Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Deadly Tornado Outbreak Kills 4; Republicans to Square Off in Debate Tonight; Mitt Suggests 'Bombshell' In Trump Tax Returns; Coast Guard Rescues Crew After Boat Runs Aground; Is Sanders Surrendering South Carolina?; White House Vetting GOP Governor for Supreme Court. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired February 25, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

CAMEROTA: Three men and a 2-year-old boy killed in Virginia. More than 100,000 homes without power at this hour.

[07:00:07] So let's get right to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers with all of the breaking details. What are you seeing this hour, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Weather, really, that should be in spring, Alisyn. We don't expect this in February. Now, I know tornadoes can happen in any month in the U.S. It does happen, and especially in Florida and the Deep South. But this should be March and April, not February.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MYERS (voice-over): Another deadly round of storms pummeling states up and down the East Coast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He opened the front door, and when he did, he says, "Mama, tornado, tornado." And he ran, and I ran.

MYERS: Two days of storms, over 50 tornados reported, seven killed and hundreds of thousands are now without power in the last 48 hours. In Virginia, a state of emergency declared. Tornados leaving dozens injured, several critically, and four dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is tragic, man. I've never seen nothing like this before.

MYERS: Three people in a mobile home were killed, including a 2-year- old boy, powerful winds lifting their trailer almost 300 yards and slamming it into a church.

PASTOR TERRENCE L. GREEN, EMPOWERMENT TEMPLE MINISTRIES: Our prayers goes [SIC] out to the three people that lost their life. And we just thank God that -- you know, we went through a lot of damage but the church is still standing, and we're going to recover.

MYERS: Cars crumpled like aluminum cans on the highway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The cars were tossed about. You know, I'm just so sorry that people were killed.

MYERS: The tornado tearing down power lines and splintering trees, trapping some residents in the wreckage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Glass started caving in on me. I didn't know what to do. I just -- it was scary.

MYERS: Three more tornados touching down in the Sunshine State, packing ferocious winds.

In North Carolina, five tornadoes causing a path of mass destruction. Four people were inside this home when heavy rains and winds sent a massive tree toppling onto the roof. The residents miraculously emerging safely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our hearts just goes out to anybody that's lost their homes or, you know, their loved ones or anything in this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MYERS: The severe weather has now completely pushed offshore, even into Maine and Massachusetts, but cold air is coming in behind it. That's making snow into Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and even into parts of West Virginia. Watch out for very slick spots today across Pennsylvania and New York as some of this rain turns to snow -- Chris.

CUOMO: You know, Chad, we show people the pictures today, but we have to remember for the people hit by those tornados, life is going to be different for weeks and months. So keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks for the reporting. We'll be back with you in a little bit.

So here in Houston, the story is politics. And Donald Trump is sounding extremely confident ahead of tonight's CNN Republican debate. Super Tuesday is looming. He's talking about wrapping this thing up and looking at running mates. He's also now escalating a dust-up with Mitt Romney.

Now, why is Mitt Romney relevant? Well, that's a story in and of itself, suggesting there could be a bombshell in Trump's tax returns.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is joining us here now in Houston. Boy, Mitt Romney channeling Harry Reid, it seems.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is so fascinating, Chris. You know, this debate tonight comes at such a pivotal time. Already some big indications that this could get very heated very fast. Both Donald Trump and Marco Rubio dropping big hints that they are preparing tonight to take each other on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via phone): I will be totally prepared. You know, people have not done very well against me.

SERFATY (voice-over): The GOP frontrunner is set to face off with his four remaining rivals tonight in the last debate before Super Tuesday.

TRUMP: So far everybody that's attacked me has gone down.

SERFATY: Donald Trump already has more than doubled the number of delegates than his closest competitors, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, combined.

CRUZ: There has never been a candidate like Donald Trump, in a whole lot of ways.

SERFATY: Trump notably absent from last night's FOX News town hall hosted by Megyn Kelly, where the freshman senators continued to argue that it's only a matter of time before his ballooning lead pops.

CRUZ: We're the only campaign in a position to beat him on Super Tuesday, to win the nomination.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A majority of Republican voters are now supporting Donald Trump, and obviously, once this race begins to narrow a little bit, you'll -- you'll see more of that support consolidating.

SERFATY: This as 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney warns about a bombshell to come in Trump's tax records, asking all of the candidates to release them.

TRUMP: Tax returns are very complicated. I have many, many companies. I have, you know, tremendously -- I have a very complex system of taxes. But we'll make a determination over the next couple of months.

CRUZ: I'll release the remainder of what we have this week. I've released already, I think, five years' worth, but the nice thing is that I haven't made enough money that my tax returns are not that interesting..

RUBIO: I'll release them. They're not very complicated.

SERFATY: Up for grabs on Super Tuesday, Cruz's home state of Texas, the senator of the delegate-rich state securing the endorsement of its governor.

CRUZ: We can't be fooled by P.T. Barnum. The time for the clowns and the acrobats or the dancing bears has passed.

[07:05:10] SERFATY: Meanwhile, at a rally in Houston, Marco Rubio is now targeting Trump by name.

RUBIO: Donald Trump has actually alluded to the fact that he thinks parts of Obamacare are pretty good.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Serfaty: And that was a small but significant shift there from Marco Rubio, who typically avoids taking on Donald Trump directly. Donald Trump, meanwhile, he tells CNN he has been saving his fire for the debate tonight. Chris, he predicted that there will be some good action tonight.

CUOMO: Yes, I think it's probably a safe prediction. Whose favorite cuts in? We will see soon. Sunlen, thank you very much.

All right. Let's continue the discussion. Joining us this morning, we have Jeff DeWitt, the Arizona campaign manager, the chairman for Donald Trump; He's also the Arizona state treasurer.

Mr. DeWitt, very good to have you on the show with us this morning.

JEFF DEWITT, CHAIRMAN FOR DONALD TRUMP: Good to be here. Thank you.

CUOMO: All right. So let's talk about what's going on with Mitt Romney. First, let's play the sound from him, and then we'll figure out what it means to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, FORMER GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS (via phone): We have good reason to believe that there's a bombshell in Donald Trump's taxes. Either he's not anywhere near as wealthy as he says he is, or he hasn't paying the kind of taxes we would expect him to pay, or perhaps he hasn't been giving money to the vets or to the disabled like he's been telling us he's been doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now, we all remember what Harry Reid did to Mitt Romney about his taxes and what taxes he wasn't paying. That certainly made a difference in his race.

Do you accept what he's saying now about Donald Trump, that that's why you're not putting out the tax returns. There's something in there you don't want us to see?

DEWITT: No, and there's been no requirement to put out tax returns. It's a very new issue.

As the establishment goes through the circle of political attacks and none of them work, this is just the latest one, as you pointed out. It's what Harry Reid did to Mitt Romney four years ago, and in this case it was very effective.

With Mitt Romney you had a guy who had made a lot of money, who was, for some reason, trying to come across as a normal average guy who hadn't made a lot of money. And so the taxes were somewhat of a bombshell even on that end of it.

With Donald Trump, he has already filed everything. If you look at the FEC, he's already filed all the details of all his financials, you know, minus the taxes, but all the details about his companies, and all the money he's made, showing $10 billion of assets. So everybody right now can go and see everything about him.

And with Mr. Trump, we all know that he's one of the most successful businessmen of all time. He's not running away from that. It's what we want. We want someone that knows how to do something. I think it's very telling when you have Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio both saying, "Well, our tax returns aren't that interesting, because we haven't done anything." So is that what we want in the White House, is somebody whose tax returns stink, because they haven't done anything?

No, we want someone that knows...

CUOMO: All right, let's...

DEWITT: ... how to -- how to build jobs, build a company. And that's what Donald -- Donald Trump brings to it.

CUOMO: All right. Let's unpack that a little bit. I mean, what the senators are saying, is it's not that they haven't done anything. It's that they haven't made a lot of money. But that's -- you know, you're entitled to your spin of the statements. That's for sure.

Now, look, the FEC statement that you're talking about is one thing. You do know that candidates very often put out their tax returns, because it's been part of the vetting process. So saying that there is no requirement, this isn't about a letter of the law thing. This is about doing the types of disclosure that's ordinary.

The concern would be -- and you know, again, what it means, you're right. Who knows what it's going to mean? Is that Donald Trump over states his wealth, that he is, in fact, not one of the most successful businessmen in history. He may be one of the most celebrated and popular but not one of the wealthiest and most successful. So the question again is, why haven't you put them out?

DEWITT: Well, again, this is a very new attack on him, and it's now something that he's considering. I don't think there's any doubt that we'll see those tax returns at some point. But -- but why bother right now, is the first thing?

The other thing is, there's nothing on a tax return that shows a summation of assets. So I don't know how they're going to...

CUOMO: Absolutely.

DEWITT: ... all they're going to show is see his net income. But they're not going to see a summary of wealth.

CUOMO: That's right.

DEWITT: That has already been put out. That's what's already been stated, is here's a summary of the wealth. Everyone's been going through that, and you've seen attacks coming in, saying, well, he's actually only worth $8 billion or $7 billion.

And let's suppose for a minute...

CUOMO: Look...

DEWITT: ... that he's not worth $10 billion; he's only worth $8 billion. Is that -- is that a big difference? I mean, I think we'd all love to have $8 billion ourselves.

CUOMO: That's the interesting point, that even if Trump is overstating his wealth by a lot, he's still going to have a lot. What real difference will that make?

The only thing that -- there are two real concerns here from your perspective I want to address with you. The first will be that Donald Trump is big about coming at Hillary Clinton about what she doesn't turn over, what she keeps secret, what she keeps hidden.

And you might say there's a hypocrisy risk here if he doesn't put out his tax returns and he doesn't play by the same rules he wants to apply to her and others.

[07:10:10] The second one is, is Mitt Romney a point man for some kind of party play against you guys from the GOP elders? What's your take on those two?

DEWITT: Well, there's no question the establishment is very scared, and they've been stealing from our grandchildren and running up the debt for a long time, and want that party to continue. And Donald Trump is going to fix that.

So yes, the establishment is looking for anything they can do. They predicted that Donald Trump would have a 35 percent ceiling; he'll never get above that. And in Nevada, we busted right through that and went to 46 percent. And now they're attacking, saying, "Well, that shows over half of America doesn't vote for him," while they're ignoring the fact that that means, then, if they're going to use that logic, that 80 percent of America isn't voting for Rubio, and 80 percent of America isn't voting for Cruz.

So the establishment keeps coming with these facts. But I will tell you, as the Arizona state treasurer, there is going to be a bombshell in taxes. And that's when you look at what the government does after they receive the taxes.

Donald Trump pays a lot of money in taxes, more than you, me or anybody we know, and he's paying more to that. But what the government does in fraud and waste, once they receive that money, that's the bombshell we need to talk about. That's why we're $19 trillion in debt and that's what Donald Trump is going to fix.

CUOMO: You know, you would expect someone like Mitt Romney to make a case that we saw like the one in "Forbes" magazine against the plan that you guys put out where they suggest that you're going to add more to the debt and the deficit. Certainly, the debt service the way they see it, than even President Obama by comparison today.

But he's not making that case. He's making a disclosure case. And I just want to ask you one last time. You said we're going to see those tax returns at some point. Can you put any kind of window on it?

DEWITT: No, as Mr. Trump said yesterday, you know, in the interviews he gave, that he is considering the best timing for that. Obviously, we want to be strategic with that. There's no question. We're not going to do it based on somebody else's timeline.

CUOMO: Why?

DEWITT: They tried to hit everything -- here's what they do. They pore through every piece of information, the establishment does, they can find. And they have yet to find anything that works for them, anything that's going to derail this movement in America to take our country back. And so they're just looking for more information. This is a well-known political attack where you go fishing: "Give us more. Give us something to look through." Go to the FEC. There's everything there...

CUOMO: You sound like you're running Hillary Clinton's campaign. You sound like you're running Hillary Clinton's campaign. That's exactly what she said about the e-mail disclosures. That's what she says now about the Goldman Sachs speeches. And Donald Trump is all over her about those things.

DEWITT: Let me give you a great comparison between Hillary and Donald Trump.

In Nevada, Hillary won Nevada, on her side of the aisle, with 6,300 votes. Donald Trump won with over 35,000 votes, or 35,000 votes in Nevada. That's the big difference. Donald Trump is going to wipe the floor with Hillary Clinton in the general election, and that's what he's going to bring to the table. We're going to win states we never had a thought that Republicans could again. That's what Donald Trump's going to do. So I don't know how we can put them in the same league. Nevada is a perfect example of that.

CUOMO: I'm saying you put them in the same league in terms of their concerns about people vetting information that they have yet to disclose. That's the category I'm putting him in right now for this conversation. But Jeff Dewitt, I appreciate you making the passionate case. We look forward to the tax returns coming out. Thanks for coming on NEW DAY.

DEWITT: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. So tonight is the big night. You're going to get to see Wolf Blitzer at his best, moderating the final debate before Super Tuesday. The Republicans square off tonight, 8:30 Eastern, only on CNN.

Alisyn, back to you. CAMEROTA: OK, Chris. We do have some tense breaking news to bring

everyone. There's a dramatic Coast Guard rescue under way at this moment off of Rockaway Beach, New York. This is -- we're looking at videotape now of a few moments ago of this fishing vessel listing, while -- you can still see the fishermen on board, waiting to be rescued by the Coast Guard. There are between five and seven crew members. It's a 74-foot fishing boat. And some of them have already been rescued after their boat ran aground early this morning.

Nassau County police say that a Coast Guard vessel sent to assist this fishing boat also overturned in rough water. Joining us on the phone now is Petty Officer Alex Laperzi (ph). She is with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Officer Laperzi (ph), thanks for joining us.

PETTY OFFICER ALEX LAPERZI (ph), U.S. COAST GUARD (via phone): Good to be here.

CAMEROTA: You got this distress call at 2 a.m. What did they say?

LAPERZI (PH): Basically Coast Guard sector Long Island Sound command center received an urgent distress call, and it was a 76-foot fishing vessel named the Carolina Queen III. They reported they had been taking on water. And you're right, there were seven mariners aboard.

Shortly afterwards, they had the vessel under control but had run aground near East Rockaway Inlet. And at that time, the Coast Guard Station Jones Beach launched a 25-foot response boat to assist. And the inlet waters were producing 10- to 12-foot waves.

[07:15:09] CAMEROTA: Wow.

LAPERZI (ph): So, yes, it's large waves, and the vessel capsized.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

LAPERZI (ph): I know.

CAMEROTA: So I mean, the rescuers going out to rescue the fishermen, then the boat capsized. Then what happened to the Coast Guard members on that capsized boat?

LAPERZI (ph): There were five members aboard the Coast Guard vessel. They were able to swim safely to shore.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my goodness. OK. So then what happened with the fishermen who were still trapped on the boat that had run aground?

LAPERZI (PH): Well, the Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City launched with an HH-65 Delta helicopter, and they are currently removing people from the fishing vessel and taking them to the beach.

CAMEROTA: In fact we're seeing that right now. We have some videotape on our screen. You can see at least one of the fisherman, who's draped in a blanket who had just been rescued and was on the beach.

And now, we're looking at -- I think this is a live picture, I think. You're looking at the Coast Guard helicopter setting down its big metal basket and then retrieving people. Do you know what the status is of the fishermen onboard?

LAPERZI (ph): As far as I know, there were no injuries reported. They were wearing immersion suits, which are for cold water gear, basically. It's very protective. It protects against hypothermia. And so it's very good that they had that on board.

CAMEROTA: It is. It's very lucky, because we see them in their red full-body protective suits in case they were going to go overboard. Is everyone -- do you know what the status is? Are all the fishermen off now or are there still some trapped on there?

LAPERZI (ph): I believe that there are still some fishermen aboard. I know all the crew members from the Coast Guard were treated by local EMS, and there are no injuries or medical concerns at this time.

CAMEROTA: Man, the Coast Guard does some good work, Officer Laperzi (ph). You know, they're so brave to go out even in the high seas and when people need rescuing. We're watching, again, the people being loaded into that metal basket and then brought up to the chopper. And it's dangerous, obviously, for the Coast Guard members to do this. But you know, we see it all the time. They go out, despite what the weather is and the winds are and the seas are.

LAPERZI (ph): I agree. Our Coast Guard men and women are very brave, and they do their best.

CAMEROTA: Yes, so we're looking here. Again, that's the 74-foot Carolina Queen, this fishing boat that ran aground. So you think that something went wrong with it before it ran aground? It was taking on water before it ran aground?

LAPERZI (ph): I don't think anything was wrong with the vessel. I think that the weather that they were in was a problem. Obviously, the waves overtook the Coast Guard vessel. I can imagine what it would do to a commercial fishing vessel.

CAMEROTA: And so what are -- what is the Coast Guard telling other fishermen? I mean, obviously, there's a lot of fishing going on in this area off of Rockaway. Are the seas too rough today?

LAPERZI (ph): You know, I know that fishing near Long Island Sound is a big -- a big moneymaker, but you do have to be careful. And if you are going to go out, make sure that you have that protective gear onboard. Make sure you have signaling devices. Make sure you have life jackets or immersion suits, if you can, because ultimately, those are the things that are going to give you that extra time if you do end up in the water and you do need to be rescued.

CAMEROTA: That is a good word of warning. I think we're watching as the last or the second to last fisherman now comes off of that boat in distress there up to the Coast Guard helicopter.

Petty Officer Alex Laperzi (ph), thanks so much for all the information on this breaking story.

All right. We'll keep you posted to make sure that everyone is off the boat.

Meanwhile, more presidential politics ahead for you, because the Democrats are getting ready for South Carolina's primary, and a big boost for Hillary Clinton. We'll tell you what that is, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:23:10] CAMEROTA: South Carolina Democrats go to the polls in just two days, and there may be signs that Bernie Sanders, who is trailing Hillary Clinton by double digits in that state, is trying a different tact, while Clinton gets a major endorsement.

CNN's Chris Frates is live in Ohio with more on the Democratic race. What do you got, Chris?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

So you might be wondering why, with just two days left until the South Carolina primary, is Bernie Sanders campaigning here in Ohio and places like Illinois and Michigan. And to understand that, you have to take a look at the calendar and do a little math.

The Sanders campaign is looking ahead to the next two dozen contests over the next few weeks that will award the bulk of the delegates a candidate needs to win the nomination. So here's where the math comes in.

Those delegates are awarded proportionately. So Sanders could essentially fight Clinton to a tie in a lot of these places, and herein Ohio, where the Sanders campaign isn't talking about winning here, but if they could be competitive and put points on the board, that will be huge for them, because if you look at South Carolina, Bernie Sanders has been spending a lot of time and money campaigning there and is still lagging Hillary Clinton.

And that's because she has such huge support from the African-American community. That is the support that he's spent the last few weeks trying to cut into. Let's take a listen to what he said at a rally just last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: It is a campaign that understands that 100, 150 years ago, African-Americans and their white allies began the process of saying that, in America, we will not tolerate racism and bigotry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: Now, for Hillary Clinton's part, she got a big endorsement yesterday, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid telling our own Manu Raju that he supports Hillary Clinton, so she continues to coalesce that establishment support. She has the bulk of those super delegates. Those are the unelected delegates who have a say in this nomination, as well. And she's in South Carolina all day today, campaigning about breaking down barriers.

[07:25:10] That's a theme aimed directly at black voters. But for Sanders' part, his campaign argues he's been working hard there for months. He's going back tomorrow, and they're not writing this state off yet, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, it will be interesting to see what happens this weekend, Chris. Thanks so much. An intriguing option being floated to fill Justice Antonin Scalia's

seat on the Supreme Court. The White House said to be considering a Republican governor. How would Republicans in Congress react to that? CNN's Athena Jones is live at the White House with more.

Hi, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

That's the big question, and look, as the fight over when to fill the vacancy left by Justice Scalia goes on, Senate Republicans are hardening their positions. They've said they will not even hold hearings on any potential nominee. And that's a move that's unprecedented.

Meanwhile, the president is continuing to press his case. He spoke for nearly ten minutes about the issue yesterday, delivering a point by point rebuttal to Republicans.

Here's some of what he had to say about the opposition from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it will be very difficult for Mr. McConnell to explain how, if the public concludes that this person is very well-qualified, that the Senate should stand in the way simply for political reasons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So the White House believes the public will ultimately be on their side when it comes to the president's right to name a nominee, and many of the potential candidates who could end up on the White House's short list are federal judges.

Yesterday we learned about another potential candidate the White House is vetting: a former federal judge who is now the Republican governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval.

Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, told CNN he would support Sandoval, who is Hispanic. Of course, the thinking here is that a Republican nominee could be harder for a Senate GOP to block, but right now there's no indication that naming a Republican will make a real difference here as both sides are digging in their heels on this -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Athena. We're going to have much more on this Supreme Court battle ahead. Will Republicans refuse to consider a nominee? We're going to debate it. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)