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Don Lemon Tonight

Interview with Donald Trump; New Hampshire Primary Just Days Away; GOP at War With Itself; New Polls Out for Both Democratic and Republican Race; Clinton and Sanders Take Battle to New Hampshire Tonight; Jeb Bush Has Mom and Brother as Secret Weapons. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired February 04, 2016 - 22:00   ET

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


[22:00:00] DON LEMON, CNN TONIGHT SHOW HOST: Plus, the GOP at war with itself, Trump versus Cruz, Bush and Christie versus Rubio. Is there any way to run a campaign? And who will end up on top?

It is a very busy night tonight. So, let's begin with CNN's Anderson Cooper. He is in New Hampshire for us. Anderson, you just sat down, had an in-depth interview with Donald Trump. How does he seem just five days away from this primary in New Hampshire?

ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 SHOW HOST: You know, he is certainly seems confident. He's definitely changed his strategy on the ground here. You know, we've seen now for months Donald Trump doing really large, large scale rallies with thousands of people. He's doing much more retail politicking here in New Hampshire, smaller events.

We met in a diner where we asked him questions and also some local voters, republicans and independents were able to ask him questions as well. But he had already done four or five smaller events earlier today. It's really a sign of kind of the adjustment he's making to the reality of New Hampshire. He clearly wants to do very well here. He would clearly like to win here in New Hampshire.

The latest CNN poll does have him in the lead with Rubio in second place. He's not attacking, at least not today. And certainly in our discussion, attacking Rubio, attacking Cruz, as we have seen in the past. Whether that's going to change over the next couple days remains to be seen.

But he certainly seems to be enjoying himself and he's definitely mixing it up with people. As soon as our interview was done, he spent time in the diner talking to the people. He spent a good deal of time talking with them, posing for photographs.

LEMON: Yes. And we've seen video of him today, being more personable, visiting headquarters, he seems to be taking this more seriously and looking forward to this event. But just to look back just for a moment, did you talk to him about Iowa and Ted Cruz coming in second, was he disappointed? Because he kind of played it off and then, you know, went on that run on Twitter. How did he seem about that?

COOPER: You know, it's really interesting, he clearly no longer really wants to talk about it. I mean, I asked him a number of questions about Ted Cruz, about what happened in Iowa, about whether he's actually contacting republican officials about having some sort of redo, even though that seems highly unlikely.

He sort of indicated, you know, he's moved on, he's done with it, he's moving forward. I mean, clearly he tweeted what he tweeted, he felt Ted Cruz acted inappropriately, the campaign acted inappropriately, but he doesn't seem to want to dwell on that any longer. He really seems now focused on New Hampshire.

LEMON: Ok, Anderson, let's listen to some of your interview right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: There's new CNN poll out shows you're doing well here in New Hampshire. How does it feel?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It feels great. The people are amazing. I've been to New Hampshire so many times and I have so many friends up here. Aside from this, and they're amazing people, it's a great place. I just like it. I feel comfortable.

COOPER: You're doing more in New Hampshire, you're doing more smaller events. You're doing more events. I think you've had four or five already today.

TRUMP: Yes.

COOPER: Events like this with kind of people up close, asking you questions. Is that a strange in strategy? And if so, why?

TRUMP: I don't think so. I just feel very comfortable here and I love being here. And you know, I've just been embraced, I friends that have nice houses and they invite me over to dinner and they would anyway, whether I was doing this or not. But there's a great level of comfort in New Hampshire for me.

COOPER: In this poll, Marco Rubio has also now jumped to second place. Do you think he is more of a threat than Ted Cruz?

TRUMP: I don't know. I mean, it could be somebody out of the pack. You know, I'm watching your stuff every night and I'm saying, well, who's going to be moving. I've been doing well. I guess in the polls we do pretty well. But I don't know who is second. I really don't -- are you saying that Rubio came in second now or he is?

COOPER: Yes, he did. He came in second in this...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Yes. It was sort of funny because in Iowa he was third and I was second, and they said he did fantastically well. And me, they were sort of disappointed. I don't even know why they were disappointed. Because I got actually the most votes in the history of the Iowa -- you know, for the republicans. And we had a huge turnout. It was really a tremendous -- I mean, I

really -- I must say, I really enjoyed Iowa. But this is -- there's a different feeling here. This is an amazing feeling with the people, with the crowds. You probably saw the crowd I had this morning. It was just incredible.

COOPER: How important is it for you to win here?

TRUMP: Well, I'd love to win because I like to win. I mean, my life is about winning. You know, I don't like to lose.

(CROSSTALK)

COOER: I've heard that about you.

TRUMP: You know, your definition of win when you come in second out of 11 people -- and actually 17, because we started off with 17, many dropped out. So, let's say you're second out of 17, you know, I mean, we consider that good. But, no, I would love to be number one in New Hampshire.

I think we'd send a good signal and, you know, my whole thing is make America great again, Anderson. That's what I want to do. I want to make America great again. There's so many things we can do to take back our country because we're losing our country. I mean, we're doing deals that are so ridiculous.

The deal with Iran where we're handing over $150 billion and we get nothing. It's not like we get. We get nothing. So many horrible things are taking place.

[22:05:00] If you look at trade with China, we're going to make -- we're going to -- we're going to make for them this year $500 billion. We can't do it. We can't afford this. Mexico. Japan. Vietnam. That's another one coming on very strong. They are coming on so strong. Vietnam, you don't believe what's going on over there. And they are taking our jobs, they are taking our money, they are taking our base, they're taking everything from us and it's not going to happen if I get elected president. It's not going to happen.

COOPER: You came in second in Iowa to Ted Cruz. Let's talk about Cruz. You basically accused him of fraud, of stealing the election in Iowa, you talked about wanting a new election there. Have you actually spoken to Republican Party officials about that?

TRUMP: No. Look, I'm into New Hampshire now. It's just one of those things. It was sort of a lot of strange things. And you know, I like Ben Carson very much and he got pretty roughed up, frankly. Although it affected me maybe more than Ben. But I'm so much because I've been here for two days, I'm so much into this, into New Hampshire that I just -- I don't care about that anymore.

COOPER: But do you think Ted Cruz intentionally was spreading inform -- false information?

TRUMP: I don't care. I mean, I don't -- I don't even say. Let's see what happens. I guess people are looking at it. Who cares? We're in tertiary, I picked up a lot of delegates. You know, I was second, I picked up one less than he did. So, that's not going to be even a factor. But this is the place that I'm focused.

COOPER: Are you going to be focusing on Rubio in speeches.

TRUMP: I may. I mean, I may, but I don't think so much. I think the people have to make up their minds. Look, I'm going to do things that nobody else can do, because I'm really good at trade. I built an unbelievable company, you saw that. Everybody went down. They looked. They never saw my numbers before.

My company that I built, very little debt, tremendous cash flow, some of the greatest assets in the world. And I say that not in the braggadocios way. Say that's the kind of thinking we need in this this country. We have $19 trillion in debt, nobody even know what trillion means.

We have $19 trillion in debt, now with this horrible deal they just negotiated with, you know, with the budget two weeks ago, that's going to add another $2 trillion in debt. We need somebody that has the kind of thinking that I have. Whether we like that thinking or don't like that thinking, it's really good for what we're talking about.

COOPER: One more on Ted Cruz, he did say that you had basically -- have a "Trumper tantrum." Have you ever heard that phrase?

TRUMP: No. But I haven't actually. I love that phrase. I think that's great. I love that phrase. I actually like that phrase. They have to -- that's good. I'm going to trademark that right before you.

No, look, we need a strong tone nowadays. You know, when you talk about tantrums. I don't have tantrums. You can't built great businesses and have the relationships that I have if you have tantrums.

But I will say this. We need somebody with a strong tone. I remember when on the same day, Hillary and Jeb Bush. Here's Jeb spent like $100 million and he's nowhere and he likes the common core and he's weak on immigration and he's -- I mean, where is he coming from? And Hillary, the same day, they said Donald Trump's tone, my tone is tough.

And I said, you know, they're chopping off heads of Christians in the Middle East, all over the Middle East, ISIS, they're doing all sorts of things that haven't happened -- it doesn't seem to me like since medieval times. I mean, you know, I used to read medieval times they chopped off heads. I haven't seen that.

And then, you know, you look at what's happening in this world how mean, how vicious it's become and I have these people saying, well, Donald Trump's tone is tough. I mean, the problem we have is, everybody's so politically correct that our country's going to hell.

So, we're going to turn it around and hopefully we're going to do a great job. And by the way, I know we're going to do a great job. It's so easy. We're going to have the greatest business people. Carl Icahn endorse me the other day, all of the great business leaders, we're going to lose a lot of companies.

You know, Pfizer is leaving, and others are leaving. Now corporate inversions, they can't get their money back into the country because of stupidity. Everybody agrees that should it get back. Democrats and republicans, they can't take it back. They're leaving the country. We're losing some of our greatest companies. They're leaving. You know, Pfizer is going to Ireland. But they're going to Europe, they're going to Asia. I will stop that in two seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And when we come back, more from Donald Trump as he takes questions from voters. Plus, our brand new polls in New Hampshire. What they mean for a GOP at war with itself.

[22:10:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: And we're back now with more of Anderson's sit-down interview with Donald Trump as Trump takes questions from New Hampshire voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I want to you meet Brian Tilton. He's standing over there. He says he's leaning towards...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Hi, Brian.

COOPER: ... he's leaning towards you.

TRUMP: Oh, Brian, you have to have dinner with me tonight.

COOPER: He's considering other candidates. Brian, what's your question?

BRIAN TILTON, GROCERY ASSOCIATE: Hi. Since Obamacare passed, I've lost my health insurance three times.

TRUMP: Many people have.

TILTON: My out of pocket expenses are sky high, I'm maxed out this year because I had surgery a couple months ago, and I don't have my doctor anymore because of Obamacare. I've heard you say you want to repeal and replace Obamacare.

TRUMP: Right.

TILTON: What are you going to replace it with?

TRUMP: OK. First of all, I have been so against Obamacare from the beginning as you know. Repeal and replace. I was totally opposed to it. They did the $5 billion web site, $5 billion web site that didn't work. I have web sites all over the place that cost me 15 cents if you have the right of doing them, right? We're going to have great health insurance. We're going to bring the

private sector in. We're going to get rid of the borders. You know, I'm the only self-funder in this whole race on democrat or republican. The only self-funder, Anderson. I'm putting up my own money.

When I come up here, it's costing me, it's not costing the public. It's not costing worse than the public. It's the insurance companies, putting up money for all of these people, the oil companies are putting up money, the drug companies are putting up money. And I'll tell you one quick story about that in a second. But we're going to have -- we're going to take down the borders because I have a lot...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: So, specifically for health care?

TRUMP: That make fund, yes. For health care. Because what happens is the health care companies, the insurance companies are putting up -- they put up tremendous money for Obama and other people that are running for office.

[22:15:04] They have total control. When I bid up my insurance I have big businesses in many different states, in Florida, in New York, all over the places, in California. When I bid out my stuff, I don't get any bids. Because if I want to have somebody from let's say, New Hampshire bid, a company. A good insurance company bid from my New York business, they can't do it. They're not -- they just can't do it because we have this artificial -- I call them borders.

Our borders should be so strong. Our southern borders should be so strong. It's our borders, right. What that does is it gives monopolies to these insurance companies inside of various states. When you take that down you will have so much competition, you'll have phenomenal healthcare. And the reason, the reason they have the borders because an insurance company would rather have essentially a monopoly in one state than have bidders all over the place even if they could into ...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Would somebody like Brian actually save money on it?

TRUMP: Oh, he'd save a lot of money. And he'd be able to tailor it and you get exactly what you want. I mean, there are things in health care that you don't -- that you'll never going to use and they make you buy.

So, Obamacare is a disaster. You know, premiums have gone up under Obamacare, 25, 30, and 45 percent. Some even over 50 percent. And just like you, people have been forced; they'd lost everything because of health care. Obamacare is a disaster. And we are going to repeal it and we're going to replace it with something great.

And we have lots of alternatives. The problem that this country has had until me, is that the presidents and all of the people that are doing this are all taken care of by the insurance companies. Me, I don't care. I'm a free agent. COOPER: You talked about taking Brian to dinner. Maybe you'll take

him to dinner at Timothy's restaurant. This is Timothy Baines, he's a restaurant owner. He says he's still undecided. So, you could convince him as well. Timothy.

TIMOTHY BAINES, RESTAURANT OWNER: Yes. Hi, Mr. Trump.

TRUMP: Hi, Timothy.

BAINES: I own a small restaurant here in Manchester and I interact with young people on a daily basis. It's clear they don't trust Washington.

TRUMP: I don't either, Timothy. Less than anybody maybe.

BAINES: Absolutely.

TRUMP: I mean, too much.

BAINES: It's a -- it's a polarized environment and I feel like a lot of that is because of our most recent two presidents. What tools will you bring to the table to able to work with people on both sides of the aisle?

TRUMP: It's a great question. You know, in Manhattan I built a tremendous company. And somebody was mentioning today. I built a job. I built really a city on the west side of Manhattan, you know it very well, Anderson, Trump Place and it goes from 72nd Street to 59th Street.

I had to get zoning. You know, this might sound simple. This was -- Anderson would understand, people that are in Manhattan.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Not an easy thing to do.

TRUMP: I was told that it was impossible. In fact, I bought the land very inexpensively because people said it was impossible to ever get it done. I get it zoned for a 6,000, almost 6,000 unit jobs with tremendous shopping, with tremendous parking, thousands and thousands of spaces. I get it zoned for one of the great jobs and it's been a tremendous success. I did a great job.

To get that zoned and to get that taken care of, if you can negotiate anything. One other thing I say, I just got the old post office recently on Pennsylvania Avenue. I'm building a hotel. Every major company in the country wanted that hotel company and I got that. Who did I get it from? The Obama administration if you think about it, right? Had a great plan, I have a great balance sheet, I got it from Obama. We can solve problems if we have people that are know...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Politically, though, you're polarizing. But you're saying once you get to Washington you can actually get deals done. TRUMP: I get along with people. Look, Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill were very opposite. They get along. They had a great relationship. They really like each other.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: So, is compromise a dirty word? For some politicians...

TRUMP: Compromise is not a dirty word but we have to get a much better part of the compromise. It's not a dirty. I mean, we have people that will never be able to make deals. You know, somebody said, oh, he'll make deals. I'm going to make good deals. That's what I do. I made billions and bilions of dollars by making good deals.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: There are some conservatives who worry you'll make deals too much, that you'll compromise too much on conservative principles.

TRUMP: I'm not -- I'm not a huge compromiser. I have to tell you, I make great deals. I make deals. I own -- I own some of the greatest assets in the world. People wanted them. Everybody...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: So, is it more important to get a deal or just stand on a principle?

TRUMP: You have to - you have to -- both. Honestly, you have to both -- you got to get the deal done but only if it's right. For instance, on the Iran deal. I would have never started negotiating that deal unless they let our prisoners go first.

I would have gone in, I would said, fellas, you got to let our prisoners go. They would have said no, I would have walk -- I would have doubled up the sanctions within 24 hours they would let the prisoners go. Then I would have gone in. Now I would have gone a second bite. I would have said, listen, we're a busted country, we have no money. We owe $19 trillion. Because I want to take the -- my father always say, take the lumps out. He used to say, son, take the lumps out. OK?

COOPER: What does what mean, take the lumps out?

TRUMP: So, that means make it a little bit nicer.

COOPER: OK.

TRUMP: Because normally I'd go and say, we're not giving you the 150 billion. So, instead I'd say, fellas, we owe $19 trillion, we're a country that has no money, we can't give you the 150. They'll say, but we want it. I'd say, we can't give it. We don't have it. We don't have it. That's called taking the lumps out.

They're supposed to -- OK. They will go crazy, it will break up, two days later they call back and let's make a deal. We keep the $150 billion. And by the way, what have they done with -- he's starting to like me better. but I'm liking this guy. I think I got him. I think I'll have them both.

[22:19:59] But you know what, what have we done with 150? What have they done? They bought 118 airbus planes, not Boeing planes. They're spending all of their money in Europe, they giving Russia a big chunk of money from missiles. I didn't even know they're allowed to buy missiles. Why are they allowed to buy missiles. It's so unfair and it's so incompetent.

COOPER: You know I have something in common. We both lost our older brothers. You lost your older brother in 1981, I believe, I did in 1988. What impact did that have on your life?

TRUMP: It had a great impact. He was a great guy, he was the most handsome guy, he had the best personality. He was the life of the party.

COOPER: An airlines pilot.

TRUMP: His name is Fred. He was a pilot. He was a great pilot actually. He's very talented. Other pilots used to come over to ask him. What they would always me he was the most talented. Buddy got hooked to an alcohol. And I told his family, I said, you know, his legacy is great because what I'm doing so many they talked about it, he got hooked on alcohol, just hooked.

And ultimately, it just was devastating. That's why I don't drink. I don't drink. I don't drink, I don't smoke cigarettes, I don't take drugs. Those are the three good things. I won't tell you the bad things. OK.

But my brother, Fred, was a great guy. He had everything. I mean, the most handsome guy. And then he got hooked and there was nothing. And by the way, nothing he could do about it. And I've seen strong people, really strong people, people that you and I know, but really strong, tough people, they can't shake the habit.

The way to shake the habit is not to start. My brother used to say and he knew he had a problem, he used to say to me, no drinking, no drugs and no alcohol. Actually he would leave the drugs out. What I do is I say to my kids, I've always says time to time. No alcohol, no cigarettes, no drugs.

With my brother, it was a long time ago, the drugs weren't like the big thing I don't think. I mean, the drugs weren't a big factor. But he always used to say, no alcohol, no cigarettes. Now, he said the cigarettes because, you know, it's better if you don't smoke.

I have friends that can't quit smoking. I would never want a cigarette. But once you start, I probably want a cigarette. I probably wouldn't be here talking to you today if we didn't -- if I didn't have my brother Fred because he kept me off alcohol.

And maybe with my kind of a personality I'd be a serious alcoholic, I just don't know. But I never had glass of alcohol in my life only because my brother said don't you dare! He was a tough guy in his own way. Don't you dare ever drink. Because he knew he had a problem and he passed on to me unbelievable information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, there's Donald Trump. Coming up, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders going head to head tonight in a heated debate in New Hampshire. We got everything you need to know.

[22:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We are counting down. Only five days until the New Hampshire primaries and we have new polls out tonight in both the republican and the democratic race.

CNN's Sara Murray joins me from New Hampshire. Sara, just five days. And You have been covering Donald Trump all day. What kind of reaction is he getting from voters in New Hampshire and what he's saying tonight?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, you know, Don, it's interesting coming to New Hampshire from Iowa because the voters here seem much more comfortable with Donald Trump and they seem to like his style more. You know, Trump was never a super natural fit for the Evangelical voters of Iowa.

New Hampshire is a different story. He has a wide lead in the polls here but he still doesn't want to take anything for granted. He's been ramping up his schedule. And I think right now it seems like voters are responding. They really like his straight talk, they really like he's bombasting, and most of all, they'll tell me they like the fact that he is not a politician.

LEMON: Well, kind of not a politician. He is running. But let's look at -- let's put the poll up, all right, Sara. In this new CNN poll, Trump says -- stays -- excuse me -- on top with 29 percent. Rubio now takes the second spot with 18 percent. Has Trump been turning up the heat on Rubio at his campaign events, who's he targeting?

MURRAY: It was just the opposite here in New Hampshire tonight. He actually didn't really talk about his opponents at all. There was really no mention of Ted Cruz. There was really no mention of Marco Rubio. And when I talked to some voters afterwards they said that what they thought Donald Trump should do in these last couple of days before the primary is take the high road.

So, maybe Donald Trump is taking some of that advice, maybe he feels like because he has such a wide lead here, he doesn't have to be quite as nasty toward his opponents or, you know, it's Donald Trump. Maybe he'll wake up tomorrow and decided that it's time to go after Marco Rubio. He is definitely unpredictable.

LEMON: Yes. You can say that for sure. So, he is leading but there is a big red flag, 37 percent of likely republican voters there say they would never vote for him. Second is Cruz at 13, 7 percent say that they'd never vote for Jeb Bush. How worried is the Trump team about his negatives?

MURRAY: I don't think they are overtly worried about it. In part, because they've always on a high number of voters who say that they will never vote for Donald Trump. And the campaign at least nationally has done a good job of driving those numbers down.

I think the one cautionary tale is that when up looked at Iowa, people who made their decisions late, did not made their decisions for Donald Trump. And so, that's going to be the challenge for the campaign here in New Hampshire.

Because if you have a lot of undecided this campaign needs to get in and they need to convince them to get comfortable with Trump, that Trump could be president that the, you know, the bombastic guy they see on the campaign trail might not be the same guy who's negotiating in office. And I think that's the challenge they have in this last couple of days.

LEMON: Yes. I think you have some Trump supporters behind you with the sign there. So, backing up everything that you're reporting about Donald Trump.

But let's move on. Let's talk about the democrats now. Sanders' lead is 61 percent to Hillary Clinton's 30 percent. That is a pretty big divide, Sara. Can she close this gap? I mean, what are people saying?

MURRAY: Well, I think it's going to be really tough for Hillary Clinton to close this gap. In part, because we're in a state that is neighboring Vermont, of course, that's Bernie Sanders' territory. And I think they seems like an area that's much friendlier to him.

And in fact, when we go to these Trump events in New Hampshire, we talked to a lot of people, especially young people, who are divided between Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. So, there is an independent streak in this state that just really speaks to a Bernie Sanders candidacy.

[22:59:57] I think the other problem for Hillary Clinton here is that we're looking at a smaller number of democrats who have not made up their mind. So, it's more than 60 percent here who are already locked in on their choice.

So, it's going to be a tough road for Clinton and, you know, she'll try to close the gap a little, but that's a very, very wide margin.

LEMON: All right. Sara Murray, thank you very much. We appreciate that.

Let's discuss all of this now with Paul Steinhauser. He's a political director and anchor at New Hampshire One News. I think it's fair to say this is his Super Bowl right now. Just five days away to the primary and this race seems to be tightening up, Paul. What are people saying in New Hampshire?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, POLITICAL DIRECTOR & NEW HAMPSHIRE ONE NEWS ANCHOR: You're absolutely right. The race is tightening up. It's getting even more interesting on the republican side right now, Don. You were just talking with Sara about this.

You know, I talk to -- last time I talked to you, I think it was on Tuesday night I was the first reporter to talk to Donald Trump when he came back here. I sensed right away he was much more humble, much less, as he would braggadocios. And Sara was just reporting and Dana Bash earlier today you're seeing that play out on the campaign trail here.

And also, Donald Trump, maybe he called it in a little bit in Iowa, not calling it in here in Iowa -- in New Hampshire at all. Increasing the number of campaign events all week. And we're going to see him do a bunch more this weekend. Donald Trump realizes he can't afford two losses. Maybe one was OK, but not in this state where he was a clear frontrunner dating back to July.

LEMON: Yes. He's having to work for this one, Paul. There are still a lot of undecided voters as well in our poll. Take a look at this. Do you think it's going to go down to the wire, this one?

STEINHAUSER: Well, New Hampshire voters, the Granite State are traditionally makes up their minds later. They like to see the candidates as many times as possible. Some are still going to the events this weekend.

But let's be honest. The race here in New Hampshire even though maybe Donald Trump's numbers have slipped a tiny bit, it's still a battle for second place. Marco Rubio definitely getting that boost out of Iowa. His numbers in your poll and others have gone up this week.

Ted Cruz not that far behind, John Kasich and Jeb Bush, two governors who have been spending a lot of time here. You know, look at the sampling here, it's pretty much a battle for second and third places right now. And for guys like Kasich, Bush and especially Chris Christie, you need a strong finish here. If not, it's going to be tough, then we'll move on to South Carolina, Don.

LEMON: Second and third place is that, I mean, does -- I think it's -- someone I heard someone say it's a battle between from second to fifth. So, what are voters there looking for if that is indeed true?

STEINHAUSER: Yes. It could. You may -- there may be a four or five tickets out of here. There may be three, we'll find out I guess on Wednesday. What are voters are looking for here? They are looking for the same thing that voters all across the nation are looking for.

They want people who are going to keep the country safe. Safe from terrorism. They want people who are going to make sure their pocketbooks are OK. These are the big issues here. You know, we're no different than anywhere else in the country. Of course, there are some issues that are specific to New Hampshire, the heroin epidemic, which is another places is pretty acute in this state. The candidates have all been speaking about that a lot both the democratic and republican candidates for months now, Don.

LEMON: Yes. I've been talking about this heroin epidemic for a number of years here on CNN and it gets serious, more serious by the minute. You know, and speaking of what voters want, I'm sure you saw the CNN democratic town hall last night. The questions from the audience were very direct, very good questions, they were detailed. So, who do you think connected best with the voters, Paul?

STEINHAUSER: At a tier town hall forum last night, I got to be honest, I'm going to make this one a draw. I don't you don't you don't want to hear that. I think Bernie Sanders made some strong points, I think Hillary Clinton made some strong points. I also think your forum was a great, I guess, preview or setup for tonight's presidential debate because it really showed some of the weaknesses as well in both of those candidates, Don.

LEMON: You know, Hillary Clinton has to gain so much ground there to win or even, you know, come -- make a good showing. Is that still possible at this stage, Paul?

STEINHAUSER: Your poll has her down almost 2 to 1. Other polls have her down by double digits but not that much. If you average it all together, maybe she's down 20. That's a lot and she really can't afford to lose by double digits here.

So, she has an extremely strong ground game in this state. This used to be Hillary Clinton country about a year ago. It was Hillary Clinton country really until this summer when Bernie Sanders started catching on fire here. She can do it. She can at least cope, yes.

Maybe she can get it closer at least down to a single-digit loss. You know, if you're down 30 points or 20 points it's a lot of ground to make up. But, yes, she does have a strong staff, a lot volunteers in the state, Don.

LEMON: So, we saw the polls in Iowa were wrong, they were off. I mean, could they be off there in New Hampshire, could it actually be chosen between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton?

STEINHAUSER: (AUDIO GAP) It was eight years ago that Barack Obama (AUDIO GAP) and Senator Obama was up by about 10 or 11 points here. Guess what, Hillary Clinton, she won by four points this 2008. So, yes, anything is possible. We saw the polls a little off in Iowa that they could definitely be off here too.

The only poll that matters of course is Tuesday night on primary night. And you know, I was talking today with Senators Cruz and Rubio on the republican side. They're not taking anything for granted either. Their ground games, their operations, are in full swing here obviously. Because they look at the polls but they realize that polls can be wrong, Don.

LEMON: Paul Steinhauser, always a pleasure. Thank you, sir.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders going head to head tonight in New Hampshire, we have got all the fireworks for you.

[22:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: With just five days to go till the New Hampshire primary, the GOP candidates are doubling down. And joining me now to discuss this is republican strategist, Lauren Claffey and Kayleigh McEnany; also Kellyanne Conway, president of Keep the Promise One PAC, a super PAC supporting Ted Cruz.

Great to have all of you. Kayleigh, I'm going to start with you. What's your take on Trump's new strategy in New Hampshire? Some smaller events, less attacks, and he's actually going to his campaign headquarters and doing some meet and greets.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON: You know, it's really smart, Don, because as we saw in Iowa it was a close enough race. Cruz and Trump were separated by just 6,000 votes and you've got to ask yourself, you know, if Trump would have put in the ground effort and he -- I would argue yet, he had half of what Cruz have in terms of the ground game. If he would have put in that effort, could he have closed that gap? I think he could have.

So, to bolster what he currently has in New Hampshire, which is an astonishing lead, you know, the CNN poll shows him up by 11 points, to bolster that with the ground game, I think he's going to be unstoppable.

LEMON: Do you think the Trump attacks against Cruz were inadvertently elevating Cruz status, Kayleigh?

[22:40:01] MCENANY: You know, here's the thing. You know, I'm for Donald Trump when he goes after people it's oftentimes very legitimate. But in terms of the cheating accusations, you know, you've just got to move forward. I think his biggest threat is Rubio and to go after Cruz who came out and apologize that it was wrong with the Cruz campaign did.

But I don't think that the attacks are going to get very far time to pivot. Look at New Hampshire, look at Rubio. The past is the past, Cruz apologized.

LEMON: He said as much Donald Trump did in the interview with Anderson Cooper. So, Kellyanne, Trump might be changing his tactics. But it's not stopping Ted Cruz from hitting Trump with a new web ad using comments from former President Carter yesterday. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: If I had a choice between Cruz and Trump, I think I would choose Trump. The reason is that Trump has proven already that he's completely malleable. I don't think he has any fixed opinions that he would really go to -- to the White House and fight for. On the other hand, Ted Cruz is not malleable. He has far right-wing policies in my opinion that would be pursued aggressively if and when he might become president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Kellyanne, it would be interesting to hear the question and the context of, you know, where that answer came from, because he's not necessarily saying he's supporting -- he may have been asked, who do you like better between the two. But Ted Cruz is now using that line of attack on the stump. Will these attacks really stick with New Hampshire voters?

KELLYANNE CONWAY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I don't at that as an attack. I look at it as an endorsement for Ted Cruz. In other words, Jimmy Carter, of all people, a failed democratic president from the 1970's who Ronald Reagan went on to beat.

A two-term president, a hero to conservatives including Ted Cruz. Don, he's using that by saying, look who support -- look who support Donald Trump. And look, why he says because Trump could be manipulated, he's malleable. Use Jimmy Carter's words. So, the base would love that. The base will love that.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: But, Kellyanne, again, hang on, before you finish. But not necessarily saying that he's supporting Donald Trump.

CONWAY: It doesn't matter.

LEMON: The question could have been between the two, who do you think is more -- and more acceptable candidate. He could have said I support Hillary Clinton. I support Bernie Sanders. But between those two guys the one that scares me the most is Ted Cruz.

CONWAY: And guess who also that? Bob Dole, who had said that. Trent Lott had said that, the sitting governor of Iowa, a five-term governor, the republican governor going out and telling Iowa voters vote against Ted Cruz and then laughing when he thought in his bogus polls that Ted was actually declining.

So, he's got, look, Cruz has the entire establishment against him, the ethanol industry, the sitting governor of Iowa. And this ad I just think it's a clever attempt to show that even democratic former presidents believe that Donald Trump will be malleable and open to other people's you know...

(CROSSTALK)

MCENANY: You're putting stack in Jimmy Carter's words now. I mean, that's ridiculous.

CONWAY: No, you're not. Nobody is doing that here. Excuse me. You're just taking what he said on camera and you're saying to the base, look, Donald Trump is malleable, Ted Cruz is not malleable.

LEMON: Yes. OK. Lauren, New Hampshire has a lot of independent voters. Are they going to want someone who will try to find some common ground? Because they're saying, you know, not malleable, people may read as, no one will compromise, he won't compromise. He won't work with the other side.

LAUREN CLAFFEY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, I think it's a little bit of a risky strategy. New Hampshire is known for more moderate positions, right? And a lot of people are not going to decide. We've got five days left. A lot of people are not going to decide which way they're going to go until the very end.

So, on one end, I think it's generally a good communication strategy to always embrace your criticism and spin them and make them your own. But this might prove risky for this particular audience in New Hampshire.

LEMON: So, listen, Kayleigh, in this interview, Anderson Cooper asked Donald Trump is, you know, is compromise a dirty word? How does it become a dirty word compromising and working together for the good of the American people. So, what do you say to that in terms -- in reference to this whole Jimmy Carter thing?

MCENANY: You know, here's the thing. Compromise is good when you don't compromise on your values. And so, Donald Trump he does have this magnificent power to bargain and to make deals and that's a really good thing. Because at the end of the day you need a legislature to work with you to get anything done.

But here's the problem. When we see the GOP establishment compromising on principle, Donald Trump has set the stakes here on immigration on everything. He has set the stakes so high that he's moved the entire field right. So, a Donald Trump compromise looks very different than a John Boehner or Mitch Connell compromise. His compromise is in the end conservative and populous. It's not a compromise that's a compromise on values.

LEMON: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, face-to-taste tonight debate in New Hampshire. We're got all the fireworks, coming up.

[22:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I think it's fair to say that Jeb Bush -- I think it's fair to say that Jeb Bush is rolling out the big guns in the campaign, his mom and his big brother, George W. Bush.

Back with me now is Lauren Claffey, Kayleigh McEnany, and Kellyanne Conway. So, first to you, Lauren, a former first lady Barbara Bush joins her son, Jeb, out on the trail tonight. She's a popular lady. People love her. Was it a mistake to wait so long to bring her out in the trail do you think?

CLAFFEY: No. I think that he never thought that he was really going to win in Iowa. Jeb Bush's campaign is not been playing in Iowa. They haven't spent too much money there compared to the state. And so, they are executing their strategy now. They're bringing out the Bush's.

George Bush with his ad, Barbara Bush out on the campaign trail with him because they're looking to New Hampshire, they're looking to Iowa, places where the Bush family is still very popular among republicans that are going to voting in those states. And so, it sounds like they're doing just the right thing just the right time.

LEMON: I want you guys to look at this, because that ad that you mention is a pro-Jeb super PAC also out with a brand new TV that you mention at least today featuring his brother, the former president. Watch this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The first job of the president is to protect America. Our next president must be prepared to lead. I know Jeb. I know his good heart and his strong back bone. Jeb will unite our country. He knows how to bring the world together against terror. And he know when is tough measure must be taken. Experience and judgment count in the Oval Office. Jeb Bush is a leader who will keep our country safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeb Bush, Right to Rise USA is responsible for the content of this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:49:59] LEMON: All right. So, Kellyanne, this is for you. It's the former president his first TV advertisement appearance for 2016, given that Jeb has struggled with his last name, he doesn't even use it, it's just Jeb with an exclamation point, he hasn't use it in this campaign. What do you think, will it help?

CONWAY: I think it will help. And it could help in New Hampshire and it could actually help in South Carolina a little built, Don, because as was pointed out earlier, the Bush name is popular in many republican circles. It certainly has some poison attached to it with the democrats and moderate voters who didn't particularly like the former administrations.

But, look, I mean, as conservative who doesn't support Jeb for president, I think I join millions of republicans who have deep affection and deep gratitude toward the Bush family, particularly George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Bush, now in their 90's or close to it...

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: So, why did it take so long then because, you know -- yes.

CONWAY: Oh, that's a great question. I think it's a great question. And why, Don, I think people will ask the question, why has Right to Rise, the Jeb Bush super PAC done nothing to really leverage the Bush family, the first -- the first lady and the former presidents, George Bush's, and why they have spent all this money attacking Marco Rubio?

But I think Jeb Bush is going to be under enormous pressure if he doesn't score well, place well in New Hampshire to drop out of the race and I actually think he'll resist those calls, go to South Carolina and see how this all plays out.