"the washington post" join mess now. you want you to respond. he's been the subject of media coverage describing a cozy relationship with donald trump. he's been dismissing those criticisms. let's look at what he said about you on his show. >> "washington post" actually after our town hall meeting the other night when i eperred him with so many questions that i was attacked for interrupting too much actually said how dare they hold a town hall meeting where they don't ask him tough questions. e we asked tougher questions than our ket. tors ask who have the media writers and people have the audacity to ask if we're too close to donald trump. the answer is, no, we're not. >> he says he's been tough. you said he let him skate. >> i think that there is one of these it great situations where both sides can claim, look at this question, look at at that question. my point here is sort of a larger one. that is if you allow donald trump -- if youen gauge him only on social security, iraq, the issues and how he's going to unite the republican party, you'r

we don't need anymore of these washington acts. the acts to get rid of are washington, d.c. acts and as a governor of a state capital i said we don't need somebody from washington, d.c. what i said in that campaign was the problem is washington, d.c. and we don't need washington politicians to fix it. and so when you look at who's remaining on the stage, no question this is the person who will go to washington, d.c. and be able to absolutely turn the place around. we don't need anymore washington politicians, especially some who have only been there for a term and never shown up for work to tell us how to run the united states government. and so, i absolutely believe that donald trump is the best person on that stage to be president of the united states. by the way, there was a period of time i was running against him. he knew i wanted to beat him. he wanted to beat me. we had open conversations about that. but that part of this is over. and then you have to say to yourself as a good, loyal, american who is the best person to stop hillary clinton from ever getting inside the

for more, go to cnn.com and read my washington post column this week. let's get started. >>> let's get right to the big stories from around the world with tom. tom, welcome. >> good to be with you. >> let me ask you first this bit of news about president obama going to cuba. he's already being hammered on the campaign trail by some trubs. is it a good idea or naive? >> that's a great idea. go down and engage with the people. show them the best of america, their economic model. whoever in your audience is afraid of cuba, please have them raise their hand. i'm not afraid of cuba. it's well past time that we ended our isolation of cuba. it's a lab test that utterly failed. the more we engage them, the more we'll enhance the move. >> is there any out here? >> i've been thinking about this issue. i've been quiet weary to get involved because i didn't see a path going forward and certainly deeply concerned about the hu n humanitarian dimension. syria has spilled out so many refugees they're destabilizing the states around like turkey, jordan, lebanon. at the

it's washington, d.c.'s game of kicking the can, and your kids are going to be it. >> that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper. tune in sunday morning for state of the union. the guests, jeb bush and marco rubio. turning you over to brianna keilar in "the situation room." >>> happening now, natural-born lawsuit. donald trump threatens to sue ted cruz over his citizenship if it rival doesn't clean up his act and stop running negative ads. trump is trying to clean up his own act by cutting down on vug garts. will he watch his mouth in his next event? we're standsing by. >>> embracing obama. one ran against him, the other has criticized him, but they're seeing who can hug the president more tightly. >>> machete attack. four people are wounded and a suspect is dead after a terrifying rampage in an ohio deli of was this a case of lone wolf

she joins us from washington. what are the latest details? >> reporter: we know justice scalia went to texas on friday for a hunting trip at a secluded rezorts. he had dinner on friday night. the ranch owner had been speaking to reporters and said scalia was entertaining and engaged throughout the dinner. around 9:00 p.m. he said he had a long week and wanted to get a good sleep. a separate source tells evan perez that scalia said he wasn't feeling well on friday. the next day the range owner checked on scalia because he didn't show up for breakfast and lunch and found him in bed lying in repose. the sheets weren't wrinkled, no signs of foul play. it appears he died in his sleep of natural causes and the family has reportedly requested for him not to have an autopsy. >> in terms of political fallout, a fight brewing over the successor between the white house and republicans. any timetable as to how it could play out? >> likely it will be within the next month we'll hear about a nomination based on previous nominations coming from president ob

. >> you have a crony capitalist businessman that is supposed to change crony capitalism in washington? that doesn't make sense. >> we'll be back in a moment. hillary clinton's trust problem. one in five americans associate clinton with the word dishonest. plus we'll go live to column south carolina where a democratic town hall gets under way in less than 20 minutes. pro. its intelligent drive is msystems...ng. paradigm-shifting. its technology-filled cabin...jaw-dropping. its performance...breathtaking. its self-parking...and self-braking...show-stopping. the all-new glc. mercedes-benz resets the bar for the luxury suv. starting at $38,950. they speak louder. we like that. not just because we're doers. because we're changing. big things. small things. spur of the moment things. changes you'll notice. wherever you are in the world. sheraton. and choose world. choose, choose, choose. but at bedtime... ...why settle for this? enter sleep number and the ultimate sleep number event going on now. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. you like the

. >> that was how a recent essay in the washington pose began quote i have spent my life perplexed about exactly how hitler could come in power with germany watching donald trump's rise i understand. the piece titled the moment of truth we must stop trump by dr. daniel allen go so far to plead with democrats to reregister with republicans and vote for marco rubio. dr. allen joins me now a politic political theoriest at harvard and democrat and supporter of hillary clinton. dr. allen, normally i think holocaust references diminish when went on. defend your use of the terms in the post. >> let's be clear. i was comparing the american people now to the german people in the 1930s. both cases this is the people characterized by incredible political division and economic insecurity. that's the critical point. we're vulnerable to being taken advantage of a demagogue. i wasn't comparing the two individuals, comparison about the political situation and realities and i think that's why what i really want to do is say everybody should take a moment, stop and think about what really matters here. th

i was involved in the freedom ride, the march on washington, the march from selma to montgomery and directed a voter education project for six years, but i met hillary clinton. i met president clinton. >> and as the battle for black voters heats up, sanders nabbed the endorsement from harry bellefonte. bellefonte says sanders represents opportunity. brianna, this is a crucial night. the two candidates are moving into the deep south, into these key southern primaries and are trying to shore up their support among minority voters who are such a huge voting block there. >> reporter: yeah, certainly. you see this run-up with this endorsement race going on today, erin. a really tough day. i think tough words from john lewis for bernie sanders. i spoke to an aide to bernie sanders who said john lewis is a great american hero that bernie sanders respects. that just goes to show you you don't push back against an icon like john lewis, but we've heard supporters of bernie sanders trying to back him up here saying, look, he was an activist, he was arrested. he's out with an ad starring erica garner, w

there are 250,000 people at the march on washington. all of those people are civil rights icons, as i look at it. >> i don't doubt hillary clinton's support for civil rights and i don't doubt that she's been a supporter of the cbc and the issues you care about. but in 1964 she was a goldwater girl. by her own description she was a republican back then. i mean she was in high school. but she was not doing what bernie sanders was doing at that time. >> well, the thing that i think we all have connected with was that after her awakening, hillary clinton was able to participate in programs and put forth policies that were revolutionary at the time, working with the children's defense fund is just one. but keep in mind that back in that same time, ronald reagan, who was almost a deity for republicans, was a democrat. so i think if we're going to get into that part of things, i would say bernie sanders has just become a democrat. but i think the thing we need to focus on, frankly, is history. i think history says something about what a person

bush also vowed to change washington. but he's also putting the blame on republicans especially with this supreme court nomination. a question of will you give this nominee a hearing? that's going to put republicans on the defensive. but at the same time, don, i don't see the republicans caving. now, will the democrats say, well, the president won't sign spending bills unless you give him this nominee. that, will they raise the stakes to that degree? we'll see later this year, but i don't see republicans caving any time soon and i think republicans might say, listen, we might lose the senate over this, but this is more important to prevent obama from shifting this court. >> i appreciate all of you coming on tonight. gloria borger working hard in the field. all the guys, lazy in the studio sucking up the air-conditioning or the heat. gloria, thank you very much. >> come on down. it's fun. >> thank you, guys. see you soon. >>> when we come right back, hillary clinton on the trail in harlem. will african-american voters be t

in washington. a whole new world on the campaign trail. next stop south carolina and nevada. hillary clinton is the favorite. now scrambling to regroup after new hampshire was lopsided. she even lost the women's vote. republicans are all chasing donald trump. all while two, dropped out. now a race like none we've ever seen before, frankly. it's about to get more interesting. let me start with jim acosta at the trump rally in pendleton, south carolina. jim? >> reporter: that's right. it is a figure of speech in politics. a candidate taking a victory lap on stage.

we've had plenty of people in washington making all kinds of bad deals. the last thing we need in washington is someone who is going to focus on making a deal regardless of the outcome. >> i don't think that's what he's saying. >> i think what donald trump is saying he's someone who has staked his career on, quote, making deals. we've had deals coming out of washington that have taken the country in exactly the wrong direction. >> ron, ron, you can make deals as long as you make them in the right direction. >> this is a choice between someone who has been a, quote, conservative for about six months. versus someone who has been a reliable conservative and challenging the washington cartel and problems in both parties. that's what ted cruz is doing. that's the type of leadership that we need. >> ron, the exit polls, the cnn exit polls, out of new hampshire showed that those who voted in new hampshire who self-identified as quote/unquote very conservative gave the nod to donald trump over ted cruz by 12 points. i understand what you're saying, but the people

. >> i'm wolf blitzer in washington. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. we have breaking news right now. a cnn key race alert. cnn can now report that hillary clinton has won. hillary clinton has won the democratic caucuses in iowa narrowly. very narrowly defeating bernie sanders. bernie sanders comes in second place. an extremely close race. i want to bring in jeff, who is our correspondent. he is covering this. you see what the results there are. these are the results now by the iowa, by the iowa democrats. >> there hadn't been an official announcement in iowa. now there's an official announcement. the iowa democrats, swref, say hillary received 700.59 estate delegate ekwifl i wants. those are representatives that will go to the iowa democratic convention. bernie sanders 696.82 state delegate ekwifl ebt with where's. it's official now. hillary clinton camp can properly declare she won the iowa caucuses. >> she, in fact, did declare a victory. i'm here in in as away, new hampshire,

today he was in washington, d.c. and so that is a newsworthy story -- >> actually, i was on the air -- right, i was actually on the air, and what we reported is that he was going down to florida, and then actually, we followed up with a statement from his campaign saying he was going down to florida because he needed a change of clothes. that might sound ridiculous, but that's what we reported. >> yeah, okay, well, i don't -- a change of clothes, i don't -- well, chris moody had also said r&r, which i took to mean rest and relaxation. we never disputed the cnn reporting -- >> we also reported that he was going to speak at the national prayer breakfast. >> right, and we -- right. so he went to the national prayer breakfast. the whole point is, in the political world, this is playoffs. this is it. nothing else. skipping the playoffs and expecting to go to the super bowl is just -- it doesn't make sense. so that -- so dr. carson made a strategic decision that he wanted to go to florida instead of new hampshire. that tel

not a washington insider. we have a long-term multistate strategy and the resources to execute that. >> thank you all very much. it's going to be an exciting 24 hours as we hear what the voters of new hampshire have to say. >>> hillary clinton trailing bernie sanders by a having big margin. people close to the campaign say bill clinton is not happy. is michael bloomberg jumping into the race? he's speaking about this on the record for the first time tonight. should women vote for hillary clinton because she's a woman? we went to the ground today to talk to them. ♪ with advil, you'll ask what backache? what sore wrist? what headache? what bad shoulder? advil makes pain a distant memory. nothing works faster stronger or longer than advil it's the world's #1 choice. what pain? advil. i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. and give her the strength and energy to stay healthy. who's with me?! yay! the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and

you but in a segment to follow because i said on cnn thursday night, i was surprised on the day "the washington post" broke a story that a superhad arrived at the clinton foundation from the state department that question wasn't asked in the thursday night debate. >> absolutely. it was appalling that you have not only that. so number one, you have the fbi confirming that there is an fbi investigation going into the leading candidate to new hampshire and former secretary of state, not one question but further and even also equal, that the clinton foundation has allegations coming against it and again, neither of those issues are being brought up and i think that that's not just sad if you're a republican but as a democrat because if you allow your supposed front run tore get through the primary without facing tough questions and end up as a party post july with a candidate that's under indictment, that's a big problem, as a republican, i don't have a problem with that but i think if you're a democratic voter and knowing that your top candidate wasn't questioned about that giving them a pass is a

>>> i'm michael smerconish live from washington d.c. the outcome of the south carolina republican primary and caucus will be a presidential reset. if hillary clinton loses to bernie sanders in nevada, might it forshadow another collapse like in 2008? and he certainly is not expected to win, but how badly jeb bush loses could determine whether this is the end of the line in his campaign just another indication of what an unpredictable election this has already been. post of all, the republican who is projected to win today keeps confounding everything we thought we knew about politics after baiting the pope himself into a holy war. donald trump now called for a boycott of one of the most popular american corporations, apple. that's despite the fact as of yesterday, trump himself was still tweeting with his iphone. today is also the day of antonin scalia's funeral. i'll talk to a former clerk of scalia's that went on to argue some 80 cases before the supreme court. cnn will begin coverage at 10:00 a.m. >>> the tussle in the fbi's battle a

some tried and true jabs dealing with citizenship or dealing with whether or not people in texas or washington actually like ted cruz. did the same thing on twitter today. you'll note he'll go after ted cruz no matter what. what donald trump does tomorrow night. it's what the other candidates do to him as you know quite well. the gop establishment is scrambling trying to figure out some way to stop this momentum that's gone forward. tonight will mark the first night and the last major opportunity on the public stage before super tuesday for those candidates to really go to work on trying to stop donald trump, anderson. >> phil mattingly, thanks. >>> now marco rubio out of state when the nevada results came in. pretty much went straight to bed as soon as the outcome was known. he held a campaign event here. jason carroll was there and joins us now. what's rubio's message after nevada because at some point if he wants to beat trump he actually has to beat trump. >> yeah. very true, anderson. his message post-nevada is the same message his campaign says before nevada which is he is the conservati

you hear republicans and democrats, both of them, calling washington just a game. i think you're seeing both of these candidates really grabbing on to that type of message. the cleavage wasn't in the 90s i believe. it was the last recession. you started to see the tea party movement and the populist movement. we're seeing it take place and flourish in this campaign. >> donald trump self-funded. bernie sanders funded by small donors. neither taking big money from special interests. the clintons earned $153 million from speeches over 14 years. it is a stark contrast to that. >> it is. for two different reasons. obviously donald trump doesn't need anybody's money. if anybody missed that montage of clips, he will tell you he's very, very rich. he doesn't need anyone's money. bernie sanders has been fighting against the power and influence of big banks and big corporations his whole career in washington. his whole campaign is being fueled by small donations. it is funny when you look at them and you see they come together on this one issue, erin. >>> next hillary clinto

he understands the issues of defense and washington. all of his issues are -- >> but congressman -- >> it's not just some platitudes of, well, i happen to have a plan for you. i have experience and i have delivered. >> go ahead, will. >> maybe he balanced the budget, but he's increased spending in the state of ohio by 43%. there was a bill that passed in congress in 2009. it was called obamacare. president obama jammed that bill with nancy pelosi down the throats of congress. obamacare legislation on the state legislature. that's not conservativconservat. what they know about him are his liberal policies which helped him in new hampshire. those liberal policies aren't going to help him in south korea. >> i'm going to hit pause here. they fight with each other. you have trump and cruz glad these two are fighting. still a very crowded field. >>> next, bernie sanders meeting with al sharpton in new york today courting the black vote. it's not well lit because this was just a breakfast. they were talking. how big of an issue is this for hil

who knows the underpinnings of washington, d.c. well enough? senator cruz is it. if you want to see power devo e devolved out of washington, d.c., these governors empowered to do the things they know they can do and respecting the tenth amendment, then ted cruz without a doubt is the individual on the stage that can do that. has the commitment, has the intellect, and has the know-how to make it happen. >> when you were governor, you welcomed then president vicente fox to the governor's mansion. the former president said something today that some people think is going to be mana for trump. here's how he said it. >> i'm not going to pay for that [ bleep ] wall. he should pay for it. >> the thing that makes me chuckle about that is he accepted the premise, as if it is going to be there, who is going to pay for it. >> i sethe border can be secure. it doesn't take a physical wall. it takes a virtual wall. that's with technology and boots on the ground. the issue is not whether there's going to be a wall. it's going to be what kind of a wall. are we going to be successf

brianna keilar joins me now in washington. sanders isn't even in south carolina today, he's in massachusetts where he hopes to score a victory a week from tomorrow. >> it's pretty revealing where the candidates are on the democratic side. hillary clinton is fund-raising in los angeles so maybe some confidence revealed there. but you see bernie sanders banking on some of these states that are whiter for sure. his team realistic about his chances in south carolina but he will have to broaden his support if he's going to win the democratic nomination so he has a lot of work to do to challenge hillary clinton from here on out. hillary clinton, stealing back some momentum after her victory in the nevada caucuses. >> i want to knock down all the barriers holding people back. we spent a lot of time talking with voters in the last week about the barriers they felt did impede their getting ahead. >> reporter: it's a message her campaign thinks is resonating with african-american voters in south carolina, which holds its primary saturda

the ran kor in washington has kept us from getting work done. we're going to find somebody who is an outstanding legal mind, somebody who cares deeply about our democracy, and cares about rule of law. any fair-minded person, even somebody who disagreed with my politics, would say, would serve with honor and integrity on the court. >> reporter: an interesting diverse group, a federal judge born in india, served in both the obama and bgss. worked on indications that supported gay marriage, but also big oil and mining companies. congress approved him to the federal bench unanimously two years ago. you can see how such choices could put republican opponents in a tough spot. and that may well be the strategy. choose a moderate that could spark a storm of criticism if republicans refuse to even take it up. or if a liberal choice helped rally democrats to get out and vote. today in a "washington post" op-ed, harry reid blasted republicans' vows to shut a nominee out. it will ensure the republican majority is remembered as the most nakedly partisan, obs

he's going to come to washington, d.c., and he's going to do that because the national prayer breakfast is on thursday. >> very unusual. >> very unusual. >> to be announcing that you're going home to rest for a few days, not going on to the next site. >> very unusual, they said. it certainly was. but they didn't say he was dropping out of the race. now the story gets a little murky at this point. cruz campaign aides spread word to their supporters in iowa that carson might be or actually was dropping out. maybe planning a big announcement even though cnn never said that. carson accused cruz of dirting campaigning. cruz -- dirty campaigning. cruz apologized but blamed cnn causing brooke baldwin to call b.s. >> when senator cruz tries to throw my network and journalists under the bed, let me stand up for them. i'm going to call out b.s. if i hear b.s., and that's b. s. >> under pressure, cruz admit that "cnn got it correct." last night at the debate, he reverted to his previous position. he said this -- >> my political team saw cnn's report breaking news, and they forwarded that news to o

cnn senior washington correspondent joe johns is in hudson, new hampshire, right now where the entire clinton clan, hillary, bill, chelsea, will rally voters in a few hours. joe, bill clinton is now calling some sanders' supporters sexists. >> reporter: there's a lot of that going on right now. i've got to tell you, jake, there has just been a furious effort over this last day with the clintons down in the polls, trying to close the gap. bernie sanders pushing back just as hard. just within the hour, we also got an early indication from hillary clinton that she's trying to change the tone on messaging just a bit and make her campaign more forward-looking in a tweet saying this campaign is about building the kind of future we want the next generations to come into. >> the american people are angry. >> reporter: bernie sanders and hillary clinton making a final push on the eve of the new hampshire primary. >> please, come out and help me tomorrow. >> reporter: clinton making the day a family affair, hitting the trail with her husband and daughter. >> the single best change maker i have

in washington, d.c. 9:00 p.m. in baghdad, wherever you're watching from around the world. thanks for joining us. >>> up first, we're counting down to the last republican debate before super tuesday. it could also be the last chance for donald trump's rivals to try to slow his momentum towards the republican presidential nomination. the stage is set for this evening's showdown. you're looking right now at live pictures from inside the debate hall at the university of houston. donald trump will be front and center coming off three straight primary or caucus victories. he'll be flanked by senator marco rubio of florida, and senator ted cruz of this home state of texas. along with dr. ben carson and ohio governor, john kasich. on the campaign trail, rubio and cruz are already sharpening their attacks on the front runner. >> we can't be fooled by pt barnum. the time for the clowns and the acrobats and the dancing bears has passed. >> the front runner in this race, donald trump, is actually alluded to the fact he thinks parts of obamacare are pretty good. i can tell you, everybo

on the march in washington. but his activity was in the north clearly so it's not surprising in a movement with hundreds of thousands, millions of people involved that two individuals did not meet one another. >> what do you expect to happen at tonight's debate? it was increasingly tense between sanders and clinton. there's obviously tension between the campaigns. stakes are getting higher by the day. secretary clinton took a drubbing in new hampshire. how do you expect things to play out tonight? >> i think senator sanders is going to keep doing what he has to do. obviously the voters in new hampshire responded as did the voters in iowa. we have a rigged economy held up by a corrupt system of campaign finance. that has to change. >> we'll not see a new bernie sanders on the stage tonight. bill press was saying senator sanders has been saying the same stuff for 40-plus years. we're going to hear that tonight, you think? >> senator sanders has consistently stood up against injustice, whether it's economic or raci

here in washington. 8:00 p.m. in acura, turkey. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. we begin with a very dramatic escalation in the battle for the race for the white house. ted cruz is now calling out donald trump over a threatened lawsuit. cruz saying trump's threat stems from a cruz tv ad. the ad uses comments trump made to nbc back in 1999 when he said, he was, quote, very pro choice. ted cruz's message to trump, sue me. >> donald's lawyer sent our campaign a cease and desist letter. and this letter, i will say, having practiced law for many, many years, this letter is one of the most remarkable letters i've ever read. mr. trump's lawyers contend that that advertisement you just saw is, quote, material -- is an attempt to materially mislead the public. and indeed provides more detail. he says that this attack ad, is what he calls it, is, quote, not only completely disingenuous, but replete with lies, false, defamatory and destructive statements and down right fabrications. mr. trump's

here in washington d.c. 8:00 p.m. in jerusalem. wrer are you watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. >> we start in iowa where voters are just hours away from casting the fist votes in the presidential election. the candidates are making a final push across the state right now with each one trying to get in the last word in their own way. >> hello, iowa. it's great to be here. he will be unbelievable. >> i will always seek to make you proud, that you will always be proud of the fact that you caucused for me. >> i hope you will go. i hope you will stand up for me. i hope you will fight for me. >> together we will win the iowa caucuses. we will win the nomination, and we will win the general election. we will defeat hillary clinton. >> this is a campaign of the people by the people and for the people. >> voter turnout will be the telling statistic today with gatherings in more than 1,600 locations for each party across the state. there's democrats and republicans making the choice. the first choice but not th

meantime, send you to washington. the lead with jake tapper starts now. >>> thanks, brooke. our long national nightmare is over. leo finally has his oscar. the lead starts now. >>> donald trump blaming his earpiece for refusal to condemn the klan, david duke, and white supremacist groups. they interrupt a trump rally. >>> the biggest day in the campaign, republican officials in washington in desperation mode trying to save the party as they know it. what will it mean to be a republican if super tuesday becomes trump tuesday? >>> plus. >> i made the worst mistake of my life. >> first on cnn, an american college student detained in north korea sobbing as he pleas for mercy. does he look like a spy working for the cia? pyongyang thinks so. >>> welcome to the lead. i am jake tapper. everything is on the line for republicans tomorrow, super tuesday. if the polls are to be believed, this time wednesday we will be talking about donald trump, the presumptive republican presidential nominee. instead of party leaders getting comfortable with the idea, they're in full panic mode becaus

status quo, people who want things to change, people who are looking the message i'm going to change washington and they're not out for you, there are different prescriptions to the same kind of problem that they're hearing defined by all these candidates. >> interesting talking about donald trump and bernie sanders have something in common. a lot of people who like them are angry and are angry at how things have been going. they like to watch it. we love it in the media. it's good for us. maybe not good for hillary clinton. some would say bad for the democratic party because it would show there's a schism. is that true? >> we had a long fight in 2008 and it didn't work out that. democratic voters wanted to see this young senator barack obama go toe to toe with a heavyweight for all 50 rounds. it's a little bit different now. a little thing i would be worried about if i were the clinton campaign is bernie sanders has raised a large amount in small donations. hillary clinton is reliant on what will be maxed out donors. she's going to have to be watching that as this goes on. the longer it goes,

here in washington. 4:00 p.m. in rio de janeiro. 8:00 p.m. in syria. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. >>> up first, presidential politics here in the united states and the mad dash for votes in new hampshire. republican candidates, they're crisscrossing the state right now, just five days before the first of the nation primary. most of the candidates have multiple campaign events in new hampshire today. they're also sharpening their attacks on one another ahead of tuesday's primary. but texas senator ted cruz says he's taking the high road. donald and others have tossed more than a few nasty personal attacks my way. i can't control what they do. but i can control how i respond. and i have not responded in kind, and i do not intend to respond. i don't think the people are interested in a food fight. but i think the most important decision for the men and women of new hampshire is who do you trust? >> the new jersey governor, chris christie, made no poll gees for taking on some of his republican rivals. >>

tom foreman, cnn, washington. >>> so what is the campaign's take on this? joining me now is bernie sanders campaign manager. jeff weaver. we appreciate you taking the questions. i want to give you a chance to respond to this. is that senator sanders in this photo? we're going to show it again at the sit-in chicago in 1962? >> today the photographer of that photo and another photo which is also bernie with the university president which is featured in our advertising came forward and said he took the foe itos and that is in fact bernie sanders in those photos. >> so the campaign confident despite the fact you have this research done that showed a different name in the caption that this is indeed him? >> i think there was some confusion at one point by some relatives of somebody else. but the photographer himself, who took the actual picture said that is bernie sanders. i was there. he named other people in the room. we're 100% confident given that that that is him. >> you stand by the ad. i want to ask you about another topic. this is something that senator

he didn't go to washington and play the game like marco rubio did. let's be clear about that. when he went there, he made it very clear i'm going to go and stand up for tea party conser conservative values. they were not popular in the senate. he stood up for values. he's never flip-flopped on partial birth abortion like trump has done. why don't you use that same logic towards trump and rubio that you're using towards ted cruz? it's a double standard. >> we still fund obamacare and planned parenthood. we still have syrian refugee relocation. he's in the senate and he said he would stop it and he didn't. he is talking about things he would do. he's got zero to show for it. >> hogan, as a senator he said i will go and fight to repeal obamacare. that's what he did as a senator. as a senator, you know this. you can only fight for it. he didn't say he was going to go up there and be the president. he said he was going to be a senator and fight against it. that's a man who has character and fights for his word. more than rubio did. >> you built d coalitions to ge things accomplishe

every single time there's been an opening in the supreme court since washington the president has put forward someone to fill that seat. these are people who love the constitution. if the framers of the constitution wanted for the last year in the president for the president to be -- i'm a lame duck, i cannot nominate someone, it would be in the constitution. it's not in the constitution because we have one president at a time and that president has to do his or her job until the very last day. so the reality is this is the only president in the history of the republic that's being asked to wait. the longest it's ever taken is 120 days. they want this president to sit on his hands 340 days and refuse to fill a vacancy on the highest court in the land. it's ludicrous. he should do his job. they should do their job. >> nobody is saying the president can't submit a name and make a nomination. in fact, he's more than welcome to do any of that. they're saying he or she is not going to be confirmed as has been the case for the last 80 years. >> josh, aren't you playing a really scary roulet

he's a polarizing figure in washington and capitol hill. can he win the hearts and minds of the texas voters. we'll take you to a diner in dallas to find out what people there are saying. >>> deadly tornadoes strike the southeastern united states. the latest on whether the powerful storm system is hitting as we come to you live from the university of houston where the cnn debate is tomorrow night. think of it as a seven seat theater... for an action packed thriller. being hacked and intellectual property being stolen. that is cyber-crime and it affects each and every one of us. microsoft created the digital crimes unit to fight cyber-crime. we use the microsoft cloud to visualize information so we can track down the criminals. when it comes to the cloud, trust and security are paramount. we're building what we learn back into the cloud to make people and organizations safer. one day a rider made a decision. the decision to ride on and save money. he decided to save money by switching his motorcycle insurance to geico. there's no shame in sa

i'm saying to myself, what is the biggest problem right now in washington? well, it's clearly the dysfunction in washington, the fact that they don't talk, they don't work together. very rarely does anything get done. the one person who has the independence and can be the change agent to actually get washington working again, it was very clear to me that that was donald trump. >> jeff, an endorsement like that actually moving the needle for him at all in new hampshire at this point? >> no, i don't believe so. i listened to senator smith, whom i met back in the reagan days and have enormous respect for. i'm sure he's going to disagree, but i just think that when you are involved, i mean, he was the -- scott brown was the nominee for the united states senate the last time around, surely he's got some folks in new hampshire that like him. so, yes, i would think. but the more important thing is, like president reagan, who brought in conservatives and moderates together in the party, donald trump, when you've got sarah palin on the one hand and scott brown on the

here in washington, 10:00 p.m. in damascus, syria. from wherever you're joining us, thanks for joining us. we begin with the presidential race. the republicans hitting nevada, the democrats looking ahead to south carolina. three of the five remaining republican hopefuls are in nevada today. that's the short-term focus. long-term, it's the march 1st super tuesday primaries. meanwhile, on democrat's sides, hillary clinton and bernie sanders are getting ready for their battle in south carolina, and the next test of how african-american voters are going to break. we'll get to that a little bit later this hour. but first, let's check the pulse of the republican race for the white house right now, donald trump is riding high after his ten-point win in south carolina. with a stop in atlanta, he ticked off the groups that gave him the win. >> so we won with everything. we won with highly educated, pretty well educated, and poorly educated, but we won with everything. tall people, short people, fat people, skinny people! just won. >> florida s

he has been covering washington for more than 40 years. he also moderated three presidential election debates and now a cbs news contributor. before we talk about the presidential race, let me ask you about the stunning and tragic news about justice scalia. i think it's known for you in washington sometimes you see the justices even though there's a vail of secrecy over the court. did you ever interact with him and what are your experiences with him? >> i met him once at a party. that's the extent of my personal contact. he was truly an intellectual giant. no getting around that. one could disagree or agree with him. he made his mark but i got to tell you, brian. i woke up this morning and looked at my iphone and there was the headline on the washington post story that says scalia's death spurs partisan sclash. i thought my god they haven't dug the poor man's grave yet and we're talking about a partisan brought on by his death. it's where we are in american politics today. >> we can talk about whether it's good or bad but it's certainly ch

we have to run this bunch out of washington d.c. we have to rid the earth of them. get them out of there. >> all right. on the democratic side it's even closer when you look at the numbers in the polls. hillary clinton with a 3 point lead over bernie sanders and statistically that's a tie because it's in the poll's margin of error so that's called a dead heat. the candidates are fanned out making their last minute pitch to voters at this hour and late into tonight. they don't want to miss a moment. you don't want to look back with regret. phil is here in des moines and that is where ted cruz will be holding a major rally tonight. our senior white house correspondent is in iowa. that's where donald trump is about to speak live at any moment. how confident is he about winning iowa? the polls show him ahead but it all comes down to turn out. does he think in a state where caucus going is an inherited thing that people are going to show up for him? >> that's the million dollar question and we're going to get that answer tomorrow night. i asked the campaign manager for d

kathleen parker from "the washington post", jim warren from pointer, and molly hemingway, senior editor at the federalist. kathleen, is rubio trying to portray trump as a loser, something other candidates up until now have been maybe afraid to do? >> well, absolutely. and i'm delighted that e seems to have taken my advice because i wrote a column to that effect, but anyway, yes, basically what he's doing i think is going after trump. he's taunting him because the one thing a bully can't stand is to be taunted, and he's trying to get under trump's skin i think at a deeper level than anyone else has bothered to do previously and why not? trump has been throwing it at him pretty fiercely. he's returning the volley but he's also having a little bit of fun i think. it's a liberation moment for marco rubio who has been accused of being so robotic previously. it seems to be working too. trump cannot stand it and we'll see where it goes. we'll look forward to everyone getting back to being a little more presidential however. >> you think that will actually happen? >> will that actually happen?

in the meantime we send it to washington. "the lead with jake tapper" starts right now. >> thanks, brooke. i'm back from new hampshire. as donald trump might say, there was so much winning going on. "the lead" starts right now. there will be blood. donald trump moves on to south carolina with ted cruz in his cross-hairs. if you thought the race was chaotic and ugly before, wait until you see the tv ads running today. >>> going national. bernie sanders getting a huge fund-raising bump after his blowout win in new hampshire. can he break through in friendly territory for hillary clinton? >>> determined to attack. the top u.s. security official warning isis could strike inside the u.s. this year. and we may not see the terrorists coming. hello, everyone, welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. our politics lead today, new hampshire narrowing the republican field. carly fiorina announcing she is suspending her campaign today. governor chris christie expected to do the same. while tuesday spelled the end for some, it was a momento

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, so-called political outsiders turning the presidential race upside down. a brash billionaire businessman and reality tv star is, a 74-year-old self-declared democratic socialist both winning very big in the first primary election of the 2016 campaign. senator bernie sanders trouncing hillary clinton 60% to 38% in new hampshire primary. on the republican side donald trump took 35% of the vote, ohio governor john kasich finished second with 16%. followed by senator ted cruz, former florida governor jeb bush and senator marco rubio. trump told cheering supporters he'll fix the country's problems, including the economy and creating jobs. >> if we had 5% unemployment, do you really think we'd have these gatherings? forgetting about security, forgetting about isis which, by the way, we're going to knock the hell out of isis, we're going to knock the hell out of them and it's going to be done the right

is the establishment whom we cover in washington, d.c., and wielded power for many, many years under president george w. bush and they control the house, they control the senate, are they going to be able to take back the presidential nomination? >> so does that mean a real coalescing around one of the four establishment candidates? >> yeah. is there push for marco rubio or jeb bush? is that going to work at all or not? we'll see. dana bash stay here. that's it for this special edition of "the lead." dana and i will be back with cnn's special coverage of the new hampshire primary 7:00 p.m. eastern. i now turn you over to wolf blitzer in a place we like to call "the situation room." >> who wins new hampshire depends on who turns out to vote. just moments from now we'll bring you the first answers to that key question. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." >> i'm anderson cooper with new hampshire's secretary of state predicting a record turnout. we've just received the first exit polling data on who

also cnn political commentator and washington correspondent for the new yorker, ryan lizza. this idea trump could be unstoppable based on not only momentum but math. how much stock do you put in there? >> a lot. we've been grading marco rubio on a curve since iowa, right? he has to consolidate the anti-trump vote and he has to consolidate the republican establishment around him and the donor class and do it basically yesterday. time is running out. in between now and super tuesday is likely to be another trump victory in nevada. bottom line as john pointed out. if you aren't winning, you aren't winning. the most important thing is if cruz can pick up florida and ohio, then he has a shot. then the momentum can change. it's going to be hard for him to pick up ohio if kasich is in the race. frankly, rubio's path is through john kasich. with kasich in the race, it's very, very hard to see how he catches trump. >> maggie, as long as -- to ryan's point, as long as kasich is in the race but also cruz is in the race. the vote is divided. >> the vote is divided although i've been ske

we're going to get rid of common core which is basically education through washington, which is a disaster, by the way, and you understand that, and we'll get rid of obamacare. obamacare turned out to be a total disaster. >> donald trump is hoping to harness the momentum from his nevada win as the race heads straight into super tuesday. 11 states vote on that super day which has the other campaigns scrambling to find a path to stop trump's march for the republican nomination. let's go to phil mattingly following the trump campaign in virginia beach today. what did voters flare donald trump today? what was his message? >> kate, he's relentlessly on message. strength over and over again and repeating the length you just played there. he won't diverge to it. that's what they continue to reference, donald trump represents strength whether it's on national security, domestic issues or trade as he talks about regularly and i think the most interesting thing, kate, is as we've seen in the past three contests that's a message working and as we head into super tuesday where 25% of the available del

in washington. a whole new world on the campaign trail. next stop south carolina and nevada. hillary clinton is the favorite. now scrambling to regroup after new hampshire was lopsided. she even lost the women's vote. republicans are all chasing donald trump. all but twhile two, dropped out. now a race like none we've ever seen before, frankly. it's about to get more interesting. let me start with jim acosta at the trump rally in pendleton, south carolina. jim? >> reporter: that's right. it is a figure of speech in politics. a candidate taking a victory lap on stage. that's literally what happened behind me tonight. donald trump took a victory lap on this stage savory that landslide win he had in the new hampshire primary. there was a point during the speech he tipped his hat to carly fiorina and chris christie. even though trump has been attacked by his rivals all day long, even marco rubio got into it. he's been taking a kid glove approach with donald trump. donald trump did not really talk about his gop opponents at this event, save a couple of lines for jeb bush. but dona

in washington, d.c. on the campaign trail going into the final weekend before super tuesday. getting ready for round three. round one was the debate last night with rubio launching his first trump-style attack. today came a bunch of insults. >> a nervous basket case. here's a guy -- you ought to see him backstage. he was putting on makeup with a trowel. i don't want to say that. i will not say that he was trying to cover up his ears. >> what does donald do? he takes to twitter. i'll read some. you'll have fun. number one, here's the first one. lightweight marco rubio was working hard last night. this is true. the problem is, he is a "chocker." and once a "chocker" always a "choker" i guess is what he meant to spell. >> when they put marco on to refute president obama's speech, do you remember that catastrophe? and he's like this. and we will -- i need water. help me. >> next tweet, leet weight marco rubio looks like a little boy on stage. not presidential material. he meant to say lightweight but spelled it l-e-i-g-h-t. >> he's a choker and all of a sudden, he's being drained