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CNN NEWSROOM

Super Tuesday Voting Now Underway; Voters Head to the Polls in Virginia; Interview with Tom Tancredo and Representative Adam Kinzinger; Interview with Former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired March 1, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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


[10:00:01] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Polo Sandoval reporting live for us.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, today is the day. GOP candidates steamroll into Super Tuesday.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He knows the American people are angry. He knows Americans are frustrated. He knows Americans are scared. And he's preying on that. He's tapping into that in a very negative day.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you from Mexico? Right smack in the middle of my punch line.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Marco Rubio is losing his home state of Florida by 20 points. That is a real problem. You can't beat Donald Trump if you can't win your own home state.

COSTELLO: CNN crew spread out across America. Will Trump and Clinton dominate or will Super Tuesday change everything?

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.

It's the most critical day of the election so far. Super Tuesday is upon us. The polls now open. Candidate Bernie Sanders casting his vote a few hours ago in his home state of Vermont. And former President Bill Clinton showing support for his wife just moments ago outside of a polling place in Boston.

In the fight for the Democratic nomination more than a third of the delegates needed are up for grabs. For Republicans the stakes are even higher. About half of the GOP delegates needed will be doled out today. And while no one will clinch today, frontrunners Clinton and Trump could jump out to a lead that would be almost insurmountable. George Howell is outside the polling location in Marietta, Georgia.

CNN's Jim Acosta is in Columbus, Ohio, following the Trump campaign.

But, George, let's start with you in Georgia. Good morning.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you. A very busy day here at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. Now the rules prevent me from taking you inside to show you what's happening there as this building also doubles as a daycare for children. But I can tell you I went inside and the lines are steady. As of the last 10 minutes, 322 people have voted. Keep in mind, some 3,000 registered voters in this particular polling center.

It really represents Cobb County in the sense that it has shown. Just in 2012 the voters here they chose Mitt Romney, they chose Barack Obama in the two primaries. And this country also represents the state of Georgia. The latest polling showing that Donald Trump is ahead of his rivals, far out ahead of them, and also it shows that Hillary Clinton is ahead of Bernie Sanders.

So, you know, what we're seeing right now, a steady stream of people that continue to come into this building and people are coming out with that sticker that says that they voted and we expect the lines to get longer as the day goes on, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. George Howell reporting live from Marietta, Georgia.

Let's head to Columbus, Ohio, now and check in with Jim Acosta. Good morning.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Donald Trump is looking inevitable, on a roll heading into Super Tuesday. His nearest rivals are showing no signs they can stop him and more top Republicans are rejecting him, pointing to the daily firestorms ignited by his campaign and warning he will be a disaster for the party come November.

Consider the last GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, tweeting some stinging criticism aimed at Donald Trump and also some top Republican senators coming out of the woodwork up on Capitol Hill saying that Donald Trump cannot be the nominee for their party. It will be a bad sign for other Republicans on the ticket heading into the fall.

Donald Trump is rejecting all of this. He's even saying he can expand the party, bring in new voters, and perhaps even beat Hillary Clinton in places like New York, other traditionally Democratic strongholds in the general election coming up in November.

Here's what Donald Trump had to say about that earlier today on "Good Morning America." Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I haven't even focused on Hillary Clinton yet. And I can tell you, the one person that Hillary Clinton doesn't want to run against is me. And I have that on good knowledge. I will defeat Hillary and we're going to take a lot of Democrats and a lot of independents away and we're going to possibly win places like Michigan, New York, states that are not even in consideration. And by the way, these aren't things that have been taken advantage of in the poll. I will beat Hillary Clinton much more easily than anybody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now there is a latest CNN-ORC poll that shows that Donald Trump does not do as well in a head-to-head matchup with Hillary Clinton as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio do in similar matchups.

Now, as for Super Tuesday, Carol, we should point out Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, they are feeling very strong about what they're going to see later on tonight, but he is managing expectations somewhat about the state of Texas, the home state of Ted Cruz. He is saying it will be tough to beat Cruz in his home state, comparing that to defeating the New England Patriots on their home turf.

And we should point out Donald Trump doing something that frontrunners do at this stage, and that is starting to look ahead. He's got an event coming up here in Ohio in just the next couple of hours.

[10:05:04] That's not even voting today, Carol. That's how confident the Trump campaign is right now about its prospects -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Jim Acosta, reporting live from Columbus, Ohio, thank you.

Perhaps the daily news sums it up best for those who fear Trump. Here you see it. See the headlines here. Trump 49 percent of the vote. It's a sign of the apocalypse. Senator Marco Rubio doesn't use the word apocalypse, but he does say if Trump wins, Republicans will lose the presidency to Hillary Clinton. That's not all Rubio said about Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: As I walked in I saw a sign, and I'm going to show the sign. Can I show the sign? All right. This is the sign, and it reminded me of this has been a tough election. Can you hand me the sign for a second? All right. So this is how tough this election has gotten. It says, "My boyfriend prefers Trump. I'm single now."

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Seriously, though. Can Rubio or Ted Cruz for that matter stage a comeback and knock Trump from the top spot?

Joining me now to talk about this, former Colorado congressman and Ted Cruz supporter, Tom Tancredo. He's now president of the Rocky Mountain Foundation. I'm also joined by Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, he supports Senator Marco Rubio.

Welcome.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R), MARCO RUBIO SUPPORTER: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.

COSTELLO: Nice to have you here. Tom, I just wanted to start with you because you changed your party affiliation from Republican to independent. I just wondered why.

TOM TANCREDO, TED CRUZ SUPPORTER: Well, because, frankly, it goes back quite some time. Even when I was in Congress and I recognized that the Republican Party generally was not the party that I thought I was in, in terms of its conservative nature. It had lost it. And things got worse over a period of time, and finally during my last run here in Colorado as -- for the Republican Party nomination for governor, the Republican Party actually under the head of the Republican Governor's Association, a guy by the name of Chris Christie, actually came into this state the last week of that primary, spent a quarter -- actually, laundered a quarter of a million dollars through a different organization against me. So I figured it was a mutually beneficial arrangement that we leave each other.

COSTELLO: So why are you supporting Ted Cruz over Donald Trump then?

TANCREDO: Well, because -- from my point of view, I enjoy that outsider thing. You know, I am against the establishment. Drives me crazy like so many people. But, you know, people like Carly when she was still in it and Dr. Carson, these people are outsiders, and Donald Trump. They are outsiders. It's true. But it's easy for them to be an outsider. It's easy for them to criticize the establishment because they're not in it.

You criticize the establishment while you're in it, you stand up on the floor of the Senate and call the majority leader a liar, and I'm telling you, that takes guts. I appreciate that. He's a man of principle. He has got a lot of courage, and there's substance behind him. So I like him a lot, and certainly I support him.

COSTELLO: OK. So, Adam, you support Marco Rubio. He's got kind of a strange strategy because he's not slated to win any states on Super Tuesday. That would be today. But he's waiting for his home state of Florida to pull out his first win. So how can he possibly think he can beat Donald Trump when Donald Trump will probably have a number of wins under his belt?

KINZINGER: Well, look, yes, I mean, Donald Trump is definitely in the cat bird seat right now. There's no doubt about it. But Marco Rubio is a strong second in most of these states. May win a state or two. We'll see. Probably it will definitely be a strong Trump night, but what's going to happen is people are going to realize Donald Trump cannot be our party's nominee. I mean, he is -- he's a fourth grader in terms of how he talks, how he debates, how he talks about people. And they're going to coalesce behind Marco Rubio, the guy that unites his party.

Look, Ted Cruz, probably a wonderful person but at the end of the day very divisive. You do stand on the floor and call the majority leader, you know, bad names and call your colleagues, bad names, that's not a way to unite a party. So Marco Rubio is definitely the guy that's going to do it.

And I think at the end of the day, look, Donald Trump cannot beat Hillary Clinton. It's very obvious. All you have to do is look at the polls. All you have to do is look at the people he associates with. You know, he has a hard time disassociating himself with David Duke and then blames is on an earpiece which is ludicrous.

He can't be our party's nominee and I'm going to scream as loud as I have to, to say, he's not the guy.

COSTELLO: On the other hand, let's talk about Ted Cruz. I know he won Iowa. He's ahead in the state of Texas. But what if Donald Trump gets very close and beats Ted Cruz in Texas, Tom? Does that mean -- does that spell the end of Ted Cruz?

TANCREDO: Well, yes. Probably so, frankly. I don't know how anybody really survives Super Tuesday if they can't win their home state. I think it's pretty much over with, but here's the thing to be aware of and mindful of. Donald Trump's major support, 29 percent of his actual support base comes from Democrats and affiliates. OK. Great.

[10:10:11] And in -- you know, it's ironic because during the intro there, when we were talking -- heard him talking, he was talking about that as being a great strength. And indeed it is in a general election. However, there are 31 states coming up, primary states, in which the primary is closed. That is to say, only Republicans can vote in those primaries. And in those states where only Republicans can vote, actually, believe it or not, Ted Cruz has an advantage or did up until a couple of days ago. I haven't seen anything very recent. Because, you know, it's just a strange kind of anomaly in terms of the primary process.

But it's not over with. If Ted wins today in Texas, Oklahoma, a couple of other states, I assure you he's still in this race, and in fact, it could easily go to a brokered convention at the end of the day because of these 31 states that have closed primaries.

COSTELLO: And Congressman Kinzinger -- and I hear you, Tom. But I want to -- but both -- it sounds like such pie in the sky from both of you. You don't think it is?

KINZINGER: No, look -- look, I think obviously Trump is in the best position. I mean, we'd rather be in his seat. But look, at the end of the day, people are going to realize this guy can't be our nominee. He's going to fail in the general election like many of his businesses. Trump Mortgage, Trump College, Trump Vodka which tasted so bad nobody bought it, by the way, and some others. And so I think they're going to realize that he can't be our nominee and they're going to see Marco Rubio in a very strong position.

An optimistic guy, by the way. Somebody who talks about a vision. United the party. And I think they're going to get behind him. We've got a lot of time. Super Tuesday is obviously a big chunk of the delegates but it's proportional, keep in mind. You know, you got the primaries beyond including March 15th in Illinois. I think Rubio is going to be sitting in a very strong position and be the guy that overtakes Donald Trump eventually. But it's a lot of real estate ahead.

COSTELLO: Yes, you're right about that.

Congressman Adam Kinzinger, Tom Tancredo, thanks to both of you for being with me this morning.

KINZINGER: You bet.

TANCREDO: You bet.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Virginia, a critical swing state. Trump and Clinton leading in the polls there. But it ain't over until it's over, right? Brian Todd is out talking to voters.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, talking to a lot of first-time voters here in northern Virginia, and they're bringing a ton of energy to the primary. Just ahead, we're going to tell you why northern Virginia is so critical for the primaries. And why the state of Virginia could determine how the whole country goes in November. That is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:16:36] COSTELLO: In a matter of hours a critical portrait of this presidential race will be painted and one of the clearest pictures may come from Virginia. The diverse swing state is like a mini-America, according to one political science professor.

Brian Todd is with the voters there this morning. Good morning, Brian.

TODD: Good morning, Carol. It is a mini America here in Virginia for a lot of different reasons. It's a very diverse state, and political scientists here in Virginia will tell you that as Virginia goes, often that's how the nation votes as well. Showing you people checking in here at the voting station in Ashburn, Virginia. This is the Dominion Trail precinct. A steady flow of voters. We've talked to a lot of first-time voters -- first-time primary voters here today. So that gives you a sense of the energy being devoted among the electorate to this primary here in Virginia.

It's critical, Carol, because whoever wins in Virginia on either side of the political divide can make a case to their party that they could win in November because Virginia, we're going to break down the way the counties go here. Most of the counties in Virginia in 2012 actually voted Republican. But President Obama was able to win the state in the general election because the most populous counties in Virginia, meaning right near where we are, Lowden County, Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William, those populous counties near Washington, D.C., they tend to lean Democratic. Same is the case for the counties in and around Richmond, Virginia.

Those populous counties here plus the counties in the Tide Water area, they tend to lean Democratic. Those are the most populous areas of the state. That's why in 2012 President Obama was able to beat Mitt Romney 51 percent to 47 percent. In 2008 President Obama beat John McCain 53 percent to 46 percent.

So, Virginia, a real microcosm of how the country votes. You've got wealthy, educated voters in the north. You've got a lot of blue- collar voters in the central and southern part of the state. African- American voters in this population centers in Richmond and in the Tide Water area.

So it really is a diverse voting population here, Carol. And that's why we're paying so much attention to polling stations like this one. We've seen a lot of people come through here this morning. It's going to be a pretty steady flow we think until the polls close at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

COSTELLO: All right. Brian Todd, thanks for the mini political science lesson. Much appreciated it.

Brian Todd, reporting live from Virginia.

Despite Virginia's governor Terry McAuliffe calling the state Clinton country, Clinton is still working the crowds and leaving nothing to chance. Virginia, as you heard Brian say, is a swing state. And come November, things could be different in a Clinton versus Trump race.

So let's talk about that with former Virginia governor, Douglas Wilder. He was also the first African-American to be elected governor.

Welcome, sir.

DOUGLAS WILDER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA: Fine, Carol. How are you this morning?

COSTELLO: I'm good. It's terrific you're here with me. Are you confident that Hillary Clinton can carry your state today?

WILDER: Yes, I think she will carry the state. And I will point out that my grandson will be voting for the first time at the Ashburn precinct that Brian Todd is canvassing.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: He is a young man. You think he'll --

WILDER: He is indeed.

COSTELLO: Do you think he'll cast a vote for Bernie Sanders?

WILDER: I didn't ask him. And I sort of guarded that. But I'll say this, this election in my judgment will result, probably, in victory for Hillary. But she needs the Sanders voters, and she, in my judgment, is going to be courting them because these are young people who have never voted before, some who have voted before.

[10:20:12] But they have been turned off by government as Trump has tapped into the same thing that Sanders has tapped into, Hillary is going to need those people for victory in November. And I predict Virginia will be a swing state.

COSTELLO: I know. Virginia is always so interesting to watch. You know, most of the polls say that Donald Trump is poised to win your state, too. Are you surprised?

WILDER: No, I'm not. And -- because, as I pointed out, it is very, very dissatisfying to a lot of people to see what's going on with government, state, and national, and local levels. People feel left out. So the challenge of Hillary as well as with Donald Trump, they have got to provide people with reasons to vote for them, not for party, but vote for the individuals who represent a party that's concerned with them. It's going to be a very interesting time. I predict Virginia will be that bellwether state.

COSTELLO: It's already been an interesting time. Right? I wanted to ask you about Donald Trump, David Duke, and black protesters. First, I'll ask you about David Duke. You're the grandson of slaves, the first African-American state senator in the state of Virginia and Virginia's first African-American governor. When Trump told Jake Tapper he didn't know David Duke and didn't denounce him on CNN, what went through your mind?

WILDER: Well, he was not owning up to the truth and he did it for a reason. Trump is not a dumb man. He's a very smart man. And he did it for some reason. Did he not want to turn those people off who are sympathetic with the cause of a David Duke type? Did he want to act as if he had not denounced him here to fore, and he said well, now I denounced him 100 times? Why not then?

And I think a lot of people are going to be asking not just that question but when are you going to put some meat on the bones of the campaign to describe what you really want to do once you become the president of the United States?

COSTELLO: Yes. I think speaker Paul Ryan just spoke out on this issue. And we're going to turn that tape as fast as we can. I also wanted to ask you about a group of Valdosta University stents. They were escorted out of a Trump event even though they were not actively protesting. They weren't saying anything. One of the students tearfully described what happened from outside the event. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we got kicked out because we're a group of black people. And like, I guess people -- what's going on in America, they're afraid we're going to say something or do something. But we just really want to watch the rally. And to get kicked out because we're a group of black people it really -- shows you how racist our own school is that we can't even go to our own school conference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. That rally took place at Valdosta University. What do you make of that, Governor?

WILDER: Well, it's so bad that you still have elements of race showing its ugly head. Some -- to the extent of needing to be discussed, needing to be addressed. No, we're not in a post racial era. We never have really dealt with those issues to the extent of discussion. And these students, in my judgment, were there to participate in their government.

Now let's assume they may have even violated some of the protocol. Don't put them out. Don't deny them. Give them the opportunity to participate in what has been described as the American dream. Let's not make it a dream. Let's make it a reality.

COSTELLO: What do you think is really fueling the Trump juggernaut? And I know you know say people are disappointed in government, and that's surely a factor. But is it in part President Obama's presidency as well?

WILDER: It might very well be those kinds of things but when you mentioned that as President Obama's presidency, you've got to remember that he's the first African-American president, and that's inculcated, I would imagine, in the spirit of people who are saying well, we've tried this, and it didn't work.

I would say this. That the president, in my judgment, has done a good job, what it'll ultimately determine to be has to be passed upon in the judgment of the years. And I would think that people who are voting for the Trump juggernaut, as you say, are not just doing that because of the president. Base it on reasons. I'd say, put skeleton -- put meat on the bones of the skeleton.

What are you going to do about making America great? How are you going to make it great? By doing what? I'm going to hire this one person. Well, what are you going to do? What is your dream? What is the reality? And how can all of America's people believe they can benefit by your presidency, not just some, not just a few, but that judgment of people who are -- as Lincoln described it, of, for, and by the people, all of America's people.

[10:25:11] So I don't know that the Trump dream, as such, is fulfilled, but by the same token, I don't believe that they will be able to stop Donald Trump from becoming the next Republican nomination for the presidency. The sands in the hourglass are running awfully dim, awfully low, and it's going to take a whole lot to stop him from the nomination. What happens after that is something different.

COSTELLO: All right. Governor Douglas Wilder, thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it.

WILDER: Thank you so much, Carol. Good to be here.

COSTELLO: You're welcome. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump looking for a Lone Star

landslide on this Super Tuesday. Up next, Texas' own Ron Paul, what he thinks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)