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AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Ted Cruz's Response on Trump Persona, N.C. Bathroom Bill; Stevie Wonder Reacts to Prince's Death. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired April 22, 2016 - 11:30   ET

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


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[11:33:27] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ted Cruz campaigning this hour in Pennsylvania with a new fight for Tuesday's crucial primary there and other northeastern states that are going to be check out Cruz's response to the news that Donald Trump is one person on stage and another person -- another persona in private. Listen here.

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SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): He's telling us he's lying to us. You look at what his campaign manager says, is that this is just an act. This is just a show.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Cruz is also seizing on Trump's criticism of a controversial state bathroom bill, saying Trump is on the wrong side of the issue.

Joining us now to talk with Chad Sweet, the national chairman of the Ted Cruz campaign. He joins us from Hollywood, Florida, right now.

Thanks so much for being with us, Chad.

You know, you guys, you came out with an ad --

(CROSSTALK)

CHAD SWEET, NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, TED CRUZ CAMPAIGN: Glad to be with you.

BERMAN: -- within hours. Donald Trump yesterday morning said he thought the transgender people should use whatever bathrooms they're comfortable with. He said it yesterday morning on the "Today" show. Within a few hours, you had a campaign ad out. Let's watch.

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(MUSIC)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate.

(MUSIC) (END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So as you saw the words up on the screen said, you said, essentially that "Transgender people are men pretending to be women." Pretending to be women. Is the official position of the Cruz campaign that that's what transgender people are, men pretending to be women?

[11:35:16] SWEET: Look, our fundamental position is this is not an issue for the federal government. Senator Cruz is a strict constitutional conservative and --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: That's not what the ad says, Chad. I'm sorry, the ad we just played, that's not what the ad says. It says men pretending to be women. I'm just asking if that is the position of Ted Cruz and the campaign, that that's what transgender people are.

SWEET: As you saw in the ad, those were the words that Donald Trump -- the point that we're making is a fundamental constitutional point, which is that North Carolina as a state has the right to decide bathroom laws, and our position is that it's not unreasonable for that state to take the position that grown men should not be allowed in little girl's bathrooms. So it's not also surprising that a man like Donald Trump, who has been a liberal his entire life, up until recently when he converted once he decided to run for the presidency on the Republican side of the aisle, he's been a liberal on supporting partial birth abortion, funding planned parenthood. He's said over and over that once I'm president, you'll be surprised how I can be politically correct. Well, it looks like he's started a little bit early.

BOLDUAN: So you -- I actually don't recall Donald Trump saying pretending. That was the words that you guys put on the screen. Again, is that the position of the campaign though, Chad, that transgender folks are men pretending to be women?

SWEET: Look, I'm going to keep saying what we've said before, is that this issue is an issue to be decided at the state level. Senator Cruz --

BOLDUAN: OK.

SWEET: -- is a strict constitutional conservative.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: So then you agree now with Donald Trump, because Donald Trump said last night you guys were on the same page then.

SWEET: Whenever -- we don't know whether we're on the same page because Donald -- he's on every side of every page. You know, it's one of the most frustrating things about running a campaign against him is that literally it's like he came from and bought a company that's involved with wrestling where you pretend to wrestle and it's like an inside joke where he comes down here to the RNC where I am today. He tells -- his staff tells people here, yeah, he's on one page on one day but don't take seriously because actually it's entertainment, just like worldwide wrestling, and tomorrow he'll be on a different page. That's what Paul Manafort conveyed right here in Florida. It's one of the things that makes Ted Cruz very different. If you want to be entertained, I think the American voters take the selection of their president very seriously. They know they can go to a movie - if they wanted to be entertained. If they want a consistent, proven conservative, they know Ted Cruz is the right candidate to choose.

BERMAN: Let's listen to your guy right now. Ted Cruz is on stage at an event in Pennsylvania right now. Let's dip in for a second.

CRUZ: There is a reason why Donald Trump is screaming so loud that he wants me to get out of this race, because Donald knows he can't earn a majority. Donald is a divisive figure with a hard cap of about 35 percent to 40 percent in just about every state, and at the convention he can't earn a majority and, you know, I'm sorry to say there are a lot of folks in the media who are echoing Donald's call to give him the election even though Donald loses to Hillary Clinton, and Donald loses to Hillary Clinton by double digits. I beat Hillary Clinton. I beat Hillary Clinton in the key swing states. I beat Hillary Clinton with independents. I beat Hillary Clinton with young people.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But in fairness, he is winning with voters. It's not just the media.

CRUZ: Let's be clear. He won his home state of New York, but prior to that, three weeks in a row, there were five states that voted, Utah, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming. We won landslides in five elections in a row. Five elections in a row. And, by the way, 1.3 million people elections. You know, Donald's incessant whining and crying, Donald doesn't handle losing very well. And so when the voters voted against him, he made up this nonsense about the system being rigged and it being stolen from him. I'll tell you, it is not a stolen election when the voters vote against you. And Donald is seeing the voters reject him over and over again. I won more votes in Wisconsin than Donald Trump did in New York, and so the media fawning breathlessly that Donald won his home state is really quite ridiculous. If Donald is the nominee, we lose.

And let me point something else out.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Senator?

CRUZ: Donald Trump is telling the American people that he's lying to us. Yesterday, Donald Trump agreed with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and Donald Trump argued that grown men should be allowed to go into girl's restrooms. Listen, this isn't even a very of left or right or conservative or Republican. It's basic common sense that grown adult men, strangers, should not be alone in the bathroom with little girls. As the father of two daughters, I know anyone with any common sense knows that's a terrible idea. And Donald Trump told us just a few months ago he could be the most politically correct person in the world. His campaign is now run by Washington lobbyists, and he is embracing the politically correct nonsense. I disagree with Donald Trump. I don't think we should have adult men in bathrooms with little girls, and we're tired of New York liberals, whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, imposing crazy politically correct policies on the working men and women of this country.

(CROSSTALK)

[11:40:46] UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Pennsylvania, the way they elect delegates, how many of the people running for delegate have you even contacted? Because that's going to be important. The popular vote means nothing this part of the year.

CRUZ: Well, listen, this election will be decided by the people. We're campaigning across the state. We're barnstorming the state. We're on a bus tour right now, traveling the state, working to earn the support of the men and women of Pennsylvania. You know, a lot of folks in the media want to paint Pennsylvania as a suburb of Manhattan. I think the people of Pennsylvania have a lot more common sense than the liberal elite Democrats in New York. It was striking, on Tuesday --

BERMAN: You have been listening to Ted Cruz in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, talking about a number of things, including the path of its campaign going forward. He essentially says that he's been beating Donald Trump. He says, pay no attention to the New York primary where Donald Trump hit 60 percent.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Remember Wisconsin. Remember the one that I won.

Chad Sweet is the national chair for the Ted Cruz campaign. He joins us right now.

Let's continue along the themes of what Senator Cruz was just talking about, Chad. There's an election where five states vote on Tuesday, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Which of those states is Ted Cruz going to win?

SWEET: Look, we feel we're going to be very competitive in those states. We'll recognize that it's not the easiest stretch for this campaign. We know that the northeast is going to be a tough patch for us, but, again, this is all about running a national campaign, and if you look at right after next Tuesday what you're going to see is we'll be going into the Midwest and then ultimately the far west predominantly, and you will see prior to New York we actually have won the majority of states outside the south and the northeast. The Midwest and the West have been very good to Senator Cruz because, again, they value the consistent conservative values the Senator represents and his optimistic message on jobs, freedom, and security.

BOLDUAN: Do you think there is a good chance you're not going to win a state next week?

SWEET: No. We feel very good we'll win a number of delegates. It's about winning delegates, not about winning states. If you look at, again, our ability to go in these states right now are, set up, many of them, where you have individual races in a congressional district level. The Senator is always willing to go anywhere, anytime, anyplace to deliver his positive conservative solutions to those voters.

And what's also critical to see is that the mantra that somehow Donald Trump has become the presumptive nominee after New York is ridiculous. If you look at -- he would have to win over two-thirds of pennsylvania in order to take the majority of those delegates of that state because of the way it's set up, and here is what I would ask everyone watching the show is, you know, show me anywhere that Donald Trump has ever exceeded 75 percent or 67 percent of the vote. He just hasn't done it. The only state he's won the majority in was in New York. And Senator Cruz has won several states where he's won over the majority of the state.

So our fundamental point is that this is going to remain a high lie contested convention. The Senator is working hard to earn the vote of every citizen and every delegate. And you will see us go all the way to the finish line and demonstrate that his message is resonating with the voters.

BERMAN: Take your point.

Chad Sweet, joining us.

The fact is Donald Trump is the only candidate who has the math to get to 1237 before the convention at this point. No other candidate has that opportunity.

But, Chad Sweet, thanks --

(CROSSTALK)

SWEET: No, that's not actually correct.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: You have to win 101 percent -- in Pennsylvania, you have to win 101 percent.

SWEET: If you look at the bound and unbound delegates, it's not true we can't have a path. The fundamental point is Donald Trump, if you're accurate in the media, you should be reporting it's extraordinarily difficult for him to also get to 1237 before the end of the primary process.

BERMAN: And we're making that point every day. That's hard for everybody.

SWEET: OK.

BERMAN: Chad Sweet, thanks so much.

SWEET: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Chad. And it continues, the fight continues. Any moment -- we're looking at

this very important door. We're going to hear from President Obama. He's at 10 Downing Street. He's going to have a live press conference. That's just moments away, after a very busy trip that he has had. Why the people of Britain, some folks in Britain are telling Obama to mind his own business.

BERMAN: What will that door say?

BOLDUAN: What will that door tell us?

[11:45:14] BERMAN: Prince, the passing of a music icon, loved by so many around the world. And what better way to honor one of the greatest musical geniuses of our time than with a dance party? Partying well into the night.

Ahead, we'll hear from Stevie Wonder and the emotional tribute that he gave to his friend.

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BERMAN: Celebrating the life and legacy of Prince this morning.

I want to show you the home page of "The Minneapolis Star Tribune," the hometown of Prince's city that loves that music icon. "Twin cities, world show love for Prince's purple majesty."

Part of that was an epic all-night-long, well-into-this-morning party in his honor at the First Avenue Dance Club downtown. That is where so much of "Purple Rain," the film, was made and song was recorded.

[11:50:10] BOLDUAN: And here is a look at just some of the ground- breaking generation-defining hits that those people were dancing to and dancing along with all night long, songs that were such a huge part of the '80s and beyond. We're still singing those songs today. Here's a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I could listen to that forever. BOLDUAN: Forever.

Seeing that, hearing that, looking back, one of the most-moving conversations and interviews that we've seen so far, looking back at the life of Prince and the influence he's had, is with one of his role models, Stevie Wonder.

BERMAN: Stevie and Prince, they were close friends.

This is part of Stevie Wonder's interview with Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVIE WONDER, SINGER: You know, I love "Purple Rain." I love the whole album. It was incredible. But I love all the stuff that he did. You know, the song that I liked the whole album, but I think like an interesting kind of song. But again, as people I heard say earlier today on CNN, it was someone that said he was able to mix the blessing of life and God, and yet the marriage of sex and passion. So that's very, very true. He had fun doing it.

And, you know, it's rare for me that I can feel, you know, with every single breath how he just passionately loved music. It's like when musicians can jam, there's nothing like it in the whole world. When ballplayers are playing and excited about the game, well, it's the same thing with us as musicians, to be able say, you can do that, let me do this and you do that, and I'll do that. It's a lot of fun. And he was incredible with that.

(MUSIC)

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(SINGING)

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[11:59:04] BERMAN: You're looking at live pictures in London. Two podiums set up there, one for President Obama, one for the British Prime Minister David Cameron. They have been meeting behind closed doors for the better part of the last hour. President Obama making a trip to London to meet with the prime minister after his trip to Saudi Arabia. A lot to talk about this morning.

BOLDUAN: A lot of fence mending may be going on. The president, you assume some of the talk was on the fight, that continued fight against ISIS. But also, President Obama publishing in the "Telegraph" an opinion piece, the importance of Britain in the European Union, something that was met with backlash after it was published. And you can be sure that is part of the questioning David Cameron will be taking to the podium. And we'll bring that news conference, press conference to you live. BERMAN: These are always very good, very energetic when the two

leaders get together to answer questions from the combined press corps of the two nations. The news conference begins at any moment now.

We'll turn you over to Ashleigh Banfield and Jake Tapper.

[12:00:08] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. And this is "Legal View."

But we're going to begin with the breaking news of what you're seeing on --