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The Situation Room

Interview With Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI); President Trump Airs List of Grievances; DNC Chair Seeks Recanvass of Iowa Results: "Enough is Enough"; Coronavirus Outbreak Puts Hundreds of Americans Under Quarantine. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 06, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: 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.

We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Tonight, President Trump is making it clear that his Senate acquittal has done nothing to ease his rage or his desire for retribution. He celebrated the end of the impeachment trial with a long and rambling rant over at the White House, filled with attacks on his opponents, and without a hint of regret for his own actions.

It was a vivid preview of what to expect in the months ahead, as he tries to use him impeachment as a reelection weapon against Democrats.

I will get reaction from Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono. And our correspondents and analysts are also standing by.

First, let's go to our White House correspondent, Boris Sanchez.

Boris, some Republicans claim the president learned lessons from impeachment. His remarks today, though, suggest otherwise.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're absolutely right, Wolf, the president gloating in his remarks, really unrestrained, passionate and dramatic, not only in the way that he went after some of his opponents and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Mitt Romney, but also in the way that he boosted some of his supporters that were in the room, even pausing several times to let them soak in applause and even standing ovations in the room.

Here are more of the highlights from today's winding speech.

(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 purposely, but I've done things wrong. But this is what the end result is.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

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

(LAUGHTER)

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

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: I want to thank my legal team.

You guys stand up, please.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: 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 screenwriter, a failed screenwriter. 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.

And she wanted to impeach a long time ago. When she said, I pray for the president, I pray for the president, she doesn't pray. She may pray, but she prays for the opposite.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: 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.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: And Mitch McConnell, I want to tell you, you did a fantastic job. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: 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?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

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

When you have Lisa and Peter, 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 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 and overthrow the government of the United States, a duly elected president.

And if I didn't fire James Comey, we would have never found this out, because when I fired that sleazebag, all hell broke out. They were ratting on each other. They were running for the hills.

[18:05:04]

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 phony, 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.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Wolf, one of the glaring things about this vicious victory lap the president took was that he didn't mention one of the people that was central to this entire saga, and that's his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

I asked officials at the White House if there was anything to read into that. A senior administration official telling me moments ago -- quote -- "Trump has spoken about Rudy favorably many times. But this was about the team who was on the ground every day."

Another official telling CNN that Rudy is -- quote -- "not in the doghouse" -- Wolf.

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

We heard the president mention his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast. He defended the swipe he took at Nancy Pelosi to her face, even though he didn't mention her by name.

Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's bring in our congressional reporter, Lauren Fox.

Lauren, the speaker fired right back at the president.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, that's exactly right.

In a very fiery press conference just a few hours earlier, Wolf, Nancy Pelosi defended herself on multiple fronts. She defended the fact that she ripped up his State of the Union speech, calling it a manifesto of mistruth.

Here's what she had to say to fight back against the president.

(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. I 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. It may not be something I agree with, but it's appropriate.

But to go into the stock market and raising up his little 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 resident of the United States, about dignity. Dignity.

Is it OK to start saying "Four more years" in the House of Representatives? 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 my exuberances, as I said. That was not a State of the Union. That was a state -- his state of mind. We were at a State of the Union, where are we, where we going, and the rest, not, let me just 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 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 extended the hand of friendship to him to welcome him as the president of the United States to the people's House. It was also an act of kindness, because I -- he looked to me like he had been a little sedated.

He looked that way last year too. But he didn't want to shake hands. That was -- that meant nothing to me. It 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)

FOX: And, of course, the president and the speaker of the House haven't spoken, Wolf, since October 16.

That just gives you a sense of how divided their relationship is at the moment. I talked to Republicans and Democrats yesterday after that vote in the Senate on whether or not the president should be removed from office.

[18:10:07]

And many of them said, at this point, they can't rely on their leadership or even the president to set the tone for what comes after impeachment, what has been a very divisive process.

Instead, what they argued was they have to build those relationships once again with one another. And, certainly, Speaker Pelosi nodded at it today, that if there is something that she can work with the president on, she's going to, whether that's infrastructure, whether that's lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

Remember, she passed a massive trade bill while the president's impeachment process was still ongoing on Capitol Hill. They can work together at times, but, right now that war of words very explosive -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Certainly is.

All right, Lauren Fox, thank you, Lauren Fox up on Capitol Hill.

Joining us now, Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, a Democrat who serves on the Judiciary Committee. Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): Good evening.

BLITZER: Let me get your reaction right away to the president's truly extraordinary victory speech today.

HIRONO: Well, you're seeing on full display the petty, vindictive, spoiled brat Trump. Expect more.

BLITZER: Well, let's talk about that.

The Senate has clearly spoken now. The president was acquitted. Do you think that your House colleagues...

HIRONO: No. Wolf...

BLITZER: Go ahead.

HIRONO: He wasn't acquitted. It was a rigged trial. You don't get acquitted when you don't even get to call witnesses or relevant witnesses or have the documents because the president stonewalled all efforts on the part of the House to get the information they requested.

So there you go. It was a rigged trial. He can run around saying he was acquitted, but you don't get acquitted in a rigged trial.

BLITZER: Well, I just want to point out, Senator, there was a roll call, guilty or not guilty.

HIRONO: Yes. Yes.

BLITZER: Not guilty was the majority.

HIRONO: Yes.

BLITZER: And the chief justice of the United States announced that he was acquitted, that he was not guilty.

HIRONO: But the American public knows that it was a rigged trial.

So, OK, you're found not guilty in a rigged trial. I don't think that they that they think that this was all kosher. No, it wasn't.

So, meanwhile, you have the president crowing about it, which is totally expected. And now it's anything goes for this president and this administration. And all his enablers, they're sitting there congratulating each other, when we know full well that he's going to do some other vindictive, harmful thing, including, by the way, I think he's going to go after people's Social Security and Medicare.

He's already proposed tremendous cuts to Medicaid. So that's coming down the pike to pay for his $1.5 trillion in tax cuts for the richest people in our country. And I have to say, one of the biggest whoppers of his State of the

Union was when he said: I am protecting people with preexisting conditions.

That is such a big, fat lie that I almost fell out of my chair, because we all know that, if he wins in his challenge to the Affordable Care Act that's before the Supreme Court, no one will be protected. People -- 30-million plus people with preexisting conditions will not be protected.

And yet he says that at his rallies. He just lies.

BLITZER: On that point, yes, the Affordable Care Act did include the provision that people with preexisting conditions would be able to get health insurance.

HIRONO: Yes.

BLITZER: And he opposes the Affordable Care Act, as we all know.

HIRONO: Totally.

BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about your colleagues in the House of Representatives.

Should they investigate, continue the investigation by formally subpoenaing the president's the former National Security Adviser John Bolton?

HIRONO: I do think that the people of our country should know what John Bolton would have said.

And, apparently, he has declined to put in an affidavit. And so the alternative for the people of our country to know what he was going to say is for them to subpoena him.

But I think that all this kind of information will come out eventually, sooner, if not later. And there will probably be other kinds of instances where I hope whistle-blowers are not totally deterred by the fact that this president will go after any whistle- blower who dares to point out wrongdoings by this administration and him.

BLITZER: President Trump strongly attacked Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah for his historic vote to convict a president of his own party, saying he doesn't like people who, in the president's words, use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong.

What's your response to that?

HIRONO: The president can't recognize a person who votes his conscience if hit him in the face full on.

The president has no shame. He doesn't recognize honor. He doesn't recognize any of these kinds of traits that we would want in the president. So I'm not surprised that Mitt Romney, who, really, he followed his conscience -- he followed his conscience.

And the president can't recognize it, because that's the kind of guy the president is, who has no conscience, who has no morality.

BLITZER: Were you in the Senate chamber when Mitt Romney spoke so passionately yesterday?

[18:15:04]

HIRONO: I watched it.

And, believe me, I was very much moved by the struggle. It was very clear. And yet he did what he needed to do. And he voted his conscience. And I wish I could say the same for some of my colleagues, who -- it doesn't matter that they say, oh, we have concerns about this president and how he's going to act.

And yet they vote to let him go. And so full -- we can expect more of the same, if not worse. And, already, the vindictiveness is manifesting itself, in that the Department of Homeland Security has said to New York, we're no longer going to let your people participate in Global Entry.

So that is vindictive. They can come up with all the nice little excuses, but he's going to go after cities that -- sanctuary cities and other places, because that's the kind of guy he is, so, vindictive, petty, small-minded.

It's all about Trump all the time every time. We can expect more of that.

BLITZER: Senator Hirono, thank you so much for joining us.

HIRONO: You're welcome.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Still ahead, the president and the speaker trade insults, as their feud boils over. Will Nancy Pelosi benefit by taking a page from the Trump putdown playbook?

Also, the national Democratic Party turns up the heat on Iowa to review caucus results, as the vote-reporting nightmare drags on and on and on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:48]

BLITZER: Tonight, President Trump is basking in the Senate's not- guilty verdict on impeachment, thanking the Republicans who kept him in office and attacking the Democrats who tried to over -- to throw him out.

Our analysts are here to break down his off-the-rails remarks earlier in the day. And, David Axelrod, let me play a little exchange that we heard earlier in the morning at a prayer breakfast between the president and the speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

PELOSI: I pray hard for him, because he's so off the track of our Constitution, our values.

I thought what he said about -- what he said about Senator Romney was particularly without class, so inappropriate at a prayer breakfast. He's talking about things that he knows little about, faith and prayer.

TRUMP: 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.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, David, what's your reaction?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, my reaction is, he's totally right. Most people wouldn't have said what he said at the prayer breakfast, because the prayer breakfast was devised in 1953 and has been held every year since to try and bring people, leaders of faith together, even if they were -- are political opponents, to rise above.

And, Wolf, this president doesn't do rising above. It's not within his range of possibilities. And, instead, he turned his 20-minute talk into a political diatribe against his enemies.

And it obviously has gotten in his head that Pelosi says she prays for him. He can't imagine that a politician would pray for a political opponent or enemy. And he lashed out and then bragged about it about sort of defiling the National Prayer Breakfast at his stand-up at the White House later in the day.

So, look, it's appalling, but it's not surprising. This is who Donald Trump is.

BLITZER: I want to get all of your reaction.

Susan, what did you think?

SUSAN HENNESSEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Look, I think that's right. Seeing at the National Prayer Breakfast, sort of accusing Mitt Romney of using his faith as a crutch, presumably, people the National Prayer Breakfast understand that a lot of people turn to sincere religious faith as a source of strength in overcoming human weakness and frailty, and that Mitt Romney is very, very sincere in his religious beliefs.

There's a reason why that Trump was so sort of triggered by this, right? It's because Romney gave this really powerful, moving speech, in which he talked about swearing an oath to his God and to his country.

And this really is an emperor -- the emperor has no clothes kind of moment. All of Romney's colleagues know that Trump did this, they know that it was a really astonishing abuse of power, and that it was an impeachable abuse of power. And yet they did nothing.

And so it only takes one person standing up and telling the truth for the illusion to be shattered. And that's the thing that Trump is really, really afraid of. And that's why I think he's lashing out so hard and in such a deeply personal manner.

BLITZER: What did you think, Preet, of the president's celebration of his acquittal?

PREET BHARARA, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Look, I -- there are very few things that were more expected than his celebration of his acquittal.

He actually got -- as you pressed the senator before, it's technically an acquittal. That's what it was called. The chief justice presided over it. And whether you think that the trial that resulted in acquittal was fair or not -- and there's fair argument that it wasn't -- it's an acquittal.

Remember, this is the president who took the Mueller report, which was by no means anything that was good for him, and called it a total exoneration. So what do you expect he's going to do with something that is, in fact, as a legal and constitutional matter, an acquittal, even if it's not an exoneration?

So that I would expect him to do. All sorts of other things, you also expect him to do. I think David Axelrod has it exactly right when he says, some of the conduct, especially at the prayer breakfast, was appalling, but not surprising.

There you go.

[18:25:00]

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: You know, Wolf, you know who I kept thinking about as I was watching the president all day today was Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who defended her vote to acquit the president on the grounds that he'd learned a lesson, and that he really was never going to behave this way again. I mean, is there a bigger joke in politics that anyone could delude

themselves in the way that Susan Collins did? And the idea that you would vote for an acquittal on those grounds -- now, I think a lot of the senators who think that what the president did was -- had nothing wrong, and that it was a perfect phone call, I mean, that's, I think -- I don't agree with that view, but it's at least intellectually honest.

The idea that anyone could think that this president was going to change his behavior one iota because of what went on in the Senate is an embarrassment.

And Susan Collins should be embarrassed by what she saw today.

BLITZER: All right, everybody, stand by, because there's a lot more we need to discuss.

We're following all the late-breaking developments.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: We're back with our analysts putting President Trump's vindictive victory lap into some perspective.

We heard him unload for more than an hour in what he called a celebration of the Senate acquittal. He vented his anger and was brazenly unapologetic about the actions that led to his impeachment in the House of Representatives.

And, Jeffrey Toobin, in contrast of what we heard from the president today, let's go back 21 years to hear how then President Bill Clinton reacted to his acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial.

(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 received 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: Two entirely different speeches. I remember it. I was the White House Correspondent for CNN then and you were covering it as well. TOOBIN: I was indeed. And, you know, we always note the contrast and today I was thinking as I was listening to the president, I've never heard an American politician call his opponents sick and evil before. Those are terms that are just not usually part of the political lexicon here. But I think it's always important to remember, you know what happened to Donald Trump for behaving this way? Je got elected president of the United States, and he may well get re-elected.

So the idea that, you know, our wagging our fingers at him and then, you know, people expressing their concern is going to get him to change, I mean, I know it's not our job to make people change but the idea that he's going to change is just crazy.

BLITZER: Preet, what do you think?

BHARARA: Look, the rhetoric is unsurprising and appalling, as we say over and over and over again. What I'm more concerned about is not whether or not he's going to engage in rhetorical retaliation which, he will and he has done in time, but what will he do in fact and in action. Is he going to figure out -- remember, he's a powerful man. He's the president of the United States of America. Is he going to figure out ways to cause opponents of his during the impeachment saga to be investigated by people in the FBI? He's going to talk to Bill Barr and say, do this, that or the other. Is he going to figure out ways to keep federal aid away from the districts of people who are opposing him?

That sounds outlandish. That sounds a little bit crazy. But we have seen ironically that the thing that has culminated in yesterday was exactly the kind of thing that he is now more emboldened to do, which is to figure out a way to find dirt against his opponents and hurt his opponents. And now, he has a whole new set of opponents who are in a process that's now concluded who he can go after, not just rhetorically but in fact and in action.

BLITZER: David Axelrod, go ahead.

AXELROD: No, I completely agree with that. I think that, you know, we're long past the moment when, you know, we should, as Jeffrey said, wag our finger and expect that we're going to get better behavior from the president. This is who he is. It's worked for him. His attitude is never back up. Reconciliation, regret, these are not words that are part of his vocabulary, and that is -- and so that's one thing. But he does speak in the language of vengeance.

And I think what Preet raises is a real concern. Remember, this whole episode that landed him in an impeachment happened, the fundamental chapter of it happened the day after Bob Mueller testified before the Senate and he thought that that was over and he took from that that he could get away with things.

[18:35:03]

And he went ahead and called the president of Ukraine and pressured him to go after the Bidens. The lesson he's going to take from this is they can't touch me. There is no -- I am beyond their reach, and now I am going to pursue my political goals and I'm going to take out my political enemies, and I think that is something to be worried about.

This is precisely what Adam Schiff argued on the floor of the House. It wasn't just about punishing past behavior but preventing future behavior. And when you look at the president today, you have to say, that's a real concern.

BLITZER: Very quick, Susan.

HENNESSEY: I think that's exactly right. The president has maintained throughout that this was a perfect phone call, that he did nothing wrong. Consider the facts that were proven by the House managers that the president and his lawyers didn't even really attempt to dispute or deny. President Trump is saying that is perfect behavior and so we really have to ask ourselves what else is happening that we don't know about and what is he going to do now that he has been acquitted.

BLITZER: Susan Hennessey is the co-author of an important book, Unmaking the Presidency. Congratulations, by the way, on that new book as well.

Coming up, the Democratic Party chairman says enough is enough and pushes for a full review of the Iowa caucus results. We're going to have the very latest on the vote count and the controversy.

And more Americans are now threatened by the fast spreading coronavirus. We're following new cases and quarantines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, the head of the Democratic Party is publicly questioning the integrity of the Iowa caucus results, calling for a full re-canvass after Monday's vote reporting meltdown. Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are now in a virtual tie with the official outcome still undecided and the next contest just days away.

CNN's Political Correspondent Abby Phillip is joining us. She's with the candidates in New Hampshire right now.

Abby, the Iowa mess is apparently hanging very much over the race.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Wolf. All of the presidential candidates are on the ground here fighting for votes before the New Hampshire primary but all anybody is talking about is the debacle in Iowa. And sources told CNN that Iowan officials, Democratic officials are furious with the national party for suggesting this re-canvass of votes. It has already strained this relationship, and it has put this saga that goes on into its third day back into the news yet again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIP: Tonight, with the Iowa caucuses still undecided, the head of the Democratic National Committee is saying enough is enough. Chairman Tom Perez stunning Iowa Democratic officials with his call for a full re-canvass of the results from the caucuses on Monday in order to assure public confidence in the results.

But Iowa Democrats aren't budging saying in a statement, they won't start a re-canvass until one of the candidates officially asks for one.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders are locked in a virtual tie, with only 1/10 of a percent separating them. Perez calling for a re-canvass in anticipation that some campaigns might begin questioning the delegate count released by the state party, and might even call for a recount, according to sources familiar with his decision.

Senator Sanders now declaring victory and calling Buttigieg's slight lead meaningless.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What certainly is not going to change is the fact that in terms of the popular vote, we won a decisive victory.

PHILLIP: But in Iowa, state delegates determine the winner, not the popular vote.

Even without a clear winner, Iowa is shaping the New Hampshire race. Sanders announcing his campaign, raising a whopping $25 million from supporters just in the month of January, the largest fundraising month ever for his campaign.

On a call, Buttigieg urging his supporters to keep their financial support going.

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Huge day, our campaign is making decisions about how to guide our resources. I need everyone on this call to go to the website, peteforamerica.com,, chip in $5 bucks or whatever you can right now.

PHILLIP: Joe Biden announcing fourth place standing in Iowa was a gut punch. But at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire, the former vice president opening up about his efforts to overcome a stutter as a child.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, stuttering, you think about it, is the only handicap that people still laugh about, that still humiliate people about, and they don't even mean to. When I was a kid, I talked like that. And so what I say to anybody out there and any of the people you work with, young people who stutter, I'll give you my phone number, not a joke, and they can call me. I'll give you a private number. Because it's really important they know, they know, they want to say you really did stutter, and I still occasionally, when I find myself really tired catch myself saying something like that. It has nothing to do with your intelligence quotient. It has nothing to do with your intellectual makeup. PHILLIP: Meantime, Senator Elizabeth Warren defending her campaign's decision to pull back on ad spending in Nevada and South Carolina.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's about the fact that we completely finance our campaign through grass roots and I just always want to be careful about how we spend our money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:45:00]

PHILLIP: And with his new status as one of the front runners in this race, Pete Buttigieg is now at the center of targets for several of the other Democratic candidates. In the last 24 hours, three of them have criticized him, most notably, Joe Biden, after finishing about fourth in the Iowa caucuses is fighting back. He has now launched new critiques of both Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg by name, and that's been for him, a change in strategy, Wolf.

BLITZER: Certainly has been.

Abby, I would like you to stand by, David Axelrod is still with us, we're going to talk more about the Iowa results and the state of the Democratic presidential contest, right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:019]

BLITZER: All right. Let's go back to our political correspondent Abby Phillip, and our senior political commentator, David Axelrod.

David, as you heard the head of the Democratic National Committee revealing he doesn't necessarily have complete confidence in the Iowa Democratic Party. How significant is this recount, this -- he's now calling?

AXELROD: Look, I think in the big scheme of things relative to the presidential race, I don't think it's going to change anything. I don't think it means very much. But it's a huge embarrassment for Iowa Democratic Party, which had the first of the nation caucus for decades and decades. They obviously got out over their skis.

I don't think the issue is one of integrity. It's one of competence, and they simply didn't have the wherewithal to transmit all the information they promised to transmit in a timely fashion.

So -- and this is giving the president and opponents of the Democratic Party some fodder as well. You heard him today in his improv in the East Room talk about the fact that Democrats can't even -- can't even count the votes in Iowa, now they want to run your whole health care system. So, you're going to hear some of that.

I think most Democrats would just as soon get all this in the rear- view mirror as quickly as possible.

BLITZER: They certainly would.

Abby, you're there on the trail, is this tarnishing faith in the electoral process?

PHILLIP: Well, you know, Wolf, here in New Hampshire -- you know, Iowa, New Hampshire voters will tell you they do their own thing and they are not shy about reminding people that they have a process that is a primary and they're pretty proud of it. And so, I think New Hampshire voters feel like this has always been their territory, being the first primary in the nation. I think they take that role pretty seriously.

So, on some level -- I haven't heard from voters saying, you know, they're worried about the integrity of elections but I think they do view their role as more important to offer some clarity in the race because with the results in Iowa so muddled, it's hard to see who's really getting all the momentum coming out of it. It might be both Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders since they are locked in a virtual tie. And now, the question is, will New Hampshire voters clarify that choice even more on Tuesday when it's their turn?

BLITZER: You know, David, If you were part of the 2020 campaign, would you be pushing for the results in Iowa to be double-checked right now or simply forget about it and look ahead to the next contest in New Hampshire?

AXELROD: I would -- the Sanders people would like to have a -- would like to be declared the victor, both the popular vote and the delegate vote. They have some small impetus.

But honestly, the circus has left town, Wolf. They're on to New Hampshire. I think people are looking forward and not backward. And there isn't a whole lot to be gained by dwelling on what happened in Iowa. And I think you're going to see people pretty much taking that posture.

BLITZER: All right. David and Abby, guys, thanks very much.

And to our viewers, watch CNN later tonight for back to back Democratic presidential town halls from New Hampshire with Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Deval Patrick. It all begins 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Just ahead, hundreds are now under lockdown as the coronavirus spreads.

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[18:57:55]

BLITZER: There are now 12 confirmed cases of the coronavirus here in the United States. The latest reported Wednesday in Wisconsin. Hundreds of Americans are under quarantine for possible infections as the number of cases climbs worldwide.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, for thousands of passengers on two cruise ships, it's total lockdown. The coronavirus outbreak turning these luxury liners off Hong Kong and Japan into floating prisons.

MILENA BASSO, AMERICAN TOURIST ABOARD PRINCESS DIAMOND: Donald Trump, save us. Get us a government-based airplane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not even that, just --

BASSO: Get us off the ship.

KAFANOV: The newlyweds are among 428 Americans quarantined on the Diamond Princess. At least 28 confirmed cases onboard, three Americans among them. The infected taken to hospitals, the rest confined to their rooms for two weeks.

The World Health Organization is struggling to contain the outbreak, 12 confirmed cases in the U.S., more than 28,000 worldwide, the death toll more than 560 and climbing.

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: To put it to bluntly, we're shadow-boxing.

KAFANOV: In China, state media reporting two newborns infected with the virus raising the possibility of it spreading from mother to unborn child.

Two planes carrying Americans from Wuhan back to the states arrived at military bases in California on Wednesday. At least four of the Americans on board were found to have fevers and coughs and were taken to local hospitals.

All of the passengers now under quarantine at the bases for the next two weeks.

KEN BURNETT, WAITING TO BE REUNITED WITH WIFE AND CHILDREN: Fourteen days is hard, but 14 days is better than 14 weeks.

KAFANOV: In San Diego, Ken Burnett has been desperately waiting for his wife and children trapped in Wuhan for weeks, now quarantined at the Miramar Air Base.

BURNETT: But for the people of Wuhan -- those are people.

KAFANOV (on camera): They don't get flights out.

BURNETT: They don't get flights out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That was CNN's Lucy Kafanov reporting. What a horrible development all of this has been.

To our viewers, thanks very much for following us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.