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New Day
Four Killed in Kansas Mass Shooting; Rubio & Cruz Spar with Trump in Raucous CNN Debate; Fight for Black Voters. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired February 26, 2016 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:32:10] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A workplace shooting in Kansas leaves four people dead and 14 others wounded. Witnesses describing the horror. And we're also learning more about the shooter and his motive.
CNN's Rosa Flores is live in Kansas with more.
What have you learned, Rosa?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.
Well, this town is a small town of less than 4,000 people, and today some are mourning their loved ones, their friends. Others are counting their blessings because they were spared from the cross hairs of a man on a rampage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES (voice-over): Breaking overnight, the gunman who stormed a lawn care manufacturing company in a small Kansas town, killing three people and wounding 14 others.
SHERIFF T. WALTON, HARVEY COUNTY, KANSAS: Law enforcement confronted the shooter, gunfire was exchanged and law enforcement shot and killed the shooter.
FLORES: Identified by a worker as 38-year-old Cedric Ford.
MATT JARRELL, SUSPECT'S FRIEND AND CO-WORKER: I witnessed him shoot the shots. I saw the shell casings come out of the assault rifle.
FLORES: At 5:47 p.m. local time Thursday, authorities receiving a call about a man shooting from a vehicle. One person shot in the shoulder. Another reportedly shot in the leg.
Minutes later, Ford allegedly entered Excel Industries where he worked and had clocked in earlier that morning, proceeding to unload a long gun on the almost 150 people in the building at the time. Authorities saying victims were randomly shot.
DYLAN, WITNESS TO SHOOTING: We heard a pop, pop and we thought it was just metal falling on the ground and then the doors opened, people started screaming, coming out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was just unloading on everybody. And I told the girls working on my line, I say, let's go, let's run.
FLORES: Police arriving on the scene minutes after the gunman opened fire. The first police officer on the scene single-handedly taking down the shooter.
Witnesses to the gruesome bloodbath in shock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never in a million years something you imagine would happen.
FLORES: Those who knew the shooter grasping for answers.
JOHN JONES, SUSPECT'S NEIGHBOR: I wouldn't think he would have done that. I mean, he loved his kids. He was a good guy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES: Now, police say that they don't have a solid motive in this case. They're still investigating. But, Alisyn, I talked to a witness who was also a friend of the shooter and he says one thing is clear, the people in this community are hugging their loved ones just a little tighter - Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Oh, Rosa. It's just so sickening and also so mystifying what makes people go on these violent rampages. Rosa, thanks so much for the update.
Well, back to politics -- Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, they were brawling over immigration at last night's debate. But for all the heat they generated, was there any light shed on the substance of their plans? Our panel tackles that next.
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[06:38:54] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It was a big fight in the Republican debate last night, but it also had a big policy focus. Immigration was big on the table and it erupted into this firestorm of attacks on front-runner Donald Trump by Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz in what sometimes seemed like coordinated attacks. But how much of the substance of the policy differences got lost in that?
Let's discuss, CNN political commentator and host of "The Ben Ferguson Show", Ben Ferguson, and conservative columnist and commentator Kayleigh McEnany. She's a Donald Trump supporter.
It's good to have you both here.
So, Ben, what did you see on that stage last night? How do you rank the winners and what made the difference?
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think last night's performance first from Donald Trump was probably his weakest of all the debates. I'm not saying it was a bad debate, he was taking a lot of heat, but I think Marco Rubio land some very good punches that were also with substance.
I think Ted Cruz also had a good night, especially when he looks at Texas and the road forward. It's about winning states now. He's going to be just fine here in Texas. Donald Trump didn't do anything to stop that momentum.
I think Rubio helped himself in Florida, which is desperate in the polls there, which you see. Again, they came after him on actual -- you've got to explain more than you're going to build a great wall and if someone insults you, it becomes 10 feet higher.
[06:40:07] How are you going to pay for it? Well, now, it's going to become 20 feet higher.
That's no longer acceptable on the debate stage. I think that's why a lot of people love what they saw last night.
CUOMO: Kayleigh, what did you see? Your man had his head on a swivel last night, taking attacks from both sides. Seemed calm about it, was confident about it after the debate as well. What did you see?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: He certainly did have his head on a swivel. You're exactly right about that. You know, Donald Trump I think had his best debate yet.
He looked like a front-runner. He stayed above the fray. He addressed attacks when he was attacked. But he largely stayed about it.
And, in fact, I would argue that both Kasich and Carson had better nights than both Rubio and Cruz despite having far fewer time -- less time to talk, because Rubio looked petulant. He never looked Donald Trump in the eye. He was constantly looking down on his notes. He has rehearsed those lines over and over, he probably looked in the mirror and practiced those attacks. It was rehearsed.
Where Donald Trump was organic and just did what he always did, let Trump be Trump. That's what happened last night.
FERGUSON: I love that you say he was classy. Donald Trump was insulting and having constant insults, which was something when you saw him, when he got rattled, he was insulting personally, basically saying, well, you're stupid, and you're idiot and I don't like and you're dumb. That's not having a good night.
And the fact that -- I mean, look, here's how you know Donald Trump didn't have a great night. They're saying Ben Carson had a great night. Most people did not know that Ben Carson was there for the majority --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: The fruit salad line.
FERGUSON: Yes, exactly. And, hey, I'm still here, hello.
CUOMO: And please attack me.
FERGUSON: Please attack me is not a night when you're winning, I think it's the big point here. To say he had a big night --
CUOMO: Is there any regret for either of you?
Kayleigh, I'll start with you. Is there any regret that the man who was offering last night, the man who was touting executive experience in way that was compelling to hear in a positive way was not one of the three in focus? It was Governor Kasich.
Is that a little regrettable for you that someone who seemed to be offering the positive stuff your party is asking for all the time is somewhat an afterthought last night?
MCENANY: You know, I do think that Kasich had a good night. Normally, I don't think that he does, but he had a great night. I think he looked very executive, and I don't think that it's an indictment on the party that he hasn't gotten enough attention.
You know, he's the most far left of the candidates and that's why I don't think he should be the nominee. I don't think he should come close to it. But he did have a good night.
Compare that to Marco Rubio who was bringing up attacks from the 1980s when Donald Trump's subcontractor hired an illegal immigrant. You know that's an attack from the 1980s. You know you're grasping at straws and you're desperate when you're bringing up attacks from 38 years ago.
I mean, yes, Kasich had a good night, Rubio had a bad one. The contrast is stark.
FERGUSON: When you run for president, every year of your life matters. That's the difference here. Look, when you're running for president --
(CROSSTALK)
MCENANY: Donald Trump has run --
FERGUSON: You're right.
MCENANY: Ben? Ben?
FERGUSON: Hold on one second, especially when you're talking illegal immigrants.
CUOMO: Hold on, Kayleigh.
FERGUSON: I mean, you're literally the guy that says I'm going build a wall, I'm going to deport people, I'm going to self-deport people, I'm going to be the guy on immigration, and when you're in business, we know he had no problem actively recruiting, not just foreigners taking American jobs. And I think that was a big land to punch last night by Rubio and Cruz because Donald Trump has hired a lot of people from outside of this country.
MCENANY: Ben --
FERGUSON: Let me -- it's a fact. He hired people from outside of this country.
(CROSSTALK)
MCENANY: That's incorrect to say that he -- that is incorrect to say that he is -- let me speak that. That is incorrect to say that he was OK with this. He run as $10 billion company which by the way no one on this stage has run anything remarkably close to that.
FERGUSON: So, you're saying he can't --
(CROSSTALK)
MCENANY: Let me finish, Ben. Let me finish, Ben. He had a subcontractor underneath him that he did not know was hiring illegal immigrants in a $10 billion business. He had a subcontractor underneath him and he did not know that. He did not actively recruit people in person. It's incorrect. It's false to say that.
FERGUSON: You're telling me that Donald Trump's $10 billion business, he could not handle the affairs and therefore had illegal immigrants being hired, but you think he can run immigration for the entire country of the United States of America and do it effectively and deal with illegal immigrants, but he couldn't do it with his own business? That's not -- that's not a very good plan if he can't do it with his own business. That's the problem.
CUOMO: All right. Those are the two sides of it. Kayleigh McEnany, thank you very much. Shaking your head in disgust at Ben Ferguson. I know that feeling.
No, Ben, it's good to have you here and thank you for your take last night. It's always good to see you, brother.
All right. So, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. That's the other side of this race. Last night, it was all about the GOP. Remember, you've about got two big sides on this.
African-American votes is the big field of play there right before the South Carolina primary. The African-American vote expected to be 50-plus percent of turnout. Sanders says he still has a chance despite what we've been seeing in polls. We'll break down why he may be right, next.
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CAMEROTA: All right. Now to some sports news. A grand jury will decide if Johnny Manziel is charged in a case of domestic violence. He has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report."
Hi, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Alisyn.
Yes, the Dallas Police Department has concluded their investigation of Johnny Manziel. The case is now being sent to a grand jury, which will consider whether or not to charge Manziel in the allegations that he attacked his ex-girlfriend last month. Manziel could be facing a misdemeanor assault charge. It carries a maximum punishment of one year in jail and $4,000 fine. Manziel has not commented publicly on these allegations.
All right. Steph Curry and the Warriors putting on a show against the Magic last night. Curry broke the NBA record, hitting a three-point shot in his 128th consecutive game. He didn't just hit one. Curry hit ten three-pointers from all over the court last night. He finished with 51 points as the Warriors beat the Magic in this one, 130-114.
Alisyn, I know you're following the Warriors closely this year and want to know if they're going beat the Bulls' all-time record of 72-10.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
SCHOLES: Right now, they're 52-5 on pace to beat the all-time record.
CAMEROTA: I could have told you that, Andy, but thank you so much for reminding me of that. Great to see you.
SCHOLES: All right.
CAMEROTA: All right. Hillary Clinton is poised for a big win in South Carolina if polls can be trusted, but Bernie Sanders is poised for big wins beyond that. Plus, there's new drama in the fight for minority voters.
[06:50:01] Our panel will discuss all of that, next.
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CAMEROTA: We're just one day away from the South Carolina Democratic primary where all polls show Hillary Clinton maintains a commanding lead over Bernie Sanders.
Joining us now to talk about this and much more are CNN political commentator and Clinton supporter Hilary Rosen. And Bill Press, author of "Buyer's Remorse: How Obama Let Progressive Down". He is a Sanders supporter.
Great to see you both of you this morning.
BILL PRESS, AUTHOR: Hi, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Hilary, let me start with you. The polls as we said appear to give Hillary Clinton a commanding lead in South Carolina. But, of course, polls have been wrong.
But let's look at the snapshot right now. This is the CNN poll of polls. Hillary Clinton has 57 percent. Bernie Sanders has 32 percent at the moment. How important is a win in South Carolina, Hillary?
HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, from, you know, the entire month going forward, every state is important.
[06:55:04] But she's -- I think she's going to win in South Carolina. What she's looking at is momentum going at the Super Tuesday where you've got a lot of states and a lot of delegates at stake. So a strong win in South Carolina gives her supporters comfort and, you know, gives Bernie Sanders a little extra anxiety, I think.
CAMEROTA: Yes. So, Bill, if Hillary wins in South Carolina, then Bernie Sanders does need to make a big splash. You both agree with the stakes that Bernie Sanders has a chance of winning on Super Tuesday. So, let's look at those.
You both believe it's Massachusetts, Colorado, Vermont, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
Bill Press, how likely do you think it is that Bernie, if he loses South Carolina, could win some of these?
PRESS: Well, will it me just say that Hilary and I agree on one thing -- Hillary Clinton is going to win South Carolina. I see that as almost the mirror image of New Hampshire where she was trying to lose by as little as she can and Bernie Sanders was trying to win as big as he can. I think it's the opposite in South Carolina, and Bernie goes on to Super Tuesday, we both agreed on the states.
They're very important wins, and I think that's where Bernie has been spending his time strategically, we've seen that. He's in Minnesota today, not in South Carolina.
So, I think he's counting on rolling up the wins in as many states as he can. It's sort of like Hillary Clinton did in 2008, the same thing. You just keep slogging and slogging, win as many state and roll up as many delegates as you can and I think we're in it for the long haul.
ROSEN: That's a good thing --
CAMEROTA: Finish your sentence and then I want to get to it.
ROSEN: I was going to say, 2008 is kind of a bad example because obviously Hillary Clinton came up short in delegates. Obviously this proportional delegate allocation in states for the Democratic primary is really, really important. It means that you can kind of stay in the game, eve if you can never really get ahead.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
ROSEN: So the big challenge for Sanders is going to be when he kind of moves to the side if Hillary Clinton ends up with a significant proportional majority.
PRESS: Or for Hillary Clinton to move to the side.
CAMEROTA: I want to get to this before we run out of time. I want to talk about something that has happened.
ROSEN: Either way, Bill, I'll give you that.
CAMEROTA: I do want to rewind the clock back to 1996 and something that Hillary Clinton said in 1996 that has come back to haunt her now on the campaign trail.
This was about violent criminals. So let me play for you her original statement in 1996 and then play for you what happened on the campaign trail with some protesters on Wednesday. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They are not just gangs of kids anymore. They are often the kinds of kids that are called super predators, no conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.
We got somebody saying here we have to bring them to heal.
PROTESTER: I'm not a super predator, Hillary Clinton.
CLINTON: OK, fine. We'll talk about it.
PROTESTER: Can you apologize to black people for mass incarceration?
CLINTON: Well, can I talk? Then maybe you should listen to what I say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: OK. So, Hilary Rosen. That was a protester who I believe was identified as part of the Black Lives Matter movement who said, "I'm not a super predator and why did you say that" and she sort of demanded an apology and Hillary Clinton did apologize.
Let me read this to you. In that speech, I was talking about the impact violent crime and vicious drug cartels were having on communities across the country and the particular danger they post to children and families. Looking back, I shouldn't have used those words and I shouldn't use them today.
Hilary, how big of a deal do you think this is?
ROSEN: Well, it's an important issue in the country, so it's a big deep. Black Lives Matter has brought a significant amount of energy and problems that African-Americans have faced in communities and I think Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have been responsive on this, on the campaign trail. Look. Bernie Sanders voted for that bill that Hillary Clinton was talking northbound that clip.
So, you know, there's a little bit of Democratic stain across apology was sincere. But I think Bernie Sanders talking about it today was sincere. Hold everybody accountable for being insensitive -- too insensitive in those days, but I don't think it's going to make much difference in this election.
CAMEROTA: OK. Ten seconds, Bill, last word.
PRESS: Look, the Black Lives Matter is very, very important, a very important message. I think Hillary Clinton has duly apologized for those words and we ought to accept that and move on.
I think the Black Lives Matter people would be maybe better served focused on the people we saw on the other side of the stage last night. They've got Bernie and Hillary both on their side.
CAMEROTA: OK. Hilary, Bill, thank you very much. Great to see you this morning. We're following a lot of news, including the presidential debate, so let's get right to it.
