Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Potential Republican Presidential Candidate in 2024 Visiting Iowa; Former President Trump Holding Rallies in Sioux City, Iowa; Former Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton Interviewed on Democratic Messaging for Midterm Elections. Aired 8-8:30a ET.

Aired November 03, 2022 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. So why don't we get right to it, but the former secretary of state Hillary Clinton is coming up, and we have a lot of things we want to ask her. It is go time. Just five days left for the midterms. Political heavyweights are hitting the campaign trail. Joining us this morning to discuss, Hillary Clinton. We're going to ask the former Democratic nominee for president why she believes voters aren't grasping what's really at stake on Tuesday.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: The closers are on the campaign trail all across the country. Former President Barack Obama stumping in Arizona, warning voters that conspiracy theorists and election deniers are putting democracy on the brink. The former president using a heckler to make his case. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: This is part of what happens in our politics these days. We get distracted. We got one person yelling, and suddenly everybody's yelling. You get one tweet that's stupid and suddenly everybody's obsessed with the tweet. We can't fall for that. We have to stay focused.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Obama is not the only former president on the campaign trail. Former President Trump is also set to hold a rally in Sioux City, Iowa. He is not the only potential Republican presidential candidate who is in the state. Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo have all made appearances in Iowa in recent weeks, campaigning for Republican candidates, maybe even definitely testing the waters for themselves.

Jeff Zeleny is live for CNN this morning in Sioux City, Iowa. Jeff, a lot of airplane traffic that is happening there.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Kaitlan, there certainly is. And of course, Iowa is not the hottest 2022 battleground, but it has something else that's more enticing. It's the opening bell of the 2024 presidential race. And as this Republican wave of optimism is really sweeping across the country, Donald Trump is making clear that he wants to be at the center of that. That is why he is beginning four rallies in five days here in Sioux City, Iowa, the northwest corner of Iowa which is the home to the biggest Republican base in this state. I'm told he's trying to reassert himself. One aide said it's a victory lap.

Of course, we have several days to go until the actual Election Day here, but that is the point of the rally tonight, trying to make the former president front and center in what they believe is going to be a strong Republican showing next week.

COLLINS: And Jeff, we talked about the other potential 2024 candidates that have been in Iowa. What about Governor DeSantis? I didn't mention him. Is he coming to Iowa?

ZELENY: You didn't, but Kaitlan, I'm told that he actually is eyeing a trip to Iowa. Of course, he has a reelection bid of his own. He's on the ballot next week in Florida. But once that is out of the way, and they're very optimistic he's in command of that race, they are likely to travel here as well. He's been traveling across the country already campaigning for other Republican candidates. He stayed away from Iowa, I'm told, to avoid being a distraction. But he is likely to come here.

But the question is, when you talk to Republican voters, is there an opening for a broad field of candidates, or are people going to get behind Donald Trump? I can tell you talking to Republicans here, there is a market for other candidates, a bigger field. So of course, we're getting a bit of slightly ahead of ourselves. Of course, that is the next race. But Republicans are optimistic about this race here next Tuesday. Kaitlan?

COLLINS: Yes, we'll be watching to see. Jeff, you're going to be spending a lot of time there. Make sure you get a steak for me at the 801 Chop House.

And be sure to tune in. Jeff will be joining us on Tuesday for CNN special election coverage. It starts at 4:00 p.m. eastern.

LEMON: I want to get right to this now. We are joined now by someone who knows about this final push very well, the former secretary of state, former Senator, and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Secretary, good morning, thank you so much. I really appreciate you joining us this morning.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Glad to talk with you, Don.

LEMON: So the reason that you're here, one of the main reasons, and I've been watching you going on the television and even in your social media, you say that voters aren't really grasping the gravity of this election. Is that the product of Democratic messaging? What is your message?

CLINTON: Oh, I think there probably are a lot of reasons. You just had a clip from President Obama talking about distraction. There's just so much happening. But I would boil it down to this -- it's really difficult to tell people what's going to happen in the future, when understandably, they are focused on the present.

So, yes, people are worried about the cost of living, they're worried about the economy, although the Republicans have absolutely no plan to do anything about that. And so it's more challenging to say, hey, look, they're going to go after Social Security and Medicare. That is not something we're making up. They're saying it themselves. And, hey, they're going after democracy, and even counting votes that they think will help them and not others that won't.

[08:05:05]

Those are real threats, threats to individuals and our lives every day, and threats to our country. But it is more challenging to get that focus on the future.

LEMON: So do you think it's the messaging? I have to ask you, because if you look at the CNN polling, and this is our -- we conducted this October 26th through the 31st, this is among likely voters. The most important issues for their congressional vote, the most important issues out there, it is the economy and inflation, like 51 percent. And then abortion, which Democrats are running is at 15 percent, crime for Republicans, which they're running on that, that's three percent, we can talk about that later. But do you think it is the right messaging? Because I know you want to talk about the economy in your messaging as you go out.

CLINTON: Well, I always think you have to talk about the economy because that's critical to everybody, whether it's an election year or not. What I wish we could convey more effectively is that if you look at what has been accomplished in the first two years of the Biden presidency with the Congress working hand in hand, there has been an enormous amount of commitment of new building, new infrastructure, new investments in manufacturing, new ways to lower health care costs, insulin price going down, drug prescription price going down. In fact, the work that has been done by the Democrats in helping the economy and helping people deal with what is global inflation, not just American inflation, is truly impressive. And we've got to get that message across more effectively.

LEMON: I wonder why voters aren't getting that. And listen, here's an example, because you're going to be campaigning with Governor Kathy Hochul along with the Vice President, you're going to be campaigning for her and Letitia James, meaning Hochul, and we're talking about a state where you were elected. It is a blue state. And that is a signal that something is amiss here, that Democrats are nervous in a blue state like New York. So why isn't that message getting across? Why is Kathy Hochul neck and neck with the former -- or the Republican congressman, Lee Zeldin, who is also running for governor?

CLINTON: I think it's more of a turnout issue, Don. Every poll that I've seen shows Kathy Hochul still ahead, and I expect her to win on Tuesday. But a midterm election is always difficult for the party in power. Whoever is the president in the White House, we have seen that over and over again in recent history. So our job is to convince our voters to turn out, because if they turn out, then there's no doubt that we will win.

But it is an uphill battle in a midterm election to convince people to get out and vote, whereas the other side is motivated because they want change at any cost. And so I think that you'll see at the rally tonight where I'll be with Governor Hochul and Vice President Harris a real strong message about how this election has to be put on the front burner for everybody, and voters need to turn out and vote for themselves, vote for making a real difference in their lives.

And also, I want to go back to underscore what's at stake, because we just had some video put online by the Republican senator from Utah saying that he wanted to pull Social Security and Medicare up by the roots. What more evidence do we need? We know that the Republicans for 50 years have said they were going to overturn Roe v. Wade, and get what, they did. I take them at their word.

So if you're worried about the economy, cost of living, getting by right now, think of what it will be right if they go back to higher prescription drug prices, undo what the Democrats did, go after Social Security and Medicare to literally pull it up by the roots. Those are serious threats to anybody, and we've got to make sure people know that by Tuesday.

LEMON: I've been seeing you all over the media talking about this, giving this same message. We just had Tim Ryan on who is running in Ohio. And we spoke with Katie Hobbs, who is running as well. Katie Hobbs is refusing -- some Democrats are refusing to debate and directly take on their election denying opponents. Tim Ryan is not one of them. Is that a mistake not to do that?

[08:10:01]

CLINTON: Look, I think everybody has to run the race that he or she thinks is best. And I think Tim Ryan has run an exceptional race in Ohio because he is a real native Ohioan. He knows what the people that have elected him to the Congress year in and year out believe and want to hear. Katie Hobbs, a statewide elected official in Arizona, she understands what the people in Arizona want to hear.

So yes, there are national messages. And certainly, the Republicans are running their messages on primarily crime and immigration and the inflation argument, for which they have no answer. But I think in individual states I expect to see candidates tailor their messages.

And I want to say one word about this emphasis on crime that we've seen in every ad that I've run across from the Republicans. I find it ironic and, frankly, disturbing that when Paul Pelosi is attacked by an intruder in his own home with a hammer, the Republicans go silent about that crime. They're not concerned about voter safety. They just want to keep voters scared, because they feel that if voters are scared, if they're responding to negative messages, they'll have a better chance. And that's really regrettable. Unfortunately, sometimes it works, and we can't let people just hear that and believe it.

LEMON: Listen, crime is a real issue, as you know. It's a real concern for Americans. As the polling shows it wasn't at the top of the list, but it is a concern, a deep concern for Americans.

CLINTON: Look, crime should be a concern. I don't care where it happens or what it is, I want people to be safe. That's not the Republicans' argument, because of course, if you look at real crime statistics, which they're not interested in examining, the states with the highest crime levels are states run by Republicans. That's just a fact. We saw that very clearly in the recent debate in Oklahoma for the governorship when the Democratic candidate said, wait a minute, the crime rate in Oklahoma is higher than it is in New York, and nobody wanted to believe that.

They don't want to solve a problem, whether it's crime, inflation, or anything else. They just want an issue. When given a chance to govern, they don't want the responsibility. We saw that during COVID at the very highest levels of the Trump administration.

So when they talk about crime, they're just trying to gin up all kinds of fear and anxiety in people. They're not dealing with it. They're not trying to tackle it. And so I view it as an effort to scare voters, and we're going to have to do as good a job as possible in pointing out what the real facts are.

LEMON: You mentioned Paul Pelosi, and I know you know him and of course the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Have you spoken to her?

CLINTON: Yes. We were just horrified, Don. It just is the pit of our stomachs were churning, both Bill and I, when we heard that news, and immediately reached out. Bill actually had a chance to talk with Speaker Pelosi to make sure that everything that was being done is being done.

Obviously, it's a horrifying incident, but it is also, sadly, a real indicator of where we are in our country right now that you would have people on the Republican ticket like the woman running in Arizona laughing about an attack on anyone, let alone an 82-year-old man whose wife happens to be second in line to the presidency. I am rarely shocked anymore, but the reaction that I've seen from a number of Republicans both in person and online making fun of that attack, somehow trying to turn it into a joke, the same party that wants us to be worried about crime. The hypocrisy is incredibly obvious, and I want voters to think hard about why would you give authority to people who laugh at what happened to Paul Pelosi? We can have our differences over all kinds of policies, but when you really get to the human level, my goodness, what kind of person is that and why would we entrust any power to such a person?

[08:15:01]

LEMON: Secretary Clinton, I want you to stick around, if you will. We're going to take a quick break. And we're going to take on, you know, some foreign policy issues. So we're going to discuss important international headlines from Ukraine to Iran, North Korea and more with the secretary. We'll be right back here on CNN THIS MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: We're back now with the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And let's open the conversation up -- to around the table here with Kaitlan and Poppy.

And I think it's appropriate, Secretary, to start with Ukraine because we are now months into this war, no sign of ending. Vladimir Putin isn't backing down. I'll ask you what I asked the ambassador to the United Nations yesterday. What do we -- what does the world do about Vladimir Putin?

CLINTON: Well, the short answer is we have to defeat him. And that means we have to continue supplying the necessary military equipment to Ukraine. We have to continue enforcing sanctions and help those who, in our alliance, particularly in Europe, are suffering from the effects of, you know, energy pricing and other challenges to get through the winter.

And we have to make it very clear to Putin that we stand with the Ukrainian people. Their fight for freedom and democracy is our fight.

[08:20:03]

And we're going to, I hope, you know, wear down Putin and make sure that he has internal dissention to deal with and keep him, you know, constantly trying to undermine-- we have to undermine his hold on power insofar as that's possible.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Secretary Clinton, you know Putin very well, I mean back from when you were secretary of state, the reset of relations with Russia.

And then, you know, I think a lot of people don't realize that you wrote this confidential memo at the end of your time as secretary of state, telling the White House, you know, don't flatter him with high- level attention, decline his invitation for a presidential summit, don't appear too eager to work together.

You seem to have a really good sense of his mindset. Do you have a concern that officials seem more concerned about now than they were months ago that he would use nuclear weapons?

CLINTON: I -- I don't believe that, at this point. I think you always have to be assessing the risks and trying to determine what messages should be sent to Putin.

He understands, you know, force. He understands pushback. He will go as far as he is permitted to go. I think he -- frankly, I believe, if Trump had been reelected, he expected Trump to pull us out of NATO so that his invasion of Ukraine would have proceeded much more smoothly.

So, you have to stand up to him. He is -- he's a classic bully. Clearly, you have to continue to be assessing what he might do. But at this point, I am, you know, not yet convinced that he will do that.

COLLINS: And you talked about making sure that the United States is continuing to supply Ukraine with what it needs to wage this battle, this invasion. One thing that the White House has held off on -- they have given, obviously, billions of dollars in weapons and support to Ukraine -- the longer-range missiles, the fighter jets, these things that President Zelenskyy has asked for.

Is that something that you think that the Pentagon should be willing to give to Ukraine?

CLINTON: Well, at this point, the Ukrainians are really doing well with what we have given them. They are on the offense and are regaining territory that had been seized by Russian troops. There seems to be quite a high casualty rate among the poor Russians that Putin has literally forced onto the battlefield without equipment or training.

So I think, right now, the Ukrainians are more than holding their own. But again, it's a constant assessment to be made by not just the United States military but our allies in NATO as to what can continue to support the Ukrainians in their effort to stave off what are barbaric bombings and missile strikes on civilian targets by the Russians.

So again, I -- you know, it's one of those issues that anybody who says, you know, that there's an easy answer or there's only one answer, probably, is not immersed in the complexity of what's going on. But right now the Ukrainians are doing well with what they've been given.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Secretary Clinton, let's talk about Iran, if we could, for a moment. I mean, these protests and this movement for freedom, especially among women, has continued past its first month. You've got Iran putting 1,000 protesters plus on trial.

You were secretary of state during the Green Movement in Iran. And I thought it was so interesting, a few weeks ago, that President Obama came out and talked about the debate internally in the White House, which certainly included you, about whether or not you guys should speak out in support of the Green Movement. And you ultimately didn't, and he now says that that was a mistake.

I just wonder if there's a lesson there right now in this moment for the Biden administration.

CLINTON: I think there is. You know, during the so-called Green Revolution we did provide support, but we didn't have a full-throated public endorsement of the protests because we didn't want the Iranian government to claim that what was happening inside of Iran was somehow instigated by the United States, by the West.

We wanted it to be what it legitimately was, a home-grown uprising against the oppression of the Iranian regime. And so, we did things like make sure that social media stayed online and other ways of trying to make sure that people in the streets could communicate.

Well, fast-forward to what we are seeing today, there's no doubt that this is home-grown, that this is an uprising long in the making, led by young women. [08:25:07]

I was told recently the -- you know, the average age of the protester in the beginning was 15-years old. Girls pulling off their head scarves in a sign of rejection of the oppression that they'd been living under.

A group of us from around the world had a two full page ad in "The New York Times" this past Sunday calling for the world to take more action, starting in the U.N., to throw Iran off of the Commission on Women, which is, you know, a bitter irony that they were ever on there in the first place.

But I think what we're seeing in Iran has been brewing for many years. And young people who are connected to the rest of the world, who get to travel to some extent, certainly online if not in reality, are just not willing to live with the loss of freedom that is imposed upon them.

So we are speaking out. It is -- it is something that again has to be calculated carefully because the regime is most likely to be softened up and give in to internal pressure, from people saying you picked up my granddaughter on the street, how dare you, or my wife is at home crying because she's worried about our children.

Something that is building up inside Iran. I think it would be a mistake for there to be external signs of pressure or security that came from the outside while this is still bubbling within Iran.

So we have to do everything we can overtly to speak up, speak out, stand with the young women, and have the media continue to cover it.

I mean, I am supporting a group called the Iranian Diaspora Collective, which is a group of Iranian Americans, some Iranians who have also been based in Europe and even people inside Iran who are trying to get the word out. Things are happening literally hour by hour.

So I would plead that, you know, CNN continue to cover what's going on in Iran, keep shining a bright light. I think the pressure is going to have an effect.

LEMON: Yes, listen, I think that's perfect for the -- and you're right, we -- and we will continue to cover it. And I've also been heartened by the men who are standing up for the women in Iran as well. It's very important to have allies.

But if you look at what's happening in Iran, if you look at what's happening in -- all over the world, Bolsonaro, whatever, democracy is in danger all over the world. Here in the United States as well, but it's all over the world, Secretary Clinton. This is a global thing that is happening.

What do we do? Speak to us about that, please.

CLINTON: Well, Don, you're right. I mean, we are in a struggle between democracy and autocracy. We have seen Xi in China consolidate his power, so even what used to be a collective base of power is now all in one person. We're watching Putin abuse and misuse that power to literally rewrite history. We saw a very close election in Brazil. We're seeing the uprising in Iran.

This is a time of great ferment, and it is a time when the United States should be standing strongly on behalf of our values, of democracy and freedom, of opportunity and equality, instead of being engaged in this culture war driven by the political opportunism of people on the Republican side of the ledger.

There is no country in the world better positioned for the future than we are. The only thing that can stop us is if we get in our own way, which we seem to be doing a pretty good job of right now.

Listening to the crazy stuff coming out from election deniers, from people who laugh at Paul Pelosi being attacked, from people who want to keep you scared, who don't have answers to anything; I think it's time that every American say, you know what, we've got a lot at stake in pulling ourselves together.

We've got some terrific opportunities because finally the Congress has passed infrastructure legislations, the CHIPS act, doing something about health care and drug pricing, helping us compete in the clean energy economy.

Wow, we have so much good stuff that is right on the brink of happening if we don't just confuse ourselves and listen to people who don't have our best interests at heart.

So the best thing we can do to lead the world in this struggle between democracy and autocracy is to get our own house in order, and I hope that we'll do that starting Tuesday.