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Four Days To New Hampshire Primary; Clinton Accuses Sanders Of Artful Smear; Clinton Says E-mail Controversy An Absurdity; Clinton And Sanders Class In Fiery Debate; DNC Chairwoman Assesses State Of The Race; Bush Family Comes Out For Jeb; Sanders Rallies Supporters In New Hampshire. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired February 5, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 10:00 a.m. in San Francisco, 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 2:00 a.m. Saturday in Hong Kong. Wherever you are watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, presidential politics here in the United States. We're just four days away from the first primary of this, the 2016 race for the White House. And the candidates, they're in a sprint right now to finish -- to the finish line in New Hampshire.

On the Republican side today Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, they're all scheduling campaign events today. Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they're also on the campaign trail in New Hampshire today.

We're also monitoring the events taking place specifically this hour. A Bernie Sanders' rally set to begin any minute now in Exeter, New Hampshire, and Hillary Clinton is wrapping up a canvas launch in Manchester. Looking at live pictures there. We're watching all of this unfold.

Meanwhile, a new poll out today shows Bernie Sanders holding onto a wide lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. In the CNN-WMUR poll of likely Democratic primary voters, Sanders is at 61 percent in New Hampshire compared to 30 percent for Hillary Clinton.

The two candidates stood side by side, went toe to toe could to debate last night. At one point, Hillary Clinton unloaded on Bernie Sanders for suggesting that she's beholden to wealthy Wall Street donors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you've got something to say, say it directly, but you will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation that I ever received. And I have stood up and I have represented my constituents to the best of my ability, and I'm very proud of that.

BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know --

CLINTON: So, I think it's time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out in recent weeks. And let's talk -- let's talk about the issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's go to CNN's Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny. He's joining us live from Manchester in New Hampshire. Very strong words, Jeff. This looks like the most fired up she's been in this one-on-one campaign with Bernie Sanders so far.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: No doubt about it, Wolf. I mean, I'm here at this Hillary Clinton event. You can see her, and she's joined by some of her former Senate colleagues behind me. They're trying to get out the vote.

But last night was one of the most intense clashes we've seen between Senator Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Those words, artful smear, were a sign that this is really escalated here.

But the reason is this, Wolf. The Clinton campaign has been sort of initially amused by the Sanders campaign, then worried. Now not taking anything for granted here. And they -- she wanted to call him out specifically on these assertions he's been making that, you know, she's been compromised in some way. So, directly face to face, she looked directly at him and said, point to a place where I was compromised because of my Wall Street donations. Of course, he didn't say anything there.

So, the reason she's doing this, she's trying to sort of get the attention and focus these voters, here in New Hampshire and down the line here, that she has experienced. And she's been a fighter in these issues, and she is not going to let him own the progressive mantle here. That was one of the most interesting exchanges of the night -- Wolf.

BLITZER: It certainly was. She didn't pull any punches. But Bernie Sanders didn't back down either.

ZELENY: Right.

BLITZER: How well did he do on his own holding up to Hillary Clinton?

ZELENY: Wolf, if you are Bernie Sanders supporters going into the debate, you certainly came out a Bernie Sanders' supporter. He was -- he was clear on what his view of this is. He was clear on his call for a new kind of politics. He didn't deny the fact that he's not been a Democrat all his life.

He talked about, you know, that there needs to be change to the political system in this country. And I think a lot of people would agree with him on that. I think he struggled a bit on foreign policy. That's one of her strengths in this, no question.

But those Wall Street attacks are worrisome to the Clinton campaign, because they know this populous strain going on in this Democratic Party and elsewhere is something that makes people somewhat suspicious of her. So, I think he had a strong night. But I think, overall, she did not back down from any of this and challenged him directly in a way that we've not yet seen -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, she certainly did. She also was asked about the e-mail controversy, whether it would hurt her campaign if she wins the Democratic presidential nomination.

She pointed to a new report from the State Department investigators saying that former secretary of state, Colin Powell, and top staffers for former secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, also received classified information through personal e-mail accounts. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Now, you have these people in the government who are doing the same thing that Secretary Powell and Secretary Rice's aid (ph), they've been doing to me which is that I never sent or received any classified material. They are retroactively classifying it.

[13:05:04] I agree completely with Secretary Powell who said today, this is an absurdity. And so, I think the American people will know it's an absurdity. I have absolutely no concerns about it whatsoever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And, Jeff, this new State Department investigation, this report gives her new ammunition in defending herself, right?

ZELENY: It does. It gives her cover in some way. She's been saying all along that she's not alone in using private e-mail and that any e- mail she sent at the time was not lass classified, but it does not resolve all the questions here, Wolf, because she is the only one who has a Department of Justice investigation going on here.

But by saying that voters have nothing to worry about in this primary campaign and as the general election goes forward, and she's really put -- putting a lot on the line here. So, we, of course, still have to wait until these investigations go forward.

But, Wolf, this isn't a questions that Democrats have. It's a question that independent voters and perhaps some, you know, middle of the road voters down the line still have about her. But for last night, for now I think, she is clearing this up -- Wolf.

BLITZER: One final question totally unrelated but certainly of high interest. Larry David, the great comedian, the actor, he's going to be hosting "Saturday Night Live" tomorrow night. He does an amazing impression of Bernie Sanders. There's been a lot of speculation that, just like Hillary Clinton who occasionally shows up on "SNL," would Bernie Sanders being ready to go to New York and join Larry David on "SNL" tomorrow night? What are you hearing about that?

ZELENY: He certainly is ready, Wolf. And, in fact, he is going. I am told by one senior campaign advisor that he is, in fact, going to New York City. He has been invited by "SNL." Now, there are no official announcements about this because "Saturday Night Live" always keeps its programming sort of close to the vest.

But Bernie Sanders is heading there, and he believes he will be on "SNL." And I think there's every reason to believe that he will be because Larry David, of course, who has been playing him for so long is hosting. So, Wolf, that is going to be quite the show on Saturday night going into the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday. Quite a debut, I guess, on that stage that Bernie Sanders has not yet had -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We're going to have trouble seeing the real Bernie Sanders, because Larry David does such an amazing job. It's going to be, I'm sure, a fabulous, fabulous "SNL." We'll all want to watch that. Thanks very much for that. Jeff Zeleny in New Hampshire.

The national race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is tightening, according to a brand new national poll just out today. Quinnipiac University poll shows, look at this, Hillary Clinton at 44 percent, Bernie Sanders at 42 percent.

National polls conducted before the Iowa caucuses, including this one, showed Hillary Clinton with an enormous lead over Bernie Sanders nationwide. But according to this new poll, this Quinnipiac University poll, it has dramatically narrowed within the margin of error, 44 percent, 42 percent, 11 percent undecided.

Let's talk about this and more with the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. She's also joining us from Manchester, New Hampshire right now.

Congresswoman, thanks very much for joining us. What do you make of this new national poll?

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ (D), CHAIRWOMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: You're welcome. Well, I'll leave that to the pundits, Wolf, to analyze what the national polls mean. We're focused at the Democratic Party to make sure that we can get ready for whoever our nominee is at the end of the primary nominating contest.

And make sure it's very clear that stark contrast between either one of our candidates and the entire field of Republican right wingers. You know, our candidates last night demonstrated that both of them are ready to be the 45th president of the United States of American and continue to build on the economic progress that we've made. And to make sure that we can continue to help people reach those cornerstones of a middle class. I was very proud of their effort last night and look forward to the general election.

BLITZER: That -- the campaign, though, could go on for a while, if you believe these polls. What would a prolonged fight for the Democratic nomination mean for the Democratic Party?

WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: You know, actually, a prolonged fight, as we saw in 2008, means that we are going to have more time for both of our campaigns to organize and mobilize our supporters. I mean, you could see just this week in Iowa, we had the second largest turnout in Iowa caucus history and of our candidates. We have -- you know, we had three candidates. Really, two with very robust campaigns that turned out almost as many caucus goers as 11 candidates on the Republican side did.

And so, our candidates are focused. They're motivated. Their supporters are enthusiastic. And we are going to come together once we have a nominee just like we did in 2008 where arguably that primary, Wolf, as you know, was quite a bit more contentious than this one has been and even that it's likely to be. And we'll come back together and be unified behind the Democratic nominee. And you saw both Senator Sanders and Hillary Clinton warmly exchange agreements that either one of them would be a far better president than any one of the extremists on the other side of the aisle.

[13:10:06] BLITZER: Yes, more than 170,000 Democrats showed up for the Democratic caucuses in Iowa. That's a very, very --

WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: Right.

BLITZER: -- impressive number. Not as big as in 2008 but still very impressive. The debate last night --

WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: Right.

BLITZER: -- did show a little more intensity in the fight between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: Sure.

BLITZER: You saw she got angry a few times at Bernie Sanders, spoke about a smear. Is that good or bad, do you think, long-term for the party?

WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: Well, I -- first of all, let's not over- characterize anger and intensity. I mean, they certainly pointedly discussed their differences of opinion on how they would achieve the same goal. Building on the success that we've had since president Obama became president and brought us from the worst economic crisis since the great depression where we were losing 800,000 jobs a month.

And now we've had 71 straight months of job growth in the private sector. And both of them would take a different approach to continuing to building on that progress but, you know, at the end of the day, these are two candidates that agree that we need to make sure that we focus not on the wealthiest, most fortunate Americans like the Republicans would take us back to, but on making sure that people have a shot, a fair shot to succeed.

And the contrast, as I said, when we have a nominee, will be stark. It's already stark. The food fight that goes on the other side of the aisle, they basically spend their days trying to out-insult one another, is in stark contrast to the substantive and robust discussions about policy that our two candidates have had. It's a tremendous source of pride and it kind of makes a mockery of the entire Republican primary. BLITZER: Do you fear that the former New York City mayor, Michael

Bloomberg, could join this eventual general election contest as a third-party independent candidate and potentially take votes away from the Democratic nominee?

WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: So, given why Michael Bloomberg is exploring the possibility of running for president, I really think, when he takes a good hard look, he will conclude that the issues that are important to him, making sure that we can keep people from -- who should not have guns from having them, and keep people safe from harm, making sure that we can have the kind of education that our young people need and deserve, making sure that consumers have the kind of protection that they need. That has a natural home among our Democratic candidates.

And so, I think Michael Bloomberg's agenda is well cared for and advanced among our Democratic candidates. And his candidacy, I think he'll find, won't be necessary.

BLITZER: Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Congressman from South Florida. Congresswoman, thanks very much for joining us.

WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: Always a pleasure, Wolf. Thank you so much.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Coming up, Jeb Bush brings out his famous family to try to help his chances in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Will it work?

And Bernie Sanders, he's holding a rally in New Hampshire this hour. We're going to bring some of that to you live. We'll tell you what's going on.

[13:13:01]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:48] BLITZER: Let's get back to the campaign trail where Republican candidates, they're making their final pitch to New Hampshire voters just four days before the primary. The New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, touted his years of experience at a town hall event in Dover this morning. He also slammed rivals Marco Rubio and Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump canceled a town hall event he had scheduled in the state citing bad weather. He does have a rally in South Carolina later tonight.

This is a new CNN/WMUR poll. It shows Trump still in the lead in new Hampshire, while Ted Cruz sliding to third place. Rubio surging right now. He's in second place in this new poll.

The Florida senator is getting slammed, though, by New Hampshire's biggest newspaper. The publisher of "The New Hampshire Union Leader" is mocking Rubio as, quote, "the flavor of the week." Let's bring in our CNN politics executive editor Mark Preston. Also

joining us, Paul Steinhauser, our former CNN political editor. He's now the political director, the anchor/reporter for NH1 in New Hampshire.

Let's start with you, Paul. Let's talk about Rubio. He's surging in these polls. You had a chance to speak with him. You spoke with Cruz. Could this be, New Hampshire right now, Rubio's big chance to shine?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, NH1 POLITICAL DIRECTOR AND ANCHOR: Yes, it could be his big chance to shine. He is shining right now, Wolf. I'll say one thing, though, higher expectations here. That strong third place finish in Iowa, not much expectations. He beat them here. He's got a lot on the line and he's got a lot more competition because the governors, well, they're battling pretty well here.

Wolf, you were just mentioning, though, yes, it's like a circular firing squad here right now between these candidates. So much on the line. Less of them. A lot more ugly comments. Take a listen to what Rubio and what Cruz told me yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like Ted, but he's willing to say or do anything in order to get votes.

STEINHAUSER: I'd like to get your response, sir.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know, it is not surprising that my political opponents are attacking me. There is an irony for someone like Marco just to talk about saying and doing anything to get elected because when he campaigned to get elected in Florida, he promised the men and women of Florida he would lead the fight against amnesty. I made the exact same promise in Texas. The difference was, when we went to Washington, I kept my promise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: And throw Governor Bush and Governor Christie into the mix. I spoke to both of them in the last 24 hours. They also had some critical comments. Wolf, so much on the line right now. That's why you're hearing all this really tough rhetoric.

BLITZER: Mark, Rubio is being criticized for being too scripted. Christie has been calling him the boy in the bubble. All that criticism coming in. Has that criticism been working? Is it hurting Rubio based on what your sense on the ground there?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, if you could ever imagine that Ted Cruz and Chris Christie would actually be allies in this, well, you know, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? I mean it's certainly helpful to Ted Cruz to have Chris Christie trying to knock Marco Rubio. And probably effectively in some ways. We won't really see that and see how effective it is for the next couple of days. But, look, what's happening right now is, you have this fight for life

going on right now. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, not fighting for their lives but fighting for positioning. What you're happening, though - what you're seeing happen with the governors, with Kasich, with Bush, with Christie, they are fighting for their lives because they have to do very well here. And if they don't do well here out of that three, then there's no ticket out of here for them.

[13:20:08] So basically what we're going to see over the next - unfold over the next couple of days is things are going to even get nastier, Wolf, than we've seen over the past two days because they are fighting for their political lives.

BLITZER: It's a good point.

Paul, Jeb Bush now embracing the Bush name. His mom, Barbara Bush, stumping for him today. His brother, George W. Bush, the former president, he's out with a brand new ad. Check out also the picture that Jeb Bush just tweeted out. It was a response to Donald Trump saying he was forced to cancel his event in New Hampshire today because of the bad weather. Bush says, look at this, quote, "Trump, my 90-year-old mother made it out to the campaign trail." And listen to this new Jeb Bush ad targeting Rubio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you list as Marco Rubio's top accomplishment that made you decide to endorse him?

RICK SANTORUM (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I guess it's hard to say their accomplishments.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'll ask it one more -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Pretty tough words. And it goes on, obviously, a lot more than that. How's that going to play over there, Paul?

STEINHAUSER: Listen, first of all, I'll start with his mother. I asked him about his mother just before she arrived and he got a spark in his eye. She's still well liked here, especially among the older crowd.

But Jeb Bush has been attacking Donald Trump for quite some time. It may help him with some voters. It's definitely not going to help him with Trump voters. This has been Trump country pretty solidly going back to the summertime. He's been the clear frontrunner here. Things may change a little bit, but I still think it's a battle for second place here in New Hampshire. A battle for second, third, and maybe a fourth place ticket down to South Carolina, Wolf.

BLITZER: Mark, the January jobs numbers are now out just released. We just heard President Obama praising the new numbers. Showing unemployment now at an eight-year low. Only 4.9 percent. It was over 9 percent when he took office. Listen to the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They argue that the reason you're feeling insecure is because immigrants or poor people are taking more and more of your paycheck, and that is just not true. The facts don't bear that out. That's not where the weaknesses in the economy are. That's not what's depressing wages for middle class families or making them more vulnerable to disruptions in this economy. And I want to keep on making that argument during the course of this year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Could these positive jobs numbers, Mark, help the eventual Democratic nominee in a general election?

PRESTON: Well, I think it's very important what the president said at the very end. He needs to keep making that argument for the rest of the year. The bottom line is, whoever wins the nomination, whether it's Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, is going to need President Obama covering the flank. President Obama doing things, not being so public about it and sucking away the oxygen, but covering the flank.

But I've got to tell you, just walking the streets of Manchester here, or any of these streets outside of Washington, D.C., those job numbers might be ticking down, but people aren't feeling it, Wolf. They still feel the crush of the economy and the fact that their paycheck's not going as far. It is going to be hard for the Democratic nominee to follow eight years of an Obama presidency, but that's why the president needs to play a very key role heading into November.

BLITZER: Only four days away from the New Hampshire primary. Mark Preston, Paul Steinhauser, guys, thanks very much. You're both going to be very, very busy.

Coming up, Governor John Kasich has put all his bets right now in New Hampshire for his presidential campaign. Will it pay off for him on Tuesday? His strategy in a key state. We'll discuss that and a lot more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:03] BLITZER: Want to go to Manchester, New Hampshire, right now. Hillary Clinton is speaking. Let's listen in briefly.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Skyrocketing way. It can't wait. Kids who need relief from student debt can't wait. The young waitress that I met working two jobs at minimum wage can't wait to have a better future for herself and her family. So I'm fighting for people who can't wait. I won't make promises I

can't keep. What I will tell you is what I know we can do working together to build on the progress that we have made under President Obama, build on the progress of previous Democratic presidents.

The Affordable Care Act, what a great accomplishment for our country and for those who have worked so hard to provide quality affordable health care. I will not let the Republicans repeal it, and I will not throw us into another contentious debate to start all over again. We're going to make it work. We're going to get to universal coverage. We're going to get the costs down. And I need you to be able to do all of that. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As I said last night in the debate, I sometimes run into people who say, I'm trying to make up my mind between you and Senator Sanders. I said, tell me what you're thinking about? And, you know, sometimes they have a specific question, but sometimes they said, well, you know, it's kind of between my heart and my head. I said, well, I can solve that for you. What motivates me every day is what's in my heart. What I have been so privileged to have learned, to experience, to work on behalf of families like Maggie's with her wonderful son who I've had the privilege of meeting, to work to remedy the deep wrong that has been inflicted on the people of Flint.

[13:29:55] That's what gets you up in the morning. If you don't have the heart for this, you shouldn't do it because there are a lot of hard days. There's a lot of disappointment. What seems obvious to you, for heaven sakes, raise the minimum wage, equal pay for women.