Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
GOP Candidates Clash at Debate; Chile Struck by 8.3 Quake; Interview with Ben Carson; Interview with Scott Walker; Interview with Mike Huckabee; Aired 12-1a ET
Aired September 17, 2015 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:02] DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And what we should be doing. I was looking for an opportunity to talk about, you know, our electric grid and cybersecurity and our lack of participation in space and what the implications of that are for the security of the nation because I think those are huge issues in terms of our safety and what's going to happen with our children and grandchildren. But the opportunity just didn't present itself.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: In terms of where you see this campaign going, I mean, you're obviously doing extraordinarily well in the polls. You've been moving up. You're second really only behind Donald Trump, one of the few who are in double-digits.
In terms of your organizational structure, that's one of the -- some observers have said look, you don't have the organizational structure at this point to get to the next level that you need to get. How actively are you working on that? Is that a concern of yours? Because I know people have been underestimating you all along.
CARSON: I would say at some point they'll get tired of being wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
Because obviously we have a very good organizational structure. And in fact the reporter who initially, you know, made that accusation has subsequently said he was wrong and he apologized.
COOPER: The -- Carly Fiorina, it was the first time she was on that stage. She obviously -- a lot of people are saying she really did make a mark tonight. As a candidate, how do you see her, from what you heard of her tonight?
CARSON: Well, you know, I've known Carly for almost 20 years. And she did not disappoint. She's very, very good, particularly at the quick sound bite. And she is quick on her feet. And one of the reasons that, you know, I insisted early on that she be included is because I knew that she would have an impact.
COOPER: One of the exchanges you had with Donald Trump was about vaccines. And I just want to play that for our viewers and talk about it.
CARSON: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I only say it's not -- I'm in favor of vaccines, do them over a longer period of time, same amount.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN DEBATE MODERATOR: Thank you.
TRUMP: But just in little sections.
TAPPER: Dr. Carson?
TRUMP: I think -- and I think you're going to have -- I think you're going to see a big impact on autism.
TAPPER: Dr. Carson, you just heard his medical take.
(LAUGHTER)
CARSON: He's an OK doctor.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
CARSON: But, you know, the fact of the matter is, we have extremely well-documented proof that there's no autism associated with vaccinations. But it is true that we are probably giving way too many in too short a period of time. And a lot of pediatricians now recognize that, and I think are cutting down on the number and the proximity in which those are done, and I think that's appropriate.
TRUMP: And that's all I'm saying, Jake. That's all I'm saying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: First of all, you're saying he is an OK doctor. That's obviously a reference to something he had called you, a very clever way of sort of pushing back on it without pushing back. It doesn't -- I mean, at the end of that, it sounded like you two weren't too far apart on this issue. Do you think that's accurate?
CARSON: Well, on the issue of too many vaccinations and the close period of time.
COOPER: The timeline.
CARSON: That's what he was agreeing with. And that's a reasonable position to take. And one of the things that I've been saying is that, you know, there are certain types of vaccines that are very critical to public health.
COOPER: Sure.
CARSON: There are others that, you know, they're nice, but they're not critical. And I think it would be useful for us to differentiate the two and you know, not impose the ones that aren't absolutely critical on people.
COOPER: Your campaign manager was on CNN I believe earlier today saying, you know, the philosophy of him and the rest of the campaign is let Dr. Carson be Dr. Carson. It's working so far. Is that moving forward for you?
CARSON: Yes.
COOPER: You just continue plugging away?
CARSON: That's what I'll do. I'll just continue speaking the truth and explaining things to people as I go around the country helping people to understand what our fiscal condition is, which is very serious. I was quite disappointed that we really didn't get into that at all. That's a huge issue in terms of the stability of this nation.
COOPER: Dr. Carson, it's always a pleasure.
CARSON: You too.
COOPER: Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.
CARSON: Thank you.
COOPER: Just past the top of the hour now. Before we bring in the panel, there are some highlights from a very big night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: First of all, Rand Paul shouldn't even be on this stage. He's number 11. He's got 1 percent in the polls. And how he got up here, there is far too many people anyway.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think his response, his visceral response to attack people on their appearance, short, tall, fat, ugly, my goodness, that happened in junior high.
TRUMP: I never attacked him on his look. And believe me, there is plenty of subject matter right there.
[00:05:01] JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You got Hillary Clinton to go to your wedding.
TRUMP: That's true.
BUSH: Because you gave her money.
TRUMP: I was a businessman. I get along with Clinton. I get along with everybody. That was my job, to get along with people.
BUSH: But the simple fact is --
TRUMP: I didn't want to -- excuse me, one second.
BUSH: No. The simple fact is, Donald --
TRUMP: OK.
BUSH: -- you could not take --
TRUMP: 'More energy tonight. I like that.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You better be able to lead our country on the first day, not six months from now, not a year from now. On the first day in office our president could very well confront a national security crisis and a president better be up to date on those issues on his first day in office or her first day in office.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: But the point was I'm not sure we need half a billion dollars for women's health issues. He said he misspoke.
TRUMP: He said that.
TAPPER: You said that that's going to haunt him. Why do you think that?
TRUMP: I think it will haunt him. I think it's a terrible statement. I think it's going to haunt him absolutely. So why did you say it? Why did you say it?
BUSH: We improved --
TRUMP: I know. But why did you say it? I heard it myself. Why did you say it?
BUSH: We increased child support. We increased child support with a broken system by 90 percent.
TRUMP: You said you're going to cut funding for women's health issues. You said it.
BUSH: I have a proven record. I have a proven record.
TRUMP: Yes. Except you said it.
TAPPER: Miss Fiorina, I do want to ask you about this, in an interview last week in "Rolling Stone" magazine Donald Trump said the following about you, quote, "Look at that face, would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?" Mr. Trump later said he was talking about your persona, not your appearance."
Please feel free to respond what you think about his persona.
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, it's interesting to me, Mr. Trump said that he heard Mr. Bush very clearly and what Mr. Bush said. I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) TRUMP: I think she's got a beautiful face. And I think she's a beautiful woman.
CARSON: I haven't had an opportunity to weigh in on foreign policy. And I just want to mention that when the war -- when the issue occurred in 2003, I suggested to President Bush that he not go to war. OK. So I just want that on the record.
FIORINA: You were forced to file for bankruptcy not once. Not twice.
TRUMP: I never filed for bankruptcy.
FIORINA: Four times. A record four times. Why should we trust you to manage the finances of this nation any differently than you manage the finances of your casinos?
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm as entertained as anyone by this personal back-and-forth about the history of Donald and Carly's career. For the 55-year-old construction worker out in that audience tonight who doesn't have a job, who can't fund his child's education, I got to tell you the truth. They could care less about your careers. They care about theirs.
PAUL: Well, I think if we left it open we could see how many people smoked pot in high school.
BUSH: So 40 years ago I smoked marijuana. And I admit it. I'm sure that other people might have done it and may not want to say it in front of 25 million people. My mom's not happy that I just did.
(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)
BUSH: That's true.
TRUMP: I'm in favor of vaccines. Do them over a longer period of time, same amount.
TAPPER: Thank you.
TRUMP: But just in little sections.
TAPPER: Dr. Carson, you just heard his medical take.
(LAUGHTER)
CARSON: He's an OK doctor.
(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)
TAPPER: What would you want your Secret Service code name to be?
BUSH: Eveready. It's very high energy, Donald.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TAPPER: Mr. Trump? TRUMP: Humble.
(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)
BUSH: That's a good one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Humble indeed. Just some of the moments and themes we'll be talking about tonight, starting with Michael Smerconish, host of the CNN program bearing his name, "SMERCONISH." Also CNN senior political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson joins us. CNN national security commentator Mike Rogers, obviously a former Republican congressman who chaired the House Intelligence Committee.
Also joining us Republican strategist and CNN political commentator Kevin Madden, CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp, and former adviser to President Obama, Van Jones, who is a CNN political commentator as well.
I'll just quickly go around. Van, your thoughts. Who stood out? Who --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Carly had a tremendous night. She'll be up five points. I just think that she was -- she wanted the ball. She fought for the ball. She got the ball. Jeb actually humanized himself. He talked about his brother, stuck up for his brother. Not necessarily politically smart, but I thought it was human smart. He talked about his mom, and he talked about, you know, his desire to do well for the country. So I thought Jeb Bush actually humanized himself tonight. Rubio I think put in a good performance. But Carly was a standout.
COOPER: S.E. Cupp?
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I agree. It's really hard to meet very high expectations. I thought she beat them.
JONES: Yes.
CUPP: She came in with incredibly high expectations. She performed incredibly well. She was quick on her feet. And I like what she did. Every opportunity she got, she laid out incredibly substantive policy points.
JONES: Details.
[00:10:07] CUPP: They weren't even asked for. And she went -- she knew how valuable her time was. She wasn't going to use it with platitudes. She was going to use it with policy points that I don't think any of the other candidates matched and frankly weren't even demanded.
COOPER: Kevin, she definitely came into this well-prepared with some definite ideas in mind on how to make her mark.
KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Absolutely. And -- you know the command that she had on policy I thought really stood out. We're definitely going to see headlines out of this that Carly was the big winner. I also think Rubio, he had a similar strategy, I think, of really showing people that he is the better candidate on some of the big issues that they care about. Namely, I thought he stood out on national security and foreign policy.
CUPP: Yes.
MADDEN: And then I think the other headline is that Trump actually, he took some punches tonight. He was knocked down a peg. I think the big question for a lot of these campaigns in the next day is, do we put our boot on his neck or do we let him off? And so that will be interesting to see what they do.
COOPER: Do you think he was really knocked down among those people --- you know, the numbers of people supporting him?
MADDEN: So I think he did -- I think he did enough to help with some of those base voters that are showing support for him right now. Right? He got enough red meat for them on things like immigration. But I think for the other campaigns who have been dancing around him and not really sure how to hit him, I think they saw him like a boxer who's finally bled for the first time. And I think -- I think they're going to continue to get more and more aggressive as this campaign starts to go on.
COOPER: Chairman Rogers, do you agree with that? And do you think, if you do, that it was the length of time, it was the fact that you could get kind of specific on policy because you had candidates talking to each other?
MIKE ROGERS, FORMER HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: And Trump clearly had trouble on national security and foreign policy issues. You could tell he didn't have a comfort zone there. He got himself in a little bit of trouble talking circles. And so there were three class of folks up there. You had senators, former governors or governors, and then you had the outside class. Carly, that's 50 percent of the vote, by the way. Over 50 percent of the vote is going to those three individuals.
COOPER: Right.
ROGERS: She knocked the ball out of the park. So if you're thinking Trump stumbled for me, I think those votes go to Carly. I think Ben Carson didn't have a great night. I think those votes go to Carly. I think she is going to be a big winner in this. And then the senators I thought Marco Rubio clearly stood out because he had such command of the issue on foreign policy in a what that they the other member -- the other folks on the stage did not.
COOPER: Nia-Malika?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I thought also Chris Christie I thought did well. He had a sense of personality. He was funny at times. He had what seemed like a gimmick at the first -- at his opening when he said listen, don't put the camera on me, put it on the audience here. And he rounded that out at the end when he said listen, this isn't about me, it's about the person who is out there in that audience watching.
It's a bit ironic because here is a candidate who rose because of his personality and now he is saying it's not about me, it's about the American voters. But it's clearly trying to get some of that sort of populism that we've seen very much driving this race.
On Carly, I don't think we can say enough. She was fantastic. There is this whole concept of leaning in that women are talking about these days. This is what she did time and time again. You wanted the camera on her. You wanted to see her reaction. You wanted to see what she would do with these questions. And she did -- she often had better answers to questions than everyone else.
COOPER: It was --
HENDERSON: It's almost like she was the cleanup woman in some ways on some of these answers.
COOPER: It was interesting, though. A number of these candidates kind of showed a sense of humor. She didn't necessarily show that.
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, "SMERCONISH": Correct. She has got to. I agree with everything that's been said relative to her command of the facts, she has a public speaking gift. She's got to smile.
HENDERSON: I say no, she doesn't. You know how many times men tell women oh, you got to smile?
COOPER: Is that right?
(CROSSTALK)
HENDERSON: No. I say she doesn't have to smile. I think it's working.
SMERCONISH: No, wait a minute. No, wait a minute. There was not a smile all night long. There are times to be serious but you've got to loosen it up a little bit.
COOPER: But it was interesting how, for instance, Ben Carson kind of used, when he said to Donald Trump he is an OK doctor, you know, just a small little line.
SMERCONISH: Little levity.
COOPER: It's a little levity that kind of shows. Jeb Bush I think kind of humanized himself.
HENDERSON: I think she'll have time to do that but I mean, you know, how many times --
(CROSSTALK)
ROGERS: The funny thing is, unless she had something to prove tonight. She is a newcomer up on the big stage.
HENDERSON: I think so, too. Yes.
ROGERS: I think she had to say, I can hang with these people who have been up on the big stage for some time.
(CROSSTALK)
CUPP: It's amazing, of all the guys that did these sort of shticky answers on the dollar bill question, which is a throwaway question but a chance to sort of humor, she is the only one that gave the right answer that it is a gesture.
HENDERSON: Yes. I heard that. Right.
CUPP: It's meaningless. They're all trying to put their moms and wives on the --
JONES: Right.
CUPP: And she stuck. And I thought she really shown in that moment.
MADDEN: But Michael had a really good point, though. At the heart, these are performances. And in performances, the one thing you want to do is drive home some themes and attributes. And the theme that she successfully drove home today was somebody who is clear, concise, really strong on a lot of these issues.
COOPER: And strong. Right. Strong.
MADDEN: And a really great command of the issue. But Michael is absolutely right, there has to be a relatability and likability. That's going to be a challenge.
CUPP: It will come. That will come.
(CROSSTALK)
MADDEN: It will come. And there is plenty of time, there is plenty of time.
JONES: Let me say about that. Listen, I saw this all on Twitter. I just think it's a double standard. You want to know a real sour puss? I didn't see Marco Rubio smile once. Nobody is criticizing Marco Rubio.
[00:15:12] MADDEN: He held up the water.
JONES: He held up the water. One time.
MADDEN: Nobody else smiled during that time.
JONES: Yes. OK. (CROSSTALK)
JONES: So Marco Rubio has a joke that doesn't work, doesn't smile the whole time. And we all say he is great. Nobody is talking about his smile. Listen, Carly did something extraordinary. She fought her way from the undercard. The only one who is able to do it, and dominated tonight.
CUPP: Yes.
JONES: She is going to go up. Now I agree with you. Warmth is important. Strength and warmth together, unstoppable. She'll get there. But I don't want anybody to take away from her. The one thing that happened, though, I thought was very odd. During this thing as a Democrat watching this, there was a strange embrace of George W. Bush. Now I said, can you please have all of them embrace George W. Bush? That will help Democrats a lot. But something happened tonight where George W. Bush suddenly was not the radioactive name. And that's weird.
COOPER: We've got to take a quick break. We're going talk to more candidates about their big night, running the Simi Valley marathon. Three hours of debate when 360 continues. We'll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everyone. I'm Errol Barnett at CNN Center with this breaking news.
The death toll has risen to five in Chile where a powerful earthquake struck Wednesday night. Now tsunami warnings have been lifted for several regions of Chile. That's according to federal officials, and that took place just a few minutes ago. However three-plus meter waves above tide level are still possible along some of Chile's coastline.
Take a look at this map for a moment. The U.S. Geological Survey says the epicenter of the 8.3 magnitude quake was about three hours north of the capital, Santiago. And we can show you what it looked like inside our affiliate office there at CNN Chile moments after the quake struck. Coastal areas were evacuated and tsunami waves were observed along the Chilean coastline. The city of Coquimbo reported a wave of more than 4.5 meters high.
Now the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible along most of Chile's coast. Emergency evacuations have been under way. The tsunami advisories extend to New Zealand, Hawaii, and California and elsewhere across the Pacific Ocean.
A lot of information to take in, and some of this is changing minute by minute. So we turn now to our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri who can give us a larger sense of what has been taking place in Chile these last few hours.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. This is an incredible quake. You know, this comes in on the heels of what we had here just about five years ago that was an 8.8. That took with it 500 lives. And in Chile, we're talking about a place that has had the largest quake in recorded history, it was a 9.5 back in 1960s so well-known for this region as far as quakes.
We know right along this boundary, 90 percent of our planet's quakes occur right along this ring of fire that's known around the Pacific Ocean. But some of the images showing you the damage left in place. And oftentimes you talk about a magnitude of this scale, it is something that you have to keep in mind. What time did it happen? Is the structures -- are they vulnerable in this region and what are the people doing?
We know it was about 8:00 in the evening. So people out and about. But with a quake of this magnitude typically you would expect one aftershock in the 7.3 scale. We have had seven aftershock of the 15 we've seen so far. We expect 10 to be in six magnitude, 100 in the five magnitude and then you get up into the thousands beyond the four magnitude and beyond that as well, getting lower numbers.
But here we go around the Pacific Ocean. And again about 90 percent of the world's quakes and 80 percent of its largest quakes happen over this region. So not a surprise to look at the largest quakes on our planet. We know Chile takes the number one spot with the May 1960 quake of 9.5 that occurred there taking with it some 1600 lives.
But the major concern now is the displacement of water, Errol. This is a mega thrust quake and plate line. When we're talking about this, we're talking about one plate diving beneath another plate. As they build pressure, they move about 60 millimeters per year. So they released a tremendous amount of energy. That's why --
(CROSSTALK)
BARNETT: That plate subduction and why this area is so dangerous.
COOPER: And we are back. Alisyn Camerota is also here. Scott Walker who shared the stage tonight with 10 of his rivals. Alisyn?
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: I am here with Governor Walker. Great to have you with us.
SCOTT WALKER (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good to be with you.
CAMEROTA: What was your most memorable moment of the night?
WALKER: Well, I want to step in and say talk about issues and lay out a clear contrast. You know, we've had a mistake I think in the White House, putting an apprentice in, someone who had never run anything, who've never been challenged in government. I've been challenged unlike anybody else up on that stage. And I hope people saw that and saw that I've got a plan on the big issue, to repeal Obamacare starting day one.
COOPER: You and Donald Trump mixed it up. I mean, he sort of went after you. He said that you went down the tubes, he said, in Iowa and in your state. And he also challenged what you said the jobs that you created. What is your response to him now?
[00:20:07] WALKER: Well, he is just using the same talking points of the Democrats. And they didn't work. That's why I won three elections in four years in a blue state like Wisconsin because we did fix things. We took a $3.6 billion budget deficit and we fixed it. We cut taxes by $4.7 billion. Our schools now have the second -- second highest ACT scores in the country. And our budget is balanced.
In fact, I pointed out in contrast, you know, Mr. Trump wants people to vote for him based on his business record. I said well, if you want that, then people should remember he took four major projects into bankruptcy. You know, we can't take America into bankruptcy. You need -- that's the problem with Washington. Too many politicians want to act like they can take it into bankruptcy.
CAMEROTA: And what about that format where you got to mix it up right there, I mean, almost right next to each other, and you were trading barbs? Was that awkward? Was it uncomfortable? Were you welcoming that moment?
WALKER: No. I mean, when I had 100,000 protesters in my camp, I had literally people take over events about as close as we are right now getting in our face. And we didn't back down. We did the right thing. We took on the machine. We took on the Washington. So doing that is not a problem. I just think in the end, though, people want in the future to hear more about details about what our plans are. I've got a plan to grow the economy. I've got a plan to take huge chunks of the federal government and send it back to the states and to the people. The more we talk about that, the better off we're going to be.
CAMEROTA: A lot of the buzz online is that Carly Fiorina stole the show. What did you think of her performance and her exchanges with Donald Trump?
WALKER: Well, I think she's impressive. And I thought the things that he said about her were completely unacceptable. I was one of the first people to come out and speak out about that. But in the end America saw this is a great field of candidates out there. Some wonderful Republicans running. Hopefully, whomever the nominee is, and I'd like to be the nominee, will pick a good number of them to be in the Cabinet. Kind of like the book "Team of Rivals," that would be a pretty good fit just like Lincoln did to put many of those same folks in. I think America had to see there's some pretty great talent in the Republican Party.
CAMEROTA: Would you be willing to take a Cabinet position?
WALKER: Well, I'm focused on earning the trust of voters in Iowa and all the early states to be the one making that choice, just like I have done as governor and as county executive before.
CAMEROTA: You have been struggling a bit in the polls. Do you think that tonight was a breakthrough moment?
WALKER: Yes, I think so. I think people -- what I heard in Iowa is a lot of people have said to me at cafes and diners, and places I go to, you're one of my top two or three candidates out there. What I want to see is the kind of passion you showed when you took on the big government union bosses, when you took on the Washington base special interests. I think we showed that tonight.
CAMEROTA: Governor Scott Walker, thanks so much for being with us. Great to see you.
WALKER: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: Let's go back to Anderson.
COOPER: Alisyn, thanks very much. Governor Walker as well.
Just ahead, we're going to talk to Dana Bash and Hugh Hewitt, who did much of the questioning tonight about from their vantage how things went tonight. We'll also talk about Carly Fiorina, the big marks she made on that stage tonight. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:26:28] COOPER: Coming to you tonight from the CNN post debate spin room. Back now with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt and his partner in questioning at tonight's debate, CNN's Dana Bash.
First of all congratulations. I thought you both did an incredible job as well as our Jake Tapper.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Anderson.
COOPER: How was it out there? I mean, were there -- it's obviously -- it's very different when you're asking the questions. You're not really kind of focusing as much on -- in some cases some of the key moments. But for you, for both of you, for -- Dana, let's start with you. Was there a key moment that stood out?
BASH: Well, wow, I think the great news is that there were several key moments. You know, for me personally, my interests, this is a question that I asked was -- you know, kind of how Jeb Bush would handle this since he got so attacked by Donald Trump as low energy. And this isn't just kind of a mudslinging situation out on the campaign trail. This has really hurt Jeb Bush. Even his close aides and advisers will tell you that part of his slide was because of Donald Trump's attacks have been really successful.
And the bottom line is that I didn't know how he was going to answer the question that I asked about -- what Donald Trump was saying about his wife. And I was fascinated to know how he was going to handle it. And he ended up, you know, really taking on Trump, which I think he knew that he needed to do, but a lot of people were wondering whether he had it in him. And he did.
COOPER: Hugh, how about for you? I mean, you were very close to Carly Fiorina. I think she did really a standout job tonight in terms of just coming with her, you know, best game on. HUGH HEWITT, DEBATE MODERATOR: You're right. She's going full
Thatcher. And I mean it isn't -- she doesn't want to be liked. She wants to be respected. She wants to be listened to. She wants to make an impression on world leaders. And there is a lot of international press out here and they asked me, you got Assad's name wrong. So what? He's a dictator, he's a killer. I don't care if I got Assad's name wrong. But she's talking to Assad and Putin as well as to the American people and say, I'm going full Thatcher. And I thought she made quite an impact.
As did Marco Rubio at one moment earlier in the debate where we talked about responsibility for the hell that is Syria. And Rubio wanted to explain why that is not his fault. Why the Congress was not going to give the president that. So they -- those are the moments I'll take away from this.
COOPER: We have this exchange between Trump and Rubio. Let's just play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: All over the world --
HEWITT: Responsibility, Mr. Trump, did the senators hold?
TRUMP: I think they had a responsibility, absolutely. I think we have three of them here.
HEWITT: Senator Rubio?
TRUMP: I think they had a responsibility, yes.
TAPPER: Senator, go ahead.
RUBIO: Let me talk about we have zero responsibility because let's remember what the president said. He said the attack that he was going to conduct was going to be a pinprick. Well, the United States military was not built to conduct pinprick attacks. If the United States military is going to be engaged by a commander-in-chief, it should only be engaged in an endeavor to win. And we're not going to authorize use of force if you're not putting men and women in a position where they can win. And quite frankly, people don't trust this president as commander-in-chief because of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: There's a lot of people saying Marco Rubio tonight definitely distinguished himself.
BASH: You know, he did. And one of the things that we were wondering was how he would do that because he's so articulate, he's so quick on his feet. I mean, I see that in the halls of the Senate and we've seen that on the campaign trail. But he hasn't been willing to kind of engage in the ad hominem attacks and -- which, you know, I think worked to his benefit in this debate because he actually showed he is about much more than that which is important for somebody like him who is only in his early 40s and is trying to prove that he's a lot more than just, you know, a first-term senator. He's got some heft there.
HEWITT: Wild predictions based on the worst seat in the house to make predictions because you can't see social media, the field will bunch. I think that Donald Trump and Ben Carson --
COOPER: You think the numbers will change?
HEWITT: -- will lose some and that a bunch of people will come up some because many different slices of the Republican primary electorate saw what they liked. And they will gravitate to what they liked. And there was lot to like on the stage.
[00:30:09] I asked you earlier, did anyone have a Pratt fall that I didn't notice? Because I didn't notice any. No Jerry Ford talking about Poland, nothing like that. No memory moment for Reagan in the second debate. No, everyone had a very -- I think they all are talking about the good stuff tonight.
BASH: And one thing that you probably couldn't see on camera, but we could see sitting there is how much everybody wanted in.
HEWITT: Yes.
BASH: Trying to catch our eyes.
COOPER: It's often like that. It's extraordinary. You never see it on camera. But the desire to get in.
BASH: Because they all know it's I need a moment. And this moment --
HEWITT: And the sidebars.
COOPER: Yes.
HEWITT: You know, Kasich wandering over to Christie to have a sidebar for a couple of minutes. You know, Jeb talking --
COOPER: Well, as a moderator, too, it's often hard to actual maintain eye contact with them because they're all trying to look at you to get you to call on them. You sort of end up -- you know, I don't know, Jake was.
BASH: Not looking at them.
COOPER: But kind of looking at their navels or somewhere, just not in their eyes because you don't want to have that -- you know, you have to tell them I can't call you right now.
BASH: Exactly.
HEWITT: And they were all pretty cooperative. I will say this. No one ran outside of their lane. No one got a false start. No one took the time. Some demanded time on occasion. I think Scott Walker inserted himself very forcefully on a couple of occasions. He wanted to speak, as did Carly. But generally everyone stayed in their lines. COOPER: I mean, I saw some, you know, complaints online about the
length of the debate. But at the same time, if it wasn't that length with that many people on the stage, you wouldn't have been able to get as substantive questions and as much exchange.
BASH: Right.
COOPER: In which they really were able to try to -- I mean, I think all of you did an extraordinary job at trying to show the differences between these candidates which is critical.
BASH: And --
HEWITT: Go ahead. Well, you can ask Kevin later. I'm sure Governor Romney would have liked more time rather than less time in 2012. Everybody who likes their position wants more time. So I think they'd still be up there if the cameras were still rolling.
BASH: No, exactly. And the bottom line is that you could really get a feel for how much was at stake. Because like you said, you talked about Governor Walker. I mean, Governor Walker jumped in there because he was told, like you are bottoming out, dude. You've got to show that you are there. That you exist.
COOPER: They said dude, really?
BASH: I think they do say dude.
COOPER: They did. I like that.
BASH: Or cheesehead or something other.
COOPER: All right. Well, again, just a great job, Hugh Hewitt.
HEWITT: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Dana Bash as well.
BASH: Thanks.
COOPER: Coming up next, candidate Mike Huckabee joins us with his take on the night for him and his 10 debating partners as well. We'll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett at CNN Center with this breaking news.
At least five people have been killed in Chile after an 8.3 magnitude quake struck just off its coast. Tsunami warnings have now been lifted for several regions of the country. That's according to federal officials. It took place within the last past hour. But waves over three meters are still possible along some Chilean coastal areas. Now the quake's epicenter is about 50 kilometers west of the city of Illapel in Chile, which is about three hours north of the capital, Santiago. The city's mayor says electricity there is out and it's difficult to
assess the damage right now. He says hospitals are moving patients outdoors into the streets, and he can see damaged homes. He described the situation earlier as total chaos and fear.
These pictures are from the office of our affiliates, CNN Chile, in the immediate moments after the quake struck. Meanwhile, in the city of Coquimbo, a wave of more than 15 feet high, that's more than 4.5 meters, hit the coastline.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible along most of Chile's coast. Emergency evacuations are under way. Now the center says the tsunami threat also extends to Peru and Ecuador and across the Pacific to Mexico and Japan and to islands including Hawaii and French Polynesia.
Now witness Emily Hirsh described the scene from Santiago, Chile earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMILY HIRSH, WITNESS: The first earthquake, I've never experienced one before. And so I thought it was on my end. But then I noticed the ground moving. And you could see, you know, people starting to come out of the buildings into the streets, into the center of the streets, because Chile is actually in the ring of fire. And so the inhabitants of Chile, Chileans are quite used to earthquakes.
But there was a lot of sort of noise, the clinking and then followed by seeing things move. So there was a succession of earthquakes, and then about 15, 20 minutes later, an aftershock that was still quite strong, which caused residents to again come into the streets. And it actually, while I was waiting on the line, I felt another aftershock.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: OK.
HIRSH: On the front, you can see things still kind of wobbling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: A witness speaking with us earlier.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with more. People may be used to quakes, but this is a powerful one and there are still aftershocks.
[00:35:06] JAVAHERI: Aftershocks are continuing, up to 15 now, Errol. And you expect on the order of hundreds if not thousands to continue in the coming couple of months. But here we go with the 8.3 quake. That was at a very shallow depth at 25 kilometers just offshore as well, which sits about 230 or so kilometers away from the capital city of Santiago. You put this on the top of the charts when it comes to a great magnitude scale of a quake.
Our planet typically produces one of these every single year in this magnitude. That's why the USGS says the potential for the fatalities that are at five right now could increase anywhere from 10 to 100 based on historical data and economical losses could exceed $100 million. So again, a very significant quake has taken place across portions of Chile and we're continuing to watch what is occurring in this region because the aftershocks will continue for weeks if not months, Errol.
BARNETT: Yes. All right. We will continue to watch this, Pedram. Thanks.
I am Errol Barnett. We return you now to coverage from -- of highlights from the U.S. Republican presidential debate.
COOPER: We are back in the spin room here at the Reagan Library. The candidates and surrogates still in some cases working the crowd. Let's go back to "NEW DAY's" Alisyn Camerota now with Mike Huckabee -- Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Anderson, thanks so much. I am with the former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee.
Thanks so much for being with us. What was the most memorable moment for you tonight?
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it was when it was over and we all got to get off our feet. We've been up there for three hours.
Look, it was a -- it was a very spirited contest tonight. I think that was fair. A lot of elbows up on to the goal. It's not really my thought that that's what our debate should be. Not fighting each other. It's about the fact that these are all my colleagues. So the reason that people say gosh, Huckabee didn't beat up anybody, no, and I'm not going to. These are not my enemies. These are my friends, my colleagues. If I were president, I'd look down that stage. I'd pick every single one of them to be somewhere in the Cabinet. Because they're good people and they're qualified and capable.
CAMEROTA: Were there too many people on stage? You seemed a little annoyed that it took a while to get to you.
HUCKABEE: I think it was like 45 minutes into the debate before I ever got a question. So, you know, those are frustrating things if you've spent your whole life preparing to run for president and you're running for that office. But, you know, the other side of that is I think there is a way to fix this. And I want to suggest it. If all those other guys would drop out and endorse me, then I will just do an interview the next time and there won't be a debate. It's a lot easier.
CAMEROTA: There's a suggestion. Why didn't they think of that?
HUCKABEE: I don't know.
CAMEROTA: The moment that came up tonight, of course, that has become an issue in this presidential debate is what has happened to the Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis. HUCKABEE: Yes.
CAMEROTA: Let me play for our viewers that exchange with you this evening.
HUCKABEE: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Governor Bush, for example, says that that clerk is sworn to uphold the law. Is Governor Bush on the wrong side of the criminalization of Christianity?
HUCKABEE: No, I don't think he is on the wrong side of such an issue. Jeb is a friend. I'm not here to fight with Jeb or to fight with anybody else. But I am here to fight for somebody who is a county clerk elected under the Kentucky constitution that 75 percent of the people of that state voted for her that said marriage was between a man and a woman.
We made accommodations to the detainees at Gitmo. I've been to Gitmo and I've seen the accommodations that we made to the Muslim detainees who killed Americans. You're telling me that you cannot make an accommodation for an elected Democrat county clerk from Rowan County, Kentucky?
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: You don't believe that?
BUSH: I believe you're not stating my views right.
TAPPER: OK, please do.
BUSH: I think there needs to be accommodation for someone acting on their faith.
TAPPER: Governor, you said, quote, "She is sworn to uphold the law."
BUSH: She is. And so if she -- based on conscience can't sign that marriage license, then there should be someone in her office to be able to do it. And if the law needs to be changed in the state of Kentucky, which is what she is advocating, it should be changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Governor, do you worry that the Kim Davis issue has now defined your campaign? It's almost become the sole issue of your campaign. It's eclipsing other things?
HUCKABEE: No, I don't think so at all. I mean, it's an issue I feel very strongly about, because frankly, if we don't understand the balance of power, separation of powers and equality of branches, and if we surrender to judicial tyranny, we will in fact do what Jefferson warned about. He said you turn the Constitution into a thing of wax. And this is very concerning. I think it ought to be an issue we talk about a great deal more.
A president who surrenders the executive branch of government to the other -- to the other two, especially to the court, has been derelict in his duty. He has not fulfilled his oath of office. So this issue was to me a seminal moment. When a county clerk is put in jail. Not just told hey, you need to do this. Put in jail. People need to remember that. And no accommodation made for her. But we made accommodations for the Fort Hood shooter. We've made accommodations for the detainees at Gitmo who are terrorists and have killed Americans. And I cannot imagine that this country cannot make some type of accommodation for Kim Davis.
CAMEROTA: Very quickly, you said that you would put anybody there in your cabinet. What would Secretary Trump be?
[00:40:04] HUCKABEE: You know, it would be very difficult to limit him to one thing. But, you know, people need to realize, Donald Trump has got a lot of gifts and talents. He's a man of great accomplishment. And if Donald Trump were willing to serve in the government, I would be more than happy to find a spot for him. And I think people are underestimating his ability as a communicator. And look, if you're a guy that has made $10 billion in business, you have done some things right, right?
CAMEROTA: Yes.
HUCKABEE: So give him his due.
CAMEROTA: There you go.
Governor Huckabee, great to see you. Thanks so much.
HUCKABEE: Thanks, Alisyn. Great to see you.
CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.
Back to you, Anderson.
COOPER: Alisyn, thanks so much. And Governor, thank you as well.
I want to go to our Tom Foreman now, who has been busy fact-checking some of the statements that the candidates made tonight -- Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, Donald Trump has said so many times that he is so wealthy you don't have to worry about him mixing money and politics. But tonight Jeb Bush pushed back hard, saying too late, it's already happened. Trump has tried to buy political influence. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: He wanted casino gambling in Florida.
TRUMP: I didn't.
BUSH: Yes, you did. TRUMP: Totally false.
BUSH: You wanted it and you didn't get it because I was opposed to --
TRUMP: I would have gotten it.
BUSH: -- casino gambling before.
TRUMP: I promise I would have gotten it.
BUSH: During and after. And that's not -- I'm not going to be bought by anybody.
TRUMP: I promise if I wanted it, I would have gotten it.
BUSH: No way.
TRUMP: Believe me.
BUSH: Nope.
TRUMP: I know my people.
BUSH: Not even possible.
TRUMP: I know my people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: One of the hotter momentums of the night. What is the truth here, back in the late 1990s Trump did hold a fundraiser for Jeb Bush when Trump was trying to get a casino deal going in Florida. Bush ultimately blocked that deal. So it appears here that what Trump is saying is false. What Bush said in this issue was true.
Carly Fiorina jumped into the fray by taking on those videotapes surreptitiously shot that alleged showed Planned Parenthood employees or associates trying to sell body parts from aborted fetuses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIORINA: I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these tapes. Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Is there really something on these videotapes that looks like that? Yes, there is actually a short portion in one of the videotapes that does show a fetus, looks kind of like that's what's going on, but, but, it's edited in. There is no proof, nor any way to ascertain that this had anything to do with Planned Parenthood when it came to that piece of videotape. So what she said here is true, but it is misleading.
And Ted Cruz jumped in on the Planned Parenthood videotape as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On these video, Planned Parenthood also essentially confesses to multiple felonies. It is a felony with 10 years jail time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Well, it is a crime to sell body parts. But there is no evidence that anyone is confessing to anything on these tapes. In fact, if you watch them carefully, what you hear is these representatives saying many times this is for the handling, this is for the processing. It's less than $100 per sample. This is not a matter of profit. So for him to suggest that this is a clear confession of some sort, that is simply not true. False statement, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Tom. A lot more to come in the hours and days ahead.
Up next, how today's debate played with the most important people who watched it, the voters.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett at CNN Center with new details on our breaking news. The death toll has risen to five in Chile where a powerful quake struck Wednesday night. Now Chile's president says the dead includes a woman struck by a falling roof and another woman hit by falling rocks. Federal officials now say tsunami warnings have been lifted for several regions of the country, but three-plus meter waves above tide level are still possible along some Chilean coastal areas.
Now the U.S. Geological Survey says the epicenter of the 8.3 magnitude quake was about three hours north of the capital Santiago. And we can show you what it looked like inside the office of our affiliate there, CNN Chile. And this is in the immediate moments after the quake struck. Coastal areas were evacuated and tsunami waves were observed along the coastline.
Now the city of Coquimbo reported a wave of more than 4.5 meters high. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible along most of Chile's coast. Emergency evacuations have been under way.
Now the tsunami advisories, warnings, and watches extend to New Zealand, Hawaii, and California and elsewhere across the Pacific Ocean.
Our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with more on what you've been saying is the most powerful quake we've seen on the planet this year.
JAVAHERI: It is. Yes. And you know, it's really important to notice, well, a lot of the video, a lot of the images we're seeing are coming in from Santiago where the USGS says they felt moderate shaking but we had strong shaking for about two million people and several hundred thousands have felt very strong shaking. So the intensity of the shaking was displaced farther to the north. So we know millions still impacted by much, much stronger shaking. So we shall see exactly what comes out of this.
[00:45:08] The USGS has $100 million in economical impact, certainly a probability with this. So you know the damage could be far worse farther north of Santiago. And again, here are the scenes about 330 kilometers away from the epicenter where we had the moderate shaking in place. About five million people in the city and just about every one of them feeling the moderate shaking that was in this region. So the map showing you what we're dealing with, with the light shaking being up to a million and then the severe shaking 42,000 people, generally right on the immediate coast. Very close to the areas where we saw the 4.5 meter wave heights.
In fact with these mega thrust quake events, we talk about these plates subducting underneath one another. These quakes are moving at the rate that your fingernails is growing which is about 60 to 90 millimeters per year. They get locked and they continue to force against one another before they disrupt at the water and essentially as the water moves up towards the coastline, the coastline becomes more shallow, the water piles up and then you have significant damage in place.
And in areas around California, there are advisories between water levels could be about one foot. So not as significant, but still the beaches in Orange County, for example, have been shut down.
BARNETT: All right. We'll keep watching this. Pedram, thanks very much.
I'm Errol Barnett. We return you now to highlights from the U.S. Republican presidential debate.
COOPER: Well, throughout tonight's debate, we collected voters on what the candidates themselves were saying. There were some real hits and some big misses as well.
CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar joins us now with that -- Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Anderson. CNN conducted a national online dial test with polls tonight. And specifically we wanted to look at when self-labeled Republicans and independents, you see Republicans here in red, independents in purple, very key in this primary season. We wanted to see when they agreed or disagreed with what they heard in the debate and there was one moment in particular that really registered positively with them.
This was how Carly Fiorina handled this question from Jake Tapper. You can see it got very high marks here as she responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Last week in "Rolling Stone" magazine, Donald Trump said the following about you. Quote, "Look at this face. Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?" Mr. Trump later said he was talking about your persona, not your appearance. Please feel free to respond to what you think about his persona.
(LAUGHTER)
FIORINA: You know, it's interesting to me, Mr. Trump said that he heard Mr. Bush very clearly and what Mr. Bush said. I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: It also resonated with Republican dial testers in particular when Fiorina talked about abortion and defunding Planned Parenthood. You look at the lines. They registered their agreement with her, basically it was through the roof.
Well, it also turns out that Republicans and independent dial testers, they didn't really like the testy back-and-forth that they saw between some of the candidates tonight. Here is what they did like. This is Chris Christie when he was talking and this is their response when he called out Fiorina and Donald Trump on that back-and-forth, and instead focused his ire on Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is that we don't want to hear about your careers, back and forth and volleying back and forth about who did well and who did poorly. You're both successful people. Congratulations. You know who is not successful? The middle class in this country who is getting plowed over by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Let's start talking about those issues tonight and stop this childish back-and-forth between the two of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So you see the animosity toward Hillary Clinton. A really big motivator for this Republican primary crowd.
And Anderson, it's really interesting, though. We really didn't see that much of it tonight when you consider the overall picture of the debate.
COOPER: Yes, that's definitely true. Brianna, appreciate that.
I want to talk about it with our panel. Joining me again is Michael Smerconish, Nia-Malika Henderson, Mike Rogers, Kevin Madden, S.E. Cupp and Van Jones.
Kevin, it is fascinating to see that dial testing and that exchange where Chris Christie really turned the bickering between Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina to criticism of Hillary Clinton and support for the middle class. Carly Fiorina, though, stood up for herself, came back at him and said you know what? You talked a lot about your record. We're talking about our record. And it's a valid question of leadership.
MADDEN: Yes, well, I think Chris Christie's strategy there was if he knew there was one unifying theme in this campaign for any Republicans out there watching, it was go after Hillary Clinton. But Carly Fiorina, yes, I mean, she did, you know, try to use it to her advantage as well. So, you know, it ended up being a positive exchange I think for both of them.
CUPP: But the go after Hillary Clinton thing, I think is right unless you're John Kasich --
MADDEN: Yes.
CUPP: -- which he gave this very bizarre defense of why he will not take on Hillary Clinton until I guess the general which makes zero sense. Of course he should be criticizing Hillary Clinton and her policies. I thought it was a real misstep considering he had a great night on the first debate. And I think really fell flat on this one.
[00:50:13] JONES: I think Kasich, you saw the biggest contrast, beautiful in his home state, in the hometown crowd.
CUPP: Yes.
JONES: You put him here, he just was not memorable. I thought one thing that she hasn't gotten a lot of credit for, Carly, since it's really her night, when she talked about the drug policy issue. That's been an issue that a lot of Republicans have backed away from. I was happy to see Republicans actually now saying that they understand there is something wrong with our drug laws. I thought that was a very important moment for the party. But Carly talked about her kid dying and that was powerful.
CUPP: Yes.
COOPER: Let's in fact play that.
JONES: Powerful.
COOPER: Let's play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIORINA: My husband Frank and I buried a child to drug addiction. So we must invest more in the treatment of drugs. I agree with Senator Paul. I agree with states' rights. But we are misleading young people when we tell them that marijuana is just like having a beer. It's not. And the marijuana that kids are smoking today is not the same as the marijuana that Jeb Bush smoked 40 years ago. We do -- sorry, Barbara.
(LAUGHTER)
We do need, we do need criminal justice reform. Drug addiction is an epidemic. And it is taking too many of our young people. I know this sadly from personal experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I mean, again, her ability to not just talk about issues but also to reveal something very intensely personal, the most personal thing she could possibly have talked about.
HENDERSON: Yes. And I think in some ways synthesized everyone else's answers and make it better. Right? I mean, she was personal, I thought, she was a compassionate conservative. She was also law and order. That original question was supposed to go to Jeb Bush because it was a tet-a-tet between Jeb Bush and Rand Paul and then she steps in and says, listen, guys, this is how it's done.
SMERCONISH: I thought it was interesting that Rand Paul touted his libertarianism and made a lot of sense, I think, in certain parts of the country that they don't vote in Republican primaries. Both the boots on the ground issue where he made the argument that every time we open a base overseas we're not necessarily making ourselves safer. I think that resonates with much of the country. I'm not so sure it plays well with the GOP base.
And then also the way in which he spoke about marijuana and medical marijuana. And Chris Christie then came out as the former prosecutor and said that he would enforce the federal law against state law. So everyone playing to their strength in that regard.
ROGERS: I would say this in that exchange. This is when Carly looked like the adult on the stage. That what had been missing for a lot of these debates, and certainly the first half of the debate. She really shined in that moment for me, because, A, she personalized it. And B, she didn't take the bait on the whole face question with Trump. She didn't do it.
COOPER: She handled it brilliantly.
(CROSSTALK)
MADDEN: Very classy. Very classy. Not only did she personalize it, she localized it. There is an epidemic in New Hampshire. This -- and where is Carly Fiorina? Where is she doing really well and starting to grow her support? In a place like New Hampshire. So let's not forget the early state appeal of some of these issues in some of the performance tonight.
JONES: Two things about it. One is, I think she's exactly where most parents are. I'm a parent. I'm against drug use for my children. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them to go to prison. I want -- and she landed right there. It was really, really good.
COOPER: We've got to take a quick break. Stay with us. We want to get some of the panel's final thoughts about tonight's debate when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We're ending the evening at the beginning. I want to play a quick moment from very early on, Rand Paul and Donald Trump trading jabs. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: First of all, Rand Paul shouldn't even be on this stage. He is number 11. He's got 1 percent in the polls, and how he got up here, there is far too many people. Anyway.
PAUL: I kind of have to laugh when I think of hmm, sounds like a non- sequitur. He was asked whether or not he would be capable and it would be in good hands to be in charge of the nuclear weapons, and all of the sudden there is a sideways attack at me.
I think his response, his visceral response to attack people on their appearance, short, tall, fat, ugly, my goodness. That happened in junior high. Are we not way above that? Would we not all be worried to have someone like that in charge of the nuclear arsenal?
TAPPER: Mr. Trump?
TRUMP: I never attacked him on his look. And believe me, there is plenty of subject matter right there, that I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: All right. Let's get some quick final thoughts. Michael Smerconish?
SMERCONISH: In the museum which I toured there is a display case with Ronald Reagan three-by-five cards on which he wrote one liners he used in dinner speeches. I wrote this down. "Never start an argument with a woman when she is tired or when she is rested." That's a lesson Donald Trump should have paid attention to with regard to Carly Fiorina.
COOPER: Nia?
HENDERSON: No, I think the RNC owes Carly Fiorina a big fat check, because she did a lot of the dirty work in sort of leveling and really deflating Donald Trump in this debate. He said that his code name would be humble at the end of this debate, and he was very much humbled I thought by Carly Fiorina tonight. It will be interesting to see how she does with women, particularly. She is about 3 percent in the polls against Donald Trump. But it will be interesting to see if that changes going forward.
COOPER: Chairman Rogers.
ROGERS: I think the shininess on this new toy called Donald Trump came off tonight.
COOPER: Really?
ROGERS: I do. And I think these other candidates that showed that they can take him on in a debate. He is not invincible, number one. And number two, Carly presented herself as a presidential candidate. She looked presidential. She sounded presidential. I would watch for her.
MADDEN: I agree with that absolutely. I think the trend line to watch now is where do Carly Fiorina's numbers go in these early contests. And then the other really important trend line, does this affect her fundraising? Is there a bunch of small dollar donors that start flooding her way because of the performance tonight?
COOPER: S.E.?
CUPP: I think we all agree on the winner. I would submit that one of the losers was probably Ben Carson who had a really tough time answering some questions, as I assumed he would as we got a little bit closer, particularly his line about 9/11 and wanting to meet that with the bully pulpit instead of going into what even Obama called the necessary war.
COOPER: Very quickly, Van?
JONES: You know, as a Democrat watching, I did not see very much discussion about the economy at all, except as an excuse not to do anything about climate change. And so, you know, here in California we've had the state on fire, that I thought was important for them.
COOPER: I want to thank everybody. A reminder the Democrats' first face-off comes next month. We're going to be bringing of course it to you. I'll be moderating that. It's October 13th is the date, the CNN Facebook debate. Las Vegas, the place. We're all looking forward to that.
That does it for us. Thanks very much for watching. Right now an encore edition of tonight's debate. I'll see you tomorrow.
