he accused george bush of causing 9/11. but since then he's softened the blow, but it's difficult to take words back. with me ben ferguson and david gergen. welcome to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> ben, is this a good thing that jeb bush is doing? >> i think it is. i think he should have done it a long time ago. the way that republicans and conservatives look at george bush 43, they like him and understand how much of a president he was for them, specifically looking at what barack obama has done over the last eight years. i don't think that jeb's campaign was smart early on. they should have em wrased the legacy. they tried to make him his own unique candidate. i understand the reasoning, but ultimately bringing out in and out only his mom but his brother is a smart move in south carolina. and i also think the attacks the other night by donald trump were really -- it was an emotional attack. it was a bad decision, a bad move to blame george bush for 9/11 and to say that he's a liar. i don't think that c

it's george w. bush. it almost becomes a fight between two different visions, the donald trump vision, and the george w. bush vision. it's hard to break through that, isn't it? >> while these guys are throwing sticks and tostones at each oth, we'll go through a day or two of looking at what's happening today, between the theatrics of trump and bush coming to stump for his brother. as voters have talked about these issues and thinking about these threats, who of this crowd is best prepared to lead us as commander in chief. and when we start to listen to the particular issues and the preparedness of the candidates that will be on the ballot on saturday, i think marco rubio will stand head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. >> big picture here, what is the strategy for rubio? he's not come in, in the top two. where is the breakthrough? is is south carolina the breakthrough state for marco rubio? >> i don't know if i would call it the breakthrough state. right now only 2% of the delegates have even cas

bush in the 9/11 attacks. i think that george w. bush has managed to create some big problems for donald trump. we have predicted over and over again, that donald trump went too far with this comment or that comment. in this case, i think we may finally be right, for donald trump to make these comments, criticisms of george w. bush, and his handling of the 9/11 attacks, especially in a state like south carolina, with a lot of military folks, just may be something that i think george w. bush has managed to counter that in a really effective way. i don't know how much good he does for jeb bush. maybe he does him a lot of good. he certainly has created i think some big problems for donald trump going forward. >> he talked about, anne, the kids that he was talking to in that classroom when he got the call about what had happened on 9/11, and said that going forward, his job was to protect her and our community and our country, and has this very presidential bearing. a contrast, really, to what we have seen from donald trump in his tone,

the, you know, reign of george bush. it came down. i'm sorry. but we weren't safe. the world trade center came down. you obviously had the war which was a big mistake. i think few people would say the war in iraq was a positive. you had him on the aircraft carrier saying all sorts of wonderful things how the world was essentially over. guess what. not over. and you know, the war with iraq is a disaster. >> all right. those comments coming just hours before president bush hit the campaign trail on behalf of his brother, jeb, in south carolina. the former president had a few choice words about what it takes to be commander in chief. in moments former bush senior adviser karl rove is here to react. plus we'll ask two iraq war veterans, pete, and carl higby, what they think about mr. trump's comments. we begin with trace gallagher reporting first from our west coast newsroom on the former president's campaign event. trace, good evening. >> reporter: sandra, good evening. for seven years the former president avoided politics

traditionally the role of south carolina has been it saved george bush senior. it saved george w. bush. the establishment candidate. something changed in the last five years. that's now newt gingrich won this thing in 2012. >> if trump wins in south carolina, the odds of stomping him in the republican primary diminishes. thank you. >>> what happens when the case is yet to be heard. i'll explain. >>> there's a hugely important policy that on occasion when my children visit the set they get to play a piece of video of their choosing on air. so behold, a baby gorilla. my daughter is watching right now. because she joined us, ryan gets to see a baby gorilla on television. there's more. this is a baby tiger. ryan is a good and thoughtful sister who is thinking of her little brother david who couldn't be in the office today. here is some video of the baby tiger for david from ryan. >>> in the hours after reports of justice antonin scalia's death, he was celebrate bid the fierceness of his intellect. one of the most touching tributes came from his best friend on the court. in the stateme

. >> george bush made a mistake. we should never have been in iraq. >> i'm sick and tired of him going after my family. >> the world trade center -- >> i thank god all the time it was george w. bush in the white house on 9/11 and not al gore. >> taxes. >> social security. >>> and old fashioned politics. >> this is just crazy, huh? >> analysis of the presidential debate ahead of the south carolina primary, america's election headquarters starts right now. >> welcome to washington. i'm bret baier. over the next hour we will break down the presidential debate, who did well and who doesn't and with one week left, the south carolina primary a week from today. let's begin with the man at the site of the debate, john roberts, fiery night, john. >> fiery night to say the least, bret. if i were to pick a couple of moments that are illustrative of where the race is going to go is the first and foremost the dustup between jeb bush and donald trump. jeb bush has to be the one who is willing to stand up and punch donald trump in

ladies and gentlemen, george w. bush. george w. bush: thank you. thank you. sit down, unless you do not have a seat. am -- laura and i are thrilled to be here and i want to thank graham for his friendship and leadership. he loves south carolina and our country. we are fortunate that you sent him to the senate. thank the commissioner. he has a heck of a voice. contest of who can sing the best among the agricultural commissioners, you win. mark sanford is here. i appreciate you coming. thank you for being here. there are a lot of famous people here. david wilkins is from greenville. he was the ambassador to canada, a former speaker of the house. a dear friend. thank you for being with us. thank you very much. there are people from the house, the senate, the state government here. thank you. i want to thank the grassroots activists. thank you for taking time out of your day, your interest in the political process, your hard work, what you are going to do, vote for him on saturday in south carolina. i am happy to be back. i have fond memories. --as in the i was p

he beat george w. bush there, correct? - right. - and santorum won the iowa and romney won new hampshire. - yeah, he won the big. - yeah, big. - so, who's going to win new hampshire? - i don't know, and i'm telling you i really admit i don't know. it is so hard to get a handle on what's happening and look, you have a lot of people supporting trump and he's, i hear that he's being supported by the tea party. the tea party hates government-funded, single-payer healthcare and trump is for it. the tea party hates eminent domain and trump is for it. - trump is for it, right. - there are so many things of trump's positions that don't correspond to the political positions of the group that's supposed to be supporting him. - except for two things. - i can't explain. - they want authenticity and the guy is nothing if not authentic. - well. - right, he says whatever comes to his head. you don't think so? - i don't think so. - you think he's inauthentic? - i think loud bs is not authentic and i grew up in new york (audience laugh and

he did the say thing with george bush. he's a hypocrite and it's so critically important to maintain the senate and increase numbers in the house and get the white house. let's see how the republicans can do as the democrats had two years before i got there to do whatever they wanted and they did nothing. i'm hopeful they can show the american people we can continue to do great things for them and this great country. charles: the untimely death of kennedy, they weren't prepared for that. but they did squabble among themselves and lost a golden opportunity. >> the democrats lost the senate because they were supporting barack obama. the reason the republicans gained the senate is because they were expecting to stop him. we heard from the legacy media you will have damage if you don't do what obama want. the democrats lost the senate and the house because they were not being a buffer. the american people wanted this man stopped or slowed down. this is the chance to deliver on that. if they don't, that is where the damage is a

. >>> bush brothers rally. george w. bush campaigning publicly tonight for the first time since leaving office. the former president taking the stage in a state that helped propel him to the oval office with just five days to go before a critical primary. can he lock up south carolina for his brother, jeb? >>> isis attack inevitable. a chilling new warning from the head of the cia saying he believes that terrorists will try to strike inside the united states. officials now on heightened alert. with isis and its sympathizers now known to be communicating using encrypted messages, is a terror plot against the u.s. in the works right now. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." >>> we're following the breaking news. president obama moving ahead with a nomination to replace the late supreme court justice antonin scalia who died in his sleep over the weekend. we've just heard from a white house spokesman who says the president is talking with his senior team and his aides have been in touch with members of congress

where george h.w. bush, in 1963, in mrs. bush's diary, there's a line, the nuts will never love him. she was talking about the birchers. - the nuts. - the nuts will never love him. (crowd laughs) when he's vice president, he's getting ready to go to the conservative political action committee and he says, "well i might as well go "but we might as well face it, "the nuts have never been for me." as mark twain once said, "history may not repeat itself but it rhymes." (crowd laughs) jeb bush is hearing the rhymes here. - and the question is whether "the nuts" will be for him. - and whether he can actually consolidate the non nuts. (crowd laughs) this is a pretty technical historical. - it made more sense than you think it did. - i don't want to overwhelm you with historical dorkdum but the non nuts, are there enough non nuts to overcome the nuts? - right. well as one nut to another, (crowd laughs) i wish you well with this book. - thank you. - it's a treat to get to see you again and to see your continuous success. - always fun

gore, al gore is a much bigger man than george bush, george bush is quite slight. he's not that tall and has a trim body. and gore is a big man. and gore, as he often did, came over toward george bush and crowded into his space. this was in a debate where they were sitting on stools. that was, you know, impolite, but possible. and george bush nodded at gore in such a way that every viewer thought, if it comes to a conflict, i'm betting on the little wiry guy to take down the big galute. it doesn't matter what you say, that nod is how moments are won. and george bush was always good at that, even if he got tongue tangled on some of the words. >> i remember that moment well. it was so dismissive, it was al gore's campaign had planned that thing out. he was going to invade his personal space. it was the alpha male moment. i remember that. it's interesting, you're right. we remember those sorts of moments more than we remember a lot of times the actual words that were said. david frum, appreciate the time. >> thank you. >>> and straight ahead, the democratic matchup mo

impression of george bush. it will be interesting to see how the almost ron paul-type attacks on george bush about the 9/# 11 and the democrats don't even say, and it is going to be interesting to see how it plays out, and rubio in the exchange outdid jeb, because he was defending, and jeb was good, but rubio had the money lines, saying, i thank god that george bush was president on 9/11 and not al gore. na was very, very strong >> and john kasich, a num bber awe shucks! moments, and we can't get into this, and this is so negative, i want to stay positive. how did you see it? >> well, john kasich, and if you see what he takes at face value is a good point, but a lot of democrats are smiling when the debate opens with the republicans relitigating the iraq war not pop ular and relitigating the george w. bush presidency which is popular in south carolina, but not elsewhere. when you are running for the president, you want to be running for the future, and not relitigate the past. this used to trip up the democrats

. >> george bush made a mistake. we can make mistakes, but that is a beauty. we never should have opinion in iraq, and we have destabilize the middle east. >> and is so you still think that he should be impeached. >> you do whatever you want, and call it whatever you want, and i will tell you they lie and they said that there were weapons of mass destruction, and there were none, and that is what i am saying. >> i am sick and tired of him go going after my family, because my my dad is the greatest man alive and while donald trump was building a reality tv show, my brother was building a security apparatus to keep us safe, and i'm proud of what he did. he's had the gal the go after my mother. >> and the world trade center came down under your brother's reign, and don't forget that. >> and wait a minute. he has had the gal to go after my mother. i won the lottery when i was born and looked up to see my mother, because she is the strongest woman i know. and this is not about my family or his family, and this is about so

traditionally the role of south carolina has been it saved george bush senior. it saved george w. bush. the establishment candidate. something changed in the last five years. that's now newt gingrich won this thing in 2012. >> if trump wins in south carolina, the odds of stomping him in the republican primary diminishes. thank you. >>> what happens when the case is yet to be heard. i'll explain. only nicorette mini has a patented fast-dissolving formula. it starts to relieve sudden cravings fast. i never know when i'll need relief. that's why i only choose nicorette mini. at safelite,oh nonow how busy your life can be. this mom didn't have time to worry about a cracked windshield. so she scheduled at safelite.com and with safelite's exclusive "on my way text" she knew exactly when i'd be there. hi, steve with safelite. thanks for your text! i replaced her windshield... and she didn't miss a single shot giving you more time for what matters most. how'd ya do? we won! nice! that' another safelite advantage. thank you so much! (team sing) ♪safelite repair, safelite replace.♪ when

bush who are there to cheer for george w. bush, who have fond them reese of george w. bush and still say in the same breath but i'm voting for donald trump. it feels like -- this is an untested thing in republican politics for the last, you know, decade or so, the idea of going back and saying something critical about we shouldn't have gone into iraq, iraq was a bad idea. you had rand paul out there saying, but otherwise the kinds of things donald trump was saying in that debate, those are things we are accustomed to hearing from democrats, but when you have a voice like donald trump stand up and say it, a voice who is trusted now by a big chu u. chunk of the republican electorate, they don't turn on him and say you are a trader to the cause, they may give up george w. bush when it comes to it. >> reporters were very concerned that they were being kept in the pen and not able to talk to voters. one of the reasons -- >> strange. >> -- that was the case obviously had to do with the fact they didn't want people going outside of the pen and hearing exactly what steve korna

bush and saying george w. bush lied about the war, if he wins south carolina, how does one stop donald trump? >> that is an excellent question. >> that is really the question. >>> when we come back, more on the life and legacy of antonin scalia after this from our abc (donkey sound) (elephant sound) there's a big difference between making noise, (tapping sound) and making sense. (elephant sound) (donkey sound) when it comes to social security, we need more than lip service. our next president needs a real plan to keep social security strong. (elephant noise) hey candidates. enough talk. >>> my constitution is a very flexible constitution. you think the death penalty is a good idea? persuade your fellow citizens and adopt it. you think it's a bad idea? persuade them the other way and eliminate it. i have my rules that -- that confine me. i know what i'm looking for. when i find it, the original leaning of the constitution, i am handcuffed. if i believe that the first amendment meant when it was adopted that you

bush and saying george w. bush lied about the war, if he wins south carolina, how does one stop donald trump? >> that is an excellent question. >> that is really the question. >> it certainly is. >>> when we come back, more on the life and >>> my constitution is a very flexible constitution. you think the death penalty is a good idea? persuade your fellow citizens and adopt it. you think it's a bad idea? persuade them the other way and eliminate it. i have my rules that -- that confine me. i know what i'm looking for. when i find it, the original leaning of the constitution, i am handcuffed. if i believe that the first amendment meant when it was adopted that you are entitled to burn the american flag, i have to come out that way. even though i don't like to come out that way. though i'm a law and order type, i cannot do all of the mean conservative things i would love to do to this society. you got me. >> justice scalia setting out his philosophy of the constitution. let's talk to guests who know him well. pa

it was between george w. bush and john mccain. one of the things we're not thinking of here is the return of george w. bush, president bu bush, to the campaign trail. it's going to bring forth all the -- the south carolina primary of 2000 and though way the bush family treated john mccain. today they are saying he's a hero but it's obvious the bush campaign and their allies in 2000 were slamming him as being, and i'm quoting from an article in "vanity fair," crazy, having fathered a black child out of wedlock. mrs. mccain was supposed to be a drug addict. it was savage and left a bad taste in senator mccain's mouth that took him quite a while to get over. that's something that donald trump is going to be looking at here as the bushes return to try and do this again. >> katon, south carolina politics are legendarily tough. >> i was a member of the '99-00 bush squad. we also nominated john mccain to the presidency in south carolina. i think all that is eye wash. talking about those former races won't matter. what's going to matter i

george w. bush joins his brother's campaign. this is special report. >> good evening, welcome to washington. on this president's gaye, former commander in chief george w. bush is making an appearance with brother jeb, the third member of the family to run for the nation's highest office. but the bush political dynasty is not without its critics in the republican party, as donald trump made abundantly clear saturday night during a televised debate and doubling and tripling down on it today. all of this comes amid the

bush and saying george w. bush lied about the war, if he wins south carolina, how does one stop donald trump? >> that is an excellent question. >> that is really the question. >> it certainly is. >>> when we come back, more on the life and legacy of antonin the life and legacy of antonin scalia after this from every year, the amount of data your enterprise uses goes up. smart devices are up. cloud is up. analytics is up. seems like everything is up except your budget. introducing comcast business enterprise solutions. with a different kind of network that delivers the bandwidth you need without the high cost. because you can't build the business of tomorrow on the network of yesterday. >>> my constitution is a very flexible constitution. you think the death penalty is a good idea? persuade your fellow citizens and adopt it. you think it's a bad idea? persuade them the other way and eliminate it. i have my rules that -- that confine me. i know what i'm looking for. when i find it, the original leaning of the co

impression of george bush. it will be interesting to see how the almost ron paul-type attacks on george bush about the 9/# 11 and the democrats don't even say, and it is going to be interesting to see how it plays out, and rubio in the exchange outdid jeb, because he was defending, and jeb was good, but rubio had the money lines, saying, i thank god that george bush was president on 9/11 and not al gore. na was very, very strong >> and john kasich, a num bber awe shucks! moments, and we can't get into this, and this is so negative, i want to stay positive. how did you see it? >> well, john kasich, and if you see what he takes at face value is a good point, but a lot of democrats are smiling when the debate opens with the republicans relitigating the iraq war not pop ular and relitigating the george w. bush presidency which is popular in south carolina, but not elsewhere. when you are running for the president, you want to be running for the future, and not relitigate the past. this used to trip up the democrats

cruz, rubio and jeb bush and a non candidate, george w. bush. the former president on the campaign trail in support of younger brother jeb. dana bash has the latest. >> reporter: miguel and alison, george w. bush on the campaign trail. he drew sharp distinctions with his brother and donald trump. he never said trump's name. he never had to. he described the person and persona that we have come to see from donald trump. the kind of character that has drawn so many supporters to him, but the point that george w. bush was trying to make is america shouldn't go for somebody who preys on the fears and frustrations, but instead go for a strong and steady hand. somebody who is not necessarily the loudest person in the room. >> the presidency is the serious job that requires sound judgment and good ideas. and there's no doubt in my mind that jeb bush has the experience and the character to be a great president. >> reporter: but what was even as interesting as george w. bush's performance was his brothers. the fact that jeb bush seemed to come out of his

bush and saying george w. bush lied about the war, if he wins south carolina, how does one stop donald trump? question. >> that is really the question. >> it certainly is. >>> when we come back, more on the life and legacy of antonin scalia after this from our abc stations.d classmates who don't know where their next meal is coming from. yet billions of pounds of good food go to waste every year. it's time we do something about it. feeding america is a nationwide network of food banks that helps provide meals to millions of kids and families in need. visit feedingamerica.org to help them feed even more. together we can solve hunger. together, we're feeding america. >>> my constitution is a very flexible constitution. you think the death penalty is a good idea? persuade your fellow citizens and adopt it. you think it's a bad idea? eliminate it. i have my rules that -- that confine me. i know what i'm looking for. when i find it, the original leaning of the constitution, i am handcuffed. if i believe that the fi

. >> reporter: will trump's attacks against the bushes backfire? george h.w. bush and george w. bush both carried south carolina in their presidential primacy. jeb is betting his brother, the former commander in chief, can still bring in voters. here the military community is a key constituent, generating more than 150,000 jobs and nearly $20 billion for

ross perot hurt george. bush. and ralph nader hurt al gore and this feeds in the fact that people see weakness in hillary clinton's nomination which was thought to be a cornation. if she had it wrapped up you would not hear a peep from michael bloomberg. >> if trump and sanders are the nominees, that is when he will jump in. is he running to win or keep someone else from winning. >> he is a great businessman and worth billions. and if he would win, but his network is unbelievable. he doesn't do it not to win. he was a democrat and was a republican back when he first run for mayor. he is a winner and he will not do it to lose. >> there are laws of diminishing returns. looking at the republican field. the candidate spending the most money are not getting most results. and same with hillary clinton on the democratic side. the bloomberg rationale is based on room for moderates and there are not. >> when you mention ross perot 20 years since he ran. and why does bloomberg and his allies think it could be different? >>

he's going to get people that are reminded that george bush kept us safe and george bush had security policies that were good for the country. that's all a win for jeb. >> another thing that came up was 9/11. donald trump brought this up this weekend. he brought up 9/11. he brought up weapons of mass destruction. he brought up the parts of the bush legacy that can be so problematic. i guess the question is, jamie, is this going to help jeb or not, that he has to be tied to relitigate and defend his brother's legacy? >> right. this has been going on for quite sometime with donald trump where he will say these things and people will think that he is imploding when he says them. and then his supporters stick with them. i think none of this about george bush's legacy is new to jeb, so i'm not sure whether that is going to be a problem. i think the real question is -- look, the speech we saw jeb give today is the best speech we've seen him give on the campaign trail. will there be traction now? is there enough time between now and saturday? i will predict this. common sense dictates that i

. >> there's bush fatigue that george w. bush wasn't all that popular. he is popular with the american people and republicans, but most of our ex-presidents are. jimmy carter is popular, but do you want a second carter term of malaise? trump is just going to hammer on the bushes and cruz as the weekend ends. >> we can talk about the great recession, but the facts are the facts. the last seven years we've been under president barack obama's leadership. this is the obama economy. donald trump will be better suited talking about hillary clinton and talking about the legacy that she has left and her issues and president obama's issues, not focusing on george w. bush. trump is going to talk about jeb bush regardless. he's going to talk about the record regardless. but when you have hillary clinton running on the side and jeb bush, it kind of takes that off the table. you can talk about the iraq war if you want to, but the facts are hillary clinton supported it. so that neutralizes it. people are going to come out and vote for somebody who they think is a winn

he was defending george w. bush, it seems better than jeb was defending george w. bush. here is another moment he blamed bill clinton, coming to the defense of george w. bush. watch this moment. >> the world trade center came down during the reign of -- he kept us safe. that is not safe, that's not safe, marco. that's not safe. >> the world trade center came down because bill clinton didn't kill saddam hussein when he had the chance to kill him. >> and george bush -- >> rubio seemed strong there. where jeb bush kept bringing up his mom and bringing up his dad. he seemed to do a better job at defending him, no? >> yeah, in fact, i thought it ma night to step in and defend george w. bush. in the face of the attacks that have gone back and forth between jeb and marco, marco even at that point came to his defense. that's one of those strategies in a political debate that's particularly effective when you can co-op the entire stage. you know, and defend others on the stage and agree with them. so i thought marco showed strength last night in that moment. >> overall, as this i

cruz, rubio and jeb bush and non-candidate george w. bush. the former president on the campaign trail in support of younger brother jeb. it was w's first time in full-on campaign mode since barack obama won in 2008. he returned trump's fire. and dana bash has the latest. >> reporter: miguel and alison, george w. bush back in the spotlight. he drew a big crowd for his brother and drew distinctions between his brother and trump. he did not mention his name, but described his persona that we have become used to see, the character that drawn so many supporters to him. the point that george w. bush was trying to make is america shouldn't go for somebody who preys on the fears and frustrations of americans. they should go for a strong and steady hand. somebody who is not necessarily the loudest person in the room. clearly describing his brother. >> the presidency is a serious job that requires sound judgment and good ideas. and there's no doubt in my mind that jeb bush has the experience and character to be a great president. >> reporter: but what

. , to kennedy, to george w. bush. he argues that it comes after decades of intervention, including british airstrikes in the 1920's. the baath party coming to power. role in aericans' rebel against -- revolt against saddam hussein. >> good evening. i am one of the owners here. tonight, i have the pleasure of , who has ay lando that he isof deceit" here to talk about. billed by his publisher on the jacket of his book as being an investigative, producer for 60 minutes for over 25 years. when i read that, i thought, this does not sound as glamorous to call somebody a research reporter as it does an investigative journalist. but i thought, he did not give the respect that was really needed in a book that shows such as scholarship and so much research. we will say that barry lando was an investee -- investigative producer and a reporter. i was pulled over by the extent pages in the 50 back of footnotes and photography. he has done his homework in putting together the scholarly study of what happened in iraq over the last 5

, around george bush's going into the war in iraq saying that george w. bush lied. we will stay with our guest and talk about that debate in a moment. ♪ [music eak] amy: justice scalia was an opera fan. this is democracy now! juan: we turn to saturday nights debate in greenville, south carolina, the net republican debate of the election cycle. donald trump and jeb bush had a tense exchange over george bush's record in iraq. iraq isusly, the war in a big fat mistake, right? you can take it anywhere you want. -- if you're ah member at the beginning of his announcement when he announced for president, he took in five the mistake it wasn't a mistake. it took them five days before his people told him what to say and he ultimately said, it was a mistake. twowar in iraq -- we spent dollars julian, thousands of lives, we don't even have it. the is taking over iraq second largest oil reserves in the world. obviously, it was a mistake. george bush made a mistake. but that one was a beauty. we never should have been in a rack. we as these stabilized the release. s

the bush team is perhaps bringing out their biggest gun, george w. bush. this is a whole new stage in the race for jeb. george w. bush hitting the campaign trail tonight for the first time since leaving office. >> is he a popular republican? you bet he is. >> reporter: the former president giving his younger brother a helping hand as the battle for south carolina heats up. >> i know jeb. >> reporter: he already lent his famous face for an ad for jeb. his guest-starring role on stage tonight is part of the bush camp's effort to pull out all the stops. after a dismal sixth place finish in iowa where his brother won. >> and thank you, iowa. >> reporter: and a better than expected fourth place in new hampshire where his father won. >> i want to thank the wonderful people of new hampshire. >> reporter: jeb is hoping for a strong showing in south carolina which handed primaries to both presidents bush. >> this is the right time. right when the interest -- when it's important and when people are watching. >> reporter: bush, whose campaign logo doesn't even includ

george w. bush joins his brother's campaign. this is special report. >> good evening, welcome to washington. on this president's gaye, former commander in chief george w. bush is making an appearance with brother jeb, the third member of the family to run for the nation's highest office. but the bush political dynasty is not without its critics in the republican party, as donald trump made abundantly clear saturday night during a televised debate and doubling and tripling down on it today. all of this comes amid the backdrop of a hugely important primary set for saturday. >> governor bush had his 90-year-old mom out on the campaign trail last week. tonight george w. his brother the former president hits the campaign trail for the first time since he left office. this is a big part of the bush strategy and one that donald trump has been attacking ferociously for almost a year. >> the front-runner said over the weekend the former president lied about weapons of mass destruction in iraq. >> did you ever ask yourself why his brother

and so they're bringing out perhaps their biggest gun, george w. bush. it's a whole new stage in the race for jeb. >> george w. bush hitting the campaign trail tonight for the first time since leaving office. >> is he a popular republican? you bet he is. >> reporter: giving his younger brother a helping hand as the battle for south carolina heats up. >> i know jeb. >> reporter: he already lent his famous face for an ad for jeb.

the rain of george bush, right? it came down! john wasn't done. he threatened to sue ted cruz. >> he does not have the right to serve or one as president. he was born in canada. follows one that bernie sanders had last week in harlem. it's another reminder of the importance of the african-american vote . clinton , who used to carefully go on the lines went back to an old radio ad in which a dog barks and says something is not true. >> i am trying to figure out how we can do that with a republican. we need that dog and follow him around and every time they say these things like the great recession caused . . >> it's not clear if hillary clinton will address reporters. she will give a speech at harlem. from the newsroom. ben: thank you, robert. freezing rain to possible floong. mperaturesre getting in the 50s today. mike woods has our complete forecast and ines rosales is checking out the roads. carrie: taylor swift has a not so swift message . find out what she said and looking great and stepping out with confidence

bush and his father george h.w. bush won primary victories here. and that is why we're seeing the former president coming out tonight at his brother's side, wolf. >> as you know, athena, south carolina is a stronghold for veteran military, military veterans in the 2012 republican primary, 21% of the voters then identified themselves as military veterans. does president bush help secure at least a bigger chunk of that veteran vote for his brother? >> reporter: well, the hope is that he'll help at least somewhat. at one of the bush aids described this race as a demander in chief test. where a lot of voters hear a great deal about that commander in chief role, the head of the military with such a strong, such a big military and former military population here. the bush campaign chief strategist told me that they expect bush to do well here because he has the skills to be commander in chief. it's one thing that governor bush said he expected his brother to make the case for, that he knows what it takes to be demander in chief and that jeb bush, from hi

what will george w. bush say? >> i think he will say what he said in the past, we did not see this big a thing coming. he will defend the history of it. but that said, i will tell you the bush campaign when donald trump made that argument really thought this time donald trump had imploded. because remember in south carolina there are a lot of military, a lot of veterans. and they thought that would turn people off at the polls. i will say one thing. the bush family showed a lot of love for one person in particular. that's the very popular governor of south carolina, nikki haley. she has remained undecided about her endorsement. but she's indicated that she does want to endorse someone. she visited with foreman president bush and laura bush. and you can be sure there was a lot of lobbying going on. her phone has been ringing off the hook. so i think they're hoping -- she has a popularity rating of 80%. if jeb can get her endorsement going into saturday, maybe it will give him a little bit more of a lift. but his ca

george h.w. bush and george w. bush both carried south carolina in their presidential primaries. jeb is betting his brother, the former commander-in-chief, can still bring in voters. here the military community is a key constituent, generating more than 150,000 jobs and nearly $20 billion for the state's economy. today, trump is again threatening to sue ted cruz, calling him unstable and the biggest liar he's ever come across. >> he doesn't even have the right to serve as president or even run as president. he was born in canada. so i will bring that lawsuit if he doesn't apologize. >> reporter: cruz brushing off the threat, saying trump has lost it. >> this is the most rattled i've ever seen donald, this press conference today, where he kind of stood and vented. i guess the only explanation one can have is that his poll numbers in south carolina must be plummeting. >> reporter: tonight's crowd by far the biggest that jeb bush has seen all campaign season. earlier today his brother reflecting on his past presidential primaries, says he prefers to focus on the wins than the losses