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Candidates on 11th Hour Sprint for Iowa; Zika Virus Outbreak; State Department Won't Release 22 "Top Secret" Messages; Cruz, Rubio Battling For Second Place In Iowa; NYT Endorses John Kasich And Hillary Clinton; Captured California Fugitive Helping Police. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired January 30, 2016 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:25] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It is 11:00 on the East Coast, 10:00 a.m. in Iowa. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

It is crunch time in Iowa, just two days now until the very first caucuses of the election and the very first time actual ballots will be cast in this truly unprecedented presidential race.

The candidates are crisscrossing the state today, holding events, rallies and meet-and-greets trying to reach as many voters as possible as the clock ticks down.

Front-runner Donald Trump has three events today while his closest rival Ted Cruz continues his bus tour, making at least five stops. You see them all kind of dotting the map there.

The Democrats also packing their schedule: Hillary Clinton is holding three events ending the day at a rally with her husband and daughter. And Bernie Sanders has five appearances, including a concert with some well-known rock bands there in Iowa.

We will bring you many of these events as it happens live this afternoon. My colleague John Berman is already there in Des Moines. He is getting ready just two days away.

I guess everyone is kind of -- you know, they have their hands together because it's cold and they can't wait for this day to happen.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I've got to say, Fredricka, you can feel the energy and you can feel the urgency here. These candidates -- they have almost no time left to make their case, but they're using every second they can to make that case.

We have correspondents covering all the campaigns today. Sunlen Serfaty with Ted Cruz; senior political reporter Manu Raju following Marco Rubio; senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta with Donald Trump; and senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny casing the Clinton campaign.

I want to start with Sunlen in Ames, Iowa. Things are different now for Ted Cruz after spending the last few weeks trying to kind of hit upwards going after Donald Trump now Ted Cruz is dealing with Marco Rubio in third place, but nipping at his heels.

The Cruz campaign just released a new spot, a very tough television ad about Marco Rubio. Here's a sample.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caucus for Cruz to Obama's damage.

Marco Rubio is different.

The Republican Obama, who championed Obama's amnesty and led the Gang of Eight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The Republican Obama. In a Republican primary or caucus, I do not think he means that to be nice. It is not meant as a compliment. What is the Cruz campaign doing here, Sunlen?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. This is not meant as a compliment from the Cruz campaign. This is the regular attack line that we're really hearing from Cruz, the whole duration of this campaign.

But the news here is really the shift in focus and the shift in attention back onto Marco Rubio, to paint him as, you know, the Republican Obama, painting him as someone more in line with Democratic values on immigration, highlighting his work with the Gang of Eight immigration reform effort -- that effort that ultimately failed in 2013.

So we know now that the Cruz campaign in these final days senses a little bit of concern coming from Rubio's threat here in Iowa. And it's not about any threat as far as the immediate concern here. It's more about the eventual threat that he poses.

So what the Cruz campaign is trying to do right now is really to stop any momentum that Rubio could get coming out of Iowa, moving into New Hampshire, moving into South Carolina. So they have redirected campaign funds -- the Super PAC and the campaign both this week moving funds that they were using to attack Donald Trump -- now moving those to attack Rubio.

A plethora of new campaign ads springing up all over the airwaves here in Iowa and the candidate himself Ted Cruz really sharpening these attacks in the last 24 hours, unprompted going after Marco Rubio, really trying to paint his record on immigration reform in the eyes of Republicans as one that is tarnished -- John.

Here's the thing for Cruz, though, Sunlen, just because Ted Cruz has stopped talking about Donald Trump so much, Donald Trump hasn't stopped talking about Ted Cruz. Donald Trump on the stump yesterday says that Ted Cruz was quote, "an anchor baby in Canada".

So Sunlen, you've been on the road with Ted Cruz as he goes around trying to visit all 99 counties in this state -- are people talking about the Canada things? Are Cruz voters, the people at these Cruz events -- is this an issue of concern for them?

SERFATY: I wouldn't say it's a big sure, John, but it has come up before. Just this week, Ted Cruz was asked during a town hall about this issue -- the Cruz campaign wanting to put this issue to bed. They feel like they have, but clearly it is resonating in some sense, their polls show that there have been some movements. People are a little bit concerned about it.

[11:05:06] So it shows that these lines of attack that Donald Trump keeps bringing to the campaign trail are working in some sense. You know, the Cruz campaign responding to that attack about anchor babies yesterday by Donald Trump, you know, laying into Donald Trump, calling him the "SS New York values".

This is their key part of that closing message here in Iowa when talking about standing up to Donald Trump, really trying to paint him as someone that's not in line with Iowa values -- John.

BERMAN: Very hard to be the man in the middle.

Sunlen Serfaty with the Cruz campaign in Ames. Cruz's got an even there in a little bit. We will take you back to that.

Now to the new target of the Ted Cruz attack -- Sen. Marco Rubio. He has an event right now. He's speaking in Sioux City. He is talking about Donald Trump. He's talking about Ted Cruz. He's saying that anger is not enough. He's doing all that but Marco Rubio as he likes to do on the stump is talking a lot about Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's a reason why Hillary Clinton spent more -- and her Super PACs spent more time attacking me than any other Republican. Because they don't want to run against me but I can't wait to run against her.

The next president is going to appoint two to three Supreme Court justices. The future of the constitution is in the balance. You know what kind of person Hillary Clinton wants to put on the Supreme Court? Barack Obama. They asked her what about Barack Obama in the Supreme Court. And she goes, what a great idea?

No, no, it's not a good idea. You're going to appoint to the high court someone who has habitually violated the constitution? This is going to interpret it and apply it? There's no way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Joining me now senior political reporter Manu Raju. Manu -- you know from covering campaigns, every day is sort of different. And you wake up and there's a new theme, there's a new vibe.

Today the buzz around Iowa is Marco Rubio, you know, may be closer to Ted Cruz than Ted Cruz is to Donald Trump. Now, we don't know if this is actually true or just buzz, you know, in the echo chamber right here. But what is Rubio trying to do right now? What is the Rubio campaign trying to do in terms of expectations? I heard Alex Conant, a Rubio adviser say to you, oh no, we assume Ted Cruz is going to win in Iowa. I don't think he means that deep down inside.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, you know, it's a two- front -- two things they're trying to do. One, they're trying to beat Ted Cruz here in Iowa. They do not want him to come out of Iowa with a good story to tell heading into New Hampshire. They think that if he loses here in Iowa after the amount of money and effort and resources that he spent here, he's not going to win another state maybe until March.

And at that point we know this is a game of momentum, and that he won't have momentum into the next states and eventually he may fall off the map. Or so they hope.

And then the other thing is that they want to have -- they do want to have a solid third place finish, because their lane right now in the party in this race is to be the anti-Trump, anti-Cruz candidate. So if they have enough separation between them and the governors in the race, their story out of Iowa will be that we are the alternative. We can unite the party. We can take out Donald Trump as long as these other governors -- these guys over here, Jeb Bush -- et cetera, et cetera -- drop out of the race. I'm not sure if they actually will --

BERMAN: Right.

RAJU: -- but we'll see what happens there and then we'll see what happens in New Hampshire because right now it's kind of like a four, five-car pileup for second place in New Hampshire. That's going to be the next question going forward.

BERMAN: Yes, it's interesting. The Rubio people -- the other thing is they don't want to look like they're trying to hard, right, because they want to manage expectations? We're doing really well in third place we've barely even campaigned here. Nevertheless they are spending a fortune --

RAJU: Yes.

BERMAN: -- all of a sudden here, including this new 30-second infomercial --

RAJU: 30 minutes.

BERMAN: 30 minutes -- sorry -- this 30-minute town hall meeting they're going to put on stations all over the place this weekend.

RAJU: That's right. They're crisscrossing the state. I mean yesterday they were in the eastern part of the state. Today they're in the northwestern part of the state. Tomorrow they'll be in the central part of the state. They are going everywhere. They're spending more money on TV than any other candidate and more money is coming at them than any other candidate. You're seeing Marco Rubio's face everywhere on TV and it's because one, they know how important it is for them to do well here in the long game they sea this as a delegate by delegate fight if they can win enough delegates and then until March 14th.

After March 14, then the states become winner-take-all states. And if they win a big state after March 14th, then maybe they could run away with this race.

And on the other side people see them as a huge threat, which is why people like Ted Cruz now are directing money there.

BERMAN: In that ad, the Republican Obama ad coming from the Cruz campaign -- that's a tough spot.

RAJU: That is a very tough spot. And that's the question that Marco Rubio is going to continually face. Is he just another Obama -- somebody who does not have as much experience can run this government? It's something that he's tried to push back on, on the stump saying I'm going to have the foreign policy judgment going forward. Trust me because of my ideas, not because of my lack of experience.

BERMAN: And again, Manu, just in case anyone is wondering we do have a poll coming out today, the "Des Moines Register" comes out much later today. People are looking at that. One of the things they'll be looking for, how close is Marco Rubio to Ted Cruz?

RAJU: It's actually kind of probably daunting for the Rubio campaign in some way because if he's very close to Ted Cruz, that means expectations are enormously high going into Monday.

[11:10:08] And as we've been talking about --

BERMAN: Right.

RAJU: -- they're trying to manage expectations.

BERMAN: Manu Raju -- great to have you here with us.

RAJU: Thanks.

BERMAN: Thanks so much.

Donald Trump -- he's here too and he's thanking evangelicals for his support this morning. He put out a video on Facebook, promising he will never let them down.

CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is in Dubuque, Iowa where Donald Trump will hold his first rally of the day just a few hours. Jim -- set the scene.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, that's right -- John. And you know, you need two things to win the Iowa caucuses. You need evangelicals and you need organization. And the Donald Trump campaign, you know, he's not out here just yet here in Dubuque, but he has been campaigning on Twitter this morning -- tweeting out a couple of videos.

One of the videos is his daughter, Ivanka Trump, showing caucus-goers, Republicans here in Iowa, Donald Trump supports what they need to do to show up on caucus night and show their support for Donald. Even going as far as explaining, that you know, you need to register as a Republican.

That's an indication John of all of those nontraditional Republican and conservative voters that Donald Trump has attracted to this campaign, even some conservative Democrats. They want to make sure that those folks when they show up on caucus night can properly show their support for Donald Trump.

Now the other side that the Trump campaign is focusing on is that Christian conservative vote. So it's very interesting to see this video that Donald Trump put out this morning, put it out on Twitter and Facebook, talking about his Christian faith and a bible that his mother gave to him when he was young.

Here's a bit of that video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really appreciate the support given to me by the evangelicals. They've been incredible. Every poll says how well I'm doing with them.

And you know, my mother gave me this bible -- this very bible many years ago. In fact it's her writing right here. She wrote the name and my address, and it's just very special to me.

And again, I want to thank the evangelicals. I will never let you down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, the other thing we should point out today, John, is we're going to see a different side of Donald Trump we don't normally see during this campaign and that is he's holding three events today. He doesn't do that very often. This may be the first day he has done that.

And you know, as Donald Trump likes to talk about high energy and low energy candidates, we'll have to check Donald Trump's energy by the end of this day because this is, you know, he does not usually keep up this short of pace out on the campaign trail.

And you mentioned that "Des Moines Register" poll, John -- that is a critically important, the last one to come out before the Iowa caucuses. That is going to show us exactly where Donald Trump's momentum is right now.

And I remember four years ago, and so do you, John, a guy named Rick Santorum sort of came out of nowhere and was really showing a major surge just in the final hours of these Iowa caucuses. And it made for a very interesting and amazing story line because he ended up coming out and winning these Iowa caucuses four years ago.

So there could be some surprises in store at the end of the day -- John.

BERMAN: There absolutely could. And let me tell you, you know, Donald Trump was actually trailing in the last "Des Moines Register" poll. If he's ahead in this one - Jim, you will feel the tremors across the 99 counties of this state.

ACOSTA: That's right.

BERMAN: Jim Acosta with the Trump campaign. As you correctly note, three events for Donald Trump today; we'll check in with you at the end of the day to see how he's doing.

ACOSTA: Ok.

BERMAN: Thanks -- Jim.

CNN will be in place for complete coverage of the Iowa caucuses -- live coverage all day on Monday, the very first votes of the 2016 presidential race -- so important. We're going to be right back with more of our live coverage from Des Moines.

Stay with us.

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[11:17:06] BERMAN: All right. John Berman in Des Moines, Iowa.

We're here ahead of the Iowa caucuses which are now just two days away -- Monday night.

The Democratic candidates, they are making their final push -- Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders -- all over this state where all signs are this race is close, very close.

Secretary of state Hillary Clinton, she is thanking voters here in her final TV spot before the caucuses. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really wanted to start with a thank you. I want you to know how much it has meant to me as I've traveled across the state to hear about people's hopes and struggles. And I know that because of that, I will be a better president if I'm elected.

And if you go to the caucus on Monday night and stand up for me there, I will work my heart out to give you and our country the future that we deserve together.

I'm Hillary Clinton and I approve this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: All right. Hillary Clinton and her last campaign spot thanking Iowan voter. Jeff Zeleny is with us right now, senior Washington correspondent, from Ames.

Jeff -- hang on, because not only is Hillary Clinton thanking Iowa voters, she could say thank you to New Yorkers right now. The "New York Times" just moments ago endorsed Hillary Clinton in her race for president. So that happened, you can see it right there, a picture, Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. I think the "Times", in case you're wondering endorsed John Kasich for the Republican nomination. So there is that.

Jeff Zeleny, you are in Ames. There is an event in Ames which is a different kind of campaign event for Hillary Clinton. Former member of Congress, Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly will be joining Hillary Clinton today. They are very big on the issue of gun control. What can we expect today?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No question -- John. Hillary Clinton in her final push here is going to will be joined on the campus of Iowa State University by Gabby Giffords. She has already received the endorsement about a month or so ago, but this is the first time that Gabby Giffords has campaigned with Secretary Clinton.

Of course, the Clinton campaign trying to draw that distinction here in the final hours of this caucus campaign on guns. They've been doing it with increasing intensity and urgency. They are pointing out that Senator Sanders has not been as strong on gun control as the Clinton campaign has been.

So what's really going on here, John is they're going for just that slice of voters, I'm told. It may be 10 percent, 20 percent of voters still undecided here in Iowa and they're hoping this message in the final push here this weekend is going to sort of bring those over the top.

But the more important thing going on now across the state, John, behind the scenes is mobilization. There are people out door- knocking, people on the phones. They are recalling and reconfirming every single Clinton supporter to make sure that they will be there on month night at 7:00. That's what this is all about -- the final weekend push here.

[11:20:00] And the Sanders campaign, he's across the state as well. They have an ethos inside their campaign called "prove them wrong". It is sort of a rallying cry for young supporters of Senator Sanders to prove the skeptics wrong that they won't come out and caucus. So it is a social media-driven campaign, the first time really any of this has happened. They're trying to draw young people out to support him on Monday night, 7:00.

The Clinton campaign is going for more old-fashioned, old reliable (inaudible) hitting those older voters to the polls. So we'll see sort of which side wins here now in just two days' time -- John. BERMAN: And Jeff -- you know the Clinton campaign wants to be pushing for turnout, wants to be concentrating on the ground game in a final message. While that's going on the story comes out about the State Department now holding back e-mails saying there is top secret classified information --

ZELENY: Right.

BERMAN: -- in these e-mails. So Hillary Clinton has to deal with that in these final days. What is the campaign saying?

ZELENY: The campaign is calling on the State Department to release all the e-mails. They believe this is a distraction. It's not as much of an issue for Democratic primary voters. And the Sanders campaign is probably wisely not weighing in on this. And that comes from the very top.

Senator Sanders, of course, famously at our debate just a couple of months ago said enough of the damn e-mails. So he's ordering none of his supporters or staff to talk about this. But it is definitely a worry for the Clinton campaign. It's a distraction. It's something that, you know, they certainly don't want to be talking about in the hours before the vote.

But this is more of a general election challenge and problem for her. Most Democrats and most voters and supporters believe her on this issue -- John.

BERMAN: Of course, you have to get to the general election, which is what the next two days are about right here in Iowa.

ZELENY: Yes.

BERMAN: Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. Good to see you.

Joining Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Bernie Sanders -- what a lineup. That is live on CNN 9:00 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we'll be back with more live coverage from Iowa, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We'll get back to our live coverage in Iowa in a moment.

But first the Zika virus has now spread to yet another country. Peru says it has its first reported case of the mosquito-borne virus. The World Health Organization held an emergency meeting this week warning that the disease is quote, "spreading explosively" and the number of cases could reach up to four million. The diseased is linked to cases of severe birth defects.

Here in the U.S., the CDC says there are at least 32 cases across 11 states and D.C. The virus is not spreading locally in the U.S., but it is coming into the country through travelers arriving here.

CNN's Shasta Darlington joins me now from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. So you're in one of the hardest-hit countries. What are they doing to battle this outbreak?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We're really at the epicenter here, Fredricka. Right now, the president Dilma Rousseff of Brazil -- she was on the phone yesterday with President Barack Obama talking about how they could work together to fight the mosquito that's spreading disease.

They said they could do research. They also talk about speeding up the vaccine needed to protect people against the mosquito and the disease. Right now there's no vaccine, there's no cure, and so far Brazil is pretty much failing in its fight against this mosquito.

Take a listen to what the president of Brazil said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DILMA ROUSSEFF, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (through translator): we are losing the battle against the mosquito. As long as the mosquito keeps reproducing, each and every one of us is losing the battle against the mosquito so we have to mobilize so we do not lose this battle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINGTON: And the real risk here, as you mentioned, is to pregnant women. Since the virus was detected last year, there have been more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly reported in newborns. Now this causes small heads, brain damage and really developmental problems throughout their lives.

We've talked to the mothers of some of these children and it's just -- it's heartbreaking. They are looking at a lifetime of emotional and financial problems because of this. So what Brazil is doing is they're sending soldiers and health workers out -- 200,000 of them going door to door to try and eliminate the pools of standing water under plants, the tanks of water where these mosquitoes breed.

They're educating families and they're fumigating, really trying to protect people and at least shrink the population of mosquitoes. You know, the Olympics are just six months away. Rio de Janeiro is expecting half a million visitors.

This is big news around the world. And so there's concern people may not come. So they're also trying to get the word out there. This is a risk for pregnant women. In Rio de Janeiro there're actually fewer cases. The venues will be inspected on a daily basis.

And they're also letting people know this is going to be in the winter in Brazil. And naturally there are fewer mosquitoes -- Fredrick.

WHITFIELD: And so is the medical community convinced -- or at least are they convincing Brazilian authorities who are then convincing the populace that it's the fetuses that are the only ones at greatest risk?

DARLINGTON: That's what they have discovered here in Brazil so far. I mean doctors admit that this is evolving. That there could be new discoveries, but what they have seen so far is this huge surge in what we call microcephaly. And they have tested enough fetuses of babies who actually died. They've discovered the Zika virus in these fetuses. That's where the link came from.

The problem is, in so many cases, it doesn't have any symptoms. People who have Zika don't even know they have it. So you have all of these expectant mothers, going maybe I had it, maybe I didn't. And is my baby going to have birth defect. It's just there's panic here really -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Understandably.

All right. Shasta Darlington -- thank you so much from Rio. Appreciate it.

All right. Nearly two dozens of Hillary Clinton's e-mails will not be released to the public. We'll tell you why the U.S. State Department won't release them and how the issue is already coming up on the campaign trail. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30;33] WHITFIELD: The U.S. State Department said it's not releasing 22 of Hillary Clinton's e-mails claiming they are too sensitive to be made public.

CNN investigations correspondent, Chris Frates, joining me now from Washington with the latest on this controversy -- Chris.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred. So just yesterday the State Department announced that it will not release 22 e-mails from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton because they contain top secret information.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: The documents are being upgraded at the request of the intelligence community because they contain a category of top secret information. These documents were not marked classified at the time that they were sent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So the Clinton campaign has long argued that same point. That the e-mails were not marked classified at the time they were sent, adding that government bureaucrats are now retroactively over- classifying her e-mails.

The State Department has released thousands of pages of Clinton's e- mails that she kept on a private server while serving as secretary of state. And the news that some of those e-mails won't be released comes only days before the Iowa caucuses and could serve as a reminder of what some voters see as one of Clinton's biggest weaknesses, that she can't be trusted.

Now Republicans naturally pounced on the news that Clinton kept top secret information on a private e-mail server.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Listen, you can't come to any other conclusion other than that she just lied to us. She lied to us, and she lied, and the worst part is you found out in Iowa just last week why she lied. They asked her, an Iowan asked her why the private e-mail server, and she said it was for her convenience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So the Clinton campaign says it opposes the State Department's decision to hold back the e-mails. Here's what Hillary Clinton had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The facts are that I never e-mailed anything that was considered classified, it wasn't marked classified. I just think at the end of the day everybody is going to know I asked to have all these made public, I would love for them to be public, and I hope that will happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:35:02]FRATES: And on a separate note, Fred, the State Department also announced yesterday it would know release 18 e-mails between then Secretary Clinton and President Obama in order to protect the president's ability to receive what they said was blunt advice -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Frates, keep us posted from Washington.

FRATES: We'll do.

WHITFIELD: All right, continuing on the campaign trail, Ted Cruz shifting his sights from Donald Trump to Marco Rubio.

Next, we are back out to Des Moines to talk to Ted Cruz' foreign policy advisor about the fight in this final two days before the caucuses.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: John Berman here in Des Moines. We are here ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Monday night, getting oh so close. On the Republican side over the last few days, it does seem that Donald Trump is in the lead here, at least that's what the polls are saying. Ted Cruz who had been in the lead, he is working hard right now crisscrossing the state, making several stops today including holding a rally in Ames. That begins in just about 20 minutes. We will take you there.

It will be interesting what he has to say, because it does seem that today Ted Cruz is focused not on Donald Trump, but on Marco Rubio. The candidate until now who has been in third place in the polls, but is he gaining momentum?

At the debate Thursday night, he was hitting away at Ted Cruz. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the committee, you said I want to bring people out of the shadows, now you want to Trump Trump on immigration. We are not going to beat Hillary Clinton with someone who is willing to say or do anything to win an election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:40:09]BERMAN: Ted Cruz has a new ad out about Marco Rubio, calling him about the worst thing you can in a Republican primary. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): They call Ted Cruz Obama's nemesis, because Cruz fought Obamacare, said no to big spending, stopped amnesty in its cracks. Marco Rubio's different. The Republican Obama, the championed amnesty and led the Gang of Eight. On taxes --

RUBIO: I'm in favor of a mandate they go and design a cap and trade or a carbon tax program.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's Marco Rubio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: We want to talk more about this with the foreign policy adviser to Ted Cruz, Victoria Coates. Victoria, thanks so much for being with us.

You don't' put out a negative ad two days before an election just because. You put it out because you are concerned about something. So the question for the Cruz campaign, you know, objects in the mirror closer than they appear and is that object Marco Rubio?

VICTORIA COATES, FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER FOR SENATOR TED CRUZ: I think the point of the ad is to simply set the record straight and the basic fact of the matter is that Senator Rubio was a member of the Gang of Eight, and Senator Cruz was not and fought against the Gang of Eight.

I think that basic fact is something the Rubio campaign doesn't want to talk about, but I think it's important for the voters of Iowa to know that. BERMAN: But just to be clear because I don't think we're missing something here as we look at it. It did seem that Ted Cruz was talking a lot about Donald Trump on the stump and in his ads, his ads were about Donald Trump. Now that's changed. Now his ads are about Marco Rubio.

COATES: As I said, I mean, I just think this is a critical piece of the record. From my portfolio, senior foreign policy adviser, border security is national security. This is an extremely important issue for the election and that's what senator wants to clarify.

BERMAN: Next 48 hours what's the road map to victory for Ted Cruz?

COATES: I mean, he just needs to keep doing what he's doing. He's working so hard. He's really committed to the people of Iowa to getting his message out there, doing the full Grassley, all 99 counties. It's amazing, just finishing strong, as he's been going on.

BERMAN: Evangelical vote in Iowa is so key particularly for Ted Cruz. What does he intend to do with these voters in these groups in the coming days? Tomorrow is Sunday, a lot of people going to church.

COATES: Absolutely. And for Senator Cruz, this isn't a hard sell. He's a member of this community. His father is a pastor with a very powerful voice speaking to the constituency. So for Senator Cruz, it's just being who he is. He doesn't have to play a game or take on a role there.

BERMAN: So on for foreign policy, Marco Rubio to an extent running more as a national security candidate perhaps than Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz under some criticism for his comments about carpet bombing in ISIS. You know that carpet bombing isn't exactly what Ted Cruz has been saying it is.

COATES: I'm not going to apologize for how vigorously he would prosecute the war against ISIS. I think the fact that people are complaining he will be too mean for the terrorists is maybe not the worst thing that anybody ever said about him.

But Senator Cruz is on the Armed Services Committee. He is on the Judiciary Committee. He's on the Commerce Committee, all of these activities have an international aspect to them.

So he very much been running as a national security candidate. I think he's absolutely the candidate who would keep the country the safest, who has our national security interest at heart, and that's been key to his message.

BERMAN: We have an event, Ted Cruz speaking in about 20 minutes in Ames. What do you think he'll say?

COATES: I expect he'll just keep right on his message that he's the candidate who is ready on day one to do what the voters of Iowa and the voters of the country want him to do, which is to repeal Obamacare, kill the terrorists, and defend the constitution. BERMAN: Donald Trump said he got pummeled in the debate on Thursday night. "The Des Moines Register," the paper record in this city, the headline was --

COATES: Which who has endorsed Marco Rubio.

BERMAN: The headline, though, was a rough night for Ted Cruz. Inside the Cruz campaign, was there a sense this maybe wasn't the strongest debate that he had?

COATES: Well, I actually thought he had a terrific debate. I though his opening was fantastic. I thought it was very funny, and I thought his closing was absolutely the strongest.

He had a great answer on Obamacare, again, a good answer on ISIS and the terrorist threat. I thought he handled the immigration issue much more strongly than Senator Rubio.

And I agreed not to bring of a competitor with Charles Krauthammer, who said afterwards that, you know, Cruz really scored some point and Rubio had a rough night. I think we'll see that borne out on Monday.

BERMAN: "Des Moines Register" poll comes out in a few hours. It is the buzz in the state. Everyone I mention smiles as if they look at their watch.

COATES: It's happening. It's happening.

BERMAN: What do you expect to see?

COATES: I mean, I'm not a pollster, I'm a policy adviser, so what I can tell you what we're seeing on the ground, which is absolutely fantastic.

BERMAN: Victoria Coates, great to have you here with us, really appreciate it.

COATES: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: All right, keep it right here because we just have two days ago until actual voters cast votes on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton, they are fighting for the nomination, fighting for a big win here. All signs are it is very, very close. We'll have the latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:49:01]

BERMAN: All right. John Berman here in Iowa. Just two days to go under the Iowa caucuses Monday night. Here to discuss the latest news, and there is some news, CNN commentator and former Democratic South Carolina House member, Bakari Sellers, who is a Clinton supporter, and also joining us Republican strategist, Kayleigh McEnany. We just learned that the "New York Times" issued some endorsements endorsing Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side, John Kasich on the Republican side.

John Kasich of Ohio, though, a distinct underdog is the only plausible choice for Republicans tired of the extremism and inexperience on display in this case. I guess let's start with Republicans and then go to Democrats.

I think these endorsements do completely different things. What does "The New York Times" endorsement do for John Kasich in Iowa?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It destroys him. Utterly destroys him. Here's the thing, John Kasich made his name on attacking Donald Trump, on attacking Ted Cruz, on attacking conservative principles and values.

[11:50:04]That is the name of the game here in Iowa. It's Evangelicals, conservative, Tea Party. The "New York Times" endorsements like Ted Cruz's New York value kind of theme just plastered across John Kasich.

BERMAN: John Kasich isn't even here. To be clear, Kasich is not even competing in the state right now. He is in New Hampshire. New Hampshire may be a different story. "The New York Times" endorsement of Republican caucus in Iowa, it is about the worst that's going to happen to you.

But on the Democratic side for Hillary Clinton, it might be a little different story.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN COMMENTATOR: The race is turning out to be about momentum and what we don't want to happen, what Hillary Clinton supporters don't want to happen is for Bernie Sanders to keep chewing away, and gaining, gaining, gaining, gaining.

If he would have gotten "The New York Times" endorsement would have solidified that momentum. Come Monday, it will be a big race in Iowa because one thing that the Hillary Clinton camp does not want is Bernie Sanders to get this momentum, to propel him down south.

BERMAN: And timing of this for Hillary Clinton because what people have been talking about the last 20 hours about Hillary Clinton is the e-mails.

SELLERS: E-mails. This endorsement reassure supporters, helps coalesce the base, and helps build excitement. Something else to talk about on the campaign trail. I think the e-mail does vast, here I am saying e-mail. The endorsement does vastly different things. For Hillary Clinton it is a plus.

MCENANY: But is it enough. That's the thing. You know, voters don't trust Hillary Clinton here in Iowa. A lot of voters don't, 67 percent don't trust her. Is a "The New York Times" endorsement enough to override that distrust? SELLERS: I think first and foremost, I think Hillary Clinton will have a good night on Monday. A lot rides on what happens on Monday night there. If Iowa voters reaffirm what many people think, that Hillary Clinton is the best choice for president, then I think that you'll see momentum pick up not just in New Hampshire but throughout.

BERMAN: Let's talk about the Republican race because something ver interesting going on right now. It had been a race between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz for first place. All of a sudden here, we wake up and there's pretty pitch battle between Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, maybe for second place. Ted Cruz unleashing some pretty ferocious ads on Marco Rubio calling him the Republican Obama.

MCENANY: Yes, you know, Ted Cruz's nightmare scenario is not to come in first and not to come in second. If Marco Rubio takes second place, he is all of a sudden a viable contender to overcome Kasich's momentum in New Hampshire and Ted Cruz is out of it. Ted Cruz has to have a strong showing to go forward and compete in South Carolina. If he is not in second, he is in trouble.

BERMAN: You've run for office. You know how hard it can be to be Jan Brady, right. Being Jan Brady is not easy. Being in the middle --

SELLERS: Being in the middle is not easy at all.

BERMAN: This election is not a binary thing. I mean, Ted Cruz can't just worry about --

SELLERS: What we began to see is Ted Cruz is stumbling when he's getting these attacks from different directions. Ted Cruz is having a lot of trouble navigating this lane that he is trying to fill, which is the anti-Trump lane.

He wants to be the person that they fall back on instead of Trump. He is having trouble navigating that. I also think that Ben Carson in Iowa has flat lined, but he stayed there at 8, 9 percent. I think Ben Carson, if those Evangelical voters come out, can play a role in this race as well.

BERMAN: We will show you this in a few minutes. There's some new video of Ben Carson. Ben Carson this morning in an interview said not nice things about Donald Trump. Basically went after Donald Trump saying he is a politician. He will say anything to get elected. That's fairly interesting because Carson does have some loyal voters here.

MCENANY: He does. This is the thing, you know, Evangelical folks don't think that Donald Trump is an Evangelical candidate, but the numbers don't bear up. Evangelicals like Trump and Cruz. Ben Carson, that's a huge threat for him.

If he can peel away some Evangelical support from Donald Trump, he can be a player. Let's not forget, three days before the caucuses, Santorum was in third place and won.

SELLERS: I don't think Ben Carson will win, but I do think that Ben Carson blunts a lot of what Ted Cruz is trying to do. I think that Ben Carson is going to play a role on Monday night. I think he might even come up in third place. We'll see.

BERMAN: All right, Bakari, Kayleigh, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Still to come for us, Republicans fighting it out for the critical Evangelical vote. We have news about Ben Carson. There's news about Mike Huckabee. Conspiracy theories going on around that.

It is a crucial voting block. We're going to speak to a man that knows this voting group better than anybody. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:58:04]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Police in California are getting help hunting down two inmates who escaped from jail last week. A third fugitive who has given himself up is actually cooperating with officers.

The 43-year-old was arrested in Santa Ana yesterday. He will have more charges added to attempted murder charge that he was facing when he escaped.

Nick Valencia joining me now. So do we think that they may be lenient on some of charges as a fugitive since he essentially gave himself up?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. He turned himself in. He was with the other two as early as Thursday, and turned back around coming down from Northern California to Southern California. He is cooperating with police so we'll see how that plays into everything.

Specifically he is talking to them about the getaway car the trio used late last week. Hopefully these details investigators say will lead them to the two remaining fugitives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should be considered armed and dangerous. I think the longer that they are out of custody, the more desperate they become.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Two dangerous fugitives in California are still on the run, but one is back in jail. Bac Duong showed up at a local auto shop in Santa Ana on Friday and said he wanted to surrender.

He'll now face extra charges in addition to the attempted murder charge he was facing when he escaped. Meanwhile, the focus of the search is now centered on Fresno and San Jose, and the white van they still may be using. Authorities say the captured man is helping out.

LT. JEFF HALLOCK, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: He is cooperating and providing information we're able to distribute and react on. I don't want to get into specifics of the interview, but I can tell you he's being corporative thus far.

VALENCIA: The day before Duong turned himself in, the jail's English teacher was arrested. She may have helped the three escaped by giving them a Google map. Police say letters between her and one of the fugitives who took her English class even though he spoke perfect English were a tip off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was personal. It wasn't the relationship we expect between a teacher and inmate in a custody setting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Just a short time ago, the Orange County Sheriff's Department saying that they're going to hold a press conference 5:00 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. local. Fred, so hopefully we'll learn more details in.

WHITFIELD: Hopefully, all right, thanks so much, Nick. Appreciate it.