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CNN Live Event/Special
Hillary Clinton's Big Win in New York; A Good Night for Donald Trump; Ted Cruz Wins Zero Delegates. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired April 19, 2016 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00] JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ... into Delaware, you have the African-American base that she will have a good night tonight, a very good night next week and that the math becomes pretty impressive.
WOLF BLITZER, THE SITUATION ROOM SHOW HOST: Stand by for a moment, I want to the go over to Jeff Zeleny, he's over State College, Pennsylvania, that's where Bernie Sanders spoke tonight. I guess they're disappointed, what are their expectations now? What are they hoping will be the final result in New York State, Jeff?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: No question, Wolf, they are disappointed. They are looking at the margins to see what they, in fact, will be. They were hoping that this would be a single digit race. They saw the polls going in, but they were hoping it would be much narrower than this.
But no one today, in the last several days was expecting victory, Bernie Sanders as he was talking about this tonight, he was talking about that closed primary. Was talking about all the voting issues in Brooklyn, but the reality is here, they needed more than a moral victory, they needed a mathematical victory, they are not getting that tonight.
So, they are assessing the way forward. The path forward. Senator Sanders right now is flying home to Vermont, he'll be meeting with advisors tomorrow, he'll be campaigning back here in Pennsylvania on Thursday.
But, Wolf, mathematically, this gets so difficult for the Sanders campaign to go forward. Yes, they have money behind them, they have supporters behind them, but the math simply is not behind them. So, this is something that the Democratic Party is going to have, have to wrestle with here.
But if you're wondering if Senator Sanders is going to put in a brain in his attacks. That was not the case tonight. He spoke just about a full hour, going after Hillary Clinton harder than we've heard him in a long time, Wolf. So this is going to be interesting mode for the Democratic Party. It is a party divided, Wolf.
BLITZER: Jeff Zeleny is covering the Sanders campaign. John, we're still over here right now 56 percent, 56 percent of the vote is in. He's up by almost 20 points right no u with 56, huge win for her in New York State. Play out the delegates in New York and the rest of the country. How does it look for Bernie Sanders?
KING: And before we get to the delegate map, these are very important numbers. That's statewide number, if she can keep that percentage up in the congressional district. Because the democratic rules are so generous to the person who comes in second, that Hillary Clinton not only needs to be above 50 percent of these districts, she actually needs to be closer to 60 percent to get, if there's six delegates in a district, if you're close to 60 percent, you get four of the six.
If you're below, if you're around 55 percent, you split the delegates. So, the delegate math could be a little different than the final vote math. But to Jeff Zeleny's point, let's come over now and switch this to the democratic race. And this is where it just starts to get hard.
By our CNN delegate count it's 229 as we come in. So, let's assume that Hillary Clinton comes out. It could be bigger than this if she goes those numbers up. But this gives her a net plus of 25 out of New York tonight. So, she starts to stretch that a little bit more.
Then the question is she believes that she's going to have a very strong night next Tuesday and in this scenario, I only stretch it out a little bit, we give Bernie Sanders Rhode Island.
The Clinton campaign thinks they can win Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, and if that happens, well, if you're out to an area now, remember, 225 or so to start the night, 229, they think they can be out in the 280 area by the end of the night tomorrow.
And then, if you project this out. If you have if a Clinton scenario where Bernie Sanders wins West Virginia, Hillary Clinton thinks she can win out here, Bernie Sanders picks up in the west and she gets out to California, there is a scenario. These are giving the states a 55/45, I just projected the rest of the contest, giving Clinton some and Sanders some.
If she gets the big prize of California. But even at 55/45, here is where you get into the question of the Democratic Party. 238 is the magic number, will she get there with pledged delegates? Unlikely. Unless there is a dramatic change in the math. Unless she starts winning states now, by big margin, 65/35, she'll no question have a lead in pledge delegates.
The math for Sanders to catch up because of the rules is almost impossible. But you do think by the end of the race, she'll be somewhere like this and need the super delegates to put her over the top. And that of course will cause us controversy in the Democratic Party.
But in the moment, as long as she keeps winning she'll keep those super delegates. And if she needs them at the convention she'll have him.
BLITZER: Those are the rules the democrats set up, 15 percent of all the delegates at the convention. Those super delegates. Let's do a key race alert right now. Take a look at this, on the republican side, Donald Trump is the
winner. Almost half of the vote has now been counted, he's at 61.8 percent. The Ohio Governor John Kasich, he's at 24 percent, Ted Cruz, a distant third, only 14.2 percent on the republican side.
On the democratic side, more than half of the vote has now been counted 57 percent, Hillary Clinton has a very impressive 59.4 percent lead over Bernie Sanders. With 40 percent, 40.6 percent. She's ahead right now by more than, almost 200,000 votes for Hillary Clinton right now. Big win for Hillary Clinton in New York. Big win for Donald Trump in New York. Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 SHOW HOST: We are of course waiting to hear from Secretary Clinton. We'll bring you those comments as soon as she starts to make them.
Let's turn to our panel, Michael Smerconish, I mean, huge night for Donald Trump, big night, huge night for Hillary Clinton as well. How do you think the race, the tone of it, the tenor of the focus begins to shift now.
[22:04:58] MICHAEL SMERCONISH, THE SMERCONISH SHOW HOST: So, I'm excited to now look forward to a week from tonight. Because my home State of Pennsylvania, I think is the big prize of those Mid-Atlantic States. And it's a very odd state. And John King made reference to this, Anderson, because 54 of the 71 delegates are uncommitted, regardless of the result.
Refer congressional district, you walk into the ballot booth, you don't know really for whom you're voting because there's no indication as to who the delegate will support. So, I think for a candidate like Donald Trump, he wants to go into Pennsylvania and win convincingly so that he can say to those 54 when it gets closer to the convention, regardless of where their disposition may lie.
I want your state, I want it big. And when you're wondering how does he make up a short fall if there is one, he turns to Pennsylvanians and says, I need you to stick together as a group and put me over the top.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes. And he clearly mastered a message that walks across the board in any number of states. I mean, it's so surprising that he's won Mississippi, New York, and is on track to win all of these states that typically go for moderates.
I mean, all of these blue states like New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, those are the states that insured Mitt Romney would be the nominee and blocked out, you know, insurgent candidates who typically did well in the south. So, the fact that he's been able to really, I think move together this coalition is really astounding in his message tonight. I mean, it was eight minutes, it was short.
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. This is the new...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: I wonder if what she thought of candidate from tonight.
AXELROD: Well, we've been seeing this now, I think just the new team has had an impact, right? He had a short speech usually can't clear his throat in eight minutes. His entire speech is eight minutes long focused on jobs, you know, even his hair, you know, is more -- he has some of that Manafort mousse in his hair. He's really -- they have had a real impact on him because he's showing trying to show that he's not just the outsider, but he can actually be a president.
HENDERSON: Yes.
BLITZER: At this point in the race, I mean, you know, he's done away with all the 16 or so opponents he once had, he's got two left, but it's -- I mean, if he's ever going to start to kind of project the air of being a president, this is the time.
AXELROD: Yes. He has to start doing that. Because this is going to be on the minds of these delegates. And you know, it is a concern for the republicans and all the candidates have the same problem, there's a lot of hostility here. Among republicans for the candidates that are not supporting him. Much less so in the Democratic Party. So, he has got to the start elevating a little bit here.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: But he's also stirred the pot in the kind of a clever way. He's got a fight going on within the Republican National Committee. He's got the chairman fighting with the state party in Florida, for example. And he's also gotten people into thinking that the system is rigged to a degree or unfair to a degree. And you know, I think that that -- that that works in Donald Trump's favor, you know, in the long haul.
AXELROD: Well, as we've said earlier, that is his hedge against not getting to 1,237.
BORGER: Exactly.
AXELROD: He wants to illegitimate any effort to take this nomination away from him.
BORGER: Yes. Right.
HENDERSON: Yes.
BORGER: And tonight, he became the only republican candidate who has the mathematical possibility really of getting to 1,237.
BLITZER: Right.
HENDERSON: And he's involved in this rebranding, right? I mean, tonight he said you vote and you win, that should be the system. And that -- you mentioned that's going to be his message, consistently, going forward into this convention.
BORGER: And can I just say one more thing also about the other republicans and maybe Amanda can comment on this, but you don't see Cruz now saying John Kasich needs to get out of this race. That has stopped.
HENDERSON: Yes.
BORGER: Because he needs Kasich to stay in this race.
COOPER: Because he'll probably want to take every delegate possible.
BORGER: Exactly, away from Trump.
AMANDA CARPENTER, TED CRUZ FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: And so Cruz will probably refer we all one to one race of Donald Trump. I mean, they would be desperate to have a debate. I mean, look what Donald Trump didn't did tonight. He really came out and tried his hardest to try talk about the issues.
He said we have to stop jobs from going overseas. Well, Ted Cruz should take up that conversation and say OK, well, here's the best way to do that. Do we really want to bring manufacturing back to Mexico or do we want to develop new high-tech companies that are just competitive with a lower tax rate. Cruz has a really hard challenge ahead.
BORGER: Yes.
CARPENTER: He has to force the conversation back to issues, I keep thinking, of the three P's, principle, personality, and populism. Donald Trump has got the personality, Ted Cruz has got the principle. They both have to figure out how to play the populism there.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: But I mean, the cornerstone for Ted Cruz doesn't seem to be messaging, it just seems to be math. I mean, the math is not in his favor.
AMANDA: But look at the...
COOPER: Donald Trump can reach 1,237, and if even he doesn't, he can make a strong argument that it can't be taken away from him.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Absolutely. And Ted Cruz is getting desperate, which is why you heard him come out today and say Donald Trump can't even run a lemonade stand, how ironic, calling, saying this of Donald Trump who's built a $10 billion brand.
You know, he's getting desperate, he's getting down into the mud, and he should be worried because look at the polls right now.
COOPER: Yes.
MCENANY: We're at 50 percent reporting and he's almost in single digit. Ted Cruz is in third and almost in single digit.
COOPER: You know, Van, let's shift and talk about Hillary Clinton's win tonight and what this means for Bernie Sanders.
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Who won the democratic side?
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: But as we talk right Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York is warming up the crowd. We are expecting Hillary Clinton, we obviously going to bring you her comments live.
[22:10:06] But, Van, how does the race now shift? What does Bernie Sanders start to do, given the states he's looking in the days ahead?
JONES: This is tough. It's tough. If you have for the political revolution had that miracle in Michigan, and every time there's a big race coming up, there's that hope that somehow the polls will be wrong and they'll be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat and show that there really is a path for Bernie Sanders.
Tonight, that path is even tougher. He's got to make a decision now on tone going forward. He's got half of his people saying, hash tag, tone down for what, she's the establishment and go after her, go after her, you have other people are saying hold on a second.
If you tarnish her so badly that you create a possibility for her to be defeated, you set the political revolution back more than anything else. So you get a real challenge now inside the Bernie Sanders camp. I guarantee you tomorrow night, tomorrow at the big meeting, that's going to be the question.
AXELROD: I mean, one of the questions is, how do you manage your own supporters? If you torqued them up so high and you get -- have such an edge. Can you then turn around and say, but now we have to come together?
JONES: Especially -- let me just say one thing, especially tonight because the heartburn about Brooklyn, about the fact that 120,000 people were voter disenfranchised, that really is -- you look at online, the young people, the Bernie supporters feel like something was stolen from us.
Now, whether or not mathematically that would make a difference, you got these things out there, she has to be able to respond to that, that heartburn and he's got to do a better job of keeping it in line.
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Any time a voter disenfranchise. It's 126,000 is the last reporting we have from CNN. And it makes me want to scream. By the way, the Bernie people, not pretend that those were their voters. Hillary won Brooklyn and she won it solidly.
This is really, really an impressive victory for her. Senator Sanders outspent her 6.6 million to less than 4 million on television. He had this enormous rallies, he did as David points out, torque up so much so that one of his supporters called Hillary a democratic whore.
He walk it back apologized. Bernie assumes he heard about it said that that was out of bounds, I get that, but the tone, the bitterness in New York was really troubling.
And Jeff Zeleny, I missed Bernie's speech, was that Jeff is here covering it, he says that Bernie tonight was attacking even more aggressively than usual.
It is not working for Bernie. This is not working for him. And I went back and looked, and when David Axelrod was scorching Hillary Clinton at the end of the 2008 campaign.
AXELROD: That's so harsh.
COOPER: I like it when Paul says it. It was like...
BEGALA: Gracious.
COOPER: ... kind of crazy smile too.
BEGALA: He, on April 22nd of 2008, when Hillary won the Pennsylvania primary, we read her speech. She did not attack Barack Obama. In fact, at one point she said, we are in many ways all on this journey together. A month later, Wolf Blitzer interviews Hillary. I went look that interview up.
She not only did not attack Obama, she defended him. She defended Barack Obama when John McCain said this horrible thing, he said Hamas wants Obama to win. Hillary jump as, wait, no. That's outrageous, it's terrible, and by the way, he'll be very good on issue, which he has been.
So, that's the tone that Hillary adopted as a loser. When the math was inevitable. And she didn't quit. And I'm not going to say...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: And do you see Bernie Sanders doing something like that?
JONES: Look, this is tough. The political contrast as much as people are not going to want to hear. The political contest is essentially over tonight. The character contest begins. This is a character moment for Bernie Sanders.
That the Sanders the candidate can lose. But Sanders the cause can still win. The political revolution can still win. Reform is still possible, but you've got to be able to begin electing democrats who are going to follow that revolution and it's a very -- you're going to watch now over the next couple of weeks. Key decisions made by Bernie Sanders and a heart level about whether he's going to tone down or not.
COOPER: Do you agree that the political contest is over? Is that what you're phrasing?
SMERCONISH: I think it's been over for a while. I don't think that the math has really changed.
COOPER: On the democratic side. There was a math hope miracle tonight.
SMERCONISH: The math has been -- this has been a topsy-turvy cycle. But the math on the democratic side has been relatively consistent. What I find most interesting is that there has not been a relationship between the crowd size and the donations and the math.
So, it seems like regardless of Bernie wants to do, that crowd is going to won by...
(CROSSTALK)
AXELROD: But let me just say and Paul can speak to this, you know, it's easy for us to say they ought to come together, we ought to find common ground, these are human beings. Their supporters are human beings; they've been going at it now for quite a while.
It's very hard to sort of calm things down, it takes a real conscious effort, and that's what you're talking about, Van. They need to sit down and say, you know what, we better ratchet this back. Well, on both sides.
COOPER: Both sides.
BORGER: But this was the Bernie Sanders at the beginning of the race.
AXELROD: Right.
BORGER: Who used to blame us in the media for trying to get him to criticize Hillary Clinton.
JONES: Let me say one thing about Secretary Clinton, huge win. Huge win.
BORGER: Absolutely.
HENDERSON: Yes, huge win.
JONES: And it puts her in a position and that's why I said before, she's got to find even more -- a way being more magnanimous.
[22:15:05] I think she's saying a lot and she's punched back some. But I think at this point, those young people out there, it is hard to uncurdle milk if you sour these young people on the whole process, you hurt not just the party, not just -- but the country.
This is a first time a lot of these young people have gotten involved in anything. When you say, well, you just want free stuff, as some of her surrogates have done, that's not right. Nobody says the Pentagon just wants free drones.
BORGER: Right.
JONES: Or NASA just wants free space shuttles. Everybody pays taxes; people have a right to say where they want those taxes to go. She's got to get her surrogates to stop insulting those young people and really reach out to them and bring them in. And she... (CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: But, no, but he's calm. I'm sorry.
HENDERSON: Bernie has a responsibility.
BEGALA: Bernie's campaign has really crossed a line.
JONES: And the guy apologized within minutes and Bernie apologized as he was.
BEGALA: He said he was talking about congressional democrats.
JONES: He apologized.
BEGALA: He said he was talking about congressional democrats which he was not, I read the context.
JONES: Listen, you and I both know...
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: They should be ashamed of themselves.
JONES: ... you and I both know you cannot hold every, the candidate for the surrogate. But what I'm going to say...
BEGALA: You are just holding Hillary to kind of you're saying that Bernie supporters want free stuff. I'm just saying fair is fair.
MCENANY: There's been few things, remember the New York Times story that broke about a month ago that one of Obama's fundraisers, high dollar fund raisers there was allegedly an allegation that it was time for Bernie to gracefully exit right before he won eight of the nine contests.
I think you're exactly right. It's up to Hillary Clinton to be magnanimous, because at the end of the day you've got to legitimize the support he has from young people, from middle class voters which Donald Trump might try to peel away in a general election, it's so important.
(CROSSTALK)
AXELROD: You now, it is easy...
BORGER: Aside from Bernie here, I mean, honestly, I think, you know, Bernie Sanders has not run for the presidency before. Hillary Clinton has and lost. And knows what it's like. And it's difficult, but I think Bernie Sanders at some point also needs to give a signal to his supporters.
JONES: Yes.
COOPER: Let's get a quick break in before Secretary Clinton comes out. We obviously going to bring that to you live. We'll take a short break, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Very impressive win for Hillary Clinton tonight. There you see her on the stage with her family. She's getting ready to address a very enthusiastic crowd. The former president there, Chelsea is there, Marc Mezvinsky, Chelsea's husband is there.
They're all on the stage, an enthusiastic, big victory speech coming up for Hillary Clinton. She has done remarkably well in her adopted home State of New York. She's going to be speaking right now, Jake, this is a big moment for the Clintons.
JAKE TAPPER, THE LEAD SHOW HOST: Yes, that's right, Wolf. And right now we're waiting for Secretary Clinton to take the mike.
(CROWD CHEERING)
TAPPER: Thank you, New York. Thank you all so much. Thank you. You know, today, today you proved once again there's no place like home.
(CROWD CHEERING)
You know, in this campaign we've won in every region of the country.
(CROWD CHEERING)
[22:20:08] From the north to the south to the east to the west, but this one's personal.
(CROWD CHEERING)
New Yorkers, you've always, you've always had my back.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And I've always tried to have yours.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Today, together, we did it again, and I am deeply, deeply grateful. I want -- I want to thank everyone who came out and voted, and to all of you across New York who've known me and worked with me for so long.
(CROWD CHEERING)
It is -- it's humbling that you trust me with the awesome responsibilities that await our next president.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And -- and to all the people who supported Senator Sanders, I believe there is much more that unites us than divides us.
(CROWD CHEERING) You know, we started this race not far from here on Roosevelt Island.
(APPLAUSE)
Pledging to build on the progressive tradition that's done so much for America from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama.
(APPLAUSE)
And tonight, little less than a year later, the race for the democratic nomination is in the home stretch and victory is in sight.
(APPLAUSE)
(CROWD CHANTING)
And I want to -- I want to say, I want to say to all of my supporters and all of the voters, you have carried us every step of the way with passion and determination that some critics tried to dismiss.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Because of you, this campaign is the only one, democrat or republican to win more than 10 million votes.
(APPLAUSE)
But I -- I'm going forward because more voices remain to be heard and tomorrow, it's on to Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and beyond.
(CROWD CHEERING)
We need you to keep volunteering; I hope you will join the 1.1 million people who've already contributed at hillaryClinton.com.
(APPLAUSE)
And by the way, most with less than $100, because we have more work to do.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Under the bright lights of New York, we have seen that it's not enough to diagnose problems, you have to explain how you'd actually solve the problems.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
That's what we have to do together. For our kids, for each other, for our country. So, I want you with me to imagine a tomorrow where no barriers hold you back. And all of our people can share in the promise of America.
Imagine a tomorrow where every parent can find a good job and every grandparent can enjoy a secure retirement.
(APPLAUSE)
Where no child grows up in the shadow of discrimination or under the specter of deportation.
(APPLAUSE)
Where hard work is honored, families are supported, and communities are strong. A tomorrow where we trust and respect despite our differences.
(APPLAUSE)
Because we're going to make positive differences in people's lives, that is what this is supposed to be about, actually helping people and each other.
[22:25:07] (APPLAUSE)
Now, we all know...
(CROWD CHANTING)
We all know too many people who are still hurting. I see it everywhere I go. The great recession wiped out jobs, homes, and savings. And a lot of Americans haven't yet recovered. But I still believe with all my heart, that as another great democratic president once said, "there's nothing wrong with America that can't be cured what's right with America."
(APPLAUSE)
That is after all what we've always done. It's who we are. America is a problem solving nation. And in this campaign we are setting bold, progressive goals backed up by real plans that will improve lives, creating more good jobs that provide dignity and pride in a middle class life.
Raising wages and reducing inequality, making sure all our kids got a good education no matter what zip code they live in.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Building ladders of opportunity and empowerment. So, all of our people can go as far as their hard work and talent will take them. Let's revitalize places that have been was left out and left behind from inner cities to cold countries to Indian country.
And let's put Americans to work, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure including our failing water system like the one in Flint, Michigan.
(APPLAUSE)
There are many places across our country where children and families are at risk from the water they drink and the air they breathe. Let's combat climate change and make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Let's take on the challenge of systemic racism, invest in communities of color.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And finally, pass comprehensive immigration reform.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And once and for all, let's guarantee equal pay for women.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And we are going to keep our families safe and our country strong and we're going to defend our rights. Civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, LGBT rights and rights for people with disabilities.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Those are after all New York values and they are American values.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And just as we did in this primary campaign we need to stand up for them, throw the general election and every day after that.
(CROWD CHEERING)
You know, it's becoming clearer that this maybe one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes.
(APPLAUSE)
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz...
(CROWD BOOING)
... are pushing a vision for America that's divisive and frankly dangerous, returning to trickledown economics opposing any increase in the minimum wage, restricting a woman's right to make her own health care decision.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Promising to round millions of immigrants, threatening to ban all Muslims from entering the country.
(CROWD BOOING)
Planning to treat American Muslims like criminals.
(CROWD BOOING)
These things go against everything America stands for. And we have a very different vision. It's about lifting each other up, not tearing each other down.
(CROWD CHEERING)
[22:30:03] So, instead of building walls, we're going to break down barriers. And in this campaign, I've seen again our remarkable diversity and determination.
This is a state and a country of big hearted, open-minded, straight- talking, hard-working people.
(CROWD CHEERING)
You know, like John, a firefighter from the South Bronx that I met shortly after 9/11, as he searched for survivors at ground zero, and like so many others, John got sick from breathing the toxic air.
When we met again last week, he gave me a replica of his FDNY badge and thanked me for helping our first responders get the health care they need. We have to keep fighting for John...
(CROWD CHEERING)
... and all of our firefighters and our police officers, our emergency responders and the construction workers who did so much for us.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Or Maxine. Maxine, a 27-year-old single mom from Staten Island who's here tonight.
(CROWD CHEERING)
She shared with me how she worked her way out of poverty, graduated from college, thanks in part to the help she got for her child from the children's health insurance program that we started in the 1990s.
(APPLAUSE)
Or Mikey, from Stevenson town, who spent -- is Mikey here? Well, I'll tell you, Mikey spent six months in Rikers for low level drug offense. And he found out how hard it is for people who've done their time to find jobs when they get out.
Mikey managed to start his own ice cream shop, I took a lot of you in reality or through the media there yesterday.
(CROWD CHEERING)
I highly recommended as you might have seen, I couldn't stop myself from eating it, as soon as I got it, by the way, he made a concoction for me called "victory."
(CROWD CHEERING)
But Mikey is one of the many reasons why we have to reform our criminal justice system.
(APPLAUSE)
And ban the box so others have a fair chance to succeed.
(CROWD CHEERING)
You know, New Yorkers and Americans speak every language, follow every faith, hail from every continent. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths in the 21st century, not a weakness.
(APPLAUSE)
As Robert Kennedy, as Robert Kennedy who Senate seat I was honored to hold once said, "we are a great country. An unselfish country, and a compassionate country."
(CROWD CHEERING)
"And no matter what anyone tells you or what you might hear from others running for president, that is still true today.
(CROWD CHEERING)
America is great, and we can do great things if we do them together.
(APPLAUSE)
So, please join us, text join 47246, go to hillaryclinton.com, be part of this campaign.
(CROWD CHEERING)
I know how important it is that we get the campaign's resources from people just like you w go in and chip in, $5, $25, I am grateful to every one of you. And to the volunteers who have worked your hearts out.
(CROWD CHEERING)
To the community leaders, members of the State Senate and assembly, county executives, mayors of cities large and small, and to the Mayor of New York, and our borough president, and our city council members, and to our governor, our senators, our congressional delegation.
(APPLAUSE)
And all my friends across this wonderful state of ours, thank you. You know, we're going to go up against some powerful forces that will do, say, and spend whatever it takes to stop us.
[22:35:06] But remember, it's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up. (CROWD CHEERING)
And finally, finally, let me say this, finally...
(CROWD CHANTING)
Finally, let me say this, there is a remarkable young woman here tonight. Her name is Erika. Erika Smagelski (ph). She lives the truth of what I've been saying every day. Erika's mother, dawn, was the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School. And she died trying to protect her children, her students. Erika was devastated as any family member is. And she couldn't imagine life without her mom.
But then, she got thinking, she got back up. She'd never been involved in politics before. But she has made it her mission to advocate for common sense, gun safety reform.
(CROWD CHEERING)
You know, like the mothers of Eric Gardner and Trayvon Martin and so many others, Erika has turned her sorrow into a strategy and her mourning into a movement. It isn't easy. But as Erika said the other day, what if everyone who faced tough odds said, it's hard? So, I'm going to walk away. That's not the type of world I want to live in. Erika, it's not the type of world we want to live in and we refuse to live in that.
(APPLAUSE)
To my friends, that's the spirit that makes this country great. It's how New Yorkers pulled together and rebuilt our city after the worst terrorist attack in our history. It's how Americans worked our way back from the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes.
And it is how we're going to break down all the barriers holding us back. The motto of this state is excelsior, ever awkward, so let's go out and win this election, and all rise together, thank you so much.
(APPLAUSE)
TAPPER: Former U.S. Secretary of State and former U.S. Senator from the great State of New York, Hillary Clinton on a very good night for her. She has with the numbers coming in right now, at least 57.9 percent of the vote so far.
It was just a few weeks ago, Bernie Sanders and his campaign were predicting that they could actually win here in the state in which he was born, but where also Clinton lives and represented in the Senate for eight years, a very, very strong dominant showing this evening.
And Dana Bash, you heard from Hillary Clinton this evening, much more of a general election message than you have -- we have heard in the past. She talked about bringing in, she didn't mention them specifically, but there was definitely a hand of inclusiveness of bringing in, uniting the Democratic Party. And she took on Donald Trump and Ted Cruz directly. She invoked the
daughter of the principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School as somebody fighting, fighting tough odds for a worthwhile cause. It was very much Hillary Clinton, the hopes to be, and presumptive one I think one has to say after this evening, democratic nominee, that kind of speech.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Only a very passing veiled reference to Bernie Sanders at the beginning of the speech talking about the fact that you can't just have ideas, you have to have plans on how to execute it and then pivot immediately not to just about republicans and Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, but about what she will do and would do as the democratic nominee and she hopes as president.
[22:40:12] But aside from just kind of the substance of what she's said, it's how she's said it, Jake, I mean, she clearly has been -- she's not wanted this fight on the democratic side, but it has made her so much better when it comes to her abilities as a candidate.
I remember being with her when she was just getting back out into politics after she left the State Department in Iowa and it was like a completely different person. She is see in command now and the fact is, she -- forget about the speech, she is in a very, very strong position, she knows that, her supporters know that, and that's why she was clearly energized by this crowd and this decisive win. And she should be taking every bit of credit that she deserves for getting this.
TAPPER: Yes, this evening I think in some ways will be seen in retrospect as a turning point, potentially for the Clinton and Trump campaigns. Nights where they both came out and delivered general election-type speeches, very, very dominant showing each of them with about 55, 60 percent of the vote as of right now, the number's still coming in. But very dominant showings.
BASH: Exactly. One major difference that we really see illustrated in the picture that we're looking at right now is that Donald Trump is still not the man of the Republican Party. He is very much the outsider.
Look at those pictures. Anybody who knows any familiar political faces in the Democratic Party in New York, they're all there on the stage with her.
TAPPER: Right. The Governor Cuomo, former New York City Mayor Jenkins.
BASH: Exactly.
TAPPER: Yes.
BASH: And she made a point of talking about the governor, the mayor, the former mayor, the congressional delegation.
TAPPER: Bill de Blasio on the left side of the screen.
BASH: Right.
TAPPER: The current mayor of New York who was her campaign manager for Senate in 2000.
BASH: Exactly. It is not so subtle messages, I got this guys. The party is coming together behind me. Come along, Bernie Sanders supporters in, you know, in the future and in the states that have already voted because we are going to unite and we're going to go forward towards the general election.
TAPPER: Very, very strong evening for a former Secretary of State and former U.S. Senator from the great state of New York, Hillary Clinton.
Coming up, our exit polls are revealing new details about just how Hillary Clinton won New York so decisively. Plus, voter's views about a Donald Trump presidency if he's elected. We'll have much more election coverage, we're going to take one quick break. Stay with us.
[22:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Let's get another key race alert right now. Take a look at this. The New York republican primary re-projected Donald Trump is the winner. A huge winner in New York. Take a look at this margin right now with 77 percent of the vote counted. He has 60 percent, 60.2 percent.
Kasich is in second place with 25.1 percent. Ted Cruz, very distant third with 14.7 percent. Look, he's winning by almost a quarter of a million votes in New York State, 228,942 votes ahead of John Kasich.
On the democratic side, Hillary Clinton is way ahead as well. She's almost at 60 percent, 57.6 percent, Bernie Sanders only 42.4 percent. She's winning right now with 222,000 votes. Interestingly enough, Hillary Clinton is ahead of Bernie Sanders by almost as much as Donald Trump is ahead of John Kasich in New York.
Eighty four percent of the vote in New York State. The democratic side has been counted already very, very impressive wins for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Let's go over to John King right now because a lot of people thought that Hillary Clinton would win. A lot of people didn't think she was going to win by this kind of margin. A lot of people thought that Donald Trump would do exceedingly well; a lot of people didn't think he was going to win by this kind of impressive margin.
KING: And in both cases the margins will impact the delegate math which is what's most important at this stage of the contested convention nomination by both parties. This is why Hillary Clinton was saying in her view that the democratic race in her view mathematically is over.
If you look at the map you see a lot of Bernie Sanders, but Hillary Clinton winning in the cities, the smaller cities of Rochester and Syracuse, and then winning huge down here in the New York City area, the bulk of the congressional districts were down here and the bulk of the democratic base is down here in the state.
Westchester County, the suburbs outside of New York she calls -- now calls home, 67 percent. Come down, nearly 70 percent in the Bronx. Sixty percent, 61 percent in Queens, and in Manhattan, 66 percent, you get the picture. Running up the numbers -- running them up.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Long Island as well.
KING: Yes, Long Island as well. Staten Island, more conservative, Hillary Clinton winning there. When you come to Long Island as well and she's winning less than a margin, in Suffolk County but still at 55 and 10 points there as well, 91 percent of the vote in.
So, everywhere you look, especially in the key democratic turnout, the base here is Hillary Clinton winning big. Even though that looks impressive for Bernie Sanders when it comes to delegates tonight, proportional rules. He'll get a hunk of delegate tonight.
But she's going to have a net gain of 25, higher than that depending when you go through the districts down in here, which is what she wants to do. She began the night around 229, she wants to add 25, maybe a little bit more to that, and then she's hoping to have an exclamation point next Tuesday.
BLITZER: Let's look at the republican race. Extremely, impressive win. Look how red that is, that's Donald Trump.
KING: I pick your word, dumping, shellacking, it's a route. Donald Trump running up the score and again, he's above 60 percent here with nearly 80 percent of the vote.
[22:50:04] There is no absolutely Donald Trump will end above 50 percent. It looks like he's going to be in the Ball Park of 60 percent. So, then you say, 95 delegates, what is he going to get? I had to guess right now I'd say he's going to get about 90.
There's a congressional district just here, Albany into the west. We see Trump at 48, and then the counties around it, some of the congressional district is in the eastern part of this county. He's at 54. Some of it touches this county, he's at 47, so there's a possibility in this congressional district, he's under 50.
If you're under 50, the man in second place gets one delegate and you get two. So, Kasich could picked up a delegate here, but we're not done continuing, but he could up here another congressional district over here anchored by Syracuse where you see Trump a little bit below there.
The district stretches out to some of these other counties. But it's possible. We're not done counting yet although we're getting close. Ninety nine percent in the Syracuse area. So, it's possible Kasich gets a delegate here and the other place, Wolf, this, again, overwhelming for Trump when you look at this. A lot of people will say, it's his backyard. If there is one minor
bruise on Donald Trump tonight, it is here with 92 percent in. You see this is been consistent, about 500 votes, but John Kasich right now winning in the borough of Manhattan which Donald Trump calls home.
There's one congressional district right here. Kasich conceivably could win that. We'd get two, one for Donald Trump and these parts stretch into some of the congressional districts that run out into the other boroughs. We have to do the math there.
But conceivable is Kasich holds Manhattan, he conceivably picks up two for that one district and may one or two more for the other districts. So, John Kasich could come out tonight with three to five. Donald Trump gets the rest at the moment, and I don't think see reason it's going to change. A big goose egg.
BLITZER: For Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz winds up with potentially zero of the 95 delegates in New York State. He winds up with zero.
KING: Which hurts his argument that he says I'm the candidate who commit to the convention, I should be your choice on the second ballot. If you're getting a goose egg in New York, if he doesn't prove that can pick up some delegates next week, Ted Cruz's argument takes a hit.
BLITZER: All right, John, thanks very much. Let's go back to Dana and Jake. Jake, a big, big night for Hillary Clinton, a big, big night for Donald Trump.
TAPPER: That's right, Wolf, and let's talk about with the CNN Politics executive editor Mark Preston about how they did it. Mark, let's start with Hillary Clinton. Who were the people turning out? What were they looking for?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, certainly, Jake. Let's talk about key constituencies right now. Women have been a core group of Hillary Clinton supporters, let's look at New York democratic women and see where they broke for.
Hillary Clinton, 61 percent of those went with the former Secretary of State, Barry -- rather, Bernie Sanders only got 39 percent of that vote. Let's talk about the non-white vote as well.
Hillary Clinton picked up 67 percent of that vote, Bernie Sanders only 33 percent. This is African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Latino- Americans. Now let's talk about the quality of a candidate.
Hillary Clinton, 90 percent, those voters picked up, they believe that she has the right experience. It was a below, Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, of course the former First Lady and the former senator took Bernie Sanders to the wood shed on that issue, Jake.
TAPPER: Now we already a lot of those numbers for the republicans, Mark. But one of the things I'm curious about, this has been such a divisive contest, how do republican voters in New York and the state where Donald Trump is dominating, how do they feel about a potential president Trump?
PRESTON: Well, Jake, good news and bad news for Donald Trump here. Let's take a look at these numbers here in New York republicans, 56 percent said they would vote for Donald Trump, another 19 percent said they would probably vote for him.
But look at that top number right here, 23 percent said they would not vote for him. That's a quarter of the electorates. Should Donald Trump win the republican nomination as we've been talking all night. He's going to try to bring together a fractured Republican Party.
But let's go to the next numbers right now. If Donald Trump was elected president, 35 percent of New York republicans would be excited, 28 percent optimistic. Pretty good numbers there, you're looking at about 63 percent of the electorate.
But again, he has still has work to do. Fourteen percent are concerned, 22 percent are scared. That's a little bit more than a third of the New York republican electorate that certainly have some concerns. Some serious concerns in some cases about Donald Trump as a GOP nominee, Jake.
TAPPER: And that's in a state, Dana Bash, a state that he is winning and dominating in more than a third of the republican voters in New York either concern or scared about the idea of a Trump, of a president Trump.
BASH: Yes, and whenever we see that word, scared, and it's even close to 22 percent, which it has been in some other states, even those that he's won. It's kind of remarkable to see that. I mean, that is a very aggressive passionate response to somebody who is a potential nominee of the party. Especially in a place like New York where it was a closed primary, meaning only New -- only republicans rather could vote in it.
[22:54:57] Having said that, this is, it's not just spend, this is a new phase of the campaign clearly for Donald Trump. He is going to try clearly very hard to turn those numbers around and if he continues to do the kind of thing that he did today, give a short, crisp, speech, really trying to stay on message to try to not be as controversial. And frankly, use offensive language and lines as he has before, maybe he'll go a long way in changing those numbers, even in a state where he's clearly dominating.
TAPPER: Although right now the only controversial expression that I'm thinking about is Ted Cruz referring to New York values. Ted Cruz who is ending this evening the big loser with zero delegates. The only candidate in both races of the five candidates still standing to have zero delegates out of New York.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both, of course, the big winners in the Empire State tonight, but exactly how many delegates will they get and how could that change the race? We're watching these final votes come in, stay with us.
[23:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton scoring big in a very important victory tonight on their mutual home turf. We're talking about New York State. As Hillary Clinton puts it, "there's no place like home." Both the republican..
