Return to Transcripts main page
New Day
Fiorina Face-to-Face with Trump; Rules of Engagement for Tonight's Debate; Game-Changing Moments in Previous Presidential Debates. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired September 16, 2015 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:32:48] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGYN KELLY, ANCHOR, "THE KELLY FILE": I read that you play a little solitaire on your phone, too, is that true?
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do. Yes, I do. I play solitaire on my phone. And then the last thing I do, you know, my husband and I have a quiet moment together and then I spend some time in solitude, in player, before it's time to actually go out on that stage.
KELLY: It can't hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Solitaire followed by solitude.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
CUOMO: Piffy (ph) insight there in the interview with Carly Fiorina.
We've got just hours until Carly Fiorina hits the big stage for the first time. She's got a seat at the table in the CNN Republican debate. She's going to be there. How is she going to do it? How is she coming into this tonight, especially vis-a-vis Donald Trump. She's probably the only person on that stage who's got something over him right now.
So let's bring in Jennifer Granholm. She's the former Democratic governor of Michigan, of course, who helped Joe Biden - did you know this - she helped him prepare for his vice presidential debate in 2008 by playing Sarah Palin.
JENNIFER GRANHOLM, SENIOR ADVISER, CORRECT THE RECORD: I became the Palin-tologist.
CUOMO: Oh, very good. Very good.
GRANHOLM: I did. I studied all of her debate performances, because she had to do a lot of them in Alaska when she became governor. And so I had to embody Sarah Palin has the stand in.
CAMEROTA: Wow, that is such a great window into how these debate preps go. Somebody has to play your opponent.
GRANHOLM: Of course.
CAMEROTA: I wonder who's playing Donald Trump for everyone.
GRANHOLM: Yes, it will be interesting. Although, you know, there are so many that you would have to have a whole army of people playing these. So it's easier to do when it's one on one. And in this debate, because there's only one minute to question - for each answer, right? So you have to answer the question. You have to get out what your main point is, whatever that is. You have to pivot and launch an attack on somebody, presumably, especially if they're going after Donald Trump or anybody else. So it's really a lot to pack into a very brief amount of time.
CAMEROTA: Wow. So what do you recommend for Carly Fiorina tonight with strategy?
GRANHOLM: Well, you know, for her, she's just starting from a great place. First of all, I hope she is coming in with a series of attacks. You know, you have to know that you're going to get a whole wide array of subjects, right? And so does she attack Donald Trump on the fact that he stood on the deck of the USS Iowa last night and there was supposed to be some big policy announcements and there really wasn't anything that came out of it. Does she attack him on lack of substance or does she - she has to demonstrate herself that she shows the substance and then pivot to an attack.
[08:35:10] CUOMO: But why -
GRANHOLM: So she's got to have that whole array, that repertoire, --
CUOMO: She's the only person on that stage that I think - I think Donald Trump would think twice before attacking outward.
GRANHOLM: Right, because look at what happened last time, right?
CUOMO: Right, and how. And how he did it.
GRANHOLM: Right. Right.
CUOMO: He tried to turn and pivot to her record at HP, but it's too hard to accept that when the context for your criticism was her face.
GRANHOLM: Right.
CUOMO: You know, so - but (INAUDIBLE) as Carly.
GRANHOLM: But he made - well, he may decide to go on the substance.
CUOMO: Right.
GRANHOLM: So he may try to attack her on her record at HP, which, you know, is fair game, right? If you're not attacking people on their looks or on, you know, stupid things like that, then that's a - that's a sharp attack, if you have to attack them on their record. CAMEROTA: A lot of people have talked about her record and she has a
very pat and impressive answer. I mean she has her own narrative -
GRANHOLM: Of course. Of course.
CAMEROTA: Of how she thinks it all unfolded. If its - so that's - that's out there. She's practiced that.
GRANHOLM: Yes.
CAMEROTA: If something is less predictable, if there is sort of a below the belt something that happens, is she supposed to do - gauge on that level or rise above it or -
GRANHOLM: She will have a quip. She will have something. I mean she - you know, you expect that there will be some attack that you're not prepared for. So you have to prepare for something that you're not prepared for. So she will have a quip that response to that and a pivot out and perhaps the counterattack.
CUOMO: What about a woman rule though?
GRANHOLM: A woman rule.
CUOMO: You know - you know what I mean, like what was so offensive is that when Trump said it, whether he's talking about persona or not, when he talked about a woman's - I know you don't buy that, but it's -
CAMEROTA: Of course not.
CUOMO: When - but I'm saying, even if -
GRANHOLM: What don't you buy?
CUOMO: She doesn't - he -
CAMEROTA: That he - when he came on and Chris interviewed Donald Trump -
GRANHOLM: Yes.
CAMEROTA: He said, how could you go after her face? He said, I was talking about her persona.
GRANHOLM: Oh, yes. Who buys that? Do you buy that?
CUOMO: He was answering the question and she's hitting me.
GRANHOLM: We're not stupid. Oh, please.
CUOMO: I was like, I can't ask the next question. I said, you're already hitting me.
What I'm saying is -
GRANHOLM: That's so ridiculous. CUOMO: No matter what he said he was trying to do, you don't do that with women as a man in politics. A good rule, bad rule, it's a rule. He did it. Does she have to have a different set of responses for those? The, I'm not going to dignify kind of thing?
GRANHOLM: Yes.
CUOMO: Whereas if he said to a guy, you know, you're a shlubby guy, the guy would probably have to respond in kind if he wants to play that kind of silly game. But is it different for Carly.
GRANHOLM: Well, she's going to have to have a response to an attack like that, as anybody would. I - I don't - I mean guys don't usually go after guys for their hair or their face or whatever. So guys don't necessarily -
CUOMO: Right. Yes. Don't usually go after women for it either in politics, at this level of the game?
GRANHOLM: Well, yes, right.
CAMEROTA: Or even outside of politics.
GRANHOLM: Right.
CAMEROTA: I mean what he did was -
GRANHOLM: Was so beyond the pale.
CAMEROTA: Was beyond the pale.
GRANHOLM: What he did to Megyn Kelly was so beyond the pale. So, yes, she's got to prepare for that. And, frankly, I bet you some of the other guys on the stage are preparing mentally for that. If she's attacked, do they step up to defend her, chivalry, et cetera. She won't allow them because she will fight back on her own, but I'm wondering if they're preparing for that as well.
CAMEROTA: What are you watching for tonight?
GRANHOLM: You know, I - because I'm a Hillary Clinton supporter, right? So I am really interested to see how the umbrella of Donald Trump's sort of extreme rhetoric plays out in terms of specific policies that these candidates adopt. So I think he's sort of a leading indicator, right? So he's extreme on immigration. They all are starting to talk, you know, anchor babies. They're extreme on policies as well. Same thing with women. I think the women issue, I hope it's an issue tonight, because they're all very similar. And so I'm watching to see, is he going to be coming out as extreme on a woman's right to choose, no exceptions for rape or incest or life of the mother like the rest of them. Are they all going to be lock step on these extreme positions? Because, of course, this is an issue for - for her and will be set up for the general election because she's been very strong in favor of women's -
CUOMO: Well, let's give you one - one question on her because your (INAUDIBLE).
GRANHOLM: Yes.
CUOMO: The reset of her campaign.
GRANHOLM: Yes.
CUOMO: Engaging media more. Trying to do thing. Do you think that this was a smart move -
GRANHOLM: Of course.
CUOMO: Because the other way wasn't working? And what led into a lot of the criticism of the e-mail was about how she handled it more than the substance of the situation.
GRANHOLM: No, I think - I think her strategy now to lean into that and to get out there and to do more interviews, to be really visible, and to ask - you know, I love the - personally, I just love the town hall kind of format because real people ask real questions about what's on their mind. And she's put out all of these incredibly substantive policies that no one knows, right.
CUOMO: But not to us. But not to us. Not sitting the way you are right now. That's -
GRANHOLM: OK. Well, bring it on. I say get - more exposure is better.
CAMEROTA: OK.
GRANHOLM: Yes.
CAMEROTA: Our door is open. We look forward to having her.
GRANHOLM: All right.
CAMEROTA: It's great to have you on, Jennifer Granholm. Thanks so much.
GRANHOLM: Hey, it was great to be on, you guys.
CAMEROTA: Such a pleasure.
CUOMO: Thank you. We appreciate it.
GRANHOLM: Thanks.
CAMEROTA: Be sure to tune in tonight for the first of two debates. It is all right here at the Reagan Library. The first one starts at 6:00 p.m. Eastern and then the main event with the eleven candidates on stage starts at - at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
CUOMO: All right, we're going take you inside tonight's debate. It is different. Not just the stakes, but the rules. It's been designed in a way that you're going to get to see the candidates matched up like you haven't before. We will bring it to you live from the Reagan Presidential Library here in Simi Valley.
[08:40:07] Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAEL PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Fast food is fattening up our children at a frightening right. In today's "New Day, New You," a study by the Centers for Disease Control finds children consume 12 percent of all their calories from fast food restaurants. That's not all. On any given day, one-third of our children eat some form of fast food. And according to the study, teens are the worst offenders, getting a whopping 17 percent of their calories from fast food products. Here's the result. Child obesity rate doubling in America over the last 30 years.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEREIRA: All right, here we go with the five things to know for your NEW DAY.
At number one, 15 Republican candidates for president setting off to square off in their debate tonight right here on CNN. That main debate begins at 8:00 Eastern. The lower polling candidates will take the stage, meanwhile, at six.
The death toll has reached 16 in the flash flooding in Utah. A wall of water washed away two vehicles in Hildale killing 12 women and children. Four hikers also killed in a nearby national park. Meantime, four other people remain missing still.
[08:45:00] The Valley Wildfire in northern California is 30 percent contained now but it has already consumed some 600 homes and 105 square miles. There are 9,000 structures still in harm's way.
Some train lines have now been stopped between Austria and Germany after the railway companies said migrants were jumping off to avoid checkpoints. Refugees are stranded on the Hungary-Serbian border. They are deciding their next move after Hungary has closed its border tore them.
Los Angeles, Paris, Hamburg, Budapest and Rome all competing to host the 2024 summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee will select a winner in Lima, Peru, in September of 2017.
For more on the five things, be sure to visit newdayCNN.com for the latest.
Shall we wing west to Alisyn and Chris?
CUOMO: What was that?
PEREIRA: What was what?
CAMEROTA: Thanks - Thanks, Michaela, for that. 11 candidates, as you know, going head-to-head in the main stage debate. What are the rules tonight, by the way? Can they interrupt each other? What if they go over time? Is there a big hook that comes out? We're going to take you inside the CNN event and tell you what they are up against. Stick around.
CUOMO: No standing eight count (ph) tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:50:26] CAMEROTA: Tonight's the big night as eleven of the GOP contenders face-off in the main stage debate. So what are the rules for tonight? Plus what were the most memorable moments of previous debates?
Joining us to talk about all of this is our CNN politics executive editor, Mark Preston.
So, Mark, what are the rules? Each candidate -- It is going to be a different format than the last debate that we saw. Each candidate has one minute and then they can attack each other?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Right, well, I don't like to use the word attack. We want to see a debate --
CAMEROTA: Engage.
PRESTON: We want to see them engage. Look, very simply, you get asked a question then you will have a minute to answer. If you invoke someone's name -- if I were to criticize you or Chris, which of course I would never do, then Chris or yourself would have 30 seconds to respond. But those aren't hard, fast time limits. If there is now a discussion that's developing, we're arguing over policy, then Jake --
CAMEROTA: Oh, so he can let it breathe.
PRESTON: He can let it breathe a little bit. We didn't see that happen in the last debate.
CUOMO: And, you know, and Jake is very good at this. He understands how to move people, how to use time and that will work to the benefit of the audience tonight. What about this pairing feature that's going to be going on tonight where two people can be asked to discuss one another?
PRESTON: Right. So, look -- This is a debate and you can either have a debate where there's interview questions, which when we interview candidates, when the two of you interview candidates, you ask about specific policies to try to draw it out of them. But this is about a choice for the Republican presidential nominee, right? So you want to get a discussion about why your policy might be different than your policy because otherwise the viewers and the voters don't really have an idea about why they might want to choose you, Chris, over you, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Everyone is hoping to have one of those memorable moments. So let's look back. We, of course, are here at the Reagan Library and one of the most memorable moments in a debate was during a primary where Ronald Reagan said - Well, he was being challenged, I guess, by the moderator about his microphone and let's watch this memorable moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MODERATOR: Can you turn that microphone off, please?
FMR PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: You asked for me if you would -- I am paying for this microphone, Mr. -
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Why was that one so special? "I am paying for this microphone," you cannot turn it off, he was saying.
PRESTON: Well, he was - That was a very competitive primary at the time and, you know, look, Ronald Reagan wasn't a shoo-in to win the nomination and at that point he had shown some leadership and I think at that time, you know, certainly coming out of '76 and what have you, they were looking for a strong conservative and I think they saw that in Reagan at that moment.
CUOMO: That was that balance of sweet strength that Reagan was able to strike that showed that he had a spine, but he also had a huge heart. Give me another one.
PRESTON: Look it, you know, I'm a Boston guy and I think that there was this moment back in 1988 where we had a debate between the vice presidential nominees and it invoked our president John F. Kennedy. Let's take a listen.
CAMEROTA: Yes. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD BENTSEN, DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOMINEE FOR VICE PRESIDENT IN 1988: I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: A ha. Now what's interesting about that is that that one was manufactured. That one was preplanned because he knew that Dan Quayle had been likening himself to John Kennedy, so Lloyd Bentsen was able to prepare for that one beforehand, whereas the Reagan one was off the cuff. I mean, either one could happen tonight.
PRESTON: Right. Very spontaneous and it's funny, if you look at that clip, Dan Quayle did not look over at Lloyd Bentsen. He knew he was back on his heels and he just kept facing straight.
CUOMO: I think that was a bigger mistake than it was a plus for Lloyd Bentsen.
CAMEROTA: Why is that?
CUOMO: I remember, I grew up on that debate. Dukakis was running, my pop was close with Dukakis, and because when someone is talking to you, you rook at them, you show them respect, especially when you are the younger guy. And he looked paralyzed with fear by that and that really hurt him.
PRESTON: Right, and you know, there is something to be said tonight. Donald Trump, when he is getting attacked by his fellow candidates, doesn't like looking at them. So it will be interesting to see if that happens tonight.
CAMEROTA: The body language will be very interesting. Mark Preston, thanks so much. We'll be looking forward to being with you tonight and talking about all of this tomorrow as well.
CUOMO: I feel you don't look at me all the time.
CAMEROTA: What do you mean?
Be sure to tune in tonight to the first of two debates. Of course, it begins at 6:00 p.m. Eastern here and the main event with 11 candidates starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. It is going to be a great night and we will be here with you for it.
OK. "The Good Stuff," next. I'm looking at you.
CUOMO: (INAUDIBLE) right here.
[08:54:51] CAMEROTA: Now I am.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEREIRA: All right. A quick little "Good Stuff" for you. Florida police officer, Donny Jackson (ph), ordering breakfast at a coffee shop. A little guy offered to buy his meal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONNY JACKSON, FLORIDA POLICE OFFICER: I smiled and declined and his parents were like no, no, he really insists. He appreciates the job you guys do. I was totally caught off guard. I wasn't expecting it. I told him, I said, if I allow you to buy me breakfast, then you got to allow me to have a picture with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: That very same officer is a local hero who saved the lives of two young boys in a car accident. Officer Jackson has posted this photo on Facebook. He's hoping somebody will recognize this little fella and help them get in touch so he can say thank you in person.
Just the kind of "Good Stuff" we need today, guys.
CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh. That's wonderful, Michaela.
PEREIRA: Isn't that sweet?
CAMEROTA: What a great story. All right. If we haven't mentioned this yet, we do have a programming note for you because tomorrow morning we will have a very special early edition of NEW DAY. It will be live from the Reagan Presidential Library and will begin, not at 6:00 a.m., it will begain at 5:30 a.m. Eastern and we will be here for that.
CUOMO: I see you as a person of authority. I would like to buy you breakfast.
CAMEROTA: I accept.
PEREIRA: Take it.
CUOMO: Done.
CAMEROTA: Thank you.
CUOMO: Time for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello. I will pay, but I'm using Mick's wallet.
