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New Day

Fire Engulfs Dubai High-Rise Hotel; What to Expect This Election Year; Global Outlook for 2016; Clemson, Alabama Advance to National Title Game; What to Expect This Election Year. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired January 01, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

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JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: The gunman went into the offices during the editorial meeting...

[07:02:28] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police raids linked to the Paris attacks are underway in Belgium.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Active shooter in San Bernardino, California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ISIL wants to frame this as a war between the United States and Islam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable scenes of lawlessness in Baltimore.

MARILYN MOSBY, STATE'S ATTORNEY, CITY OF BALTIMORE: To the youth of this city, I will seek justice on your behalf.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another tape the city of Chicago does not want you to see.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're bringing drugs. They're rapists.

Complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I cannot wait to stand on the debate stage with Hillary Clinton.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails!

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've lost more sleep than all of you put together.

KIM DAVIS, COUNTY CLERK, ROWAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY: You are a strong people!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pope of the Holy Sea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there's anything true about Pope Francis, he is close to the people.

POPE FRANCIS, LEADER OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: God bless America.

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Happy new year. Welcome to this special edition of NEW DAY. Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, Michaela Pereira, all here for you. We're going to look at all that 2016 has to offer. Trump, will he continue on the road to becoming the Republican nominee? What will happen on the Democrat side? Could there be any shake-ups there?

CAMEROTA: And could this be the year of incredible medical breakthroughs? How will new treatments and advancements in medicine affect your health? Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with a look at the medical horizon.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: So much possibility and, speaking of that, Hollywood getting ready for the award season. Oh, it's going to be exciting. Who's going to be up for top honors and take home the coveted Oscar?

That and so much more ahead. But first, let's give you a check of your headlines from the news desk.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good morning again, everyone, and happy new year. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Let's take a look at the top stories.

The new year rung in around the world with huge parties and celebrations. But all eyes turn to New York City when the ball drops there.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four... three... two... one!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four... three... two... one!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four... three... two... one!

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WHITFIELD: Oh, very exciting. One million-plus jamming Times Square to greet 2016 amid some of the tightest security ever. Six thousand officers on duty following terror threats aimed at New York, Washington and Los Angeles.

In Belgium, officials cancelled Brussels festivities outright in the wake of an arrest connected to a suspected new year terror plot, and in Munich, Germany, train service resuming today at two major rail stations there after a reported ISIS terror plot forced the evacuation of stations on New Year's Eve. [07:05:07] Authorities say an alleged plot involved between five and

seven potential suicide attackers from Iraq and Syria. They say intelligence officials from another country tipped off German police about the threat and the ISIS connection.

And President Barack Obama preparing to leap over congressional road blocks with executive action to address gun violence. White House officials say the president has been frustrated by his inability to get gun control legislation through Congress. Gun-control advocates expect the executive orders to be announced next week ahead of the State of the Union.

And only two teams left standing in the battle for college football's national championship, Clemson and Alabama, rolling over their opponents in the Orange and Cotton Bowls, setting up an epic showdown one week from Monday. Coy Wire has the latest live for us from Fort Lauderdale.

Good to see you. Happy New Year.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Happy New Year, Fred. Good to see you, as well.

Now, Clemson entered this match-up as the nation's lone unbeaten No. 1 ranked team, and they were an underdog, though, to Big 12 champion Oklahoma. So Clemson, seeking their first national title since 1981, had to find a way to stop the Sooners' third-ranked scoring offense, and they did.

This game was close until Clemson exploded in the second half, outscoring Oklahoma 21-0. Led by the dynamic duo of Wayne Gallman on the ground, who scored twice, and Deshaun Watson, who is the game's offensive MVP with over 330 total yards and two touchdowns, Clemson stays perfect with a 37-17 victory.

Now, the other semifinal matchup featured the only team to make last season's playoffs. Alabama taking on the Big 10 champs, Michigan State. The Crimson Tide's Cyrus Jones had the big play of the night. This 57-yard punt returned for a touchdown. And quarterback Jake Coker, he played the game of his life, throwing for two touchdowns in 'Bama's 38-0 smack-down of the Spartans.

Now, in just ten days, Alabama and Clemson, they're going to play for that national championship in Arizona. And more big bowl games today, Fred, including the Rose Bowl, between Iowa and my former team, Stanford, and that game is under heightened security today -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good luck to all. Thanks so much, Coy.

All right. Back to Alisyn and Chris.

CAMEROTA: The political season about to pick up speed. The Iowa caucuses just one month away. It will be the first time that we have real results from real voters.

CUOMO: We can't just mindlessly speculate anymore? CAMEROTA: That is over. And we actually have a real political panel

here now to give us some insight. CNN political commentator and former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz, Amanda Carpenter; CNN political commentator and former Reagan White House political director, Geoffrey Lord. He's a Trump supporter. And CNN political commentator and Jeb Bush supporter, Ana Navarro.

Hey, guys. Great to see you.

GEOFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Happy new year.

CAMEROTA: Happy new year to you, too. Great to have you with us today.

OK. Ana, let me start with you. Look into your crystal ball. What's about to happen now?

NAVARRO: Oh, lord, Alisyn, that crystal ball was so -- was so hard to read in 2015. I'm not sure I'm going to do a better job of it in 2016. But you're right. We are in a sprint. Chris, I'm glad to -- I'm very happy to tell you we do have about two more weeks of mindless speculation left.

CAMEROTA: Oh, good.

NAVARRO: You know, you do know that -- Iowa voters, New Hampshire voters, these folks just take their time. They like to look under the hood. And a lot of them, half of them, don't make up their mind until that last week, but certainly, we are in the sprint. And I think you're going to see a lot of candidates spending a lot of time, some of them focused on Iowa, some of them more focused in New Hampshire.

CUOMO: Too reasonable. Let's bite off some stuff and chew on it. OK?

CAMEROTA: Oh, good.

CUOMO: Geoffrey Lord. Here's the proposition. You tell me why it's true and/or false in the new year. Trump cannot hold on in Iowa: the evangelical base, too big. They don't like the negativity. They go Cruz. True or false and why?

LORD: Sure, possible. Sure, possible. Absolutely.

CUOMO: Possible?

NAVARRO: What's all the hedge, Geoffrey? Come on, it's 2016! Take a risk.

LORD: Are you asking me, could Ted Cruz win this in Iowa? Yes. The question is what can he do beyond that?

And the one thing that I would add is Ronald Reagan, of course, lost Iowa and became president. Rick Santorum and Governor Huckabee both won Iowa and never became president. So winning Iowa, in and of itself, doesn't do anything.

I really do think this is going to be a long march here, a long march. New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and on beyond that. So whoever wins, even if Donald Trump wins Iowa, that's not going to solve anything.

CAMEROTA: Amanda.

LORD: Or settle anything.

CAMEROTA: Amanda, winning Iowa doesn't mean anything?

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's always good to win Iowa, but here's the thing. Iowa doesn't crown a king, but it knocks out a lot of princes.

I think that we're going to see a lot of GOP candidates -- remember how big this field is -- are going to get knocked out, and then we're going to have another big shake-up when all that polling gets redistributed.

Think about it. The guys in the undercard debate may only have 1 or 2 percent in the polls, but 1 or 2 percent can mean a lot for the top- tier candidates. And so after Iowa, we're going to see a big shake- up, and we may start again. It's always good to win, but winning Iowa is not everything.

CUOMO: I can't trust the other two with this next one, Amanda, so I'll stay with you.

CARPENTER: Great.

CUOMO: After what we saw with Trump and Jeb at the most recent Republican debate, where Trump -- I know you're sick of it, but I'm saying it again...

CAMEROTA: Oh, I love it. I could never get sick of this metaphor.

CUOMO: Trump looks at Jeb and says, "Who's talking, me or you, Jeb? Me or you?"

CAMEROTA: I'm talking.

CUOMO: And then she gives a little of that action, which is what Jeb Bush did, and I say this is a new Jeb Bush. He has decided to be the anti-Trump, and it is going to give him a boost. Yes or no, Amanda?

CARPENTER: Yes. I mean, it's always good to see Jeb assert himself on the national stage. I think a lot of people are clamoring for that, waiting to see real personality come out. And I think the more -- the less guarded Jeb Bush is, the better it is for him.

That said, I still think it's a very bad idea for try -- for Jeb Bush to define his candidacy via Trump. He needs to be his own man, quit looking back on his Florida record, trying to run on that, and look forward at the current fights that have happened with the Obama administration and get in the middle of that.

CAMEROTA: Ana, you're close, of course, to Jeb Bush. Was that the moment in the last CNN debate where he found his sea legs? Does he feel that he found his voice that night?

NAVARRO: You know, I'm seeing a different Jeb Bush in the last several weeks. I think that, really, since what seems like ancient history, but since the very bad debate in Boulder, I think he figured out that theatrics is part of the job description, and he's now doing it.

I also see him doing much more focus on New Hampshire, which I think is smart, you know, as we've discussed. Iowa means something. It doesn't mean everything. The only time Iowa means something huge is when it's an upset, like in 2008 when Barack Obama upset, then, Hillary Clinton. If we see that kind of thing, either on the Democrat or Republican side, it would be huge.

CARPENTER: But wait...

NAVARRO: On Jeb, I think you're going to see him, you know, keep grinding away. A lot of retail politics, spending a lot of time in the early states, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and I think you're going to see him try to do this the old-fashioned way, one voter at a time.

CAMEROTA: Amanda, do you want to jump in?

CARPENTER: But -- yes. Well, one thing about that, the interesting part of the new Jeb dynamic is that a rising Jeb, a rising Chris Christie makes life a lot harder for Marco Rubio. In many ways, they're competing for the same type of voter. And the more they clash, the more, you know, those three continue to be competitive with each other, makes it easier for a Cruz or a Trump to take the bigger lane.

NAVARRO: Well, actually, I think it's the two young bucks that have been locking horns. And I think we're going to continue seeing Cruz and Rubio, who are so evenly matched, who are both rookie senators, who are, you know, both lawyers, very different styles. One goes poetic. The other one goes legalese on us.

And I think you're going to see the two of them clash a lot, which I'm not sure doesn't open up a space for another candidate, maybe Geoffrey's, maybe somebody else.

CUOMO: All right. Geoffrey, what about this one? The chance that Donald Trump picks a female running mate before the convention?

LORD: Before the convention?

CUOMO: Yes.

LORD: Possible, yes, sure. I can see it.

CUOMO: Possible. It's possible that Alisyn knocks me unconscious in the next 15 seconds.

CAMEROTA: Probable!

LORD: I heard (ph) that once. You know, so I think, sure, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, if Donald Trump wins this nomination or it becomes certain ahead of time that he's going to do it, yes. Yes. That's possible. He could pick Carly Fiorina. He could pick Ted Cruz...

NAVARRO: Oh, come on, Geoffrey! He can't stand Carly Fiorina. He has said over and over again that five -- five minutes of hearing her voice is, you know...

CARPENTER: But Carly holds her own in the debate.

LORD: Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait. JFK couldn't stand Lyndon Johnson either, but he made him vice president.

NAVARRO: Yes, well, Donald Trump is no JFK.

LORD: There's one -- there's one other thing here. I really do think this is going to be the year of the outsider. Again. And, I mean, election year itself.

So whether it's Donald Trump or Ted Cruz or whomever, I think the outside is winning. I think that's why Donald Trump picks on Jeb Bush all the time. Not because he thinks Jeb Bush is a threat, but because Jeb Bush is the very symbol of the establishment.

And whether it's Jeb Bush or John Kasich or some of these others, I think that's a real weakness, and I think that somebody on the outside is going to win this nomination.

CAMEROTA: I think we're going to leave it there.

CUOMO: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Geoffrey...

LORD: Happy new year.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, guys. Thank you, Amanda and Ana, great to see you.

NAVARRO: Feliz ano nuevo.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

CUOMO: Mick.

PEREIRA: Hillary Clinton is the Democratic frontrunner. But that doesn't mean she has clinched the nomination. What does she have to do to stay on top? Does Bernie Sanders stand a chance?

[06:15:02] All of that, next.

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CUOMO: It is getting very close to the time to walk the walk. In just one month the election season really gets under way, the Iowa caucuses.

CAMEROTA: It hasn't been yet?

CUOMO: No, no. Once the ballots go, everything becomes the real show. It's going to be a slog for the White House after that.

So let's talk about the Democrats. You've got Hillary and Bernie up on top. What do they need to do to get the nomination?

We have Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist; Donna Brazile, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist; and CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Paul Begala. One thing we're not changing in 2016, I've got to say, is that you're attached to a Hillary super PAC. And I have to say these titles all the time whenever you guys come in.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Full disclosure, people should know that. I would be for Hillary for free, but I am paid by a super PAC that supports her.

CUOMO: Good to know. So when we look at it, you've got Hillary and Bernie. You do not believe that Hillary will not win the nomination, right?

BEGALA: I think -- of course, I'm for her and I'm trying to get her nominated, but even if I weren't, she's got a commanding lead. The party likes her. Even among Bernie voters, she has a stratospherically high favorable rating. So people that are not voting for her, they don't hate her.

[07:20:06] CUOMO: Who's Bernie's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) about her that is potentially problematic?

BEGALA: His strength with young people could be a challenge for her. That is to say, you can't be president in my party unless you excite young people. Bernie is doing that. Hillary is going to have to find a way to match that. She's leading, and that's good, but he has such energy with young people. It's terrific for him, terrific for the party. A real challenge for Hillary is to beat him among those younger voters and to try to challenge and beat him there.

CAMEROTA: Maria, look into your crystal ball, if you would, for 2016. What happens in Iowa and New Hampshire?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think, actually, that Hillary Clinton will win Iowa. I think, hopefully, she will also win New Hampshire. I am also a Hillary supporter.

But I think that Bernie will continue to hang on. He has a lot of money. He has the ability to go back to those donors, because he has a lot of small-dollar donors. He will -- he could do very well in Iowa. He could do very well in New Hampshire, which is the neighboring state and is the closest -- he is the closest they have to a favorite son. He will do, obviously, very well in Vermont, in Massachusetts, in the northeast.

So I think that the robust dialogue that they have between the two of them, which will focus on making sure that middle-class families have what they need, not just to survive but to succeed in this economy, is a very good one for the Democratic Party.

CUOMO: Donna, how does she deal with the upside-down positive- negatives when it comes to trustworthiness and her ratings overall? How does she fix that.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, she continues to reach out, touch voters and convince them that she is the right person at this time to lead the country.

But look, I'm neutral in this race, because I'm vice chair of the Democratic Party. And I do believe that Bernie Sanders has a high probability of winning one of those early contests. He has a lot of enthusiasm. He's been able to raise a lot of money. Many of his donors have not maxed out. So we're going to have a competitive primary season.

Yes, Hillary Clinton is very favorable in the polls, but Bernie Sanders has proven that he's up to the task of addressing some of these big issues that Democrats care about: the economy. He's addressed, of course, criminal justice reform.

And I just wanted to make sure that, as a neutral party, that I can talk about both candidates. I like them both and, of course, we still have Martin O'Malley, who's out there, still trying to get to first base.

CAMEROTA: There you go.

Paul, obviously, there are always surprises. You can never guard against whatever surprise might crop up on the campaign. 2015 certainly was filled with many surprises. Care to predict what's going to happen on the other side?

BEGALA: You know, we've all sat around for the last six months as Donald Trump has dominated, and presumed, all the professionals, "Well, Trump will go away and then what?"

You know, the last month of this year, last year, he didn't go away. He kept going up. And I think Democrats now have to be prepared for a Trump nomination. And he is enormously talented. He's fatally flawed. I don't think he can be president, but holy smokes, he's upended the Republican Party. It's been astonishing and very impressive.

CUOMO: Fatally flawed is exactly what the GOP says about Hillary Clinton, and if you face Donald Trump, how do you think she weathers the relentless battering that he will give her on all the things that you guys don't like to talk about?

BEGALA: You know what? Trump against Hillary, I would, I would bet the farm. Here's why.

CUOMO: Why?

BEGALA: On that, he loves to attack, but he's a bully. And bullies back down when you stand up to them. OK?

Donald Trump couldn't last three hours in a debate. He had to negotiate it down to two, because he's a paper tiger. Hillary testified under oath for 11 hours under withering questioning from her political opponents; and she didn't faint, and she didn't negotiate it down to one or two hours.

CUOMO: She wasn't dealing with truthful hyperbole, though, Maria Cardona. When he gets up there and he's, like, saying, "Where are your e-mails? Why did you do that with the e-mails? Why'd you let those people die in Benghazi?" He's going to be channeling a lot of the stuff. That would be very daunting for a polished pro to take on, wouldn't it?

CARDONA: I don't think daunting is the right word. If there's anybody in politics that has been tried and that has been under the gauntlet, it's Hillary Clinton. And I think that her supporters within the Democratic Party, which I think is a huge point here -- you know, you all love to talk about her favorability or unfavorability as it were.

If Donald Trump is the nominee -- and I completely agree with Paul, Republicans need to prepare themselves for the very real possibility that he will be the nominee -- then you have the contrast between somebody like Donald Trump, who if he is the nominee, will get there with probably not a whole lot of favorability amongst the Republican Party. It's very low favorability for him right now, versus Hillary Clinton, who is probably up to 80 percent favorability among her own party. That is where you start to actually win a general election race.

So she starts from a very positive point of voters within her own party, and then she can energize and mobilize others who will see Trump as a fatally flawed candidate.

[07:25:09] And the contrast between her hope, her enthusiasm, her optimism for this country versus the kind of language he has been using, which essentially devalues our American principles, will be a fantastic contrast for her and I think will help her win the general election.

CAMEROTA: And -- and yet, Donna, in head-to-head matchups in those polls, she does not run away with it.

BRAZILE: Because we live in a very polarized, divided country. But you know, I want to be a contrarian this morning, and I think Ted Cruz, I think we need to look at Ted Cruz.

CARDONA: Yes.

BRAZILE: Ted Cruz has really come up in the polls recently. He has a -- a very good ground operation in Iowa, and he's ready to compete in all of those so-called super Tuesday southern SEC primaries.

So I think Ted Cruz has been the sleeper in the race. I think Donald Trump is going to come under another difficult storm. This one he might not be able to find an anchor with the Republican base, and I think Ted Cruz is the candidate we should watch out for.

CAMEROTA: Donna, Paul, Maria, happy new year. Thanks so much for being here.

BRAZILE: Happy new year to you.

BEGALA: Happy new year.

CARDONA: Happy new year. Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, guys. Michaela.

PEREIRA: Guys, in 2016 we could see some life-changing medical breakthroughs. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to talk about that and also about how eliminating one thing from your diet could really improve your health.

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