Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY

Interview with Carly Fiorina; Fiorina Tests Trump's Dominance as GOP Frontrunner; Will Jeb Bush Emerge Stronger after Debate? Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 17, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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


ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: In fact, some people say he receded into the background as other candidates took center stage.

[07:00:05] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'll tell you one reason, if people believe that, it was so is because of the woman who is sitting right next to us right now.

Carly Fiorina is the name coming out of this debate most this morning. Social media, the different assessments of the debate, really saying she had a breakout night. You know her, the Hewlett-Packard CEO, landing clean blows on Trump, but also in her own cause. Some of the most memorable moments. She's got a big smile on her face this morning.

It's good to see you, Mrs. Fiorina.

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning.

CUOMO: Smiles not something too much we saw too much from you last night. What was your mindset going in? And what do you think worked for you?

FIORINA: Well, we were talking about serious subjects last night in many cases, and so a smile is not always appropriate.

Look, going into last night, half the audience had never heard my name and didn't know I was running for president. And so it was a really important opportunity for me to introduce myself to the American people. And to show them that I can win this job, and I can do this job.

CAMEROTA: A lot of people were waiting for a moment that you and Donald Trump came to blows, or had some sort of exchange. And there were many of them. So let's watch a little portion of you and Donald Trump last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIORINA: You know, it's interesting to me, Mr. Trump said that he heard Mr. Bush very clearly and what Mr. Bush said. I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think she's got a beautiful face, and I think she's a beautiful woman. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What did you think of that moment? What did you think of when he said that you have a beautiful face and now you're a beautiful person?

FIORINA: You know, it's still different for women. It's only a woman whose appearance would be talked about while running for president, never a man.

And I think that's what women understand. That's why women understood what Donald Trump said about my face in the first place. And also what he said about my face in the second place.

The point is, women are half this nation. Women are half the potential of this nation. But somehow, we still spend a lot of time talking about women's appearance instead of their qualifications.

CUOMO: What gave you the wherewithal and the desire to do what nobody else has done in this race on your side of the field yet, which was "I'm not just going to wait to respond to Donald Trump. I'm going to go at him. I'm going to go toe to toe. And I'm going to fight him, and we'll see how" -- you know, you did that more than anybody else last night. Why?

FIORINA: Well, first, I hope it's pretty clear that I am a fighter. I have also been the most vocal critic of Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, presumably the Democrat Party's nominee. This is going to be a fight. This is an important election. And we're going to have a fight about really important principles. And really important policies. And really important differences.

And so if you can't fight on a debate stage, then you're not going to be able to stand up and fight for the American people. And the American people are looking for a fighter. Because they know this is a pivotal time in our nation's history. They know these are important issues, and so yes, I'm prepared to fight.

CAMEROTA: You did something different last night. You shared a very personal moment about a tragedy in your family. I believe we have this moment, and it's something that you don't talk about often. So let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIORINA: I very much hope that I am the only person on this stage who can say this, but I know there are millions of Americans out there who will say the same thing. My husband, Frank, and I buried a child to drug addiction. So we must invest more in the treatment of drugs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That surprised people, to hear that you had had that in your background. Can you tell us more about that?

FIORINA: Well, there are so many families who have gone through this or are going through this. And it is an epidemic now in so many parts of our country.

CAMEROTA: Drug abuse?

FIORINA: Yes. Drug abuse. We don't invest enough in its treatment. We need to tackle criminal justice reform. But anyone who's gone through this knows that it is tragic to watch someone's life ebb away in the clutches of the demons of addiction.

CUOMO: Speak to that, Mrs. Fiorina. Because look, there's -- there's an emotional price when you open up your life like this, but you know that is part of politics.

FIORINA: It is.

CUOMO: And it's certainly part of something that you thought was important enough to say on the debate stage. What was it like for you and your husband? Because people say addiction, very often, it's weakness of character; it's poor choices; it's criminal behavior.

[07:05:09] What did you learn through your own life about the realities of this problem; what's misunderstood; what's needed?

FIORINA: Well, this can afflict anyone. It afflicts millions. It is described in so many communities in our nation now as an epidemic. It touches every part of our society.

It's not just about poor. It's about poor middle class, rich, men, women, young, old. We -- the war on drugs has failed. We need a different approach. I mentioned criminal justice reform briefly.

You know, we have the highest incarceration rates in the world. Two- thirds of the people sitting in jail are there for nonviolent drug- related offenses. It's not working. We're not investing enough in this.

And so, it's a terrible tragedy. And while of course, it's difficult to talk about, I think it's also very important to talk about. So that families that are suffering through this know that they should not feel ashamed or stigmatized. That we must produce help. That we need to invest more.

You know, it's interesting. When I'm on the campaign trail and sometimes this will come up, always -- and it's so generous of them -- but always people will come up to me and say, "The same thing has happened to me. We're suffering with this in my family." Two people came up with me last night after the debate and said, "I lost a child to addiction."

CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about your experience during the debate. It seemed to me -- this is unofficial, I was trying to take notes -- that you got the most applause. The things that you said, the crowd responded to the most. Were you surprised at how much applause you got last night?

FIORINA: You know, I've been out on the campaign trail since May. And despite the fact that I have, before last night, at least, the lowest name I.D. in the field, people respond. So I am not surprised that people respond.

Because actually, folks are tired of politics. They're tired of politicians. They're looking for leadership. So I could engage the applause. You know, I was very focused on what was happening on that stage and thinking about what I wanted to convey. But I'm not surprised that people respond. I've been out there a long time talking to a lot of people every single day, and I know how they respond.

CUOMO: I'll take the other side of it. I feel that there's a different experience with you when you're on the hustings when you're in close settings like this and then when you get on the big stage. I'm not saying you're intimidated by it. We thought you were going to do well last night. You just did better than we even expected.

But they're looking for a leader. But it's going to be a person they pick, not their policies. Yes, the fair criticism of Trump is he has to put meat on the bones. You exposed that last night several times. But what do you think people will learn as they get to know Carly more? Who is Carly? Why is she somebody that they should feel comfortable with, they should feel safe with, they should feel cares?

FIORINA: You know, I started out as a secretary in a nine-person real-estate firm. My story is only possible in this nation. And it's proof, actually, that everyone has potential. Every one of us has God-given gifts. I know that. I've seen it over and over again.

And so, I come to this with the firm belief that no one of us is any better than any other of us. Each of us has enormous potential. And I'm running for the presidency of the United States, because I truly believe, and so do the American people, that their possibilities are being crushed, regardless of their circumstances.

This is about, I think, a leader in the Oval Office who will provide the opportunities. The tools, the support, every single American, regardless of their circumstances, to finally use their God-given gifts.

I've been through very bad times. I've buried a child. I've beaten cancer. I've had good times and bad. I have been tested. And I'm not going to falter on this campaign, and I won't falter in the White House either.

CAMEROTA: I heard you described this morning as Donald Trump's kryptonite.

FIORINA: OK.

CAMEROTA: So you can take that as you will. But what did you think of his performance last night? Was Donald Trump as feisty as you were expecting?

FIORINA: You know what? I think the audience has to decide what they think of Donald Trump's performance.

Listen, honestly, I will tell you the truth. I think we have spent -- the media, frankly, has spent way too much time talking about the entertainment aspects of this, the performance aspects of this, Donald Trump, personally.

[07:10:13] I think people -- when I'm out on the trail, I'm never asked a single question about Donald Trump. The only people that ask me about Donald Trump are the media. What voters want to know is what's going to impact their life? They're concerned about their lives.

And so I hope going forward -- you know, people can decide what they thought of Donald Trump's performance. That's not for me to say. But I really hope going forward that we can have a more substantive conversation about the things impacting Americans' lives. And Donald Trump's performance doesn't impact their life, honestly.

CUOMO: Did it go better than you expected last night?

FIORINA: Well, I certainly was hoping that I would get an opportunity to say what I wanted to say.

CUOMO: You took the opportunity.

FIORINA: Yes, I did.

CUOMO: You weren't always given them.

FIORINA: Yes.

CUOMO: You took them. That is part of what you were going to do.

FIORINA: That is true, as well. And I had, as I went through the evening, I had things that I wanted to say, and I would write them down. And I got to all the things that I wanted to say. I would have notes to myself. You know, I'd like to make this point. And I got to my point. So I'm satisfied.

CAMEROTA: I bet. That's a big accomplishment. Thanks so much for getting up early with us.

FIORINA: My pleasure. Well, you guys are up early, too.

CAMEROTA: Great talking to you, Carly Fiorina.

FIORINA: Nice to be with you.

CUOMO: You're always welcome on the show, if you want to talk about the issues. NEW DAY has an invitation. Alisyn is now calling us "SAME DAY," because we've been up all night.

FIORINA: I always like coming on the show. Thank you so very much.

CUOMO: Good luck to you going forward.

FIORINA: Thanks.

CUOMO: All right. So two more candidates still ahead. You just heard from Carly Fiorina about her night last night. She's getting a lot of buzz.

We're also going to talk to Republican Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey. He played an interesting role last night. You'll get to hear why he did what he did, live. And then you can judge for yourself how he did.

Then what did the opposition think? Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders, what did he hear that he liked? What did he think was good for him in what he heard last night?

We also have more after the break about Jeb Bush's campaign. His campaign manager is going to say why they succeeded last night. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:16:19] TRUMP: Your brother and your brother's administration gave us Barack Obama, because it was such a disaster last those three months that Abraham Lincoln couldn't have been elected.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know what? As it relates to my brother, there's one thing I know for sure: he kept us safe. I don't know if you remember...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: A very different Jeb Bush took to the stage last night. He spoke solidly on policy, defended his family and his record. Most directly to and against Donald Trump. So, what kind of night did he have? Is it going to change this fate? Did he answer the questions he need to?

We have somebody, a little biased, but it's good to get his take. Campaign manager Danny Diaz. Now it's important to have you, Danny, because this is about what Jeb Bush wanted to do last night and why he wanted to do it. When it came to going toe to toe with Trump, you knew you'd be next to him. What was the goal? What did Jeb Bush want to show about himself versus Trump?

DANNY DIAZ, CAMPAIGN MANAGER, JEB BUSH CAMPAIGN: Well, I think we wanted to anticipate the understanding that we do have the candidate with the most accomplished conservative record in the field. And we just wanted to communicate that, to highlight that he has the vision to move the country forward, the achievements in Florida, creating jobs, putting money in the rainy day account, and you know, cutting taxes, year after year, AAA bond ratings. So he has a stellar record. But we just wanted to communicate that to the American people. Not very different than the goal we had in the first debate, to be honest with you.

CAMEROTA: Right after the debate you tweeted something. Let me read it to everyone. You said, "Fact: @JebBush shut down @DonaldTrump in tonight's debate. #AllInForJeb"

What was the moment that you thought that he shut him down? DIAZ: I thought when the governor was talking about national security

with Mr. Trump, and he highlighted he was -- Mr. Trump felt like Hillary Clinton was the best qualified person to negotiate the Iran deal. And he talked about his brother keeping America safe. I thought that was a really pivotal moment of the debate. And frankly, moving forward in that debate, Donald Trump didn't have a lot to say.

So I felt like Governor Bush was very strong in that moment. And, you know, when he discusses the issues, and he's providing substance. And you know, that's a comparison that we like a lot.

CUOMO: Well, look, I mean, the tweet stands somewhat in contrast to the answer you gave before. And I understand why, you're balancing a line. At some point, though, with Trump and Bush, you've got this man-to-man issue here that has been developed between the two. And it came out in a discussion about Jeb Bush's wife, Columba, last night. Let's play the moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Did Mr. Trump go too far in invoking your wife?

BUSH: He did. He did. You're prod of your family, just as I am.

TRUMP: Correct.

BUSH: To subject my wife into the middle of a raucous political conversation was completely inappropriate. And I hope you apologize for that, Donald.

TRUMP: Well, I have to tell you, I hear phenomenal things. I hear your wife is a lovely woman.

BUSH: She is. She's fantastic.

TRUMP: I don't know her.

BUSH: She is utterly the light of my life, and she's right here. Why don't you apologize to her right now?

TRUMP: I won't do that because I said nothing wrong. But I do hear she's a lovely woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: I get what he was trying to do there. For this to be effective, didn't he have to tell Trump, "Apologize." Not "I hope," not "please do." "Apologize." Didn't he -- is that what he was trying to do in that moment?

DIAZ: To effectively communicate the message when Donald Trump is running across the country smearing people, making offensive comments, and I think that was brought to the floor tonight.

From the governor's perspective, as I said, we like this comparison. We believe we have the best candidate, the best record, and the best message. We welcome -- we welcome the opportunities to distinguish ourselves versus Donald Trump or anyone else in the field, to be honest with you.

CAMEROTA: But I didn't understand that moment, to tell you the truth, because what was the beef? I mean, all Donald Trump had said was that he thought that Governor Bush would be more sympathetic to Mexicans because he married an immigrant. And so where was the offense? Why was that so insulting?

DIAZ: I think, you know, Donald Trump has absolutely tried to castigate folks. And he tried it in this case with Columba Bush.

[07:20:08] Governor Bush's values, his perspective on issues, is based on who he is, what he believes. To say something otherwise is obviously off-point. And I thought Governor Bush pointed that out very, very clearly.

CUOMO: He was looking to his right last night a lot, which is where Trump is. But how about looking to his left, with Carly Fiorina? Carly Fiorina ate a lot of people's lunch on that stage last night. She was strong; she was aggressive. And she did to Trump what I guess you were trying to do with Governor Bush, which was she went right at him and said, "I'm better than you." What did you think of that?

DIAZ: Look, I thought Carly had a good night. I thought Jeb had a really good night last night. We're very proud of the performance. I think -- but we understand it's one night in a very long campaign. So this morning, we get up, get back to work, putting together the field operation that we need to deliver.

We're not going to elect a president in September. We're going to elect a president next year. And we have a campaign that's durable. It's built to last. It's well-financed and it has strong support. And I'm very confident, when all the cards are dealt around the table, that Jeb Bush is going to be the nominee.

CAMEROTA: Where quickly, where does that field operation focus next? What is next?

DIAZ: I think the first four, obviously: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina. Obviously, the March states. We -- we believe, once again, that this is about the most important office in the country.

CUOMO: You're doing a big ad buy coming up.

DIAZ: We are.

CUOMO: Bigger than most people do at this point. You say you're going to elect him a year from now, but you're doing a big ad buy right now. I think your number is like 20, $25 million. What's the message going to be and why so much so soon?

DIAZ: The best candidate, the best record of conservative accomplishment will match up against anyone in the field.

CAMEROTA: There you go, Danny Diaz. Thanks so much for getting up early, coming in on NEW DAY. Great to talk to you.

CUOMO: You're always welcome. Extend -- extend the invitation to the governor. We'd love to have him on, because we want all the candidates to come on and talk about the issues as much as possible.

DIAZ: You got it.

CUOMO: Thank you, sir.

DIAZ: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: There were fireworks from the start. Hope you tuned into the CNN debate. A lot more between Donald Trump and Rand Paul last night. Trump was saying that Paul shouldn't even be on the stage, and he actually did talk about his looks. We'll break all that down.

CUOMO: He said, "I could, because you're ugly, but I'm not."

CAMEROTA: I think that counts.

CUOMO: Does that count?

CAMEROTA: I think that counts, yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:26:02] CHRISTIE: While I'm as entertained as anyone by this personal back and forth about the history of Donald and Carly's career, to the 55-year-old construction worker out in that audience tonight who doesn't have a job and can't fund his child's education, I've got to tell you the truth: they could care less about your careers. They care about theirs.

You're both successful people. Congratulations. You know who's not successfully? The middle class in this country, who's getting plowed over by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Let's start talking about those issues tonight and stop this childish back and forth between the two of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, unloading on two of the outsiders on stage. Of course, that was Trump and Fiorina last night.

There were a lot of fiery moments. So let's talk about them with our CNN political reporter, Maeve Reston; and CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

Guys, great to see you.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about that. Was that effective what Chris Christie did, saying, "Hey, guys you're being too childish"? Or did people want to see Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina engage with one another?

ZELENY: I thought it was pretty effective, actually.

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: I thought it was effective, too. Yes.

ZELENY: I thought it was one of Chris Christie's sort of better moments. Because I think he's right: Most people sitting at home, most voters, hard to be all that sympathetic to Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump, sort of the back and forth. It was a little bit in the weeds. I thought it was a good moment for Chris Christie. He was kind of like the side of Chris Christie, the bully we like to see. Kind of the nice bully who's picking -- who's sticking up for the kid.

CAMEROTA: Who's stopping the schoolyard fight.

ZELENY: Yes.

RESTON: The construction worker.

ZELENY: I thought it was good. Yes, he's speaking up for the construction worker. I thought it was fine.

CUOMO: Speaking of those fights, Trump came right out of the box and did what we were told he would not do, which was just go straight at somebody gratuitously. Let's take a look at the beginning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think, really, there's a sophomore quality that is entertaining about Mr. Trump. But I am worried. I'm very concerned about having him in charge of the nuclear weapons. Because I think his response, his visceral response, to attack people on their appearance, short, tall, fat, ugly, my goodness, that happened in junior high. Are we not way above that? Would we not all be worried to have someone like that in charge of the nuclear weapons.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Mr. Trump.

TRUMP: I never attacked him on his look. And believe me, there's plenty of subject matter right there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Fair point.

RESTON: What was that? I mean...

CUOMO: Fair point -- fair point, though, he didn't start it. Now, that's the test for Donald Trump.

RESTON: Well, that's what he always says. He says he didn't start it. But there's been plenty of back and forth between those two. That was completely gratuitous sort of off the top. And I think it set the wrong tone going into the debate. But...

CAMEROTA: They were talking about nuclear weapons.

RESTON: Exactly.

CAMEROTA: And he pivoted to Rand Paul's looks.

RESTON: Yeah.

CUOMO: But Paul said there's a sophomore quality to him, he's an entertainer.

RESTON: Which proves the point, right?

ZELENY: It was definitely a moment for Donald Trump to rise to the occasion and show that he could be a different type of candidate. But he chose not to do it. So I think it was very real in that moment.

The question for Donald Trump is, do traditional rules apply? Is he going to sort of stay where he is and not -- not evolve as a candidate? And I think that was an example, something. He is who he is. He -- you know, he's going to take -- I thought it was actually a funny moment. Rand Paul is not that sympathetic of a character. So...

CUOMO: Especially last night. He was dour.

ZELENY: He was dour. I thought it was kind of funny.

CAMEROTA: Can we talk about Donald Trump's lack of a poker face? The faces he was making...

RESTON: Amazing.

CAMEROTA: He was, like, leaning on the podium.

RESTON: He went through, like, the whole emoji thing. Just, like, within five minutes.

CUOMO: But why? Why? You've got to remember who he is and how he is. This guy knows what he's doing on television. You're talking. How do you get attention when you're talking? You're great at this, by the way. You make a face.

ZELENY: Right.

CUOMO: So with a gesture, he's able to get some attention, to let people know what he thinks about what you're saying.

CAMEROTA: But it's not presidential. The faces that he was making were not presidential. Were they working or were they not working, do you think, for the voters?

RESTON: They were entertaining.

CAMEROTA: Right. ZELENY: And you're right. He knew the split screen was up. He knew the split screen would come up the minute he made one of those comments. So again, I think it works for Donald Trump, but was he trying to be presidential on the stage last night? I don't know.

CUOMO: Who even knows what it means anymore? You know, I got slapped around saying that in an interview, that, you know, when you return every barb that comes your way, it's not presidential. You've got to rise above. And people came at me, saying who are you to say what's presidential? Presidential is what presidential is in the moment.