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Did Rubio Revive His Political Life?; Trump Doubles Down on "Islam Hates America" Claim; Ben Carson to Endorse Trump This Morning; Democrats Make Big Push Before Next Super Tuesday; Obama: I Didn't Cause Trump Phenomenon; Trump Addresses Violence At His Rallies. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired March 11, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:32:00]ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: We just heard from Sen. Marco Rubio here on NEW DAY about his debate performance and, of course, his hopes of winning his home state of Florida on Tuesday. Is all of this enough to revive his political campaign?

Michael Smerconish is a CNN political commentator and host of CNN's "SMERCONISH". Michael, great to see you here in sunny Florida.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Is this a campus or a country club?

CAMEROTA: Absolutely, both. So let's talk about what we just heard from Marco Rubio. Chris just interviewed him. Do you hear him make an effective case there?

SMERCONISH: I thought that he was very effective last night and I was surprised. And I said last night that I thought if there were a winner, I thought it was Sen. Rubio. Whether it helps him on Tuesday sufficiently, I don't know. But, the fact that he could come in with such poise -- because he's on the ropes, right? And I think he's now playing for his legacy because it's very difficult to see any path where he gets to 1,237.

CAMEROTA: He doesn't think he's playing for his legacy.

SMERCONISH: But Alisyn, OK, so let's concede that.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

SMERCONISH: What does it get him? So he wins Florida.

CAMEROTA: Momentum.

SMERCONISH: It gets him momentum, but is it momentum that can thwart Trump or momentum that can get him to 1,237? And if he arrives in Cleveland without 1,237, I can't see how they give it to him if Trump had more delegates, but not the requisite number. But he had a great night.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm thinking about it. I'm thinking. But isn't that the whole strategy right now, is that you're not going to get 1,237. Trump's not going to get 1,237.

SMERCONISH: Well, it's not Trump's strategy.

CUOMO: Let's go the convention.

SMERCONISH: Well, I know what Trump said.

CUOMO: I know it's not his. Yes.

SMERCONISH: That was really interesting last night at the end of the debate when Donald Trump was asked should the individual with the most delegates take the nomination even if they don't hit the requisite number, and he said yes.

CUOMO: Yes, of course he said yes.

SMERCONISH: Right. He was conceding nothing because if he doesn't get to that number he's not coming out of that convention with the GOP nomination. Ted Cruz seemed to go in that same direction, I guess, for similar reasons, so it was very interesting at that level.

Here's my big takeaway. There's a sports analogy here of running out the clock, you know. The winning basketball team or football team -- if they have possession, they think they're going to win, they just want to run out that clock. That'swhat Trump was doing last night so I think the status quo benefits him. The others played prevent defense. Why, I'm not sure, because right now they're losing.

[07:35:00] CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about something that Chris just brought up with Marco Rubio and something that is so important here in southern Florida -- climate change.

SMERCONISH: Right.

CAMEROTA: People fear that Miami will soon be underwater and Marco Rubio said something different, I think, than what he has said before -- certainly than what I've heard before -- which is sure, the science may suggest that climate change is happening but show me a law that will stop that sea level from rising. And so, I'm not going to get behind public policy because no law can change that.

SMERCONISH: I thought he was a bit of a contortionist. I think this is what comes from running in very conservative primaries and caucuses. He acknowledged to Chris man's role relative to climate change and then, essentially, said but we really can't do anything because we don't know how much of it is the hand of man, to which I was sitting here watching the monitor and saying so what. We should do nothing?

I mean, there's got to be a policy prescription that should be doing something about this. But I'm sure he's afraid of offending Republican voters who come out in these primaries and caucuses because they're a very conservative lot.

CUOMO: Well, look. He will win some people over on that. There will be others who want him to go farther and that's fine. That's a tricky issue within the GOP. What shouldn't be a tricky issue is the nature of Islam.

SMERCONISH: Oh, man.

CUOMO: And what Donald Trump said last night -- he obviously has reason to believe that it's the right place to be. Go general, talk about all, don't worry about it.

SMERCONISH: Right.

CAMEROTA: Islam -- he stuck with it.

SMERCONISH: Yes. I think that's nutty. I will be very curious to see if next Wednesday, assuming that he's able to win here in Florida and he's able to win in Ohio -- we're not sure about either -- but I want to know what he says to that question on Wednesday. That still seemed to me like someone making a pitch to the base of this party.

That is not a line that allows you to get elected in the general election. I couldn't believe he didn't rein that in, and he was given multiple opportunities to do so. And the others, I thought, were very effective, including Sen. Rubio, on that issue.

CAMEROTA: Marco Rubio said no, there are Muslims who serve in the military. They serve honorably. They love this country. But, should he have gone after Donald Trump more on that? Did he miss an opportunity?

SMERCONISH: More? They all should have. And if they weren't called on, they should have said wait a minute, Jake, I need to get in on this question. That is appalling. That's not who we are. You can't get elected -- frankly, I'm going to say it. I hope you can't get elected President of the United States if that's your position relative to an entire religion.

CUOMO: But I get why they did it the way they did it. One, the rule change in the debate last night means that if I called Alisyn out by name she's got 45 seconds as rebuttal. That's a lot of time to sit and listen to somebody tell you why you're wrong.

SMERCONISH: Right.

CUOMO: Second, going at Donald Trump personally has not been a prescription for success, so make the bigger point.

CAMEROTA: -- his philosophy on that, you know?

CUOMO: Right, but they went at the philosophy -- each of them. All three of them did, in fairness to those gentlemen. What they didn't do is say it as you're a dope and here's why. They just dealt with the here's why and I can understand the value in that. At some point you want to rise above just saying that the other guy's wrong.

SMERCONISH: I don't know. At some point you really need to confront the bully. Jeb Bush said two years ago, you need to be willing to lose primaries to win the general. That was the kind of a moment he had in mind. You need to throw caution to the wind and say wait a minute, we're Americans. That's behavior that crosses a line. We can't stand for it and that's appalling.

CAMEROTA: One hour and a half from now Ben Carson will be endorsing Donald Trump here in Florida. How'd that happen?

SMERCONISH: Well, I think it's significant. I think it's significant because Ben Carson, unlike others who have gotten out of the race thus far with zero -- you know, the Blutarsky, Zero Point Zero -- this guy had some percentage. And I think it gives a comfort level to evangelical Christians. One of the shocks of this race so far is how well Donald Trump is running with evangelical Christians, and to any extent that they're wavering, Ben Carson gives them solace. Hey, it's cool be for this guy. It's all right.

CAMEROTA: Even though he doesn't look or act like an evangelical Christian?

SMERCONISH: Hey, 2 Corinthians -- 2 Corinthians.

CUOMO: Well, but look -- in defense of the palace of their Christianity, it's that hey, I'm not just my faith. I feel a lot of different things. And that's what the rationale is for going for Trump, even if he doesn't share your values. We've heard people say that. Does he share your values? No, as the Christian that I see myself as, but I will vote for him because of X.

SMERCONISH: No doubt about it. It's not a monolithic lot. They're voting for the reasons that everybody else if voting this year, but it is still pretty stunning. If I had said to you a year ago, you'd have never believed it.

CUOMO: If you had said to me a year ago that I am unstable and likened me to a pedophile, you and I had would have a different relationship.

SMERCONISH: I would never say that about you, as far as you know.

CAMEROTA: But then you'd endorse him. Michael, thanks so much. Great to see you, as always.

CUOMO: And on that note, some say you should watch "SMERCONISH" Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. eastern on CNN.

CAMEROTA: All right, a more civil Republican debate playing out days before voters here in Florida head to the polls. How are Floridians feeling this morning? We will ask former Florida governor and legendary senator, Bob Graham.

CUOMO: Did you catch his Animal House reference, by the way?

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[07:43:44] CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the Democrats, shall we? Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders actively campaigning ahead of next Tuesday, competing for hundreds of delegates in key battleground states. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is live in Chicago with much more. Hi, Jeff. JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Alisyn. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton spent the day yesterday in Florida, but now they are in the Midwest today. They're really focusing on these industrial Midwest states -- Illinois, Ohio, Missouri.

Those could be the key states for Bernie Sanders. The key states where he hopes to carry on and extend that win in Michigan. Well, he did address some nearly 20,000 people yesterday at three different rallies across Florida, and he talked about his own expectations. How he's defying the odds.

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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: About a week ago we were 20 or 30 points behind in Michigan. And when all of the pundits said and when all of the media said Bernie Sanders and the political revolution can't win in Michigan, guess what? We won in Michigan.

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ZELENY: So, Sen. Sanders is hoping that his win in Michigan carries him through and he's going to be coming here to Chicago tonight to campaign. But the question here is, is Bernie Sanders going to be able to continue this? In Florida, it's a closed primary so only Democrats can vote and he's been winning with independents and others here.

[07:45:00] But, if he wins one or more of those key states in the Midwest -- Iowa, Ohio, or Missouri -- this race will go on and on even longer -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, there you go. Jeff, thanks so much for that. So, four days now to the critical Florida primary. How will the race shake out here? Let's discuss it with Bob Graham. He's the long-time former senator and former governor of the state of Florida and he's on the Hillary for Florida leadership council. Good morning, governor.

BOB GRAHAM (D), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you here with us on NEW DAY. Of course, I know that you're supporting Hillary and you're on the Democratic side. But because you do know Florida and Floridians so well, I do want to get your take on what's happening on the Republican side. What do you think will happen here on Tuesday? Do you think that Florida will go for the hometown candidate of Marco Rubio?

GRAHAM: Alisyn, if you'd asked me that question yesterday I would have answered pretty confidently that Trump would win. It won't be a blowout, but would win by five or more points. I think last night's debate could have been a game changer, particularly for Marco Rubio.

I thought he did extremely well. He was articulate, smooth. It was a very gentile, intelligent debate, which is the format in which he best presents himself. So I think it's going to be a very close race here on Tuesday.

CAMEROTA: Governor, what issue was it that jumped out at you that you thought that he handled particularly well?

GRAHAM: Well, I thought he handled the issue of the protestors in Trump's campaign rallies very well. I thought that his presentation on immigration and on the Middle East was very effective and thoughtful.

CAMEROTA: It will be very interesting, obviously, to see what happens on Tuesday. Let's talk about the Democratic side of the race. At the moment, in the latest poll of polls, and that's where they crunch the latest six polls together and take the average -- this came out just an hour ago.

I want to show you that Hillary Clinton is handily beating Bernie Sanders, 62 percent to his 31 percent. But, of course, after the lesson of Michigan and beyond, polls can be wrong. Do you have some concern that Michigan was a cautionary tale and she might somehow repeat that loss elsewhere, including here?

GRAHAM: I guess yes to all of the above. This has been a very tough year for pollsters beginning in South Carolina and, particularly, in Michigan they were far off the actual results. But I'm not surprised that Ms. Clinton has a two to one lead here in Florida. She's well- known, popular, and she has invested a lot of time, effort, and ground game in this state. So I think she will carry Florida by a significant margin. The fact that neither of the candidates are in Florida today, or will be here much over the weekend, is indicative that both think that this cake has already been baked.

CAMEROTA: Governor, I also want to show you the latest head-to-head matchups with Hillary Clinton against the possible Republican rivals and it's very interesting because Marco Rubio -- if it were to happen today -- the race -- the election -- would beat Hillary Clinton 48 percent to 44 percent. She's tied with Ted Cruz. He gets 47 percent, she gets 46 percent. But, then she beats Donald Trump. Fifty percent, she gets, to his 43 percent. Are you and other Democrats pulling for Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee?

GRAHAM: Look, we Democrats have enough work to do on our side of the equation. Obviously, we're spectators watching what's happening on the GOP, but it's the members of that party who will have the opportunity to select who their candidate is going to be in November.

CAMEROTA: As you know, governor, Democrats have basically been wracking their brains trying to figure out this Trump phenomenon. How it happened? Who is to blame? How he got so far ahead of the field? And yesterday, President Obama talked about this and basically absolved himself of any of the blame, so let me play that for you.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have been blamed by Republicans for a lot of things, but being blamed for their primaries and who they're selecting for their party is novel. What you're seeing within the Republican Party is to some degree all those efforts over a course of time creating an environment where somebody like a Donald Trump can thrive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:50:00] CAMEROTA: Governor, how do you explain the enthusiasm for Trump across the country and particularly here in Florida?

GRAHAM: Well, let me answer a slightly different question. Why have we had this apparent disconnect between so many Americans and their government, where they see government as being evil? My answer to that is while there are a lot of reasons, I think the most fundamental is that about 40 years ago we stopped teaching what it means to be a citizen in a democracy in our classrooms.

So, we've had two generations of Americans who have been raised without any formal instruction on things like tolerance and compromise, and the role that they play in a democracy. And I believe that the chickens have come home to roost. We are now seeing a significant segment of Americans who are turned off and are willing to go to candidates and vote for candidates that in the past would have been thought of as far outside the acceptable mainstream.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Governor Bob Graham, great to get your perspective. Thanks so much for being here on NEW DAY.

GRAHAM: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Well, Clinton and Sanders face off in a CNN Democratic town hall. It is live from Ohio two days before the big primaries there, here and elsewhere. Tune in Sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

So, is Donald Trump encouraging violence at his rallies with harsh rhetoric towards the protestors? We will ask his campaign co-chair about that, next.

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[07:55:00] CUOMO: Donald Trump civil during the Republican debate, but he is dealing with violence on the campaign trail. One Trump supporter arrested after this punch at a rally this week, one of several incidents that have been reported. So, what does the Trump campaign have to say about this and a host of other issues that came up?

We have Sam Clovis, friend of NEW DAY and Trump's national campaign co-chairman and policy adviser. Good morning, Sam.

SAM CLOVIS, TRUMP NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR: Good morning, Chris. How are you?

CUOMO: Well, sir. Let's talk straight politics first. The theory of the case for Marco Rubio is this is my home state, I've got the infrastructure and can get out the vote, and there are 1.5 million early voters that have already decided here, many of them during the period when Rubio was riding high. And also, late deciders tend to go away from Trump. Is that enough to get it done here in Florida according to your numbers?

CLOVIS: Well, I'd maybe have to take a look at where we are. I think there are also a lot of early voters that are going to vote for Mr. Trump, as well, because you saw the commanding lead and I think that the numbers indicate there's a lot of the early voting that should come our way as well. I think it could be a crap shoot on Tuesday.

I think it's going to be interesting and I think it will be fascinating to see how the vote comes out in all of the states that are voting. I think every demographic -- every state has a different electorate and a different set of demographics, and I think it would be hard to have one universal statement about all of those because each is quite different.

CUOMO: Despite everything that has transpired between the two men, is Sen. Rubio still a top-tier consideration for V.P. for Donald Trump?

CLOVIS: We have not talked about any of that. No one has talked to me about any of that, so I can't speculate on where we are with that. I think that first we need to secure the nomination and then we'll worry about putting together the team that's going to run against whoever the Democrats throw at us in the fall.

CUOMO: All right, and then two big points of controversy here from politics to policy. The first one was about what kind of moral instruction Donald Trump is giving at his events. You know about the reports of different ugly incidents that have happened there. You've got huge crowds. Things do happen. But the question is if not to encourage, does Mr. Trump do enough to discourage the kind of ugliness that we saw recently at your events?

CLOVIS: Yes, I think so. And I think if you've been to the events, Chris, you know that we coach the crowd before Mr. Trump arrives. We have a very strong pre-game that gets up and talks about this very issue -- about the fact that there will be protestors that come in and how the protestors are to be treated. And so, we have that upfront. And then Mr. Trump, himself -- typically, when the protests break out -- that he's always said let the local people handle it and let that go.