeachment acquittal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I believe that the president has learned from this case.

QUESTION: So why do you have that feeling that he has changed, that he learned a lesson?

COLLINS: Well, I may not be correct on that. It's more aspirational on my part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hmm. Has he learned his lesson?

CILLIZZA: Let me be clear. The senator may not be wrong. She is wrong. He has not learned his lesson.

Let's just do one example. And then we will run through a bunch.

BALDWIN: OK.

CILLIZZA: OK.

So, one, Joe Manchin, senator from West Virginia, Democrat, Trump thought he might be able to get him. Manchin votes for Trump to be convicted.

Trump then goes on a series of tweets, including, I believe, one that we have, in which he does his famous nickname thing. "They" -- again, not clear who they is -- "They are really mad at Senator Joe Munchkin."

See, because his name is --

[15:30:00]