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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Sweeps Five Northeast States; Sanders: I'm In "Until the Last Vote is Cast". Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 27, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:00] CAMEROTA: That is so cool.

PEREIRA: That's really, really cool.

CUOMO: Didn't want to be identified. They didn't like that the story was getting out.

CAMEROTA: So good.

CUOMO: It happens. The men and women in blue, they're doing the right thing all the time.

CAMEROTA: And could that little girl be any cuter?

PEREIRA: No. She couldn't.

CAMEROTA: Very good.

PEREIRA: Just like our Carol Costello on "NEWSROOM."

They let me toss to you because we have a West Coast connection. She's going to come visit me.

CUOMO: Does not sit in a car seat by the way.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All the time.

CUOMO: Costello.

PEREIRA: She does not.

COSTELLO: No, I definitely do not.

CUOMO: It may not touch the ground. It may not touch the ground.

COSTELLO: You guys have a great day. I got to go.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you so much.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I consider myself the presumptive nominee, absolutely. I mean, if you look. SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tonight, this campaign

moves back to more favorable terrain.

TRUMP: New Republican Party.

CLINTON: An America where we lift each other up, instead of tearing each other down.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What this campaign is about, making certain that the Donald Trumps of the world do not divide us up.

TRUMP: And I'm a unifier. I unity people.

CLINTON: And I applaud Senator Sanders and for his millions of supporters for challenging us to get unaccountable money out of our politics.

TRUMP: Well, I think the only card she has is the woman's card. She's got nothing else going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And good morning, everyone. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, win big on Super Tuesday and barrel closer to a November showdown. The Republican frontrunner sweeps all five states and declares the primary season over. He has more votes than Ted Cruz and John Kasich combined, and declares himself the presumptive nominee.

Clinton even closer to clinching the nod, racking up wins in four states and now has 90 percent of the delegates needed to go on the November ballot. Bernie Sanders scoops up of Rhode Island and signals a huge shift in focus.

Will he now fight for his ideas, rather than his candidacy?

We begin, though, with Donald Trump, basking in the glow of his victory and skewering anyone who stands in the way. Today Trump takes the fight to Indiana, the next primary state and the first to test that Ted Cruz-John Kasich alliance.

Here is what Trump had to say on CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: TRUMP: Ted Cruz is in Indiana last night. He says you can't do it. You can't get to 1237, you can't beat Hillary Clinton, and you can't bring this party together, at least half your party still does not want you to be the nominee. Your response?

TRUMP: Well, Lyin' Ted is -- you know, been saying this for a long time. He said we couldn't win the five states last week. He said he would win at least two of the states. You know, Lyin' Ted is Lyin' Ted. He's one of a kind. He can lie better than any human being I've ever seen. But ultimately he is not successful. I've actually never seen anything quite like it.

We had a great victory and far more than we thought. Far more than your network estimated. And now we're up to close to 1,000. We have a long way to go. I mean, we're going to do great in California. We have a big lead in California. I think we're going to do really good in Indiana where I'm going today. And Indiana looks really strong.

I would go to Indiana, I have Bobby Knight tonight, who's going to endorse Trump. Bobby Knight is the most revered coach in the history, I guess, of Indiana. He is great. Great guy. Great coach. People love him.

CUOMO: How about Mike Pence? Have you reached out for the governor's endorsement yet?

TRUMP: Yes, the governor is a great guy. I've met with him. He may not endorse. I don't think he'll endorse anybody actually.

CUOMO: Can you bring people together? Last night, talking about Hillary Clinton, whom you call crooked Hillary, you said the only thing she has is the woman card. Now even Chris Christie's wife standing behind you made a face when you said that. Do you think that's a winning formula to say the woman card is all that Hillary Clinton has?

TRUMP: Yes. It's part of -- it is certainly part. She is a woman, she is playing the woman card, left and right. She did play it last time with Obama, but she's playing it much harder this time. And she will be called on it. She'll absolutely be called.

CUOMO: How do you call someone on being a woman?

TRUMP: Just tell them they're playing the woman's card. And frankly --

CUOMO: But what does that mean exactly?

TRUMP: Frankly if she didn't, she would do very poorly.

CUOMO: How do you know that?

TRUMP: I know it because I think if she were a man and she was the way she is, she would get virtually no votes.

[09:05:01] CUOMO: I know, I hear what you're saying. I'm just trying to figure out what your basis is for it. You know, most of the measurements of a prospective matchup, not only is Clinton beating with you women, she's beating with you white women.

Do you think that this a good message for them to hear, that all she's got is a woman? It sounds dismissive of her gender.

TRUMP: When I came out, I was competing against 17 very capable people. Right? You've heard it. I'm sure you heard it last night ad nauseum. I was competing against 17 very, very capable people. And a woman. And what happened was one by one they disappeared. And everyone said what's going on? What's happening. A governor, a senator, a governor, a senator. But one by one, they disappeared. And they thought Trump was going to be there for a couple of weeks, he was going to have some fun, then he was going to go to Monte Carlo and have a good time. OK.

And It didn't work out that way. It worked out that I knocked everyone of them off. And for the most part, you would say I knocked them off. They weren't knocked off, I knocked them off. OK. I think you would admit that. They were taken out. And same thing going to happen to Hillary.

CUOMO: Do you believe then that what got you here will take you all the way to the White House?

TRUMP: I think so. Now, you know, I may tone it down or I may tone it up. I can't tell you what I'm going to do. I don't know. Depends, you know, I use the word flexibility. I have to be flexible. And you do. You have to be flexible. Somebody said well, will you go this way or that way. I don't know. I will determine when I see how the other people punch back. But Hillary has a lot of flaws. She has a lot of problems. And she does have the woman card. That's a big thing. But a lot of women, as you know, don't like Hillary. Despite the card.

CUOMO: Well --

TRUMP: And you know, we'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's talk about this. Let's bring in senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta, he's live in Washington, where Mr. Trump is set to deliver a major foreign policy speech later today.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right. Donald Trump will try to make the pivot to the general election campaign in just a few hours from now with a major foreign policy speech here in Washington, after going five for five in last night's primary, the GOP frontrunner as you said is calling on his remaining rivals, Ted Cruz and John Kasich to drop out of the race. He slammed Hillary Clinton, as we just heard, as playing the woman card.

But even with that super heated rhetoric, Carol, Trump will try to show off his serious side in his foreign policy speech. Earlier this morning on CNN's "NEW DAY," Trump said he could support President Obama's decision to send additional 250 Special Operations Forces into Syria, but with one big difference.

Here is how he put it earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't agree with telling it to the word. I would send them in quietly because right now they have a target on their back. So I would agree with it much more, I don't know what purpose they're being sent in for but I would agree with it, I can live with it, but what I don't like doing is sending them in so, I mean, you know, with such fanfare. Let them go in, let them go in quietly, be unpredictable. I just, you know, from my standpoint, I just find it very, very hard, every time we do something, we announce it for publicity reasons. And I think that's very negative. I think that's a -- I think that's a bad thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now as for his attack on Hillary Clinton that she is playing the woman's card, as he put it, Trump doubled down on that as you heard during the "NEW DAY" interview. He accused the former secretary of state of playing the woman card, in his words, left and right.

But, Carol, as you heard last night, Hillary Clinton was ready for this line of attack. She said if I'm playing the woman card, deal me in. And all this morning, Clinton surrogates have been saying about Donald Trump's comments, keep talking. They obviously feel like this plays to their advantage -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jim Acosta, reporting live from Washington.

So let the battle of the sexes begin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: If fighting for women's health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman card, then deal me in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right, so let's talk about that. With me now radio talk show host and Trump supporter, John Phillips, executive director of the Independent Women's Forum, Sabrina Schaeffer, and CNN political commentator and Clinton supporter, Hilary Rosen.

Welcome to all of you.

HILLARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Carol.

JOHN PHILLIPS, TALK RADIO HOST, KABC: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Hi. Thanks for being with me this morning.

So, John, Mr. Trump says a lot of women do not like Hillary Clinton, and I'm sure some women do not like her, but I want you to take a look at the polls. This is the latest CNN-ORC poll. It shows that a lot of women actually do like Hillary Clinton. When Clinton is matched in a general election against Donald Trump, 60 percent of women back Clinton, 33 percent back Trump.

John, are all of those women voting with their gender?

PHILLIPS: Well, the general election hasn't started yet. When the primary first started, Donald Trump was polling poorly among virtually all groups in the Republican primary, and of course, those numbers turned around once he started his campaign.

[09:10:05] I think it's funny that this is the first time I can think of that Republican is drawing heat for something that Susan Sarandon had already said, just repeating that line of attack. It's interesting also that Democrats win elections. You go back to 2008 and 2012, Democrats win elections by spiking turnout among minorities or various groups, Barack Obama did that with black voters. And if Hillary Clinton is going to win this time around, she's going to have to spike turnout among women.

If you look at the numbers in the debates, the Republicans have been rating much higher than the Democrats, the numbers in turnout for Democrats are lower in many cases than they were in 2008, and she's got to do something to spike enthusiasm, and this is clearly the card that she is playing.

COSTELLO: But doesn't he have to do that as well? And I'll ask Sabrina this question because she is a Republican woman. According to the same CNN-ORC poll, Trump has a 42 percent unfavorable rating among Republican women. That's significantly higher than Ted Cruz or John Kasich.

SABRINA SCHAEFFER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM: Well, right, Carol. I mean, he certainly has a serious problem with women voters, but that doesn't take away from what he actually said last night, which I think is -- actually hit the nail on the head which is that Hillary Clinton has (INAUDIBLE) her entire campaign on this narrative that she is swimming against this sexist current. And I find it exhausting. I think lots of voters find it exhausting and then the reality is she, you know, sort of talks about her being -- herself being an advocate for women because she wants to pass laws like the Paycheck Fairness Act or the Family Act, and provide universal paid leave.

And left out of this whole conversation is the kind of impact that would have on women opportunity and economic growth, job creation, all of this. This is where Donald Trump, you know, really has an opportunity to say, here is some tangible ways that we can actually improve women's lives and help them in their families because there are a lot of people suffering. All of this rhetoric coming from the Clinton campaign, however, is going to get us nowhere.

COSTELLO: OK. So getting us nowhere but that rhetoric is used a lot by both sides of the aisle, and Hilary, I just want to present one example. You know, Trump says Clinton didn't play the gender card so hard in 2008 when she was running against Barack Obama, but his own surrogate did. Listen to Sarah Palin in 2008.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest blasting in America. But it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Hilary, that doesn't fly this time around?

ROSEN: Look, I think women across America would really like to see a woman as president, or as vice-president or both. I don't think there is a question about that. But they want to make sure that she is qualified and that she's got a plan for where America is going, and I think Hillary Clinton has actually been incredibly clear during this campaign, that her, you know, advocacy on behalf of women and children is rooted in policy, and that's going to be what carries the day and I think that Donald Trump is going to be full of sort of comic insults, because he just doesn't seem to be able to get past them. He is like a teenage boy that way.

And instead, Hillary is going to be appealing to women across the board on her policies, and I think that they will like that. Do we want to see a woman president? Of course. Do we expect her to be elected because she is a woman. No. We expect her to be elected because she's going to be the best president.

COSTELLO: John, some unfortunate optics were played at last night's Trump rally. I want you -- I want you to take a look at Chris Christie's wife, Mary Pat, as Donald Trump attacked Clinton at that rally last night. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think the only card she has is the woman's card. She's got nothing else going. And frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don't think she'd get 5 percent of the vote. The only thing she's got going is the woman's card. And the beautiful thing is, women don't like her, OK. And look how well I did with women tonight, OK.

So ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, John, of course Democrats and Clinton supporters are saying look at Mary Pat. Even she doesn't buy what Trump is saying. What do you say about that image?

PHILLIPS: You know, he's got a beautiful wife, he's got beautiful daughters, he's got a charming young child. Can we please stop using the Christie family as backdrops? They make for horrible backdrops. This isn't the first time the Christies have done him wrong. I think it's time that he puts them behind the curtain.

COSTELLO: Really? You think -- you think so?

(LAUGHTER) PHILLIPS: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Tell us what you really think.

ROSEN: Here I think is the interesting thing about Mary Pat Christie, which is that, you know, she is actually smart and thoughtful. I disagree with her politically and I'm sure she disagrees with Hillary Clinton for the most part politically.

[09:15:03] I didn't chalk that up to her necessarily disagreeing with Donald Trump. I think she was saying, boy, this is really stupid politically.

You know, people get that. This is just not a smart thing for him to do. He doesn't seem to really even understand women voters. I mean, just the way he talks about women generally, it's almost always about their looks and not much else.

I just think women can relate to that, and I think Mary Pat was mostly saying, boy, that's really dumb thing to do, Donald.

COSTELLO: Well, Sabrina, let me ask you this, he'll sit down with Megyn Kelly on FOX News very soon. Is that interview even more important for him now?

SABRINA SCHAEFFER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM: I think so. Look, I mean, Hilary and I -- Hilary Rosen and I are very much in agreement today. I don't really believe that a gender bias exists in politics any more. I think voters are very open to having a woman president. What they don't like is a man sort of throwing these attacks on a woman that doesn't have any substance.

I think when he points to someone like Hillary Clinton and he says look, her policies are bad, she is playing the woman card, because women are critical voting bloc, I think he has all the reason in the world to say that. But when he throws sort of, you know, ad hoc attacks at Megyn Kelly, it looks terrible.

So, he absolutely does need to improve his imagine and he can best do that by talking about sort of tangible policy reforms that will help bring opportunities to women and their family. That's the best way to attract women voters.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. John Phillip, Sabrina Schaeffer, Hilary Rosen, thanks to all of you.

Still to come in THE NEWSROOM: Bernie Sanders vows to fight on, but is his end game more about influencing the party's platform than in capturing the nomination?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:57] COSTELLO: With four out of five wins last night, Hillary Clinton is now within striking distance of the Democratic presidential nomination. And victory rally in Philadelphia, site of the Democratic convention, Clinton took another swipe at potential Republican opponent Donald Trump while renewing her call for her own party to unite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to imagine a tomorrow where hard work is honored, families are supported, streets are safe and communities are strong, and where love trumps hate.

Let's go forward. Let's win the nomination, and in July, let's return as a unified party. Thank you all so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Clinton with a commanding lead over rival Bernie Sanders, who this morning is reportedly reassessing his campaign, even as he vows to stay in the race.

Jeff Zeleny is live in Philadelphia with more.

Good morning, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol.

In just three months, Democrats will be gathering here in Philadelphia for their national convention, it is looking more and more likely that Hillary Clinton will in fact be the party's nominee. There's simply not enough mathematical way forward for Bernie Sanders.

But that does not mean that he is not getting out of the race. In fact, quite the opposite. He issued a statement saying he intends to stay in for the next 14 races. There are 14 more primaries through the June 7th race. He said he plans to run an issues oriented campaign.

Now, he will be campaigning in Indiana later today. He has a rally around noon, then again this evening. So the tone that he takes is going to be something that all Democrats are watching very carefully, to see how is going after Hillary Clinton, if he softens his attack at all.

Let's take a look at the rest of his statement there. He says as he goes forward, "we are in this race until the last vote is cast. That is why this campaign is going to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, with as many delegates as possible for a progressive party platform."

Carol, translating that into English, he wants to have an influence on this party, he wants to have an influence on Hillary Clinton as a nominee, as a candidate here, on health care, on Wall Street reform, on campaign finance reform. But the reality here is that Bernie Sanders knows and he is trying to tell his supporters ever so gently that it's not going to be possible for him to win this nomination here. The Clinton campaign turning at least some of their attention to

Donald Trump. But, Carol, one thing I'm looking for is Bernie Sanders going to use any of that money he has to advertise in Indiana, what is his tone over the next week, is going to be so interesting here. Show how the Democratic race is going to finally wind down -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You're right about that. Jeff reporting live from Philadelphia this morning.

As Mrs. Clinton moves closer to a match up with Trump, she knows she'll need Sanders and his supporters on her side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: And I applaud Senator Sanders and his millions of supporters for challenging us, to get on accountable money out of politics and giving -- greater emphasis to closing the gap of inequality, and I know together, we will get that done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, let's bring in CNN political commentator and political anchor at New York 1, Errol Louis.

Hi, Errol.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Carol.

COSTELLO: How you doing? Do you suppose going forward, Bernie Sanders will, you know, soften the rhetoric against Hillary Clinton?

LOUIS: Oh, I'm not so sure about that. In the rhetoric actually, you know, look, not to be partisan toward Sanders, but what he had said consistently is that when he complains about money and politics and he complains about what Hillary Clinton has done, he says it's not personal. He wants all of politics, and in particular, the Democratic Party, to change. And it sounded as if Hillary Clinton is maybe willing to discuss some of those changes.

So I don't think he's going to drop that signature issue of his in particular. But maybe it won't be quite so pointedly aimed at Hillary Clinton speeches or relationship to Goldman Sachs and so forth.

[09:25:02] But no, I don't think we're going to see this leave the campaign trail. He has promised this to his followers. He has promised to let his followers at least get a chance to vote for him. I think that's why he is staying in through California. And these issues are not going to go away.

COSTELLO: So, is it really that important that -- let's see. What's more important? Bernie Sanders staying in the race and continuing to attack Hillary Clinton, or finding a way to bow out gracefully, when indeed he decides to go?

LOUIS: Well, I mean, look, the bowing out gracefully, I would point out he is the ranking member in the budget committee in the U.S. Senate, and Democrats have a better than even shot at claiming the majority.

So, he's got a political future in the short to medium term that he doesn't necessarily want to tamper with. He has an incentive to bring this thing in for a landing if that's what he chooses to do. But again, this larger question about what he wants in the party platform, what he wants as far as delegate selection rules. He may be looking to change the super delegates.

These are additional conversations and perhaps fights we can expect between now and Philadelphia, and he's got as every -- he'll never be in a stronger position to advance all of those causes than right now.

COSTELLO: So how can Hillary Clinton win over his supporters? She has been talking about raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, now, she's been talking about Citizens United rolling back. Is that enough to persuade the supporters to consider voting for her?

LOUIS: Well, look, some of the diehards, the ones who are still I think nursing a grudge over her vote on the bankruptcy bill from 14, 15 years ago, you may not be able to reach them. But there are some people who are coming to this with relatively fresh eyes. There are some people coming out of movements, including Occupy Wall Street or Black Lives Matter who may want to give her a second look or take whatever they believe they're able to do in movement politics and bring it into the Democratic Party.

You know, one thing that happens, Carol, we forget about it and we don't find out until after the fact, but there are a number of people, you can bet on this, who are coming into politics for the first time because of Bernie Sanders and who will be running for different county offices, different local offices in the future.

So she should be keeping in mind as well that this is especially the youth portion of the Bernie Sanders, this is the future of the party, whether you like it or not. And you've got to decide whether or not you're going to have something for them, a welcoming hand, perhaps some opportunities, perhaps some fundraising, depending on what the groups are. There are a lot of things she can do if that's what she really wants to.

COSTELLO: All right. Errol Louis, thanks so much.

Still to come in THE NEWSROOM: Tuesday's sweep within reach for Donald Trump. We'll tell you exactly how he needs to perform from here on out to avoid a convention fight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)