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CNN NEWSROOM

Rubio Banking on Florida; Trump's Former Butler Speaks Out; Police Tracking Two Gunmen from Pennsylvania Backyard Party. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired March 10, 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] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Dignity of every human being. As always, our work as nations remains rooted in the friendship between our people, and we see that every day in communities along our shared border. Up in Hyder, Alaska, forks head across the border to celebrate Canada Day, and folks in Stewart, British Columbia, come over for the Fourth of July. At the baseball diamond in Coutts, Alberta, if you hit a home run, there's a good chance the ball will land in Sweet Grass, Montana. And up where Derby Line, Vermont, meets Stanstead, Quebec, Americans and Canadians come together at the local library where the borderline literally runs right across the floor. A resident of one of these border towns once said, we're two different countries but we're like one big town and people are always there for you.

So, Prime Minister Trudeau, Justin, Sophie, to all our Canadian friends, we are two different countries, but days like this remind us that we're like one big town and we reaffirm that Americans and Canadians will always be there for each other. Welcome to the United States and the new mesami (ph).

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to jump away. That's the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. And for all of you political junkies out there, this is the first official state dinner that the president of the United States is holding with the Canadian prime minister in 19 years.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Marco Rubio is betting all of his chips on Florida, but there may be trouble brewing if last night's homecoming rally is any indication.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:36:19] COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining me. I'm live in Miami at the University of Miami. What a beautiful campus. The Republican debate set to be held here tonight and it should be interesting.

But let's talk about -- let's talk about Marco Rubio. He's going to be on stage tonight. It was supposed to be a hero's welcome for Senator Rubio. He came back home to his home district, which is Hialeah. Just about every Florida politician of Cuban descent was there to greet him as he came off his campaign bus. You see him hugging people there. But reality set in when Marco Rubio walked onto the stage because in the audience only a couple of hundred people and a nearly empty football stadium. So that was the reality there.

I was there, actually. I talked to some rather deflated Rubio supporters. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH D'ANGELO, ASSOCIATE PASTOR AT A MIAMI AREA CHURCH: Definitely I think he should probably begin considering dropping out, maybe supporting Ted Cruz in the long run.

COSTELLO: Would you support Ted Cruz?

D'ANGELO: I would. I would. I think Ted is a strong conservative who really has a heart for the country.

COSTELLO: Ted Cruz is asking Rubio supporters to support him instead. Are you willing to do that?

PETER SMITH, MEDIA DIRECTOR AT MIAMI AREA CHURCH: Not yet. What -- if Rubio does drop out, then I will most likely support Ted Cruz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's talk about that. I'm joined by Ninoska Perez Castellon. She is the host of Radio Mambi and the director of the Cuban Liberty Council and a Marco Rubio supporters.

Welcome.

NINOSKA PEREZ CASTELLON, HOST, RADIO MAMBI: Welcome to Miami, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you very much. It's so beautiful here.

CASTELLON: It is.

COSTELLO: I went to that Rubio rally yesterday and there were only a couple of hundred people there and, you know, as a Rubio supporter, what goes through your mind when you hear that?

CASTELLON: Well, first of all, I mean politics is a -- it's a cruel game, but Hialeah is supposed to be like one of the most enthusiastic places for any politician. So I'm really surprised that so many people -- few people showed up. But then we're going through this phenomenon called Trump that I think is really changing the whole game in this -- you know, in this election.

COSTELLO: Did Marco Rubio pay enough attention to his home state during his campaign?

CASTELLON: I think perhaps he's been so busy traveling all over that he thought he had Florida in his pocket. And it turns out that in politics you learn something new every day. And I think it must be a hard reality for him because Marco has always been a very popular politics in his hometown, especially Florida. He won Florida when he had like a 3 percent chance and he won the whole state when he became senator. So -- COSTELLO: So maybe he's thinking that way again?

CASTELLON: Well, I know he is. He's saying everywhere that, you know, that he will win Florida and -- but I guess the polls say different.

COSTELLO: Yes. Should he drop -- should he risk losing Florida? Because some people say, if Marco Rubio loses Florida, this maybe will hurt his political career moving forward.

CASTELLON: But as far as everyone is concerned, he probably is losing Florida. So I think that for his own good he probably wants to say, you know, I stayed in the race until I saw that I did not -- couldn't make it in Florida. So, I don't know, I don't think he would just jump out of race just now before the March 15th election.

COSTELLO: He said on MSNBC yesterday that he regrets getting down and dirty about Donald Trump. Did that hurt him? He says his did.

CASTELLON: I think it did. I think it did. I think every politician has his style. That's never been his style. And I think when you jump into somebody else's bandwagon and it doesn't look good on you. And I think people did not like it.

I also think, again, that there is a phenomenon called Trump that I -- I've seen people from every walk of life say, you know, I'm tired of the establishment. I think he's saying things that make sense. And I think this is a wakeup call for the Republican Party too.

[09:40:10] COSTELLO: Interesting.

Let's talk about another anti-establishment candidate, and that would be Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side. There was a Democratic debate last night here in Miami and Bernie Sanders -- actually the moderators of the debate played a bit from long ago and it featured Bernie Sanders talking about Fidel Castro. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS: You may recall way back in, what was it, 1961 they invaded Cuba. And everybody was totally convinced that Castro was the worst guy in the world. All the Cuban people are going to rise up in rebellion against Fidel Castro. They forgot that he educated the kids, gave them healthcare, totally transformed the society.

What that was about was saying that the United States was wrong to try to invade Cuba. It would be wrong not to state that in Cuba they have made some good advances in healthcare. They are sending doctors all over the world. They have made some progress in education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So Bernie Sanders wants to do well in Florida. He's not doing especially well among Hispanic voters. So what is that whole exchange --

CASTELLON: This is like an old hippy from the sixties that hasn't woken up really. But, frankly, it's funny but it's not because what has happened in Cuba for 56 years is a lot of political prisoners, killings, repression. And I find it, you know, so absurd that someone would speak like that. Yes, there are doctors all over the world. There -- it's a slave force that Castro uses for propaganda. And it's really not funny. And I find it -- you know, when I see students saying, oh, no, he's saying things that I like and education will be free. Well listen to whatever else he's saying. And he's supporting a dictatorial regime. And that's not good in any way.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for stopping by. I really appreciate it.

CASTELLON: You're welcome, darling. It's a pleasure.

COSTELLO: Thank you. Thank you.

And I am going to enjoy Miami right after this show.

CASTELLON: Yes, you should.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, an intimate look at Donald Trump from a man who spent years as his personal butler. We'll talk to him, next.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:46:13] CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "CONAN": Did you see this last night after his victories? Donald Trump held a press conference in Florida and he proudly displayed Trump water bottles, Trump wine and Trump steaks. Held them all up. Yes, yes. Trump also announced his running mate, the Sham Wow guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Late night taking Donald Trump to task over what many people call an infomercial. The Republican front runner bringing out Trump wines and Trump steaks at a news conference where he was touting his victories in three states on Tuesday night.

So what exactly is up with that? Let's ask a man who might know him best. I'm joined by Tony Senecal, he's the estate historian from Mar- A-Lago, Trump's Florida estate, and the former long time butler to Mr. Trump. Welcome, sir.

TONY SENECAL, TRUMP'S FORMER BUTLER: Well, thank you.

COSTELLO: Thank you for being here. So first question, are you going to watch tonight's big debate?

SENECAL: Of course.

COSTELLO: And when you watch Mr. Trump at these debates, is he the man you know personally? Or is he someone else?

SENECAL: No, he's the man that I know. For 20-some years, we carried on that same debate.

COSTELLO: What same debate?

SENECAL: The debate that he's having now. His interest in the American people. His patriotism. The man was born on Flag Day. He's a very patriotic person -- ahem, excuse me -- and he wants what's best for this country.

COSTELLO: And a lot of voters really do believe that, but other voters are puzzled when Mr. Trump does things like he did at theatnews conference when he brought out the Trump water and the Trump steak. Why do that?

SENECAL: Because he was challenged on that. That it wasn't true that he didn't have the water, that he didn't have the magazine, that he didn't have a steak. It is all bull.

COSTELLO: You mean it's all bull when people say he's not the great businessman he passes himself off to be?

SENECAL: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Even the allegations against Trump University you think aren't true?

SENECAL: That's in court. Let the court decide that.

COSTELLO: But it is fair to bring it up, right? Because shouldn't voters know that it's in court and why it's in court?

SENECAL: Sure. That's fine. I have no problem with that.

COSTELLO: So, you know, it probably will be brought up at tonight's debate because, you know, there is Florida and there is Ohio coming up and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and John Kasich have to make their mark.

SENECAL: Yes, but I think Rubio is going to back off a little bit. He's been -- he's been just absolutely obnoxious. First of all, he has not represented this state. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, he is taking American money under false pretenses. I wouldn't vote for him in this state for anything.

COSTELLO: Donald Trump says he's going to take a softer tone in tonight's debate. Do you believe him?

SENECAL: Sure.

COSTELLO: What's a softer tone when you say that about Donald Trump?

SENECAL: He probably won't pick on Rubio as badly as he has.

[09:50:02] He may not even call him Little Rubio anymore. Little Marco.

COSTELLO: Can you tell my viewers something about Donald Trump that they don't realize? SENECAL: Yes. I'll tell you, first of all, he's an incredibly

generous person. He's been generous to his employees. He's generous to strangers. He's an entirely nice guy. He's not the great, gruff person that people play him out to be. Sure, you attack him, he's going to fight back, but most of the time he's just a nice man. I mean, I lasted with him for 20 years. He had to be pretty good.

COSTELLO: I have to leave it there. Tony Senecal, thank you so much for joining me this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a backyard party in Pennsylvania turns deadly. Now police say they're on the hunt for two gunmen.

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[09:55:38] COSTELLO: Police in Pennsylvania believe two gunmen are on the loose after a backyard party turns deadly. The gunmen killing five people outside of a home about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh last night.

Deborah Feyerick is in New York following the story for us. Good morning.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Carol. Well, it appears the shooting took place last night at about 11:00 in a suburb of Pittsburgh. Panic and pandemonium as two gunmen opened fire on this backyard party. Guests were so frightened that they tried to run to get into the house. The majority of the dead were found on a back porch trying to get inside. Four women, one man shot there at the home and killed. Another woman died at the hospital. Three others right now in critical condition.

One of the neighbors that arrived at the scene a little later said that they were completely surprised that this happened there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYLA ALEXANDER, WITNESS: This street is always quiet. There's nothing but kids on this street. So to see that is new and it's probably shocking to everyone else up here. I'm shaken, so it's pretty bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And, Carol, it does not appear that anybody at the party actually fired back. One woman who ran to the scene became hysterical. It appears that one of those who was shot was in fact a relative of hers. So we're expecting a press conference. We'll keep you apprised of the latest, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Deborah Feyerick reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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