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Donald Trump Criticizes Presidential Rivals; Hillary Clinton Campaigns in Connecticut; Queen Elizabeth II Celebrates 90th Birthday; Clinton Campaign Spokesperson Karen Finney Speaks Out. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 21, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love running against crooked Hillary. In the case of Lying Ted Cruz, lying Ted, lies, oh, he lies.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Reviving some of his favorite nickname less than 24 hours after delivering a more measured victory speech in New York.

TRUMP: I thought it would be very undignified for me to get up at that particular moment.

CARROLL: The Republican frontrunner doing a victory lap in Indiana and Maryland Wednesday and continuing to rail against the Republican primary process.

TRUMP: So it's a rigged system. It is rigged for the lobbyists. It is rigged for the donors, and it's rigged for the special interests.

CARROLL: Reince Priebus fighting back again.

REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR: It is not a rigged system. In fact, the rules are clear. I'm not going to do anything to help anyone and I'm not going to do anything to hurt anybody.

CARROLL: Priebus insisting that he is enjoying preparing for a potential contested convention.

PRIEBUS: I think people assume, oh, you must be miserable. I'm not pouring Bailey's in my cereal. I'm not sitting here trying to find a Johnny Walker. This is fun.

CARROLL: Republican Party leaders sitting down with Ted Cruz and John Kasich Wednesday night as Cruz's irritation with Kasich boiled over on the campaign trail.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John Kasich has no path whatsoever to the nomination. Now, it may be John is auditioning to be Trump's vice-president. But a Trump/Kasich ticket loses to Hillary Clinton.

CARROLL: Kasich defending his decision to stay in the race in an interview with CNN. GOV. JOHN KASICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If he is so sure of

that, why he is attacking me all the time? All I know is if we pick these two guys, according to virtually all the polls, we are going to get creamed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Well, Melania Trump has said in the past that she cannot stand when her husband Trump re-tweets. He didn't re-tweet this morning, but he did tweet about Cruz and Kasich. Here is what he had to say. He said "Senator Ted Cruz has been mathematically eliminated from race. He said Kasich should get out for same reason. I think both should get out." Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Jason, thank you very much. Let's bring in Barry Bennett, senior advisor for the Trump campaign. Good to have you with us, sir.

BARRY BENNETT, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Hey, Chris.

CUOMO: So memo coming out here from team Trump saying the Cruz spin machine produces more lies than anything else. Our projections call for us to accumulate over 1,400 delegates. How, when we put up the math of what it would take to get to just 1,237, we show Trump needing to win 58 percent of the remaining delegates. As you know, he doesn't trend much past 45 or 47 percent. How do you get to 1,237, let alone 1,400?

BENNETT: Most of the states are left, all except three, are winner take all states. So you know, we won 95 percent of the delegates in New York. We're strongly, we're over 50 percent in Connecticut. We're in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, we're going to win a vast majority of the delegates in those states -- West Virginia. You know, the game changes, the Republican primary, the Democratic primary are very different now in that the Republican side it's winner take all by CD or by state or some hybrid between the two.

CUOMO: That is true. On the Democratic side it's almost all proportional. Winner-take-all certainly an advantage in terms of accumulating. Ted Cruz says you can't get to 1,237. I can't get to 1,237. Kasich can't get to 1,237. So we should all go to the convention. Why don't you accept that?

BENNETT: Well, because he is wrong. He is wrong about a lot of things, but mathematics is not apparently his strong suit. If you look at the delegates out there, it's easy. There's a "New York Times" story out today that lays it out as well. I mean, California, Pennsylvania, Indiana, all these northeast states, you got some mountain west states. You only three proportional states left -- Oregon, Washington, the two biggest. Even those states, we're going to get 40 percent of the delegates. So you know, I don't think Mr. Cruz, he can -- he can believe whatever he wants, but he can't disbelieve the reality.

CUOMO: So is this why "Lying Ted" came back out of Donald Trump's lips. We thought that that phase had ended, that he was moving toward the presidential. There is a piece in the "Wall Street Journal" today saying he was going to be more conventional, start working off the prompter, start following more specific messaging, and then we hear him with the "crooked Hillary" and "Lying Ted." What's going on there?

BENNETT: Well, you know, I mean, Mr. Cruz is undoubtedly frustrated. He finished last in every county in New York. He is finishing last in Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island. John Kasich is beating him in all those places, not but much, but beating him. So I am sure they are frustrated. There is no path. Ted Cruz has admitted it now. There is no path for him to get to 1,237.

CUOMO: I hear you on that. What I'm saying is I thought Trump was making a change, that this was about the pivot, that is about the shape shift, and yet just a day later, he is back to the "crooked Hillary" and "lying Ted." What's the strategy there?

BENNETT: Well, you're talking about his rally speech, I guess, last night.

CUOMO: Yes.

[08:05:02] BENNETT: Well, I mean, his rallies, people come, they want to see Donald Trump. That's what they saw. But I think if you look at his victory acceptance speech in New York, it was quite magnanimous to both Senator Cruz and Governor Kasich.

CUOMO: The consistency would be the point. But let's go back to what has been consistent lately for Donald Trump, which is complaining about the system. You know the numbers well. You study them every day. He is doing better in the delegate count than he is in the popular vote by percentage. So why complain? These are the rules. They've always been the rules. You accepted to run by the rules. They're not perfect, right, and that's putting it lightly. But everybody is playing by the same rules and you're benefitting from them more than anybody else.

BENNETT: Well, I mean, we're not suggesting that someone has recently changed the rules. But what we are saying is that, you know, the rules should be based on the vote of the public. I mean, there should have been a vote of the people in Colorado before they awarded delegates. You know, they shouldn't be able to do it with a handful of people in a backroom. That's not very democratic. And, you know, I think as we go forward past this cycle, you know, as Republicans we should try to at least allow, at least honor the vote of the people and make sure that there is a vote of the people in every state. And delegates, you know, should be bound by the wishes of the voters, not some, you know, power play.

CUOMO: But it's not rigged against Trump. Again, he is benefitting --

BENNETT: No, it's just -- that's the way the system is. And it's wrong. It's a bad system.

CUOMO: Right. That could be your perspective on it, but Trump says something a little different than that, right? He says they're trying to rig it against me. They're trying to take it from me. They're having these meetings to try to box me out. Is that just paranoia coming from him?

BENNETT: No. What he is saying is exactly what I just said, that the system is a bad system. And the bad part of the system is actually hurting him, but they're not changing the rules to try to hurt him. That's just the way the rules are. But they're really bad rules and we need to fix it.

CUOMO: What's going on down in Florida right now speaks to the issue of concern of the GOP. They're meeting in their pre-meeting meeting about what the rules of the convention will be. What is your presence down there and what are you trying to achieve?

BENNETT: Our team is down there meeting with delegates one-on-one and in small groups. You know, the convention delegates themselves will populate the standing committee to the convention and do the rule changes. The RNC can offer a proposed document to them, but that's about the extent of it.

CUOMO: So you guys doing some of the wining and dining that you suggest that you don't like with these potential delegates?

BENNETT: I don't think there is a lot of food service at these meetings.

CUOMO: There are receptions and stuff like that down there, so you guys, are you guys making the transition to playing the game as it's played?

BENNETT: Well, we have to honor the game as it is. It doesn't mean we like it, but that's the way the game is played right now.

CUOMO: Kasich/Trump ticket -- Ted Cruz says it can't win. Is it a ticket under consideration by the Trump campaign?

BENNETT: I don't want to get into who it is that Mr. Trump will choose as a vice-president. But I think that all of the candidates who ran this time certainly deserve to be considered.

CUOMO: So Kasich is a possibility?

BENNETT: I don't want to say. I don't want to rule anyone in or anyone out. But, you know, John has been a good governor, and he has, you know, been a hard campaigner.

CUOMO: What do you think will happen -- when you're looking at projections, when do you see you guys getting to 1,237?

BENNETT: You know, probably right around the first week of June.

CUOMO: You believe it? You believe at 1,237?

BENNETT: Yes. CUOMO: If you go into the convention, will you be willing to accept

the rules of that convention and that it really is somewhat of a restart of the process because nobody reached the majority number of 50 plus one or that 1,237?

BENNETT: We will reach 1,237.

CUOMO: You're 100 percent confident.

BENNETT: Yes, 100 percent.

CUOMO: And you believe you're going to through the first round of voting.

BENNETT: Yes, they are bound.

CUOMO: The second round of voting, which is really the first one where they could shift.

BENNETT: There won't be a second round.

CUOMO: I like the confidence. Barry Bennett, thank you for coming on NEW DAY. Let's see if your version of the math plays out. That's what makes it exciting to watch. Thanks for being on NEW DAY.

BENNETT: Thank you.

CUOMO: Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, meanwhile Bernie Sanders is back on the trail after taking a bit of a breather. His campaign at a crossroads after that tough loss in New York. Can he regain his momentum? And what is the Clinton campaign going to do to secure the nomination?

Suzanne Malveaux is live in Hartford, Connecticut where Clinton is stumping today. Hi, again.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Michaela. Well, it was just three and a half years ago that a single gunman went into Sandy Hook elementary school killing 20 children and six adults. While that still resonates today. That happened in Newtown, Connecticut, and here in the state of Connecticut it led to some of the toughest gun laws in the country.

[08:10:03] That is an issue that Hillary Clinton believes that she can show some real contrast with Bernie Sanders. Later today she's going to be at this YMCA meeting with the families of some of those victims from Sandy Hook to talk about that very important issue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Hillary Clinton wasting little time courting voters before the next round of super Tuesday contests.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here I am in Pennsylvania, because I really want to work as hard as we can together for the next week to get a good result on April 26th.

(APPLAUSE)

MALVEAUX: Protesters calling for Clinton to pardon all prisoners convicted as a result of a controversial 1994 crime bill. Reaching out to African-American voters, Secretary Clinton boldly assessing race relations during a gun violence event at the historic St. Paul's Baptist Church.

CLINTON: We all have implicit biases. They are almost in the DNA going back probably millennia times. And what we need to do is be more honest about that and surface them.

MALVEAUX: Clinton is garnering high praise from the mother of Sandra Bland who says she is supporting Clinton. Clinton reached out to her after Bland was found hanged in a Texas jail.

GENEVA REED-VEAL, SANDRA BLAND'S MOTHER: When you're opening grieving and the secretary of state steps to you, you better endorse her, because she already endorsed you.

MALVEAUX: While Clinton forges ahead, rival Bernie Sanders seemingly at a crossroads. A 16 point defeat in New York sending the Vermont senator home to recharge for the day. But Sanders is not backing down.

BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We believe we have the momentum, and we believe we have a path toward victory.

MALVEAUX: The question, will Sanders come out swinging or will he soften his attacks against Clinton during his first day on the trail?

HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Bernie Sanders is still going to be on the campaign trail, still going to be trashing her, doing a lot of things that will not be particularly helpful for Democrats, but I think he's going to do it anyway because he really wants to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Clinton's appearance here follows an ad that was released yesterday, the daughter of the principal of Sandy Hook, who was killed in that massacre, is endorsing Hillary Clinton, saying that she is the only candidate who can go up against the gun lobby and that she in fact reminds her of her mother, that she is not afraid of anything.

As far as Bernie Sanders is concerned, they think this is nonsense. They point to his record, his support for the ban on the assault weapons ban as well as his D-minus rating from the NRA. Now, Bernie Sanders is going to be in Pennsylvania making three stops to make his case as well. Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much. Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating a milestone this morning, the

longest serving monarch marking her 90th birthday by greeting locals on a traditional walkabout around Windsor. And the royals are also releasing some precious photos that include this one of the queen with the youngest members of the royal family. Aren't they gorgeous? They're adorable. And we have CNN's Max Foster live for us at Windsor castle. Hi Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very privileged to be allowed in here, but this is a special occasion. The queen, as you say, has been out and about on the walkabout, which is an interesting day of marking this day. It seems quite informal, but actually in many ways these walkabouts define her success as a monarch because she was the one that popularized walkabouts. Royals didn't really do that before her. But it shows how she is in touch with the public, and also seen to be in touch with the public. Always wearing those very, very bright colors. As she always says, she wants to be seen to be believed.

We also had a gun salute in the park. Beacons will be lit across the U.K. and the commonwealth, 1,000 beacons, the ultimate birthday cake you could call it, and also a private dinner tonight hosted by Prince Charles here at Windsor castle before President Obama comes here tomorrow for a birthday lunch at Windsor castle as well. Back to you guys.

KEILAR: All right, Max, thank you so much. Those photos are just beautiful. An occasion of being 90 years young.

PEREIRA: I salute the queen with my English breakfast tea.

KEILAR: I as well.

CUOMO: I like the action, that is very nice. This one got me. The great grandson, gorgeous George, look how happy he is there to be next to grandma. They had him up on some books or something. That was a great photo. And 64 years she has been there. You know, every time you go over there, people go back and forth about the monarchy, but they have such a high esteem and how she carries herself.

PEREIRA: It's incredible, 90 years young. And she looks fantastic, walking under her own power, doing her own thing.

KEILAR: Doesn't that strike you in that photo, though, that they are a little stayed, all of them, except for Prince George. He's like full of pizzazz and charisma.

PEREIRA: It looks like a "Vanity Fair" photo, doesn't it? It's so beautiful.

CUOMO: That's why.

[08:15:03] KEILAR: Oh that's why.

PEREIRA: Oh, here we go. Hey, do I know Miami.

KEILAR: You know it. You know it well. CUOMO: He's still smiling because he doesn't exactly understand who he is yet. Once he gets it, he'll be like, whoa.

KEILAR: I hope he doesn't temper that, you know.

PEREIRA: No, not lose that charm.

CUOMO: All right, a story of a very different kind back here in the U.S. to tell you about. Officials discovering yet another tunnel crossing the U.S. and Mexican borders. Take a look at this. This isn't like some rathole. This is like professional drug enterprise. It's a half mile long from a house in Tijuana, it had an elevator, to an alleged wooden pallet business in San Diego. Authorities also seized more than a ton of coke. Seven tones of marijuana. It is the 13th tunnel found along California's border with Mexico in the last decade. And people in the know would tell you they are digging them right now, and for every one that is found there are many that are not.

PEREIRA: Pretty sophisticated.

This, however, is not. Adults miss behaving in Florida. Two Little League coaches, yes, throwing punches right on the field in front of all the kids. Authorities say the brawl broke out. One of the coaches apparently switched a player for a faster runner, so the duo then gets into a heated verbal exchange before then getting physical as you're seeing here.

Now, I am pleased to say, if there's any silver lining, the two men apparently apologized after and even shook one another's hands, which is about the only way that you could sort of salvage a moment of bad behavior.

And, you know, this is the thing. Kids, so impressionable at that age.

KEILAR: Great role modeling. But, you know, they're afraid I think when they see that too. You see the kids in the foreground just shocked and afraid --

PEREIRA: Yes, yes. Of course.

CUOMO: Everyone should be afraid. What -- how embarrassed should those two guys be. How embarrassed, as parents, as men.

PEREIRA: I know.

CUOMO: What a joke.

Any way, Hillary Clinton, will she finally slam the door shut on Bernie Sanders in next week's Super Tuesday primaries in the northeast? Sanders says no. Strategy, we heard it from the Sanders side, now from the Clinton side, next.

(COMMCERCIAL BREAK) [08:20:43] KEILAR: Hillary Clinton is leading l the polls in Pennsylvania. It's the richest delegate prize in next Tuesday's primaries in the northeast. Despite losing big in New York, Bernie Sanders says he's not going anywhere and he plans to challenge Clinton all the way to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia this summer.

And joining us now, we have Karen Finney. She's a senior spokesperson for the Clinton campaign.

Karen, thank you so much for being with us. And I want to ask you about something that I'm hearing from a lot of people in the Clinton camp, people who back the Secretary Clinton. They basically are saying Bernie Sanders needs to dial down some of his rhetoric. But if we go back eight years ago, Hillary Clinton was in the race, she was obviously trying to win it. It was very divisive. Some of her criticisms of then-Senator Obama were obviously sharp. Why should Bernie Sanders do something different than what she did?

KAREN FINNEY, SENIOR SPOKESPERSON, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: Well, actually, Brianna, at about this time in this process back in 2008, she actually was starting to dial down the rhetoric, because, you know, part of what happens is, as you -- obviously they were still contests and she was still competing very aggressively, but actually she did sort of change her tone a little bit. Because again, you know, at the end of the day, you have to -- we have to come together as a party, and fight, you know, be prepared to go up against whoever the GOP nominee is. And that's the real fight that we need to have. And so I think -- I don't think Secretary Clinton is doing anything different than what people are suggesting Bernie Sanders would do.

KEILAR: Politico did an interview with a senior Clinton aide, and this a quote I'm going to read you. Well, I'm going to abbreviate it, because there's some not so nice words in it.

But it says, "We kicked his a-s-s tonight. I hope this convinces Bernie to tone it down. If not, f--- him."

If you're in the Bernie Sanders campaign, that's not exactly something that's making you feeling conciliatory.

FINNEY: Well, but -- well, first of all nobody that I know who is actually part of the campaign officially said that. So, and it is not hard -- you know, you could trip over somebody who would consider themselves in the Clinton orbit here in Washington. So let's take that for what it is.

KEILAR: So you're saying you don't think it was someone with the campaign, even though it says senior Clinton aide.

FINNEY: I don't think -- I don't believe -- that's not my understanding. But, more importantly, I mean, you know, Brianna, we now have a situation where, you know, on the record, very publicly, senior people within the Sanders campaign have made it very clear that their new strategy is that, at the end of the day, if Hillary Clinton has both more pledged delegates -- and right now she leads by over 200 -- and that if she -- even if she has more actual votes by -- at this point, she's got about 2.5 million more votes -- they're going to do something incredibly undemocratic and unprecedented, and that is try to flip superdelegates. And I thought it was really interesting that you had even MoveOn, one of the most liberal groups on the progressive side --

KEILAR: Which has endorsed Bernie Sanders.

FINNEY: But has also said that if Hillary Clinton ends up with the most delegates, she should be the nominee. I think they believe and are uncomfortable with, as many of us are, the idea that you would go overturn the will of the people. And if the majority of the people both have exercised their voice through the pledged delegates and through their actual votes, you know, it's un -- it would be unprecedented.

It also would be -- you know, I think one of the things that the Sanders' camp has to think about is, is that really the legacy he wants to leave this race when that time comes? I mean, Hillary Clinton already has an unprecedented lead. And their calculations seem to negate -- neglect to mention the fact that she too will continue to accrue votes and delegates. And so the idea I think becomes for Senator Sanders, do you really want to be someone who overturns the will of the people?

KEILAR: Well, listen. Listen, I want you to hear what Jeff Weaver, the campaign manager -- and as you know, he's been pretty bullish on this idea of flipping some of these superdelegates. But listen to what he just said a short time ago on "NEW DAY".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: What happened when the senator lost here in New York? What is the conversation now?

[08:25:01] JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS' CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, the conversation is what it is always, Chris. It's how we advance the senator's agenda in this country, how we move toward the nomination. The senator certainly has a path to victory in this contest and we're going to do everything we can to make it happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: One of the chief priorities that he noted there, Karen, was advancing the senator's agenda. Which, it sort of sounds like something the Clinton campaign is OK with, stick to the issues. When you hear him say that, are you reading into that?

FINNEY: Well, I would hope that part of what he is saying when he says that -- I mean, look, they have -- you know, Senator Sanders has done an incredible job, run an incredible race, and I can, you know, I know that his supporters, I mean, it's very hard when the person that you have worked your heart out for doesn't end up winning. And so I hope that part of what he's talking about there is, you know, talking about and talking with those folks in mind.

And that is the hard work that people have put in and recognizing a responsibility to them. Not just, I mean, you know, yes, keep working hard, you know, Hillary has said he should stay in as long as he wants to. But I think at a point, you've got to think about your supporters and you've got to think about, you know, making sure what you have built becomes a part of, you know, again bringing the party together, moving the country forward, and doesn't become something destructive.

And I think part of the way you do that, and part of the way you show respect for the people who have supported you, is to be very honest with them when it comes time about what the real opportunity is. At this point, since they're talking about getting -- you know, trying to win by overturning the will of the people, the very thing -- and that is antithetical to everything Senator Sanders has said he is about. I certainly hope we don't get to that place.

KEILAR: All right, Karen, thank you so much. Karen Finney, senior spokesperson with the Clinton campaign.

Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Brianna, thank you very much.

It is all about the Harriets. A historic change in the U.S. currency. Details on who will grace the new $20 and the backstory on how Alexander Hamilton was saved -- next.

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