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New Cruz Ad Calls Rubio "The Republican Obama"; Trump Holds Three Rallies To Hold Lead, Ahead Of Caucuses; Clinton: Sanders Neck- And-Neck In Iowa; Iowa Evangelical Christians Divided On Republican Candidates; Bernie Sanders Last Minute Push Before Iowa; No Further Actions From DOD Against Petraeus. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired January 30, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:03]

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 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.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hopefully, all right, thanks so much, Nick. Appreciate it. All right, we have so much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM starting right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: February 1st, we are leading in the Iowa polls now.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We want to get as many voters to caucus Monday as possible. We will see what that leads to.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The eyes of the country are going to be on Iowa. If we win, it will indicate that this country is ready for real significant change.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know why I know this can work? Because of the time I've spent here in Iowa.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wow. God bless the great state of Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Just two days now until the first votes are cast in the 2016 presidential election. Thanks so much for joining me. I am Fredricka Whitfield.

This hour, the candidates are fanned out across Iowa in a last minute push to get voters to caucuses. Many people are rallying, Bernie Sanders among them. That rally about to get under way in Iowa at any moment now. Hillary Clinton also hosting an event this hour with former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly. Clinton got an endorsement from "The New York Times" editorial board as did Republican John Kasich. You saw the podium for one of the live events about to get under way at any moment.

We have complete team coverage. CNN's John Berman is in Des Moines, CNN chief political correspondent, Dana Bash is following Ted Cruz, and senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny is with Hillary Clinton, and senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, is covering Donald Trump.

So let's begin now with John Berman in Des Moines. So John, the candidates are entering the 11th hour here. They need to make themselves more appealing than ever.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that or they have to make the other guy less appealing than ever, which seems to be one of the big stories in the race right now. We're going to go to Ames, Iowa, with Dana Bash who is with Ted Cruz.

Ted Cruz has made a strategic shift in this campaign in over the last 48 hours, from competing with Donald Trump for first place to trying to fend off Marco Rubio with everything he has got -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. One of the ads, probably surprising given the fact that this is Iowa and Ted Cruz was supposed to basically be going mano-a-mano with Donald Trump to win caucuses here.

The ads are a pretty hard hitting one against Marco Rubio on the issue of immigration, saying effectively that he is for amnesty, no ifs, and or buts about it.

Of course, the Rubio campaign, they dispute that, but why is this happening? I think the best way to say it, John, is an insurance policy. They want to make sure, I mean, Marco Rubio is surging here.

They don't want to make sure that that surge doesn't actually take him beyond where, if all things go as planned for Ted Cruz's campaign, would be maybe third place. That's what's going on there.

But inside the Cruz campaign, talking to his aides this morning, they say that they do feel that they have momentum, they insist that their ground operation, which they talk about.

I know you've spoken with some Cruz campaign officials on the air about this, they're transparent about it. They say it is incredibly robust. They have people busting at the seams in their headquarters, coming to make calls, to canvass, coming to make sure they get their people out to the caucuses.

They're leading into that, John. You've covered this for a long time. I mean, the expectation game is such that you don't really make a big deal as they are out of how many people they can get to the caucuses. They have to live up to expectations. They're insisting that they will in caucus night.

BERMAN: It won't be easy, but they say they have the team to do it. There is a Ted Cruz event right where you are in Ames, Dana. Looking forward to see what Cruz talks about and more specifically who he talks about. Any sense he will come out swinging on the stump about Marco Rubio?

BASH: We will see. What has been interesting when it comes to Cruz in the past 12 to 24 hours, for a while he was really turned his attention on the stump to Donald Trump. He was talking a little about Marco Rubio, but really in the last few hours, last 12 hours I issues say has been more of a closing argument about who he is.

Who is Ted Cruz, what do I have to offer. We will see if he continues to do that here. He is going to have Phil Robertson of "Duck Dynasty," who endorsed him a couple weeks ago, and Glen Beck, the talk radio host.

The reason why that's interesting is because talking to Cruz campaign aides, John, they say that one of their big areas of battle is in conservative talk radio.

[12:05:10]Trying to hit back on this idea that Ted Cruz is not pure when it comes to immigration and they're hoping that people like Glen Beck, who are very much supportive of Cruz's campaign will help them do that.

BERMAN: Ted Cruz is right about talk radio, but very hard on Marco Rubio on the issue of immigration. Dana Bash in Ames, where we will hear from Ted Cruz shortly. Thanks so much, Dana.

Let's turn to the Democrats now, Hillary Clinton at a campaign event also in Ames. A lot going on in that city today. Hillary Clinton has with her today two very important surrogates, former member of Congress, Gabriel Giffords and Mark Kelly. We have Jeff Zeleny there. Jeff, what are we going to see today?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John, you may be wondering why Republicans and Democrats are both in Ames. Story County, just about 30 miles north of Des Moines where you are is one of the key counties in the state.

That's why the Republicans are campaigning there. That's where Hillary Clinton here is today and she's making a final push here trying to urge some women voters to come to her side through the issue of gun control.

Her aides tell me that they believe that there are still some holdouts, undecided voters, people that like what Senator Sanders has been saying.

So the Clinton campaign is using Gabby Giffords, endorsement from her, her first campaign appearance to remind everyone, voters of Iowa, that the Clinton campaign, Secretary Clinton, has a stronger support of gun control. It is one of the things that Senator Sanders worries about in the final days, he believes his gun record has been distorted. But there is no question Hillary Clinton is stronger on gun control.

Senator Sanders has reversed some positions on liability for gun manufacturers, the Brady Bill and other things. This is one of the issues. But the persuasion time of the campaign is about over.

What they're really focusing on here is mobilization, trying to get out all their supporters. The Clinton campaign is doing it the old fashioned way, knocking on doors, making phone calls.

The Sanders campaign is doing it electronically. It's going to be fascinating to see which works more effectively as they try to get out the vote for that Monday night caucus where there are town meetings all across the state, important to remember.

It is not a primary election, it's a series of caucuses or town meetings where 1,681 precincts, locations across the state gather at the same time. That's why organization is so, so important here -- John.

BERMAN: Also interesting to see how Hillary Clinton deals with this new e-mail cloud hanging over her. The State Department withholding e-mails because it says now that it believes they're classified. Now we will pay attention to see what they say about that as well. Jeff Zeleny in Ames, thanks so much.

One other candidate on the trail today, Donald Trump. By all accounts, the leader right now, certainly nationally, maybe in Iowa today as well.

And Jim Acosta is with him. Jim, first event for Donald Trump in Dubuque. Today is like a marathon for Donald Trump, three events for him which may as well be 100.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We will see a side of Donald Trump we don't see every day on the campaign trail. He has three events in Dubuque then in Clinton, and end in Davenport.

He talks about high energy and low energy candidates. He has to be a high energy candidate to get through three events. Haven't seen this side of him before. My sense is he will be just fine.

But what the Trump campaign working on today is two things, two things needed to win the Iowa caucuses and that is Christian conservatives and organization.

Earlier this morning, Donald Trump put out a Facebook video showing the Bible that his mother gave him when he was a young man talking about his Christian faith, talking about how grateful he is to having the support of Evangelical voters and Evangelical leaders for that matter.

Jerry Falwell Jr., as you know, is supporting Donald Trump in this campaign. Look at this video. It is interesting. Shows a side of Donald Trump we don't see much, talking about his Christian faith. Here it is.

Guys, do you have that video? Apparently, we don't have the video. There's a Facebook video that Donald Trump put out today talking about his Christian faith, thanking Evangelical voters.

The other video the Trump campaign put out today shows his daughter, Ivanka talking to Iowa caucus goers, explaining the process of showing up on caucus night.

Explaining that they have to make sure they register as Republicans. John, that's an indication that there are some concerns inside the Trump campaign, this has been talked about a great deal during the course of this campaign.

[12:10:05]That many of the Trump supporters out there are sort of nontraditional voters, people who have not voted before in the past, maybe conservative Democrats out there, and that they need to make sure they go ahead and register as a Republican before showing up on caucus night.

So very interesting indication as to where the campaign is now. Two things that you need to win the Iowa caucus, the support of Evangelical voters.

And also the fact that the campaigns have to be organized, ground forces, ground campaigns are instrumental and crucial when it comes to showing up caucus night.

We should point out at the end of today around 6:00 p.m. the "Des Moines Register" will release its final poll numbers, pre-caucus poll numbers. That will give us a really good, clear indication where the race is now.

Donald Trump, if he is indeed that far out in front of these other candidates, that's sort of the big mystery that we are all going to see solved Monday night is whether or not he is actually going to deliver what these poll numbers say.

And I remember four years ago, John, when Rick Santorum showed up in that final "Des Moines Register" poll as having a major surge going into caucus night, that ended up being a very big story four years ago -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, five hours away or so to get those polls. We're all waiting. Jim Acosta, thank you so much. Dana Bash, Jeff Zeleny, thanks to you as well.

A lot to talk about right now. We are talking 48 hours until caucus night in Iowa. Joining me now is CNN political analyst, John Avlon, editor-in-chief of "The Daily Beast" and also CNN political commentator, Margaret Hoover.

Guys, a lot going on here today. Margaret, I want to start on the Republican side. Talked about it with Dana, Ted Cruz on the stump. He is fighting a two front war, trying to win, still beat Donald Trump. His big concern seems to be Marco Rubio.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Every Republican has their ear to the ground that I talked to and beyond seems to feel there's an anecdotal surge for Marco Rubio. Clearly Cruz senses that, why would he point that at Marco Rubio.

What's really interesting here is that Trump has an incredible ground organization. The guy who is running Trump's ground organization actually ran Rick Santorum's ground organization four years ago.

They're far more organized than anybody thinks. With regard to Marco Rubio, the story is if he can close the gap, instead of being 15 points behind Cruz by end of the day, even if he gets third place if he lost by two or three points.

That's the narrative going into New Hampshire that he needs to maybe finish second in New Hampshire behind Donald Trump. The bottom line is everybody seems to think that those Trump voters are real. We will know from the poll at 5:00 whether it really is.

BERMAN: And John, Marco Rubio is going big the last few days. He's tried to make it seem as if I am running in Iowa but not that hard, but now he is spending big, he is going big. He has a 30-minute infomercial spot running today and tomorrow, all weekend in the state. He wants it.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: He wants it. Look, politics is perception. This is reminder of the perception of whether he is rising creates an enormous narrative push, as Margaret said, going into New Hampshire. If he takes out of Ted Cruz support, that's enormously psychologically powerful.

And the idea that he was going to have a calendar where he would win one of the fourth or fifth states was so obviously a loser, he has to get in to win. He positioned himself as the guy who can unite the very divergent wings of the Republican Party. Nobody is playing that game right now.

BERMAN: I have to say. He has so many people in the establishment and in the Republican establishment media who desperately want him to be the story coming out of Iowa. Desperately want him to be seen as emerging and getting momentum. He is getting a lot of help from a lot of sources.

I want to shift to the Democratic side because Hillary Clinton, you know, had the campaign god's give and take away in the last 24 hours, right, these e-mails, the scandal that will not go away.

The idea that the State Department now says there are e-mails right now, they're withholding because they're classified. This is not something she wants to talk about heading into Monday night.

On the other hand, she got endorsement from "The New York Times." New York is far away from Des Moines, but I imagine the "Times" has influence. AVLON: Look, that endorsement does ripple through conversationally liberal circles. More importantly, if you appreciate inside baseball just how tough "The New York Times" has been on Hillary Clinton in particular, which I know will explode minds among the conservatives.

But they really have. So to give full throttle endorsement for Hillary Clinton in this moment is a big deal, can only help in a tight, tight race.

HOOVER: Let me very clear though, these e-mails for the Democratic primary, remember Bernie Sanders in the very first debate said that the e-mails don't bother me. For a Democratic caucus in Iowa, these e-mails aren't a story, don't hurt her at all.

What they do is they help Republicans continue build a narrative about whether she's a trustworthy general election candidate. But in this moment, at this time, John, I don't think it matters for Hillary Clinton.

BERMAN: But every single one of the Republican candidates is talking about it today.

HOOVER: They are right now.

AVLON: And keep in mind, you know, there are about 125,000 that turn out on average for caucus. This year it may be much higher.

[12:15:06]But considering the impact and momentum, which what might be a swing of 1,000 or 2,000 votes, where Rick Santorum won by 34 last time. This is such a huge impact on a small number of Iowa voters. That's why the responsibility is for them to turn out and vote, use the opportunity.

BERMAN: They take that seriously. John Avlon, Margaret Hoover, great to have you here with us. Thanks so much.

Next for us, Donald Trump breaks out his Bible to try to send a message to Iowa Evangelicals. There's a lot of new information on the battle for Evangelical votes today. Ben Carson making news, Mike Huckabee making news.

We are joined by David Brody from Christian Broadcast Network to breakdown to what matters in this voting block, this is the guy that really knows.

Plus live this hour, Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly join Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail. We will take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, welcome back. John Berman in Des Moines, two days away from the Iowa caucuses. On the Republican side of the aisle, Evangelicals can make or break a campaign.

In 2012, 57 percent of Republican caucus goers identified as Evangelicals or Born Again Christians were identified as Evangelicals or Born Again Christians. That's not lost on a candidate, not even Donald Trump who sent out this Facebook message this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: My mother gave me this Bible, this very Bible many years ago. In fact, it is her writing right here. She wrote the name and my address, and it is just very special to me. Again, I want to thank the Evangelicals. I will never let you down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Donald Trump literally standing behind the Bible there, sitting behind the bible as the case may be, pretty strong imagery there. My next guest David Brody is the chief political correspondent for Christian Broadcasting Network.

David, you have been following this race for some time talking to all of the candidates, talking to Trump, talking to Cruz, talking to Marco Rubio, and today talking to Ben Carson.

[12:25:12]Now we haven't spoken about Ben Carson much, but you had an interview with him where he said something fascinating this morning. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He says he is not a politician, but he is. He does whatever is politically expedient in order to elevate himself. And you know, I don't blame him, I don't blame any of the politicians. That's what they do. I'm just not that kind of person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That is a tougher punch thrown by Ben Carson than we have seen in some time. Ben Carson is not anywhere near the top right now, first, second or third, but stubbornly 8 or 9 percent in the polls. What kind of impact and statement like that from Carson have?

DAVID BRODY, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: I have to tell you, it may be a little too little too late here, John. That train and what I mean by that train, not the Trump train necessarily, but the narrative of Donald Trump has left the station.

I mean, he is anti-establishment, he is an outsider, it is pretty well known at this point. So a remark like that in a debate a few months ago definitely a few months ago in an interview if he had said that, possibly a different story.

Now a couple days before the Iowa caucus, I think people have a sense that Donald Trump is definitely not a politician because I don't know may be he skips a debate in Iowa, definitely not a politician.

BERMAN: So David, we have talked a lot about the battle between Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio now. Ted Cruz publicly on the stump is hitting Marco Rubio hard. That's what's happening on the outside. In the inside of the campaign, there are a lot of phone calls furiously trying to rally the Evangelical bases, get out the effort vote. You have been covering that. What are you seeing?

BRODY: Right. As a matter of fact I was on a private phone call last night where 10,000, literally, 10,000 conservative Christians on a teleconference call, town hall if you will, done by the Cruz campaign, trying to rally these folks.

These are likely caucus goers that they had on the phone, many of them conservative Christians, and basically the pitch was by Dr. James Dobson, Bob Vander Plats, Tony Perkins from the Family Research Council.

The pitch was look, you might like Ben Carson, might like Mike Huckabee, a lot of these folks, but folks, if we're going to stop Donald Trump, you have to get on the Cruz train, and that was basically the pitch.

It is going to have to be their opportunity here. That's the only way the Cruz campaign is going to be able to pull this off because if that vote splinters, Donald Trump is poised for victory here in Iowa.

I don't think there is any question about it. Donald Trump support here is wide and deep. When you start to suction and pull some of those Evangelicals along with all of that, it can be very tough to beat -- John.

BERMAN: So David, you mentioned Mike Huckabee, and there's a new conspiracy theory about the former Arkansas governor. People may have noticed yesterday Donald Trump added an event next week, Wednesday, in Little Rock, Arkansas, right in the middle of a week that's supposed to be about New Hampshire, at a minimum about New Hampshire and South Carolina, going to Little Rock, Arkansas.

This after Mike Huckabee appeared at the Donald Trump rally for veterans Thursday night. Are people beginning to think there might be endorsement from Huckabee to Trump? Huckabee's campaign says no on the outside. What are you hearing?

BRODY: Well, the Huckabee campaign being very tight lipped about it obviously. They're competing for president of the United States in Iowa. Having said that, I did put up something on a blog called is the Trump, Huckabee potential ticket here a match made in heaven.

Little pun on words there. Here's the thing with Huckabee. If Trump, and we're getting way ahead of ourselves, but if Donald Trump becomes the nominee, think about Mike Huckabee for a moment here as VP pick.

I mean, he is a former governor, executive experience. He brings in Evangelicals as well. He is from Arkansas. He has taken on the Clinton machine before, and the veep role, the vice president role typically is the attack dog.

Mike Huckabee is a great attack dog because he does it with a smile on his face and has a way of saying shucks, bless your heart, and softens up Donald Trump a bit.

Plus, maybe most importantly of all Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee have a great relationship. You add it all together, makes you scratch your head and wonder, might just happen.

BERMAN: They say no. Listen to what they say, but watch what they do, watch that calendar, watch that travel schedule Wednesday in Little Rock. David Brody, always great to speak with you. Thanks so much.

BRODY: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: All right. All of the candidates are out on the stump today. Going to Manchester, Iowa. Bernie Sanders locked in a tight race with Hillary Clinton. Let's listen in.

[12:25:03]SANDERS: -- family and medical leave to all our people. And yes, we are going to join the rest of the industrialized world and understand that health care is a right of all people, not just a privilege.

And yes, we are going to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour. And yes, every man in this room will stand with the women to end the absurdity of women making 79 cents on the dollar compared to men.

And yes, we are going to have trade policies that work for working people, not just the CEOs of large multinational corporations. Some people say well, this is an ambitious agenda, can't happen. Really? Really? Why not? Why can't it happen?

We don't have the courage to stand up to insurance companies and drug companies and Wall Street and corporate America and corporate media, is that why it can't happen? I think we can do that.

And I think when you think about courage, I want you to, you know, we were in Birmingham, Alabama a couple weeks ago, we went to that church where four children were killed. You remember that terrible bombing.

What I did not know and what the pastor there explained to me, I didn't know this. I thought obviously this was a terrible, terrible incident, church was bombed, four children were putting on their clothing were killed, how terrible is that. I didn't know something.

Dr. West knew it, I didn't know it. During that month, correct me if I'm wrong, there were 14 bombings in that city during that month. All right? This wasn't the only bombing.

What that was about was terrorizing the African-American community in Birmingham, trying to say this is what happens if you're going to stand up for your rights. People in Birmingham, people in Alabama stood up for their rights. That was courage.

Courage is well over 100 years in this country as second or third class people, women who were divorced couldn't get property rights. Women didn't have the right to vote. Women couldn't do the jobs they wanted to do. That's a man's job, you're not going to be a lawyer, a doctor, not going to be a carpenter, serve in the military, not going to be a police officer. That's not your work, that's men's work. Women said sorry.

BERMAN: Senator Bernie Sanders speaking in Manchester, Iowa, saying that there are those people that say his goals are unrealistic. Why he says, why should they be? You need to be willing to stand up for them, he says. Who was suggesting some of his goals are not realistic?

That would be Hillary Clinton and people associated with the Clinton campaign. We will see her coming up in a little bit also.

Next for us, a brand new interview on the Republican side, Chris Christie held a heck of an event on the campaign trail. We're going to tell you what he said about Marco Rubio and let me tell you something, wasn't particularly friendly. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:32:56] BERMAN: Welcome back, John Berman in Des Moines Iowa. It is campaign chaos in this state right now, and I mean it in a good way, all of the candidates on the stump talking so many events, all of the candidates out there swinging, particularly against their rivals.

Chris Christie with some tough, tough punches thrown against Marco Rubio, he has just spoken to our very own Phil Mattingly. Phil Mattingly is with us in Iowa City, he spoke to Governor Chris Christie. What did he have to say, Phil?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. He's actually already started his second Town Hall of the day, the one behind me clearing out as we speak.

I sat down with the governor in an exclusive interview and asked him about Marco Rubio. Now these two have have been trading barbs back and forth over the last couple of weeks, primarily because of frustration on Christie's side. Marco Rubio's supportive super-Pacs have unloaded on Christie in the state of New Hampshire, some of that frustration coming out in our interview.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Why do you think is a differential?

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ) PRESIDENTIAL CANDITATE: A differentiation point for me. I mean, my experience is significantly different than Senator Rubio's. He has no experience making decisions. He has no experience in running anything. All he has been is a legislator his whole life. And so, I've seen that fail in the White House right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MATTINGLY: Also comparing him to a Republican pedigree Barack Obama,

so John obviously, not holding back any single bit when it comes to attacking Marco Rubio. Part of a wide ranging interview I had with the governor a few minutes ago, John.

BERMAN: Very, very interesting, calling him a Republican Obama. That is exactly what Ted Cruz just said about Marco Rubio in a campaign ad that's right all across the state right now.

Phil, a lot of people might be looking at you with Chris Christie on the stump in Iowa, you interviewing Chris Christie in Iowa, and the first question comes to mind, what is Chris Christie doing in Iowa now? Not seen as having a real shot to make any up ground here.

MATTINGLY: Sitting at two percent in the polls in Iowa, and look, the idea from Christie's campaign is not that he will win Iowa.

[12:35:07] Frankly, it's not even that he will win New Hampshire. They have another metric. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Being the first among the governors.

CHRISTIE: Thus we have to find success, absolutely. If I am first among governors in Iowa or New Hampshire, that's been successful, first two contests for me, and then move on to South Carolina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: John, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, those are two people Chris Christie and his team think they need to beat to move forward in Iowa. That doesn't mean they have to get 15 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent or compete with Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump.

That means looking only at those two people. John Kasich is already back in New Hampshire. So, they're zeroing in on Jeb Bush here. Then it's quickly off before the voters even reach caucuses on Monday night, back to Hew Hampshire to really kind of pound the pavement on those town halls over these next five, six days.

John, New Hampshire is key for Chris Christie. If he'd come in first among the governors in there, his campaign moves forward. Anything below that, and they'll have a lot of questions to answer about the future of his campaign, John.

BERMAN: Yeah, he's got a big ten days ahead them. Well see if it is more than ten days.

Phil Mattingly for us, with Governor Christie, thanks so much.

Next up, Ted Cruz unleashes this attack ad, calling Marco Rubio as we just said, the "Republican Obama". We're going to take you live to his campaign stop today to breakdown the last minute strategy of the Republican candidates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

This is CNN breaking news.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello every one, I am Fredricka Whitfield. This breaking news, this just in to CNN. The Defense Department will take no further action against General David Petraeus. He will now be able to retire with full benefits and no demotions.

In 2012, Petraeus resigned from his position as director of the CIA, after it was revealed he was having an extramarital affair with his biographer.

[12:40:02] The FBI investigated Petraeus for allegedly providing classified information to the woman. And Petraeus pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

And now two days before the Iowa caucuses and some of the Republican candidates are making the most of it today. Front runner Donald Trump has three events, while his closest rival Ted Cruz is making five stops at least, including one in Ames Iowa right now.

CNN Political commentator Jeffrey Lord and Bucks Sexton joining me now. So, Jeffrey you first, you wrote the book "What America Needs, The Case for Trump." why do you believe Trump is the candidate America needs?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Morning first of all, well aside from issues of the economy and foreign policy and national security, I think the American people have had it with political correctness and I think what they've learned from Donald Trump is he has had it, too. He is the ultimate in political incorrectness.

This has gone from being a minor annoyance in American life to being lethal. This was what's responsible for the shooting at Fort Hood, we find out that in San Bernardino, the neighbors knew there was something going on, didn't want to report it because it would be politically incorrect, and the president of the United States unfortunately won't even address the fact of Islamic radicalism, he won't even use the words.

So I think at this point Americans realize this is a very, very serious problem here, and they want somebody of action, somebody that will do something, somebody who has demonstrated with his own life that he is a person of action and gets things done.

WHITFIELD: So, Buck, is it as simple as that, blunt talk, not being politically correct that makes you more prepared to be a president over the next person?

BUCK SEXTON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, if the question is about why Trump has the appeal that he does and why he continues to defy political expectations, no one wants to make any prognostications any more about Trump, because so many of the political class have been proven wrong time and time again.

There's a part of it that is the rejection of our politically correct culture, but there's also a sense of betrayal of the base by the GOP elite, by the establishment. We have seen it with the budget that's been passed, as soon as mid term election was over. We've seen this in immigration time and time again.

And so there are people who are willing to quite honestly make a lot of excuses for things they say or things they believe Donald Trump says that are perhaps or not how they would phrase it or beyond the pale, maybe hurtful to the broader GOP Republican cause, because they believe they need to shake up and turn the system upside down.

That's not my position but that's where that position comes from and I understand the frustration that so many on the conservative side of the political aisle feel, and that's what Trump is, he is essentially a vessel for those frustrations as well as people out there think because he has so much executive experience, has been a successful business man that he is not some career politician who can't get it done.

Whether that's going to be the case or not, we will see in a couple days, but I think he is going to surprise people in Iowa. Already, people are getting ready for it.

WHITFIELD: All right, the rhetoric is heating up, so are the ad wars now, and that's certainly heating up. This is Ted Cruz, his ad referring to Marco Rubio as the "Republican Obama". Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They call Ted Cruz Obama's nemesis, because Cruz fought ObamaCare, set narrow the big spending, stopped amnesty in its track, caucus for Cruz to undo Obama's damage. Marco Rubio is different. The Republican Obama that champion Obama's amnesty and led the gang of eight. On taxes?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R-FL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am in favor of a mandate, then go out and design a cap and trade or carbon tax program.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taxes, amnesty, The Republican Obama, that's Marco Rubio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Buck, is Ted Cruz as concerned as it appears that Marco Rubio is the easier target?

SEXTON: No, I think what you're seeing is a recognition that now is the time for both Trump and Cruz to push Marco Rubio out of the race, out of the running.

If Rubio doesn't get traction on the poll soon, people aren't going to believe that he has the momentum. People aren't going to believe that it's going to be reality that he could, in fact, be the nominee. Because it's a very crowded side of the field that Rubio is trying to sort of elbow his way around him. He's got Chris Christie, he got Kasich, he's got a number of candidates that are vying for, or we would broadly term the establishment track, right. There are three roads to the nomination as most people see it right

now. You have the Trump road, which is something he sort of created, it's his own coalition. You've got Ted Cruz set up as the candidate of conservatives, the conservative base. And then you got the more sort of establishment GOP, perhaps centrist side of things. That's a crowded field now. Rubio's not going to win Iowa. He needs a good showing in Iowa. If he doesn't have that people might say, you know what maybe it is not him, maybe it's Chris Christie.

And I think that Cruz and Trump would rather face off against Christie than face off against Rubio.

WHITFIELD: All right we'll going to find out in couple of days, we'll we. Thank you so much, Buck Sexton, Jeffrey Lord. Good to see you. Appreciate it.

SEXTON: Thank you.

LORD: Thank you Fried.

WHITFIELD: And then at any moment now, gun control takes center stage in the democratic race as former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords takes the stage with Democratic leader Hillary Clinton. We will take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:44:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I persuade you to take a sandwich with you sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll get drive-thru.

MARCELA SAPONE, CO-FOUNDER, HELLO ALFRED: Batman is a normal man. But at the hands of Alfred, his butler, he became a super hero. I'm Marcela Sapone.

JESSICA BECK, CO-FOUNDER, HELLO ALFRED: And I'm Jessica Beck. And we are the co-founders of Hello Alfred. It is a shared neighborhood butler that helps you get things done.

When you sign up for service, you get a dedicated person to be assigned to you and visit your home every week. And that routine can be a combination of grocery shopping, getting laundry, picking up dry cleaning.

MARCELA SAPONE: Jes and I met at Harvard Business School.

Before we went to business school, worked in finance and consulting and have really long hour. So we hired someone off in craigslist and that's how it's started, we just really built it for ourselves. Alfred there is deeply vetted.

JESSICA BECK: We like to say that it's easier to get into an Ivy League school than to get into Alfred. SAPONE: Alfred operates in Boston and in New York and costs $32 a

week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you're working in a fast paced industry.

A lot of just sort little life things tend to fall by the wayside, and having an app where I can pretty much request anything and get a little bit of my time back is incredibly helpful.

[15:50:07] SAPONE: We didn't think we were go into business to create the butler service. A lot of people told us this is a silly idea.

I think we've proven a lot of people wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back, John Berman in Des Moines, Iowa. CNN is everywhere in Iowa right now. A day like we have not seen in this campaign yet. Just 48 hours before the caucuses, Senator Ted Cruz is in Ames right now. He's got an event going on. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know all of who are here today because our country is in crisis, because we are bankrupting our kids and grand kids, because our constitutional rights are under assault each and every day, and because America is receding from leadership (inaudible).

And yet I am here today with a word of hope and encouragement and exhortation. All across this country, all across Iowa and all across this nation people are waking up. There is an awakening that is sweeping this land. And so I want everyone to look forward to January, 2017. If I am elected president, let me tell you what I intend to do on the first day in office. The first thing I intend to do is rescind every single illegal and unconstitutional executive action taken by this president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, Ted Cruz in aims in Ames in Iowa. He's got an event there on the stump. He has been talking about at least in its ads and his campaign staff, hitting at Marco Rubio.

So far today we haven't seen him on the stump. We will keep our eyes on that event. Bring you back there if we see some fireworks.

All the candidates are out today. We're going to take you live on the stump, Hillary Clinton appearing with Gabrielle Gifford's and Mark Kelly in a little bit. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right John Berman in Des Moines. I want to show you some pictures right now in Ames. We are waiting for former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords to come on stage. She's with husband American astronaut Mark Kelly. They are with Hillary Clinton, a big event for Hillary Clinton. She's with Gifford's and Kelly. She will no doubt talk about the issue of gun control as she tries to draw distinction between herself, her positions, and that of Senator Bernie Sanders.

I want to talk about this more. Joining me right now CNN Political Commentator, former presidential campaign manager for Hillary Clinton Patti Solis Doyle, and CNN Political Analyst and Editor in chief of The Daily Beast, John Avlon.

[12:55:09] Patti, I got to start with you with the general question right now, because you were here eight years ago, the Iowa caucuses. And the results weren't with the Clinton campaign was hoping for.

PATTI SOLIS DOYLE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, they weren't.

BERMAN: What do you see different this time around?

DOYLE: Yeah well look, as a political strategist, I think that you learn more from the race that you lose instead of from a race you win. And clearly you know last time around in '08 we got beaten, and we got beaten pretty bad by Barack Obama.

But here's -- and what I think Hillary is going to learn from this race or from that race is the ground operation. A lot of knocks have been taken on the 2008 ground operation for Hillary. But I got to tell you, we had a pretty solid ground operation. We had 70,000 caucus goers for Hillary Clinton. And in a traditional normal caucus here, that's pretty good.

But what Barack Obama did brilliantly was extend the field. He knew he couldn't win with a traditional, normal caucus here. So he brought all these first time caucus goers right, but he didn't just bring them in huge volume, he brought them broadly through out the state. And that's what I think Hillary is going to learn big time this time around. She got support broadly across the state.

BERMAN: John, as we're looking at this campaign event about to start with Hillary Clinton and Gabrielle Gifford's and Mark Kelly right now. Gun control, why is this an important issue?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Because it's the one area where she can credibly get the left of Bernie Sanders. You know Vermont politicians have a very close relationship with the NRA because the way we deal with guns in this country. It's different than Democrat and Republican, it is rural versus urban.

So we got a situation where Bernie Sanders does not have a great record on gun control, and airtime (ph) time when that was unifying issue for Democrats. And so you got to keep hammering that home and there's no better messenger than the former congressman on this issue.

And I will say to Patti's point, the fact that Hillary Clinton is trying to in the last several days, you know she's not going to Iowa city, she's not going to, you know, traditional well to support with democrats. She got decision (ph). She's going to places that are not obvious Democrats' strongholds, but speak to the fact that she's trying to build a broader base than before.

DOYLE: That's exactly right.

BERMAN: All right John Avlon and Patti, we feel great to have you with us. We have much more just ahead on Newsroom, including a new interview with Hillary Clinton from the campaign trail.

Speaking to CNN. Some really interesting comments about the latest developments in the controversy over her e-mails, that's right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me, I am Fredericka Whitfield. Just two days now until the first votes are cast in the 2016 presidential election.

Thanks so much for being with us.

[13:0017] We have complete coverage from Iowa this hour. The candidates are fanned out across the state in a last minute push to get voters on their side before the caucuses. Live pictures right now rally's for Hillary Clinton.