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Trump Hits New High in New National Polls; Donald Trump Vs. The Media. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired December 15, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:30:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Here, it's like happy hour.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: It's just lighting up.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It is. It was great. Not so happy for Camerota. I had to bail her out this morning, Mick.

PEREIRA: Yes, I know that was going to happen.

CUOMO: Four hundred and fifty bucks. I appreciate it.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I'm going to try to do better tonight. All right.

CUOMO: Early Christmas present.

CAMEROTA: We'll be back with you shortly.

Well, the more controversy he stirs up, the higher his poll numbers go. Trump's commanding lead now an all-time high heading into the final Republican debate of the year.

CUOMO: Lots of interesting findings in the latest polls that help set the stage for tonight. We'll break down the numbers. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: The stage literally set here at the Venetian Hotel in Vegas, figuratively as well, because we have national polls now new ones, once again, not just showing that Trump is on top of the field but confirming why. His comments about banning Muslims criticized because of actual, legal and moral concerns, taps into common fear, shoots him up to 41 percent.

[06:35:06] That's the finding of an ABC/"Washington Post" poll. A new high and for sure, the first time nationally that Trump has received what they said was too high for his ceiling, 41 percent.

Let's discuss. CNN politics executive editor, Mr. Mark Preston.

CAMEROTA: Good morning.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Good morning.

CUOMO: We keep hearing he can't go any higher, this is what it is. It's a slice of the extreme, blah, blah, blah.

CAMEROTA: We need to stop saying that.

CUOMO: Forty-one percent. He taps into the fear that is much more widespread. Let's look at some of these numbers. Not only is the 41, I don't think it's the most impressive number. It's the opinion of Trump's Muslim ban. GOP, 59 percent, independents, 38 percent, saying they agree with his idea of a ban. That is the elixir.

PRESTON: Totally tapping into the anger, the frustration and the fear right now that a terrorist attack could happen, not in America but on your front door step right now. And it seems that whenever Donald Trump says something, as outrageous as it may sound, as crazy as it may be, he is connecting with people right now that are frustrated, that are upset, that are really looking forward to the future right now and they see no hope.

And Donald Trump, when he says, I'm going to make America great again, they see something in Donald Trump.

CUOMO: I want to go back to the poll we had up for just a second there that shows what happened since October, because it's really striking. So, Donald Trump at this new ceiling, he's out, 41 percent. That's from 28 percent that he had in October.

But look at the other candidates as well. Ted Cruz, who's garnering a lot of attention, he's gone from 10 percent to 14 percent. People consider that a surge from October to now. But Donald Trump outpaces that by a mile. Rubio, 6 percent to 10 percent.

Look at what's happened to Ben Carson, from 18 percent down to 9 percent.

PRESTON: Fallen off. Fallen off in many ways because, you know, Ben Carson whenever he's been interviewed by you all has been interviewed by any journalist, has been asked for specifics about any policy proposals, specifically foreign policy, cannot give a clear answer, cannot give specifics about how he would be able to deal with some of the hot spots. It's one of the most important issues.

So, while people look at Ben Carson and they say, we like Ben Carson, we like that he's wholesome, that he has our values, they don't like the fact that he doesn't have specifics about how to deal with the problem.

CUOMO: So, the same way that Chris Christie is proof the governor of New Jersey obviously, that it is never over until it's over, is an exception to that rule, what we're seeing with Carson and Fiorina. That they have peaked and they are going down and we will not see them at the previous peak.

PRESTON: It's interesting, because Chris Christie has kind of edged his way back up. In fact, if just a few hours, he'll be on the stage behind us.

CUOMO: On the main stage.

PRESTON: On the main stage, after being relegated to the undercard. So, someone like Chris Christie who has been fighting his way back in, who since survived Bridgegate and is looking for that lane right now.

When you look at how can you win the nomination right now -- there are three lanes right now. There's the Donald Trump lane, nobody else is in that lane. There's a social conservative lane, that's the Ted Cruz lane and there's the establishment lane. You have Marco Rubio, you have Chris Christie. And who we're not talking about right now?

CUOMO: Jeb Bush.

PRESTON: Jeb Bush. Correct.

CAMEROTA: But Carly Fiorina always does well in the debates. I mean, she might have a pop after this.

PRESTON: She could have a pop, but you know, her pops don't seem to be enough to really escalate her up to where she needs to be. Her high point was back in September when we were out at the Reagan Library when she climbed out and really got the attention of the Republican voters. But you know what? She was never able to gain momentum on that.

CAMEROTA: We're in Vegas. Let's talk about the odds, baby.

CUOMO: Ooh.

CAMEROTA: Vegas oddsmakers have talked about who will win this debate and beyond. Let's see what they say about this. OK. So, they give 3-1 -- for the GOP nomination. It's even bigger than who wins tonight. Trump gets 3-1, Bush 50-1.

PRESTON: If you're a betting person, why wouldn't you throw your money on Christie, 75-1, just throw a few dollars on that, why not?

CAMEROTA: Because it's illegal. That's why, Mark.

CUOMO: Good answer.

PRESTON: If you lived in Ireland, then you could make the bet.

CUOMO: Yes. We do have to tell you that.

You cannot bet on this, even in Vegas, you're not supposed to bet on the election. Don't do it. And it would be scary money at this point, because you never know what's going to happen.

CAMEROTA: So true. Tonight anything can change, Mark. Thank you.

CUOMO: It always does by the way. That's why we get so excited about these debates. Things are different after them. These are main events.

CAMEROTA: But they are unpredictable. So, coverage of tonight's GOP debate starts at 6:00 p.m. Eastern. That's the undercard debate, which is also always sometimes even more interesting. And it's followed by the main debate at 8:30.

CUOMO: All right. What is tonight supposed to be about? National security and terrorism. Those are the categories that Wolf Blitzer is going to test the candidates on at the Venetian in Las Vegas. That's why we're here.

CAMEROTA: Will one candidate emerge as the best qualified to keep Americans safe? So, we'll break that angle down, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:55] PEREIRA: Good to have you back with us here on NEW DAY.

The two main topics for tonight's CNN debate, national security and the war on terrorism. Who will shine? Who will struggle?

I want to discuss it all with CNN political analyst and editor in chief at "The Daily Beast", John Avlon, breaking down tonight the focus, how it could help or hurt candidates.

Good to have you with us.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you.

PEREIRA: Boy, this is a bit like quarterbacking before the game, Monday morning quarterbacking before the game.

AVLON: That's how we play ball.

PEREIRA: That's how we play ball. We look at the game before the game actually is played.

This is interesting. This is a new "Wall Street Journal"/NBC poll asking Americans what their priority should be for the federal government. It's interesting to see this poll, 40 percent.

John, I would argue when you see immigration, even job growth and creation, government spending, about a year ago, even six months ago, the numbers would have been a lot different.

AVLON: You don't need to argue it because it was true. This is definitely a San Bernardino/Paris effect. Now, it happens to be that the federal government's prime responsibility tends to be national security and foreign policy, particularly that of a president.

But the economy had been issue number one for years, certainly immigration, particularly in the Republican field, top of the list.

[06:45:04] But now you see that impact, terrorism is always one bad day away from being the number one issue in America. It's back at the top.

PEREIRA: Not necessarily voting with our hearts but our fear, right?

AVLON: Our fear, our rational concern. It's about existential issues instead of a pocketbook issue.

PEREIRA: So, we know. We've got quite a lineup. We've got nine on the big stage.

AVLON: Yes, we do.

PEREIRA: Of the lineup we have on the main debate stage, I want you got give me a couple candidates who you think have the most to gain from the big debate tonight.

AVLON: Most to gain, Chris Christie crawled his way back to the main stage. He fought his way back. He's now at number two in New Hampshire.

PEREIRA: Do you expect him to come out guns blazing.

AVLON: You know, he has a lot of swagger and confidence on foreign policy. He's definitely brings his experience as a U.S. attorney in the wake of 9/11. He's more of a George W. Bush figure, assertive, central government, interventionist, but he really could bring some swagger and fight his way back.

PEREIRA: OK. Who else?

AVLON: Look, Rand Paul always in an interesting position. He is the one not like the others. You know, his father was the original, the oh, gee anti-interventionist candidate. Now Rand Paul has to carry that mantle.

The question will be, does he try to triangulate or does he own his libertarian perspective?

PEREIRA: OK. Who has the most to lose tonight?

AVLON: Ben Carson. Look, Ben Carson has been in free fall. All the polls show it. Ted Cruz's bump largely comes out of Ben Carson's hide. And it's in part because when he was fighting for the one and two spot, he sounded so flat-footed and unconfident and saying things that are factually untrue about foreign policy. It's eroded a lot of credibility.

PEREIRA: Who else?

AVLON: The other person I'd say is Jeb Bush. Not so much, he has such a tough line to walk, because he inherits his brother's policies but he's got to make the case that, look, all these guys are inexperienced, don't have a fixed world view, I do. So, high stakes for Jeb Bush.

PEREIRA: I want to watch the debate with you. I think it would be fascinating.

I want to drill down on the issues. There are so many things each of the candidates have a strong stance on and we'll hear more of that night.

First of all, talking about their policy on ISIS, if we look at Ted Cruz. He believes carpet bombing ISIS territory. He suggests removing Assad. Pardon me -- he suggests ground troops should not be taken off the table and he does believe that arming the Kurds directly is important.

Well, we know that Rubio here also agrees expanding the air strikes, supporting international troops. He believes that Assad has to go. He also believes that arming the Sunnis, Kurds directly will be more effective, and the Donald.

AVLON: Bomb the hell out of them.

PEREIRA: Bomb the hell out of ISIS and keep the plan under wraps. He says his plan is so good, he doesn't need to tell anybody about it.

AVLON: This is Nixon's secret plan to win the war. Donald learned something.

These are fascinating snapshots of individuals. What's really interesting is that Marco Rubio representing that George W. Bush neocon tradition, more than anyone else on the stage, and yet, his broad strokes of his plan are not that different from Barack Obama. And, boy, would he hate to even hear that?

But the reality is President Obama has been forced into this issue in a way that's more similar, neocons criticized certainly the lack of advantage early on. Ted Cruz trying to triangulate, really doesn't have a follow-through policy and Donald Trump, as always, all authoritarian bluster.

PEREIRA: I want to see to this one because this is fascinating, a poll from the "Washington Post" and ABC News about Donald Trump's Muslim plan, 59 percent of Republicans support it. Is that surprising to you?

AVLON: It's disappointing. It's not necessarily surprising. What you've got is a party that's increasingly polarized, more dependent on its base. And therefore, the folks that might have been the outliers are a bigger and bigger percentage of the base. It accounts for Trump's rise. It accounts for Trump and Cruz being in the top tier and it accounts for this poll.

PEREIRA: We'll do post-show quarterbacking tomorrow.

AVLON: Let's do it.

PEREIRA: All right. Good to have you here, my man.

Alisyn and Chris, back to you in Las Vegas.

CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela, great, great stuff, Michaela. Great to see you and John there.

CUOMO: All right. Well, you just heard the breakdown there. And there's no question, no matter who is doing the analysis, the candidate that brings the controversy is Mr. Donald Trump.

But, look, he's resonating. He's resonating -- 59 percent of people say that they agree with him when it comes to the idea of banning Muslims. So does that make him outlandish or on the spot?

CAMEROTA: Well, part of what's working for him, Chris, is that his not so secret weapon, attacking the media. Hear what he said last night. We'll discuss it.

CUOMO: Was it about me?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:53:17] CAMEROTA: Welcome back, everyone. We are at the Venetian in Las Vegas. It is beautiful here and the stage is set behind us.

Donald Trump continues to build on his commanding lead, even this morning we're seeing it in polls. What is behind his staying power?

Let's ask, joining us is Kayleigh McEnany. She's the editor in chief and founder of "Political Prospect", and CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter, host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES".

Great to see you guys.

Kayleigh, if you could credit one thing to Donald Trump's staying power, what's behind it?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND FOUNDER, POLITICAL PROSPECT: His simplicity and his strength. You know, when he speaks, he really gets to the heart of voters. He has this kind of visceral passion.

But in addition, he simplifies things. You know, voters tune out when they hear a 12-point plan like what Hillary Clinton proposes. But when you say something in a succinct way, direct way, and in a strong way as Donald Trump has continually done, you stay.

(CROSSTALK)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: He learned that on "The Apprentice."

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: If I could credit one thing, it was "The Apprentice." He had more than ten years of this, of television training, reality show training. Increasingly, our elections are reality shows, and he knew that earlier than anybody.

CUOMO: Knowing how to do something, how to perform, still leaves open the issue of what you choose to focus on. Tonight, foreign policy, substance, deep, profound plans.

No. He'll go up there and he's going to say we're afraid, these guys are doing nothing about it, they're not strong enough, I am. His numbers go like that.

So, it's not about being simple. It's tapping into the right emotion of people, right?

MCENANY: Sure. It's executive capacity. And something that Donald Trump knows very well, having accumulated a $10 billion grand. He knows how to lead. When people look for a good foreign policy leader, that's what they look for. They look for executive capacity.

That's why someone like Ben Carson kind of fiddles away because he has a soft demeanor, whereas Donald Trump has the strength, and this executive capacity he's developed for years.

[06:55:05] CAMEROTA: Brian, one more thing that Donald Trump has done masterfully is attack the media, or make them an enemy. Last night, once again, he did it. So, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, we had a lot of news and it was all good. It never gets reported properly by these people back here.

Look at all those press.

(BOOS)

TRUMP: I've learned two things, more than anything else. How smart the people are and how bad and dishonest the press is, because it is really dishonest. It is really, really dishonest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: God, the crowd eats it up, Brian.

STELTER: Absolutely. I take two things away from that. First us versus them. Trump is very effective at creating the sense of we, the sense of community, and then the enemy. Sometimes, it's the media, sometimes it's radical Islam, sometimes it's a number of other enemies he'll describe.

The second thing I take away, it's pretty disingenuous. The media is giving him constant coverage. Some negative but some of it is positive. There are numerous news sources where you can find nothing but positive Donald Trump news nowadays.

And he knows that I think as well. He's a voracious consumer of the media. He knows what he's doing and saying.

But the reality is, we sometimes make it easy for those applause lines. We make it too easy to get booed, whether it's through hostile questions or negative coverage.

So, we see what he's doing there, has been effective so far. I'd like to think it's the kind of thing most people see through, that most people know we're trying our best every day as journalists.

CAMEROTA: Or do most people disagree with him? I mean --

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: The polls show most people distrust the media.

CUOMO: Most people agree with him, and, McEnany, I want your take on this, because I think what I see and the suggestion, believe it or not, I get a lot of these negative ads.

STELTER: I see it.

CUOMO: And it seems to me that people are not looking to be open to any ideas other than their own right now. They are holding firm and they want media that reinforces what they believe.

So if you're at CNN and you're in the testing business because we don't have the luxury of being owned by one partisan perspective, you are bait for these guys. You get someone like Trump who turns a weakness into a strength. You go after him, test him, you can poke holes in him, not when he says you're unfair.

MCENANY: Sure, but it needs to be a credible attack. Like the CNBC debate, for instance, they laid the groundwork for Ted Cruz who sat there very, very cautiously listening to every single attack on his fellow candidates, enumerated them and went after the moderators and it was a success.

When fair questions are asked, that can backfire and backfire on a candidate when you don't seem legitimate in your criticism.

CUOMO: But to Brian's point, the question that Ted Cruz was asked when he went on his diatribe, was a fiscal policy.

STELTER: It was a serious question.

CUOMO: It was a serious question and he ignored it and said you guys stink.

MCENANY: The aforementioned questions were not so serious. They were more character attacks. He took that opportunity to harp on the character attacks.

CUOMO: It worked.

CAMEROTA: He was waiting for his moments.

MCENANY: He was.

CAMEROTA: And Donald Trump has built-in boo lines. Look at all of you up there, with disdain, he looks at the cameras focused on him. It's so funny.

STELTER: And that's what's to keep in mind -- television networks spend lots of money on these debates. We go to great lengths to promote the debates. We're holding these debates so people can learn more about Trump and the other candidates.

It's easy to criticize and attack. But let's keep in mind the beneficial relationship that also exists between Trump and the press.

CUOMO: Also tonight, you got the captain up there, Wolf Blitzer. It's not going to be about people seeing any shortcomings in him, that's for sure. If there's anybody who's polished in the business and knows how to do this, it's Wolf Blitzer.

STELTER: And we haven't heard some of the hostility we heard before prior debate. I think that it's notable that in that period of time there was lots of complaining about tough questioning at debates, that's passed, right? That moment has passed. We're not hearing candidates complain about the debate process the way they were last month. That appeared weak on the part of the candidates.

CAMEROTA: OK, Brian, Kayleigh, thanks so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

CUOMO: A lot of news. It's a big night for the election. We have big headlines. Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I cannot imagine Donald Trump becoming president because he would never win. Hillary Clinton would clean him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have not seen one bad debate from Marco Rubio yet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marco Rubio, in particular, really needs to define Ted Cruz's foreign policy as weak and inconsistent.

CUOMO: Comments about Muslims -- wait for it -- helping Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cruz is much closer to him in Iowa. Will Trump feel like he has to go after him on a much bigger platform?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's going to be big. They're all coming after me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight's debate is the first for the GOP contenders since the Paris and San Bernardino terror attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People want to see a commander in chief.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The vast majority of people trying to come are people we just don't have information on.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. You're looking there at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Michaela is in New York, Chris and I are out here.

We're coming to you obviously live from Las Vegas.