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GOP Rivals Turn on Donald Trump in Explosive Debate; Rubio: Google "Trump Polish Workers"; Sheriff Reveals New Details of Shooting Spree. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 26, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Glad and relieved that we had found him as fast as we did. It wasn't just my efforts. Every single law enforcement officer that was working that night was actively trying to find this individual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right. That does it for NEW DAY this week. "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello starts now.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Alisyn. Have a great weekend.

NEWSROOM starts now.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. I give you the Republican debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If he builds the wall the way he built Trump Towers he'll be using illegal immigrant labor to do it.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So cute. Such a cute sound bite.

RUBIO: There are people that borrow $36,000 to go to Trump University.

TRUMP: Hold on. Let me tell you --

WOLF BLITZER, CNN DEBATE MODERATOR: Hold on. One at a time, Mr. Trump.

RUBIO: And they're suing him now. $36,000 to go to a university.

TRUMP: And by the way -- and by the way.

RUBIO: That's a fake school.

TRUMP: And by the way --

RUBIO: And you know what they got? They got to take a picture with a cardboard cutout of Donald Trump.

TRUMP: I've won most of the lawsuits.

BLITZER: All right.

RUBIO: If he hadn't inherited $200 million, you know where Donald Trump would be right now?

TRUMP: No, no, no. No, no, no.

RUBIO: Selling watches is Manhattan.

TRUMP: I borrowed --

RUBIO: You lied about the Polish workers.

TRUMP: Yes, yes, yes.

RUBIO: You lied to the students of Trump University.

TRUMP: Thirty-eight years ago.

RUBIO: He Lied 38 years ago. All right. I guess there's a statute of limitations on lies.

What is your plan? What is your plan on health care? You don't have a plan?

TRUMP: The biggest problem --

RUBIO: Every night he says five things. Everyone is dumb, he's going to make America great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Rubio --

RUBIO: We're going to win, win, win. He's winning in the polls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Rubio, please, please stop.

RUBIO: The lines around the table. Every night. Same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It was a debate like no other. Rubio came out fighting fierce and ready to take on Donald Trump in the last throwdown before Super Tuesday. Today Rubio is back on the attack after unleashing round after round of stinging one-liners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: We're on the verge of having someone take over the conservative movement in the Republican Party who's a con artist. He's out there telling people that he's fighting -- he's going to -- you know, his target audience is working Americans who are really struggling over the last few years in this economy, but he has spent a career sticking it to working Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Big question now, will Rubio's new strategy slow Trump's momentum or is it too late?

Let's bring in CNN's Sunlen Serfaty. She's live in Houston. Good morning, Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. Well, it felt at times almost like we were watching a cage match there. You know, Donald Trump really caught in the crosshairs taking fire as you said from a newly aggressive Marco Rubio, also Ted Cruz. The big question now it turns to how will all of this fire impact the race just four days to Super Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY (voice-over): An all-out war of insults and putdowns breaking out in the final GOP debate before Super Tuesday.

RUBIO: But you're the only person on the stage that's ever been fined for hiring people to work on your projects illegally. You hired some workers from Poland.

TRUMP: No, no. I'm the only one on this stage that's hired people. You haven't hired anybody.

SERFATY: Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz worried about Donald Trump's trifecta wins in the last three Republican contests, unleashing an onslaught of attacks against the frontrunner from illegal immigration.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I was leading the fight against the Gang of Eight amnesty bill, where was Donald? He was firing Dennis Rodman on "Celebrity Apprentice."

RUBIO: If he builds the wall the way he built Trump Towers, he'll be using illegal immigrant labor to do it.

SERFATY: To U.S. trade relations with China and Mexico.

RUBIO: The second thing about the trade war, I don't understand, because your ties and the clothes you make is made in Mexico and in China. So you're going to be starting a trade war against your own ties and clothing.

TRUMP: They devalue their currencies to such an extent that our businesses cannot compete with them. Our workers lose their jobs.

RUBIO: That's why you make them in China and in Russia.

TRUMP: You wouldn't know anything about it, because you're a lousy --

RUBIO: Well, I don't know anything about bankrupting four companies. RUBIO: You lied about the Polish workers.

TRUMP: Yes, yes, yes.

RUBIO: You lied to the students of Trump University.

TRUMP: Thirty-eight years ago.

RUBIO: He lied 38 years ago. All right. I guess there's a statute of limitations on lies.

SERFATY: To Obamacare.

TRUMP: You'll have many different plans. You'll have competition. You'll have so many different plans.

RUBIO: But now he's repeating himself.

TRUMP: No, no, no. I watched him repeat himself five times four weeks ago. And I'm going to tell you.

RUBIO: I saw you repeat yourself five minutes -- five seconds ago.

TRUMP: It was a meltdown. I watched it. I watched him melt down on the stage like I've never seen anybody. I thought he came out of the swimming pool.

RUBIO: I said --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's talk -- let's talk about your plan.

RUBIO: I see him repeat himself every night. He says five things, everyone's dumb.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Rubio --

RUBIO: He's going to make America great again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Rubio --

RUBIO: We're going to win, win, win.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Rubio, please.

RUBIO: He's winning in the polls, go through the lines around the street. Every night. Same thing.

SERFATY: And Hillary Clinton.

TRUMP: First of all, talking about the polls, I'm beating him awfully badly in the polls.

CRUZ: But you're not beating Hillary.

TRUMP: So I don't know. I don't --

CRUZ: But you're not beating Hillary.

TRUMP: Well then if I can't -- hey, if I can't beat her, you're really going to get killed. All right? So let me ask you this, because you're really getting beaten badly. I know you're embarrassed; I know you're embarrassed. But keep fighting, keep swinging, man. Swing for the fences.

SERFATY: Trump eventually lashing out at both of the freshmen senators at the same time.

[09:05:03] TRUMP: You are all talk and no action.

CRUZ: Name one specific thing he does.

TRUMP: What I'm seeing up here -- I mean, first of all, this guy's a choke artist and this guy's a liar. You have a combination of factors.

RUBIO: This guy always goes --

TRUMP: He can't do it for the obvious reason, and he can't do it, because he doesn't know how to tell the truth. I know politicians, believe it or not, better than you do, and it's not good.

CRUZ: I believe it. No, no, I believe you know politicians much better than I do because for 40 years you've been funding liberal Democratic politicians. And by the way --

TRUMP: I funded you, too. I funded --

CRUZ: You're welcome to have your check back.

TRUMP: I funded you.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I gave you check.

CRUZ: Donald, relax.

TRUMP: Go ahead, I'm relaxed. You're the basket case. Go ahead, go ahead. Don't get nervous.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: Now after all of that, Donald Trump already out on Twitter this morning mocking Marco Rubio's performance last night saying in a tweet, quote, "Lightweight Marco Rubio was working hard last night. The problem is, he is a choker and once a choker always a choker, Mr. Meltdown."

Carol, this will be such an interesting, fascinating dynamic, this new rivalry between Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. We'll see how it plays out on the campaign trail.

COSTELLO: That's one way to describe it. Sunlen Serfaty, live in Houston this morning. Thank you.

Hey, it took 10 debates for the Republicans who would be president finally trained their attacks on the frontrunner Donald Trump. And even Mr. Trump admitted it was one tough night, tweeting, quote, "All the online polls had me winning the debate. I really enjoyed the evening. Not easy, but good."

Marco Rubio threw the most punches and dominated the post-clash headlines. The "L.A. Times" declaring he was ready to fight and that Marco Rubio ate his Wheaties. "Huffington Post" says Rubio unloads on Donald Trump in his best debate yet. Slate says Marco Rubio finally learned how to attack Donald Trump.

So let's talk about that with John Avlon, he's the editor in chief of "The Daily Beast," and a CNN political analyst. Errol Louis is a political anchor for New York One News and a CNN political analyst and Mike Shields is a former chief of staff for the Republican National Committee.

I know what you were thinking, John Avlon. Where's "The Daily Beast" headline on the debate?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm telling you, I'll tell you what it was. Marco the robot turns into the Terminator because when he -- Marco Rubio came ready to fight last night and it was a fight night. This was not a presidential debate in any traditional sense. This was a brawl. But he decided to take the fight to Donald Trump for the first time, really. He was sarcastic, he was smart, he was lacerating, and he really had the Donald on defense which is hard to do. Big night for Marco.

COSTELLO: But in watching this debate, Errol, it was like no debate I have ever seen before and I've been voting for president since like Reagan.

ERROL LOUIS, POLITICAL ANCHOR, NY1 NEWS: So have I. I mean, in all honesty, something important happened that needed to happen, which is that, I'm sure you've gotten e-mail, I'm sure you've gotten e-mail, I get this all the time from people saying, why are you letting Trump get away with this and that and this and that? And much of what Marco Rubio said has been in the public record for years. The Polish workers, the use of undocumented immigrants, labor, the way that he stiffed people when he closed down those casinos and left people jobless and so forth.

But it's not our job to do that. We put the information out there. And it is up to the candidates to turn that into a politically relevant fact. That's what Marco Rubio did. It wasn't pretty. Donald Trump can't blame anybody for the rowdy tone of the debate because that's the tone that he established early on. But this is information that has been known, it has been public but really needed to become relevant. And I think that's what Marco Rubio did.

COSTELLO: OK. So, Mike, I want to talk about the tone of the debate last night. Lindsey Graham, Lindsey Graham did not mince words at the Washington Press Club. This is how he describes his own party, the Republican Party, while lamenting a Hillary Clinton win. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: You've come a long way in 72 years. 72 years ago a woman could not be part of the American experience. If you don't vote, that's coming back in 2017.

(LAUGHTER)

GRAHAM: If I were you, I would vote. But look how far you've come? The most dishonest person in America is a woman.

(LAUGHTER)

GRAHAM: Who's about to be president. How could that be? My party is going (EXPLETIVE DELETED) crazy.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So we can probably figure out what Lindsey Graham said, Mike. I'm just looking at the expression on your face. So, I guess I ask you, Lindsey Graham is saying this, the tone of the debate last night ultimately is that damaging to the Republican brand?

MIKE SHIELDS, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Well, look, I think, first of all, think about this. Before Reince Priebus and the RNC came in and took control of the debates so we would have been on our 23rd debate last night going on -- going on the last election, it was the 10th debate. So whatever we do or don't like and how much people are repeating themselves, imagine if they're on number 23? Because that's the first thing. But look, this is the presidency of the United States. Of course they're going to go after each other.

[09:10:03] I think, talking about what Marco did last night, I think it's pretty important to keep in mind what he was really trying to do. He was trying to land punches on Donald Trump but he was also trying to signal to all the voters that he's the Donald Trump alternative, and you're not going to do that unless you really go after somebody. So, of course, you're going to have a real punch-up on the debate stage and they're going to go back and forth.

I think Marco did do that, by the way. I think he has now established himself as the person that's going to go after Donald Trump. And the only way you're going to do that, you know, this isn't -- this isn't bean bag, as they say. This is politics, and they're going to go after each other.

COSTELLO: So has it come down, John, to a two-man race? I mean, are all the others out of the picture?

AVLON: I don't know you could say it's a two-man race because Ted Cruz is still up in Texas. That's a big prize on Super Tuesday coming up and Marco Rubio still has yet to be in the lead in any of those key states. He's got to make up a lot of ground, which is one reason he came out of the gates fighting.

What I thought was really striking, though, is Ben Carson has gone from someone who led in the polls at some point to sort of a curiosity act talking about the fruit salad of life. I mean, it was just a surreally epically weird debate of free association. John Kasich tried to put forward a very responsible policy-driven case. I think he deserves credit for that but he just got overwhelmed in the overall optics.

COSTELLO: And you know what I thought about John Kasich, Errol? I thought he wandered into the wrong party.

(LAUGHTER)

LOUIS: Well, he -- he wandered into the wrong debate.

COSTELLO: Yes.

LOUIS: I mean, the ferocity of the debate, the issues, the sort of the politics of the debate, Trump and is he going to become the nominee without a fight, that's really kind of what -- where we are right now. John Kasich has his talking points, he has his approach. He's specifically trying to be sort of the adult in the room and not get involved in that stuff, but --

AVLON: It would be president.

LOUIS: It was pretty -- it was pretty much the wrong night to try that approach.

COSTELLO: So, Mike, is it time for those other two candidates, John Kasich and Ben Carson, to just call it a day? Just get out of the way and let the process be the process?

SHIELDS: No. I mean, look, that's for them to decide. I think the voters are going to decide it, but I think what Marco was doing was putting himself in a place to make it easier for the voters to make that decision going into Super Tuesday. I mean, if Marco consistently -- I don't know if he has to win a lot of states or even a state, I mean, Bill Clinton didn't win a state until the sixth contest. But what we're really asking is, is -- look, is Donald Trump going to just run away with it? Maybe. Or is he capped at 35 percent and if you've got one alternative, you could fight him?

If Marco keeps finishing second and keeps doing what he did last night I think even more importantly his super PAC is now attacking Donald Trump. And what really needs to happen for one of these candidates is to turn their TV fire power on to the frontrunner if they're going to take him out. If all of that starts to happen I think the voters themselves will say, hey, Marco is the alternative, and we'll see that reflected in the results on Tuesday.

COSTELLO: We'll see what happens going forward, as they say.

Mike Shields, Errol Louis, John Avlon, thanks to all of you for being with me this morning. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, is Marco Rubio's claim true that Donald

Trump hired undocumented workers, broke the law and took jobs from Americans?

A CNN reality check next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:17:05] COSTELLO: Senator Marco Rubio really wants you to Google Trump Polish workers. That might sound a little random, but the Florida senator unloaded on Trump in last night's CNN debate, accusing the front-runner of taking jobs from Americans and breaking the law because Trump hired undocumented workers from Poland to work at his facilities.

Instead of just fighting it out on stage, Rubio repeatedly challenged voters to look up the facts for themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're hired a significant number of people from other countries to take jobs that Americans could have filled. My mom was a maid at a hotel and instead of hiring an American like her, you have brought in over 1,000 people from all over the world to fill those jobs instead.

He hired workers from Poland and he had to pay $1 million or so in a judgment from --

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's wrong. That's wrong. Totally wrong.

RUBIO: That's a fact.

People can look it up. I'm sure people are Googling it right now.

(CROSSTALK)

RUBIO: Trump Polish workers, you'll see $1 million for hiring illegal workers on one of his projects. And he did it.

(CHEERS)

RUBIO: That happened.

TRUM: I hired tens of thousands of people over my lifetime. Tens of thousands --

RUBIO: Many from other countries instead of hiring Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Hey, people were Googling. Google trend says "Trump Polish workers" was the top trending search related to Trump audit.

But we want to Google because we have CNN money chief correspondent Christine Romans. She's been fact checking all of this.

What did you find out?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CHIEF CORRESONDENT: You know, Google says that there was a 300 percent surge in searches for Trump Polish workers at that time. So, indeed, people took Marco Rubio's advice.

Carol, Marco Rubio hitting on a new line of fire guess Donald Trump here. And this is what Marco Rubio is painting. He is saying Donald Trump is crusading as an immigration restrictionist, yet he has used the immigration system legal and illegal to the benefit of his own businesses.

First, Trump Polish workers. When he was demolishing a building to help put up Trump Tower -- before he put up Trump Tower, there was a legal case that went on for years and a court fined -- Donald Trump was fined for illegally hiring workers in that case. So, that allegation is true.

I don't know where Marco Rubio got the million dollars, because it has been -- the court never revealed what the final settlement was, but the million dollar part, we can't verify. But indeed, Donald Trump was fined -- a court found him for hiring illegal workers.

The second part of the story, you heard how Marco Rubio said that Donald Trump uses labor in his Florida Mar-A-Lago resort. He could hire somebody like, you know, Marco Rubio's mom or dad, American citizens. Instead, he uses foreign workers.

That is true. Donald Trump uses legal guest worker program, guest worker program to import foreign labor to work for short times at his resort.

COSTELLO: Do they come from Poland?

ROMANS: They come from Eastern Europe mostly, but they can come from a lot of places. Donald Trump has used these legal programs.

Here are some of them, H-1B program, 81,000 people a year can do those. Those are foreign workers who come to the U.S. H-2A, these are agriculture workers, unlimited number of those.

[09:20:04] H-2B, those are people who work in landscaping. Those are people who work in hotels.

Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago has used a visa program to bring in foreigners to do jobs that in some cases Americans do apply for but don't get because Donald Trump said publicly, some Americans don't have the skills he needs or won't work a few months in Palm Beach.

COSTELLO: Christine Romans, thank you very much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: That was very enlightening. Thank you so much. Any minute now, we're expecting new information into the deadly

shooting at a Kansas manufacturing plant and learning more about a possible motive. The sheriff says Cedric Ford was just served with an order of protection. Officials won't say who the order protected but those orders are usually filed because of some type of violence in a relationship. Witnesses say Ford was at work yesterday and when he left, he returned a short time later and he started shooting. Another 14 were injured in that incident.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SHERIFF T. WALTON, HARVEY COUNTY, KANSAS: This particular shooter had been served a PFA at 3:30 in the afternoon yesterday by one of my deputies. I believe that probably is the trigger, and it went from there. By 5:00, he had shot his first victim, and as it went on, he ended up shooting 17.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The first officer to arrive on the scene is being called a hero for stopping the rampage. Investigators will hold a news conference, you saw the room there, to hold that news conference in just a few minutes. When that starts, of course, we'll take you back there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:47] COSTELLO: The crowd is ready to roar in Dallas right now. Supporters waiting for Marco Rubio as the candidate returns to the stage after going toe-to-toe with Donald Trump, riling up the front- runner with attack after attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: If he builds the wall the way he built Trump Towers, he'll be using illegal immigrant labor to do it.

Go online and Google it, Donald Trump Polish workers, you'll see it.

The second thing about the trade war, I don't understand because your ties and clothes you make is made in Mexico and in China. You're going to be starting a trade war against your own ties and your own suits.

Why didn't you make them in America?

TRUMP: You know what? Because they devalue their currencies, they value their currencies that makes it --

RUBIO: Then make them in America.

TRUMP: Well, you don't know anything about business --

RUBIO: Make them in America.

Here's a guy that inherited $200 million. If he hadn't inherited $200 million, you know where Donald Trump would be right now?

TRUMP: No, no, no. No, no, no.

RUBIO: Selling watches in Manhattan.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: You're wrong.

RUBIO: That's where he would be.-

TRUMP: That is so wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. The Rubio campaign is running with that watch line, advertising a busted Trump watch for 10 bucks on the campaign's website.

Jason Carroll live in Dallas talking to Rubio supporters.

Good morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.

You know, I spoke to Rubio, an aide before the debate. He made it very clear the main goal going into the debate was to get Trump into the ring, so to speak, and to land a few punches, and certainly a number of Rubio supporters out here feel as though he did just that, hitting Trump hard on issues you saw, immigration and the health care. They're hoping, Carol, that's going to give them momentum going into Super Tuesday.

Certainly, a number of supporters here feel as though Rubio won that debate. I want to bring two of them in for you right now. We've got both Doris and Debbie. They are sisters, and they are both also united in their support for Senator Marco Rubio.

Tell me how you feel he did last night? You told me earlier you feel as though a different, stronger Marco Rubio showed up last night for that debate?

DORIS LARA MULLINS, MARCO RUBIO SUPPORTER: Well, absolutely. He's been our guy for, since day one. But last night it was a perfect platform for him to really give content and put Trump in his place, Texas is definitely, you know, Rubio Republicans. And --

COSTELLO: Some would also argue it might be Cruz country as well? You say, no?

MULLINS: I say no. A lot of the younger generation, we are onboard with Rubio and he resonates with us, with all of his platforms, and like you said, his mantra about being children of the Reagan revolution and ready to take the man on in leadership, I firmly believe in that. That totally took me over the top. COSTELLO: I want to get your sister in here as well.

What do you think the way he went after Trump? Very quickly.

DEBBIE LARA RIVAS, MARCO RUBIO SUPPORTER: I just love the way he answered everything.

MULLINS: That's it.

RIVAS: I was so impressed by that.

CARROLL: All right. Very good. Thanks very much. I appreciate you both being here.

And, Carol, once again, the camp also hoping that this is going to give him momentum going into Florida where Trump is leading him in a recent poll by double digit numbers -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Jason Carroll reporting live for us this morning -- thank you.

I want to take you live to Wichita, Kansas, right now. Authorities holding a press conference of that terrible shooting at Excel Industries, where a gunman with a rifle opened fire, killing three people and wounding 14. Let's listen.

SHERIFF T. WALTON, HARVEY COUNTY, KANSAS: -- on the map, how this kind of unfolded yesterday afternoon. Around 5:00, 911 took a call of a shooting victim located here. This will be the first one, which is at about Meridian and 12th, in that area.

A man driving with his two children was shot. He got shot in the shoulder. A second car coming this way was also shot at. She did not get hit. A miracle. It just missed her. Went through the windshield.

Officers responded, Newton PD, sheriff officers responded within three minutes, working that. As they're there, another report comes in over here at number two, which is about, the old 81 and 36, close to the Meridian.

Report is, another person is shot. What happened at this location is the shooter went head-on to the oncoming traffic. Both vehicles went off into the ditch. The shooter was getting out of his car. The driver getting out of his car, and the shooter shoots that driver.