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GOP Debate Reviewed; Saber-Rattling by North Korean Leader; Migrant Issues in France; Aircraft Debris Questions. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired March 04, 2016 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: America's choice 2016. Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell.
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: And I'm Natalie Allen. We're live from Atlanta. Thanks for being with us.
We have much more coverage this hour of the U.S. republican presidential debate.
HOWELL: That's right. And we start with those four remaining candidates that squared off in Detroit, Michigan, Thursday night.
The frontrunner, Donald Trump, was fending off attacks from Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. There was a lot of name-calling. And plenty of insults even some vulgarity. Only John Kasich stayed out of the fray.
ALLEN: Rubio and Cruz went after Trump's lack of policy detail. They also blasted Trump over his failed businesses and bankruptcy, especially Trump University which is in the middle of the fraud lawsuits.
HOWELL: Donald Trump was also put on the spot about his immigration policy which is the cornerstone of his campaign. The recent report from BuzzFeed says he told The New York Times that he may be flexible.
Trump said that his discussions were off-the-record. But Cruz and Rubio want him to release those recordings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have to be able to have some flexibility. Some negotiation. Now, sometimes you ask for more than you want and you negotiate down to the point. I may have discussed something like that with The New York Times. But I would never release off-the-record conversations. I don't think it's fair frankly to do that to anybody.
(APPLAUSE)
MEGYN KELLY, THE KELLY FILE SHOW HOST: How flexible are you on this issue?
TRUMP: Not very flexible. Not very flexible. I give the example, I'm going to build a wall. I'm the one that wants a wall. I'm the one that can build a wall. It's going to get built.
(CROWD CHEERING)
By the way, Mexico is going to pay for the wall. I can tell you that. Mexico is going to pay for the wall.
(CROWD CHEERING)
But, and I used an example. And this isn't necessarily what was said. But whatever was said. The wall is 50 feet high. Is it going to be 45 or 40 feet? That could very well be. That's good. Very well. He wants it to be higher. That could very well be.
But there's always give and take. There is always negotiation and the best negotiator that knows what he's doing, will make a great deal. But we need give and take in government. If you don't have give and take you're not going to -- you're never going to agree on anything.
(APPLAUSE)
TED CRUZ, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald, you could resolve this issue very quickly...
(CROWD BOOING)
... by releasing The New York Times tape. Because listen, maybe it's right that you didn't tell them, you're misleading the American people in this case.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: The tapes were out of the subject. But that's it.
CRUZ: You didn't tell them that the tapes will prove your innocence.
ALLEN: OK.
CRUZ: But if in fact, you went to Manhattan and said I'm lying to the American people, then, the voters have a right to know.
TRUMP: No, no. You're the lying -- you're the lying guy up here. You're the one. You're the one.
CRUZ: Why don't you release the tapes?
TRUMP: You're the one. Now let me just tell you, let me just tell you, excuse me, I've given my answer, lying Ted. I've given my answer.
ALLEN: All right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Also, Cruz accused Trump of being part of Washington's corruption and cronyism over the past four decades. Cruz also went after Trump for donating to Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: Donald Trump in 2008, wrote four checks to elect Hillary Clinton as president.
ALLEN: OK.
CRUZ: So, I'd like to ask Donald, why did you write checks to Hillary Clinton to be president in 2008? It wasn't for business. And how can you stand on a debate stage now with her and say you don't think she should be?
TRUMP: Actually it was for business. It was. It was.
(CROWD CHEERING)
It was for business. I pride myself, including outside of the United States. I'm doing almost 120 deals outside, which I hope to be able to stop very stop very soon and let my children handle it. But we're doing many, many deals outside of the United States.
I support politicians. In 2008, I supported Hillary Clinton. And I supported many other people. By the way, and that was because of the fact that I'm in business. I did support very heavily Ronald Reagan. I also supported George Bush, by the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Let's get analysis on what was another memorable showdown among the republican candidates. We're joined now by Amy Kramer. She chairs a super PAC that supports Donald Trump. And, Ashley Bell, who used to be a democrat, but actually a super delegate in 2004. He switched parties a few years ago. He is now supporting Marco Rubio. Thank you both for being with us.
AMY KRAMER, GREAT AMERICA PAC CHAIRMAN: Thank you for having us.
ASHLEY BELL, MARCO RUBIO SUPPORTER: Thank you.
HOWELL: What a day for the frontrunner Donald Trump. You know, first, starting the day with that scathing speech from Mitt Romney. And then on-stage, getting pressure from his rivals, demanding more specifics. The moderators even putting pressure on Marco Rubio about why he was engaging in name-calling, specifically with that hands reference to Donald Trump. But then Donald Trump did respond with this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Look at those hands. Are they small hands? And he referred to my hands, if they're small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee.
(CROWD LAUGHING)
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOWELL: OK. So, my question is you, Amy, we'll start with you. Is
this the sort of straight talk, I guess you call it. I don't know. But, Amy, is this what Donald Trump supporters want to hear? Or does this embolden that movement, anyone but Trump, when they hear things like that on stage?
[03:05:04] KRAMER: Look, I think all of us want policy and substance. We want to get down to the issues that most Americans are concerned about. And I don't think that any of this, the name-calling, the attacks, help anyone.
I think what happened today, though, with Governor Romney coming out and then this debate, it seemed like it was more and more 'gotcha' Donald Trump, it solidifies his support with the base. And the -- it's about the American voters that are supporting him. It's not about Donald Trump and that's what everybody seems to miss.
They keep saying, you know, we've to stop Trump. We've got to, you know, how do we stop him? And the brokered convention and all this -- it's not about Trump. It's about the will of the American people and the voters.
HOWELL: So, you feel this solidifies his base. Ashley, I ask the same question. Starting a debate with that tone, your thoughts?
BELL: I think it was a great night for Marco Rubio. I think once again he proved that he has what it takes to get under Donald Trump's skin. You know, when Marco Rubio say what's on the stuff. But we respect the integrity of the debate. So, when then debate we're going to talk about policy.
So, you didn't hear Marco Rubio saying any of the stuff at the debate tonight. But what you did see is that Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio getting under Donald Trump's skin. And what did he revert to? Name-calling. When he gets irritated, he reverts to name-calling.
The question is, what happens when Hillary Clinton does that if he's your nominee, will he revert to calling her names, I don't think it end this one.
ALLEN: Rubio and Cruz both still went Trump. And they're trying to get him, Amy, to give more specifics about his policies. But he hasn't been able to do that. At one point would you like to hear more from him on that?
KRAMER: Of course, I'd like to hear more. I think all of us would like to hear more from all of them. But there's so much bickering going on between them all that we don't hear much of that at all from anyone.
I mean, I think that the best format is the town halls where you can get to know these candidates and they can speak to what they're about personally and what they, you know, how they feel about the issues and get more to policy. But right now, what has been going on here, it's like a bunch of schoolyard kids fighting.
ALLEN: All right. Let's play another clip from the debate itself when Rubio questioned whether Trump is really a conservative.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're not going to turn over the conservative movement, or the party of Lincoln and Reagan, for example, to someone who's positions are not conservative, to someone who last week defended Planned Parenthood for 30 seconds on a debate stage.
To someone, for example, that has no ideas on foreign -- some who thinks the nuclear triad is a rock band from the 1980's. America is great because of the conservative principles of limited government and free enterprise and a strong national government.
ALLEN: OK.
RUBIO: And your nominee thinks to be someone that stands by those things.
ALLEN: All right.
RUBIO: Donald has not demonstrated that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Ashley, start this one. You think Rubio made some points there?
BELL: I think he did. I think if you look at Donald Trump through the years, he has evolved. Where he was five years ago, was completely different now. He's a completely different man, he now he's pro-life. He's all these things.
But I think the biggest concern is what Marco Rubio pointed out. It was just at the last debate, he was defending funding Planned Parenthood which was the base and the grassroots is an issue.
And I think when you hear Donald Trump today when responded to Mitt Romney talking about raising tariffs and taxes on companies 35 percent, as conservatives it's hard to hear someone as your nominee saying we're going to raise taxes. And when he points to subs, look, people in my bracket, we're going to raise taxes.
KRAMER: But he's always said that. He's always said that. There's no anything new.
(CROSSTALK)
BELL: And that's always not being conservative. And that's what I agree, he's always said it. But it's always not being conservatives. Conservatives are not the party that raising taxes. We're the party of limited government. We think that we have a spending problem in this country not a taxation problem. And that's where we think the disconnect is between Donald Trump and the base.
KRAMER: So, this is the thing. Is that who is anyone to judge another person as conservative. I've been called not conservative because I'm supporting Donald Trump. But that's the part of where what people don't understand. It's not about him being conservative. That it's not just -- it's not about him being conservative. It's about him being honest and being right.
And having the knowledge to fix what is wrong with this country. And people respect that if he's going to raise taxes on the 1 percent or whatever, people respect that he's going to go out there and say, this is what I'm going to do.
Just like tonight, when he talked about the visas. He came out he said, I changed my mind on this. And people respect that. Instead of a politician, that is pandering to a group of people because they want their vote. And they say one thing and then they get in office and do something else. And the American people are fed up with it on all sides of that.
HOWELL: I want to move because we talked about Marco Rubio and we've talked about, you know, Ted Cruz. But there was another gentleman on that stage, Mr. Kasich. Let's listen to a clip from him just real quick.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KASICH, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What is getting in the hearts and souls of people is, they want change. And they keep putting outsiders in to bring about the change. Then, the change doesn't come. Then, they put more outsiders in because we're putting people in that don't understand compromise. They don't understand policy.
[03:10:06] And people are getting more and more frustrated with the system, which is why we must pick somebody that has a record of achievement. Not just talk.
ALLEN: OK.
KASICH: Not just talk. But a record of achievement. That's how we'll restore credibility.
(CROSSTALK)
RUBIO: But this is not just about...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So, look, there was a lot of bickering on stage. But, you know, Kasich saying, look, he's been described as the adult in the room. So, I know that you have support for Donald Trump. I know you have support for Marco Rubio. But as republicans, was this a good night for Kasich?
KRAMER: I think it was a good night for Governor Kasich. My problem with Governor Kasich in the debate is that, no one calls him out. He talks about balancing his budget. Well, he's raised taxes to balance his budget. He expanded Medicaid in his state. Expanded Obamacare. That's not how
he presents it to the American people. And no one's calling him out there. And no one is calling him out because they're not focused on him. They're focused on these three frontrunners.
HOWELL: What a debate night. So much that we could talk about in four hours, I'm sure.
ALLEN: Amy Kramer, Ashley Bell, thank you for joining us.
BELL: Thank you.
KRAMER: Thanks for having us again.
ALLEN: All right. Thanks.
HOWELL: And nine more months to go. We are just getting started with U.S. politics.
ALLEN: Just warming up.
HOWELL: That's right. But on this day, the Republican Party's fight to take down Donald Trump at ramped up when this former presidential nominee, you see him on right, urged his party to dump Trump.
It is 3.11 on the East Coast. Live from Atlanta, this hour. This is CNN Newsroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN world sport headlines.
Barcelona has set a new record of 35 games unbeaten in all competitions, overtaking the previous mark set by Real Madrid back in 1989. And what's more, they broke the record in Madrid.
Barca beat Madrid said the biggest club Rayo Vallecano, 5-1, thanks in part to a hat trick from Lionel Messi. They are now eight points clear of the top of La Liga.
A remarkable step to reduce the incidence of collisions, coaches at U.S. College Football Conference, the Ivy League, have now proposed to eliminate full-contact hitting from practices during the regular season.
This is unprecedented by colleges, which have played the sport of American football since the 19th century. All eight Ivy League coaches approved the measure last week. But it still has to go through university officials.
And South Africa's highest court, the Constitutional Court, has ruled Oscar Pistorius will not be allowed to appeal against his conviction in the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp three years ago.
The former Olympian conviction on culpable homicide charges was overturned in December, were replaced with a verdict of murder.
[03:15:00] This is the runner's last chance to overturn that conviction. And it's likely that Pistorius will now be sentenced next month. Prosecutors are believed they are seeking a sentence of at least 15 years.
And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.
ALLEN: The man who led republicans in the last U.S. presidential election, is on a new mission this go around. He says it's not too late to stop the party's frontrunner.
HOWELL: We're talking about Mitt Romney, who was the republican nominee in 2012. He launched a blistering attack on Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him a con man. And now Trump is firing back.
Jim Acosta has this report.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: In what would be a pivotal moment in the future of the Republican Party, the GOP's 2012 presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, shredded its current frontrunner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University.
(APPLAUSE)
He's playing the members of the American public for suckers. Laying out a scathing jaw-dropping indictment, warning the nation will be less safe if Donald Trump is elected president.
Now Donald Trump tells us that he is very, very smart. I'm afraid when it comes to foreign policy, he is very, very not smart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Romney mocked Trump's business background.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: He inherited his business. He didn't create it. A business genius he is not.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: He went where the GOP field had not really gone before. Trump's personal life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: There's a dark irony in his boasts of his sexual exploits during the Vietnam War. While at the same time, John McCain, whom he has mocked, was imprisoned and tortured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: John McCain blasted out on statement shortly after Romney speech saying, "I share the concerns about Donald Trump." Trump, who argues he is expanding the party, brushed off Romney's attacks as sour grapes coming from a presidential loser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He let us down. He let us down. Mitt probably the worst run most people have seen. He doesn't have what it takes to be president. That I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The real estate tycoon defended his business record.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TTRUMP: hey don't want to talk about a 92-story buildings all over the place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And he joked Romney once courted his endorsement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I would have said Mitt, drop to your knees. He would have drop to his knees. He was begging. Sure. He was begging me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: That love fest was four years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Mitt is tough. He's smart. He's sharp. He's not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country that we all love.
ROMNEY: I spent my life in the private sector, not as successful as this guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: After his speech, Mitt Romney tweeted he would never have accepted Trump's endorsement back in 2012, had he known with the GOP frontrunner was saying now about the KKK, Muslims and Mexicans. As for his future, a source close to Mitt Romney says he is keeping his options open for a potential floor fight at the convention later this summer.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Salt Lake City.
HOWELL: What a say. And the question now how will Romney's speech play in either hurting or inadvertently helping Donald Trump? Earlier, I put that question and others to republican consultant Bruce Haynes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE HAYNES, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: It's remarkable to see, not just the forceful denunciation from such a substantial figure in the Republican Party as Mitt Romney. But the fact that he is has been the party's standard-bearer in the last presidential election.
And here he is now, as you said, unleashing what can only be described as a vitriolic denunciation of the current frontrunner, who is actually bringing a lot of new republicans voters into the process.
We've seen turnout going up in my home State of South Carolina turnout of roughly about 100,000 people since last time. So, this is as you said it's a trouble if you're a republican, fascinating if you're examining it from the sidelines, development on the campaign.
HOWELL: From your point of view, is this just act one with Mitt Romney? Or does this backfire on him and does it bolster Donald Trump?
HAYNES: Well, I think it does two things. First of all, there's no question that there's -- the voters who support Donald Trump, they feel the Republican Party has in some way let them down. Betrayed them. They haven't represented their views effectively on economic and cultural issues.
Mitt Romney in the way is the embodiment of that. So, in some way, he reinforces their support for Trump. But for these people who want to find a way to stop Donald Trump from being the nominee, Romney becomes a voice that comes out and makes it, it's OK for you now to come forward and say, you know. I'm willing to oppose Donald Trump at all costs.
[03:20:01] I'm willing to do what I can so see if we can have an open convention, if he doesn't get enough delegates to win on the first ballot and nominate one of these other three candidates. So, Romney, it's a push-pull with him. He open certain doors for people but he also his presence is just going to drive these people to be more strongly in opposition to the other three candidates.
HOWELL: All right. I want to talk about this open convention and that magic number of 1237. Mr. Romney making it pretty clear as you pointed out, hey, vote for Cruz, vote for Rubio, Kasich, anyone but Trump stop him from getting to that number 1,237. But, you know, in your opinion, how viable is this last-ditch effort?
HAYNES: Well, I think it's viable if two things that are in pretty sure order on the calendar happen. I think we're going to need to see Governor Kasich win his home State of Ohio, claim the lion's share of the delegates there.
And then we're going to need to see Senator Rubio win his home State of Florida. I think those are essentially two viability tests for those two candidates to go further and deeper into the race.
Otherwise, Ted Ruiz, senator Cruz, who has won some states, including his home State of Texas, but also more recently Oklahoma, Alaska and the State of Iowa, he may be the lone holdout who can tr to go the distance with Mr. Trump. So, we'll see.
HOWELL: Yes. I have like 10 seconds left. But very quickly, Mitt Romney, does he throw his hat in the ring?
HAYNES: I think it's possible that someone like Mitt Romney or Speaker Paul Ryan, could be a compromise candidate in an open convention on the Republican Party floor. Do we get there? We just have to wait and see.
HOWELL: My goodness. We'll just have to see. It's all quite fascinating. Bruce Haynes, republican consultant. Bruce, thank you so much for your insight.
HAYNES: You're welcome. Thanks for having me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: We'll have more on the debate, coming up. Including what the voters there in Michigan thought about the debate the republican supporters.
But right now, we want to turn to some compelling international headlines.
HOWELL: That's right. A threatening rhetoric coming from North Korea. And the leader, Kim Jong-un, a day after the U.N. Security Council passed strict sanctions against Pyongyang.
ALLEN: A state news agency, KCNA says Kim has now ordered nuclear weapons to be ready for use, quote, "at any time." The news agency also confirming the test fire of a new multiple launch rocket system.
The Pentagon says it's aware of these reports and is closely monitoring the situation with its regional allies.
HOWELL: A top aviation expert in Mozambique is skeptical that debris that was found in the country's East Coast is from a Boeing 777, let alone MH-370. He says that the debris looks like it came from a mid- size plane. And that because of its condition it probably hasn't been in the ocean for two years. But he says more analysis needs to be done.
HOWELL: An American man on a mission to find the airliner discovered the debris in the Southeast African country over the weekend.
David McKenzie is in Maputo, Mozambique for us and he joins us live. With, David, more on what this piece could or could not be.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Natalie. It is a sense that this is of interest. But George said there, a top aviation official here threw some cold water on the theory that this might be a piece of the missing MH-370, which doesn't just days, will be two years since its vanished on its way from Malaysia to China with 239 souls on board. Blaine Gibson is the airline enthusiast, the traveller who found this in the Mozambique, the channel to my left where he said he found the object in shallow water. He was with local fishermen. It seems to be part of a plane of some kind.
But Mozambique and official saying, well, because it doesn't seem to have wear and tear of marine life, and the lettering on it seems it could may be come from a smaller plane than a 777. But they're taking it seriously enough that it will be sent to Australia for analysis by officials and Boeing officials.
Certainly deepens the mystery of the missing plane. But at this stage, it's unclear. And certainly it's important to be skeptical about whether this is actually a clue. Natalie?
ALLEN: Are they curious enough to keep looking in that area right there, David?
MCKENZIE: There's no indication we have from officials that they are searching for any debris. You remember they did find a piece of MH- 370, the flapperon of the wing in Reunion Island, East of Madagascar in July last year.
At that point, they did comb the beaches. They're looking for anything. They didn't find debris from the plane then. Now the likelihood of someone finding it on a sandbag in Mozambique like this is obviously extremely small.
[22:25:00] But stranger things have happened in the story. It remains one of the biggest aviation mysteries in history and they are taking it seriously enough to take it seriously. But at this point very unclear whether in fact, from a 777 or even the 777 that everyone wants to know what happened to.
ALLEN: Absolutely. We will wait and see. David Mckenzie there for us in Mozambique. Thank you.
HOWELL: Now, on to Turkey, where at least two police officers are dead, after a car bombing that took place near the Syrian border. Turkey's semi-official Analodu news agency reports that the members of the Kurdish group, the PKK detonated this bomb.
ALLEN: Several other people were injured including civilians. The attack was reportedly carried out Friday morning near a police station in Nusaybin District. Turkey considers the PKK a terror group.
HOWELL: Donald Trump has made a lot of claims. Saying the families of 9/11 terrorists knew what was coming. Also calling fellow candidate, Marco Rubio's performance into question.
Fact checking is just ahead, live for our viewers in Paris, London, Beijing and points between. You're watching CNN worldwide.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. We appreciate you joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. You're watching CNN Newsroom, live from Atlanta this hour. With more on that republican debate.
ALLEN: And let's talk about it. Insults, grand statements and the occasional policy pitch.
HOWELL: The candidate's 11th debate was short on substance. It was long on personal attacks. Here's a quick recap.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Hi.
TRUMP: Hello.
KELLY: How are you doing?
TRUMP: Nice to be with you, Megyn.
[03:30:00] KELLY: Great to have you here.
RUBIO: In this campaign for the last year, Donald Trump has basically mocked everybody with personal attacks.
TRUMP: He referred to my hands, if they're small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee it.
(APPLAUSE)
All right. OK.
KELLY: Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.
TRUMP: I hope you can control...
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: The audience cannot understand when you're talking over each other.
CRUZ: Count to 10, Donald. Breathe, breathe, breathe.
TRUMP: Lying Ted.
RUBIO: When they're done with the yoga, can I answer a question?
CRUZ: You cannot.
RUBIO: He's very flexible, so you'll never know.
TRUMP: Do you believe in CNN? I mean, I know we're with Fox.
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS SUNDAY SHOW HOST: Do you think that Donald Trump is naive about the threat that Vladimir Putin represents?
JOHN KASICH, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not biting. Let me just take you around the world, OK?
KELLY: Back in January, you gave an off-the-record interview to The New York Times.
RUBIO: If tonight, you tell the New York Times to release the audio, they will release it.
TRUMP: I have too much respect for that process, to say just release everything. I would not do that.
KELLY: OK.
CRUZ: But if in fact, you went to Manhattan and said I'm lying to the American people, then the voters have a right to know.
TRUMP: No, no. You're the liar.
KELLY: They said that the plaintiffs against you are like the Madoff victims.
TRUMP: This is a civil case very easy to have settled.
RUBIO: And you know what they got in these courses, stuff you can pull off of Zillow.
TRUMP: Let's see what happens at the end of a couple of years when this case is over.
KASICH: We need to learn to respect to each other.
CRUZ: Megyn, let me just ask the voters at home, is this the debate you want playing out in the general election?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So the many claims and counterclaims from Donald Trump during the debate. The question, do they pass the test?
ALLEN: CNN's Tom Foreman runs a fact check on some of his assertions about the families of the 9/11 terrorists and about fellow candidate Marco Rubio's job performance. Here's Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But the question is, did he stumble down on his own little bit when he brought up the 9/11 hijackers? He has argued that it's perfectly fine to go after the families of terrorists because these hijackers had wives with them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The wife knew exactly what was happening. They left two days earlier, with respect to the World Trade Center. And they went back to where they went. And they watched their husband on television flying into the World Trade Center, flying into the Pentagon, and probably trying to fly into the White House except we had some very, very brave souls on that third plane.
(APPLAUSE)
FOREMAN: All right. You said this before. Here's the claim. Wives of 9/11 hijackers had prior knowledge of the attacks. Here's the only problem with that. The most comprehensive study we have of this whole thing was the 9/11 commission report. And it found that all of the hijackers, only two of them were married.
Their wives never came to United States and certainly not in the days or weeks before the attack. There is simply no evidence to back this claim. It is false.
Trump himself tried to deflect a little bit. This is by going other people. He went after Marco Rubio's record. And like a boss, he said this guy doesn't show up to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This guy has the number one -- number one absentee record in the United States.
WALLACE: Mr. Trump, I ask you -- Mr. Trump, I'd like to ask you a policy question. Your proposed tax cuts. Your proposed...
TRUMP: He doesn't show up -- that's why the people in Florida do not like him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Now there is chaos there, doesn't it? Marco Rubio does not show up to vote in the Senate. That's what he's saying basically. Well, let's look at the record here. Missed votes in the Senate. The average for U.S. senators is 1.7 percent.
Marco Rubio, look at that, a whopping 15 percent. That's more than any of the other senators running for president. And it was more than any senator last year. So, if you take that all into account you're going to have to say that, yes, this claim by Trump about Rubio is true.
HOWELL: Our fact-checkers sit upstairs, they go through all of the debate look for the facts to figure out what's true and false. So, good to have them, you know...
(CROSSTALK)
ALLEN: It's important, yes.
HOWELL: ... for them to have go through a lot of material.
As the Republican Party erupt into a civil war, Hillary Clinton is dealing with more questions about her e-mail controversy.
ALLEN: On the campaign trail, Bernie Sanders shies away from the topic but attacks other parts of Clinton's record.
Here's senior Washington correspondent from the latest from the democratic side, it's Jeff Zeleny for us. JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Bernie Sanders had
a message today for democrats. The primary isn't over yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNIE SANDERS, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What a fantastic turnout this afternoon. Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: He had the campaign trail to himself. From Michigan, to Nebraska, to Kansas. Hunting for delegates in his uphill fight with Hillary Clinton.
After basking in the glow of Elton John and Katy Perry Wednesday night at one of the Clinton campaign's biggest fund-raisers, she spent the day out of public view, as questions about her e-mail returned.
A former aide was granted immunity and will talk to the FBI about the private server she used as Secretary of State. Became instant fodder today for republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Assuming she's not arrested for the e-mail situation.
(CROWD SHOUTING)
Which is so terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Again and again, Clinton has defended how she handled classified information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is just not something that, you know, it's going to have any lasting effect. And I'm not at all worried about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:35:06] ZELENY: But the Justice Department inquiries still hangs over her campaign. Sanders, once again, steered clear. But he wasted no time going after other parts of her record. Starting with the Keystone pipeline, which would run straight through Nebraska.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: There is a candidate out there, running for the democratic nomination, was a little bit wobbly about the Keystone pipeline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: And on trade, he called her positions a disaster for Michigan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: She was very, very wrong. And millions of families around this country have been suffering as a result of those disastrous trade events.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: He told CNN, he has no time for democrats who say he should tone down his rhetoric against Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: In many ways the democrats can say what they want. We're in the race to win it. I don't run negative campaign ads. But I do think it is appropriate than in the campaign you distinguish your differences with your opponents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: He's fighting to win the Nebraska and Kansas caucuses on Saturday, and Maine on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Maybe Nebraska's not quite so conservative as I've been told.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Still it's an uphill climb for Sanders. In pledge delegates, he has 405 to Clinton's 606. But when you factor in super delegates, Clinton's support soars, 1074 to 426.
Senator Sanders says he has no intention of lightening up on Hillary Clinton and certainly not leaving this race. By the end of the weekend, he believes he will have three more states in the win column, Nebraska, Kansas, and Maine. The Clinton campaign does not disagree.
Jeff Zeleny, Lincoln, Nebraska.
HOWELL: Jeff, thanks. And those two candidates will face off for the first time since Super Tuesday, on the CNN stage this weekend. Remember, you can tune in Sunday for the democratic presidential debate, only here on CNN.
ALLEN: We turn, next, to the migrant crisis. Migrants have sewn their lips shut to protest their relocation from the famous Calais camp called the jungle.
Next here we'll ask a volunteer medic about the situation on the ground.
[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOWELL: Makeshift homes that were burnt to the ground, a tear gas that was fired and widespread panic prompting arrests and injuries. That's the situation in Calais, friends, and it's never been more dire.
And now, migrants at the so-called jungle camp in the French city sewed their lips together to protest the treatment that they're getting.
ALLEN: There are 300,000 residents or have been in this camp. Most of course, these people have escaped conflict and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa. The jungle represents just a tiny fraction though, of the wider European migrant crisis. But, the desperation of resident has become symbolic of the humanitarian disaster impacting millions across several countries.
HOWELL: French authorities have begun dismantling that camp, citing that conditions there are unsanitary and unfit for human habitation. But some pro-migrant groups argue that the clearance itself is inhumane.
They are concerned about the relocation options available to residents. Most of who wants asylum in the U.K.
ALLEN: So, let's talk more about the situation. Sophie Muller joins us live from London. She's a volunteer medic with the support Calais Refugee Aid. Sophie, thank you for being with us.
SOPHIE MULLER, CALAIS REFUGEE AID VOLUNTEER MEDIC: Hi.
ALLEN: We should point out that you worked for several months in this camp. When the police moved in, you slipped past police to see what was going on. What did you witnessed?
MULLER: Yes. That was on Monday. The police refused to let the volunteers in. So, I gave them my passport. And while they were checking the details, I literally ran to the other side. The CRS were moving in, that's the riot police. There was probably maybe 150 to 200 officers. Huge minibuses full of police. Water cannons. Another police were armed with teargas canisters and almost like guns that they fire into the camp from afar.
ALLEN: So, they just started dismantling the make-shift homes where these people have been staying because they really nowhere else to go. They're kind of stuck there trying to get into the U.K. Now, where have all of the people gone? The families that lived there, where they can they go?
MULLER: They can move into the northern camp, which is the side that's last to be evicted. They were moved five weeks ago. And again, they've been moved again. Some of the families have applied for asylum in France, which takes months and months and months. It's going to a longest wait times for asylum.
The children we have physically moved into the northern camp and we have recreated of children of family camps so there is still the sense of community and safety. Five hundred of those children are unaccompanied. So, it's important that we keep them together and keep them with the family community that they look after each other. It's just so important.
ALLEN: Give us -- give us an example, Sophie, other than the children there, that have no one to look out for them, something that you experience in trying to help these people and what their situation is there.
MULLER: There is a blind man from Iraq, who is a solicitor. There is no one looking out for him. His friends came to the U.K. and he was left alone. And every time he left in the morning to go and get breakfast or his wash, he wouldn't find his tent again.
There are vulnerable people. There was a guy there with no legs, who was caught in land mines. These are the vulnerable people that need a hands-on assistant 24 hours a day. It's not as straightforward as just coming to the U.K.
Those people will be stopped. There are women who have given birth in the camp, who can't travel anywhere with newborns who rely on formula milk if they have problems breastfeeding. Vulnerable people are literally trapped there.
And there was a lady two days ago, who climbed on the roof of her shelter, heavily pregnant and the police physically battered her, battered her down onto the floor.
ALLEN: Those are some hard-handed tactics in that situation there. We really appreciate you talking with us about it, Sophie Muller. Perhaps we'll talk with you again and there will be some -- something positive that happens on down the road. Thank you, Sophie.
MULLER: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: The Freedom project. It is our ongoing mission against human trafficking. And we have come full circle. The Freedom Project now turns to the case of a woman from Cameroon, who manages to break the bonds of modern day slavery.
ALLEN: It was a previous Freedom Project story that inspired her to reach out for help. And now she's making is her own missing to make sure what happened to her does not happen to someone else.
Here's CNN's Claire Sebastian.
CLAIRE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In August last year, the CNN Freedom Project aired a story profiling former Ford Model, Katie Ford, and her fight against human trafficking.
[03:45:02] JUDITH OLAH, TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR: When I arrived, this Hungarian man picked me up in the airport, took me to his apartment in Long Island.
EMILY WATERS, TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR: Before long, I realized that this guy was a pimp.
KATIE FORD, FORD MODEL: It's just so shocking. It is out of our consciousness.
SEBASTIAN: Six thousand miles from Ford's home in New York City, the story had an immediate impact. Francisca Awah, a 32-year-old from Southwestern Cameroon was watching from Kuwait. She says she had been trafficked there into domestic servitude. She contacted Katie Ford's organization. And they began communicating via e-mail.
FORD: This is the first time I have been contacted by somebody who was enslaved at that time.
SEBASTIAN: Encouraged and advised by Ford, Awah managed to leave the household where she was working and take refuge in the French embassy. Katie Ford helped her pay for her flight home.
FORD: It's not what we do. And we couldn't afford to do it for everyone. But we had been through the whole thing with her. We had committed to helping her get out of that situation. So, it seemed false for me to stop there.
SEBASTIAN: Having arrived back in Africa, Awah was keen to tell us her story.
So, what happened when you arrived in Kuwait?
FRANCISCA AWAH, TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR: In Kuwait, just at the airport, my passport, my traveling documents were being seized. So, I was just taken by a family that claimed that they were my sponsors. Immediately, I went home with them. And I found myself being a house maid, instead of the teaching job I was been promised before leaving Cameroon.
SEBASTIAN: Awah said she was employed by a local agency. She moved households several times before arriving at one where she stayed two months. She said she saw her passport a couple of times but it was never returned to her. Gradually, she says, the conditions worsened.
AWAH: I have no time to rest. Even when the lady comes and I am still in the kitchen, she will ask me for assistance. I watch you. You are like a commodity, you get up and walk. You come here. You need money. I pay you money. You walk.
SEBASTIAN: She kept records, photos and even videos on her phone. And when possible, she watched CNN.
AWAH: Watching CNN Freedom project was like getting me off of that. I would be like most people that they are home.
SEBASTIAN: Did you tell the family that you wanted to leave? Did you ever ask to leave?
AWAH: I asked the wife severely. And the husband, I asked him once. I used to pretend of my son being a street child so that they can have pity on my son and allow me to go home. But the wife bluntly told me and she pointed to the television and said, you are like that television. I bought you. You can't go like that. My money is valuable. You have to pay my money back. And then you pay a flight before you leave for your country.
SEBASTIAN: I did contacted to the man she worked for, and he denied they stopped her leaving saying this was ultimately the agency's decision. He also denies his demanded that she pay back the money they've paid to the agency for her.
She said she wasn't overworked, that she worked no more than eight hours a day, as stated in the contract from the agency. He did admit though, that she did not sign that contract.
He said she had a telephone that they paid for and money for things like ice cream. As for her passport, he told me she had asked him to hold it for her safely. We offered him a chance to appear on CNN. He declined.
The agency in Kuwait also refused to answer our questions. We did speak to a diplomat to the embassy where Awah took refugee when she left the house. He did not want to be named.
He did though, confirmed the date she arrived and said she was sick and exhausted. He said he called and confronted the man who's house she had worked in. he convinced him to return him her passport.
Kuwait is classified as one of the most problematic countries in the world when it comes to human trafficking. The U.S. trafficking in persons report ranks it as tier 3, meaning it doesn't comply with the minimum standards of protecting trafficking victims.
Kuwait did pass a landmark law in 2015, giving domestic workers enforceable labor rights regulating pay and working hours. That is expected to come into force this year.
AWAH: If you want to travel out, be very careful.
SEBASTIAN: As for Francisca Awah, she is now working on her own campaign to raise awareness about trafficking. Her mission is to try stop other young people from following her path.
AWAH: I have the passion in me for others who are still wanting to go there. They have to ask nearly me to stop making enemies. And standing here to talk to people today, is to make them really know that what I'm saying is real.
SEBASTIAN: Claire Sebastian, CNN, New York.
[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good day. I'm CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. A quick look at weather watch.
We'll start throughout the United States, where we had a brief system that's brought us some light snow showers to the mid-Atlantic states. Even a few flurries across New York. But that will quickly exit the East Coast. It is intensifying as it does so. But not a major concern for land.
We so have a weak clipper system dropping into the upper Midwest. It could bring some snow showers to Chicago. But now I have to focus my attention over the Western half of the U.S. That's where things are going to get interesting over the 6 to past 10 days.
Especially from the Pacific Northwest to Southern California. Very unsettled weather pattern for that region. We warm up over the central parts. We have what is called the pineapple express extending from Hawaii to the West Coast of the United States.
That will bring in a train of moisture, associated with several rounds of storm systems that will bring rainfall to the coastal areas and heavy mountain snow. So, from the Cascades right through the Sierra Nevada mountain range into central and Southern California.
In fact, we'll be measuring snowfall in feet across this region. The coastal area is getting several millimeters of rainfall over the extent of period. In fact, the extended outlook calls for above- average precipitation from Oregon into Washington, as well as the north sections of California.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: Well, we've spent a lot of time analyzing the bruising republican debate. But we want to know where do voters stand there in Michigan? What do they think of it?
HOWELL: CNN's Gary Tuchman joined a viewing party in Grand rapids to find out.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we were invited to debate watch this party at the General Hartford Republican Party headquarters in Kent County, Michigan here in Grand Rapids.
Hello, everybody. Thanks for inviting us.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to ask you, first of all, who is supporting, after this debate, Cruz?
(CROWD CHEERING)
Rubio? OK. Trump? So far, Cruz is leading. Kasich?
(CROWD CHEERING)
All right. So, very interesting. Kasich needs to do well in Michigan and Ohio his home state. he is doing well in this county, no question about it.
One thing I need to ask all of you at this point, is a lot of you were cringing during these insults and these criticisms that we heard during this debate. This was liveliest debate in terms of those criticisms. How many of you were upset about hearing all those criticisms and insults? And that's pretty much everybody. That's pretty much everybody. I want to ask you over here. Tell me why that bothers you. It makes you livelier? People pay attention. People are saying their feeling? Why does it bother you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You now, I think it's good for substance to come out and we do need to see who these people really are. But it's embarrassing. It's not what our party is about. It doesn't represent me. You know, I don't want a candidate that is going to, representing my party and me as an American that's going to constantly be insulting everyone everywhere they go.
[03:55:12] TUCHMAN: How many of you were undecided didn't know which candidate you wanted to support for president? Raise your hand. You, right there. Are you still undecided now that this debate, the last debate before the primary Tuesday is over? Have you decided?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have not decided. I am so undecided.
TUCHMAN: Who are you deciding between?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like John Kasich and I like Ted Cruz.
TUCHMAN: So, how are you going to decide? You got about a couple of days.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to figure it out.
TUCHMAN: What will make you decide?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, I like -- I felt like Donald Trump was the candidate on the stage that have the most -- was the most confident. But yet, I did not like all the insults and the back and forth.
TUCHMAN: This is not Donald Trump's best crowd. At least this final question and that, if Donald Trump gets the republican nomination, would any of you not vote for the nominee, Donald Trump?
That's a lot of people in this room. Would any of you vote for a democrat instead of Donald Trump? So, we have five hands in the Republican Party headquarters in the home of General Hartford would vote for a democrat.
And I'll leave you with this, are you still all proud republicans?
(APPLAUSE)
OK. Thank you for having us. And we've learned a lot from this room.
HOWELL: It will be interesting to see what happens because of tonight's debate.
ALLEN: All right. More coverage at the republican debate just a few minutes. Thanks for watching. I'm Natalie Allen. HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. The news continues on CNN after this
break.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
