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Erin Burnett Outfront
Bill Clinton: Hillary Held to a "Different Standard"; War of Words Between Sanders and Top CEO; Trump Off The Campaign Trail For Second Day in a Row; Suspected Paris, Brussels Attackers Captured Alive. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired April 08, 2016 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:11] ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, the fallout over whether Hillary Clinton is qualified to be president as Bill Clinton suggests, the question itself is sexist. Is he right?
Plus, Bernie Sanders takes someone of America's most powerful man worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Why Sanders as he is destroying the moral fabric of America? And Donald Trump two days in a row off the radar? What is going on inside this campaign? Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening, I'm Erin Burnett OUTFRONT tonight. Hillary Clinton addressing Bernie Sanders qualifications to be president. Campaigning in Buffalo today, Clinton asked point blank, do you think he is qualified to be president? And she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe he is qualified to be president?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, you know, as I said, I would take him over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz any day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: This coming days after the battle of qualifications started. Sanders claiming Clinton's position on the Iraq war and the support from big banks made her unqualified. Bill Clinton just 90 miles away today in Erie, Pennsylvania defending his wife. He was asked today, is the question of whether she is qualified sexist?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON (D), 42ND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think she would be the best president. I think it's obvious by a country mile, and that's all it matters to me. Yes, I think there are some different standards, some of them are subconscious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: A short time later Hillary Clinton was asked about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think it would be better if you were a male candidate?
CLINTON: You'd have to ask him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Suzanne Malveaux is OUTFRONT today with the Clinton campaign in Rochester, New York. And Suzanne, Clinton speaking right now behind you at the rally where you are. She is expected to address this issue again of qualifications?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, she is here at the Community College in Rochester and earlier in Buffalo to show that the race, the fight for New York is bigger than New York City. She is making the case that the things she did as senator including bringing high tech jobs makes her more than qualified to be president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Hillary Clinton today, not letting go of charges from Bernie Sanders that she is not qualified to be president.
CLINTON: You may have heard Senator Sanders say I'm unqualified to be president, well, seriously, seriously, I have been called a lot of things over the years. But unqualified has not been one of them. He doesn't really believe that. This is all pretty silly.
MALVEAUX: The rebuke from the Democratic frontrunner comes as Sanders backs off her earlier criticisms of Clinton's qualifications.
BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Does she have the experience? Obviously, she does. She was secretary of state, U.S. senator, I thought an outstanding first lady in many respects, breaking the mold.
MALVEAUX: Clinton returning the favor late today, when asked if Sanders is qualified.
CLINTON: As I said, I would take him over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz any day.
MALVEAUX: Sanders though is insisting that Clinton's judgement is still fair game.
SANDERS: We all make mistakes. But I regret less than she does, because I had the courage to vote the right way even when it was not necessarily popular.
MALVEAUX: A sign of the tough battle under way in New York, ahead of next Thursday's CNN debate in Brooklyn and the state's April 19th primary. Both sides are playing up their empire state connections.
CLINTON: I'm really going to try to win the New York primary because I love New York.
MALVEAUX: While the Brooklyn-born Sanders paid a visit to his childhood home. SANDERS: I spent the first 18 years of my life in an apartment to see
right here.
MALVEAUX: Thursday, Bill Clinton fire an exchange with "Black Lives Matter" protesters in Philadelphia.
SANDERS: You are defending the people who take the lives you say matter. Tell the truth.
MALVEAUX: Today, the former president trying to move beyond his comments during a campaign stop in Erie, Pennsylvania.
SANDERS: I did something yesterday in Philadelphia, I almost want to apologize for. But I want to use it as an example of the danger threatening our country. We all have different experiences, we cannot learn anything unless we'd listen.
MALVEAUX: Back in New York, with Sanders hopes to maintain his momentum, after a string of recent victories, his campaign says it is making plans for an open convention.
JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: In fact, in all likelihood, there will be an open convention.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And back here in Rochester this gymnasium is filled to capacity. There are thousands and thousands of people here who are essentially waiting for hours in the freezing code. There is an overflow outside of this building, as well. People say this is an indication that there is momentum and enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right, thank you very much, Suzanne. And OUTFRONT now, Hillary Clinton supporter, Congressman Steve Israel, Bernie Sanders supporter, former Ohio State Nina Turner and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast John Avlon. OK, great to have all of you with me.
Congressman, let me start with you. Sanders explanation for why he said Hillary Clinton was unqualified to be president. He said, OK, she's got the resume, but she doesn't have the judgment, he said. So, she doesn't have a judgement on issues on Wall Street deregulation, her vote on the war in Iraq. Is it a fair argument that you can be unqualified because of your judgement not your resume?
[19:05:24] REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: No, absolutely not. Look, this is New York, people aren't interested in the theory of what makes you qualified. This is New York, they want to know what have you done? Do you have my back? And they know that for eight years as a senator Hillary Clinton delivered for New Yorkers when it came -- when 9/11 occurred, it was Hillary Clinton that made sure that there was $20 billion in funds to reconstruct ground zero. She took care of the 9/11 recovery workers, she took care of the veterans, she hope passed legislation to protect the Long Island sound. So in New York it's not about judging who is more qualified, it's about, do you have my back? Did you get it done? And New Yorkers know that Hillary Clinton has gotten it done.
BURNETT: Nina, not qualified based on her judgment?
NINA TURNER, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: Well, you know, Senator has clipped that to rest today. I mean, listen, the constitution decided a long time ago who is qualified to be president. Thirty five years of age by the time he take office.
BURNETT: Talk about --
TURNER: So, I mean, so you know, but he said what he said, and he said what he said today, they both have been going back and forth to one another. But I will say this. Senator Bernie Sanders made it very clear that he would not going to be a pushover. And the fact that he has won seven over the last eight contests, and the Clinton campaign decided that they were going to do all that they could to put that kind of question mark in the minds of the voters whether or not he was in fact qualified to be in office. He responded to that.
JOHN AVLON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE DAILY BEAST: I don't know that that is what they did. Right? I mean, you know, she has been baited to say he is unqualified. She resisted taking the bait. And what Bernie Sanders did was not just a gaffe, it was repeated riff in a speech that was written, it was done with intent, and it was clearly a mistake, because you can say a lot of things about Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders is great when he's talking about idea, but when he goes to insults he is really out of his depth. And it is fundamentally obvious to everyone watching that if you've been Secretary of State and twice elected senator, you're imminently qualified to be president.
TURNER: However, but from the beginning of this campaign, Senator Sanders could have taken issue with the e-mails. He did not take that bait. Secretary of State said those things about Senator Sanders and has been saying those kinds of things about him from the beginning, that one, he wanted to destroy the Affordable Care Act, just because he is fighting for universal health care, that he wanted to take away chip programs, they did in fact say those things.
BURNETT: OK. So, that did not stand-up to the fact checkbooks. Let me just ask you, because you said he did bring up the e-mails. But he did something a little Donald Trump-like on that front.
TURNER: Oh, Erin.
BURNETT: Hear me up. Hear me up. Here is Bernie Sanders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: How often have I talked about Hillary Clinton's e-mails? Have you heard me? Not a word. How often have I talked about the Clinton Foundation's fundraising? Have you heard me say one thing about it during the campaign trail? I have tried to stay away from personal attacks.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TURNER: He has.
BURNETT: OK. OK. He didn't.
But, you know, I mean, Donald Trump, you know, is sort of the master of saying, you know, I'm not saying you're wearing a blue tie, I'm not saying it. I'm just asking, some people are saying you're wearing a blue tie. Doesn't it sound exactly like that?
TURNER: No, he is nothing like Mr. Donald Trump. I mean, let's be real.
BURNETT: E-mail is not a word but he just --
TURNER: No, he is nothing like Mr. Donald Trump at all. The fact of the matter is, it's just ironic to me that the Clinton campaign wants to cry foul when they brought out almost every member of the Congressional Black Caucus to say that Senator Bernie Sanders did not fight in the civil rights movement. Those kinds of things discredit him all along the way and now he responds?
ISRAEL: We should let Donald Trump -- let's leave these attacks to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and the 57 different Republican investigative committees that House Republicans are set up to investigate Hillary Clinton, you know, baselessly. Let's let Republicans be the ones to engage in attacks. As Democrats, we have a responsibility to focus on issues that matter. That is what people wants us to be focusing on. And I am hopeful that Senator Sanders learns his lesson and will stay on the high road and talk about National Security, gun violence, what are his plans to increase wages. What are his plans to expand infrastructure. That's what people need to be talking about.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: -- the war in Iraq, those are issues. Those are serious issues.
TURNER: Well, I hope the Secretary will do the same thing. I mean, this is not a --
AVLON: What is fascinating about this, you're seeing between the Clinton Sanders campaign and their surrogates, the Democratic Party has a deep ideological divide of the con they have not had to confront in decades. And that's what's going on right now. It may not be right now compared to Republicans but this is a sign to come in attractions.
TURNER: This is a disruption election and that's what worry you, the left or the right.
BURNETT: All right. What about the issues of sexism? Hillary Clinton has raised this before with Bernie Sanders. Right? When he said she was yelling. Today you just heard Bill Clinton say in terms of qualifications I think she would be the best president. Yes, I think there are some different standards when he was explicitly asked if it was sexist to Bernie Sanders --
[19:10:02] TURNER: Senator Bernie Sanders is not sexist. Was it sexist for President Bill Clinton to tell Black Lives Matter, young woman, call them girls yesterday? Was that sexist? We know good and well. Senator Bernie Sanders is not sexist, we are in a heated primary right now, period. That is what is going on here. But to say that, for anybody to imply that Senator Bernie Sanders is sexist is wrong.
BURNETT: Congressman, would you say? Have sexism in it?
ISRAEL: Well, Secretary of State, First Lady, senator in New York, getting it done constantly, bringing people together to suggest for a moment that that makes you less qualified and then have to retract that, I think it's a real double standard and it's a kind of double standards that Republicans apply constantly.
TURNER: I mean, Democrats are not -- let's be honest here, Democrats are not pure. OK. Republicans have their problems but Democrats are not pure. I mean, let's talk about policies in the '90s that put the African-American communities in peril at the hands of Democrats. Let's talk about the poverty, overwhelming amounts of poverty in urban areas at the hands of Democrats. So now, we want to talk that talk, this is about who is fighting for the heart and the souls of the citizens of this country, who is going to lift the poor in this country, who is going to create opportunities for this country? Our party is supposed to be a big party, that is what we esquire to. And so, we have to continue to push our values which makes us the Democratic Party.
BURNETT: All right. Well, we of course, we'll continue to see this battle go on. It is a battle indeed on both sides. And Clinton and Sanders will be facing off in CNN's debate in Brooklyn Thursday night at 9:00.
OUTFRONT next, why is Bernie Sanders slamming GE's CEO? His campaign manager is going to be my guest right after this.
And Donald Trump silent off the campaign for two days in a row. What is going on?
Plus, the fight for delegates, how nearly 200 people could make or break Donald Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:15:51] BURNETT: Tonight, Bernie Sanders and the CEO of GE both refusing to back down after a series of personal insults. Sanders suggesting, GE's Jeff Immelt is destroying the fabric of America. Immelt accusing Sanders of lying about his company. So, who's telling the truth?
Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT with tonight's big number. Tom, you have been fact-checking the Sanders' claims, including whether GE is slashing jobs in the United States? And what have you found? TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have found that there is a
lot of confusion here, Erin. Look, here is the basic claim. One of the things that Sanders is saying is that GE is basically getting rid of American jobs. GE says they are a global company with more than 330,000 employees around the planets with 180 countries. And even though they have expanded their workforce a lot over the past 20 years, look what's happened to the American share of that? If you look at all the GE employees in the world, 68 percent were in the United States in 1995. By 2005, look what happened. It was down to about half. And now that share of American jobs for GE is down to just 38 percent.
Of course many critics say they're just offshoring everything. Many companies in fairness have gone looking for cheaper labor elsewhere. But you do have to consider this into this equation, it's only fair GE has also restructured a lot of things in that 20 years. So parts of the company have been wholesale sold off to other companies within the United States. So those jobs didn't necessarily go away, they just went to a different company altogether. Still, if you take the narrow statement of what Sanders had to say, is GE reducing the share of its jobs that are in the United States? You have to say that is true based on the numbers alone, as long as you have that narrow focus. Another claim that Sanders has out there is aimed at email more directly, he is basically saying, this guy is making too much money when so many people are struggling out there. He says that about a lot of the CEOs.
We took a look at this website by company called Equalar (ph) which tracks all of this complex contracts that come over the pay for these CEOs. And if you include all of his bonuses and stocks and everything else, it comes out to more than $18 million a year. That makes him the 85th best paid CEO in the country. Some other sites have him listed even higher. But as a point of reference, compare that to a typical American family of four out there, if they wanted to earn the same amount of money that he earns in one year, they're going to have to work about 340 years -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Tom. So, Immelt and GE are hitting back pretty hard on all of this, have they been able to land any solid punches on Sanders?
FOREMAN: Well, it turns out, the GE is a pretty big employer in the state of Vermont which has a lot of rural areas there. In fact the employer well over a thousand people, they've spend tens of millions of dollars upgrading some facilities there, particularly some that are involved in airplane part manufacturing. And one of their complaints, is they say for everything that the Senator has said about this. He has never even come to visit these workers at their plant and see what GE is actually doing in his home state -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Tom, thank you very much. And OUTFRONT now, Bernie Sanders campaign manager, Jeff Weaver. So thank you very much for coming on and talking about it.
JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Glad to be here. BURNETT: This is something that has gotten very heated this week. Look, part of the reason that Jeff Immelt wrote the op-ed responding to Bernie Sanders is that plant. That plant in Rutland, Vermont. That he personally feels doesn't understand why Bernie Sanders has never come to visit that plant and perhaps make his own personal opinion on GE and what they're doing. Why hasn't Sanders -- and visited the plant in his home state?
WEAVER: Well, let me tell you, let me say this. Bernie Sanders when he's not running for president, spends every weekend home in Vermont holding town hall meetings all across the country, all across the state. I guarantee you that he has met almost every single worker in that plant, he doesn't have to go to the GE plant to meet with those GE workers. So, I'm confident that he's going to --
BURNETT: So you think he understands their situation, their point of view without actually going and seeing the plant?
WEAVER: Yes, absolutely. Look, the broader point that Bernie was making which is the correct point which is that company after company has been offshoring American jobs either by moving things, out- sourcing things or shedding pieces to companies overseas, that is the reality in this country. And we have lost, you know, tons of manufacturing jobs, good paying jobs and it's really in a race to the bottom.
[19:20:08] BURNETT: So now, GE, Jeff Immelt, Bernie Sanders mentioned specifically is $58 million retirement package that Bernie Sanders says he's going to get. What happened to Jeff Immelt if Bernie Sanders were president? Do you guys take that away? Do you -- what do you do?
WEAVER: Well, I'll take it away. But look, his taxes would go up. As you know, I don't know about Jeff Immelt in particular, but you know, CEOs have effective tax rates which are less -- so their taxes are going to go up. There's no doubt about it. They're going to have to start paying their fair share of taxes.
BURNETT: So, you're not going to do claw backs, you're not going to cap CEO pay, that's not.
WEAVER: No, I don't think you have to do that. I think if you set an appropriate tax rate --
BURNETT: Then it would work. OK. So your campaign told us last night, you know, in this response of back and forth, and I'll read just the quote, because I want to read it exactly. If the CEO of General Electric wants to know how his company is destroying the fabric of America, he should take a good look in the mirror. And of course earlier in the week, Sanders did this interview with the New York Daily News. In that interview, he was also asked about another company, not GE Apple. Apple has $158 billion right now overseas, obviously they're not paying U.S. taxes on that money.
WEAVER: Right. BURNETT: It's the biggest cash stash that this country knows off. Here is what Bernie Sanders told the Daily News about whether Apple is destroying the moral fabric of America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Apple is not destroying the fabric of America. But I do wish they would be manufacturing devices here in the United States rather than in China. But I do wish they would not be trying not to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, the point of is, GE is not paying taxes and GE is offshoring jobs and why is GE destroying the moral fabric of America and not Apple?
WEAVER: Well, I can't speak that because I wasn't with the Senator when he made those comments. But I would say, you know, the point is the same with Apple in terms of, why are they not manufacturing those products here in the United States? Why are they not paying their taxes in the United States? You know, we had to make sure that one of the parts of Senator Sanders tax plan is companies that hide money overseas. We'll have to pay taxes, whether they bring it back or not. Right? So, that would deal with this process?
BURNETT: So, he is going to come down hard on Apple, too?
WEAVER: Absolutely, if you're hiding money overseas, you're going to pay taxes on it.
BURNETT: All right. Today, I want to ask you about one of the thing. President Clinton was asked about Secretary Clinton and whether it was her gender that played a factor in why Bernie Sanders originally said, she was not qualified to be president. And he responded, I quote him, I think there are some different standards, some of them are subconscious. So obviously directly, and that was directly in response to whether this was sexist, what is your response to him?
WEAVER: Well, let me say this. Was the Clinton campaign -- what was the subconscious thought when the Clinton campaign in 2008 suggested that Barack Obama was not qualified to be vice president? Was there something subconscious involved in that? Of course that's a ridiculous statement on the part of the President. Look, the Secretary and her campaign were the ones that started attacking Senator Sanders' qualifications. So, it was obviously not a gender thing because they were attacking -- he's happens to be a man, they were attacking his.
I mean, Jeff Zeleny of CNN reported on Election Night in Wisconsin that the Clinton campaign's strategy, going into New York, they were tired of Sanders, and they wanted to disqualify him, defeat him and then pick up the pieces later in terms of the party. So, look, this is something that started on their side, obviously was not a gender -- gender related thing. BURNETT: You know, you did say earlier this week, it was fair to
bring up this issue of qualifications, whether she was qualified. Now, of course Senator Sanders is saying, he meant judgment, he didn't mean qualifications.
WEAVER: Right.
BURNETT: I mean, the use of the word qualified wasn't -- hasn't played that well for all of you. All that's why, Bernie Sanders said he wished he used the word judgement. You obviously also used the word qualified. Do you wish you used another word? Do you regret using that word?
WEAVER: Well, I think to qualify in the sense of disqualified is opposed to unqualified, correct? I mean, I think those are different meanings, right? I mean, obviously, the secretary is resume- qualified, she has a distinguished resume. There is no doubt about that. No one can take that away from her. Right? But on terms of judgment and the things she supported over the year for the war in Iraq, you know, the way she funds her campaign with special interest money, you know, her support of this disastrous trade deals, you know, these are all broadly speaking about quote-unquote, "qualifications," but not in the sense, the narrow sense of resume qualifications.
BURNETT: So disqualified, not unqualified. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Good to talk to you, Jeff.
WEAVER: Good to talk to you.
BURNETT: And Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton going to be on State of the Union on Sunday morning at 9:00. You don't want to miss that.
And OUTFRONT next, Ben Carson on Donald Trump's quote, "problem," he says its Twitter. And meet one of the few people who could determine whether Donald Trump gets the nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should be able to freely express yourself, especially in a vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Plus, two major terror arrests today. Two of the most wanted men in the world. We are live on scene.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:28:30] BURNETT: Tonight, Donald Trump, MIA, instead of out hunting for votes, Trump is off the campaign trail. It is two days in a row. Now, this is unbelievable, right? This is not what you expect from Donald Trump but it comes as newly named convention manager is speaking out for the first time to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you the boss's boss now?
PAUL MANAFORT, DONALD TRUMP'S CONVENTION MANAGER: I work directly for the boss.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that is it. You only have one guy you listen to and it's Trump.
MANAFORT: Well, I listen to everybody, but I have one man whose voice is louder than everybody else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Sara Murray is OUTFRONT. And then Sara, of course, that is the new boss's boss. Trump loves the media. But this is the second day in a row he has not held a campaign event, he is virtually absent from the media. And even with that new high profile addition for his campaign, Trump is actually silent?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know, it's amazing, Erin. I think we're used to seeing Donald Trump show up on every television screen all over the country. But he did take to Twitter today to give us a hint about what he is doing here in New York. He said, so great to be in New York catching up on many things. Remember, I am still lying a major visit while I campaign and loving it. So, fairly he's getting a little bit of work done while he is in town. But I also think Erin, this reflects the fact that his campaign is going through this recalibration, they are trying to figure out where he should be best spending his time to get the delegates they need, to end up in Cleveland as the nominee. And who knows, maybe they are going to try to take a more disciplined approach to Donald Trump himself. We'll see if they're able to pull that off, Erin.
BURNETT: And, Sara, Paul Manafort becoming the convention manager is obviously a very big deal.
[19:30:05] It's perhaps the biggest move within the campaign since it started.
What do you know about what he's going to be doing?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: It is a big deal, Erin, because when we talk about the campaign manager, we're not just talking about being behind the scenes, going to these state conventions, fighting to get the delegates he wants on these slates. And we're not just talking about planning for Cleveland.
They want to arrive in Cleveland with 1,237 delegates. So that means that Paul Manafort is going to be important if Donald Trump does in fact place trust for him to these upcoming primaries and to making sure that Trump goes to the right places and pick up the delegates he needs. He is doing outreach in Washington, D.C., to folks on the Republican Party who might not be fully comfortable with him, but would need to be on his side or, you know, potentially, unbound delegates or to sway other folks as they head into Cleveland.
So, I think the big question is whether or not this is a campaign shakeup or not will depend on whether Donald Trump puts the kind of trust in Paul Manafort, that he has for instance, in Corey Lewandowski, to this point. That is the question that remains to be seen, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Sara, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, our political contributor, Tara Setmayer. One of the New York co-chairs for Donald Trump, City Councilman Joseph Borelli. And our political analyst, editor-in-chief of "The Daily Beast", John Avlon.
Councilman Borelli, let me start with you. We're days away, 11 days away, though, which in primary world is an eternity here in New York. Donald Trump has cancelled events in other states so he could focus in New York. But he is nowhere to be found for two days, which for Donald Trump is shocking and unprecedented. Where is he?
JOSEPH BORELLI, NEW YORK STATE CO-CHAIR, DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Look, I don't speak for Donald Trump himself, so I'm not sure whether he is working the phones or taking a personal couple of hours. But I can say that the campaign is in full swing, organizing events all over the state. We have announcements in Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo.
So, you know, I don't think you should get too comfortable in not seeing Donald Trump out there in regular media or social media. I think he will be out there in full force very soon, as soon as this weekend.
BURNETT: It's not worrying or causing any problems for you as you organize things that he's been gone?
BORELLI: No, he's got a huge commanding lead. He's held on to that lead in this state for many, many months. He's above 50 percent amongst Republicans in the city. And the only area where he seems to be just below 50 percent, that's where he is focusing on in the next couple of days.
BURNETT: All right. So, the overall situation, though, here, Tara and John, is that the polls are very good for Donald Trump in New York. It's his home state, right? And he should win it. He is expected to win it.
Ted Cruz won his home state. Marco Rubio didn't, right? When you don't win your home state, things don't end very well for you. OK. So, John Kasich won his home state.
So, does Trump really have to be out there every day? I mean, maybe this is the time to take a break, get some rest.
JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, we're ten days out from New York, if you're going to take a break, this is a decent time to recharge your batteries, although famously, he doesn't really need rest. So, why would he want to make such a show of it?
But, look, I think the point is, it's all the days in a row that are a bit odd. You always run a campaign like you're behind. Even in your home state, you don't want to disappear. My guess is this is partly masking a significant reorganization side of the campaign, because they need to bring a professional in if this is going to be a real street fight for delegates in Cleveland.
BURNETT: Right. And now, of course, they've got Paul Manafort on board.
TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: That's exactly what's going on. It's that the time of it, nobody is going to remember what he was doing for these couple of days. If it's been the Thursday, Friday before the vote, then people could start to say, what the heck is going on? But, clearly, the internal struggle that was going on with the Trump campaign, it was widely reported. Paul Manafort basically put down an ultimatum and said, either we're going to run this like a serious campaign or I'm out of here.
It looks like Trump decided that he needed to bring their adult into the room and he realized that they put out their surrogates. They're all over the place, one sitting right here. Manafort did the interview this morning.
They absolutely need to start getting their delegate act together, because they're woefully behind and inadequate in many areas. And you have what's going in, even as we speak in Colorado, gearing up this weekend, you know --
BURNETT: Which they know they're not going to win.
SETMAYER: No, they're not --
(CROSSTALK)
SETMAYER: They're losing delegates to Ted Cruz left and right because they don't have their acts together organizationally.
BURNETT: So, Councilman Borelli, you know, the other part -- of course, there is the delegate math game they're playing, and then the Donald Trump persona game, right, where is he? He is the biggest asset that the campaign has. He's obviously, you know, completely changed the game here in a lot of ways. One of the ways in which he's done so is using Twitter.
I remember talking to his two sons and they laughed about waking up every morning and saying, you know, what was dad doing on Twitter while we were sleeping? It was a joke. But Ben Carson who obviously is now supporting Donald Trump, actually says that Donald Trump's believes his frequent use of Twitter could be a problem.
Here's what Carson said, let me quote him. He said, "We talk about it, and a number of people talked about it, including his family. And he knows that it's a problem. So, you know, the first part of solving a problem is recognizing that it exists."
Does Donald Trump have a Twitter problem? It's pretty significant that Ben Carson saying Donald Trump says he does, like AA.
(CROSSTALK)
BORELLI: Let's a step back up. Donald Trump is someone who maximizes his use of social media. And by all accounts in the Republican primary, he seems to be winning and winning fairly well.
[19:35:00] And in New York, he is winning by a significant margin.
So, you know, you could argue there are some tweets that he should take back. I mean, there were a couple of tweets that he did actually publicly sort of disavowed --
BURNETT: The one with Melania and Heidi Cruz side by side.
SETMAYER: The one implying that Jeb Bush had to be pro-illegal immigration because of his wife being Mexican --
AVLON: Mistakes were made.
BORELLI: All too often we criticize politicians for being too robotic, too cookie cutter all the time. Now we have someone who is breaking that mold and whether people like it or not, it's resounding with a big chunk of people in this state and a big chunk of people around the country.
AVLON: Look, I think it's actually significant. When you look at every campaign, there is always a new technology that someone takes advantage of.
We were talking earlier about, you know, FDR did radio, JFK did TV. The Obama campaign did an amazing job of harnessing the Internet in 2008. Donald Trump has seized on social media in large part because it's one area where shamelessness is an asset. He can talk about himself directly to people. The louder you are, the more shameless you are, the better it will play. And you may offend some people, but you're going to suck up the oxygen.
BURNETT: But he said recently, Tara, he said, my wife, my daughter, are telling me more presidential, but if I were acting presidential, you wouldn't all want to come here and hear me talk. That's what he said. Now, if he's going to go all prim and proper here in Twitter, I mean, you know, I'm making light of it, but I'm also being serious, is that going to hurt him?
SETMAYER: First of all, I wouldn't hold my breath that he would be prim and proper on Twitter. He couldn't help himself today. I bet you to is why they told him to take a break for a couple of days because I am sure Paul Manafort came in and said you need to not screw up, because if he's out there in public, then that's how this controversy started, he starts tweeting away, then we have three days of this new cycle about some crazy late night Twitter rant.
So, this is -- but there is something that is concerning me and troubling about Trump's personality that he cannot help himself. He needs to have the adulation from the masses. And the fact he gets off on the fact he knows how to manipulate the crowds and followers and Twitter is a way that he can do that. It almost like he sits and he goes, watch what I can do today. He
sends out 140 characters, and look at what happens, the media and the public can be controlled by it. The narrative and campaign can be controlled by it. There is something about that power that he enjoys. And I think that is something that we should be concerned about it.
AVLON: So, you're saying he's a Twitter addict.
SETMAYER: Well, he's a tweet and power addict. He's a power addict.
BURNETT: There are studies about that social media is similar to an addiction.
(CROSSTALK)
BORELLI: Doesn't everybody on Twitter enjoy getting tweets?
SETMAYER: You're running for president, OK? This is not, this is not WWE sketch. This isn't, you know, "The Apprentice". This is the office of the presidency, which is very serious business. You're trying to be the leader of the free world, not auditioning for your next character. That literally is the problem with Donald Trump.
BURNETT: We hit pause. We have you all back. Thank you.
Donald Trump, along with his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka, will appear at a CNN town hall, Tuesday night at 9:00.
OUTFRONT next, it's an all-out brawl for delegates. Our special report on the wheeling and dealing to lock up the nomination.
And the Trump name everywhere in New York City, building after building after building. So will that give Trump the edge in the state's crucial primary? We'll show you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:42:07] BURNETT: Tonight kicks off a big weekend in the fight for Republican delegates, Colorado and Michigan are deciding which delegates could likely go to a contested convention. One small group of delegates could determine who the Republican nominee will be.
Phil Mattingly is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a straight system, folks. It's not -- you better be careful. It's terrible. Not always terrible.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump crying foul over the delegates who could make or break his run for the White House. At least 175 delegates not bound to a single candidate will go to the GOP convention in Cleveland this summer, hailing from six states in three territories, just 20 chosen to pledge their vote for one of the candidates according to a CNN analysis. That means at least 155 free agents and no requirement to disclose
their preference. Something the delegates themselves defend.
CURLY HAUGHLAND, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEEMAN FOR NORTH DAKOTA: You should be able to freely express yourself especially in a vote without disclosing it to everybody else.
MATTINGLY: Leaving the candidates with the task of schmoozing delegates, even buying them dinner or gifts, all perfectly legal. Ted Cruz himself has done the schmoozing in North Dakota.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is entirely possible that men and women gathered here will decide this entire primary, will decide this nomination.
MATTINGLY: Or, winning over delegates that were pledged to another candidate who's dropped out. If Trump is sure of the 137 bound delegates, unbound delegates could tip the balance in his favor. Trump has argued if he is the closest to the magic number the legates should be obligated to give him the nomination or face the consequences.
TRUMP: If we're at 1,100, and somebody else is at 500 or 400, because we're way ahead of everybody, I don't think you can say that we don't get it automatically. I think it would be -- I think you'd have riot riots. I think you'd have riots.
MATTINGLY: The prospect that has delegates in North Dakota at least on edge.
HAUGHLAND: I'm very nervous, I'm very concerned about basically what amounts to inciting a riot when people suggest that if one candidate or another gets close and doesn't somehow win, that riots should ensue.
MATTINGLY: Concern that might be magnified after Trump supporter and top political adviser Roger Stone fired this shot across the bow to other potential delegates who might vote against his candidate.
ROGER STONE, FORMER POLITICAL ADVISER TO DONALD TRUMP: We will disclose the hotels and the room numbers of those delegates who are directly involved in the steal. If you're from Pennsylvania, we'll tell you who the culprits are, we urge you to visit their hotel and find them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: That was Phil Mattingly reporting. We were talking about that comment in just moment.
OUTFRONT now, Phil English, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, who's running to become a delegate for his state.
All right. So, Phil, let me start with you. Donald Trump is arguing if he is the closer candidate to the number of 1, 237, that he should get the nomination, right? Even if he is not quite there, that he should get the nomination.
You're hoping to be a delegate in July, a delegate that would be an on-bound delegate.
[19:45:02] Does he have a point if he's close? Would you get on board?
PHIL ENGLISH: Every candidate who is nominated has to find their way to getting a majority of the convention to become the nominee. That's only fair, the way it has been historically.
Donald Trump or any other candidate is going to have to reach out to delegates that may have originally been committed to another candidate, if they're not already at that number going into the convention or uncommitted delegates and find their way in.
I believe that this is going to be a very fair transparent process. I don't think threats work. I think this is going to be a deliberative process and frankly ought to be. The Republican Party has a responsibility to produce an electable ticket that can govern and also represent the values of the people who have shown up and voted in the primary. That will obviously reflect the results of primaries.
BURNETT: Of which, of course, you know, 14 million people voted for Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.
Look, you just heard when you talk about threats you just heard our reporter talk about Trump ally Roger Stone sound bite, in which he says they would potentially target delegates in their hotel rooms, right, if you're not voting for Trump, they're going to give out their hotel numbers to supporters, when you hear that what do you think? Does that worry you?
ENGLISH: Look, I was in Seattle for the WTO, I'm not afraid of a riot or two. We're going to get this done. We're not going to be intimidated. Speaking for Pennsylvania delegates we're going to approach this fairly, and objectively. We're going to look at how the primary turns out and we're each make decisions.
What I am finding in Pennsylvania, is that each of the campaigns are organizing to different degrees to get their candidates across the line. We're unique in that we actually elect our delegates at the district level as individuals without reference to their candidate preference.
There are some who would argue that is unfair but at least at the statewide level, for our super delegates, they are bound to the primary results.
BURNETT: All right, well, thank you very much. It is going to be fascinating and exciting. And I heard you. You're not afraid of a riot or two. Thank you.
Next, Donald Trump and his New York City business ventures. A special report, how a patch of ice in Central Park is crucial to understanding Donald Trump. And breaking news at this hour. Police arresting the man suspected to
be the other attacker in the Brussels airport bombing. A major development tonight and we are right there on scene.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:55] BURNETT: Tonight, Donald Trump's empire looming large in the battle for New York. More than a dozen buildings in New York bear the GOP front-runner's name, as he has hundreds more business ventures here. Will that give him the edge in the crucial primary in the state?
Miguel Marquez is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: You're fired.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The hard-nosed New York businessman from NBC's "Apprentice." The Donald Trump we all know.
TRUMP: I said I want to build the greatest building in the world.
MARQUEZ: The show only a fraction of his New York empire.
Trump says his production company made more than 4 million bucks from January 2014 to mid-2015 in his federal election disclosure. In that same report, Trump lists 515 business ventures around the world, 457 of them registered right here in the Big Apple.
New York City registered businesses raked in as much $150 million during the 18-month reporting period. Real estate, his biggest earner -- $60 million in rents and more than $14 million in sales. There are 17 buildings in New York City bearing the mogul's name, but not all owned by Trump.
He does own Trump Tower, his home and 40 Wall Street. But for many others, Trump developed or manages the property but doesn't own it.
SHAWN TULLY, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE: He rode the market way down into the '80s and '90s. He survived a near bankruptcy. But when he came out, he was able to buy properties really on the cheap such as 40 Wall Street that have increased in value.
MARQUEZ: Trump the politician likes to tout one deal in particular -- his 1986 renovation of the Wollman ice skating rink in Central Park.
TRUMP: We, in 3 1/2 months, have built the greatest rink probably anywhere in the nation.
I still operate it today. Many years.
MARQUEZ: The city spent years and millions of dollars trying to repair the rink. Trump stepped in, made the repair, put his name all over it and made money. Still does to the tune of $8.7 million over that 18-month period.
Political opponents say running the country is not just a business deal. And like any businessman, some of Trump's deals failed. Big time. Like his plan in the 1990s to build the tallest building in the world.
TRUMP: I'd like to see New York have the world's tallest building. And this is the only location where it could be done.
MARQUEZ: He lost control of the project but a different one was built that still bears his name, glittering in gold.
(on camera): Trump runs a privately held company so we don't know everything, including how much profit his businesses actually make. We do know he carries about a half billion dollars in debt and isn't afraid to go to court if he feels he's getting a raw deal -- Erin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Miguel.
And OUTFRONT next, new cell phone video showing the arrest of a suspected terrorist. Is it the man in the hat? The man in the white jacket at the Brussels airport? A live report next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:43] BURNETT: Breaking news now: raids in Belgium tonight after the capture of two of the world's top terror suspects. Authorities say they're linked to the massacres in Paris and Brussels.
Mohamed Abrini arrested in Brussels today. That's a crucial arrest. They're trying to determine whether he is the man in the white jacket that we talked about so much. That man in the Brussels airport with that desperate manhunt that has been going on throughout Europe.
The man there as you can see in that light colored jacket. He's also suspected of driving the Paris attackers to their targets.
Fred Pleitgen is OUTFRONT in Brussels where that arrest happened.
And, Fred, you know, they caught these two suspects but a lot of operations I know still going on. What's happening?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they certainly are, Erin.
The area where I'm standing now is exactly the place where they caught Mohamed Abrini. And that place is right over there. You can see, there's still some broken glass on the ground from when that arrest was made earlier today here in Brussels time.
Now, you're absolutely right, this police operation is still going on. You can see the street behind me is actually still cordoned off. There are forensic workers still at work inside that area. We saw them come out earlier. They had literally bags of evidence that they brought out of the house that is about halfway down that street that you see right there.
So, the main thing that they're trying to determine right now is, indeed, whether or not Mohamed Abrini was the man with the hat that we saw in that video. Of course, that would be a very big thing for the police if, in fact, they had caught one of the perpetrators of the Brussels attacks.
And then there's another person involved as well. His name, Osama Kraiem. The big question is whether he was one of the people who was implicated in that subway bombing that happened here in Brussels as well.
The police here say that this is a very, very important catch they've made today but, of course, one of the things they are still worried about is could other people from that network still be out here in other places and could they be very dangerous, Erin.
BURNETT: And, of course, they're worried about the possibility of follow-on attacks. Thank you very much.
As you can see on the scene there, all that information they are taking could be crucial in terms of whether they are able to find anything and how many more attackers are out there. Of course, keep in mind, they still don't even know the names of all of the Paris attackers, never mind all the people with whom they were working.
Thank you so much for joining us. Be sure to set your DVR to record OUTFRONT so you can watch us anytime. And, of course, our show on CNN International on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
"AC360" starts right now.
