Kinzinger asked if he's impressed by Trump's performance. Hear what he said
Summary
TLDRThe script delves into the aftermath of Super Tuesday, where Donald Trump secured a substantial victory, leading to Nikki Haley's decision to withdraw from the Republican presidential primary race. It explores the Biden campaign's strategy to attract moderate and Haley voters disillusioned by Trump, portraying him as 'damaged and unpopular.' Analysts weigh in on the challenges faced by both campaigns, including Trump's struggle to appeal beyond his base and Biden's need to unite a fractured Democratic party. The script sets the stage for an intense general election battle between the two frontrunners.
Takeaways
- ๐ฐ Donald Trump's campaign is seeking financial support as he nears securing the Republican nomination, engaging with Elon Musk while dealing with legal expenses and fundraising concerns.
- ๐ The Biden campaign believes it has a clear path to victory in November, aiming to attract moderate and Nikki Haley voters disenchanted with Trump.
- ๐ Nikki Haley is expected to drop out of the Republican primary race after failing to meet her 40% vote threshold on Super Tuesday.
- ๐ The Biden campaign sees Trump as a 'wounded, dangerous and unpopular' candidate, highlighting his vulnerabilities on issues like reproductive rights.
- ๐ Polling shows a tight race between Trump and Biden, with neither having a clear lead in the average of polls.
- ๐ Biden faces challenges in keeping his 2020 coalition together, addressing discontentment over his approach to foreign conflicts, and questions about his age.
- ๐ฃ Trump's impressive Super Tuesday performance, including a landslide win in Texas, has been criticized for his rhetoric portraying America as a 'third-world country'.
- ๐ธ Biden will aim to win over moderate Republican voters turned off by Trump, including those who supported Nikki Haley.
- ๐ฆ The race is now a clear two-person contest between Trump and Biden after Haley's expected exit.
- ๐ Both campaigns believe the State of the Union address and Super Tuesday results will be pivotal for voters in deciding on a second term for Biden.
Q & A
What is the central focus of the transcript?
-The transcript discusses the aftermath of Super Tuesday primary elections for the Republican and Democratic parties, focusing on Donald Trump's path to the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley's decision to drop out of the race, and the Biden campaign's strategy to win over moderate and Haley voters for the general election.
What is the Biden campaign's assessment of Trump according to the memo mentioned?
-According to the memo, the Biden campaign portrays Trump as "damaged and unpopular," suggesting that a significant share of moderate and Haley voters might not vote for him in the general election.
What is Adam Kinzinger's view on Trump's performance on Super Tuesday?
-Adam Kinzinger acknowledged that Trump had an impressive political victory by winning big in several states, but he expressed discomfort in normalizing Trump's rhetoric, particularly his description of America as a "third world country."
What challenges does the Biden campaign face in his re-election bid?
-The transcript mentions that Biden faces challenges in keeping the coalition that elected him in 2020 together, addressing discontent within the Democratic Party over his approach to the conflict in Gaza, and questions about his age and ability to serve a second term.
What is Marc Lotter's view on Biden's chances of winning over moderate and Haley voters?
-Marc Lotter suggests that while Biden might have a chance to win over some moderate and Haley voters, recent polls show a 5-point swing in Trump's favor compared to the 2020 election, indicating that Biden will face an uphill battle in the general election.
What is the significance of Nikki Haley's decision to suspend her presidential campaign?
-Nikki Haley's decision to drop out of the Republican primary race solidifies the contest as a two-person race between Trump and Biden, allowing both campaigns to shift their full focus to the general election.
What is Adam Kinzinger's personal stance on supporting Trump or Biden?
-Adam Kinzinger expressed feeling "politically homeless" and stated that he cannot vote for Trump under any circumstances. However, he believes Biden has an opportunity to win over voters like him if Biden can position himself as a moderate and avoid being dragged too far to the left by his staff and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
What does Lindsey Graham suggest as the path forward for Trump in the general election?
-According to the transcript, Lindsey Graham suggested that the path forward for Trump in the general election is to focus on policy discussions and contrasting his policies with those of Biden.
What role does reproductive rights play in the Biden campaign's strategy?
-The transcript mentions that the Biden campaign believes the issue of reproductive rights is a significant vulnerability for Trump and an area that could work to Biden's advantage in the general election.
What challenges does Trump face in garnering support from moderate and Haley voters?
-According to the exit polls mentioned in the transcript, 85-90% of Haley voters were satisfied with Biden's leadership, suggesting that many of them might not have been Trump supporters to begin with, making it challenging for Trump to win them over.
Outlines
🤝 Trump Seeking Funds, Meeting Elon Musk Amid Legal Costs
The paragraph discusses Donald Trump's campaign efforts to raise funds as he nears securing the Republican nomination. It mentions that Trump recently met with Elon Musk, the world's second-richest person, to potentially garner support amidst soaring legal expenses and fundraising concerns. Additionally, it touches upon President Biden's campaign portraying Trump as 'wounded, dangerous, and unpopular' following major Super Tuesday wins for both candidates.
📊 Biden's Strategy and GOP Voters' Sentiments Post-Super Tuesday
This paragraph delves into the Biden campaign's strategy following Super Tuesday, including their efforts to potentially attract moderate and Nikki Haley voters who may be disenchanted with Trump. It highlights the campaign's belief that reproductive rights could be a vulnerability for Trump. The paragraph also discusses the close nature of the contest, as well as challenges Biden faces within the Democratic Party and questions about his age and ability to serve a second term. Additionally, it mentions the campaign's expectation that Nikki Haley will drop out of the Republican primary race.
🙏 Closing Remarks
This is a brief closing paragraph, likely bidding farewell to the guests or concluding the segment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Super Tuesday
💡Fundraising
💡Moderate voters
💡Reproductive rights
💡Coalition
💡Insurrection
💡Immigration crisis
💡Border crisis
💡Battleground states
💡Buyer's remorse
Highlights
Donald Trump's campaign is looking for a boost in funds as he sails towards clinching the Republican nomination, and is having conversations with Elon Musk, the world's second richest man.
Trump met with Elon Musk over the weekend as his campaign tries to keep costs low while dealing with soaring legal expenses and fundraising concerns.
The Biden campaign is making a case why the former president is 'wounded, dangerous and unpopular' after major Super Tuesday wins for both Trump and Biden.
The Biden campaign memo says he has a clear path to victory in November and will try to target Nikki Haley's moderate voters who are turned off by Trump.
The Biden campaign believes the issue of reproductive rights is a huge vulnerability for Trump that could work to their advantage.
Biden faces challenges in keeping his 2020 coalition together, addressing discontent over his approach to the Gaza conflict, and questions about his age and ability to serve a second term.
Nikki Haley reached the decision to suspend her presidential campaign late Tuesday after failing to meet her loose threshold of winning about 40% of the vote in several states.
Trump's campaign is happy that Haley is out of the race and they can shift all focus to the general election against Biden.
A big Haley donor and fundraiser expressed his struggle with voting for either Trump or Biden due to disagreements with their policies.
Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger feels politically homeless and cannot vote for Trump, but believes Biden has an opportunity to win over moderate Republican voters like him.
Lindsey Graham stated that Trump's path forward is to talk policy and contrast it with Biden's policies to win back Haley's moderate voters.
Trump can discuss emotional issues like immigration while also presenting policy prescriptions to appeal to both his base and moderate voters.
Exit polls showed 85-90% of Haley's voters were satisfied with Biden's leadership, suggesting they were not Trump voters initially.
A New York Times/Siena poll found 10% of Biden's 2020 supporters now have buyer's remorse and are flipping back to Trump.
The race between Trump and Biden is very close, with Trump leading Biden by 2 points nationally according to the RCP average.
Transcripts
Donald Trump's
campaign is looking for a boost in funds
as he sails towards clinching
the Republican nomination.
He's now having conversations
with the world's second richest man
Elon Musk.
They met over the weekend as Trump's
campaign tries to keep costs low
while dealing
with soaring legal expenses
and fundraising concerns.
Also new this morning, after major Super
Tuesday wins for both Trump
and President Biden,
the Biden campaign is making a case
why the former president is, quote,
wounded, dangerous and unpopular.
In a new memo,
the campaign says Biden has a clear
path to victory in November.
CNN's Arlette
Signs is at the White House with more.
What else is Biden saying
in his campaign strategy?
Well, Sarah Biden campaign officials
have long felt
that Super Tuesday
would be the moment
that this race crystallizes for voters
between President Biden
and former President Donald Trump.
And perhaps
the latest proof point in that argument
is the expectation that this morning
Nikki Haley will drop
out of the Republican
presidential primary contest.
One thing that the Biden campaign
will be working towards in
the coming
months is trying to potentially peel off
some of those Haley voters
who have been turned off by Trump,
not just voters,
but I've told also donors
that they could also target
as well,
senior campaign officials, officials
I spoke to that
in a memo
last evening
as they painted the former president
as damaged and unpopular
in their Super Tuesday
assessments that
two women
leading the campaign, Jen
O'Malley, Dillon and Julie
Chavez Rodriguez
wrote that, quote,
A significant share of moderate
and Haley voters
across the country
are saying
that Trump cannot count on their votes
in a general election,
and that will be key for President Biden
going forward.
The campaign will try
to tap into those Haley voters,
try to tap into moderate suburban voters
as well.
The campaign
really believes
that the issue of reproductive rights
is a huge vulnerability
for the former president
and one that could work
to their advantage come November.
And they acknowledge
that they anticipate
this contest will be incredibly close.
It comes as polling has shown CNN's
average of
the poll of polls has found that
there is no clear leader in this contest.
I think that average is about 48%
for Trump and 46% for President Biden.
Now, President Biden
certainly faces a host of challenges
in his own
reelection bid,
trying to keep the coalition
that elected him
in 20, 20 together this time around.
Also trying to address
some of the growing discontent
within the Democratic Party
over his approach to the war,
the conflict in Gaza.
And then there are the questions
that he has faced
about his age and ability
to serve in a second term.
But the White House
and the Biden campaign
clearly believe
that Super Tuesday
and tomorrow's State of the Union address
will be key for voters
as they're trying to make their arguments
for his second term in office.
Are signs.
Thank you so much.
All right.
Joining us right now to talk
much more about
this is CNN
senior political commentator, former
Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger
and the senior campaign
adviser to Donald Trump's 2020 campaign.
Marc Lotter, it's good to see you guys.
We're just handed some
new reporting from Jeff Zeleny.
Let's let's go through this together.
Nikki Haley reached the decision
to suspend her presidential campaign
late Tuesday.
An adviser said
and adviser
said that
going into the big day of voting,
the Haley team had set a loose threshold
of winning about 40% of the vote
in several states
to credibly stay in the race.
And the decision to get out of the race
is that a benchmark
for staying in that one
benchmark wasn't set.
What do you think of that?
I'm it makes sense.
I mean.
40%, I think I think there was very few
kind of paths for Nikki to stay in
after Super Tuesday,
not necessarily
because she didn't want to,
but because a donor
money's going to dry up.
I mean, obviously, nobody wants to chase.
Sure. Hadn't to this point that.
No, it hasn't.
And I think she actually thinks
she overperformed yesterday
compared to what
a lot of people thought, particularly
winning Vermont.
Not bad right there.
But yeah, I mean, for her,
I think to go on pass,
this didn't make much sense.
40% made sense as a threshold.
I don't think there was anybody
that realistically thought she'd
get there.
And so,
yeah, it's
just a two person race now going forward.
What do you think Donald Trump is
is happier about this morning,
how he performed across the board
or the simple fact
that Nikki Haley
will be exiting the race?
I think the simple fact
that she's out now
and no one has to talk about the primary
any longer,
they can shift
all of the focus to the general election
which he was trying to do anyway.
He was definitely trying.
But you can't. Right.
So now you can officially do it.
It's over with
and you can move
all of your focus to November.
What counter intuitive would do you?
Do you?
Were you impressed with Donald Trump's
performance last night?
No. No.
You mean like in his speech?
Sure. Either one.
I like how he performs. Yeah.
On the on the actual election results.
Sure. It's impressive.
I hate to normalize
because, you know,
after an insurrection, it's tough for me
to just talk about this
horse race as normal.
But regardless,
it was an impressive victory
when he won all these states.
He won big.
I live in Texas now.
He like 80% in Texas.
His speech was okay.
I guess if you have a low bar for him,
which we do.
But my issue was when he called America
a third world country,
like what kind of in
what world
is the inspirational leadership
of a former president
going to remember
is in his inaugural speech in 26.
Oh, I do.
I was there
when he called everything he said like
you know carnage American carnage.
This is what we're going to be at again
so yes,
I also
am glad the primaries are over
because now we can kind of go forward
and talk about this.
But it was
it was an impressive political victory.
I wasn't impressed.
What do you think Joe
Biden should be most happy
about this morning after Super Tuesday?
Well, I guess the race is on.
I mean, he
he now has one singular target.
I think he probably knew that
for a long time as well.
But now,
I mean, it's going to be a clear choice.
And the difference is
and having worked
on that 20, 20 campaign,
the big difference is Joe Biden
didn't have a record in 2020
he was hypothetical
so he could talk about ending
the ending the pandemic
not mean tweeting and basically
getting elected.
Do you think the quote unquote distance
between his record
Donald Trump's record in terms of time
do you think that helps him meet
people hoping that
people have short memories?
Yeah.
I mean, they remember that
we didn't have the illegal immigration
crisis.
They remember
that gas was $2.39
a gallon, that you did have a pandemic.
And we did it before the pandemic.
I think we had all of these things.
And that's that's
that's the point
he's going to that
Donald Trump's going to make
and Joe
Biden is going to have to try
to explain away.
On that point, Congressman,
the Biden campaign
put out this memo this morning.
I was talking about it, saying
after last night,
they have a clear path to victory
is what the memo says,
pointing to Nikki Haley's moderate voters
and then saying in exit polls
that Donald Trump
might not be able to count on their vote.
Republican voters
saying Donald Trump
might not be able to count on their vote
come November.
One big Haley donor
and fundraiser was on with us last night.
When we were sitting there.
I want to play for everyone
his take on this. Listen,
here's the struggle.
Joe Biden is a cognitively impaired
octogenarian whose policies
I disagree with in the extreme.
I think is distance.
He's putting between United States
and Israel now is disgraceful.
I think the way he's handled
Ukraine is just simply not doing enough.
He's always a day late
and the dollar short
and he hasn't been forceful enough
in dealing with China.
The border, of course, is a crisis.
He even he now admits that.
So I can't vote Democratic.
So can I vote Republican?
Can I vote for Donald Trump?
It's tough.
Well, he says he doesn't want
he doesn't want your support.
And how does he win
and how does he win?
What do you think of that
in terms of this now
is part of the Biden strategy.
They want to pull over those. Yeah.
So this is how a lot of us feel.
I mean, I feel
I feel politically homeless
and there's no way
I'll vote for Donald Trump, period.
So he can't win me over.
But there are a lot of people
that he could.
And I think that's
that's the challenge of the Biden team
right now.
Look,
we have been so preprogramed
in this country to default to.
I have to support a party.
So I either have to, you know,
and so that's
where people are at right now.
Joe Biden is fighting with his leftist.
Got the every Gaza
interruption that happens,
every scream
That kind of pushes the middle away.
But he has a real opportunity.
He's the guy that can do it
if he can make his staff
allow him to be Joe Biden,
if they're going to drag him to the left,
he's going to have a harder time.
But he has to win people like me over.
He'll win me over.
But people like me
over to win the presidency.
Lindsey Graham was on
CNN last night, Mark,
and he said the path forward
for Donald Trump in the general
is to talk policy and contrast policy
between him and Joe Biden.
And I think it
contrasts and policy
is the key to getting these people.
Nikki Haley, voters back on board.
Do you think that's it?
I mean, asked another way,
do you think Donald Trump sticks
with the policy discussions?
We know what
what the what his base reacts to.
It's not necessarily on policy.
It's on feeling well.
But I think you can do
both at the same time.
I mean, you can talk about low
gas prices.
You can't talk about
the immigration crisis
as both an emotional reaction
and a policy prescription
And I think the challenge is that,
like if you go to the exit
polling last night
that I've seen from CNN and others,
85 to 90% of the
Nikki Haley's voters support
we're satisfied with Joe
Biden's leadership.
That means they were probably not
Donald Trump voters to begin with,
even if they did vote for Nikki Haley.
Meanwhile, if you go
by the New York Times Siena poll,
10% of
Joe Biden's 2020
support is now have buyer's remorse
and flipping back to Trump.
That's why I think when we look ahead
to these battleground states
and the national polls I mean remember
I think it was what, four points
three points that Joe Biden
beat Donald Trump in 2020
nationally to eke out 45,000 vote win
in three states.
It's now
a five point swing
where Donald Trump
is leading by two points
according to the RCP average.
We've got a long way ahead of us.