Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Voters Head to the Polls in Five Northeast States; Voters Weigh In On 2016 Race. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 26, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:47] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Canada's prime minister is condemning the killing of a Canadian citizen that was held captive by Islamic militants for seven months as an act of cold-blooded murder. Sixty-eight-year-old John Ridsdel was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines after a ransom deadline expired. Canada's foreign ministry refused to pay millions in ransom saying it is, quote, "a significant source of terrorist funding."

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. embassy now identifying a former U.S. worker who was hacked to death in the capital of Bangladesh last night. Xulhaz Mannan worked for a U.S. agency to prevent poverty. He was also the editor of the first Bangladeshi LGBT magazine. Police say the killers posed as mailman, entering his home with machetes, killing Mannan and a friend. It is the latest in the wave of deadly attacks targeting atheists, moderates and foreigners in Bangladesh.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the city of Cleveland agreeing to pay the family of Tamir Rice $6 million to settle a federal lawsuit. Under the settlement, the city admits no wrongdoing in Tamir's 2014 death, which came after a 911 caller reported seeing someone in the park brandishing a gun that turned out to be a toy. Twelve-year-old Tamir was killed by police seconds after they arrived on the scene. In December, a grand jury declined to indict the officer who shot Tamir.

PEREIRA: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension back on the table. The federal appeals court ruled Monday in favor of the NFL in the deflategate case reversing an earlier decision. The punishment initially handed down by Commissioner Roger Goodell. Brady said to be exploring his legal options which we understand are limited. It's not clear if the NFL will choose to reinstate the suspension.

So, explain that to us. He has limited options in this in terms of the legal standpoint?

CUOMO: He does. He has a little limited on two levels. One, because of the nature of this process, had certain limitation by design with league and him.

Secondarily, he has some practical concerns here. He wants to get back on the field. But I have to tell you, this was not seen as coming. He won his initial appeal right, threw out this thing. It was seen as an overreach by the NFL --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Well, right, but he did play. And now, they're saying he could be suspended again. He has to make a calculation. How do I get back on the field the fastest, right? That's what his team gong to want, versus, wait a minute, what do want people to think about me?

So, this is a tough one. Not even arguably, one of the best quarterbacks, ever.

So, presidential hopefuls in a battle to win over voters in the Northeast. What's going to matter to the voters? Enough with this, with the numbers and collusion and everything else. We're going to bring in some people to discuss what should matter most. Take the second half of this?

CAMEROTA: Sure. Our voter panel, what do they think about the Cruz- Kasich alliance to stop Trump? They're ready to talk. We'll ask them. Thanks, guys.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:37:37] CAMEROTA: Today, the 2016 campaign spotlight shines on five northeastern states heading to the polls in today's Super Tuesday primaries.

Joining us with a preview of how things may play in two of those states are Bruce Poole, he's the chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party, and J.R. Romano, chairman of the Connecticut State Republican Party.

Gentlemen, thanks so much for being here.

BRUCE POOLE, CHAIR, MARYLAND DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Good morning. Thanks for having us.

CAMEROTA: J.R., I want to start with you.

You are an unbound delegate. You plan to vote, you say, for whoever your state supports, whoever wins today. But let's play out this hypothetical. What if, let's say, you, your state goes for Trump, but you think that Kasich or Cruz is more electable. Then what do you do?

J.R. ROMANO, CHAIRMAN, CONNECTICUT STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY: Well, I think the issue here is, my philosophy is different than what's going on within the Democratic Party. It's that my job is to honor what Republicans in this state want, and I take my job very seriously. So, if a majority of voters in this state feel as though Trump would be the best candidate, then that's where my vote will go. Unlike what you have on the Democrat side, which is all of these super delegates who are ultimately going to decide who the Democrat nominee is.

CAMEROTA: OK. So, Bruce, that brings you up. You are a super delegate. Do you have that much power to decide? POOLE: Well, I don't know. I'm not so sure that my dog even listens

to me on any given day. So -- but I'll tell you, the super delegate process is there because it works. The Democrats years ago didn't have good candidates, and we didn't win elections nationwide and now we do. And look where the Republicans are.

I mean, the problem is now the Republicans are trying --

CAMEROTA: How did the delegate process change that to put you more in the win category?

POOLE: Well, what it did was really allow a key group of Democratic Party leaders to weigh in, and be able to vote all the way up until the convention on the basis of who can win that general election. So that's really what I'm looking at. I'm looking at who's a quality candidate who has any barriers that would keep them from being able to win the general.

And then, of course, I want to hear from the Maryland Democrats, because the Maryland Democrats' voice strongly one way or the other today, I'm going to listen to that.

CAMEROTA: J.R., you say you will vote for whoever your state wants. However, let me put up for you on the screen some of the enticements and inducements that the candidates can use to try to sway you to their side.

[06:40:05] Here is what is allowed in wooing delegates. You could get a ride on a private jet. You could be wined and dined by a candidate. Who isn't susceptible to that?

You could get expensive swag bags. You could even get a political deal of some kind or a platform. I mean, how can you be immune?

ROMANO: Well, honestly, I guess it's -- I'll give a compliment to my mother. I'm grounded in the roots coming from a small town in Connecticut, Derby, Connecticut, where that stuff doesn't matter to me. It's about principle.

And you can try and put all of that stuff in front of me but it's not really going to change how I think and how seriously I take my responsibilities as the chairman of the Republican Party here in Connecticut.

CAMEROTA: Hey, Bruce, part of why Donald Trump says that the system is rigged is because of those things, that Ted Cruz has been able to use to try to entice delegates and partly because of what you've said, that super delegates decide rather than just regular voters.

POOLE: It's kind of funny, though. In many respects, Donald Trump is proving that he's not going to be as good if he has a shot at being president as everybody hopes. This is a guy who says he could close the deal, that he knew how to get through any process, he can deal with Putin, he can deal with North Korea and now he's saying, oh, my gosh. Ted Cruz is picking my pocket. That's a problem.

CAMEROTA: Hmm.

POOLE: On our side -- believe me, I listen to Democrats, and I'm getting around the state all the time and hearing from Maryland Democrats. So, that's going to be a very, very heavy consideration for me.

CAMEROTA: Go ahead, J.R.

ROMANO: Well, I just think it's ironic that the Democratic Party, which claims to be the party of the people is being exact opposite being anti-democratic.

You know, the reality is that you take away the super delegates away from Hillary Clinton, she would not be in the lead she's in. Let's look at New Hampshire. Bernie Sanders wins that state by around 80 percent and walks away with less delegates. How is that possible?

And it's because the deck is stacked for the establishment candidate here with Hillary Clinton and all of the party insiders choosing --

CAMEROTA: Just to be clear, she's still winning. Even if you take away super delegates, she still has more delegates and we just put up on our screen.

ROMANO: Right. But the margin is much -- let's take Connecticut, for example, she signed every super delegate already. And so, the results tomorrow don't matter. And this is what everyone needs to understand.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: There's more than 2 million votes from just regular voters. So -- I mean, you're making it sound as though it's just the super delegates. On her side, it's not.

ROMANO: I understand that it's not just the super delegates, but when you look at this from a broader perspective, how many are within the Democratic Party and quite frankly to say the process is better because they won Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, they also gave us Al Gore and Bill Clinton beat Bush the first time because of a third party candidate. So, this notion somehow the insiders are on a better track, it's just -- it's not plausible to me.

CAMEROTA: Bruce, we have ten seconds left, but I give you the last word.

POOLE: Yes. At the end of the day, winning, it's on our side. Donald Trump talks about winning. We're the ones that are going to win. Go for it, baby.

CAMEROTA: Bruce --

POOLE: I'll listen to both sides today, but when the Democrats vote, we'll be ready to make a decision pretty soon.

CAMEROTA: We'll be watching both of your states. Thanks so much, gentlemen. And coming up in our next hour, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders joins

us live on "NEW DAY" to talk about all of this.

CUOMO: Severe storms, real one, not of the political variety, that could spawn a tornado outbreak across the entire midsection of our nation. How long is this threat going to last? We have the forecast for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:33] PEREIRA: Millions of people across the plains are bracing for a tornado outbreak.

Our CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the forecast.

Given us an idea of what the timing is looking like, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right.

So, the timing begins this afternoon and then really ramps up as we head towards the evening hours, which is a problem in and of itself because it's really hard to see a lot of these storms when the dark outside.

So, here's a look at the area of concern. Basically stretching from Omaha all the way down towards San Antonio. Large hail will be a possibility. Again, not talking quarter sized. We'll have it.

But we're also talking hail in excessive baseball size, damaging winds and tornadoes, and again, not just one or two tornadoes. We're talking tornadoes that could be very long-lived and long-tracked, some exceeding 50-plus miles in length.

Here's a look at radar now. We already have some development along the warm front, but it's the stuff that's going to develop along the cold front side this afternoon and into the evening. That's where the real threat is going to be.

So, here's a look going forward. Again, as we go through the afternoon, just shortly after lunchtime, some stuff will begin to develop, but really once we get towards around rush hour, commute time this evening, that's when some of the really potent storms will finally begin to fire back up throughout these areas and will gradually continue through the overnight. Then again, Alisyn, the threat pushes farther et once we get to tomorrow.

CAMEROTA: All right. Thanks so much for keeping an eye on it for us. We will check back in with you.

Voters in Connecticut and Pennsylvania weigh in on the candidates and the issues. We have real voters facing real choices, next, for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:52:43] CUOMO: It is Super Tuesday times four.

PEREIRA: Yes.

CUOMO: OK? Because we've had several of them, but this one matters a lot, especially in the Northeast. For all the process, rigged, not rigged and collusion combination, what actually happens to voters?

We have people from Connecticut and Pennsylvania joining us this morning.

PEREIRA: Looking good, looking sharp this morning.

CUOMO: You know what? They sit like pros, these people. They have sat very well. Thank you for being here with us.

PEREIRA: Really great.

CUOMO: Let's show's hands to make it easy here. Connecticut, Pennsylvania. Who's Connecticut? OK. Pennsylvania? OK, great.

PEREIRA: Two and four.

CUOMO: Democrat? Republican?

Undecided?

Yes?

PEREIRA: OK. You're the lone wolf.

All right. Why don't we start with --

CUOMO: Get at her.

PEREIRA: Let's get at her. OK, undecided. You're a Republican but you're undecided.

So, where's your head at right now?

SARA ZERVOS, UNDECIDED REPUBLICAN VOTER: So, in theory, I'm actually a libertarian but I registered Republican. And I'm fairly decided on today's primary because it is today that I go to vote. However, the ultimate election is really up for grabs for me. That depends on the candidate.

PEREIRA: What's going to sway you?

ZERVOS: You know what? Really finding out what the real issues come to fore, because right now, they're primary campaigning mode, and I think either of them needs -- either winner that looks like it's going to be Hillary or Trump, either of them needs to show, are they going to come to the middle or are they going to stay pretty extreme?

PEREIRA: All right. That's Sarah, by the way. We didn't even introduce them.

CUOMO: Who -- Sarah, who are you leaning towards today? ZERVOS: Right now I'm leaning towards Kasich. I know it doesn't

really matter in terms of the big vote, but on the substance of his campaign, especially on the economy side and more middle of the ground on human value side.

CUOMO: Interesting question. Sarah says doesn't really matter.

You're right to say that. However, who here, I don't care, Democrat or Republican, who here feels that it's OK if this gets decided at the convention?

PEREIRA: Oh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PEREIRA: Pass the microphone to him. There we go.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: No matter what happens in the voting, say Trump gets to 1,237 or almost 1,237?

JOHN VALES, TED CRUZ SUPPORTER: No, no. If Trump does get to 1,237, he should get the nomination.

CUOMO: Now, you're saying this as a Cruz supporter, John, right?

VALES: Yes, correct. Yes. I mean, if -- I think they all agree, if he does get the confirmed 1,237, then I will support him.

[06:55:02] But I support Cruz, because I believe in his conservative values. So, to me, that's vital.

PEREIRA: And I understand faith is a big part of your life and --

(CROSSTALK)

VALES: Absolutely. Yes, I'm a Christian and my faith is everything. And so, to me, a candidate that really talks about faith and religion is very important to me.

PERERIA: All right. Betty, since we have the microphone down your way, why don't we ask you a little bit. We know you are a Hillary Clinton supporter. Give us your elevator pitch. Why is Hillary your candidate?

BETTY SPENCE, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: I am so excited that we have a woman running for president, and that is the likely candidate for the Democratic Party. And I support her, because of the work she's done for women and children all of her career. I've watched what's going on when she was first lady, working with women's small businesses, and making sure that women were getting funding for their small businesses.

And then I watched her as secretary of state when everywhere she went around the globe, she did the diplomatic work with the head of state, and then she met with the head of women's organizations.

CUOMO: All right. This is an elevator trip up to heaven.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: That's all you get here, ten floors. Compelling case.

However, Yahne --

YAHNE NDGO, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: Yes.

CUOMO: -- you make a stink eye down there. I saw the stink eye on your face, as clear as the Bernie on your shirt. What were you hearing from Betty where you have a different take?

NDGO: Well, I just think that the pho footprint we've had in other countries is really not all that diplomatic. I think we've been harmful in a lot of other countries and that Hillary Clinton has been a force for that harm in other countries.

PEREIRA: Is it true that you are Bernie or bust?

NDGO: I'm definitely Bernie our bust.

PEREIRA: Even if it is Hillary that is the candidate, you will not vote for Hillary?

NDGO: I won't vote for Hillary. I can't vote for her.

PEREIRA: So, you'd vote outside your party? How would you handle it?

NDGO: I would probably vote for Jill Stein. And I think --

CUOMO: You're going to one of the off-main party candidates?

NDGO: Yes, so that I can participate in the election. I mean, you know, there are people who, you know, as a black woman, there are people that have died to ensure I have the right to vote and I take that very seriously. I'm going to cast my vote. I have to cast my vote in a way I believe in.

PEREIRA: Bernie or bust.

CUOMO: That's what the shirt says. Very color coordinated as well.

Jim, you're a Donald Trump supporter. The word "rigged" -- now, look, we get he loves hyperbole. It's worked. The sales pitch has really given the momentum that many didn't think he would have. But do you believe the system rigged, or do you believe that it's like confusing and hard to understand, but not specifically designed to frustrate him?

JIM CAMPBELL, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: It's a little of both, but it is designed to favor insiders. We're used to primary. If you win the primary, you're the nominee. But now for president, you win the primary that and only begins the fun of figuring out, you win the primary, then we'll figure delegates, all of those around state conventions all their lives, they want to be the delegates, maybe they don't really support the guy who won the primary.

So, it's -- I think it is designed to favor the party insiders, and Donald Trump is an outsider who wants to change things.

PEREIRA: Marilyn, I want to get to you, I don't want to run out of time and make sure you get a chance. Hillary supporter?

MARILYN ALVERIO, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Absolutely.

PEREIRA: And that is why?

ALVERIO: Well, first of all, Hillary has drawn the line in the sand. She knows exactly where she stands on the most important issues. When it comes to racial injustice, when it comes to LGBT, when it comes to skills gaps that's going on in the country, she knows where she stands and she's not afraid to push back.

But more importantly to me as a woman, as a Latina, I understand the struggle that women have gone through in this country. First of all, the fact that we have voting rights has to do with the fact that women, like Hillary Clinton, have been the one to have the courage to take charge, to break those barriers.

Having the first woman to be president of the free world would be something that will make change happen.

PEREIRA: And we'll leave it there with our panel. You all need to be recaffeinated. We'll let you have a break and bring you back in our 8:00 hour. Well done.

This next hour, we're going to talk about specific issues. This was a get to know you, and you did well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

CUOMO: More compelling than the candidates.

PEREIRA: I know!

CUOMO: There's a lot of Super Tuesday coverage ahead, including a live interview with Senator Bernie Sanders who will make a case for himself.

Alisyn?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Lyin' Ted announced that he can't win by himself.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John Kasich has decided to pull out of Indiana to give us a head-to-head contest with Donald Trump.

TRUMP: It shows how weak they are.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've never told them not to vote for me. They ought to vote for me.

TRUMP: I'm going to win the general election.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wall Street, thanks very much. We don't want your damn money.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This election is really one with high stakes.

SANDERS: If you come out to vote, drag your friends, we're going to win here.

CLINTON: Remember, the goal here is to make sure we have a Democrat in the White House.

REPORTER: As the manhunt intensifies.

REPORTER: This tragic story took a very interesting twist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did find marijuana at the crime scene. It's a grower operation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's something you hear about in the movies. It's not something that would ever happen.