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Mitt Romney to Criticize Donald Trump in Speech; Donald Trump's Refusal to Release Tax Returns Debated; Trump: "I Disavow David Duke and the KKK"; The Path Forward for Bernie Sanders. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired March 03, 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] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: -- GOP race. What's the latest, Sunlen?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Alisyn. Today Mitt Romney will completely unload on Donald Trump. According to an early look at his speech Romney will call Trump a phony, a fraud, and someone who is just trying to play the American people as suckers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: The 2012 Republican nominee speaking out against the 2016 frontrunner Donald Trump. Romney releasing part of his prepared remarks this morning, planning to slam Trump, calling him a phony and fraud and putting his support squarely behind Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Go out and get him. You can do it.

SERFATY: Trump, who once endorsed Romney, anticipating the attacks, tweeting last night, quote "Looks like two-time failed candidate Mitt Romney is going to be telling Republicans how to get elected. Not a good messenger," and his campaign releasing this paid ad questioning Romney's conservative leadership.

TRUMP: We have expanded the Republican Party.

SERFATY: The feud coming as the frontrunner gets the cold shoulder from GOP leaders after his sweeping seven state victory on Super Tuesday.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are saying I was pleased. Everyone get together so we can keep this frontrunner from winning.

SERFATY: Former candidate Lindsey Graham suggesting he's so against Trump he would now even support Ted Cruz.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: Ted and I are in the same party. Donald Trump is an interloper. I don't trust him.

SERFATY: But Trump continues to argue that he's the one to unify the party. TRUMP: When you're dealing with Congress we have to get them all into

a room and we have to say, fellas, let's go. It's for the good of the people.

SERFATY: And tonight now only four candidates will face off in the debate. Dr. Ben Carson pulling out after Tuesday's results as Texas Senator Ted Cruz admits his campaign could have met the same fate.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we had last Texas that would be the end of the road. I don't think a candidate has a viable path forward if you can't win your home state.

SERFATY: Cruz trying that make Carson's loss his gain, extending an invitation to supporters of other GOP hopefuls.

CRUZ: If you have been supporting another candidate, we welcome you on our team. If you have been supporting Donald Trump, we really welcome on you on our team.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: Now Donald Trump is already out this morning, something of a prebuttal of what Romney will say later today, calling him a stiff and taking to Twitter saying, quote, "Why did Mitt Romney beg me for my endorsement four years ago?" And then adding this, quote, "I am not a Mitt Romney who doesn't know how to win. Hillary wants no part of Trump." Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: All right, Sunlen, thanks so much. We want to talk about all of that now, and let's bring in Katrina Pierson, national spokesperson for the Trump campaign, and Tim Miller, former Jeb Bush spokesman, now an adviser to an anti-Trump super PAC. Great to have both of you.

Let's start with this Mitt Romney news. Just a couple of hours from now Mitt Romney will be giving this speech at the University of Utah and going farther than he has in terms of the strong language against Trump. Just to remind everyone what he plans to say, he's going to stay there are some things -- sorry. He's going say "Here is what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He's playing the American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the White House, and all we get is a lousy hat." Tim, how effective do you think this will be coming from Mitt Romney?

TIM MILLER, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, JEB BUSH CAMPAIGN: Well, the pundits decide that, Alisyn. But he's right on when it comes to the facts. Donald Trump throughout his career is not looked out for regular folks. He's taken advantage of them in order to enrich himself. Trump University, which we have an ad up on now, is a prime example of that.

And while we're talking about Mitt Romney, I want to read one thing Katrina said about him in 2012. "Mitt Romney is dodging taxes like he's dodging the IRS and the Grand Caymans. Release the tax returns." That's what Katrina said in 2012. Donald Trump should release his tax returns. He's claiming he's being audited. He's shown no proof. He's claiming that he's giving money to the veterans. He's shown no proof that he's made those donations. My bet is he paid a very, very low tax rate and he's hiding this from the American people. And if Katrina thought Mitt Romney should release his returns, I'd like to know why Donald Trump won't release his.

CAMEROTA: OK, Katrina, that is one angle of hypocrisy. You can respond to that.

KATRINA PIERSON, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: What Katrina Pierson will say in 2016 is that Donald Trump should release his tax returns on the same date that Mitt Romney did. But this is what's really --

(CROSSTALK)

PIERSON: We have a candidate here in Mitt Romney who lost to the guy who lost to the guy who lost to Obama now giving everyone a lecture on who they should support. We have a guy who's giving a speech and saying all of these horrible things about Donald Trump when he couldn't even bring himself to criticize Barack Obama.

[08:05:01] We have a party that has left its people years ago. They have lost twice in a row and now the people are tired of it and will fundamentally reject this party from here on out. This will add to the frustration on the Republican base, giving Mr. Trump a landslide victory.

CAMEROTA: Tim, it is interesting to look back at how people have changed their opinions over the years. And if you look back at 2012 that was when Mitt Romney was grateful for Donald Trump's endorsement. Here is a little portion of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are some things that you just can't imagine happening in your life. This is one of them. Being in Donald Trump's magnificent hotel and having his endorsement is a delight. I'm so honored and pleased to have his endorsement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right, Tim, does that sully a bit his message today?

MILLER: There is a big difference between getting endorsement for president and actually being the president. But I want to go back to the tax returns. Katrina said that Donald Trump should release his tax returns when Mitt Romney did. Mitt did in January. Donald Trump hasn't released anything. We are in March.

MILLER: It is long past time for him to release his tax returns. No, that is not right Katrina. He released the first tax returns in January. Then he updated in September. Donald Trump should release what he has. I'd like to see proof that he gave money to veterans.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Hold on, Tim. Forget about past history. What date will Donald Trump release his tax returns?

PIERSON: Mr. Trump has already stated that he will release his tax returns when the audit is completed.

CAMEROTA: He doesn't need to wait for the audit to be completed.

MILLER: Is there an audit even?

PIERSON: He absolutely does need to wait, because everyone knows no matter what Mr. Trump releases they are going to go through it with a fine tooth comb and complain about whatever it is. So of course Mr. Trump is going to wait until after the audit. And I'll say this with regards to charities. The Trump family has been giving to charities for decades.

MILLER: Prove it.

PIERSON: The Trump family has been creating jobs longer than some of these candidates have been alive. That has been proven. While Mitt Romney was out there tearing down companies and putting people out of jobs, the Trump family was building companies and creating jobs.

CAMEROTA: Katrina, hold on. But in terms of the recent fundraiser for veterans groups that Donald Trump held instead of going to the debate and he said that he had raised $6 million that was going to go to all of these different veterans groups. How much exactly has gone to the veterans groups?

PIERSON: Well, a lot of the checks have already run out. And you can look at some of the articles where some of the charities have said, oh, wow, we didn't expect to see this much money --

CAMEROTA: -- can only account for $800,000 of that. Not $6 million, $800,000. So where is the rest of that money.

PIERSON: So far. The rest of that money is just in that same reporting. A lot of charities have already said it takes six weeks to six months to go through process of having this done. If there is one dot or one "t" on this paperwork that is not complete then Mr. Trump is going to be reamed for it in the media. Mr. Trump has no reason to keep that money. He has $1 billion. He's been giving to charities forever. And the fact that is somehow a bad thing for Mr. Trump, he's doing things he says he's wanted to do for a very long time.

CAMEROTA: Go ahead, Tim.

MILLER: Number one, I don't believe Katrina. I think that he should release past years of tax returns to show --

PIERSON: Of course not. MILLER: -- to show that he gave money to charity because he's never

actually proven it. And my guess is he gave a tiny amount to charity. Number two, I don't even believe that he's being audited. They have not proved that he's being audited. He just says it and there is no accountability. And number three, when it comes to Donald Trump's business record, he didn't create jobs here. He created jobs in Mexico and China. And his whole shtick about fighting Mexico and China now is completely false.

PIERSON: Tens of thousands of jobs right here.

MILLER: -- Trump clothing. Just look at the tags on the Trump clothing. He created jobs in Mexico and China --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Hold on a second, because I don't want to let this go. Hold on, guys. I don't want to let this go without getting the proof. Katrina, what is the proof? Where is the proof that we can look at that would show in fact $6 million was raised that night of the fundraiser for veterans and that it was distributed? Where can we see that evidence?

PIERSON: Well, like I said a lot of the charities have already reported --

CAMEROTA: But they've only recorded $800,000, and $800,000 is a big difference. We had a CNN investigation and we've spoken to all of them.

PIERSON: Many of the charities have already said it takes six weeks to six months to get that fully processed.

CAMEROTA: And many of the charities have said we haven't seen the money.

PIERSON: Because many of them say it takes six weeks to six months. It has been a couple of months, you guys. Look, in six months you should have record of all the money that's been out there because that's how long that process takes for many of these charities.

[08:10:03] CAMEROTA: So you are saying, just to be clear, Katrina, that $6 million was distributed -- hold on Tim -- that $6 million has been distributed these veterans groups and they just haven't sort of accounted for it yet?

PIERSON: No. What I'm saying the money is being distributed and some of them have to go through a paperwork process. They are charities and they have to be documented. They have to be fully vetted. They have to accept it. They have to go through the process. It takes up to six weeks or even six months before those payments are fully processed. And these charities have even told the media that, and yet we're still talking about this.

CAMEROTA: Because for our investigation the charities have said, many of the charities that are veterans groups have said we haven't seen any money, we haven't seen any check. Are you standing by, Katrina, the $6 million amount today?

PIERSON: Absolutely, 100 percent. There is no reason for Mr. Trump to keep the money that's been insinuated right here in this interview. That's pretty asinine to even say that because Mr. Trump has always --

CAMEROTA: Or that they haven't raised that amount money. No, let's be clear, not that Donald Trump is keeping the money, but where is money?

MILLER: Donald Trump doesn't give money to charity. You have never proven that he's given money to charity. You haven't released any tax returns. He's a cheap man. He does not give money to charity, and I'd like to see the proof.

CAMEROTA: Katrina, we would like to see the proof. Hold on, Tim.

MILLER: -- in past years.

CAMEROTA: OK. Tim, hold on. Our CNN investigation says that many of the groups cited have not received the money. Will you addressing that, Katrina?

PIERSON: Oh, absolutely. The money is definitely being distributed. As I said the charities themselves have told everyone how long it takes to get this done. Mr. Trump gave a list of the amounts and names of the donors that gave to this charity. So absolutely, Alisyn. This is just another thing that the losing team is pushing out there to try to create doubt in Mr. Trump. There is not a person out there that doesn't know the Trump family is heavily invested in charities all across this country. They are building hospitals for children with terminal illness for crying out allowed. So it is absurd to insinuate the opposite.

CAMEROTA: Tim, I want to move on --

MILLER: Show us proof of the audit. Show us proof how much he's given to charity. And number three, when it comes to losing, nobody is losing more than Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton. There's not one poll where he's beating her.

CAMEROTA: OK.

MILLER: You guys love talking about polls, and he's going to crush her.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about -- hold on, guys, hold. We have to move onto the controversy about the KKK. This morning just an hour ago Donald Trump went on another morning show and in his most unequivocal terms yet disavowed the KKK and David Duke. Let me play this for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll tell you what I meant. You don't know. I know. I never met David Duke. I don't know him from the standpoint I never met him. But I certainly would not have anything to do with him or the KKK, and everybody knows that. And how many times do I just have to disavow? And right after I tweeted that I disavowed and any endorsement of anything of David Duke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was just my question to give you the chance to say and convince these folks that is not something you want.

TRUMP: Savannah, let my sea it again for the 20th time. I disavow David Duke and the KKK and anybody else who preaches hate. Is that OK? Are you now going to now ask me about it in the next show when I call in? So I disavowed David Duke and obviously the KKK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Tim, does that put on end to this controversy?

MILLER: You don't get two tries to disavow the KKK, Alisyn. It's kind of a straightforward thing. Do you disavow the KKK? Yes I do. And Donald Trump tries to play this game where he makes incendiary comments and then he pulls it back. He says I didn't say that. My earpiece didn't work and makes other excuses here and there. The reality is Hillary Clinton is going to wipe the floor with him in a general election. We cannot nominate someone who did not clearly denounce the KKK. She's beating him in every poll. He's going to lose to her, and I'm not even sure what he's going talk about in the stump speech in the general election but all he talks about are the polls, and every poll has Hillary Clinton just beating him very badly.

CAMEROTA: Katrina, why didn't he say what he said this morning, why didn't he say that on Sunday or Monday or Tuesday before Super Tuesday?

PIERSON: Well, if you only have two chances to denounce David Duke, that was on Friday actually prior to this event. So he did fundamentally disavow David Duke and any affiliation with that long before that interview. No one was even talking about that Saturday when there was a person wearing a KKK t-shirt that Mr. Trump stared down and ejected from his rally. But we haven't seen that video in the media. And when he was talking to Jake Tapper on Sunday, Jake Tapper had mentioned a group that he had never even heard of. And with his earpiece going in and out there is not a person on television that doesn't understand --

MILLER: He hasn't heard of the KKK?

PIERSON: -- cause trouble.

[08:15:00] CAMEROTA: Jake Tapper gave him three opportunities.

PIERSON: No, it was the Anti-Defamation League.

CAMEROTA: He used the word "David Duke." He used the word "KKK," and Donald Trump didn't for whatever reason.

PIERSON: And you notice Mr. Trump kept saying, I don't know what groups you are talking about because he mentioned the Anti-Defamation league at first.

Again, we can go through this every day if you want, but the reality here is, Alisyn, anyone watching the television screen could see that Donald Trump has no affiliation with the KKK or white supremacy.

CAMEROTA: Well, David Duke actually has now spoken out about this yesterday as well. He was on Newsmax and he talked about the impact he thinks this had on Donald Trump and around Super Tuesday. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't you think your support of Trump is going to hurt him?

DAVID DUKE, FORMER GRAND WIZARD OF THE KKK: Well let me tell you, right after this came out it was massive news for three days, he jumped ten points in the polls. It's not going to hurt - it didn't hurt Donald Trump.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CAMEROTA: Katrina, David Duke thinks it helped Donald Trump. Did it help him?

PIERSON: Do we really care what David Duke thinks? You are the only guys giving David Duke this platform. Mr. Trump does not care about race. He cares about success and prosperity for this country. The only color that matters to Donald Trump is green, because there are 92 million people without jobs today.

There are so many people trapped in neighborhoods who have children that they feel have no future. And we're giving David Duke a platform? This is not journalism. This is hit on someone that nobody else wants to be president because that game will be over when Donald Trump wins.

CAMEROTA: Katrina Pierson, Tim Miller.

TIM MILLER, ADVISOR TO ANTI-TRUMP SUPER PAC: You see right there? You see right there, Alisyn? Katrina can't just clearly say, no, we don't want David Duke's support. Let me tell you, if Donald Trump doesn't have...

PIERSON: Said that a hundred times.

MILLER: ... any relationship...

CAMEROTA: Hold on. Go ahead, finish your thought.

MILLER: ... with white supremacy groups, that is news -- that would be news to my twitter mentions because there are a lot of people who like white supremacy who like Donald Trump tweeting at me. And you know, Donald just seems to have trouble just clearly disavowing this. And you know, not only is that wrong, but it is just a recipe for disaster in the general election.

CAMEROTA: Okay, guys, we have to leave it there. Tim Miller, Katrina Pierson, thank you very much for being on NEW DAY.

PIERSON: Thanks, Alisyn.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, excellent refereeing, not easy to do. Well done, Alisyn. Take a breath, we'll continue here. Bernie Sanders trailing Hillary Clinton by more than 600 delegates. Is it too late to close that gap? And how will a new twist in this e-mail controversy effect her campaign? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

[08:20:58] BERNIE SANDERS, (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am very, very excited when I read in "The Washington Post" today from some writer who said that, that quote, "All the pundits are calling the race for Clinton." That means we're probably going to win in a landslide.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, plugging away despite a big delegate deficit against Hillary Clinton. He says he's going to fight on after four Super Tuesday wins, but where is the path for him? What happens next, and what is the calculus all about? Let's discuss with Congressman Keith Ellison from Minnesota, supports Senator Sanders.

Congressman, hood to have you on this morning.

REP. KEITH ELLISON, (D), MINNESOTA: Hey, Chris. Good to see you.

CUOMO: So, when you're thinking about Bernie Sanders, the delegate count right now, we can throw it up for the audience, combined pledged and those super delegates, they count also, yawning gap. 1074 to 426. What does that mean for the way forward?

ELLISON: Well, Chris, I wish you guys wouldn't set up the numbers that way. They're not accurate. The fact is that the super delegates and the pledged delegates are different. The supers can vote for whomever they want. And I guarantee you that at the convention the super delegates will not take away a victory from whoever has more pledge delegates because they know that would wreck the Democratic party.

But you know, with -- if you just compare Sanders to Clinton on pledge delegates, they're actually pretty close then -- I think that this is a gap that certainly can be closed. But Chris, that's not even the main point.

The main point is Bernie Sanders got in this race because he had to address the stunning issues of income inequality, stagnant wages, no action on climate change, confronting Wall Street, student debt. He had to address those issues. He got into it not based on the odds, not based on, you know, the path or whatever, but he got into it because of love of the American people and his commitment to make a better life for the average working American of all colors.

CUOMO: Understood. So, does that mean that he stays into convention regardless, because its about the message?

ELLISON: Well, the issues aren't going away, are they, Chris? I mean, the issues that Americans are facing every time they sit down and their pay bills aren't going away so he can't go away. He's got to stick and stay and say look, I'm going to champion these issues, and I believe that we still can...

CUOMO: Right.

ELLISON: ... win this thing. And you know, no matter what happens...

CUOMO: How do you win it?

ELLISON: ... this campaign has been better for it.

Well, I think that we pick up delegates every day. We keep on with the message, we keep on pounding. As you saw in Minnesota, my state, we did very, very well. I think that there's some other states where that can happen, too. But at the end of the day, we're in it for the love of the people.

Bernie Sanders is doing this because he is committed to a more equal, better America, opportunities for all of us and our kids. That's what it's all about, and I think that message is going to prevail, you know. But the fact is, is that I wish the press would break out these supers from the pledge because they're not the same.

CUOMO: Well, let's talk about that for a second, Congressman. First of all, I had both set of numbers up on the screen. You can't see that from your vantage point.

ELLISON: Thank you, Chris. I appreciate you doing that.

CUOMO: But let's just - absolutely, but also let's just be very clear here because we don't want any suggestion of it being unfair.

ELLISON: Right.

CUOMO: First of all, it's a big gap between regular delegates also, pledge delegates, 600 to 400 basically. And nobody is saying that super delegates are going to take the race. Everybody wants to win with the pledge delegates.

ELLISON: Right.

CUOMO: But super delegates count. They count, Congressman.

ELLISON: But when - but when - but when they're presented as, you know, this - this - when -- when you add the supers in, it gives the viewer an impression that the gap is much bigger than it really is between the delegates that really count, who are the pledge delegates. So I humbly request they be broken out.

CUOMO: They all count, though, Congressman. They all count. That's all I'm saying.

ELLISON: Well, but the supers can go in either direction depending on where...

CUOMO: Assuming - assuming you win the pledged. Right now he's now winning the pledged, he's down by 200. You know, she's 600...

ELLISON: We have a plan to change that.

CUOMO: That's what I'm talking to you about is that plan.

ELLISON: We're going - we're...

CUOMO: Now...

ELLISON: We're going to - we're going to - we're going to fight on. You know, the message is resonating. The more people get to know Bernie Sanders, the better Bernie Sanders is doing. He did really well in my state of Minnesota, Oklahoma, Colorado. You know, things are -- I think we have a lot to be proud of in this race so far.

CUOMO: And...

[08:25:12] ELLISON: Particularly when you consider where we are back last June.

CUOMO: No question, no question. When we were first discussing running for president with Senator Sanders, do you know who was laughing at us? Senator Sanders. So, certainly he's come a very far way. There's nobody disputing that. The question becomes, you know, a little bit of why. Yes, the message, but you know? Every time you look at exit polls when people talk about trustworthiness, he crushes Hillary Clinton. He's always at least 80 something percent. She's just at about 50, a little bit above 50 percent within the own party.

Now you have the latest finding that the guy who set up the IT on the private server for Hillary Clinton just cut an immunity deal to talk to the FBI. What does this mean for Bernie Sanders? Should he use it as a legit concern about electability?

CUOMO: You know what? I think we should stick to the message of economic empowerment for average working Americans. The - you know, the press and other folks are going to talk about those other issues and they're going to do that, there's a process for that.

But at the end of the day, Bernie Sanders has always run a high road campaign. I think we should stick to it. One of the reasons that people trust him is that he doesn't get into the mud and try to exploit, you know, circumstances like that. He famously said enough with your damn e-mails. I - I ...

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: He then said that the FBI investigation matters, and that's what we're talking about.

ELLISON: Well - well - well so, does it matter? Yes. Is it something that should be a campaign issue for him? I think he should stick to the issues in the campaign, and I suspect he will. CUOMO: Congressman Ellison, always appreciate you being on NEW DAY,

even when you're hitting me over the head.

ELLISON: You bet, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. So, the next week is march madness right here on CNN. It begins Sunday with the next Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, followed by the premiere of the new CNN series, "Race for the White House." Then next Tuesday is the next Super Tuesday night, Super Tuesday two. Wednesday brings another Democratic debate in Miami, and then on Thursday the next Republican debate in Miami. A week of political events, all right here on CNN. Take your no doze (ph) now.

Mich?

PEREIRA: And your green juice, Chris. Make sure you get those veggies in.

All right, Ohio Governor John Kasich is yet to win a single primary. Why is he saying that voters should not count him out just yet? We'll ask one of his top supporters, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)