Bernie Sanders Leads In Poll; Clinton Campaign Getting Nervous; Clinton States She Is A True Democrat; Clinton Pleads Guilty Of Being A Moderate; Interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. Up first, the presidential race by the numbers here in the United States. Donald Trump widens his lead over his Republican rivals and Bernie Sanders edges ahead of Hillary Clinton in yet another key state. In a new CNN ORC poll released this morning, Donald Trump now at 32 percent. The first Republican presidential candidate in the field to top the 30 percent mark. Ben Carson is at second place with 19 percent followed by Jeb Bush at nine percent. Take a look at this, 51 percent of Republicans now say Trump is most likely to win the GOP nomination, 19 percent think Bush will be the nominee, 11 percent think Dr. Carson will be the nominee. On the Democratic side, dramatic numbers. Bernie Sanders has now caught Hillary Clinton in Iowa in a new Quinnipiac University poll. Senator Sanders edges Hillary Clinton, 41 percent to 40 percent. The vice president, Joe Biden, who has not yet announced whether he's running in this presidential contest, he's at 12 percent. Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, is here with me to talk about what's going on. We've had many conversations over these months. You must be stunned. And be honest, be honest, that you're ahead in Iowa. You're ahead in New Hampshire. This other Monmouth University poll in New Hampshire has you up by nine points in New Hampshire, now up one point, according to this Quinnipiac poll in Iowa.</s>SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, you want me to tell you the truth.</s>BLITZER: Tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.</s>SANDERS: Yes, I'm stunned. Look, we have a message that I believe -- I believe, from day one, was going to resonate with the American people. And the message is there's something wrong in this country when the great middle class continues to disappear. Almost all new income and wealth goes to the top one percent. When millions of families cannot afford to send their kids to college, when we're not addressing the planetary crisis of climate change. And, Wolf, a huge issue out there. We have a corrupt campaign finance system as a result of citizens united where billionaires are able to buy elections. The American people are saying, no, this is not the kind of country we want to be. So, I thought that those issues would resonate. But did I think they would resonate as quickly as they have? The answer is no.</s>BLITZER: Why -- so, why are you going up in these numbers, in Iowa and in New Hampshire, and Hillary Clinton is going down in</s>SANDERS: Well, I can't speak to, you know, what's going on with the -- with Secretary Clinton. But what I can tell you is we've been around New Hampshire and Iowa, the bigger cities, the smaller towns, and people are sick and tired of establishment politics. They're sick and tired of establishment economics. They don't want to see billionaires getting more tax breaks and cuts to Social Security which is what many of my Republican colleagues are proposing. And, by the way, don't get upset with me here. They're getting tired of establishment media. They would rather see serious discussion about serious issues, rather than so much of what we see.</s>BLITZER: Earlier in the week, you said, "The Clinton campaign," and I'm quoting you now, "is getting nervous about the kind of energy and enthusiasm our campaign is bringing forth." Explain what's going on.</s>SANDERS: I'll give you an example. Just --</s>BLITZER: Why are they getting nervous?</s>SANDERS: This is why they're getting nervous. I was in New Hampshire on -- just the other day. And we were at a parade in a town called Milford. We had 300 to 400 people coming out in that -- it was 94 degrees. 94 degrees. Three to 400 people coming out to march in that parade with me. Later on in the afternoon in Concord, New Hampshire, we opened up a small office. Two hundred people were in a parking lot over 90-degree heat. We're seeing this kind of response. We're seeing more and more people getting involved in the campaign. I don't have a super PAC. I'm not going to take money from billionaires. I don't want their money. But we have, now, over 400,000 people who have made individual contributions. And you know what the average contribution is? It's all of $31.20.</s>BLITZER: Is the Hillary e-mail controversy, in your opinion, hurting her?</s>SANDERS: Look, I mean, I think it's, clearly, not helping her. But I think the reason we are doing well is because the issues we are talking about, the need for a political revolution that says that the billionaire class can't have it all, that you need a Congress and a government that represents all of us and not just large campaign contributors. That is what's resonating with the American people.</s>BLITZER: She sounds as if she is getting a bit nervous about your dramatic surge in New Hampshire and now in Iowa. She says, no, repeatedly. I am a proud Democrat. I am a true Democrat. She doesn't mention you by name, but the implication is you're not a Democrat, you're an independent. You're a socialist. That's the implication I'm getting when I hear her say that.</s>SANDERS: Well, look, it's no great secret. Everybody knows it. You know it. I am the longest serving independent in the history of the United States Congress. That's -- and I'm proud of that. The people of Vermont sent me to Washington, because they were unhappy with both political parties. I made a choice over four months ago, as somebody who has caucused with the Democrats from my first day in the United States Congress. I was chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee, now ranking member in the Senate. I worked very closely with Democrats that I would run within the Democratic primary and caucus process. And, you know, we're doing well in the process.</s>BLITZER: So, are you a proud Democrat and a true Democrat, as she says she is?</s>SANDERS: I am going to be doing everything that I can to see that the Democratic Party is successful in November. And let me say this, you know, some people say, well, you know, Bernie, you can't win this election. And let me repeat what I said before. In November, the Republicans didn't win the election. The Democrats lost the election, because the voter turnout was abysmally low. Low-income people not voting, 80 percent of young people not voting Wolf, if you come to the rallies that we hold, what you're going to see is a lot of working class people. You're going to see a lot of young people who are now prepared to get involved in the political process. And the way the Democrats win, not only the White House but Congress and legislatures and governor seats, is when we have large voter turnout. I think I could do a good job in expanding the voter turnout.</s>BLITZER: She is in Ohio today in Columbus, and she painted herself as a moderate. And she said, I plead guilty to being a moderate. Do you plead guilty to being a moderate?</s>SANDERS: No. I am somebody who, for the last 30 years, has stood up and fought for working families. I have taken on virtually every special interest in the country from Wall Street to the drug companies. I am a proud progressive.</s>BLITZER: Do you want Joe Biden to jump into this race?</s>SANDERS: I neither want him to jump in or not to jump in. That is very much a personal decision that the vice president has to make. I've known Joe for many years. He is an incredibly decent guy. And all I say is that if Joe Biden gets into the race, I will do my best to make sure that we have an issue-oriented campaign. I don't do negative ads. I don't get engaged in personal attacks. Let's debate the issues of Joe Gibson. That's great. If he doesn't, that's OK, too.</s>BLITZER: Well, just your analysis, because you're a politician, if he gets in, does he help you against Hillary Clinton or hurt you? In other words, does he take votes away from her or does he take votes away from you?</s>SANDERS: The answer is -- you know, I'm not an expert in this stuff, who knows. Some people think it will help me. Some think it'll help Secretary Clinton. What it does do is it makes the votes that you need to win this thing -- you don't need 50 percent or 48 percent. You need 35 percent. That's the (</s>INAUDIBLE.) BLITZER: On the issues, on policy issues, --</s>SANDERS: Yes.</s>BLITZER: -- the most important issues that are driving you, what's the biggest difference between you and Joe Biden?</s>SANDERS: Well, let me -- I -- Joe is not in the race. I don't want to speculate about Joe. But I will tell you the differences between the secretary and myself. I voted against the war in Iraq. I believe, over a period of years, we should raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. I believe we should reestablish Glass-Steagall to start breaking up these large financial institutions on Wall Street. I am very opposed to our current trade policies and helping to lead the effort against the trans Pacific partnership. The secretary has not made a decision on that. I am strongly against the Keystone Pipeline, because I think we need to radically transform our energy system. The secretary has not made a statement on that as well.</s>BLITZER: So, those are some of the major differences. We have a lot more to talk about, including Donald Trump who is now way ahead in the Republican contest. Senator, hold your thoughts for a moment. We will continue this conversation right after this.