Return to Transcripts main page

WOLF

Primary Day In Kentucky And Oregon; Kasich Not Endorsing Trump For Now; Kasich States RNC Backed Trump Before He Was Out; Rubio Unleashes Twitter Tirade; Chaos At Convention And Death Threats; V.P. Picks Help Or Hurt A Candidate; Convention Chaos; Republicans and Trump. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 17, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 10:00 a.m. in Salem, Oregon, 1:00 p.m. here in New York, 8:00 p.m. in Damascus. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

It's primary day in Kentucky and Oregon. The states are the next step in the Democratic battle between Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders. They are both hoping to get the lion's share of Kentucky's 55 delegates. Hillary Clinton made 11 campaign stops in the state over the past few days.

In Oregon, there are 61 Democratic delegates up for grabs. Bernie Sanders is looking to win his third and fourth straight contest today.

Republican votes are also being cast in Oregon today. There are 28 delegates at stake there. Donald Trump is expected to add those delegates to his total of 1,157 as he inches closer and closer to the number needed for a nomination. He's just, right now, 80 delegates away from the magic number of 1,237.

Let's bring in Brynn Gingras. She's in Louisville, Kentucky for us. Brynn, only Democrats vote there today. Does either candidate have an advantage there today? Are voters excited to get their chance to weigh in on this presidential race?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, there's really a mixed bag here, Wolf. We're hearing from voters who basically have walked through the doors here at this particular location in Louisville, saying, I don't know who I'm going to vote for and then making their decision, primary for the people we've talked to, leaning towards Hillary Clinton.

But there are Bernie Sanders' supporters, and I want to bring in one of him -- one of them, I should say, 18-year-old Henry Gritton, first time voter. So, congratulations on that.

HENRY GRITTON: Thank you very much.

GINGRAS: A family parent who voted for Clinton.

GRITTON: Yes.

GINGRAS: You for Sanders, why?

GRITTON: I don't know. I really like Bernie Sanders. I like what he supports. I think that he's done a fantastic job at getting -- improving the amount of political awareness among young people, especially the voter turnout. I have a ton of friends that are just coming out today for the first time. You know, they've never voted before. They've never paid attention to anything, really, like, you know, political before and that's a huge step. I think it's a step that we all need.

GINGRAS: It is good to hear. But you did say you're not exactly averse to Hillary Clinton. You do like her but you do have a message saying that to Bernie Sanders.

GRITTON: Yes.

GINGRAS: Maybe to support her as well.

GRITTON: I do. I mean, I think something that's really dangerous that we all should be, you know, scared about is that if we really, sort of, want to shoot down this other person that is probably going to be our nominee, in the end, really only defeating our own party. You now, we're all trying to take on a common enemy here. And I think that if we knock down one person that's really close to us and that a lot of other people are voting for that have similar ideas as us, we're really only harming ourselves.

GINGRAS: All right, Henry, thank you. Congratulations, first time voter. I'm glad you put a lot of thought into this.

GRITTON: Thank you very much.

GINGRAS: Thanks so much.

And, Wolf, 20 percent is what the secretary of state is predicting, as far as turnout is concerned, across the state. But at this particular location, we've seen a steady stream of about 100 voters coming every single hour. So, voter turnout looks good here. We'll see how it fares out later on across the state -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We certainly will. Brynn Gingras in Louisville, Kentucky for us. Brynn, thank you.

Donald Trump may be alone at the top of the Republican race but he's not done campaigning. He still needs to get rank and file Republicans to rally behind him, and that includes the former presidential candidate, the Ohio governor, John Kasich, who is non-committal when asked about an endorsement by our Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm for uniting and I have to see him move to uniting. If he doesn't, I'm undecided, here at this point. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "A.C. 360": Do you think Ohio is a Hillary

Clinton state or a Donald Trump state?

KASICH: Well, I think if you're not a unifier, you have a big problem. If you're going to double down on negative, it isn't going to work.

COOPER: It doesn't work in Ohio.

KASICH: I don't believe it does, no. You cannot be -- you cannot come into here with a glass half empty and polarize people and think you're going to win Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Joining us now from Dallas is Katrina Pierson, the National Spokeswoman for the Trump campaign. Katrina, thanks very much for joining us. What's your reaction to what we just heard from Governor Kasich saying he's not ready to endorse?

KATRINA PIERSON, NATIONAL SPOKESWOMAN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Well, I think this is a common thread, Wolf, of some of the Republicans that Mr. Trump has beat in the primary, particularly when he was expected to not do well at all and to drop out early.

But at the same time, I mean, we are talking about, again, tone. As Mr. Trump would say, we can't get stuck on tone. We have to look around at the economy. We have to look at national security. And sometimes, you just can't be nice when it comes to politics. And if anybody knows that, it's been the Republican grassroots.

BLITZER: He's been -- he's a twice-elected governor in Ohio. No Republican has ever been elected president without carrying Ohio. Do you need his endorsement in order to win Ohio?

[13:05:00] PIERSON: Mr. Trump would welcome Governor Kasich's endorsement but I do think we'll also do well in Ohio and states like Ohio, simply because Mr. Trump's message, you know, is the prevailing message, particularly on the Republican side. And as he continues to campaign, moving forward on a concept of putting Americans and their families first, when making decisions when it comes to trade, when it comes to immigration and when it comes to foreign policy. At the end of the day, that's the message that's going to win.

BLITZER: A pro -Clinton super pac put out a new ad. I want to get your reaction. Let me play a little clip from it. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Do you like girls that are five foot one? They come up to you know where.

If Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her.

I view a person who is flat chested as very hard to be a 10.

And you can go tell them to go (INAUDIBLE) themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, Donald Trump has blasted it on Twitter, calling the ad unfair because the swearing at the end is about China, not about women. But doesn't this ad sort of highlight the tone Trump has taken with women? Could his own words, in a general election campaign, come back to haunt him?

PIERSON: No, I don't think so. But I do know this is the narrative that the left and the media will continue to try to push. But the facts are that women aren't emotional voters. And I think it's an insult, particularly for Hillary Clinton's campaign, to try to push a narrative somehow thinking that women just aren't going to care about illegal immigration. They're not going to care that ISIS is expanding and did under Hillary's watch. And that they're not going to care about jobs and the economy just because the Hillary Clinton campaign is placating to emotions. I think that's insane.

Women know Donald Trump is a very successful business person. He's raised a wonderful family. His own wife endorsed him for president. So, this is a narrative that they've overreached on. They're going to overplay and, ultimately, will fail.

BLITZER: Throughout the primaries, the caucuses, Donald Trump made a point of saying he had no pollsters. He didn't need pollsters. He just wanted to be authentic, wanted to be himself. But now, going into a general election campaign, he has now hired a very prominent Republican pollster. Why?

PIERSON: Well, because this is his effort to continue to help unite the party. A lot of people feel more comfortable when they have polling. That is your older political paradigm. Mr. Trump is looking to continue to put -- to put forth his message without being pushed around by polls.

But I do think it makes a lot of those other individuals happy that there is polling going on and that there will be polling going on, particularly when he's going to be helping other candidates down ballot. It's very important. This is a joint effort between Donald Trump and the RNC to unite the party and to continue to maintain control in Congress.

BLITZER: He's no longer self-funding either. He made a big point in the primaries that he didn't need anyone else's money. He could fund his own campaign. But now that has changed. He's going to try to raise, what, a billion dollars in a general election campaign, is that right?

PIERSON: Yes, so far. And I think that's a great decision for Mr. Trump simply because there are so many people in this country that do want to invest in the success of this campaign. And he welcomes that. He has really proven a point.

He has done something that no one else could have done. He's making history right now with his primary run of self-funding his campaign. And he's still committed to that. And voters know that no matter what, no one is going to boss Mr. Trump around when it comes to special interests because his message and his goal is putting Americans first.

BLITZER: Hillary Clinton took direct aim at Donald Trump during a stop in Kentucky yesterday. Listen to this. She made fun of him. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's just imagine I'm on a debate stage with Donald Trump. Now, personally, I am really looking forward to it. So, let's suppose here's the question. So, what is your plan to create jobs? His answer is, I'm going to create them. They're going to be great. I know how to do it, but I'm not telling you what it is I'm going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Will she -- will Donald Trump become more specific with all of his initiatives, his proposals?

PIERSON: Well, yes, and he actually has been specific. And we're looking forward to that day on the debate stage so that he can talk about things like NAFTA, which Hillary Clinton supported and pushed by Bill Clinton. Things like immigration which does suppress wages in this country and kills jobs. And an economy that had little to no growth in the first quarter under Democrat control. So, we welcome the debate with Hillary Clinton.

BLITZER: One final question before I let you go, Katrina. Are you still sticking by the denial that that P.R. person, named John Miller or John Barron, wasn't really Donald Trump?

PIERSON: Yes, Wolf. Mr. Trump heard a clip. He said it wasn't him so it wasn't him.

BLITZER: Katrina Pierson, thanks very much for joining us.

PIERSON: Great to be here. Good to see you.

BLITZER: Governor John Kasich has a bone to pick with the chairman of the Republican National Committee. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Kasich said the chairman, Reince Priebus, was premature in naming Donald Trump as the party's presumptive nominee. Priebus made the proclamation in a tweet after Trump won the Indiana primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:10:06] KASICH: When Indiana happened and you had the chairman of the Republican Party endorse Trump, which I thought was completely inappropriate, my --

COOPER: Inappropriate because?

KASICH: Well, I'm still there. What -- you know, he just wanted to get this thing over. I'm not happy about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's bring in our CNN Political Commentator Ryan Lizza, the Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker," and CNN Politics Executive Editor Mark Preston. Ryan, why is this a -- still a very sore spot for John Kasich?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think because he believes that Reince Priebus jumped the gun, that Trump did not have in hand the 1,237 delegates. And despite the fact that Kasich really had no chance of hitting that number either, Kasich believed that it was still possible if he was one on one with Trump that he could have -- that Trump could have fell short of that magic number and he could have gone into an open convention. So, I think -- I think that's the issue that he believes that the RNC should have stayed out of it until Trump got those final, final delegates. And I think that's a fair -- you know, I think that's a fair argument, despite the very unlikely possibility that Kasich had a path here.

BLITZER: Mark, Senator Rubio went on a Twitter tirade last night attacking reports by "The Washington Post" that he's uncertain about his political future. Among other things, he tweeted this. He said, unnamed sources close to often just people who want to sound like they are in the know and reporters desperate for content. Just accept it.

A word of advice, people often claim -- he said, claim to know more than they really do because they enjoy status of being perceived as in the know. What do you make of these latest developments? He's making fun of that story in "The Washington Post" that he may be uncertain about his political future.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, certainly he's uncertain about his political future. And I think what we're seeing from Marco Rubio there is that he's a little thin skinned.

But let's take a step back. Marco Rubio is correct that people in Washington, and certainly in politics, like to feel like they are close to the epicenter of what's going on and, often times, will talk to reporters with the idea that they're actually close to the principle and understand what the principle is thinking.

Now, I will say something about that "Washington Post" reporter, who I've known for a very, very long time. And I know that "Washington Post" reporter is very plugged in. So, when I read that, I had no question to believe that that "Washington Post" reporter, Chris Cillizza, was absolutely correct.

And if you read the item, Wolf, it's actually -- it's actually laudatory, in some ways, to Marco Rubio saying that Marco Rubio actually has a future and doesn't need to join the Trump ticket. And I just think that Marco Rubio didn't like somebody else talking about him on Twitter or, rather, in these stories.

BLITZER: Mark Preston and Ryan Lizza, guys, stand by. Coming up, an angry Bernie Sanders. A bunch of supporters getting violent, even threatening the life of one Democratic Party official in Nevada. We have details.

Plus, it's one of the most difficult and significant decisions a presidential candidate can make, picking a vice presidential running mate. Who's on the short list and will they help or hurt the ticket? And, remember, you can watch Wolf anytime at CNN.com/go.

[13:13:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:20] BLITZER: Democrats divided. The Nevada Democratic Party today filed a formal complaint blaming the Bernie Sanders campaign for chaos at the state convention over the past weekend. The complaint alleges, and I'm quoting now, "Sanders supporters and campaign staff actively incited disruption and violence after failing to organize their supporters and being outnumbered at the state convention by Hillary Clinton's delegates. Threats to the chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party are ongoing at time of this writing as Sanders' activists have posted her cell phone and home address online and have bombarded her with threats to her life and the safety of her family." CNN obtained one of the messages on her voice mail. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Roberta Lange, this is a citizen of the United States of America and I just wanted to let you know that I think people like you should be hung in a public execution to show this world that we won't stand for this sort of corruption. I don't know what kind of money they're paying to you, but I don't know how you sleep at night. You are a sick, twisted piece of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and I hope you will burn for this. You cowardless (EXPLETIVE DELETED), running of the stage. I hope people find you."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Wow. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon is the only U.S. senator to endorse Bernie Sanders. He's joining us now.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D), OREGON: You're welcome.

BLITZER: I know you agree that voicemail message is very disturbing. What's your response to that and the overall complaint by Nevada Democrats, not only against Bernie Sanders' supporters, but Bernie Sanders' campaign staff?

MERKLEY: Yes. This type of threat is completely out of bounds. It's inappropriate. The individuals who are engaged in that should stop immediately. I know that Bernie Sanders would say exactly the same thing. We're in this to have a conversation about ideas and where America is going. Bernie is completely immersed in the big issues facing America and how we can put America back on track. And there should be no threats of violence or physical threats or so forth. This is a - this is an important conversation. Let's not get distracted into this type of thuggery. Let's leave that to the Republicans who have been doing it so well over this last year.

BLITZER: The Nevada Democrats say the chaos at their convention could be - and they fear this - it could be a preview of what to expect at the party's national convention in Philadelphia in July. Senator Sanders, as you know, has vowed to take his fight to the nomination - for the nomination all the way through the convention. How concerned are you, senator, about the possibility of violence breaking out in Philadelphia?

MERKLEY: I expect, after the California primary on June 7th, and of course that's also when New Jersey and the Dakotas are voting, we're going to see the lay of the land and we're going to come together as a party. We need to go into the convention shoulder to shoulder. We need to go into the election shoulder to shoulder. And we need to focus really on the fact that Donald Trump is a self-promoting huckster who has never fought for working Americans, never fought for Americans of modest means, has no depth to his proposals, and that would be a disaster to having him as president. So I expect to see coming together and unity. That is going to be what is going to characterize the Democratic Convention.

[13:20:36] BLITZER: So I just want to be precise, senator. If Hillary Clinton has that magic number, 2,383 delegates, whether pledge delegates, if you add her super delegates, if she has that number, and you see what she has right now if you add the pledged and the super delegates, she has 2,243. She's almost there to that magic number of 2,383. If she has it after California, June 7th, would you expect Bernie Sanders to concede and work to unite the party?

MERKLEY: Well, let's set the super delegates aside. If after California, basically all the states have - have weighed in, one of the candidates has a majority of the people who voted, a majority of the pledge delegates, then I think that sets a very strong case to start the conversation about coming together in a united front.

BLITZER: A week after California, by the way, the District of Columbia has their Democratic contest. That's the final one of the season.

MERKLEY: Yes.

BLITZER: So what I hear you saying is that if Hillary Clinton has the pled delegates, if she has enough pledge delegates to guarantee she gets the nomination, you would want, let's say after D.C. votes, you would want Bernie Sanders to drop out?

MERKLEY: I would want to see this conversation, similar to what happened eight years previously with then Senator Barack Obama and with Senator Clinton, for the conversation to, how do we bring these two sides together? There's - there is substantial policy overlap and we're blessed with two very capable candidates. And I know from the very beginning, because I had conversations with Senator Sanders about this more than a year ago, the last thing he wants is to see something similar to what happened when Bush came in on the back of Ralph Nader. We're going to see our leader in this, in the Bernie camp, Bernie Sanders, working very, very hard. If he is not the nominee, he's going to be working very hard for the Democratic nominee.

BLITZER: Senator Merkley, what's going to happen in Oregon tonight?

MERKLEY: Well, it's very exciting. Oregon gets to weigh in at a time when everyone feels a lot of passion. We have virtually no polling. I know of two polls that have had different sides in the outcome tonight. I know that from my town halls, the grassroots energy is certainly with Bernie Sanders. On the other hand, it shows that the seniors who tend to vote more regularly are leaning towards Secretary Clinton. So it's a nation. Stay tuned. Oregon will weigh in, in less than ten hours and I'm excited to see the outcome. And, of course, I'm rooting for Bernie Sanders to take the state.

BLITZER: And well, of course, have extensive live coverage throughout the night here on CNN.

Senator Merkley, thanks very much for joining us.

MERKLEY: You're very welcome. Thank you.

BLITZER: Coming up, we've got some live pictures now of Capitol Hill, where aides to Donald Trump and Paul Ryan, they will meet this week for another round of unity talks. Will they succeed?

And we'll ask a former Cruz supporter, Congressman Steve King, what's on his mind. What does he need to hear from Donald Trump in order to endorse him?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:04] BLITZER: Donald Trump may be the presumptive nominee for the Republicans, but he's still struggling to solidify his support among some of the party's more conservative members. His campaign team is holding more meetings this week with staffers of the House speaker, Paul Ryan, as they look for some - trying to find some more common ground.

Joining us now from Capitol Hill, Congressman Steve King. He's a Republican from Iowa. He's a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

I know you were a major supporter of Senator Ted Cruz. You co-chaired his campaign in Iowa. But now that Trump is the presumptive nominee, are you finally ready to endorse him as the Republican candidate?

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: Well, I'm not ready to do that. I'm - I am and have been active and am ready to work things in that direction. But, Wolf, I'm hopeful that we'll be able to - to be able to identify and solidify, especially the conservatives in the Republican Party, which are well more than a majority, to identify where Donald Trump is on some of these issues, to solidify those kind of bonds and issue by issue heal this thing together by the time we get to Cleveland. But it's an incremental process. It just doesn't happen by flipping the toggle switch overnight. But it was a - it was a shock to a lot of us when Ted Cruz ended his campaign and the adjustment process is taking place for many conservatives across the country.

BLITZER: What do you need to hear from Donald Trump to convince you he's the guy?

[13:29:24] KING: Well, I think part of it is a process. But we don't hear him speak about the moral issues, the constitutional issues, life and marriage, what the moral foundation for a free society doesn't seem to - doesn't seem to come from Donald Trump's lips, at least not very often. And I would suggest this, that he should give a nationwide, highly publicized speech that focuses on the core of our culture, the soul of America and what he expects America to look like and be like under a Trump presidency. And with that, then, he can plug in some of the pieces along the way, such as what his intentions would be on appointments to the federal bench. And I would suggest that he would bring into his council some of the solid, especially constitutional conservatives here in Congress, as John McCain offered to do back in 2008.