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Predictions for the Clinton & Sanders Debate. Aired 8:30-9:00a ET

Aired April 14, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:33:28] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let's talk about tonight. What's the tone going to be like? Bernie Sanders said this to us last night, that he wants to talk issues but will not tolerate being run down as unqualified. So what will Clinton bring tonight? Will she respond to Sanders' recent charges of her being too compromised to make real change. Let's hear from her team. Clinton press secretary for Hillary for America, Brian Fallon joining us now.

Brian, always a pleasure.

BRIAN FALLON, PRESS SECRETARY, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: Thanks for having me.

CUOMO: So, tonight, going into it, he's been saying things about her that are more edgy, more sharp. Your ties are too close to Wall Street. You can't turn around and make real change when you're so tied to the people who are the problem according to Sanders. Your replay?

FALLON: Well, we've come a long way in this campaign. Senator Sanders started out at the beginning of this campaign saying he wouldn't resort to negative attacks. Now, in just the last five or six days alone, we've seen him question her qualifications, her fitness for office, her credibility. So if that doesn't add up to a personal attack, I don't know what does.

But, look, I think that the contrast that you're going to see on display tonight on the debate stage is the one that will loom large in the minds of New York Democratic primary voters, which is, who can get the job done, who actually has concrete plans, achievable plans that can make a difference for middle class families. I think that when all is said and done with this race, we're going to look back at that "New York Daily News" editorial board interview that both candidates gave, both candidates sat for, answered the tough questions and it was clear in Bernie Sanders' interview that he just didn't come to play in terms of having the facts at his disposal. Hillary Clinton did and you saw that in the endorsement that they came out with yesterday. We think that that endorsement means a great deal. We're going to promote it as much as we can in these closing days.

[08:35:02] CUOMO: Now, the other way to look at it is, the reason that she got the endorsement from the tabloid was - "The Daily News" was evident in how they conducted the interview with Sanders, that they were going after him in a way that they didn't go after Clinton, and that the Clinton campaign has spun his answers to make them look less competent than they were. He was just being too honest as opposed to not competent enough.

FALLON: No. I think that, you know, the spotlight shines brightener in New York than anywhere else. You know, I think that he's gotten away with a lot of loose claims and "The Daily News" called him out on them. Anyone can read the transcript. Anyone can listen to the audio. I think the questions were fair and tough questions were asked of both candidates. And I think, quite frankly, he just wilted under the spotlight. He's not used to that level of scrutiny, but he's getting it here in New York.

CUOMO: Sanders says, look at the crowd last night. Look how bigger than it was - look how much bigger it was than Clinton's up in the Bronx. To be fair, the venues were very different. You probably couldn't have accommodated the same crowd. But, still, he has had bigger crowds consistently through. He says, that's why I'm going to win in New York, not do well, win. We're going to get a big turnout here and we're going to win. Your response?

FALLON: Well, look, I've seen various estimates for the crowd last night, but there's no doubt he had a great event and he's bringing a lot of people into the process and that's a good thing overall for the party. So we tip our cap to him in terms of the enthusiasm that he's generating. But we're concerned with one crowd measure, which is who shows up to vote and in the highest turnout elections that we've had throughout this primary process, that's where Hillary Clinton actually tends to win. And if you look at the popular vote across all the contests that have taken place to date, she's beating him by about 2.4 million votes when you tab - tabulate everything that's taken place to date. So that's the numbers that we're looking at. Crowd size is nice, but when it counts next Tuesday, we think we'll come out on top.

CUOMO: How certain are you that you can close this out and go into a convention with the presumption, meaning you've reached the number of pledged delegates, not super delegates?

FALLON: There is a zero percent chance that Hillary Clinton will not clinch this nomination prior to the convention. It absolutely will happen. Certainly after California, but possibly even before California, we will reach the number 2,383 delegates that you need to clinch the nomination.

CUOMO: How can you be so sure? It would mean winning a percentage of delegates that she had not won often, and now all the way throughout.

FALLON: Well, we think that we're actually on a trajectory, if we have a good outcome on Tuesday here in New York and then with the five states that are voting on April 26th, we think we could be approaching 90 percent of being the way there in terms of 2,383, the number of delegates that you need. And then at that point there's a few contests in May, and we may - when you add up the pledged delegates that she's amassed right now, she's got a lead of about over 200 pledged delegates over Senator Sanders. We expect to gain even more delegates even in those contests in May, even if he wins some of them. And when you combine that with some of the party leaders and election officials that serve as super delegates where she also has a significant advantage, we think we'll reach that number probably, possibly by the end of May, if not after California.

CUOMO: What do you do if you get to the convention, even if you do have a presumption as you're suggesting? What do you do with Bernie's movement? I mean, you know, he's not a fringe candidate. He's not a spoiler. He's in the thick of it. And these people feel that they have a very different agenda than the Clinton campaign is laying out. How do you incorporate that?

FALLON: Well, I think that we're in the final phases of this nomination contest and the reality is starting to set in, in terms of the daunting delegate math that the Sanders campaign faces. And so feelings are raw at a point like this. But I think that it will behoove both campaigns in the closing weeks to come together and make sure that we recognize the high stakes that will be on the line in this general election. And I think that in general people will see, supporters of both candidates will see that we need to come together and elect a Democrat because the prospect of Donald Trump as president is just too much to take.

CUOMO: Brian Fallon, thank you for being with us.

FALLON: Thank you.

CUOMO: See you tonight.

FALLON: OK. I'll be here.

CUOMO: All right, so we have another big story going on. As big as the election? No, it's up to you. Kobe Bryant is going out. And, boy, I've got to tell you, he went out in a style we've probably never seen before, capping off his 20 year career with 60 points. Probably had a lot of fans saying, why is he leaving? We'll tell you all the details straight ahead.

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[08:43:11] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here's Thursday's edition of the five things to know.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders gearing up for tonight's CNN Democratic debate in Brooklyn. Those rivals facing off just five days before the New York primary.

And on the Republican side, Donald Trump's campaign manager reportedly will not be charged for an altercation with a reporter. In a CNN town hall Ted Cruz accusing the Trump campaign of using intimidation tactics on delegates.

The White House calling this buzzing of a U.S. Naval ship by Russian war planes a provocation. Those jets strafing a ship multiple times in the Baltic Sea. Officials say it mirrored an attack, only without the firing of weapons. An update. A Texas judge has sentenced the so-called affluenza teen to nearly two years in adult prison on manslaughter charges. This after Ethan Couch violated his probation and fled the country following a drunk driving crash that killed four people.

How about this for a way to go out. The Lakers' Kobe Bryant capping his 20 year career scoring 60 points in his final game. Also last night, the Golden State Warriors broke the NBA single season record for wins, their 73rd victory. A big night for California.

For more on the five things, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com.

So, ahead, what can we expect when Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders go head-to-head tonight? That's coming up next here on NEW DAY.

Also, adventure is changing. In a new video series, CNN Digital Studios dives into designs and innovations that let us experience the world in thrilling new ways that are changing our notions of adventure. Buckle up.

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(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We are just over 12 hours away from the CNN Democratic presidential debate live here in Brooklyn and the stakes could not be higher.

So joining us to discuss everything is our CNN political commentator, former South Carolina state representative and Hillary Clinton supporter, Bakari Sellers, and Bernie Sanders' supporters Jonathan Tasini. He is the author of "The Essential Bernie Sanders and His Vision for America."

Gentlemen, thanks so much for being here.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you for having me. CAMEROTA: Let's start with something that happened last night because there's a little bit of breaking news about it. There was a speaker at this big Bernie Sanders rally. There was something like 27,000 people at this rally. Chris was there, Washington State Park. And one of the speakers is named Dr. Paul Song. He described himself as a healthcare activist. And he used really sort of overheated language that was profane and there was a dispute as to whether or not it was referring to Hillary Clinton. Let me play it for you.

[08:50:20] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PAUL SONG, SPOKE AT BERNIE SANDERS RALLY: I agree with Secretary Clinton that Medicare for all will never happen if we have a president who never aspires for something greater than the status quo. Medicare for all will never happen if we continue to elect corporate Democratic whores who are beholden to big pharma and the privacy insurance industry instead of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, he said "corporate Democratic whores," if we continue to elect them. He apologized after that. He said, "I am very sorry for using the term 'whores' to refer so some in Congress who are beholden to corporations and not us. It was insensitive." Then just in the past hour, Bernie Sanders has put out a tweet about this. He says, "Dr. Song's comment was inappropriate and insensitive. There is no room for language like that in our political discourse."

Bakari, is that too belated? Is this the end of it? Is that OK when somebody who gets up and speaks for you, using terms like that?

SELLERS: Well, I think that the language was inappropriate. As Democrats, we've come on many of these shows and railed against Donald Trump for his language and the Republican Party's language. I mean we want to have a discourse that a third grade civics student can watch. And last night when whomever you're talking about - I have a hard time believing that he was talking about maybe the other presidential candidate. I mean I do think that he was referring to Hillary Clinton last night. And that's just - it has no place in our political discourse. Is that an indictment on Bernie Sanders or his campaign and can we move forward? We should move forward. But I do think that the campaigns, and that campaign in particular, needs to simmer down just slightly.

CUOMO: Tasini, dirty pool.

JONATHAN TASINI, AUTHOR, "THE ESSENTIAL BERNIE SANDERS AND HIS VISION FOR AMERICA": Talk about - talk about simmering down. Let's just say -

CUOMO: That's what you're being accused of.

TASINI: Nonsense. Bernie -

CUOMO: This doctor, the Bernie bros, this website that's connected to supporters of Bernie Sanders going at super delegates. Is this the type of campaign that Senator Sanders says he wants? The answer is no, but is it happening anyway?

TASINI: No. And actually Bernie Sanders came out right away with a tweet that Alisyn read and said it's inappropriate. And, you know, there's been heated language on both sides. It's a primary. People feel very passionately about it. The speaker I think was talking about congressional Democrats in general and about the influence of money in politics and the way it shapes health policy, which is actually one of the things that Bernie is campaigning against, getting establishment politics, defeating them and getting the money out of politics. The kind of thing that, you know, Hillary Clinton gets all the money from Goldman Sachs, pharma, the big gas, oil and coal industry. That's the money that's flowing to the Clinton campaign. But there's no place for that kind of language. And Bernie said, has no place in my campaign, inappropriate and let's move on.

SELLERS: And let - and let me just - let me just add the irony in this whole discussion, the irony if - we have to add context to it because before it was Obamacare, the person who was fighting for single payer healthcare was Hillary Clinton.

TASINI: She didn't - that's wrong.

SELLERS: And the fact of the matter is - and the fact of the matter is, if Dr. Song, or whomever else, want to talk about this, let's go back to 1992 when the first lady of the United States was actually putting this on the - on her back. Let's talk about the CHIPs program, which is how -

TASINI: Factually incorrect, Bakari.

SELLERS: Well, let's talk about the CHIP program, which is how 6 million young people got the -

TASINI: It's factually incorrect. Hillary Clinton never - Hillary Clinton never supported -

SELLERS: How 6 million young -

CUOMO: (INAUDIBLE) -

SELLERS: How 6 - this is the Bernie bro thing. How 6 million kids in this country got health care through the CHIP program.

CAMEROTA: OK.

CUOMO: OK, that's the CHIPs program. Why is it wrong?

TASINI: Hillary Clinton never supported single payer healthcare. That is absolutely false. One of the reasons Hillarycare failed, aside from it being secretive and not open, was that she - and the same with Obamacare has its weaknesses, they refuse to basically get rid of the insurance industry and the drug companies. They would not battle them, and - which is different from Bernie Sanders' proposal for Medicare for all, the single payer. It is just not true. Hillary Clinton has never supported single payer health care when she was in the White House. Bernie's proposal would, in fact, enact single payer and be built on the Affordable Care Act.

CAMEROTA: So what's the tone going to be tonight? Given that there's been these more heats policy discussions among surrogates and among the candidates, what are we going to see tonight?

SELLERS: Well, I think you'll see a third person on the stage tonight. I think that's going to be Donald Trump, and/or Ted Cruz. I think that Hillary Clinton's going to direct a lot of messaging towards Donald Trump and Ted Cruz because I think that people understand that this - now we're moving into the realm where this is a battle for the soul of this country and that's kind of the next phase in this race. So I do anticipate a lot of that focus in that direction.

TASINI: Well, I think what - this is first a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. It's Bernie Sanders who wants a political revolution versus moderate Democrats who have supported the Iraq War, who support the death penalty, have been opposed to marriage equality. And one thing I hope that comes up is a reference to Goldman Sachs. Let's remember that Goldman Sachs was just forced to accept a plea, $5 billion for mortgage security fraud during the worst economic crisis we've had in our lifetimes. Hillary Clinton still is not willing to show the transcripts of her $225,000 per speech. Let's finally get those transcripts 70 days later.

[08:55:05] CAMEROTA: Yes.

TASINI: This would be a good time to get those (INAUDIBLE).

SELLERS: It's like those pesky tax return, I know.

TASINI: Let's -

CAMEROTA: Gentlemen, Bakari, Jonathan, thank you for previewing this for us. Great to have you here. We'll all be watching tonight.

All right, that does it for us here. "The Good Stuff," next.

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PEREIRA: It's time for "The Good Stuff." A child with special needs, he has Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy, got something every other kid gets to do regularly, enjoy a bike ride. Six year old Maddox's mom entered a contest to win an adapted (ph) bike for him, but unfortunately the bike when to someone else that was also very worthy. A stranger stepped in and did something unexpected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNY ACKER, PURCHASED BIKE: Nobody wants to see a child want something that they don't have. And Maddox is close to my son Alex's age. So I thought, we should try to do something for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That's Jenny Acker. With her family business, she was able to buy Maddox his very own bike. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETH KIPSSNER, MADDOX'S MOM: We're so happy this summer taking bike rides. And just knowing that we can do that now is awesome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: It gets better. The community is now raising money to get another adaptive bike for a little girl in the neighborhood.

[09:00:02] That's "The Good Stuff" right there.

All right, time for "Newsroom" with Carol Costello live from Brooklyn.

Looking good, love.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, it's so gorgeous out here, Michaela. You're going to have to join me later for some lunch.

PEREIRA: I'd love to.