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Clinton Wins Iowa Caucus; Rubio Trying for Three-Man Race with Cruz, Trump; Interview with Hillary Clinton; Closer Look at Iowa, Upcoming New Hampshire Race. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired February 2, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:31] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Once again, the Iowa Democratic party has announced that 100 percent of the precincts have reported that Hillary Clinton is the winner, barely, but is the winner of the Iowa caucuses. Bernie Sanders coming in a very, very close second. We're going to have much more on this.

We're standing by to speak live with the winner of the Iowa caucuses, Hillary Clinton. She'll join us in a few minutes.

But I want to check in on what's going on in the Republican side right now.

Our senior political reporter, Manu Raju, is with the Rubio campaign in New Hampshire right now. He had an impressive third place just behind Donald Trump. Ted Cruz, the winner in Iowa, the Republican side.

What's going on today? I guess all of these guys must be pretty enthusiastic looking ahead to New Hampshire one week from today.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: That's absolutely right. Marco Rubio is trying to make this a race -- two-man or three-man race. He is trying to make this a race between him and Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. He cannot let some of these more establishment candidates, if you will, sort of get into the mix. That is the key goal going into next week. Of course, the Saturday debate on ABC is going to be a very big deal for that Tuesday primary, but as he is trying to make sure that he is just -- it's just a race between him and Trump and Cruz.

Other candidates are trying to get in the mix, and throwing some arrows at Marco Rubio.

Here's a little bit of about Chris Christie, and what he had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R), NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know me. Unlike some of these other campaigns, I'm not the boy in the bubble. You know who boy in the bubble is up here, who never answers your questions, who is constantly scripted and controlled because he can't answer your questions. So when Senator Rubio gets here, when the boy in the bubble gets here, I hope you ask him some questions because it's time for him to start answering questions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Some pretty harsh words there from Chris Christie. We expect those attacks to intensify. It's one reason why Marco Rubio is spending a lot of money in this state, Wolf, on TV advertising. Up to $5.2 million he has spent in New Hampshire right now, and they came out with an today attacking Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, trying to make the case that Marco Rubio is the most electable Republican. That's going to be a key argument that Rubio is going to make over the next week, Wolf, that electability is what matters come November.

BLITZER: Yeah, he clearly is enthused as a result of that impressive third place, just behind Donald Trump finish, in the Iowa caucuses.

Manu, thanks very much. We're watching what's going on.

Ted Cruz, by the way, he has an event that's going on in Wyndham, New Hampshire, right now. We'll check in and see what's going on. There's live pictures coming in from Wyndham, New Hampshire.

Up next, Hillary Clinton, the newly declared winner of the Iowa caucuses. She's standing by to join us live. We have lots of questions for the former secretary of state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[13:37:47] BLITZER: The breaking news this hour, it's now official, Hillary Clinton has been declared the winner of the Iowa caucuses. She beat Bernie Sanders by a razor-thin margin, just 0.2 of a percentage point. Her campaign claimed victory overnight but the Iowa Democratic Party has just issued the final results.

They say Hillary Clinton is the winner of the Iowa caucuses. And Secretary Clinton is joining us now from Nashua, New Hampshire.

Madam Secretary, thanks very much for joining us.

What's your reaction to the official results now declaring you the winner of the Iowa caucuses?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am so thrilled, Wolf. I feel really good and very grateful to the team I had on the ground, to the tens of thousands of Iowans who volunteered, knocked on doors, came out and caucused last night.

And I could feel the energy building in the weeks leading up to the caucus. I was out there, making my case about what I want to do and what I think our country must do to get real results with more jobs, rising incomes, build on the Affordable Care Act, deal with climate change, clean energy, defend our rights, all the things I feel passionate about. And I could just watch and, in fact, in that last week I had so many people come up to me and say that they had decided to support me and it could not have been better. It was a great, great night.

BLITZER: You said last night you breathed a big sigh of relief, your words -- a big sigh of relief.

What did you mean by that?

CLINTON: Well, as you recall, my luck was not that good last time around. And it was wonderful to win the caucus and to have that experience of all the hard work, the grassroots organizing pay off the way it did.

Now we're here in New Hampshire and we are going to have a contest of ideas. I'm looking forward to the forum tomorrow night on CNN and then a debate Thursday night, here in New Hampshire, because I think that Democratic voters and other Americans want to know what are the principal differences between me and my friend and opponent, Senator Sanders.

And I want to get that information out there. I think it's important people understand that good ideas are one thing but you got to know how to implement. You've got to have a record of getting results. And I'm taking my ideas and my record to the people of New Hampshire this week.

[13:40:10] BLITZER: The Sanders campaign says they won't have this debate Thursday night with you unless you agree to a subsequent debate before the New York primary in New York City.

Are you willing to agree to that?

CLINTON: Well, you know, Wolf, this is really hard to follow because, when we said we would do the debate, they came back with conditions. We met the conditions. Then they said they want different conditions.

And we've tried to be very accommodating but, you know, we have agreed with everything that they have asked us to do. And I sure hope -- we're in Bernie Sanders' backyard here in New Hampshire. I sure hope he intends to show up in his neighboring state and let the people of New Hampshire see us both on the debate stage.

BLITZER: Well, just to press the point, the debate in New York City that they want, are you accepting that?

CLINTON: No. We've accepted all of their conditions. We did that last week. And they keep trying to add new conditions, which, you know, raises questions about how ready or willing they are to debate here in New Hampshire.

We met their conditions. We agreed to more debates, something that I wanted to do because I think it's great to debate and we're ready. I'm going to be there Thursday night.

BLITZER: All right. Let's move on. The Senator's campaign -- they want to do not necessarily a recount but they want to check the voting in Iowa.

Is that OK with you?

CLINTON: You know, look, I -- they -- I can say that I believe the Democratic Party of Iowa ran a good caucus from everything that our people told me. There was an enormous turnout, which everybody said would tremendously favor Senator Sanders.

If there are legitimate issues, both sides, I don't think the Democratic Party has any problems with that. But from everything we have learned and know, I won and I'm very proud of that.

BLITZER: Back in 2008, as you well remember, you lost Iowa but then you came back to win New Hampshire. This time you won Iowa.

Can you win New Hampshire one week from today?

CLINTON: Well, I think it's certainly what I'm aiming for. I care a lot about this state. I view it as being the first-in-the-nation primary for a reason. I know that they tend to favor their neighbors. That's the pattern, the history of the primary. And Senator Sanders is a neighbor.

But I think we will have a good contest, talking about what results we can produce, what our records have been, both in domestic policy, foreign policy, national security and I think the people of New Hampshire will get a chance to really evaluate both of us. And I feel good about my prospects.

BLITZER: You described yourself in your speech last night as a progressive that gets things done.

Are you suggesting Bernie Sanders -- he may be a progressive but he can't get things done?

CLINTON: I'm talking about my record. I'm talking about the Children's Health Insurance Program for 8 million kids. I'm talking about getting health care for National Guard members. I'm talking about helping to push through a treaty to lower nuclear weapons between us and the Russians when I was secretary of state.

I'm talking about building the coalition against Iran to bring them to the negotiating table and so many other issues. I have a very long record of getting results for people. That's what I care about.

You know, I am all for laying out our ideology, talking about our ideas. I think that's great and it gives you the direction that you want to head.

But at the end of the day, what matters to me is that we move our country forward. We actually get more good jobs with rising incomes. We get equal pay for women. We actually begin to move toward early childhood education and paid family leave. And we are ready to really go into the rest of the 21st century with the kind of confidence and optimism that I think our country should be having.

So I'm going to lay out my record, lay out my ideas and Senator Sanders can certainly lay out his own and we'll leave it up to the people of New Hampshire to decide what they think is the best choice for them and their families and the results they want to see for themselves in our country.

BLITZER: As you know, according to the entrance polls in Iowa, Bernie Sanders did a lot better than you did with younger voters, younger men and even younger women.

Why do you think is he doing so well with younger voters out there?

[13:44:41] CLINTON: I'm thrilled to see so many young people get into the political process and I was very proud of all the young people who worked for me, volunteered for me, supported me. That's all to the good and it's great for the Democratic Party.

But I'm going to have some work to do to reach out to young voters, maybe first-time voters, who have to make a tough decision as they evaluate who should be our president, our commander in chief, and I intend to do that, laying out my case, where we contrast on the issues, what I think can be done to get college to be affordable.

I think my plan is going to really help the people who need it most without ballooning costs. I'm going to set forth my plan to refinance student debt, a problem I hear throughout New Hampshire and the country and why I think my plan will help more young people really get started with their lives.

The emphasis I want to make on small business, my call that young people join our campaign and then be part of making us the clean energy superpower of the 21st century. And let's defend our rights.

I am very proud that I got the endorsement of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, that I got the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign, that I got the endorsement of The Brady Campaign and Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly and so many others, because they know me and they know what I have done. They know the kind of leader I am. And I want young people to know that as well.

BLITZER: As you know, Marco Rubio did rather well, coming in at an impressive third place in the Iowa Republican caucuses just behind Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz won Iowa.

What do you think about the possibility, if you do get the Democratic nomination, of running against Senator Rubio in a general election?

CLINTON: You know, Wolf, I'm not thinking that far ahead. My timeframe is next Tuesday and the primary in New Hampshire and then I'll go on to the caucuses in Nevada and the primary at the end of the month in South Carolina and then to the states that lie ahead. I'm going let the Republicans, you know, decide who their nominee will be. I will be prepared to run against and win, no matter who they nominate. I think, as everybody is well aware, I am pretty battle tested. It's important to have gone through this, to know what the Republicans will do.

They're already running $6 million of ads against me along with their, you know, Wall Street buddies. And so they know who they don't want to be the Democratic nominee.

And I take that as perversely flattering because they also know that I mean what I say and I'll do what I have said, to make sure that they don't ever wreck our economy again. So I'm going take them on as I have over the years and then, when I win, I will certainly reach out, work with them and find common ground wherever we can.

BLITZER: Madam Secretary, thanks very much for joining us. Congratulations on your win in Iowa.

CLINTON: Thank you so much, Wolf. Great to talk to you again.

BLITZER: Thank you.

This important note to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, tomorrow night, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they will both take part in a CNN presidential town hall in Derry, New Hampshire. That will be live on CNN. A critical moment for both of these candidates to face the voters of New Hampshire, answer their questions directly, and make their closing arguments in a presidential town hall. It will be moderated by CNN's Anderson Cooper. That's Wednesday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern, only here on CNN.

Up next, we'll take a closer look at the Clinton-Sanders race in Iowa, and the upcoming race one week from today in New Hampshire. We'll break down what we've heard this hour from Hillary Clinton and from the Sanders campaign. Much more coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:52:33] All right, you heard the breaking news. Hillary Clinton officially declared the winner of the Iowa caucuses. We just spoke with Hillary Clinton.

Let's bring in our CNN political commentator, Republican strategist, Kevin Madden; our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger; and our CNN political commentator, the Democratic strategist, Paul Begala, who works for a Hillary Clinton super PAC.

Gloria, a win is a win, so that's good for her, but he did really well too, Bernie Sanders, coming in a very close second, as close as possible.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: As close as possible. She seemed very pleased in your interview, Wolf, big smile, accepting this victory very happily. But it's very clear what's going to happen from now on is she's going to continue to draw sharper contrasts I believe with Bernie Sanders, even though they consider this a regional primary. She really does want to do very well in New Hampshire. So look for her to continue to criticize Bernie Sanders as somebody who may have some great ideas, but she's the person, the pragmatist, who can actually get things done, and I think she's going to find sharper and sharper ways to say that very same thing.

BLITZER: She avoided that kind of criticism in the interview.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I watched that interview and I kept thinking thank god for Bernie Sanders. This is going to shock you. I said this from the beginning, a tough primary produces a tough nominee. It makes you better. She was so much better and sharper, even sleep deprived, in that interview than had she been on a post. What I was hearing is a woman who's now dialed in on trying to inspire young voters. This is something Senator Sanders --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Which is a problem for her.

BEGALA: Yes, it is.

BLITZER: He does a lot better in those entrance polls.

BEGALA: He beat her by 70 points, OK. But she's watching that, she's learn, OK, I got to get tougher, better, smarter, appeal to young people. She went out of her way to talk about reforming Wall Street, where Senator Sanders has attacked her. If they have an argument about who's better for young people in getting them educated, who is better to regulate the excesses of corporate America, that's only good for the Democratic Party. Yeah, I'm for Hillary, but more importantly, this contest is occurring on the issues I love.

BLITZER: Kevin?

KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This pragmatic and practical, I always joke, nobody ever raced to put a bummer sticker on their car that says pragmatic and practical. It's emblematic of some of the energy problems she has now. But I expect while it may not work with a lot of liberals in places like Iowa and New Hampshire, it will increasingly work. I think the idea that I can get stuff done is going to be her main central appeal to winning some of these voters in the later contests.

BORGER: You know who kind of put it on a bumper sticker? Remember Michael Dukakis, that it was confidence, not ideology. That didn't work so well.

MADDEN: It didn't work so well.

BORGER: No, it didn't.

[13:55:14] MADDEN: It's like money and organization on the Republican side, that's not inspiring people in this particular environment.

BLITZER: Gloria, compared to Bernie Sanders, she does really well among older voters --

BORGER: Yes, she does.

BLITZER: -- including a lot of older men and women, for that matter, especially women. When it comes to younger voters, though, Democrats in Iowa, he does, the 74-year-old Senator from Vermont, does great with young voters, including young women. Why?

BORGER: Well, because they -- even though he's been in office forever, and they consider him something fresh and new, and he is somebody who has been on the issue of income and equality his entire life. These are the kids with student loans. These are the kids he talks about free tuition at college. It really appeals to them.

I think where Hillary Clinton has a problem, if you look at the entrance polls last night, is on the question of understands my needs, right, understands my problems. Bernie Sanders outdoes her, what, 3-1 on that --

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: Same on trust and honesty. She's got to figure out a way to work on that. Bernie helps her because --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Although, she beats him precisely on who's most electable in a general election --

BORGER: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: -- and who's got the most experience.

Let's talk about the Republicans for a moment, Kevin. Donald Trump came in second. Did well. Didn't come in third. But he didn't win in Iowa either. But he does look like he has a very strong position based on the polls in New Hampshire, the next contest.

MADDEN: I would disagree. He has done nothing but brag about this winning position that he held in every single poll. Now, the first poll that matters, which is voters rendering a decision, he didn't win. He came in second. One of the big problems he faced was, for all of their free media and all of the buzz he created, he had very little infrastructure to deliver a win in a place like Iowa where it matters. It similarly matters in a place like New Hampshire. If he's going to compete in New Hampshire, that's something, and if you're going to win in New Hampshire, get back that winning mantel of making America great again, he can't keep finishing second. He's going to need an organization to do that. So that's be his --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: We'll see how he does, New Hampshire, a week from today, and then South Carolina. Gloria, you hear some of the Trump supporters point out, they've said

to me during the course of today, remember, four years ago, Rick Santorum won Iowa, didn't exactly work out for him.

BORGER: It doesn't matter.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Eight years ago, Mike Huckabee won Iowa. Didn't work out for him. Ted Cruz, he won Iowa this time. They're trying to make the suggestion he's going to wind up like these other guys.

BORGER: It doesn't matter. So you go back to the recent history and say, OK, Iowa doesn't matter. I think that's not the case in Donald Trump's case because expectations were set so high for him in Iowa and I don't know who did it --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Including the so-called gold standard polls.

BORGER: And Donald Trump is the one who talks about the polls all the time. I mean we do, too.

MADDEN: Let's not forget, too, with Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz, he is leading in the money in cash on hand now. He has the resources. If you remember Santorum and Huckabee, they were one-state candidates who were trying to sling shot into the race and then begin to raise resources. Cruz is also very well organized in so many of these states, through March 1 to March 15th. He's in a better position than other folks who came out of the Iowa caucuses.

BLITZER: Paul, you agree that Cruz is better positioned than Santorum or Huckabee was?

BEGALA: Absolutely, terrific win for Cruz and it puts the monkey on Trump's back. Donald Trump has to win New Hampshire. Period. He can go on.

BORGER: Yeah.

BEGALA: But if he can't show that he can beat Cruz coming out of an impressive win that Cruz had and Rubio. And you know what you'll hear a lot of? Immigration. That's what got him in the race. You're going to hear some very, I think, strident and strong Trump attacks on both Rubio and Cruz on immigration.

BORGER: If you look at entrance polls from last night, the areas that Trump did the best were immigration and jobs and the economy.

BEGALA: Right.

BORGER: And so immigration is an easy thing for him to turn against both Rubio and Cruz. Because, by the way, they've changed their positions, both of them, over the years. MADDEN: One quick observation on that, too. Trump has been a very

untraditional candidate to say the least. Right now, he's got a three-front war on his hands and he has to become a traditional candidate. He has to take on Marco Rubio in New Hampshire and stop some of the momentum he has there. He has to take on Cruz in South Carolina. At the same time, a lot of the Independent money now feels like they have a wounded Trump and they're going to go after him. He has to fight them as well.

BLITZER: We're going to be excited.

One week, one week from today, the New Hampshire primary. Tomorrow night, don't forget the CNN town hall.

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: My personal --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: The Democratic town hall tomorrow night in New Hampshire.

All right, guys, thank you very much.

That's it for me. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern, in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For our viewers in North America, NEWSROOM with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.