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Inside Politics

Poll: Sanders, Warren In Close Race in New Hampshire; Pence Refuses to Discuss Bill Taylor's Opening Statement; Jeff Sessions Mulling Alabama Senate Run. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired October 29, 2019 - 12:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:31:02] JOHN KING, CNN HOST: We have some brand new CNN poll numbers from New Hampshire to unveil right now. And Bernie Sanders has a reason to smile as we close in now on 100 days, it's 105 to be exact, to the first 2020 presidential primary. Let's look at the new numbers CNN/University of New Hampshire poll.

Senator Sanders and Senator Warren close to each other at the top, no clear leader there. Statistically a tie but Senator Sanders on top at 21, Senator Warren at 18. Vermont and Massachusetts, New Hampshire's neighbors at the top of the pack.

Vice President Biden falling to 15 percent, Mayor Buttigieg, Congressman Gabbard, Senator Klobuchar, and businessman Andrew Yang round out the top there. If you take a look at the changes, this is the bad part for former vice president Biden down nine points since our poll back in July. Pretty statistic at the top of the field, it is the former vice president's drop. Amy Klobuchar coming up, Mr. Yang coming up, Tulsi Gabbard coming up. But this minus nine, a big deal for the former vice president.

Let's look at how this breaks down. Among liberal voters, Warren and Sanders in a fierce competition there. The two most progressive candidates in the race competing for liberal voters, Vice President Biden comes in well behind.

This is interesting, among moderate conservative voters, yes, the former vice president has the lead, but again, familiarity matters. Bernie Sanders won New Hampshire back in 2016. Right, he's from Vermont and neighboring Massachusetts competing, competing among moderate conservatives. You might not think that of the more progressive candidates

This is interesting. Why is Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren at the top -- why are they at the top of the pack? Voters in New Hampshire say healthcare, climate, and then jobs are their top issues.

Joe Biden still ranks first when voters are asked who do you think can best beat Donald Trump. But in New Hampshire at least among Democrats likely to vote in the primary, that's fallen down here. So it's less of an issue, Biden gets less support at the top. One of the big challenges as we go forward, a lot of candidates spending more time in New Hampshire especially for the lesser-knowns. Yes, they see Sanders, Warren, Biden, their challenge, try to break through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW YANG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm in the Medicare for All camp but I would not get rid of private insurance.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we could make this town even hipper if we got that Manchester commuter rail funded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm looking forward to voting for you.

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. I'm going to hang in there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I was in Concord yesterday and met with a woman who is 95 percent of the way through your book. And I asked if we had her vote, and she said 95 percent of the way there. I just want to read the last five percent to make sure.

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D-SOUTH BEND, IN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's the most New Hampshire thing I've heard all day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: A 105 days out, so still a lot of time to change your mind. But it is interesting when you go state-by-state, especially here. It's a fierce competition at the moment at the top of the pack for the two neighbors, Sanders of Vermont, Warren of Massachusetts.

But if you're the former vice president and you've already seen yourself slipping a little bit in Iowa, now you're slipping a little bit in New Hampshire, he says, sure, I've got South Carolina. But there is this thing called momentum in presidential politics. Should he be worried?

ALEX THOMPSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO: When he based his entire campaign on electability. He's even put poll numbers in his ads, and what happens to that if he loses the first two contests.

I also think this is a fascinating poll for Bernie, the guy has the most cash on hand of any candidate, the biggest small-dollar operation in the history of American politics, and the fact that the heart attack didn't seem to do any bounce.

And I can tell you from my reporting, after that first debate, he and his campaign team decided to do somewhat of a message reboot and focused almost entirely on healthcare and Medicare for All. And the fact that's such an important issue to his voters shows that it may be working.

KING: And at the time Senator Warren is being attacked in saying herself she's going to come up with a new a question. Sanders somehow benefited from that. It's interesting.

This is the former vice president on MSNBC asked about his recent slip in some of the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREA MITCHELL, MSNBC ANCHOR: Can you lose Iowa, and now we understand from a new CNN poll you're coming in third in New Hampshire. Can you lose the first two big races and rely on South Carolina to be your firewall?

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): No, I plan on doing very well in both of those. The polls, as you know, are up and down. I've been ahead in Iowa, I've been ahead in South Carolina, I'm ahead in all the national polls and the occasional one that pops up is different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:35:02] KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it's New Hampshire. I don't -- we'll see if what it says for him, but I think the most concerning thing for him coming out of this is that 57 percent of people in this poll are still deciding who it is they're going to support. For someone who has maintained he's the frontrunner, he's the only one up against the president that should be a number that's concerning to Joe Biden.

KING: And here's one other number concerning to Joe Biden. As we said, he still wins when voters are asked who do you think is best equipped to beat President Trump, but if you look at it here, he was at 45 percent on our July poll, he's at 36 percent on that question now in the current poll so Biden's numbers there are going down.

I just want to work this in, you see it right there for you. I want to work this one on the Republican side. Absolutely nothing for the president to worry about at the moment in New Hampshire which is holding its primary. Some states have decided to cancel their Republican primaries at the request of their president's team. Trump, 86, Bill Weld, five, Joe Walsh, one, Mark Sanford one.

I just want to put that down as a marker. The president is in zero danger today. It's interesting as the impeachment proceedings play out to look at that in a month and then another month and another month to see what happens if anything.

KAROUN DEMIRJIAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, certainly, and I mean -- and look at those numbers also once the Democratic nominees start to emerge, because then we will actually be able to put these preliminary polls of, you know, who has the greatest potential margin against the president in a potential match-up to an actual test.

KING: And again, as -- if you're a Republican on Capitol Hill trying to decide what to do about impeachment, you see those numbers and you think the safest place right now is to stick with the president. We'll see if that changes. As I put out there (INAUDIBLE) well ahead, he has his base but we'll see. When we come back, the president's conduct is central to the impeachment inquiry, but another name that comes up again and again and again, the vice president.

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[12:41:32] KING: Vice President Mike Pence is at Fort Hood in Texas today visiting army troops, watching some training, and escaping, for a few hours, anyway, Washington's impeachment drama.

It is President Trump's conduct at the center of the impeachment issue but there are some questions about the vice president, too. Today's big witness, for example, notes in his opening statement that he was on the July call between President Trump and the president of Ukraine. And that representatives of the V.P.'s Office were listening in, too.

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman telling Congress, quote, "I was concerned by the call. I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen."

The question for Pence is how he handled the president's demands in his dealings with Ukraine. And now whether like President Trump he will question the character and credibility of witnesses who are giving damning testimony like veteran diplomat William Taylor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, PBS ANCHOR: Does Bill Taylor, William Taylor, have credibility as far as you're concerned?

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, are you referring to William Taylor's testimony --

WOODRUFF: His account.

PENCE: -- before the committee?

WOODRUFF: His testimony, as far as we know.

PENCE: Well, we can't really count on that because all we have from the committee are leaks. I mean, Judy, the process that's going on in Congress today is a disservice to the American people and it's a disgrace.

WOODRUFF: This was his opening statement, 15 pages.

PENCE: It's just unacceptable, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Again, it wasn't leaked. It was in his statement that he released to the public.

PENCE: Yes. According -- look, the American people have a right to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KING: Have a right to know what? God bless Judy Woodruff. It's not leaks, it's an opening statement. That was a circular -- I don't know what it was, but we didn't get an answer from the vice president there. We did not get one.

COLLINS: And that's kind of been his M.O. in several recent interviews because of the position he's in the middle of this, because of his role and his meetings that he's had with the Ukrainian president. And we saw that in an interview he did on Sunday where he repeatedly evaded questions about whether or not he had been pushed by the president, what he knew of the president's push for other people to be involved.

And while he's maintained his conversations with the Ukrainians were aboveboard, you're seeing how he's having to toe the line here because Pence is not like the president. He's not this bomb-thrower (ph) who's going to go out and attack the people who are testifying.

He'll attack the process and what Democrats are doing but he walks a line. He doesn't do what the president does, but then he also doesn't want to seen as if he's not being loyal to the president.

So, we're watching him be in a really delicate position here.

KING: And so it's interesting in my view that he's giving these interviews in the middle of this because he's trying to toe the line.

You mentioned the Sunday interview, this is Margaret Brennan of CBS on "Face the Nation", again, asking the right questions. Listen carefully, Pence's answers are in some ways they're not telling but in other ways, they're very telling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PENCE: The president's transcript, my interactions, there was no quid pro quo, there was no pressure. He was entirely focused on issues important to the American people.

MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS HOST: I haven't gotten a clear answer from you on that though, sir. I do have to leave the interview there but are you saying you did not ever hear of such a deal? Is that what I understand you're describing?

PENCE: I'm telling you that all my interactions with the president, all of my conversations with President Zelensky were entirely focused on issues of importance to the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The question was, did he ever hear, in all of the Ukraine dealings, did he hear about Rudy Giuliani, did he hear about any effort of a deal, a quid pro quo, call it what you will. His answer, all of my interactions with the president, all of my conversations with President Zelensky were entirely focused on issues of importance.

THOMPSON: It's very loyally answered with him trying to seemingly get himself may be out of being connected of this but also still not trying to seem disloyal to the president.

[12:45:06] DEMIRJIAN: He's connected to this (INAUDIBLE) because I mean, there are people from his office that were listening in on that July 25th phone calls, we know from Vindman's testimony, there were other people that were -- I mean, it was going through the White House at various levels where he would have had to be really sitting there with his fingers in his ears to not have caught some of this. But he is clearly trying to make himself a separate entity and that he didn't have any ill intent here because look, any of these guys, if they didn't get pulled into the White House impeachment process, there's a chance they get pulled into the Senate trial if we get to that point and will have to answer for their actions as well as of others and potentially be exposed.

KING: He also said two and a half weeks ago he'd be perfectly willing for his transcript of any conversations he had with Ukraine to be made public. We're still waiting.

VIVIAN SALAMA, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Sure. And I think the vice president has probably maintained a little bit more of an official line with the Ukrainian leaders. So having the vice president actually take the lead on Ukraine is something we saw in the previous administration and in this administration. So Mike Pence, whether he likes it or not, he cannot actually separate himself from the Ukraine issue because it was his portfolio to lead.

And we know from our reporting that Mike Pence was actually encouraging the president to take more of an interest in Ukrainian issues because there was a concern in the first and second year of the administration that he was warming too much to Moscow and leaving an ally like Ukraine out in the cold. And so Mike Pence actually took a very active role in trying to get the president to engage more with the Ukrainians.

And now that this has all come around and the president sort of did that in a roundabout way where partisan politics came into the picture, he's in a tough spot. At the end of the day, the White House is going to continue sending him out however because he has a rapport with congressional Republicans, and they feel that he is the one who can really kind of keep a hold on this and keep it from steering off the road, basically.

KING: I bet he's enjoying a day out of Washington today.

SALAMA: Yes.

KING: Up next, Jeff Sessions, remember him? Lots of comebacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:33] KING: Jeff Sessions is mulling a comeback, and wow, does it pose some interesting questions for President Trump. The former Alabama senator thinking now about running for his old seat, and he's being urged to do so by close friends. Sessions have to decide soon, November 8th is the filing deadline. It's already a crowded Republican field including the former Auburn Football Coach Tommy Tuberville, Congressman Bradley Byrne, and Roy Moore. Remember Roy Moore, the accused predator who lost to the current Democratic Senator Doug Jones. The x-factor here, of course, President Trump whose scorn for his former attorney general, Mr. Sessions is beyond well- documented. Would the president now be willing to make peace or at least (INAUDIBLE) with Jeff Sessions?

COLLINS: John Thune says he thinks that they can put their differences aside. I think it's the president who has a problem with Jeff Sessions, not Jeff Sessions who has a problem with the president. If it came down to that because he said the president wants to hold onto that Republican majority. That is not what people who have spoken with the president, that's not the sense they get. Including Senator Shelby, the other senator from Alabama who spoke with the president over the summer about this, and he told him he was not on board with this.

The president still to this day will tell people his biggest mistake as president was picking Jeff Sessions. The idea that he would put that behind him to let Jeff Sessions have that seat is pretty hard and far-fetched to see. However, does that mean the president is going to endorse someone who is likely to lose that seat and risk having what is happening here with a Democrat in Alabama for the first time in a long time? We'll see.

KING: Senator Shelby is working this hard. He's encouraging Sessions to run. He's telling Sessions he'll raise money for him if he runs. He's working the White House trying to get the president to back down. Knowing the president's history, that in of itself is that Senator Shelby willing to stand up to the White House saying that he thinks this is better for the Senate, it's better for the state of Alabama. In this climate, standing up to the White House.

THOMPSON: Well, Sessions already has 2.5 million in the bank for this election, basically giving him a head start with all his connections in Washington, too. He could very quickly outraise everyone else in the field. Even if Trump doesn't come in, he's so well-known in the state, it may not matter.

COLLINS: That's true, but with the president's repeated attacks on him did diminish his standing which is surprising because he was such a long sitting senator. If he had not taken the attorney general job, he could have been a senator for the rest of his life in Alabama. But the president's attacks did diminish his standing in Alabama based on people we've spoken with.

DEMIRJIAN: And it's interesting to see how Sessions tries to handle this, too, though, right? Because I mean, who remembers Robert Mueller, really? It's been so long ago. I'm kidding. But we're so focused on Ukraine right now that I mean, Sessions might have an opening to kind of say, OK, I might have been the guy who created the situation on which this all could have happened by recusing myself but I'm going to defend the president harder than anybody in this particular environment in which I was not involved so (INAUDIBLE) a space for me and see if he can maybe try to persuade the president that way. It may not work, though. KING: We got fun what, 10 days ahead as we wait for this one to play out. It's a fascinating moment. Give us a call, Senator Sessions. We'd be happy to catch up.

Coming up for us, some amazing news for the INSIDE POLITICS family.

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[12:58:59] KING: A quick update on Facebook now facing more pressure to fact-check political ads. The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee sending a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg essentially saying sites like Facebook bare as much responsibility as the broadcast media for ensuring accuracy partly because user day they collect allows for more pinpointed advertising. Senator Mark Warner's letter follows Zuckerberg's appearance on Capitol Hill where Zuckerberg defended Facebook's decision not to fact-check ads from politicians.

And an introduction before we say goodbye today. Our INSIDE POLITICS family now blessed with a new addition. Katarina Zoe Lisa Dinan (ph), you see her right there. The beautiful daughter of CNN miracle worker and executive producer Tasha Diakides and husband Stephen who works for the Washington Times. Baby Kat likes to stay with her bunny, clearly enjoy the (INAUDIBLE) then she spends a fair amount of time on walks with her wonderful mom and dad past Washington's great monuments and memorials. I took one of those walks recently. The baby is beautiful.

Thanks for joining us on INSIDE POLITICS. Enjoy our new member of the family there. Brianna Keilar starts right now. Have a great afternoon.

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