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Sarah Palin Weighs In On 2016 GOP Field; Clinton To Discuss Plan To Defeat ISIS; Poll: Terrorism Most Important Issue To Voters. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired December 15, 2015 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": -- Trump versus Cruz. It looks as of right now that that's what it is headed towards. Between these two men, I know you think they're both strong and able leaders, whom would you pick?
SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: I'm glad you prefaced with I know you think they're both strong and both good. You know what my answer is going to be. I'm not going to pick one right now. What a nice problem to have, if it came down to Cruz and Trump.
That's a good problem for voters to have, because we know that, as you say, they are both strong and very decisive and someone who would take the initiative. That is what we need today and both those candidates fit that bill.
TAPPER: Here's the word association, one or two words.
PALIN: Good.
TAPPER: I'm not going to hold you to one each. OK, ready? Obama.
PALIN: Warned you.
TAPPER: Hillary.
PALIN: Nyquil.
TAPPER: Nyquil she said. Bernie.
PALIN: Crazy cat that lives up in the attic.
TAPPER: Jeb.
PALIN: George.
TAPPER: Trump.
PALIN: Gold plated everything.
TAPPER: Cruz.
PALIN: Control. Cruz control. TAPPER: Rubio.
PALIN: Robotic.
TAPPER: Robotic for Rubio. Kasich.
PALIN: State rights.
TAPPER: Christie.
PALIN: Embracing Obama. Remember this is word association. You say the first thing that pops into your head.
TAPPER: You're being honest.
PALIN: I am.
TAPPER: I appreciate it. O'Malley.
PALIN: Biceps.
TAPPER: First thing that popped into your mind?
PALIN: Yes.
TAPPER: Media.
PALIN: Gosh. Let me find the words.
TAPPER: I think that was it. A growl and then the word, God.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: That's a fun game. I mean, so much to dive into there. Hillary, Nyquil? What's that?
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I was there. And I actually sat with her husband, Todd and her daughter, Willow. It was actually a great night and a great conversation, really, some great funny moments.
I think what she's doing is you've heard recently Donald Trump start to raise the idea that Hillary doesn't have the stamina for this campaign and the presidency. I think she was trying to sort of harness that message.
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hillary low "t."
CUPP: I didn't call her a man.
JONES: Low "t" equivalent.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Low "e."
JONES: Whatever it is. It's early. I haven't really seen her for a while. It's really interesting what she kind of maybe set the template for Trump, very emotional, bizarre syntax, not quite sure where the ideas are. Somehow you get the impression she's strong and going into a certain direction.
I think in some ways Trump is like that. For people who don't -- who look at that as inkblot test and say, good, they're very inspired by a Palin, inspired by a Trump, for people who look at that inkblot test and say what the heck, very alarmed.
CUOMO: Is that a little bit of wishful thinking from the left there in terms of how people see Trump. I never hear him compared to Sarah Palin.
CUPP: She was asked that last night, she was asked if she feels responsible for setting the table for Trump. She said she didn't think so. She talked a lot about how she came up. Her sort of hostility for the media is right here.
CAMEROTA: That's it. I think there are similarities. They speak in headlines and then when pressed fill in a few of the specifics.
KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Ben is right about her setting the stage and being a precursor to Donald Trump. Issues are very important in campaigns. But for voters, they're not really driven a whole lot by the issue specifics. Instead, they're driven by a attributes and how you talk about the issues.
Sarah Palin, like Donald Trump, is somebody who was able to capture feelings of anxiety. She's articulated in 2008 the way that Donald Trump is articulating now. This desire for some inside the Republican Party to have this clash of political civilizations and that is -- that's what we're seeing, I think right now.
CUOMO: I feel like we're selling him short, though. I mean, Sarah Palin made her mark.
MADDEN: Yes.
CUOMO: She would never get the kind of numbers that he's getting in an election.
CUPP: She had 80 percent, 90 percent approval in Alaska. She actually did.
JONES: We're talking nationally.
[07:35:01]CUOMO: I'm saying something different. No question she was popular. We get why McCain picked her, though many would argue that wound up being the wrong move for him. Donald Trump is in a different echelon.
CUPP: Than anyone else.
CAMEROTA: Stylistically there are similarities.
MADDEN: But this big shift that we have in the party that was about national security conservatism, economic conservatism to a party that is now celebrating some candidates who have a bit more of a celebrity profile, who have -- who have a premium on relatability with the average person.
JONES: I remember -- now everybody says Sarah Palin, she's a joke. I remember when they picked her. We were terrified because she had that ability to relate to people, electrify crowds.
CAMEROTA: Absolutely.
JONES: It wasn't until "Saturday Night Live" got ahold of her that we started breathing a sigh of relief. That ability to electrify a right wing audience --
CUPP: She had conservative credibility. She was a Republican for years. She was a Republican governor. She had conservative ideas.
JONES: Grassroots conservative. Grassroots conservative.
CUPP: Conservatives understand her language. Donald Trump doesn't seem to have much affection for the conservative.
CUOMO: We're in a different place in our collective culture. The fear, the anger, the anxiety that we're seeing right now that can be channeled. It was different in 2000.
MADDEN: The challenge for Republicans is that we risk being defined as a party for what we're against, not what we're for.
CAMEROTA: Panel, thank you so much for your insight.
MADDEN: Great to be with you.
CAMEROTA: We'll be relying on you all day. Our coverage of tonight's CNN GOP debate, starting at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, that's the undercard debate, which is often more interesting, followed by the main debate at 8:30. Tune in for both.
CUOMO: I'm telling you, you cannot exaggerate the significance of these big debates. The race changes every time we have one. The heavyweights are all ready to do battle. The stage is right behind us. There isn't a person there but it will be tonight. Someone who will be here in terms of presence is Hillary Clinton. People are going to talk about her tonight.
CAMEROTA: Who has the most to gain and lose tonight? Who has the most to gain and lose in reference to going after Hillary? We will debate and you will decide. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you back with us here on NEW DAY. Obviously we'll have more of our coverage of tonight's CNN GOP debate in just a few moments. First, though, let's take a look at your other headlines.
President Obama is trying to reassure nervous Americans that the U.S. is attacking ISIS harder than ever. He met with his national security team and is promising to wipe out the terror group. He claims ISIS has lost 40 percent of the territory it once held in Iraq. Thanks to nearly 4,000 coalition air strikes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: November we dropped more bombs on ISIL targets than any other month since this campaign started. We're also taking out ISIL leaders, commanders and killers, one by one. The point is ISIL leaders cannot hide and our next message to them is simple, you are next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: The president also announced he's sending Defense Secretary Ash Carter to the Middle East to further assess America's anti-ISIS strategy.
We're now learning more about social media posts made by the female San Bernardino terrorist promoting violent jihad. Officials tell CNN that Tashfeen Malik made comments under a pseudonym and she used strict privacy settings that only a small group of friends could see.
They say because of that her posts would not have been discovered even if U.S. authorities reviewing her visa application had checked her social media accounts.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is preparing for a tough day of diplomacy in Moscow. Kerry already met with the Russian foreign minister. He is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this morning. They will discuss Syria's bloody civil war and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's role in a political transition.
Back here at home, the fate of the first of six Baltimore police officers charged over the death of Freddie Gray now in the hands of a jury. They'll return to deliberations in about an hour's time.
Officer William Porter is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second degree assault, misconduct and reckless endangerment charges. He faces a maximum ten-year prison sentence. You'll recall Gray died after suffering a spinal cord injury while in police custody back in April.
Back to Chris and Alison. Chris, how did your blue man group audition go yesterday? That's what that whole ruse was about, right?
CUOMO: Once again, I think it's a fair standard that they employ, but I had to make the choice and stay with what I love which is journalism. I'm going to turn down the offer.
CAMEROTA: Keep working on the thing you do with the ping-pong balls. I think you'll get in next time.
Meanwhile, the Republican candidates expected to take jabs at each other during tonight's debate and of course, Hillary Clinton. She later today is laying out her plan to wipe out ISIS.
Let's talk about all of it with our CNN political contributors, commentators, Dan Pfeiffer and Paul Begala. Dan is a former senior adviser to President Obama. Paul is a Democratic strategist and a senior adviser for a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC. Gentlemen, great to see you.
Let's talk about the timing of Hillary Clinton's speech today about her plans for ISIS. Forget the GOP reaction. That will happen tonight for a moment. Is this her moment to draw a line between her and the president?
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No. I think it's more drawing a line between her and the men and woman on the stage tonight. She lost to Barack Obama. One reason, she was too hawkish. The party has now come around to a slightly more hawkish position.
No one has ever come up to me and say, you know, I worry she's not strong enough ever. She can set this, most women frankly start with a disadvantage on strength and most Democrats do. She doesn't have either of those problems.
[07:45:04]She upholds everybody on that stage. That's an advantage for her and they'll have to answer to her tonight.
CUOMO: Let's take the other side on that. You guys are in a hole when it comes to this issue. The big buzz words, weak versus strong. That's what's working for Trump. The current administration, secretary included as part of it, weak.
They don't understand the fear that you're being too nice about people who want to kill us. These are narratives that are hurting you. You'll hear about them tonight. What is the counter?
DAN PFEIFFER, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: The challenge for all these candidates up there tonight is going to be to lay out specifically what they would do differently. It's not enough to say I will destroy ISIS more.
CUOMO: Why isn't it? Destroying ISIS, you say you will but you don't do it.
PFEIFFER: That's not a real position. That's rhetoric. That may be enough to get applause lines in the earliest part of the election but to actually win the election. They'll have to lay out a specific plan.
I think it's important and smart that Hillary Clinton is doing that today because in large part, you're going to have a large audience tonight, people who will hear just Republicans attacking, unfiltered Hillary Clinton until they ride the wave.
CAMEROTA: So Paul, do you think that tonight on stage, the GOP rivals will go after Trump or mostly Hillary?
BEGALA: I think mostly Hillary. In fact, not that I'm advising, if I were advising them, I'd say you have to attack Hillary. Everybody in the party hates Hillary. You can't out-Hillary bash the person next to you. They need a plausible plan on ISIS. I agree with Dan.
They're trying to stir up fear right now because it consolidates their base, gets them votes. At some point people will want to hear, OK, I'm afraid. What are you going to do about it?
CUOMO: Who's the last person who won with a plan? President Obama got in there with one word, change, right? He didn't articulate the plan.
BEGALA: I tell you what. The guy published a 200-page book putting people first. It was all of his plans. It was a number one best seller.
CUOMO: Nobody wins on a plan.
BEGALA: Two landslides.
CUOMO: I didn't say he didn't win. I said he didn't win on a plan. Hillary Clinton comes tonight and gives a brilliant speech and it's totally fundamentally different than what's going on right now. Where was it when we needed it when she was secretary of state? Isn't she in a box?
PFEIFFER: ISIS is a challenging situation for everyone involved. It's challenging. It's also challenging politically. As Paul pointed out, this was clear in 2008. There are divisions in the party on how to deal with national security. There are divisions tonight as well. This is a tricky situation. It will play out the course of the campaign.
Hillary Clinton is doing the right thing, defending the steps she's taking and laying out what she would do going forward. Some it will be what President Obama is doing, some of it will be different.
BEGALA: Where Trump has hurt himself and his party in terms of the general election is this nonsense about barring all Muslims --
CUOMO: How do you know he's hurt himself?
BEGALA: I can read polls.
CUOMO: It's 38 percent of independents.
BEGALA: It's 60 percent oppose it, 60 percent of independents oppose it. Barack Obama lost independents but still won the election. They have history on their side. That's a good point.
When Mr. Trump is proposing something, that's six out of ten independents, who are pretty conservative oppose, you can't win with that. I've never heard of anything on terrorism that 60 percent of independents opposed that we finally found where the line is.
CUOMO: You let them double-team me the entire time.
CAMEROTA: It was interesting. It was fascinating to hear what they had to say, Paul.
PFEIFFER: Thank you, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: You're welcome, guys. Thanks so much, great to see you. Looking forward to all your coverage.
CUOMO: Don't lean back too far, Begala. Coverage of the CNN debate starts at 6:00 p.m. eastern. That's the first debate, we're calling it the undercard and the main debate at 8:30.
CAMEROTA: Which Republican is best positioned to win a debate on national security and terrorism? We've been talking about that. Which GOP hopeful has the best plan? We'll dig into that, ahead.
CUOMO: Nobody wins on plans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:53:34]
CUOMO: Doesn't matter the party, doesn't matter the person. The concern is obvious right now in America, at this moment it is the fear of attacks from within and without, terrorism, the top issue on the minds of American voters heading into the debate.
No question about it. Now, this is the first debate after the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. How will the field size up on national security?
Joining us now is someone who can own this issue for you, CNN national security commentator, Mike Rogers. It is that theme tonight. We've been having an ongoing debate with our analysts his morning. They are saying you need a plan. You need a plan. You are hearing that more from the lefties than the GOP. What works in this forum tonight?
MIKE ROGERS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY COMMENTATOR: I think exactly the way Donald Trump has attracted voters is through strength. You don't get much of a plan. Bombing the snot out of them is a tactic. Not a plan.
So I don't think you're going to see a broad laid out plan this evening. I think people are going to try to find themselves in a position to say I have the strength to deal with ISIS. It is pretty hard to lay out a plan on a very complicated issue.
CAMEROTA: Let me show the latest polling. This is from NBC/"Wall Street Journal." This was out yesterday in terms of people's top priorities right now. Number one concern is national security and terrorism. It has leapfrogged over the economy, over government spending that used to be the battle cry of Republicans.
[07:55:06]So when that is your number one priority as a voter, don't you want to hear more than just bomb the heck out of them?
ROGERS: I certainly do, but the candidates have to appeal to the voter in a very sort segment. I think this is why these plans of I will bomb the snot out of them. I will be tougher on ISIS than anyone else. You don't have a lot of time to go in and how do you do that.
You might find differences where Rubio and Cruz go at it on the surveillance side and how that's changed, but you won't see big layed out plans. Maybe quick snaps of building a coalition, you might get some of that.
But these things get really complicated in a hurry, as we have seen and it takes a thoughtful approach to it. But what I think voters are identifying with is where the president has been saying everything's fine, they see it's not fine.
I saw a series of attacks that it's not fine including the biggest since 9/11 in the United States. They know something is wrong so I think that is why they are attracted to this other message.
And here is the key. A candidate who can I think attract those Trump voters in a way that isn't offensive I think is going to do very well in the weeks ahead.
CUOMO: Take a step further down that road. Remember everybody, Mike Rogers isn't just national security. He was in the House for a long time. He was in the business of how to fight this war on the intelligence side. He was chairman of the committee.
So as someone with the insight of what works and what doesn't, how do they distinguish themselves tonight? If they're all saying we got to be strong. Hillary's weak. I'm strong. How do they break away from you?
ROGERS: You have to find that line that captures people's attention in that minute answer.
CUOMO: What do you think it could be?
ROGERS: For me it's different. I don't like the bumper sticker approach to national security. I think it is dangerous. But we're in that political campaign and that's what you do in a political campaign.
CUOMO: Ban all Muslims, 60 percent of the GOP says they support 38 percent of independents.
ROGERS: I have a theory on this so bear with me.
CAMEROTA: Go ahead. We're all ears.
ROGERS: Voters are looking for something. I think if you want back and went through a discussion in a forum and had longer opportunity to talk about it. Most of those folks would say yes it is probably not the right thing to do, but we've got to do something.
And just like voters attracted to a candidate they don't always agree with, but they think, well, he has the attributes or she has the attributes of the president or of a congressman or a senator. I think that is what they were looking for.
And I think they were attracted to not necessarily his message on that issue, but the fact that he was willing to stand up and say listen, I'm going to do something about it, and here is what I'm going to. I think people are attracted to that action, not necessarily the event in itself.
CAMEROTA: You are steeped in the specifics from all of your expertise. Do you hear distinctions between the candidates? Do you think they have laid out enough of their policy?
ROGERS: We've done these forums in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and yes, there are some distinctions. There are a lot of similarities, but there are a lot of distinctions in the approach to it.
So I think what you're going to find tonight is you will see they find those differences and go at it. You know the common them I think that is building around how you go after ISIS, you have to a multi-pronged approach that includes a bit of diplomacy and lots of muscular military action, not in the big boots kind of way.
So everybody is going to try to find that nuanced approach and then they are going to I think try to exploit that one difference. You will see that with Rubio and Cruz and Christie and others.
And Christie, I think is going to probably be smart tonigh to tout his U.S. attorney credentials that he's been in this fight before he's taken action on this before, and I think that's what voters want to see.
Who do I trust? Who do I trust to walk in because the biggest issue facing these candidates on January 21st is going to be national security, it's not going to be a domestic issue, and that is not by their choice, it is by the world's choice.
CAMEROTA: Absolutely. Mike Rogers, thank you, always great to get your expertise. We are following a lot of news this morning. Let's get right to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a little over a month since that last Republican debate, but so much has changed.
CUOMO: National polls have Trump surging to all-time highs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's connecting with people right now who are frustrated.
TRUMP: The other candidates should be thankful. I'm giving them a chance to make total fools of themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the two killers in San Bernardino was an American citizen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: National security is the focus of this debate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are looking for strength. Trump is playing that role.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's tapped into the compassion of the American conservatives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Just hours ago, Alisyn --
