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Trump & Cruz Battle for Evangelicals in Iowa; Clinton & Sanders in for a Long Primary Fight?; Freed Americans Reunited with Their Families. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired January 19, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[07:00:03] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Two mysterious cases remain very much unresolved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Obama has had seven years to get him home. I think it's very obvious that the Iranian government knows exactly where he is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is the diversity in Hollywood?

JADA PINKETT SMITH, ACTRESS: Maybe it is time that we grabbed our resources putting them back into our communities.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. Chris is off this morning. John Berman joins us. Donald Trump looking for a little divine intervention after a bit of a slip on the campaign trail. He made a gaffe, referencing the book of Corinthians while speaking at the evangelical Liberty University in Virginia.

Trump trying to secure the evangelical vote with three campaign events in Iowa today.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: The Trump's top competition there, Ted Cruz, brushing aside Trump's claim to be -- to being a true conservative, dismissing comparisons to Ronald Reagan, another Democrat turned Republican.

This morning, Trump is touting a major campaign announcement in the Hawkeye State. Will it be a big endorsement? We begin our coverage with CNN's Sunlen Serfaty, live in New Hampshire.

Inquiring times want to know who it will be.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is the big guess. Really -- Trump really hinting at a big endorsement.

But it's interesting, Michaela. Ted Cruz now on the campaign trail is really trying to frame this race as a choice for voters between him and Donald Trump, saying more and more it looks like this is coming down to a two-man race. So this intense feud that has now emerged between them is really fueling both candidates' fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Where the spirit of the lord is, there is liberty.

SERFATY (voice-over): Donald Trump trumpeting his faith.

TRUMP: I wrote "The Art of the Deal." I wrote many best sellers.

I always say a deep, deep second to the Bible. The Bible is the best. The Bible. The Bible blows it away.

SERFATY: Given the convocation at Liberty University in an attempt to connect with evangelical students, quoting from Scripture.

TRUMP: Two Corinthians, right? Two Corinthians 3:17. That's the whole ball game.

SERFATY: But wrongly referring to it as "Two Corinthians," instead of "Second Corinthians," drawing laughter from the religious crowd. Trump trying to make the case he's better for evangelicals than rival Ted Cruz as the battle for Iowa heats up.

TRUMP: Ronald Reagan wasn't a -- you know, totally -- he didn't read the Bible every day, seven days a week, but he was a great president. Frankly, I would say that I will be a far better leader. I'll be much stronger in protecting the evangelicals.

SERFATY: While pounding pavement in the Granite State, Cruz firing back, questioning Trump's conservative credentials.

CRUZ: I'm pretty sure that Ronald Reagan didn't write checks and support Democratic politicians.

SERFATY: Any attacks on the Texas senator noticeably absent from Trump's modified stump Monday, never even mentioning his name after days of sharp jabs at his character.

TRUMP: He's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him.

SERFATY: Trump treading light on the trail but tweeting harsh rhetoric about Cruz's Canadian birth problem and his loans from big banks. Cruz not letting him have the last word.

CRUZ: We need a leader who is prepared to do what is needed to keep this country safe. And that typically doesn't include spending your time on Twitter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: And as Donald Trump made this big pitch to evangelicals, members of the British Parliament held a debate about potentially banning Trump from coming into the U.K. This was in response to Donald Trump's call to stop Muslims from entering into the U.S.

Here's a little bit of that debate as it played out on the floor of Parliament.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEALE: Donald Trump is no more than a demagogue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody who is a ridiculous -- a ridiculous demagogue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And if he met one or two of my constituents, then they may well tell him that he is a wasak (ph) for dealing with this issue in this way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And in the end, no official vote was taken, no big decision made, but more of a chance, Michaela, for them to air their grievances, vent a little bit about Donald Trump -- Michaela.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: All right, Sunlen. Thanks so much. I'll take it here.

Join us now is communications director for Ted Cruz, Rick Tyler.

Rick, thanks so much for being with us.

RICK TYLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR TED CRUZ: Good morning, Jonathan.

BERMAN: We just heard in that piece Senator Cruz talking about Donald Trump in ways that, up until about the last week, we hadn't heard before. He's no Ronald Reagan. You know, where was he on TARP? Where was he immigration?

To misquote Ted Cruz, my question to you is, you know, what's changed? The Constitution hasn't changed. Ronald Reagan hasn't changed. What's changed is the race is now really tight. Is that why Ted Cruz is, all of a sudden, talking about Donald Trump in this way after three, four months of palling around with him?

TYLER: Well, that's right. The race did change. And Ted Cruz has made his way up slowly in the polls. And now in most polls we're second place to Donald Trump.

In Iowa, we're either a little ahead of them or we're even with him. And what changed was Donald Trump didn't like the idea of losing. And so Donald Trump suddenly started invective, calling names, making ridiculous birther claims, and making other assertions.

And do not call your brother Rocca (ph). That's what the Bible says, as well. And so he calls him nasty. And that's just name calling. We could have a difference of opinion or a difference of debate on substance, but Donald Trump doesn't want to seem to have that. He seems to just want to lash out and call names. I don't find that very presidential. I'm not sure other people will, so I'm not sure how it's going to help us campaign.

BERMAN: Donald Trump has been calling people names for a long, long time. So for Ted Cruz, you know, is there an authenticity issue here? Because honestly, to months, Ted Cruz, you know, was bending over backwards to say nice things about Donald Trump, to now attack him. So does it seem inauthentic to now all of a sudden say, "You know what? Now that he's calling me names, it's off limits"?

TYLER: Yes, but there's a difference between calling someone a name or pointing out substantive differences. So look, Donald Trump compared himself to Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was a Democrat. Donald Trump's right about that. The Democratic Party in Ronald Reagan's day was very different. Ronald Reagan, even as a Democrat, fought communists as the president of the Screen Actors Guild. But he had conservative values. His party left him. But his part did leave him a long time ago.

But Donald Trump was growing up with the same Democratic {arty in New York City. The same Democratic Party that he gave money to Eliot Spitzer, to Mario Cuomo, to Hillary Clinton, to Anthony Weiner.

So -- and Donald Trump, as we saw in the "Meet the Press" interview back in 1999 has a lot of progressive liberal views, and what he claims is the reason for that is because he grew up in New York.

BERMAN: Ted Cruz knew about that 1999 interview when he shared a stage with Donald Trump talking about Iran sanctions. He knew that when he was shaking his hand everywhere.

So again, it just seems like now his opinion of Donald Trump has remarkably all of a sudden changed, when everyone knew those things about Donald Trump for a long time.

TYLER: Look, we can still -- look, I have a lot of Democratic friends who I know and love and like very much. And Ted Cruz likes Donald Trump.

But we're in the stage of the campaign where it is down to two people. And both have articulated some sort of a vision, although Cruz has talked about what would guide him, what are his guiding principles to make decisions for future events as president. Donald Trump hasn't done that so well.

But we're in the contrast phase of the campaign. It is helpful to voters. They do not consider in an attack when they understand the difference substantively between the two positions. And Ted Cruz will continue to point those out while Donald Trump seems to continue to call names.

BERMAN: He does call names, Donald Trump. He's called Ted Cruz nasty. He said nobody likes Ted Cruz, which is something, you know, you've heard from Washington circles for a long time. And I know this hurts the campaign. Because if you look at favorability ratings among Republican voters, Ted Cruz actually has the highest favorability among Republican voters. Isn't that correct? TYLER: Thanks for reporting that. It's true. He is the most likeable candidate among all the candidates, Republican or Democrat. That was in the Gallup poll. It was in the "Des Moines Register" poll. It was in the industries poll in South Carolina.

Yes, Washington doesn't like Ted Cruz. News flash: Donald Trump, they don't like him. You know why they don't like him? Because he's the guy who will go in there and shake it up. Donald Trump wouldn't go in to shake it up. He would go in and make deals. He would go in and compromise.

And he's been the paymaster for the cartel for a long time. So that's, you know, when people have a choice. They're really going to choose someone who has held progressive views for their -- for most of their entire life. And now all of a sudden they're a conservative, and they want the Republican Party is going to elect someone, who has essentially played for the other team. I don't think so.

BERMAN: Paymaster for the cartel. Haven't heard that one before. Let me ask you about Two Corinthians versus Second Corinthians. A big deal?

TYLER: Yes.

BERMAN: That's what Donald Trump said at Liberty University.

TYLER: You know what? I don't really think it's a big deal. New Christians come into the church all the time, and they make that mistake. They call it Second Corinthians -- or they call it Two Corinthians, Two Chronicles. And, you know, people in the church correct them, because it's Second Corinthians. But it's no big deal. But it is -- it's what a learner does. You know, when you're learning the Bible, you learn the difference between the New Testament and the Old testament, the stories, what they mean, how they relate to each other. So no, it doesn't bother me at all.

BERMAN: So Donald Trump says he's got a big endorsement coming his way in Iowa, big event planned, big rally. Someone is going to appear on that stage with him. Honestly, we don't know who it is. There's been some speculation it's Jerry Falwell Jr. Other speculation it's Sarah Palin, who was very supportive, by the way, of Ted Cruz and his first Senate run. What if it is Sarah Palin? Would that be a blow to the Cruz campaign?

TYLER: I think it would be a blow to Sarah Palin. Because Sarah Palin has been a champion for the conservative cause. And if she was going to endorse Donald Trump, then sadly she would be endorsing someone who's held -- who's held progressive views all their life on the sanctity of life, on marriage, on partial birth abortion.

He was a TARP, supported TARP bailout. It goes on and on and on. Donald Trump claims he's changed all those views. But I think if it was Sarah Palin, let me just say, I'd be deeply disappointed.

[07:10:10] BERMAN: Rick Tyler, great to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much.

TYLER: Good to be with you. Thanks so much.

PEREIRA: All right, J.B. Now to the Democrats' race. Should they be prepared for a long primary fight? Hillary Clinton is courting voters in Iowa, Bernie Sanders meanwhile taking his message to the south.

CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar is live in Birmingham, Alabama, traveling with the Sanders campaign.

Hi, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Michaela.

Bernie Sanders taking aim at what's known as Hillary Clinton's southern fire wall. Specifically, he's been trying to court black voters here in the south that are so key to a Democrat being successful here in these late February, early March southern contests.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton really trying to frame herself as the more electable choice, as Bernie Sanders stresses boldness and big change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have the front row seat as to what it takes to be in that cauldron.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, guess what? That inevitable candidate ain't so inevitable today

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And many political observers have looked at the contest after Iowa, New Hampshire, where Bernie Sanders is really giving Hillary Clinton a run for her money. And they've said that Hillary Clinton is so much stronger in the south than Bernie Sanders.

I did talk to a Bernie aide who said that southern firewall for Hillary Clinton is nonsense. But the Clinton campaign still stressing that they have good ground game in these early states. We shall see -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. We've heard the same thing from some of our pundits this morning. Brianna, thanks so much for that.

Well, three Americans freed in that Iranian prisoner swap spending long overdue time with their families at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. But this morning, mystery continues surrounding one American still missing in Iran.

CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us from Landstuhl, Germany, with more -- Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Alisyn. And certainly, there were some very emotional scenes that played out here at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center as these three men finally were able to spend some time with their friends and family late last night.

The doctors here at the facility say they wanted to take that process slowly so the three men would not be overwhelmed by all the support that they have been getting. Many U.S. Congress members -- their family, other supporters -- have come here to Landstuhl to welcome them back. I was able a little earlier to speak with Representative Jared Huffman, who's very close to the Rezaian family, has spoken to Jason. And he says Jason Rezaian is in good spirits. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JARED HUFFMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: His spirits are terrific. He's feeling good physically. I think he's having waves of complex emotions, as you would imagine. But if Iran's goal was to break Jason Rezaian's spirit, they failed miserably.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Nevertheless, he also said that Jason Rezaian, of course, his detention was very, very tough, as was the case with all of the other two men who were also there in that Evin Prison in Tehran.

It is notorious for the tough conditions there. Apparently, Jason walked around a tiny cell for a very long time, just to keep physically and mentally fit. And of course, Alisyn, in all of the jubilation that we have about the release of these three men, about the fact that they are now back in Germany, there are, of course, still Americans missing in Iran. Those businessman, Siamak Namati and (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And then there is the case of Robert Levinson, as well, where the Iranians say they don't know where he is. The U.S., of course, doesn't really buy that, John.

BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Fred.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter may be cracking down on retired Army General David Petraeus. "The Daily Beast" reports the Pentagon is considering a demotion of the four-star general for revealing classified information to his biographer and mistress five years ago. Even though the Army recommended no action against Petraeus at the time, a defense official says Carter may be interested in sending a message to other senior officers.

PEREIRA: The head of the Motion Picture Academy promising change after a second straight year of all-white Oscar acting nominees, prompted by a boycott by two prominent African-Americans.

President Cheryl Boone Isaac says, quote, "I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it is time for big changes.

Filmmaker Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith, announcing they would both boycott the Oscar ceremony next month. Spike was set to receive an award. He will -- and his wife will not attend. Jada Pinkett Smith obviously not going to be going. Her husband was not nominated for "Concussion." Several other films, they felt, were completely overlooked.

CAMEROTA: Be interesting to see how Chris Rock, the host, handles all of this.

BERMAN: Indeed. Yes.

And neither Smith nor Spike Lee offering any criticism for Rock for attending.

PEREIRA: No. Or the producer of the show, who's also African- American.

BERMAN: Right.

PEREIRA: As is the head of the Academy.

CAMEROTA: We'll keep an eye on that, of course.

Well, there was joy for the families of the American prisoners released by Iran. But Robert Levinson's family is outraged, and they're demanding answers.

[07:15:09] So next, we ask the State Department why he was not part of that prison swap.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: One American was notably absent from that prisoner swap with Iran, Bob Levinson. Levinson, a retired agent and CIA contractor, went missing in Iran in 2007. So what's being done to bring him home?

Joining us now is Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken.

Tony, thanks so much for joining us. We'll get to why you are in Seoul, South Korea, shortly. But first, let's talk about Robert Levinson. His family, while happy for the other released prisoners, is devastated today that he was not part of this swap. Do you know the status of Robert Levinson today?

TONY BLINKEN, U.S. DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: Alisyn, let me say first, I empathize so much with his family. And if I were in their shoes, it's impossible to put yourself in their shoes. I know I'd feel exactly the same way.

But we are determined to find his whereabouts and to bring him home. And we will not rest until we do.

Back in 2011, we said we had reason to believe that he may be being held outside of Iran. But as you know, he disappeared in Iran. And so we've been engaged with the Iranians to work to find him.

[07:20:11] And we have their commitment to continue that effort, to continue the cooperation to find him. And we will hold them to that. So we have an ongoing investigation. I can't get into any more

details, because I don't want to prejudice it. But I can just say we will spare no effort to bring him home. I know that's never going to be satisfactory for the family, given the horrible experience that they're going through.

But we've demonstrated with our other fellow Americans that we would spare no effort to bring them home. We're doing the same thing with Robert Levinson.

CAMEROTA: Was Robert Levinson part of the negotiations that went into freeing these five Americans?

BLINKEN: No, no, no. We've been working to bring him back, to find him and to bring him back the entire time. And it was -- he's been absolutely part of everything we've tried to do.

But as I said, the Iranians have claimed that they don't know where he is. As I said, we also have reason to believe back in 2011 that he may be being held outside of Iran. But again, because he disappeared in Iran, we believe the Iranians must have some information. And they have committed to continuing to work with us to find him. And we will continue to do exactly that.

CAMEROTA: Tony, what makes you think he might not be in Iran?

BLINKEN: Alisyn, I don't want to get into any details. Because again, we have an ongoing investigation. I don't want to do anything that could prejudice it.

But I do want to make it very clear, we're not resting until we find out where he is, and we want to bring him home as soon as we possibly can.

CAMEROTA: Robert Levinson's daughter wrote an emotional plea, an op- ed on CNN.com.

Let me read you a piece of why she says she feels betrayed. She says, "Always, always, we have trusted our government officials, listening to them when they tell us they are doing all they can, waiting desperately for the next meeting update, the next glimmer of hope, the next call to action so we can -- so it can be our turn to celebrate our father's return. But now we have reached our breaking point. We are crushed and outraged."

It sounds like they are upset with the State Department and with government officials that you all have not been forthcoming enough and haven't kept them in the loop enough. What do you say to Robert Levinson's family?

BLINKEN: Look, all I can say is, I genuinely understand how they feel. And if I were in their shoes, I suspect I'd feel exactly the same way. And all I can add is we have done everything we can. We will continue to do everything we can to find him and bring him home.

CAMEROTA: Tony, is Robert Levinson in a different category because he was doing work for the CIA?

BLINKEN: No, no. Again, there's an ongoing effort to bring him -- to find him and bring him home. I don't want to get into any details other than to say we have a commitment from Iran to continue working with us to find him, to cooperate in that effort, and we will hold them to that.

CAMEROTA: As we said -- as we mentioned, you're in Seoul, South Korea, and you are engaged in talks there to figure out what's beginning on with the north, particularly since they tested that bomb that they say was a hydrogen bomb. So what have you learned?

BLINKEN: So I'm here in Seoul, and I was just in Tokyo and I'm heading to Beijing. And we are working on a very strong international response to what was the fourth test of a nuclear weapon by North Korea. It's vitally important that the international community speak with one voice. We have very strong solidarity here in South Korea, as well as in Tokyo. And I'll be going to Beijing to work with the Chinese on this, too.

There's a lot of effort in New York at the Security Council, at the United Nations to produce a very strong response to this. But ultimately, we have to increase the pressure on the regime in North Korea to change its behavior. This is simply unacceptable to us, and it's unacceptable to countries around the world.

CAMEROTA: So many of our international experts have said it really does fall on China to exert effort over North Korea. Do you get a sense from Beijing that they are open to doing that?

BLINKEN: I'll find out in a couple of days. But China shares the same goal that we have, which was -- which is the denuclearization of North Korea. They've been very clear about that publicly.

At the same time, they do have the unique role to play. And we're looking to them to join us in leadership on this effort, in this -- in this effort. They have a relationship with North Korea, unlike that of any other country. Virtually all of North Korea's trade goes to, from or through China.

[07:25:08] So they have an ability to exert influence and to exert pressure. They've done it in the past, and we're looking to them to do it in the future.

You know, China says that they're concerned, because they don't want instability here in Asia and in northeast Asia. And the simple answer is, that North Korea is the greatest source, through its actions of instability. And China can and we hope will play an important role in changing North Korea's behavior.

CAMEROTA: All right, Tony.

Please keep us updated on how your talks go there in Beijing. Great to have you on NEW DAY. Thank you.

Let's get over to John. BERMAN: All right, Alisyn.

Donald Trump flubbing a Bible reference as he tries to appeal to evangelicals and maybe beat Ted Cruz at his own game. So will that gaffe affect him at the polls? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We just have breaking news for you out of Pakistan. At least ten people killed after a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a security check point near the city of Peshawar. About three dozen others were injured. This happened along a major highway connecting Pakistan to Afghanistan, which is frequently used by NATO for transporting supplies. A splinter group of the Taliban is claiming responsibility.