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Battle for New York; Rescue Efforts Underway in Ecuador; Trump: Clinton Is "Crooked Hillary"; Saudi Arabia Threatens U.S. Economic Retaliation; Wining & Dining for Delegate Votes; First Female Corps Commander. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired April 17, 2016 - 19:00   ET

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


[19:00:07] PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: And you're in the "CNN NEWSROOM". I'm Pamela Brown in for Poppy Harlow on this Sunday. Thank you so much for being here with us.

And we do begin with the countdown to that critical primary in New York. The two front-runners, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are looking for big wins, because recently it's their competitors who have had all the momentum.

It seems Bernie Sanders goes into New York having won eight out of the last nine Democratic contests, while Ted Cruz continues to sweep up delegates at GOP State Conventions. Well just yesterday, he picked up 14 of them in Wyoming.

We goes now to CNN's Chris Frates. He is in Poughkeepsie, New York where Trump just spoke in a rally earlier today.

So, Chris, April is a big month for Trump as he tries to avoid a contested convention and that begins, of course to those 95 New York delegates at stake on Tuesday.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's exactly right, Pam. He's going to need as many of those 95 delegates as he can get, particularly because he lost again to Ted Cruz.

This time on Saturday in Wyoming, Cruz swept all 14 delegates at the state convention there, in the same way that he won in Colorado sweeping all the delegates there about a week or so ago.

And Donald Trump complaining about that system saying because it wasn't a primary and it wasn't a caucus, it was a state convention, that the system is rigged somehow and he told supporters here in Poughkeepsie that he could have won, he just didn't want to schmooze the delegates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact that you taken all these people out and whining them and dining them, nobody does that stuff better than me. I just don't want to do it. I just don't want to do it and now you have Wyoming, it just came out. Not a lot of delegates, but, it would be easy, I'll go, I'll fly to Wyoming, I'll meet the chairman, I guarantee you within ten minutes he's my best friend. He dropped a guy like Cruz in about two seconds, OK? But I just don't want to do it because it's not the right thing to do. We have a bad system, and the system has to change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: Now, the Republican National Committee defending that system, saying that the candidates themselves have known the rules for months now and that any state could choose to do a primary, a caucus or a state convention that there's nothing abnormal here. In fact, this is the same process that has been going on since Abraham Lincoln got the nomination way back in 1860.

Ted Cruz taking a little bit of a victory lap and hitting Donald Trump on Twitter saying that he should essentially stop whining because he's lost five in a row here, but that is probably the last victory lap we will see from Ted Cruz in a while.

If you believe the polls anyway, Pam, Donald Trump leading by double digits here in New York, 54 percent in the latest "Wall Street Journal" poll, Ted Cruz down 16 percent. And that gives Donald Trump a chance to win all 95 of those delegates.

If he can win over 50 percent here in New York state and in each congressional district, he can win all 95 of those. That will go a long way for him to get to that magic number of 1,293 that he needs to wrap up this nomination.

Of course, both Ted Cruz and John Kasich trying to prevent that and trying to take Donald Trump all the way to Cleveland this summer, Pam.

BROWN: All right, Chris Frates, thank you so much.

And joining me now to discuss all of this, Joseph Morelli, co-chair for Trump's New York campaign. Also with me, Chad Sweet, national chairman for the Cruz campaign.

While the other man in the race, John Kasich is weighing in on these allegations that the delegate system is rigged as we keep hearing Donald Trump say. Here's what he told CNN's Dana Bash and I'll talk to both of you after.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH, (R-OH) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I think it's the way it works. You know, it's like saying, "I made an 83 on my math test, so I should get an A just because I think it's rigged that you have to make 90 to get an A." I mean, come on, act like, you know, like you're professional, be a pro.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, I want to get both of your thoughts on what John Kasich say. Joe, to you first. Does he have a point? Is Donald Trump using this as way to deflect his losses and keep the focus perhaps on the process rather than policy?

JOSEPH MORELLI, CO-CHAIR FOR TRUMP'S NEW YORK CAMPAIGN: Look, I think Donald Trump is a bit upset of the process because -- forgive if I'm acting crazy, but I think the American public has the expectation that they ought to vote and their vote should actually matter.

I think what we see in Colorado is not that and people have a right to be upset and one of those people is obviously Donald Trump.

BROWN: Right, but is he using it to deflect? If he won these states, would he still be making the same argument?

MORELLI: Well, it's not a question of winning because there's no contest to win. But, it's not deflection. It's calling out a process that is fundamentally wrong in a democracy.

BROWN: So on the other side of this, you heard what John Kasich said, but then you look at a state like Georgia, Chad, where Trump won that state, but yet most of the delegates are going to the convention as Ted Cruz supporters. How does that square?

CHAD SWEET, NATIONAL CHAIRMAN FOR THE CRUZ CAMPAIGN: Well, I think you said it earlier that I didn't (ph) always -- I don't always degree with John Kasich, but in this case, I would, which is that he needs to man up and learn the rules.

If you look at the end of the day, what's happening is it's the ground swell of the voters that are supporting Senator Cruz, not any funny business and back-room deals.

[19:05:07] You actually have to show up in a job interview to get a job. The idea that he wouldn't even show in Wyoming, he didn't even show in Colorado, it's no surprise that when you blow off the voters that they don't vote for you.

BROWN: Well, in all fairness though, Ted Cruz isn't in New York right now ahead of the primary.

MORELLI: Well - and if we lose in New York, we will not be whining. You know, that's the difference between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. When we play, we play to win. And when we lose, we don't whine.

But if you look at it earlier Pamela, you said it well, which is Donald Cruz -- I mean, Donald Trump never said a word about the rules being a problem for months when he was winning.

The rules haven't changed. So what's changed? What's changed is that Donald Trump is losing. He's lost the last five states and he's -- Ted Cruz has accumulated.

Right now, if you look at the delegate count, over 142 delegates to Trump's seven. That's 95 percent win rate. And if you look at the states they are winning -- we are winning in the Midwest, we're winning out west, we're also winning in the north, but the next couple of days we agree will be tough, but you won't hear us whining if we don't win New York. Donald Trump in a winner take all state of his home state, we walloped him in our home state of Texas. He needs to beat us in New York and he needs to win it by over 50 percent in order to really demonstrate that he can bring home his own home state.

BROWN: So, let's talk about that because Donald Trump doesn't just need to win New York, he needs to win big in order to get all of those delegates. So, do you think that he -- if he does win all of the delegates that he will avoid a contested convention or is that just too tall of an order?

MORELLI: Right. If you want to talk about losing, let's talk about what's probably going to happen on Tuesday for Ted Cruz.

There's a good chance that Donald Trump gets 80, 85 delegates. Once he gets to that point, it's very difficult for the public to see how he's not the presumptive nominee and how he's not likely going to hit the 1,237 more.

Don't forget, right after Tuesday, a week after Tuesday, we go into other northeastern states where he's got a significant lead in all of these states.

Remember, we were told that he couldn't complete in closed primary states because he's not a true conservative. He's proving all of these folks wrong and you'll see 95 delegates, hopefully the lion's share coming into our corner on Tuesday and then hopefully the lion's share of 172 delegates on the following Tuesday.

BROWN: OK, let me just read to you this tweet from Ted Cruz coming out today and it says, "Donald over 1.3 million people just voted in Utah, North Dakota, with several states." And he says, "You lost all five in a row by huge margins. Now, no whining -- #nowhining." Sorry about that.

So, what do you think of that? He says, "Look those (ph) are the rules. All of these people voted. I won in Wisconsin that was an open primary. Why are you whining?"

MORELLI: Right, OK. Wisconsin was a fair win for Ted Cruz and that's fine and we're not going to take that away from him.

But, again, if the winning of 14 delegates was this huge momentum shift over Ted Cruz, as their campaign would like you to believe and some people in the media what would like to portray, what happens on Tuesday when the lion's share of 95 delegates go to Donald Trump?

I think the American public will begin to digest whether they like it or that Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee.

BROWN: Go ahead, Chad.

SWEET: Yeah, it's not just 14 delegates in Wyoming. It's what Senator Cruz said which is that 1.3 million voters have voted.

It's a myth in Colorado that the voters participate actually over 65,000 Coloradans across the state participated at the county and the precinct and the congressional district level. So that's a myth that Donald Trump is trying to promote.

But going back to what Joe said, you know, it's the cumulative effect that he can lose -- let's just give Donald Trump the 80 delegates that Joe just said. Ted Cruz is accumulated 142 delegates over the last five states. That six -- we could lose every one of those 80 delegates to Mr. Trump and at the end of the day, Cruz will still be ahead by over 60 votes.

The key point here is that you've got to go out and earn the votes of the people. Senator Cruz's optimistic message for jobs, freedom and security is resonating with the voters and that's why he's winning, not because of any funny business with the rules.

BROWN: But let me ask you this, Chad. I mean is there any concern that Cruz could risk alienating Trump supporters, who he'll need obviously in November if he does get the nomination?

SWEET: Well I think -- you've made a good point which is Senator Cruz is unifying the party. If you step back and look at it, over five of his fellow competitors previously have all come to join this campaign.

He is unifying and brought together the followers of Governor Walker, Carly Fiorina, Rick Perry, Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, and they'll be others you'll see in the coming days that are joining this effort as well. And so he's already demonstrating ...

BROWN: But the Trump supporter is there a concern of losing them, of alienating them in particular because clearly they're making their voices heard.

SWEET: No that's a fair point. But I think Pamela, what you'll notice is number one, one of the reasons that Senator Cruz stays focused on policy and not a personal attacks on Donald Trump is because he does believe that there actually are many common shared values between the Cruz campaign and the supporters of Donald Trump.

[19:10:04] At the end of the day, if we lose we will tip our hat to Donald. I believe has Joe just said, if will -- if they lose fair in square, they will be good sports. They will unify with the party.

And in fact, do you look at the Washington -- I mean, the "Wall Street Journal" op-ed that Donald Trump wrote this last week. He says I will participate in the system as it exists today and that he will attempt to promote maximum transparency.

Let's agree that both the Cruz campaign and Trump campaign are in full agreement. Maximum transparency is needed and both campaign need to agree win, lose or draw if we both win or lose under the rules, either side will support the other to unify the party.

BROWN: All right, we'll leave it on that very civil note. Joseph Morelli, Chad Sweet, thank you very much for that. Appreciate it.

SWEET: Thank you. Thank you, Joe. Thanks, Pam. BROWN: And this Tuesday, it's the battle for New York and the stake couldn't be higher. The New York primaries all-day coverage Tuesday right here on CNN.

And coming up, a race against time in Ecuador after a devastating earthquake, the desperate search for survivors feared trapped, but it is the rebel as the death toll continues to rise. We'll get a live report.

Plus, an unusual scene in the Democratic presidential race Bernie Sanders' supporters throwing dollar bills at Hillary Clinton's car. So what was behind it?

And the all-out brawl to court delegates before the Republican convention in July. Is it actually legal to win them over with expensive gifts? We'll have the answer after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, urgent rescue operations are under way right now in parts of coastal Ecuador ravaged by a catastrophic earthquake. The 7.8 quakes struck just under 24 hours ago and amid of devastation seen today came moments of hope such as this. Take a look, a young girl pulled alive from the remnants of a hotel.

Our Senior Latin American Affairs Editor, Rafael Romo was following the breaking developments. And Rafael, we're just learning that the number of the dead and wounded has increased significantly, right?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: That's right, Pamela. Ecuadorian authorities just updated the death toll to 246. They also say there's 2,527 injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: A young girl pulled from the wreckage of a building, one of the first glimpses of rescue operations under way in Ecuador. After a magnitude 7.8 earthquake tore through the country's coastal region, Saturday night. The catastrophic quake left behind the trail of destruction.

[19:15:01] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Everything is completely destroyed. The majority of the buildings have fallen and there are a lot of dead.

ROMO: Hundreds have been confirmed dead, making the quake the deadliest to hit the small South American nation since 1987. And the most vulnerable are the hardest to reach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The roads are really in bad shape. And then also the area is very vulnerable because of the intense rainfall that has gotten because of El Nino. So those two factors have made it a challenging environment to work in.

ROMO: The quake's epicenter was just off Ecuador's coast, South of Muisne in Esmeraldas' province. A state of emergency is in effect for six provinces, spanning the majority of the country's coastline. Hotels have been leveled. Bridges collapsed and families left destitute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I found my house like this? What am I going to do? Cry that's all. Now, we are on the street with nothing.

ROMO: Countries around the world are offering help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Our friend countries, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Spain, and the EU have all offered to send rescue workers with specialized tools and food donations needed for this type of situation.

ROMO: So far, thousands of police and military personnel have been deployed to affected areas, portable hospitals have been mobilized in the hardest hit cities of Pedernales and Portoviejo. And rescue teams and helicopters continue to search for survivors.

The extent of damage is only just being realized. But one thing is clear, Ecuador faces a long difficult road to recovery from this disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Ecuadorian authorities say 10,000 soldiers and 4,600 police have been deployed to the most affected areas to strengthen search- and-rescue efforts as well as humanitarian relief. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Rafael Romo, thank you very much for that. And to learn how you can help victims of the earthquake in Ecuador, just log on to cnn.com/impact.

Well, overseas now police are investigating whether a drone slammed into a passenger plane as it was landing at London's Heathrow Airport today.

I want to go straight to CNN's Senior International Correspondent, Fred Pleitgen in London. This is really concerning, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is concerning. It's both British Airways as well as the police here in London who believed that it might very well have been a drone that hit the aircraft. All of this happened today, as this plane was coming into land.

It was an Airbus A-320 that was coming from Geneva to land at London Heathrow. So the flight is about an hour and a half and this happened really shortly before that aircraft was supposed to touch down and the pilot says that he felt an object hit the aircraft and he believes that that object could very well have been a drone.

Now, we received a statement from British Airways, and in that statement they say, "Detectives are investigating after an object hit the front of the passenger plane as it approached Heathrow's Terminal 5 at around 12:30 p.m." Now, there were 132 passengers on board and five crew members. So certainly a great deal of cause for concern in all of it. And, Pamela, one of the other concerning things is that this is by no means an isolated incident.

The British Airline Pilots Association says that there have been around 23 near misses in a time span of about six months last year alone. And they say, that at this point in time, of course this investigation is going forward so far, however, no one has been taken into custody and obviously at this point in time the authorities base from what they're telling us, do not know who was piloting or possibly piloting that drone.

BROWN: Truly frightening nonetheless. Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much for that.

And coming up on this Sunday, tracing Donald Trump's roots to the heart of Queens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: First of all, it's great to be home. This is home. It's great to be home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So how do people in his old neighborhood remember him? We'll head to Queens to find out. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:08] BROWN: Well, most New Yorkers think of Donald Trump, they think of Manhattan, perhaps Trump Tower, but his New York roots are actually across the East River in Queens.

Randi Kaye went searching for people who knew him when and found no shortage of opinions in his old neighborhood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About 10 miles and a world away from Trump Tower in Manhattan, you'll find Jamaica Estates in Queens. The stomping ground of a young Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The neighborhood when Donald Trump was a boy was a rather privileged to community. It was fairly conservative. Queens was still a Republican borough until I'd say the late '50s.

KAYE: This wealthy enclave of manicured lawns and tutor houses was built at the turn of the last century as an oasis to city life. And it's where Donald's father, Fred Trump, built this house for his growing family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were very quiet, unassuming in the neighborhood and private people. Donald Trump, he's kind of an anomaly in the Trump family. He was kind of a devil, an impish kind of kid who was, you know, just always getting himself in trouble.

KAYE: Paul Onish knows that devilish side of Donald Trump.

PAUL ONISH, TRUMP'S BESTFIREND IN MIDDLE SCHOOL: We frequently got detention for passing notes back and forth, throwing spit balls at each other and talking out of turn.

KAYE: He was one of Trump's best friends in middle school. That's a young Donald at Onish's bar mitzvah party in the pinstriped jacket.

In this photo, Paul in the captain's hat is the lead in the school musical, opposite him, Donald Trump who played his shipmate.

He says his friend, who he called Donny, was a polarizing figure even back then.

ONISH: He was a little too brash, a little too loud. He wanted things to be his way and those who were on his side liked the way his way was, the group that didn't like it, they stayed away from us.

KAYE: Donald Trump went to elementary and middle school here at the private Kew-Forest School in Queens. But his friends say he spent so much time in detention, they referred to getting detention as getting a DT, for Donny Trump.

His parents thought he needed more discipline so they sent him to a military academy in upstate New York.

Back in his old neighborhood, many still can't believe the boy they knew could become the Republican nominee or even president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an amazing feeling. It's surreal. Just, you know, how many people could say that.

KAYE: Others can't believe some of the more controversial comments Trump has made on the campaign trail. Queens prides itself on its diversity.

Just down the street from Trump's boyhood home, what is now one of the biggest Muslim populations in the city. It's one of the many reasons residents here, including Democrats like Martha (ph), are conflicted about Trump's rise in the polls.

[19:25:08] MARTHA: The feeling in the neighborhood I found is quite mixed. Yes, there's pride that he's a native son. However, many have said that listening to some of the things that he says they can't abide those comments, because they're just not what come out of this neighborhood.

KAYE: A neighborhood that thanks to Donald Trump is now a part of political history.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Queens, New York. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And right, thank you to Randi Kaye.

Coming up on the Sunday, Bernie Sanders supporters shower Hillary Clinton's car with cash to protest her fancy fundraisers. But is the New York primary already money in the bank for the Democratic front- runner?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, Bernie Sanders is back in his old stomping ground of Brooklyn, trying to drum up so much needed support ahead of Tuesday's primaries.

Sanders is born and raised there and got a little sentimental during his rally in Prospect Park.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, when I was a kid, growing up in Flatbush, our parents would take us to Prospect Park, but I was never here speaking to 20,000 people. So thank you all very much for being here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Brynn Gingras was at that rally and joins me now. So what was the crown like there, Brynn?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was estimated 28,000 people, Pamela, that's what the campaign actually tweeted out. And the big message here from Bernie Sanders was to get out and vote because the big question is, will all those people turn into votes come Tuesday?

Sanders even said himself that they do well when voter turnout is high. But certainly, his message resonated with the crowd today and in particularly the points that he always hammers home and that's how he raises money for his campaign. How it is so different from the Clinton campaign.

[19:30:10] He even took a moment to almost take a job at the Clinton campaign. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDERS: This is a movement of people who are prepared to think big, not small. Here is a simple truth, which everybody understands, whether you're progressive or conservative. And that is, you cannot have a super PAC raise many millions of dollars from Wall Street or special interests, and then tell the American people with a straight face, that you're going to stand up to the big money interests. Not true.

(END VIDEOTAPE) GINGRAS: And you can hear there, that received a lot of cheers today. And Sanders really took time to speak to all voters. We've always heard about the young voters. Well, he took the time to talk to native American voters, Latino voters, African-Americans, so he's trying to broaden who will come out to vote in Tuesday's New York primary. Pamela?

BROWN: Brynn Gingras, thank you so much.

And Sanders' opponent, Hillary Clinton, just wrapped up a rally in Staten Island where she did something unusual. She thanked a Republican president.

Clinton was describing dark days after the September 11th attacks, when as a New York senator, she wanted money to help rebuild the city. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We said we needed $20 billion. He said, you've got it. And despite intense Republican pressure to back down, he never did. So I publicly say, thank you, President George W. Bush, for making sure we got the money that we needed to rebuild our city.

I have no time for people who are partisan for the sake of being partisan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: All right, let's talk it over with Hillary Clinton supporter, Maria Cardona, and Bernie Sanders's supporter, Nomi Konst. Thank you both for coming back on.

Maria, to you first.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Do you think -- is Clinton's positive words for President Bush a sign of a general election strategy with some divided Republican voters possibly up for grabs? What's your take on that?

MARIA CARDONA, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that's possibly true, but I also think that she was in every way communicating to New York and other states' primary and caucus voters who still have an opportunity to vote in their upcoming primaries and caucuses, that she is somebody who knows how to reach across the aisle, who knows how to work with Republicans, which is something that she did during her two successful terms as senator of New York and that that really is the only way that you can get things done in this incredibly polarized electorate in this incredibly divided and partisan Congress that we have.

So I think it was actually a very deft move in focusing number one, on everything she did as a New York senator to help rebuild after 9/11 and how she was there every step of the way and fighting for New Yorkers, as well as underscoring how she will work with anybody who is willing to get the job done.

BROWN: OK, so Donald Trump came out, and he seems to be test-driving a new nickname for Hillary Clinton. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And then of course, we have "Crooked Hillary." Crooked Hillary, folks. She's been crooked from the beginning. And to think that she has a shot at being our president, Crooked Hillary Clinton. We can't let it happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: All right, I'm going to go to you in a second, Maria. But I actually want to bring in Nomi to get your thoughts on that. Do you think it's fair or kind that he's calling her "Crooked Hillary."

NOMI KONST, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't think anything Donald -- any of the labels that Donald Trump uses are fair or kind. But he is illustrating something about the trustworthy factor.

And I don't agree with what he said. I don't think that's a good label. And that's why I will not vote for Donald Trump. But I don't think most Democrats will vote for Donald Trump or Independent progressives.

But, you know, there is a credibility factor here. When somebody throws a $363,000 dinner per couple the same night that Bernie Sanders is overseas giving a speech about morality at the Vatican, that shows a tale of two different campaigns.

And right now, the Democrats are split. You know, under 50, under 45, 80 percent of Democrats and Independents, newly registered Democrats are siding with Bernie Sanders. And that's the future of the party, and I think it's because his message resonates with those people.

I mean, the crowd that you saw in Brooklyn -- I was there right before this -- you know, their people were working people, people who have been hurt by the economy. You know, after the recession hit in 2008, the state of New York changed a lot. It's not just about Wall Street. It's about upstate New York, which has lost so many jobs after NAFTA and these trade policies.

It's about, you know, the Bronx where you have people who are fighting to survive, and they want a $15 minimum wage. And Hillary Clinton was the senator for two terms. But that was before the recession, and we have very different country. We have a very different Democratic party, and Bernie Sanders is a reflection of the future of the Democratic party.

And just to note, her trust ratings with Democrats right now in a Gallup poll that came out a few days ago is at 36 percent. It's dropped 30 points since November.

BROWN: And so in light of that, Maria -- just, you know, in light of that, the poll numbers, Sanders supporters hurling those $1 bills at Clinton's motorcade last night as she headed to this fundraiser with George Clooney's California home, is there a concern that perhaps they're sending the wrong message?

CARDONA: Well, I do think that there's concern over how over the line some of Bernie Sanders' supporters are getting, and that prank actually was silly and sophomoric and, I think, in incredibly bad taste, especially on the heels of a very high level Sanders surrogate calling Hillary Clinton and her supporters "Democratic whores."

So it doesn't look good. It doesn't look good for the senator when he has to apologize for these kinds of really low-level tactics.

(CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: But here's what I will say. But here's what I will say about Donald Trump and the name-calling. And I agree. I'm glad Nomi said she doesn't agree with it. I don't think any Democrat agrees with it. I don't think a lot of Republicans agree with it. We know that Donald Trump is a -- is a 12-year-old bully in the body of a 70- year-old man.

But I think the -- what Hillary Clinton is concerned about are the names that he is calling Latinos, the names that he is calling and smearing Muslims --

KONST: Everybody is concerned about that.

CARDONA: -- the Muslim community with, what he has -- the kinds of -- the kinds of fun that he makes of people with disabilities, the names that he has called women. And that's what she is fighting for day in and day out.

And the most important name that Donald Trump will remember for eight years and the most important name that Americans will call Hillary Clinton after November is President of the United States.

KONST: And can I quickly respond to that?

BROWN: Just very quickly, and then I want to go to something else.

KONST: You know, that's the original point we were talking about, how Republicans, how to work with Republicans.

You know, one thing to keep in mind here is that Hillary Clinton is not the one who was the amendment king. Bernie Sanders who was the one who passed more legislation with Republicans than any other Democrat in the Senate. He passed more amendments that "Rolling Stone" called him the "amendment king" a few years ago.

This is man who knows how to work across the aisle. And it is because he's not bought and sold. He doesn't have to leave the Senate to go make phone calls, you know, spending 80 percent of their time raising money for their candidacy.

He is funded by individuals, and it is the people's party. We have to remember this is not about the cool kids' table that the Democrats are trying to make it be right now, the Democratic party operatives.

It is about being inclusive, and Bernie Sanders is bringing a whole new wave of voters, the future of the Democratic party. And it is not something that we should disrespect or be condescending towards. This is the future of the party, and it is important that we pay attention to them.

BROWN: But one criticism that keeps dogging Bernie Sanders it seems is that he basically is making all of these promises but can't back them up. And, in fact, "SNL" mocked him, and they mocked Hillary Clinton, really all the candidates, seizing an opportunity. They mocked him last night for his plan to quote "break up the big banks." Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS (as female voter): So listen, you've been pretty vague in the past, but how exactly are you going to break up the big banks?

LARRY DAVID (as Bernie Sanders): You mean the big bank break-up?

LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes, a big bank break-up.

DAVID: You break 'em up!

LOUIS-DREYFUS: How? How?

DAVID: Once I'm elected president, I'll have a nice schvitz in the White House gym. Then I'll go to the big banks, I'll sit them down, and yadda, yadda, yadda, they'll be broken up.

LOUIS-DREYFUS: What? No, no, you can't yadda, yadda at a debate. Also you yadda yadda'd over the best part.

DAVID: No, I mentioned the schvitz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So are you concerned about this perception that basically he's short on specifics? Of course, that's all laughs, but?

KONST: Yes, I think that it is a perception that's been fueled by the Clinton messaging factory. You know, the truth is that 360 world economists -- world renowned economists have endorsed Bernie Sanders' tax plan. It's easy to look it up. You can look at his website. It goes into detail.

You know, when he's giving stump speeches, that's a stump speech. It's a message. It's Politics 101. You have to make your message clean and clear. J

Now, you know, let's be also clear here that Louis-Dreyfus is a surrogate for the Hillary Clinton campaign right now, so --

BROWN: And, Maria, you're a surrogate for Hillary Clinton. Quickly, final word, then we've got to wrap it up.

CARDONA: I am. I was going to say that the perception is not being fueled by the Hillary Clinton campaign. It's being fueled by Bernie Sanders himself for not being adequate and not being able to really lay out what his plans are and not being able to have the numbers add up.

We have economists on the left and the right saying that his economic plans don't add up. He doesn't -- he's not able to say what he would do in terms of --

KONST: What about Hillary? What about Hillary's plan?

(CROSSTALK)

BARTIROMO: I hope one day you all can get together.

CARDONA: She would be the best commander-in-chief.

(CROSSTALK)

BARTIROMO: -- and have a nice meal or drink after all this is said and done.

CARDONA: I'll buy you a martini.

BARTIROMO: Absolutely.

CARDONA: I'll invite Nomi to the inauguration for Hillary Clinton.

KONST: Wow.

BROWN: All right, I'll be covering it.

Here we go. And a quick programming note for everyone here. Bernie Sanders will be live on CNN's "New Day" tomorrow morning. Be sure to look for that in the 8:00 hour.

And coming up on "This Sunday," Saudi Arabia warns of serious economic consequences if Congress passes a bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue foreign governments. Hear reaction from the widow of one man killed in those attacks. Her message, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, Saudi Arabia is threatening the Obama administration, saying it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of American assets. Should Congress pass a bill that could hold the kingdom responsible for any role in the 9/11 attacks?

Well, that development comes as families of 9/11 victims make a renewed push to declassify 28 pages of a congressional report believed to focus on the role of foreign governments in the terror plot. A woman who lost her husband that day talked to CNN's Michael Smerconish about Saudi Arabia's threat. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TERRY STRADA, HUSBAND DIED IN WTC ON 9/11: I'm shocked that's what's going on here. I mean, do the Saudis really have that much influence on our government? Are they really calling the shots in Washington, D.C.? Are we really not able to pass legislation in our Congress because of the Saudis? It's unbelievable.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, HOST, SMERCONISH: I said at the outset in my monologue that President Obama has on a few occasions said that he would release these documents. Back me up on that.

STRADA: Yes, that's absolutely true. Shortly after he took office, he made a promise to a 9/11 victims' family member and then again when Osama Bin Laden was taken out, he made another promise to a second family member that yes, he would release the 28 pages.

SMERCONISH: And it makes you wonder, Terry, not only if they're -- if they're going to play hardball with us on this issue, how loyal a supporter are they in our fight against ISIS?

STRADA: That's a good question. You know, that's the second threat that they're making beyond taking these billions of dollars out of our economy. They're also threatening now to not assist us at the fight with ISIS. And that's ludicrous. I mean, they need us pretty much more than we need them.

SMERCONISH: It's the morning of September 11th. Tom is on the 104th floor of the North Tower. He's working for Cantor Fitzgerald. He actually called you.

STRADA: Yes, he did.

SMERCONISH: And said --

STRADA: The building's on fire. We've been hit by an airplane, and we're going to the stairwells and we're going to try to get out. There's a lot of smoke. And he said a few other things that are very personal. It was horrifying.

SMERCONISH: And ever thereafter, so many of us, even those like myself who weren't personally impacted with the loss of a loved one, you know the refrain. Never forget.

But I said it's an empty promise if there are documents out there, that we still haven't seen and aspects of this story that we haven't been told. What's the pitch you want to make to the White House?

STRADA: Oh, absolutely. Well, first of all, stand by your promise and release the 28 pages. The 9/11 families have a right to know this, and so do the American people.

We can't get a full understanding of what's going on in our country now with terrorism unless we know exactly what happened prior to 9/11 and how it came about and how the network existed, how the money was being transferred. So really please, stand by your promise, and let's get the truth out

there, like Senator Graham said. Then we can deal with it, you know, on a truthful level.

Right now we're dealing with a lot of secrets and a lot of things being hidden. And they're trying to block our legislation, which all our legislation does is give the court jurisdiction to hear our case. That's all it does.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, a group of 9/11 victims' families tried to sue the Saudi government, but the suit was thrown out last year. The Saudi government has never formally been implicated.

Well, coming up on "This Sunday," the rules of wining and dining delegates. From first-class fights to free golf and expensive gifts, what's legal, and what's not when it comes to courting their support?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Ted Cruz's win in Wyoming has Donald Trump railing against what he calls a "rigged system." Trump has accused the Cruz campaign of bribing delegates with quote "goodies." And now a potential contested convention looming, the road to Cleveland could be paved with more and more gifts.

CNN's Tom Foreman explains what's allowed and what's not.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: If the Republicans get to a contested convention and if nobody wins on the first two ballots, virtually every delegate on the floor would become unbound, meaning he or she can vote as they pleased. And some believe that could create a yard sale for delegates.

What do we mean? Well, any given delegate showing up would know what the rules are. The rules say that they cannot accept any gifts from corporations or from foreign nationals or from federal contractors. Those are all no-nos.

But the rules also say they can accept gifts from political PACs and from individuals. So if a political PAC says, you know what, we are supporting one candidate, and we'd like to give you first-class travel here and a limousine ride to a lavish hotel where we'll put you up, and we'll give you fancy meals while you're here -- not trying to buy your vote, just trying to show you how much candidate so-and-so appreciates you -- that might be one form that this could take.

What if you have if an individual donor who supports one of the candidates who says, and I'd like to throw in a gift bag. It's going to include some nice snacks, maybe a designer watch, perhaps you can have some new headphones or maybe a new tablet computer, maybe tickets to a ball game or some show you'd like to see. Again, under the national rules, all of that would be OK. There may be local rules in the state that keep them from doing it.

And again, it's not direct buying or selling of a vote, because after all, some will say what these people really want is access to the candidates, a chance to visit somebody. Even that might go better if you said come on, we'll discuss the issues over a round of golf at some exclusive club, or maybe all the delegates should go away with this candidate to the Bahamas for the weekend to discuss all the issues and the politics around this.

The bottom line is the party says it doesn't really want to see this happen. The campaigns are all suggesting they don't want to see it happen. But the rules say it's OK. So some say there could be supporters out there who may yet want to push a free set of Kasich steak knives or maybe a Cruz cruise or maybe even a Trump helicopter tour to win over those last delegate votes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: All right, Tom Foreman, thank you very much for that.

And coming up, a first of its kind American opportunity, 140 years in the making. Meet the female commander making history at one school in Texas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, even though it's 2016, there are still many leadership positions that woman have never filled. And across this country, the gender pay gap has barely budged since the year 2000. In fact, stats show women still earn still just 79 cents for every dollar men earn, and that's why we want to focus on those women who are breaking barriers.

In today's American opportunity, CNN takes a look at one 21-year-old who is the first-ever woman to lead the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets in its 140-year history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALYSSA MICHALKE: My name is Alyssa Michalke, and I have the unique privilege of serving as this year's Texas A&M Corps of Cadets commander. I am the first female to hold this position.

The Corps of Cadets here at Texas A&M is a four-year leadership development program. We take high school students and turn them into high-quality leaders of character.

It's very regimented lifestyle, and it's one that you get into a routine. Whereas, you know, other college students who aren't in the corps may have a little bit more freedom to express themselves, our cadets are held to a higher standard.

Make your bed, shine your shoes, clean your room, iron your uniform.

The Corps is made up of only about 15 percent females. We still have some people with kind of the quote-unquote "good 'ol boy attitude." Being a female leader can be challenging at times, but we have a lot

of really mature cadets who really see past that.

I definitely place a little bit more pressure on myself coming into this year just knowing, again, that I kind of was now quote-unquote "the face" of these women who have come through -- who have come through the corps 40 years ago. I didn't want to be the corps commander who failed.

I think it really sunk in to me when I got a phone call the Monday that I was announced. I got a phone call and a Facebook message from a lady who was the first female on the corps staff, and told me what it meant to her.

Those women went through so much more than I did. Death threats, fellow Aggies trying to harm them or trying to tear their uniforms up. Some of the stories you hear about, you know, it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

Formation is held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at about 6:00 in the morning. Your uniform is supposed to be looking good. We're ready to go to do physical training.

Even though I am the commander and I yell out the commands, I'll still held to the same standards we hold our freshmen to. Every formation that we have, you'll see freshmen cadets running out of the dorms with their hands held high above their heads and yelling, "A" and with the sophomores and juniors leading them out to formation.

During formation, we render honors to the colors, and then march into chow as an entire corps. We all know that as cadets we stick out. As female cadets, we stick out a little bit more.

Being able to talk through some of the problems that we go through. You know having to deal with guys who can do 40 pull-ups, where we're over here doing maybe 10 or 15.

You know, we're a little bit tougher on the females, because we want them to do well. We don't want them to -- you know, to give the guys an excuse so to say to call us slower or not as worthy to wear a uniform.

And I think some females get a little nervous. Maybe they get anxious about leading their peers. But I found that as long as you -- you know, you work hard, you respect your peers and you show that you're willing to serve them, they're more than willing to follow you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And students on campus say the impact of her serving that role is already showing. In fact, the board that selects the corps commander each year has picked Alyssa's successor, who is also a woman.

And finally, tonight's number, 20. The $20 bill could see a big change this week with president Andrew Jackson's face being replaced by a woman.

The treasury is expected to announce that historic change this week, and a source tells CNN the woman will represent the struggle for racial equality, but no word on whose face we'll see.

We'll have to wait a while to see the new currency in circulation. A new $20 bill can't be issued until 2030 at the very earliest.

And coming up tonight on CNN, be sure to tune in for a brand-new episode of the "Wonder List" at 10:00. Bill Weir heads into the wild to capture a rare glimpse of one of the world's last black rhinos.

I'm Pamela Brown. I hope you have a great week. Thanks for spending part of your Sunday with me. "Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown" starts right now.