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Hillary Clinton Travels to Iowa in Van; Senator Macro Rubio Announce Presidential Candidacy; Senate to Vote on Iran Nuclear Deal; Interview with Senator Bob Corker. 2016 Race in Full Swing. Aired 8- 8:30a ET

Aired April 14, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

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[08:00:27] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have two and a half months more to negotiate, which has high stakes for our country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At some point Congress is going to have to lift the sanctions. It's the attitude of get a deal at all costs that I think has lots of countries concerned.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think she would be an excellent president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If she wants to be different she's going to prove it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is about everyday Americans. It's not about Hillary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I announce my candidacy for president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The policies really are taking us back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Underestimating Marco Rubio is a mistake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last thing my brother heard, "F your breath," as if he didn't matter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, April 14, 8:00 in the east. Alisyn is off, J.B. is here with us here this morning. And we've got a lot of news for you. A big vote could come on the Iran deal. The question is, should Congress have final say on any deal? President Obama's deputies are pleading for more time to negotiate, to be left alone as they head back to Capitol Hill, though, to brief members of the Senate.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All of this no doubt of great interest to the newly minted presidential candidate. Hillary Clinton kicking off her first campaign event in Iowa. Senator Marco Rubio, meanwhile, who could have to vote on Iran legislation, throwing his hat into the ring on the Republican side. We have every angle covered for you only the way CNN can. We will begin with Michelle Kosinski live from the White House. Michelle?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michaela. We are still playing deal or no deal here. At this point Congress is very close to taking action that could essentially change a nuclear deal with Iran or derail it entirely. Today the Senate Foreign Relations Committee could vote on this bill that would give Congress the up or down vote on a deal that they have been looking for and could prevent President Obama from removing sanctions that were imposed by Congress while Congress considers it. Others could add more restrictions to it. And the Senate is close to having a veto-proof majority.

So now is the time for the White House to really be working to try and convince members of Congress otherwise. They have been having these classified briefings, yesterday with the House and today with the Senate, and what the White House says they need are simply time and space to try to hammer out the details of this deal with Iran without Congress getting involved, at least not for now.

Things have been getting ugly, though. There's been some name calling, both sides calling each other naive, the White House saying that Republicans are so rigidly partisan that they are not going to want a deal under any circumstances, although keep in mind some of those who are saying Congress should have a vote on this are, in fact, Democrats. Michaela?

PEREIRA: All right, Michelle, well, those developments with Iran clearly on the mind of White House hopefuls, including Hillary Clinton, who is hoping a little Hawkeye love in her second run for the White House. The former first lady getting set for her first official campaign event that will be at a community college in Iowa. After arriving by way of that much talked about Scooby van, our CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar is live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. So many conversations about the van and her snacks. What is on tap for today for her?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: She is going to this community college, but just to give a sense of how pared down this is, it's the satellite campus of a community college. So this is a small venue today in Monticello, Iowa, not too far from Cedar Rapids before she tomorrow goes to a fruit company outside of Des Moines in this state where agriculture is so important. Of course, these are her first campaign appearances officially, but she has been making some informal ones on this road trip from New York to Iowa. Yesterday she was at a Chipotle in Ohio, also another very important state when you're talking politics. And according to a campaign aide we learned that she had a chicken burrito bowl with black beans and guacamole as well as an iced tea. So you can see the details that are being released by her

campaign saying, look, she is normal. You know, she is just going out for some food on her way on this road trip.

But she is making her way here in the Scooby van that you mentioned, Michaela. And this is interesting because Republican are even seizing on this. They're saying, wait a second, didn't she have a Scooby van back in 2000? They're trying to make this point that it's a recycled campaign, it's a recycled Scooby van, even. So even that going toward politics. But this is all part of this overarching idea that she is approaching this go around with more humility.

[08:05:02] And you will hear over and over, John, this idea that she is out here for everyday Americans, this campaign isn't about her. It's about them. In fact I'd say that if you had a nickel for every time you heard someone in her campaign say everyday Americans, you would be on your way to buying your own Chipotle burrito bowl.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And they are not cheap. All right, Brianna Keilar, thanks so much. We get to hear from her actually at a real event later today.

Meanwhile, Senator Marco Rubio made it official. The son of Cuban immigrants declared his candidacy for president. And rather than target other Republicans directly, he's putting his focus on Hillary Clinton. Let's go live to Miami and bring in CNN's chief Congressional correspondent Dana Bash. Good morning, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. You know, when we found out that Hillary Clinton was going to be announcing the day before Marco Rubio, the question that I and others posed to his campaign was are you worried it will be overshadowed? And they said no, no, no, we welcome the contrast. Well, whether or not that's true, they certainly tried to seize on it and play it up with his discussions throughout the entire speech he gave about the need for a new generation of political leaders. Listen to this.

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SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) FLORIDA: Just yesterday a leader from yesterday --

(BOOS)

RUBIO: -- began a campaign for president by promising to take us back to yesterday.

(BOOS)

RUBIO: Yesterday is over.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Now, he talked very much about his personal history, about

his heritage, about his Cuban parents who came to this country and about what that experience that really is palpable for him has done for him with regard to his policy views especially on the international stage, talking about the need to be an interventionist. And that very much is the way he sees the world.

And Chris, that is one of the main reasons why he's going back to Washington. He is not doing a tour of the early primary states, but he is going back to his day job because that issue, foreign policy, he hopes is going to be one of this calling cards, and today in the Foreign Relations Committee where he sits, there is a very big hearing, maybe even a vote on whether or not Congress should have approval on that Iran deal.

CUOMO: You pose the right proposition. Let's get an answer to it right now and see if there is going to be a vote. Dana, thank you very much.

Let's bring in Republican Senator Bob Corker. He's the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and one of the co-sponsor of a bill to give a Congress a say on the Iran deal. Senator, thank you for joining us. The big question, do you believe there will be a big vote today?

SEN. BOB CORKER, (R) CHAIRMAN, FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: I do, Chris. It is a very important vote, as you have laid out. And the fact is Congress through the sanctions four times we put in place since 2010 has brought Iran to the table. So the question today will be, should the president be able to go directly to the U.N. Security Council and lift those sanctions without Congressional input, or should the president have to come to Congress and allow us time to review the details of this and have the right to weigh in on this, and, by the way, to stay involved if a deal is approved? Should we have that right prior to going to the U.N. Security Council relative to the Congressional sanctions?

And we believe the American people on their behalf want Congress to understand the details, understand all the classified annexes that come with a deal like this, and that's what the vote is about today. And my sense is, my hope is that we could and will have a successful vote today.

CUOMO: It will just be a first step, right? You would be looking for some type of, even though the Senate deals with treaties, you'd be looking for both bodies of Congress here to get involved --

CORKER: That's correct.

CUOMO: Your leverage are these sanctions.

CORKER: That's right.

CUOMO: We are not sure the White House would push back on how big a part of the equation your sanctions are, the Congressional sanctions. But let me ask, what about the timing here? If you do this now don't you feel you may be compromising the process in lieu of what was Secretary Kerry just told to you. Let's play the sound for everybody else.

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KERRY: We have two-and-a-half months more negotiate. That's a serious amount of time with some serious business still to do. So we hope Congress will listen carefully and ask the questions that it wants, but also give us the space and the time to be able to complete a very difficult task, which has high stakes for our country.

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CUOMO: So why take this tack instead of working to compromise with the White House while they are doing the negotiating?

CORKER: Yes, well, some -- I think there may be a misunderstanding about what's happening. What Congress is saying when they finish negotiating, we are not going to be involved while they are negotiating, but when they finish we want this presented to Congress and we want it to lay before Congress without the Congressional sanctions being lifted, and we want to be able vote to approve or disapprove if we so choose. And so --

[08:10:10] CUOMO: How can they do a deal senator, how can they negotiate a deal if the Iran side of the table says, well, you really can't give me any assurances because you have to go to your Congress after this? That's a big set of handcuffs.

CORKER: No. Look, on any agreement that's reached whether it's the START treating, the INF treaty with Russia, in every case Congress gets involved with those actually in a much bigger way at a much higher level.

CUOMO: In treaties, in treaties. But as you know the overwhelming majority number of agreements that have been made internationally are executive agreements where there is no congressional role.

CORKER: Yes, but very seldom has there been a place where Congress has played such a role through the Congressionally-mandated sanctions. And that's all we're focused on is making sure what we put in place are alleviated, the sanctions we put in place are alleviated, that on behalf of the American people we are able to go through every detail of this and understand and ensure that it's going to meet the test of time.

Iran is the biggest exporter of terrorism in the world and certainly in the region. And for this to end up being a bad deal where they end up getting a nuclear weapon, and, by the way, have dollars to export in the region terrorism in a more full way, that is a terrible place for the United States and for the region. And so Congress just wants to be assured.

And let me say this, Chris.

CUOMO: Yes, sir.

CORKER: We know for a fact that in Switzerland as they negotiated the political agreement, the fact that the negotiators understood that it was likely that Congress was going to play a role, we know that that stiffened the spine of the negotiators and caused the political agreement, there is debate about what that agreement is, to be even better.

CUOMO: So you think this pressure helped?

CORKER: We think this is a very constructive role, and fortunately there are many members on the Democratic side that have come to agree with that thought process.

CUOMO: Right, but there also seems to be a division. I do not believe you would get the same sentiment from the State Department or the White House that pressure from Congress is making it easier for them to negotiate? I mean, that wouldn't even really make sense.

CORKER: Every administration would like for Congress not to be involved. I will say that Secretary Kerry, when he was a senator, President Obama, when he was a senator, attempted to do the same exact thing as it relates to the status of forces agreement in Iraq. So you know, a lot of times, Chris, where you stand is where you sit.

This is the rightful role for Congress to play on behalf of the American people, to make sure that this is a transparent deal, that Iran is held accountable throughout the entire process, that they comply and this agreement is enforced. And I am really proud of the work that in a bipartisan way we have done, and I am hopeful that we are going to be very successful today.

CUOMO: There is no question there is reason for concern, and I am sure that is what is helping to motivate the bipartisan report that you're speaking to, which is certainly somewhat uncommon. But you know you are not going to like the deal, right? Almost by definition, when you negotiate something that is this prickly, both sides are someone disappointed at the end of it. And in lieu of no other alternative that's coming out of either the Senate or the House, you are kind of setting up a very difficult standard for the White House to satisfy, don't you think?

CORKER: I don't think so at all. I think that we have most, the large majority of the people in the United States Senate are sober and thoughtful people, and I think everybody understands the stakes here.

CUOMO: There is no other plan being offered?

CORKER: What is that?

CUOMO: There is no other plan being offered. You don't have your own deal on the table, right? You're taking a vote as to whether or not you get to approve the State Department's deal, the negotiators' deal, you don't have your own deal?

CORKER: No. I don't think that's our role. Our role is to advise and consent. This puts our branch as a more co-equal branch. This is something that, again, is probably the largest geopolitical agreement that will happen during the service of most senators here in the United States senate.

And I am thankful that on a strong, strong bipartisan basis people believe that this is something that Congress ought to be doing. I am also thankful that the integrity of this process, it looks like, will absolutely remain in place. And so I absolutely believe that we are doing the right thing on behalf of the American people. Just look right now, Chris, at the disagreement that is taking place relative to what this deal even is. Iran is saying one thing. Obviously we are saying something else, and some of the other countries, some things in between.

I think it's very, very important to the stability of the region, to the world, to the safety of Americans, that Congress have a role in this. I believe we struck the exact right balance in the agreement that will be voted on today, and I'm hopeful that we're going to be very, very successful.

[08:15:13] CUOMO: Well, obviously, the goal in mind is to make it an easier process, not a more erroneous one. We know you have that in your mind as well.

CORKER: That's right.

CUOMO: Senator Corker, thank you for joining us to talk it through on NEW DAY.

CORKER: Thank you.

CUOMO: Mick?

PEREIRA: Alright, Chris. The deadly police involved shooting of an unarmed suspect in Tulsa, Oklahoma is raising major questions this morning. 73-year-old Robert Bates has now been charged with manslaughter after his body camera captured the moment that he fatally shot Eric Harris.

Many are asking how the volunteer deputy could mistake a gun for a Taser. Bates is a former officer, but now an insurance company CEO who has donated equipment to the police force.

BERMAN: The U.N. Security Council set to vote on a resolution today, demanding Iranian-backed Houthi rebels withdraw from territory that they have seized in Yemen. The vote would also authorize an arms embargo and sanctions against the rebel group's leaders. Resolution was drafted by Jordan and gulf countries but it could be blocked by Russia, one of Iran's allies.

CUOMO: Oh, boy. A University of Oregon runner going from hero to zero after celebrating too early. Take a look at this. Instead of going hard to the finish, he slows up, urging the crowd to cheer him on and then he gets beat at the wire. The runner says he didn't see the second place guy coming up behind him. He says he heard the roar of the crowd, he thought it was congratulations, not a warning. You run -

PEREIRA: That's a lesson you only learn once, right?

CUOMO: -- through the tape.

BERMAN: How about the other guy, though? You know, seeing him just running hard at the end there.

PEREIRA: He's going hard. Yeah, really impressive.

CUOMO: Run through the tape. That's what you do.

PEREIRA: Yep.

CUOMO: It's not over until it's over.

PEREIRA: That's a tough lesson to learn in life, isn't it? But once you learn it, you got it.

BERMAN: I'm just sad. I just feel bad. That poor guy.

PEREIRA: I do, too.

CUOMO: Do you run through the tape?

BERMAN: Always. I'm still running right now.

CUOMO: Of course, he is.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: 2016 presidential race heating up. Hillary Clinton and her Scooby van in Iowa, but in Florida, a challenger: Marco Rubio says he's the candidate of tomorrow. What is the state of play? Next.

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[08:20:50] SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) FLORIDA: Jeb Bush is my friend, and I think he would tell you the exact same thing. I have respect for him. I have admiration for him. He will be a very strong candidate. I just honestly believe that at this moment in our history, we need to move in a new direction as a country.

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MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Senator Marco Rubio there addressing one of the obstacles in his way. Now, that he's declared his run for president, does Rubio have what it takes to overcome party favorites like Jeb Bush, and who's next to jump in the race on both sides?

Let's bring in our political commentators, two of our favorites, Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and vice chair of the DNC Voter Project, Ana Navarro is a Republican strategist and a supporter of Jeb Bush, we should point out and adviser to other GOP candidates.

Ladies, start your engines.

I'll start with you, Ana. This run for president against Jeb Bush by Marco Rubio is being described as a Shakespearean betrayal. You know both of these men personally. What do you make of it?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, listen, as I said last night, first of all, we're in Miami. So, let's forget Shakespeare and let's go to the telenovela. I think it's a lot more apropos, here in south Florida.

Look, you know, there's definitely dramatic aspects to it and, yes, they are very good friends and there's a mentor-mentee relationship. So, all of that is being played up. I think the relationship between the two of them right now is pretty good. I know they spent time together over the weekend on a plane, where they happened to coincide. I saw Jeb on Saturday, and, you know, he said to me literally, you know what, I like the guy, he is my friend.

So, I think that when they're calling each other friend they are being genuine and authentic. Now, that doesn't mean it's going to get a little funky and strained as this goes along or the people around them are as good friends as the two of them are. But I think for a while you will see both of them be positive, give their agenda and show the country their vision and not hit each other, at least for a while.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Donna, help us explain to Ana that this is not going to end well.

In order for Marco Rubio to run past Jeb Bush, he has to run through Jeb Bush. Doesn't he, Donna?

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, there is no question that Jeb Bush has not only name recognition, but probably the political muscle, and the ability to attract the kind of staff and advisors and support that Marco Rubio will have to go out there and earn.

Marco Rubio is the new -- sort of the new kid on the block, and as you know, from the old biblical story of David and Goliath, be careful for what you wish for, Marco Rubio could overcome a Jeb Bush or anybody else.

With that said, you know, this campaign season is open, open to newcomers like Rubio, and also open to those who've already run before like, on our side of the aisle, you know, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It's going to be an interesting campaign because I think the American people are still looking for change and they are going to support the candidates who they believe will improve their lives, the quality of their lives, the economy. And you know what? May the best person win, and I think she will be a woman.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You know, you talk about the biblical story. How about the one of Barack and Goliath? And what Marco Rubio is selling right now worked in 2008. I mean, this is what Obama, then senator, did against a huge Hillary Clinton machine, and as you know, some say that Hillary Clinton was stronger then than she is now.

Donna, how do you unpack it?

BRAZILE: Oh, look, there's no question that Secretary Clinton received more votes in 2008. She was in many ways a David to that race. Running as a woman is not a easy task, but she was able to get, as you know, 18 million tiny little cracks in that proverbial glass ceiling.

This time, I think they understand that it's the 18 million voters you need to make sure you have the 2,100 delegates or so, because ultimately they decide who the nominee will be. And she is running a far different campaign. You know, that trek across the country, I have done that before and that's not easy trek, and today she's going to be in Monticello. She'll be in Norwalk -- small towns in Iowa.

But she is going to talk about the values that she hopes to make senator stage in this campaign season.

[08:25:03] PEREIRA: You know, it's interesting juxtaposition when you see the two of them on scene, Hillary Clinton at 67, Marco Rubio is 42, 43.

Ana, I was just looking at the generational aspect of somebody like Marco Rubio, and I think we have a full still of that, a fan of Tupac and West Coast hip-hop, he quotes Jay-Z during a filibuster, quoted "The Godfather", his wife is a former Dolphins cheerleader, is a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan, apparently hates the Jets.

CUOMO: Yes, which is a huge problem for him.

BERMAN: Halfway the nomination.

PEREIRA: The narrative is fantastic here. The fact that his father was a bartender and his mother was a maid. This is sort of pivoting the American dream, and that's going to speak to a lot of people across the country.

NAVARRO: Oh, I think it does, and Marco knows that it does, and he has a great oratory skill. He is very eloquent and he's able to actually reach peoples' hearts when he speaks. I've seen it happened over and over again.

That speech he gave last night, I heard elements of that speech for years and it still grasps me every time I hear it because it is true. I know his mother, I met his father who has now passed away, and it's a very powerful story.

But, you know, going back to Hillary Clinton, I just got this one question. You know, if a tree falls in a forest and there's nobody around to hear the sound, does it make a sound? If Hillary Clinton goes into a Chipotle and nobody knows she is there, was she really there? It's amazing to me --

CUOMO: You think the suit was a giveaway? How many people are in Chipotle with that suit on?

BRAZILE: It just goes to show you that --

NAVARRO: I think Huma and Hillary are trying to do a "Thelma and Louise" but nobody knows --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: We're in the world of Hillary Clinton.

BRAZILE: Honestly, you know, you've got to give credit to those work they were focused on, you know, delivering the milk and making sure she pay, which I'm sure she did. And you know what? That's what America is all about, what America cares about right now, they want somebody to raise their wages, and I think that's the candidate they saw yesterday when she came before them at that restaurant. By the way, I hope she didn't get the sour cream.

BERMAN: Setting the bar very high. Setting the bar very high for a candidate, whether or not they paid for their burrito bowls.

Donna Brazile, Ana Navarro, great to have you here with us. Thanks so much.

BRAZILE: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. A serious question I have to ask right now: are police abusing their power? Repeated incidents around the country of potentially unarmed men ending up dead at the hands of police. We'll take a closer look, ahead.

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PEREIRA: All right. Here we go, the five things to know for your NEW DAY.

At number one, a Senate committee is set to vote on a bill that will give Congress a final say on any nuclear deal with Iran. White House deputies are urging lawmakers to give them time to finalize a deal.

Hillary Clinton set to hold her very first event in Iowa, rolling out her second campaign for the presidency. Marco Rubio, meanwhile, is now the third Republican to enter the race.

New audio has emerged from immediately after the shooting that left Walter Scott dead. Michael Slager is heard explaining his side of the story. He's also caught laughing nervously on tape just minutes after Scott's death.

Meanwhile, new questions after the deadly police involved shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Seventy-three-year-old volunteer deputy Robert Bates is expected to turn himself in today to face manslaughter charges after body cameras captured the moment that he fatally unarmed suspect Eric Harris.

Bizarre story here, an Alaska Airlines jet forced to make an emergency landing Monday after the pilot heard unusual banging upon landing. Authorities found a ramp agent who had become stuck after falling asleep in the cargo hold.

For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit NewDay.CNN.com for the latest.

Chris?

CUOMO: That's still the wow of the day what happened to that guy.

So, here is another topic for you, going green. You know, it doesn't always mean you need tons of green. Witness a group in northern California using solar power to bring sustainability and jobs to lower income communities. It's part of today's "Impact Your World."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think families often think of solar as a technology for somebody else. It's not for somebody who speaks my language or lives in my neighborhood.