CNN Calls Clinton’s Plummeting Support in Iowa ‘Extraordinary,’ and ‘Staggering’

TAPPER: “Let's talk about the Democratic field right now -- there's a lot of unrest there -- with CNN senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns. Joe, Clinton still leaning in Iowa. But this poll out from over the weekend, The Des Moines Register poll, shows she's lost a third of her support in Iowa among Democrats since May.” 
JOHNS: “Yes. Extraordinary. It invites a comparison to what happened to Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2008, though some would say it's too early to make that jump. What we do know is how strong Bernie Sanders is running in Iowa and that his supporters appear to be excited about his campaign and that's what the latest poll out of Iowa is telling us.” 
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SANDERS: “That is not Hillary Clinton's position.” 
JOHNS (voice-over): “Bernie Sanders ratcheting up his rhetoric against the longtime Democratic front-runner as a new poll shows him surging in Iowa. Clinton still leads in the early voting state 37 percent to 30 percent. But the trend is troubling for her. In May, Clinton was at 57 percent. But since then, she's lost a staggering third of her support.” 
CLINTON: “This is going to be competitive. It should be competitive. It's only the presidency of the United States we're talking about.” 
JOHNS (voice-over): “She's been called the inevitable nominee before and maintained she's always expected the race to heat up.” 
SANDERS: “We need a movement which takes on the economic and political establishment.”
JOHNS (voice-over): “Sanders' popularity growing as he touts his progressive credentials and drawing a sharper contrast with the policy differences dividing the two candidates.” 
SANDERS: “I believe we should expand Social Security by lifting the cap on taxable income. That's not Hillary Clinton's position. I believe that we have got to raise the minimum wage over a period of several years to $15 an hour -- not Hillary Clinton's position. I voted against the war in Iraq. Hillary Clinton voted for it.” 
JOHNS (voice-over): “Meanwhile, she's now pursuing a more aggressive approach to the e-mail controversy that has long dogged her campaign.” 
CLINTON: “I know people have raised questions about my e-mail use as secretary of state, and I understand why. I get it. I never sent any classified material, nor received any marked classified.” 
JOHNS (voice-over): “But the questions over her use of a private e-mail server are sure to continue as the State Department releases another batch of her e-mails tonight. The release will include roughly 150 e-mails that have been retroactively upgraded to classified. Democrats polled in Iowa largely said Clinton's use of e-mail didn't bother them. But one sign of concern, those who support Sanders said they felt more strongly about him than those who said they backed Clinton.” 
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JOHNS: “And what if Joe Biden gets into the race? The Des Moines Register also asked about that and said the vice president got 14 percent. He takes away roughly the same amount of support from each of the front-runners on the Democratic side.” 
TAPPER: “Unpredictable on both sides, Democrats and Republicans. Joe Johns, thank you so much.”