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Hillary Clinton Celebrates Historic Win, Bernie Sanders Stays In; Interview with Robby Mook. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 8, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:00:05] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The first time in our nation's history that a woman will be a major party's nominee.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you all. The struggle continues.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: To all of those Bernie Sanders voters who have been left out in the cold by a rigged system of superdelegates, we welcome you with open arms.

CLINTON: When he says let's make America great again, that is code for let's take America backwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

After a huge win in California, Hillary Clinton cements her place in history. 96 years after women were on the right to vote, Clinton marks her moment, becoming the country's first female presumptive presidential nominee by tweeting this image, "To every little girl who dreams big, yes, you can be anything you want, even president. Tonight is for you."

Still, Bernie Sanders says the struggle continues, and CNN now learning his campaign is set to slash his campaign staff in half, as he prepares to meet with President Obama. All of this, as the battle brews between Clinton and Donald Trump, as they try to scoop up Sanders supporters.

We're covering all of this like only CNN can with our team of political experts and reporters. But let's begin with CNN's senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny on Clinton's historic win.

Hi, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol. Unifying the Democratic Party this morning looks a little bit easier than it may have looked just about 12 hours or so ago. That's because of California. Bernie Sanders was counting, hoping, relying on a California win to fuel his argument to fight to the convention. That didn't happen. So the Clinton campaign now has the three M's, a majority of the popular vote, a majority of the pledged delegates and a majority of delegates overall. That's why her smile was so wide last night in Brooklyn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY (voice-over): Hillary Clinton's history making moment.

CLINTON: The first time in our nation's history that a woman will be a major party's nominee.

ZELENY: Savoring a triumph in her long Democratic primary fight exactly eight years after extinguishing her first trailblazing campaign.

CLINTON: Tonight victory is not about one person. It belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed, and made this moment possible.

ZELENY: Extending her hand to Bernie Sanders after finishing strong in the final round of primaries, wins in New Jersey and California.

CLINTON: And let there be no mistake. Senator Sanders, his campaign, and the vigorous debate that we've had have been very good for the Democratic Party and for America.

ZELENY: Sanders winning in two states and vowing to fight on. But his argument is fading fast.

SANDERS: I know that the fight in front of us is a very, very steep fight. But we will continue to fight for every vote and delegate we can get.

ZELENY: This as Sanders campaign tells CNN they plan to cut half their staff.

SANDERS: The struggle continues.

ZELENY: After a bitter primary duel, early signs of peacemaking. CNN has learned campaign manager for Sanders and Clinton, Jeff Weaver and Robby Mook, are talking behind the scenes.

The beginning of the end could be near with Sanders heading to the White House tomorrow to meet with President Obama in hopes of bringing the party together, which Clinton says she knows can be difficult.

CLINTON: Now I know it never feels good to put your heart into a cause or a candidate you believe in and to come up short. I know that feeling well.

(LAUGHTER)

CLINTON: As we look ahead to the battle that awaits, let's remember all that unites us.

ZELENY: The biggest point of unity for Democrats may well be defeating Donald Trump.

CLINTON: We believe that we are stronger together and the stakes in this election are high, and the choice is clear. Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president and commander-in-chief.

ZELENY: She is making a full pivot to Trump, inviting voters who are skeptical of him to rally behind her.

CLINTON: We won't let this happen in America. And if you agree, whether you're a Democrat, Republican or independent, I hope you will join us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:05:08] ZELENY: Now Hillary Clinton made a late-night phone call to Bernie Sanders, congratulating him for his successful campaign, winning 22 states, and building this movement here. I'm told it was cordial by both sides, but she wants to give him some space here, Carol, in the final sort of waning hours or days perhaps of this campaign. It's important to remember, we talked a lot about that speech eight years ago she gave, about cracking the glass ceiling, that wasn't on the last primary night. It wasn't a concession speech. It was four days later.

She thought about it, she listened to her supporters, so she believes that's what's going on here now. And boy, that White House meeting tomorrow is so important with the president.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: It will be interesting, right, Jeff Zeleny. Many thanks to you.

Donald Trump offering an olive branch to the Republican Party last night. Remarkably cooler candidate, reading off a teleprompter, his speech meant to reassure Republicans he understands the weight of the office he is running for and remind Hillary Clinton to prepare for war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle. And I will never, ever let you down. Too much work. Too many people. Blood, sweat and tears. Never going to let you down.

I will make you proud of your party and our movement, and that's what it is, is a movement. To everyone who voted for me throughout this campaign, I want to thank you. I want to thank you very much. To those who voted for someone else in either party, I will work hard to earn your support.

Hillary Clinton turned the State Department into a private hedge fund. The Russians, the Saudis, the Chinese, all gave money to Bill and Hillary, and got favorable treatment in return. It's a sad day in America, when foreign governments with deep pockets have more influence in our own country than our great citizens. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Trump offered no evidence to back up those claims last night, but voters are likely to hear more on that topic next Monday when Trump says he will deliver a major speech attacking Hillary Clinton.

So let's talk about all of this. Jennifer Granholm is a Clinton supporter and a former Michigan governor. Douglas Brinkley is a CNN presidential historian. John Avlon is editor-in-chief of the "Daily Beast," and John Phillips is a Trump supporter and talk radio host.

Welcome to all of you.

OK, so Douglas -- Douglas, let's start with this. Hillary Clinton with all of her baggage makes history. Put that into context for us.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, as we've been saying over and over again, it's a milestone in history. I mean, people that fought for women, the right to vote in 1920, you know, we have to remember them, we have to remember people like Eleanor Roosevelt. Rosa Parks used to fight hard for the women's right to leadership positions in the Civil Rights Movement. You think of people like Sandra Day O'Connor and Margaret Thatcher, now Hillary Clinton.

This is a big deal no matter what happens from here. Hillary Clinton has cemented a place for herself in the annals of American history and I thought her note to all the young girls out there, you can be president, too, was pitch perfect way to end what was a huge night for her. Absolutely destroying Bernie Sanders in California and New Jersey by very large margins.

COSTELLO: And, Douglas, just one more note on this history-making -- you know, that Hillary Clinton made history. She comes -- she does come with a lot of baggage. People don't trust her. You could see by the polls, she is a distrusted candidate. So how does that go down in history?

BRINKLEY: Well, she is going to have to improve on that. Right? Particularly, I think with young people that don't trust her, and that's who -- she definitely has a dance to do to get Bernie Sanders on her side. You don't want tense situation like her for the Democrats in 1980 when Ted Kennedy and Jimmy Carter went at it and then at the convention Ted Kennedy wouldn't really shake Jimmy Carter's hand.

They've got to form a unity front right now that will help her approval ratings tremendously to get the Bernie Sanders' bump. But I think Barack Obama is going to try to orchestrate this -- that this week. Bernie Sanders may stay in there until the District of Columbia primary, but by early next week, he's got to get out. And I think he'll do it probably in the right way, but we'll have to see.

COSTELLO: OK. We'll talk about that in a little bit.

Jennifer, there is an irony here because young women don't see this as a big deal at all. What would you say to them?

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, CLINTON SUPPORTER: Oh, my gosh. I mean, talk to your moms. Talk to those who -- your grandmothers. I mean, I just personally, my mom was somebody who was told when she was growing up, don't go to college, it won't matter. 50 years ago, women weren't even allowed to take out their own credit cards without their husband signing on. We weren't allowed to rent an apartment without our husbands signing on.

The incredible steps that have been made to arrive at this very moment, thanks to the women and the men, by the way, who have fought for equality is incredible.

[09:10:05] And I know those millennial women they care so deeply, they're feminists, many of them -- most of them, they care deeply about equality. This barrier is a huge barrier to have broken through. And it means -- it means so much, not just intellectually, but for those of us who have been through the battles, emotionally. Last night was a night for all of us to remember.

COSTELLO: John, can you think of another woman who could have clinched the Democratic nomination besides Hillary Clinton?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: At the moment? At the moment, no. I mean, certainly, Elizabeth Warren has a constituency, but Hillary Clinton really froze out the Democratic field for a long time now because of the -- the roots of that epic 2008 primary battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and then her service as secretary of state. She has been seen as the presumptive nominee. Now it's official.

But I think because it's been expected for so long, to some extent it really took until today for the historic import to really be apparent. And the fact that so many millennial women, as you asked, actually supported Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton I think is fascinating because it shows -- it's a moment of celebration for America, it's a moment of triumph for the feminist movement but it's necessarily about the primacy of identity politics.

Those millennial women who believe there was going to be a female president, whether her name was Hillary Clinton or not, but now we've achieved this moment and it's something the folks to savor no matter what side of the political aisle they're on for a moment.

COSTELLO: John Phillips, do you believe that it matters that Hillary Clinton made history?

JOHN PHILLIPS, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Yes, look, I mean, she won the Democratic nomination. And I think we should all congratulate her on that. It was a hard fought battle with Bernie Sanders. What's interesting to me is what happened yesterday in California where the much respected field poll had Hillary Clinton up by two points, and then she ends up winning by 13. That's an 11-point swing that happened. And it's what you saw is Bernie support just fell off the cliff yesterday when the AP called the race for Hillary Clinton. Those votes, particularly the independent votes that were going to go

for Bernie, never materialized. That's going to be the challenge for Hillary as she moves towards the general election. How does she get these independent voters that were mesmerized by Bernie to turn out for her in the general.

COSTELLO: And, Jennifer, Mr. Trump has already reached out to those independent voters. He says hey, I'm here, vote for me. The system was rigged. You heard Bernie Sanders say it, I'm here, I beat the system.

GRANHOLM: Good luck. That's all I can say to him. I mean, he gives a speech last night where his teleprompter performance was in the tank. It was a terribly delivered speech. I don't know how they're going to be able to keep him on message if he's got to deliver from teleprompters, which will keep him on message, but it will lose everything else. He lost -- he was so low energy.

Those independent voters, who cared very deeply about Bernie Sanders' message, will very much be interested in Hillary Clinton's policies, which will, by the way, be so close to Bernie's, I think that you'll see coming out this platform, addressing issues climate change, like income inequality, like raising the minimum wage. All of the things that people attach to Bernie will come out on the Democratic platform.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: John Avlon, do you agree with that?

GRANHOLM: And for Donald Trump, I don't know what happens with him.

(LAUGHTER)

AVLON: Yes. Look --

COSTELLO: Do you believe that, John Avlon.

AVLON: Look, Donald Trump did what he had to do last night. But the fact he has to be put in a rhetorical straitjacket not to sound crazy indicates a real problem for the Republican Party. Obviously he's going to reach out to independents because that's been the core of his support in the Republican primaries. But it's a big mistake to assume that Bernie Sanders' independent supporters are naturally going to flow to Donald Trump. That's wishing and hoping. It's not rooted really in policy.

There are similar grievances against a rigged system, against special interests. But Donald Trump is kryptonite certainly to millennial independents who make up almost -- over 40 percent of that cohort because of his positions on race, his serial missteps and just seemingly difficulty with the fundamental diversity of America. So he's going to have to go after those independents, but it's going to be a much tougher sell to try and say Bernie is out, I'm still here, look at me. There are very little connective tissue between the two, let's be real.

GRANHOLM: Exactly right.

COSTELLO: So John Phillips --

GRANHOLM: Exactly right.

COSTELLO: John Phillips, I just want to get -- I want to get your take because you're Trump supporter. So Donald Trump did read off a teleprompter. He wanted to stay on message because some Republicans are un-endorsing him like Senator Kirk, for example. So do you think this is a sign of things to come for Mr. Trump when he delivers his big speech on Monday? Will he again use a teleprompter?

PHILLIPS: Well, mark this day in history. Yesterday was the first day a woman won a major party nomination for president. Today is the first day Donald Trump has ever been called low energy on CNN. So I think the Guinness people should make note of all of this.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Look, the people that Donald Trump has to get back into the tent are Ted Cruz supporters. Hillary has to get the independents who voted for Bernie.

[09:15:02] Donald Trump has to get the Republicans back in. And there's no better way than to go after a common enemy, and that common enemy right now is Hillary Clinton. So that's what I expect him to do.

COSTELLO: OK, so that --

JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), FORMER MICHIGAN GOVERNOR: Those guys -- those guys, those Republicans, if they follow a racist, and that's how Donald Trump has been labeled now, and that's exactly what he has been spewing, woe to the Republican Party. He will never attract the independents that have been following Bernie Sanders.

PHILLIPS: Well, he has been labeled as low energy. It doesn't mean it's true.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: So, Douglas, my final question to you, it's how do you think that this election will go down in history?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Tumultuous, a blood bath. It will get worst.

But I think we've seen that the big moment for Hillary Clinton was her foreign policy speech when she last week just so astutely attacked Trump, and it came on the heels of his big Mexican, you know, blunder, and that combo I think is starting to put some wind in Hillary Clinton's sails. She's suddenly seemingly to be very popular. You're going to see her numbers go up quite a bit.

It's going to be a fascinating time for us to participate or watch on CNN, Cleveland and Philadelphia, because they're going to be classic political circuses coming in a few weeks.

COSTELLO: I think that is true. I have to leave it there.

Jennifer Granholm, Douglas Brinkley, John Avlon, John Phillips, thanks to all of you.

And tonight at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, Hillary Clinton will be interviewed right here on CNN.

Still to come in THE NEWSROOM, he has had a front row seat for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns. How will he take her from nominee to the White House?

Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, joins me next.

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[09:20:54] COSTELLO: With Hillary Clinton's history making win, an epic battle with Donald Trump is now set. "Politico" calling the matchup, quote, "nasty and long, a five among slog of personal effects that has already begun."

Joining me now is Robby Mook, campaign manager for Hillary for America.

Welcome. You must be exhausted.

ROBBY MOOK, CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR HILLARY FOR AMERICA: It's good to be here. Thanks.

COSTELLO: So, you worked with Hillary Clinton in 2008 when she lost. Last night, she clinched. So, she's walking out on to the stage, I'm sure you're close by. How did it feel?

MOOK: It felt terrific. It was great to be there in person, to witness history happening. I felt grateful to all of the volunteers and activists who made it possible. Everyone went to HillaryClinton.com and helped to build this campaign. So, we're really proud and happy.

COSTELLO: Did you guys expect to win California by that large a margin?

MOOK: Well, we weren't sure what to happen. It's -- these California primaries, there aren't a lot of historic precedence.

What we did see is our supporters turned out in big numbers. We were concerned as you know when the "A.P." called the primary contest that people wouldn't show up, but it was incredible. Our volunteers kept working. Our voters showed up, and were incredibly happy with the outcome.

COSTELLO: So Bernie Sanders has vowed to fight on, right, even though Clinton won more states, received millions more votes than him. She trounced him in super delegates. Why isn't he bowing out? MOOK: Well, I think we need to give Senator Sanders sometime. He

wanted to campaign through the end of the California contest, which he is completely entitled to do. I think you heard him last night congratulate Secretary Clinton on her win in California.

And we'll look forward to having a dialogue with them. I am completely confident that both candidates will come together, unify in common purpose to make sure that Secretary Clinton wins this election in November.

COSTELLO: You've talked to the Sanders campaign, right?

MOOK: We've been talking all the way through the campaign, I have tremendous respect.

COSTELLO: Did you talk to them last night?

MOOK: We've been talking, you know, throughout we talked yesterday, absolutely.

COSTELLO: So, what are the conversations like?

MOOK: Well, first of all, we have tremendous respect for what Senator Sanders has achieved. He has brought millions of people out to vote. They've registered thousands of new voters. They obviously have a tremendous organization online.

It's really important that those people see a place for themselves in this general election campaign. They are so essential to building that team that's going to take us over the finish line. So --

COSTELLO: So, with that in mind, what do you say to the Sanders campaign? Do you say do you want to talk to Hillary Clinton? What do you say to say to Bernie Sanders, you know, it's time?

MOOK: Well, that's for Senator Sanders to decide. It's important --

COSTELLO: I'm sure you are trying to push it, right?

MOOK: No, look, we all worked incredibly hard in California yesterday. People need to get some sleep. You know, wake up and then think about the road ahead. And we're going to have those conversations, and I'm totally confident that we're going to come together.

COSTELLO: So, will Mrs. Clinton and Bernie Sanders at some point meet face to face in the near future?

MOOK: We'll see how that goes. They were on the different sides of the country last night. So, everybody needs to travel and we'll figure it all out.

COSTELLO: Will they talk on the phone soon?

MOOK: You know, they've been speaking throughout this campaign. You know, they spoke last night and I'm sure they'll continue to -- COSTELLO: They spoke on the phone to one another last night?

MOOK: They spoke and they'll continue to speak.

COSTELLO: What did they say? Because you know I want to know.

MOOK: Well, I'll leave that to them. They get to talk about that.

COSTELLO: President Obama is itching to campaign. When do you think he'll officially endorse Hillary Clinton?

MOOK: Again, we have to leave that to the president. I'm sure he is itching to get out though and talk about what a threat Donald Trump is to all the progress that we've made over the last eight years. He has already been very clear about the tremendous threat in particular that Donald Trump would pose to our economy. We saw him go to Elkhart, Indiana, talk about how unemployment has gone down, and how Donald Trump's erratic temperament could be a real danger to our economy and a threat to jobs.

[09:25:00] COSTELLO: I'm sure you're excited for him to start talking that day publicly and then supporting Hillary Clinton. Will Michelle Obama also join in on the campaign trail?

MOOK: We'll have to see. That would be fantastic. She's obviously someone that people look up to her a lot.

COSTELLO: Might she be more valuable than her husband?

MOOK: Well, they're all valuable. This is an all hands on deck operation.

COSTELLO: OK. You know Donald Trump is expected to layout his case against Mrs. Clinton on Monday. He sort of gave us a preview of that last night. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The Clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves. They've made hundreds of millions of dollars selling access, selling favors, selling government contracts, and I mean hundreds of millions of dollars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So how will Mrs. Clinton respond to that? Will she do it in real time by tweeting?

MOOK: Well, the most effective thing to do with Donald Trump is just to get his words out there and let them speak for themselves. We saw her do this in her national security speech the other day -- the erratic behavior, the insults, the bullying. I'm sure that's what we're going to see in this upcoming speech.

You know, we're lighted to talk about rd. This is someone who has been fighting for decades for kids and family. She took on the health insurance industry, trying to get health care for all Americans.

COSTELLO: Well, I think what he was specifically referring to was the Clinton Global Initiative and the donations that come in from Saudi Arabia, which aren't exactly supportive of women's rights.

MOOK: Look, the Clinton Foundation has saved lives and changed lives throughout our world. And the Clintons could not be more proud of what that foundation has accomplished. What Donald Trump is trying to do is bully and intimidate.

We're seeing his erratic temperament at play here. This is why he is such a danger to our country. Not just to our economy, but to our security and to our values, and Secretary Clinton talked about this last night.

Parents are afraid to have their children watch him on television. They don't know what he's going to say, who he's going to insult, the words he's going to use. This is not someone who should be serving as our commander in chief or being in control of the nuclear codes. And I'm sure we'll see that on display again next week.

COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton says she is excited to debate Donald Trump. She said something like it will be a debate for the ages.

MOOK: Well, as she said last night, there are a lot of really important policy differences in this campaign, but this is not a typical Democratic versus Republican campaign. This is a fight for who we are as a country. Are we going to lift each other up or are we going to build walls?

Are we going to move forward or are we going to go back? Are we going to insult each other, divide each other? Are we going to govern through bullying, or bring people together to get real things done?

So, you're going to see a really big difference and a big choice in those debates, and we're eager to have that debate.

COSTELLO: Robby Mook, thanks for stopping by.

MOOK: Thanks so much.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: fighting for the future of the Republican Party, one senator takes back his Trump endorsement, over Trump's judge attacks. Is it just a one up, or a sign of things to come?

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