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Trump Vents Fury in Vindictive, Rambling Acquittal "Celebration"; Source: Rudy Giuliani "Not in the Dog House"; Trump Takes Swipes at Romney, Pelosi During Prayer Breakfast; Pelosi: Trump Looked "A Little Sedated" During State of the Union. House Judiciary Chair: Bolton Subpoena "Likely"; Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) California is Interviewed About Donald Trump's State of the Union, Nancy Pelosi and Mitt Romney; Trump slams Hunter Biden During Verdict "Celebration"; Trump, Unlike Clinton, Shows No Contrition After Verdict; Barr: Investigations Of 2020 Candidates Need DOJ Approval; Democratic Party Chairman Calls For Recanvass Of Iowa Vote; Sanders Declares "Decisive Victory" In Iowa Amid Buttigieg Tie; Warren Cuts Back On Advertising To Conserve Cash; Yang Campaign Fires Staffers In Wake Of Poor Iowa Showing; Hundreds Of Americans Quarantined As Coronavirus Spreads. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 06, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All right. Thanks so much Lucy.

And that's all our coverage on "The Lead." I'll see you tomorrow.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I'm Wolf Blitzer in "The Situation Room."

Tonight, President Trump is relishing his acquittal in his impeachment trial and venting furry of the Democrats who launched it. He made a rambling more than hour lawn statement from the White House today that he called a celebration in which he excoriated lawmakers by name calling them, and I'm quoting the President now, "horrible, corrupt and evil." Among them the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Tonight she is defending tearing up her copy of the state of the union address and says the President looked, and I'm quoting her now, "a little sedated during his speech." We'll talk about that more with Congressman Eric Swalwell of the Intelligence and Judiciary committee. And our correspondents and analysts are also standing by.

First, let's get straight to the White House. Our White House Correspondent Boris Sanchez is joining us.

Boris, the President took a rather extraordinary victory lap today.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, That's right, Wolf. A vicious victory lap. The President gloating and unrestrained using expletives, going after his opponents and saluting his supporters with really dramatic flare. President Trump saying that Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person, suggesting that Mitt Romney is the sort of unseen enemy.

And then there was an awkward roll call. The President thanking his legal team and going name by name naming congressman and woman who supported him through this ordeal and then pausing to let audience members give them standing ovations. Trump was really in rare form, Wolf, even by his own standards. Take a look at some of the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is really not a news conference, it's not a speech. It's not anything. It's just we're sort of -- it's a celebration. I've done things wrong in my life. I will admit. Not purposefully, but I have tone things wrong. But this is what the end result is.

You can take that home, honey, maybe we'll frame it. It's the only good headline I've ever had in "The Washington Post."

And we were treated unbelievably unfairly. And you have to understand we first went through Russia, Russia, Russia. It was all bullshit.

I want to thank my legal team. You guys, stand up. Right at the beginning, they said, sir, you have nothing to worry about. All of the facts are on your side. I said, you don't understand. That doesn't matter. That doesn't matter and that was really true.

They made up facts. A corrupt politician named Adam Schiff made up my statement to the Ukrainian President. He brought it out of thin air. Just made it up. They say he's a screen writer, a failed screen writer. He tried to -- unfortunately he went into politics after that.

Adam Schiff is a vicious, horrible person. Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person. And she wanted to impeach a long time ago when she said, I pray for the President. I pray for the -- she doesn't pray. She may pray, but she prays for the opposite. But I doubt she prays at all.

We did a prayer breakfast this morning and I thought that was really good. I had Nancy Pelosi sitting four seats away and I'm saying things that a lot of people wouldn't have said. But I meant every word.

And Mitch McConnell, I want to tell you, you did a fantastic job.

And the only one that voted against was a guy that can't stand the fact that he ran one of the worst campaigns in the history of the presidency. Say hello to the people of Utah. And tell them I'm sorry about Mitt Romney. I'm sorry. OK?

We can say that Mike Lee is by far the most popular senator from the state.

When you have Lisa and Peter, the lovers, the FBI lovers, I want to believe the path you threw out for Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. That's the office. There's no way he gets elected, meaning me.

It's like an insurance policy is. In the unlikely event you die before you're 40. In other words, if I won, they were going to do exactly what they did to us. They were going to try to overthrow the government of the United States, a dually elected President.

[17:05:00]

And if I didn't fire James Comey, we would have never found this stuff. Because when I fired that sleaze bag, all hell broke out. They were ratting on each other. They were running for the hills, dirty cops, bad people.

If this happened to President Obama, a lot of people would have been in jail for a long time already.

I want to apologize to my family for having them have to go through a phoney, rotten deal by some very evil and sick people. And Ivanka is here and my sons and my whole family. And that includes Barron. That includes Barron who is up there as a young boy, stand up honey. Ivanka, thank you, honey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And two quick points here, Wolf, the White House has already put out negative talking points about Senator Mitt Romney. So the President obviously taking that very personally.

Secondly, something that was glaring about his speech. He didn't mention someone at the center of this entire saga and that's his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. We asked the White House if that had any significance. They pushed back on that telling us, Wolf, that Rudy Giuliani is, "not in the dog house."

BLITZER: Boris Sanchez at the White House, thank you very much.

The President also took thinly veiled swipes at Mitt Romney and Nancy Pelosi earlier in the day at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do us like people who say I pray for you when they know that's not so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's bring in our Congressional Correspondent Phil Mattingly.

Phil, Speaker Pelosi was sitting just a few seats down from the President when he said that. But she waited until later in the morning to respond.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the Speaker may have chosen a different time and a different venue, but her return volley ranging from what the President said at the National Prayer Breakfast and state of the union, really the entirety of their relationship, Wolf, it was no less withering. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I don't know if the President understands about prayer or people who do pray. But we do pray for the United States of America. We pray for him.

I pray hard for him because he's so off the track of our constitution, our values, our country, the air our children breathe, the water they drink and the rest. He really needs our prayers.

It's a prayer breakfast. And that's something about faith. You know, it my not be something I agree with, but it's appropriate. But to go into the stock market and raising up his acquittal thing and mischaracterizing other people's motivation, he's talking about things that he knows little about, faith and prayer.

And I don't need any lessons from anybody, especially the President of the United States, about dignity. Dignity. Is it OK to start saying four more years in the House of Representatives? I mean, it's just unheard of. It's appalling the things that he says and then you say to me tearing up his falsehoods, isn't that the wrong message. No, it isn't. It's just I have tried to be gracious with him. I'm always dignified. I thought that was a very dignified act compared to (INAUDIBLE).

That was not a state of the union. That was a state -- his state of mind. We want a state of the union, where are we, where are we going and the rest. Not let me show you how many guests I can draw and let me say how I can give a medal of honor. Do it in your own office. We don't come in your office and do congressional business. Why are are you doing that here?

I feel very liberated. I feel very liberated. I feel that I have extended every possible courtesy. I have shown every level of respect.

I extend the hand of friendship to him to welcome him as the President of the United States to the people's house. That's also an act of kindness because I -- he looked at me like he was a little sedated. He looked that way last year too. But he didn't want to shake hands. That was that. That meant nothing to me. That had nothing to do with my tearing up. That came much later.

He has shredded the truth in his speech. He's shredding the constitution in his conduct. I shredded his state of his mind address.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Wolf, the Speaker really letting it rip there. But there's one piece of that entire kind of bulk of sound that we listened to that I want to point to you specifically. And that is the Speaker saying that she feels liberated at this moment. That was actually what she told members of her caucus behind closed doors I'm told by a person in the person earlier this week. That she feels liberated.

[17:10:07] And what she means by that is essentially that she feels like she can do exactly what she did at the press conference today. The relationship has essentially devolved into such a bad place at this point. She doesn't feel like there's been any return on the relationship. And now letting it rip is something she feels very, very comfortable in doing.

I think the big question now is, Wolf, these are obviously two of the most powerful people, maybe the two most powerful people in the U.S. government who essentially (ph) are going to have to work together at some point over the course of the next year. But also keep in mind this, the two have not had an actual conversation since the middle of October. They didn't speak during the state of the union. They obviously didn't speak today during the National Prayer Breakfast. So their relationship at this point in time is clearly about as bad as it has ever been, probably is as bad as it's ever been.

And I think the real question going forward given where the President stands on this, he's obviously made that clear during the state of the union, during the prayer breakfast today, where the speaker stands herself. She made that clear multiple times over the course of the day. What is next for the relationship given the fact these two people hold these two very powerful positions, Wolf.

BLITZER: Very powerful positions indeed. All right, Phil Mattingly up on Capitol Hill, thank you.

Let's get some more on all of this. Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell of California is joining us. He's a member of both the Intelligence and Judiciary committees.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): Of, course. Good evening, Wolf.

BLITZER: So first of all, what was your reaction to the President's so-called celebration speech at the White House today?

SWALWELL: He's going to do it again. He did not look like a man who was contrite or who had learned a lesson, as some senators naively has stated they believed that he had. No, he is as emboldened as he was on July 25, the day after Bob Mueller and he made that call to President Zelensky. And it's incumbent upon us in Congress to keep checking him and checking him and checking him at every correct turn that he takes.

BLITZER: The President as you heard he railed against Republican Senator Mitt Romney for his vote to convict the President. He also, you know, bitterly went after the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. What's your response to those personal attacks?

SWALWELL: Well, Senator Romney will favorably be remembered by history. This President will not.

And Wolf, his vote yesterday was a bright light and a foggy harbor. And as we goo to the ballot box I am convinced that more courageous people coming forward will help us get out of this nightmare that has been the Trump presidency.

But, you know, separating what happened with impeachment, we are at the table on background checks, on infrastructure investments, on prescription drug, you know, costs being lowered. We passed a U.S. - Mexico-Canada trade agreement when impeachment was going on. We're able to hold him accountable, but also strike deals that help the American people.

BLITZER: The gloves also came off in the House Speaker's comments earlier today. She called the President's state of the union a manifesto of mistruths. She said he looked sedated. She painted his comments about here and Mitt Romney as inappropriate without class. Do you believe she's stooping down to his level?

SWALWELL: No. I believe, you know, she was more restrained than I probably would have been considering how much she he has insulted her and he's gone right at her faith. And you know, she is just one of the most prayerful, faithful persons. That is her rock and her north star. So, I think she's showing a lot of restraint.

And again, she's willing to work with him and she has caucus that wants to work with him on a lot of issues he talked about. If he's sincere about infrastructure, lowing the cost of prescription drugs, if he's going to truly be the president that stands up against the NRAs as he would. Extend, you know, those deals and we will sign them. We're ready.

BLITZER: Impeachment is now over. But the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says you guys, and you remember, will likely subpoena John Bolton. Why didn't you subpoena him when the impeachment was in your hands?

SWALWELL: It was the Senate's job. They should have subpoenaed him. They didn't.

We sought to subpoena him during the House inquiry and we were told that we'd have to see him in court. And we weren't going to wait for court decisions that would come after the election that the President was trying reck (ph). The reason we may have an interest in bringing him is not to go relitigate Ukraine, but he may have information about other corrupt deals the President is involved in.

And Wolf, we would be foolish to believe if we look at this like a 10- story building and we've only unlocked one room and one story and we turn the lights and we see the shady dealings with Ukraine and there's rats everywhere to think that no other room has rats in it. This President in 2016 asked the Russians to help him. With that phone call, we know what he wanted to do with Ukraine. We should probably assume that he will do anything to try and cheat this upcoming election.

BLITZER: So when will you subpoena him?

SWALWELL: I'll leave that to the Speaker and our two chairmen, Chairman Schiff and Nadler who I think have worked well together to sort out these types of issues. BLITZER: Congressman Eric Swalwell, thanks so much for joining us.

SWALWELL: My pleasure. Thanks Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. So stay with us. We're going to have more reaction to the President's post impeachment victory lap. That's been anything but contrite.

Also as the Iowa race between Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders turns into a virtual tie in Iowa. The head of the National Democratic Party is now calling for a review of the votes from Monday's caucuses.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:19:30]

BLITZER: All right, starting at the National Prayer Breakfast and continuing through an hour plus speech over at the White House, President Trump has been by turns of vindictive, self-pitying, occasionally vulgar while celebrating his impeachment trial acquittal. Let's get some insight from our experts.

Michael Smerconish, I want to play a little portion of these comments that the President delivered today. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:20:00]

TRUMP: We first went through Russia, Russia, Russia. It was all bullshit.

Lieutenant Colonel Vindman and his twin brother, right, a phone call, a very good phone call. I know bad phone calls. Many people were on the call. I know that many people. They even have apprentie, bringing up an old favorite word of mine, the apprentice.

This is really not a news conference, it's not a speech. It's not anything. It's just we're sort of - it's a celebration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He clearly, Michael, felt very vindicated today. I'm anxious to get your thoughts.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't know if you were a fan of the T.V. show "The Wire", I was. And there was a famous line where a lead character, Omar Little, once said you come for the king, you best not miss.

Well, clearly, the President believes they came for the king, they missed. He's invigorated now and he's trying to invigorate his base.

I can remember, Wolf, having a conversation a long time ago with you about whether if impeachment came and it was ultimately unsuccessful, might it have that impact of firing up the President, firing up his base. It remains to be seen if that will end up playing out. But he clearly thinks that's the net effect.

BLITZER: He clearly, Elliot, felt very, the President, vindicated today.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Yes. And look, I think the state of the union was the opening salvo of the 2020 campaign. And what you saw today was part two where he identified a bunch of enemies that are going to resonate with his base. It's essentially dirty cops, which is an attack on the FBI and federal law enforcement when he start talking about dirty cops, the media and Democrat. And we're going to hear those terms again and again and again.

So to some extent, it was a responsible legal matter that happen, but really this was, frankly, a successful to some extent political speech because all he's speaking to are the 27 percent, 28 percent of the country that are all in on him.

BLITZER: Jim Baker, let me play a clip. This is the President once again defending his push for a full-scale investigation of Hunter Biden, the vice president's -- former vice president's son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They don't think it's corrupt when a son that made no money, that got thrown out of the military, that had no money at all is working for $3 million up front, $83,000 a month and that's only Ukraine. Then goes to China picks up $1.5 million. Then goes to Romania, I hear, and many other countries. They think that's okay.

Because if it is Ivanka and the audience? Well, my kids could make a fortune. And they could make a fortune. It's corrupt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You think he's going to continue that kind of line. And do you think he'll formally try to promote some sort of investigation?

JIM BAKER, FORMER FBI GENERAL COUNSEL: Well, he should have done that in the first instance. He should have referred it to the FBI and the Justice Department instead of going to a foreign government to try to investigate an American specially one of his political opponent. So, that is what I would expect them to do.

I would be surprised if they didn't try to do it. Whether it's warranted or not is a separate matter. And the FBI, if they are the ones that have to investigate it should look at the law and look at the attorney general guidelines and decide whether there's predication to open that.

BLITZER: His speech, Gloria, today for an hour plus over at the White House, what did it suggest is about to happen from your perspective?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, when you saw that speech that was full of revenge and grievance and something that was so mean spirited and poisonous, I think you have to say, well, what's coming in the next campaign? If it was supposed to be a rally, a cheerful rally, it wasn't. And it was a president who still full of such grievance about his political opponents.

You can -- I was thinking you can only imagine what's going to happen in a presidential cam ain't. And all the Democratic candidates are now saying, well, I can take on. I'm the best person to take who can take on Donald Trump. And I'm kind of wondering what attributes that person has to have at this point, because how do you respond to those kinds of charges.

BLITZER: Michael, you know, what do you think -- you know, looking down between now and November, what do you see happening on the part of Congress, the House of Representatives lead by Nancy Pelosi, of course the speaker, and the President.

SMERCONISH: Well, a really interesting question I think that's outstanding is whether some level of investigation will begin. Congressman Nadler, I believe, has suggested he's still interested in trying to subpoena John Bolton to testify. Politically speaking, I don't know that's in the best interest of Democrats because I think it will play into the hands of the President who continue to say, it's a witch hunt. Look, they're still after me. I've been exonerated, et cetera, et cetera. Here's the headline from "The Washington Post" that said so. So there's a very important political calculous that I think Democrats need to make sooner than later.

[17:25:11]

BLITZER: Everybody standby. There's a lot more we need to discuss. We'll take a quick break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:10]

BLITZER: We're back with our political and legal experts. Gloria, I want you to contrast and I'll play a clip. This is the former President Bill Clinton back in 1999 how he reacted when his Senate impeachment trial found him acquitted. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to say again to the American people how profoundly sorry I am for what I said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people. I also am humbled and very grateful for the support and the prayers I have receive from millions of Americans over this past year.

I hope all Americans here in Washington and throughout our land will rededicate ourselves to the work of serving our nation and building our future together. This can be and this must be a time of reconciliation and renewal for America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Well, that was then 21 years ago and this is very different now. BORGER: Well, that was a speech that was full of humility and apology. And what we heard today was just the opposite. I don't think the President used the word perfect today to describe his call, but I think he said --

BAKER: He did. He did.

BORGER: He did? He said perfect again?

BAKER: He said very good and then he said perfect --

BORGER: Very good.

BAKER: -- eventually said perfect.

BORGER: OK. And so the President is not admitting that there was anything wrong. What he said today was there was something wrong with the people who thought that he did anything wrong.

So, I don't think the President has it in him, as we know, from covering him that to admit any kind of mistake. And he certainly wasn't going to do it again today. And he certainly wasn't going to apologize. And if the American people had to endure anything, he was going to blame that on Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff.

BLITZER: Michael, what did you make of that contrast?

SMERCONISH: Bill Clinton had run his last race by the time that he offered those statements. I think his was a bid for healing, for his legacy, bridge building. That's never been the President's MO, meaning President Trump's MO. The President's always been about maintaining the vigorous support of those who put him in office.

And I think that -- frankly, I think that today was the real State of the Union. You know, there's nothing that he offered in the other night's State of the Union that was memorable to me. The theatrics of it were very memorable, but no statement that I can even recall right now. This was the President unplugged. This was a view into exactly what's on his mind and it's not about bridge building.

BLITZER: Interesting today, meanwhile, Jim Baker, the Attorney General Bill Barr, he sent a memo saying that any investigations of any of the 2020 presidential candidates must be approved by top Justice Department officials. What do you make of that?

BAKER: Well, that's good. So he's operating the same way that we did when we were dealing with all of his investigations, the Hillary Clinton investigation, the Russia investigation. Because we had kept the top levels of the FBI and the Justice Department exactly aware of what was going on. There was no hiding the ball.

And the Obama Justice Department or the Trump Justice Department could have shut down the investigation any time they wanted to if they thought that we were doing something wrong. But the investigation, as the inspector general found, was lawfully authorized and lawfully predicated. So therefore, they didn't shut it down. So, I have no problem with what the attorney general is saying and it's exactly what we did in the past.

BLITZER: And you were then the FBI general counsel. How do you interpret that statement from the FBI -- from the attorney general?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right. On its face, the principle sound you actually want the higher ups buy in on serious cases because you want to take politically sensitive cases very seriously. This is why you can't bring a prosecution the week before Election Day. So I get that and that was part of the findings of the inspector general wanting more buying this out (ph).

Now the question is, based on what we know about the President and based on what we know about what the President thinks of his role with the attorney general, do we really think that if there were a serious investigation into either the Trump or Biden or Warren campaign that the White House would know about, that the President might attempt to have a thumb on the scale.

So, based on everything we know about sort of the values haven't been corrupted at the Justice Department under this President, we don't have much faith in -- we shouldn't have much faith in something like this.

Even when the FBI Director Chris Wray who we both work with, we both have a tremendous amount of faith in, but again, you know, I'm just so dubious of what comes out of this Justice Department. It's hard to really have much faith.

[17:35:00]

BLITZER: Go ahead, Jim.

BAKER: The effectiveness of any policy or procedure or law for that matter depends upon the caliber and character of the people implementing it. And so that's what really, I think, is going to count at the end of the day, the decisions that they make.

BORGER: Yes. And I think the question about Barr is that he's on the President's side first in anything rather than the American public side. And I think that that's a question that has yet to be resolved. And people will always ask that after the Mueller investigation and the way he treated the Mueller report and Mueller. But on its face, I agree with you, I think it's a good thing to do.

BLITZER: You know, Michael, the President in his speech today, he thanked everyone who was there, all the Republican members of Congress who came up and strongly defended him and the senators as well. His legal team, he was very grateful to them. It was curious, though, he never mentioned the name Rudy Giuliani, his personal attorney. What do you make of that?

SMERCONISH: I was dumbfounded by it and I can't believe that it was an oversight. Notwithstanding what the White House said today, it's hard not to conclude that Rudy's in the doghouse.

BLITZER: What do you think? BAKER: I was kind of surprised by the fact that his lawyers who worked, I'm sure like dogs to get that case ready, kind of got like a passing reference. And then he spent all of his time with this effusive praise of all these politicians. It actually makes sense because those are the ones that kept him in power and the lawyers basically could have done nothing. He couldn't even -- he might not even have to have a legal defense and the outcome still would have been the same.

BLITZER: As legal team from the White House, they were up on Capitol Hill making the case for him and from their perspective, from President's perspective, they did a very good job.

WILLIAMS: This is sort of the first point I made when we sat down today. This isn't about the law, this wasn't about the constitutional victory, it's about a fight with Democrats and the media dirty talks (ph).

BORGER: And he likes the Republicans who go on T.V. and defend him. And so that's what he watches and that's what he likes and those are the people he pointed to.

BLITZER: Everybody standby. We're going to have much more on the President's victory lap today. But we're also covering the mess in Iowa. Get this, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he now wants a full review of the results of the caucuses. And Senator Bernie Sanders speaks to CNN as the latest results show him in a virtual tie with Pete Buttigieg in Iowa.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:56]

BLITZER: With still incomplete results from Iowa now showing a virtual tie between Pete Buttigieg and Senator Bernie Sanders, the chairman of the National Democratic Party is now calling for what he describes as a recanvass.

CNN's Ryan Nobles is in New Hampshire where Buttigieg and Sanders are among the candidates participating in CNN Presidential Town Halls later tonight. And Ryan, you had a chance to speak to Senator Sanders.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. I did, Wolf. And there's no doubt that Sanders is frustrated by the lack of results coming out of Iowa as are many of the candidates. But that did not stop him and Pete Buttigieg from both declaring victory. And it seems with each passing day that we're waiting for these results to come in, the final verdict in Iowa is becoming less and less important.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES (voice-over): It is the caucus count that just won't end.

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Iowa, you have shocked the nation. NOBLES: After three days of counting, the Iowa Democratic Party is facing a new challenge. Tom Perez, the chair of the Democratic National Committee tweeting, "Enough is enough. I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass."

His request comes as the current results show a razor thin margin in the state delegate equivalence between Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. The IDP responded to Perez saying it would require an official request from a campaign to begin the recanvass process, something that at this point has not happened. Still, the ambiguity in Iowa has not stopped both Buttigieg --

BUTTIGIEG: We are going on to New Hampshire victorious.

NOBLES: -- and now Sanders from declaring victory.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's the fact that in terms of the popular vote, we won a decisive victory.

NOBLES: But the rules of the Iowa caucuses make it clear the winner is determined by the state delegate equivalent, not the popular vote. Still for Sander, win, lose or draw, he's ready to put Iowa in the rear view mirror.

His campaign announced a massive $25 million fundraising haul in January, his best of the campaign. And he's invested more than $5 million in new ads. He's now putting all his energy and focus into New Hampshire.

(on camera) Do you think it's time to start having the conversation about New Hampshire and (INAUDIBLE)?

SANDERS: Yes, I think so, given the fact we're in Manchester, New Hampshire.

NOBLES: Yes, right.

SANDERS: Yes. So that is what we are. We are working really hard.

NOBLES (voice-over): And the race here has begun in earnest.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He calls him -- and I don't criticize him, he calls himself a Democratic socialist. Well, we've already seen what Donald Trump is going to do with that.

NOBLES: With former Vice President Joe Biden coming off a disappointing showing in Iowa calling out both Sanders and Buttigieg by name.

SANDERS: I believe in raising the minimum wage to a living wage. I believe in health care for all. Do you want to call that socialism? That is socialism for working people. That is the fundamental difference of between Trump and me.

NOBLES: Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren on track for a third place finish Iowa is shifting her approach, pulling back ad spending in Nevada, in South Carolina, hoping for a comeback in New Hampshire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We tried our best with our resources being a nonprofit in fundraising and sponsorship (ph) for all of those things, but there's very limited funding for that.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, we see if we can't fix that. Federal government should be a better partner.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:45:03]

NOBLES: Now, normally the Iowa caucus serves as a way to thin the field a little bit. But with these results still up in the air, not one candidate has dropped out of the race after Iowa. So they've all made their way here to New Hampshire. That doesn't mean there hasn't been some impact on the campaign.

Andrew Yang's campaign, which only at this point has registered 1 percent of the vote in Iowa, has been forced to lay off some of his staffers. Still Yang says he's still focused on a come back here in New Hampshire. He believes he has the opportunity to improve his standing quite a bit. Wolf?

BLITZER: We'll find out on Tuesday. All right, Ryan, thank you. Ryan Nobles on the scene for us.

A quick important programming note, watch CNN tonight for back to back Presidential Town Halls from New Hampshire with Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Deval Patrick. All of that begins 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Coming up, hundreds of Americans quarantined on two cruise ships for fear they have been exposed to the coronavirus.

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BLITZER: We're following the spread of the coronavirus, the increasingly drastic measures being taken to prevent a pandemic. CNN's Brian Todd is working the story for us. Brian, I understand hundreds of Americans are being quarantined here in the United States and abroad.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. There are quarantines and evacuations going on all over the world. As of tonight, a dozen Americans have contracted this virus, and experts worry about a possible pandemic.

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TODD (voice-over): On board two cruise ships in Hong Kong and Yokohama, Japan, fear, uncertainty, and isolation among thousands of people. They're under quarantine out of concern that passengers and crew were exposed to the Wuhan coronavirus. Kari and Roger Maniscalco on board the Diamond Princess in Japan can't leave their cabin for at least two weeks.

KARI MANISCALCO, QUARANTINE ON CRUISE SHIP: That's exactly how I feel, trapped. It feels like a pretty helpless situation. We're powerless and pretty much at the mercy of the Japanese government to decide when we can get off this ship.

ROGER MANISCALCO, QUARANTINE ON CRUISE SHIP: It's pretty devastating when you hear it that it's that close. And of course, you know, the first thing you think of is, you know, did we get infected.

TODD: The Maniscalco say officials on their vessels checked them out and determined they didn't need to be tested for the virus. But officials say at least 20 people on board that same ship have been infected, including three from the U.S.

By the plane load, hundreds of Americans have been evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan since last month, many of them being housed at several military bases in the U.S. They'll be quarantined.

Four who arrived in San Diego yesterday were taken aside for extra testing because they had coughs. But even the rest, like the wife and kids of Sam Roth stuck at Travis Air Force Base could be on lock down for two weeks.

SAM ROTH, WIFE AND CHILDREN IN QUARANTINE: They're doing everything they can to stay healthy, to keep their hands clean, to avoid going outside.

TODD: Other Americans flying to the U.S. from China are being screened for symptoms at eleven designated airports. Tonight at the deserted Wuhan Airport, Canadian Michael Schellenberg and his family were relieved to finally get on an evacuation flight.

The coronavirus has so far infected more 28,000 people and killed more than 550, almost all of them inside mainland China. But the virus has raced across more than 25 other countries and territories, infecting more than 250 people outside China. There are a dozen cases in the U.S.

ALEXANDRA PHELAN, GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL: The biggest concern here is that it looks like older populations are more affected, people who have underlying under illnesses that may make them more at risk of the severe forms of this disease.

TODD: A vaccine for the virus could take months to develop, experts say, and those tracking the virus say there's so much about it they still don't know.

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We don't know the source of the outbreak. We don't know what its natural reservoir is and we don't properly understand its transmitability or severity. TODD: The virus has caused massive disruptions in travel and commerce in China. Analyst say the Chinese economy could hit a recession because of this which will, of course, affect major American companies.

JACOB KIRKEGAARD, PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: I think we've already seen public reports by several of the major tech companies, Apple, others, they will not be able to find alternative suppliers in other parts of the world so this is very rapidly an escalating crisis for more and more sectors also here in the United States, and indeed around the world.

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TODD: Now, in the middle of all of this comes word from China that the man who first warned about the coronavirus, a whistleblower named Dr. Li Wenliang from Wuhan has died of coronavirus. Dr. Li was targeted and reprimanded by Chinese police when he sounded the alarm about the virus in December. Chinese officials calling him disruptive. Wolf?

BLITZER: A basic question, Brian, how can Americans and people indeed around the world protect themselves from this virus?

TODD: Wolf, health experts are telling us tonight you have to wash your hands a lot. They say the virus is transmitted through droplets from people wiping their noses, sneezing into their hands and touching things like doorknobs that a lot of people touch. Our hands are the biggest transmitters of viruses like this. You've got to wash your hands constantly, especially during flu season.

[17:55:09]

BLITZER: Good advice indeed. Brian Todd reporting, thank you.

Coming up, President Trump unleashes his fury at Mitt Romney and Nancy Pelosi in a vindictive and rambling impeachment victory lap over at the White House.

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BLITZER: Angry and unforgiving, hours after his acquittal, President Trump unloads on anyone and everyone who has opposed him. Tonight, the impeachment file is over, but his demand for pay back is just beginning.

Ripping Trump, Nancy Pelosi hits back at the President after he insults her at a prayer breakfast. She's also defending her decision to shred his State of the Union speech as their feud explodes.

And enough is enough. That's what the National Democratic Party chairman is now saying about the Iowa caucus debacle. He's calling for a full review of the results that are too close to call and still not complete.