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President Obama Criticizes Donald Trump; President Obama Promises to Nominate Supreme Court Justice; Pope to Celebrate Mass at Mexico-U.S. Border; New Poll: Clinton & Sanders in Virtual Tie in Nevada. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired February 17, 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: -- Trump, 8:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN, only with our man Anderson Cooper. There's a lot of news. They'll be poll numbers. There's new back and forth with Trump and the president. Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ORRIN HATCH, (R) SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: The Democrats are crying and moaning and groaning. It's highly hypocritical.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The constitution is pretty clear.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The very balance of the Supreme Court and the constitution is at stake.

OBAMA: Mr. Trump will not be president.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has done such a lousy job as president.

OBAMA: It's no hosting a talk show or a reality show.

TRUMP: Look at our budget. Look at our spending. We can't beat ISIS.

OBAMA: I know Hillary better than I know Bernie. She was an outstanding secretary of state.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What we say matters but what we do matters more.

TRUMP: I have never, ever met a person that lies more than Ted Cruz.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At times it seems like a bit of a circus.

TRUMP: These politicians are dishonest people, wow.

CRUZ: The time for games is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday February 17th, 8:00 in the east. Alisyn is off, J.B. is right here. And we all know and love Michaela. She is always here.

President Obama has a promise and a demand. He's calling on the Senate to do its job, hold hearings, vote on whoever he nominates as a Supreme Court replacement for Antonin Scalia. He is committing to making the choice himself. He says it is all about the constitution.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: And for the first time the president taking on Donald Trump. The president says the presidency is, quote, "not hosting a talk show," and all but guarantees Trump will be the next occupant of the Oval Office. We begin our coverage with CNN's Chris Frates who is live at the White House this morning. Chris?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Michaela. So President Obama said yesterday that no matter who he nominates to replace Justice Scalia they will be indisputably qualified. And despite this election year slugfest between Senate Republicans and Democrats, the president made his expectations clear. He'll do his job and put a nomination forward, and he expects the Senate will do theirs and vote on it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: The constitution is pretty clear about what is supposed to happen now.

FRATES: President Obama again vowing to nominate a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, lashing out at Republicans whose say the next president should fill the seat.

OBAMA: This will be the opportunity for senators to do their job. Your job doesn't stop until you're voted out or until your term expires.

FRATES: In his fierce comments about the fierce battle brewing over Scalia's replacement, Obama said the vacancy shouldn't get caught in the crosshairs of partisan politics.

OBAMA: I intend to nominate somebody, to present them to the people, to present them to the Senate. I expect them to hold hearings. I expect there to be a vote. I'm amused when I hear people who claim to be strict interpreters of the constitution suddenly reading into it a whole series of provisions that are not there.

FRATES: Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley telling Iowa radio he hasn't decided if his committee will hold confirmation hearings for the president's nominee.

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, (R) IOWA: I will would until the nominee is made before I make any decisions, in other words, take it a step at a time.

FRATES: But most Senate Republicans are toeing the party line, promising to delay the process until after the election. SEN. JESS SESSIONS, (R) SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: There is no doubt

that by following what Mitch McConnell, our leader, Republican leader has said. That we are not going to bring this nominee up this year. He's doing exactly what Harry Reid would do if he were in the majority at this time.

HATCH: The Democrats are crying and moaning and groaning. It is highly hip critical. Literally we're in the middle of a voting campaign for president of the United States, and I think it just makes sense to put this off for the next president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRATES: Justice Scalia will lie in state in the great hall of the Supreme Court on Friday, but even as his chair on the bench is draped in black to honor him, the political battle over how to succeed him rages on. Back to you, Chris.

CUOMO: Exactly what Scalia did not like about politics on full display. Chris Frates, thank you very much.

There is a lot of debate over this nomination. Let's get both sides. Let's bring in the Washington director of Moveon.org Mr. Ben Wikler, and senior attorney for JudicialWatch.org, Mr. James Petersen. James, let me start with you on this. We know what both sides of the debate are in terms of why do it, why not to do it. Here's my one question. Republicans are now saying these hypocritical Democrats. Schumer did the same thing in 2007. They play to advantage as well. Why would you rely on the two wrongs make a right analogy in a situation like this? Why not just do the right thing, have the process, and vote yea or nay on whoever the nominee is?

[08:05:02] JAMES PETERSON, SENIOR ATTORNEY, JUDICIALWATCH.ORG: Good morning, Chris. What's important here, though, is what this boils down to is a political question. And that is exactly right. If the Democrats, if the situation was reversed they would be doing the same thing, delaying this, because this is a big question with big consequences. And this is because we now have a Supreme Court that takes it upon itself to decide many important questions of our lives. And this is a huge seat. It could change the outcome of important cases.

CUOMO: We get that it's a big deal. The question is how do you go about with the process of dealing with this big deal? Mr. Wikler, you have a sour look. You're shaking your head back and forth. What do you object to so much?

BEN WIKLER, WASHINGTON DIRECTOR, MOVEON.ORG: This is fundamentally a constitutional question, not a political question. And if these Republican senators don't like the constitution they can come out and say it. But it says clear as day that the president shall appoint with the advice and the consent of the Senate Supreme Court judges. That is the job. That's the Senate's job. It is time to move forward and do this. And I think Scalia of anyone would agree that that is what the president and Senate are supposed to do. CUOMO: The constitution is clear about what it says. But what is

also clear is what it does not say. There is no suggestion in there of timing. There is no suggestion in there of volitional capabilities. Politics is always played in these situations. How is this different, to your mind, than what Democrats have promised to do in the past?

WIKLER: Schumer in 2007 said that if the President Bush nominated a Supreme Court justice who was an extremist, then he would want to oppose that extremist nomination. He was saying he would consider a nominee --

CUOMO: Is that a generous reading of Schumer? That's not what Schumer said. Schumer said because of what Bush has done, I am saying we should not go with any of his nominations except in extreme circumstances. He was laying it down. His best defense would be, yes, but we never actually did it. I just said it. Wouldn't that be a closer reading of the truth?

WIKLER: You know, I think in the context he was talking about extremist nominations by President Bush. And there is only one example where a president in the last few decades has nominated a Supreme Court justice in an election year, and that is President Reagan. And President Reagan said every day that passes with a Supreme Court below full strength impairs the people's business. Democrats voted. I think it's time for Republicans to consider and vote as well.

CUOMO: And that nomination and eventual confirmation as you well know, was Anthony Kennedy, who has obviously contributed as much to the court as anyone else in terms of swing rulings during his tenure. So the question becomes, this is a naked political play, and at some point doesn't politics have to take a backseat to process in at least inasmuch as holding the hearings? You are going to control the outcome with the current configuration of the Senate. Why not just have the hearing?

PETERSON: Well this -- Chris, this is a political process. That is exactly right. And if someone wants to have a show and to blame the other side, that is fine. But these are important questions. It is a political question. And the American people ought to have a right to participate in this.

CUOMO: See that is the part I don't get. That's the part I need you to help me with. The American people should have a part in it. They did. They elected Barack Obama president for a second term. He's now sitting there just like Reagan was when he appointed Kennedy in his last year. Why not let the process go out, and you will control it anyway? We're seeing Grassley back up on it, right. And I don't think he should be punished for that. I think he should be applauded for that because he's saying, look, I'll hold the hearing. Let me see who the nominee is and then we'll what happens. You will still be able to vote it down. Why give up the leverage of doing something and replacing it with the jaundice of doing nothing?

PETERSON: The key question here is whether or not the American people get a chance to participate in these significant issues. Everybody knows the Democrats will be saying the opposite if the situation was reversed. If the Democrats really believe that American people ought to be able to participate in this process, they should let it play forward and let the Senate do its job of waiting until it provides consent. The Senate is not required to do anything. And the court will move along just fine in the next year while eight justices remain.

CUOMO: Four and four is obviously not optimal, otherwise we wouldn't have nine as a requirement. And we all know that. We all know it is not a catastrophe but it is about why would you play to the lowest form of efficiency when you could play to the highest?

But I don't understand why you're smiling so much, Mr. Wikler, I've got to be honest with you. A big reason that you are in this position is because of how Republicans feel that President Obama has dealt with judicial selections in the past and how they feel there is no real sense of compromise or a chance to work with him. Isn't that a big reason of why we're in the situation in the first place?

WIKLER: I think what we're seeing is the same dynamic play out that we've seen throughout the period of Republican control at Senate, which is obstruction, obstruction, obstruction.

[08:10:03] I hope that in this case they will at least consider the individual nominee rather than blanketly announcing they will obstruct anyone, even someone who they might be delighted by. The president is promising to appoint, nominate someone who's superbly qualified, indisputably qualified. I think it is up to the Senate to consider that person and examine whether they agree that the person has the qualifications to be a Supreme Court justice.

CUOMO: The big question that separates the two of you would be just one word, "when." That's the word that separates it. Mr. Wikler, Mr. Peterson, thank you for laying out the two sides, appreciate it.

WIKLER: Thanks so much.

PETERSON: Thank you.

CUOMO: J.B.?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Chris, we have breaking news in the 2016 presidential race. A new CNN-ORC poll out just this morning shows the Democrats a virtual tie in Nevada, a state that votes just three days from now in its caucuses. And 48 percent with Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders at 47 percent, almost no difference there.

On the Republican side Donald Trump, he is way out in front in Nevada. He's at 45 percent. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz in a close battle for second. Trump also holds a commanding lead in South Carolina as well. That is, again, just three days before the primary there, up 16 points. Cruz, Rubio, and Bush, they all trail the frontrunner. Trump does best even among evangelical voters by nearly a two to one margin.

One thing that is worth noting, a lot of voters, still about half have yet to finalize their choice, and it does look like the debate on Saturday might have cost Donald Trump a bit in the polls. He dropped a little bit after the debate Saturday night.

As for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by a big margin in South Carolina, 56 to 38. She has the most support among women and African-American voters, two groups that she will need in her corner as she heads forward. But again more than half of Democratic voters still making up their minds.

PEREIRA: Beyond the Supreme Court, President Obama ripping into the Republican field. The president declaring Donald Trump will not be the 45th president and takes on Marco Rubio for abandoning a plan on immigration. CNN's Athena Jones live from Buford, South Carolina, with more for us. Hi, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. We've been witnessing an all out slugfest among the GOP candidates to win, place, or show here in South Carolina. And now you have the president throwing some punches of his own.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president.

JONES: Weighing in just days before the South Carolina primary, President Obama confident Donald Trump won't win the White House.

OBAMA: I have a lot of faith in the American people. And I think they recognize that being president is a serious job. It is not hosting a talk show or a reality show.

JONES: Obama blasting the billionaire Tuesday evening, saying Trump panders and lacks even basic foreign policy knowledge.

OBAMA: It requires being able to work with leaders around the world in a way that reflects the importance of the office and gives people confidence that you know the facts and you know their names and you know where they are on a map. And you know something about their history, and you are not just going to play to the crowd back home.

JONES: Not one to keep quiet.

TRUMP: He has done such a lousy job as president.

JONES: The GOP frontrunner shot back an hour later.

TRUMP: You look at our budgets, you look at our spending. We can't beat ISIS. Obamacare is terrible. You are lucky I didn't run last time when Romney ran because you would have been a one-term president.

JONES: But Obama didn't contain his criticism to Trump's polarizing rhetoric. His rivals were hit too.

OBAMA: If you look at what the other Republican candidates have said, that's pretty troubling too.

JONES: The president specifically calling out Marco Rubio for his previous support of an immigration bill back in 2013.

OBAMA: You have a candidate who sponsored a bill that I supported to finally solve the immigration problem. And he's running away from it as fast as he can.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: No response yet from Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush is getting attention for a tweeted photo of a handgun engraved with his name. The caption says "America." "The New York Daily News" is having some fun with that picture with the headline "Dolt '45, Desperate Jeb Bush gets ripped for tweet suggesting guns are America." Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Athena, thank you very much for that.

In other news this morning, the big man, Pope Francis wrapping up his five day visit to Mexico with a huge mass near the Mexico-U.S. border this afternoon. We have CNN's Polo Sandoval live in Juarez Mexico with more. Polo, set the scene for us.

[08:15:01] POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, not only is this Pope Francis's final stop of his trip to Mexico, many people here in Juarez tell you that it will be perhaps the most symbolic of Pope Francis' trip here to Mexico.

One of several reasons is as soon as he arrives here at about noon Eastern he will head directly to a place that was once considered the most dangerous prison in Latin America. We had an opportunity to speak to some of the people there, they tell us that it was a place that was once controlled by inmates, where there were daily riots. Today it prepares to welcome the pontiff.

Soon after that, that will be a couple of stops in between before he eventually heads here to the heart of Ciudad Juarez to celebrate a huge mass, Chris. At least 215,000 people expected to be in attendance, but perhaps the most symbolic moment will come as Pope Francis will make his way to a temporary migrant memorial that's been set up literally just feet away from the banks of the Rio Grande that divides both the U.S. and Mexico. He will pray there for the people who made it across the boarder and those who did not and then, of course, celebrate that massive mass here which will his final one before he eventually makes it back to Rome.

And what's important here is that moment there will be extremely crucial as it will highlight the issue of immigration, something that's highly debated right next door, especially right now given the political climate among presidential candidates. So we will definitely have to see exactly what agenda items he touches on in what particular order during his time here.

What is for sure, security will be extra tight, especially after a moment, a fairly tense moment that happened during his stop in Morelia, Mexico, yesterday. Several of these faithful followers perhaps a little bit too excited, actually pulled on the Pope's arm, almost leading him to fall over a child. So, as a result we saw a very frustrated pontiff. It was perhaps the first time that that enduring smile left his face. He was quite upset at that moment, but then eventually went back to Mexico City this morning. He prepares to be wheels up for Mexico City one more time before he arrives here where anticipation is slowly building.

John Berman?

BERMAN: All right, Polo. Thanks so much. I hadn't seen that video. You can't pull the Pope over, that doesn't do anyone any good. All right, appreciate it, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

BERMAN: U.S. commercial airlines now free to apply for flight opportunities to Cuba.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN (voice-over): This is part of an agreement signed by both countries. The deal opens up slots for 110 daily flights to ten destinations in Cuba, about twenty of them to Havana. Now, there is a big hang up right now, general travel by U.S. tourists still bard under the embargo the U.S. imposed on Cuba in the 1960s.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: So we know that Donald Trump has been on NEW DAY many a time by phone. "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert took notice of that, so he set up a Trump phone complete with Trump hair.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

PEREIRA (voice-over): Pretty soon you know who came calling. Check out the best "Late Night" laughs.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW": Behold, the Trump phone. Donald, call me on this phone. And then meanwhile on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (recording): Trump, Trump. Trump, Trump. Trump, Trump. Trump, Trump. Trump, Trump. Trump, Trump.

COLBERT: Hello. Who is this?

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): This is Donald Trump. Hello, Stephen.

COLBERT: Let's talk about what experts are calling your potty mouth. How are you going to stop?

TRUMP: Well, it's easy. I've decided to stop. I mean, I do that for emphasis and I do that sometimes non-politically to endorse the crowd...

COLBERT: But you didn't stop, you didn't stop running for office, you didn't stop. TRUMP: Well, these are - well, but these are very minor words and in

many cases I actually bleeped them out myself. I never said the word and then they'll bleep it and people will think I said the word, which is a little deceptive, but that's okay.

COLBERT: I have a suggestion. Why don't you have a swear jar, every time you say a bad word, you put a billion dollars in it.

TRUMP: Yes, I think that's a good idea.

COLBERT: Okay.

TRUMP: I think (inaudible). I'm going to do that. I like that.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

PEREIRA (on camera): After the call in, Colbert joked to the audience, let's make this show great again.

CUOMO: Nobody comes up with something to say faster than Donald Trump. Sometimes they bleep words and I didn't actually say the word, but it's okay.

BERMAN (on camera): But you put the bleep in, it's misleading America.

PEREIRA: That was pretty good.

CUOMO: He's got an agile mind and that was very funny.

PEREIRA: That was very funny.

CUOMO: Trump Trump, Trump Trump. I'm going to put that on my phone.

PEREIRA: Trump, Trump.

CUOMO: Maybe it will work. All right, Hillary Clinton getting high praise but not an endorsement from President Obama. Is that enough to help her in Nevada? It is it squeaky close. How about in South Carolina? Not so close.

[08:19:34] We have the latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know Hillary better than I know Bernie because she served in my administration and she was an outstanding Secretary of State. I suspect that on certain issues she agrees with me more on than Bernie does. On the other hand, there may be a couple of issues where Bernie agrees with me more.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BERMAN: It was not an official endorsement, but President Obama singing the praises of Hillary Clinton. I am sure that was not lost at Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn.

Meanwhile, new CNN polls this morning show a mixed bag for the former Secretary of State. She is in a virtual tie with Bernie Sanders in Nevada, just three days to go before the caucuses, three days, and they're tied there. Hillary Clinton does maintain a strong lead in South Carolina, support from women and African-American voters giving her that cushion.

Let's bring in Brian Fallon, press secretary for Hillary for America. So, you have the good and the bad. You choose, which do you want to talk about first?

BRIAN FALLON, PRESS SECRETARY, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: Well, it's up to you, but we're taking a pretty even keeled approach to this whole race. You know, I think in terms of Nevada we've had a very seasoned team there on the ground.

BERMAN: Even, like the polling in Nevada right now. 48/47 Hillary Clinton. This is a state that is not as white as Iowa, not as white as New Hampshire, not next to Vermont like New Hampshire. Nevada was supposed to be a state, you all told us all along, that was going to be good for Hillary Clinton, yet it's razor thin, tight right now.

FALLON: Well, he's coming off a big win in New Hampshire, so he's got the momentum on his side going to the next contest. But Hillary Clinton is going to be flying out to Nevada tonight after a visit today in Chicago where she'll be appearing with the mother of Sandra Bland. She'll be going out to Nevada tonight and then be there all the way through Saturday.

Like I said, we have a very seasoned team on the ground that knows how to organize this caucus. And so it's going to be tight and down to the wire, but we're confident in our grassroots organization that we built there in Nevada.

And then looking ahead in terms of South Carolina, Hillary Clinton was there just the other day, going off the beaten trail to Bamberg County, one of the most impoverished areas of the state talking about the systemic barriers that people in South Carolina and across the country face. She gave a whole speech on that topic yesterday. And so, I think that she is really appealing to voters by talking about the issues that they encounter in their every day lives.

[08:25:22] BERMAN: You -- I know the Secretary is proud of her outreach to the African American community over time and it is reflected at least a little bit in the polls in South Carolina. You're up by a big margin, you're up by a very, very big margin among African-American voters in South Carolina. Do you see this as your message working right now?

FALLON: Well, I think that Hillary Clinton has been quite clear in recent days, especially that she's not a single issue candidate. Now, Bernie Sanders likes to talk about Wall Street and the need to hold them accountable, and they both share the view that you need to be tough in terms of regulating Wall Street. But breaking up the banks is not a solution for dealing with families,

Latino immigrant families, that are worried about being broken up due to deportation. It is not a solution to deal with the systemic racism that many African Americans encounter to this day.

And so, just to take an example, yesterday she was in Harlem and gave a whole speech about how to deal with those systemic barriers, including, for instance, dealing with the school-to-prison pipeline where you see zero tolerance -- discipline practices in schools, public schools, that filter young African American children into the criminal justice system when these routine infractions should be just sending them to the principals office.

BERMAN: Could I ask you about a comment made yesterday by a supporter of Bernie Sanders. Michael Render, who, you know, who is a rapper, also known as Killer Mike, he said this at a rally in Georgia. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MICHAEL RENDER, RAPPER: I talked to Jane Elliott a few weeks ago and Jane said, Michael, a uterus doesn't qualify you to be president of the United States.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BERMAN: Now, he's quoting Jane Elliot who's a famous teacher, did a lot of research on this. Nevertheless, he did say it out of his own mouth, a uterus doesn't qualify you to be president of the United States. Your reaction?

FALLON: It's disappointing. Obviously if the suggestion there is that Hillary Clinton is asking anyone to vote for her based on her gender, that's completely off base. And this is just, unfortunately, the latest in a series of instances where some of Senator Sanders' top surrogates have made comments that are, to say the least, off script. That...

BERMAN: Some - some of - your top surrogates have made very similar comments, because Madeleine Albright, I mean, it really isn't that qualitatively different than Madeleine Albright saying there's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women.

FALLON: Well, she wrote - she wrote a whole op in 'The New York Times" trying to explain that that was a statement that she's made for years and it was probably made in the wrong context in the course of this campaign. But what I was saying was that this is just the latest instance with that, with Killer Mike and Cornel West. Senator Sanders has been deploying Sanders surrogates out on the stump that have had very unkind things to say about President Obama.

And so, it's a strange way, I think, to make - try to make in roads with African American community in South Carolina and elsewhere.

BERMAN: That wasn't about Obama. It was clearly talking about Hillary Clinton. And again, you said something interesting, and we do hear this from the Clinton campaign, that she's not saying vote for me because I'm a woman. And no, she doesn't ever explicitly say that, but she does say things like at the debate with PBS this is the first time there's a majority of women on stage.

She did say things like at the MSNBC debate where she says, you know, how can Bernie Sanders say I'm not in the establishment when I'd be the first woman president. I mean, this is something she uses a lot.

FALLON: Right, well, but there is a difference, right, because she's not saying - she's not saying -- it is not the point of our campaign that anybody should make a decision to vote based on gender alone. However, it does bare relevance that she would bring a unique perspective being the first woman president. That is something that she would bring to bare in terms of the day to day decisions she'd make in the Oval Office. You know, it's also a sensitivity and an attentiveness to some of the key issues that are on the minds of women voters out there, including equal pay for equal work, which a lot of people talk about but she's actually fought the fight on that for decades.

BERMAN: One other thing that Hillary Clinton said yesterday in her speech on race here in New York, she suggested that you need to have a long-term relationship with the African American community. I'm going to muff the exact quote, but she essentially said the relationship is not something you can create just a few months before an election. The inference there, or the implication, is she's talking about Bernie Sanders. Didn't Bernie Sanders endorse Jesse Jackson twice? Didn't be march with Core (ph) and get arrested in Civil Rights protests in the 60s?

FALLON: So, I think she was making a larger comment, not - not directly about Senator Sanders, a larger comment about Democrats need to be held to a higher standard. You know, no Democrat, including Hillary Clinton, can take African American supporters for granted. And I think that she - the point that you heard her making was that for all Democrats who in the past have had the good fortune of being supported in large numbers by African Americans, we have to be mindful of the fact that we have to earn and rear in that support every day and keep at the front of mind the issues that are of most concern to that community.

That's what she's doing. She's walked the walk on these issues, that's the point she was making.

BERMAN: Three days until Nevada. Brian Fallon, great to have you here with us. Thanks so much.

FALLON: Thanks for having me.

BERMAN: Chris?

CUOMO: All right, J.B. President Obama says Donald Trump's not going to be taking the oath of office come January. Trump, never one to take a punch quietly or at all, firing back. What does team Trump have to say about all of the goings on? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)