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New Day

Cold Weather Discussed; Possible Scalia Replacement; Campaign Trail Latest. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 15, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:10] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: They will be kicking it off Wednesday night. Then Kasich, Bush, and Trump on Thursday night. Tune in to both at 8:00. That's on (inaudible) show usually on each night.

Never seen anything like this before. Best way to divide the field and give you the real deal from real voter.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: From politics to -- it's kind of chilly outside. Kind of chilly.

BERMAN: True.

BALDWIN: I was at Toronto this weekend. Minus 26 as I left yesterday, by the way. It's (inaudible).

BERMAN: Poor travel choice.

BALDWIN: After a weekend of brutal record cold across the Eastern U.S., now a winter storm heading to the East. Who will (inaudible) of it. We'll talk to Chad Myers with all the chilly details coming up.

BERMAN: The man responsible.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, raise your hand if your pipes froze this weekend. It was very, very cold out. Single digits in much of the Northeast. Now, though, still in freezing rain will affect more than 75 million people in this region.

Chad Myers joins us with the forecast. Hi, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: John warmed up to 14 for you right now. After yesterday, one below zero, yeah. Pipes were freezing, pets were cold.

[06:35:01] I still think they're cold this morning. Take care of them. Please they can't take care of themselves. It's nine below in Syracuse right now. It's four below Albany. Warmer than yesterday at Watertown, New York bottomed out at about 37 degrees below zero and that's not a windchill factor.

Weather watches across parts of New York, Philadelphia, D.C., not big snows but maybe a little bit of ice, that have been ices, a whole lot worse than three or four inches of snow. That can happen in Charlotte as well as parts of the upstate and the South Carolina and also in North Carolina today.

Here's what we have for you. Very light snow accumulations for the northeast but we still have already this morning. Airport delays. Hundreds of flights are already canceled this morning from New York to D.C., Philadelphia to Boston because of this cold, cold air, and obviously they have to clear off some of this and it is going to be the icing kind of day.

Cuomo, back to you. I know how much you love this cold air. It is not my fault. It is the rodent from Punxsutawney's fault, sir.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Rodent?

BALDWIN: Claiming the rodent.

CUOMO: He's got a lot of fans (inaudible), a lot of fans. I do like that the colors on your map match John Berman's fetching shirt/tie combo.

BERMAN: Well done. Well done. Thank you for that.

CUOMO: We're going to take a little break. And when we come back, we will get to the heart of who will replace this legend, this giant that we have lost too soon. Antonin "Nino" Scalia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Despite Republican objections, President Obama in all likelihood and certainly is promising to submit a nomination to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

[06:40:05] Now, before that haggling really begins, all parties need to, you know, they need a name to haggle over. So, who do we think it's going to be? Let's bring in Professor Toobin. Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst, former federal prosecutor, literally wrote the book on the Supreme Court.

I know you been very busy. Thank you for being here this morning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I am delighted.

CUOMO: First, the general question. What you were just discussing about it? Let them in to what we talk about that we're not on T.V.

TOOBIN: Yes.

CUOMO: Do you think this will be the first election where they somewhat drop the pretense of, well, it's not really about politics. I don't want to ask about your political questions. I just want to ask you about your theories of law.

You think they're going to drop that? If you're talking about specific cases these politicians what they like, what they don't like, who they want, all these justices wind up having a very definite disposition when they get on there. Do you think this will be different?

TOOBIN: I do think that there is much more predictability in the Supreme Court justices now that if you don't explicitly say to a prospective candidate, do you think Roe V. Wade will be overturned, do you think citizens of the united will be overturned?

This myth that presidents are surprised by their Supreme Court justices has really proven to be a myth. If you look at all nine justices on the court now what you see is what you got. Their expected approach to the law is what turned out to be the law. And I think that will be true with anyone President Obama nominates as well.

CUOMO: And we agree. There is no capability standard whether or not a president in a certain year can nominate. They always can. Obama almost certainly will. So, let's take a look at some of the big names.

There are a lot of other names. You're going to hear a lot of other names. Let's just start with the realm of most likely. Probability, not possibility. Take us through these three.

TOOBIN: OK, Srinivasan. Srinivasan is a 48-year-old judge on the D.C. circuit. Widely believe to be the second most important court in the United States. Impeccable qualifications. J.D./MBA from Stanford. He argued more than 20 cases as a lawyer before the court in the Solicitor General's Office.

Most importantly, for Srinivasan, in 2013 he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. So the argument would be in 2013, all the Republicans thought he was qualified to be on the D.C. circuit. What's stopping him now?

CUOMO: So it makes it a naked political play if they're against him just because he has been suggested.

TOOBIN: Exactly.

CUOMO: You don't know what you...

(CROSSTALK)

TOOBIN: I'm sorry. You're getting instructions.

CUOMO: Come back. Look what you're doing. Just get rid of this thing. Get it out of there.

TOOBIN: There we go.

CUOMO: All right.

TOOBIN: There we go. OK, Judge Jane Kelly. Similar situation. Also a judge on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is a law school classmate of President Obama. Interestingly, she would be the first former public defender on the Supreme Court.

The other interesting fact about her is that she is from Iowa. And even though she was nominated by a Democratic president, she was strongly supported by Senator Chuck Grassley, the Republican Chairman of Judiciary Committee also confirmed unanimously by the Senate. So the argument would be the same. What's wrong with her now since all the Republicans confirmed her before...

CUOMO: And when it comes to Srinivasan and Judge Kelly, is there anything they have done since then that would make them a little bit a high profile?

TOOBIN: Nothing as far as I'm aware. Paul Watford, also a sitting judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California, formerly a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles. The issue with him, of course he would be the third African-American on the court. He was confirmed with 61 votes. So he was somewhat more controversial but, you know, also a very respected judge.

CUOMO: How about that. Clerked for Ginsburg.

TOOBIN: Srinivasan also clerked for Sandra Day O'Connor which would also give some sort of bipartisan credit.

CUOMO: So of these three, what do you think is the most likely?

TOOBIN: Srinivasan.

CUOMO: Do you think...

TOOBIN: I think he also, you know, first Indian-American on the court. There would be a landmark to that. When a guy who is so universally respected in legal circles, he would be my most likely pick. I think the unanimity in the Senate is a very big factor in his favor.

But also you one factor to keep in mind is who would really want this nomination? When you have the Senate saying you have no chance of being confirmed. So the opportunity to have your head beaten in for 10 months with no payoff.

CUOMO: All right. That was good. That's going to be tough. I don't know. I thought I knew. Now I don't know. Thank you very much. J.B?

BERMAN: Gentlemen, thank you so much. George W. Bush hitting the campaign trail in South Carolina today. This isn't his first time really in the stump since 2004.

[06:44:47] So, does W still have game? And what kind of difference can he make for brother Jeb in South Carolina? Up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Pope Francis taking on government, business and religious leaders in his historic trip to Mexico. This morning he has the Mexico's poorest state leading players in local languages and effort to reach out to indigenous communities there.

Over the weekend in a Mexico City suburb he celebrated mass for more than 300,000 people in the denounced Mexico's rich and corrupt elite.

BALDWIN: The FBI is investigating a bomb found at a rental car facility at Albuquerque Airport. Authority say credible explosive device was discovered Sunday attached to an Avis car that rented elsewhere, was rented elsewhere, dropped off at the airport. A police bomb squad was able to disarm it. The rental car center is not attached to the main terminal. No flights affected.

BERMAN: Kobe Bryant playing in his 18th and final NBA all-star game in Toronto. The final score in that game was 100 million to 99 million. Coy Wire has more on the game in Kobe's final light in this morning bleacher report. Hey Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning John. You're so right. This game is never known for defense and that was definitely the case yesterday. The West scoring a record 196 points and both teams combining for the most points even, but last night was mainly the farewell to Kobe Bryant show. There were a lot of tribute videos, pre-game, and fans were chanting Kobe's name all night long. There's that trademark fade away J.

Definitely the sentimental MVP of the game, the real MVP through that would go to Russell Westbrook. I mean he was just out there swarm (ph) through the air like Superman. Putting up 31 points. I love this next (inaudible). The first player to win back-to-back MVPs in almost 60 years. The West wins 196-173. Kobe Bryant happy to be part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOBE BRYANT, NBA PLAYER: It was fun. I mean I had a blast. You know, playing with those guys and, you know, laughing and joking with them on the bench. For all those things is quite -- I had a great time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: How about Saturday's dunk contest, though. Defending champion Zach Levine and Eric Gordon put on a show. Some say, this was the best dunk content since Jordan versus Dominique Wilkins back in '88.

It so good it went to double overtime. How about Gordon here. The dunk where he put the ball under both of his legs. Are you kidding me? The judges couldn't believe it.

[06:50:07] Levine would actually win it though with this dunk, from the free throw line and between the legs. My goodness. I hope your Monday gets off to a slam dunk good start. Brooke?

BALDWIN: I was there. I was there. I saw the dunk in person, man. With the mascot and the under the legs and the windmill, it was sick.

CUOMO: Perfect step over to the foul line and the dunk.

BERMAN: Eric Gordon was lab...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Gordon was amazing.

CUOMO: We have to leave it there.

BALDWIN: We have to leave it there.

CUOMO: There's no time discuss. It's just the best dunk contest.

BALDWIN: I have (inaudible) the history of...

CUOMO: We'll discuss it online. This is for you to read.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeb Bush gets something from boost from his brother. Big brother name George W. Today, the former president on the stump in South Carolina. Will it help? We will discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:09] BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching New Day. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Jeb Bush briefing out and that's a secret weapon on the campaign trail today his brother George. This is the first appearance on the trail for the former president who badly (ph) won the South Carolina primary back in 2000.

And ahead of that Donald Trump this morning just jumping on a Twitter tweeting this, quoting, Mr. Trump, "Funny that Jeb! Didn't want to help from his family in his failed campaign and didn't want to use his last name then mommy, now brother." That's already happening this morning, folks.

Matt Schlapp is a former political director for George W. Bush in 2004 campaign. Now, Chairman of the American Conservative Union. Matt Lewis is a CNN political commentator and senior contributor for The Daily Caller. So to the Matts this morning, good morning. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Good morning. Matt Schlapp to you first. I mean, listen, with all of this going on, this been going out for awhile obviously between Trump and Jeb Bush. And now they doubling down for Mr. Trump not just on Twitter, you know, over the weekend the debate, the Sunday shows. What is Bush 44 say today on the trail?

MATT SCHLAPP, FORMER GEORGE W. BUSH POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I think what Bush 43 and the trail needs to get across is that the number one issue in the minds of Republican voters is security, and that includes national security. And alluding to the fact that under the Bush presidency terrorists were held at bay is an incredibly important message because President Obama has done so much to destroy those policies. This is a real legitimate policy conversation that Jeb Bush ought to grab by the reigns and really talk about. BALDWIN: Matt Lewis do you say does he take on Trump directly?

MATT LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, first, let me say I think this is a smart move. There's a max in politics that says if you're going to get the downside of something, the negative side of something, you ought to at least get the benefit.

And so Jeb Bush can't run away from the Bush name so he might as well own it, he might as well embrace it, he might as well bring out his brother who's incredibly popular there in South Carolina.

I don't know if George W. Bush lowers himself to named Donald Trump by name. But I guarantee you, he's going to push back at Trumpism.

BALDWIN: Just in case some of the people missed over the weekend at the debate this back and forth between Trump and Jeb Push. You got nasty. Got nasty a lot them but particular between these two. Here's a piece in case you missed in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George Bush made a mistake. We can make mistakes. But that was a beauty. We should have never been in Iraq. They lied. They said there were weapons of mass of destruction. There were none. And they knew there were none.

JEB BUSH, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I could careless about the insults that Donald Trump gives to me. It's blood sport for him. He enjoys it. I'm glad he's happy about it. But I am sick and tired of him going after my family.

Well, Donald Trump was building a reality T.V. show, my brother was building security apparatus to keep us safe. And I'm glad he did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Matt Schlapp just curious, your perspective? You know, yes, Trump has gone over after his, you know, 90-year-old mother Barbara Bush who was out, capacity crowd in New Hampshire and now his brother was Jeb Bush forceful enough there and your opinion on stage?

SCHLAPP: Yeah, I think he was definitely forceful. I think he won this exchange. I don't think Republican primary voters believe that George W. Bush lied about the Iraq War or Colin Powell, or any these other people including our allies in England and other places.

But, you know, I think he was forceful. And I think I agree with Matt. This is a good move. It was smart to bring Barbara Bush out in New Hampshire and her appeal to independence. It's smart to bring George W. Bush out to South Carolina. I am so glad to see George W. Bush back in the campaign trail which he do a lot more of it. He's very popular in South Carolina and he will -- it will help him highlight the questions of national security.

BALDWIN: He is popular with huge primary for George W. Bush in 2000. I'm wondering, Matt Lewis, how this could have a negative impact on Donald Trump in South Carolina. But at the same time, I mean, he's got huge numbers. Will it?

LEWIS: Yeah. Well, here's the interesting thing. I don't think this is about beating Donald Trump. I think this is about boxing out Marco Rubio. I think that Jeb Bush will probably come in second or third place in South Carolina. I think Donald Trump wins the state. But I think the whole thing is about boxing out Rubio.

And now, you remember Rubio came in, you know, he sort of won the establishment land in Iowa coming in third place. Kasich bets him something in second in New Hampshire. And now I think he's going to be boxed out by Jeb Bush. The establishment lane will not be able to coalesce. And Jeb Bush will declare a victory if he comes in third place.

BALDWIN: Rubio aid said it would be a bloodbath and we shall she come this weekend. Matt Schlapp, Matt Lewis, thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And we are following a lot of news on this Monday. Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D), U.S. PRESIDENT: Justice Scalia, one of the towering legal figures of our time.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: How does he change this? No one will be appointed does not a consensus choice.

[07:00:01] HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is outrageous that Republicans have already pledged to block any replacement.

TRUMP: You are the single biggest liar.

TED CRUZ, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He would not rescind President Obama's illegal executive amnesty on his --

(END VIDEO CLIP)