Michigan primary election preview, Ronna McDaniel to step down as RNC chair, more | America Decides

[Music] I just want to say that I have never seen the Republican party so unified as it is right now if you have a candidate that can't win 40% of the vote in the early States if you have a candidate who can't bring in Independence if you have a candidate that is driving people out of our party we thought they were going to bring us back when it comes to women's reproductive choice to the 1950s they're trying to bring us back to the 1850s hello I'm Nancy Cordes in Washington welcome to America decides former un Ambassador Nikki Haley is campaigning in Michigan today ahead of tomorrow's Republican primary there she's resisting calls to drop out of the race after losing to former president Trump in the South Carolina primary on Saturday instead Haley is now on a 10-day Nationwide swing in the leadup to Super Tuesday when more than a third of all GOP delegates will be up for grabs the Republican front runner Donald Trump beat the former South Carolina governor by just over 20 points in her home state on Saturday Robert Costa and edok Keefe join us now to discuss Robert is CBS News Chief election and campaign correspondent Ed is CBS News senior White House and political correspondent and he is in the great state of Michigan but Bob I'm going to start with you cuz you're right here uh Haley got 40% to Trump's roughly 60% a big gap but not quite as big as some were expecting it's indicative of of a division inside the Republican Party among traditional Republicans who are wary of trump they're they're going with Haley not by a significant margin but it's at least 30 to 40 maybe even 40 plus in some of these states and that's why she's staying in the race she believes there is a coalition out there for her to at least stay in through super Tuesday right and she's making no bones about the fact that she's staying in at least until then and you actually spoke with Nikki Haley earlier today what is she saying about the future of the Republican Party in the RNC well she's ceasing on the reports today Nancy that the chairwoman Ron McDaniel is on her way out to be replaced by the former president's daughter-in-law one of his senior campaign advisers Chris L svita her argument being that they shouldn't be changing leadership at the Republican National Committee during a primary perhaps after a primary we talked to her about that and concerns that Som have that the former president will use the RNC as a legal defense fund take a listen should someone like you have a say in who the RNC picks as its new chairperson Ab well absolutely we should be able to sounds like that you're not going to have the option though we should be able to go and make sure they are nonbiased as long as there is a primary but think about it there are resolutions now one saying that you can't have any bias as long as there's a primary going into something like this the other saying the RNC shouldn't be used to pay Donald Trump's legal fees and you support that it absolutely shouldn't be used I mean what they've said is his daughter-in-law and his campaign manager who will now be running the RNC if Donald Trump gets his way have said that the RNC will now be completely about Donald Trump forget up and down the ticket forget Republican party issues this is now a legal slush fund he spent over $60 million of campaign contributions on his personal court cases at this rate there's going to be another hundred million that he will spend how do you defeat a Democrat who I don't think is going to be Joe Biden it will be someone younger how do you defeat a Democrat when you have no money that's the problem so Nancy that's part of the argument she's making a little more specific and in response to some movement just in the last few days regarding a leadership change there for the Republican party but as Bob said earlier 30 to 40% of the party is siding with her or against the former president and her argument now is he's going to need that 40% to win a general election we shouldn't have to bend to his will he should come around to try to woo us or republican should be voting for her instead that's a great point and yet Bob you never know what percentage of people who support uh an opponent in a primary aren't just going to come back and support the eventual nominee when we get to November so how worried is the Trump team really that all of these Haley voters that are taking a stand against him now won't return to the fold in the fall they're not that concerned they believe that ultimately most Republican voters even if they don't like former president Trump's conduct or his rhetoric on issues like race that they're ultimately going to Rally around him come the fall should he be the nominee because they don't like President Biden the challenge for Trump is Haley and and her Coalition isn't the only threat to his own he could be a felon by the time the election comes around he's facing a criminal hush money trial in New York it starts later in March and if he's convicted there maybe also faces a trial on January 6 or classified records he'll have a lot of legal problems sitting on his shoulders politically and that may not drrive voters to Biden but it could make them stay home it's going to be really interesting to watch can Trump not only move back to the center politically in some ways can he win over those traditional Republicans and reassure them if Haley's not the nominee as it looks like right now those legal troubles one of the reasons that Nikki Haley is staying in the race sort of as a as an insurance card uh Ed you actually spoke with Haley about why she thinks that President Biden won't be the Democratic nominee what did she say about this this is something she brings up often Nancy so we tried to poke at this argument a little bit take a look you keep making the point too that the president won't be the Democratic nominee it'll be someone younger what makes you think that and you can look at Joe Biden now the Democrat Party is already scrambling to figure out who's going to be the person it is not going to be Joe Biden and Republicans need to wake up and know you're going to be running against a younger candidate guaranteed mark my words it is not going to be Joe Biden they are working on that now they're trying to find out who that they working on that now I mean who tells you that they're not well I mean I cover the White House and the and the Democratic party and I have seen no evidence that they're doing that other than showing up for events interviews running ads about abortion rights as Gavin Nome is doing but it doesn't mean he's necessarily actively preparing to be the nominee you don't think any of the Democrat leaders are talking about the state of Joe Biden right now oh sure they do that that's my point so you're thinking is that they'll just continue plotting ahead to get rid of it I mean I think they are trying to look at what's ahead and I think they know what's ahead is not Joe Biden for a second term they've got to figure out what's next who's next I keep meeting interesting argument and she has a point Nancy about how Democrats are you know getting their names out there if only at least officially publicly on the president's behalf right now laying the groundwork perhaps for their own Futures come 2028 or maybe sooner who knows sure uh although as you say no evidence over at the White House that uh the current president is thinking of withdrawing his name from contention um Bob I want to ask you about some comments that the former president made over the weekend that got a lot of negative attention talking about his appeal to Black voters let's take a listen to those and then talk on the other side my my the mug shot we've all seen the mug shot and you know who embraced it more than anybody else the black population it's incredible you see black people walking around with my mug shot you know they do shirts and they sell them for $19 a piece it's pretty amazing you've been out on the campaign Trail quite a bit do you see a lot of black voters wearing t-shirts with his mug shot on them I have not uh former president Trump's comments were called disgusting by Nikki Haley when I was following her around and speaking to her in South Carolina and she has been highly critical of his comments but you haven't seen Haley's refrain echoed by many congressional Republicans or republican Governors there's not an outcry why is that because the Republican party has become Trump's party in many respects and he is the leader even if he's not yet officially the nominee and people are not necessarily fearful of him they're fearful of alienating his core supporters in their respective States who if they take a position on him that's very tough about his racially charged rhetoric uh words about Black Americans that many black and Americans and other Americans find offensive that they're somehow getting out of line with the Republican position on Trump and they believe he actually can make inroads with voters of color this year on issues like the economy and echoing his grievances this is what Trump is saying is that whether it's Americans who who are black or Americans of other races that because of his legal challenges he can somehow cast himself as an outsider to the political establishment and legal establishment this is exactly what he did in 2016 he did it again even when he was the incumbent in 2020 so this approach this language by Trump is so unsurprising to most Republicans Haley's outraged by it but others are not and that's just typical of what the GOP is today with Trump at the lead yeah I mean you think about 10 years ago if a republican candidate had said uh the lights are so bright I can only see the black voters in the room how the party would have responded Norms have been shattered so much there the Norms being shattered on the floor is now the norm yeah no kidding uh Bob Costa thank you so much Edo Keefe in Michigan thanks to you as well the Biden Administration has harsh words for Republicans in the wake of the Alabama embryo ruling the director of The White House gender policy Council joins me next to discuss the issue you're streaming America decides stick around welcome back to America decides the Biden Administration is criticizing Republicans for their reaction to the Alabama embryo ruling in a memo White House Press Secretary Karine jeanpierre says quote Republican elected officials are shamelessly attempting to erase their own records on IVF or inv vitro fertilization the problem is they can't multiple GOP lawmakers expressed support for IVF after the decision but previously supported an anti-abortion Rights bill that does not have carve outs to protect the procedure the director of The White House gender policy Council Jennifer kleene joins us now that title is a mouthful but basically it means that you are the point person at the White House when it comes to Reproductive Rights that is exactly thank you so much for being here with us Jennifer so is it a good thing in some ways that this ruling has prompted so many Republicans including former president Trump to come out and say they do support IVF well let's start by taking a step back to think about how we got here so first of all there is chaos in Alabama at least three fertility clinics have paused their operations including for people who are literally in the middle of undergoing invitro fertilization uh people are not patients are not even sure if they can remove their embryos from Alabama or whether that too would be illegal under Alabama Law after this ruling so there's chaos but that chaos is actually created or was created when Row versus Wade was overturned and that in turn was created by the appointment of three Supreme Court Justices um who brought the majority was who was able to do that and former president Trump has been quite clear that he's proud that he overturned R versus Wade and you know what we've seen across the country is the devastating consequences of the loss of a fundamental constitutional right so that started with um 21 States now have extreme abortion bans some without exception for rape and incest some that many of which criminalize doctors for providing Medical Care um republicans in Congress have have uh proposed three National Abortion bans um people are being turned away from emergency rooms so you know what started as um preventing people from making very personal medical decisions and taking away the right to choose is now taking away the right in a different way for people to uh par women and and families to make decisions to have a family to start a family so when conservatives say that this decision by this group of Alabama judges um has nothing to do with roie Wade you say that's not true it has everything to do with Row versus Wade if Row versus Wade were still the law of the land if there was still a fundamental constitutional right to make decisions about your own body this Supreme Court could not have made the decision that it did so legally does this Alabama ruling open the door for something similar in other states or do you believe that this is a one-off well I think this decision is Extreme I also think that you know not just me lots of people are looking to see what other States will do um and it does open the door to um to you know what we've seen already happening which is really Extreme Action being taken by States in States across the country what can the administration do to protect access to IVF so what we've been doing really again since the DB's decision came down we will continue to do which is do whatever we can by executive action to protect access to abortion and contraception and other reproductive Health um is there a lot you can do well you know what we what we have done so far shows that there is actually a lot that we can do um not on IVF in particular but I would say more broadly on reproductive uh health and rights things like protecting access to emergency rooms when people come to an emergency room needing an abortion as the medical care that they are uh that they need in the middle of an emergency protecting access to contraception which crazily seems also to be at risk um protecting uh the right to travel um for patients who um are trying to leave a state where abortion is not legal to go to a state where they can get a legal medical service and the Department of Justice has actually intervened in a case in Alabama exactly on that point um so those are just a few examples of what we've been able to do what the president has been able to do by executive action but again he has been clear since the day the Dub's decision came down overturning Row versus sued that the only way to actually replace the rights that were lost is to pass a federal law pass Federal legislation that would restore the protections that existed under Row versus Wade for nearly 50 years are you in communication with these clinics and hospitals in Alabama that have halted the IVF procedures for now now that Alabama State officials have said they're not planning on going after people who uh perform IVF are you urging those clinics to reinstate the procedure you know those clinics have to make their own decision based on the situation in Alabama what they determine is the law in Alabama you know we've been reaching out to uh to patients and health care providers um just to express our um our concern and to um and to talk to them about what they are experiencing on the ground so the limbo at least in Alabama continues Jennifer Klein the director of the generative policy council at the White House thanks so much for joining us great toate as always coming up next we're going to bring in our political panel to analyze what CBS News exit polling from South Carolina says about the party's voters you're streaming America [Music] decides I just want to say that I have never seen the Republican party so unified as it is right now welcome back to America decides while Donald Trump says the GOP is unified but do the results in South Carolina bear that out and how worried should his campaign be about it not only did Nikki Haley win nearly 40% of the vote in the petow state but 31% of Republican voters there say they would be quote dissatisfied if Trump wins the nomination Ashley ettien and Emily benavites join us now Ashley is a CBS News political contributor she previously served as communications director for vice president kamla Harris and Emily previously served as the communications director for former Senator Rob Portman and as a spokesperson for Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential campaign welcome to both of you so much to discuss let's start though with South Carolina Emily and what you make of the results there are there any conclusions that we can draw specifically from the fact that once again Donald Trump did very well with rural voters less educated voters but really struggled in uh in the cities and with wealthier Republican voters we're officially in the general election now it's very clear um that Donald Trump is going to be our nominee and at the end of the day Republican voters are going to come home on Election Day they're going to see um where the economy is they're going to remember what things were like under the Trump Administration they have that Nostalgia now and they're going to they're going to come home on Election Day so you don't think that there is a cadr of Haley voters out there who are going to stay home if she is not the nominee there are also folks on the Democratic side that aren't enthusiastic it's a bipartisan issue yeah no question that enthusiasm is a challenge Ashley for both sides I I want to ask you about this IVF fight that has suddenly emerged I would imagine the Democrats welcome that debate because it is a reminder to their voters uh when it comes to Reproductive Rights that elections matter absolutely I mean this is the battlefield that Democrats want to be playing on they want Republicans to continue to become more and more extreme on this issue abortion is the issue is the gift that keeps on giving for the Democratic party but I would love to take a step back here I think what was interesting in the CBS poll and you pointed this out at the beginning is that there there are a a group a sizable number of Voters specifically moderate V voters and independent voters at the Republican party is bleeding consistently we saw that in New Hampshire we saw that this weekend in South Carolina those are the voters that are going to make the difference in the actual election now one thing that I find very interesting is the map going forward favors Nikki Haley in a way that it does in Donald Trump the first few states are much more conservative much more red as we move into these other super Tuesday States I think that's when we'll start to see the real vulnerability of Trump's real vulnerability that's facing Trump and yet even in a state like Vermont Emily which votes on super Tuesday a state with lots of moderate Republicans I think Trump is still leading her by 20 or 30 points we just saw Americans for Prosperity a big outside group funded by the Koch family say we're pulling the plug not because we don't believe in her but we just don't see you know how more money from us is going to help at this point Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee this cycle and I think that focusing on any other options is just fantasy at this point and listen we want it to be Donald Trump trust me Donald Trump has to be on the ticket in order for uh for President Biden to win there has to be this threat around democracy for um for President Biden to win but in addition to that as I said before race after race poll after poll Donald Trump continues to these moderate and independent Suburban voters remember it only takes about 10% of those 30% that said they would not support 30% of Nikki Haley voters that said they would not support Donald Trump to decide they're either going to stay home or either they're going to go with Joe Biden we're win we're going to get this really interesting split screen moment on Thursday when bizarrely both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are going to be at the border immigration obviously a huge issue why is Joe Biden planning to go to the border now just the second time in his presidency sure I mean I think it's very simple he wants to box in the Republicans in the house I mean there was a bipartisan deal that was on the table it was a conservatives wish list it was their dream Bill and they decided to walk against it and play politics that's what the American public hates most about politics is when our politicians aside to put their own political interest ahead of the interest of the nation so he's going I think to start to sort of to box in Republicans and set the stage for a State of the Union Address where I think this is going to be a big subject because here's the house the most probably feckless house in recent history no action to protect the border to close the border no action uh to support our allies who are at war no action to create jobs I mean it's every day they're writing the president's State of the Union Address for him did Republicans give the president a big opening on what should be one of his weakest issues I think that people trust that Donald Trump would be the one to solve the issues on the Border they remember that on day one they didn't pass like a bill like this when he was president and that wall fell apart by the way on day one of the bid Administration all he did was undo all of Trump's policies that were keeping our country secure and didn't replace them with anything else what does that do that is a huge magnet to bring Folks up to the border and create the problem that we're in it's the Biden policies that have put us in the situation that we're in and polling keeps on showing that the American public blames Democrats and the bay Administration can I just add something here The Republican position on the border they're they're in action to protect the border and close the border is only going to become more untenable as we get closer and closer to the Summers because that's when the numbers start to increase so they're going to be put under even more pressure to do something on this this issue and it's going to become clearer and clearer by the day that they're they refuse to do anything on it is there more pressure now on the bistra to use the the tools that they already have to put in place to make our country more secure right we know that the president is considering doing something very similar to what Donald Trump did uh invoking laws that would make it harder to uh apply for Asylum does all of this put more pressure on House Republicans to give that bipartisan deal a second look the president needs to do what is in his own toolbox use what's in his own toolbox the reality is is we know that the best way to address this issue is through comprehensive legislation passed by both chambers of the house and signed by the president Ashley anden Emily Benitas thank you both so much we'll have to leave it there but appreciate it so much and that does it for today we're going to be back with another edition of America decides tomorrow at 5:00 P p.m. Eastern you're streaming CBS news thanks for [Music] watching [Music] oh [Music]

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Keywords: America Decides, CBS News, video, live streaming, Politics, nikki haley, michigan, donald trump, south carolina, primary

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Length: 24min 44sec (1484 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 27 2024