Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Independents Deliver Wins for Trump & Sanders. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 10, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:46] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the presidential candidates looking ahead to the next big contest in the race. We have the Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina primaries, obviously.

What lessons can they take from the New Hampshire exit polls?

David Gregory is at the magic wall to look at the road ahead.

This is going to be an interesting look.

DAVID GREGORY, FORMER MODERATOR, NBC'S "MEET THE PRESS": Yes.

PEREIRA: You helped us sort of figured out what the exit polls are saying. Interesting about the heart, right?

GREGORY: Yes.

PEREIRA: People feel betrayed. Republicans who feel betrayed by their party, the numbers for Trump are so significant.

GREGORY: Yes, 36 percent. It's my first time telestrating, I'm very excited.

PEREIRA: You're doing great. You're doing great.

GREGORY: So, 36 percent, even though I covered up his numbers.

Thirty-six percent for Trump -- what's important is that the Republican left doesn't just dislike Obama. They dislike GOP politicians who let them down. He channels that energy. That is why it is so significant. Kasich at 15 percent.

PEREIRA: Then if we move on to honesty. This really, really matters.

GREGORY: Yes, on the Democratic side, yes.

PEREIRA: On the Democratic side, this is really fascinating. It's not just a little gap. It's gaping. It's gigantic.

GREGORY: What do we --

PEREIRA: How much is this email issue is (INAUDIBLE) for her?

GREGORY: It's huge. This is why we want to put it in red. I mean, 91 percent. If the top policy is honest and trustworthy, these are among Democrats now who vote for Sanders.

PEREIRA: Yes.

GREGORY: Clinton has this e-mail issue. She has a lot of baggage in her past. That's kind of an issue for her, even among Democrats who are wondering whether, does she face more legal jeopardy? Is she facing an electability problem if she gets to the general?

PEREIRA: And the key is, can it be undone?

GREGORY: Yes.

PEREIRA: Ninety-one percent. That's the whole lot.

GREGORY: Yes, that's big.

PEREIRA: OK. Now, we're going to move on to independents. We have talked about this a little bit. Interesting to see how many people on the independent side are going for Trump, 38 percent.

GREGORY: Thirty-eight percent to 18 percent. You have a lot of independent voters in New Hampshire. We will see how indicative they are of independent voters around the country. But it just shows you, he's doing well among conservatives, he's got some traction among working class Democrats, and got independents.

He is really starting to build a coalition here. That's why we have to say he is in control of this race and he is for real.

PEREIRA: He is for real.

Let's talk a look at the Democratic side.

GREGORY: Sanders too -- 72 percent to 27 percent among independent voters. He's very -- you know, he's a Democratic socialist is channeling all the liberals but getting independents in New Hampshire as well. That will be a big test for him as he moves out of a state that's like New Hampshire.

PEREIRA: I want to pop down to an interesting things. Two-thirds of primary voters say they actually support a ban, temporary ban, we should point that out, on Muslims entering the U.S.

GREGORY: Think about this -- 66 percent of Republicans in New Hampshire supported what Trump said on that. And among those, you have 44 percent who believe that supporting him. Cruz, 14 percent.

Look, this is a big part of his message. It is fear. It is national security. It's about -- I mean, you talk about doing a fabulous job against ISIS. That level of nativism and fear is a big part of that GOP electorate that's supporting him.

PEREIRA: If we look at the numbers, oh, I thought I was able to tap this.

GREGORY: Hold on.

PEREIRA: There we go. You and I together, we're a mess.

If you look at the ones that oppose the ban, it was Kasich they supported.

GREGORY: That's right. Kasich is offering a much different view of the Republican electorate. He challenges the Republican orthodoxy in a different way.

Look, he supported the Iran deal, thought that Obama should have a chance on that, very different views about fear and national security.

PEREIRA: Exit polls are really fascinating. David, thanks. Hold on, you did good on the magic wall there, didn't he?

GREGORY: Telestration.

PEREIRA: Not bad.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: He is a talented man. And his size helps frame the entire situation.

After New Hampshire, the shape of the Republican race is changing as well. From a three-man race to a four-man race. Why more is better? Well, it is for Donald Trump, and we'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:22] CUOMO: Everybody loves talking about the numbers, the spread between the winners and who comes in after them. You know what the real fun is, you know what the real value is? Understanding why.

We take a look at what happened in New Hampshire, we see a really good picture, probably the best picture about what this election is all about and who it's benefiting.

Let's discuss with CNN political commentator and former White House political director for Ronald Reagan, Jeffrey Lord, a proud Donald Trump supporter this morning pictured with the capitol under construction behind him metaphorically saying Trump will change things.

And CNN political commentator and former George W. Bush staff member Margaret Hoover.

It is good to have you both.

The dialogue must shift, Margaret Hoover, from well, Trump until, dot, dot, dot, you must reverse it and say, "it is Trump," period. What we see in these numbers -- it's not just that his spread was gigantic. It's "I decided in the last 72 hours. Who did I go for? Trump."

It's -- I'm a conservative. How do I want? Trump: How much do I want him? More than the next two guys, Rubio and Cruz combined.

I don't like the GOP, I'm Trump. I don't like outsiders, I'm Trump.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's right.

CUOMO: Where is the space?

HOOVER: What do you mean, where is the space? I mean, first, late deciders split between Kasich and Trump. So, Trump -- by the way, late deciders did not split for Trump in Iowa. But what happened is, New Hampshire is better set for Donald Trump.

CUOMO: He won 22-21.

HOOVER: Yes.

CUOMO: Just for the Cuomo-Hoover factor.

HOOVER: There you go. Essentially split. You know, there is a margin of error there.

What do you mean where is the margin of space? I mean, basically, this is Donald Trump's race going into south, going into South Carolina, going into, frankly, the rest of the GOP primary.

[06:40:07] Donald Trump is playing on what is a very dominant strain in American politics that starts with Andrew Jackson. Remember, Pat Buchanan won in 1996 in New Hampshire, although Donald Trump isn't Pat Buchanan, it's the same strain in American politics. It is Jacksonian populism combined with this xenophobic nationalism.

And that is the strain that is pulling him through, along with this real disgust for insiders. He's the outsider who truly isn't beholden to anyone. That is the inertia that is carrying him through the rest of the race.

CUOMO: Do you believe it is just inertia, Mr. Lord? What do you think is fueling the rise of Trump?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning there, Christopher.

Well, I do think he has touched a nerve here with Republicans who are very upset with the establishment. I would disagree with Margaret. This has nothing to do with xenophobia. Donald Trump, of course, is the grandson and son of immigrants and married to an immigrant.

This is about fixing the immigration system so that it works properly. That's basically all it is. There's nothing xenophobic about that.

And, in fact, I think that, you know, his supporters, all of those people that voted last night are mightily tired of being pegged as racists and bigots and xenophobes and xenophobic and all of the rest.

HOOVER: It's just -- that's hard though, Jeffrey, when you say you've got to build a wall. The Mexicans are rapists, keep all the Muslims out.

LORD: Margaret --

HOOVER: This is rhetoric that is xenophobic rhetoric.

LORD: Margaret --

HOOVER: I'm not calling anyone who supports a xenophobe. The real cases that he has hit a strain with the number one immigration issue, economics and immigration. And those are the two issues that are motivating people to the polls and those -- people are concerned about those issues are voting for Trump over everybody else in the field.

LORD: Margaret, he is talking about illegal immigration, not Mexicans, illegal immigration.

There is a considerable difference when you have illegals crossing the line and killing a 17-year-old kid, black kid in Los Angeles, who a star student, a star scholar, a star athlete, on his way to either Stanford or Rutgers, and he's shot to death by an illegal immigrant.

That should not happen. That is wrong. There is nothing wrong -- there is nothing right with that. That's not --

HOOVER: Nobody is going to argue that should have happened, Jeffrey Lord. The issue is, you know, do you build a wall? Do you have that rhetoric? Do you take a candidate seriously? Do the words mean anything?

Or do you -- Jeb Bush has a plan for this too. Marco Rubio has a plan for this too. But Donald Trump said, get them all out, build a beautiful wall, and you create a big beautiful door and have them come back through. I mean, this is just rhetoric that is unparalleled in American history frankly for the GOP nomination.

LORD: It's not -- it's not -- I mean, it's not rhetoric that's unparalleled to insist that we have a border. Every another country in the world has a border.

HOOVER: You're right. Every other Republican candidate insists we should have a border too.

LORD: Well, yes, but they don't seem to do anything. And there -- to get back to Chris' question, this is the problem with the Republican establishment. They talk the game. But when it comes time to do something they don't do it. And that's why people are so angry.

CUOMO: That is the state of play. Jeffrey, let's end on this proposition.

Margaret, do you think other people have to get out of the race now to allow Trump to galvanize the party and move forward?

HOOVER: No. Trump is galvanizing the party and moving forward anyway. What needs to happen is for him to have a credible challenger within the GOP. CUOMO: Is there one?

HOOVER: Yes, Ted Cruz is mounting a strong opposition against Donald Trump. Ted Cruz doesn't play to self-identified Republicans who are more moderate or center right leaning. That space is incredibly crowded, and that space does need to winnow, and there is no sense that it is going to winnow any time soon going into South Carolina and the southern states. Forget about it. That is why this is going to be a very long.

CUOMO: Long haul.

Jeffrey Lord, thank you very much. Congratulations to you this morning.

LORD: Thank you.

CUOMO: Margaret Hoover, always appreciate it.

LORD: Thank you, Margaret.

HOOVER: Thanks, Jeff.

CUOMO: Now, at the top of hour, we're going to hear from Donald Trump and John Kasich on their big finishes. Jeb Bush had a surprising night. He is now in hunt. He is live at 7:00.

Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Bernie Sanders riding the wave of voter frustration to victory in New Hampshire. He won among liberal and moderate Democrats. Does Hillary Clinton have a messaging problem? We'll take a look at that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:20] PEREIRA: We'll get back to our coverage of the New Hampshire primary in a moment. But here is a look at your other headlines.

A major roadblock in the president's strategy to combat climate change. The Supreme Court voting to put the clean power plan on hold. That plan aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions by shifting power plants to renewable injury. Some states including West Virginia and Texas insist this would devastate their economies. The White House says it's confident, though, the plan will prevail.

City leaders in Ferguson, Missouri, under fire for attempting to revise a negotiated agreement with the Justice Department to reform its police and court practices. Ferguson City Council sending the agreement back with seven proposed amendments. The Justice Department calls it an unfortunate outcome. DOJ officials threatening to take all necessary legal action against Ferguson to implement constitutional policing.

Michigan's governor and Flint's mayor both making their case for funding to deal with the city's toxic water crisis. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver expected to call for $55 million to remove lead pipes. She's asking Governor Rick Snyder to partner with her to get those funds.

Governor Snyder meantime will ask the state legislature for an additional $195 million in his budget presentation. Mayor Weaver will testify at a House hearing this afternoon. Governor Snyder declined that committee's invitation to testify.

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK. Bernie Sanders is huge in New Hampshire. But he faces a tougher challenge in Nevada and South Carolina. So, what should Hillary Clinton's message be to those voters? Our next guests have some suggestions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:53:36] CAMEROTA: Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire with some unexpected voting blocks. Not surprisingly, Sanders got the liberal and somewhat liberal vote, as you can see from exit polls here. But he also won with voters who consider themselves, quote, "moderate".

So is there a problem with messaging to moderates?

Joining us now is CNN commentator, Bakari Sellers, who is a Clinton supporter and former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and CNN political commentator Sally Kohn, who is a Sanders supporter and "Daily Beast" columnist.

Great to have both of you here.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN COMMENTATOR: Thank you for having us.

SALLY KOHN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Nice to see you again.

CAMEROTA: So, the exit polls do reveal a problem for Hillary Clinton. So, moderates went for Bernie Sanders. Is she having a problem Bakari with defining herself, because is she a moderate? Is she a centrist? Is she a progressive? Voters seem to have a hard time figuring it out.

SELLERS: I think many things that came out of Iowa and New Hampshire will not be pervasive throughout the rest of the campaign cycle.

CAMEROTA: Why not?

SELLERS: Because what we're about to see is a huge demographic shift. And what this race is going to boil down to South Carolina is who is best to protect and build upon the legacy of Barack Obama.

I give you a perfect example. I spoke at a church this past Saturday in South Carolina. When you walk in, you have a picture of Jesus, you have a picture of Martin Luther King, and you have a picture of Barack Obama. So, I mean, this is what this election will boil down to for the

Democrats in South Carolina. Who do they feel is the best position to build on that? I'm not certain she has a problem articulating that when she moves down south.

CAMEROTA: The last time I checked, there are women in South Carolina as well.

SELLERS: They don't make --

(CROSSTALK)

[06:55:01] CAMEROTA: I mean, there are women --

SELLERS: A lot of them.

CAMEROTA: And Bernie Sanders, here's one of the exit polls. Sanders got 55 percent of the women's vote. She got 44 percent.

So, Sally, I know you're not in Hillary Clinton's camp. But if you were, what do you tell her to win over women? How does she win over women?

KOHN: Well, look, first of all, I'm not in Hillary's camp. I'm more in Bernie's camp. But either way I'm in the Democratic camp and they all look better than the Trumpublicans this morning. So, let's start there.

But the more of the point here is, first of all, we have to sort of break out this notion of women as a sort of monolithic group, right? National polling, Bernie Sanders wins white women.

SELLERS: Correct.

KOHN: Hillary Clinton still wins women of color. And, you know, by proxy, the whole phrase sort of "minority voters", we have to unpack and undo even using that phrase because it is no longer a minority, especially if you're looking at women, white women, people of color, voters of color. Put them together. And that's a winning majority.

This constant political fixation on just white male voters is incorrect.

CAMEROTA: But do you disagree with Bakari that she's about to -- her tide is coming? When she gets to South Carolina and Nevada with African-American voters, it's coming?

KOHN: Absolutely. I mean, look, there's no question. If you just look at the polling numbers now, she's much stronger.

And, frankly, I think we should be looking at South Carolina and Nevada as far more politically important than the disproportionately white states of Iowa and New Hampshire. That said, don't discount Bernie's momentum and the fact that he is speaking to something that's not just about Hillary Clinton. It's about a political party that is for too long has taken black voters for granted. SELLERS: I agree with her wholeheartedly. This race is going to boil

down to especially South Carolina. I like to say, my mom and her friends. This is about African-American women, minority women, who have registered in very high numbers, who participate in very high numbers. And Bernie Sanders does have a message. They are listening to Bernie.

So, we'll have to see. You can't take anything for granted.

CAMEROTA: Bakari, speaking of moms, Hillary Clinton is about to start talking with Trayvon Martin's mom. She's going to be talking about gun violence. Obviously, that will be a big issue in South Carolina.

But there's another issue, and that is how young people feel about her? In New Hampshire, young people went for Bernie Sanders. And Hillary Clinton talked about what she needs to do to win them over. So, listen to this from what she said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know I have some work to do particularly with young people. But I will repeat again what I have said this week. Even -- even if they are not supporting me now, I support them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK. So, Sally, is this -- I mean, here you go with 18 to 29-year-olds, Sanders get 83 percent. So, is what we're looking at Bakari's mom, because she doesn't need to win her over, or is it a wave of young people?

KOHN: Look, there's no question that young energy is going towards Bernie Sanders. I don't think that's just Bernie Sanders and his message, right? It's also a repudiation of the sort of centrist compromise, too cozy with Wall Street, too hawkish on foreign policy wing of the Democratic Party that Hillary Clinton represents.

So, you know, young voters matter more or less in certain places, but they always matter when it comes to energizing a campaign, being the boots on the ground in a campaign, right? So, it does matter. And she's not resonating. Part of it is she is trying to say, no, there is no difference between Bernie and I.

Well, that's just not true. I think your question about changing up the message is just, be yourself, Hillary. I mean, you have authenticity and trust issues. Stop trying to be whoever the polling tells you, you should be.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: If you're truly a moderate, maybe that doesn't work this year.

SELLERS: I mean, we are in a different party. I think Barack Obama has ushered in a new more diverse party. So we'll see. But we are about to test Bernie Sanders's core message. We have a lot

of things about Bernie Sanders and young people. We have a lot of things about Bernie Sanders and women voters. But we are about to see if this is really true, because the last time check, there weren't any historically black colleges and universities that voted in Iowa. There weren't any historically black colleges and universities that voted in New Hampshire.

So, we are about to flip the switch on this. And when we get to South Carolina, when we get to Nevada, and when we get to the SEC states, I think it's a new ball game.

But Bernie Sanders is for real. Let's not throw him under the rug. Bernie Sanders is for real.

CAMEROTA: I think we proved that last night, once and for all.

Bakari, Sally, thank you.

SELLERS: Thank you. Good to see you.

KOHN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: We are following a lot of primary news this morning, so let's right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDERS: Nothing short of the beginning of a political revolution.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you don't have a seat belt, go get one.

TRUMP: We are going to make America great again.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The real winner is the conservative grassroots.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Giving me the chance now to go to South Carolina where we are going to do really well.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did not do well on Saturday night. So listen to this -- that will never happen again.

SANDERS: Record-breaking voter turnout.

TRUMP: I heard part of Bernie's speech, he wants to give away our country, folks. We're not going to let it happen.

CLINTON: I know I have some work to do, particularly with young people.