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Trump Struggles with White Supremacist Support; Clinton and Sanders Make Final Push to Super Tuesday; Clashes Erupt in European Camps; Iranian Elections Point of Political Shift; U.S. Special Forces Go After ISIS; Chris Rock Attacked Oscars So White Issue Head-On. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 01, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:11] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, Donald Trump's rivals pounced onto his comments about the KKK. And the biggest voting day yet in the U.S. is just hours away.
SESAY: Migrants trying to cross into Europe drip down a border fence. But they didn't get far before being pushed back by riot police.
VAUSE: And later comedian Chris Rock divides critics with his no holds barred assault on the Oscars' diversity problem.
SESAY: Hello. And thank you for joining us. I'm Isha Sesay.
VAUSE: And I'm John Vause. Great to have you with us. Another hour of NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
SESAY: We begin this hour with the race to the White House. And the most important day so far in determining which candidates will meet in November's presidential election. Twelve states will hold primaries or caucuses.
VAUSE: The latest CNN-ORC poll shows Donald Trump far ahead among Republicans. But as Sara Murray reports, Trump's campaign is once again embroiling controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): Donald Trump's latest firestorm --
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists.
MURRAY: Adding fuel to the panic that's broiling the GOP as establishment Republicans look for one last hope to stop Trump.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's unelectable now.
MURRAY: The celebrity candidate is in the midst of another raucous day on the trail, marred by protesters. And a physical altercation between a photojournalist and a Secret
Service agent assigned to Trump. All of this, as some Republicans launch an open revolt, refusing to support Trump even if he wins the nomination.
MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: There's a real chance that the party splinters if Donald Trump is nominated.
MURRAY: The Republican rift on full display as Chris Christie and Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions line up behind Trump and argue it's time for others to do the same.
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: We need to make America great again.
MURRAY: Even before Trump's boisterous rally, he was already doing damage control today.
TRUMP: When we looked at it and looked at the question, I disavowed David Duke. So I disavowed David Duke all weekend long on Facebook, on Twitter, and obviously it's never enough.
MURRAY: That's after failing three times to denounce support from white supremacists and former KKK leader, David Duke, in an interview on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."
TRUMP: I don't know what group you're talking about. You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about. I have to look. If you would send me a list of the groups, I will do research on them.
MURRAY: His opponents were quick to pounce.
RUBIO: If you say David Duke, I say racist. Immediately. Why wouldn't he condemn the Ku Klux Klan?
MURRAY: Ted Cruz is still hoping to head off Trump in delegate-rich contests on Super Tuesday.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the end of tomorrow, Donald Trump is in all likelihood going to have a big chunk of delegates. And we are, I believe, going to have a big chunk of delegates. And I think everyone else will be way, way behind.
MURRAY: John Kasich is pushing for a campaign beyond insults and outlandish behavior.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm tired of the -- of what I see, the name calling and what I consider to be childishness when we are running for president of the United States. This is like every day. It's like a circus.
MURRAY: The absurdity is even inspiring late-night host John Oliver to unleash on Trump.
JOHN OLIVER, HOST, "LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER": So if you are thinking of voting for Donald Trump, the charismatic guy, promising to make America great again, stop and take a moment to imagine how you would feel if you've just met a guy named Donald Drumpf. A litigious serial liar, with a string of broken business ventures and the support of a former Klan leader who he can't decide whether or not to condemn.
MURRAY (on camera): Now after a day of jumping from controversy to controversy, Donald Trump made no mention of them as he rallied a crowd of thousands here in Valdosta, Georgia. Instead looking ahead to Super Tuesday, where he is going to be campaigning in Ohio, he's going to be campaigning in Louisville. He's even going to be campaigning in Florida. This is the home state of Marco Rubio. And that's where he'll be when those returns come in.
Sara Murray, CNN, Valdosta, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Ana Navarro joins us now.
Ana, welcome to the show. A new CNN-ORC national poll shows Donald Trump getting 49 percent of the Republican primary voters, 30 points ahead of Marco Rubio. When you look at the 12 states in play for Super Tuesday, is it in the bag for Donald Trump?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, it's never in the bag until it is in the bag. With elections you never know. There can be last-minute surprises. There can be turns. There can be things that are just completely unexpected that come out. Information that comes out. So you never really call it quits until the fat lady sings. And she hasn't sung.
[01:05:05] SESAY: I mean, but this has been the expectation for months now, with these early primary contests that Donald Trump would stumble or he would fall, or that the controversies would hurt him.
Let me ask you about this latest controversy that involves his refusal to disavow former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke. Will that hurt him? Will that be on the minds of voters as they cast their ballots on Tuesday?
NAVARRO: I frankly don't think that it hurts him with his supporters. He's got some very solid, staunch supporters. And, you know what, Isha, they could catch him on video clubbing a baby seal, and they still wouldn't change their minds about Donald Trump. You know, he says that his earpiece malfunctioned. His supporters believe him. I think he had a brain freeze.
The truth of the matter is that he had disavowed David Duke before that interview, and he did so after the interview. I don't -- I really can't quite explain what happened to him during the interview. I think he was calculating the answer and it didn't come out well on TV.
SESAY: You know, Ana Navarro, I know that it's not to your liking, but the prospect of Donald Trump becoming the GOP nominee is increasingly coming into focus. People are increasingly having to contend with that. As a GOP strategist, you yourself know that to win a general election, those minority voters are increasingly important.
I want to give you some stats and get some perspective on the other side. A Pew Research study showed that Hispanics are the fastest growing group of voters. Since the 2012 election, the number of Hispanic voters has risen 17 percent.
I'm going to ask you, I mean when you -- knowing that data and knowing the comment that Donald Trump has made regarding Hispanics, I mean, where does the GOP from here in terms of his relationship with the Hispanic community?
NAVARRO: Well, first of all, you're absolutely right. I am part of the faction of the Republican Party that really cannot come to grips with the idea of Donald Trump as the nominee of our party. I think he's been divisive. And I just reject his rhetoric.
As far as Hispanics, I think it's going to be a problem. I think he has said things that are very offensive to Hispanics. And frankly, look, Hillary Clinton is not a candidate that produces great enthusiasm in anybody. She's basically, you know, viewed as a limp asparagus by Hispanics and others. But I think that if anybody can get enthusiasm going for Hillary Clinton from Hispanics and other groups, it's Donald Trump.
They're not going to be enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton, they're going to be enthusiastic against Donald Trump. It's going to be a problem for the Republican Party.
SESAY: What is the state of the Republican Party now? I mean, you know, there's talk on this Monday of the Republican leadership basically being at war. We're hearing some strategists saying that, you know, Trump could splinter the party. Do you hold those same concerns for the road ahead?
NAVARRO: Look, it's obvious that there are very different and opposing factions within the Republican Party right now. I would tell you that we are, you know, hearing multiple voices inside our head. And it is very difficult right now to say that one person speaks on behalf of the Republican Party, or to identify one leader. I think that, you know, we're going to have to have a coming to Jesus at some point during this process, and we may or may not come to agreement.
There may be some Republicans who decide to back the nominee. There may be some who decide not to back the nominee. I think we're going to have to cross that bridge when we know who that nominee is.
SESAY: Ana Navarro, it's great to speak to you on this evening. I know you've got a very, very busy Super Tuesday ahead, so we thank you for spending time with us tonight.
NAVARRO: Thank you.
SESAY: Thank you.
VAUSE: Of course hundreds of delegates are also up for grabs for the Democratic candidates on Super Tuesday. It's going to be huge. (LAUGHTER)
SESAY: Isn't it?
Hillary Clinton is coming off a victory in South Carolina. But Bernie Sanders is determined to stick around for the long haul.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tomorrow is Super Tuesday. Massachusetts is right in the middle of it, and I need your help.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton is riding a wave hoping her South Carolina landslide becomes an even bigger Super Tuesday victory lap.
CLINTON: I will work as hard as I can every single day. I will get up and go to work for you and fight for you.
ZELENY: The delegate fight with Bernie Sanders will go on, but a strong finish could make Clinton all but unstoppable, at least mathematically. Politically it's a long race ahead.
CLINTON: If I were grading some of those Republicans, remember the little box that used to be on your kids' report cards, play well with others? I'd have to put a big no. Democracy requires that we play well with others.
[01:10:04] ZELENY: She's steadily shifting her focus from Sanders to Republicans, one in particular.
CLINTON: Yes, I don't think America has ever stopped being great. What we need to do now is make America whole.
ZELENY: In battleground Virginia, the early outlines of a potential general election fight starting today.
TRUMP: Bernie Sanders is over unless he gets indicted.
ZELENY: Sanders isn't sugarcoating his 48-point blowout in South Carolina.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We got decimated, George. We got decimated.
ZELENY: But he says the race is just getting started. He's drawing big crowds from Oklahoma to Colorado to Minnesota with thousands of supporters entering his call for a political revolution. And he's making it clear he's far from finished with Clinton.
SANDERS: We are listening to the American people and their pain and their needs rather than hustling all over the country collecting millions of dollars from the 1 percent. ZELENY: A new CNN/ORC poll today shows a majority of Democrats across
the country favored Clinton 55 to 38 percent over Sanders, but it also shows warning signs. Fifty nine percent say Sanders is more honest and trustworthy compared to 36 percent who say Clinton is.
CLINTON: Hello, Virginia. Hello, George Mason.
ZELENY: Tonight in Virginia, Clinton sounded like she had the general election on her mind.
CLINTON: Because at some point you can't just say whatever pops into your head if you want to be the president of the United States of America.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: People around the world actually listen to what people running for president say.
ZELENY (on camera): Now Hillary Clinton is counting on a big night on Super Tuesday. She's rallying crowds like this here in Virginia and in other states. Eleven states specifically will be voting on Tuesday. That will determine whether she or Bernie Sanders have the lead going into the month of March.
Now 56 percent of the delegates are selected in March. That is the most key period here. The next two weeks could determine who becomes the Democratic nominee.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Fairfax, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Now as Hillary Clinton reached out to voters, the U.S. State Department released the last of her work related e-mails for her time of secretary of state.
SESAY: This ends a nearly year-long process that has made more than 50,000 pages of e-mails public. Clinton has faced scrutiny since revealing she used a private server for official government business.
VAUSE: Please stay with CNN for extensive coverage for all the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses. We have so reporters all across the country. We have so many people we feel I've never seen before. They're covering the candidates all day long. This could change the landscape of the election. We have so many people they should hold their own primary.
Stay with us for the entire day. It's going to be super. Only on CNN.
(LAUGHTER)
SESAY: We're going to take a quick break now. Frustration and anger boil over among stranded migrants. Ahead refugees fight to break out of camps in Europe. VAUSE: Also ahead, will election results in Iran bring changes in
policy towards the West?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:17:01] SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. An uneasy calm stretches across most of Syria in the fourth day of a ceasefire. But other parts of the country continue to burn.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says the truce remains enforced for the most part and he's hopeful remaining violence will soon be contained.
VAUSE: But opposition groups say they still face attacks by the regime which they take credit to unravel this fragile peace. And the Syrian government is continuing its fight against ISIS, which is not party to the ceasefire.
SESAY: Well, thousands of refugees into Europe. They're joining asylum seekers stranded and frustrated in migrant camps. Monday French authorities forcefully relocated some of the asylum seekers so they could tear down parts of their camp in Calais.
VAUSE: Thousands of kilometers to the south on the Greece-Macedonia border, more migrants are facing tear gas as well as rubber bullets.
Atika Shubert has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands camped on the border between Greece and Macedonia demanding a way into Europe. Protesters managed to briefly ram down the border fence and tried to push their way through. But they were stopped with tear gas and border police in riot gear.
Dozens were injured in the chaos including a number of children.
This is exactly what Greece has been warning other EU states, that if borders close and Greece is left on its own, the refugee crisis will reach boiling point.
On Sunday night, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the E.U. must not abandon Greece or it will face disaster.
"What has happened is exactly what we feared," she said. "That a country is now left alone with its problems, and we cannot allow that."
Greece is the doorway to Europe. A short boat ride from Turkey, it is the easiest way for asylum seekers especially from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, to cross into Europe through the Balkan states. But the staggering number of arrivals has led individual states to crack down as pressure builds to accommodate asylum seekers. Macedonia has closed its borders to all but Syrian and Iraqi refugees and anyone coming through must have valid photo I.D., something few refugees have.
That has left tens of thousands stranded in Greece, many of them from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Morocco, and other states. At the border, police have brought in reinforcements and restored the border fence. There is now an uneasy calm.
Still, as long as the gates to Europe remain locked, the frustration and anger of thousands will continue to grow.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Well, we're joined by Majid Rafizadah, a Middle East scholar and columnist for the "Harvard International Review."
VAUSE: Also James Gelvin, a professor of Mideast history at the University of California right here in L.A. And joining us via Skype, CNN military analyst, retired lieutenant colonel, Rick Francona.
[01:20:04] Colonel Francona, first to you, the U.N. Security-General, rather, says the ceasefire is generally holding. The French, though, insisting the attacks on the modern opposition continuing. They will have this emergency meeting of the oversight group. Is it possible to know exactly what is happening inside Syria right now?
LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, there's a lot of reporting coming out. Most of it anecdotal. But it's all over social media, it's all over press releases. And it depends on who you listen to whether it's holding or not. But generally the Syrians and the Russians continue to bomb. And if you look at the areas they're bombing in, that area northwest of Aleppo, area between Homs and Homma, even in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, there are no ISIS fighters there, no ISIS positions. There's not even a Jabhat al-Nusra there.
So I believe that the Syrians and the Russians are taking advantage of this loophole where they can go after terrorists. And as you know, anybody that is anti-Bashar al-Assad is designated as a terrorist in the eyes of both the Russians and the Syrians. So although the United Nations would like this to work, the United States would like this to work, I just don't see that it is working. I think that we're just looking at a prolonged effort in which the Syrians and Russians are going to continue to pound the anti-regime rebels.
SESAY: Professor Gelvin, to bring you in, Colonel Francona taking a pessimistic view, as are many, of this deal. But this deal is really in place to move towards a full term negotiated settlement. That's what the United States wants.
VAUSE: Or at the very least. SESAY: The very least peace talks. I mean, where does this, as we
hear that the bombing continues, where does this leave tacit with that grand plan?
JAMES L. GELVIN, PROFESSOR of MIDDLE EAST HISTORY, UCLA: Well, overall, the United States has nothing else. So they're pulling out all stops in order to get the negotiations going. What they're figuring on right now is an international coalition against ISIS that's going to spark some sort of negotiated settlement. You can't get rid of ISIS unless you resolve the Syrian question.
The problem is that only America has that on as its top priority. The Russians, the Iranians, Hezbollah have other priorities, keeping the outside regime intact. The Kurds want autonomy. The Turks want to assure that the Kurds don't get autonomy. The Saudis want to remove the government. These are their top priorities. And as I said, it's only the United States that has the top priority getting rid of ISIS.
SESAY: But where -- I mean, how do you go about that in this complicated patchwork of various factions, the various groups, Majid?
MAJID RAFIZADAH, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL AMERICAN COUNCIL: Exactly. We have more than 1500 different kind of groups and states and actors involved in the Syrian conflict. So bringing all these groups together and having negotiated so many is really very difficult. And I think, again, because of different layers of complexity in the Syrian conflict it's really very difficult to reach a resolution for the conflict.
VAUSE: Want to go back to Rick Francona. From a military point of view, Colonel, NATO is talking about its concern about this buildup of Russian military force. Turkey also like taking some hard on the border there, Saudi Arabia is talking about a plan B in case this ceasefire fails. Just from a military point of view, that does not look like they're preparing for long-term peace talks, does it?
FRANCONA: No, not at all. And of course the Saudis are going to act in what the Saudis believe their own interests are, and you know, as my colleagues have said here, you know, that the Turks, the Kurds, everybody's got a different agenda. And right now no one is focused on the real problem as we see it, as ISIS. Everybody else is concerned about the removal or the continuation of the Bashar al-Assad government.
So I don't see that this ceasefire really gets us anything but maybe some breathing room. But that breathing room doesn't do good for our allies. The moderate -- the moderate Syrian rebels. They're the ones also taking a pounding. The Russians, the Syrian army, they benefit from this. So I really don't see this going anywhere positive for us.
SESAY: To focus on Bashar al-Assad for just a second, I mean, he does seems to be the winner in all of this, and significantly stronger in any kind of talks that come next, if they come next.
RAFIZADAH: Yes, this is a -- I talked to a couple of activists in Syria, and what they complain about is that the ceasefire is actually giving Bashar al-Assad more power in order to consolidate his forces in different areas, as well as Russia. But I think we should also look at the civilian perspective. This is really -- it's desperately needed for the civilians, the ceasefire. A couple of -- the few of them I talked to, they mentioned that the bombing has decreased. And at least they can -- the international community, the U.N. can deliver some food or replenish some medical help to them. So it's working for the -- I think it's not going to succeed.
VAUSE: It sounds like it's a pause probably more than anything.
SESAY: Yes.
VAUSE: And quickly, James, we've got the situation with the refugees and the situation in Greece right now.
[01:25:03] Many of these refugees are coming from Syria and Iraq because of ISIS. What happened, though? Why is this bottleneck suddenly being created, that there's 7,000 or 22,000 refugees in Greece, and the Greek government said there could be 70,000 refugees there within a month?
GELVIN: Right. Well, there's several reasons why. I mean, the rules, for example, of Europe taking in refugees, used to be the first port of call. And of course, that means, you know, specific places, like Italy and Greece and places like that. In addition to that, ISIS has created a situation by hitting various targets within Europe, and, you know, around the world, that nobody wants these people anymore.
Better to err on the side of keeping them out than perhaps have a terrorist incident taking place. So these are the things. And the final thing, of course, is the fact that many Syrians who are refugees have given up on the idea of ever going home. This is why they make the trek. This is why they're not in the camps in Lebanon or in Turkey or in Jordan right across the borders. This is why they go to Europe.
VAUSE: OK. Thank you very much. And Majid, thanks to you both.
SESAY: Yes. Thank you.
VAUSE: Also Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, our military analyst joining us there via Skype as well for your insights. Thanks to all of you.
SESAY: Yes. Thank you very much. Thank you.
VAUSE: A short break. When we come back here on CNN NEWSROOM L.A. the election is being called a referendum on Iranian president Hassan Rouhani's reform agenda. Early results are in. We'll deconstruct what they say about Iran's future.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:00] VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay.
The headlines this hour --
(HEADLINES)
VAUSE: Iranians are waiting to hear the final word on their country's national elections. Voters cast ballots for parliament and the Assembly of Experts on Sunday. Voter turnout, almost 60 percent.
SESAY: CNN's senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, tell us official results are expected soon, and all signs point to a political shift.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In Iran's election, the results are surprisingly strong for the moderates and reformers. Take the Assembly of Experts, for instance. Here in the Tehran area, it appears as though of the 16 seats available, 15 were won by moderates and reformers and only one by a conservative candidate. There were conservatives in this body for a very long time who have now been voted out.
As far as the parliamentary election is concerned, of the 30 seats available here in Tehran, all of them have been won by moderate candidates. People we spoke to here on the streets of Tehran say they are very surprised by the results.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I 100 percent think there's going to be lots of changes. I got together with my friends and we all believe this is the best parliament that's ever been elected.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We were not satisfied with the last parliament. And I hope that both the parliament and the Assembly of Experts think and do something especially for the young people.
PLEITGEN: There was a lot of controversy in the run-up to the elections and some of that controversy still remains. And it is reflected in the country's media. Take a look here. This is the reformist newspaper. It's simply titled, "The 30," meaning the 30 members of parliament who won their seats here in Tehran. Right next to it, this is the conservative newspaper that is simply titled "One Big Lie," and what it's referencing is it said while the moderates may have won in Tehran, they feel in the entire country it's about 50/50 between moderates and conservatives.
People we've been speaking to say, yes, more moderates are in the parliament, but now they also expect them to perform and make good on their promise to increase and make better the economy of this country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): A lot of people voted and they gained a lot of votes to get into parliament. So we expect them to work hard and fulfill their promises. And they should work hard so that that can be an answer to the conservatives. PLEITGEN: Many people saw these elections as de facto referendum of
President Rouhani's policies of slowly opening up the country to the West. When we look at these election results, it seems as though the people who voted here in Iran have given Rouhani a clear mandate to continue those reforms.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Back now with his take on what the selection means for the future of Iran is Majid Rafizadeh, the Middle East scholar and columnist for the Harvard International Review.
Majid, thank you for sticking around with us.
We talk about the shifting political landscape. Can you break that down for us? What are we looking at in terms of change, at least in the short term?
MAJID RAFIZADEH, MIDDLE EAST SCHOLAR & COLUMNIST, HARVARD INTERNATIONAL REVIEW: I would say there is a slow evolution into a more moderate political spectrum in Iran. So the parliament now mainly is controlled by the moderate, and their allies, the reformists, which will give more credibility to President Rouhani, and it will help him to implement better his plan of engaging with the West, and opening Iran economically, and liberalization, and also maintaining the nuclear deal.
But having said that, I think we're not going to witness fundamental changes in Iran, domestic or foreign policy, because the hardliners are still --control the most significant political and economics in Iran.
VAUSE: But if you look at the candidates that won, the reformists and moderates, that means, you think at this, oh, we're in for a great time in Iran. They'll be dancing in the streets and there will be human rights, all the rest of it. This is not what we're looking at here, really, because if you look at the lists, this is not what we would consider moderates or reformers in the West, right?
RAFIZADEH: That's a great question. I think there is a narrow spectrum in Iran between the reformists and the hardliners. What we have to understand that they share basically the fundamental values of supporting the Islamic republic. They have already been qualified as a candidate, because they went through the security screening.
[01:35:23] VAUSE: You mean they were hand-picked.
RAFIZADEH: Yes. And they show their loyalty.
(CROSSTALK)
RAFIZADEH: So you're absolutely right. I think from western perspective, we think that the reformists and hardliners are completely different. But this is not true. VAUSE: The reformists are not hardliners.
(LAUGHTER)
RAFIZADEH: But it still gives a narrow window to make changes.
VAUSE: Baby steps.
SESAY: Let me ask you about the Assembly of Experts, the 88-member panel who picks the next supreme leader. Changes were made there. Talk to me what the changes signify of the next choice of the supreme leader, if we can read anything into that?
RAFIZADEH: The supreme leader has the final say in the domestic policies. The Assembly of Experts pick the next leader. If they're picked by hardliners, they will probably be hardliners. But moderates have gained some seats. Interestingly the head of the Assembly of Experts who was poised to be the next supreme leader, lost his seat. I think it might suggest there might be a moderate one, which will change the direction of Iran, and maybe open it up with the United States.
VAUSE: Quickly, 30 women, a record, elected to parliament. What can we read into that?
RAFIZADEH: I think it's the highest number, as they said. But I think, still they -- I think they have to be more social changes really to give women more rights.
VAUSE: Baby steps.
RAFIZADEH: Baby steps, exactly.
VAUSE: Majid, thanks for staying with us.
SESAY: Thank you.
VAUSE: The U.S. is wrapping up the fight against ISIS in Iraq.
SESAY: Elite Special Ops forces are starting to go after the terror group and take out ISIS leaders.
Barbara Starr has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SHOUTING)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In secret locations across northern Iraq, the Army's elite Delta Force is now conducting its first operations CNN has learned.
Today, at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter outlining what Delta and the Expedition Target Force has been ordered to do.
ASH CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Seizing places and people, freeing hostages, and prisoners of ISIL. And the only thing I'll say is the ETF is in position. It is having effect and operating.
STARR: The timing and location of all operations remains classified.
There are about 200 troops in northern Iraq. They've been setting up safe houses, establishing and paying off informant networks, and gathering intelligence. The plan? Attack compounds. Not just to capture or kill ISIS, but to grab laptops, cell phones, anything that can provide more intelligence and lead to more raids.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ADVISOR: Special Operations forces, I have vast experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, using these kinds of tactics and techniques.
STARR: New techniques as well, with surprising openness, the secretary of defense detailed going after ISIS in cyberspace.
CARTER: To interrupt, disrupt ISIL's command and control, to cause them to lose confidence in their networks, to overload their networks so that they can't function.
STARR: The ultimate goal? Drive ISIS off the dark web that the U.S. cannot monitor.
CARTER: At some times we do drive them to other means. But it cuts both ways. Sometimes those other means are easier for us to listen to.
STARR: But it could have unintended consequences.
LEIGHTON: You're going to end up basically not knowing what they're doing. They could be using everything from curriers to carrier pigeons in order to get the job done for them.
STARR: All of this as Carter is considering sending even more troops for the upcoming Iraqi operation to retake Mosul, Iraq's second- largest city.
CARTER: Because of our strategy and our determination to accelerate our campaign, momentum is now on our side, and not on ISIL's.
STARR (on camera): Why telegraph so much information? Because this has become a public relations war and the Pentagon feels it must show progress to the public.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: To China now where the world's second-largest economy is slumping its way into March. Slowing manufacturing activity is raising concerns over lack of forward progress.
VAUSE: China is now posting its weakest annual growth in 25 years, and the government has announced nearly two million layoffs among coal and steel workers. Let's take a look at the Shanghai Composite there, up by almost 2 percent. [01:40:20] SESAY: We're going to take a quick break. Chris Rock is
creating buzz for his performance hosting the 88th Academy Awards. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM L.A., how Rock responded to the Oscars So White controversy and how the rest of the world is reacting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
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SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. More than 34 million peopled tune in to watch the 88th Academy Awards Sunday night. That's the smallest audience of the Oscars in eight years and its third lowest in history.
VAUSE: The low rating numbers may be surprising because there was a lot of talk surrounding this year's show, a lot of controversy because the Academy's lack of diverse nominees. Maybe not so surprising, because some people called for a boycott not to watch it.
Chris Rock attacked the Oscars So White issue head-on throughout the ceremony.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: Is Hollywood racist? You damn right Hollywood is racist. It's not racism that you've grown accustomed to. Hollywood is sorority racist. It's like, we like you, Rhonda, but you're not a Kappa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: You're not a Kappa.
We're joined by actress and producer, Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Sheryl, so wonderful to have you with us.
SHERYL LEE RALPH, ACTRESS & PRODUCER: Thank you.
SESAY: You're not a Kappa.
Great to be here. You're not a Kappa. When you hear sorority, you might say it's not so important, but then he goes deep and makes you think there was a time when sororities were built to make sure certain people did not get in. At the turn of the last century, when women had just been told, you know, for the past almost hundred years that they were basically chattel, they created their own sisterhoods, and then those people, those black people can't be in, hence, they created sororities like the AKAs, followed by the Sigma sorority. There is great power in sisterhood and they can be powerful sometimes in making sure you're kept out.
[01:45:26] VAUSE: Answer me this. Do you think -- some people said this to me today, do you think he turned it into too much of a white versus black issue? That there wasn't enough -- because this is about diversity, this wasn't about African-American actors missing out, that's why the Asian joke fell so flat.
RALPH: That's very interesting. Because once again, Chris has all these layers, and people say, well, that was a stereotype. No, they were all stereotypes. Whoopi Goldberg was a stereotype of the black woman mopping your floor. You know, the black woman underneath the bear costume. She was a stereotype of the angry black woman. And then he turns it around and says, and this is what you think about Asians, because you know you think they're good at math. You know you think they're those kinds of people. Let me twist it one more time and let you know that one of them may look Asian, but his name is Moskowitz. Now it's like you really have to think about what he was saying.
But I'm like you. Diversity for me is not spelled B-L-A-C-K. It's spelled black, woman, LGBT and Q, if that's what you add. It is handicapped. Diversity is all of the things that make us different that must be considered if we are to move forward as a world of people, because too often we get safe in our little box, white male box, black female box, gay box, transgender box and other box, whatever that may be. And we have to understand that all of the things that make us different are the things that if we learn more about each other will make us so much better.
VAUSE: Hallelujah.
(LAUGHTER)
SESAY: Amen. And a moment that a lot of people are discussing particularly in the black community, Stacey Dash.
RALPH: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
SESAY: I said it. So she came out and said the Oscar's new minority outreach. And said my people --
(CROSSTALK)
RALPH: Yes. Finally, I can do something for my people.
SESAY: Now, to our viewers, give us a little bit of context. Because not a lot of people get it. A lot of people in the black community are talking about it. Explain it for our international viewers.
RALPH: For our international viewers, let me share with you that this young woman has been very clear that we need not celebrate the differences, we should all just be one big melting pot. You may think that's just what I said. No, I said celebrate the differences that make us wonderful. She said just forget about all of them. We don't need a Black History Month. As if everybody can say Black Lives Matter. As if everybody can admit that there was slavery in the world. There still is. But she had to get up there and did not know that she was the joke.
VAUSE: Yeah.
RALPH: So she did not get it. SESAY: She didn't get it. She didn't get it.
RALPH: Stacey, I'm sorry, what was your big show, "Clueless?"
(LAUGHTER)
Well, my god. You remain clueless. Stop it, Stacey. Stop it.
VAUSE: Still playing the role.
RALPH: She's still playing the role.
(LAUGHTER)
I agree to disagree, but she just got my goat with that black history thing. We only started out with a day. Then it turned into a month. Here it's leap year, two days. We got an extra day. Leave us alone, Stacey!
(LAUGHTER)
VAUSE: Leave that extra leap day for someone.
RALPH: Yes. I'm embracing her.
SESAY: Yeah, mm-hmm.
RALPH: Because what did our grandmother say, if you cannot say something nice about somebody, you are to shut up your mouth.
(LAUGHTER)
So, Stacey, I'm going to shut up my mouth.
SESAY: You know, on that note, we're going to leave it there.
(LAUGHTER)
I don't know how you said that with a smile.
VAUSE: It doesn't get any better.
SESAY: What a pleasure.
VAUSE: Thank you.
SESAY: Thank you so much.
(LAUGHTER)
VAUSE: OK, a short break here. But when we come back, the insults are flying fast and furious. Not just here.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Donald Trump, Marco Rubio trying to come up with the best zingers. That's just ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's always calling me Little Marco.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Little Marco Rubio --
RUBIO: Have you seen his hands? They're like this.
TRUMP: Little mouth on him. Bing, bing, bing. Bing, bing, bing, bing.
RUBIO: You know what they say about men with small hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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(WEATHER REPORT)
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[01:53:43] VAUSE: In recent days, the race for the U.S. presidential nomination has been a free for all. It's been a guilty pleasure.
SESAY: If it wasn't a contest to thank the leader of the free world, it might be funny.
VAUSE: Still be funny.
SESAY: Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Which of the following is not an actual 2016 campaign insult?
RUBIO: Make sure his pants were wet.
TRUMP: A guy like Rubio is a baby.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Are you going to cry now? Come on, cry, baby, cry for me.
MOOS: The answer is "C," though the electorate should be crying over what's become --
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Watch it, jerk.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Shut up, idiot!
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Moron!
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Scab eater.
MOOS: A school boy fight for the presidency.
TRUMP: I call him Little Marco. That's what he is. He's Little Marco.
RUBIO: He's always calling me Little Marco.
TRUMP: Little Marco Rubio.
RUBIO: Have you seen his hands? They're like this.
TRUMP: Little mouth on him. Bing, bing, bing. Bing, bing, bing, bing.
RUBIO: And you know what they say about men with small hands. You can't trust them.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Who started this?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I don't' know. You started it.
MOOS: But instead of flinging mud --
TRUMP: It's Rubio!
MOOS: -- the Donald is slinging water bottles imitating a dry-mouth Rubio with a tendency to sweat bullets.
TRUMP: I looked at the puddle on the ground and said, what is that? What is it?
RUBIO: He doesn't sweat because his pores are clogged from the spray tan he uses.
(LAUGHTER)
Donald is not going to make America great. He's going to make America orange.
[01:55:14] MOOS: Some compare the race to mean girls --
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: You're plastic, cold, shiny hard plastic.
MOOS: What's next? Will the bitter rivals start rapping their insults?
(SINGING)
MOOS: The candidates may hate the press, but they're starting to sound like "Anchorman."
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Your hair looks stupid.
RUBIO: But he's flying around on Hair Force One --
MOOS: At least Rubio and Trump aren't whacking each other with antennas. (SHOUTING)
MOOS: Yet.
Jeanne Moos, CNN --
RUBIO: Donald Trump likes to sue people. He should sue whoever did that to his face.
MOOS: -- CNN --
TRUMP: He was putting on makeup with a trowel.
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHER)
SESAY: Like being in a schoolyard.
VAUSE: Or our NEWSROOM meeting.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Thank you very much.
SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause.
The news continues with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett right after this.
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