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Hala Gorani Tonight

Obama: We Must Admit We Have A Problem; Carly Fiorina Suspends Presidential Campaign; Trump, Kasich Get Big Boost From New Hampshire; Clinton Struggles To Appeal To Young Voters. Carly Fiorina Drops Out of the Race; John Kasich's Strong Finish in NH; Cruz Versus Rubio; Hundreds Killed Amid Battle in Aleppo Province; Brazil's Battle with Zika Virus. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 10, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

(PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S SPEECH)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us here. We have been watching the president of the United States in his old stomping grounds. This is

Springfield, Illinois. This is the place he chose. He just invoked Abraham Lincoln has he has many times before.

That is the place where Abraham Lincoln gave his famous house divided speech on the steps of the state capital and that is precisely where then

Senator Barack Obama chose nine years ago to tell the country he would be running for president.

He has chosen this day nine years later really to give an address on the state of politics, the state of the presidency. Invoking a lot of humor

and candor, but also criticism of both parties here, talking specifically about how he says the democracy in this country seems stuck.

And said one of the things he couldn't do, couldn't accomplish, which isn't new problem, he could not reduce the polarization and meanness in our

politics.

[15:05:03]Let's bring in CNN chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, and CNN senior political analyst

and former presidential adviser, David Gergen.

So much to chew on. David Gergen, I'm turning to you first, I defer to you. What did you think?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Brooke, I awfully glad he gave the speech. It's an important subject of the polarization and

dysfunctionality of the broken nature of our politics. I think he spoke eloquently especially at the end as he talk of Lincoln and a House divided.

The president knows full well this will not go down smoothly with everyone, but those who would rise to celebrate as the Democrats did in the chamber.

But there are many Republicans that will argue you didn't practice what you preached last few years, you never really talk to us. You never

compromised with us.

What did we wind up with? We wind up with Obamacare not getting a single Republican vote. We had the Iranian nuclear agreement, not a single

Republican vote. Two single accomplishments Democrats would say of his presidency. Still being argued on the trail.

I was surprised the president didn't take the forceful rejection of American political elite that voters were given votes to. It seems to me

it was written -- pre-New Hampshire.

Yes, he didn't have that sense, but overall, thank goodness he did the speech. I wish he'd tell us now what concretely he'd like to see us do and

how about leaving a charge.

BALDWIN: He had several solutions there at the end. Gloria, to you, I was also listening closely in the first couple minutes, he did jab I think at

the Republicans talking about listen, we shouldn't be calling people fascist and losers before he pivoted back to talk about some of the points

he wanted to make. What did you think?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I also think -- and David's right, while he didn't mention anything about last night, he had

that reference to losers. He also made it very clear that he called himself a progressive, which is something we didn't hear from him when he

first ran for the presidency.

Now he's being criticized from Democrats and independents for not being liberal enough, right? And he said, you know, I'm a progressive, this is

what I believe.

And I think he gave Hillary Clinton something to hang on because as she heads into South Carolina and she draws Barack Obama ever closer because he

is her greatest ally although he's not out there on the trail for her.

As she hugs him closer in South Carolina, she can say that she endorses Barack Obama's progressive policies while Bernie Sanders did not in many

instances. I think he gave her a bit of hook there.

BALDWIN: I was thinking the same thing, Jay, on that. He almost seemed to me like he was defining he believes a Democrat is, or at least he as Barack

Obama is a Democrat, is a progressive. Talks about just because I can find common ground doesn't make me a sellout to my own party. What did you make

of that whole threat?

JAY CARNEY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think it's what has been the history of his administration and the efforts that he undertook to try

to get things done with Republicans often without success on deficit reduction and the grand compromise around the fiscal situation and

immigration reform.

That any time the president put something forward, no matter how moderate it had been prior to his putting his name on it, it became toxic for

Republicans politically for them to embrace it.

I think that one thing that was very important that he made clear in the speech today is that, you know, we have gotten to where we are today

because of the actions of members of both parties.

And that Democrats aren't pure on this and Republicans aren't pure on this. I guess by -- my regret about the speech today is that the concrete actions

he talked about we need -- that we need to take, especially political reform around our gerrymandering, I wish he had given that speech a number

of years ago.

It's very hard to get people excited about political reform. Everybody is for it in theory, but very few people vote on it. The way we draw our

districts is the most corrosive, direct, negative influence on our politics in Washington. More than money, more than anything else. If we could fix

that, we could fix a lot.

BALDWIN: Jay, let me stay with and just also to underscore your point, the districts being drawn. He says the debates are moving too far to the right

when really the people are in the middle. They should go back to the middle and also saying the modernization of American voting.

But staying with you, you know, the point that Gloria was making about how we've seen Hillary Clinton on the trail bear hugging the president, I'm

curious at what point along all these springtime primaries do you think we'll officially see the bear hug back from the president, that official

endorsement? When?

CARNEY: I think the president has signaled while still remaining neutral that he supports Secretary Clinton's candidacy and would prefer to see her

as the nominee.

[15:10:09]He won't officially embrace her until and unless it's clear she's going to be the nominee. I think, you know, he's maintaining that

tradition of not intervening in a party primary.

But I don't think there's any doubt that he wants Hillary to win the nomination and believes that she would be the best candidate in the fall

and the most effective as president in carrying forward what he's achieved.

BALDWIN: All right. Jay Carney, thank you very much. Gloria, let me ask you and David Gergen to standby. We're just getting some breaking news

here in the wake of this New Hampshire primary.

I can now officially tell everyone that Carly Fiorina is officially dropping out of this race. She just made this announcement here on

Facebook.

And apparently she has a very specific message to young women which is, I'm reading her note now, "To young girls and women across the country, I say

do not let others define you, do not listen to anyone who says you have to vote a certain way or for a certain candidate because you're a woman. That

is not feminism."

Gloria Borger, and I have David Chalian joining me now. Actually, let's go to David Chalian first. David, if you want to weigh in on more of what

you're hearing from the Fiorina camp.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, clearly --

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: All right, welcome to our viewers around the world. Sorry for the delayed start here. As you heard my

colleague, Brooke Baldwin, there mention, Carly Fiorina, the Republican presidential candidate, officially saying she is suspending her campaign.

She barely registered on the Richter scale in the New Hampshire primary. Not doing as well as she'd hope certainly. "Today, I'm suspending my

campaign." Her full statement can be read on Facebook there.

This is the only female candidate apart from Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton who had a rather disappointing New Hampshire primary coming in to

Bernie Sanders 60 percent at less than 40 percent.

Of course, this is less than one day after those big wins for Bernie Sanders, but also for Donald Trump in New Hampshire. The U.S. presidential

race now is already looking to the south.

The Republican candidates are fanning out across South Carolina holding multiple events today. They are set to fight it out in that state's

Republican primary on February 20th. You're seeing there the candidates really work hard for every single vote.

Donald Trump says he's feeling confident about his chances. Bernie Sanders is looking for a fundraising boost after New Hampshire. Sanders may

struggle, though, to maintain his momentum in the south.

However, he did beat Hillary Clinton hands down in New Hampshire. You see the numbers there. These are the final numbers, by the way. Both

candidates say they look forward to fighting on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is just too late for the same old same old establishment politics and establishment economics. The

people want real change.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's what we're going to do. Now we take this campaign to the entire country. We're going to fight

for every vote in every state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, there you have it. Now, on the Republican side, Donald Trump finally got the win he was looking for in New Hampshire and the rest

of the field got a major shakeup.

First of all, Marco Rubio, in New Hampshire, he struggled for support after a disappointing performance at a debate on Saturday. It was even a

surprise second place finisher, and that is John Kasich.

Here's CNN's Sara Murray with the wrap-up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: New Hampshire, I want to thank you. We love you. We're going to be back a lot. We're not going to

forget you. You started it.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): Donald Trump exhilarated after crushing his GOP rivals by more than 50,000 votes.

TRUMP: We are going to make America so great again. Maybe greater than ever before.

MURRAY: Boasting amid record Republican turnout about how he pulled off his big win after a disappointing loss in Iowa.

TRUMP: I think the ground game was very strong. I'll tell you we really focused on it after Iowa. The ground game was not something I was

extremely familiar with, but I learned quickly.

MURRAY: The other big winner of the night, second place finisher, Ohio Governor John Kasich.

GOVERNOR JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you don't have a seat belt, go get one.

MURRAY: Kasich taking pride in running a positive campaign in a field of sharp elbows.

KASICH: Tonight, the light overcame the darkness of negative campaigning.

MURRAY: Meanwhile, the winner of the Iowa caucuses, Ted Cruz, in a dead heat for third with Jeb Bush.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This campaign is not dead. We're going onto South Carolina.

MURRAY: As Marco Rubio suffered a bruising fifth place finish.

SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know many people disappointed. I'm disappointed with tonight --

MURRAY: Even admitting his rocky debate performance was likely to blame.

RUBIO: Our disappointment tonight is not on you. It's on me. It's on me. I did not -- I did not do well on Saturday night, so listen to this. That

will never happen again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Marco Rubio promising that he will not have another bad debate performance. That was CNN's Sara Murray reporting. Both the Trump and

Kasich campaigns are gaining major momentum from those New Hampshire results.

Let's bring in CNN's Victor Blackwell. He's with the Jeb Bush campaign today in Bluffton, South Carolina. Victor, first of all, I want to start

by asking you about Trump.

I mean, he is clearly leading the pack, 35 percent of the vote. And all the three candidates who are coming in in second, third, and fourth

position all really splitting the vote. What's next for Donald Trump?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for Donald Trump, he believes he has a strong narrative here in South Carolina for the two major voting

blocks here. Those who consider themselves to be Christian conservatives, Evangelicals here across the state of South Carolina.

A national in-state number show Donald Trump does very well with Evangelicals. Also to the military, those who value the military and the

treatment of vets is important here in South Carolina.

Listen, there are more than a half dozen military bases here. The military college, the Citadel is in Charleston, South Carolina. He is trusted by a

large margin according to polls to do best and take care of military families and vets by the GOP primary electorate.

So he believes that he has a strong narrative. Of course, he is head to head to Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, who is sharing right now that outsider

lane. They will fight it out here for those Evangelicals especially across South Carolina.

GORANI: All right, let's get back to the Carly Fiorina announcement that she's dropping out of the race. There are also reports that we have not

confirmed that perhaps even Chris Christie is considering suspending his campaign. How is that going to change the race?

BLACKWELL: Well, as it relates to Carly Fiorina first, look, this is again the fight for being the outsider. Early on from that very first debate,

she showed some strength, but her numbers started to trail off after that.

And as she got into New Hampshire was not allowed in the most recent debate and she came in seventh place. There wasn't the math there for a path to

the nomination.

For Chris Christie, he was hoping to do of course much better after that strong showing in the debate in New Hampshire to win the governor's primary

inside the primary. He came in sixth place after Marco Rubio.

Again after working so hard in New Hampshire, there just didn't seem to be the math there. He's huddling with his advisors quite possibly getting out

of the race. Again, still waiting for confirmation on his future.

GORANI: All right, we'll hopefully hear from the Christie campaign today. But this -- I mean, a big field favors Trump, right? Because all the

rivals will split up what remains of the vote. Presumably if he has fewer rivals, that's going to put more pressure on Donald Trump to perform. Is

that fair analysis here?

BLACKWELL: Yes, that's a correct analysis. The campaigns of those establishment candidates, we're talking Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Jeb Bush,

they believe that one of them will be the anti-Trump, the last traditional candidate standing.

Jeb Bush believes in this state that he has the strength to be able to run a course well here. He has four offices across the state, 20 staffers.

He believes that Rubio was proven not to be prepared and John Kasich had a one-state strategy, doing well in New Hampshire but won't be able to

compete here.

The Bush campaign very confident they'll do well in South Carolina on February 20th.

GORANI: All right, David Chalian joins me now from Washington, was this expected, Carly Fiorina dropping out? I mean, she did have quite a poor

performance in New Hampshire.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, I mean, I think if you look at Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson, those three candidates, I

think it would be hard to say that if any of them decided to drop that it would be unexpected.

So in that sense that she had not a stellar performance in Iowa or New Hampshire, it's not a huge surprise. But you know there was talk that

maybe she was going to ride out the remaining contests in February, South Carolina and Nevada, but clearly, she decided not to do that.

Listen, it would have been a big struggle for her to continue to raise any kind of money to keep full organization of staff together when it was clear

there was no path for her to the nomination.

You see in her own statement today, she has no intention of leaving the public square and remaining silent for the rest of this election. She

clearly is going to look to continue to have her voice out there.

I think that she will likely be a surrogate for whoever the Republican nominee ends up being as a woman who if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic

nominee, really feels comfortable taking the case to Hilary Clinton directly as to why she thinks she should not be president.

[15:20:13]So that's been the thrust of her entire campaign this year. And I would imagine that's going to continue even though her campaign ends

today.

GORANI: What happened with Marco Rubio? He did so well in Iowa. He did better than expected and he hasn't even picked up a single delegate in New

Hampshire. What's going on there? I mean, can he recover?

CHALIAN: I think we tend to overblow sort of momentum and meltdown in the press a bit. He finished third in Iowa. That means Ted Cruz and Donald

Trump both finished ahead of him. Yes, he got the bronze medal, but then there was the sense he was building up steam in New Hampshire and had some

momentum.

He obviously had a terrible debate performance there on Saturday night. He himself admits he dropped the ball there. Now he comes in, you know, low

down on the totem pole in New Hampshire. He was on board his plane with reporters today on the way to South Carolina.

Spent about 45 minutes with them answering every question saying that they were clearly going to try to regroup here, pick up the pieces and move

forward.

I think it's far too early to call Rubio sort of dead in the water. I think he's going to fight his way through South Carolina, Nevada and into

March.

GORANI: One last question to you Victor Blackwell, John Kasich coming in second. We know he campaigned a lot in New Hampshire. He practically

skipped Iowa, but coming in second, that's got to infuse his campaign with a bit of energy here.

BLACKWELL: A lot of energy and very likely a lot of resources using that to hopefully boost up his fundraising as the other campaigns are saying

that John Kasich, 106 town halls in New Hampshire. Yes, that likely is responsible for his second place finish.

But it does not seem to have the infrastructure across South Carolina. He'll have to have a strong debate performance on Saturday to carry himself

and carry on that narrative as the primary launches on the 20th.

GORANI: All right, Victor Blackwell, thanks very much. David Chalian joining us from Washington. Thanks to you both.

Breaking news, Carly Fiorina suspending her campaign. Waiting on word perhaps from the Chris Christie campaign that he too is suspending his

campaign though that is not confirmed. Reports out there suggesting he might be pulling the plug today. We'll keep you updated.

That's the Republican side. On the Democratic side, Hilary Clinton strength with African-American voters should give her a boost in South

Carolina as we look forward.

One man who's trying to raise his profile though within that community, not doing so well with African-Americans is Bernie Sanders. He met with

Reverend Al Sharpton today. You see that footage there in New York.

While Sanders looks to appeal no minority voters, he already enjoys solid support among young Americans. These are remarkable numbers.

The New Hampshire exit poll showing Sanders with the strongest support among those aged 18 to 29, 83 percent of voters on the Democratic side who

voted in this primary vote voted for Sanders, those aged between 18 and 29.

Clinton's strongest support is with voters age 65 and over. Let's get more with Maria Cardona. She's a Democratic strategist and a former senior

advisor to Hillary Clinton in 2008. Thanks very much. Good seeing you again.

CARDONA: You too.

GORANI: Let me ask you about this generational divide. This has got to be troubling for Hillary Clinton that more than 80 percent of voters aged 18

to 29 choose Bernie Sanders over her in New Hampshire. What's going on there?

MARIA CARDONA, FORMER SENIOR HILLARY CLINTON ADVISER: Sure it is. This is something that she has addressed publicly. She has talked about how she's

going to move forward with a very positive message on how to bring younger voters in.

She's also said, look, even if they don't support her, she's going to be working on their behalf. I think that is where her message is the

strongest.

There is no one in politics that has gone through the grinder the way that Hilary Clinton has and her true grit was forged in the heat of these kinds

of battles in terms of working for middle class families, working for single moms, working for kids, working for disadvantaged, working in

minority communities for more than four decades.

Those are the kinds of messages that she is going to be talking about as we move into much more diverse states that have a much more favorable playing

field for her.

The demography is much more representative of what this country looks like, and it focuses on the kinds of things that she has been doing for the past

four decades.

GORANI: It's not just a racial issue or even a generational one. It's also gender based. We have more women supporting Bernie Sanders than

Hillary Clinton. And Hillary Clinton is the first to say, I am the first female with viable shot at the presidency.

[15:25:04]Essentially, this makes me the maverick. This makes me the outsider. But many young women are saying, I'm just not buying that. I

think Sanders speaks for me. What's going on there?

CARDONA: You know, ironically, all of those years of work that Hillary Clinton and other iconic ground-breaking glass-ceiling breaking women have

worked so hard for is the product of these young women because they feel like we're there, they feel like -- you know, nothing else needs to be

proven.

I think the issue for Hillary Clinton and the message that she's going to be putting forward is that's not really what this is about. This is about

moving forward with a message of working together to make sure that this economy works for everybody.

To make sure that young people get out of college debt-free. To make sure that women can go into the workplace and be confident that they're paying

as much as their male colleagues are getting paid.

And so, yes, it is an issue. She understands that she has a lot of work to do. But I think she believes her message when she focuses on bringing

people together and making sure these young women are part of the movement, which does need to continue because it's not all finished --

GORANI: I was going to say, right now, they're not -- they're not buying that right now. I wonder if the issue here is more ideological almost than

it is practical in the sense that when Bernie Sanders speaks, he speaks in passionate terms about revolutionary change.

CARDONA: Sure, yes.

GORANI: This is what so many in the Democratic Party don't feel like they're getting with Hillary Clinton. They're feeling she's going to work

within the system, it's going to be incremental and she's part of the old guard, you know. So that's a big challenge for her.

CARDONA: I think that's right. But I also think we need to be realistic about what the New Hampshire electorate was. It was much more liberal than

what New Hampshire as a state normally is. She won women in Iowa. Yes, she still has an issue with younger women.

But women as a whole across the country in all of these states, especially the upcoming states, she does much better with. Minority women support her

in greater margins than what they support Bernie Sanders at the moment.

She has got to roll up her sleeves and work hard at making sure that her message is resonating across all genders, across all age groups, across all

communities. She's going to work hard to make sure that happens.

GORANI: One last question. Trump, Trump who's leading, who's finally won -- he won New Hampshire. He's basically saying, I would easily beat Hilary

Clinton in a general election. Everybody discounted him last year. People were laughing when he said he was going to make it to the very end and win

primaries, et cetera. What's to say this can't happen?

CARDONA: Well, I think that the way that Democrats need to approach this is that this is not going to be a slam dunk no matter who the Republican

nominee is. And I think at the end of the day, Hilary Clinton will end up being the Democratic nominee.

But as we also know, she is probably the Republican's favorite target because I think they are worried about running against her and they're

going to be throwing everything at her the way they have been for the last three decades.

So I think that we cannot take anything for granted. That even though a lot of Democrats say, if Hillary runs against Donald Trump, she'll sweep

the floor with him. I don't think we can count on that.

We have to make sure that our message continues to resonate not just with Democrats around the country, but with all of those independents that

Donald Trump's message is resonating with. We have a challenge ahead of us. We can't leap on our laurels, if you will and take anything for

granted.

GORANI: Right. I don't think anyone can at this stage. The campaign is full of surprises. Maria Cardona, thanks so much for joining us. We

really appreciate your time.

CARDONA: Thank you so much, Hala. Great to see you.

GORANI: Coming up on THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, who is John Kasich, the Ohio governor finished second behind Donald Trump in the Republican presidential

primary in New Hampshire. Now he's setting his sights on South Carolina. Does he have a chance there? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:38]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

GORANI: Welcome back, a quick look at our top stories.

Breaking news on the heels of another huge loss in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Carly Fiorina has dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination. Chris Christie is also widely expected to exit the campaign

today.

Also among the top stories we're following, recent violence around the Syrian city of Aleppo has reportedly killed at least 500 people mainly

through aerial bombardments.

That's according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Government forces backed by Russian air power have been advancing and pounding rebel

controlled areas causing mass casualties.

And French lawmakers have voted in favor of a controversial package of reforms to change the constitution.

The package would strip people of their nationality if they are convicted of terrorism. It also enshrined a state of emergency in the constitution.

The bill now moves onto the French senate for approval.

And also the satellite North Korea launched over the weekend sparking international outrage is tumbling in orbit.

A U.S. official tells CNN that it is more than likely too broken to work properly in space. Japan has announced new sanctions against North Korea in

response to the rocket launch.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

GORANI: All right. Back now to U.S. politics. Republican candidate John Kasich came in a surprising second place in New Hampshire's primary behind

Donald Trump. Didn't register at all in Iowa, but it was a stellar performance for him in New Hampshire. And now the Ohio governor is using

the win to fuel a campaign in South Carolina. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: John Kasich's relentless campaigning in New Hampshire paid off.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tonight, the light overcame the darkness of negative campaigning.

GORANI: Coming in second to Donald Trump after a dismal performance in Iowa.

KASICH: And you made it happen.

GORANI: The Ohio governor dedicated most of his early campaign time and resources to New Hampshire making 186 stops there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here he is, Governor John Kasich.

GORANI: Many of them were in small town halls rather than the bombastic rallies favored by Trump, a sign of his more measured approach to politics

which has earned him the title of moderate within the Republican Party.

[15:35:12]

GORANIL: Kasich is a veteran politician serving his second term as Governor of Ohio, a large and powerful swing state in America. Before that, he spent

18 years in congress where he built a reputation for working with Democrats. Including a deal with President Clinton to ban assault weapons

in 1994.

After an aborted White House run in 2000, Kasich worked briefly as a host on Fox News.

Kasich's current campaign plays up his rough childhood in Pittsburg. Although raised catholic, religion has not played heavily into his

rhetoric, unlike other candidates.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I brought my bible. See?

GORANI: Kasich has a comparatively moderate stance on other social issues too, such as gay marriage, immigration, and health saying he would keep

some parts of Obama care. One of Kasich's main promises is to eliminate America's national debt citing his own record in balancing budgets as

governor and congressman. As President he also says he'll send ground troops into Syria and Iraq to deal with ISIS.

KASICH: At some point it will require boots on the grouped from the world to be able to deal with this problem. And I would rather deal with it

sooner than later.

GORANI: Facing outspoken, more religious and conservative opponents, Kasich could find America's southern states a lot tougher to crack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: And as we reported earlier this hour, the Republican field has become a little bit less crowded. Carly Fiorina has suspended her

presidential bid. Let's talk more about the GOP race going forward. I'm joined from Washington by Matt Schlapp, he's the former political director

for President George W. Bush, and the chair of the American Conservative Union. Matt, thanks for being with us.

MATT SCHLAPP, FORMER POLITICAL DIRECTOR TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Great to be with you.

GORANI: First reaction to the Carly Fiorina - reaction to Carly Fiorina suspending her campaign. She got 4% of the vote in New Hampshire yesterday.

What do you make of it?

SCHLAPP: You know, she's a friend of mine. She is a great voice for conservatism and for the Republican Party.

I think she waged an honorable campaign. I think she has a very bright future. I'm very proud of what she's done and I'm sorry that she is exiting

the race, but I think she's been a big impact.

GORANI: And potentially, I mean, you know, people are already starting to say, well, look, Carly Fiorina suspended her campaign but she says she'll

still continue to fight and crisscross the country. Could it be potentially a candidate that would make sense on a picket as a Vice Presidential

candidate?

SCHLAPP: Look, absolutely. I mean clearly, the Democrats look like they might very well nominate a woman; Hillary Clinton. And I think it would be,

you know -- it would be great if our party would embrace this idea that we have wonderfully competent women as governors, as congress women, as

senators and as business leaders who could be on the ticket as well and I think Carly should be at the very tippy top of that list.

GORANI: OK. Let's talk a little bit about Trump now. And yet again another spat on twitter with name calling "The New York Daily News," let me first

show our international viewers around the world, so many Americans watching as well, but perhaps they don't get to walk by a newsstand in New York as

often as they might if they lived in the U.S.

"Dawn of the Brain Dead", that's the cover of "The New York Daily News". Clown comes back to life with New Hampshire win. Trump responds, calls Mort

Zuckerman of "The Daily News" dopey, a worthless newspaper on the verge of bankruptcy.

It is quite a remarkable level of discourse isn't it during a Presidential campaign?

SCHLAPP: Yes, , it really is. I guess when you're outside looking at this Presidential campaign, it's not very edifying at times and I'm sorry about

that.

But, you know, democracy is rough and tumble. And both these -- what's weird in America, is that it's an open Presidential seat. So you know

Barack Obama's term limited, he can't run again. And both parties are having a raucous nominating process which hasn't really happened for a

very, very long time. So maybe it brings out the worst sometimes.

GORANI: OK. John Kasich, because we had a piece on him just before coming to you, Matt. He did great in New Hampshire.

It's not a huge surprise than he did better than Iowa. He invested a lot in New Hampshire. Can a candidate, more middle of the road candidate, viewed

as more moderate, more centrussed among Republicans, can he score again in southern states such as South Carolina do you think? Why are why not?

SCHLAPP: I don't think so. I think John Kasich made an overt attempt to appeal to non-Republicans in New Hampshire, more moderate voters to come

vote for him. And I think his strategy worked well in New Hampshire where the rules allow -- it's very easy for people who aren't Republicans to vote

in the Republican Primary.

Moving forward to some other states, that could become more difficult because the rules are different in every state.

[15:40:12]

But also what becomes more difficult, is those states themselves like South Carolina just are more conservative. They also have conservative Democrats,

but the states skew more conservative. So John Kasich will have to kind of change his approach if he's to appeal to those voters, and I just don't see

it working.

GORANI: So you were the Political Director for George W. Bush, so therefore part of the Republican, as we call it, establishment. We know that the

Republican Party would rather not have Donald Trump become the nominee for the party. So I'm going to ask you a strategy question. What does the

party, what do the remaining candidates need to do in order for someone else to become the nominee for the Republicans? What needs to happen now?

Because he's on a roll.

SCHLAPP: There's a basic confusion that people feel like if more people like Carly Fiorina and maybe Jeb Bush or John Kasich get out of the race

that that will stop Trump's momentum. And I actually - I actually don't know if that's going to result in anything other than Ted Cruz getting the

nomination who, you know, with some people they think some of these establishment D.C. types don't want Trump to get it, but many others don't

want Ted Cruz to get it. So they might result in someone else getting the nomination who they don't like as well.

The fact is is this, there will be an alternative to Cruz and Trump that stays in, but it can't be more than one person. And so for those people who

are agitators against Trump and against Cruz, they better settle on this candidate fast or it's going to be too late.

GORANI: Matt Schlapp, thanks very much always appreciate your analysis. The former Political Director for George W. Bush joining us live this

evening really appreciate it.

SCHLAPP: Thank you.

GORANI: Now Republican rivals Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have something in common and not just a desire to hold the same office. Both have Cuban

roots. Our Patrick Oppmann is in Cuba and uncovered more about their heritage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio spend lot of time talking about Cuba on the campaign trail.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My parents weren't born here. They were born on the island of Cuba to poor families, they had very

limited education, no access to power. They came here in 1956. They had no money, they didn't know anyone, they barely spoke English at the time. And

yet somehow working hard as a bartender and a maid, my parents owned a home in a safe and stable neighborhood. My parents retired with dignity. My

parents left all four of their children better off than themselves.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To my dad -- [ cheers and applause ] -- a man who came from Cuba at age 18 with nothing. With $100 in

his underwear. He doesn't carry money in his underwear anymore. A man who was imprisoned, who was tortured, who washed dishes making 50 cents an

hour, who has lived the American dream.

OPPMANN: Cruz's father Rafael grew up here in the seaside city on Matanzas. In his memoir Rafael Cruz writes about fishing for sharks and how he

initially backed Fidel Castro's revolution before fleeing to the United States. A schoolmate of the elder Cruz we spoke to who fought to bring

Castro to power and later retired with the rank of colonel said Cruz supported but didn't play a very active role in the revolution.

"I don't remember him", he says, "throwing Molotov cocktails or planting bombs or putting up revolutionary signs against the tyranny."

Today the streets of Matanzas are covered in propaganda supporting the revolution that Rafael Cruz says he once fought for but now opposes. In

Havana much has also changed since the 1950s when Marco Rubio's family lived here. This is the store where both Marco Rubio's parents once worked.

According to his book, his mother worked at the cash register and his father as the store's security guard and it's here where they actually met.

Of course, following the Cuban revolution, the store just about like all private property in Cuba, was taken away by the government.

On Tenerife Street where the Rubio's once lived, no one we talked to remembers the family. Resident, Julio Fabian, said he has a message to

critics like Cruz and Rubio of the new U.S. policy of restoring ties with Cuba.

"Why break relations now that we are just starting," he says, "if both sides keep talking I think we will arrive at an even better understanding."

If Cruz or Rubio is elected President, that's not likely a conversation either man would be willing to have. Both have said they won't engage with

Cuba until the island changes its leadership.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Programming note, Sanders and Clinton head to head soon. It's the PBS News Hour Democratic Presidential Debate it will air live at 9:00 p.m.

Eastern. And the next day on Friday at noon -- is that noon -- noon London time and 1:00 p.m. Central European time. So you get to see it during

daylight hours.

[15:45:15]

Still to come this evening -

The bombs are dropping ever closer to Syria's border with Turkey. Painful images of life in that part of the country coming up with the latest from

Aleppo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, as the aerial bombardments of rebel positions continue around the city of Aleppo, the number of people killed is rising.

The monitoring group says at least 500 people have been killed since the beginning of the month amid the battle in Aleppo province. You can see from

this map where the government forces now control -- what territory they control. They're essentially almost encircling the city. Steven Warren,

spokesmen for the U.S. military operation against ISIS says the situation in Aleppo is become increasingly dire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN WARREN, U.S. MILITARY OPERATION SPOKESMAN: We're continuing to monitor that situation. I'll tell you, we're concerned that with the

reduced humanitarian access and continued strikes by the Russians and the Syrians, thousands of civilians are suffering. The situation in and around

Aleppo has become in our view increasingly dire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, there you have it. Now, at least 50,000 people have been displaced by the increased bombardments. That's according to the

International Committee of the Red Cross. Many are heading toward the Turkish border but not everyone has been able to cross through.

Arwa Damon has the latest from the Turkish Syrian border. But first a warning that her report contains images that some may find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Air strikes are relentless. This is happening just a 15-minute drive from Turkey's border

has Russian jets soften targets for regime forces and their allies to move in on the ground.

In this graphic video posted to YouTube by activists, it shows what they say those air strikes left behind. People try to coax this little girl to

talk, her name is (Maca). The voice on the video sarcastically thinks the leaders of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, supposed allies of the Syrian

opposition. But that friendship, like that of the U.S., is described as a farce. Colonel Mohamed al-Ahmed, spokesman for the al-Shamiya front says,

they are preparing for the worst.

COLONEL MOHAMED AL-AHMED, SPOKESMAN FOR AL-SHAMIYA FRONT: (As translated) The support was very limited to begin with. We always calculate that it's

going to end. We compare the support the regime gets from its friends and from what we get from our friends and it's a massive stark contrast.

DAMON: The regime's friends extend from Russian air power to a bolstered ground force.

[15:50:05]

AL-AHMED: (As translated) Iraqi militia are high in number. There are Iranian commanders and they are fighters. Some Afghan Militia, Lebanese

(inaudible), each militia has its areas of operations but it's Iranian command and Russian air power.

DAMON: All of which has allowed the regime to take control back over land it has not set foot in for years. Splitting opposition control territory to

the north of Aleppo in two, cutting off a vital supply line and is now expanding to besiege the city.

AL-AHMED: (As translated) The danger is not a possibility. It's imminent because the regime is advancing towards the south to cut off the last route

in.

DAMON: Tens of thousands from the Aleppo countryside have already fled. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are potentially in danger.

Turkey's open door policy as you can see still remains closed. The strikes in the last 24 hours were so close that one man we spoke to on the other

side said that he counted at least 16. And that is absolutely terrified for the masses who just want to reach safety because they are only fully aware

of how vulnerable they continue to be to the violence. But no one seems to be listening to the pleas for help. Whether it's military support for the

rebels or mercy for those who are trying to flee.

Arwa Damon, CNN on the Turkey/Syria border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: And don't forget you can get all the news interviews and analysis from the show on my Facebook page. We'll select the best content for you

there; Facebook.com/halagoranicnn.

Coming up, Brazil is dealing with a global health emergency. Why some say the South American nation is not ready to handle the Zika virus and the

2016 summer Olympics at the same time. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIALB BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back a pregnant woman in Australia has now tested positive for the Zika virus.

It's Queensland's third case of Zika so far this year. Officials say none of those infected acquired the disease within the country and they're

urging pregnant women to avoid traveling to areas hit by Zika. And Brazil of course is ground zero for the Zika outbreak.

And many including U.S. football star Hope Solo fear that Rio de Janeiro could be too risky for the summer Olympics later this year.

Nick Paton Walsh joins us now live from there. We also -- I also understand that the Kenyan Olympic Federation is kind of reconsidering.

What's the reaction in the sports world for some of the bigger names in -- in professional sports and in sports in general saying these things about

Brazil being perhaps too dangerous Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brazil is doing all it can. And you can see here really the fears of Zika have done

nothing to dim the closing hours of the carnival behind me.

Brazil is doing all they can to project a message of confidence that they're able to deal with the stagnant water. They're putting the army on

the streets in the days ahead to send a message to anybody who will listen. But Hope Solo, American goalkeeper, somewhat of a female sporting icon

frankly saying that if she had to make the choice between potentially endangering the future health of a child she'd have on coming to Brazil, if

things kept up the way they were and she had to go ride now, she said she probably wouldn't come here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Now that of course was met by the U.S. Olympic Committee giving a stern message saying that doesn't affect our attendance at all, you know,

we still speak as a whole and we still intend to attend.

We also had the head of the Kenyan National Olympic Committee making comments, where were this to turn into an epidemic, well frankly they may

not send their athletes into that kind of risk. That was swiftly followed by a bid to say that may have been taken out of context. And now

suggestions from Kenyan officials that they expect the International Olympic Committee and perhaps others to make sure that Brazil here is

perfectly safe.

[15:55:06]

WALSH: I have to be honest. If Hope Solo came to this crowd here, the biggest danger she might face in this level of smoke around me, is not

passing her drug test ahead of the Olympics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: But the environment here is extraordinarily cheerful but I think there is that sense of uncertainty as to exactly what Zika does to pregnant

women. We know the CDC today said, yes, they had found Zika in the tissue of children born who were born with microcephaly. But they don't quite know

yet how it got here. And we know they're sending a team here next week, a second team to look into that link. How does it pass potentially from

mother to unborn child.

So many answers not yet available for medical professionals. So much uncertainty building the fear, building this public debate about do I go,

do I not go. And all the while here, the carnival continues. Real fear this could be where it's spreading as we speak right now.

Right now, I'm all eyes on the Olympics of August. Can Brazil project the confidence, can it slow the spread fast enough to make sure people no

longer have those doubts and everybody attends. Hala?

GORANI: Nick Paton Walsh, live in Rio, thanks very much.

Well, it's not unusual to see heads of state on a red carpet. But one in Egypt is causing controversy.

This carpet which is 4 kilometers long was rolled out for Egypt's leader's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's motorcade as he attended a social housing project

for the poor.

One of the topics the President was speaking about was austerity. It is an irony not lost on his critics and social media users. This user was mocking

of Sisi's stance, and you see it there, some of the reports on how much this red carpet, this 4 kilometer red carpet cost is what got many people

talking about how Abdel Fattah el-Sisi traveling to a poor neighborhood to highlight the issue of poverty had so much money spent on a special red

carpet.

All right. Do stay with us at the top of the hour. My colleague Richard Quest will be talking about market value volatility and also will have a

lot more on the race to the White House.

We mentioned New Hampshire results, Trump coming out on top, Bernie Sanders as well but now everyone's sights of course on South Carolina. That is the

next big contest. Can Hillary Clinton make it big there?

This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I'm Hala Gorani, thanks for watching. After a quick break its "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS."

END