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CNN NEWSROOM

Snowstorm Shuts Down DC as NYC Snaps Back; Democrats to Face Iowa Voters in Town Hall; President Obama Weighs in on 2016 Dems Campaign. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 25, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[09:00:33] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, battle ground Iowa.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You stand up for me on caucus night I will be back here in Iowa.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are locked in a very, very close race right here in Iowa.

COSTELLO: One week to the first of the nation votes, hours to CNN's Democratic presidential town hall.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whoever the nominee is, is going to mean the other person supporter's.

COSTELLO: The future of the party could hang in the balance.

Also, Trump spends Sunday at church.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We talk about humility at church today.

COSTELLO: And he spends the night at a Holiday Inn Express. Normal guy stuff for the billionaire GOP frontrunner.

Plus buried by the blizzard.

MAYOR STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: This is a complicated snow removal effort.

COSTELLO: D.C. shut down trying to dig out after a storm for the record books.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

The nation's capitol still crippled. The nation's capital still crippled after that massive blizzard hit the eastern United States. School closed. The Metro offering just limited service. Federal buildings shut down and Congress, well, no House votes for an entire week.

The danger is far from over this morning. Roads refreezing overnight. Officials warning drivers of icy patches, side streets impassable. In Arlington, Virginia, the National Guard helping this stranded EMT truck. But in New York City a whole different story. Practically back to business as usual. And New York saw even more snow than D.C. 26.8 inches. Train spotters reporting 22.4 in Washington, D.C.

We've got live team coverage for you this morning. Nick Valencia is live in Washington. Jason Carroll live in New York.

But, Nick, we begin with you in D.C. That still partially crippled city. Good morning.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You can say things are relatively getting back to normal here. We see a lot more cars on the streets but we see even more heavy machinery like that tractor you see behind me trying to dig out some of this tons and tons of snow. Thousands of tons of snow left behind by this winter weather that just really walloped the East Coast.

Virginia across the river getting hit very hard. Washington, D.C. basically shut down. Businesses closed. Schools still closed and then you have individuals here like Alberto.

Hey, Alberto, you're live on CNN with Carol Costello. How are you? How do you -- how are you guys dealing with the snow here? Tell us what you guys have been through?

ALBERTO, RESIDENT: It was better than before we have in 2010. It's better, you know.

VALENCIA: So it wasn't as bad as 2010. Brian, come on in here, man. You guys --

ALBERTO: The only one is -- the snow was high. But it wasn't much damage, you know, like I had experienced in 2010. The power was off, you know.

VALENCIA: But this time around it was a little different.

BRIAN, RESIDENT: Yes, so, I mean, we've been out here since Friday. I'm ready to go home now. Too much snow.

VALENCIA: You guys are putting in work trying to dig out this car here for your fellow co-worker, huh?

BRIAN: Yes. I think we're going to end up helping her out, too, because her car is the red one in front of us, so we're going to help her out for a little bit. I mean, we don't have much else to do right now. So we'll stick it out for a little bit longer.

VALENCIA: Well, hopefully you guys dig it out and stay safe out there. We know it's still dangerous on these roadways. Carol --

ALBERTO: Thank you very much.

VALENCIA: Thank you guys very much for being live with us on CNN.

If there is anything to highlight here also it's just how incredibly dangerous this storm has been. We just got an update from Virginia state police, that's right across the Potomac River. Six confirmed fatalities there as a result of this winter weather. Five of them attributed to hypothermia. Another fatal car accident here in Washington, D.C. We have another confirmed dead.

All up and down the East Coast 85 million Americans at least impacted by this weather that right now has seemed to stop. But tomorrow in the forecast we hear there's rain coming. That could cause a problem. There's really all this snow around here, not really much place for it to go. Of course that gives a problem potentially for flooding -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. And ice to say the least. Nick Valencia, reporting live from D.C. this morning.

Some residents along the New Jersey coast are seeing worst flooding than during Super Storm Sandy. Tides rising to destructive heights on Saturday. The water causing damage to countless homes and businesses and prompting several water rescues. One woman capturing the moment the water rushed down the street, ocean waters bringing a river of ice and debris. Look at that. Just went rushing down the street and into that neighborhood.

[09:05:08] The recovery process so much smoother here in New York City. Jason Carroll is outside Penn Station this morning.

Hi, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. Here at Penn Station here in New York City where schools are open, much of the Long Island railroad train service has been restored. Certainly good news to the hundreds of thousands who rely on that every single day. And when you take into perspective how much snow has fallen in the city, the city is really getting back in its feet.

Record total at Central Park at 26.8 inches. Want to put that into perspective for you. Compare that to how much snow has fallen in Anchorage, Alaska, all season long at just 25.8 inches.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: This is a complicated snow removal effort.

CARROLL (voice-over): This morning the historic and deadly winter storm is still paralyzing parts of the northeast. Millions continue trying to dig and plow out of the weekend's record-breaking aftermath.

From space you can see snow enveloping more than 13 states in white.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go. There you go.

CARROLL: Officials now warning the melting slush may refreeze overnight causing dangerous icy conditions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You might be cruising along at 50 miles an hour and then you're going to hit snow, and we're going to have some accidents.

CARROLL: Crews in several states are still working around the clock to get Metro train and bus services back up and running.

In New York the Long Island railroad sustained significant damage during the storm forcing officials to only open 80 percent of the busiest commuter railroad in North America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be a slow start.

CARROLL: This snow storm dropping over 26 inches in Central Park, the second largest snowfall in New York City history. Glengary, West Virginia, two hours west of Washington, D.C. was the hardest hit. With over 42 inches covering their small town. The feet of heavy snow collapsing roofs in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

GOV. TERRY MCAULIFFE (D), VIRGINIA: I believe that at the end of the day this will probably be our most expensive snow event ever.

CARROLL: This as reports rise to at least 30 deaths by the crippling winter storm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I try to help the girl.

CARROLL: In New Jersey a mother and her 1-year-old son died waiting inside this car to stay warm but snow was covering the tail pipe and carbon monoxide quickly suffocated the family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mufflers are covered up. You know. You can't be staying in a car that long. So it's very sad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Taking a look at 8th Avenue right here in New York City. Right outside of Penn Station you can see the street is plowed but still slow traffic moving. Many of the streets, most of the streets here in Manhattan plowed including the secondary streets as well. Not the same story in places like Brooklyn and Queens. Some of those secondary streets still waiting to get plowed and see some salt spreaders out there, as well.

The mayor asking those folks out there in those boroughs to just be a little bit patient, Carol, to get some of those people out there to plow those secondary streets. So city that's back up on its feet, still a few trouble spots but certainly looking much better today than it did yesterday -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You got that right. Jason Carroll, reporting live this morning. Thank you.

On to politics now. One week from the Iowa caucuses and now just hours from the last faceoff of the three Democrats. Tonight only on CNN those Democrats will field questions directly from Iowa voters at a town hall meeting. The primetime showdown comes as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are locked in a virtual tie in Iowa. According to our poll of polls Sanders has a slight edge over Clinton and both see a victory in Iowa as critical.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: We are locked in a very, very close race right here in Iowa. And if we have the kind of turnout that I hope we can we are going to win here in Iowa.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: And if we win here in Iowa I think we're going to do very, very well in New Hampshire.

CLINTON: Why? The stakes in this election are so high and we have to start to move toward nominating and electing a president and commander in chief who will continue the progress we have made, make sure it is not ripped away forcing us to once again be disappointed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Chris Cuomo will moderate tonight's event.

[09:10:03] Hi, Chris. Tell us how this will go down.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol. How are you? You know, as you know we are all excited here. CNN is a big team. And what we're trying to do is give these candidates their last best chance to deal with voters one-on-one intimately.

And here, not just like how do you compare tax plans but what they are living and what they want to hear from candidates in terms of making their lives better. And that's the opportunity we're going to provide tonight.

Most of the questions are going to come from people in the audience who reflect different walks of life. And each of the candidates will in turn, starting with Senator Sanders, have the opportunity for over half an hour to go and deal with those one at a time. One at a time. And I will be there with the very good seat.

COSTELLO: You will have a great seat. So will the questions only come from audience members or will you throw in a question or two yourself?

CUOMO: Yes, I mean, you know -- you know the job, you do it so well, it is to just keep things moving along and make sure that as an issue gets raised it actually gets addressed. But obviously less is more. I feel like that about debates and all of these different fora. This is about the candidates. And tonight something that's special is that you really will be able to get a sense of the dynamic between voter and candidate. I don't want to do anything to spoil that.

COSTELLO: All right. Chris Cuomo, thanks for sticking around. I appreciate it.

That Democratic town hall, by the way, is tonight. It starts at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and of course it airs only on CNN.

We will hear from the Clinton camp in the next hour. But right now let's get the Sanders perspective. Symone Sanders is the national press secretary for the campaign. She joins us now live from Des Moines.

Welcome, Simone.

SYMONE SANDERS, NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY, SANDERS CAMPAIGN: Hello. Thanks for having me this morning.

COSTELLO: Thank you for being here. I want you to listen to what President Obama told Politico in an interview released this morning. here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Bernie came in with the luxury of being a complete long shot, right? And just letting loose. I think Hillary came in with the -- both privilege and burden of being perceived as the frontrunner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Symone, your thoughts. Did it help Bernie Sanders to enter the race with such low expectations?

S. SANDERS: I mean, let's be frank. A year ago Senator Sanders was polling -- he was 55 points down in Iowa a year ago. His name I.D. was low and a lot of Iowans didn't even know who he was. So yes, the senator did come in as the underdog. Secretary Clinton was the perceived frontrunner. So yes, definitely I think President Obama's points of course are correct but I do think what we have seen is that the senator has had an opportunity to make his case to the American people more specifically today he's been making his case to the people of Iowa. Today, this weekend and for these last couple of months. And we have seen that work pay off.

COSTELLO: Well -- but do you think that because Sanders was such an underdog that he could afford to say certain things that Hillary Clinton can't?

S. SANDERS: You know, I think anyone that knows Senator Sanders knows that you get what you see with him. And regardless I think Senator Sanders would have taken on this message of that we live in a rigged economy, that is kept in place by a system of corrupt campaign finance and that is not OK. And he's going to do something about it. So I think regardless, the senator would have came in with the same fervor and energy behind this message of addressing economic inequality, address racial inequality. You know, combating climate change. Because these are things that he has fought for, for years. So this is not new to him. He is really speaking about the issues

again that he is most passionate about and the things that he has been talking about his entire political career.

COSTELLO: The other thing that came to mind when I listened to this interview from Politico is that President Obama, he repeatedly praised Hillary Clinton without reservation. I'm not saying that he dissed Sanders. But isn't it clear that President Obama is on Hillary Clinton's side?

S. SANDERS: I think it is clear that, one, we have great respect for President Obama. I love President Obama. I voted for him. My first vote in a presidential election. But what I do think is clear is that this is going to be decided, the caucuses in Iowa are going to be decided by the people of Iowa. And it is --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But I do think -- I'm sorry to interrupt. But I do think --

S. SANDERS: I mean, I think -- no, but I think it's important to note that yes, yes, President Obama has his thoughts. He also said great things about Senator Sanders in that interview with (INAUDIBLE). But as he noted it's going to be up to the people of Iowa. So --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But his praise for Hillary Clinton was that --

S. SANDERS: We welcome --

COSTELLO: And I think -- well, hold on a second, I think President Obama's support is very important because among Democrats Mr. Obama is enormously popular. He has something like a 76 percent approval rating.

[09:15:06] Among minority voters Mr. Obama is incredibly popular. So wouldn't Senator Sanders like the president's full support?

S. SANDERS: Well, we would love the president's full support. But I'd like to note the president has not thrown his support behind anyone. He didn't throw his support behind Secretary Clinton and he hasn't thrown his support behind Senator Sanders. He has noted that he is staying neutral. And I think if people would like to ask, you know, who President Obama supports you should ask President Obama.

What I do think is important is that President Obama has noted that Senator Sanders' message is one that again is resonating with the American people. He's noted that Senator Sanders --

COSTELLO: Got it.

S. SANDERS: He did have the ability to be candid, to speak to the issues that people care about. And you're seeing that resonate here in Iowa. COSTELLO: No, no, I hear you. I hear you on those things.

S. SANDERS: So of course --

COSTELLO: I hear you on those things but just going back to President Obama's interview because I want to get all my questions in, he also intimated that Senator Sanders needs to talk about more than income inequality because as this campaign goes on voters are going to want more, in other words, inspiration without experience won't cut it, you know, as far as, you know, dealing with security issues, for example. So should Senator Sanders broaden his message?

S. SANDERS: Senator Sanders has broadened his message. You know, again, if you go to a Sanders campaign rally, if you go to any of these town halls I think we're going to see it tonight right here in Iowa during the CNN Iowa Democratic Party town hall. He is talking about not only economic inequality, we talk about ISIS, we talk about combating climate change. We talk about addressing institutional racism.

He is talking about the criminal justice system. So I do think the Senator -- his message is broad. His message is one that again speaks to the American people. His message is a message that again is rooted in the fact that we do live in a rigged economy that is kept in place by a system of corrupt campaign finance. And I think we can't forget that.

Citizens United, Super PACs, these are things that we have inundated with in this election and entire elections. And those are things that the American people really truly do care about. And I reject the notion that Senator Sanders' message is not broad. It is in fact broad and one that speaks to hard working American people all over this country. And I think we are going to see the fruits of that labor. We are going to see this resonate in the caucuses come February 1.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you so much, Symone Sanders, for being with me. I appreciate it.

Stay with us. One hour from now we'll talk to Brian Fallon, he's the press secretary for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, President Obama, he's been praised on his former rival, will it help Hillary Clinton this time around?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:51] COSTELLO: President Obama gave a remarkably introspective interview to Politico. He talked election 2016 and about his own first run for president in 2008. The president appears to regret the sometimes vicious attacks on Hillary Clinton telling Politico she had it harder than he did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The sheer strength, determination, endurance stick-to-it-ness, never give up attitude that Hillary had during those primaries, I mean, we had as competitive and lengthy and expensive and tough primary fight as there has been in modern American politics. And she had to do everything that I had to do except my Ginger Rogers, backwards in heels. She had to wake up earlier than I did because she had to get her hair done. She had to go, you know, handle all the expectations that were placed on her. She had a tougher job throughout that primary than I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Interesting, right? Rob Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and editorial director of the "National Journal" and Mark Preston is CNN Politics executive director. They're both in Des Moines this morning. Thanks for joining me.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. So, Ron, what do you make of what President Obama said? He said Hillary Clinton had it harder than him like Ginger Rogers, she had to do everything backwards and in heels.

BROWNSTEIN: Ginger Rogers is a famous Hollywood conservative in the 1940s, by the way, just a historical little irony there. But look, first of all his analysis is right. There was nothing like the 2008 primary before or since twice as many people voted that has ever voted in a Democratic primary. Many more volunteers, donors went all the way to the end. It was as close a race as we have seen. It was a truly epic contest.

But what the president is doing here I think is very subtly dovetailing with Hillary Clinton's closing argument here in the Iowa caucus which is essentially that she is more prepared for the job. Her agenda is more realistic. I mean, you know, we have a Sanders campaign that to some extent like Obama but even more so, is essentially inviting voters to join a crusade. Hillary Clinton is saying you have to pick a president and Barack Obama, the president, I think is saying with his experience in the job that what she is offering is a little more relevant to what it actually takes behind the big desk.

COSTELLO: And, Mark, this interview that the president gave Politico, it was sort of like a love fest for Hillary Clinton, wasn't it?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: It was. I mean, look, he wasn't overtly critical of Senator Sanders but he was overtly effusive in praise about Secretary Clinton.

You know, I spoke to Jeff Weaver, the campaign manager, just a short time ago and asked him -- the campaign manager for Bernie Sanders, and asked him, you know, what was your take on this specifically in the article President Obama was asked, you know, do you see similarities between you and Senator Sanders because we -- you know, are talking a lot about that, and he immediately said no.

[09:25:04] Now what Weaver said was, well, that's true, they're two different people but what you are finding here on the ground is that Senator Sanders is generating the kind of excitement as Ron had said in that he is getting younger voters more engaged in the process who are very critical in Barack Obama's win in Iowa back in 2008.

He also said these nontraditional voters that we haven't seen come out to the caucuses before, Bernie Sanders is tapping into that, as well. So it will be interesting to see what happens now a week from today, will these folks actually come out like they did for Obama? Will they come out for Sanders?

COSTELLO: Well, I talked to Sanders' press secretary, one of his campaign members, too, this morning, Ron. And she said she voted for Barack Obama. She says Barack Obama hasn't thrown his support overtly behind any candidate but in listening to this Politico article you have to feel that he's going to throw support behind Hillary Clinton. And if he does that how important will it be for the Clinton campaign or, you know, detrimental to the Sanders campaign?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I don't know if he'll do it overtly and explicitly but certainly as you say in this interview there is a clear tilt and a thumb on the scale. Well, look, I mean, it's going to be important in a lot of ways. But the most important way is that the absolute firewall for Hillary Clinton in this race is her strength among African-American voters and Latino voters to some extent. 2008, African-Americans overwhelmingly with the president. She had Latinos in 2008.

Bernie Sanders is doing very well with white voters and expanding well beyond his original beach head which is essentially white upper middle class voters, he's now moving into the white working class.

But, Carol, minority voters are about 35 percent or 40 percent of all Democratic voters and until he shows he can break into that pool of voters it's still going to be an uphill climb even if he does win Iowa and New Hampshire, though that will certainly be an earthquake. The president's I think implicit support is an important asset for Hillary Clinton and trying to hold on to that.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Mark Preston, Ron Brownstein, thanks to both of you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, we're just a few days away from the next GOP debate. But will Rand Paul be on the main stage? I'll talk live to him next.

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