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Trump Meets with RNC Leaders; Day Two of Nuclear Security Summit; Clinton, Sanders Compete for New York. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 01, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

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

[07:00:09] CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. Chris is off this morning. Don Lemon is with us.

PEREIRA: Fully caffeinated, by the way.

LEMON: Where is that big cup of coffee?

CAMEROTA: Also, April Fools. Be careful. We begin with Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee. Trump huddling behind closed doors with party leaders. This come after all of the GOP candidates backed away from their loyalty pledge. Trump calling it a terrific meeting about unity.

LEMON: But the party is anything but unified. Trump's rivals declaring him unfit for the presidency after his incendiary comments on abortion and nuclear security. Trump trying to right the ship heading into next week's Wisconsin primary, where he trails Ted Cruz by double digits.

We have this race for the White House covered for you only the way that we can do it here on CNN. We're going to begin this morning with CNN's Phil Mattingly. He is in Hershey, Pennsylvania, bright and early.

Hello, Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don.

Well, Donald Trump stepping off the campaign trail in the wake of what has really been the most turbulent and possibly politically dangerous week he's had of this entire campaign. But not doing nothing. Having a series of meetings, including a very important meeting with the RNC.

Now delegates, really the technicalities of how to secure them was the primary focus of the meeting. The sources involved in the meeting also say tone. And perhaps unity was also something discussed by both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Donald Trump now trying to make nice with party leaders amid fallout from yet another political firestorm. The Republican front-runner in Washington for a meeting with the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus. Behind closed doors, sources say discussion focused on delegate rules ahead of the convention.

Just days after Trump and the other GOP hopefuls backed out of their pledge to support the nominee.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via phone): It was a very good meeting. We met with Reince Priebus and the staff, and they're very good people, very -- actually, a terrific meeting, I think. And it's really a unity meeting.

MATTINGLY: Trump also huddling with foreign policy advisers at the site of his new hotel for a two-hour private meeting as his comments on nuclear proliferation continue to rile American allies.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: But if you say to Japan, "Yes, it's fine you get nuclear weapons, South Korea, you as well," Saudi Arabia says, "We want them, too."

TRUMP: I'll be honest with you: It's going to happen anyway.

MATTINGLY: Trump's camp uncharacteristically quiet Thursday, one day after his abortion comments, but the New York billionaire's campaign on the defensive.

CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC HOST: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no, as a principle?

TRUMP: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.

MATTHEWS: For the woman?

TRUMP: Yes, there has to be some form.

MATTINGLY: His rivals seizing on the controversy, claiming forcefully he's not qualified for the Oval Office.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have to tell you that, as a commander in chief and leader of the free world, you don't get do-overs.

MATTINGLY: Ohio Governor John Kasich unleashing a pointed and specific attack on the front-runner.

KASICH: The abortion controversy, using nukes in the Middle East and in Europe, get rid of the Geneva Convention, getting rid of NATO and having a Supreme Court justice who's going to investigate Hillary's e- mails. I don't even know what he's talking about there.

MATTINGLY: Ted Cruz sending out his wife, Heidi, top surrogate former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, attempting to underscore Trump's continued difficulty with women voters.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MATTINGLY: A very targeted strategy in Wisconsin by the Cruz campaign. Ted Cruz opening up a double-digit lead in consecutive polls in Wisconsin before voters head to the polls on Tuesday. Part of the reason why: Donald Trump's skyrocketing unfavorability numbers with women. Ted Cruz's campaign trying to capitalize on that now.

I am in Hershey, Pennsylvania. And just in case you were questioning whether or not that is true, yes, that is the case.

LEMON: Oh, it's mobile.

MATTINGLY: But the reason why it's John Kasich -- John Kasich and Ted Cruz in Pennsylvania, really, one of the next big contests going forward. Sources with Kasich's campaign saying John Kasich will continue going after Donald Trump today. A real shift for him, who's really trying to stay above the fray up to this point, really underscoring the fractures that are roiling the Republican Party right now, guys.

LEMON: Is that three kisses?

PEREIRA: He said "chocolate" and none of us heard anything past that point. You know what I mean?

LEMON: It looks like a giant -- three giant kiss spaceships.

CAMEROTA: It's awesome.

PEREIRA: Excellent live shot location, Phil.

CAMEROTA: That is great. We should take that for a spin. A road trip. The kiss mobile.

All right. Meanwhile, we do want to talk about what's going on in the race. Here to discuss it is Chris Collins. He was just announced as co-chair as Donald Trump's House leadership committee. And it is his job to get members of Congress on board with supporting Trump.

Good morning, Congressman.

REP. CHRIS COLLINS (R-NY), CO-CHAIR, TRUMP'S HOUSE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, I think it's fair to say Trump has had a challenging week, between the arrest of Corey Lewandowski, his campaign manager, his comments about women who should be punished for abortion, what he said about other countries getting nuclear weapons. Was there any moment, Congressman, during this week where you had second thoughts about supporting Donald Trump?

[07:05:18] COLLINS: No, Alisyn. As a New Yorker who has grown up in politics where you have a blood sport effectively in New York, you're heading into the home stretch. And as we're into the home stretch, you're going to see more and more gotcha politics, desperation politics. I mean, we've got Wisconsin Tuesday. A couple of weeks after that,

New York. So really, as we get through New York and maybe a week or so after, it's really going to start to crystallize where this race is going. So you're going to see a lot of nonsense gotcha politics, questions that are inappropriate. And we're seeing a lot of that right now.

CAMEROTA: But Congressman, what was gotcha about asking where Donald Trump -- how Donald Trump feels about abortion or asking him about his nuclear policy?

COLLINS: Well, certainly, Alisyn, on abortion, it's the law of the land. Roe v. Wade is not going to be overturned. We all know that. So the -- a hypothetical gotcha question is frankly not appropriate. I would have simply answered it by saying, "It's not going to happen. What's your next question?"

CAMEROTA: Yes, but Donald Trump didn't answer it that way. I mean, maybe you should give him some tips. He didn't answer it that way, and I think your confidence may be misplaced, Congressman. Not everyone knows that Roe v. Wade will never be overturned. In fact, there are many conservatives who are trying to overturn it.

He was asked if he believes abortion should be banned, and he said yes. You don't think that that's a fair question to ask someone who wants to be president of the United States?

COLLINS: Well, I'll go back, too. For four decades, Roe v. Wade has been the rule of law. For those of us who are pro-life, there are things we can talk with parental consent and late-term abortion. And I think those are the legitimate debate points.

But to think that this country's going to turn back to where we were 40 years ago, as much as many would like it to be, it isn't going to happen. So no, I absolutely believe that was a gotcha question. Donald Trump answered it the way he answered it, clarified it at a later time. And I think we move on from that. But I do absolutely call that a gotcha, hypothetical political question.

CAMEROTA: So what about nuclear weapons? Do you think that it's fair to ask the future, possibly commander in chief if he thinks that other countries like South Korea, Japan, and Saudi Arabia should have nuclear weapons?

COLLINS: I think that's a legitimate question, absolutely. And I believe what has again been clarified is we are not -- we're going to stand firm on the nuclear proliferation treaty.

I think his comment was taken -- he may have gone a little bit further certainly than I certainly would have gone. But again, he's putting his team together. And I have no qualms whatsoever about Donald Trump when it certainly comes to national defense.

As we've said many times, he is the one individual that will stand up to Iran and stand up to North Korea. He's going to stand up to Russia. He is going to defeat ISIS. And the others, certainly President Obama, just look at what happened with him in his national defense, lack of policy, lack of strategy.

No, I have no qualms whatsoever about continuing to support Mr. Trump. He is the individual as president that's going to be able to stand with Americans against the threats of the rest of the world.

CAMEROTA: Did you feel that he has command of the issues? Given how he answered both those questions, you said you wouldn't have answered them that way. Do you think that he has a strong enough command of nuclear proliferation?

COLLINS: I believe he does. And as we noticed the other day, he's putting his team together. That's, you know, the first step is to win the nomination. The second step after that is to win the general.

You know, at least half of the candidates are saying they're not going to support each other. I think when push comes to shove, we're all going to support who the Republican nominee is to defeat Hillary Clinton. And that's where our energy is going to be focused.

So again, he's putting his team together. I continue to support Donald Trump. I'm proud, along with Duncan Hunter to now chair his leadership committee here in Washington, D.C. Certainly, as he wins the nomination, we have to bring everyone together with unity to focus on defeating Hillary Clinton in November.

CAMEROTA: And Congressman, what has that process been like? Are you -- is it a challenge? Are you getting pushback when you're trying to get other Republicans on board to support Donald Trump?

COLLINS: There's no pushback whatsoever, Alisyn, with the exception of four or five members who have gone on the record of saying what they're going to say. That I believe in the end they're going to support Donald Trump as president.

Most members are focused on their own reelection, their own primaries which are coming up. The primary process, all politics is local. So I would say, you know, most everyone in Congress is focused on their own elections, primaries, general elections. The issues important to them in their particular congressional district. And again, with the exception of four or five members, all saying they will support the Republican nominee to defeat Hillary Clinton and her liberal progressive agenda.

CAMEROTA: Congressman Chris Collins, thanks so much...

COLLINS: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: ... for being on NEW DAY. Let's get over to Michaela.

[07:10:19] PEREIRA: A look at -- pardon me the Democratic side now. The battle for New York heating up. It is also getting personal. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders going on blistering attacks with close to 250 delegates at stake. All of this as voters in Wisconsin head to the polls on Tuesday in a razor-tight race.

Our senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns is live in D.C. with more.

Hi, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

As the race for New York heats up, the Bernie Sanders campaign is claiming it had another huge fund-raising month in March, which just keeps him cruising along in the race for delegates.

Tensions now running high on the Democratic side as the race drags on, Hillary Clinton calling out Bernie Sanders at an event at the State University of New York at Purchase and, in turn, found herself confronted by a small group of protesters chanting, "If she wins, we lose."

The secretary of state not backing down, asserting it was Bernie people who came to say that. Didn't stop there. On the rope line after the event, a Greenpeace activist asking her about taking money from the fossil fuel industry, and the pointed, angry response from the candidate underscoring some of the frustrations her campaign has been expressing. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you protect -- with climate change, will you act on your word and reject fossil fuel money in the future in your campaign?

CLINTON: I do not. I have money from people who work for fossil fuel companies. I am so sick, I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The Sanders campaign citing a Greenpeace article that Mrs. Clinton had relied heavily on money from lobbyists from the oil and gas industry. Big picture: this shows how high the stakes are in delegate-rich New York where both candidates have strong ties, setting the stage for what could be a potentially raw and confrontational stretch in the campaign for the nomination.

New York is the biggest state left on the electoral map, with the exception of California. Adding to that, the perception that, with a big push in New York, the Clinton campaign may be deemphasizing Wisconsin.

Don, back to you.

LEMON: Joe Johns, proof that we are not the same person when people...

JOHNS: Yes. I've run into that.

LEMON: Joe, have a great morning. Thank you very much. President Barack Obama set to huddle with dozens of world leaders on

day two of his final nuclear summit. On the agenda, working with China to contain the North Korea nuclear threat and keeping groups like ISIS from getting hold of chemical or radiological weapons.

CNN's correspondent Athena Jones live at the White House with more for us this morning.

Good morning, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Don.

And this is another busy day ahead for the president. A big topic of the first day of the summit was North Korea, keeping a check on its nuclear ambitions. And of course, the longer term goal of a denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula, that's an issue that came up in the president's meetings with the leaders of Japan and South Korea. And also with China's president Xi Jinping. Take a listen to some of what President Obama had to say after that meeting with President Xi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Of great importance to both of us is North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region. President Xi and I are dedicated to full implementation of U.N. sanctions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now the president also spoke with French President Francois Hollande about combatting ISIS and keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of groups like ISIS.

Today a special session will be held on the threat posed by terror groups like ISIS. The president will also meet first thing this morning with other countries that helped broker the nuclear deal with Iran, minus Russia, of course. He'll end the day with a press conference -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Dana, thanks so much for all of that.

Well, a terrible story to tell everyone about. An outpouring of grief in Virginia after a gunman kills a state trooper in the line of duty. Trooper Chad Dermyer was shot and killed Thursday night during a training exercise at a Greyhound Bus terminal in Richmond. Authorities say the 37-year-old former Marine started talking to a man who suddenly shot the trooper at point blank range. Other troopers returning fire, killing the gunman. Two civilians also hit, now recovering.

PEREIRA: California becoming the first state in the nation to approve a statewide $15 minimum wage. Governor Jerry Brown says he'll sign it into law Monday. Now under the plan, wages will go up every year and hit $15 by 2022. In the meantime, New York Governor Andrew Cuomoand state lawmakers

announcing they've also reached their own budget agreement, which would raise New York City minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2018.

LEMON: Speaking of wages and salaries, today the U.S. women's national soccer team demanding equal pay. The players just filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity, claiming they are being discriminated against because they earn less than members of the U.S. men's team, up to 62 percent less. Soccer Federation officials say they will address the pay gap in upcoming contract talks.

PEREIRA: Think of all the repercussions this could have. All female athletes. I imagine there's disparity -- I can't imagine WNBA is paid the same amount that the NBA is paying, so this is obviously going to heat up conversations in locker rooms, I'm thinking.

LEMON: Here's the thing that I've been -- from the other side, that people don't watch. They don't have the revenue that the men's...

PEREIRA: So maybe they need to put more of that promotion machine behind...

LEMON: Well, you can't -- but you can't make people watch. You can't make them.

CAMEROTA: People watched the U.S. women's soccer team when they were champions.

LEMON: Right, right.

CAMEROTA: It seems like it's overdue.

All right. Well, let us know what you think about that.

So we told you about the battle in New York between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. But first there's next week's showdown in Wisconsin. So we'll talk strategy with team Clinton next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Hillary Clinton lashing out at her Democratic opponent while campaigning in New York. Clinton saying she is sick of Bernie Sanders, his team lying about her. This as the Clinton campaign expresses confidence that she'll lock up the party nomination by month's end.

Joining me now is Karen Finney. Karen is a senior spokesperson for -- and senior adviser for communications and political outreach for Hillary Clinton in America.

[07:20:09] So let's talk about the very heated moment yesterday. So let's discuss this. We'll play the Greenpeace activist confronting the secretary, then you and I will talk about it. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you protect -- with climate change, will you act on your word and reject fossil fuel money in the future in your campaign?

CLINTON: I do not, I have money from people who work for fossil fuel companies. I am so sick, I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: What's your response to that? She said the campaign is lying.

KAREN FINNEY, SENIOR ADVISER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND POLITICAL OUTREACH, HILLARY CLINTON FOR AMERICA: Well, let's be clear. So where -- the accusation is that she's taking money from the industry.

Now, the truth is, we don't take PAC money from oil and gas. We can't get money from -- we don't take money from corporations, because corporations can't donate directly to campaigns.

She has taken money from individuals who work in the oil and gas industry, but so does Bernie Sanders. And actually, the percentage of money that she receives from those individuals is a quite small percentage of the money that she's raised.

So the point that she's making there is we don't go out there and accuse Senator Sanders of, you know, being beholden or taking money from oil and gas, simply because he takes money from individuals who make work in that industry. So let's -- her point was, let's stop it. Let's stop the distortions. Let's be on the same page. And let's be honest about, you know, if you're taking money from individuals and I'm going to take money from individuals, let's call it the same thing.

LEMON: OK. Hot off the press, as they say, to respond. I'm just getting this as we're speaking now.

So this is Senator Sanders. He says, "I'm not crazy about people disrupting meetings. But the fact of the party -- but the fact of the party is Secretary Clinton has taken significant sums of money from the fossil fuel industry. She raises her money with a super PAC and gets a lot of money from Wall Street, from the drug companies, from the fossil fuel industry.

"On the other hand, we have received over 6 million individual campaign contributions averaging $27 apiece. I am proud of the way we are raising money. The Clinton camp celebrates their individual donations, too, as you know. Wisconsin is next." And then he goes on -- he goes on. But again, this is -- "By the way, we have twice as many individual donations," he goes on to say.

FINNEY: You surely did not hear him acknowledge that he, too, takes money from individuals who work in oil and gas, in those industries. So, again, the point here is let's -- let's be fair. If you're going to say that -- if you're going to criticize us for doing -- taking money from the individuals, then you should be fair and honest with people about the fact that you, too, take money from those individuals.

And here's the other point. You know, a number of times in this campaign, we've seen -- you know, he has taken to task for the '90s, for the crime bill, right. She didn't go for it. She didn't have a vote. He voted for it. He talked about NAFTA.

LEMON: Well, she did support it.

FINNEY: She did -- she didn't vote for it. And -- but here's what it does. It distorts the fact -- and this is part of why we're so glad to be campaigning in New York. Her own record as a senator from New York, she worked on issues. She worked on criminal justice reform. And as a senator, she worked with Carl Levin to protect the Great Lakes. She opposes drilling Arctic.

LEMON: But Karen...

FINNEY: She's already put forward a very robust plan on clean energy.

LEMON: But he also supported that bill. He did not like portions of the bill, but he liked that it protected women and other parts of the bill that he thought were important. And that's why he supported the bill. He didn't support the crime bill as far as sending black men to jail.

FINNEY: No, but -- no, but -- OK, but the point is, as he pointed out in that piece of legislation...

LEMON: Yes.

FINNEY; ... there's sometimes things you like and sometimes things you don't like.

So let me point this out: so then why is it, for example, that he didn't support immigration reform? Why is it, for example -- it's a big issue here in New York. He voted numerous times to protect gun manufacturers from liability. There are people, you know, from like, Aurora, Colorado -- we'll hear from them later today -- who are trying to sue manufacturers who are sometimes blocked from doing so.

LEMON: Your point is taken. And that will be brought up in two weeks when it happens here and in New York. OK, but let's talk about Wisconsin. Wisconsin is closer, right. It's right there in the windshield. It's coming up now.

FINNEY: Sure.

LEMON: And let's look at the numbers here, and then you look at the FOX poll, 48 percent Sanders, 43 percent Clinton. You look at the Marquette poll, 49 percent Sanders, 45 percent Clinton. So the question is, is this -- you know, most people say she should be winning in Wisconsin. Is this another Michigan? Have you given up on Wisconsin?

FINNEY: No. President Clinton is going to Wisconsin. Hillary is going to Wisconsin tomorrow. We are fighting hard in Wisconsin. And -- but we feel very good about our ground game in Wisconsin. We certainly expect it's going to be close. We -- you know, I think we're honest about that.

But the challenge, I think it's important to point out a couple things. No. 1, Senator Sanders has to win more than 50 percent of the delegates, the pledged delegates in not just Wisconsin, New York, California, New Jersey. So given -- that's part of why we feel good about where we are.

[07:25:10] LEMON: Why -- why is it so tight? Why are these margins so tight in Wisconsin? And even in New York, where she was senator. I mean, she has a 10-point lead. That's not a -- that's not a huge lead.

FINNEY: Well, but that's pretty common that, you know, things tighten the closer that we get when you're talking about these competitive primaries. So it's not surprising.

And, again, if you look at the numbers, even if you -- he talks about super delegates. Even if all of the super delegates were from the states that he has won were to support him, he still wouldn't have enough. The numbers wouldn't be there.

LEMON: I've got to run. But I would be remiss in not asking you about this, since we have you. We're talking about the comments on abortion from Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton has said she believes that this is how the entire Republican Party feels about abortion, that they want to punish women. And the party says, "Pro-life people will say that is not true. We don't want to."

FINNEY: That's not quite what she said. Her point was that, while Donald Trump may use very bombastic rhetoric, in terms of their position when it comes to closing down Planned Parenthood or shutting down the government over Planned Parenthood funding or when it comes to protecting women's rights to make our own decisions...

LEMON: Donald Trump has touted some parts of Planned Parenthood.

FINNEY: ... that they are all in the same place. That when you look at what Kasich is talking about, when you look at what Ted Cruz is talking about, they're in the same place. So one may use more outrageous, ridiculous, dangerous rhetoric. But if you look at the policy ideas that the others are promoting, they're in the same place.

LEMON: That's not the entire party. That's not the entire party.

FINNEY: Well, the Republican Party certainly was considering shutting down the government over Planned Parenthood and had a big fight within its own self about that. So...

LEMON: Karen Finney, thank you.

FINNEY: Thank you.

LEMON: Have a great weekend.

FINNEY: Thanks.

LEMON: Over to you, Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Don. So Donald Trump is weathering a rough week. His campaign manager charged with battery. Trump himself flipping -- flip-flopping, rather, on abortion. Has any of this had an effect on the Republican front-runner? We'll have that debate next here on NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)