Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

A Look at the Jeb Bush Campaign; Clinton's Campaign; Campaign Ads; Pope Francis Heads to U.S.-Mexico Border for Symbolic Mass. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired February 17, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I suppose that the president, President Obama, could nominate someone who doesn't give many speech, who doesn't have much of a written down history, like John Roberts, right, and then he or she might get through, right?

JULIAN ZEILZER, AUTHOR, "THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW": It's true, there are some picks on all these lists that have been coming out, such as Judge Garland (ph), who is moderate, who is not a high profile person in the media, compared to someone such as Loretta Lynch. But it's not clear that's what the president wants to do. I think there is part of the president that wants to make a good pick, wants to make a pick that resonates historically and he is not interested in playing the game that Republicans are setting up where they either won't nominate anyone or they will only nominate someone who is so watered down, so to speak, that they will support it. So I think Obama sounds pretty bold in recent hours and I'm not sure that's the direction he's going to take.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see. Julian Zeilzer, thank you so much.

ZEILZER: Thank you.

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Marco Rubio meeting with South Carolina voters right now in Mount Pleasant. It's the Republican candidate's first stop in his jam-packed day ahead of CNN's town hall. The Florida senator sharing the stage with Ben Carson and Ted Cruz tonight. Bush, Kasich and Trump are at it tomorrow night. Of course, Anderson Cooper will be the moderator and Wednesday night 8:00 p.m. is the time to tune in. that's 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Rubio's one time mentor, Jeb Bush, is creating quite a stir on social media after tweeting this image of a gun engraved with his name and the word "America." The photo sparking responses ranging from humorous to calls for stricter gun control. For his part, Bush says he'd received the firearm during a tour of a gun manufacturing facility. One he said has created a lot of jobs and that he was, quote, "honored to have it." Bush also gave one South Carolina audience the inside track on how he prepares for debates against his rival Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The conclusion is, when you debate a guy like Trump, you have to have the last word, because he's a bully. And so he doesn't stop talking. And I -- and I actually saw tapes. He just start -- he just starts -- I mean it's not what he says, it's just the fact that he says it louder and louder and louder and you just have to keep talking through it. It's not a skillset I ever envisioned being necessary to aspire to the presidency of the United States, but I've gotten better at it. Ra, ra, ra ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So that's his secret.

Joining me now, David Frum, former speech writer for George W. Bush and senior editor for "The Atlantic."

Good morning.

DAVID FRUM, FORMER SPEECHWRITER, PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Thanks for being here.

So let's start with the gun tweet. Why did he do that?

FRUM: Yes. Look, George -- Jeb Bush is a strong Second Amendment proponent. And he is battling for the title of leader of the more traditional Republicans, John Kasich, who voted for the 1994 assault ban -- ban on assault weapons when John Kasich was a member of Congress. So Jeb Bush is using guns as the web issue against Kasich who is even more towards the center of the Republican Party than Jeb Bush is.

COSTELLO: So you think this tweet is helpful?

FRUM: Look, I -- it's not my kind of politics, but, yes, I think it is helpful in the context of South Carolina, yes.

COSTELLO: OK. So let's talk about South Carolina and the polls that are out there. A CNN/ORC poll of South Carolina voters shows Trump with a commanding lead, while Jeb Bush is in fourth place.

FRUM: Right.

COSTELLO: Can he overcome that? And if he can't, should he continue?

FRUM: Well, it doesn't look like there's much hope that Jeb Bush will overcome it in South Carolina. He is gambling and things look even worse for him in Nevada if the CNN poll today is correct, although it is a small sample poll.

The big event is March 1. And I have to believe that March 2nd is decision day for Jeb Bush because, you know, the prospect if he does badly on the first of March and he stays in the race, then he almost guarantees a Trump victory. And Donald Trump know this is too. One of the things that was so striking to me about the intensity of

Donald Trump's attacks on not only Jeb Bush but the whole Bush family in the debate is, if you assume that Donald Trump does have a strategic plan when he goes on the stage -- those stages, and I think he does, what he is -- what he must be most afraid of is that Jeb Bush will drop out early. If Jeb Bush drops out, if John Kasich were to drop out or if Marco Rubio were to drop out, the two-thirds of the party that don't like Donald Trump would be able to consolidate more easily. Donald Trump has to prevent that and the surest way to prevent it is to keep Jeb Bush in. The surest way to keep Jeb Bush in is to insult him in public.

[09:34:57] COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you, so that means like totally like annihilating Jeb Bush in ads and in tone and that will keep Jeb Bush in the race, not work the opposite way?

FRUM: No, it -- no, it means -- look, Jeb Bush had a lot of resources. He -- despite all the spending, there is still -- he still has more cash on hand I think than any other Republican candidate, at least in his super PAC. So he has the resources to stay.

When Donald Trump, on the stage, attacks Jeb Bush's mother, attacks his brother, throws all these accusations at the whole family, Jeb Bush -- I mean he's a person who's proud of his family. He's intensely loyal. He feels he must stand up and do battle for them. And that keeps them in the race through South Carolina, through Nevada, through March 1st. And by the time we get to March 15th, the Florida primary, almost half of the Republican delegates will have been chosen. If Donald Trump arrive on -- at -- in Florida with already having one- third of the one-half of the delegates that have already been chosen, or even better, he become very hard to stop.

COSTELLO: Politics is very, very strange.

OK, one last question about Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina. She hasn't endorsed anyone yet, although she said she would not endorse Trump. That was clear. Is it possible she could endorse Jeb Bush?

FRUM: Well, I don't -- I don't know her thinking. What she has to be calculating is, she is on anybody's short list for the Republican vice presidential nomination. Southern state. They're not going -- the southern state. Exciting life story. A woman. A lot -- popular in her state. Republicans would have -- would give her a very close look. And that means she has to be very careful about not choosing the wrong head of the ticket to endorse. I mean she chose -- if she endorses somebody and that person doesn't win, there go her hopes of the vice presidency.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes. If I were her, I wouldn't endorse anyone, but -- but she's the governor and she has her own mind and she's a smart women.

Thanks so much, David Frum, for joining me this morning.

FRUM: Thank you. COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, campaign ads can be pricey, nasty and some are just plain weird. So what works and what doesn't?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:41:08] COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton takes her campaign to Chicago today while new CNN polling shows a mixed bag in her next two face- offs with Bernie Sanders. In Nevada, Clinton clinging to a one point lead, that's down from double digits in October. But a very different story in South Carolina where Hillary Clinton maintains a commanding lead over Bernie Sanders. CNN's senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns live in Chicago with more.

Good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Certainly running neck and neck in Nevada right now and that is a bit of a surprise because Hillary Clinton was thought to have a halfway decent lead in that state. Nonetheless, there's a lot of question about whether and how reliable that poll is simply because the Nevada caucuses are notoriously difficult to poll.

Now over in South Carolina, as expected, Hillary Clinton running very strong, mostly because of support from African-Americans, as well as women. An 18 point lead in the palmetto state for Hillary Clinton. Very difficult in all likelihood for Bernie Sanders to make up that difference and pull a win, though the expectation for him has always been about narrowing the gap.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Joe Johns reporting live from Chicago this morning. Thank you.

As primary day draws near in South Carolina, voters are being bombarded by the presidential candidates with TV ads, Internet ads, robo calls. You name it. Some are effective. Others are just, well, they're just strange. Like this Marco Rubio morning again ad that featured an opening image, not of the United States of America, but of Canada. Comedian Jimmy Fallon wasted no time mocking the candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, COMEDIAN: Some of the footage used in the ad is actually not footage of America. Take a look at the very first clip. This is real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's morning again in America.

FALLON: Stop, stop, stop the clip there. That's Vancouver, Canada. That is Vancouver. Yes. It just got worse from there. Take a look at this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's morning again in America. Today, more men and women are out of work than ever before in our nation's history.

FALLON: Well, that's Oz. That's Oz. That is Oz. That's not even a real place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So he exaggerated a little, but it was funny.

Seriously, though, what does it take to put together a really good ad campaign, one that's effective with voters? Joining me now, J.J. Balaban. He's a partner with The Campaign Group that creates television and radio ads.

Welcome.

J.J. BALABAN, PARTNER, THE CAMPAIGN GROUP: Hi. Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: First of all, how does that happen when somebody puts together an ad for Marco Rubio and puts Vancouver, Canada, in instead of the United States?

BALABAN: It's just sloppy work by her ad maker. It's cutting corners instead of, you know, using the wrong stock footage and I'm sure they're very embarrassed.

COSTELLO: I'm sure they are.

OK, let's take a look at a couple of campaign ads. I want to show our viewers an ad from the Clinton campaign --

BALABAN: Sure.

COSTELLO: That you say highlights her strengths. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's always stood strong to get the job done. Hillary Clinton, she stood up to China and spoke out on women's rights, went toe to toe with Russia on human rights. The drug and insurance company spend millions against her. But Hillary didn't quit until 8 million children got healthcare.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've never been called a quitter. And I won't quit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK, so, J.J., why do you think that this ad is so effective?

BALABAN: Well, look, I represent a number of female candidates and there's no question that when women run for office, they're judged by different standards. She's running to be the first female commander in chief. And what's really striking about this ad is that she's really highlighting her strengths in terms of her foreign policy. One of the key goals of any campaign is to define the stakes of the election and she's basically defining the stakes as who can be the best commander in chief, which interestingly is one of her strengths and is considered one of Bernie Sanders' weaknesses.

[09:45:08] COSTELLO: OK, onto the next ad. According to "The Wall Street Journal," the Bush super PAC, Right to Rise USA, has spent more than $60 million on ads. That's more than any other campaign or super PAC. So here's one of their ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first job of the president is to protect America. Our next president must be prepared to lead. I know Jeb. I know his good heart and his strong backbone. Jeb will unite our country. He knows how to bring the world together against terror. And he knows when tough measures must be taken. Experience and judgment count in the oval office. Jeb Bush is a leader who will keep our country safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. So of course that's specifically for South Carolina, where the George W. Bush is very well liked. Is that effective?

BALABAN: Well, I guess it depends if you think that South Carolinians didn't know that Jeb had the support of his own brother. I mean, I guess the fundamental question is it seems like the Republican primary electorate has been very clear this year -- they want change and they hate Washington. And so by using President Bush, it seems to be someone that doesn't exactly represent change and does represent Washington.

As you said, Right To Rise has spent $60 million, you know, an ungodly amount of one, and it's gotten Jeb Bush into fourth place in New Hampshire and sixth place in Iowa. I mean, I guess this is kind of what they are down to. And maybe it will work. But it just doesn't seem it has the right tone of what the Republican primary electorate is looking for this year.

COSTELLO: Yes, interesting, and we're watching another ad by Right To Rise and everybody is familiar, with that one with the boots and Marco Rubio.

But I want to move on to one for Bernie Sanders because he's fighting for the minority vote, right? So Bernie Saners' campaign just released an ad featuring the daughter of Eric Garner, who died after police put him in a choke hold here in New York. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe Bernie Sanders is a protester.

SANDERS: When a police officer breaks the law, that officer must be held accountable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not scared to go up against the criminal justice system. He's not scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK, so we can jump out of this but you get the gist. If you watch the whole ad, it actually gives you goosebumps. It's very much moving. So will an ad like this be --

BALABAN: It's beautiful.

COSTELLO: -- effect -- go ahead.

BALABAN: Look, no, no, it's a beautiful ad. I think the question is it's actually a two minutes long. Most political ads are 30 seconds long; that's two minutes. So it's four times as expensive. The ad doesn't even mention Bernie Sanders until about 80 seconds into the ad. That's really expecting a lot of voters and viewers, to kind of expect them to hang in.

Now, it is a beautiful story and it is unbelievable moving. The question is, in a presidential campaign, sometimes ads are about moving voters. Sometimes they're about something else. In this case I think this ad is more about something else. It's, one, about appealing to donors so they will give money to Bernie Sanders. Two, it's about sending the message in the media and other things that basically say hey Bernie Sanders is making a play for the African American vote, which is understandable. But my understanding is this ad actually isn't running a ton in South Carolina, which makes sense, again, given that it is a 2 minute long ad.

COSTELLO: Oh yes, because I thought the same thing you did. My wonderful producer Bethany sent me that ad and I'm like who's this for? And then finally Bernie Sanders popped up.

BALABAN: Right. It's an ad for Eric Garner's wife more than for Bernie Sanders. Sorry, his daughter. Pardon me.

COSTELLO: His daughter, yes.

Thanks so much for being with me. J.J. Balaban. It's fascinating, thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Pope Francis's plane about to take off. The next stop: the U.S./Mexico border. We'll take you there next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:29] COSTELLO: All right. You see Pope Francis there. Actually, he's on board a plane right now taking off for the U.S./Mexico border. He'll be on the side of Mexico, where he's going to perform perhaps the most controversial part of his visit to Mexico, and that's -- would be to hold this mass right on the Mexico/U.S. border.

Polo Sandoval live in Mexico to tell us more. Good morning.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Carol, good morning. Call it controversial, symbolic, it will mean a lot for the people here in Juarez. And just to give you an idea of how close it will happen with respect to the United States, you can see where the altar is set up. And perhaps a white building you can see off in the distance with dark windows, that is an elementary school in El Paso, Texas. So this mass will essentially be happening just a few yards from the banks of the Rio Grande, which divides these two nations. Truly symbolic, as he continues to spread this message of hope and peace and touch on that issue of immigration, something that's very important here in Mexico and of course highly debated by presidential candidates right next door.

So a little bit about the scene that we're noticing here, people have been lined up since overnight. A very chilly night here in Juarez, but people say it's worth it to be within eyesight of the altar that you see behind me. As soon as Pope Francis' plane touches down here at about noon eastern, he will head straight to El Cedezo (ph) state prison. It's a place that had a reputation for being one the most violent, most dangerous prisons in Latin America. Right now it prepares to welcome the pontiff.

[09:55:01] After that, he'll make a couple of quick stops before he finally heads here to celebrate mass in the evening. And finally, Carol, the most symbolic moment will be, we expect, will happen before that mass when he will walk towards that U.S./Mexico border and actually pray for migrants at a makeshift memorial that's set up there. Obviously going to be something that will be highly watched not just here in Mexico but in the United States as well. Carol?

COSTELLO: And especially by the presidential candidates, I'll bet. Polo Sandoval, we'll get back to you in the next hour. Thanks so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the president unleashes. First, a supreme scolding.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I intend to do my job between now and January 20th of 2017. I expect them to do their job as well.

[10:00:01] COSTELLO: Will that get Senate Republicans to work with him?

Next up, the GOP front-runner.

OBAMA: I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president.