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NBA Champion Warriors; Trump vs. Cruz. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired February 4, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:00] CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Hasakah province, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Shocking.

The news continues next on CNN.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. It is Thursday. You're watching CNN. Thank you for being with me here.

Five days out now - five days from the first in the nation primary in New Hampshire, the only two Democrats remaining in the race for the White House, they're battling it out over the ideological direction of their party's future. Bernie Sanders is trying to spark what he calls a political revolution. While Hillary Clinton is trying to convince voters she is the best candidate to lead the Democrats in what will be a post Obama era. They laid out their cases, faced excellent questions from these voters in New Hampshire, all the while going after one another in CNN's Democratic town hall. The two have been locked in a bit of a tussle and it all boils down to who is the most progressive. Here they were.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ONO SCREEN TEXT: Battle over "progressive" label.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And you can't go and say you're a moderate on one day and be a progressive on the other day. Some of my best friends are moderates. I love moderates. But you can't be a moderate and a progressive, they are different.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said that I'm a progressive who likes to get things done. And I - I was somewhat amused today that Senator Sanders has set himself up to be the gatekeeper on who's a progressive because under the definition that was flying around on Twitter and statements by the campaign, Barack Obama would not be a progressive, Joe Biden would not be a progressive.

ON SCREEN TEXT: Big banks.

SANDERS: I do not know any progressive who has a super PAC and takes $15 million from Wall Street. That's just not a progressive. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN MODERATOR: One of the things that Senator Sanders

points to and a lot of your critics point to is you made three speeches for Goldman Sachs. You were paid $675,000 for three speeches. Was that a mistake? I mean was that a bad error in judgement?

CLINTON: Look, I made speeches to lots of groups. I told them what I thought. I answered questions.

COOPER: But did you have to be paid $675,000?

CLINTON: Well, I don't know. That's what they offered. So - you know, every - every secretary of state that I know has done that.

COOPER: But that's usually (ph) ones they're out (ph) of office and not running for an office again.

CLINTON: Well, I didn't know -

COOPER: You must have known.

CLINTON: To be honest, I wasn't - I wasn't committed to running.

ON SCREEN TEXT: Iraq War.

SANDERS: The key foreign policy -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We're going to talk about some of the highlights here from last night, but we have to take you to the White House. President Barack Obama, flanked by the 2015 NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Let's take a listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Riley Curry would be here today to share the podium with me, but I guess I'm going to have to get media training some other day.

The East Room is not as loud as the Oracle (ph), but Dove Nation is well represented. We've got some members of my cabinet and Congress in the house who are big fans. And I don't just mean Harrison Barnes, who apparently they call "the senator." He's from Iowa. So maybe he's got some politics in his blood.

But we've got one of the biggest Golden State Warrior fans around, our leader in the House of Representatives, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. We've got Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy is here, so this is bipartisan. We have Mayor Schaaf is here. So we're glad you're here to celebrate the best in the (INAUDIBLE).

I also want to recognize Warrior executive board member and NBA legend, one of the greatest of all time, "the logo," Jerry West. As well as owner Joe Lacob and general manager Bob Myers. Give them a big round of applause.

Now, it is rare to be in the presence of guys from the greatest team in NBA history. So we're pretty lucky today because we've got one of those players in the house, Steve Kerr from the 1995/'96 Chicago Bulls. It's good to see you back.

[14:05:11] Now, for those of you who don't know, the Warriors started the season without Coach Kerr who was recovering from back surgery. So Luke Walton stepped up and led the team to a ridiculous 39-4 record. Unfortunately, the NBA won't let Luke count those wins as his own. Which, man, that doesn't seem fair. You defied the cynics. You accomplished big things. You racked up a great record. And you don't get enough credit. I can't imagine how that feels.

Now, let's face it, the Warriors are in the midst of a pretty special two-year run. Folks are saying that they are revolutionizing basketball. They are so good that they seem to be just breaking the game itself. And I don't play anymore, but I still know a little bit about basketball, and this really is one of the best that we've ever seen. Great shooting. Great passing. A small ball nuclear lineup. It's almost not fair. And they play not just well, but they play well together. They play as a team the way basketball's supposed to be played. And it's beautiful to watch when they're working on all cylinders.

Now, let's face it, beautiful was not how folks described the Warriors for many years. I may be one of the few who are old enough to remember the last time they were good. Back in the middle '70s, I was - the last time they won a championship. I was 10 years old. So, you know, the franchise had had some good teams and some great players but it had been struggling. One college player forgot that there was even a team in Oakland. That was Klay Thompson, by the way.

But a few years ago Joe Lacob took over, pointed out - pointed to that 1975 championship banner and said, that's a very lonely flag, we need another one. And last year they got it. Sixty-seven wins, 16 straight at one point. That used to seem like a lot until this year where they started off 24-0. Ended last season with their first title in 40 years.

And, obviously, a big part of that was league MVP Steph Curry. Steph's a pretty good shooter. For those of you who watched the game against the Wizards last night, it was, to use slang, he was clowning. He was all jumping up and down. Just settle down.

By the way, for the record, I heard during this summer, after our golf game, that Steph was using the excuse of Secret Service being intimidating for why he lost the match. That is not the case. But he will have another opportunity. Obviously, watching Steph play is incredible. And for anybody who enjoys basketball, it is - it is just a lot of fun.

But it's not just Steph. There's the other splash brother, Klay, who dropped 37 points in a quarter. And whose jump shot is actually a little prettier. I'm just saying.

[14:10:08] There were Barnes' dunks, Bogut blocks, Draymond Green showing us heart over height every single night. Draymond's also known to add a few more words that I cannot repeat. Then you've got a couple of unselfish all-stars in their own right that were coming off the bench, Andre Iguodala and David Lee. And a bench that was so good that an opposing coach complained they've got two starting lineups.

In the finals, Golden State faced Cleveland and a guy named LeBron. Down two games to one, Coach Kerr had the guts to shake up the lineup and it worked. Andre came off the bench, played great "d," took home the finals MVP and it was the perfect example of the kind of team this is. Everybody doing their part. Everybody ready to step up at any moment. Unselfish play. Folks looking out for each other.

And it's the same kind of selflessness that the Warriors show in their community as well. They've led the way for the NBA's commitment to My Brother's Keeper initiative, promoting mentoring in the Bay area and nationwide. I know they met with some students in the White House mentor program earlier today. This team's also supporting the city's Oakland Promise effort to help more kids make it through college. You've had - you've had players take a stand against gun violence, work with - they've worked with Michelle's Let's Move initiative. They've dressed up as Santa to deliver Christmas presents to those in need. And the first time I met Steph was because he had partnered with the U.N. Foundation to donate three anti-malaria mosquito nets for every three pointers he makes. So last night that's 33 nets. So keep shooting, Steph. Not that he needs any encouragement, obviously.

Yes, the point is, this is a great basketball team, but it's a great organization. It's a great culture. And these are outstanding young men. And some of them I've met before. Steph, I've gotten to know a little better. They're just - they're the kind of people you want representing a city, representing the NBA and the kinds of people that you want our kids to be rooting for.

So they have a lot to be proud of. Good luck for the rest of this season. Maybe you'll break that Bull's record. But as Coach Kerr pointed out, he wins either way. Either way, he's got the record. So, thanks, everybody. Congratulations.

BALDWIN: President Obama having some fun, cutting up a little bit with the Golden State Warriors there. It's fun to see the president with some people a little taller than him there at the White House. They won the NBA championship for 2015. They're there to say hello. It's been pretty fun to watch that. Also sitting alongside - Oakland is your home away from home, van Jones.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. That was awesome.

BALDWIN: And you used to work at that house on Pennsylvania Avenue as well.

JONES: A lot of worlds coming together for me.

BALDWIN: Seeing - seeing Steph Curry, Harrison Barnes, Carolina Tar Heel, standing right behind the president, you know, him sort of talking smack about the golf game with Steph -

JONES: Yes.

BALDWIN: And blaming it on Secret Service for his poor performance. These have to be fun moments for the president.

JONES: Hey, listen, that - that was President Obama at his best. You know, he - the ease, the fun, the excitement of it. But also he's a true basketball fan.

BALDWIN: His love for Chicago.

JONES: His love for Chicago coming out of this. That whole kind of rivalry. But, you know, the other thing about that team, which they don't get enough credit for, Oakland, people forget, is in the Bay area, right next to Silicon Valley. And those guys are not only great athletes, they use computers in a way that no other team does. They count all the passes. They have algorithms. So what - you're not just seeing physical mastery, you're seeing a mental game that nobody's seen before. I love that team and I love Steph Curry.

BALDWIN: Van, thank you.

JONES: Yes.

BALDWIN: Stay with me. It's serendipitous that you happen to be sitting next to me during this moment.

But let's move along and talk politics, shall we? Both Clinton and Sanders got very personal at CNN's town hall in New Hampshire, opening up to voters about their faith and how it guides the way they live their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would not be here tonight, I would not be running for president of the United States, if I did not have very strong religious and spiritual feelings. I believe that as a human being the pain that one person feels, if we have children who are hungry in America, if we have elderly people who can't afford their prescription drugs, you know what, that impacts you, that impacts me. And I worry very much about a society where some people spiritually say, it doesn't matter to me, I got it, I don't care about other people. So my spirituality is that we are all in this together.

[14:15:21] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I feel very fortunate that I am a person of faith. That I was raised in my church. I've had to be in public dealing with some very difficult issues. And personal issues, political, public issues. Regardless of how hard the days are, how difficult the decisions are, be grateful. Be grateful for being a human being, being part of the universe. Be grateful for your limitations. Know that you have to reach out to have more people be with you, to support you, to advise you. Listen to your critics. Answer the questions. But at the end, be grateful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Beautiful.

BALDWIN: Van Jones back with me. I know I'm -

JONES: Yes.

BALDWIN: You and I have had many a conversations.

JONES: Yes.

BALDWIN: Gratitude is everything in life.

JONES: Yes. Yes.

BALDWIN: But it was that part, when these two got really personal, talking about faith, that really resonated with you.

JONES: Yes, it was - it was - it was beautiful because, you know, so often faith is kind of this thing that they - oh, well, look, I'm a person of faith, I go to church. I'm trying to, you know, convince you something.

BALDWIN: Yes.

JONES: What happen - I think they were both kind of caught off guard by the questions and they didn't seem prepared. And so what you actually heard was, on Bernie's side, who's this guy - you can think of this secular, socialist guy. He starts talking about a spirituality I think is becoming more common, not religious, I believe in God, but spiritual.

BALDWIN: Yes.

JONES: I believe in connection. I believe in transcendence. He talked about that in a way I had never heard him talk about. And then you heard Hillary Clinton. She - what she said and one thing she said, when you deal with criticism, take it seriously but not personally. And then she turned to the faith. You can preach on that. That is beautiful. That is beautiful. And so i felt like they were not pandering. I felt like they were not prepared. And I thought we saw a side of both of them very rare in American life.

BALDWIN: Another side of Bernie Sanders that I think not a lot of Americans are really aware of is his role, his marching, his arrest during the civil rights era -

JONES: Yes.

BALDWIN: Back when he was fighting for the desegregation of the University of Chicago housing and the schooling there. He talked about how he was arrested with Anderson and his passion for fight injustices here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: There will be no president who will fight harder to end institutional racism than I will. And we have got to reform a very, very broken criminal justice system. It breaks my heart and I know that it breaks the hearts of millions of people in this country to see videos on television of unarmed people, often African-Americans, shot by police. That has got to end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We learned today that the former head of the NAACP, Ben Jealous -

JONES: Yes.

BALDWIN: Endorsing him. But yet we were talking about this earlier.

JONES: Yes.

BALDWIN: But when you look at the numbers in terms of the African- American vote, when you think especially to all-important South Carolina, which happens after New Hampshire, according to this NBC/"Washington - "Wall Street Journal"/Marist poll, in South Carolina, Sanders has 17 percent of black voters, Hillary Clinton with 74 percent.

JONES: Yes.

BALDWIN: Why?

JONES: Well because the Clintons have been a part of our community for a very long time. And Bernie Sanders, I mean as beloved as he is among progressives, has just not put in the time. I tell you what, you know, the Clintons, you can find a million pictures of them in black churches. Hard to find a picture of Bernie Sanders in a black church recently. Now, he did when he was younger. But -

BALDWIN: He did so much so long ago.

JONES: He did so much, but I -

BALDWIN: Do people just not know that?

JONES: I think people don't know it, but here's what I think. When you see at 17 what you say is room to grow. And when you see a Ben Jealous - people - I don't think people really get this. Ben Jealous is a major, major force in the black community. The NAACP was about to go out of business. He went in there, turned it around. Under his leadership, the NAACP produced a million more black voters in 2012 than they did in 2008. So when he says, I'm for Bernie Sanders, that sends a signal - and he's a young guy - that some of the younger African-Americans are looking at the Clintons differently. A lot of younger African-Americans - remember, Bill Clinton doubled the prison population from 1 million to 2 million under his eight-year watch. Now, in the days of Black Lives Matter, that's a mark against Hillary Clinton, just like the NRA vote is a mark -

BALDWIN: Right.

JONES: A mark against Bernie Sanders.

BALDWIN: Right.

JONES: And so this may come into the mix. But I think what you're going to see is Bernie Sanders making a real serious play for black votes. I think the Clintons will overwhelmingly win that black vote. But you watch that 17 start to climb and lets you - gives you a sense there's a new generation out there that might be more open to hearing from Bernie Sanders.

BALDWIN: Just really strong for both of them last night. Nice to see those personal moments.

JONES: Oh, yes. You know, and I thought Anderson Cooper, he sprinkled that Cooper dust out there somehow and he got that -

BALDWIN: He did a nice job.

JONES: He got that place feeling very intimate.

BALDWIN: Yes.

JONES: And they both spoke from their hearts. I think no matter who you are, if you thought you knew Bernie Sanders and you thought you knew Hillary Clinton, you saw something last night you've never seen before.

[14:20:07] BALDWIN: Agree. Van Jones, thank you very much, my friend. Thank you.

Next, no holding back in the race to be the establishment's choice in the Republican Party. Chris Christie unleashing on Marco Rubio. And you know what, he's not the only one.

Plus, the awkward live TV moment when Rick Santorum had to come up with at least one of Rubio's accomplishments when he was explaining why he was officially supporting him.

And, Donald Trump now suggesting Ted Cruz's actions in Iowa are criminal. Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And we're back. You're watching CNN.

From bromance to brawl, the rivalry between the top two Republican frontrunners for president has gotten creative and caustic. Ted Cruz coined a new phrase for a Trump attack and Donald Trump has concocted a new theory on who is to blame for Obamacare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If it weren't for Ted Cruz, he's the one that got Justice Roberts onto the United States Supreme Court. He pushed him. He approved him. And Justice Roberts approved Obamacare twice when it should have been rejected. His vote got it over the top. Ted Cruz did that. Ted Cruz gave us Obamacare. [14:25:13] SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is no

surprise that Donald is throwing yet another temper tantrum or, if you like, yet another Trumper tantrum. It seems his reaction to everything is to throw a fit. And there's a reason that Donald engages in insult after insult, because he can't debate the substance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Cruz there responding to Trump's Twitter accusation that Cruz, quote, "stole," his win in Iowa due to misleading mailers Cruz's campaign sent out, and to Cruz campaign workers telling voters that Ben Carson was dropping out when the candidate was only taking a trip to Florida.

With me now, chief political correspondent Dana Bash and A.B. Stoddard, associate editor at "The Hill."

Ladies, good to see both of you.

And, Dana Bash, here's my question to you. You know, listen, Donald Trump has been on this warpath against Ted Cruz, but why isn't he attacking Marco Rubio now?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's a good question. You know, we all thought that coming out of Iowa he would be doing that. He just had a few kind of side remarks about why is everybody making such a fuss out of Marco Rubio. He came in third, I came in second. But since then, not so much.

But I think the most interesting question is, at least today, as opposed to last night, which you just played is, why isn't he attacking anyone? Brooke, we just saw - now you can see it's empty behind me, but he was here to - with a packed house about an hour ago and he is really getting back to basics. He didn't hurl insults at anybody. He didn't read his polls and talk about how wonderful he's doing.

BALDWIN: Huh.

BASH: He talked about what people started liking him for. For the fact that he is not - is not and cannot be bought and sold by lobbyists or big donors. That he knows how to make a deal and he can bring that to Washington. And, of course, the issue of illegal immigration. That is sort of a standard line for him. It's fascinating to me that he really tried to limit it. He had kind of a - almost a different demeanor where he seemed to understand that he needs to be and wants to be more appealing. And that certainly came through in the way he changed up his stump speech today.

BALDWIN: All right. Hmm. So that's Donald Trump today.

What about Chris Christie, A.B., because he's wasting no time, when you look at what he's been saying over the - let's just say the past 48 hours, he mocked Marco Rubio as the boy in the bubble and so much more.

A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "THE HILL": I think he is -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rubio hasn't accomplished one thing in his entire career. The guy has sat in the United States Senate for five years and doesn't have one major accomplishment. And Marco Rubio has been the most protected, coddled candidate in this entire race. Where he gives the same 60-second canned answers. Let the boy come out of the bubble. Let's see what he can take. What he can take the heat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I mean I just wanted to play that for everyone because it's sort of like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom from Chris Christie, right? And I'm just wondering, I mean, this touch talk, it played really well for him in New Jersey, but will it work in presidential politics?

STODDARD: I just don't think it makes any sense for him now. His comeback in New Hampshire from the back of the pack to a contender, the one with the biggest momentum in December, was because he was playing it straight. He was talking about his capability. He was talking about his accomplishments. He was ready to answer any questions, staying at town halls into hour three, having a good time. I think out of every single candidate in both parties, Brooke, he's involved the most in this cycle. And now he's throwing it away with petty and obnoxious insults about Marco Rubio.

He should be worried about who's going to come in fourth there. I mean if you look at the potential for four openings, if you look at Cruz and Trump and Rubio in New Hampshire, and he wants to beat out Kasich and Bush, he's wasting his time with these obnoxious attacks on Marco Rubio.

BASH: You know -

STODDARD: Talking about how long he stays at town halls. I have never heard this in any campaign ever. A candidate not staying at a town hall long enough and he's not answering questions the right way. It's just a waste of his time.

BALDWIN: On Marco Rubio, we were talking right around this time yesterday, we were getting the news that Rick Santorum was going to be the next sort of shoe to drop in the Republican - in the Republican race and now we know he's endorsed Marco Rubio. But instead of, you know, helping him, Santorum ended up sort of highlighting a perceived weakness of Rubio's. And when he was on MSNBC, you know, this morning and asked multiple times to name, you know, a major Rubio accomplishment, well, let me just play that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you list as Marco Rubio's top accomplishment that made you decide to endorse him?

RICK SANTORUM (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I mean, I would just say that there's a guy who's been able to, number one, one of - win - win a top election in Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you name his top - top accomplishment in the Senate, actually working in the Senate doing something that tilted your decision to Marco Rubio?

[14:30:00] SANTORUM: You know, here's what I would say about that. My - my feeling on Marco is someone who has tremendous potential, tremendous gift. And the Republicans have been the majority in - for one year and one month of which, as you know, he was running for president primarily. The first --