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New Day

Republican Presidential Candidate Campaign in New Hampshire; Some New Hampshire Polls Open; Interview with Governor Chris Christie; Clinton And Sanders Battle For A Win In New Hampshire; Comics Take Aim At Candidates; Jane Sanders Talks To New Day. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired February 09, 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] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The polls for the first in the nation primary now open across most of the state. Results already in for three little towns that opened the vote at midnight, a beautiful part of the tradition here.

The totals, here is what we got. Three way tie at the top of the Republican field. Look, only a handful of votes. I have more cousins than these. But what I'm saying is this is what to expect from the day. There is going to be an unusual bunching. Donald Trump, Cruz, Kasich. Bernie Sanders nearly doubling Hillary Clinton at this early stage. Take a look at the numbers there. But again, there's so many undecided, as many as 40 percent, Alisyn. We just don't know.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: But it is fascinating to look at what happens at midnight. Is there harbinger? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But still, people went out at midnight and cast those votes. So the final hours of campaigning are here. A similar note, as in the last few months insults flying back and forth among Donald Trump. He last night repeated a vulgar insult that was aimed a Ted Cruz. And in just moment New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who you can hear behind us, he's going to join us live to talk about all of this. But let's begin our primary coverage with CNN political reporter Sara Murray. She's in New Hampshire where the voting is underway. Hi, Sara.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Ever since this location opened just a couple hours ago it has been hopping here. So some slick roads and low temperatures clearly not keeping these New Hampshire voters home today. If you were hoping for a kinder, gentler tone in politics in the hours leading up these votes, then you better think again. That is not happened at all. Instead candidates are trying to land the sharpest punches just before voters cast their ballots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Hours ahead of the first votes, name-calling in the GOP reached a fever pitch.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She said he's a -

MURRAY: Donald Trump repeated a voter's vulgar jab at Ted Cruz Monday night, and the frontrunner was relentless in attacking Jeb Bush throughout the day.

TRUMP: We have to get rid of the Bushs of the world. Jeb is a lightweight. Jeb is having some kind of a breakdown, I think. And, you know, look, he's an embarrassment to his family.

MURRAY: Bush continuing the battle, trading insult for insult after tweeting at Trump "You aren't just a loser. You are a liar and a whiner."

JEB BUSH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is a whiner. I'm a joyful warrior.

Imagine if a guy like Donald Trump, for example, being president of the United States during difficult time.

MURRAY: Now in the final hours candidates are vying to win over legions of undecided New Hampshire voters. Marco Rubio trying to bounce back after a debate gaffe, repeating the same phrase four times Saturday night, something Chris Christie is capitalizing on.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R-NJ) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You sit across the table from Vladimir Putin you don't want to repeat the same thing four or five times over again.

MURRAY: But awkwardly, Rubio repeated himself yet again Monday night during a stump speech.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R-FL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We know how it's become to instill our values in our kids instead of the values they try to ram down our throats.

It's become harder than ever to instill in your children the values they teach in our homes and our church instead of the values that they try to ram down our throats.

MURRAY: This as Trump downplayed his wide lead in the final polls before today's primary.

TRUMP: I hear we have a lead. It doesn't matter to me. It doesn't matter to me. Who the hell knows what the lead is?

MURRAY: After admitting his ground game fell behind in Iowa, his campaign has been playing catch up.

TRUMP: Hi, how are you doing?

MURRAY: On the snowy eve of the primary Trump made a final push in his unconventional style.

TRUMP: If you are going to drive like a maniac, do it tomorrow after you vote. And I promise I will come and visit you in the hospital. I promise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: New Hampshire is known for its late breaking undecided voters, and in particular its independent voters, and that's why you are going to see candidates continuing to hit the campaign trail today. Governor Christie has a number of stops today all even before he gets to his election day party. So everyone is keeping busy trying to persuade just one more voter before the polls close tonight. Back to you, Chris.

CUOMO: Sarah, thank you very much. Usually we are saying that it is Donald Trump that is moving the needle in this GOP race. Not today. It is New Jersey governor and presidential candidate Chris Christie, and he joins us now. Governor, a pleasure. It was all about Saturday for you and for what you did to Senator Marco Rubio. Fair point, going into that debate that night, were you planning to do that?

CHRISTIE: Yes. And I've been talking about it all week. We someone who's prepared to be president of the United States, someone who has been tested, someone who is ready to get on the stage with Hillary Clinton. And I just don't believe Senator Rubio is ready. And I felt like the American people needed to see that he wasn't ready. And I think they saw that I was and he wasn't.

CUOMO: If you were one of the five people who have not seen this moment from the debate, let me show it to you do right now to refresh your recollection of what happened on Saturday night. Let's play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:02] RUBIO: Let's dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is trying to change this country.

CHRISTIE: That is what Washington D.C. does. The drive by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information, and then the memorized 20 second speech that is exactly what his advisors gave him.

(APPLAUSE)

RUBIO: The bottom line, this notion that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing.

CHRISTIE: There it is. There it is, the memorized 25 second speech. There it is everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: What was going on on that stage in your opinion?

CHRISTIE: Senator Rubio was being who he is, which is a very programmed, superficial candidate. And I was being who I was, someone who has been a federal prosecutor, someone who has been the governor of a big, tough state to governor. I'm prepared and ready to take on Hillary Clinton, and based on what you saw just saw, Senator Rubio is not.

CUOMO: What was the look? What were you trying to communicate?

CHRISTIE: I wasn't really trying to communicate anything with a look. I was trying to communicate with my words and who I was trying to talk to was the people in the audience. I was trying to say to them, listen, he's a nice guy. I like Marco Rubio. He's a nice guy. He may have a great future. His future is just not now. Our country is too messed up, Chris to put somebody in there who is a first term United States senator after coming off seven years of a first term United States senator who has never managed anything. Neither has Senator Rubio.

CUOMO: This is an important distinction for you. We were talking about it before you came on. Don't liken me to Donald Trump. Don't say this was an insult. Don't say I was trying to denigrate him as a man. You say that is not what you were doing. What were you doing?

CHRISTIE: What I was doing was trying to put a spotlight on our different experiences, and that matters. It is not just a resume. It is what you can execute on. Can you perform in the moment? In September and October the lights are going to be very, very bright. And under those bright lights you either shine or you melt. On Saturday night Senator Rubio didn't perform and I did. And that means I'll perform against Hillary Clinton. And when you put me in the Oval Office I'll perform as president of the United States for the people of this country. That's what we need.

CUOMO: What do you say to the experts, to the Rubio campaign and say, look, he didn't have a great night. But that's all it was, a little bit of an off debate. It is not like a window into his soul. You say think again.

CHRISTIE: It is Tuesday and you are still playing it and we're still talking about it, and he's still doing the same thing last night, repeating things over and over again. The fact is we don't need a candidate who has to memorize things. We need a candidate who feels things. And I've opened my heart to the people of this state and they have opened their hearts to me. And that is what we have to do in politics in order to really understand folks and work for them. That's what I'll do.

CUOMO: The risk, on the plus side. You go at him. You make him look week. On the minus side you look like a hyper-aggressive bully. Some people call this, hey did this work for Christie, or was this murder- suicide?

CHRISTIE: No, and in you look at the tape that wasn't hyper- aggressive. You have seen me hyper-aggressive, Chris.

CUOMO: You are a legitimately tough guy. Some people like that, some people don't.

CHRISTIE: I'm not going to be everybody's cup of tea. But I don't need to be everybody's cup of tea. But the point is that was on the facts. It was on the merits. It wasn't these ad hominem attacks like the ones going between Donald Trump and Jeb Bush where they are calling each other names and saying awful things about each other personally.

I was saying about Senator Rubio, stop memorizing things. Stop being a programmed politician. And stop making people think that that is the way we need to lead. We don't need to lead that way. We need to lead from the heart and the mind. And we need to be tough. We need to be tough against the Russians. We need to be tough against the Iranians. we need to be tough against the poor economy, and before any of that happens we need to be tough enough to stay on the stage with Hillary Clinton.

CUOMO: You say you're going to South Carolina.

CHRISTIE: Tomorrow morning.

CUOMO: What would change that? What has to happen to change it?

CHRISTIE: I don't know Chris. I'm can't think of anything right now. My airline reservation is for 8:00 tomorrow to South Carolina. I intend to be on that plane and. I don't have ESP and I don't know what's going to happen tonight. But I feel like the trend is in the right direction and I think we're going to do well tonight, and then we're going to get right back in and fight in South Carolina, and it will be a fight.

CUOMO: Do you believe Saturday night changed the race?

CHRISTIE: Fundamentally changed the race. You know the chattering class was on their way to anointing Senator Rubio as the guy. That is not happening anymore. You don't hear that anymore on your airwaves or anyone else's. Now they are saying what's going to happen and the thing is all up in the air. That's what you want to do if you're in my spot, and that's what we did.

CUOMO: What needs to happen for you to move up in the polls and become one of the main factors? You are having a moment right now. How do you make it a permanent position?

CHRISTIE: I think I have to do well here, get the attention that comes from doing well here. And then when that greater attention comes, to execute, to show people who I am, what my preparation as a prosecutor and a governor gives me to be prepared to be president of the United States. And I have to convince them that I can be trusted. And that's what all of us have to do. And that's what I'll do, and I'll be doing it in South Carolina tomorrow morning.

CUOMO: When you think about why they were looking at Rubio that way, what have you taken from the analysis about why they see him as somebody who could coalesce this meat of your party, the a middle part your party and haven't been thinking of you that way?

[08:10:10] CHRISTIE: Because he came in third in Iowa.

CUOMO: Well, they were doing it before them.

CHRISTIE: Not as much. He was part of our jumble, and then he did better than expected in Iowa, and I think that makes a big difference. Each one of these elections makes a big difference. So we intend to change the narrative tonight.

CUOMO: How is your pocket?

CHRISTIE: It is not as full it was a couple of weeks ago. I spent a lot of money up here to try to get to where we need to go. But we do well we're going to be just fine.

CUOMO: You think that will bring in money?

CHRISTIE: I think if we do well tonight our biggest problem will be to make sure the server doesn't crash.

CUOMO: How define well? Top five?

CHRISTIE: That would be really good. In a race of nine people, yes.

CUOMO: You take a lot of shots at the media. Right, wrong, we'll talk about that another time.

CHRISTIE: OK.

CUOMO: But numbers matter. But after five in this jumbled race it starts to become Carson and Fiorina land where you are not going to get the same attention.

CHRISTIE: Chris, I think we could be anywhere from sixth to second tonight.

CUOMO: You say the poll of polls. You don't buy it. You say your internal have a different story and you trust them.

CHRISTIE: Much different story and I trust them a lot more.

CUOMO: The vulgarity going back and forth. What do you think is motivating it? And why is it working so well? When you get Jeb Bush to start trading nasty words with somebody, that says something about the state of play. That's not who Jeb Bush is. That's who he's trying to be to match Donald Trump. Is his persuasion that dominant in the race right now? Do you have to take it to that level?

CHRISTIE: I don't think you have to and I haven't. There will be a time and place to engage with Mr. Trump. It is just not yet. And the fact is that for him that is who he is. You know Donald, I know Donald. That is who he is. And I think that is why it works for him because people see that as genuinely that's who he is. I think it is not working for Jeb because people know that's not who he is. In politics the most important thing is for the candidate to be themselves and to be seen as being genuine to the voters, because if you're not they smell it out, and when they do you're finished.

CUOMO: But the language seems to work with his base. What does it tell you about what's going on?

CHRISTIE: They're angry. Washington D.C., both parties have failed them. They elected Republicans in 2010 and 2014 to change things down there, and quite frankly the Republican Congress hasn't done a thing. And then they are angry with President Obama because they don't agree with him and some don't like them. And so that anger has manifested itself with someone who speaks their language. And Donald speaks their language. But let's remember something, this 20 to 25 percent perhaps of the Republican electorate. So we're not talking about a majority of the American public. They are angry, but I don't necessarily think they are attracted to that.

CUOMO: He's telling them I'm going to get rid of all of these people you don't like. You know that's not going to happen. You know that if there is meaningful change in Washington it is going to involve some kind of compromise where people who are here illegally are going to get to stay. That is the only way it is going to get done if you look at the math down there. If you tell that to Republican voters right now you are basically punching yourself in the face. How do you lead without alienating the people who want to hear something else even if it's not true?

CHRISTIE: What I think is you have to empower them first. You have to say you are going to be part of the solution. The people are going to be part of the solution. You are going to give us a pathway that you think is appropriate.

But the second thing is what I say to folks all the time about Donald, ask him how. All the things that he says, he never tells you how. He's going to make the Mexicans pay for the wall. How? He's going to fix Social Security by making everyone so rich that we don't have to worry about it. How? I say it at all my town hall meetings when someone asks me about Donald Trump, go to his meetings and ask him the second question, which is, how? As a governor, that is my job every day is to turn the aspirational into the operational. And that's what we do as governors and that is what I'll do as president.

CUOMO: When you walked off that stage, two questions. One, Senator Rubio, what reaction did you get from him?

CHRISTIE: We shook hands and walked off the stage.

CUOMO: Did he give you a real clamper?

CHRISTIE: No.

CUOMO: Did you give him a real clamper?

CHRISTIE: No. Didn't need to.

CUOMO: What did Mary Pat say, the governor's wife?

CHRISTIE: She said great job, honey. That was it.

CUOMO: When she gives you that look, you look right down and walk away, is that true?

CHRISTIE: Let me tell you something, man. We know the boss in my house for sure.

(LAUGHTER)

CHRISTIE: A month from yesterday we'll be married 30 years. CUOMO: Congratulations. That's a feat. That makes presidential

politics look like a kids' game.

CHRISTIE: It is all easy after that.

CUOMO: Governor, good luck to you. Let's see how the returns turn out.

CHRISTIE: We'll see how it goes, Chris. Thank you very much for having me.

CUOMO: Don't give me that look. Alisyn, he's giving me the look.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: He squashed your hand in that handshake.

CUOMO: He did. I only have three fingers left.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: All right, on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton hopes for a strong showing today in New Hampshire even if she does not beat Bernie Sanders. Meanwhile, the Clinton camp may be at a cross roads.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at a polling place in Manchester. How's it looking, Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. You can see behind me there is a slow trickle of people coming in. The polls have been open a little over two hours or so.

One thing I'm struck by. When I looked at the sample Democratic ballot, there are 28 Democratic candidates on this ballot. Of course, the only two we're talking about right now are Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

A lot of people filed to be a presidential candidate, but it is those two and the outcome of this race here that is going determine how long this Democratic campaign goes on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY (voice-over): It is your turn New Hampshire. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders delivering last minute pleas.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is an important milestone in this campaign.

ZELENY: And eleventh hour pitches.

BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm here today to ask your support to join with us in making that political revolution. Thank you all very much.

ZELENY: A first in the nation primary will set the tone for the rest of the campaign and help determine just how long that will be. A strong Sanders will guarantee a long Democratic race ahead.

SANDERS: The eyes of the country, and a lot of the world by the way, will be right here on New Hampshire.

ZELENY: The Clinton team bracing for a tough night and a possibly campaign shake up if things don't go well tonight.

CLINTON: We're going take stock, but it is going to be the campaign that I've got.

ZELENY: CNN has learned much of the discontent is coming from allies of Bill Clinton, who believe the campaign underestimated Sanders. On election eve, the former president held his tongue or tried to.

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: Sometimes when I'm on a stage like this, I wish we weren't married then I could say what I really think.

ZELENY: The race hinges on New Hampshire's famously fickle independent voters and whether they will choose their heads or their hearts. Beth Reilly came to a Bernie Sanders rally.

BETH RILEY, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: I really love Bernie. He says all of the things that we would like to have this country be so much better.

ZELENY: But says she'll vote for Clinton.

RILEY: I'd love it if he could win, but I think I'm probably going to go with Hillary because I think she can win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: Now one of the interesting things we've seen so far here this morning is when you walk up to this table right here, you ask for whichever ballot you want, Republican or Democratic.

But we've seen a couple instances so far this morning where someone has been a registered Democrat. They ask for a Republican ballot. The rules here are that you have to have changed your party beforehand to ask that Republican ballot.

So they actually turned and walked out the door not voting for Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton here. But most people here are going back to being independent after they cast their ballots here this morning -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: It's so interesting how everyone can change their stripes there. Jeff, thank you very much. Stay with CNN everyone all day please because we have comprehensive coverage of the New Hampshire primary results. They start at 4 p.m. Eastern. So you will see all of the excitement here as it unfolds.

CUOMO: Too heavy the whole Chris Christie thing? Too intense? All right, let's take it easy. They have the candidates. Their least favorite moment is watching late night television because they are the punch lines my brothers and sisters. And once again there was some really good New Hampshire moments drawing parallels between the election and guess what, the Super Bowl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Donald Trump said this weekend he feels the Iowa caucus results were very unfair to himself and Dr. Ben Carson. Other things Trump considers unfair to him include Google, sidewalks, shoelaces, oxygen, and dating Judi Dench.

JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: After the Super Bowl, several presidential candidates actually took some time to share their thoughts on the game. Here is what they said. Jeb Bush said Peyton did a great job, but let's not forget about his younger brother Eli who's also a good football --

CONAN O'BRIEN, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: A Republican insider compared Marco Rubio's debate performance to, quote, "Looking at your iPhone and the video freezes and says it is buffering." Yes. After hearing this Bernie Sanders said, "A what doing what? What are you talking about?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Those are some good ones today. Those are really funny. Any time you can say dating Judi Dench as the punch line also funny.

CUOMO: Look, this is the gift that just keeps on giving. I can't believe there wasn't something about the Christie, Rubio moment. I mean, there was that little gag, but I can't believe nobody is like developed a look --

CAMEROTA: Maybe tonight. There's always tonight.

[08:20:02]Meanwhile, primary days are not just nail biters for the candidates, of course. They are also trying on their spouses. Bernie Sanders' wife, Jane, joins us live next. What does she think about the claims of sexism against her husband's campaign? And what is going to happen today? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Senator Bernie Sanders making his final pitch to New Hampshire voters as they head to the polls this morning. So what are Sanders' expectations here in New Hampshire? Let's ask the person who knows him best.

Joining us now is Sanders wife, Jane Sanders. Great to have you here. So what are your expectations today? What do you think New Hampshire voters are going to deliver?

JANE SANDERS, BERNIE SANDERS' WIFE: Well, I think I hope that they are going to deliver a very large electorate. That there are a lot of people participating in the process. No matter what view they hold I think it is very important that people participate in our democracy.

CAMEROTA: How much stock do you put in the polls? Because right now Bernie Sanders is winning by a large margin in the polls so do you take a lot of comfort in that?

[08:25:09]SANDERS: Well sure, a little comfort, but I think that they are not -- we don't take anything for granted. And polling, it is an art. I think that if you look at the different polls they are all over the map.

They are anywhere from 9 to 30 points. We don't believe the 30 points for sure. We hope to win by at least one vote and that should be fine. I think polling is interesting now because so many people are not answering the phones.

CAMEROTA: Right. We were just talking about that. I have a driver who says that he's gotten 12 to 15 calls a day. He's not alone. So people have stopped answering so I'm not sure polls in this last week are reflective of what's really happening.

SANDERS: I don't. I think that you can look at the trend line, the CNN poll overtime, the MUR poll overtime, and you can say, OK, the trend is up or down. No matter which candidate. But the most important thing is people vote.

Bernie won by ten votes as mayor. Every vote counts, we learned that the hard way. If ten of those people had stayed home we wouldn't be here today.

CAMEROTA: I want to talk to you about the charges of the sexism that have been leveled against your husband's campaign. Bill Clinton was out on the campaign trail as you know and he was talking about how supporters of Hillary Clinton say that they have received a lot of vitriol online from people they leave are Bernie Sanders supporters. Let me play for you what President Clinton said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: She and other people who have gone online to defend Hillary and just explain why they supported her have been subject to vicious trolling and attacks that are literally too profane often, not to mention sexist to repeat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So Jane, what do you think? Is the campaign -- is the Sanders campaign responsible if supporters say hateful things online?

SANDERS: We have over a million supporters online. A lot of them are very active. I think we're talking about a very small group of people. We don't know who they are. It is anonymous in terms of online postings.

Bernie has spoken out and the campaign has spoken out and said we do not want that. Most of our supporters talk about the issues. They talk about raising the minimum wage and having universal healthcare and having, you know, all the issues that Bernie talks about.

But we don't know them and our surrogates are -- they don't do that. The people that we ask to speak on behalf of our campaign and we do not ever -- not only do we not say terribly negative things.

We don't say negative things. We talk about why Bernie would be the best person to be president, what he's fighting for, and the issues that affect people's lives.

I think the Clinton campaign. I mean, it is not that it's one way. I hear from our campaign too. We just don't complain about it.

CAMEROTA: I see. I want to ask you about something else regarding gender and that is as you know Gloria Steinem has come out in support of Hillary Clinton as has former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.

And they have both talked about sort of women's empowerment and there is some obligation they believe of women to vote for another woman.

Now, these are paragons of the feminism and women's empowerment and you being of that same sort of generation, whether do you think of that case? Is it compelling that women should vote for a woman?

SANDERS: No. I really don't think so. I think they should vote. This is the most important office in the country. I think they should vote for the person that represents their interests and they -- each person has to make their own decision.

Sure maybe that will play into some people's decision, maybe it won't in others. But I don't believe they should vote on any single issue or anything about gender or -- so I've never done that.

CAMEROTA: But I mean, do you understand that given what women have had to fight for in this country, that women who are say in their 60s or 70s, the older women who are supporting Hillary more than Bernie Sanders, that they do feel that we've made it this far. She's paved this way and we want to see a woman in the White House.

SANDERS: I do understand that. I think Gloria though said some unfortunate things and apologized for it. Basically thinking that young women are only supporting Bernie because the boys are supporting Bernie? That is not true.

There are many as you say many, many, many young women supporting him. She named Bernie because of his stand on the issues way back in the 90s, an honorary woman, and was very supportive of him.

I understand that people might want to see a woman in the White House but -- especially the older women.