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New Day
Path to Victory for Kasich; Aubrey McClendon Dies; Sean Dever's Story; Kevin Spacey on "Race for the White House". Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired March 03, 2016 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:31:42] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Ohio Governor John Kasich hasn't won a state yet in the Republican primary, but he says that's OK. He's looking forward to states better suited for him, including, and most importantly, his home state of Ohio. Is that a good enough path to stay in the race? That's a question that a lot of people are asking themselves this morning. So, let's discuss with a top Kasich supporter, Tom Ridge, the former director of Homeland Security for the Bush administration, former Pennsylvania governor.
Governor, it's good to have you with us this morning.
TOM RIDGE (R), ENDORSING GOV. JOHN KASICH: Chris, it's nice to join you and Alisyn again. Thanks for the invite.
CUOMO: Always. Make the case for Kasich staying in the race?
RIDGE: Well, you need - you started with 17. We're on the eve of March madness. We're down to the final four. We have one individual with a consistent record, not rhetoric, a consistent record of applying conservative principles of the operation of government. We're moving into the Midwest. We're going to win Ohio. We can unite the party with a candidate best suited to defeat Donald Trump and to defeat Hillary Clinton. Game on.
CUOMO: What do you make of these concerns that Kasich staying in really one of either Cruz or Rubio staying in is hurting the party and has led to this hostile takeover by Trump and now this bizarre reaction by a lot of elder statesman coming out trying to attack Trump. What do you make of what's going on in your party?
RIDGE: Well, I would like everybody to just exhale a little bit. Donald, the leading candidate right now and obviously I haven't been in support of since way back in November, he still is about a thousand delegates short. And I think everybody ought to settle down. And we've got a series of debates coming up. We've got primaries in very favorable areas for John. You notice some of the exit polls even on Super Tuesday show people are starting to move away from Trump. I think the grass roots is finally beginning to understand that even Donald Trump probably doesn't believe the outrageous statements he's making about walls and getting oil from ISIS without putting boots on and ground et cetera, et cetera. So I think everybody ought to just relax a little bit and let the process play out. CUOMO: But I think that what is happening as we watch the process play out is why they're excited. I mean Trump is doing better and better as the races go on. He's won eight states now that no Republican had ever won in a primary process since 1960. You've got Mitt Romney coming out this morning. He's going to use really hard language to personally attack Donald Trump. Do you think this is a mistake?
RIDGE: Well, I think everybody is entitled to their opinion about Donald Trump. I mean I said it a long time ago, I thought he was an embarrassment to my party. I think he's an embarrassment to my country. And I have enormous respect for Mitt Romney and he has his opinion. He's - obviously he deserves to express it publicly, and he will.
But I think John's just going to stay focuses on his record. I mean there's a lot of people aspiring to be president right now who offer the promise of a conservative leadership. But we're down to the final four and there's only one candidate who's done more than promised conservative leadership from his days in the House of Representatives, to his extraordinary record of service of principled conservative, consistent leadership in Ohio. He's the only one that can demonstrate a proven record. And I think the grassroots will respond to it in a very favorable way.
CUOMO: Why hasn't it happened yet, gov?
RIDGE: Good question. I think, frankly, now that you've narrowed the stage - remember, the stage was as wide as a football field and fortunately, you know, there's just a super individual, just an extraordinarily talented and gracious man, Dr. Carson, has moved on. We now have it narrowed to four. There's only one with a record. Now the focus is on just the final four. And you know what always happens in the final four, there's always surprises.
[08:35:22] CUOMO: Well, that's certainly true. One of the surprises we've seen before the final four, I guess you could say, was in the great eight, the elite eight, was that you had Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, former presidential candidate, come out and support Trump. A lot of hacks went up in the GOP, calls for him to resign and editorials. What did you make of that move?
RIDGE: Well, you know, I think John Kasich, again showing the kind of man he is and the kind of leader he would be, admitted publicly that he had talked to Governor Christie, had hoped to get his support. Governor Christie made another decision. And John just lives with it. I mean I just go back to my days when working with John Kasich, we go back to 80 - getting elected in '82 together. He's got this great ability to reach across the aisle and get things done. I personally was a little disappointed and surprised. I thought given his assault on Marco Rubio that he was obviously leaning towards supporting a governor when he left the race. But as John Kasich pointed out, the gentlemen that he is, everybody makes a choice and we're down to four choices now and John's going to play very, very well in the Midwest.
CUOMO: If Trump is the nominee, if he gets the number of delegates, what do you think happens at the convention and will you back him? RIDGE: No, I've already said, Chris, a long - many, many months ago, I
just - Donald Trump's not my kind of man. He's not my kind of Republican. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure he's a Republican. He's certainly not a conservative. And I can't vote for him.
CUOMO: Tom Ridge, appreciate you being on NEW DAY, as always.
RIDGE: My great pleasure, Chris. Thank you very much.
CUOMO: Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Chris, the new CNN original series "Race for the White House" premiers this Sunday. I sat down with the executive producer, Kevin Spacey, to hear all about the series and which candidate in history he most likens to Donald Trump. Find out coming up.
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[08:41:02] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, it is time for "CNN Money Now." Chief business correspondent Christine Romans in the Money Center.
Hi, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
The big story everyone's talking about in business today, an oil tycoon dies in a fiery car crash one day after his indictment on a charge of rigging oil leases. Aubrey McClendon, founder of Chesapeake Energy, a pioneer in America's shale oil boom, part owner of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. Police say he drove his SUV straight into the bridge overpass at a high speed, burst into flames. He was facing a federal charge of rigging lease prices for gas and oil wells. You know, guys, just Tuesday he vowed to fight that charge and prove his innocence. Just a tragic story that's really shaken up the business world this morning, guys.
PEREIRA: Certainly has. All right, thanks so much, Christine.
A young athlete has been forced to confront a challenging opponent off the field, bone cancer. His story, though, is one that inspires. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more in this week's edition of "Turning Points."
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sports have always been a huge part of Sean Dever's live.
SEAN DEVER, CANCER SURVIVOR: I started playing soccer and before kindergarten and started playing lacrosse in fourth grade, basketball in third grade.
GUPTA: In 2007, when he was 11 years old, a fall at lacrosse camp changed his life. DEVER: My mom was very concerned that I was not walking normally. So
she took me to the doctor and they suggested an MRI.
GUPTA (on camera): The test revealed that Sean had a type of bone cancer known as osteosarcoma. That means a tumor was located in his lower femur. The distal part of his thigh bone right there.
DEVER: I had to grow up really fast.
GUPTA (voice-over): After three months of chemotherapy, surgeons removed the cancerous part of his leg, including the knee, an approach that gave him the best chance of getting back in the game.
DEVER: That summer was just me learning to walk again. All the physical therapy, all the pain and everything I went through was to get back on the lacrosse field.
GUPTA: And he did.
JOHN WELLFORD, BLESSED TRINITY H.S. LACROSSE COACH: Every day was a gift. And he played like it. And he was one of the best players I've ever had.
GUPTA: Today, Sean is captain of the lacrosse team at Young Harris College. He has been cancer free for eight years and volunteers with the Childhood Cancer Charity to show others what is possible.
DEVER: It's worth pushing through things. The pain that you go through is temporary and the happiness will last a lot longer.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: Such an inspirational story. Great to see that from Sanjay.
Well, back to politics. The 2016 election is filled with name-calling and vitriol, but a new CNN original series remind us this is nothing new. Up next, my interview with executive producer and narrator of "Race for the White House," actor Kevin Spacey.
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[08:47:38] CAMEROTA: A fascinating new CNN original series captures the drama of six iconic presidential campaigns in U.S. history. I sat down at the Nomad Hotel with the Kevin Spacey, the Academy Award- winning actor and the executive producer of CNN's "Race for the White House."
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CAMEROTA: So tell us how and why you wanted to get involved in this project, "Race for the White House."
KEVIN SPACEY, CNN'S "RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE" EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: I was very jealous of Tom Hanks and his documentary series on CNN and I said through, well, gosh darn it, we got to come up with an idea that we can do a multi-series look at these, you know, we're in the middle of one now, and we'll look back on it either in a year or ten years with a degree of, um, oh, I didn't know that was going on and things will get revealed we never knew.
And so I think all of these particular races that we have focused on throughout history are really interesting examinations of -- while some things may have changed, you know, the way in which a politician gets their message out, which in earlier times was very slow, that someone's speech or ideas would get across to voters across the country and how that's changed. Now it is instantaneous. But how, in many ways, politics hasn't changed that much.
CAMEROTA: So in researching all of these presidential races, which ones did you find most fascinating?
SPACEY: There is actually -- they are incredible. I think the Dukakis/Bush one is really interesting because it is remarkable how events that happen in the course of a campaign can become the singular thing that a candidate is then identified by. Certainly Dukakis' case it would be the moment in the tank. Which, of course, tanked then his campaign.
It's really interesting to -- You know, you look back on now it and sometimes no matter how intelligent, articulate, how many incredible policies an individual might have, these individual moments, these slip-ups, these -- you know, it is like I think of the great moment when George H.W. Bush looked at his watch in the middle of the debate as if he had somewhere better to be. Now of course, it wasn't what he intended, but it is so fascinating how little moments like that reveal something to a public, to a press that can then change the course of history.
[08:50:08] CAMEROTA: How do you think American politics has changed since the founding fathers era?
SPACEY: Money has changed it. The media has changed it. I mean, I wonder what would happen if we took money out of it, if running for office were a public service. I remember when I did this film about Jack Abermoff, who was the notorious Washington lobbyist who funneled a lot of money into people's campaigns, and I was sort of going around going why -- I don't understand, why don't the networks air these ads for free as a public service?
Because if candidates didn't have to raise all that money, consistently raising money, once they even get office they have to raise money for the next election. What would happen to our process? Would it become fairer? Would it become less driven by who's got the most Super PACs or donors? It is an interesting proposition. I'm probably -- People call me naive for thinking that's even possible.
CAMEROTA: Some people have characterize this race, the 2016 race, as the most astonishing race ever. How do you characterize it?
SPACEY: No, I think that there are many parallels that we could make to the 1968 race. George Wallace ran a very similar kind of campaign. He did exactly the same sorts of things. Attack journalists, attacked integrity of other candidates, used racism, insulted people. There were fights at his rallies. You sort of go, oh yeah, we've seen this before. And, you know, at least the good news about our country is no matter how crazy it gets and no matter how much fun we have and how insane it looks, we generally get it right in the end. We generally figure it out.
CAMEROTA: That is a hopeful take on this.
SPACEY: I'm very hopeful.
CAMEROTA: Some people liken Donald Trump to Andrew Jackson, to that race way back because -- similar things. There were some name calling. There was lots of vitriol between the two candidates. They brought their wives.
SPACEY: Andrew Jackson was huge. People may not know that. But he was a huge presidential candidate as well. And he spoke like that, too. And many people don't know that.
CAMEROTA: No, people didn't know that.
SPACEY: (Inaudible) few recordings we found of Andrew Jackson.
CAMEROTA: You do some impressions.
SPACEY: Sure.
CAMEROTA: Of presidential --
SPACEY: I love doing -- Well, you know, I just played Richard Nixon and we do examine the Nixon/Kennedy race. I got to play Richard Nixon in this film called "Elvis Nixon," which is this crazy story of this meeting that happened between Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon at the White House in 1970. We like to say it is the day that the two of the greatest recording artists in America met.
And so to play Nixon was really interesting. I particularly played a Nixon not settled by Watergate. This was a year and a half before he even started taping in the White House and way before Watergate. So it was really fun to try to embody his particular persona and his kind of grumpy attitude and physicality. And Michael Shannon plays Elvis Presley in this film. It comes out in April. So that was really fun and, of course, obviously a very different president from Frank Underwood.
CAMEROTA: Do you want to give us "I'm not a crook?"
SPACEY: No, I couldn't do that because ultimately CNN has to pay me a great deal of money to do my impressions. You didn't see that writer in the contract, but it's there.
CAMEROTA: No -- I did not see it.
SPACEY: Also if I did Nixon, I probably would start doing what he does, which is he used language that was so shocking. He used the f word as an adjective. It is true.
CAMEROTA: Do you do any of the current presidential candidates?
SPACEY: No, I mean, it's funny how -- Maybe if I start watching them enough. I mean, I obviously just did huge, which is all you really need to do to be able to get away doing an impression. But no, I've always loved doing Bill because this race is interesting. He he.
CAMEROTA: That's good. That is good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: I knew he couldn't resist.
PEREIRA: You didn't have to pay him for that one?
CAMEROTA: Nope, I did not have to pay him. He did that on his own accord (inaudible). He does a lot of great impressions. But it's also just -- it's interesting to talk to him because he's this is this larger than life fictional character of Frank Underwood and we do talk about what Frank Underwood would think of this race. So we'll have more of my interview with Kevin Spacey tomorrow. He tells us how his "House of Cards" character, President Underwood, would react to the 2016 race.
PEREIRA: Perfect timing because the new series comes out on Netflix soon I think. Like tomorrow.
CUOMO: I'll tell you what, Trump is very happy there is no Frank Underwood in the GOP right now. Otherwise the Ides of March would take on a whole new meaning for that guy.
[08:55:00] CAMEROTA: And don't miss our new CNN original series "Race for the White House" this Sunday 10:00 p.m. Eastern following the CNN Democratic debate only here on CNN.
CUOMO: All right. We've talked about a lot of politics. How about some "Good Stuff" to wind it up?
PEREIRA: Yes, please.
CUOMO: Done. Next.
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CUOMO: Got a "Good Stuff" for you. An unusual story. There is a dog with one very important job. Piper, 7-year-old border collie, gears up every day with specs to protect his eyes, ear muffs to protect him from loud sounds and a vest that helps him with his job. Why? What does he need all of it for? Here is why.
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BRIAN EDWARDS, PIPER'S OWNER: Basically what he does is chases away all sorts of wildlife, birds, Fox, you name it, from the runways and taxi ways. Anything that we don't want to come in contact with aircraft.
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CUOMO: There's your answer. How is that dog supposed to see where he's going?
PEREIRA: That's amazing.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: That's Piper's owner, Brian Edwards. He says the dog's main priority is safety and he's already been a huge help to the airport. Listen to this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARDS: We've noticed a reduction in birds, primarily the snowy owl. That's his favorite thing to chase in the whole wide world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Now that's awesome, but why does he need the protective eye wear?
CUOMO: Um, I guess so that he doesn't get hit with anything.
PEREIRA: Or maybe the fumes from the planes? Or I don't know.
CAMEROTA: Maybe it's too bright with the snow.
CUOMO: Pecking birds, those snowy owls. They are no joke.
PEREIRA: They are no joke. All right. That wraps it up for us. Time for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.
