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One Hundred Fifty Five Delegates At Stake Today For Republicans; Marco Rubio Speaks At CPAC, Trump Skips Event; Marco Rubio Speaks at CPAC; Rubio Interview. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired March 05, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00] SENATOR TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I intend to rescind every single illegal, unconstitutional executive action taken by Barack Obama. On the first day in office I will instruct the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into Planned Parenthood and to prosecute any and all criminal violations.

And on the first day in office, I will instruct every federal agency that the persecution of religious liberty ends today. Justice Scalia's passing underscores the importance of this election. It involves two branches of government.

We are one leftwing justice away from a Supreme Court taking away our religious liberty. We are one leftwing justice away from the Supreme Court erasing the second amendment from the Bill of Rights.

We are one leftwing justice away from the Supreme Court making a subject to the world court and United Nations and international law and giving up U.S. sovereignty.

Some candidates suggested we should negotiate with Democrats, negotiate with Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer on Justice Scalia's replacement.

Let me be very clear to the men and women of Kansas. I will not compromise away your religious liberty. And I will not compromise away your second amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Every justice I appoint will be a principled constitutionalist, faithful to the law who will ferociously protect the bill of rights for your children and for mine. And the third critical issue in this election is security.

For seven years, we had a president who abandons and alienates our friends, shows weakness and appeasement to our enemies. Instead of a president who boycotts Prime Minister Netanyahu, America will stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel.

And we have seen under President Obama the military weakened, readiness undermined, morale in the military plummeting. As a nation we faced this before, we had --

POPPY HARLOW, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: All right, there you have it. Ted Cruz speaking live at a caucus site in Wichita, Kansas. Donald Trump, his fierce competitor at this time also tweeting he will speak live at the same caucus sites. We will keep an eye out for that as we monitor this.

I want to go back to Rosa Flores, who is there listening to it all, talking to the voters, getting the pulse of the voters. All right, Rosa, you just heard what Ted Cruz there talked about.

That if he were president that he would immediately ask the DOJ to prosecute Planned Parenthood, talked a lot about the critical nature of the next Supreme Court justice appointment.

For people there, I am interested with the lines, Rosa, down the block, are they making up their mind as they walk into the caucus site? You wonder what the strategy is of Cruz and Trump speaking there in front of those voters.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Poppy, the main event is here in Wichita, Kansas right now. We both have Ted Cruz and also Trump in the building. They're going to be speaking to voters like you said, and of course, the big question is, who are they going to vote for?

Let me set the scene for you here right now because these lines curl around the building. We can give you a 360 view from where we are at. You can see a lot of people are waiting to be sure they can cast their vote. Some folks waiting an hour, others for two hours.

Some of them were in the Trump rally and now made their way to the caucus room where it counts, Poppy. That's where the votes will be counted. That's where the delegate county is going to matter.

Now about what some of these folks are saying regarding their candidates, I'm seeing a lot of Ted Cruz stickers, seeing a lot of Trump supporters, of course, more than a thousand in the Trump rally.

But folks here want to hear from their candidates. A lot of them say after Super Tuesday they usually don't see candidates in Kansas, so it is a big deal that there are two candidates here speaking to voters, speaking to them face to face.

[12:05:11]A lot of them in the caucus room, waiting to hear what they have to say. There are some undecided voters for sure. I spoke to some of them. There was an undecided voter weighing more towards Trump.

He said a lot of times I don't like his tone. Sometimes he is a little too blunt, he is a little too rude. But I like what he represents. I like that he is not a politician, not a career politician.

So you've got those folks weighing towards Trump, but a little disturbed by some of the words, word usage. Other folks are here for Cruz. I see a lot of Cruz stickers. Can somebody raise your hand, are you here for Cruz?

Who are you here for Trump? There you have it, Poppy. There's a slice of a little of everything here in Kansas, folks anxious to cast their vote today -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Democracy at play. Great to see big turnout. You always want to see people coming out, making their voices heard. Rosa Flores, thank you very much.

I want to take you to Maryland. Manu Raju is standing by because Marco Rubio is about to take the stage at the conservative conference, CPAC, this morning.

Interesting, right, so Manu, Donald Trump announced yesterday he is not going there, he is going to Kansas instead, and he is going to make this speech and have a rally, which he did.

Marco Rubio, though, taking the stage now. He is going to have more of their attention because Donald Trump isn't there. What's the strategy for him?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: The strategy is anti-Trump strategy, something that you heard starting at the CNN debate in Houston. You're really going to hear him calling Donald Trump a con artist. Something that he believes has been effective, even though as we talked about before, only won one state on Super Tuesday in Minnesota.

But he believes that Donald Trump's numbers have really taken a hit, will take a hit as more people learn more about his business record and other failed ventures. I think you'll hear some of that.

It's interesting to see how far he goes. There are some Trump supporters in the audience, maybe not a lot, but there are some, and Marco Rubio will have to confront them, depending how hard he goes at Donald Trump.

HARLOW: Manu, stay with us. We heard Donald Trump just took the stage at this event. Same caucus, Cruz was speaking in Wichita. Let's listen to him.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- a really pecial day. We will do something I think that will be just so spectacular for our country. You know, our whole theme is making America great again.

We're going to make America great again. That I can tell you. That I can tell you. When you look at what's going on with deals like we made with Iran, a deal where we give them $150 billion, where we don't get our hostages back until years later, years after, it's a disgrace.

We're going to change that. We're going to do so many things. We're going to get rid of common core, bring education local, which we have to do. Have to do, we have no choice. We have to do.

We're going to repeal and replace Obamacare very, very quickly. I don't know if you know, but your premiums are going up like a rocket ship. Your premiums are going up 25, 35, 45 percent. It will fall on its own weight very soon anyway.

We are going to rebuild our military, our military is depleted. Our military is frankly, our military is in trouble. We're going to make our military so strong, so powerful that body, nobody is going to mess with us. That I can tell you. We're going to take care of our vets. Our veterans have been the forgotten people.

HARLOW: As we continue to monitor Donald Trump speaking there in Wichita, Kansas at the caucus site, take you to another candidate speaking live, Senator Marco Rubio speaking at CPAC Conference. Let's listen.

SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- in the aftermath of 2008, Barack Obama had won and we were told that the only path forward was to become more like them, to moderate our message, to moderate our stances, to basically be less conservative. I never believed that at the time. So I chose to run. It was a difficult race.

At the beginning of that race the only people that thought I had a chance to win all lived in my home and four of them were under the age of 10. The entire Republican leadership in Washington, D.C. was with him.

And everything I knew about politics said there was no path forward. But it didn't matter to me at the time because I believed deeply that if America continued on the road that the new president put us on, we would lose the things that made it a special country, and the place to change the history of my family.

You fast forward seven years to this moment, things have only gotten worse. We have only gotten further and further away from the principles that made America the greatest nation in all of human history.

[12:10:06]And it brings us to this moment in our history now. The election of 2016 is no longer simply a choice between political parties or even ideology. The fundamental question before America right now is what kind of country is this going to be in the 21st Century?

The thing that I always enjoy about CPAC is the incredible number of young people that come to these, younger Americans. And by younger, I mean anyone under 44 although I feel 45 this week because I had the flu, but anyway. Thank you.

What we ask ourselves in this campaign is what is this country going to look like? What will it look like when my 16-year-old daughter graduates from college? What will it look like when my 13-year-old daughter starts her first business, or my 10-year-old son starts his buys his first home or my 8-year-old son buys his first home?

I can tell you what it is going to look like if we stay on the road we're on now. They will be the first Americans, you will be the first Americans that inherit from a previous generation a country worse off than the one left for your parents. That's the road we are headed on now.

If we remain on this road, we will have to explain why our children and grandchildren did not inherit what we did. To get off this road we must re-embrace the principles that made us the greatest nation to begin with.

And that's why the theme of this gathering that our time is now forces us to answer a second question, and that is what does it mean to be a conservative in the 21st Century?

I can tell you what it can never mean, being a conservative can never be about simply an attitude. Being a conservative cannot simply be about how long you're willing to scream, how angry you're willing to be, or how many names you're willing to call people. That is not conservative.

Conservatism has never been about fear or anger, not at its best. Do people have a right to be fearful of the future right now? Yes. Because for over two decades, leaders in neither party solved the problems before us.

Do people have a right to be angry about not just the political class but every institution in society? Absolutely. But neither anger nor fear will solve our problems, it can serve to motivate us, but will not solve our problems.

What will solve our problems is a specific set of ideas built on bedrock principles that made America the greatest nation to begin with, and applying those principles to the unique challenges of this century.

Those principles aren't complicated. It begins with the motion that this nation was founded on a powerful spiritual principle that our rights do not come from government, our rights do not come from our laws and leaders, our rights come from God.

Our government does not exist to decide these rights, nor to grant them. Our government exists to protect them. And that's why we have a constitution that limits the power of the federal government to a few specific but important things, and we've abandoned that.

We have abandoned it in both political parties. We reached a moment in our history where we think every problem in America has to have a federal government solution. Every problem in America does not have a federal government solution.

In fact, most problems in America do not have a federal government solution and many of them are created by the federal government to begin with.

And so to move forward in a better direction, it does mean re- embracing and following the first amendment, for what that stands for is not just the right to believe anything you want, but the right to live out the teachings of your faith and every single aspect of your life.

It means understanding that the second amendment was not a nice suggestion, it is a constitutional right to protect yourself and your families from terrorists or criminals. It means adhering the tenth amendment, of which power belongs in government is reserved to states, not because we don't care about our problems but because we care.

We know when the federal government tries to solve these problems, it often makes them worse, not better. So let's return power back to the states.

[12:15:09]Conservatism means embracing true free enterprise. I believe in that, not because my parents were wealthy, not because inherited millions of dollars, because I did not.

As I walked to the stage, I walked through the kitchen of the hotel, I met people, shook the hands of people doing the jobs my parents once did. You know why they have a job? You know why my parents had a job?

Because free enterprise works because someone created those jobs. With those jobs, they're able to feed their families, raise them, buy homes, and a better future.

Free enterprise is the best economic system in the history of the world because it is the only system where you can make poor people richer and you don't have to make rich people poorer.

It means -- conservatism means belief in strong national defense, not because we want war but because we love peace. Because history taught us a painful lesson that weakness is the enemy of peace, that weakness invites violence.

That weakness invites war. So conservatives believe that the U.S. military should always be the most powerful on earth because the world is a safer and better place when America is the strongest military in the world.

Conservatives believe we stand by our allies, especially Israel. They're the only free enterprise democracy in the Middle East.

Conservatives believe we need to defeat radical Islam, not because we want war but because ISIS and other radical Islamists are enemies of peace and that's why we need a president who in which under whom the best intelligence agencies in the world will find terrorists and the best military will destroy them.

If we capture them alive, a president that will bring them to the United States, grant them a court appointed lawyer, a president that will send these terrorists where they belong, to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

And conservatives believe we take care of our veterans because we have a sacred obligation to take care of them after they've taken care of us. It's something that's not happening now.

And yes, conservatives believe in traditional values, not because we want to impose our views on anyone, but because to abandon those values would be to ignore our history.

Americans are not the most generous people on earth because our laws make us generous. People contribute to charity in record amounts because we have a tax break from it. We do so because this nation is shaped by Judeo Christian principles that teach us that we have an obligation to care for one another.

And we believe in traditional values because without them, without the belief in an all powerful God then the very founding of this country was meaningless, it was founded on the principle our rights come from God.

If there is no God, where do your rights come from, other than what your leaders decide they are. You do not understand America and you do not understand our history if you do not understand the role that the faith community played in making us the greatest nation in the history.

So I am preaching to the proverbial choir on this issue, why? Because I think there's a growing amount of confusion about what conservatism is. It is time for us to understand that conservatism isn't built on personalities.

Conservatism isn't simply built on how angry you might seem from time to time. Conservatism is built on a set of principles and ideas that our nation desperately needs. Perhaps the most important moment in a generation, for over 200 years this has been an exceptional country.

I know this personally as do so many of you, for me America is not just the country I was born nation that literally changed the history of my family.

[12:20:07]But we have to remember that what made that possible was not an accident. America is not a special country by accident. It did not happen on its own. It happened because for over 200 years, each generation before us did what needed to be done.

Over two centuries, each generation of Americans before us confronted and solved problems. They embraced opportunities, and Americans never had it easy. This was a nation founded by declaring independence from the most powerful empire in the world.

This is a nation that faced divisive, bloody civil war, two great world wars, a long cold war. The 1960s were difficult for this country. The civil rights movement divided us regionally, Vietnam War divide us generationally.

Americans never had it easy. Each generation before us confronted their challenges and solved their problems. That's why each generation before us left a country better off than the one left for them.

My fellow conservatives, the time has come for this generation to do its part. The moment has arrived for us to do our part now. The stakes could not be higher, the future of the greatest nation on earth is at stake.

I want to speak specifically to the younger people here today. I know there's a lot of there. I know times are difficult. I want you to know I believe something with all my heart. I believe that today's young Americans are on the verge and have the chance to become the next greatest generation in American history.

I believe that the 21st Century is tailor made for America. There are now hundreds of millions of people on this planet that a decade ago were starving, now they want to buy things from you, they want to trade with you, they want to partner with you, collaborate with you.

And these young Americans are the best collaborators in the history of mankind. These young Americans are the most technologically advanced people that have ever lived.

On the campaign trail, unless you're under 25, no one knows how to use their camera phone. These young Americans have the chance to fulfill incredible potential and destiny, but we have to give them a chance.

And they won't have a chance if a Hillary Clinton or a Bernie Sanders is elected. And they won't have a chance -- and they won't have a chance if the conservative movement is hijacked by someone that's not a conservative.

And so I'm already over time. Let me close with this. Well, I've got to answer questions, I get to answer questions from Dana Bash.

Let me close with this. I know all the news today sounds bad. By the way, for young Americans, know this, one thing that's true about history, every generation believes the next generation is really messed up.

I want you to believe and know if we do what needs to be done, I want you to know what history will say about you, about us, if we make the right choice now. It will say this generation of Americans lived in the early years of this new century in a very difficult time.

The world was changing, and we struggled to keep pace with it and it will say the truth. We almost got it wrong, after eight years of Barack Obama and one crazy election, we almost got it wrong. We came this close.

Then we remembered who we were. Then we remembered what America was. Then we confronted our challenges and embraced opportunities. Because we did what needed to be done in 2016 our children became the freest and the most prosperous Americans that ever lived.

Because we did what needed to be done, the American dream didn't just survive, it reached more people, changed more lives than ever before.

Because we did what need to be done, the 21st century became greater than the 20th century. It became the greatest era in our history, became a new American century.

This is what we have a chance to do together, and our time to do it is now. Thank you! Thank you! And now -- thank you. Thank you, thank you very much.

[12:25:14]And now I'm going to answer some questions from a journalist many of us respect very much, CNN's chief political correspondent, Dana Bash is here. I look forward to answering her questions. Thank you, guys. I am sick, I don't want to get you sick.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you for that.

RUBIO: Hold on, hold on!

BASH: That never gets old, does it?

RUBIO: My running mate right here.

BASH: First of all, I just want to say that was definitely the first time way introduced by a presidential candidate. I have a list of questions to ask. One thing you just talked about struck me, I want you to talk about.

I too came in through the back, through the kitchen. That's definitely how you approach a lot of these events, and people don't really realize that, but for you it is personal.

RUBIO: Yes. My parents, this is the jobs they did. I always tell people, my parents were incredibly successful people because the American dream is not about how much money you make, how my buildings have your name on it.

The American dream -- the American dream -- I wasn't talking about anybody in particular, I was just saying, the American dream is about achieving happiness.

When you become a firefighter, a police officer, a teacher, a nurse, you know you're not going to become a billionaire, what you want is what my parents achieved.

What my parents achieved working as a bartender and maid at a hotel, after arriving here with nothing, no education, no money, the first words my dad learned in English, I am looking for a job.

You know what my parents achieved? They owned a home in a safe, stable neighborhood, retired with dignity, and they left all four of their children better off than themselves. That's the American dream.

BASH: I know you weren't talking about any particular person when you just --

RUBIO: I probably was, but I mean, you know, trying to be nice.

BASH: Let's go there. Donald Trump was supposed to be here this morning. He backed out. He instead was in Kansas. I sense that the crowd has an opinion on that. Do you?

RUBIO: Yes, I mean, this is the American Conservative Union. It is usually reserved for conservatives. This matters. I mean, either the ideas behind conservatism matter or they do not. If they do not, that's fine, but I believe they do.

It is not enough to say vote for me because I am angrier, over the top, I will say and do things that nobody else will do, I get that anger and frustration, I really do.

But I said this before, it is not a coincidence, there are a plethora of young conservative leaders in their 40s and 50s, myself, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Scott Walker, Susana Martinez, Nikki Haley, Paul Ryan, why?

Why are there so many young conservatives now serving our country? I'll tell you why because we grew up in the era of Reagan. Ronald Reagan looked and acted nothing like Donald Trump. And look at the Democrats. Who is the young and up and coming Democrat? Bernie sanders.

BASH: Senator, let me ask you a question about that, though. I asked Ted Cruz about that this week as well. You're stepping up rhetoric big time against Donald Trump on the question of whether or not he is a true conservative, you started that at the CNN's debate last week. You're calling him a con artist and fraud. If you believe those things, why did you wait until February 2016 to say so?

RUBIO: Well, a couple reasons why. Number one is because for much of this campaign, I have been fighting off other people attacking me, that takes time, too. The other is look, I didn't get up on this to beat up other candidates, really didn't.

I hoped that voters, if you told me a year ago that the frontrunner at this stage in the Republican campaign would be a supporter of Planned Parenthood, that says he doesn't stand with Israel, has a long record of supporting government sponsored health care, I would say on what planet would that be the Republican frontrunner, but it's happened.

I think we have to ask ourselves why have we allowed that to happen? So I don't think any of us anticipated it.

BASH: Why is that? Why have -- because Americans have voted for him.

RUBIO: I mean, part of the reason and I think you're one of the reasons why, I don't mean this, to take you on this, but I want to be clear. I have been sitting here 5 minutes, and two of three questions have been about Donald Trump, that's the reason why --

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESONDENT: ...that's fair, that's ...

[12:30:02] MARCO RUBIO, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's why, and I don't mean this to -- and I don't mean to take you on this but I want to be clear. Because I've now been sitting here for five minutes and two of the three questions have been about Donald Trump, that's the reason why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think Donald (inaudible)

(CROWD CHEERING) BASH: That's fair, that's fair, but he is the front runner.

RUBIO: The last ...

BASH: That's fair but he's the front runner and you been making your (inaudible) in about Donald Trump.

RUBIO: Yeah, but -- no, but even before he was the front runner. Even before he was the front runner, Donald would offend someone personally, he would make fun of the disabled reporter or attack a woman journalist, and he would dominate news coverage, of course he's going to get all this attention. It's fine. I'm not complaining about it. All I'm saying to you is the reason why we talk about it and the reason why lot of these has happen is that the other night at the debate, I didn't the count but over half the questions I ask were somehow related to my opinion of Donald Trump.

I'm more than happy to share with you my opinion on Donald Trump, but I'm running for president because I think this country needs to re embrace the constitution. This country needs to re embrace free enterprise, and needs to re embrace strong National defense.

BASH: We have two questions on Twitter. People work group (ph) submitting questions on Twitter and Liza Gariela (ph) ask this question.

How are you children responding to your campaign, do they understand how important and serious this is? And before you ask that, let me answer that question, I want to put my mom head on for a second, because you're the proud father of four, I'm the mother of a 4-year- old son. And I'm having trouble letting him watch the news because things have got so bolder and so, over the top that I don't him to think that it's OK to act like that.

RUBIO: Right that.

BASH: How do you -- and I'm not alone. I know a lot of people also, but how do you feel as a father and a presidential candidate about how low things have gone.

RUBIO: Well, I mean -- no but I tell you this is related to the real question. Now, I am glad you asked it.

My kids were around with me on the campaign trail a lot from New Hampshire Iowa, and New Hampshire, South Carolina. Every day when I woke up, I was glad they were there, not just because they were my kids, because I look at them and they've reminded me this is what is about. You're literally trying to decide, what kind of country will it be like when they're my age, when they're younger but doing things for the first time, I mentioned this in the speech.

You know, God has blessed my family. He has protected our children. He has protected us. They've handled it extremely well. I don't think we've ever had a negative moment in the campaign with them. But that's because God has protected us and shielded us. I really believe that if He's done that for us, and He's done that for other families as well ...

(CROWD CHEERING)

And -- but for me, it is a daily reminder that were fighting for here ultimately. So, were deciding now in this election. We'll decide what America looks like in 10 years.

And yes, I think it is -- one of the things you ask me, I don't want us to have president that we constantly have to explaining to our kids, look, I know, it's what the president did, but you shouldn't do that. I don't want that.

(CROWD CHEERING)

We actually had a president like that not long ago, it was (inaudible) back.

BASH: But the camp -- I leave that one alone. But just to follow up -- but the rhetoric has been -- I mean, I mean, I understand you're saying that you are trying to answer him and some of the things that he had been saying. But -- you know, I can't explain to my kid about this of what were talking about hands and things like that.

RUBIO: Well, look ...

(CROWD CHEERING)

... I don't -- I'll be more than happy to answer another Trump question. I don't know, - Donald Trump, he might have grown up the way he did with a lot of money and going to boarding schools. I can tell you this. Where I go up is someone punching people on the face, eventually, someone's going to stand up and punch them back

(CROWD CHEERING)

BASH: I want' to ask you another question from Twitter. This is on the Supreme Court from Ed, Sarah Lee from (inaudible). Do, you think President Obama should appoint a justice to "the Supreme Court prior to the end of his term. Why and why not?

RUBIO: No absolutely The reason why it's fall for personal -- I agree with Joe Biden in 1992 when he said, we should not be electing Supreme Court, or nominating Supreme court justices in the election year, much less in the eighth or this president.

First of all, t the Supreme Court can function with eight justices. The number nine is set by by Congress, I'm not advocating we do this we do this, but if we want to change into eight or seven, we could, there's no magic number nine.

Number 2: this president's completely unaccountable. He is going to be nomination someone to what's basically a life time of appointment and we can't hold it against it that against them in an election.

So we're going to have a debate in these country over these, there's going to be an election in November. God willing, we're going to nominate an elected conservative, and that conservative will them appoint -- I hope someone, more like Justice Scalia than the kind of nominees we've got now with these president.

BASH: So, do yo think that set all candidates now, Republican and Democrats to pledge not to nominate a Supreme Court justice in their last year of their tern?

RUBIO: Sure, I would do that now, and that's by the way has been practice for over 80 years in this country.

The only time they want to bend the rules or change the rules if there's a Democrat in office. So, they've all ignoring what Joe Biden said in 1992, but it goes back to the point I made.

[12:35:06] This is a life time appointment. You cannot -- unless this person that gets appointed murders someone, it's going to be very difficult to remove them from the court. And so, the bottom line is we should not be putting someone when the balance of the court is at stake in that position when, in fact, Barack Obama will not be held accountable for it by the electorate.

BASH: OK. I have another question is about something Donald Trump said, but it's on an important issue which is torture.

You were standing next to him in a debate. You heard when he said I'm torturing them. He reversed himself saying, but then, "he understand that the United States is bound by laws and treaties and will not order a military or other officials to buy and link (ph) those laws".

What do you think about them? What do you think is the most important position of a president on the issue of torture?

RUBIO: Well, I think the most important issue -- the most important job of president to be commander-in-chief. A commander-in-chief will never ask the armed forces of the United States to do something that would violate the rules of war quite frankly the internal practices of our military.

But I want to be clear about interrogation, OK. We have to understand that this is not about torture, nobody here is asking for torture. But you can not use the same interrogation techniques on a terrorist that you do on a criminal, here's why. A criminal when you are interrogating a criminal what you are trying to do is gather evidence for a trail so you can convict them. When you are interrogating a terrorist what you are trying to gather is information to prevent a future terrorist attack. It's not about evidence for trial.

And so, and I don't talk about interrogation techniques. You know why I don't talk about interrogation techniques? Because when you described interrogation techniques terrorist can now -- they do practice evading interrogation techniques, how to evade in telling you the truth.

So we are going to interrogate terrorist but right now that's not even an issue you know why, because Barack Obama does send them anywhere. He's releasing terrorist from Guantanamo, who are going to interrogate? When I'm president if we capture a terrorist, they're going to Guantanamo and we will find out everything they know.

BASH: It is another Twitter question from CCloud (ph). He wants to know how will your faith figure into your presidency.

RUBIO: Well, my faith is the biggest influence on my life. And, by the way I think people -- I think that some in people should be proud. I'm a Christian. I cannot impose my faith on anyone. My faith is the free gift to salvation that you have to willingly accept.

But I can tell you my faith teaches me this, in order for me to serve the Lord I have to serve others. It teaches me that I have to care for people that are hungry and for the less fortunate and for those among us who are facing difficult times.

Now Democrats will say the only way to care for people like that is do more government. The reason why I believe in free enterprise is because I know that free enterprise allows people who are struggling to find a better job and a better life. Does government have a role to play in the safety? Yes, not as a way of life, not as a lifestyle. As a way to get people back on their feet so they find the good job and never rely on government again. My faith influence as we to believe that and my faith influences me to believe. My faith influences me to believe that all human life, all human life, is worthy of the protection of our laws.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right, there you have it our Dana Bash our chief political correspondent interviewing Marco Rubio there on stage after his remarks of the CPAC conference. She has a lot more for him you'll see that only on CNN State of the Union that is tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m. Eastern and a new in Eastern, so stay with us for that.

I want to break this all down. The remarks made by Rubio and his answers to Dana's question. With me Kayleigh McEnany, CNN contributor and a supporter of Trump, also with me Buck Sexton, CNN political commentator as well as the conservative.

Let's talk about the word that was not used until Dana Bash sat down within for the Q and A. In all of Rubio's remarks when he took stage at CPAC, he did not say Donald Trump. That is -- he referenced him and he said things like, there is growing confusion about what conservation is a admitted it's not a personality or anger. He didn't use the word Trump, Kayleigh.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it evident to me that he realizes his strategy that he took just a week ago isn't working the strategy of attacking Trump in a very vitriolic kind of way. And it looks like stand up comedy. It's evidence to me that wasn't working.

So he realize he needs to criticize Trump, but he needs to do so in a way that isn't calling him by name, because when he does that it fuels Trump's supporters, it fuels people caucus size. That's exactly what it does, so dialing back I think it's a smart move.

HARLOW: Buck, she's pointing to the back off it. Say that Rubio only took Minnesota on Super Tuesday after switching strategies there. Do you agree if this the right strategy to allude to Donald Trump and to sort of point out the media for saying as he just said, "all you guys asking about is Donald Trump"?

BUCK SEXTON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Although it's (inaudible) figure out what the right strategy is yet for dealing with Donald Trump. I think Rubio is trying everything that he can. Part of his message though is that he wants to unify the GOP, because the reality right now is whether you're Trump supporter Cruz, or Rubio or even a Kasich supporter. There are no good options for the GOP.

HARLOW: Does he really want to unify the GOP?

SEXTON: That's it.

HARLOW: What if they don't unify behind him?

SEXTON: That's his message, right.

CNN ANCHOR: OK.

[12:40:05] SEXTON: But that his message is that there needs to be unity within the GOP, because if you believe that if you buy in to that then you're not going to believe that Trump is the answer. Because when you look at all the polling Trump has a very core group of supporters that substantial, that's why he's the front runner. But everybody who's not in that group will not vote for Trump, does not like Trump and there this whole network Trump movement that's been popping up on social media.

So, Rubio is trying to position himself as perhaps not now, but down the line assuming this goes to broker convention the guy who can nominate all this different factions, will that work? I don't know. I don't think Rubio doesn't know either, but that certainly the approach that he's trying to take here, given the fact that he isn't in a particularly enviable position based on the delegate council party. He has won Minnesota, but he's looking at Florida, he's looking at March 15th.

HARLOW: Buck, we're pointing out that if he was seeking to unify the GOP he would come out and do what Christie have done and Carson have done and, Huckabee has done and even Cruz did yesterday --

MCENANY: No, but just to say a brokered convention is non acceptable. Cruz said yesterday that would be a disaster for the Republican Party. It would ensure Hillary tops the nomination basically from Ted Cruz, someone who is still a viable candidate in this race. That would be horrific for the GOP. And I think you can agree with that. So Rubio is the only candidate out there actively seeking a brokered convention. You have to ask yourself, is that something that we unify the GOP, I don't think so.

HARLOW: When you looked at this guys and all of it. You know, one thing that does stand out to me is the back feed. There are other voices in this that are now pointing to the media. John Kasich just came out and he talked about the media last time.

Something we have not heard him do. For Trump do it a lot. And Rubio etc, but talking about the fact that he doesn't feel like he get the fair shot in this environment.

Now granted he's not speaking CPAC today. He's in Michigan. But let's listen to what John Kasich said about all of this just last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KASICH, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (R): We used to believe in freedom of the press, now I'm starting to belief we believe in freedom of the purse. And that's just not a great way to pick a president, but that's the world we live in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: He went on to say more. But he said it's a pretty pathetic situation in this country. People only get attention when they call each other names. Buck, can you weight in on that?

SEXTON: Yeah, sure. Those are two different issues, right? One is the tone of his obviously referring to Donald Trump's campaign. Although the tones of other campaigns have gone a little bit nasty as well recently.

But look at John Kasich was pulling 15 to 20 to 30,000 personal rallies across the country and not getting media coverage I could understand him making this case, in fact, the matter is he's now the third he was really the fourth year candidate at this point and there's never been any moment in the entire GOP contest so far when you thought, oh, John Kasich, that guy might actually get this done.

So, him criticizing the tone of other campaign he certainly within his rights to do that, but his idea that the media has been -- that the media has created Trump, the media hasn't created Trump, Trump has been getting a lot of media coverage because of what Trump is, and the movement that's going around him. You know, it's not like all the different cable networks are busting in all of these people to show that at his rallies ...

HARLOW: Well, the last hour, we just heard from Cruz live, Trump live, and Rubio live right here on CNN. Kayleigh to you, Rubio said, let me paraphrase here. He said Reagan looked nothing like Donald Trump. And I thought the strategy that was interesting because there he standing in front of CPAC sort of the who to in the conservative movement.

Tell a one name that's been talked about most in this race a conservative that's not running. It is Ronald Reagan. What do you make of that? Do you see any sort of -- any fear there are Trump supporter that we could see a slip for Trump given this concentrate of comparison that he's the anti-Reagan.

MCENANY: Yeah, I completely disagree with the senator when it comes to Reagan. You know, if you looked back at Reagan's campaign you had Jimmy Carter coming out saying that Reagan is stirring up hatred because he did not fervently denounced the KKK enough to satisfy Carter. You know at Esquire magazine saying, anyone who lines up and votes for Trump they're like good German voting at Hitler's Germany. You had a lot of the same criticisms of Ronald Reagan, as for as the Reagan comparison, I think it's hard for anyone to be Reagan. It would be a lot of time passing before we can say that we truly found another Reagan.

HARLOW: Does it concern you that your candidate that Donald Trump did not disavowed on State of Union with Jake Tapper immediately last week when asked three times to KKK and the David Duke?

MCENANY: Look the KKK should be denounced --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: When you were sitting there watching that, did you think just come out and disavowed them now instead on Twitter few minutes later.

MCENANY: Yes, I did think that, but I believe when he said his ear piece not function I believe that because he have history of disavowing David Duke going back 20 years and going forward from that interview. I think he's been very clear that he disavowed their support. I believe him that an earpiece not function because that statement simply --

(CROSSTALK)

SEXTON: He repeated his named back.

MCENANY: And by the way, my earpiece is just last week I didn't hear every [sic] word I could make the broad outline of the question, but I did not every word from the question.

SEXTON: I think that -- look, I think.

MCENANY: That happens in a media. It's dishonest to say that earpiece has never malfunction.

SEXTON: We both have our earpieces it now.

(CROSSTALK)

MCENANY: three times in month.

[12:45:02] SEXTON: But let's also be fair to the fact that you agree. It was blunder not to immediately --you hear KKK, you heart David Duke He knows what those are, he already knows what those mean. He should have immediately said that's no. He's knows what those are, he knows what those mean.

He should have immediately said that's disgraceful and I would have -- I would have guess it. I don't think we need to also add into the servicing ear piece malfunction, that's me seems like saying --

HARLOW: Right, keep it there.

SEXTON: You know, the sun was in my eyes that's why I missed the fly ball.

HARLOW: Let's take a break. You guys can keep debating in the commercial. I got to get a break in here.

We're going to have much more of these ahead. And again, you're going to see the rest of that interview that Dana is doing right now live with Marco Rubio on the State of the Union, tomorrow morning 9 a.m Eastern.

Stay with us. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I'd like to ask Hillary Clinton a question. How would you help release the tension between the police and the people?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Again, I am meeting some of the smartest people on the streets of Flint, Michigan.

A nice, pretty live pictures of the Flint River for you. Yes it looks lovely in pictures doesn't it? But that has been a very troublesome from source of so much of suffering that's going on in the city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:50:02] We're bringing you the very latest on the water crisis here just ahead of the Democratic debate that CNN is hosting live from here in Flint. And that's tomorrow night.

If you think what's happening in Flint is just a local problem and that it's the people of Flint who have to deal with it. Maybe this will pique your interest.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the ripple effect of this crisis could cause the entire nation an estimated $300 billion. We're talking about the ripple effect because there are other cities across the nation with crumbling infrastructure too.

So it's not just Flint. And it's not just Detroit. It could be you too in it certainly, could be your money $300 billion with a B.

Just yesterday, the City of Flint began pulling out and replacing some of that infrastructure. The House was just talking about those lead- contaminated pipes in the water systems here.

The crews were starting in the neighborhoods where the people are the worst affected and most at risk of lead poisoning.

That would be neighborhoods with children under the age of six as well as senior citizens and also pregnant women.

And in another development, a Utah senator is blocking federal aid to help fix the water crisis. Now it may not be exactly what is sounds like in the headlines, the Republican at issue here is Mike Lee. And he said that a $220 million aid package is not needed from the Feds because he says the state of Michigan has enough money in it's rainy day fund about a billion dollars to be handling this issue.

There's also that argument between it being a man-made problem as opposed to a natural disaster and it does have the parties split.

The attention on Flint's water crisis is much greater because this is an election year. The Democratic candidates who seized Flint as campaign issue and they both wanted to have a debate here.

CNN's Brian Stelter joins me now. Look for better or for worst as you like to say, the issue has focus on the scene, the bucolic and beautiful behind us and it is just -- it's just torment.

Every time I look at that river I'm reminded of how many people here everyday still to this day are, having to have a bath in bottled water.

And yet the candidates are being criticized sometimes that they're just using it as a campaign background.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: I do think it's getting more attention right now because it's election season as you said.

Yeah think about the fact that Hillary Clinton said there should be a debate here. And that Bernie Sanders agreed to have a debate here.

Flint, Michigan is not the kind of place that you usually see a primary debate. These are usually held in big cities like Detroit in our way where the most recent GOP debate was.

We barely hear about Flint in the GOP debate recently. It was the eleventh debate of the cycle and yet there's only one question about it and then the candidates move on.

There were clearly be more sustained interest here tomorrow night. I was talking with the editor of the Flint Journal, Bryn Mickle, he's on the way back to Flint because he was in D.C for CNN's meetings planning questions for the debate. He was getting local input so this going to need your help to account about what they would do about infrastructure in the future.

BANFIELD: So we are -- a nice little secret here, we got this beautiful window behind us but we're in nice quiet library.

STELTER: We're in a library, yes?

BANFIELD: Broadcasting very loud. And volume is becoming an issue.

STELTER: I mean it was the CPAC now what we were seeing with Dana Bash. BANFIELD: I have not heard CPAC erupting into the kinds of -- again,

it is sort of uproars from the audience in between moments when you don't think you're going to hear the audience and the uproar.

The Fox debate was another example, a lot of activity on social media and in the headline to talk about the behavior and the decorum of the audiences at the debate.

I'm not sure that the Democratic debate will have the same criticisms but the Republican debates are becoming like a WWE then with the way the audiences, is almost like gladiators sport.

STELTER: Yeah it does seem to be escalating doesn't it over the course of the primary debate seasons. Especially on the Republican side, you know. I spoke to Sean Spicer the spokesman for the RNC and he told me yesterday --

BANFIELD: How did he feel about that?

STELTER: Well, he said, you know, when you're going to have a debate, you're going to have audience members then they are going to cheer for their candidates.

But he did confirm three people were actually escorted out of the debate on Thursday by police because it was to rowdy. And I spoke to with other people in (inaudible) Gregory for matter amidst the press, who felt it was just plain interruptive, it actually interrupted the debate to have the audience so raucous, so loud.

BANFIELD: I was focusing on the moderators to try to listen to their questions and there were people making spaces in the background --

STELTER: Right. I think they are making (inaudible).

BANFIELD: And I get on television and even during the questioning there were people screaming at the top of their lungs sort of from the rafter, and it was very distracting.

STELTER: Yeah. I mean there are good reasons to have audiences after all some donors do come, local elected officials, the network that would invite people. There's good reasons having an audience I think there's an instant focus group and of course the candidates can feel more comfortable knowing they're speaking to representatives on the audience out on the crowd.

But in this case, it does seem to beginning a little bit worse and worse and worse and I wonder if it served a metaphor for the electorate. Is that sort of frenzy nature of the electorate?

Now there's a frothy nature out there. People who have a lot of anxiety whether you're for Trump you're against Trump or whether you don't care about Trump.

And I wonder if that's coming through in this WWE-style audience, Ashleigh? BANFIELD: Yeah. I think there are definitely a lot of subtexts in that

very discussion and I think a lot of people feel like they're finding their voice through Trump again ...

[12:55:14] STELTER: And maybe literally in the audience, yeah.

BANFIELD: ... they're not, hundred percent. All right Brian Stelter thank you. There are so many other things I have to ask you later on as well. I appreciate it.

By the way Brian Stelter is excellent television watching not just here on the set but also the "Reliable Source" every Sunday, 11 a.m. right here on CNN.

Thank you for that.

And then also, I want to let you know that if you wanted to help the people who've been affected here by the water crisis in Flint, we got you covered. CNN is been helping out here giving out bottles of water.

The Convoy Of Hope who has been attached to that handing a 500,000 bottles of water today. And you can help by going to cnn.com/impact. It is a great thing to do, people here are really struggling, folks. They're your fellow Americans and they could really use your help.

Coming up in the next hour, a lot more at CNN Newsroom right after this break.

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[13:00:12] HARLOW: Saturday 1 p.m. Eastern thank you all for being with me. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York --