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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Threatens to Sue Cruz; George W. Bush to Make 2016 Debut in South Carolina; Albright Clarifies "Special Place in Hell" Comment; Clinton Claims Obama Legacy in Democratic Debate; Donald Trump's New Target: Pope Francis. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired February 12, 2016 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:08] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Next, breaking news. Trump threatening to take Cruz to court. The two rivals holding dueling event live this hour.
Plus, more breaking news, Madeleine Albright breaking her silence. Does she regret talking about a special place in hell?
And Donald Trump takes on the Pope, let's go OUTFRONT.
Good Friday evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news. Dueling events. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz both speaking live this hour. Trump in Tampa, Florida. Cruz in Greenville, South Carolina. This is a live picture of the sun dome. That's at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Trump will be there rallying supporters in just a few minutes. You got more than 10,000 people who can fit into that stadium. Ted Cruz his South Carolina event billed as a winter Jam Christian concert.
The war of words between Trump and Cruz getting much nastier tonight after Trump accused Cruz of backing negative robo calls in South Carolina. Cruz denied any knowledge of it, Trump then fired back with the series of tweet calling Cruz dishonest, a liar and crazy. This after Cruz called him sleazy. And late today, Trump threatened to take their fight to a whole new level tweeting that he will sue Cruz for not being a natural born citizen if it doesn't get nicer.
Jim Acosta is OUTFRONT tonight at the Trump rally in Tampa. And Jim, yesterday Trump was saying, he's positive but today what a nasty day between these two men.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Not too many positive moments. This is another packed arena for Donald Trump who is taking a break from the campaign trail in South Carolina. Instead, he is on the hunt for votes down here in Florida where he says he's going to start doing something he hasn't down before and that is bite his tongue but he is not changing his style on twitter. He's threatening to sue Ted Cruz if Cruz does not halt his attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Donald Trump is warning Ted Cruz their battle for the GOP nomination could veer off the campaign trail and into a courtroom. Accusing the Texas senator of dirty tricks in South Carolina, Trump tweeted, "If Ted Cruz doesn't clean up his act, stop cheating and doing negative ads, I have standing to sue him for not being a natural born citizen." The Canadian born Cruz whose mother was American say, "Trump should try cleaning up his rhetoric." With the race now in the Bible Belt, he's calling attention to the brash billionaire sometimes salty stump speeches.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She said he's (bleep). That's terrible.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's more than a little irony in Donald accusing anyone of being nasty given the amazing torrent of insult and insanity and vulgarities that come out of his mouth.
ACOSTA: In a not a Christian conservatives, Trump is promising to tone it down.
TRUMP: I won't use foul language. I just won't do it. I'll never do it again, actually. And I'll never even copy somebody what they asked me to say.
ACOSTA: The sometimes f-bombing frontrunner says, he'll op the language more suitable for younger viewers. Like the many Trump looking baby whose hand he signed in Louisiana. Jeb Bush said, Trump's coarseness is a reflection of the real state tycoon's deep insecurities.
FMR. GOV. JEB BUSH (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Frontrunner candidates shouting out obscenities in front of children. I can't imagine my dad -- it's just like, yes, not going to do it. Or you know, my brother who always wore a suit into the oval office.
ACOSTA: Marco Rubio complained he couldn't explain one reason Trump vulgarity to his children.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They wanted to know, what was the word? What did he say? I said, I can't tell you. So, I never -- I can't tell you. I never want to be a candidate that does anything like that.
ACOSTA: John Kasich is banking on a more positive campaign.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How do you ever get anything done long term if you're operating on the dark side of the street as opposed to the sunny side of the street?
ACOSTA: The ad wars in South Carolina are also heating, but in ways that the candidates didn't imagine. Like Cruz spot that was hold after the campaign discovered its tard and erratic film actress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe you should vote for more than just a pretty face next time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys have room for one more?
(END VIDEOTAPE) ACOSTA: Now getting back to Donald Trump, he has been on a twitter tear all afternoon retweeting his supporters who are also knocking Cruz's Canadian birth. That's all but a guarantee Erin that Trump is going to be bringing this up in just a few moments. We'll be watching -- Erin.
[19:05:10] BURNETT: All right. We sure will. Thank you very much.
And now, Sunlen Serfaty in Greenville, South Carolina. She's been following the Cruz campaign. These dueling events tonight, Sunlen. You know, Cruz brushing off Trump's threat today, but of course calling him sleazy in an ad. Is there any fear that Trump may actually be about to sue Cruz?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Cruz campaign, Erin, have largely thought they had put this issue to bed last month when Donald Trump initially brought up these birther charges. So, I think they're watching very closely tonight what exactly Donald Trump's intention and next move on this is. You know, their pattern that they really following responding to Donald Trump has usually been to downplay it, to use humor, and then if the issue doesn't go away, then really respond more serious way. We saw then in January when after Donald Trump didn't give up those initial charges.
They brought up Ted Cruz on that debate in South Carolina ironically. And he really gave a full throated defense of his American citizenship. That was the moment that their bromance was declared over. So, I think the phase right now with its amplified charges, the threat of a lawsuit, the phase of the Cruz campaign is in right now is trying to downplay it, and use humor, and they're watching closely to see what Donald Trump's next move and then they will move from there -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Sunlen, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, a Donald Trump supporter Jeffrey Lord who served as a political director for President Ronald Reagan, and the chairman for the Cruz campaign in California, Ron Nehring. Ron, you just heard Sunlen taking about a possible lawsuit. Let me just again read Trump's tweet. "If Ted Cruz doesn't clean up his act, stop cheating, and doing negative ads, I have standing to sue him for not being a natural born citizen."
You know, it's hard to just joke this away if it really happens. A lawsuit in the middle of the campaign has to be really the last thing that Cruz would want to deal with it, doesn't it?
RON NEHRING, CALIFORNIA CHAIR, TED CRUZ CAMPAIGN: Well, Ted Cruz wasn't intimidated by the Washington cartel -- arrived in the United States Senate. He is not about to be intimidated by Donald Trump. Look, there are lawsuits around campaigns all of the time. All of the time. I've been involved in politics for 25 years. There's always something going on in the courts. And what Donald Trump is doing once again is replaying the same playbook that he's been using. Which is whenever he gets in trouble, he takes to twitter and says crazier and crazier things so that the media will follow him around. And he'll be able to suck up some of the attention going to the news cycle.
Everyone is kind of figured out that this is how he operates. And what's been interesting to watch is that, number one, his comments are now in the context of having lost Iowa after he guaranteed that he would win Iowa. The only rationale behind his campaign is that he wins everything. And now he doesn't win everything. And what he's been saying, it's just become wackier and wackier as we get closer. Lord only knows what he's going to say as we get closer to the South Carolina primary, but we'll see.
BURNETT: Well, we'll see if Lord knows. Jeff Lord. Let me just play again what Ted Cruz said tonight about Donald Trump. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: There's more than a little irony in Donald accusing anyone of being nasty, given the amazing torrent of insults and obscenities and vulgarities that have come out of his mouth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump has launched plenty of attacks against his opponents, Jeff. And he has used some pretty nasty words. Does Cruz have a point?
JEFFREY LORD, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, look, my view of this is you stand back and let the giants wrestle. What I think Donald Trump is doing -- and I think this is one of the reasons why his supporters like him so much is he's fighting. I asked him myself two years ago about the complaint from people in the grassroots that Republican nominees for president didn't fight back. He had nice, very nice -- in Mitt Romney suddenly being, and everybody said, what a great guy. And then he gets nominated. And he was accused of killing a steel worker's wife and bashing a gay kid when he was in high school.
I mean, these were really despicable things. And the Romney campaign more or less just let this stuff just sit there. The same kind of thing happened with John McCain when he ran. So, what people want is a fighter. Trump said he would fight. That's exactly what he is doing. If he can't withstand this, if Ted Cruz can't withstand this, if the others can't withstand this, then they shouldn't be the nominee and I think Donald Trump is showing is fight and showing what he's made up which is a very good thing.
BURNETT: All right. Ron, you know, the thing is here, is that it isn't just Donald Trump. I mean, Ted Cruz has said nasty things about Donald Trump. And here's part of his new ad about Trump that also is pretty negative when you play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump bankrolled politicians to steam roll the little guy. A pattern of sleaze stretching back decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, sleaze is a pretty nasty word. How is that any different than Donald Trump, Ron?
NEHRING: Well, I think Donald Trump is in big trouble over his use of imminent domain and using government power, not for building hospitals or for public purposes but rather, so he can have a parking lot for limousines at his casino in Atlantic City. Few people would say that that was really for a good purpose. And, you know, these speaks to the fact that --
BURNETT: So you stand by it? You think sleaze is an accurate word?
NEHRING: Well, look, you know, Donald Trump himself calls himself a deal maker. And that his number one attribute is that he's going to make more and more deals. We've had plenty of people in Washington making all kinds of bad deals. And the last thing we need is somebody in Washington who is just going to just focus on making a deal regardless of what the outcome of that is and without having solid principle.
LORD: I don't think that's what he's saying.
NEHRING: Well, I think what Donald Trump is saying is that he is someone who has staked his career on, quote, "making deals." But we've had plenty of deals that have been coming out of Washington that have taken the country in exactly the wrong direction.
LORD: Ron, Ron, you can make deals as long as you make them in the right direction.
NEHRING: This is a choice between someone who has been a, quote, "conservative Donald Trump" for about six months. Versus someone who has been a reliable conservative, someone and challenging the Washington cartel and problems in both parties. That's what Ted Cruz is doing.
BURNETT: OK, Jeff?
NEHRING: That's what Ted Cruz is doing. That's the type of leadership that we need in Washington.
[19:10:26] LORD: Ron, Ron, the exit polls, the CNN exit polls, out of New Hampshire showed that those who voted in New Hampshire who self- identified as quote-unquote, "very conservative" gave the nod to Donald Trump over Ted Cruz by 12 points. So, I understand what you're saying, but the people of New Hampshire didn't buy it. Very conservative. The very conservative --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: OK.
NEHRING: New Hampshire is a state that's done very well for liberal Republicans in the past. We've had a lot of people who move from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. That's an established Republican state.
BURNETT: OK. NEHRING: It's a state where liberal Republicans tended to --
BURNETT: Ron, before we go, I want to ask you one more thing. Because you mentioned not being concerned about the lawsuit, but you know, there was another, another lawsuit getting more coverage today out of Alabama. Five Trump supporters in Alabama filing a federal lawsuit on Cruz's eligibility to be president because of being born in Canada. A CNN legal analyst tells us that they may have the standing to sue. There's a lot of question about what is standing in this case. They're not the only ones. There are other lawsuits out there right now. Are you prepared to fight this all the way, to fight Cruz's eligibility to serve as president in court?
NEHRING: A couple of things. First is that, these lawsuits are generated in order to try to generate earned media attention. That's the purpose of lawsuits like this. We see this all of the time at the federal level, state level, local level. This is done in order to generate a press release that a somebody with a cable news network will give it coverage and then try to affect --
BURNETT: Well, one of our legal analysts said they may indeed have the standing, that it could be real, that's why I'm asking you about it though.
NEHRING: Well, you can probably find a legal analyst who said it just about anything has merit, you know, given the state of the judiciary here. But we do know that it is a fact that this issue has been settled, that Ted Cruz is a natural born citizen. And we've -- and there's plenty of testimony to that.
LORD: It hasn't been settled.
NEHRING: The courts are very reluctant to get involved in an inherently political process. And that we've seen over and over and over again. That it's the losing side that wants the courts in order to override the will of the people and -- going to happen here.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much.
And OUTFRONT next, W. about to hit the trail for his brother in South Carolina. Could this completely shake up the race and could the former President Bush, Jeb Bush to the top?
Plus, a prominent black legislator in South Carolina switches his allegiance from Clinton to Sanders and he's my guest OUTFRONT tonight.
And Hillary Clinton saying, she is the candidate who stands with President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The kind of criticism that we heard from Senator Sanders about our president I expect from Republicans. I do not expect from someone running for the democratic nomination to secede President Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:16:37] BURNETT: George W. Bush hitting the campaign trail. Bush 43 about to make his big debut in the 2016 race. It is the first time the brothers have campaigned together. That's right. All the way this late in the race it's the first time. Will it be enough to save Jeb Bush?
Athena Jones is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George W. Bush is back.
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), 43RD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Experience and judgment count in the Oval Office. Jeb Bush is a leader who will keep our country safe.
He respects the military. He honors their families.
JONES: And Jeb Bush couldn't be happier about it.
BUSH: He was the last republican that was president. He is the most popular Republican alive.
I'm a proud brother of George W. Bush.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
JONES: Bush, whose campaign logo doesn't even include his famous last name and who began his run stressing he would, quote, "be his own man," has been embracing his family more with each passing day.
BUSH: I'm Jeb! Proud to be a Bush.
JONES: His mother Barbara Bush joining him on the stump in New Hampshire. The brothers will be campaigning together for the first time Monday. Until now W. has been helping out behind the scenes.
BUSH: This is the first time that he's really kind of stepped out in the political realm since he was president. I think there will be a lot of interest in what he has to say.
JONES: It was once the younger Bush who was thought to have a head for politics, but his older brother beat him there winning a governorship first and later the White House.
GEORGE BUSH: I George Walker Bush, I solemnly swear --
JONES: Eight years during which Jeb Bush has said he never disagreed with his brother on policy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not one time did you call up and say, don't do that?
BUSH: I'm not going to start now. It's just till death do us part.
JONES: The assist from W. won't come without criticism.
TRUMP: Your brother and your brother's administration gave us Barack Obama. Because it was such a disaster those last three months that Abraham Lincoln couldn't have been elected.
BUSH: You know, what? As it relates to my brother, there's one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe.
JONES: Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed the elder Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq.
TRUMP: And I see he's bringing his brother --
JONES: And the GOP frontrunner says, he'll be ready with some more choice words for the Bushes in the coming days.
TRUMP: Now he's bringing in his brother. I won't say anything. I'm going the say that for after his brother makes a statement because there's plenty to say about what happened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: So a warning there from Donald Trump. But look, the Bush campaign is making a big play for South Carolina. In many ways they're raising the bar on how well he'll do there. Campaign officials says it is his best early state. And he has a strongest organization of all of the candidates. So, when I asked if that means Bush is going to beat Trump and Ted Cruz there, aids told me the goal is to do best among the electable candidates. That doesn't include Trump or Cruz -- Erin.
BURNETT: Interesting way that they define it. OK. Athena, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley and Republican strategist and a White House director for Black Outreach under President George W. Bush Paris Dennard. Paris, George W. Bush is extremely popular among Republicans. You know, you heard Jeb say there that the most popular Republican alive. Fair? Eighty eight percent approval rating.
PARIS DENNARD, FORMER GEORGE W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Absolutely.
BURNETT: Will he then move the needle for Jeb in South Carolina because, you know, it was almost as they weren't related until a few days ago when Jeb started saying, oh he's my brother and I love it when he's coming out with me now?
DENNARD: Well, Erin, I think you hit the nail right on the head. Before South Carolina, the plan was to run away from the Bush name. And you see where that got him. Now when you move to South Carolina, a state that is rich with evangelicals, the military community, and blue collar workers, these are the people in the party that really identify and support President George W. Bush, so it is a smart play. Real clear average politics polls has Governor Jeb Bush at about 9.3 percent in fourth place. Jeb Bush needs a win and he needs to be connected to a winner. And the last time we had a winner in the White House who was a Republican was President George W. Bush. And he's going to remind the American people and those citizens of South Carolina of that on Monday.
BURNETT: Which is going to be fascinating because, Doug, here's what's going to happen. You know, early in the evening, George W. Bush is going to speak. And then right around now on Monday, Donald Trump is going to speak and he's going to respond to everything. And Donald Trump is not going to mince any words. So, I'm going to wait until he speaks. Well, let me give everyone a little bit of a taste of probably what he's going to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Whether you like him or not, George Bush gave us Obama.
I think Bush is probably the worst president in the history of the United States.
When you talk about George Bush, I mean, say what you want. The World Trade Center came down during his time.
I was against the war in Iraq because I said, you're going to totally destabilize the Middle East and that's exactly what happened. The Middle East was destabilized.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And that was a horrible call to go in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:21:25] BURNETT: So, this is what we're going to get. We're going to get a fight between George W. Bush and Donald Trump. How is that going to go? Is that even good for Jeb Bush?
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, Monday is supposed to be presidents day. It's going to be bloody Monday. Trump and the Bush family are going to go to war big time. And I think the main thing for Jeb Bush is to win the debate on Saturday, really outshine Trump and Ted Cruz. And a lot of this back and forth is going to happen I think Saturday. Come Monday, George W. Bush helps a little bit with veterans. I think a little bit that my brothers on his side. But his mother didn't give Jeb Bush New Hampshire and Donald Trump has a lot of material on dysfunction of Hurricane Katrina, the great recession of George W. Bush and a deeply unpopular war in Iraq. I don't think it's going to get much of a ballots by bringing in the brother at the last minute.
BURNETT: And Paris, that is part of the issue here, too. The last- minute aspect of this. I mean, voters are well aware he's being brought in. It's like bringing in the Calvary here. We've tried everything else. Now, I'm going to admit that I'm related to this ex- president who happens to be incredibly popular among Republicans. It doesn't seem so genuine when you think about it that way, does it?
DENNARD: Well, it's genuine because he needs the support. And I don't anybody let's -- doesn't think that he is somehow being disingenuous. What he's doing is bringing in the best surrogate that the party has to help Jeb Bush get over the top in South Carolina. This is the Hail Mary moment. When you want something this bad, you have to go for it. And look, President George W. Bush has made a decisive effort to not talk about politics, not wade into the swamp, as he calls it. So, for him to come in and support Jeb in that public manner cutting an ad and doing this campaign stuff, shows you how serious and how loyal they are to helping him win.
BURNETT: So, Doug I know you're less optimistic about whether this will help Jeb Bush. Why do you think George W. Bush took so long to do this? I mean, part of this presumably as he was not asked.
BRINKLEY: Because if you recall last time -- Jeb Bush had to be his own man. I'm my own person.
BURNETT: Jeb! No last name.
BRINKLEY: No last name. Bush. And so, the though was that the people won a third term. There's Bush fatigue that George W. Bush wasn't all that popular. And truth, he is popular with the American people and Republicans, but most of our ex-presidents are. Jimmy Carter is popular, but do you want a second Carter term of malaise?
BURNETT: Right.
BRINKLEY: So, do you want another George W. Bush term, not with the great recession hanging around his neck. And so, Trump is just going to hammer on the Bushes and Cruz as the weekend ends.
BURNETT: I mean, look -- Paris?
DENNARD: You know, we can talk about the great recession, but the facts are the facts. The last seven years we've been under President Barack Obama's leadership. And this is the Obama economy. And so, Donald Trump will be better suited talking about Hillary Clinton and talking about the legacy that she has left and her issues and President Obama's issues, not focusing on George W. Bush. So, Trump is going to talk about Jeb Bush regardless. He's going to talk about the record regardless. But when you have Hillary Clinton running on the side and you have Jeb Bush, it kind of takes that off the table.
You can talk about the Iraq war if you want to, but the facts are Hillary Clinton supported it. And so that neutralizes it. People are going to come out and vote for somebody who they think is a winner, someone who they think has judgement. Someone who has leadership experience. And you need to connect him to someone that they know and identify and voted for. They voted for Governor Bush in the primary and in the general, so this is a smart move for Jeb Bush.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thanks very much to the both of you. We'll see if Donald Trump is right. He kept picking on Jeb Bush all the way through. Maybe he thought he'd always be his most formidable competitor and maybe yet, well, still be.
OUTFRONT next, a special place in hell for women who don't help women. Madeleine Albright speaks out for the first time about that controversial comment she made.
And Hillary Clinton pledging allegiance to President Obama. Could her sudden embrace of all things Obama backfire?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:29:08] BURNETT: Breaking news. The former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright speaking out for the first time about the controversial comments she made at a Hillary Clinton rally last weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER US SECRETARY OF STATE: Just remember there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You saw Hillary Clinton there laughing, everyone cheering. Well, it went viral and not in a good way. And in an op-ed just posted on a New York Times website, Albright calls this her undiplomatic moment. She says, quote, "I have spent much of my career as a diplomat, so one might assume I would know better than to tell a large group of women to go to hell."
Senior political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson joins me now. And Nia, you know, this did go viral. She calls this moment undiplomatic. But apology may not be the right word because as you read on, she goes doubles down and said, I absolutely believe what I said. So is this an apology or not?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: No, it didn't seem like an apology at all when I read the op-ed.
[19:30:01] It's more I think of an explanation, sort of a contextualization of where she's coming from as this woman who has fought she thinks to lower barriers and to knock on doors for other women who could follow in her footsteps.
So, yes, I don't think it's an apology. It's her kind of telling women that, listen, there are more barriers to be broken down that she thinks a woman president would again sort of lift people's imaginations in terms of what women can do, what kinds of roles they can play in some of those things she thinks need to be move forward. Whether it'd be abortion rights, whether it'd be equal pay, she feels like Hillary Clinton, as a woman, can do those things.
BURNETT: You know, it's interesting. At a Bernie Sanders rally earlier this week in New Hampshire I asked a young woman about it. They both said it's ridiculous. One of them literally used the word ridiculous to talk about what Madeleine Albright has said. This comment dogged Hillary Clinton all week and the moderator Judy
Woodruff last night asked about it at the Democratic debate. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDY WOODRUFF, DEBATE MODERATOR: As you know, just quickly, as you know, your strong supporter, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, said the other day there's a special place in hell for women who don't support other women. Do you agree with what she said?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, she's been saying that for as long as I've known her, which is about 25 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Not the most direct answer at least right off the bat, but will her response put this rest?
HENDERSON: No, it won't put it to rest. I think as long as Hillary Clinton is in this race, in a situation where she is likely to lose women in certain states -- she certainly lost women in states in 2008 that she lost, particularly in those southern states. So, as long as there's this tension between her trying to be an historic candidate but also making an appeal to a group of women who have very different ideas of feminism, about what it means to express that feminism, I think it's going to be an issue.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Nia-Malika Henderson.
And right now, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are campaigning in the same city. After last night's fight, they're actually together in St. Paul, Minnesota, and even at the same dinner. It's called the Humphrey Mondale Dinner. They will break bread together. But no doubt, they'll be back to fighting again tomorrow. A big Democratic fundraiser. Guarantee, they wouldn't be seating at the same table tonight. But that's a live picture of the dinner in St. Paul.
Still a big contrast to last night's debate where they competed aggressively for black votes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I want to tackle those barriers that stand in the way of many Americans right now, African-Americans who face discrimination in the job market, education, housing, and the criminal justice system.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I understand the African-American community lost half of their wealth as a result of the Wall Street collapse.
CLINTON: The Affordable Care Act has helped more African-Americans than any other group to get insurance.
WOODRUFF: So, race relations would be better under a Sanders presidency than they've been? SANDERS: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Absolutely, he says.
Well, OUTFRONT tonight, Justin Bamberg, a South Carolina state representative and Bernie Sanders supporter, and the mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed, he supports Hillary Clinton.
So, Justin, you just heard Bernie Sanders. He says, absolutely. That's his word, absolutely. Race relations under a President Sanders would absolutely be better than under President Barack Obama. A big statement.
Do you agree with his statement?
JUSTIN BAMBERG, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: Yes. And I just want to make sure it is very clear what Bernie Sanders is not saying is that race relations were bad or decreasing under President Obama.
What Bernie is saying is that his stances on important issues, racial justice, social justice, economic justice -- his ways of addressing these things will improve race relations in this country and I agree with him.
BURNETT: Mayor Reed?
MAYOR KASIM REED (D), ATLANTA: I think to listen to Bernie Sanders you believe that he was a county commissioner somewhere. What he is repeatedly saying is that he would have been better than President Obama in a variety of circumstances. He said race relations would have been better. He's been dismissive and disrespectful.
He also said that the president had a leadership gap. He said that the president was weak. And in 2011, when President Obama was preparing for re-election, he said he should be primaried.
So, his comments last night, which I happen to believe are incorrect, are consistent with his dismissive and disrespectful attitude towards President Obama. So, his comments really weren't surprising.
He also said he would be better for women than Secretary Clinton. And so, his record doesn't back that up.
Folks talk about Senator Sanders like he is some new person on the political scene when he's not. Show me in the Senate where he led some broad coalition to get something significant accomplished done.
[19:35:05] He is running to be the standard bearer of the Democratic Party although he just became a Democrat within the last year.
BURNETT: So, Justin, let me ask, to this point that Mayor Reed is making about Sanders being disrespectful and dismissive of Barack Obama. You are the lawyer for the family of Walter Scott. And for those not familiar with his name, no one can forget the disturbing video that we all saw, where Scott was shot and killed in North Charleston by a white police officer who had pulled Scott over for a traffic stop. Shot in the back.
Bernie Sanders met with you to talk about that incident. On the basis of that meeting, you switched. You were supporting Hillary Clinton. You switched and started supporting Senator Sanders.
What did he say to make you change your mind?
BAMBERG: I did. Essentially, that was conversation was just two people talking about issues and things they're passionate about. I was already leaning forwards switching to Bernie Sanders. That conversation just put it over the hump.
But I do want to go back about this issue of Bernie Sanders disrespecting Obama and things of that nature. You know, we have stark contrast here. Bernie Sanders has consistently during his time in office from basically when he was 20 years old, he's saying the same exact things. He knows there are economic issues that affect poor people, working class people, and African-Americans and Hispanics.
Bernie Sanders, he has nothing but respect for President Obama. Let me make that very, very clear. He respects President Obama. He has worked with President Obama. In fact, President Obama's flagship piece of legislation the Affordable Care Act, Bernie Sanders helped prepare and draft that legislation.
If we want to talk about disrespect of Obama, let's talk about the fact that there is one candidate who ran against him and that is Hillary Clinton. Let's talk about the fact that in 2008, some of the same things that Hillary said last night against Bernie Sanders she said against President Obama in 2008.
BURNETT: Mayor, do you think people should give Bernie Sanders another look?
REED: The answer is no.
Let's talk about the fact that she ran against him in 2008, Erin. He thought so much of her that he made her his secretary of state and she supported him flat out and did everything she could to see that he was elected.
Let's also talk about the fact that when you listen to Bernie Sanders rhetoric, you don't hear him talk about the 14 million jobs that President Obama's economy has produced. You don't hear him talk about the 18 million newly insured. You don't hear him talking about the 70 months of positive job growth.
The problem, Erin, is he's running to lead the Democratic Party. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid took hard positions and took votes that caused Democrats to lose seats. To hear Bernie Sanders, you would think you were at a Donald Trump rally sometimes.
BURNETT: Well, it is interesting. You do have people who are making that choice choosing between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, who are very disaffected with this country.
Thanks very much to both of you.
And reminder, if you missed the PBS NewsHour debate here on CNN last night, you can watch it here again on CNN. It is tonight at 10:00 Eastern.
And OUTFRONT next, Hillary Clinton fully embracing the Obama legacy. Is it a winning strategy or a major mistake?
And as the pope heads to Mexico, Donald Trump has a message for him.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think he understands the danger of the open border that we have with Mexico.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: The strategy behind Trump's attack on the pope.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:42:32] BURNETT: Hillary Clinton touting President Obama's accomplishments at a campaign stop in South Carolina today after mentioning his name a dizzying nearly two dozen times in last night's debate. Yes, it's two dozen times. It's a new strategy to Clinton who has not always tied herself so closely to President Obama.
Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLINTON: I think President Obama has set a great example.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He often seems like the third Democrat in the field.
CLINTON: Under President Obama, we have seen a lot of advances.
ZELENY: President Obama is not running for anything, but Hillary Clinton just can't stop talking about him from health care --
CLINTON: Before it was called Obamacare, it was called Hillarycare.
ZELENY: -- to immigration.
CLINTON: I strongly support the president's executive action.
ZELENY: The former secretary of state hugged the president tight in her debate with Bernie Sanders. She wants to make one thing clear: she is the rightful heir to the Obama legacy.
CLINTON: The kind of criticism that we've heard from Senator Sanders about our president I expect from Republicans. I do not expect someone running for the Democratic nomination to succeed President Obama.
SANDERS: That is --
ZELENY: It's a message at South Carolina Democrats, more than of whom are African-American and widely adore the president.
Sanders pushed back.
SANDERS: Madam Secretary, that is a low blow. One of us ran against Barack Obama. I was not that candidate.
ZELENY: It's the first time he's gone there, hinting he's willing to remind voters of the sharp words Clinton had for Obama during their 2008 battle.
(on camera): Is that the beginning of a reprise of his 2008 campaign?
TAD DEVINE, SENIOR ADVISER, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN: If Hillary continues to invoke the president and suggest Bernie is at odds with the president, I think Bernie has a huge reservoir to draw from. I mean, there's a lot there that we can go to. We prefer not to do that.
ZELENY (voice-over): A huge and vicious reservoir it is.
CLINTON: That's the difference between me and my Democratic opponent. My opponent makes speeches. I offer solutions.
ZELENY: Not long ago in this campaign, there wasn't such a fight over Obama's legacy.
CLINTON: I'm not running for President Obama's third term. I'm not running for Bill Clinton's third term. I'm running for my first term.
ZELENY: In fact, Clinton was eager to highlight differences with the administration on trade agreements and foreign policy. Including a no-fly zone in Syria.
But as the Democratic primary tightens, Clinton is suddenly trying to raise questions about Sanders loyalty.
CLINTON: This is not the first time he has criticized President Obama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: While it might be smart politics for Clinton to hold Obama tight during the Democratic primary, the long-term fallout is already worrying some Democrats who believe Clinton could be pulled too far to the left for the general election.
[19:45:09] But first, of course, she must win the nomination -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Jeff, thank you.
Back with me now, presidential historian Doug Brinkley. OK. You know, she used to go after him with great viciousness when
she was running against him in 2008 and then of course became his secretary of state. Is this political opportunism now that she says his name two dozen times in a debate or does she want to genuinely carry on President Obama's legacy?
DOUG BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Both. Look, let's be honest about it. Iowa and New Hampshire don't have a lot of African- American voters, so the idea of hitching herself to Obama didn't make as much sense as it does in South Carolina. It's not a coincidence that the Black Caucus and John Lewis just supported her to try to win over the black vote in South Carolina, and Sanders got Harry Belafonte and, you know, Cornell West and the like.
So, it's the fight over the African-American vote and Obama is going to give a major speech I believe in Philadelphia. He may steal the show, because he's good at that. But she needs a President Obama if she gets the nation hyperactive in the fall in order to bring out the black vote in cities like Cincinnati and Toledo, Tampa, Miami, swing states. He's still above 95 percent approval rating in the African- American community, even though they're arguing over his legacy.
BURNETT: Wow. So, he can make a difference. And, of course, we've seen him just this week come out and talk about his legacy, so indicating maybe he will take a bigger role.
BRINKLEY: Yes.
BURNETT: As this continues.
All right. Dough Brinkley, thank you.
And OUTFRONT next, Donald Trump taking on Pope Francis for his politics. Yes, you heard me correctly. Donald Trump is unafraid. Is the pope fair game for a Trump attack?
And Jeanne Moos on the music video that's gone viral by literally defying gravity.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:38] BURNETT: Tonight, an unexpected new target for Donald Trump -- the pope. Miguel Marquez is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pope Francis donning a sombrero, Mexico-bound, and stirring controversy in the U.S. presidential race.
TRUMP: The pope is a very political person. I think he doesn't understand the problems our country has.
We're going to run the table --
MARQUEZ: That's the brash billionaire-turned-presidential hopeful from a FOX interview, taking on the pope, or as Catholics believe, God's representative on Earth.
TRUMP: I don't think he understands the danger of the open border we have with Mexico.
MARQUEZ: The pope who has staked out traditionally liberal views on everything from climate change to capitalism to the poor is headed to the northern city of Juarez where he will hold a prayer service with immigrants in the shadow of the fence separating Mexico and the U.S.
If elected, Trump promises to transform the fence in to a wall.
TRUMP: I think Mexico got him to do it because Mexico wants to keep the border the way it is because they are making a fortune and we are losing.
MARQUEZ: It's not the first time the pot-stirring candidate has called the pope out.
TRUMP: I have great respect for the pope. I like the pope. I actually like him. He is becoming very political. There's no question about it, but I like him.
MARQUEZ: And oh, what a difference political campaign makes following Francis' election, trump tweeted, "The new pope is a humble man, very much like me, which probably explains why I like him so much."
So what gives with all of the papal pooh-poohing now?
CHIP FELKEL, THE FELKEL GROUP: It is pandering, no question about that, in terms of positioning himself with that evangelical base.
MARQUEZ: Chip Felkel, a South Carolina Republican consultant and long-time adviser to GOP candidate says Trump may be crazy like a FOX.
(on camera): Donald Trump taking on the pope gets him attention and gets him on the radar in South Carolina?
FELKEL: It's a way to try to have some kind of connection with that evangelical vote that Cruz is expected to do well in.
MARQUEZ: Trump has consistently bested Cruz by double-digit in South Carolina polls. But it seems after tasting victory in Iowa and New Hampshire, he prefers to win leaving no political stone unturned.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Nobody would have thought this it was a smart move. I remember when we were outside covering the pope. Donald Trump was looking at the trump power. He was watching the pope go by. Now, here he is criticizing him.
Will this really work?
MARQUEZ: That's the big question. Many think it will work in South Carolina because those evangelicals don't have -- they may like the pope, but don't have a lot of love for him. This sort of undermines or points out where Trump differs from Cruz and shows that he's willing to go after anybody for his issues. But it may hurt in Louisiana and other places that are very, very Catholic and may have bigger problems down the road.
BURNETT: Right. Certainly, the pope is an incredibly popular figure.
MARQUEZ: Donald Trump can't seem to strike out.
BURNETT: All right. Miguel Marquez, thank you very much.
And next, Jeanne Moos with a music video that's all fun until the nausea sets in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:45] BURNETT: On a plane, the last thing up you want to be is upside down. But one band did just that, defying gravity.
Here's Jeanne Moos with tonight's "I.D.E.A."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK Go has gone weightless.
(MUSIC)
MOOS: Don't try this aboard your next commercial flight. The band known for its unique videos has come a long way from their treadmill days. Now they're treading in zero gravity in a plane above Russia.
For three weeks, they practiced and performed as the plane did parabolas climbing until it goes over the hump, creating 27 seconds of weightlessness -- time to open luggage and release a zillion balls.
The flight attendants didn't yell. They're actually trained aerial acrobats.
Lead singer Damian Kulash called the whole zero-G experience exciting and terrifying.
DAMIAN KULASH, OK GO: It's a very difficult physical sensation, and it just causes a lot of sort of fear and panic.
MOOS: Russia's S7 airline offered OK Go the plane in exchange for using the results in a marketing campaign.
The video "Upside Down and Inside Out" is made up of eight periods of weightlessness with a time in between as the plane repositions edited out. The band members took anti-nausea drugs, but the production crew wanted to go natural.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had about 58 unscheduled regurgitation.
KULASH: Fifty-eight vomiting events.
MOOS: But what's a little nausea when paint-filled balloons are spilling their guts?
Now, Damian himself never actually threw but he did pass out -- after being spun by the flight attendants.
KUSAH: There's actually footage of me, like you can see my eyes kind of twirl up, and I just go limp.
MOOS: Watch Damian start to lose it as his eyes flutter after five seconds or so, he regained consciousness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want me to get you some water?
MOOS: No. I want you to get me some gravity.
Jeanne Moos, CNN --
(MUSIC)
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Fifty-eight unscheduled vomiting events. So, what was that stuff flying all over the plane?
Thanks for joining us. We'll see you back here tomorrow night 11:00 after the debate.
Anderson starts now.
