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Republicans Extend Party Dominance in the South; New National Poll: Trump & Carson in Dead Heat; Trump Reacts to New Polls. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired November 04, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ISIS has given no proof it was responsible.

[07:00:05] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What could have happened to this plane that would have caused it to disintegrate in midair?

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

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY.

First, it was an important night for Republicans that could have implications for next fall. Kentucky electing a new Republican governor, only the second time that that has happened in the last 40 years. And the Virginia State Senate is still in GOP hands. And those are just two of the party's big wins last night.

CUOMO: There were also two notable ballot measures. Remember, you have the votes, and you also have these referenda. There are certainly victories for conservative voters in Houston, rejecting an equal rights ordinance and Ohio citizens rejecting legalization of marijuana.

Now, in just a few moments we're going to talk to Donald Trump. We're going to get his take on the polls, because they cut both ways for him. How he sees the race. How he sees last night and why he believes that today he is better for you than anybody else to be president of the United States.

We have complete coverage. Let's begin with John Berman, the breakdown of last night's results. What did you see, J.B.?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: There was a big upset in Kentucky and a big win for the Republicans there. Matt Bevin, elected governor of Kentucky, he will be just the second Republican governor in more than 40 years in that state. Democrats have held that office for a long, long time right now. He beat the attorney general, Democrat Jack Conway, fairly easily. That despite the fact that Conway was leading in almost all the polls going into election night.

A couple interesting dynamics here. Matt Bevin, a Tea Party favorite. You'll remember, he ran against Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, in a primary a year ago. He lost but won now. He'd been driving around the state in his gold Cadillac Escalade, trying to channel the outsider surge around the country right now. He might have tapped into it.

Also, a fierce opponent of Obamacare in a state, Kentucky, where Obamacare has been widely implemented. Thousands and thousands of people signed up on the Medicaid rolls there. It will be interesting to see how he approaches that issue now that he will be governor there.

Also, let me read you a tweet, Bevin crowing about the victory, "From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all who voted today. We are Kentucky."

The question is, is it more than just Kentucky right now? Because let me show you a map. Look at that. That's the entire south. All Republican governors in all of these states except for Virginia. Virginia, the lone holdout state with a Democratic governor. And Virginia, by the way, Democrats suffered a blow last night. They did not flip the state senate there. That is something they badly wanted.

Another race to tell you about. In Mississippi, the incumbent governor, Republican Phil Bryant, he won very easily. A couple of ballot measures that caught people's attention around the country.

Ohio, there was a measure to try to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use. Voters there voted no overwhelmingly; 64 percent said no. There was a weird dynamic going on here, though. Voters also had to decide whether or not there was a monopoly for those who grew it. Just a few farms in that state would be allowed to grow it, including one owned by boy band member Nick Lachey.

He tweeted last night, "While I may not agree, the people of Ohio have spoken. And that's the way it's supposed to work. Change takes time. #democracy #respect"

A bad night for Nick Lachey.

In Houston, an equal rights amendment that had been on the books, a city council ordinance, it was repealed. It was an ordinance that banned discrimination based on sex, gender, also sexual orientation and against transgender people. That measure was repealed, 61 percent to 39 percent. This became a battle over bathroom rights. Opponents of this said it would give the right for men to go into bathrooms and, perhaps, be predators of some kind. Again, that measure repealed -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Thanks for looking at all of those changes for us, John Berman.

Meanwhile, nearly a dead heat right now in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Donald Trump, who we're going to speak to in just a moment, holding onto a one-point lead over Dr. Ben Carson in a new Quinnipiac poll released last hour. That is a statistical tie.

Let's bring in Athena Jones on these new numbers, live from Washington, Athena. ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

This new poll with Trump and Carson neck and neck within the margin of error is more evidence that this race is changing after months of Trump being solidly in the lead.

And when you compare the numbers now to September, Trump's numbers are pretty much unchanged. But you can see that Carson and Ted Cruz have each gained six points, and Marco Rubio has jumped five points to third place.

Meanwhile, Jeb Bush is way down at 4 percent. He's lost six points in that time. And there's more bad news in this poll for Bush. He has the worst net unfavorability numbers of any candidate; 58 percent view him unfavorably. And just 25 percent have a favorable view.

Another interesting point to highlight here is that, while Trump is tied with Carson at the top, when all the candidates are matched up head to head, against Hillary Clinton, Trump is the only one of the top three Republican candidates that loses to her.

And there are more new numbers out this morning in the key early voting state of New Hampshire. The WBUR poll there shows Trump and Carson are at the top, and other candidates like Marco Rubio and Chris Christie are also making gains in that state. So there's a lot of talk -- a lot to talk about with all these numbers -- Chris.

CUOMO: And we have the man to talk to them about, Athena. Thanks for teeing us up there.

Joining us now, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. He's filing papers today to be on the New Hampshire ballot. Mr. Trump, did I get you out of bed? Are you ready to go?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via phone): No, you didn't get me out of bed. I'm ready to go. I'm leaving for New Hampshire very shortly. We're going to be filing our documents today. And that will be very exciting, actually.

CUOMO: All right. So you'll be on the ballot there. The polls show that you should expect to do well. The polls are all over the place, to be frank. The Quinnipiac, the national no show -- polls show you locked up with Carson, as you know. They see a big bump for Rubio and Cruz after the debate. People were expecting that. Now we see it.

There are also state polls that tell a different story in terms of your growth. Here it's a little stagnant on the national side, but in states like Georgia, South Carolina, you're seeing pops. Make the case for why you believe the polls say you're doing just fine.

TRUMP: One just came out in Florida, and I'm way ahead. Just came out a little while ago, and I'm way ahead. The polls I've done very well in.

You know, it's amazing. Last week we had ABC/"Washington Post," where I was way ahead in a national poll and that came out. And then CBS came out where I was slightly behind by, I guess, two points; and everybody thought it was bigger than the Benghazi story with Hillary Clinton. It was amazing.

And I said, "Well, what about the ABC/'Washington Post' poll?"

They said, "Oh, well, we didn't see that one." So you know, I think it's a pretty unfair playing field. But that's OK. Because ABC/"Washington Post" was a great poll for me. It came out just about at the same time as CBS.

CUOMO: Well...

TRUMP: And, you know, it's an incredible thing.

But I think I'm doing well in New Hampshire. We're doing really well -- you saw yesterday, we took the lead back in Iowa. We have a huge lead in Florida, a huge lead in South Carolina. So, you know, we continue to go on.

Look, the bottom line is it starts on February 1. So everybody will still -- we'll see what happens on February 1.

But you know, I'm getting the biggest crowds by far. Yesterday, other than Sara Murray didn't report it very well, because she never flips the camera to show the lines. I think she's absolutely terrible, your reporter. But we had a line that went down practically to Park Avenue from Trump Tower.

CUOMO: I drove past it.

TRUMP: It was an incredible scene there.

CUOMO: I drove past it...

TRUMP: Most people said they've never seen anything like it.

CUOMO: I saw the lines. The book's selling well.

TRUMP: And if you listen to Sara Murray, you'd think there was three people standing in the Atrium of Trump Tower.

CUOMO: No, no, no, no. That's not the way she did it.

TRUMP: That is the way -- that is the way she reported.

CUOMO: That's the way you took it.

TRUMP: No idea.

CUOMO: That's the way she took it. I understand.

TRUMP: She's a very unemotional person or she's not a very good reporter.

CUOMO: Let's talk -- let's talk about the tactics. First of all, I opened up your introduction and interpretation of the polls to give you your say. I didn't mention the Florida poll because our people in house don't like the methodology of that poll. So we're not using it until we can confirm the numbers. The other one...

TRUMP: But if somebody else were leading I guarantee you'd be using it.

CUOMO: No. Absolutely not. If the methodology isn't good, we don't use it. But let me...

TRUMP: I accept your word on that, Chris.

CUOMO: I appreciate it. And I take yours, as well. So when you use these tactics of negativity about the media, I get that they are working for you, but it's also my job to check them on you. You've lumped me in with what you had called the Sara Murrays. You know she's a top-notch reporter.

TRUMP: No. No, I don't know that. I don't see it. I don't see it.

CUOMO: Well, you said the same thing about me, too. Right? If I say something you don't like, you say...

TRUMP: You are top notch. I don't see it with Sara Murray.

CUOMO: All right.

TRUMP: Somebody else -- somebody -- she never reports on my crowd sizes. You know, we have the biggest crowds. She you know, shows her face and never scans the room and shows the tremendous crowds that I'm getting.

CUOMO: All right. Well, let's make it about you, not Sara Murray.

TRUMP: Maybe she's a low-key individual that doesn't believe in showing crowds.

CUOMO: She's one of...

TRUMP: I see other people, they have crowds that are tiny in comparison. And everybody shows their crowds; they never show mine.

CUOMO: Everybody is uniform in their reporting that you are certainly the biggest celebrity in the race. Nobody is questioning that. It's how it will translate into you as a leader, into you as president. That's what the testing is about.

However, these tactics have worked well for you. The question is will they continue to? Yesterday you were outspoken about how you thought Hillary Clinton had gotten a pass, only easy questions in the debate. Now we both know you tweeted you thought Anderson did a great job in the debate.

TRUMP: He did do a very good job. A terrific job.

CUOMO: He's the one asking the questions. So how did she not give good questions if he did a great job? TRUMP: They were tough questions, but they weren't tough like the

questions that we were getting. And the questions that I was getting, it wasn't even a question from John Harwood. He was making wise-guy statements with the questions.

CUOMO: That's one example from one guy.

TRUMP: ... person, by the way. And he asked him a question about me, and Governor Huckabee let him have it. I thought he did a great job. So the difference is, I thought Anderson Cooper did a great job, but comparison -- and there were tough enough questions, but they weren't tough like us. And ours weren't even questions. They were statements given over by the moderator.

CUOMO: I know. But Mr. Trump, can you imagine what would happen if he came out against Hillary Clinton? Here were his first questions. "Will you say anything to get elected? Do you change your political identity based on who you're talking to? Are you a progressive or a moderate?"

[07:10:10] He then looks at Bernie Sanders and says, "Is there anybody else here who's not a capitalist" and then starts to dictate what he says at the GOP made to go ad against him as a socialist who honeymooned in Russia.

These were heavy blows that Anderson brought. He tested them. He showed what you want to see in a debate, which is when I punch you in the nose, how do you respond? And this should be something you should embrace, right?

TRUMP: Well, the question is, did he talk about the e-mails in any great length? He asked Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders somehow gave her a pass. That was the end of...

CUOMO: That was Bernie, not Anderson Cooper. That was Bernie's judgment, not Coop's.

TRUMP: No, no. But did he ask -- did he go into that with Hillary during that question?

CUOMO: Sure he did. Sure. He did his job. But this is about you guys, not about the media.

TRUMP: I understand that. There were other things. I mean, there were a lot of things that could have been asked of Hillary that could have been very nasty, so nasty that I don't even want to bring them up. But there were many things he could have asked.

Now with that being said, I thought Anderson was very professional. I thought he was tough. But if you look at the questions that were asked of us, they were much tougher than that.

CUOMO: All right. So let's leave that as it is. The obvious takeaway from this...

TRUMP: They weren't even questions. They were statements. CUOMO: The obvious takeaway -- I think we'll both agree on this -- is

that you should do CNN as often as possible. Because it is obviously the fairest place doing the job at the highest level. Agreed?

TRUMP: And you get your best ratings.

CUOMO: Agreed, agreed. Let's move on. The book comes out. The reaction is huge. People are looking at it in there. They're buying it. They're buying multiple copies. And now we start to look inside.

There are two things I want to get your response on. There's this guy, Michael D'Antonio. I know that you were working with him in the beginning when he was doing his research. Then you cut him out. He tells a different story about how you got your start, the help you got from your family.

My question to you is this: What is wrong with acknowledging the help that your father, who's one of the legends in New York City in terms of building a better city? What's wrong with the fact that you had a successful family who helped you?

TRUMP: You know, my father was very, very proud of me. Michael D'Antonio wrote a third grade book. He's a guy I don't even know. I did two or three interviews with him, two or three little ones. Then I saw where he was going. I left him. I walked out of the room.

He worked with somebody from "People" magazine. He said my sister and my brother and people gave me a $30 million loan. They didn't have $30 million. When I started out, they didn't have 10 cents. They did well on their own, and they didn't have money. And my father never gave any money. When my father passed away he gave some, but by the time he had passed away, I had already built my business, frankly. And when my father passed away, who was a wonderful guy...

CUOMO: Yes.

TRUMP: Your father knew my father and liked him a lot.

CUOMO: He liked him. He respected him. He thought he was one of the giants of New York. Your father did the right thing for the right people. And that's why he was respected by politicians and others.

TRUMP: My father was -- he was a builder in Brooklyn and Queens. When my father -- when I went into Manhattan, my father didn't want me to go into Manhattan. My brothers and sisters didn't have money until my father passed away. Because when my father passed away, that's -- they got something from my father. Not nearly as big as people think. But they got something from my father. Whatever my father left, it was split up. Don't forget: I have two brothers, two sisters. Me and, you know, other people got things, OK.

CUOMO: Right. I don't understand...

TRUMP: Just so you understand, by the time it was all split up, then we had a thing called estate tax, which is a massive tax.

CUOMO: No question.

TRUMP: But by that time I had long built my company. But this guy D'Antonio said my brothers and my sisters gave $30 million. They didn't have $30 million, especially in those days. You know, you're talking about -- he was talking about the '70s and '80s. They didn't have any money.

CUOMO: Right. I just -- my point of the question is, I know -- as you know, I know your family's history very well. Your father is basically beyond reproach as far as I'm concerned in terms of what he did for the city. I just don't get it what's wrong with acknowledging that he helped you?

TRUMP: He used the same beauty parlor in Queens. And I think they really loved each other. My mother thought your mother was one of great ladies. And by the way, so do I.

CUOMO: Well, look, you certainly won my mother over. She's already going to give me a nasty talk this morning for asking too many questions. "You should have let Donald talk." But I'll deal with her when I get off with you. I'm just asking that question because it shows...

TRUMP: You just heard my answer. My answer was my father was totally supportive. I learned he was my mentor. He was my best friend. My father didn't have that kind of money where he could give that kind of money out. My father didn't want me to go into Manhattan.

And I took a small loan. And it was relative -- and when I say small, small compared to what I built. I mean, I have a net worth of much more than $10 billion. So anybody that can take a small amount of money and build up that kind of a net worth, and I'm not saying that -- and I also own some of the great assets of the world, including Turnberry in Scotland, and Doral in Miami, you know, hundreds and acres right in the middle of Miami. And Trump Tower and many other buildings all throughout.

[07:15:07] You know, the Bank of America building in San Francisco, a big chunk of that, 1290 FDR Ave (ph). I have some of the great real- estate assets.

And you know, so it's not just like they throw off "X" dollars. They throw off a lot. I have very little debt. You saw that, because when I did my filing. "Oh, well he'll never file, because..." But then I have all these people writing books about I got this, I got that. I got peanuts. Brooklyn wasn't worth -- I mean, I've heard numbers where I was given so much money. Brooklyn wasn't worth that kind of money at that time. You're talking about a long time ago.

When I built the Grand Hyatt Hotel, in fact, I got hired to put up a lot of the money. Because frankly, to put up that kind of money coming out of Brooklyn and Queens was impossible. I built the grand Hyatt Hotel.

CUOMO: I understand. I just wanted you to give a chance to correct the record. Because it was set up like you were -- you were moving away from your dad. I wanted to give you a chance to answer.

TRUMP: I have a cousin who calls me all the time. He sort of does, like, a family tree. And you said, "You know, Donald, someday you'll have to correct all these -- all these horrible books that are written. They're so wrong.

Like Wayne Barrett, a total dope. A total loser. He wrote stuff that is just incredible. He wrote if I had a lawyer -- and if the lawyer 20 years ago represented some mobster or something, immediately I became best friends with the mobster, because I had the same lawyer. Even though Steinbrenner had the same lawyer.

CUOMO: All right.

TRUMP: Newhouse had the same lawyer. Some of the biggest people in New York. But if I had a lawyer who, at some time during his career represented a mob guy, all of a sudden, I was friendly.

CUOMO: All right.

TRUMP: Wayne Barrett was one of the worst. You had so many bad reporters. And my cousin said, "You really have to do a book." This was not that book. Although it is a book talking about the assets and talking about debt and talking about all of the things that I've done so well. Because I'm trying to show that that's the kind of mindset we need to run the country, where we have 19 trillion in debt and we don't make good deals anymore.

CUOMO: I get the case that you're trying to make.

TRUMP: I will make great deals for this country. I'll get us out of debt, because I'm very good at it.

CUOMO: All right.

TRUMP: Nobody can do it like I do. By the way, Carson does not have the mentality to do that. He has no chance. And you look at Rubio, he's totally overrated. He's got debt on his credit cards.

CUOMO: Good. You made the segue -- you made the segue I need to make here, Mr. Trump.

TRUMP: Excuse me?

CUOMO: You made the segue that I needed to make. So thank you for that.

When you talk about your opponents, which you've been doing more and more recently, Ben Carson doesn't have the temperament to do what he does and have the experience. Marco Rubio, you talk about his personal finances. Jeb Bush, you talk about his energy.

Here's what they say in response, so you can respond. The Carson camp says this is genius what Donald Trump is saying, because he's using his own weakness as what is Dr. Ben Carson's actual strength. You're the one with the temperament issue. Anyone you disagree with, you call a loser; you say they stink. How good -- no matter how good a reporter they are, you say they're a terrible reporter if you don't like what they say. That you have never been in public office.

TRUMP: He says the same thing, by the way.

CUOMO: He says it differently than you, and he doesn't say the kinds of things that you would say, which often you back up on, but it still hurts in the moment.

TRUMP: Ben -- Ben will not be able to deal with China. He will not be able to deal with Iran. He will not be able to deal with any of the countries that are really abusing our country. They're abusing it.

CUOMO: What is the proof that you could?

TRUMP: He will not be able to deal with Japan.

CUOMO: What is the proof that you could?

TRUMP: That's not his thing. And frankly, when you talk about energy, he's got lower energy than Jeb Bush.

CUOMO: What does that mean, low energy?

TRUMP: He's not going to do anything.

CUOMO: What does that mean, low energy?

TRUMP: ... at all. I mean, I don't know where Ben comes from. But if Ben got in, you would say, "Oh, my God, we have ourselves a problem."

CUOMO: But Ben Carson -- here's what I'm saying.

TRUMP: I will tell you that right now.

CUOMO: Here's what I'm saying. I'm not here to advocate for them.

TRUMP: People can put them in -- I have the ultimate temperament. My temperament is great. You can't have a bad temperament and build a great company.

CUOMO: But all you do is attack those who disagree with you. You can't do that on the world stage.

TRUMP: I have 90 days left. I want to win. I have 90 days left. And I'm a different guy than Jeb Bush, who said, "Marco is terrific. He's my dear, dear friend. He's such a wonderful person."

And you know what I said? Three months ago I said, "They hate each other." And I turned out to be right.

CUOMO: They both say they don't hate each other. They both say they're doing what you're saying.

TRUMP: Excuse me, they hate each other. To be specific, they hate each other.

CUOMO: They both say they don't hate each other.

TRUMP: More than you will ever know how much they hate each other.

CUOMO: You do know better than they do, I guess.

TRUMP: Marco is extremely disloyal -- Marco was extremely disloyal to Jeb Bush, and everybody said Marco will never run, because without Jeb, Marco would have never been where he is. And Marco, frankly, I mean, when he ran, it was shocking to people, especially to the people of Florida. It was shocking that he ran.

CUOMO: but here's what...

TRUMP: Because of the loyalty factor.

CUOMO: Here's the criticism. Here's the case you need to make.

TRUMP: By the way, I think -- and I think those people are right. He should have been more respectful to Jeb Bush.

CUOMO: I think that he actually got a lot of points in the debate because he was so respectful that when there was this open attack, a naked attack by Bush about whether or not he goes and does the voting or not, how did Marco Rubio respond? With empathy, as a friend would. Certainly, if he'd said that to you, he would have gotten a different response.

TRUMP: The problem -- the problem is that he was weak in terms his attack and his counterattack. There was no counterattack.

CUOMO: Actually Marco Rubio didn't counter...

[07:20:11] TRUMP: What Jeb should have done is he should have then refuted what Marco had said, because Jeb had the better argument; but he was a bad messenger.

CUOMO: Well, maybe. That's your take. What I'm saying is this.

TRUMP: That's not my take. That's everybody's take.

CUOMO: It's not everybody's take. You don't know what everybody's take is. You only know what you say.

TRUMP: He had to counterattack. He attacked him, and that was fine. And his message was not as badly delivered as people said.

CUOMO: Here's what I'm saying.

TRUMP: He attacked -- the problem was Marco went on, talking about how wonderful it is that he didn't vote, which is wrong and other things. And then Jeb just stood there and didn't say anything.

CUOMO: All right. Here's the point. You cannot effectively think you're going to win to be president by just attacking the opponents all the time. It has to be what you are going to do, what is positive.

TRUMP: I've said what I'm going to do.

CUOMO: And how you will do it.

TRUMP: I've said what I'm going to do.

CUOMO: You say what you want to do.

TRUMP: I'll renegotiate deals where we're losing billions and trillions of dollars.

CUOMO: I know, but you have to do more. You have to say how you'll do it.

TRUMP: We'll have the finest trade deals. Right now we're suckers for the rest the world. I'm going to start immediately with renegotiating our trade deals. I'm going to build up our military. I'm going to take care of our vets. I'm going to get rid of Obamacare and replace it with something much better.

CUOMO: That all sounds good, but the devil is in the details.

TRUMP: I've said this 100 times. I mean, unfortunately, you have me followed by Sara Murray, and she doesn't know what she's doing.

CUOMO: Listen, Mr. Trump, you have to stop insulting people who do their job.

TRUMP: ... nor did she report the energy, to use another good word. You report the energy in the room. She stands there like, you know, there's 12 people in the room.

CUOMO: She is a good reporter. You know she's a good reporter. You were nice to her yesterday when you saw her at your book signing. But now you use this tactic of attacking her.

TRUMP: ... I saw her report the same night. She didn't even show the lines of people.

CUOMO: So what? She didn't show the lines. People know how many people were there. You tell everybody.

TRUMP: It stretched -- excuse me. It stretched all the way down to Madison Avenue from the door. Three and four abreast.

CUOMO: I get it. We know that there were big crowds.

TRUMP: She said there were three people standing there.

CUOMO: We get that there were big crowds. We cover it all the time. I get as much criticism for doing the interview with you, how I do it as I do for having you on the first place. Because they say you get so much attention.

TRUMP: I doubt that. I guarantee you this, if Sara Murray -- if there was nobody at the book signing, Sara Murray, she would have covered it. Then she would have showed all the empty space.

CUOMO: I don't think you have a good case that the media is mean to you.

TRUMP: And she gives very inaccurate stories.

CUOMO: I just don't think you have a good case. You get the most attention.

TRUMP: I don't know if that's because she's incompetent or she doesn't like me. Or maybe she's given instructions from up above. Who knows? I don't really care.

CUOMO: Listen, you know she's not getting instructions. You know you get the most attention.

TRUMP: I'm sure, yes, CNN is very straight, I'm sure.

CUOMO: You see now? You went from saying CNN is good, that we do a good job. Now you're taking a shot at us.

TRUMP: NO. I'm complaining about the reporter that covers me. I think she's terrible. That's fine.

CUOMO: All right. Let's talk about "Saturday Night Live." Let's -- let's change. I can't have you going after Sara Murray. I'm going to have to come find you after this.

TRUMP: You'll defend her later. I'm sure she'll defend herself in a very timid way.

CUOMO: Well, she's -- she's doing a good job.

TRUMP: No, she's not. She's not reporting accurately.

CUOMO: I'm telling you...

TRUMP: She's not reporting accurately.

CUOMO: She is reporting accurately. You just don't like the reporting.

TRUMP: ... these rooms. I go into rooms that 4,000, or 5,000, 6,000 people. When she reports it, you'd think there were five people there. And the people are going crazy, and they love -- we're going to make America great again. They go crazy.

And she stands there reporting, "Well, I'm here." Never talks about the crowds.

CUOMO: Mr. Trump...

TRUMP: The crowd size.

CUOMO: You cannot...

TRUMP: Usually she reports when everyone has left, and she's standing in an empty room.

CUOMO: All right.

TRUMP: That's not good reporting.

CUOMO: Mr. Trump, that's your perspective on it.

TRUMP: There has to be an agenda some place in CNN.

CUOMO: Listen, her agenda is truth, just like the rest of us. And if you don't like it, you attack us...

TRUMP: Let somebody else have her.

CUOMO: All right. Let's talk about "Saturday Night Live." Let's end it on a funny note.

So you're going there to do it. I was very surprised that they invited you, because I thought you were at war with them. Then all of a sudden, they wanted to have you on. You say it's because of ratings.

TRUMP: You're never at war when you get great ratings with a network. OK?

CUOMO: Well...

TRUMP: Nobody gets ratings like me. Do you think that you would have had 24 and 25 million people watching CNN and watching FOX...

CUOMO: No, I don't. I don't think the popularity -- I don't think the popularity is enough.

TRUMP: If Rubio was there, Rubio would have -- you would had two people watching.

CUOMO: I think that you help ratings. There's no question with it. I see it in my minute by minutes. It's one of the reasons that we get frustrated that you don't do everybody evenly. You like to go to the safe harbors where they give you a pass. You don't like to come on as much.

TRUMP: I like to go to places where they treat me fairly.

CUOMO: Well, do you think I treat you fairly?

TRUMP: I won't comment on that.

CUOMO: Come on.

TRUMP: I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about CNN.

CUOMO: All right. But I'm talking about -- I only do this one show.

TRUMP: I go to places where I get treated fairly.

CUOMO: Do I treat you fairly on NEW DAY?

TRUMP: I like you. And I like your treatment, and I do think you're fair. But your other people, I can tell you, do not.

All right. Well, look, that's your opinion. I'm just saying, you know, no matter how you feel about Michaela Pereira, I want you to know that I still invite you on NEW DAY whenever you want to come on. Because you're relevant. You're the front-runner. Let's talk about "SNL." What are we going to expect from you out of this? Why are you doing it?

TRUMP: Well, I think because Lorne Michaels -- actually, it started off as a skit. And when Lorne -- I said, "All right, I'll do it." And they took it up to Lorne Michaels, who's an amazing guy. He's run "Saturday Night Live" brilliantly for many years," and he's a friend of mine and all.

And he said, "Well, wait a minute, Donald's agreeing to do the skit. Would he do the whole thing?"

And they came back and he called me. He said, "Would you host 'Saturday Night Live'?"

And I said, "You know what? I would." Because it's an honor. You know, I did "60 Minutes" a few weeks ago where Putin was with me. We were stable mates, right? And they got tremendous ratings on that show. Booked the highest ratings. They did really well.

And then Lorne called, and he wanted me to do it. So you know that's -- to me hosting "Saturday Night Live," being on "60 Minutes" with a really good piece like they gave, I think that's, you know, their iconic things.

CUOMO: Ben Carson says that being president is a serious thing. Ben Carson says you shouldn't be joking around about becoming president. It's a serious endeavor. Should be treated seriously. And that goes to your tone, as well.

TRUMP: Ben Carson would have done it in two seconds if they asked him.

CUOMO: He says no.

TRUMP: If they asked him, nobody would watch. So they wouldn't ask him. Because they are about ratings, and they are about current culture. And they ask people. I saw that where Ben Carson said, "Oh, I'm too serious to do 'Saturday Night Live.' I'd never do it." I mean, give me a break. He would have done it in ten seconds, and he wouldn't do probably "60 Minutes" either, because it's not serious enough.

Ben Carson would have done "Saturday Night Live" in two seconds if they asked him. But they didn't ask him. They won't ask him, most likely. Maybe they will. Who knows? But they probably won't ask him, because it is ratings driven. And he's not going to get ratings. And frankly, if they asked him, he would have done it in two seconds.

So when I heard his statement about this is too serious, give me a break. He took a two-week tour of a book where he left the campaign in order to promote a book. So he'll leave the campaign in order to -- he announced, "I'm leaving the campaign to promote a book."

CUOMO: You've got a book out, too. He said he was just modifying his schedule.

TRUMP: If you look -- and if you look at "Saturday Night Live," probably every president we've had for many years has done "Saturday Night Live." So what Ben Carson said is a lot of bunk, and you know it.

CUOMO: Well, I'll take your criticism on it.

TRUMP: You don't have to take my criticism. You know it's true also. Every single major politician in this country probably for 30 years has done "Saturday Night Live." if they're invited. If they're invited. But to do it you have to be invited. And to the best of my knowledge, Ben Carson has not been invited and probably won't. But he would do it in two seconds.

CUOMO: All right. I look forward to watching you on Saturday night. It's past my bedtime. But I'll watch it, because I like to see what you do there. Thank you for coming on NEW DAY, thank you for not throwing me under the bus this morning. But don't do it on Twitter after this.

TRUMP: Thank you.

CUOMO: I'm going to be watching the Twitter feed, Mr. Trump. Good luck in New Hampshire today.

TRUMP: Very good. Thank you very much.

CUOMO: Take care.

PEREIRA: Really?

CUOMO: He does not like you.

PEREIRA: Really?

CUOMO: I'll tell you that right now.

PEREIRA: My, my, oh, my.

CUOMO: You were unfair.

PEREIRA: Really?

CUOMO: You were unfair, but everybody knows it. Although we do match.

CAMEROTA: Ahead... CUOMO: Did my mother call yet?

CAMEROTA: We'll have our reaction to Chris's interview with Donald Trump.

Why don't you let him talk more?

That's Chris's mother reaction.

CUOMO: That's what she's going to say.

CAMEROTA: We'll have Michael Smerconish here. We have a lot to talk about.

Meanwhile, we'll also get the latest clues for you in one of our top stories, and that is what brought down this Russian commercial airliner. We'll be right back.

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