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Trump Repeats Supporter's Vulgar Insult of Ted Cruz; Clinton & Sanders Battle for a Win in N.H. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired February 9, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not just who wins but whether the people of New Hampshire are prepared to lead this country.

[07:00:06] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hope I can close the deal between now and the time the polls close.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Look at that beautiful sunrise here in New Hampshire. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. Michaela is in New York this morning for us. Chris and I are here at the Waterworks Cafe in Manchester, New Hampshire.

And polls are open across the Granite State for the nation's first primary. Overnight three towns already casting a handful of ballots. And the totals right now, it is a three-way tie at the top of the Republican field...

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: I knew it!

CAMEROTA: ... among Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich, all with nine votes. Bernie Sanders nearly doubling Hillary Clinton at this early hour.

CUOMO: Now, these first three towns have been 99 percent correct in determining the outcome of races in New Hampshire. That's not even close to true.

CAMEROTA: No, it's not.

CUOMO: But it's such a beautiful part of the ritual that starts here. It really is a nod to how seriously they take it in New Hampshire. Just after midnight they start going after it.

So what have we seen in the state of play here? Nothing good. Especially in the last few days leading up to this, specifically the back and forth between Donald Trump and really just about anybody. But right now Ted Cruz.

So let's give you the state of play and how it's feeding in to what happens on this all-important day. CNN has it covered like only we can.

Let's start with political reporter Sara Murray in Hudson, New Hampshire, at a polling station -- Sara.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Yes, that's right. The doors opened here just a couple minutes ago. Voters are trickling in. Even though it is cold out there, it's a little bit slick out there, people were still lined up outside, ready to cast their first ballots here this morning.

Now, as you mentioned, things have been getting a little rough and tumble in these last couple hours on the campaign trail. It seems like every Republican is trying to land one last punch, winning over these independent and undecided New Hampshire voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY (voice-over): Hours ahead of the first votes, name calling in the GOP reached a fever pitch.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She said, "He's a (EXPLETIVE DELETED)." That's Tara (ph). Tara (ph).

MURRAY: Donald Trump repeated a voter's vulgar jab at Ted Cruz Monday night. And the frontrunner was relentless in attacking Jeb Bush throughout the day.

TRUMP: We have to get rid of the Bushes of the world. Jeb is a lightweight.

(via phone) Jeb is having some kind of a breakdown, I think. And, you know, look, he's an embarrassment to his family.

MURRAY: Bush continuing the battle, trading insult for insult after tweeting at Trump, "You aren't just a loser. You are a liar and a whiner."

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, he is a whiner. I'm a joyful warrior.

Imagine a guy like Donald Trump, for example, being president of the United States during difficult times.

MURRAY: Now, in the final hours, candidates are vying to win over legions of undecided New Hampshire voters. Marco Rubio trying to bounce back after a debate gaffe, repeating the same phrase four times Saturday night. Something Chris Christie is capitalizing on.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You sit across the table from Vladimir Putin, you don't want to repeat the same thing four or five times over again.

MURRAY: But awkwardly, Rubio repeated himself yet again Monday night during a stump speech.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We know how hard it's become to instill our values in our kids, instead of the values they try to ram down our throats.

It's become harder than ever to instill in your children the values they teach in our homes and in our church, instead of the values that they try to ram down our throats.

MURRAY: This as Trump downplayed his wide lead in the final polls before today's primary.

TRUMP (on camera): I hear we have a lead. It doesn't matter to me. It doesn't matter to me. Who the hell knows what the lead is?

MURRAY: After admitting his ground game fell behind in Iowa, his campaign has been playing catchup.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, how are you doing?

MURRAY: On the snowy eve of the primary, Trump made a final push in his unconventional style.

TRUMP: If you're going to drive like a maniac, do it tomorrow after you vote. And I promise I will come and visit you in the hospital. I promise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now, Donald Trump has had a pretty solid lead, leading up to this primary, but the race to watch might be for second place on the Republican side.

One candidate to watch there: John Kasich, the guy you say is doing so well in these early returns. His team is feeling solid, and with these large numbers of independent voters in New Hampshire, he could have a better-than-expected night. So we'll know in just a couple of hours.

Back to you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Sara, it's just amazing to look there behind you. I mean, it's 7:04 in the morning. And already, there is a huge crowd at that polling station. So thanks so much for showing us that.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has been working hard to close the gap between her and Bernie Sanders here in New Hampshire. There's a lot of speculation about potential changes in the Clinton campaign moving forward.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is following the Democrats. He's also live at a polling place in Manchester.

How is it looking there, Jeff? Not as crowded.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

[07:05:10] Any campaign shakeup, any discussion of that will be determined on the results tonight here in New Hampshire. No question the Clinton campaigns believes that they are running from behind here. But they are certainly not giving up. She is going to be campaigning across Manchester, at least four stops today.

You can see the polling place behind me. It's a little bit empty right now. But, boy, there was a burst of activity when it first opened at 6 a.m. this morning. A lot of workers coming in before they were going in.

But the main race here on the Democratic side: Can Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton here in New Hampshire?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDERS: You look beautiful.

ZELENY (voice-over): It's your turn, New Hampshire.

H. CLINTON: Thank you, New Hampshire.

ZELENY: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders delivering last-minute pleas.

H. CLINTON: This is an important milestone in this campaign.

ZELENY: And 11th-hour pitches.

SANDERS: I'm here today to ask your support to join with us in making that political revolution. Thank you all very much.

ZELENY: The first-in-the-nation primary will set the tone for the rest of the campaign and help determine just how long that will be. A strong Sanders win will guarantee a long Democratic race ahead.

SANDERS: The eyes of the country, and a lot of the world, by the way, will be right here in New Hampshire.

ZELENY: The Clinton team bracing for a tough night and a possible campaign shakeup if things don't go well tonight.

H. CLINTON: We're going to take stock. But it's going to be the campaign that I've got.

ZELENY: CNN has learned much of the discontent is coming from allies of Bill Clinton, who believe the campaign underestimated Sanders.

On election eve, the former president held his tongue, or tried to.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sometimes when I'm on a stage like this, I wish we weren't married. Then I could say what I really think.

ZELENY: The race hinges on New Hampshire's famously fickle independent voters and whether they will choose their heads or their hearts.

Beth Riley came to a Bernie Sanders rally. BETH RILEY, VOTER: I really love Bernie. I mean, he says all the

things that we would like to have this country be so much better.

ZELENY: But says she'll vote for Clinton.

RILEY: I'd love it if he could win. And I think I'm probably going to go with Hillary, because I think she can win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: Now, those independent voters we talk about so much here in New Hampshire, this is actually how it works. Some 40 percent of the state voters today are independent. They walk in behind me here. They grab either ballot. You can ask for a Democratic ballot or a Republican ballot. But then, on your way out of this polling place, you can switch back to being undeclared. That's why they are so important. They hold such a key to this election, on both sides, the Democratic race and the Republican race -- Chris and Alisyn.

CUOMO: All right, Jeff, thank you very much.

Let's bring in our panel to discuss the implications and the happenings: Ryan Lizza, CNN political commentator and Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker"; Maeve Reston, CNN's national political reporter; and Paul Steinhauser. He's the political director for New Hampshire One and a former CNN political editor.

Ryan Lizza, what we're hearing about the shakeup in Hillary Clinton's campaign, overblown? She says they're just taking stock.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, she had eight years to prepare for this race. Eight years to figure out how to win Iowa after her crushing defeat against Obama. New Hampshire is a state that's been pretty good to the Clintons. Right? Bill Clinton came in second here but actually sort of won it. He was the Comeback Kid. She came back from a nine-point deficit in the polls to win New Hampshire in 2008.

And they are getting clobbered by a 74-year-old socialist who wasn't even a Democrat until this year.

CUOMO: Sounds like you're not #feelingthebern.

LIZZA: No, no. Look, you have to give that campaign a lot of credit. Look, there's always 37 percent in a Democratic primary that's going to appeal to what Sanders is selling, right? There's always that market.

But you just have to understand, given the advantage of the Clinton campaign: -- fundraising, endorsements, the dominance in the polls in the beginning of this -- you have to say she has underperformed. And yes, I would be looking at changing something, if the results were what they are right now.

CAMEROTA: And yet, there can be many surprises in New Hampshire just as there were -- as she has proven before and as even Iowa showed. There are still -- the polls are not always right. And here's the -- the sort of wild card. The undeclared factor that Jeff Zeleny was just talking about. Let's pull these numbers up. Look at, in New Hampshire, how many people still consider themselves not only undecided but undeclared in terms of party. So you can see here, it's 46 percent for the Republicans, 47 percent for the Democrats in terms of undeclared and independents, Maeve. And so anything is still possible.

CUOMO: And remember, just give a little bit more context to this. This is just asking them which party are you picking, not which candidate. You have another layer of doubt once you look into that category of as many as four, four and a half out of five people say, "OK, I'm looking GOP or I'm looking Democrat. But I don't know which person."

[07:10:08] RESTON: Remember that a lot of these undeclareds technically are really leaners one way or another toward the parties.

But this is such a fun race that, if you had, you know, a card like that to play, would you decide to vote in the Republican primary, maybe take out Donald Trump if you can't stand him? Or go over and, you know, try to give Bernie Sanders some momentum?

So I think it's going to be really interesting. It's been also fascinating, for example, at John Kasich's events to see the number of undeclareds who are showing up. I think he may be the candidate who really benefits from that, running much more as a moderate. There are a lot of Democrats who like him. And he could come out with a very strong showing tonight.

CUOMO: Well, the poll, the coveted Donald Trump interview.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, POLITICAL DIRECTOR, NEW HAMPSHIRE ONE: No more though. That's going to be the last one.

CAMEROTA: Why? Did something go awry?

STEINHAUSER: No. The primary is over. So he doesn't need me anymore.

CUOMO: What did you pick up from him in terms of his vibe, and what was he trying to sell?

STEINHAUSER: He was a little sedate, and he was less sedate later in the evening when he had some provocative comments. But I asked him point-blank, "Do you have to win New Hampshire? You didn't win Iowa. Do you have to win New Hampshire to carry on?"

He said, "No, I don't believe that."

I think he's got to win New Hampshire, and he's got to win by double digits.

He also took another shot at Ted Cruz, saying, "Hey, I probably won Iowa, but Cruz probably took those votes from Carson." Still going after Cruz on that one. Now, listen, let's be honest. He's been the favorite here. Way up in

the polls. Back to July. He needs a big victory here. He's got a bigger machine here than he had in Iowa. He took Iowa for granted. He's been working a lot harder. His campaign has been working hard here. He needs a big victory.

RESTON: Or so they say.

STEINHAUSER: Or so they say.

MAEVE RESTON, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: But we don't know.

CUOMO: Maeve Reston.

CAMEROTA: What are you suggesting?

RESTON: I just don't feel like it's been very difficult to get a good sense of Donald Trump's ground game, particularly when you talk to voters. I mean, the first question you're always asking is how often are you getting phone calls? Do they know when you voted in the past? And you're not hearing that from a lot of voters in the same way that you were in Iowa from the Cruz folk or Jeb Bush's people.

So I think that his celebrity factor certainly will turn out a lot of people tonight. I know that the campaign is putting out all kinds of talking points about voter contacts. But I think it's still an open question about whether he really knows how to run a conventional campaign here in a state like this where it matters.

STEINHAUSER: Here's one thing about this issue, though. About a month ago, the guys here, the gang here in New Hampshire has campaigned. What they used to do, they were party planners, event planners. They put on the big rallies. A month ago they said, "We're done with that. The national advance guys are doing that. We've got to start doing our get-out-the-vote efforts." So maybe a little late, but they did move over to that about a month ago. We'll see if it really worked.

CAMEROTA: Ryan, there are a couple of late-breaking things that happened yesterday that could end up being factors in this race. As we said, Hillary Clinton, the possible shakeup or reshuffling of her campaign.

Michael Bloomberg, the long-time mayor of New York, also confirmed the rumors that, yes, he is considering getting into the race. What does that do to this?

LIZZA: I don't think it has much of an impact here in New Hampshire and people going to the polls today. But if you are going to have a race with, say, Bernie Sanders as the Democratic nominee, which I think most of us still have to agree is unlikely. And more likely, Donald Trump as the nominee on the Republican side, I think that's when there's a space that opens for someone like Bloomberg.

But absent that scenario, I just don't see where the third-party candidacy of Michael Bloomberg, where the opening is. Third parties in American politics, they succeed when they address an issue that the two main parties aren't addressing. Right?

Ross Perot in 1992 was talking about the deficit and trade in a way that the Republicans and the Democrats weren't. And he had -- he had a market for those views.

If it's Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump or whatever Republican nominee, I think Bloomberg is much too close to Hillary Clinton to offer a real third alternative, and what he'll wind up doing is splitting the Democratic vote.

RESTON: See, what happens...

LIZZA: With Sanders/Trump, then it's a little different.

RESTON: yes.

LIZZA: Then there's a middle there where Bloomberg really does have a difference between the two main candidates.

RESTON: She would have to be so much weaker than she is now for there to be a real opening for him in this race.

CUOMO: Here's the beautiful thing about New Hampshire. When you have this factor of as many as 40 to 45 percent of people who don't know who they're going to vote for until this day, you really don't know what the outcome is going to be. Do you feel at this point, knowing the state as well as you do, that there are at least six different combinations of who could come in second and third here that are as plausible as any of them?

STEINHAUSER: That's what's so exciting. This Republican race is wide open for second, third, fourth and fifth. How many tickets?

Hey, I'm one of those 40 percent. I'm an independent. I haven't made up my mind yet. I've got to go vote later today. And I also have to snow-blow the driveway.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. And there you hear it. That's great. Panel, thank you. Great to get your insights. Thanks so much for being here with us.

CUOMO: You don't know what's going to happen. And it's going to be changing throughout the day. What to do, what to do? You stay with CNN, because we will be on the story all day long the way only we can.

This is the big show. This is the first primary in the nation here in New Hampshire. It will set the tone. Now, starting, as you seen on your screen, at 4 p.m. Eastern, we'll start the tabulation. The good news: New Hampshire culturally gets it done early. It should not be an all-night affair.

[07:15:13] CAMEROTA: As you can see from Sara Murray's live shot there at the polling place, people are out already in force.

CUOMO: Robust.

CAMEROTA: Robust indeed.

As we mentioned, Donald Trump repeating a vulgar term to describe Ted Cruz. Could there be fallout as voters head to the polls? We'll get reaction from the Trump and the Cruz campaigns next.

CUOMO: The same one you used earlier?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Donald Trump took his controversial rhetoric to a new level, repeating a vulgar term that was shouted by an audience member to insult Ted Cruz. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She just said a terrible thing. You know what she said? Shout it out, because I don't want to -- OK. You're not allowed to say, and I never expect to hear that from you again. She said -- I never expect to hear that from you again. She said he's -- (EXPLETIVE DELETED). That's Tara (ph). Tara (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:20:17] CAMEROTA: With us this morning to talk about it and respond, senior communications adviser for Ted Cruz, Alice Stewart. And national spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Katrina Pierson. Ladies, thanks so much for being here.

ALICE STEWART, SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR, TED CRUZ CAMPAIGN: Great to be here.

KATRINA PIERSON, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Great to be here.

CAMEROTA: Katrina, let me start with you. This is a word that we can't say on morning television. We just beeped it. Maybe people have gleaned what it is. Are you comfortable with your presidential candidate saying this term on the campaign trail?

PIERSON: Well, Alisyn, I don't really think it's news that Donald Trump is not politically correct. He did repeat what the voter said. You have the Donald Trump in the debates, where he's serious and subdued. And then you have the Donald Trump when he is out with his supporters, he is talking with him like he's at a friend's house. And this has been the same all the way through the campaign trail.

CAMEROTA: Alice, how do you see this?

STEWART: It's no surprise we have a reality TV star that is running for president. And there are certain words and certain phrases that are just not suitable for running for president.

And the fact of the matter is that Ted Cruz beat him and all the other candidates last week in the Iowa caucus. And is it a distraction? I don't know? But that kind of language and rhetoric, there's no place for that in

presidential politics. And that's one thing that Ted Cruz has been very focused on, is not insulting other candidates, not saying disparaging words, not using language that is not suitable for children.

He instead is going out there, giving a positive message, touting his record as a consistent conservative. And it is about pushing his positive message, giving the voters an opportunity to vote for a consistent conservative, not a deal maker, not a Washington insider. Not someone who will go along to get along with the Washington cartel. And that's why we were successful in Iowa and will do well as he moves through the...

PIERSON: Alisyn, let me say this. When we look at the founding fathers, and when they were competing, they said far worse things about each other when they were campaigning. This is not -- nothing new. This is politics.

And I'll also say that one of the things that is appealing to Mr. Trump, is he is breaking that politically correct mold. We don't want somebody that's going to be politically correct all the time. We want someone to engage with voters.

CAMEROTA: Isn't there a difference between political correctness and vulgarity? And what's the line? I just -- for you, what's the line?

PIERSON: The line with me is free speech, the First Amendment. That's the line.

CAMEROTA: OK, fine. So for you, any -- for any profanity, any vulgarity on the campaign trail, it's fine?

PIERSON: Well, what I'm saying is it's free speech. And Mr. Trump -- and this is the "Live Free or Die State." Mr. Trump is exercising his free speech. It was in fun with the audience. You heard the whole stadium roar and started chanting. They're having fun with Mr. Trump.

One thing that's fantastic about going to a Cruz event, is there are hundreds and hundreds of people, mothers and fathers bringing their small children out there, two, and three, and four children. And they like to come out and visit with Ted, because he will shake every hand and take pictures and sign autographs. And he's going to give them a positive message.

If I was a mother, I would be appalled to hear that.

CAMEROTA: If you had been at that event last night with your child, you would have been appalled?

STEWART: I just think you're never going to hear something like that out of Ted Cruz. And, you know, there are children that are listening to the presidential process.

CAMEROTA: Sure. And it should be -- but it's not exactly family friendly. PIERSON: Well, it's not. The First Amendment is designed just for

that. I mean, when you're expressing yourself, you should be able to express yourself the way you see fit. I mean, that's what the First Amendment is about.

And you're right: in the normal political sphere that is something that would be offensive. But when we have people like Nancy Pelosi calling Republican grassroots Nazis and arsonists, we have Barack Obama comparing Christians to terrorists, I want someone that's not going to be afraid to say what he thinks and feels.

CAMEROTA: I think that the question is what are Donald Trump's boundaries? What are his lines? Would he use that? Would he use profanity like that, referring to women? I mean, you know, he's gotten in trouble a bit in this campaign, or at least it has come up that he has used some inappropriate terms. What about world leaders? What about on the world stage? Is this what could be expected?

PIERSON: I think that's what I'm saying. This is not news that Mr. Trump is not politically correct. And I also say that he didn't say this. He just repeated it so the other audience members could hear. It wasn't his word choice.

CAMEROTA: Yes, it was not his word choice. He repeated it. But he also had the option not to repeat it. And this is one of his go-to moves. He says, "I'm not saying it, but listen to what this person just said." And I mean, isn't that a little bit of the wimpy, to choose a choice word, way out, to not own it?

PIERSON: No, not at all. This is Mr. Trump engaging with his supporters. When he's on the trail, like I said, he treats them like friends. And they're talking. They're chatting. He's the only candidate that doesn't have a scripted speech. He goes out there, and he engages with his voters.

CAMEROTA: By the way, Alice, the context for this vulgarity was that he audience was shouting about Ted Cruz, about Ted Cruz's position on waterboarding, which she felt didn't go far enough and didn't go as far as Donald Trump. So she used that term, which basically means wimpy, but in a more profane way.

[07:25:12] STEWART: Well, she's certainly entitled to her opinion. In terms of where he stands on the positions, he laid out his position on that at the debate.

Another point he made at the debate was quite articulate, was on North Korea. And breaking news about North Korea testing missiles right before the debate. He was able to talk about what that meant, the historical perspective of what, and also what that means but with potential to a nuclear Iran.

So in terms of what he plans to do with foreign policy, he's been able to articulate that to the voters. That's what connects to what we saw resonate with the people of Iowa.

CAMEROTA: Sure. STEWART: And in his campaign throughout New Hampshire. That's something that's really important.

CAMEROTA: Alice, what about Katrina's point of view? Which is that it's free speech. Maybe we're at the point where we can say anything, even on the campaign trail. And that's what voters are responding to with Donald Trump. It does seem to be working.

Do you think that New Hampshire voters will turn away from him, because he speaks like this, or do they embrace him?

STEWART: Well, we'll see. He's doing well in the polls. He's No. 1 in the polls here. And right now it's about turnout and who can get the voters out to the polls out today.

We'll see. It is about freedom of speech. It is about being able to speak your mind. As I said, that's not a phrase you're going to hear from Ted Cruz and probably a lot of other candidates. But we'll see. Right now Donald Trump is doing well in the polls. Others are. We're looking forward to getting the votes out there and doing well here. But we're really looking forward to heading to South Carolina and the SEC primary states as the counter moves on.

CAMEROTA: Last word, what do you think is going to happen here today? Make a prediction?

PIERSON: I agree Donald Trump is doing well in the polls. We're really excited to be here. Like I said, this is the Live Free or Die state. It's perfectly suited for a candidate like Donald Trump. And we're happy for tonight.

CAMEROTA: All right. An exciting day here. Katrina, Alice, thanks so much for being here.

Coming up in our 8 a.m. hour, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will join us live. So stick around for that.

Also, Hillary Clinton's team is preparing for a loss in today's New Hampshire primary. But could big changes be on the way for her campaign? A top Clinton surrogate joins us next to discuss all of this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)