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Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Speech; Ted Cruz Announces Carly Fiorina as Vice Presidential Running Mate; New Details Regarding Possible Cause of Death of Prince Emerge; What is Bernie Sanders' End Game?. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 28, 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] AARON DAVID MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT AND DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: So no, I understand the unpredictability factor and we want to keep our enemies and adversaries off balance, but I think in a republic such as ours, the notion that you're going to somehow grow foreign policy in a closet like a mushroom makes no sense to me.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Aaron David Miller, we always appreciate your expertise. Thanks so much for being here.

MILLER: Alisyn, it's a pleasure to be here.

CAMEROTA: Thank you. Following a lot of news this morning. Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our foreign policy is a complete and total disaster. Weakness, confusion and disarray.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: An extraordinary leader and the next vice president of the United States, Carly Fiorina.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is a lot at stake, but the choice is clear.

TRUMP: Cruz can't win. What he is doing picking a vice presidents?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bernie Sanders' campaign begins laying off hundreds of staffers.

BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am very good in arithmetic, and we are behind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uber driver Jason Dalton charged with opening fire on two vehicles, part of a seven-hour random shooting spree across Kalamazoo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got shot in the head.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If she could hear me if she was in there to give me a sign, and sure enough, her hand moved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, April 28, 8:00 in the east. America comes first, that is the theme of Donald Trump's foreign policy. That is the full thesis that he gave yesterday. Critics, a lot of them don't like it. They're saying the vision is light on details. Others say they do like it because he said what matters most, putting America first. Ted Cruz, he doesn't like all the attention, so he tried to blunt the thunder by announcing Carly Fiorina as his running mate. Is this going to help in Indiana?

CAMEROTA: As for the Democrats, reality may be set anything for Bernie Sanders. His campaign is beginning to lay off hundreds of staffers. So what is his path forward now? Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Phil Mattingly. He's live in Washington for us. Hi, Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn. After two weeks of sweeping victories, Donald Trump making clear he is ready to move on to the general election, and backing that up a little bit with a foreign policy speech yesterday, a detailed speech that he was at least attempting to show himself as a very real general election candidate. But there is an inherent tension in the Trump campaign. Do you move to the general election or do you keep doing what works?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: A tale of two Donald Trumps.

TRUMP: We're just about ready to put it away, folks.

MATTINGLY: Fresh off a resounding five state victory.

TRUMP: Now we're down to two stragglers.

MATTINGLY: Mocking Ted Cruz's last ditch effort to blunt his march forward by announcing his running mate, Carly Fiorina.

TRUMP: Cruz can't win. What is he doing picking vice presidents?

MATTINGLY: And ridiculing his alliance with Republican rival John Kasich.

TRUMP: This little marriage of the two of them, boy, did that backfire, right. I called them the colluders, right, the colluders. I love talking about this. What stupid decisions.

MATTINGLY: A far cry from the serious, scripted GOP frontrunner on display during a foreign policy speech just a few hours earlier.

TRUMP: America first will be the major and overriding theme of my administration.

MATTINGLY: Reading from a teleprompter, Trump offered few specifics, instead repeating campaign pledges on ISIS and NATO, threatening to up-end decades old a alliances.

TRUMP: The U.S. must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves.

MATTINGLY: And forged new ones with countries traditionally seen as threats.

TRUMP: Some say the Russians won't be reasonable. I intend to find out.

MATTINGLY: The speech prompted former rival Lindsey Graham to declare "Ronald Reagan must be rolling over in his grave."

Could Cruz's gamble with Fiorina deliver a win in Indiana? Many political insiders say it is do or die for him.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some might ask, why now. It is unusual to make the announcement as early as we're doing so now. I think all would acknowledge this race, if anything, it is unusual.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Now, guys, obviously it has been clear that Donald Trump has a real weakness amongst women voters, and the Cruz campaign also making clear that Carly Fiorina will be used in that role, particularly in this crucial state of Indiana. And they almost hope on some level Donald Trump decides to attack her.

Well, that's happening. We saw it a little last night, and we saw it, Alisyn, in the middle of your interview with Carly Fiorina, Donald Trump tweeting out "Lying Ted Cruz who can never beat Hillary Clinton and has no path to victory has chosen a VP candidate who failed badly in her own efforts." So guys, the Cruz campaign was hoping Trump would attack, that's exactly what is happening. Chris?

[08:05:16] CUOMO: Thank you very mu, appreciate it, Phil. Joining us now, Sam Clovis, co-chairman and policy adviser for the Trump campaign. Good to have you, Sam.

SAM CLOVIS, TRUMP NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIRMAN AND POLICY ADVISER: Good to be here, Chris. Thanks.

CUOMO: So what do you think of Fiorina/Cruz? Does it play to the weakness perceived with Donald Trump and women? Does this make a stronger pairing?

CLOVIS: Well, I think you have to ask the Cruz campaign. They obviously think so. I don't think it matters to us. I keep going back to this notion that we have to adjust to other campaigns in there. Last time I checked the scoreboard, it looks to me like they're going to have to adjust to us. And I think this is where they are. I think they think this is a move that's going to help them.

And I also think that Indiana is really the last firebreak for Cruz in this campaign, because if he doesn't do well, if he doesn't sweep Indiana, I think there is no possibility for him to create the narrative that we need to get to a contested convention, because that's the only way he can win. And I don't see that happening. I think we're going to do fine in Indiana.

CUOMO: What does fine mean, Sam? What are your internals telling you? What's the ground telling you?

CLOVIS: I think we're going to win. I really do. Indiana is a structure on delegates a little bit odd. But it is -- it's almost a winner take all. I don't even know how to caveat it. I don't want to get into the details, we don't have the time. But I think if we win Indiana, it's over for everybody else. And I think everybody else ought to get behind us. Then we can start concentrating on Hillary Clinton, and we can get to the convention two months away, and we will have two months advantage in being able to campaign against the Democrats.

CUOMO: You think that saying that Hillary Clinton is playing the woman card is the best foot forward for you guys?

CLOVIS: Well, I think it's, again, I think it goes right to the candor and honesty of our campaign that Mr. Trump will say things that the rest of the people in the country are thinking. And I think that this is certainly one of those issues. I don't think that will be a main theme. I don't think that it's going to be, you know -- there is plenty of negatives with Hillary Clinton. I don't think that's going to be an issue. We're not going to run out of material on that end.

CUOMO: But you didn't wince at all when you heard him basically make it about her being a woman? You know women aren't a particular strength for you. You know they are a big part of the electorate.

CLOVIS: I think that if you looked at the polling and the last primaries, Chris, we won the women, the women vote in each of those states.

CUOMO: Right, the one whose are coming out. But you know you don't have better than a quarter of the party coming out in all of these primaries. You know there is a lot left to the pie there. That's what I'm saying.

CLOVIS: Well, I think it's awful early too. And I think when we come back, and you ask yourself, what is going to attract the, you know, the woman's vote? Is it going to be a woman? Or is it going to be security, is it going to be economic mobility, is it going to be the security at home, security in your home? Is it going to be a job? Is it going to be those things that provide in the sanctuary for your family? I think those are the things that are going to attract voters, and that's what we're looking at. We don't really care about gender or color or anything else. We have policies and programs that are going to advance that are going to give people the reason to vote for Donald Trump, as opposed to trying to get them not to vote for Hillary Clinton.

CUOMO: Well, we look forward --

CLOVIS: I think when you start to see and compare and contrast side by side, I think the choice is going to be very easy for the American people.

CUOMO: We look forward to hearing programmatic ideas from the Trump campaign and the Clinton campaign right here on NEW DAY. You know they're always welcome.

Let's look at the foreign policy speech, and you address a couple of the criticisms of it. One of them is that America first smacks to people of 1930s isolationism. And that could be a frightening concept to some. Is that a fair comparison? What is your response?

CLOVIS: No, I don't think it is a fair comparison. I do think it is easy for people to draw that conclusion, and Chris, you know I am a history buff.

CUOMO: Yes, you are.

CLOVIS: So I know these things, and again, I don't want to drill down in the nuances here, but the circumstances we had in the late '20s and early '30s were quite different than where we are today. We a very fractured economy, and a lot of this, if you'll remember from the speech yesterday, the main theme is if we don't get our economy back on firm ground and we get positive GDP growth and worrying about our debt, none of this is possible. We can't do anything. We can't recapitalize the military. We can't assist our allies.

[08:10:00] CUOMO: Right.

CLOVIS: We can't do a lot of the other things because we will not have the resources to do it.

CUOMO: Right, but --

CLOVIS: That to me is the main thing that people should have taken away from the speech.

CUOMO: Right, that's an interesting choice of period comparison, because obviously you're coming out of the depression then and that was fueling the isolation. But that was a different time in terms of the global reach of economics.

But the criticism isn't so much about what this will do to commerce based. It's that he seemed to be sending mixed messages yesterday. You know, we're not going to go all out and go after ISIS, but we're not going to get involved with things unless we have to. Was he trying to spread the jam a little thin over the entire piece of toast yesterday?

CLOVIS: I don't think so. And I think that maybe, you know, we're, you know, an attorney would say in court, assuming fact not in evidence. I think what we look at, we assume that people understand where we are and what we're trying to say. And I think that sometimes -- because I thought the speech was great. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed listening to it.

CUOMO: Did you write it?

CLOVIS: Because I understood exactly what he was saying. I understood exactly what he was saying.

And this is also, I will tell you, that when other -- when we have embassies or representatives of countries come to the campaign, we articulate the message very clearly in a very candid manner. And the reception has been extremely good, because they understand exactly we're coming from.

And this is going on a lot more than people might think, where we have allies that come to the campaign, you know, NATO allies and representatives of other countries that have asked and approached the campaign and for specific sit-downs to talk about policy and where we are on talking about trade, talking about immigration, talking about the recapitalization of our military, talking about burden sharing. These are all topics that are of great mutual interest to not only the United States but to other countries, and I think they need to hear from the next president of the United States what he is thinking. And that's what we've been doing.

CUOMO: Sam Clovis, thank you very much for making the case on NEW DAY as always.

CLOVIS: Always, Chris. Thank you very much.

CUOMO: Appreciate it. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, over on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders downsizing his campaign to adjust to a new reality. His team letting go of hundreds of staffers as they forge ahead to the convention. CNN's Athena Jones is live in Washington with more. Hi, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Alisyn. You're right, the Sanders campaign is laying off a sizable chunk of the staff, more than 200 staffers out of a team of 550. This is coming after that disappointing showing on Tuesday night when he lost four out of the five states that voted.

The Sanders team says this is the natural progression of every campaign since so many states have already voted in this primary process. So it's the workers in those states that just voted that will be affected, but so will workers in other states and some members of the national staff.

And so while you have the Sanders folks saying there is nothing to see here, this is totally normal, you have to acknowledge these are not generally the moves you make if you think you're going to be the nominee and have to mount a national 50 state campaign just a matter of weeks from now. Still, Sanders is vowing to stay in the race until the convention. Take a listen to what he had to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We intend to win every delete that we can so that when we go to Philadelphia in July, we're going to have the votes to put together the strongest progressive agenda that any political party has ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so while he is saying I he is in it to win it to become the nominee, he is also acknowledging that maybe he won't be able to do that, and so he's hoping to use some of the influence of having those delegates to change things in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Clinton is pivoting to the general election. Her eyes are focused more and more on Donald Trump these days, Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Athena, thank you so much.

We have some breaking details that are emerging overnight in the death investigation of the music legend Prince. A law enforcement official telling CNN that they found prescription painkillers on the singer and in his home when he died. Our Stephanie Elam is outside the Paisley Park estate in Minneapolis, just outside of Minneapolis, with all the details for us. Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. Yes, this is what we are learning here from officials who are close to this investigation. The fact that he had those opioid drugs on him usually to treat painkillers is something that we've been hearing about, and now this revelation that this may be the reason why his plane made that emergency stop in Illinois as he was traveling back from Atlanta just about a week before he passed away, that he was treated for a reaction to prescription painkillers, that he was treated there, given a treatment for an overdose of pain medication. And then we know he resumed the flight and came here.

[08:15:06] And if you've ever seen Prince perform, you know how active and how he was full throttle in his performances, some people close to him saying that because of that he has been dealing with chronic pain -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, appreciate it very much. Obviously, there's so much interest, but we have to go slow here until there is really any degree of certainty. We'll stay on the story.

So, a big day ahead in the Will Smith murder case in New Orleans. The man accused of killing the former NFL player is expected in court for a preliminary hearing. We could learn what evidence investigators have collected against Cardell Hayes since the shooting earlier this month. You will remember how confused the fact pattern got. Prosecutors say Hayes killed Smith in cold blood. Hayes' attorney claim Smith was the aggressor.

CAMEROTA: A business owner in Alabama jump news action when a plane comes crashing down.

CUOMO: Yikes.

CAMEROTA: Bursting into blames just outside his front door. Look at this. The entire thing was caught on surveillance video.

Witnesses ran toward the flames when they saw the pilot still inside moving around. Fortunately, the pilot was able to tumble out of the cockpit. Remarkably, he escaped with only a cut on his hand.

CUOMO: No way.

PEREIRA: Yes. That's not often you see video like that.

CAMEROTA: I agree.

PEREIRA: Insane. Lucky man. Sure wasn't his time.

Well, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz moving to be a very good material for late night comics, even Carly Fiorina back in the cross hairs. Enjoy the late night laughing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

CONAN O'BRIEN, COMEDIAN: Despite losing five primaries, Ted Cruz stunned everybody by announcing his vice-presidential candidate is Carly Fiorina. Yes, this means Fiorina is a heartbeat away from never being president, ever.

JIMMY FALLON, COMEDIAN: Trump had a great day yesterday, sweeping all state primaries. After, what he said, usually my maid does all the sweeping, but tonight, it was all me.

SETH MEYERS, COMEDIAN: Trump doesn't even now how to pronounce the name of the country, Tanzania. As he demonstrated in a foreign policy speech today.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look what happened in the 1990s, our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

MEYERS: Tanzania, like the cartoon, the Tanzanian devil.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

PEREIRA: I love that cartoon.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, some of it writes itself.

PERERIA: It really does.

CUOMO: You know, there is something to be said, though, about when you look at politics. It's all about following through. It's all about staying committed.

CAMEROTA: Loyalty. Staying where you are.

CUOMO: Loyalty to purpose, right?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: That's something that all people can get around in this country, in the United States. However, some decide to deviate. Go for more personal objectives, thinking about those who may be left behind. CAMEROTA: Just when things are getting good.

PEREIRA: OK, is this some sort of --

CUOMO: I want America to know.

CAMEROTA: I don't know what's happening.

CUOMO: As we have just one day left with Michaela Pereira.

PEREIRA: Michaela.

CUOMO: I'm mispronouncing her name because I want to kill her future. She is sitting here going through our great moments here, going through them on the phone, and she's like oh, you remember this, without any sensitivity to the fact that she is crushing the people next to her.

PEREIRA: I'm not crushing either of you. You guys are excited about me going home and being closer to my family and launching a new show. You're excited about that.

CAMEROTA: We're excited for you.

PEREIRA: So what you're not happy about --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: As TV news anchors, you are greatly exaggerating our ability to appeal to someone else's needs.

CAMEROTA: It's true.

All right. Tomorrow will be an interesting show.

PEREIRA: Tune in for that.

CAMEROTA: We hope you'll tune in for that.

PEREIRA: I'll need a Kleenex.

CAMEROTA: Bernie Sanders is not going any where, unlike Michaela.

CUOMO: He is no quitter.

CAMEROTA: Right. But, of course, hundreds of his campaign staffers being laid off. There's a metaphor here. We talked to a Sanders' supporter, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:22:42] CAMEROTA: The Bernie Sanders campaign beginning to layoff hundreds of campaign workers. Sanders, though, is saying he is staying in the race until the convention. So, what is the end game?

Let's bring in Washington director for MoveOn.org and Bernie Sanders supporter, Ben Wikler.

Hi, Ben. How are you doing?

BEN WIKLER, MOVEON.ORG: Hey, Alisyn. Great to be here with you.

CAMEROTA: I know it's uncomfortable to hear the media talking about Sanders' end game, particularly when you've been such a passionate supporter. But is it time to start talking about that?

WIKLER: You know, 80 percent is now done. The campaign is slimming down in response. But there is still about 20 percent to go, including California. So, there are a lot of delegates left at stake, there's a lot of fights to be won, and Sanders is clear that he's playing to the final buzzer here, so that we can change the conversation and change the country.

CAMEROTA: OK, let's talk about the end game. Even if Sanders won every single one until the end of the race, I don't know that he would be able to -- I mean, that's an unrealistic hypothetical, but he is really behind the eight ball here. So, what is the end game now for Sanders?

WIKLER: So, Sanders has been very clear. First of all, that everyone in this country deserves a right to cast their ballot to make their choice and send their message through the primary process. So, he's going to stay in through every primary and caucus.

Secondly, every vote for Bernie Sanders from now through the end, and all along, is a vote that clearly is standing for expanding Social Security for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, for racial justice, for fighting climate change, for this host of issues that have been at the center of his campaign. So, when it comes time to set the Democratic platform, when it comes time for the nominee to choose, you know, vice-presidential candidates and planned appointments and prepare the first 100 days of the next Democratic nomination, all of these things are in play.

And I think the stronger the progressive movement and the stronger and more bold the group of people who are pushing for visionary change in the country, I think the better off we're going to be.

CAMEROTA: And that's exactly what Bernie Sanders himself has said. He is now shooting for. Let me play for you what he said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are in this campaign to win, but if we do not win, we intend to win every delegate that we can, so that when we go to Philadelphia in July, we're going to have the votes to put together the strongest progressive agenda that any political party has ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:25:15] CAMEROTA: OK. So, Ben, he wants to be part of putting together the progressive platform for the Democratic Party. Do you think that he also wants a cabinet position? Does he want to be part of the next administration?

WIKLER: You know, I won't speculate about what Bernie Sanders wants for his next job. I think he has already said he plans to go back to the Senate and continue serving as Vermont's senator if he's not going to the White House.

What I will say is that from the beginning, this campaign has been more than just a candidate. It's been about this idea of a political revolution. It has shocked everyone I think in this country to see how many millions of Americans are willing to chip in money, make phone calls, get involved in making the kinds of political changes that are necessary, but everyone has dismissed as pie in the sky.

The fact is, we're now seeing states with $15 minimum wage laws. We're seeing a growing movement for paid family leave. We're seeing all these changes that were seen as impractical. Now, we're really on the political map, and now, the task is to make a policy reality at the federal level. That's where the revolution is going to continue.

CAMEROTA: And as a Sanders supporter, Ben, as you are, are there some preconditions that you would like to see Sanders extract from Hillary Clinton before encouraging his legions of supporters to back her?

WIKLER: You know, I don't think it is quid quo pro, you do this, you do that. What we're looking for, if Secretary Clinton wins the nomination, we're looking forward for her to carry forward that torch of bold leadership. So, I think on this whole range of issues, and also just the core of the campaign, to make sure she is putting the kinds of changes that we need for working people and the middle class at the center of her race. That's what's going to bring people out. That's what will energize young people to make sure that the next administration and the next Senate is Democratic.

CAMEROTA: OK. Ben Wikler, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY. We appreciate it.

Let's get over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: And you know what, Ali, thank you for being on NEW DAY.

CAMEROTA: Oh, thank you for another day.

PEREIRA: Let me show you what's coming up. Trump effect, some lawmakers fear he will go down in flames in November if he is the nominee, and then drag other Republicans down with him. Is Trump hurting or helping their chances? Ahead, we're going to talk to one GOP senator up for reelection.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)