washington about can you win a general election? let's talk about demographics for a second. if the next republican nominee wins the same share of the white vote that marco rubio did in 2012, that was 59%, that nominee would need to win 30% of the non-white vote. now, with all due respect, sir, a lot of republican leaders in d.c. struggle to envision you accomplishing this, especially given the fact that there are white supremacist groups and individuals like that who support you, some of whom you've even retweeted. >> well, is that i know nothing about. i don't know retweeting up. retweet somebody and they turn out to be white supremacists. i know nothing about the groups that support me. s i will tell you, as a candidate i'll bring over a lot of democrats, bring over a lot of independents. nobody else will. in all fairness, other candidates will never bring over independents. we're talking about the reagan democrats. we'll bring over tremendous numbers. we'll bring over youth. bernie's not going to make it, in my opinion. i never thought he would. hillary won't make it. frankly f she g

all, democracy wins. you have the people speaking up to say they don't want washington to pick their candidates. they want a say. on the democratic side, bernie sanders has shown the people matter and the people can speak up and change the democratic establishment. hopefully that change is going forward and republicans elect someone sane. >> marco rubio won expectations. big win for ted cruz. can he keep that momentum in new hampshire? i'm not sure. hillary clinton may have won, but it would have been groundhog day all over for her in iowa although she won a tiny bit. donald trump is a loser today. >> maria. >> hillary clinton wins becoming the first woman to ever win an iowa caucus. bernie sanders did great. also a win. the democratic party wins. they are focusing on the issues that all americans care about. compared to republicans who will nominate somebody who is anti-woman or anti-latino. >> all right. ben. go. >> i'll say this. donald trump proves arrogance and cockiness does not win you the white house. ted cruz did better than anyone thought. marco rubio is a guy that has a li

than 40 years. let's talk about this with cnn senior political reporter who is in washington. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell was quick to say he didn't think the president should nominate a replacement for scalia. president obama vowed he will nominate someone quickly. how long could the process drag out? >> quite sometime if you look at histor historical, typically they take 67 days on average. the longest when robert -- nomination was rejected three decades ago. that took 108 days. this is poised to smash that record. we are looking at right now mcconnell saying the president should not nominate anyone. if he sticks to his demand and decides not to allow a confirmation vote on the senate floor and if they deny a confirmation hearing in the senate, judiciary committee it is certainly likely there will be no nominee confirmed this year. that means it will drag on to the next presidency. it could take two or three months in the next administration. we can look for more than year. the question is whether or not political pressure will force republicans to change. >> i'm hearing

has moderated meet the press and wrote a book about faith. david joins me now from washington. i want today start with jeb bush. there was so much expectations and predictions that he would be the candidates to be in this race. we collected the media say two years ago when talking about jeb bush running. >> well, i think a couple of things. bush proved not to be a good candidate and not someone who was able to read the moment and adjust. not someone who was able to take on donald trump very effectively. it took time for him to build up to taking on. then frankly to little effect. you think about the race and how it was shaping up and the first part of 2015. this was suppose to be a clinton bush contest. there w . >> people have strong memories of the disappointing parts of his administration and that do you think that settled jeb all along? >> i think that's a part of the ferment in the republican party that goes back a long time. i think this is a real kind of reordering going on in the party after the years of george w. bush. i think people don't remember as much that it was un

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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 white house again. this i

this battle is a combination of seven or eight years of battles in washington between president obama and republicans. i think about mitch o colonel and others saying we must oppose this president in order to regain power and the presidency. there was a choice to be an abinstructionist position and this all comes to a head now, pin cal of some sort with the supreme court. all republicans are saying the opposite. >> the presidents are elected for four years. he's got about a quarter of his term left. that's a big chunk of time. >> i've heard people say he only has a few months. >> keep in mind this is not a retirement. this is a vacancy. the supreme court is not designed to function with an even number of justices. this is a time where in most of american history there would be a consensus that you can't leave the supreme court vacant for a year or two. >> should cable news be creating their constitutional graphics and getting music ready? >> i'm always for breaking news. sure. it's not going to bring the country or supreme court to a halt. it's going to be another constitution t

about "the washington post." "the washington post" seems to have a bone to pick with the rnc. they wrote their second editorial in a few days that think think the leaders need to stand up to trump. history will not look kindly on gop leadered who failed to do everything in their power to prevent a bullying demagogue from becoming their standard bearer. >> i think "the washington post" completely misunderstands that's going on in america. the rnc's job is to be neutral in the race to ensure we have the resources necessary to help the nominee win in november. not to pick winners and losers. under the chairman, we've consolidated the calendar to make sure more voters have their voice heard. "the washington post" doesn't understand with people in washington don't agree with what the voters decided, we should undermine that. that's false. the voters choose. that's what's wrong with this country. too many people in washington are telling voters they're wrong, washington knows best, and what we have right now is a process where more people are helping decide our nominee. that's supposed t

400,000 jobs, that is a record that i can take to washington. >> if you add it up, kasich, bush, christie, put carly fiorina in there, even though she's an outside establishment voters, and marco rubio, donald trump would be in the rear-view mirror. but you have this cluster. >> and for kasich, the question is -- he may do well here, but where is he going to do well afterwards? it's hard to see him doing well in south carolina or the super tuesday states. and he does not have the kind of organization that he's built that could actually compete for a national campaign. that is the one thing that jeb does have going for him, while he has burned through a lot of money -- >> it's why ted cruz's campaign is quietly cheering for jeb bush. the ultimate representative of the establishment. but cruz's folks are cheering for jeb here in new hampshire because they want jeb, and more importantly, they want jeb's super pac to keep going to south carolina and keeping its fire on marco. >> we know there are a lot of evangelical tea party members in the south. we don't know about trump's stayin

with cnn senior washington correspondent joe johns, who is in henderson. so -- joe, give us an idea of the mood there. whether there is a feeling that clinton has to work hard for support, or if she can feel fairly comfortable in that state? >> well, let me tell you, we are, fred, at an event for organized labor. it's a get out the vote event in henderson, north carolina. just got through hearing from randy weingarten, the president of the american federation of teachers, organized labor. so important to both of these democratic candidates in the state of nevada. so much so that the culinary union, probably the largest are and most powerful union here in this area decided not to endorse anyone, at least in this stage. focus on the general election. that's an indication that there could be a fight ahead for the caucuses, just seven days from today. right here in nevada. hillary clinton, also, today, putting out a fund-raising letter, telling people that she was outragised by $500 million, asking supporters to send her money to get ready for super tuesday in march, which is also not very

have gridlock. i was going to say armageddon in washington, but that would imply action. if the republicans won't give the president his pick, then you can bet the democrats are not going to give republicans anything. they'll just tie up the senate and essentially say might as well go campaign. the question going forward is do the democrats get involved in this? do hillary clinton and bernie sanders say allow the vote, but how does the president -- i'm fascinated by the point he's got 11 months left. how does he change this? >> i think he is going to have to apply some pressure on people like kelly ayotte, rob kirk, rob portman, looking at re-election. i think it's going to be really important that he picks a candidate who republicans would have a hard time turning down. one option would be to pick by the same exact senate, pick an historic candidate. if he went with him, who would be the first indian american, if he went with another woman, if he went with an african-american woman or man, then that just ramps up the pressure on republicans to block not only this president but

guts to take on the pharmaceutical industry who has 1300 paid lobbyists in washington, d.c.? and these guys spend zillions in campaign contributions? i believe that when the american people stand up and they say, you know what? health care is a right of all people, not a privilege, yeah, i believe we can do that. >> another question for you, senator. meet tracy jackson to your right. she runs a nonprofit, says she is voting for secretary clinton, but has a question for you. >> hi, senator sanders. i was recently asked to teach a leadership course at my alma mater. if you were going to be a guest speaker in my class, what two leadership truths would you share with my undergraduate students? >> first of all, thank you for what you do. >> thank you. >> i believe that you cannot be a good leader unless you go into yo your heart of hearts and passionately believe in what you were leading. i go around the country and see kids coming up, i would like to be a senator, i would like to be a governor. not good enough. why do you want to be a senator? why do you want to be a governor? what i

massachusetts, washington, oregon, where there's hotbeds of progressivism. she might start to point out that more. >> van, then we have to go. >> i just think there are areas, is he barack obama -- no. frankly, that's not the point. the point is that there are key differences and on the question of peace, on the question of war and peace, where he gets closer to the president and to the base than hillary clinton, he never made it an issue. >> you think bernie sanders is closer to barack obama than hillary clinton? >> on syria. on peace. >> in life. in the real world. >> on real soldiers dying? yes. on stupid wars? yes. >> on life. >> why is hillary clinton opposing our president? >> this is the game we're having. >> we'll get van a cool cloth for the break. standing by, polls are closing in south carolina. cnn could be on the verge of making a major projection right after this. nobody move! get on the floor! do something! oh i'm not a security guard, i'm a security monitor. i only notify people if there is a robbery. there's a robbery. why monitor a problem if you don't fix it? that

washington. that's why you see the candidates who are from washington. it doesn't get mer washington than two senators running away from that record. marco rubio saying he doesn't want to be in the senate anymore, ted cruz staking himself as an anti-senate senator. there's no doubt they want someone from the outside. they get the sense they're frustrated and angry and donald trump has embodies that for them. >> you have to wonder what that means for those going forward in the senate and the house. voters are saying they're very angry with what they've done. interesting, marco rubio, there was one category that he did win and that was the category essentially people who think that he wanted experience, people who did want experience wanted marco rubio, and he hasn't been in this senate all that long even. >> yeah. you know, he paints himself as a 1-year conservative. that's a new part of his stump speech he's put in there in the past weeks. he kbos back to his time in the florida legislature as a speaker of the house there in florida. and, of course, in the senate. you know

cooper, back to you in washington. >> we have a enough panel here of political commentators. republican strategy, amanda carpenter, bill press and donna brizily. let let's. >> first of all, tonight after the results are in, the result will likely be that secretary sanders will be 13 andhillary clinton 11. the delicate count will continue to be close until one of the candidates pulls out beep go to nevada, the republican goes go to south carolina. >> and the damn gresk change a lot in. >> absolutely. you have a more we also have a closed caucus whereas you had to be registered. south carolina has an open i system, of course being that will also benefit -- >> of. >> can bernie sanders compete in nevada? in south carolina? >> i think absolutely. and i think he showed tonight he can compete nation wise. this is, no use his word, huge, for bernie sanders. i think he's a very eserious candidate, a national candidate. >> he's got these resources, he's definitely going to be there for the long run. this is going to be more -- his message is i can get people out and excited, the party needs that

day with the democrats it's more than 7 on -- 70% of the population, washington county in the western part of the state, trump at 34 there. it's the second largest county. if you look at the results this is the western part of the state. this is where you would expect ted cruz if he is getting your traditional evangelical voter, you would expect votes here, but right now it's filling in all donald trump. we watched this in south carolina and we saw it in new hampshire, 42, 23, 22 so like the other night it looks like this where we will be spending our time. they do get delegates. so second and third matters, you get one or two more delegates than the other guy, but this has to be a concern to those trying to stop donald trump. this is the first time he's going to win a state above 35%. donald trump will stay in the 30s and somebody will catch him, nevada is saying tonight not here. if we pull out now, this is the delegate count here. this is again three out of four after four contests. so we're in the momentum phase of the campaign. he's one three of the first four. i want to make the

there's this canyon between their community and washington. and there's a lot of frustration about the idea that washington's not listening to people and their every day concerns. so, donald trump's candidacy for many of these voters has become a vehicle for those frust rashzs and he has talked about it, whether it's been about the economy, immigration, national security, he has not offered real substantive positions u but instead clarity. he has defined what he thinks is the wrong approach by washington and then he's offered what he believes is a rather simple remedies. that is something that's really resonating right now. >> but a lot of people in the beginning didn't believe that he could do it. >> that all of these people misjudged the pundits pm they misjudged the anger of the american people. >> they really shouldn't have because the three people who are the frontrunners right now, marco rubio in 2010, ted cruz in 2012 and donald trump in 2015. what do they have in common? they're the outsiders. and they have close to 60 and 70% in some places. and marco rubio now wears the estab

, washington. >>> joining us now for more on the united states supreme court somehow down, the assistant managing editor at the l.a. times and political analyst. welcome to you both. mike, i want to make up on what the president said earlier on tuesday that he found it somewhat amusing that many republicans consider themselves to be strict in the constitution until it comes to this point and they're now saying he doesn't have the right, the legal right to go forward and appoint a success or to justice scalia. how do you respond to that charge of double speak? >> i think everyone is saying the president absolutely has the right to nominate someone, but by the same token the senate has the right to not confirm that person. the senate has the right to advise and consent, not advise and rubber stamp. if you go back to reagan's last year in 1987, it was his third nominee, kennedy, who actually got appointed by the democratic senate. the first person was shot down and the second person didn't make it to a vote. that's the point of checks and balances, especially when you have a split

in washington. and he's right, he's given hundreds of thousands to democrats. anyone who really cared about illegal immigration, wouldn't be hiring illegal immigrants. they wouldn't be funding harry reed and nancy pelosi and the gang of 8. when you honor the promise you made to the men and women who elected you q say enough with the krupscorruption, let's stan the working men and washington, they don't like you in washington. and if you want to be liked in washington, that's not a good attribute for president. >> here's a man, robin hood over here. he talks about corruption. on his financial disclosure form, he didn't even put that he borrowed money from goldman sacks ande

inevitability. bernie sanders. he was there when dr. king marched on washington unafraid to challenge the status quo to end racial profiling, take on police misconduct and take down a system that profits from mass imprisonment. >> there is no president who will fight harder to end institutional racism. >> this, to me, is the defining test of this race. because of where the calendar goes next. where you have either majorities or high pluralities of african-americans in the democratic electorate. if bernie sanders can break through and get a sizeable number, that means a longer race and a changed race. >> and the place to look when we get numbers out of south carolina is younger african-americans because the big question is going to be whether younger african-americans vote their race or their age. younger people have flocked to bernie sanders. and why wouldn't a younger african-american connect with his message the way a younger white person would? that's the argument that the sanders campaign is making. >> that's why you see people in the congressional black caucus come out and more a

kosinski live for us in washington tonight. michelle, thank you so much. we'll be watching washington very closely. this was no doubt the first question in the gop debate tonight. we'll bring you some of that next. style... ...reinvented. sophistication... ...redefined. introducing the all-new lexus rx and rx hybrid. agile handling. available 12.3-inch navigation screen and panorama glass roof. never has luxury been this expressive. this is the pursuit of perfection. i am totally blind. i lost my sight in afghanistan. if you're totally blind, you may also be struggling with non-24. calling 844-844-2424. or visit my24info.com. at ally bank, no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like social media equals anti-social. hey guys, i want you to meet my fiancÉe, denise. hey. good to meet you dennis. ♪ ♪virgin islands nice ♪ ♪so nice ♪so nice, so nice ♪ spend a few days in the u.s. virgin islands and return with a lifetime of experiences. that's virgin islands nice. ♪so nice, so nice you know the symptoms when they start. abdominal pain. urgent diarrhea. now there

that many voters have that there's this canyon between their community and washington. and there's a lot of frustration about the idea that washington is not listening to people and their every dave concerns. donald trump's candidacy for many of these voters has become a vehicle for those frustrations. and he has talked about it, whether it's been about the economy, whether it's been about immigration, whether it's national security. he has not offered real substantive positions, but instead he has offered clarity. he has defined what he thinks is the wrong approach by washington and offered really simple recommend dips. >> a lot of people in the beginning didn't believe he could it it, that he to have more substance, that the people in the republican party misjudged the anger of the people. >> and they really shouldn't have. >> absolutely. >> go ahead, kellyanne. >> they really shouldn't have because the three people who are the front-runners, marco rubio in 2010, ted cruz in 2012 and donald trump in 2015, what do they all have in common? they were the outsiders challenging the esta

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 same time more tra teej rancic for the uni

washington where the state of our union is front running. the leading candidates from both parties picked up wins and the night's biggest names will be here this morning. first up, donald trump, who sealed the decisive victory in south carolina. 10 points ahead of his closest riv rivals who battled for the second place trophy with rubio ultimately winning by a nose. is and in nevada, hillary clinton winning a hard fought race against bernie sanders. . both of them will be here shortly. first, let's get to donald trump who basked in his big win. >> it's mean, it's vicious, it's beautiful. >> and the winner of the south carolina republican primary joins us now. donald trump, congratulations on your victory. what does this mean for the race going forward? >> certainly, you can be stopped. i'm dealing with very talented people. they are politicians. they are senators. i don't think there are any governors election. but we have a lot of talented people. . we'll see what happens. certainly nobody is unstoppable. >> your campaign manager said that you have not gotten the credit you deserv

republican establishment in washington and elsewhere was convinced that donald trump was going to implode, there was no way his popularity could last, he was saying outrageous things, surely this was going to end and for months you and i have been speaking about this and i have seen no evidence that he can be stopped, that he won't get the nomination. i hope that the republican establishment is realizing that this man is here to stay and they need to rekon with him. >> they probably are. they're trying to at least and i think part of the reason why they're quite concerned tonight is because all of their potential candidates who are if had that cluster for second and third place, it was sort of a circular firing squad. >> john kasich was twice -- donald trump beat him, 16% to 35%. >> voters wanted somebody from outside the establishment, outside politics and that's what they chose. >> wolf, back to you. >> thanks very much. it wasn't close. 50,000 votes he beat kasich in new hampshire. donald trump by 50,000 votes and they're still counting the votes. 91% of the vote is now in, but

fix the mess in washington and rebuild the military so we can confront and defeat isis. >> if jeb bush doesn't do so well in new hampshire, many analysts say that he'll continue because he has a lot of money in his war chest, but they wonder at the wisdom of that. what would you say to them? >> i think that this is a long haul. our campaign is designed for a long haul. we basically haven't allocated any delegates yet. we have the endorsement of lindsey graham in south carolina. >> michael steele, thanks for stopping by. i appreciate it. chris christie is in bedford, new hampshire. he is talking to his campaign workers right now. there he is. you want to listen in for a few seconds? let's listen. >> as with 30 other of our colleagues from those times, who have stood up and supported me, been here and campaigned to me, i've said my time as u.s. attorney was the proudest time of my life. i felt like every day we were doing something purely good to protect the people of my state and of the united states together. so having him up here and helping me lead through the campaign has been

new generation of conservatives to guide us into the 21st century. >> the washington cartel in full terror that the conservative grass roots are rising up. >> we won. we won. >>> of course plenty to cheer about for trump supporters after winning the south carolina primary with 32.5% of the vote, trump is now the unrivalled front runner among the republican candidates. marco rubio edging out second place over ted cruz. >> well for the democrat, a crucial win for hillary clinton, blunting that rise of bernie sanders, a so called nevada firewall held up, helping to ease anxiety among her supporters. more in a moment but we're going to start with donald trump's commanding victory in south carolina. and the now shrinking republican field. cnn's senior political reporter manu raju joins us from south carolina. the trump campaign must be motivated ae but move to the south on march 1st. >> a very encouraging victory here. this is ha man who has never run for office before. and taking two of the first three primary states is such a resounding manner really gives him a head of steam into neva

resolve and independence. somebody that will take on washington. that's why the individual characteristics are trumping everything else. jeb bush and his campaign whiffed on what is the political moment in 2016 and that 2016 moment is so much different from what we have seen in previous presidential cycles and they ran a campaign like the previous presidential cycles and they didn't run the campaign that would win this year. >> rachel, looking at that video going to strike any notes for you as to what happened as you evaluate? >> it's painful to watch but what it really shows is that jeb bush was always a donor class creation of a candidate. i don't live in washington d.c. i live in wisconsin so i'm very close to i think what the average, every day republican primary voter looks like and thinks about and i think that there was never an appetite for jeb bush from the beginning. it was -- the idea was that, you know, it sounded good on paper and looked good in a big play book that they put together and they thought they could just really raise a lot of money and create an app

heard a lot about washington and wall street. we all want to get secret, unaccountable money out of politics. that starts with appointing a new justice to the supreme court who will protect the right of every citizen to vote, not every corporation to buy elections. and we also agree that wall street can never be allowed to threaten main street again. no bank can be too big to fail, no executive too powerful to jail. but if we listen to the voices of flint and ferguson, if we open our hearts to the families of coal country and indian country, if we listen to the hopes and heartaches of hardworking people across america, it's clear there is so much more to be done. the truth is, we aren't a single issue country. we need more than a plan for the big banks. the middle class needs a raise! and we need more jobs! we need jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced, jobs that provide dignity and a future. we can do it by unleashing the innovation of our entrepreneurs and small businesses. we can do it with new investments in manufacturing, infrastructure, and clean energy, especially here i

ruth ginsburg. >> there was a play that ran in washington that was a one character play, justice scalia talking. imagine that about a supreme court justice. there's an opera in the works. that is the kind of influence he had. but the thing is, it wasn't just popular culture. it was in the juris prudence of the court. there is a concept called originalism. which means the constitution should be interpreted as the framers of the constitution understood it in the late 18th century. and that is something he is deeply associated with, justice thomas is too. but justice scalia was the popularizer of it. and that means the justices in the 18th century weren't thinking about abortion rights, weren't thinking about gay rights. there is no recognition of those things in this view under the constitution. now justice ginsburg and scalia's opponents say, no, no, no, the constitution is a living document, it has to be interpreted in terms of current, what the world is like today. justice scalia defined that fight over 30 years. and you know, that's a huge, huge example of his influence. >> wha

want to show you a little bit more from our chief washington correspondent joe johns about the legacy and the life of justice scalia. >> i antonin scalia do solemnly swear -- >> the first italian-american to sit on the nation's highest court, he was a conservative in thought but not in personality. >> he has an ir repressably pugnacious personality. that came out in oral argument where he was the most aggressive questioner and behind the scenes where the memos he wrote had a real galvanizing effect on the debate among the justices. >> the jurist was able to light up or ignite a room with his often bararash demeanor and we could sense of humor, grounded in a profound respect for american law and its constitutional traditions. >> he's obviously very candid about how he feels about things, loves to call it as he sees it, completely not pc, in fact prides himself in not being pc on the bench in court. >> i'm an italian from queens. this is the top of the hill. >> a sharp mind combined with a sharp pen allowed scalia to make his point. >> he's very good with audiences that aren't pr

. >>> he h >>> hello, i'm jake tapper in washington. both leading candidates picked up wins and the night's biggest wins will all be right here. first up, donald trump, who sealed a diecisive victory in south carolina, ten points ahead of his closest rivals, marco rubio and ted cruz, who battled for the second-place trophy with rubio ultimately winning it by a nose. in nevada, hillary clinton winning a hard-fought race against bernie sanders. both of them will be here shortly. but first, let's get right to donald trump, who basked in his big win. >> there's nothing easy about running for president, i can tell you. it's tough, it's nasty, it's mean, it's vicious, it's beautiful. when you win, it's beautiful. >> and the winner of the south carolina republican primary, donald trump, joins us right now. mr. trump, congratulations on your victory. what do you think this means for the race going forward? are you unstoppable? >> well, certainly you can be stopped. i'm dealing with very talented people. they're politicians, they're senators and, i guess do we have any governors left? i don'

at this. >> ted cruz, the worst kind of washington insider who just can't be trusted. >> that's a lousy house. i'm going to take your house with eminent domain and park my limos there. >> eminent domain! >> wow. joining me is matt moore, the chairman of the south carolina republican party. that is a harsh ad. south carolina politics not for the faint of heart. attack ads on the air. there have been some dirty tricks in past campaigns. what do you expect over the next ten days? >> south carolina is a fascinating place, a long history of creative campaign tactics, don, to say the least. i expect a sprint to the finish here in south carolina. as hugh was just saying, a lot of candidates have a real shot here in south carolina. it they get a bit of luck and they perform well in the debate here on saturday night. >> so outsiders, matt, have shaken up the party to the core. it's shaking up the left as well. the electorate is angry at the establishment. are you hearing the same thing in south carolina? >> there's a lot of frustration all around. i hear it across the state. people are fru

that he doesn't miss the white house or washington. and people in the crowd started chanting "but we miss you." what was most notable was george w. tru w. bush slamming donald trump without ever mentioning his name. >> interesting. many thanks. things seem to be getting nastier by the day. donald trump has been repeatedly calling texas senator ted cruz a liar, saying cruz is unstable and even threatening a law suchlt cruz for his part dismisses the accusations. >> you know, today donald trump held a press conference. where he apparently lost it. i mean, he was just going on and on about how i'm the most horrible person in the world, because i keep repeating the things he said. [ applause ] >> and those remarks did not sit well with trump. he called in to cnn a while later with this response. >> he's a very bad guy. he's a very nasty guy. he's got no endorsements from any senators whom he works with. he'll never be able to unify anything, and frankly, he'll never be able to get any support from anybody. even conservatives, strongly conservative, aren't giving their support. >> trum

talk about it more. here it is. >> i went to washington, following my mother's advice. i've been in this legislature before that at the age of 26. and how did i get elected? i didn't have anybody for me. we just got an army of people, and many women who left their kitchens to go out and go door to door and put yard signs up for me all the way back when things were different. now you call homes and everybody is out working. but at that time, early days, it was an army of the women that really helped me to get elected to the state senate. >> who has a problem with that? do you have a problem with that? >> no. i have a problem with the fact that he apologized. i think that shows that he is a wimp. >> i don't know if he really apologized. >> i think he is bound to political correctness. he didn't say anything wrong. this is 40 years ago and stay at home moms helped him get elected to congress. >> he did say he was sorry. does that change anything listening to it in context? >> no. if you listen to the woman who asked the question next. she said i'll be voting for you but i won't be comi

going to go to washington and make deals. that is the opposite of the appeal that ted cruz has with the more conservative electorate that is maybe more in south carolina and elsewhere but maybe not so much here in new hampshire. >> by the way, you are in new hampshire, in manchester, so stay there. just wait for a moment, i'm going to bring in a man who might have a crystal ball, the best crystal ball in this business and that's hugh hewitt. it pains me to say this, hugh hewitt -- i'm just kidding. you called it. here's your prediction on sunday. >> ted wins the republicans, trump comes in second but marco rubio is a very close third. >> the polls had trump in the lead. why didn't he win? why were you right? >> i think i was right because of jeb, josh and john, three operative, jeff row, josh perry, john droguan who work for ted cruz who basically owned the internet and owned iowa. i told donald trump two weeks ago i thought ted cruz was going to win iowa and trump will win new hampshire. he has corey, his campaign manager up there. 180,000 republicans showed up, which broke every t

out of there. >> joe johns, cnn, washington. >> let's talk more about the impact of justice scalia and the influence he had on those he knew and worked with. joining me on the phone, the honorable who clerked for antonin scalia when he was a judge on the u.s. court appeals and after his appointment to the u.s. supreme court. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> your reaction to his passing? >> well, it's a huge loss. i mean, he was both a great scholar and a great justice and a great legal thinker and i think, you know, he will be very much missed both on the court and by the country. >> can you describe what it was like to clerk for him? >> it was very stimulating and really quite splendid. it was a little scary at first because when we were working on a case, he might ask the law clerks what he thought about it and not infrequently, as soon as you described your views, he might then say, oh, that's completely stupid. or that's completely ridiculous. or, that can't be right. but the key to working for justice scalia was to understand that he didn't mean

. i'll see you tomorrow. 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 momentous night for senator bernie sanders

. sometimes they give out the worst week in washington awards. you can argue that ted cruz is up for that this week. he was battered by both sides on this dishonest city issue and had to fire a staffer. it turned out to be completely wrong and he finishes a third most likely and gives this tired deflated speech about moving on to super tuesday. >> you did not hear from marco rubio last night. he left. he was out campaigning. getting a good night's rest so he'll be on tv this morning trying to tout what looks to be a number two position in nevada. the five remains will meet head to head in the next gop debate. that's tomorrow night in houston, texas. it will be only on cnn. >>> there was another big cnn event. they made their final pick to voters just a few days before their primary. cnn town hall event. we saw some new strategies, new line. a new campaign direction. wheel break it down next. the future belongs to the fast. and to help you accelerate, we've created a new company... one totally focused on what's next for your business. the true partnership where people,technology and i

, the landscape of washington politics has changed. the balance of influence in the american judicial branch changed. and the men and women elbowing to be the next u.s. president got a huge issue. the death of supreme court justice antonin scalia. condolences to his family turned to ice-cold politics when arguments began flying from all directions about who will replace him and whether president obama stands a chance of getting a

in washington. you have donald trump who if you add them both together you have over 50% of the vote. not liked by them. how much money do you think goes to marco rubio after today? >> well, i think that is the big decision that establishment candidates or the establishment part of the republican party, the centrist part, if you will, however you want to call it, they have to make a decision if they really want to put their power behind somebody like marco rubio. because if not, then, you know, we're sitting here talking about scenarios for ted cruz to go on longer. for marco rubio to go on longer. i talked about how donald trump is leading in every single other poll and every single other state outside of iowa. that is why those kinds of scenarios, if people don't start getting out and getting out fast and consolidating behind one or two candidates other than trump, i still think trump can actually trump everybody else moving forward. >> and when we come back we'll talk about much more in a second. he was leading in the polls in iowa until last night so we don't know how this will a

coverage from washington, now begins. >>> we're counting down to two crucial contests in two states. >> both the democrats and the republicans have a lot on the line. >> announcer: it's a whole new climate in the presidential campaign with the first contests in the south and the west, the candidates are turning up the heat. >> it's not enough just to be against thing. >> they're throwing everything at me, except the kitchen sink. >> ted cruz, i think he's an unstable person. >> you noticed how rattled donald gets? boy, he really -- he lost. >> he is a liar. >> announcer: right now, in the democratic race, it's nevada's choice. hillary clinton, planning to look like a front-runner again, after her crushing loss to bernie sanders in new hampshire. it's the first battleground where minority voters could decide the winner. will they rally behind clinton and her her rebound? >> it's not whether you get knocked down that matters. it's whether you get back up! >> announcer: or will nevada feel the burn? >> a funny thing happened. the people became involved in the campaign. >> announcer: la

. >> 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

. ryan, former senior communicationings to mike huckabee is hogan gidley and in washington commentator van jones. thank you all for being here. hogan, let me begin with you. i want to read you something from a "new york times" piece. talks about mitch mcconnell. it said while he's begun preparing senators for the possibility of a trump nomination if it threatened to harm them in the general election they could run negative ads about mr. trump. let's step back and think about that. that is you know, the highest ranking mitch mcconnell saying that his fellow senators can run negative ads against the party's nominee. >> right. also make the comment that we drop him like a hot rock, i think is what he said. i want to know who the we is. the establishment? they have already gut punched the american worker time and time again. they hurt the republican party time and time again, so i'm not exactly sure where he's going. i understand he is trying to protect the senate but that's what makes donald trump so popular is that he's going against what they stand for. >> hurts them more. >> absolutely

are desperate for somebody who will go in and shake up washington and it's like they didn't listen to the signs. they didn't change their course. and now they're being struck with donald trump, even if you look at what jeb bush was doing to marco rubio we had the scenario where so many times the party elders were trying to eat and defeat the party's young and now we have donald trump. >> it's no tt the end of the republican party, it's the broadening of it. he stands for policies that are not conservative policies saying i don't want to see people dying on the streets because they have health care, americans have paid into social security and ya emnot goie emi'm not going to take that away from them. he's american first and the republican party has needed to bro broaden their base and donald trump is doing that. >> the reason why she should be taken seriously is i hear this from democrats and you have democrats trying to decide to vote for sanders or trump. that makes zero sense. the other thing i think liberals need to wake up about with donald trump is this guy can win. he can go

he is doing. >> i want the people at home to think about this. that's what washington, d.c. does. the drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisors -- >> the bottom line, this notion that barack obama doesn't know what he is doing -- >> there it is. there it is. memorized 25-second speech. there is is t is, everybody. >> here's the response. i think anyone who believes that barack obama isn't doing what he is doing on purpose doesn't understand what we are dealing with here. this is a president, this is a president who is trying to change this country. >> oh, boy. hard to come back from this. and the boston herald ran with it. choke. it takes you back to the drinking of the water moment. >> yeah. i mean, we're chattering a lot about this. but when you look at the google search trends, 538 did an article about this. actual viewers spike -- the interest spiked when he talked about his pro life position. that was two, three times as many hits as when this exchange was going on. so ma

want us to swallow it you say? 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 campaig

washington telling them how to educate their children. we spend as a nation more for education per pupil than any other nation in the world. not even close. more per pupil, second place doesn't even exist, it's so different. and yet out of 30 countries, we're ranked number 30. you have china, you have norway, sweden, denmark. and then you have number 30, the united states. so we spend the most, and we're at the bottom of the heap. it's not going to happen any more, folks. not going to happen any more. we are going to build our military, which i thank, because a number of the people came down, and a number of the pundits watching tonight, we love our military. we love our military. and by the way, we love our police. our police are terrific. we love our police. they are not being treated properly. we're going to build our military so big, so good, so strong, so powerful, that nobody is ever going to mess with us, folks. and we're going to buy -- we're going to buy the equipment that our generals, our soldiers, that everybody that's in the know want. we're not buying equipment that sells b

move by the white house to help donald trump to some degree because democrats in washington at least fear marco rubio more than they do donald trump. at the same time, who would have thought that donald trump would be atop the republican polls? certainly not barack obama when he mocked him at the 2011 white house correspondents' dinner. it's been an unpredictable year. democrats are nervous trump is going to advance to the final two and never know what's going to happen in a general election. >> bob, do you think the president president is surprise ed donald trump's standings in the poll? >> yes. let's keep in mind here, nobody else has been very effective at taking him on. particularly on the substance, the gravitas you need to be president of the united states. who better than the president to say that? at this point when it gets down to three people running, obama is not going to be as harmful to the third person in the race. somebody has to point this out. he has the bully pulpit. he should do it. he's not an unpopular president, about 50/50. it's not going to help the pr r