Bloomberg Campaign Manager, Kevin Sheekey, Discusses Bloomberg Saying Early Primary States Hurting Democrats, Booker Dropping Out, Beating Trump, Trump Responding to Health Care Ad
KEVIN SHEEKEY, CAMPAIGN MANAGER, MICHAEL BLOOMBERG PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Kate, happy New Year.</s>BOLDUAN: Thank you very much. You, too. Lots to talk about with this op-ed. The breaking news at the top of the hour, I want your reaction to the fact that Cory Booker has dropped out of the primary.</s>SHEEKEY: Well, I'm a big fan of Cory. I've known Cory, Senator Booker since he first ran for mayor. Mike Bloomberg was very supportive of his mayoralty and campaign for Senate. I think his campaign didn't get legs. There's not always a great reason for that. He's been a terrific Senator and was a great mayor.</s>BOLDUAN: To the opinion piece that Bloomberg published this morning, you're trying to win over Democratic voters, of course, and saying here, and what I just read that the process that Democrats have set up is undemocratic. How is that winning people over?</s>SHEEKEY: Well, let's talk about that we're trying to do. We're trying to remove Donald Trump from office. You're right, we should throw the whole thing out. We, as Democrats, spend a year living in Iowa, raising money around the country, moving people to Iowa, knocking on doors, getting to know those voters and investing every single dollar we can raise around the country in Iowa. The one thing that Democrat and Republican pollsters agree on is Donald Trump is going to win Iowa. We have thrown out a year of investment in a state that isn't going to make a difference in November. There are six states that are critical in November. And they're Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, and Arizona and Pennsylvania. Those are states that Donald Trump is campaigning in every single day. Brad Parscale put out a tweet out last week where he talked about their efforts and the voters they have been reaching out to. And 80 percent of the voters they brought online, they're targeting, are in those states. We put ourselves at an enormous disadvantage to invest every dollar we can over a year in a state that won't make a difference in November. That should be an enormous concern to any Democrat.</s>BOLDUAN: Have you heard anything from the Democratic Party chairman, Tom Perez, of the DNC, on this morning?</s>SHEEKEY: I expect to hear some comments from my friends in Iowa. And I do have friends in Iowa, or at least I suppose I used to have friends in Iowa.</s>BOLDUAN: Use to.</s>SHEEKEY: Listen, this is too important. We have to come together as a party and nationally to fight the fight that needs to be fought to remove Donald Trump from office. And we've put ourselves at a disadvantage. What Mike Bloomberg said in an op-ed on CNN today that if he was president of the United States and the, you know, the head of the Democratic Party, he would reorder the primaries to reflect where the battleground states are. What you would do this year is you would lead with Wisconsin, with Michigan, with Pennsylvania, and then with North Carolina or Florida. Imagine the difference that we would be seeing today if, for a year, Democrats, 18, 24 different presidential candidates were knocking on doors in those states. We would be poised to win those states in November. Right now, if the elections were held in Wisconsin today, any Democrat loses to Donald Trump, according to the polls. That's something that this campaign is very focused on changing.</s>BOLDUAN: So I hear that Bloomberg is saying that today. But last week, asked if Iowa should stay the first state to vote, Bloomberg said yes. Let me play this, what he told reporters.</s>MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we've got a tradition here of four states, two with caucuses, two with elections. They work very hard. They love the attention. The system has gotten used to it. And I guess the Democratic Party probably shouldn't take it away.</s>BOLDUAN: Shouldn't take it away. So what changed in a week, Kevin?</s>SHEEKEY: I think, listen, Mike was trying to be respectful to friends of his as well in Iowa when asked on the road. I think, today, what he's saying is, I think any American should see and does see, which is we are faced with an existential threat and we can't be tied down by the rules of the past. We have to change the rules to win elections going forward. And we have to get into states where the battle is going to be fought. There's one campaign today that is fighting in those states and it is Mike Bloomberg.</s>BOLDUAN: Bloomberg is also saying now, even if he loses the primary, he's going to keep the offices open, up and running to defeat Trump and campaign for whoever is the nominee. Even if the nominee is campaigning on something like Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax, that Bloomberg has called unconstitutional, he'll put money towards that?</s>SHEEKEY: It is a remarkable pledge. I think it tells you everything about who Mike Bloomberg is. Listen, before he got into this race, you know, he was asked, repeatedly, about whether he would support Elizabeth Warren if she was the nominee, and the answer was simple for him, which is, hey, if Elizabeth Warren is running against Donald Trump, I'm supporting Elizabeth Warren.</s>BOLDUAN: We'll see. First and foremost, let's see what happens with the primary. President Trump today is responding already to your newest health care ad that is out. In the tweet, he's name-calling Bloomberg and making a surprising promise that he says that the Trump administration is working to protect health care coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. The administration's efforts to date prove otherwise. Regardless of the inconsistency there, what do you say to President Trump because you're getting his attention.</s>SHEEKEY: Well, listen, two things to say there. Part of this campaign in places like Wisconsin and Michigan and other battleground states, it is important to reach out and say that President Trump lied to them. A lot of folks don't understand how much the president acted against their interest and the interest of all Americans. The second part is Michael Bloomberg is getting under the president's skin. Mike will build the largest, most diverse, broadest campaign in American history and the campaign that I think is best poised to take Donald Trump from office. And I think they're figuring it out. Steve Bannon was quoted yesterday saying that Mike Bloomberg was responsible for impeachment. His argument there was -- and I think he said it on your network -- that Mike Bloomberg worked last cycle to support 21 Democrats running for office in Republican-held congressional seats. He elected 18 of them and 15 women. Steve Bannon's view was, hey, you've got to watch out for Mike Bloomberg and the atomic bomb -- his words, not mine -- about to go off on March 3rd. That's a warning shot for the president that Steve Bannon sees and I think the president sees now, too.</s>BOLDUAN: Kevin, thank you very much for coming in. Appreciate your time.</s>SHEEKEY: Kate, always a pleasure.</s>BOLDUAN: Thank you. Coming up for us, a CNN exclusive. CNN goes inside Al-Asad Airbase and talks to U.S. troops about the chaos and confusion on the night Iran launched a missile attack. Stay with us.