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New Day
Trump Wins New Hampshire, Kasich Surges to Second; Sanders Defeats Clinton in N.H. Primary; Trump Talks about New Hampshire Victory. Aired 7-7:30a ET
Aired February 10, 2016 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- voter turnout.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I heard parts of Bernie's speech. He wants to give away our country, folks. We're not going to let it happen.
[07:00:08] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know I have some work to do, particularly with young people.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary, you just need this month and head to South Carolina, because it ain't working here.
TRUMP: We are going now to South Carolina. We're going to win in South Carolina. I love you all. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.
CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY.
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders now in the win column. The billionaire with a resounding win in New Hampshire, more than doubling his closest competitor, as you can see on your screen. An intense ground game paying off, as well for Ohio Governor John Kasich, whose second-place finish puts him now solidly in contention. Just a few hundred votes separating Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush for third place.
Marco Rubio's poor debate performance proving costly. A disappointing fifth-place finish for him. And other candidates once near the top of the polls now very much in danger of going home for good.
Here's some of what Trump said after taking home top prize last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I wanted to congratulate the other candidates, OK. Now that I got that over with, I am going to be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. Remember that.
If we had 5 percent unemployment, do you really think we'd have these gatherings? Forgetting about security, forgetting about ISIS. Which, by the way, we're going knock the hell out of ISIS.
We are going to start winning again, and we're going to win so much you're going to be so happy. We are going to make America so great again. Maybe greater than ever before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: All right. So that's on the GOP side. All about Trump.
On the Democrat side, Bernie Sanders with a convincing win over Hillary Clinton. But can Sanders woo minority voters from Clinton in South Carolina and Nevada to keep this from being the high point of his campaign?
Just ahead, we will hear from three of the Republican candidates today: Donald Trump, John Kasich and Jeb Bush. We have complete coverage of all of this the way only CNN can.
Let's start with Sara Murray, live in Charleston, South Carolina, home of the next Republican primary.
Sara, you went there with John Kasich. That sent a big message. What was it like on that plane?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, John was excited. But you know, he was not one of the people who was stunned that he came in second place. He said he's actually been feeling the momentum for days. But he did acknowledge that the very positive campaign that he ran in New Hampshire, that might be tougher to keep up in South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY: What was going through your head when you got the second- place victory tonight? Were you expecting it? Did it come as a surprise?
KASICH: You know, I was very calm about it. I sort of felt we were going to be in second place. I heard earlier that, you know, we -- that there was some word that we were going to be there.
And then, you know, when I traveled around to the polling places, it was pretty clear. You know, I was running into everybody. And they were like, "Yes, we really like you" and all that stuff. So, you know, I'm gratified by it, for sure. I think it's fantastic. But I wouldn't say I was shocked by it.
MURRAY: Now, the Bush campaign is already previewing the attacks they're going to use against you in South Carolina, saying that you're going to weaken the military.
KASICH: I'm going to weaken the military?
MURRAY: Are you prepared for the incoming fire that's going to come your way, now that you have landed a second-place finish? KASICH: Well, I think they've spent about $120 million so far. And I don't know. Somebody said as much as 50 million in New Hampshire. I mean, they ought to get this thing figured out at some point. I mean, they're spending so much money. I don't know who's advising them.
But I mean, I think that's kind of silly, that I'm weakening the military. I don't even understand what you're talking about.
MURRAY: Are you ready for this to be the new normal?
KASICH: I think it is pretty normal. Yes, I think I'm fine. You know, my efforts have been validated.
And then I thought, you know, how cool it would be to be able to finish up high. And I wasn't spinning any of you. I really thought we would. Because it was like running for Congress.
And then, you know, I'm not really shocked that we're in second. But everything sort of evolved more than it's just been like we flipped the switch and then, all of a sudden, this is happening. I'm prepared for this.
What do we think the Bush campaign spent against me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven or 8 million dollars.
KASICH: OK, they spent 7 or 8. There was 4 million spent by another super PAC. That was 12. Rubio spent money against me, about a million and a half. That's like $15 million of direct hits. And that doesn't even count the mail pieces. And we beat everybody, except Trump, who never attacked me.
[06:05:10] So I know we just can't just go through this, you know, like falling off a turnip truck and saying that everything is just going to be positive, because I'm going to have to respond to some of this stuff. But I'm starting to really think we're onto something. I'm starting to really think that the positive nature of a campaign can be very effective. I'm starting to think it could be true.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY: Now that they've landed that second-place finish, the Kasich campaign is scrambling to try to make magic happen twice. They've already dispatched staffers to eight or nine of these upcoming states. And they're looking forward to places like Ohio, the governor's home state and Michigan, hoping they'll be able to snap up enough delegates along the way to stay competitive.
Back to you, Michaela.
PEREIRA: All right. Sara, game on. Thanks so much for that.
Turning now to the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders' impressive win over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. How will both campaigns change their playbooks heading into the next contest? Senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny live in Manchester, New Hampshire. Yes, I bet they're taking a really hard look at this.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: They are, Michaela. Good morning.
Impressive and historic, in fact. Bernie Sanders' 22-point win is the highest and the biggest in the history of this New Hampshire primary. Now, if you're Bernie Sanders, you're actually waking up this morning thinking, "Wow, can I actually win this nomination?" This was never in his calculus. He was running as more of a movement candidate. Now, this is real. This is important, as he's taking this message on the road.
His challenge is, though, can he expand his base? Can he expand his popularity? He addressed that last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: What happened here in New Hampshire in terms of an enthusiastic and aroused electorate, people who came out in large numbers, that is what will happen all over this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Of course, that's his challenge. That's what he hopes will happen across this country. But the Clinton campaign is waking up this morning, trying to reboot their message. This is not the end of the road by any means, but it is a bump in the road, no doubt about it. She addressed that head on to her supporters. She, of course, has been in this situation before. Listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I know I've had a blessed life. But I also know what it is like to stumble and fall. And so many people across America know that feeling. And we've learned it's not whether you get knocked down that matters. It's whether you get back up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: And Hillary Clinton has a history of getting right back up.
One of her top advisers told me earlier this morning that this is a critical moment for her candidacy. How she responds to this, how she rebounds from this is going to determine how she'll go forward as a campaign and if this electorate will respond to her. That's her biggest challenge right now.
The Democratic -- the core of the Democratic Party's base has not been with her. But she has many advantages going forward as this race spreads out to Nevada, South Carolina, and all those states down the line -- Chris and Alisyn.
CUOMO: All right, Jeff. Let's talk about what these perceived advantages are for Clinton and a lot more. To break it down for us, we have former moderator of "Meet the Press," David Gregory. We have CNN senior political analyst, former presidential adviser to Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Clinton, David Gergen. There's nobody he hasn't advised. And CNN national political reporter Maeve Reston.
All right. So let's start off with what we understand on the Democrat side moving forward. There's this question mark, David Gregory, that Hillary Clinton, with African-Americans, with Hispanics, Latinos, that's a perceived strength. And Bernie is a big question mark. Why?
DAVID GREGORY, FORMER HOST, NBC'S "MEET THE PRESS": Well, because there is history there. There's voting history there. There's an association with the Clintons. And we see a lot of polling in those states. It just gives her a huge advantage. I mean, this is where her political history helps her in those communities. And of course, she's drafting off President Clinton, as well, in all that.
And Bernie Sanders is just not well-known. He's not well-known beyond his political power base. And in the minority communities.
But the strength of this showing for Bernie Sanders is Iowa and now New Hampshire, the movement, the political movement and energy that he is creating, channeling that disappointment from Obama in a real clear liberal message gives him a new look. There's an opportunity for him to grow, to -- and with a message that can resonate with minority voters that gets him that new look. And so I don't think she can just rest on her laurels here and so, "Oh, they'll never vote." He's meeting with Reverend Sharpton. But he will go out there and go for that vote.
CAMEROTA: David, we just had a segment on about is Clinton having a hard time getting her message out and defining herself to voters. Because if one of her strengths used to be that she was a moderate. Now she said now she has to disown that and call herself a progressive. But Bernie already had that lane.
So what do you see as the problem for her that she confronted in New Hampshire?
[07:10:06] DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think her biggest problem right now is with young people. It's stunning to me that a Clinton has not done as well as she has. Has not done as well as her husband has or she has in the past. I mean, to use young people, the under 30 vote by 70 points or so, that's overwhelming.
So yes, she goes into the south now and many other states with a strong minority support. But can she count on the enthusiasm? Can she count on people coming out from those groups? That's going to be a big question for her.
I do think that there are pockets where Sanders can come alive: in the university communities and that sort of thing. I don't think it's enough to beat her. But I think she comes out of this as still the favorite to win the nomination, possibly still the favorite to win the presidency. But she comes out wounded. She comes out being vulnerable. And she's got to regroup now.
GREGORY: And there's this energy issue, too. Where is all the energy right now? It's on the Republican side. That's where the historic turnout was in Iowa. That's where it was in New Hampshire.
Barack Obama was a singular phenomenon, not just about being African- American, because of his message, what he represented, he could turn out the vote the way we have not seen before. That's the challenge for her. Is she going to get in these primaries, is she going to get minorities, young people to turn out? She has to create an historic moment around her candidacy, which it would be, but I don't think she's harnessed it.
CUOMO: Let's bring in Maeve, because let's challenge this supposition a little bit, right? Maeve, what we're hearing out of the Clinton side of the equation is, "Look, we love what Bernie says about income inequality, but this is about preserving what we already have," and that Sanders is a threat to that, Whether it's the ACA, whether it's gun legislation. Is that going to be enough to shift energy?
RESTON: Well, I think it could be. I mean, we have never -- Hillary Clinton is never better than when she is down and in that underdog role. I don't think that we should count anything out right now. She's been making a very forceful case that she is the proven change maker, that she can go forward in a way that Bernie Sanders can't, that she does not have a record of pushing these policies through.
And we're going to see a very tough race in the next couple of weeks. We know that her campaign is taking a breath. They know that their message has been too muddled. They know that this attempt to connect with young women, for example, or around the historic candidacy, that she would be the first woman president, is not working for them.
I think that we really are going to see them sharpen their message here. She's going to go out and fight hard and go into like Nevada and South Carolina and the states beyond, where she does have a natural constituency. Places that she's done well in the past.
CAMEROTA: David Gergen, let's talk about Donald Trump. He won huge...
GERGEN: Huge.
CAMEROTA: ... last night, as he would say. He beat expectations. He beat the poll predictions.
GERGEN: Absolutely.
CAMEROTA: The poll predictions had him at 31 percent, which was going to be a huge win. He more than doubled his closest competitor. How does this change the field or affect it?
GERGEN: I think he comes out of here not quite where he was before, before Iowa, because he had that aura of invincibility before Iowa. But he definitely comes out of this as the man to beat. And it's very unclear if there's anybody there in the race against him who can beat him.
You know, maybe Ted Cruz can. But he's ahead of Ted Cruz in a number of the states that they're going into down in the South. John Kasich now got, obviously, a fresh life, but he needs money; and he needs to show that he has the chops to win in places that are less friendly than New Hampshire is. He wants to get on to Michigan; he wants to get on to Ohio.
CAMEROTA: That's a long way away.
GERGEN: A long way away. He's got to find some states on the SEC primary, for example, where he can. He needs to do well in South Carolina. He's never -- not going to win South Carolina. Do well. And he's got -- he's got to win some of the states. And he has to get to the Midwest.
CUOMO: Trump is carrying in the momentum of saying all aspects of the party as represented in New Hampshire went for him. Moderate or liberal voters went for him. Conservative voters most notably went for him in numbers that bettered the combination of Cruz and Rubio.
GERGEN: Right.
CUOMO: So he's going in there with that. What other dynamics could come up to play that might make it challenging for him?
GREGORY: We just talked about the fact that Donald Trump is the personification of the populist, angry disaffected voter who feels left out.
I remember covering the Bush campaign in 2004. One of the things they did for reelection against Kerry was so effective, they created new Republican voters. In effect, Trump is creating new voters in this electorate, maybe people who have not been there before. Maybe they're, you know, Reagan Democrats, working-class Democrats. Maybe they're independents. They're conservatives who are angry at other GOP leaders.
He goes into the south where, if he could kick up his ground game a little bit, he could create more of that energy. And -- but the south also has evangelicals, which helps Ted Cruz. You think about states like Alabama. We think about Tennessee. We think about Texas. Sometimes you get as much as 75 percent of the Republican electorate is evangelical Christian. That's going to help Ted Cruz, who's now waiting for this. But we should also be reminded that, Donald Trump, his message in New Hampshire -- remember the ad? "Everything you believe in is under assault."
GERGEN: Right.
[07:15:12] GREGORY: That message, he's speaking to evangelical voters, as well as others. And I think he had resonance -- he certainly had resonance with that in Iowa, and I think you can do that in the South.
GERGEN: The spirit of what we've seen so far is bound to carry over to the rest of the country. I've never seen such complete and total rejection of the political elites in America in a key primary.
CAMEROTA: Dave, let's talk about Marco Rubio. He came in fifth, a disappointing finish. And it now is clear that what happened on Saturday night at the debate did affect him in a bad way. And in fact, he took responsibility for that last night. He talked about it. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our disappointment tonight is not on you. It's on me. It's on me. I did not -- I did not do well on Saturday night. So listen to this. That will never happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Maeve, the crowd loved that message. What does this mean for him moving forward?
RESTON: They did.
He has a real, real uphill climb here. I mean, incredibly disappointing finish for him last night, given the fact that it seemed for a moment as though the establishment was rallying around him until Chris Christie eviscerated him. And what, you know, we've all said is either murder/suicide or kamikaze mission for Chris Christie in the debate.
It was -- it is really important, though, to remember that -- that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz heading into South Carolina may be splitting up a lot of that evangelical vote. But the Jeb Bush campaign and the Rubio campaign do see an opportunity to sweep in there the same way that John McCain did, pick up votes in the low country, for example.
There's a really strategic, tactical strategy going forward for these campaigns, where they think that there still is the chance for the establishment candidate to come in there and give Trump a run for his money.
I will say that Kasich, the most important thing to remember is that this electorate here in New Hampshire is such an anomaly because of the undeclared voters last night. He was really running a general election campaign. That is not going to be the case in some of these states going forward. And he will probably not do as well as he did here last night.
CUOMO: Maeve Reston, thank you very much.
The Davids, thank you for the sagacity this morning.
GREGORY: You sound like Vince McMahon this morning.
CUOMO: I'm trying to get into the event of it.
CAMEROTA: Great job, you guys. Thank you -- Michaela.
PEREIRA: A further designation, the tall David, right?
All right. So what does Donald Trump have to say about his win this morning? CNN spoke with the Donald right after his New Hampshire victory.
Also, Jeb Bush has reason to celebrate. His campaign getting a much- needed bounce. He's going to join us live ahead here on NEW DAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:21:46] CUOMO: Donald J. Trump riding high after a huge victory in New Hampshire. The Republican frontrunner won by more than 50,000 votes. And those votes came across a broad range of demographic groups.
CNN's Jake Tapper spoke with Trump in his first interview, fresh off the big victory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm joined on the phone right now by the winner of the New Hampshire Republican primary, one Mr. Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Trump, congratulations on your victory. Did you ever think that this was going to happen?
TRUMP (via phone): Well, it's been a really wonderful evening, Jake. And you know, I thought -- and I was so happy. I just looked at your report, and it was right across the board with men, with women, with young, with old, with, you know, everything. And to win every single category was perhaps the greatest honor of all.
TAPPER: And it looks like, obviously, the voting results are still coming in. But it looks like this is the biggest victory in a Republican primary since George W. Bush lost to John McCain in New Hampshire 16 years ago. How does it feel?
TRUMP: Well, I didn't know that number. That's a long time. That's a -- that's a great feeling to know that it's been that big of a victory. But that's a lot of years. But I will tell you, it's just an honor to have won. As you know, I told you if it win by one vote, I'll be happy. But this makes me even happier. I will say that, Jake.
TAPPER: It's by a bit more than one vote. So if you look at the exit polls, you'll see that voters were looking for an outsider. They were mad at the Republican establishment. What do you think, in particular, about your message resonated with the voters of New Hampshire?
TRUMP: Well, I think it started with trade and the fact that we're being just ripped off by he everybody, whether it's China, or Japan, Mexico. And I think it really ended up being very much borders and security and other things having to do with security. And then you have the migration and you have ISIS. And all of a sudden, it morphed into that.
And I think, because of the fact that I had done so well with the border and done so well with the wall, which will be built, I think what happened is people started saying that I would also be the best with respect to ISIS and some of the other problems that we have.
So it seems that the whole security thing, the military thing, the fact that I'm going to take care of the vets better than anybody else will be able to. It all sort of came down to that.
But it seems like pretty much of a victory in every category. And of course, the easiest thing of all for me is going to be trade and jobs, because that's really what I do.
TAPPER: In terms of how you won in New Hampshire, did you pay more attention, did your campaign pay more attention to the ground game, to getting your voters to the polls, to making sure that they were motivated, as opposed to the approach of big, big rallies?
TRUMP: Well, I think the ground game was very strong. And I'll tell you, we really focused on it after Iowa. You know the ground game was not something I was extremely familiar with, but I learned quickly. Otherwise, the voters wouldn't like me too much. And I think, you know, I learned very well. And we have a very good ground game.
And, you know, the people of New Hampshire are amazing people. And now I'm going to South Carolina, and I think we're going to have tremendous success there. We were just there, and I had 12,000 people in a wonderful, wonderful arena. And to be honest with you, the ground game was very important to me. And I think we really learned about ground games very quickly.
[07:25:14] TAPPER: As you may know, South Carolina, they like their politics a little bit more rough and tumble. Are you ready for what may come your way, the negative attacks, and perhaps even dirty tricks that might happen in the Palmetto State?
TRUMP: Well, we've already had dirty tricks in this campaign. So you know, I'm ready for whatever they want to throw at me. And that's fine. We've had a lot of dirty tricks in this campaign.
But you know, I want to congratulate everybody that's run. They're all very capable people. And it was an honor to run against them. And now I'll see them in a little while. I'll be -- tomorrow I'll be -- around 1 p.m. or 12 p.m. tomorrow, I'll be in South Carolina getting ready. And that should be interesting.
I love South Carolina. I've been there many, many times. And the people are tremendous people. And I think I can do very well there.
TAPPER: There's a big competition, obviously, for second place and third place in New Hampshire right now. Who do you think is your competition going forward? Is it Ted Cruz? Do you see some rejuvenation for Jeb Bush and John Kasich? Who are you focused on?
TRUMP: I see them all, Jake. I really see them all. I think, you know, they're all good competitors and talented people. And you know, right now it looks like Kasich has a little bit of a lead. But the other -- I'm just looking at your chart. Yes. It's -- it's getting a little bit closer. It's going to be a close race, I think. And you sort of predicted that, and so did CNN and the whole group. It's -- it looks like it's going to be a pretty close race for second.
TAPPER: Well, actually, you've been campaigning more with your family: your wife, Melania; your boys, Don and Eric. How are they taking the news? This is a big, big night in Trump family history.
TRUMP: Well, they're very proud. Melania is standing with me right now. And Don and Eric and Ivanka. Corey's right outside, who has done a terrific job. And I was -- in fact, he just walked in now. So I will comment on his ground game, which was excellent.
But it's -- it's been -- it's been an amazing period of time, and we're all thrilled. And we want to make America great again. It's very simple. We're going to make America great again.
TAPPER: Well, congratulations on a very, very strong win in New Hampshire. Best of luck to you. We'll see you out there on the campaign trail, Mr. Trump.
TRUMP: Thank you very much, Jake. You take care of yourself. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PEREIRA: Jake Tapper there with Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, for Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders fighting to win the minority vote. Can Clinton fend off a rising challenge from Bernie Sanders? We're going to ask Philadelphia's former mayor and Clinton surrogate, Michael Nutter.
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