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New Day

Presidential Candidate Campaign in Iowa; Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders Prepare for Town Hall in New Hampshire; Interview with John Sununu; Will Bernie Sanders Take the Win in New Hampshire? Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired February 03, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have invited these gay children to come into their home. It begins to affect the others in the church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, February 3rd, 8:00 in the East. The Republicans pouncing on New Hampshire and each other. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio looking to build momentum from the Iowa caucuses with just six days until the New Hampshire primary. My interview with Senator Rubio about his strong finish and fighting off the attacks as well as so much more we'll bring you in just minutes.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump back on the trail, not backing down, though conceding his debate boycott may have cost him Iowa. He says so what. I would do it again. As for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders preparing once again to take your questions. Tonight the CNN presidential town hall, 9:00 eastern. We have this race covered the way only CNN can. Let's start with Sara Murray live in Manchester. Sara?

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, there is going to be a pitched debate here in New Hampshire in part for that establishment lane. Marco Rubio comes in with momentum but John Kasich and Jeb Bush both want to win here. And don't forget Donald Trump. He came in second in Iowa. He does not want to repeat that here, and there's not a lot of time left.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These are truly dishonest people.

MURRAY: Less than a week from the New Hampshire primary Donald Trump is blasting Iowa winner Ted Cruz.

TRUMP: Ben Carson quit, and let me have your votes. What kind of crappy is this?

MURRAY: Trump slamming the senator after his team falsely told Iowa caucus-goers Ben Carson planned to quit the race.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I apologize to Ben for that. They should have forwarded that subsequent story. That was a mistake.

MURRAY: And continuing to bring up his Canadian birth.

TRUMP: He gets the nomination they're going to sue his ass off.

CRUZ: I hardly think it is news that Donald Trump is insulting me.

MURRAY: Cruz, riding high from the Hawkeye state win, now preparing for battle in New Hampshire and even looking ahead to South Carolina, hoping for a boost for the southern evangelical vote.

CRUZ: We're going to continue doing what we did in Iowa here on the ground in New Hampshire and secretary.

MURRAY: While Trump, banking on his popularity in New Hampshire, hopes to avoid the same mistakes he made in Iowa.

TRUMP: Had I known I was going to be liked as much as I am in Iowa, and people did like me, you will understand that, I would have maybe spent a little bit more and I would have been there a little bit more and maybe I would have won it.

MURRAY: Both top tier GOP candidates perplexed over Marco Rubio's highly publicized third place showing in Iowa.

CRUZ: We've been joking that in media world bronze is the new gold.

TRUMP: The headline is winner of the night, Marco Rubio. Trump, humiliated.

MURRAY: Rubio capitalizing on his momentum in the small New England state, asserting his electability.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R-FL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do you know who doesn't want to run against me? Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. They know that if I'm our nominee they lose and we win. It's why they attack me more than any other Republican else in this race. They don't want to run against me, but I can't wait to run against them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now, as we all know, Donald Trump is loath to admit mistakes, but he told FOX News that they probably could have had a better ground game in Iowa. I think the question here is whether he loosens those purse strings and whether they try to build up that organization in New Hampshire with less than a week to go. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Sara, thanks so much for all of that background.

Let's turn now to the former governor of New Hampshire, John Sununu. Governor Sununu served also as the chief of staff to President George H. W. Bush. He has not endorsed a candidate but his son works for John Kasich's campaign. Governor, great to see you this morning.

GOV. JOHN SUNUNU, FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR: How are you, Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: I'm doing well. So do you agree it is now a three-person race coming out of Iowa? That it is Cruz, Trump and Rubio?

SUNUNU: I think there are three persons sitting in the catbird seat. But I don't think you can count out the three governors, the Christie, Bush, Kasich contingent. They have been up here quite a bit. They have built a pretty good group of supporters up here. And, frankly, there is still lot of volatility in the New Hampshire voter. I was out and about yesterday at the supermarket, at the post office, and at the coffee shop. And it's interesting. Voters are talking about moving their vote on a strategic basis. They are trying to figure out how to make sure Republicans win. And some of them actually were telling me they might vote for their second or third choice in order to get somebody with some momentum against Trump.

CAMEROTA: That is interesting. But aren't you describing Marco Rubio? They call it the Marco momentum, and he's making the electability argument. Is that what you are hearing from voters?

[08:05:00] SUNUNU: A lot of them are not giving me specifics as to where they are going, but certainly that is a lot of that kind of talk really must be pointed in that direction, of course.

CAMEROTA: It sounds also as though his rivals think that he's the one to beat. For instance, Jeb Bush just yesterday called him a back- bencher. Chris Christie, as you know, called Marco Rubio the boy in the bubble. They seem to be training their sights on Marco Rubio. What do you think of that strategy?

SUNUNU: Well, they have been doing that even more Iowa, which I always thought was a very poor strategy. I thought the force -- traditional candidates, I call them, Christie, Kasich, Bush, and Rubio, I thought they ought to be standing toe to toe in their battling, if you will, against Trump and Cruz. I don't know why they are trying to fight over a small piece of pie rather than going after the big piece of pie that Trump originally was holding.

CAMEROTA: Some of the latest polls I've seen show that as many as 41 percent of New Hampshire voters are undecided. Six days out, they are still kicking the tires as New Hampshire voters are so wont to do.

SUNUNU: It is probably higher than that, Alisyn. I think it is close to half. And it is not that they are undecided. It's that they are trying to, as I said earlier, be strategic with the vote they cast. A lot of them may have ranked in their head who they like first, second, and third, but New Hampshire voters are smart enough to understand that the state has a pretty significant responsibility. And they want to do what is best for the country in the long run. And they really are concerned as to who is going to be commander in chief and who is going to be really the nominee of the party to go and beat Hillary Clinton.

CAMEROTA: So given that they are still deciding, do you think that New Hampshire could hold a surprise? All of the polls have suggested that Donald Trump will win decisively. But do you think Kasich or somebody that the pundits haven't yet considered could do something surprising there?

SUNUNU: Yes, I think Trump has to win wig here. If he has another loser night like he did in Iowa, contrary to what he's trying to tell people, his aura is going to be damaged significantly. I pointed out yesterday that everyone thought that -- was beginning to believe Trump's line that everything he touches turns to gold. But if you go into his history he has a whole series of failures even beyond the four major bankruptcies. And if that happens again then they are going start paying attention to failures like Trump Airline and Trump Mortgage and so on.

CAMEROTA: Governor, it is hard to see how his second place finish can be a failure. He did finish in second place. He, you know, has been at the top of the polls for months now. In fact Donald Trump himself talked about why -- he's confused about why he's not getting more attention today when Marco Rubio, who finished in third place, seems to be getting out of the limelight. Here, listen to Donald Trump talking about his frustration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He comes in third. I come in second. Trump, no good. Rubio, unbelievable night, unbelievable victory. The headline is winner of the night, Marco Rubio. Trump, humiliated. How come the person that comes in third on many of the networks is being covered like it is one of the great victories in the history of politics in this country?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Yes. How come? Governor, doesn't he have a fair point?

SUNUNU: Look, he's also saying well he misjudged. He should not have stepped out of the debate. He is also saying she should have spent more time in Iowa and more money and admitting his judgment was bad, and that is the fundamental problem with Donald Trump. His judgment is terrible. And so I think people are beginning to understand that. He rationalizes his defeat as not being significant. But Donald Trump himself as said that coming in second is being a loser.

CAMEROTA: But just to be clear in terms of skipping the debate, what he's saying is that he would do it all over again. Yes it may have hurt him in Iowa but he's saying that he's proud that he raised $6 million for vets. That sounds like a pretty good argument.

SUNUNU: Yes. Alisyn, he's saying my judgment was bad. I should not have skipped the debate. And, oh, by the way, I'm dumb enough that I would do that bad thing again.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: That is not what he's saying, governor. He's saying that he supports vets. That is how he's spinning it.

SUNUNU: That's his excuse. That's his excuse for having done a dumb thing.

CAMEROTA: Governor, are you predicting that Donald Trump will not win New Hampshire?

SUNUNU: No, I didn't say that. I said he has to win New Hampshire in order to continue to be a viable candidate.

[08:10:04] CAMEROTA: Look, you know New Hampshire better than anyone. What do you think voters want to hear in the next six days that will help tip the scales for them?

SUNUNU: Traditionally what they would be doing is sorting out on the basis of positions amongst the candidates. This seems to be a year where style has a little bit more significance. But as I said earlier, I think they are also adding a third component into here, and they are trying to be strategic with their vote to give the party the best nominee in the long run to defeat Hillary Clinton.

And so I think a number of them, not all of them, but a number of them may actually vote for their second or third choice if they think that is a good way of getting a nominee that can beat Hillary Clinton.

CAMEROTA: Strategery at work in New Hampshire, exactly. Governor Sununu, thanks so much, and we'll look forward to seeing you in New Hampshire on Monday.

SUNUNU: Thanks, Alisyn.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: I so enjoy your conversations together, Alisyn. As for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders also taking New Hampshire by storm. The pair gearing up to make their final pitch to voters tonight on CNN's town hall. Senior Washington Joe Johns is live in Manchester with the Dems race. Joe?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, it is all about expectations right now. Bernie Sanders has been leading in the polls for months. He will be seeking to expand on what essentially is a home field advantage while Hillary Clinton will be trying to close the gap and appear competitive in a state where the polls appear to be working against her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I feel really great being back in New Hampshire after winning in Iowa and having a chance to come here.

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNS: Riding high on the narrowest victory in Iowa caucus history, Hillary Clinton taking the showdown over votes to New Hampshire.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We fought Secretary Clinton to a virtual tie. And I don't even know yet. We have not even seen all of the breakdowns of the election results. JOHNS: Bernie Sanders feeling good about his odds in the granite

state where he has been polling ahead for months, his double digit lead fuelling the campaign's confidence.

SANDERS: If we can win here in New Hampshire -- all right.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: Let me rephrase it. When we win here in Iowa --

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNS: While Clinton won the New Hampshire primary in 2008, the state has often supported neighboring politicians, possibly giving Vermonter Sanders an edge. After nearly beating Hillary Clinton in Iowa, the self-proclaimed democratic socialist says he raised a staggering sum, $3 million online in 24 hours, commanding a huge base of support among younger, newer voters. Secretary Clinton vying for the chance to take back some of that support.

CLINTON: I'm going to have some work to do to reach out to young voters, and I intend to do that.

JOHNS: The stage is set for both candidates to make their final case before the New Hampshire primaries, facing tough questions from voters at tonight's CNN town hall in Derry.

CLINTON: I'm looking forward to every opportunity, because I know people here have choice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: Hillary Clinton has three campaign events scheduled today. Bernie Sanders has a news conference along with a rally, all of that before the CNN town hall. So they are certainly going to be warmed up by the time they get in front of the cameras at 9:00 p.m. eastern, Michaela.

PEREIRA: Warmed up indeed with a little momentum. So be sure to tune in tonight. Clinton and Sanders answering questions directly from voters. The presidential town hall in Derry, New Hampshire, moderated by our Anderson Cooper. That's 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

CUOMO: All right, listen up. We have a troubling development in the fight to slow down the Zika virus outbreak. The CDC confirming a patient in Dallas contracted the virus through sexual transmission. This is the first known case of Zika being transmitted on U.S. soil. Federal health issues now urging the use of condoms to battle the virus and the Red Cross is asking anyone who visits countries where Zika is active to wait 28 days before donating blood.

CAMEROTA: The water crisis in Flint, Michigan gets a hearing on Capitol Hill today. The House Oversight Committee will hear firsthand from local lawmakers and environmental officials about the lead contamination that has poisoned Flint's water supply. Flint's emergency manager Darnell Earley announced his resignation Tuesday, and is defying a congressional subpoena to testify at the hearing.

PEREIRA: The Iowa caucuses making a great punch line for late night comics from Donald Trump to why the results for Bernie Sanders may have been twisted. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Bernie Sanders lost the Iowa caucus by .03 percent. Yes. In other words Bernie would have won if six stoners would have managed to get off the coach.

(LAUGHTER)

[08:15:06] O'BRIEN: The six individual guys were like, oh, is that tonight?

STEPHEN COLBERT, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT: Trump came in second, with 24 percent. But this future president billionaire Donald Trump, he is a winner. And there is no way he would just humbly accept second place. Donald, come out with guns blazing.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We finished second. And I want to tell you something. I'm just honored. I'm really honored.

COLBERT: Who are you? And what have you done with Donald Trump's body?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That's funny.

CAMEROTA: That's great. Conan O'Brien also does a mean impersonation of a stoner.

PEREIRA: Yes, he does. I wonder if he -- no.

CAMEROTA: No. Political watchers say Bernie Sanders has New Hampshire in the bag, but polls have been wrong before, particularly in Iowa. What both sides need to do to clinch the nomination, or at least New Hampshire. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: We showed that working people and lower income people and young people are prepared to stand up and fight for fundamental changes in the way politics and economics is done in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:20:00] SANTORUM: Well, that was Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire after an extremely close race in Iowa in the caucuses. So, who has the momentum heading into the New Hampshire?

Joining us now is our CNN political commentators, Paul Begala is a Democratic strategist and a senior adviser to a pro-Clinton super PAC, and Sally Kohn, a columnist for "The Daily Beast".

Great to have both of you here.

CUOMO: What a match up.

SALLY KOHN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: Very fiery match up I predict.

Sally, so Hillary Clinton won in Iowa and Bernie Sanders is leading in the polls. Who has the most momentum?

KOHN: First of all Bernie has no momentum going into New Hampshire question. I lean Bernie. I like him. He's already doing well in the polls there. And no one expected him to do that well in Iowa, point blank. So, he's doing great.

That being said, I really believe it is important to understand Bernie's campaign was never about winning. It was about changing the Democratic Party. Making Hillary a better more aggressive accountable --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Not what he says.

KOHN: No. Listen, the winning is now possible. It is the icing on the cake. Be the expectations were already so low for him to be doing this well that the momentum is steam rolling. People loved this guy before they thought he could win. Now that they he can win, you know, he's got even more momentum.

CUOMO: What do you think of that, Paul, in terms of the pragmatism of Sanders as the viable candidate taking the nomination? What do you see at the potential for that path and the limitations of that path?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, first off I agree with what Sally said. What Bernie has done had been remarkable. You know, he has come from nowhere.

He enters New Hampshire with a huge head of steam. He was 23 points ahead before his razor thin loss in Iowa. Now, he's raised $28 million. He's definitely the betting favorite in New Hampshire.

But this question of can he be a nominee, I still think a lot of Democrats are going to wait to look at Nevada and South Carolina.

I love Iowa, I love New Hampshire, I spent a lot of time in both. I work for politicians who won both. But they are the most white states.

And I love many I fellow white people. They've given us mayonnaise and white bread, and music, I love my fellow white people. But the Democratic Party is really diverse.

And this is where Hillary's experience running in New York, a state which you have some familiarity, Cuomo, is really important. The only way to win is put together multi ethnic and political coalition and that's a not Bernie's political experience in Vermont. No knock on Bernie. But he's coalition is Ben plus Jerry, and then, boom, you got a win.

CAMEROTA: I heard Paul say some of his closest friends are white.

KOHN: I hope I'm among with Paul.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Paul, I do want to also ask you at some point, not right now, how you feel about young people because young people Sally are turning out for Bernie. They say they support him. The entrance polls in Iowa were fascinating. He gets 84 percent of the people aged 17-29. Hillary Clinton gets in terms of age 65 and older, she gets 69 percent of those. Not that there is anything wrong with old people.

CUOMO: He also got a huge slice of first time caucusers which shows energy and enthusiasm.

CAMEROTA: Before you answer, let me just tell you what Hillary Clinton says about that, even she is acknowledging that he has that vantage. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I'm going to have work to do to reach out to young voters, maybe first time voters who have to make a tough decision as they evaluate who should be our president, our commander in chief. And I intend to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: She's going to do work do that.

KOHN: Let me be clear, to Paul's point, I like young people. I like white people. I like young white people. I like to still think of myself as one.

But the future of the Democratic Party and American politics is actually in the coalition of progressive white people, especially progressive young white folks, and voters of color who don't make up a majority just in the Democratic Party but of the nation.

And so, Paul's right. This is actually -- I think South Carolina is the most important state. It's the most demographically meaningful state and, by the way, it's a state where yes Clinton historically has a lead among black voters, but she's not necessarily going to hold on to that lead.

The larger point is how refreshing to see Democratic candidates not taking the block foot for granted in this year of Black Lives Matters. This it is this is the kind of conversation Democrats should be having and not just always trying to pander to middle class white. CUOMO: Let's take another step, though, into the analysis of why Bernie Sanders doesn't do as well among minorities. Now, he pointed out himself and the numbers bear it out he did better, Paul, in Iowa. Again, not a great state to test this out, 90-plus percent white.

But the numbers are the numbers. Those who were there and available for the caucus, it was closer than people expected. But what is the limitation? He's talking about income inequality which is very socioeconomically sensitive, and not yet resonating with that portion of the electorate? Why?

BEGALA: This is his challenge. And his campaign very much seems to want to emulate then Senator Obama's campaign and I don't blame them. A brilliant campaign that Barack Obama ran.

But even when he won Iowa, carrying all the white liberals, his capacity for Obama was enormous.

[08:25:03] It was spectacular. And that is what happened. And he put that coalition of the ascendant together that Sally is talking about. It's just -- Bernie's political history is more limited and frankly his message --

CUOMOMO: I don't understand that point. That is the point I need you to help me understand. His political history is limited. What does that mean?

BEGALA: Barack Obama has a second act. OK, he attacked Hillary for voting for the war and good for him and Democrats like that. But then he had a second act and a third act, lots of other things to campaign on as he moved across the country, especially in the south.

So far, Bernie, God bless him, Democrats agree with him, but he talks about income inequality and almost nothing else.

CUOMO: But shouldn't that be enough to draw this group of voters who are living that reality? Kohn is shaking her head, yes, to that. How so?

KOHN: Here is the interesting thing about Bernie. He's not historically the greatest candidate. I think he didn't set out to be a greatest candidate. He set out to be a messenger for a movement. And he's getting better as the candidate and his talk on race and analysis on race is an example.

You know, he's indicative of thread in the Democratic Party separating economic justice from racial justice and saying these are separate. And he got challenged on that early on by the Black Lives Matter movement, and to his credit, he got better. He has started to win over black voters. He's starting to win the margin or starting to close the gap in South Carolina.

So, he's learning. I don't see Clinton making the same sort of corrections and being a learning candidate with young voters, with black voters. He's trying and she's not. CUOMO: What is the correction? He's offering certainly from the

critics' perspective, free everything. Young people like the idea of free everything. A lot of people like the idea of free everything.

KOHN: You sound like a critic there Cuomo.

CUOMO: But I'm saying, that's you got to own it, right? You got to ask, that's how you figure out what's going on. So, if that's the criticism, well, you know, it's free everything and he's going to raise the tax rate to pay it, that would resonate with younger people maybe who aren't as accustomed to the tax burden, but how does that transfer down the line in the election and what does Clinton suppose to that, Kohn?

KOHN: I think that is an oversimplification of what Sanders stands for. He stands for -- he's talking about the system, an economic system and a political system, certainly the part of Democratic Party, but more broadly, that has favored certain people over others. That is his fundamental message.

And initially only hung that on economic inequality and injustice, and no one, right, left, or center, is going to say we have a economic system and a political system that works for working people. That message resonated.

Then his challenge was bring in race to that conversation and say, by the way, we also have a political system and economic system that tends to favor white elites over working class white folks and people after color across the board.

CUOMO: He says it's rigged --

KOHN: That's what his message is. There's nothing to do with free stuff. It has to do with hard work paying off in America.

CUOMO: Well, but, right, how you functionally find the solution to it. That's why Nancy Pelosi and others on even the Democratic side have come out and question whether it will happen or not, but Sally is right, Paul. At the end of the day, when young ears hear it, and a lot of ears hear it, they like it, and that's something for Clinton to figure out how she matches without owning it in a way that might her if she does get the nomination.

To both of you, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

We'll see this play out in real time tonight. Why? Oh, because we have a treat for you. Clinton and Sanders answering questions that go directly to this from the people who matter most, the voters of New Hampshire. Presidential town hall in Derry, New Hampshire, moderated by our man, Anderson Cooper, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

Now, the other side of the ball just as important, the GOP race. Alisyn sat down with Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio, the man of the hour, the owner of the phrase Marco-mentum. What did Iowa mean for him? What is he going to do on the issue of immigration? A big dividing line within his party, how will he be better than Donald Trump? Ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: I think they'll be living to support something very reasonable. I don't think the American people expect us to round up and deport 12 million people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)