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Republican Presidential Candidates Campaign in South Carolina; Governor Nikki Haley Endorses Marco Rubio for President; Democratic Presidential Candidates Campaign in Nevada; Poll: Sanders Beats GOP Rivals in November Mathups. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired February 18, 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] GEORGE PATAKI, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- and I respect that. But most importantly, Chris, I know that Marco Rubio is a constitutional conservative. He isn't going to try to impose his wishes on the American people. He's going to respect the constitution and the rule of law, and it is going to be up to congress, the Supreme Court, the president working together to ultimately decide what policy is.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Governor George Pataki, pleasure to have you on the show.

PATAKI: Good being on with you, Chris.

CUOMO: Welcome back.

All right, there is a lot of news this morning in the election and beyond. So what do you say, let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you say something that isn't true there's no other word for it.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whenever anyone points to their actual record, they start screaming "Liar, liar, liar!"

BEN CARSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people are smart enough to understand bluster and rhetoric versus truth.

CRUZ: The act of being born that made me a U.S. citizen.

CARSON: I wish the government would read the constitution.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will work harder than anyone.

BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people are not going to give up.

CLINTON: I am a progressive who believes in making progress.

SANDERS: Enough is enough.

CLINTON: I won't make promises I can't keep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We still have one of those killer's phones that we have been able to open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a government we have every responsibility and duty to see that Apple provides that information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This basically reduces the security over all iPhone devices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

CUOMO: Good morning friends and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, February 18th, now 8:00 in the east. Alisyn not here. John Berman is joining us this morning and brings with him tidings of big news. Just two days until the South Carolina primary, three more Republicans will face voters in another CNN town hall tonight. Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, explaining their positions, putting their personal side on display last night. Big moments.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The race in South Carolina getting nastier, getting more negative in this final stretch, Cruz daring Trump to sue him over an abortion ad. Meanwhile, Rubio hoping to ride his wave of endorsements to a big win. We begin our coverage with CNN's Athena Jones live in Columbia, South Carolina. Hi, Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. We've been talking about the fiery rhetoric in this race for the GOP nomination for a while now. And it is only getting more heated and more charged with each passing day here in South Carolina. Last night the candidates kept hitting each other as they tried to win over undecided voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Three out of six Republican candidates sitting down for an in- depth CNN town hall. The night's hot topic -- the truth, and who's telling it? Marco Rubio says it is not Ted Cruz.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said he's been lying because if you say something that isn't true and you say it over and over again and you know it is not true there is no other word for it. And when it's about your record you have to clear it up.

JONES: Cruz says it is not Donald Trump or Rubio.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Both Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are following this pattern that whenever anyone points to their actual record, to what they said, to what they voted on, to what they have done, they start screaming liar, liar, liar. It is the oddest thing.

JONES: And Trump in a dueling town hall says it is not Cruz. DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We certainly want to keep

somebody honest.

JONES: The billionaire even sending the freshman senator a cease and desist order for one of the Cruz campaign's ads about him.

CRUZ: I don't think anyone is surprised that Donald is threatening to sue people. He's done that most of his adult life. But this letter really was, look, I've practiced law 20 years, and this letter really pressed the bounds of the most frivolous and ridiculous letters I've ever seen.

JONES: Dr. Ben Carson says the American people will decide who's being deceitful.

BEN CARSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the American people are smart enough to be able to understand bluster and rhetoric versus truth.

JONES: But all three candidates agree that Apple should abide by a court order to aid federal investigators in hacking the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters, something the tech company sees as government overreach.

CRUZ: We should have done more to prevent that attack, but after the fact we ought to be use every tool we.

CARSON: There is probably very good reason for people not to trust the government but we're going to have to get over there that.

RUBIO: I do know this, it will take a partnership between the technology industry and the government to confront and solve this.

JONES: Rubio taking the stage just a day are President Obama criticized him for distancing himself from an immigration bill he once supported predictably shot back.

RUBIO: President Obama has no standing to talk about immigration because his party controlled the White House, the House and the Senate for two years and they did nothing.

JONES: Later addressing a topic that's been a mainstay of the Democrat's campaign, U.S. race relations.

RUBIO: I also know that in this country there is a significant number particularly of young African-American males who feel as if they are treated differently than the rest of society. And here is the bottom line, whether you agree with them or not, I happen to have seen this happen. I'm not sure there are political solutions to that problem, but there are things we can do.

[08:05:03] JONES: Something else unexpected, the candidates' taste in music.

CARSON: I primarily like classical music.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You like EDM?

RUBIO: I do.

COOPER: Electronic dance music. Have you ever been to a rave?

RUBIO: No I've never been to a rave. No.

COOPER: I don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

RUBIO: It's the Republican primary, Anderson.

CRUZ: "I just called to say I love you. I just called to say I care." I cannot sing to save my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: So there were some fun moments amidst the attacks last night, and tonight we're looking forward to hearing from Donald Trump, John Kasich, and Jeb Bush in CNN's town hall, but not before a long day of campaigning here in the palmetto state. And for Bush's part we're expecting a special guest to arrive later today. Barbara Bush here to help out her son maybe win over voters in a state that could be make or break for him. Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Athena, well put. Appreciate the reporting.

Let's get some perspective, bring in Jason Roe, senior advisor to Senator Marco Rubio, also CNN political commentator and former communications director for Ted Cruz Amanda Carpenter. A couple of big moments last night coming out of the town halls. You got the big endorsement from the government of South Carolina for Marco Rubio. Everybody wanted that endorsement. Let's hear what the senator had to say about it last night at the town hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: In my campaign for president today I got the endorsement of a governor of Indian descent who endorsed a presidential candidate of the Cuban descent, and tomorrow we'll be campaigning alongside an African-American Republican senator. All three are doing that here in South Carolina. That says a lot about the Republican Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Jason Roe, people are looking at the performance of the senator last night and the endorsement and saying now you see that he is the only one who can unite the party and take out Donald Trump. Do you -- well, you better agree with it. Make the case for why that's true.

JASON ROE, SENIOR ADVISER TO SENATOR MARCO RUBIO: I think you are exactly right, Chris. Other than 90 seconds in one of 25 or 30 hours of debates I think Senator Rubio has demonstrated very clearly why he is the best person to lead the Republican Party into the future. He represents I think a new generation of leadership. I think he represents a new face of the party. And I think it is an exciting opportunity for our party. And what he said about the diversity of the leadership of the Republican Party in South Carolina, a southern state with obviously a very complicated history when it comes to race relations, really demonstrates what the Republican Party of the future looks like, what the Republican Party of today under Marco Rubio looks like.

CUOMO: How do you rebut that presumption that Marco Rubio represents the things that bring people together, Ted Cruz does not?

AMANDA CARPENTER, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR SEN. TED CRUZ: I think there are a lot of things to like about Marco Rubio.

CUOMO: Don't get soft on me, Carpenter.

CARPENTER: No, no, really. Marco is a great candidate. Saying these things doesn't mean Ted Cruz is not. I think they are both of the new generation of Republican leaders coming into their own, and they are having a dog fight.

The main difference really between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz is really how they have used their time in the Senate. Rubio has tried to be forward-leaning, saying I want to unify people. I want to go syndicated columnist George Will and be a good president. Ted Cruz has fought on the issues while he's been in the Senate. He has a record of doing that. So you saw that last night I think. Rubio likes to tell me here is what I know about the issues. Ted Cruz says here is where I've stood on issues. It is not who is good or bad. It is different approaches.

CUOMO: Ted Cruz did something else yesterday, I would argue. You can please rebut this. He took away some of the attention of this huge endorsement by going at it again with Donald Trump, this time though not at his urging. Donald Trump sent letters and threatened orally, maybe we're going to sue you over your ads, Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz says, oh yes, I'll depose you. Here is some of the case that Cruz is making for why Donald Trump's threats of lawsuits are revealing and also ridiculous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: I don't think anyone is surprised that Donald is threatening to sue people. He's done that most of his adult life. But this letter really was -- look, I've practiced law 20 years. And this letter really pressed the bounds of the most frivolous and ridiculous letters I've ever seen.

Most of the words in the ad are his own words on national television, and his argument in the letter is running his own words was defamation. It is quite literally the most ridiculous theory I've ever heard, that telling the voters what Donald Trump's actual record is, is deceitful and lying.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CUOMO: So Jason, the argument is Cruz is only the guy who can take on Trump and beat him. Now, that is a little bit of a stretch, frankly, because Trump is dominating in any poll that you look at except one and that seems like an outlier at this point. So how do you defend Marco Rubio against what Cruz has been able to do with Trump?

ROE: Well, I think the clip that you just shared does that for me.

[08:10:00] While Marco Rubio is talking about leading this country and bricking people together and winning for Republicans, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are litigating over litigation. They are right now spending time going back and forth over a silly lawsuit or a threat of a lawsuit rather than talking about their vision for this country. And so while they want to deal with that side show, Marco is out there talking about what he wants to move the country forward, to fix the problems in Washington so that people, that we're addressing the needs of people, not the sideshow that's become the Trump and Cruz show.

CARPENTER: If I could. Part of the side show I think has really been disgraceful the way that Marco Rubio has jumped in and pared it, the way that Donald Trump has been calling Ted Cruz a liar. What's going on right now, Marco Rubio is --

ROE: I think that's about the actual lying. I think everyone agrees on the lying.

CARPENTER: If you would just let me finish. There is a fake Facebook page, some crap on the Internet somebody made up about Trey Gowdy who endorsed Marco Rubio. They are saying that Ted Cruz is a liar because crap went up on the Internet. This is really ridiculous stuff. I think it's beneath Marco Rubio. And I don't think Trey Gowdy, who is a respected federal prosecutor, should be spending his time on that particular issue. And it's just ashamed to see it come down to Facebook posts in the South Carolina election, and I wish Marco Rubio wouldn't do it.

CUOMO: What's the liar, Jason Roe?

ROE: Listen, that is one example in a fairly long list of misrepresentations. The Cruz campaign -- not the super PAC but the Cruz campaign, now has an ad up where they are splicing comments that Senator Rubio has made regarding immigration reform and trying to make it look like he's some mirror reflection of Obama which couldn't be further from the truth. I don't think there is just about anything that President Obama and Senator Rubio agree on. And so this is a pattern of things, and we can go back and look at what happened in Iowa with the direct and malicious dishonest representations of the Ben Carson's candidacy in order to manipulate the electorate to try to benefit from that. And that was just the beginning. So I think --

CUOMO: This is a carry forward of the charge that Marco Rubio --

ROE: Anybody can see it.

CUOMO: This is a carry forward of the charge in some ways that came out of Iowa about Ted Cruz and what he said about Carson and what kind of tactics he will use, and you are what you do in this business and that is why they are coming at him.

CARPENTER: One thing that yesterday I was really shocked to see the Rubio campaign do, a CNN reporter showed a flyer that the Rubio campaign was putting out, and it quoted Donald Trump calling Ted Cruz a liar. I disagree with a lot of things that Donald Trump has said. I think most people do. I certainly wouldn't hold up Donald Trump's words as absolute truth in a campaign. But that's what Rubio has chosen to do. I don't think it is the right direction. But at the end of the day, this state is must win for Marco Rubio. He needs to have a win somewhere. Everyone keeps talking about how electable he is. Electability means you win at some point. And so we have to see where things end up in South Carolina.

CUOMO: Jason Roe, thank you very much, Amanda Carpenter as always.

So the big moments are when you get to see these candidates and how they deal with hard questions from real people. That's why CNN has been embracing these town halls. Tonight you get John Kasich, you get Jeb Bush. Then you get Donald Trump who threw his own town hall last night to try and derail his own party's process. So he'll get a chance tonight to defend that and defend propositions with the American people, 8:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN, only with our Anderson Cooper. J.B.?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Chris, Republicans are all about South Carolina. Democrats, it is all about Nevada where it is tied, tied with just two days to go until the caucuses. Hillary Clinton made an overnight stop in Las Vegas. That as she is trying to pull out a victory there with the organization, with the staff she's had there for months and months. CNN's senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is live in Chicago where Hillary Clinton was yesterday with more. Joe?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John, a really quick pivot for Hillary Clinton starting out here in Chicago, going on to Las Vegas last night. A meeting with members of the culinary union in Las Vegas last night. As a matter of fact this is one of the critical unions, perhaps the most powerful union in Nevada right now. She was reaching out to people on the off hours shift, encouraging them to go out to caucus.

And then there is this. A new ad released in the state of Nevada from the Hillary Clinton campaign reaching out to Latino voters. You can see a little girl telling Hillary Clinton that her parents got a deportation letter and Hillary Clinton trying to comfort the girl. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I feel really, really strongly that you are being very brave. And you have to be brave for them too, because they want you to be happy. They want you to be successful. They don't want you to worry too much. Let me do the worrying. I'll do all the worrying. Is that a deal?

(END VIDEO CLIP) JOHNS: The Latino vote so important in Nevada right now because the latest CNN-ORC poll shows a dead heat between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

[08:15:22] Those two will be appearing at the town hall in Las Vegas tonight as we approach the caucuses. Michaela, back to you.

PEREIRA: Yes, we're very much looking forward to that. All right, Joe. Thank you.

Meanwhile retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor weighing in on this fierce fight surrounding who should name Justice Antonin Scalia's successor. CNN's Chris Frates is live in Washington with the latest for us. Chris?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, that's right, Michaela. Sandra Day O'Connor, who was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan, is breaking with Republicans who want to block any nominee Democratic President Barack Obama puts forward and leave the pick up to his successor. Here is what she had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, FORMER SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: I don't agree. I think we need somebody there now to do the job and let's get on with it.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

FRATES: Sitting Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer spoke yesterday at Yale University but made no mention of Scalia's replacement. Still, O'Connor's words are pretty unlikely to sway Republicans either on the campaign trail or Capitol Hill. Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, two Republican senators running to replace Obama, have said the choice should be made by the next president. That echoes a position Republicans Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell staked out soon after the news of Scalia's death broke last week.

Now, Republicans are already pointing to new polling that shows that the public is split on whether the Senate should hold a confirmation vote this year or wait for a new president. And all of this political jockeying comes even before Scalia's funeral in Washington on Saturday. President Obama and the first lady are expected to pay their respects on Friday when Scalia will lie in repose at the Supreme Court.

And in some other White House news, a senior official tells me that later today the White House will announce that the president will visit Cuba next month. That trip comes after the administration re- opened diplomatic ties with the island late in 2014 and opened an embassy this after.

And after spending a little bit of time in Cuba, I can tell you the president's historic visit, that will likely be a huge event for that island nation, Chris.

CUOMO: All I hear in that report is Chris Frates goes to Cuba, no cigars for his buddy Chris. That's all I heard, Frates.

All right, so...

FRATES: Next time.

CUOMO: In other news, the Justice Department is ready to take on Apple in this battle of privacy versus national security. Even the tech rival Google is now coming to Apple's defense. We have CNN justice reporter Evan Perez here with the latest.

Good morning, Evan.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Good morning, Chris.

You can see why the Justice Department chose this case to take on one of the world's most marketing-savvy companies. We're talking about a terrorist attack that killed 14 people on U.S. soil. The iPhone in question is owned not by the shooter, Syed Farook, but by his employer, the county government, which wants to help the FBI. And the terrorist is dead, so that changes the issue of privacy.

Apple CEO Tim Cook says this isn't a fight about terrorist - a terrorist phone, it's about your security and privacy. In a letter to customers Cook said, quote, "The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers."

But the Justice Department says in a statement that this is a much more limited issue. They say, quote, "The judge's order and our request in this case do not require Apple to redesign its products, to disable the encryption or to open content on the phone. In addition, the judge's order and our requests were narrowly tailored to this particular phone."

So, the battle lines are now drawn. In the coming days we expect Apple to appeal this court ruling ordering the company to help the FBI.

John?

BERMAN: It will go all the way to the Supreme Court where there is turmoil in and of itself. All right, Evan. Thanks so much.

A Florida teenager insists he is not a fraud after being busted for allegedly posing as a doctor.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BERMAN (voice-over): Malachi Love-Robinson was arrested after authorities say he gave an undercover agent a physical and offered to treat him. He is now defending himself, but he clearly dances around some of the details.

MALACHI LOVE-ROBINSON, ARRESTED FOR PRETENDING TO BE A DOCTOR: I do currently hold a PhD, in what I don't feel comfortable disclosing because that is not the issue here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you treat people at your office...

LOVE-ROBINSON: The issue that I face now is accusation. There are many types of degrees out there that hold a title as doctor, whether they are a physicist or an engineer. Just because someone has a title doctor in front of their name does not necessarily imply M.D.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BERMAN (on camera): Obviously some deep, deep confusion here. The teenager is out on bail. This is the second time that the 18-year- old's been cited for practicing medicine without a license. .

PEREIRA: All right, no surprise, presidential politics certainly make for some big laughs. One show did have a surprise up its sleeve last night, a bit of a blast from the past. Check out the best Late Night Laughs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE LATE SHOW: Bernie Sanders has been fighting an uphill battle against Hillary Clinton. And Donald Trump is battling with anyone who makes eye contact with him.

SETH MYERS, HOST, LATE NIGHT: Jeb Bush yesterday tweeted out a picture of a handgun with his name engraved on it and the caption, "America," making it the first time anyone said his name the way his logo intended, Jeb!

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW: I think I might have pulled something on that last joke. I need someone to tag in for me. Can anyone tag in? Can you - tag (ph), can you help me out? Thanks.

[08:20:15] JAY LENO, COMEDIAN: After his big win in New Hampshire, they say Hillary's team is trying to dig up dirt on Bernie Sanders. Oh. Do you know what you call someone who digs up dirt on Bernie Sanders? An archaeologist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That was funny.

CUOMO: That was funny.

BERMAN: It was worth, like, the six months since we've seen him last time to work on that one joke. Take another six months off, come up with another.

CUOMO: That's funny, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BEMAN: All right, we have a really interesting new look to show you right now. A brand new poll out of Quinnipiac University which looks at head to head general election match ups. Look at this. Hillary Clinton trailing or essentially tied there with Donald Trump, nearly every Republican candidate. That's Hillary Clinton, but look at Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders beating each and every one of the Republican candidates. In some cases by a lot. So what does this mean?

[08:25:00] Joining us now, CNN political commentator and Democrat strategists Donna Brazile and CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Bob Beckel. Similar resumes, what does that mean?

Donna, let me start with you here. Look, I know we're not in the general election.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right.

BERMAN: So in some cases general election match ups do not matter as much. However, one of Hillary Clinton's arguments is she is the electable Democratic candidate here, whether se says that directly or subtly, that is a message we're getting from the Clinton campaign. When you see those numbers, and those are pretty stark numbers, Hillary is losing to everybody but Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders beating everybody by a lot. Does that mean anything?

BRAZILE: Well, look, right now people are still shopping, not just Democrats but Republicans too. When Hillary says that she's electable, she's talking about her experience. She's talking about - no, no, John. No, no, no, no. Before you get so negative, it's too early to be negative. Be positive. She's talking about the experience that she has garnered all her life. And Bernie Sanders, likewise, is also talking about his experience and the fact that he can take on and beat these Republicans.

So, I think that's an argument, but that's not a closing argument that you need to make for voters. Voters want to feel good. They want you to be aspirational. They want you to tell them your vision, and I think that's what Secretary Clinton is struggling with, you know, explaining to the country what she intends to do differently than, of course, the current president and, of course, the Republicans.

But Bernie Sanders has found that sweet spot. And voters like him, they like his ideas, they like what he's trying to accomplish in terms of any income inequality. And of course he's inspired so many students, not just the students that I teach on campus at Georgetown, but he's inspiring a generation to get involved in politics. There's nothing wrong with that.

BERMAN: There was so much in what Donna just said there, Bob, which was fantastic. See how positive I am there?

But one of the things Donna was saying is that Hillary Clinton is trying to make her case to the voters. Hillary Clinton herself , in an interview with "Vogue" magazine, is basically admitting she's having a hard time making that case. Let me show you the quote right here. It says, "I'm great at advocating for other people. I'm great at saying, we need to solve these problems. But I'm not so good at really promoting myself. I just find it hard to do."

Isn't that what running for president is, promoting yourself? BOB BECKEL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, sure it is. But I mean,

look, I hate to take the wind out of your sails here, John. It's early in the morning. But that poll is about as worthless as toilet paper at this stage of the game. I mean, the reality is that those match up race polls have been around for decades and never been right.

So - but the other thing about Hillary Clinton, look, this woman has been on the defensive her entire public life. She's been accused, and accused and accused, and eventually some people begin to wonder, well if all these accusations are out there, maybe I can't trust her. So yes, she's battle worn.

Bernie Sanders is like the new kid on the block. He's a nice guy, he's a, you know, this grandfatherly looking figure, he has no negatives associated with him, so I'm not surprised by that. But what I really care about is what's going to happen on Saturday. I do take a position either way here, but you're going to have a turnout in Nevada that may or may not reflect what happened in 2008, where 30 percent of the caucus goers registered on caucus day, mostly for Barack Obama. And I suspect that if you see a huge turnout of new voters on Saturday then I think Hillary is going to be in trouble.

BERMAN: All right, first of all, I'm not the enemy here. I don't know what kind of collusion went on before this interview.

BECKEL: No, you're not. You're a sweet guy, but -- exactly right, it's early in the morning. You don't have be - you know, take a hard shot.

BERMAN: He says a sweet guy dismissively.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Donna - Donna Brazile, I cannot run commercials.

BRAZILE: You're a smart man.

BERMAN: Political candidates - political candidates can. Hillary Clinton has a new ad up in Nevada right now. Bob Beckel was talking about this, reaching out to these new voters, So many voters in Nevada registering all the time, so many people are moving in there constantly and they're - you know, they're a diverse group of new voters. Let's look at this new ad from the Clinton campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come here, baby. I'm going to do everything I can so you don't have to be scared.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BERMAN: All right, without attacking me here, Donna, because I heard you go aw during that ad, is that the powerful type of message, closing argument, that you can make in Nevada and sway votes? BRAZILE: Well, 15 percent of the voters may be Latino, but even as

someone who's not Latino, it moved me. Do you know why? Because this is a young child who said I'm scared. And your inclination, as you saw with Secretary Clinton, is to hug that child and say you have nothing to be afraid of.

I think it's a very powerful moment. And look, she has to close not just a generational gap, but as you know, most voters would like to see somebody who cares about them. And I think this will also help her with that problem that she's been having.

BERMAN: You know, Bob, both of you guys have run campaigns. Whenever I talk...

BRAZILE: He hired me when I was 24, I told you that. So, thank you, Bob Beckel.

BECKEL: You're very welcome.