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New Day

Coverage of the Iowa Caucuses; Broncos & Panthers Face the Media; Interview with Governor John Kasich. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 02, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And so, the fact that he didn't winner there doesn't spell good signs going ahead. What do you think?

JONATHAN TASINI, AUTHOR, "THE ESSENTIAL BERNIE SANDERS": Well, Alisyn, I woke up with the famous Gandhi quote in my head. First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you and then they fight you and then you win. We're in stage three right now.

And I think if you look at in the weeds, I don't disagree with some of what Paul said. But let's look at the forest, which is six, seven months ago, Bernie Sanders was 40 points behind in Iowa. He was at 3 percent in the polls.

If I had told you then that essentially Bernie Sanders would have fought Iowa to a tie, that he would have raised $20 million just in January, which means he will be competitive into the Super Tuesday states, which means this will go all the way to the convention, you would have said you're crazy. But what has happened is he has ignited a political revolution. This country is changing.

And he has ignited a political revolution because people do not want to support the status quo anymore. I think that's what happened last night. It's a result of -- you know, I have been traveling around the country for Bernie. All around the country, you see thousands, tens of thousands of volunteers portion out, working for Bernie, enthusiastic about a political revolution.

And it's not just young people. I do think there are a lot of seniors because as Bernie said earlier in your show, his record is unsurpassed in terms of his support for seniors, older voters.

CAMEROTA: I mean, he's trying to win them over. I mean, he admitted.

TASINI: He will.

CAMEROTA: Sorry to interrupt you. But he admitted that he's making a direct appeal to them because he think his record speaks to them.

But, Paul, I want to bring you in because of what Jonathan said that in terms -- does Bernie Sanders have the momentum in terms of money, in terms of crowds, in terms of polls going forward?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, frankly, no. It was basically a tie. "The New York Times" announced that this state was tailor-made for Senator Sanders, and I think it was.

I will point out a couple of things. First off, go back and look at the tape, Jonathan wasn't there. But I was talking to our friend brother Cuomo six months ago, exactly as Jonathan said. And I said there's no way Hillary gets 52 in Iowa. That's what I said back then. She's got basically 50. Bernie's basically got 50.

So, actually -- you know, people who follow this actually could see this coming, because the Democrats want a fight. They want a contest. And now, we're going to have one.

I think it's great if Senator Sanders wants to claim a revolution from the narrowest of wins or losses. But the truth is we have a campaign with a contest going forward.

TASINI: But the political revolution, if I can say, Paul, it's not just --

CAMEROTA: Go ahead, Jonathan.

TASINI: It's not just about what happened in Iowa. Again, you cannot ignore the fact he has raised a tremendous amount of money, 3 million contributions from over a million contributors. Average contribution, $27. Unlike your super PAC which raises money from very, very rich people. This is a political revolution at the grassroots. It's happening all across the country.

The biggest challenge Bernie has had is fighting someone who is a celebrity, who is 99 percent name recognition. For someone coming from the state of Vermont who wasn't well-known, to make that kind of progress in just six or seven months is astounding.

BEGALA: I don't think you don't mean to dismiss --

CAMEROTA: OK, gentlemen, Paul, Jonathan, sorry, we have to leave it there. Paul --

BEGALA: I don't think you didn't mean to dismiss a secretary of state as a celebrity. She is not a game show host. She is somebody who served her country quite ably, as has Senator Sanders.

CAMEROTA: Got it. I'm sure you can both agree on that.

Jonathan, Paul, thank you for that debate.

Tomorrow night, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will answer questions directly from New Hampshire voters. This is going to be a presidential town hall in Derry, New Hampshire, moderated by Anderson Cooper at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here only on CNN.

Well, Sanders had a clear advantage -- has, I should say, a clear advantage in New Hampshire in the latest polls, as has Donald Trump on the Republican side. Will that change after Iowa? What did last night change in terms of momentum?

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:37:25] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: We are live from where you need to be to cover the election for president in 2016, New Hampshire. Most of the presidential were candidates scheduled to campaign here today. They all have their eyes set on winning the next big primary. That would be here next Tuesday in the Granite State.

So, how did what happened in Iowa last night, what is still happening in Iowa on the Democratic side, how is that going to shape New Hampshire and beyond?

Let's discuss, CNN political analyst and editor in chief of "The Daily Beast", John Avlon, CNN political commentator and Republican consultant, Margaret Hoover, and editor in chief of political prospect and Trump supporter, Kayleigh McEnany.

It's great to have you all here with us.

So, when be look at what this means on both sides, let's start with the Democratic side. Look at it two ways. Bernie Sanders, he is now legit. A statistical dead heat. It's not a fluke. You see the agenda of who in that party wants him and who he needs to work on.

But the other side is, hey, this state was tailor made for Bernie. So, Hillary coming as close as she did and being as strong in declaring victory pending a further outcome from the party, that's good news as well.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. That's why they are putting too much emphasis on the media narrative, maybe distracts from the fact. Look, we know that Bernie Sanders is heading into a great state of New Hampshire. He is from the neighboring state of Vermont. He had a very strong showing last night.

The fact that Hillary Clinton, who is considered by most to be the strongest Democratic nominee outside the activist class, is competing neck and neck with a 74-year-old socialist. That's a reality check. But she at least has declared victory. When Romney had eight votes lead last night over Santorum, that seemed to be a benediction.

So, let's calm down but recognize that this is neck and neck in the caucus. And they are heading into rougher waters fro the Clinton campaign in New Hampshire.

CAMEROTA: Margaret, what do you think Iowa changed moving forward on either side?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The -- I mean, the number one headline out of Iowa is that Donald Trump is fallible. He can lose. His bubble has been burst some.

And nobody knew that. I mean, even in his acknowledgment speech that he had lost last night he said I'm still the best person to beat Hillary Clinton because the polls tell me so. Not a good night to be looking at the polls if that's all you've got going for you to support your candidacy, number one.

Number two, the second most important thing to come out of Iowa is that Ted Cruz ran against ethanol. The third rail of politics in Iowa is that you cannot be against ethanol, and Ted Cruz did it, demonstrating that is a false narrative even when the governor of the state said, don't touch ethanol.

CUOMO: So, how do you see it? Ted Cruz won, the evangelical vote was big. He's going back at Donald Trump seemed to matter. What does this mean now and going forward?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND FOUNDER, POLITICAL PROSPECT: Ted Cruz is going to have a formidable presence on the SEC primary. You pointed very well in Super Tuesday. I think he showed that last night. Evangelicals resonated with them. They understand him and they like him.

But I think the biggest headline out of this is this is an outsider's election. Two-thirds of votes went to outsiders. If you look at Bernie Sanders, a socialist, doing -- having a formidable presence against Hillary Clinton.

This is an age where Americans are angry. They want someone outside of the traditional political establishment. We saw outsiders pull off a big victory. So, I think as anyone seeing, no candidate in modern history that's a non-incumbent has won both New Hampshire and both Iowa. So, it's going to be a Marco Rubio and Donald Trump vying for number one.

AVLON: Look, the key dynamic going into New Hampshire is fundamentally different slice than Iowa, right? First of all, it's the first primary. You're going to see a higher turnout.

Second of all, registered independents outnumber here. They can vote. So, you're going to have is a higher turnout and much more motivation for the center.

When you look -- you know, 60 percent of Iowa caucusgoers identify evangelical evangelicals. Here, you have an almost more than 50 percent are self-identified centrists. So, that's a totally different slice of the electorate, and usually a better gauge of who's likely to be a general election nominee.

CAMEROTA: Margaret, Marco Rubio, was last night a game changer for what happens for him going forward?

HOOVER: Yes. Expectations, expectations, expectations. The expectation was Trump and Cruz. Marco Rubio coming within 2,000 votes of Donald Trump.

CUOMO: Same number of delegates.

HOOVER: That is a win. If you listen to the words he used in his speech, you would have thought he won number one, not number three.

This was absolutely floored Marco Rubio coming into New Hampshire, a win for Marco Rubio. Now he can actually go back and say is, I am a viable mainstream establishment candidate, giving common cause for the other candidates and other supporters and donor money to rally around him.

CUOMO: So a big known and a big unknown. The big known that we are all waiting for is, once you have votes, it's not just about hype anymore. It's about performance. So Donald Trump was going to have to come down in volume because he was going to have competition. We didn't expect he would have this much competition, you know, losing not just in front of him, but right behind him, having a guy so close.

The unknown is, will there be a coalescing around Marco Rubio? Who could reach out to these other governors and people in the race and say, you should look at him. Maybe premature, because Rubio may not perform as well in New Hampshire as maybe even a John Kasich. There's some unknown there.

MCENANY: There will be a coalescing around, and I think it is important to look at New Hampshire as it was pre-Iowa. Pre-Iowa, you have Donald Trump in a Real Clear Average at 21 percent. In a statistical dead heat, you have Kasich, you have Rubio, you have Jeb, you have Ted Cruz.

And I think Marco Rubio is poised to break out of that and pose a formidable challenge here to Donald Trump. One thing worth mentioning, though, last week, a CNN poll showed 30 percent of New Hampshire had made up their mind. Where are those late breakers going to go.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Panel, thank you. I know you have a lot more to say. We are going to have breaking news momentarily, because right now we are waiting for Marco Rubio to speak at a New Hampshire diner. He's fresh off that impressive win in Iowa.

So, what will he say to New Hampshire voters this morning? We'll bring that to you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:50] PEREIRA: Good morning from our New York studios. I'm Michaela Pereira.

The Iowa caucuses morphing into the Iowa cliffhanger this morning. Hillary Clinton's campaign declaring victory overnight. But there has been no official ruling from the Iowa Democratic Party, with Clinton and Bernie Sanders in a dead heat. The two shift to New Hampshire with one less opponent. Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley suspending his campaign.

Meanwhile for the Republicans, Texas Senator Ted Cruz managed to eclipse Donald Trump for the top spot. And an energized Marco Rubio seemed to savor his rather strong third place showing. Former Governor Mike Huckabee is also dropping out of the race.

Officials are underway -- officially under way in Geneva to bring an end to the crisis in Syria. A U.N. mediator insisting a solution must be found for the suffering Syria's suffering civilians. He's negotiating separately with Syrian government officials and opposition leaders.

Meanwhile in Rome, Secretary of State John Kerry is joining a coalition of some 23 nations and the E.U. to develop a global strategy against ISIS.

A global emergency has officially been declared by the World Health Organization in response to the Zika virus. The group's director general says Zika is an extraordinary even that requires a coordinated response. That mosquito-born virus is spreading rapidly across the Americas and poses the biggest risk to pregnant women with a suspected link to a birth defect.

All right. It's a big week in sports. Broncos and Panthers facing the media during Super Bowl opening night.

Andy Scholes has more in this morning's bleacher report. We're counting down the days.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Sure are, Michaela.

For the first time ever, media day was moved to the evening but it was still the same chaos it always is. There were clowns, super heroes, Miss Universe was even there asking questions and dancing with some of the players.

More than 2,000 media members were on hand for this. I say media members loosely.

During the evening, Peyton Manning and Cam Newton did talk about facing off against one another in Super Bowl 50.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEYTON MANNING, BRONCOS QUARTERBACK: He's been a great passer, great runner, great leader. You don't go 17-1 as a starting quarterback without being awesome. And that's what he's been this year, without a doubt.

CAM NEWTON, PANTHERS QUARTERBACK: It has been a tremendous honor to be even mentioned and affiliated with the face of the league. But yet, I think I have bigger fish to fry on Sunday. And we will worry about the rest of the 8 to 10 years after that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Peyton once again dodging the question if this will in fact, be his final game. Michaela he said it could be, but that certainly doesn't mean that it will be.

PEREIRA: If you were a betting man, would you say that it is?

SCHOLES: Yes.

PEREIRA: All right. All right. I'm going to stick with you, Andy Scholes. Thanks so much for that.

Ohio Governor John Kasich setting his sights on New Hampshire after struggling to go make his mark in Iowa. We will ask about his strategy. He'll join us next here on NEW DAY.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:54:00] CAMEROTA: Now that the verdict is in, at least on the GOP side, out of Iowa, all eyes are on New Hampshire where we are. Ohio Governor John Kasich focusing on the Granite State after finishing eighth in Iowa. He's polling well here in New Hampshire, and he's hoping for a breakthrough performance in the February 9th primary.

I met up with Governor Kasich to talk about his strategy and so much more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Governor, thanks so much for being here with NEW DAY. Great to talk to you.

So, you have been very honest that basically you put all of your eggs in a New Hampshire basket. You are counting on a big finish here. So what's your argument to the people of New Hampshire for this final week?

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come on. I did 89 town hall meetings. I'll be hitting 100. And you're going to make the argument again -- look, it's real simple. I'm operating on the sunny side of the street.

What I tell people, yes, I've been a reformer. I've been involved in more fights than you can imagine and -- but with great accomplishments. Whether it's jobs, whether it's welfare reform, fixing my own state.

[06:55:01] So, I just tell them that these problems we have they can be fixed. People seem to be very positive and hopeful when they leave.

CAMEROTA: You're not the only candidate with a lot invested. Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, all making a big play for New Hampshire.

What's different about you?

KASICH: My people tell me the same thing all the time, be yourself. And that's what I'm doing. And we're now in solid second place in the state. They are throwing, oh, I don't know, $4 million of negative ads as me. We'll see if we can withstand it. We'll see.

CAMEROTA: What is it going to take to stop Trump?

KASICH: It's going to take me telling people who I am. At the end of the day, people want somebody at the end of the day who can land the airplane.

And, Alisyn, here's the thing: people are legitimately concerned and anxious. Their wages are stuck. They are in their 50s, and somebody tells them they don't have a job. Their kid is running up debt and the kid can't get a job.

I understand all of that. But what I tell them is the solutions to these problems are not complicated. The only thing that gets in the way are people who put their party before country, people don't know how to come together or don't want to come together to let everybody in America have a chance.

If I thought he was unstoppable, I would go back to Ohio tomorrow. He's not stoppable. It's a long way to the finish line.

And we think if we do well, we're going to emerge. And, by the way, all my eggs are not just here. We are ready to run a national campaign in South Carolina, in Nevada. We've got the best organization in Mississippi. We are strong in Alabama.

And I got people here. Think about when we go to the Midwest -- Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania. It's like that's kind of like good for me, you know, when we get there.

CAMEROTA: The party establishment, one of the suggestions is that at some point people will need to coalesce -- the candidates will need to coalesce around one rival to Donald Trump in order to beat him. Who should get out?

KASICH: Look, you know, a national reporter said there's three lanes. There's establishment lane, the anti-establishment lane, and the Kasich lane. And that's the lane I operate in, OK?

CAMEROTA: But would it help to winnow the field?

KASICH: It's going to just naturally winnow. After Iowa and New Hampshire, it will be a smaller field. It will continue to be a smaller field.

The smaller the field is, the more people will be able to hear people like me. Look, nobody in the country knows who I am. I mean, they just don't. They know who I am in New Hampshire.

But I'm not a celebrity. I didn't have a national television show. I don't live in Washington. I'm the governor of Ohio, you know?

So nobody knows me. But we do well here. That whole business of being known is going to change.

CAMEROTA: How?

KASICH: Because you're all going to be talking about me. And then people are going to say, who is this guy? How do you pronounce his name? Is it Kasich or -- it rhymes with basic. It's Kasich, it rhymes with basic.

And then, hopefully, things will shrink and we'll have more dialogue and I'm going to do town halls all over America. I want people to question me. I want them to know me.

I don't want to show up and make a speech and go out the door. I want people to know me. That's what we're going to try to do.

CAMEROTA: I know you said if you get smoked in New Hampshire, you will take your parting gifts and go home.

KASICH: Yes.

CAMEROTA: But what does that look like? What does a win look like here?

KASICH: We will know on the morning of the 10th whether we will be a story. And it's really going to be whether you are saying, oh, my goodness, this guy Kasich, we sort of counted him out. Look, the campaigns are spending $4 million of negative ads against me? Do you think they're worried? They don't spend $4 million against somebody at the bottom.

All of a sudden, you folks will be forced to shift a little bit of your attention away from the Trumper and you might have to talk about John Kasich.

CAMEROTA: Governor, in the past, you and I have talked about our shared love of music. Best concert ever?

KASICH: Pink Floyd's "The Wall". Roger Waters is, you know, remarkable artist. I saw "The Wall" in Pittsburgh. It was absolutely incredible. I don't have to think twice. It was the best.

And if I'm president, I will be going once and for all try to reunite Pink Floyd to come together and play a couple songs. And since we have so much trouble in America with our finances, I'm going to start with a little song they created called "Money".

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: It's better than "Comfortably Numb".

KASICH: Well, we may be comfortably numb when we're done with New Hampshire. We'll see.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: There you go. So you heard what his presidential anthem would be when he becomes president.

So, we are following a lot of news for you, including an Iowa winner, Senator Ted Cruz. So let's get straight to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHANTING)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: God bless the great state of Iowa.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We finished second. I want to congratulate Ted.

CRUZ: The most votes ever cast for any Republican primary winner.

TRUMP: We will go on to get the Republican nomination.

CRUZ: A victory for courageous conservative.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are not waiting any longer to take our country back.