Return to Transcripts main page

WOLF

Presidential Race Turns to Family Feud in GOP; Storm Preparations Along East Coast Examined. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 22, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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


[13:00:16] WOLF BLITZER, CNN: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 pm here in Washington, 6:00 pm in London, 2:30 am Saturday in Pyongyang, North Korea. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Again, with breaking news here in the United States, a potentially crippling winter storm with as many as 85 million people in its path.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Parts of the East Coast of the United States could see more than two feet of snow, while other areas will see severe icing, putting drivers in extreme danger. States of emergency already have been declared up and down the East Coast, with people preparing for the worst. Here in Washington the snow is expected to hit very soon. It's already forcing a government shutdown and a warning from the city's mayor.

MURIEL BOWSER, MAYOR OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: We see this as a major storm. It has life and death implications, and all the residents of the District of Columbia should treat it that way. We need the city's full cooperation, and we need the media's help too to send a clear message that we want people to hunker down, shelter in, in place, and stay off the roads.

BLITZER: She says this is a life and death situation. You heard it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

I want to get right out in the middle of what is about to happen. Polo Sandoval first of all is joining us in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are already under a state of emergency. How's North Carolina, the area where you are, getting ready for this emergency?

POLO SANDOVAL, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN, WASHINGTON, D.C.: Well people are staying indoors, Wolf, and, as you look around me at this park in the heart of Charlotte, this is -- this picture is very important as it provides more or less a preview of what's expected further northeast. That's because the system that blanketed this region with ice and snow, part of the same system that's actually making its way north to the nation's capitol, and that's why these pictures are fairly important. Worth mentioning is there was supposed to be a north -- a Carolina Panthers pep rally being held here today. But instead that's been cancelled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) Really several events as part of what was supposed to be a very busy weekend here in Charlotte [have] also been cancelled. Right now the main message that officials are issuing, not just to people here in Charlotte, but also other parts of the southeast, is to just stay indoors. Unfortunately we seen at least four weather-related fatalities on the roadways because the roadways are extremely slick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The Mayor Charlotte saying things are bound to get worse as the temperature continues to drop in some parts of the southeast. So, again, that's the message that's being issued to people. And, when you look around these parts of town, Wolf, that's clearly what people are doing. Only a couple blocks away from here though those Carolina Panthers are still practicing as that very significant NFC championship game this Sunday is still on schedule. The weather forecast is showing some signs of improving, but first we got to get through this.

BLITZER: Let's hope they do have that (game). Thanks very much, Polo, for that. The dismal-looking skies are leading to mass flight cancellations. As of right now we've seen nearly 6,000 flights in the United States cancelled. Our aviation correspondent, Rene Marsh, is over at Ronald Reagan National Airport just outside Washington. Rene, how many more flights should we expect to be grounded?

RENE MARSH, AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT, CNN: You know, I can tell you this, Wolf, we expect that that number will continue to climb. The number that you're quoting there, more than 6,000, that's today and tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

We could also see some cancellations on Sunday. The thing is they're going to make decisions as they continue to see how this storm develops. But what's happening at the airports? Well, there's a lot less traffic than there was earlier this morning. I mean take a look. You have a couple of people here who maybe they're the lucky ones. They're going to be able to get out on those last few flights that we see leaving here out of Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

But when you look at the boards, it's starting to pain the picture of what is going on with air travel. You want to go to Memphis, you can't on American Airlines, it's cancelled. You're just starting to see the cancellations fill up on the board here. And people are married to this thing. That's all you see, people walking up to the boards to see what's the status of their flight, Wolf. Again, what airlines are doing is they're pulling their airplanes out of these airports like Reagan National, like Dulles, like Philadelphia. They don't want these aircraft to be here when the storm really moves in and starts dumping all of that snow because it makes it really hard to get operations up and running again. I just got off of the phone with the folks here at Reagan National Airport. They're telling me at around six o'clock tonight they expect zero activity. So if you haven't figures out how you're going to get to your destination, you know, you're, you're pretty much out of luck at this point. Wolf.

[13:05:02] BLITZER: If you're still here in D.C. and trying to get someplace else, you're basically stuck in D.C., at least for now. All right, Rene. Thanks very much. There are blizzard warnings that affect for New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and of course here in Washington, D.C. That covers nearly 30 million people alone. The worst of it could come to the nation's capitol, where we could see more than two feet of snow, maybe two and a half feet of snow by the time all is said and done. Our meteorologist, Jennifer Gray, is out there on the National Mall which has been already closed to tourists because of the weather. Jennifer, it's not that bad now, but it's about to start. When do we expect the snow to start and how long will it come down?

JENNIFER GRAY, MEATOROLOGIST, WEATHER CORRESPONDENT, CNN, ATLANTA: Oh, it's game time, Wolf. The first snowflake fell at one o'clock on the dot. And so we have seen very tiny snowflakes for the past five minutes or so, finally starting here on the National Mall. Expect this snow to continue for the next 36 hours, at least. And this is nothing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

You know, snow is going to start come -- coming down in buckets, and we're also going to see very, very strong winds. I want to show you something, though, if I can, Wolf. Look behind me. There are thousands and thousands of people on the National Mall. There is a march that's scheduled for 1:00 pm, and these people need to get home as soon as they can. The National Mall has closed to tourists, like you said, at noon. However, there are still thousands of people out here. So it is a little unsettling to see all these people. We know what just a little bit of snow did to the city just a few days ago, and we are talking about conditions deteriorating at the snap of a finger as we go forward in time.

Let's get back to those weather graphics though 'cause I do want to show you the forecast. As you said, Wolf, we are going to see anywhere from say 24 to 30 inches around the D.C. area. We're also going to see about 18 to 24 inches in Philadelphia, those 30 million people under blizzards warnings as we speak. We're also going to see a lot of icing around the Carolinas, and then all of that snow north of there. So let's go forward in time, time this out. We are still going to see a major snow event with the wind. This blizzard conditions, as we go through the overnight tonight into tomorrow morning in the D.C. area. And then we're also going to possibly see those same conditions around the New York City area as well. D.C. is in the bull's eye, so we are going to see two feet, possibly three feet across the D.C. area. East of 95, probably around two feet, west of 95 that's where we're going to see a higher total. But with the winds, it's going to be hard to see how much snow has actually fallen. Because a lot of this snow is going to just be blowing around. So some areas will see about a foot; other areas will see much, much higher amounts, simply because of the wind. Also talking about beach erosion, as well as coastal flooding. When you have winds at 60 plus miles per hour pushing all of this water in -- on top of that, we're in the midst of a full moon and so tides are going to run higher than normal automatically -- you add to that the water coming on shore and that coastal flooding beach erosion's going to be a major concern. We could see the worst flooding we've seen along the Jersey coastline since Sandy, Wolf. So this is going to be a dire situation for the next 48 hours at least, until we can start to get this snow to die down and assess the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The people in the D.C. area need to get home as soon as they can, especially in the next two hours or so because conditions are going to continue to just deteriorate out here. And you can see the snow picking up a little bit behind me as we speak, Wolf.

BLITZER: Jennifer, the problem is not just now, two and a half feet, let's say. This is, we're told, very heavy snow that will be coming down and, combined with the winds, 30, 40, 50 miles an hour, millions of people potentially could lose power in the middle of all of this. Without electricity, without power, stuck in your house, that's going to be a disaster for a lot of people.

GRAY: Yeh, I'm so glad you brought that up. It's a very good point. This is going to be a very wet snow, as you said. And so it is going to pile onto the trees, the power lines. We're going to see possible power outages. There's also a major concern of roof collapses. Back in the early '20s, where D.C. saw their biggest snowfall ever, 100 people were killed when a theatre roof collapsed. And so that's going to be major concern as well. Those roof collapses, as well as trees coming down. A lot of beautiful trees in this city, and so that's going to be a concern as well as those power lines. And so hopefully people are stocked up, they have all of their precautionary measures in place, their food, their water, and they'll be able to, to make do with a couple of days without power. That's a, that's a big concern too, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yeh, the Knicker -- Knickerbocker storm of 1922, that's the record so far.

GRAY: Yeh.

BLITZER: That's the storm you're referring to. The Knickerbocker Theatre, which collapsed, killing all those people, that record potentially could be broken over the next 24 to 36 hours.

[13:10:02] All right, Jennifer, we're going to stay in touch with you. Thank you very much. The historic storm anticipate here in Washington, certainly in Baltimore as well. They're under a blizzard warning in Baltimore and a state of emergency. So what is Maryland doing to prepare, to implement the emergency plan?

Joining us on the phone right now is Robert Maloney. He's Director of the Baltimore Mayor's Office of Emergency Management. Mr. Maloney, thanks very much for joining us. People, I assume, in Baltimore are already being told shelter in place, like here in Washington? Is that right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT MALONEY, DIRECTOR, MAYOR'S OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: That's correct. We're trying to get everybody home that's going to stay at home to weather this storm, and we're trying to get everybody at work that's going to stay at work. Our public transportation system is going to be out of pocket on Saturday and most of Sunday. So we want to get everybody where they need to be now. We expect our snowfall to start and, you know, you nailed it. The winds are what's worrying us. It's a very humbling forecast and we're going to have people without power for a long time. We're really going to be counting on those electricity companies all up and down the country to come in and give us a hand and get us back on our feet.

BLITZER: What are you going to do about the elderly, for example, who are going to be stuck in places without power?

MALONEY: So we, we, we have a very good preparedness program. We tell people to keep water, food supplies, blankets. We have a very robust 311 and 911 system. We're going to do everything we can to get to the people that need help, to use our resources wisely, as we go through the storm. And that's why it's so important when we tell people, you know, to stay indoors. We don't want to waste our resources on, you know, responding to actions that wouldn't happen if people were at home, you know, weathering things out.

BLITZER: Have you activated the National Guard there in Baltimore?

MALONEY: We have. We yesterday we had some discussions and, and we have a very good relationship with our state partners. And they're going to be sending us the Humvees with the citizen soldiers to drive our police and fire department personnel around. We had two back to back snowstorms, one was a blizzard and one wasn't, in 2010 where we, you know, went in and got dialysis patients that needed it, delivered food, got EMS there, responded to the police calls. We've secured a ton or four-wheel drive vehicles. We now we're going to be in this for the long haul. The snow removal's going to be very painful, very methodical, with bulldozers and dump trucks. And, you know, we're going to do like everyone else on the East Coast. We're going to prepare for the worst, pray for the best, and we're just going to do the best we can. And, and, you know, hopefully, sometime next week we'll be back to 100 percent normal operations.

BLITZER: What about the homeless in Baltimore? How are you going to deal with that problem?

MALONEY: So we, we, we've been outreaching in advance. We've been really trying to go up to people. You know most will go to shelters, and then, and then there's, you know, a bunch who, you know, just will not use shelters until, until the last resort. And we've been doing everything we can to convince those individuals to go. We've been very successful (inaudible) have gone. We have additional mechanisms in place where, you know, we will be able to put people into hospitals under care. And we know where a lot of those individuals reside. All of our shelters are full. We've opened up additional shelter beds, and we have, we have planned to be (there), especially given the power outages. But, you're right, it's -- we've really got to look out for our (most vulnerable) because these -- you know, this is unprecedented with this wind and the amount of snow in a short period of time.

BLITZER: Yeh, it's not just the snow, but it's a heavy snow with a very powerful wind, and a lot of people are going to be without heat and power for several days presumably. Mr. Maloney, good luck to all the folks in Baltimore over there. Thanks very much for updating us.

MALONEY: Thank you so much.

BLITZER: Coming up we'll have much more on the weather, but we're also following politics here in the United States. Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, they're both under attack right now by conservatives. They're just days away from the first Iowa caucuses. What's going on? We'll tell you. And Hillary Clinton says she doesn't understand why she's being called the establishment candidate when Bernie Sanders, she says, has spent years in Congress, more time in Washington than she has spent in Washington. You're going to hear what she has to say. That's coming up as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:14:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:18:36] BLITZER: We're following the breaking news. A major snowstorm of historic proportions, we're told, anticipated over the next 24 to 36 hours here in the nation's capital of Washington, D.C. You're looking at live pictures. It's starting to snow right now and we're told the snow will continue for at least 24 to 36 hours. A very heavy snow. Maybe two feet, two and a half feet when all is said and done with -- coupled with the fact that the winds will be very, very strong. Millions of people up and down the East Coast of the United States could lose power. We'll have much more on this story coming up.

But there's other news we're following, including the race for the White House.

The presidential contest turning into a family feud right now for Republicans. The two front runners are under attack from within the Republican Party. First, former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, some leading Iowa Republicans, came out strongly against Senator Ted Cruz. Now the conservative magazine, "National Review," is out with an entire issue opposing Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Doug Heye is a former deputy chief of staff for the majority leader at the time, Eric Cantor. He's a former RNC communications director. Angela Rye is a political strategist, former executive director of the Congressional Black caucus.

Doug, how worrisome to you, as a Republican, is this feud that has broken out in the attacks against two of the Republican presidential frontrunners?

DOUG HEYE, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: That part doesn't worry me. We're -- we're in the heat of campaign -- the campaign season, primary politics, so it's no surprise that we're seeing the rough and tumble. What worries me is that while we have two candidates who are at the top, we have four candidates below them who are really bludgeoning each other and holding each other back. And so if you take -- in the last New Hampshire poll from WMUR -- if you take Bush, Rubio, Christie and Kasich, combined they have 32 points. If we have one candidate who's at 32 points taking on Trump and Cruz, we have a very different primary.

[13:20:30] BLITZER: You -- but you thin, that's going to happen?

HEYE: At some point they'll -- there will start to be an attrition of candidates. We don't know --

BLITZER: Who will be that -- who will be the so-called establishment Republican who emerges from the pack?

HEYE: I think it's anybody's guess at this point. You know, we've seen so many strategies try and work, not work. Who can emerge in each poll shows something a little different.

BLITZER: The "National Review," which is a very established, conservative publication in the United States, wrote this scathing editorial critical of Donald -- Donald Trump, calling him a political opportunist. "Donald Trump is a menace to American conservativism," they write, "who would take the work of generations and trample it underfoot in behalf of a populism as headless and crude as the Donald himself." Now that comes from conservative -- respected conservative publication. Your reaction?

ANGELA RYE, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: I think several things. One is, this is very clear to me at this point just how fearful the Republican establishment is of Donald Trump. I know there were -- there were -- there was kind of a pushback early on, but this demonstrates that this is a very viable GOP candidate and that he very well has a very clear pathway to the nomination. So the fact that conservative writers -- the number of conservative writers in the "National Review" could come together and do something like, number one, it's a huge risk. Now they're -- of course, they're no longer a debate partner or sponsor. So I don't know what -- what is going to fall out as a result, but I think it's a huge statement that they would be willing to take this kind of risk, because what happens if Donald Trump is the president? They're all going to be shutout and blackballed.

BLITZER: We're you surprised by this new issue of the "National Review"?

HEYE: I was surprised that they took -- they took such a firm stance before the debate.

RYE: Yes.

HEYE: Obviously they were willing to take the penalty that came with it, and credit to them for doing it. As you know, I wrote something pretty similar about two weeks ago about Trump. Obviously I got a lot of blowback from it, so I didn't follow Twitter for a while because of all the Twitter (INAUDIBLE).

RYE: Twitter trolls, yes.

HEYE: But there are a lot of people who have real concerns about what the future of the Republican Party will be and its viability if Donald Trump's our nominee.

BLITZER: But, Angela, a lot of Republicans, at least anecdotally, in the last few days have said to me, as much as they don't like Donald Trump, he's more acceptable to the establishment of the Republican Party than Ted Cruz is.

RYE: Yes. And I think that is also very interesting. You have two guys that aren't well liked by the party, but they're like, we're going to pick our poison here. And Donald Trump, they say, is more willing to make a deal. He's more willing to compromise. Ted Cruz, they've seen from the beginning, whether it was "Green Eggs and Ham" on the Senate floor or anything else that he's done to shun the Republican leadership in the GOP, within the GOP, I think it says a lot.

BLITZER: Donald Trump wrote the book, "The Art of the Deal." He's willing to make a deal.

RYE: Right.

BLITZER: He's willing, in effect, to compromise. Ted Cruz is unwilling to make those kinds of deals. He, himself, acknowledges that.

HEYE: Sure, but this is why they're so successful in Iowa and New Hampshire and throughout the country right now is they're both running for the title of being the most anti-Washington.

RYE: Right.

HEYE: Ted Cruz is certainly using his unpopularity in Washington to propel his popularity throughout the country, and it's working.

BLITZER: One of the critics in this article, the magazine, has 22 conservative voices. Michael Medved (ph) writes, "Trump's brawling, blustery, mean-spirited public persona serves to associate conservatives with all the negative stereotypes that liberals have for decades attached to their opponents on the right." Your reaction?

RYE: Well, again, I think that part of this goes to Donald Trump seems strong. Donald Trump seems willing to make a -- like he's willing to make a decision. And I wonder when voter, period, whether they're Democratic voters or GOP voters, are going to say, what's behind that decision? And are we OK with living with that? And that -- that is a part that I'm really eager to see. Unfortunately, at that point, Donald Trump and the questions that we've asked about Donald Trump, even the candidates that have been on the stage with him, it's all come back for not.

BLITZER: Go ahead, last word.

HEYE: Well, we -- what "National Review" is talking about is conservativism, not necessarily Republicanism. They're making the case that Trump is no conservative. Republicans tend to want a conservative nominee. And we'll see if that's what we get coming in the next months.

BLITZER: Well, Trump is doing amazing. You've got to --

HEYE: He is.

RYE: Yes.

BLITZER: You've got to admit that.

HEYE: No doubt.

RYE: Exactly.

BLITZER: If he wins Iowa, wins New Hampshire, goes down to win South Carolina, he's got a clear path, presumably, to that nomination.

RYE: That's right.

BLITZER: We'll see if that happens.

All right, guys, thanks very much.

RYE: Thank you.

BLITZER: Just ahead, my one on one interview with Hillary Clinton. You're going to hear how she responds to Senator Bernie Sanders calling her, quote, "establishment," and whether she thinks a socialist can actually be elected president of the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:29:00] BLITZER: We'll get to the White House -- the race for the White House in a moment. But you're looking at live pictures right now from the New York City Office of Emergency Management. The mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, getting ready to brief reporters on the snowstorm, the blizzard, that's not only coming to Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, but heading towards New York City as well. We're going to have live coverage of what the mayor has to say. They're getting ready for a lot of snow in New York City as well. Much more on that coming up. Stand by.

There's more on the race for -- in the race for the White House, this time on the Democratic side. With just ten days until the Iowa caucus, Senator Bernie Sanders has opened up a 8-point lead over Hillary Clinton according to our new poll. Sanders leads Hillary Clinton 51 to 43 percent in the new CNN/ORC poll of likely Iowa caucus goers. Back in December, Hillary Clinton was ahead in that poll by 18 points. Among Iowans, though, who actually attended a Democratic caucus back in 2008, Hillary Clinton leads Sanders 55 to 38 percent.

[13:30:05] Clinton is holding a town hall meeting in Rochester, New Hampshire, right now.