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Trump & Clinton Score Big Super Tuesday Wins; Cruz: He's the Only Campaign Who Can Beat Trump; Clinton Sweeps Southern States. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 02, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What a Super Tuesday!

[05:59:34] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our country is going to hell. And Hillary Clinton doesn't have a clue.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America shouldn't have a president whose words would make you embarrassed if your children repeated it.

TRUMP: You can call it what you want. But I am a truth teller.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not just about electing the president. It is about transforming America.

TRUMP: It was a very tough night for Marco Rubio. He is a lightweight.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What you have here is a world-class con artist. Maybe you should call him "Con-ald Trump."

TRUMP: I am a unifier. Once we get all of this finished, I'm going to go after one person. That's Hillary Clinton.

CLINTON: We've come too far in this country to let us turn back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It looks like the Hall of Justice, but it is the NEW DAY studio. Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, March 2, 6 a.m. in the East.

A big night for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Both nominating their fields, piling up wins this morning. On the GOP side, Trump sweeping seven states, vowing now to be the uniter the Republican Party so badly needs.

Ted Cruz also victorious in three states, Marco Rubio capturing his first win. ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK. On the Democratic side,

Hillary Clinton expanding her delegate lead over Bernie Sanders with wins in seven states. Sanders did win in four states. The two front- runners, Trump and Clinton, appear to be accelerating towards their party's nominations.

We have this race covered the way only CNN can. So let's begin our coverage with John Berman. He's here to break down who won where and the latest delegate count.

You've been up all night with your calculator, John. Show us the numbers.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I've been up all night, but I need no calculator, Alisyn.

It was a big night. Donald Trump the clear frontrunner. He did win seven states. Let's take a look at where Donald Trump won. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts. Look at this: Massachusetts and Alabama. Those states aren't close to each other. Also Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia.

Donald Trump not the only winner, though, because Ted Cruz picked up three states, as well. Alaska, which we just called a couple of hours ago. Oklahoma and Texas.

It was a big development for another candidate. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, he won his first state of this entire election. He was victorious in the Minnesota caucuses, although he did give his speech before Minnesota was declared for him. So maybe a missed opportunity there.

Let's look at the delegate map right now. Donald Trump out in front with 315 delegates. Ted Cruz at 205. And Marco Rubio at 106. This with some big states still to vote, but clearly, a big, big gap amongst these candidates.

Let's talk now about the Democratic side. Hillary Clinton, she won seven states as well. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

But Bernie Sanders didn't leave with nothing last night. Let's walk back over here. He had four states: Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and his home state of Vermont.

What does that mean for the delegate math right now: 1,055 for Hillary Clinton, 418 for Bernie Sanders. This includes super delegates. But you know what? They count, so we're including them here. So Hillary Clinton about halfway to the 2,383 delegates needed to clinch the nomination -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, John Berman, the human calculator.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump extending his dominance in the Republican race, winning seven states, as you just heard, on Super Tuesday. But his chief rivals also celebrating this morning. And it appears this race is not over.

CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is live in Palm Beach with more.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Hands down, Donald Trump is the clear winner this morning, firmly in control of the GOP battle for the White House. But he did not drive his rivals out of the race, allowing Ted Cruz to emerge, once again, as the man who could potentially stop Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: We have expanded the Republican Party.

ACOSTA (voice-over): It was a big night for Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner now well on his way to clinching the Republican nomination.

TRUMP: The Republicans have tremendous energy. The Democrats don't. They don't have any injury. Their numbers are down. Our numbers are through the roof.

ACOSTA: The billionaire businessman racked up seven wins, including delegate-rich Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee.

TRUMP: I think we're going to be more inclusive. I think we're going to be more unified, and I think we're going to win in November.

ACOSTA: After days of controversy over support from white supremacists, Trump tried to strike a more diplomatic tone, claiming he can unify the country.

TRUMP: I'm a unifier. I know people are going to find that a little bit hard to believe, but believe me, I am a unifier.

CRUZ: The path to beating him is for us to unify.

ACOSTA: Ted Cruz also called for unity, asking the other three non-Trump candidates to drop out, after he won his home state of Texas, neighboring Oklahoma, and Alaska.

CRUZ: Listen, if we remain divided, then in all likelihood, Donald Trump becomes the nominee. That result was made clear tonight. But I think Donald has a hard ceiling of 35 to 40 percent.

ACOSTA: Cruz is making the case that he's the GOP's only hope to win the White House.

CRUZ: For those who have supported other candidates, we welcome you on our team, standing united as one.

ACOSTA: But Trump said GOP leaders should get behind him or else.

TRUMP: I'm going to get along great with Congress. OK?

Paul Ryan, I don't know him well, but I'm sure I'm going to get along great with him. And if I don't, he's going to have to pay a big price, OK?

[06:05:05] ACOSTA: And even on a night of victories, Trump continued the war of insults with Marco Rubio.

TRUMP: I know it was a very tough night for Marco Rubio. He had a tough night, but he worked hard. He spent a lot of money. He is a lightweight.

ACOSTA: But Rubio did pull off his first win in Minnesota and vowed to fight on.

RUBIO: There will never come a time in this race where our supporters are asking us to get out and rally around Donald Trump, where people are saying, "Fight as hard as you can to save the party of Lincoln and Reagan from a con artist who refuses to criticize the KKK."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: But the stop Trump movement is picking up steam in the GOP. A Republican anti-Trump super PAC announced last night that it is hiring more staff and pouring more resources into defeating the front-runner before the next critical contests, which are coming up quickly on Saturday and then spread out over the next two weeks. For those in the GOP who want to stop Trump, time is simply running out, Chris.

CUOMO: Worth mentioning, Jim, that although Trump won seven -- people thought he would win more -- he won states last night that, since 1960, no Republican nominee has ever won all the states that he won last night. So that's going to be meaningful, as well.

All right. Let's look at the other side of the ball now. Hillary Clinton looking to build on her Super Tuesday momentum, pivoting to the general election and an increasingly likely matchup with Donald Trump. Bernie Sanders, however, not throwing in the towel.

For the latest in the state of play, CNN Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny, live in Miami with the Clinton camp -- Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Chris.

If Hillary Clinton was the front-runner before, she's even more so now. She left Bernie Sanders last night, scooping up nearly 500 delegates across the south from Virginia to Arkansas and beyond.

Now, it was clear that she did this by winning a coalition of African-American voters, Hispanic voters and white voters indeed. But now she had one person, one thing on her mind last night at that victory party here in Miami, and it was certainly not Bernie Sanders. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLINTON: It's clear tonight that the stakes in this election have never been higher. And the rhetoric we're hearing on the other side has never been lower. Trying to divide America between us and them is wrong. And we're not going to let it work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Now, Bernie Sanders won four states. A definitely respectable showing here, but this is a race of delegates, a fight for delegates here. So the next two weeks of this race so, so important. The Michigan primary is next week. They have two debates next week, as well. This race could end, most Democrats believe, at least mathematically in two weeks' time after the Florida primary on March 15, which of course, is why Clinton was in Miami last night -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Jeff, thanks so much. And based on exit polls, Donald Trump is winning a broad cross-section of Republicans. He's not just far-right conservatives. Exit polls show him resonating with moderate Republicans, as well, on Super Tuesday.

CNN's Christine Romans is here to take us through the ideology of all of the deciding factors. What are you seeing?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really fascinating. We asked people in exit polls, who showed up? What are you looking for? And they show us that Trump support was broad, spanning both moderates and conservatives.

Let's look at Alabama, about 80 percent of those there identifying themselves as conservatives. Trump won big with that group. Going north to Massachusetts, a third of all GOP voters there call themselves moderate. Those moderate voters broke for Donald Trump. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio doing especially poorly with that group.

To Tennessee, I want to look at education for you. About half of the voters there in Tennessee say they have no college degree. The voters who were out last night, they chose Donald Trump almost 2-1 over Ted Cruz, as no college degree.

Now to Arkansas, and look at the income. About a third of voters in Arkansas say they make less than 50 grand. Those voters favor Donald Trump, as do older voters. In Virginia, nearly 70 percent of voters say they're over 45. Of that group, Trump won that demographic. But Marco Rubio -- Marco Rubio was the one there who swept the younger voters -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Thank you very much, Christine. Appreciate it.

Let's discuss. We have author and journalist David Gregory; Maeve Reston, CNN national political reporter; and Mark Preston, CNN politics executive editor. All right. So looking at the GOP side, you might have heard me

earlier. Not since 1960 has a candidate on the Republican side won all the states that Donald Trump did last night. That's big. And every one of them that came close became the nominee.

DAVID GREGORY, AUTHOR/JOURNALIST: Right. Look, I mean, his support is big. And it's wide. Virginia in particular, that's important. You've got higher educated voters. We hear so much from Ron Brownstein, who breaks down these numbers, how Trump plays particularly well with more downscale voters economically and educationally.

Yet Virginia is an anomaly there, right? Higher education, 60 percent with higher education. They're more apt to support a legal path for immigrants. And yet Donald Trump wins there. He wins in the Deep South. He wins in Massachusetts.

And that's the point. The only candidate really consolidating the party is Donald Trump. Cruz and Rubio are not really doing the job that they hoped to do. Rubio trying to consolidate the establishment, Cruz trying to consolidate that very conservative voter in the Republican Party. They're not doing that. That's why the center of this party right now is the hostile takeover artist in Donald Trump politically. That's what he's done with the Republican Party.

CAMEROTA: But, Mark, am I being to Pollyannaish to say that there was something for everybody last night? You know, a soccer trophy for everyone at the end of the game, because Cruz won four states. That's notable. That's impressive. Rubio won Minnesota.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, listen, there was certainly a bit of oxygen for everybody last night. And I do think that Ted Cruz, if you were to look at who came in second place, it would have to be Ted Cruz, you know, for this reason and this reason alone.

Had he not done well last night, had he lost the state of Texas, he would have had to get out of the race. There's no doubt about it. But now he can try to lay claim, Alisyn, to the idea that he should be the one to take on Donald Trump. He's the only one, with the exception of Marco Rubio, of course, winning the caucus in Minnesota, but he's the only one who certainly has defeated Donald Trump multiple times.

But this is that scares the Republican establishment at this point.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

PRESTON: Because you're looking at Trump as the inevitable candidate. And they're really in a quandary. They don't know what to do.

CAMEROTA: Let me just correct that: Texas, Oklahoma, Alaska. Three states for Cruz. CUOMO: I said 17.

Maeve, so let's look one level deeper into what this means that Donald Trump pulled off this varied win. You know, that this is something that we haven't seen before, literally since 1960, winning the eight states he has: seven last night, one that he had won previously.

However, is he unifying the party or is he unifying all of those who are so angry, so disaffected? Is that what he's consolidating, or is it bigger than that?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, I think it's exactly that. He is unifying these angry voters who are very angry at the federal government, that feel that the country has not rebounded after the economic crash. That's why he's doing well among a lot of those -- those downscale voters who feel that the slow growth economy has not been bringing them along.

And, you know, what we have not seen, even though Donald Trump is talking about being a uniter, is whether or not he can appeal in a general election to independent voters and bring in that wide cross- section of people. He's obviously had very divisive rhetoric. And I think what we're going to see over the next two weeks, as we head into these huge contests in Ohio and Florida, is this sustained attack on not only his electability but also, you know, his business ventures. All of these attacks that other candidates have been using against him.

We'll see if there's going to be a lot of money behind those attacks this time and whether they actually make any difference in the long run. And whether they actually might just tear down the Republican nominee in the end.

GREGORY: Well, that's the important point that Maeve is making. I mean, for this to have been done should have been done before now. Remember the takedown about Bain and all that that was done on Mitt Romney? That happened in New Hampshire, during the New Hampshire debate. And now they're still talking about launching this type of assault against Trump.

The strategy right now for what's left of the political establishment is to deny Trump. Not to beat him; it's to deny him going over the top at the convention on the first vote. And then maybe having a brokered convention. That's a pretty slim read...

CAMEROTA: That's the plan?

GREGORY: That is the plan. For what's left of the establishment. But, I mean, as has been said here, the fact -- and Mark made this point, that, you know, winning Texas was essential. There is still room. There is still a case for each of these candidates to keep fighting. Bigger the field, bigger for Trump. And that's why he's winning so big.

CUOMO: You have to ask that question, is that the plan? CAMEROTA: Is that the plan?

CUOMO: With less sarcasm attached to it.

CAMEROTA: That's an incredible plan. That's what now is on the drawing board, Mark.

But I do want to point out, because Maeve has said, you know, he will have to pivot away from his divisive language, and last night he began doing that. Trump talked about how, moving forward, he is now the uniter. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I am a unifier. I would love to see the Republican Party and everybody get together and unify. And when we unify, there's nobody -- nobody that's going to beat us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So I mean, Mark, the exit polls, by the way, do back that up. You know, he has -- he has brought different factions together. Let's just look at Alabama for one second as an illustration.

Young people between 18 and 44 and older people above 45; college graduates and no degree; people who make under 50,000, people who make over 50. I mean, he is uniting different factions in that way.

PRESTON: Well, he's certainly driving out the vote, too. And I have to say this. I think it's very difficult for us who live in the so-called Beltway here in Washington, D.C., or in Manhattan and New York City to really grasp the idea that Donald Trump is going to be the Republican presidential nominee. It's something that -- that we can't seem to fathom that could ever happen, because he's so unconventional.

[06:15:15] But the fact of the matter is, in addition to these angry voters, he is touching a chord with Republican voters who aren't necessarily, you know, in love with the Republican establishment or like how Washington is being run right now.

But to the point of the establishment -- and David was talking about this -- about them trying to deny Donald Trump the nomination on the first ballot. If he gets very, very close to securing that nomination, or quite frankly, even if he were to get the delegates to be there, there had been some talk about trying to vacate those delegates.

I talked to more than half a dozen folks last night about this. They said if that were to happen, you would see the end of the Republican Party as we know it. And by the way, these are folks who are elders in the party, and they hate Donald Trump with a passion. But they also said that if that were to happen, that you would see Cleveland burn down in many ways.

So what they're thinking to think about right now is what else do you do? What are some other options? Do you run a third-party candidate against Trump, knowing that it's a suicide mission, and knowing that all you're doing is creating a safe haven for Republican voters and, more importantly, candidates running for the Senate and for the House of Representatives to flock to if -- if Trump becomes too nuclear.

So right now they don't know what to do. They're flummoxed, but they're trying to find some ideas.

GREGORY: As unconventional as this is, we've been here before. 1964, we saw lopsided victory for LBJ over Barry Goldwater. A kind of resetting of the Republican Party. And we may be facing that again.

It's important to know in these exit polls how anti-establishment so many Republican voters are and how anti-federal government they are. This is a real feeling about how paralyzed Washington has been. And Trump is turning out new voters.

The other side of that is also true, that there could be such anxiety because of Trump that Republicans stay home in the general election, and the Democrats are extra energized and are in a better position to win. Those are all the pieces that are on the board right now.

CAMEROTA: Maeve, Mark, David, great to get your insights on all this. Thanks so much for being here this morning.

Now Hillary Clinton piling up primary victories, as well, on Super Tuesday. She's zeroing in on, now, Donald Trump. But could Bernie Sanders have a comeback? We'll discuss those numbers, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:26] CAMEROTA: Hillary Clinton taking seven states on Super Tuesday and holding strong in the South, thanks to minority voters. She's about halfway to the nomination, but Bernie Sanders is hanging tough. Does he have a viable path to the nomination? Bernie Sanders, not seen there.

DAVID GREGORY, AUTHOR/JOURNALIST: Do I? Do I have a viable path to the nomination?

CAMEROTA: Let's ask him. He's here, as well as senior politics editor for "The Daily Beast," Jackie Kucinich; and CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic," Ron Brownstein. Great to have all of you.

Jackie, we featured David. Let me start with you.

CUOMO: Keep them guessing.

CAMEROTA: So Bernie Sanders won four states.

JACKIE KUCINICH, SENIOR POLITICS EDITOR, "THE DAILY BEAST": Right.

CAMEROTA: Oklahoma, Vermont, Colorado, Minnesota. What is the path for -- now for Hillary and Bernie?

KUCINICH: You know if Bernie Sanders can't win minority voters, if he hasn't shown that he has, he doesn't really have a path. I mean, he maybe could win the Republican nomination with all white voters. But you can't -- you can't do that in the Democratic Party. You just can't.

CUOMO: Jackie Kucinich, we don't like such dour predictions on this show.

KUCINICH: Sorry. I know it's morning.

CUOMO: But now I'm going to present a statistic that really makes your case for you. David, you can respond to it.

Let's look at the turnout last night. Because what Bernie Sanders was counting on is a movement, what he would call a revolution. But the voter turnout and even looking at the past contests is not there u the Democrats right now. The Republicans, we're seeing what is obvious there. There is somewhat of a populist momentum. Not on the Democrat side.

CAMEROTA: Wait until you see Virginia. Look at this. I mean, when we get to the next slide of Virginia, up for Republicans 107 percent.

KUCINICH: And that's why you hear -- when you talk to Democrats, they're not entirely sure that Trump will be good for the Democratic -- good for the Democrats. Because he is blowing up the turnout model, because he's getting new voters who haven't been to the polls, who aren't on anyone's radar. So it's really unpredictable what he could do in a general election.

GREGORY: And these could be, you know, a lot of working-class Democrats, as well, in especially the industrial Midwest who come out and vote for Trump in a general election.

But I think the original point is still that Bernie Sanders has a compelling argument to make in this campaign, and he's got $40-plus million to spend. He can keep going. He still has a path. He has an argument. But not really a path toward winning. Between super delegate support and how she -- how Hillary Clinton is consolidating the major elements of the Democratic Party is just hard to see him overtaking her.

CAMEROTA: Ron, what do you think?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well, look, Bernie Sanders has advanced from where he started. I mean, he has -- he has started out as the classic one-track candidate, depending almost entirely on young voters and upper-middle-class white liberals. He has shown that he can be competitive with working-class whites.

But the fact is now, in 13 states where we have exit polls, Hillary Clinton has actually won white voters in eight of them. And in every state where there have been enough African-American votes to measure, she's won at least 78 percent of those, except in Oklahoma.

So as you kind of look forward, the path does narrow for Sanders, particularly because the big states on the Democratic side are all diverse. We're going to see that over the next few weeks in Florida, in Illinois, in Michigan, in Ohio, in North Carolina, in Missouri. All of those places you really can't compete unless you can do a lot better with minority voters than he has done.

But real quick, to the other point about turnout and what it means for Democrats, there I think, you know, that's where Donald Trump is a destabilizing force for both sides. I mean, he could bring out a lot more working-class whites. He could also bring out a Democratic coalition of millennials, minorities, and college-educated, socially-liberal whites, all whom express really high negatives of him in the CNN poll just out yesterday.

GREGORY: And I do think there's an anxiety factor among Democrats that is going to help Hillary Clinton overcome some of her vulnerabilities and some of her -- her negatives. She has very high negatives, too. And that is fear of Trump winning in a general election. There's so much at stake here. The future of the Supreme Court and other things.

[06:25:03] CUOMO: We have heard that you guys -- we've heard that before. I don't know where -- why we feel so confident in that. Why would people come out to vote against Trump? Have we seen any -- we don't -- we're not going to see any indication in the primaries, because it doesn't make sense. It's not logical. But what do we see that makes us think that?

GREGORY: We look at the African-American turnout. And we saw in 2012 that it was so high. There was a lot of concern about voting irregularities, so you had a lot of angry voters coming out because of those restrictions. And I think anxiety and fear, too, could drive out a lot of the key elements of the Democratic Party and perhaps independents and combine with, maybe Republicans who don't vote.

But again, as Ron says, all of this is destabilizing, because we can't predict exactly what that electorate looks like, given Trump's impact here and the potential to bring out new voters.

KUCINICH: And not to mention, the small flotilla (ph) of establishment of voters. We've got a Republican that might just hold their nose and vote for Hillary Clinton.

CUOMO: Yes. Or not vote.

KUCINICH: Or not vote.

CUOMO: It would be hard to see Republicans voting for Hillary Clinton. I mean, there's such...

KUCINICH: Stranger things have happened this cycle.

CUOMO: That is true. Ron, I hear you. What have you got? BROWNSTEIN: Real quick, Chris. I think for the modern

Democratic coalition, acceptance of a diverse tolerant America is what holds it together. I think that is what would drive the turnout. I mean, Donald Trump is really antithetical to the values, the vision of America that most people voting Democratic now hold.

And you see that in these numbers where, again, in the CNN poll, his unfavorables among millennials was approaching 75 percent. Among minorities, almost 75 percent. Two-thirds among college graduates. Two-thirds among women. And I think it would be, particularly with the control of the Supreme Court also potentially at risk in this election...

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: ... it's a very tangible kind of prospect of a different vision of America than I think that is what is holding together this Democratic coalition.

GREGORY: And that's so smart. And I think that's one of the reasons you hear Hillary Clinton talking so much about peace and love and really emphasize. She wants the contrast with Trump. She wants to say to the Democratic coalition, "I'm really about bringing everybody together," because the contrast is so stark right now with Trump.

CAMEROTA: And that is her new language. I mean, we have heard her talk about kindness; we're going to bring back respect, prosperity for all. I mean, it is a softer tone, which she really talked about last night. And I guess that that is just to draw a contrast against Donald Trump.

KUCINICH: Absolutely. When you have someone who's so big and so brash, and I think you'll probably hear that if she ends up debating Trump, because they're going -- she's going to have to pull that contrast. Because she's not going to be able to out-bombast him.

CUOMO: Well, it also happens to be America at her best. I mean, not to get on a soapbox, but this country has always tried to distinguish itself by having sweet strength, you know, not being the bully on the block. So that will be a little bit of...

GREGORY: And -- but she's going to say that while also dropping the hammer on Trump.

CUOMO: That is true. People underestimate that. Hillary Clinton will have the ability to fight like nobody he's dealing with in the primary right now.

CAMEROTA: Right. OK. Very quickly, Ron, last word.

BROWNSTEIN: I'll just say, real quick, the argument make America great again is fundamentally directed to people who feel like the country as they have known it is slipping away from them. And the Democratic argument is the reverse: It really is aimed at people who are comfortable with what America is evolving into as we go through this demographic and cultural change. And that is the fundamental fault-line between the parties, and it will be sharpened immeasurably in a Clinton-Trump race.

CAMEROTA: And we have just begun to see it in stark relief last night.

Panel, thanks so much. Great to have you with us this morning.

So Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will face off in the next Democratic debate on Sunday. Anderson Cooper will be moderating that live from Flint, Michigan. That's Sunday night 8 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

CUOMO: Racism in politics triggering a fiery exchange between two CNN commentators. There they are: Geoffrey Lord on the left, Van Jones on the right. Fireworks that have larger meaning than this particular spat ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)