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John Kasich Suspending Campaign, Leaving Trump Unrestricted Path; Navy SEAL Killed in Fight with ISIS in Iraq; Wolf Blitzer Interviews Donald Trump; Will Kasich Endorse Trump; Bernie Sanders Vows to Stay in Race. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 4, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:32:40] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome back. We follow breaking news. Ohio Governor John Kasich expected to announce later today he's suspending his campaign, leaving Donald Trump with an unrestricted path to the Republican nomination for president. As his last competitor falls, there is one thing we're learning, it's that not even $75 million is enough to keep Donald Trump out of the White House because $75 million is exactly how much the anti-Trump movement has spent trying unsuccessfully to stop him.

Joining me now, Alex Castellanos, the former advisor to the Romney campaign; and Trump surrogate, Scottie Nell Hughes, the political editor of RightsAlert.com.

Alex, if I could start with you, Republican leaders, some of them are starting to support Donald Trump, some of them hesitantly. We heard Bobby Jindal, he's one of the first to speak out against Trump, calling him a dangerous man and ego maniac, but here's what he said on CNN a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY JINDAL, (R), LOUISIANA GOVERNOR: If it comes down to a binary choice between Donald Trump and he is the nominee, I'll support my party's nominee. I'm not happy about it. I don't think he's the best qualified or the most likely to be successful but I would vote for him over Hillary Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: So, Alex, you tried to start an anti-Trump movement early in this race. Will you also unhappily vote for Donald Trump like Governor Jindal or will you follow Republicans who say they'll go against the party and might vote for Hillary Clinton?

ALEX CASTELLANOS, FOUNDER, NEWREPUBLICAN.ORG & FORMER ADVISOR, MITT ROMNEY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: I might even get happier and support Donald Trump. No, I think Governor Jindal was right on the money. There's a reason there is a Donald Trump. And that's because Americans are looking for an alternative to the way the country is going now. You haven't had a raise really or a bigger paycheck in 30 years. The world seems to be catching on fire. Anymore. And the alternative is what, Hillary Clinton, more of the same from Washington, insider and establishment candidate? When nothing is working, the most dangerous thing you can do is more of the same. That's the choice I think is going to unite a lot of Republicans to say, look, forget Never Trump. This is about never Hillary.

SCIUTTO: Scottie, must be good news to you but I want to show you what we found in a new CNN/ORC poll. More than half of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, 57 percent, 39 percent there favorable. Particularly with polling like this so close to the general election, people who are so well known publicly, those numbers tend to stick, and I wonder what you say from the Trump side, what you're going to do about the unfavorables. Will you get them down? Can you get them down before the general?

[13:35:24] SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, DONALD TRUMP SURROGATE & POLITICAL EDITOR, RIGHTSALERT.COM: First off, bravo to Alex. That was an absolutely perfect response. That's a great response. He might not be happy, 100 percent, but I say thank you because that's the type of leadership, that's the type of maturity we need to be seeing within the Republican Party as we unify against Hillary and I think that's a charge right now for the Never Trump group.

(CROSSTALK)

CASTELLANOS: I'm insulted, Jim. I've never been accused of maturity before. This would be a first.

(LAUGHTER)

HUGHES: Oh, but I think it's great. I think now it needs to turn to Never Hillary. When you're looking at actually, Jim, while Mr. Trump does have highs, Hillary Clinton is right below him and her unfavorables are within demographics that should be popular for her. Look at her amongst Democrats. Her vote right now, she's 58 percent unfavorable amongst women of the Democratic Party. It's the party for women and she's over half --

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: And to be fair, Donald Trump's negatives among women are much higher.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: But he's a Republican, who traditionally had a problem with women. Democrats should not have that issue. They're higher with a female presidential candidate. That number should be extremely low, and yet it's that high. And then you look at last night, and pardon your guests prior to this, Bernie Sanders, 70 percent of Independents went for Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton is going to have a hard time going after that. Those are Millennials. Mr. Trump, amongst the demographics on the GOP side, slightly or by a large amount has won. Those Independents right there are those who might look at Mr. Trump. Three out of every 10 people who supported Mr. Sanders said they'll not support Hillary Clinton. That's 30 percent right there that might be able to come over to the GOP. SCIUTTO: Alex, we have new reporting here that among the V.P.

candidates Trump looks at here, Rob Portman, Nikki Haley, who had the response to the State of the Union critical of Trump's message. In those names do you hear a potential for Trump and which do you think would be the best?

CASTELLANOS: Mr. Trump said he said he needs someone who's not a businessman. He's got that base covered but needs to get things done. Either of the two names would be fantastic. They are both optimistic Republican candidates who can help Donald Trump get things done in Washington. Another name that I hear quite a bit is Newt Gingrich, again, somebody who knows how Capitol Hill works, somebody who I think who has a good relationship with Donald Trump. I wouldn't be surprised to see that name on the list as well.

HUGHES: Can I put two more names for you real quick?

SCIUTTO: Please go ahead, Scottie.

HUGHES: Newt is a phenomenal choice. I think he's an excellent choice. He was in office. I think also looking at Marco Rubio, and I might have just got my Trump card pulled on me there, but I think Senator Rubio would have a lot to offer, especially the future of the GOP but did a phenomenal interview here with Erin Burnett. And in that, he could bring some, and not just because I'm a Tennessee girl, but one of the foreign policies with respect to Washington, D.C., amongst the colleagues but also a businessman, and therefore respects the decisions of Mr. Trump. Loyalty and trust are the most important and mainly, the last three really bring that to him.

SCIUTTO: That's where we are in the campaign and talking about a contested convention and talking about names for Trump, Trump's V.P. position.

Scottie Nell Hughes, she's a Trump supporter, Alex Castellanos, was with the Romney campaign, thanks very much.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Coming up today, we learn new details about the American Navy SEAL who was killed by ISIS in Iraq. We will have that and take you live to Baghdad for an update.

Plus, a CNN exclusive interview with the defense secretary about our growing troop presence in the Middle East. That's right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:42:55] SCIUTTO: Welcome back. We follow breaking news. Ohio Governor John Kasich following Ted Cruz's lead. Sources say he will be suspending his presidential campaign. He's expected to make that announcement tonight at 5:00 eastern time from his home state of Ohio in Columbus. We will bring you that live.

Also, Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, will be interviewed live by Anderson Cooper. That interview at 2:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

Well, let's turn from politics to the war on terror. Flags flying at half staff today in Arizona, the home state of Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV. The 31-year-old was killed during a firefight with ISIS forces who broke through Iraqi defenses in northern Iraq. CNN has now detained this video from the area of that attack. Officer First Class Charles Keating was in that white SUV.

Our Christiane Amanpour had the chance to speak with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter about this mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ASH CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: This is a risky campaign. There is risk here. Americans are at risk but it's necessary. We need to, we will defeat ISIL, but there's going to be risk associated with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Joining me now is Colonel Steve Warren, live from Baghdad, spokesman for the anti-ISIS coalition in Iraq.

Colonel Warren, I have to ask you here, the ISIS fighters broke through Kurdish defenses, two to three miles in effect. What are you learning about how this happened?

COL. STEVE WARREN, SPOKESMAN, ANTI-ISIS COALITION: Jim, what we call this in military terms is a penetration. So they concentrated some power at one spot along the Kurdish front line of troops and managed to punch through and then sprinted to their objective, which was a small village. This enemy did not know there were Americans there at the time. This was their objective and it was only by chance that the advisors and assisters were there providing advice and assistance to the Peshmerga. They pushed through the line, a firefight ensued and, tragically, one American was killed.

SCIUTTO: Steve, I have to ask you, the administration military officials constantly talked about how this is an advise-and-assist mission, that those U.S. forces will not be at the front lines, but the fact is those lines, as you say, they can be penetrated. We've had soldiers killed under other circumstances. Isn't it the time that the U.S. acknowledges that U.S. forces are in a combat situation in Iraq?

[13:45:32] WARREN: Well, certainly, there was combat yesterday. And certainly, every pilot who drops a bomb is executing his combat mission. Every artillery man who fires an artillery shell to impact the enemy is conducting his combat mission. I think everyone is trying to point out is what this mission is not. And what this is not is a major offensive. We don't see thousands of American infantry men supported by columns of American tanks smashing through towns and cities across Iraq in an effort to seize the country. That's what this is not. What this is, is American power supporting the Iraqis as they try to beat ISIS.

SCIUTTO: No question. And certainly a difference in terms of size, but the U.S. forces are in danger. And in light of the role we saw there, so you have a small unit of U.S. forces, in this case, SEALs visiting Kurdish forces, relatively close to the front lines, but not on the front lines. Can you tell us how many of the 4,000 U.S. troops deployed to Iraq get that close?

WARREN: To the front lines, it's a small number, 150 in there, who are actually advising friendly forces. The rest of the personnel that are here are conducting the training missions. They're in support roles. They're in staff roles, matters like that.

SCIUTTO: Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for the anti-ISIS coalition. Thank you for joining us live from Iraq.

WARREN: Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Officer First Class Charles Keating is the third American servicemember killed in Iraq since U.S. forces were redeployed there to help anti-ISIS efforts in 2014. Army Staff Sergeant Joshua Wheeler killed during a rescue mission in northern Iraq last October. And just this past March, Marine Staff Sergeant Louis Cardin was killed in a rocket attack on base also in northern Iraq.

Now back to our breaking news on John Kasich jumping out of the presidential race. We just have learned new details about whether he'll endorse Donald Trump. We'll give you that news right after this.

Plus, Donald Trump sitting down with our own Wolf Blitzer with his first on-camera interview since becoming the presumptive nominee since becoming the Republican Party. We'll bring that to you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:06] SCIUTTO: We want to update you now on breaking news. Ohio Governor John Kasich expected to leave the Republican presidential race, giving Donald Trump a clear uncontested path to the nomination.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer sat down with Trump just a moment ago. Here's how he reacted to that news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: As we're speaking, I know you're very happy that Ted Cruz has dropped out. CNN has confirmed John Kasich, the Ohio governor, he's dropping out as well. You're the only one left right now.

TRUMP: That's good. That's good. You're just telling me for the first time about John and that's good. I think John is doing the right thing.

BLITZER: Ohio, you know, is an important state. No Republican has ever been elected president of the United States without winning Ohio.

TRUMP: Well, I think John will be very -- I've had a good relationship with John.

BLITZER: He's got a lot of government experience in the Congress and as a governor.

TRUMP: I think John will be very helpful with Ohio, even as governor.

BLITZER: He says he doesn't want to be a vice president.

TRUMP: Well, that could be. He's said that.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Would he be someone you're interested in vetting?

TRUMP: I would be interested in vetting John. I like John. I had a good relationship with John and gotten along with him well, but whether he's vice president or not, I think he'll be very, very helpful with Ohio.

BLITZER: Do you think the general election campaign has already started, you versus Hillary Clinton, that for all practical purposes, Bernie Sanders is out?

TRUMP: Well, I think what has happened, there's been a little flip, and I'm even surprised by it. I thought that I'd be going longer and she'd be going shorter. She can't put it away. Like a football team that can't put the ball over the line. I put it away. She can't put it away. So I thought I'd be out there and she would be campaigning against me. Yeah, I'll be campaigning against her while she's campaigning.

BLITZER: The general election campaign from your perspective starts today.

TRUMP: Essentially, it started, I mean yeah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Joining me now is CNN chief political correspondent, Dana Bash.

Dana, Kasich is out. Is he going to endorse Donald Trump?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: My source, who I just got off the phone with, close to John Kasich, says not immediately. He's going to have an announcement, as you were talking about earlier in the Ohio. We understand he is obviously not going to continue to run, but he's not going to today immediately in the same breath say that he's going to support the only candidate left in the race now, which is Donald Trump.

SCIUTTO: You heard Donald Trump say there that he'd be interested in vetting Kasich as a vice presidential nominee. Is that something John Kasich, you could see him accepting?

BASH: He has said really explicitly he does not want to be vice president. He has said he would be a terrible vice president, that he's got a good job. He's the sitting governor of Ohio, and that was based on anybody being the top of the ticket, not just Donald Trump. So he's really ruled that out. We've seen in history other people rule out the idea of being a running mate and then they have changed their mind. But I think the fact that you heard Donald Trump say that he believes that, regardless, Kasich would be helpful in Ohio, that was an important notion because Ohio is incredibly important, historically, but it really will be for Donald Trump, and so he does need Kasich to be on board in some way, shape or form

SCIUTTO: The Never Trump movement obviously taking a hit with the two potential contenders or competitors at the convention, they are now out. You do have some people digging in their heels.

BASH: Yeah.

SCIUTTO: But you also have some people already changing, and one of them being Bobby Jindal. Do you see the Never Trump movement surviving through the convention?

BASH: Not as a movement, a cohesive movement, as we've seen, I don't think so. It's possible that sort of a smaller satellite version of it will exist, but I have been talking to Republicans all day who are split. Some saying we've got to support the Republican because we just don't want Hillary Clinton or the Democrat in the White House, but others just as adamantly, really senior Republicans, Jim, who are lifelong, diehard conservatives, saying I'm just going to write somebody in. I will not vote for Donald Trump. Do you think you're going to change their mind, there's no way, I've asked, and the answer is absolutely not. So those people are going to say and have been saying they'll focus on the down-ballot races in the Senate and House, and, you know, Donald Trump is going to have a harder time bringing them around. I would -- I would never say never, but I've never seen this kind of split before.

SCIUTTO: Six months still to change his mind.

BASH: That's right.

SCIUTTO: Dana Bash, thanks very much.

BASH: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: You can watch Wolf's entire interview with Donald Trump today on "The Situation Room," beginning at 5:00 eastern time, right here on CNN.

Bernie Sanders is celebrating his win, a surprise win in the Indiana primary, but it barely puts a dent in Hillary Clinton's delegate lead. Clinton picks up 39 delegates, even though she lost in Indiana, and Sanders gets just five more, 44 delegates. To win the nomination Clinton needs just 18 percent of the remaining delegates. Sanders would have to win 101 percent. Of course, not possible.

Jeff Weaver is with the Bernie Sanders campaign and is the manager, and joins me now from Burlington, Vermont. So even Senator Sanders admits he faces an uphill climb, but he's

staying in the race. Why is he staying in the race?

[13:55:12] JEFF WEAVER, CAMPAIGN MANAGER, BERNIE SANDERS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Well, because the math that you just laid out in your intro is just not correct. That includes what are called super delegates, who don't vote until we get to the convention. If you look at pledged delegates, the delegates that are allocated based on the primaries and caucuses, neither candidate will arrive at the convention with the number of pledged delegates you need to secure the nomination. That means whoever is nominated will be nominated at the convention with the assistance of super delegates, who are unbound and not voting until we get to the convention. I know CNN puts this number up there, but it's just not an accurate reflection of where the race is, frankly.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this.

WEAVER: And the race is --

(CROSSTALK)

WEAVER: Go ahead, sure.

SCIUTTO: Are you saying that Sanders is in this to the convention? He's going to take the campaign all the way to the convention?

WEAVER: He has said that repeatedly, and I'm just articulating what he's said many times himself.

SCIUTTO: But let me ask you this. On super delegates, of course, they can switch. How many super delegates have switched from Clinton to Sanders in the last month?

WEAVER: Well, let's -- look, it's not about the last month. Let's play this out. Let's --

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: How many in all?

WEAVER: Disenfranchised voters all across the country, including in California.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: He's had a string of wins and he should have gotten more support from the super delegates.

WEAVER: He's had a string of wins coming up, and at the end of this, when the super delegates take a look at which candidate can best beat Donald Trump, and that is clearly Bernie Sanders. The polling is consistent and unwavering over a couple of months now. Bernie Sanders beats Donald Trump by a larger margin than does Secretary Clinton. He's a much better matchup against Donald Trump, in large part because of his strong support among Independent voters who Democrats will have to bring into coalition in order to win the White House and ballot -- and the candidates up and down the ballot.

SCIUTTO: Donald Trump, of course, the presumptive nominee. Has no competition now as we get closer to the convention. Are you concerned that an extended fight within the Democratic Party is going to hurt Democrats' chances of beating Trump in the general?

WEAVER: Well, that's an old myth I think which was exploded in 2008, ironically enough, by Secretary Clinton herself when she went all the way to the end of the process. Then-Senator Barack Obama became the nominee and did quite well in the fall, so that is an old myth in politics. The truth of the matter is, unlike the Republican process we've seen, the Democratic party process has been one that's largely been focused around issues, issues like raising minimum wage, universal health care, dealing with income and wealth inequality in this country, and that -- having that debate ongoing is very, very healthy, in fact, for the Democratic party. And you saw exit polls in Indiana where, 3-1, Democrats in exit polls said they thought this contest was in fact energizing the Democratic party rather than dividing it.

SCIUTTO: Has Sanders influenced the kind of campaign that Hillary Clinton is running in your view?

WEAVER: Well, certainly, the issue positions that the secretary has staked out have moved over time. They have gotten much closer to Senator Sanders. You know, she has consistently supported the bad trade deals, she called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the TPP, the gold standard of trade deals, and then got in the race and said, well, now I'm against it, you know. She moved on the Keystone Pipeline, which she had not spoken out about. He was out against it on day one and she ultimately came out against it. You know, she was for a $12 minimum wage and he's been for 15 and now she's trying to move towards 15 herself. So on issue after issue there's been a lot of movement on the part of the secretary. And it's important that Democrats make sure that if she's the nominee, that she stays with those positions and doesn't try to move back to the center.

SCIUTTO: There owes an odd commonality between some Sanders supporters and some Trump supporters, frustration with Washington, et cetera. Are you concerned that Donald Trump could attract some Sanders away from a Democratic nominee who see themselves as outsiders, who feel that the system just isn't working?

WEAVER: Well, I mean, I've been all around the country with the Senator. Clearly, a lot of frustration out in the world about Washington, about a rigged economy, about a corrupt campaign finance system, so that -- that exists, but let's be clear, the difference on the substance of policy between the Democratic candidates, whether it's Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders, and Donald Trump are quite stark frankly. He doesn't want to raise the minimum wage. He thinks wages are too high in this country. You know, he's adopted a lot of far right positions in order to secure this nomination. So I'm pretty confident that the Democratic nominee, whoever that is -- and obviously we think it's going to be Senator Sanders -- will be in a good position to take on Trump and to keep voters who have supported Senator Sanders throughout this process. But let's be clear, if Secretary Clinton is the nominee, it's really incumbent upon her to reach out to these voters, particularly the millions of young people who have come out, and talk to them about why she is going to address the needs that they feel and the issues that Senator Sanders has raised during the campaign.

SCIUTTO: Jeff Weaver with the Sanders campaign. Thanks very much.

That's it for me. Wolf will be back at 5:00 eastern in "The Situation Room" with that interview with Donald Trump.

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For our North American viewers, Anderson Cooper's live interview with Hillary Clinton is coming up.