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Reviewing Last Night's Republican Debate; Russian Plane Crash Mystery; Bush Back On Trail Looking For Debate Bump; Bush Critical Of Trump's Deportation Plan; Bush Favors Syria No-Fly Zone; Bush Hammers Clinton On Obama Policy Support; Inside The Debate's Biggest Clashes; U.S. Investigators Invited To Egypt. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired November 11, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We start on the campaign trail as the Republican presidential candidates get back to retail politics after wrapping up their fourth presidential debate last night. Jeb Bush, he's on the campaign trail right now in Iowa and will be taking part in the town the hall later in this hour.

Our Athena Jones is following his campaign. Several stops in Iowa today. So, what have you heard from the candidates so far about the debate, Athena, last night?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Well, we saw a confident Governor Bush this morning feeling good about the debate. He said that the moderators asked good question. He feels that he did well. He's also confident coming off of the endorsement announced by his campaign of Bob Dole, the former U.S. senator, former presidential candidate, also a veteran himself.

Bob Dole was a veteran of World War II and he'll serve as the campaign's national veterans' chairman. We had a chance to talk with Governor Bush after his event this morning, a veterans' breakfast here at a Hy-Vee (ph) outside of Des Moines. I asked him about his debate performance, how he felt about it and how he could do better. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought it was fine. I did well. I talked about issues that are important to people. We need to start thinking about how -- who is the person that can beat Hillary Clinton, rather than trying to get into small differences between each campaign. The big difference is Hillary Clinton will double down on a failed economic policy and I have the leadership skills to fix these complex things to allow people to rise up again. That's what I'm going to focus on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So, you heard him say he's going to be focusing on the contrast with Hillary Clinton. He's not mentioning, so much, other candidates. We saw last night, he did not try to attack Marco Rubio, again. That failed in the debate prior to that. But I've got to tell you, Wolf, talking to the various Bush campaign staffers and also Bush supporters both this morning and last night at a watch party we went to, all of them expressed satisfaction with how he did. No major stumbles. Some good moments.

The campaign has put together a highlight reel of him slamming Hillary Clinton, also talking about the U.S.'s need to be a leader in the world and in the fight against ISIS. And one more thing, the campaign is trying to raise money off of the governor's performance last night, asking supporters to help them build the momentum to keep him moving forward in this race -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll monitor his activities today and, of course, all the candidates. Thanks very much, Athena.

Let's get some more on the direction of the Bush campaign after that debate last night. Tim Miller is the communications director for Jeb Bush's presidential campaign. Tim is joining us now from Miami. Tim, thanks very much for joining us. And I want to see if you can clarify a couple of Jeb Bush's positions. We know that Donald Trump, John Kasich, --

TIM MILLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, JEB BUSH PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Sure.

BLITZER: -- they battled pretty seriously over Trump's plan to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants here in the United States. John Kasich, the Ohio governor, saying that you can't do that. That's out of the question. Where exactly does Jeb Bush stand? Is he closer to Trump or closer to Kasich?

MILLER: Yes, well, thanks for having me, Wolf. And I -- you know, Jeb chimed in on that and really distanced himself from Donald Trump in his, you know, so-called plan which is really unrealistic. It's not something that can be implemented which would basically deport 500,000 people a month. Just think about what kind of disruption that would be to society.

Governor Bush actually wrote a book on immigration in 2012 that laid out his plan. And it's in the most simple form. It's secure the border. Give the people who are here legally a path to earn legal status, which is pay a fine, pay back taxes, don't receive government benefits, learn English, that will allow them to have a path to legal status.

And I think that combining those two things is a conservative, realistic approach to address this issue because it's gone unaddressed too long.

BLITZER: So, he's not going to deport these people but give them, potentially, a path to legal status, assuming they meet all the conditions. Would they also --

MILLER: Yes.

BLITZER: -- have a path to citizenship? MILLER: Well, for the -- for the dream acts kids, the folks who are

brought in as minors, they would. But, you know, you don't want to allow people to be able to jump in line in front of, you know, folks that have been waiting in line legally to have access to citizenship. So, that's why the path to earn legal status is a conservative position. But it's one that can actually get through Congress and get past so that we can resolve this issue that's gone unresolved under Obama and for far too long.

BLITZER: There was also a pretty extensive exchange between Rand Paul and Marco Rubio on intervention --

MILLER: Yes.

BLITZER: -- in the Middle East. Marco Rubio being described by his critics as a neo-conservative, Rand Paul as an isolationist. Where does Jeb Bush stand between the debate that we saw last night on this sensitive issue, getting involved more aggressive, shall we say, in Syria and Iraq?

MILLER: Sure. Well, I thought one of Jeb's best moments last night was when Donald Trump was talking about letting Putin basically run roughshod over the Middle East and having us get out of the way. Jeb interrupted Donald and said, basically, look, we don't need to be the world's policeman, but we need to be the world's leader. And we cannot abandon the Middle East and let Putin and Assad and Iran continue to gain influence at great risk to our greatest ally in Israel.

[13:05:12] And so, you know, Jeb Bush is on the side of showing leadership. He laid out a plan at the Reagan Library just a couple of months ago for dealing with ISIS and dealing with Assad that includes a no-fly zone in Syria and a much more forward leaning approach to dealing with terror in the Middle East than we've seen from this administration. And what you saw from Trump and Rand Paul last night was a position that's really outside the mainstream of the Republican Party and closer to what you'd get from Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

BLITZER: Where does Jeb Bush stand on raising the minimum wage? There was an extensive discussion last night about $7.50 right now an hour, and there is some that want it to go up to $15.00 an hour. You heard what the various candidates said. Where is Jeb Bush on raising the minimum wage?

MILLER: You know, that one didn't come around to Jeb last night. And, by the way, we loved that this was a very substantive debate that got into all these issues that you're following up on today, Wolf. But when it comes to the middle -- minimum wage, Jeb thinks that should be a state-by-state issue. He thinks that, from a federal level, raising the minimum wage could have adverse effects on states where, you know, the wage, it doesn't make sense within the economy to, you know, have a wage as high, in some states, as it would in other states and not have an adverse effect on jobs.

What we need to do is have a high-growth strategy. And at Jeb2016.com, you can see his plan where, you know, people have more access to high paying jobs, who are not fighting over the minimum wage jobs and let that be a state-by-state issue.

BLITZER: You saw that story in "The New York Times" this week, saying that the Super PAC, and I know it's not directly connected --

MILLER: Yes.

BLITZER: -- to the campaign, that Super PAC that supports Jeb Bush is going to spend about $20 million. And some of it, at least a chunk of it, attack ads against Marco Rubio, saying that this guy is not qualified to be president of the United States. His position on abortion, for example, would make him unelectable against Hillary Clinton. Where do you stand on that Super PAC strategy?

MILLER: Well, look, everybody in this race is going to be vetted. And everybody's record and resume is going to be examined. That's certainly true for us. You know, we've taken incoming from the Democrats more than anybody, and from plenty of our fellow Republican candidates. And, you know, that's what happens in a campaign.

So, you know, those are decisions that are going to be made by the Super PAC. What we're focused on is what you saw from Jeb last night. He's going to be focused on the guy with the best record and the best plans to take on Hillary Clinton. And he's going to focus on delivering a message on how his conservative policies help real people.

And, you know, as part of the campaign, if there's a back and forth and there are some differences between other candidates, that's going to happen. And, you know, whether -- no matter who the candidate is, you know, folks should be ready for the record to be examined. And we feel like Jeb has the best record in the field, and he's the best candidate to go up against Hillary Clinton. And that's where our focus is going to be.

BLITZER: On that specific issue of abortion. What exceptions --

MILLER: Yes.

BLITZER: -- exemptions does he support? I know he opposes abortion. But what about life of the mother, health of the mother?

MILLER: Yes.

BLITZER: What about rape and incest?

MILLER: Well, look, Jeb has the best pro-life record in the entire field. And his record in Florida, when it comes to the issue of protecting life from birth to death, is really unparalleled by any governor in the country. When it comes to the exceptions, he does support the exception of rape, incest and life of the mother.

BLITZER: And so, he does -- he does support that.

MILLER: He does. BLITZER: Going forward, you know, the criticism. He's not doing all that great in the polls. What's the --

MILLER: Yes.

BLITZER: -- strategy now in the next few weeks?

MILLER: Well, look, I think, luckily for us, you know, this race is going to be decided by the voters in New Hampshire and Iowa, and not the, you know, pundits that are coming on your show, Wolf. We feel like we're getting a lot of progress there in those early states. We just had a bus tour last week in New Hampshire where you could feel the momentum on the ground. As Jeb is doing the kind of campaigning that you need to do to earn the nomination.

And so, what we're going to focus on is next week, he has a big speech at the citadel where he's going to talk about restoring strength in the military. He's going to continue to talk about how he has the best plans to grow the economy, help the middle-class and downside Washington with a balanced budget amendment line item veto. He think that if you look at those plans and his record, which is the most effective conservative record in the field, that's the best contrast of Hillary Clinton. He laid it out last night at the debate and we're just going to keep driving that in the early stages over the next few weeks.

And we've got another debate coming up in a month.

BLITZER: Yes, he spent a lot of time talking about Hillary Clinton. Let me play a little clip of what he said, then we'll discuss. Listen to this.

MILLER: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Hillary Clinton has said that Barack Obama's policies gets an A. Really? One in 10 people right now aren't working or have given up all together, as you said. That's not an A. One in seven people are living in poverty. That's not an A. One in five children are on food stamps. That is not an A. It may be the best that Hillary Clinton can do, but it's not the best America can do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:10:05] BLITZER: But the question that was asked by the moderators was that there were a lot of jobs created during the Clinton administration. A lot of jobs now created during the Obama administration. Not so many jobs created during the Bush administration. Unemployment now is five percent. There are some positives to what is happened on the economy comparing today to what the situation was in 2008, 2009.

MILLER: Well, I don't know that I could do a better job of answering that question than Jeb did last night. I thought that was one of his best moments of the debate. And, you know, look, to the point he made a little bit later, if you had continued playing it, was that a lot of these jobs that we've seen in the Obama administration are down -- are down the pay scale, low income jobs. The middle in -- the middle- class has not gotten a raise in 15 years. And the workforce participation rate is lower than it was since before the Reagan administration.

And so, it's the lowest it's been in 30 years. So, look, we can do better than the Obama economy, the, you know, sad two percent growth that we've had under President Obama. Hillary Clinton doesn't think we can. She thinks we need to manage the decline. And what Governor Bush is going to do is put in pro-growth policies that allow more high-paying jobs to be created.

BLITZER: Tim Miller is the communications director for the Bush campaign. Tim, thanks very much for joining us.

MILLER: Hey, thanks, Wolf. Good to be with you.

BLITZER: Thank you.

We're going to have much more of the coverage of the Republican race ahead, including a closer look at the issues at the center of last night's clash, immigration, military intervention, government spending. Can the Republicans find common ground?

And later, U.S. investigators could soon be heading to Egypt to get a firsthand look at the wreckage of that Metrojet Flight 9268 that killed all 224 people on board. We're going to have the latest developments in the investigation.

[13:11:55]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:58] BLITZER: There were some pretty good one-liners, some zingers in the latest Republican presidential debate. Last night's event seemed to reinforce the current state of the race. So without any potential major game-changing moments. However, it did highlight some deep divisions within the party over several critically important issues, including immigration reform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are a country of laws. We either have a country or we don't have a country. We are a country of laws. They're going to have to go out, and they'll come back, but they're going to have to go out, and hopefully they get back. But we have no choice if we're going to run our country properly and if we're going to be a country.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anybody else comes over, they go back. But for the 11 million people, come on, folks, we all know you can't pick them up and ship them across - back across the border. It's a silly argument. It's not an adult argument. It makes no sense.

TRUMP: All I can say -

BUSH: Twelve million illegal immigrants, to send them back, 500,000 a month, is just not - not possible. And it's not embracing American values. And it would tear communities apart. And it would send a signal that we're not the kind of country that I know America is. And even having this conversation sends a powerful signal. They're doing high-fives in the Clinton campaign right now when they hear this.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What was said was right, the Democrats are laughing, because if Republicans join Democrats as the party of amnesty, we will lose. And, you know, I understand that when the mainstream media covers immigration, it doesn't often see it as an economic issue. But I can tell you for millions of Americans at home watching this, it is a very personal economic issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's get some more on the debate. The insight coming in from our CNN political commentators S.E. Cupp, she's a Republican conservative, Donna Brazile, she's a Democrat, both important observers for us as well.

Guys, thanks very much.

There is a clear split on immigration reform among these Republican presidential candidates. Which side, would it be the Trump side, would it be the - the side that Jeb Bush has, that John Kasich has, which is more likely to attract Republican caucus goers and primary votes in the upcoming contests?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, I think you saw people in that room, in Milwaukee, applauded for both the John Kasich, Jeb Bush prescription, as well as the Ted Cruz prescription. They didn't -

BLITZER: And the Donald Trump -

CUPP: Well, they didn't really go for the Donald Trump. He really didn't effectively land the punch the way that Ted Cruz did for the one argument and Jeb Bush and John Kasich did for the other. Whatever you think about Trump's policy, in that room, I think he actually worked the least.

On actual policy, for Trump to be, you know, subscribing to the 1954 Eisenhower Operation Wetback Project, which was deeply inhumane and flawed and no one has been able to prove that - that it actually had long lasting - a long lasting impact on illegal immigration, I think is deeply problematic for the future of the party. I think you can have a reasonable immigration reform, like Jeb has, like John Kasich has, without amnesty. And I think they laid out the best message for the Republican Party going toward a general election.

BLITZER: So, Donna, is Jeb Bush right when he says that the folks in the Hillary Clinton campaign were high-fiving each other when they were listening to this debate, some of Donald Trump's comments, some of Ted Cruz's comments on immigration? DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think for the 11

million or 12 million Americans who are here undocumented, I think they are relieved that President Obama is still in office and possibly a President Clinton or a President Sanders or O'Malley will insure that we have comprehensive immigration reform. When I listened to the Republican debate, I often think that they're not thinking about the future. They're just thinking about gaining what I call that very tiny slice of the Republican Party that believes that we have to build a fence, somebody else will pay for it, and then we'll - all of our problems will go away.

[13:20:06] BLITZER: Listen to this -

CUPP: Well - well, let me just say -

BLITZER: All right.

CUPP: The courts - the courts said that what Obama is trying to do with immigration is not right. So we can't just have a President Obama executive action on immigration. Both sides need to come together to have a conversation. That must include Republican voice. And, you know, whether you agree with them or not, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, these people are in the Senate. John Kasich is a governor. We have to work together.

BRAZILE: And we had a bill in the Senate that Marco Rubio had his handprints on and then he decided to take it off because it's too hot in the Republican primary. Look, it is before the Fifth Circuit. They ruled 2-1. But it's now - the Obama administration is going to appeal it to the United States Supreme Court. We'll see -

BLITZER: We'll see if the Supreme Court hears that argument. If they don't, it's a huge setback, obviously, for the president, who wanted to do this unilaterally without going through the legislative process.

BRAZILE: And (INAUDIBLE) those dreamers and their parents.

BLITZER: Yes. All right, let's talk about this other serious exchange. I'm going to play a clip. This is Marco Rubio and Rand Paul disagreeing on intervention in the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And, yes, I do want to rebuild the American military.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: it's not very conservative, Marco. How's it conservative?

RUBIO: I know that Rand is a committed isolationist. I'm not. I believe the world is a stronger and a better place when the United States is the strongest military power in the world.

PAUL: All right (ph), Marco - Marco, how is it conservative - how is it conservative to add a trillion dollar expenditure for the federal government that you're not paying for? RUBIO: Because -

PAUL: How is it conservative -

RUBIO: Are you talking about the military, Rand?

PAUL: How is it conservative to add a trillion dollars in military expenditures? You cannot be a conservative if you're going to keep promoting new programs that you're not going to pay for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, a serious disagreement there in terms of isolationism. That's what the critics accuse Rand Paul of promoting. He says he's a non-interventionist, and becoming a neo-conservative, that's what the critics call Rand Paul. Which position here resonates more among Republicans?

CUPP: Well, that was a great debate. One of the better moments of last night, I thought, where you really got to see a clear contrast and passion among these candidates. I would like to see more of those kinds of moments where they're actually talking to each other.

Rand Paul represents an important part of the Republican constituency, the libertarian isolationist or non-interventionist wing of the party. I don't think that they're as big as the rest of the party, which is with Marco, which is with Carly Fiorina, which is, you know, making sure that we have a lean but smart military that is aggressive, regaining our position in the world. I think, you know, more hearts and minds. And that's evidence by Trump's, you know, bellicose rhetoric. More hearts and minds in the Republican Party are with - are with Marco, are with - are with Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina.

BLITZER: And, Donna, you've heard her critics, Hillary Clinton's critics, from the left saying she's a neo-conservative. She supports a no-fly zone over Syria right now. She wants to get more involved. She was one of the architects of what happened in Libya, for example, U.S. intervention with those cruise missiles. What is she going to say to her critics from the left?

BRAZILE: Well, she's also talked about soft power. She's also talked about diplomacy and the things that we can do as a country to insure that we maintain America's strength around the world.

But, look, to S.E.'s point about - I'm sorry about my water, I've been up all night. But, look, I think to S.E.'s point about interventionists versus the realists in the party, the country is war weary. We're not ready to go to war every time there's a - there's a quote/unquote "emergency." I think the American people want to figure out the smart way to handle the situation in the Middle East, the smart way to handle Putin, the smart way to handle China, without often going to military issues.

And there's one other thing. This is Veterans Day. We didn't have Lindsey Graham last night on the debate. I missed Lindsey Graham because, of course, I get all my bar jokes from Lindsey Graham. But I think there's another opportunity for us. They should have talked about the V.A. They should have talked about the fact that many of these veterans need resources, need a better health care system. We didn't get to that last night.

BLITZER: Well, there's going to be more debates down the road.

All right, guys, thanks very much.

BRAZILE: Oh, Wolf Blitzer, December 15th.

BLITZER: I'll just point out -

BRAZILE: CNN.

BLITZER: The candidates will meet again 34 days from now in Las Vegas, CNN hosts, I'll moderate, that next Republican presidential debate. Mark your calendars. Tuesday, December 15th, right here on CNN.

Still to come, U.S. intelligence officials have been theorizing that a bomb may have brought down that Russian Metrojet airliner in Egypt killing all 224 people on board. Now a U.S. team has been invited to go investigate firsthand. We're getting new information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:42] BLITZER: The U.S. will soon get its first look at the crash debris from that Russian Metrojet that went down over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killing all 224 people on board. Egypt has now accepted a request from the United States to assist with the investigation. A source with knowledge of the investigation says the NTSB, the National Transportation Safety Board here in the United States, will dispatch a team once it has details on when and where the plane's engines will be examined. Those engines are U.S. made.

Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence officials think the most likely scenario is that jihadi terrorists planted a timer with a bomb, likely made of C4. That word from U.S. officials familiar with the investigation.

With us now from New York, our CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruikshank, and the former ATF executive Matthew Horace.

Paul, the C4, that's a military grade explosive. Certainly powerful enough to bring down a plane. But how easy is it to obtain?

[13:29:40] PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, we know that the group that has claimed responsibility, the ISIS affiliate in Sinai, has stockpiled a large quantity of C4 explosive. They've also used the C4 explosive in attacks this year. So it would certainly be consistent with ISIS in Sinai actually carrying out this attack, managing to recruit an insider at the airport. I think it points away from a lone wolf type of scenario because it would be difficult for an individual without connections to an established terrorist outfit to obtain this military grade explosive, Wolf.