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New Day

More Than 100 Firefighters Battle L.A. Inferno; Wounded Warrior Project Fires Top Two Execs; Funeral for Former First Lady Nancy Reagan; RNC Chair: Any Republican Better than Clinton or Sanders; GOP Hopefuls Focus on Issues at CNN Debate; Trump: A Lot of Islam Hates Us. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 11, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:34:51]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANHOCR: Breaking overnight, a serious fire in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. More than 100 firefighters battling the intense flames which caused part of at 70,000 square foot commercial building to collapse. Fortunately, no injuries reported. Investigators are trying to look at what sparked this fire.

A shakeup at the Wounded Warrior Project. Two top executives fired after questions were raised about the non-profit's lavish spending. A charity watchdog discovered only 60 percent of the group's $330 million budget went to veterans, with big allocations for parties and conferences.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan will be laid to rest today at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. One-thousand people are expected to attend the funeral, including first lady Michelle Obama -- former first ladies Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Rosalyn Carter. Mrs. Reagan died Sunday at the age of 94. Stay with CNN for special live coverage of this funeral. It all begins at 1:30 p.m. eastern time.

All right, the Republicans -- not to mention Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton -- gearing up for a big Tuesday election day -- Super Tuesday number three. We'll break down key states, plus what President Obama thinks of this whole 2016 race.

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[05:40:48] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Before last night's GOP debate even began the chairman of the RNC, Reince Priebus, made the case clear. Any Republican is a better alternative than a Democrat, come November. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Can you at least agree with me, without question, that any one of these four gentlemen would be a world better than Hillary Clinton or a socialist in Bernie Sanders? (END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: That's Reince Priebus.

Now, let's discuss the impact of the night's events and what it means in the race to come. CNN political commentator and Hillary Clinton supporter, Maria Cardona. And, CNN political commentator and Bernie Sanders support, Sally Kohn. The message was clear, Cardona. You guys stink. Anyone that can get off that stage is going to give you all you can handle. How do you feel looking at the stage last night?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I still feel pretty good even though the people we saw last night on the stage were very different than the folks that we saw a couple of weeks and in debates past because they were focused on substance. As a Democrat, I think the substance was completely wrong, but at least they were focused on substance as opposed to attacking each other.

And what was interesting to me is that there were very few attacks on Hillary which said to me that they were focused on trying to take each other out. Clearly the three non-Trump candidates were focused on trying to take Trump out, but in a way that didn't diminish them the way that Marco Rubio had done in the past couple of weeks.

CUOMO: Sally Kohn, a little bit of a head-scratcher for you last night that there was a lot of trade talk that sounded very familiar to a certain senator from Vermont.

SALLY KOHN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. No, not a head-scratcher at all. I think it is fortunately -- a moment, if there's one, and I'm pained to find one good thing that Donald Trump says. Listen, I agree with him on trade policy and that's where he is tapping into a position that neither the Democratic nor Republican establishment hold. And I think they have to face facts that trade deals have been pretty bad for American workers. By the way, not great for low-wage workers in other countries either.

So, again, that's good to hear but what was also good to hear was Donald Trump pressed on other positions, including for instance, his stance on Muslims suggesting that yes, actually, he thinks most of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims hate America. That kind of thing is really hard to stomach as a human being. It's going to be very hard for the electorate in general in the general election to stomach, too, I hope.

CUOMO: Who says -- well yes, that's right. The last part of your answer may be the most relevant one -- you hope, because not only did it play well in the room but if we've learned one thing about Mr. Trump, he does not hold positions because he thinks they're going to be unpopular. So, is it that this is a mood in this country right now, Sally Kohn, and you're either on the right side of it or you wind up not getting elected?

KOHN: First of all, I think the most important thing that Democrats and Independent voters can realize at this moment is this is not a game. Donald Trump has a real shot at not only becoming the Republican nominee, but he could be elected president. There are any number of scenarios in which that can happen.

Having someone who not only wrongly mischaracterizes 1.6 billion people, including peaceful and patriotic Muslims in this country -- the majority of whom are peaceful and patriotic Muslims in this country -- having someone who does that. But also, at the same time, as he did last night, barely denounces the kind of incredibly ugly violence we've seen from his supporters against protestors.

One of his supporters punched a protestor in the face yesterday and then said to "INSIDE EDITION" if I had a chance, maybe we should kill him next time. I really, really, really hope that our best selves -- as better angels in the American public -- in our hearts can do better than that.

CUOMO: And he did say I don't condone that kind of violence. But when you're talking about Hillary Clinton and you see what's playing out on that stage, how concerned are you, or you're going to say I'm not concerned at all? Why is it that you believe that Hillary Clinton can match the mood that you see represented as a reflection of the country, on that stage?

CARDONA: Actually, I think that Democrats need to be careful in taking that for granted. Now, I do think that if it comes to a matchup between Hillary and Donald Trump that she will win --

CUOMO: Why?

CARDONA: -- but it will be tough because, frankly, one of the things that Sally said. I think the American people are a lot more sympathetic and inclusive than that stage was last night. And then the electorate that that stage was speaking to last night. You can see it, even in the just the demographics of this state -- of Florida.

[05:45:02]

The demographics of Florida are very helpful to Hillary, first of all, in the primary. But in the general election, very helpful to Democrats. The diversity of the state is 14.6 of Latino voters, a large percentage of African-Americans, and the inclusiveness that Democrats talk about, very different from the divisiveness that Republicans are talking about.

CUOMO: Maria Cardona, Sally Kohn, thank you very much for your take on the night's events.

KOHN: Thank you.

CUOMO: So, speaking of the Democrats, Clinton and Sanders are going to have their moment in the sun. They're going to face off in a CNN Democratic town hall, live from Ohio, two days before the primary there. Very important state. Proportional for the Democrats, unlike for the Republicans, but still very big. That will be Sunday, 8:00 p.m. eastern, right here on CNN.

So, you just heard us talking here. One of the things that come up last night is there's a lot of violence that breaks out at Donald Trump rallies. Well, what do you mean a lot? More than in other rallies. The question is, is it happening more often because Trump is somehow encouraging this? We asked, he answered, you judge, ahead.

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[05:50:13]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A violent moment at a Trump rally Wednesday when a 78-year-old Trump supporter punched a 23-year-old protestor, and here you see it (video playing). That is the moment he sucker punched him, and then the victim -- who was already being escorted out, by the way -- fell to the ground.

Violence has broken out before at Trump events. Jake Tapper gave Trump a chance to talk about this at last night's debate, so let's discuss it with our CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, Kevin Madden, and former George W. Bush political director and chairman of the American Conservative Union, Matt Schlapp. Guys, great to have you here.

KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to be with you.

CAMEROTA: So, there's been a series of these troubling episodes at Trump rallies where violence has broken out. And last night CNN's Jake Tapper asked Trump about it, and asked him basically does he bear any responsibility in this, so listen to that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you believe that you've done anything to create a tone where this kind of violence would be encouraged?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hope not. I truly hope not. I will say this. We have 25,000-30,000 people -- you've seen it yourself. People come with tremendous passion and love for the country, and when they see protests -- in some cases, you know, you're mentioning one case, which Ihaven't' seen. I heard about it, which I don't like. But, when they see what's going on in this country they have anger that's unbelievable. They have anger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Kevin, is that the right response?

MADDEN: No. I think he should actually say he was wrong. I think every organization is a reflection of its principle, and if you've been to some of these rallies before we've seen instances where Donald Trump has said things like I wish I could punch him in the face, get that guy out, and that sets the mood and the tone for so many of his events.

And then you have violence like this that happens and it will probably continue to happen unless Donald Trump somehow condemns it or takes action against some of those that have perpetrated some of these acts of violence. So, it wasn't the right answer. He should have said it's wrong and that we need to change the rhetoric, but he hasn't, and he won't.

CAMEROTA: In fact, the victim here -- the 23-year-old who was punched -- also believes that Donald Trump ginned up the crowd right before it happened. Listen to what the victim had to say about this episode.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAKEEM JONES, PUNCHED AT TRUMP RALLY: On our way out we get heckled by the crowd and Donald Trump, himself, was -- how can I put this? He was encouraging the crowd. He was encouraging the crowd to, you know, jeer and to -- encouraging the police to escort me out. And as I was being escorted out you can see on the video I was hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Has Donald Trump encouraged some of this behavior?

MATT SCHLAPP, FORMER GEORGE W. BUSH POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I think the rhetoric has been overheated and I think last night he should have been stronger. I agree with what Kevin's saying. He should have just condemned these types -- especially if they're at his events.

We've talked about it on this show that I think Donald Trump clearly is trying to transition into somebody who appeals to people, not only just as a candidate, but someone they could see as their president, and I think he modulated his tone last night. And I think he needs to make sure that these types of things when they happen -- that he just clearly condemns it. It's terrible.

CAMEROTA: He modulated his tone but he's not exactly showing leadership. There's a way to show leadership on this and say this is unacceptable. There's no circumstance under which I would ever condone violence at my rallies, but he doesn't use that kind of language. He dances around it, like people are very passionate. Sort of like, what can I do?

MADDEN: Yes. I had an argument about this last night, too, which is that presidential campaigns tend to reveal a candidate's character and character is an important test for a lot of voters. And I think one of the things that you've seen is other candidates have admitted when they're wrong.

Other candidates have risen to the occasion and said that they want to change their course of the conversation. Donald Trump still hasn't done that yet. I think it's something that -- it's another test that he still has, which is to show that he's willing to say he's wrong. Some of what he's done has encouraged improper actions, and that we shouldn't have that type of talk.

SCHLAPP: The only thing I will say is that there's an unsanitized nature to the Trump candidacy in the sense that there are just huge crowds flocking to him. And other campaigns don't have this problem because they simply have a more traditional Republican button-down type of audience. And he has a different type of audience.

CAMEROTA: That's true. His rallies are more raucous and they are livelier. But, to Kevin's point, he himself has said things like I wish I'd like to punch him in the face, get him out of here, if you punch him just knock the hell out of him. I promise you, I'll pay the legal fees. That doesn't help the mood of a raucous crowd.

SCHLAPP: No. When I look at what's happening around the country we're in just a raw political moment. It's a very vulnerable moment and we are going to need a president to figure out a way forward and we're going to have to work together to get there. And I think that's really, at the end of the day -- that's so much what this presidential campaign's going to be about.

CAMEROTA: Last word, Kevin?

MADDEN: Well, I was going to say look, I understand people's anger but violence is not something that should be happening.

CAMEROTA: OK. Kevin, Matt, thank you. Great to have you guys here.

SCHLAPP: Great to be with you.

CAMEROTA: All right, coming up on NEW DAY we will talk to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. He'll be live in our 7:00 hour. Stick around for that. We have much more ahead on this high-stakes debate last night. The four Republican hopefully sparring on the issues, so we'll break down all their differences, next.

[05:55:34]

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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A lot has happened in the last 10 months.

TRUMP: I'm a businessman and I have to do what I have to do.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Presidents can't just say anything they want.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This debate is not about insults, it's not about attacks.

TRUMP: We're all in this together. I cannot believe how civil it's been up here.

CRUZ: I cannot wait to say Madame Secretary, you were asking for a third term of a failed administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)