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New Day

Tornadoes Cause Destruction Across Southwest and Midwest US; Interview with Bernie Sanders; More from the Campaign Trail. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

MYERS: On average, about 23 or 24, but not long-track major tornadoes like we saw yesterday. One of these storms may be 140 miles long on the ground. The weather service will be out to look at that today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(UNKNOWN): Holy (inaudible).

MYERS: This Christmas Eve morning, hundreds of people are waking up to utter devastation.

(UNKNOWN): Holy mackerel!

MYERS: The destruction caused by a deadly tornado outbreak cutting across the southwest and Midwest. The tornado claiming multiple lives including a 7-year-old boy, as residents desperately hid in their cars and homes.

(UNKNOWN): And by the time I got out of my car, I had a tree that was in my windshield.

MYERS: In Northern Mississippi, this tornado tore through a busy highway.

(UNKNOWN): Oh!

MYERS: Watch as the massive twister tosses this tractor trailer, as it barrels through traffic. Watch from this angle, from what appears to be the same semi. This driver, just feet away. The winds in Southwestern Tennessee roared up to 75 miles per hour as officials declared a state of emergency.

(UNKNOWN): The houses just exploded and they were buried in the rubble.

MYERS: Two people were killed east of Memphis, their bodies found under debris.

(UNKNOWN): We were in the house, we heard the wind picking up. We had 45 seconds and it just hit. We walked out of the storm shelter, everything was gone.

MYERS: An in Arkansas, an 18-year-old woman died when a tree fell through her house, toppled by the high winds and heavy rain. (UNKNOWN): Christmas is all about love and we're going to love through this.

MYERS: Some residents in Mississippi clinging on to what they say matters most, after losing everything this holiday season.

(UNKNOWN): It wasn't about the house. It was about my family and that was the most important thing to me.

MYERS: And guys, the storms are not over. In fact, a new tornado watch was just issued for Alabama and Georgia until 10 a.m. this morning. There are tornadoes on the ground near Cullman (ph), Alabama. You need to be taking cover immediately. There are more storms on the way to Atlanta, Georgia, no tornado warnings but there were some earlier, just wind damage and maybe some hail. It will continue all day. It will not be the same day as we had yesterday, with the F-3 and possibly F-4 tornadoes on the ground. But this severe weather is possible all the way up -- this is the future radar, what it will look like later on today, this severe weather -- at least the possibility, all the way up to Philadelphia.

CAMEROTA: Chad, thanks so much for those warnings. People need to keep it tuned here all day for more.

Meanwhile, nasty weather not the only thing complicating holiday travel. New security measures from the TSA could have an impact. Let's get right to CNN's Sara Sidner. She is live at New York's LaGuardia Airport. Sara, what are you seeing there?

SIDNER: The good news is that just about everything to the right of me on that board, when it's blue and white, it's all good. Thing are on time. People are getting out of here. There aren't many flights that have been delayed. Only a couple that we have seen canceled from arriving at the airport. But let's talk about what may complicate things a bit.

The Transportation Safety Administration, just in time for Christmas, changed its rules when it comes to those full body scans. You know those ones where you stand, you put your hands up. Some people have been opting out of that, and anyone has the chance to say, no, I don't want that, I want a pat-down. Now the TSA says look, not everyone is going to be allowed to have that pat-down just because they want it. There are going to be some passengers, they say no, you must go through the body scan.

They're doing it they say because they're in heightened security mode. They want to make sure they have the right amount of security and the right type of security. And these body scans detect things that you may not be able to detect by a pat-down.

And so, what you're hearing now is a little bit of confusion, because critics say this is going to confuse passengers, where some people are allowed to say no to the body scans. And others aren't allowed to say no. And it's a big ambiguous. But at this point in time, the TSA says, look, we're doing this for security and this is how it's go to be from now forward. Chris.

FRATES: All right. Thank you very much, appreciate that. A good Christmas Eve to you.

We have more news breaking overnight. A warning from the American, British and French embassies in China, concerning possible threats against westerners in Beijing around Christmas. We have CNN's Alexandra Field live in Seoul with details. Alexandra, what do we know?

FIELD: Hey, Chris, you can add now Australians to the list. In total, fourth Western embassies warning citizens in Beijing and also government employees to be vigilant, to be cautious. And warning them of potential threats to westerners in Sanlitun, that's a very popular shopping area in Beijing.

Certainly a place you would expect to be crowded and full of Westerners in these last hours before Christmas. They're not specifying the nature of the threats. They're not say were the intelligence comes from, or what kind of intelligence they have. But at the same time, Beijing has raised its alert level. They've deployed extra armed police officers to Sanlitun.

And they have also sent security officers to other shopping malls and super markets throughout the city; in raising the alert level, they made no mention of the warnings sent out by the embassies. They said it was only in response to the large holiday crowds. But certainly, the sight of those armed officers throughout the city, it is unusual during the holiday season, and frankly, it is unusual in Beijing during most times of the year.

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Yeah, absolutely. OK, Alexandra, thank you for that. Turning to politics now, Hillary Clinton still holds a commanding lead in the Democratic race for president at 50 percent, but a new CNN ROC poll shows challenger Bernie Sanders gaining on her. We're hear from Bernie Sanders in just a moment.

But first, let's bring in senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns with more on those new poll numbers and a new warning from Donald Trump.

Joe.

JOHNS: Good morning, Alisyn, on a key issue points that we asked questions about Hillary Clinton still holds a commanding when it comes to foreign policy, handling ISIS and gun policy. But speaking of the economy which Bernie Sanders has been hammering away on, he has gained some ground, about eight points, still trailing Clinton by the same margin.

In a head-to-head matchups against the Republicans, this is one of the most interesting things about the poll, seeing Hillary Clinton almost running neck and neck with all three of the top Republicans. Squeaking past Donald Trump, running two or three ticks behind both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Important to say all three match ups within the margin of error.

Meanwhile, the back and forth between Donald Trump and the former secretary of State continuing. Donald Trump pushing back against Mrs. Clinton's allegations of sexism. Tweeting, "Hillary, when you complain about a penchant for sexism, who are you referring to? I have great respect for women. Be careful." Then there was this tweet from Trump, quote, "Hillary," it said, "I really deplore the tone and inflammatory rhetoric of this campaign. I deplore the death and destruction she caused, stupidity."

So, more pushback from Trump in true Trump fashion, Chris.

FRATES: No Merry Christmas in any of that, Joe Johns, that's for sure. Appreciate it.

All right, so, we do have an early Christmas present for you. You who say you want more policy discussed. You want less insider sniping. So, we sat down by Senator Bernie Sanders. We talked polls, problems, solutions, it was the senator who eventually raised Donald Trump. Here's the first part of the discussion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: Senator Sanders, thank you for joining us on "New Day," as always.

SANDERS: My pleasure.

FRATES: So, the Santa Claus of political polls has brought you a gift, the highest number you've reached so far in the new CNN poll, 34 percent. Hillary down 8. You up 4. However, still a big gap. Hillary getting 50 percent, commanding lead. What do you make of it?

SANDERS: Well, Chris, what I make of it is, when we began this campaign, as you will recall, we were 3 percent, 5 percent in the polls. I think all of the pundits considered us a fringe candidacy.

Today, we, perhaps in the lead in New Hampshire, we're, I think closing in here in Iowa. And your poll seems to indicate we have national momentum. So, I think we have come a really long way in 7.5 months, and we're feeling really good. We have a tremendous volunteer network all over this country. We are raising significant sums of money from small individual contributions. So at this point, I have to tell you, we're feeling good.

FRATES: From a poll, we can glean that the big issue that seems to be holding you back with those potential voters is foreign policy. That's where Hillary Clinton has her biggest advantage. There is a perception that you do not have the stomach or the head for what it takes to beat ISIS. Your response, sir?

SANDERS: Well, let me assure all of the people in our country, that I have the stomach, I have the head. I think we have the approach. Not only to beat ISIS, but to crush ISIS and to destroy ISIS. And what my view is, is that we have got to learn a lesson from Iraq.

And that lesson is, it's not good enough just to be tough. We have got to be smart. And what that means is, we cannot do it alone. We cannot and should not be involved in perpetual warfare in the Middle East. What we need to do is bring together a grand coalition, led as King Abdullah of Jordan reminds us, by Muslim troops on the ground.

What we should do, along with the U.K., France and Russia and other major powers is give the Muslim nations on the ground the support they need from the air. We should be training troops. We should be doing special forces when necessary.

But ultimately, this war will be won. And ISIS will be destroyed with our support and other great nations' support, taking on ISIS on the ground with Muslim troops.

FRATES: Pushback is this talk of coalition has gone nowhere. There's been years of Democrats trying to do it. Haven't gotten it done. What needs to be done here at home is protect the homeland. These refugees that you want to let in willy-nilly, they can hurt Americans. They fuel Americans' fears. You have to be tougher and put up more restrictions immigration specifically of those refugees, because there are terrorists in their numbers.

SANDERS: Well, needless to say, I disagree with that assertion. What we want to do as we destroy ISIS, we do not want to give up the values that have made us the greatest country in the history of the world. Which, among other things, has been a beacon of hope for people in deep distress.

Obviously, it goes without saying that there must be a very, very strong vetting process. I think we have to do a better job at that. But I do not think that what America is about -- and I speak as somebody whose dad came to this country at the age of 17. I do not think what America is about is turning our backs on people in distress.

FRATES: Donald Trump says we must look twice at those coming across the southern border. There are bad people among them. His numbers go up. He says, "We should think about banning all Muslims, at least temporarily." His numbers go up. He points at people like you and Hillary Clinton and says, "They are weak insiders, and I am strong." And he is now the presumptive favorite in every poll and every metric we have.

Is America ready for someone like Donald Trump, and not ready for someone like you?

SANDERS: Well I think that the more than the American people understand what Trump stands for, which among other things is his assertion that wages in America are too high. He wants to, quote/unquote, "make America great." And here's a guy who's a billionaire who thinks that wages in America are too high. He thinks that we should not raise the minimum wage. He wants to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to his millionaire and billionaire friends. But I think creating and playing off the anxiety and the fears that the American people have, the fears about terrorism, the fears about our economy, and becoming a demagogue about that, and then trying to get us to hate Mexicans, or to hate Muslims, I think that is a strategy that is not what America is supposed to be about.

What I believe, in contrast to Mr. Trump, is that we bring our people together to focus on the real issues, which is the disappearing middle class, massive income and wealth inequality. A corrupt campaign finance system. The fact that we're not effectively addressing the international crisis of climate change. The fact that our kids can't afford to go to college. And moms and dads can't afford child care.

Those are the issues that we have to focus on. And we have to look at the greed. The greed of corporate America. The greed of Wall Street, which has had such a terrible impact on our economy and on millions of people. So, I'm trying to bring people together to take on the wealthy and powerful who have done so much to hurt the middle class. Trump is trying to play on fears and divide us up.

At the end of the day, I believe that our approach will win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now, we have a couple more parts of the interview.

CAMEROTA: Good.

CUOMO: What the senator just said will be tested. Because that only one perspective on what makes America better than the situation it's in right now.

Let's bring in our CNN political analysis Maggie Haberman, presidential campaign correspondent for the New York Times, and Mr. John Avlon editor-in-chief of the Daily Beast -- Beast.

So, just give us a little taste here, Maggie. What did I say, Daily Piece? That's certainly what it's not called, I'll tell you that right now.

(LAUGHTER)

What's your early take?

HABERMAN: My early take on Bernie Sanders is that, you know, we saw the poll numbers right before your interview with him. When you listen to him talk about the crisis involving ISIS, when you listen to him about terrorism. He does not sound like he has a depth of knowledge about it. It all comes back to his economic argument.

You saw him bring it back very hard at the end. This is what we've seen debate after debate, it's what we saw in the last two debates on the Democratic side. I think that there is -- look, Hillary Clinton is very knowledgeable on international fairs, on foreign policy, on international security. It's going to be tough for anybody to go against her, regardless of the problems with her record in terms of Libya and so forth. But Bernie sanders has not quite yet crossed that bar with foreign policy. And I just, I think that's still the case, at least from watching this part of the interview.

CAMEROTA: So, the idea that he doesn't have a depth of knowledge, that comes because he's not offering up specifics?

CUOMO: He's -- very, very few specifics. I mean, saying he's going to be very tough, he's going to learn from the Iraqi War by being tough and smart. But what does that mean? I mean, you know, that's the kind of bumper sticker policy that Bernie Sanders is generally not known for, he's known for more of a -- as more of a wall (ph).

But especially in the wake of Paris, as I think the frame of this election has shifted in many people's minds, Hillary Clinton's strength as a former secretary of State becomes clearer. And that poll bears out the fact that there say confidence gap on national security in ISIS. It makes sense in their resumes, and it's not being helped by anything he's offering.

AVLON: Well, it's not a battle of specifics right now in the war against ISIS. I mean, one of the frustrations in the GOP debates is they say that the tone should be different. But in terms of tactics, nobody is literally laying it out things that are different from what we are doing now.

CAMEROTA: Right, but now -- that gives an impression that he can't go do...

CUOMO: That's right. And I think politics is more about feel than about fact, very often. That's why, look, it seemed like a punch in the nose question, but the knock on Bernie Sanders is, you don't have the head or the stomach, that you don't want to fight, Maggie.

HABERMAN: Yes.

CUOMO: And that's where the American people's heads are right now, who's going to protect me?

HABERMAN: One of the interesting things in the debate that was just held was you saw Bernie Sanders apologize for this data breach that happened involving lists that both sides had. He apologized, his aide the day before literally ripped the Clinton campaign's heads off, essentially in a press conference. Sued the DNC. There's been this consistent sort of break between how far Bernie Sanders's aides want to go, and what they will say, and what Bernie Sanders himself will do.

And so, to your point about strength and about looking like you're willing to take on a fight, that has hurt Bernie Sanders over and over and over again. I think that he -- there is a degree to which I think he is just unwilling to throw the punch in how you are willing to take on your rival. Should that be the bar on how we judge these things on how you will be as president? Maybe not, but that is, in many ways, how people look at him.

AVLON: But I think the large part the reason he has become a populist cause is that, even if you disagree with him, he's a decent man.

CUOMO: Two million donors, by the way.

AVLON: Yeah. And I think that decency shines through, particularly at that moment.

CAMEROTA: I think that is exactly right. I agree -- I agree with that.

AVLON: It was the strongest moment of the debate. I think the problem is no one is going to mistake the Democratic socialist from Vermont for General George Patton. And there are moments of fear where you're looking for more of a Patton in that office. And I think that's part of what Trump is ripping off, all added to those specifics.

HABERMAN: Yeah, but what I would also say is it's important not to confuse the Democratic primary with the Republican primary.

AVLON: Definitely.

HABERMAN: And income inequality is a much bigger driver on the Democratic side.

CUOMO: All right. Don't waste all the good stuff.

HABERMAN: Sorry, sorry.

CAMEROTA: Wait for the commercial break. Speaking of, stick around, guys, we're going to bring you back momentarily.

CUOMO: We do have more with the senator. How would he make America? Specifically, what does he want to do, what regulations, what changes?

We'll get into it. What about this hacking with the information of the campaign? Is it as simple as we thought it was? And what is this other layer that Maggie was talking about?

The Bernie will answer for all of that.

CAMEROTA: Also, we'll have more on Trump's latest warning aimed at Hillary Clinton. Why is he telling to, quote, "Be careful?"

CUOMO: We call Trump the Donald, why shouldn't we call Sanders the Bernie?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not the first time he's demonstrated a, you know, penchant for sexism. And so, I'm not sure, again, anybody's surprised that he just keeping pushing the envelope.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CAMEROTA: Well, the feud between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump intensifying. Clinton leveling charges of sexism against Trump. And Trump issuing an ominous warning for Clinton.

We're joined again by our CNN political analysts, Maggie Haberman and John Avlon.

Let's talk about how we got here, Maggie. So, Trump started by saying, that what happened in the debate where Hillary Clinton had to take a bathroom break -- by the way, the men take breaks during the debate as well.

But he said it just was disgusting. He didn't want to think about it. I mean, who knows what that was about. Then he used a vulgar term. She there was responding to that. Then he, Donald Trump issued this tweet. Let me read it. It says, "Hillary, when you complain about, quote, "a penchant for sexism," who are you referring to? I have great respect for women. BE CAREFUL," in all caps.

That appears to be a veiled threat that he is going to bring up Bill Clinton.

CUOMO: Does it?

HABERMAN: I think if Donald Trump wants to bring that up, then he should, and then we'll cover it. But I think what Donald Trump is trying to do right now is hint at it, and hope that everyone else puts it in the ether and then talks about it.

CAMEROTA: His surrogates have talked about it. His surrogates that have come out have brought that up.

HABERMAN: They brought it up, and then they have been asked specifically, is this what you're referring to? And they have walked it back just a bit, so I'm not sure how willing...

CUOMO: Jeffrey Lord came on the show, and out of nowhere, Alisyn had to clue me in what he was even talking about.

HABERMAN: Really?

AVLON: Yeah.

CUOMO: He's like, "If we're going to talk about that kind of stuff, how about what happened in that room next to the oval office?"

HABERMAN: Well, that's not subtle. That is true.

CUOMO: But that was not subtle.

HABERMAN: But this is what we see with candidates in politics often, where you have the candidates not say something in their own voice, and then you have their aides or their surrogates go out and say. I think that it has a louder megaphone when it's Donald Trump himself doing it, so we will see what he will actually do on interviews or on Twitter, we're going to find out. AVLON: And one of the surreal things about this cycle is candidates taking to Twitter directly for a brush back benches. But I mean, take a step back here for a second. You know, it's almost like he didn't invite her to sit in the front row of his third wedding.

HABERMAN: That's right.

AVLON: You know, I mean, there say relationship between these two cats.

(CROSSTALK)

HABERMAN: Not any more. I don't...

AVLON: No, no. But there has been, they have been enormous...

CUOMO: They used to have mad love and now they have bad blood?

AVLON: Something like that, and I'll -- you know, we can do different Taylor Swift lyrics at different stages of the campaign. But that's just reality. To some extent this is all kabuki, right? This is business. It's not personal.

Now, it's going to get personal, and for Trump, everything is personal if he feels threatened, because that is what bullies do.

HABERMAN: That is exactly right.

AVLON: But let's just reality check the nature of this relationship, historically.

CAMEROTA: But is bringing up Bill Clinton fair game?

HABERMAN: Bill Clinton was a former president, and this happened nationally, so, yes, it's totally game if he's going to bring it up. That doesn't mean that it's going to play well with voters. There's a difference between fair game and how voters are going to receive it.

And I'm not -- Bill Clinton remains an incredibly popular figure at this point, that has happened in his post-presidency.

Can that come down a bit? Maybe, but Bill Clinton, it is interesting, you're seeing him a lot more on the trail next month. He's going to be used a lot in New Hampshire, especially. He is actually, in many ways, I think the campaign's antidote to Donald Trump. Donald Trump appeals to white working-class men.

That is also to whom Bill Clinton can appeal, and I think that's where the campaign is going.

CUOMO: There is also, you know, you want to be careful about threats if there are any glass houses, that's the danger of ratcheting things.

AVLON: Well, except he likes a full-throated battle, Trump, you know what I mean?

CUOMO: Sure.

AVLON: He kind of goes in there, whatever happens, happens. Here's -- here's my question. Hillary is talking to the Des Moines Register there. I'm assuming she knew that it was going to be taped. But maybe she was dealing with it as a print interview. The reason I bring that up is her tone. She's very low energy there, not to make, you know, make a Trump (inaudible).

CAMEROTA: We're coining a phrase, almost. We should use that.

AVLON: Seriously.

CUOMO: But she is low energy. She seems to be trying to deal with this, but not really deal with it. And that's my question. Do you think she's concerned about doing this too soon with Trump?

Because, you know, Hillary has been keeping a low profile in this election as much as she can.

AVLON: Yeah, I mean it's -- it's Christmas Eve. The greatest Christmas gift that Hillary Clinton has gotten at the course of 2015 is named Donald Trump.

CUOMO: Why?

HABERMAN: I totally agree.

AVLON: It's distracted, it has deflected. And the Clintons always...

CUOMO: It doesn't highlight her shortcomings? She's upside down, positive, negative, also.

HABERMAN: No, no, no, who doesn't know who she is, though? She is completely defined, nationally.

AVLON: Exactly. Yeah.

HABERMAN: Everybody has an opinion about her.

AVLON: Yeah, and I think, you know, not only that, but the Clintons have always been blessed by enemies who overreach.

HABERMAN: Totally. Totally agree.

AVLON: And they always do best when the far right seems like they're going insane.

HABERMAN: Totally, totally agree.

CAMEROTA: Let's look at the matchups. Because this is interesting right now, nationally. I mean, obviously, things will change during the primaries. But the matchups are sort of interesting, Hillary Clinton against the top -- the leading GOP rivals. Only with Trump, at the moment, is she victorious.

She actually loses slightly to Rubio and Ted Cruz. That's interesting to look at, Maggie, I mean, because Trump so dominant in the GOP field, yet he loses to Killington in the matchup.

HABERMAN: The cringing and freakout from Republican donors and elites every time Donald Trump says something has been going on for six months, basically, since he's been in the race.

Remember, the race began with this very strange conversation, strangely described, depending on who you talk to between Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman, and Donald Trump, where Reince said something like, can you just tone it down a bit about Hispanics?

And Trump then, you know, wailed on him very hard.

AVLON: Toned it up.

HABERMAN: Toned it up, exactly. You saw Lindsey Graham hit him for his tone; Donald Trump read his cell phone number aloud on stage. So, this has been going on for a very, very long time. That does have an effect on general election voters.

And it -- you know, look, we're not really going to know what the matchup is going to be until the fall, because once it is actually a side-by-side, then voters can compare.

CUOMO: It's funny, John Avlon, you hear, we hear from the same universe of people all the time, how many GOP insider strategist pollsters keep making the point that Maggie just did? You know, it's very early, we have no idea who the nominee is going to be?

You know, which de-message (ph) does that send?

AVLON: Well -- it's December 24th, folks.

CUOMO: And look, they're right. Once we go into Iowa and the primaries begin, we start covering it differently, but...

AVLON: But you know, but there's one thing to dismiss polls conducted in August. It's another thing to say, on the eve of the new year, that it no longer is relevant and that normal gravity is going to place.

And look, if the quote/unquote elites are people who care about winning a general election, that's a fundamental mis-number. You know, you need to reach out beyond your base. The dynamic of the Republican Party is all about playing your base within a shrinking base. And you've got the Trump faction taking up, you know, almost two-thirds.

So, let's be real about what that means, if they want to win a general election.

HABERMAN: I like it, I like it. That's good.

CAMEROTA: Maggie, John, Merry Christmas!

HABERMAN: Merry Christmas. Good to see you guys. CAMEROTA: Merry Christmas.

CUOMO: You called Clinton Killington because you are going up north.

CAMEROTA: Did I?

CUOMO: Yes, you did. And one of him, watch your back...

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Re-rack that tape.

CUOMO: We were doing those national matchups, you know, it's very interesting. You know who does better against Trump and all those guys than Hillary Clinton? Bernie Sanders in a lot of cases. Why?

We have more of the discussion with Sanders, and we test his ideas about what he thinks will make this country better. Stay with us.

You did. You said Killington.

CAMEROTA: I don't believe it. All right. Meanwhile, another stabbing...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)