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Clinton & Sanders Clash on Immigration in Debate; Republicans to Face Off in Debate Tonight; Trump Defends Steak & Magazine Businesses. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 10, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- are beginning to hear me.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The secretary's words to Wall Street has really intimidated them.

[07:00:08] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's talking about a very tall wall.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have a very, very big and powerful wall.

CLINTON: Better than the Great Wall of China.

TRUMP: I probably won't ask you to pledge that you'll vote for me.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am here to pledge my support of you.

TRUMP: You want to do it?

OK. State your name.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Beautiful shot. The sun is up here in Miami. Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. Michaela is in New York for your this morning. Chris and I are live at the University...

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The U, baby.

CAMEROTA: ... of Miami.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders sparring over immigration and appealing to Latino voters at their debate here in Miami last night. A lot of tough questions posed to the candidates, and Hillary Clinton was even asked whether she would drop out if she is indicted over her private e-mails. The Democratic battle intensifying with direct attacks on each other. CUOMO: Just a few hours from now, another big, big moment, really the

last big chance for the GOP hopefuls before the all-important upcoming winner-take-all primaries: Florida, Ohio, and even more. We probably have haven't had a day in this race that's going to have as many important events on the same day of voting.

Question is, who will be the tone in this big tonight -- debate tonight? What are going to be the angles, especially for Marco Rubio? It is a matter of political life and death for him.

We have this race covered the way only CNN can. Let's begin with J.B., John Berman, on last night's contentious Democratic debate.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The debate was here in Miami, but you could say there was a storm front that had blown in from Michigan, right? Bernie Sanders' tumultuous upset victory over Hillary Clinton, it was a shadow hanging over this debate, and whatever chance Hillary Clinton had to pivot toward the general election, she is pivoting never more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDERS: Madam Secretary, I will match my record against yours any day of the year.

BERMAN (voice-over): A new confidence from Bernie Sanders in this new campaign reality. After the huge Sanders upset in Michigan, this could go on for a while.

CLINTON: I've won some; I've lost some.

BERMAN: The debate in Florida, sponsored by Univision, with sections in Spanish, was full of questions on immigration and full of attempted contrasts.

CLINTON: In 2007 one of the first things you did was vote against Ted Kennedy's immigration reform.

SANDERS: I worked very hard in improving the guest worker provisions so that, in 2013, people who were in the guest worker program in America would not be treated like slaves.

CLINTON: In 2006, Senator Sanders supported indefinite detention for people facing deportation, and stood with the Minutemen vigilantes.

SANDERS: What the secretary is doing tonight, and has done very often, is take large pieces of legislation and take pieces out of it.

BERMAN: Sanders continued to hit Clinton for what he called her ties to Wall Street.

SANDERS: There is a reason why Wall Street has provided $15 million just in the last reporting period for the secretary's super PAC.

CLINTON: I do have the toughest, most comprehensive plan to go after Wall Street. SANDERS: Clearly, the secretary's words to Wall Street has really

intimidated them, and that is why they have given her $15 million in campaign contributions.

BERMAN: And Clinton continued to hit Sanders for being what she considers unrealistic.

CLINTON: Senator Sanders has talked about free college for everybody. He's talked about universal single-payer health care for everybody. And yet, when you ask questions, as many of us have and, more importantly, independent experts, it's very hard to get answers. And a lot of the answers say that, you know, this is going to be much more expensive than anything Senator Sanders is admitting to.

My dad used to say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

SANDERS: I think, if the rest of the world can do it, we can.

BERMAN: Though most of the focus was on each other, there was some looking beyond to Donald Trump.

CLINTON: He's talking about a very tall wall. The most beautiful tall wall, better than the Great Wall of China. It's just fantasy.

BERMAN: And some looking within.

CLINTON: I am not a natural politician, in case you haven't noticed, like my husband, or President Obama, so I have a view that I just have to do the best I can.

BERMAN: There were few softballs. Clinton was flat-out asked if she would drop out of the race if indicted because of her e-mails.

[07:05:06] CLINTON: Oh, for goodness, it is not going to happen. I'm not even answering that question.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: It was so interesting to see, yes, there were tough questions. Yes, both candidates were tough, but you were left with the impression after this two-hour brawl that these candidates are now settling in for the long haul. These are the contours of what this campaign will be, maybe for months; and last night it may have been the very last time they shared the debate stage -- Chris.

CUOMO: John Berman, Bob Ross couldn't paint a better picture of the stakes than you just did.

Let's discuss. We have the mayor of Miami Beach and Hillary Clinton supporter, Philip Levine; and Florida congressman and Bernie Sanders supporter, Alan Grayson, also running for the Senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio. Full disclosure here.

Also, a nice look at the Democratic divide that we have here. Big moments last night. The first one for your side is Jorge Senioro (ph) Ramos, though fearless, asking, "Would you drop out if indicted?" Loaded question. Fair one?

PHILIP LEVINE, MAYOR, MIAMI BEACH: I don't think so, Chris. I mean, clearly, we know there's going to be no indictment. That's ridiculous and absurd, but I understand that Jorge Ramos had to say it, because he went after Donald Trump so aggressively that he had to show that he was obviously very bipartisan. So I understand the question.

But clearly, this is something that's never going to happen, and I think most people and Democrats understand that, as well.

CUOMO: Congressman, do you think that it is a nonissue?

REP. ALAN GRAYSON (D), FLORIDA: Well, that remains to be seen. But what's important is that the American people now see what their choices are in terms of policy. One of these candidates supports a $15 minimum wage. The other one does not. One of them supports Medicare for all. The other one does not. One of them supports free higher education in public schools. The other one does not. And these are the choices that are now stark before the American people and the Democratic electorate.

CUOMO: How do you combat that?

LEVINE: Well, Chris, I think one of them really wants to have a socialist revolution. One of them likes the system but wants to improve it and wants a new American Revolution, which of course, Secretary Clinton is saying, "Let's improve our health care with Affordable Care Act. Let's make sure we take off the burden of education costs to those students that can't afford it."

What we don't want to do is -- and of course, I live in Florida, and of course, the congressman does, too -- is we're not looking for a socialist revolution. We've had one. We know what Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela has happened. We know it really well, because the people that went through it, they all live in Miami now. Things don't work out well for them.

What Secretary Clinton wants is an American Revolution to break down barriers and make sure everybody can have the American dream. And we don't want two Americas. But we're also not going to offer, as Secretary Clinton said, a deal that's too good to be true, that we know is too good to be true.

CUOMO: What did you make of the moment last night in the debate, Congressman, when they played Bernie Sanders, not senator then, but talking about Fidel Castro in what they suggested was a positive way?

GRAYSON: Well, listen, you're talking about something that happened 31 years ago. Are they going to start to show my baby pictures in my campaign? That doesn't make sense.

CUOMO: He didn't run the other way last night, though, and say the worst -- you know, the things that people down here would say about Fidel Castro.

GRAYSON: The most important moment was at 10:23 last night, when Bernie Sanders said, "I want a $15 minimum wage. I want Medicare for all. I want everybody who's sick in this country to be able to see a doctor to get the care that they need to stay healthy and alive." And when he said, "I want to see every student be able to go to college even if they're poor and get the college education that they need to succeed, that was the magic moment.

CUOMO: That does sound like a very compelling case to people in your party. What are they -- what is he not saying? What else is being offered that makes something better than, you know, what does sound like everything you would want if you're a Democrat?

LEVINE: Well, I've got to tell you, Chris, I really do, one of the most magical moments, I thought, was his endorsement of Fidel Castro and the administration in Cuba, which obviously shows that that's the type of socialist revolution...

CUOMO: Now, he would say he didn't endorse him.

LEVINE: Well, I think that we heard and so everyone there heard, as well. But listen, you know, Senator Sanders said that, you know, he was against the auto resuscitation. And he had all these reasons why he wouldn't bail out the auto industry. And of course, he said, "Well, that was because it was going to include Wall Street."

But one thing he didn't say is all that money was paid back. It was paid back with interest. And of course, at the same time, the government actually did well with that resuscitation, those loans to the auto industry.

So once again, it created jobs. It maintained an industry there. I think that was very important. Secretary Clinton wants to do the same thing, but we want to build on affordable health care. We don't want to tear it down. We don't want a bipartisan fight for heath care. Let's build on what President Obama has already created.

CUOMO: Is the senator setting up a system that's going to be of complete conflict, because he's asking for things that, if president, would be arguably unachievable?

GRAYSON: Not at all. Every other country in the world that's a major country has achieved universal health care. Every other country in the world has paid sick leave. It's a major country in the world.

CUOMO: But you know well...

GRAYSON: Every other country has paid vacations.

CUOMO: You know well the fight over Obamacare. That's what I'm saying. This isn't France. I'm saying, given the state of play here in America, is he suggesting things that may sound good to a part of your party?

GRAYSON: What he's suggesting is democracy. Power to the people. He's suggesting that the government should reflect the popular will and not be an oligarchy that's bound by whatever the Koch brothers want. That's what he's suggesting. That's what he's demanding, and a lot of people feel exactly the same way.

CUOMO: So here's been the trick for Hillary Clinton. How do you capture the energy that is in place in these types of arguments that has this country in a mood that is obviously carrying Donald Trump, as well? She has not been able to match that mood yet. What do you make of that suggestion?

[07:10:16] LEVINE: Well, Chris, I think what happens is when you've been in public life for so many years, I mean, it's a positive thing, but it's also something you have to deal with.

And of course, she's been in the public life for 30-something years. She has a plan. She's a qualified CEO to run our country. She's incredibly resilient. She's -- she's a -- she's a lady that we know that -- I always say it's kind of like the Timex watch. She can take a licking, but she can keep on ticking. And that's the kind of energy, that's the kind of discipline and strength we need as commander in chief of the United States of America.

And I think one of the things that's going to happen is we believe, and Secretary Clinton believes that she is going to get the nomination, and as that becomes inevitable in the future, when that starts to happen, I think America is going to wake up. The women and young girls will realize that history has been made. This is going to be the first female candidate, nominee for the president of the United States, and way to see that that energy starts coming.

CUOMO: What is the best support statement you can give to Senator Sanders as to why he will be able to get these things done as president?

GRAYSON: Because we are still a functioning democracy. Because we still go and we vote, and we choose our leaders. And we elect people who are accountable to the people. And the people want change. They want change on a major way.

There is a grinding inequality in this country that only Senator Sanders is willing to come to grips with and actually change to make this country better, to make sure that we have political equality through his campaign finance reform, self-done, where he's got 5 million contributions from 1.5 million voters, on actual $27 average. That's a revolution that's already occurred.

Through economic change, through taking the money that is now stuck inside of multinational corporations and giving it back to the people, to the consumers, to the buyers, and then ultimately social change to alleviate the grinding equality that we see everywhere in our lives. That is the Sanders message, and he has shown that this can be done. He's been fighting these fights now for 30 years and winning.

CUOMO: The competing messages certainly are clear, because that's why that party is in the situation that it is right now, a real nip and tuck battle.

Congressman Grayson, thank you very much.

Mayor Levine, thank you.

LEVINE: Thank, you, Chris. Thank you so much.

CUOMO: Thanks to both of you -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris. Tonight it's the Republican's turn. The final four facing off for the last time before Tuesday's pivotal primaries here in Florida and in Ohio.

CNN Politics reporter Sara Murray joins us now with a preview of tonight's debate. What's it going to look like, Sara?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. You are absolutely right. This is really the closing argument before these all-important winner-take-all states, including here in Florida, including Ohio that vote on March 15.

And look, Donald Trump has said he wants to see a softer debate, something different from the rowdy bawdy debate we saw last time around. But I think that might be hard for him to do, because Ted Cruz is looking for a two-man fight with Donald Trump. And as for Trump on the trail, he hasn't been sounding very kind and gentle. Take a listen to what he had to say about Ohio Governor John Kasich last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We, as you know, we have Ohio, where you have an absentee governor. Absentee. And we're going to have -- no, we're going to have -- I think we're going to do great in Ohio. We'll do great, great, great in Ohio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now, Donald Trump has sort of resisted attacking John Kasich until this point. I think this is a reflection of Kasich's rising poll numbers. And so he might be able to feel a little bit more heat on that debate stage tonight. Of course, the other person we're going to be watching closely is Marco Rubio. He's got a brutal couple of weeks. He hasn't been able to really notch the wins he wants in some of these election nights. And he even is expressing regret now about the tone he's been taking on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In terms of things that have to do with personal stuff, yes, you know, at the end of the day, you know, it's not something I am entirely proud of. My kids were embarrassed by it; and I -- if I had to do it again, I wouldn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now for both John Kasich and for Marco Rubio, March 15 is do or die. It's when their home states vote. They need to notch victories there to be able to continue. And this debate is really their chance to convince voters that they are still viable and that voters are not wasting their ballots if they cast a vote for either Rubio or for Kasich -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Sara. It will be fascinating to watch. Thank you so much.

It is must-see TV tonight. Donald Trump and his rivals face off in the final debate before the Florida and Ohio primaries next week. Jake Tapper will be moderating it. It's the CNN Republican debate tonight at 8:30 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

CUOMO: All right. Next week's Florida primary. You can't say enough about the stakes. It's winner-take-all. It could be Marco Rubio's last hurrah. So what does he do tonight? Does she go all in on the attack or take the high road? We're going to ask a long-time Rubio ally, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:18:54] CUOMO: Tonight is the big debate, and Donald Trump is getting ready. It is certainly a high-stakes affair, but those aren't the only stakes that are becoming a campaign issue. Trump spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper about his debate prep, the state of the race and about those Trump Steaks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: The press conference you gave, the victory speech, obviously a big night for you. Just a few factual things. The steaks you showed, those aren't actually Trump Steaks, right?

TRUMP: Oh, no, they're Trump -- no, I buy them. I'm not killing the cow.

COOPER: No, but they're not sold. Those are, because the whole reason for showing those things is to fight back against what Mitt Romney said about...

TRUMP: No, no, just so you understand. Trump Steaks, we sell the steaks through my clubs. I have many clubs and hotels. We sell the steaks.

COOPER: But they're not sold at Sharper Image? They're not available...

TRUMP: Oh, no.

COOPER: ... to the public at large?

TRUMP: They're not sold -- they're sold...

COOPER: That business is gone?

TRUMP: No, no. It's the same thing. It's an offshoot of it. It's the same thing.

We have -- we do a tremendous steak business.

COOPER: Because those steaks were bought locally from a meat supplier.

TRUMP: We buy a lot of steaks from different places. I don't want to buy, if I'm in California, I don't want to buy my steaks from New York.

COOPER: The steaks you sell, you -- you order from...

TRUMP: We sell the steaks, and largely to our hotels and our clubs and things like that, and it's a -- you know, it's a small business.

[07:20:08] COOPER: And the magazine you showed off, that's not the magazine that Mitt Romney was talking about?

TRUMP: Just so you understand, I've had many magazines. Every time I open a business, I'll sometimes open a magazine for a period of years, get the business started, and then close it.

COOPER: People are pointing out today saying, well, look, the items you were showing last night in order to push back against Mitt Romney, you know, the implication was that those were Trump Steaks, available nationwide somewhere?

TRUMP: It wasn't Trump -- well, they are available nationwide. You can buy them at different places that I own. I own many, many places. Worldwide. Worldwide.

COOPER: You can buy them if you eat in the restaurant here.

TRUMP: Yes.

COOPER: You can't go on the Internet and buy them?

TRUMP: The magazine, that magazine has been with me for a long time, and you morph it in.

COOPER: That's not the Trump magazine that Mitt Romney was talking about?

TRUMP: I open up many magazines when I start a business, and I'll keep it open for a year or two until the business gets going, and after the building -- the business gets going, you close it up.

COOPER: The debate tomorrow night, do you expect the tone, the tenor to be different than the last? The last one was tough. You had people on both sides coming after you.

TRUMP: Such an interesting question. I think it's going to be much different. I am now far and away the frontrunner. I think -- here's the thing. The Republican Party is sitting on something that's so great. They're sitting on millions and millions and millions of people that want to be part of it. The worst thing they can do is knock me out. If I get knocked out, if I don't make it, every one of those people...

COOPER: You think they're going to start to coalesce around you? TRUMP: Every one of those -- I'm the only one that can beat Hillary,

and I'll beat her easily. I'll bring in Michigan. I may bring in New York.

COOPER: Will you debate Cruz if it's one-on-one?

TRUMP: Yes, that's fine.

COOPER: You would do a debate with Cruz if Kasich dropped out?

TRUMP: I don't think he is a good debater. I think, frankly, the way I look at Ted, I think it's very phony. I think Ted is actually a bad talker -- pretty good debater, bad talker. Can't talk. I don't mind debating him at all. The problem is when I debate somebody, then people say I'm not a nice person. But they say, "You won the debate."

COOPER: So bottom line, you're expecting a different tone, but you'll be ready for anything?

TRUMP: I think it's going to be softer, but I'll be ready. I mean, Marco -- Marco is going to be a different person. Marco has been, you know, mortally wounded. You know, question is will Marco be there?

And Ted is Ted. We've been playing the game now for a long time. These debates to me are getting very boring, if you want to know the truth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: All right. So much to talk about and never boring. Let's bring in Florida's lieutenant governor, Carlos Lopez-Cantera. He has known Marco Rubio for 20 years and is running for the Senate seat that Rubio is vacating to run for president.

Senator, thanks for being here.

LT. GOV. CARLOS LOPEZ-CANTERA (R), FLORIDA: Good morning, Alisyn. Welcome to Florida.

CAMEROTA: What are you looking for Marco Rubio to do tonight? What should his tactics be?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: Marco should just be Marco. Marco has a better grasp of the issues than any candidate in the field that we've seen this cycle, and Marco should be himself.

CAMEROTA: Do you think he'll go after Donald Trump?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: I don't think he's going to go after Donald Trump in any way other than if there's an untruth that needs to be clarified or some inconsistency that needs to be clarified. I would expect Marco would do that. But other than that, Marco is -- I would expect him to focus on the issues, focus on the issues that are important to Americans.

CAMEROTA: Do you think it was a tactical error for Marco Rubio to have poked at Donald Trump last week?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: You know, hindsight is always 20/20. I think that he exposed some things and -- on Mr. Trump that maybe others hadn't been able to do. I think Marco says he's -- he's going forward, you know, going to get back to the serious policy issues and the relevant issues in the race. So...

CAMEROTA: I mean, you say he exposed things, but he wasn't really going after him on policy. He was going after him on being orange- colored and things like that. I mean, so are you saying that that was an effective strategy?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: Well, I can tell you that that is a tactic that Mr. Trump has been using since he got into the race. So if one is using it, I would guess maybe it's fair game.

CAMEROTA: I mean, I know that that was his original thought, Marco Rubio's original thought. But even he now says he regrets it. He says that it embarrassed his children.

LOPEZ-CANTERA: Those were the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- that was a comment Marco made?

CAMEROTA: Do you think that that hurt him in his race?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: I don't believe that that's what hurt Marco. I don't think anything is hurting Marco. I think Marco is doing great, and I think Marco is going to win on Tuesday and going to be the nominee of the Republican Party.

CAMEROTA: So the polls, and now, I'll tell you where the most recent one is. This is from yesterday, about Florida. Trump is winning at the moment with 43 percent versus Rubio's 20 percent; Cruz 16; Kasich 10. Polls have been wrong, as we've seen many times in this race, but do -- what makes you think Marco Rubio will still win Florida?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: Well -- excuse me --- if those polls are correct, they are also the polls that say that Donald Trump loses by nearly 20 points consistently to Hillary Clinton, and Marco is the only one that consistently beats Hillary Clinton in the general election.

So if we're going to be talking about polls, we should be talking about the general election. Because at the end of the day, we're talking about who's going to be the president in November, and Marco is clearly the one that has the best opportunity of beating Hillary Clinton and being the next president of the United States.

[07:25:08] CAMEROTA: You've known him for 20 years, as we said. And the adjectives that are used to describe him are bright, likeable, gifted orator. Why do you think he is not winning?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: I think he is winning. I think he's doing great.

CAMEROTA: But the number of the delegates suggests otherwise, the delegate count, the math. The math suggests otherwise. LOPEZ-CANTERA: Well, he has a significant number of delegates. There

are candidates that have less -- much less delegates than he does, and Marco is going to win Florida, and that's 99 delegates. And that's going to put him at the -- I think in either a very low third -- a very high third or maybe even second place after those delegates are awarded. So I am confident Marco is going to win Florida and be the nominee of his party.

CAMEROTA: Marco sat down with Jeb Bush, former governor and presidential candidate. Do you know what that meeting was about?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: I don't. I only know what I read in the media reports.

CAMEROTA: If Jeb Bush were to endorse Marco Rubio, would that help him or hurt him?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: Well, conventional wisdom would tell you that it would help, but this hasn't necessarily been a conventional wisdom year, has it?

CAMEROTA: No, it hasn't. It really has defied, actually, all previous logic and history. Do you think, knowing Marco Rubio, that he would ever consider being somebody's vice president?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: You know, that's a question you'd have to ask Marco. I know that he's running to be president of the United States.

CAMEROTA: Some of his rivals have hit him for not engaging more in his day job, that he's been on the campaign trail, and they think he's chosen the campaign trail over votes in the Senate. You think that Florida voters will hold that against him?

LOPEZ-CANTERA: I think rivals are going to say whatever they think that they can say to hurt their opponent, so consider the source on those attacks. Several senators have run as president of the United States before, and there's another senator running for the president of the United States. And I find it -- I find it a little amusing the only one that gets any type of criticism for that is Senator Rubio.

CAMEROTA: Lieutenant Governor, great to have you here on NEW DAY.

LOPEZ-CANTERA: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much. We'll be watching very closely what happens tonight and beyond.

LOPEZ-CANTERA: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you so much.

All right. Hillary Clinton weighs in on Benghazi, on e-mails and whether or not she's a natural politician. Former MichiganGovernor Jennifer Granholm is here with her take on all that when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)