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Massive Russian troop pullout from the war-ravaged region; Contested Republican convention could be incredibly real come tomorrow; 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 15, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] DAN RAY, TEA PARTY MEMBER IN FLORIDA: Well, I have never gone down. I love Donald Trump. I have loved him for years. I have always admire him from the distance. I just said that kind of in jest, you know. I realized I started at 120 percent, now I'm down to 110 percent when they ask questions like on Facebook. And hello to all my Facebook friends, by the way. I have got some great friends on Facebook. But they, you know, they ask are you still supporting Donald Trump? It comes out almost every day. So I said yes. I'm just down to 110 percent now, just kind of in just.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: OK. You were joking. Roger that. I do have to ask you as, you know, people are -- including even the, you know, Republican leader of Senate who apparently got on the phone with Donald Trump today. He was essentially saying, you know, advising him to publicly disavow the violence some of the rallies. You know, Mr. Trump is a man who has offended, you know, basically at least half of this country. You know, wants to ban Muslims. You know what he is saying. He is also, though, on the flip side, you know, supported the Clintons, he is supporting universal health care in the past. This is someone who said everything's negotiable. So why can you forgive Donald Trump, on some of his past but not Marco Rubio?

RAY: I really don't have anything to forgive him for. I'm not his judge. He is not a perfect man. None of us are perfect. But you know what, he loves America. He is fighting for us to remain a sovereign nation. If we don't get control of our borders, if we don't restore our sovereignty at the border and stop the influx of illegal aliens. When the bathtub's always overflowing, you got to turn off the water before you can clean up the mess. And we have to protect our sovereignty. We don't want to be part of the new world order. We don't want to join the North American union. We want to be a band of 50 sovereign states. United States of America.

BALDWIN: What about Ted Cruz? What about Ted Cruz just quickly? I mean, Ted Cruz. Mr. Tea party, why aren't you supporting him?

RAY: Yes, well, Ted Cruz was born on Canadian soil to a Cuban national. That's not the definition of a natural born citizen. And as articulated in the U.S. constitution. He, like Marco Rubio, and like Barry Sotoro are not eligible to be in the office of president, period, amen.

BALDWIN: OK. May not getting amen from me for that us because I believe he was an American -- his mother was an American -- RAY: How can it be American when he was born in Canada on Canadian

soil to a Cuban national and a mother, by the way, who was registered to vote as a Canadian at the time of his birth? That's not what our founding fathers had in mind to be the definition of a natural born citizen.

BALDWIN: OK. I haven't spoken to the founding fathers.

Dan Ray, I appreciate your perspective. Glad to have you on. Thank you.

RAY: Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: Coming up next --

RAY: God bless --

BALDWIN: Thank you.

Coming up next, a 70-year-old woman who lost nearly everything including nine family members in Syria's civil war. Still, she refuses to leave. Clarissa Ward joins me live to share that exclusive interview from Syria. Do not miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:23] BALDWIN: Five years ago, Syria's bloody internal conflict erupted. And today, this dismal anniversary coincides with the first day of a massive Russian troop pullout from the war-ravaged region. The first fighter jets left today, 24 hours after President Vladimir Putin's surprise announcement ordering this withdrawal. One area ravaged by Syria's civil war, Aleppo, once the country's largest city, hustling bustling commercial hub there.

CNN senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward and producer Salma Abdel Asis went undercover into rebel-held Syria where virtually no journalists have gone for more than a year. They worked with a Syrian filmmaker -- say it for me, Clarissa.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE).

BALDWIN: Thank you. On this exclusive report, I want to warn you though there re graphic images. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WARD (voice-over): You can tell when you're getting closer to Aleppo. The streets are pock-marked with the aftermath of fresh airstrikes. Berms of earth flanked the road to protect the way from enemy fire. It's a dangerous way to a city few dare to visit.

We now have to drive extremely quickly along this portion of the road, because on one side, you have the regime, and on the other side, you have Kurdish fighters who are now fighting against rebel forces. And there are snipers all around here, but this is the only road now to get into Aleppo. As you arrive in the city, the scale of the destruction is breath-

taking. Stretching on and on, entire residential neighborhoods reduced to rubble.

Aleppo was once Syria's largest a bustling economic hub, now an apocalyptic landscape. Russian warplanes have bombed these areas relentlessly. Allowing government ground forces to encircle the rebel-held eastern part of the city. Still, we found pockets of life among the devastation. A fruit market huddled in the shadow of a bombed-out building. A line of people waiting patiently to collect water, now a precious resource here.

This is basically what is left of rebel-held Aleppo, after months and months of thousands of Russian bombs raining down on here, the streets are largely deserted, the buildings have been destroyed, and the people, who once lived here, have been pushed out. And the very few residents who are still here, who we have spoken to, have told us that they don't expect the situation to get any better. In fact, they are convinced it will only get worse.

70-year-old Souad has lived in this city for 40 years. Her grandson Farouk is a fighter with the Islamist rebel group Alra Asham (ph). In all, nine members of her family have been killed in the fighting, including two of her three sons.

[15:40:38] SOUAD, ALEPPO RESIDENT (through translator): They all died on the front line. We raise our heads high for them. God willing, they are in paradise.

WARD: What would it take for you to leave Aleppo?

FAROUD, FIGHTER(through translator): It is true there is shelling and Russian planes and Iranian militias and every day there is a massacre, but it is enough for us to express our religion and our faith as free people, not anyone's puppet. Is it enough for us to fight as Mujahadin and defend our honor and our women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Should we leave our country and go to another country? No. This is our country. And we will remain in this until we die.

WARD: The people clinging on to life here feel the world has abandoned them, leaving them only with God. Their existence becomes more precarious with every passing day, but surrender is unthinkable.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ] BALDWIN: And Clarissa is with me now.

I mean, we saw the shot a minute ago of those children. What is it like for them there?

WARD: It's actually difficult to describe. And I think sometimes our cameras don't do justice to the devastation. Because it's 360-degree devastation. And most of the children -- you saw some of them, still living in that city. They don't have schools to go to. The supplies are limited. Water, food, medical supplies.

I spoke to one woman who told me that she struggled every day with the decision of whether or not to send her daughter to school because on the one hand of course she wants to see her daughter get an education. And on the other hand, every time she goes out of that door, she knows that she may not come back. And we saw one school right in that area where we were filming in Aleppo that have been blown to smithereens. You could still see the mangled remains of the desks that had been destroyed.

BALDWIN: The U.S. state department has taken note of your reporting here. I know that the spokesperson, John Kirky, spoke with Christiane Amanpour. Here's part of what he shared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY (RET.), SPOKESMAN, STATE DEPARTMENT: I saw Clarissa's piece. And it's heart-rending to look at some of that footage. There's no question that it resulted in just horrific violence and the death and injury of so many innocent people. There's no way you can't look at a report like that and not feel it in your gut. And we have been saying for a long time, since Russia started umping up their military activity that it was absolutely unacceptable to be hitting civilian infrastructure, to be causing civilian casualties, be going after groups other than those of dash and al- Nusra.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So he mentioned Russians. And I think also important to note, you know, that the city Aleppo, this hustling bustling commercial hub of Syria, had truly been bombed and bombed and bombed for the past four years.

WARD: That's right. There were four years of bombing from the Assad regime before the Russian intervention. So one can't blame Russia solely for the aftermath of the bombardment. But certainly it's fair to say the scale and the intensity of the firepower that they brought to the fire has really been born out in that devastation that you saw.

BALDWIN: And again, we are looking at these pictures. I mean, it's like 21st century ruins. Whereas, just years ago, this was a major international commercial hub.

WARD: And this is what's so heartbreaking. Most people will never know that Aleppo, the Aleppo of the old suks (ph) and winding roads and beautiful citadels. This is one of the most stunning cities on the face of the earth, vibrant, multicultural, multi-sectarian melting pot. And now, sadly, perhaps lost forever.

BALDWIN: We'll see you tomorrow. You have more for us.

WARD: Much more.

BALDWIN: Much more. Clarissa Ward, please make sure you go to our Web site, we have much

more of her reporting. Incredible interactive feature here. Fifty- five Syrians share their stories of lost homes, lost lives and what they want the world to know after five years of a brutal war. Please go. You can go to CNN.com/world.

Clarissa Ward, thank you. We'll talk to you tomorrow.

Meantime, we switch back to U.S. politics. Unless Donald Trump sweeps every state tonight, the possibility of a contested Republican convention could be incredibly real come tomorrow, what will who sets the rules. Who set the rules? We will break it down with an extraordinary presidential historian coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:49:03] BALDWIN: It hasn't happened to the Republicans in nearly 70 years, but a lot of folks are talking about the possibility of a contested or brokered convention this summer. It would happen if not a single one of these candidates gets the required number of delegates, that 1,237, you know, on that first ballot. The last time was June of 1948 in Philadelphia. Thank you CNN archive video for that. Thomas Dewy eventually won on the third go-around, on the third ballot, though, of course, he did not win the White House.

So how would all of this work? Douglas Brinkley is with me now. He is the presidential historian and author of "rightful heritage, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the land of America."

So Doug Brinkley in the flesh, always a pleasure and an honor. What happens, just if no one gets 1,237 off the bat?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I think it is going to matter how close say Donald Trump gets. Let's say he is only 10 delegates short, I think they have to give it to Trump.

BALDWIN: Just give it to him.

BRINKLEY: I think so. But if he is 100 short or 150, I think it will become, well, you can call it brokered -- you can pick your word. But what will happen is there are people will vote and delegates will be able to switch after the first ballot.

In 1976, people often forget Ronald Reagan almost derailed Gerald Ford and they went to Kansas City and it was like this, nobody knew what was going to happen. So, if that happens, if somebody denies Donald Trump, I think there will be violence and craziness going in Cleveland because the Trump people won't take that lightly.

[15:50:30] BALDWIN: In Cleveland, I keep reading about the all- important rules committee at the RNC, and how they truly, they have everything. It sort of in their hands. Who is the rules committee, and why do they wield so much power?

BRINKLEY: Well, because the Republican Party is just that. Its its own entity. And you know, it supposed to be a privilege to get the nomination and set up a ground rule. But the ground rule is you need that many delegates and nobody has that many delegates. There's plan B. And in many ways right now, I think the Republican Party is purposely trying to derail Donald Trump. And that the point of tonight, if Trump wins Florida and Ohio, as we all know, I think he's got this thing.

But if he loses in Ohio, and Kasich, and say, Rubio stay in or at least Cruz and Kasich, it muddies it up enough. And they're worried about losing the brand identity to Donald Trump, meaning the GOP. It is a political party. They would lose it if Trump got the nomination.

BALDWIN: Explain though how have delegated who would be married to a certain candidate based upon which way a certain state wins, but that can all be thrown out the window on second round.

BRINKLEY: Second round. That's the key. So first round, everybody plays the game, but nobody still has enough. Then you could do horse trading and horse swapping. So what if Cruz, Kasich, and Rubio take all of the delegates, and warp them into one, make a deal, one would be president, one would be vice president, perhaps, because you would suddenly say, look, Trump doesn't have 50 percent of the Republican party. He has got 35 percent. So if the rest coalesce against him, there are actually more Republicans that are anti-Trump.

I would call tonight anti-Trump Super Tuesday. It's all about the anti-Trump movement. I haven't seen an anti-movement in a party except maybe a little bit with Jimmy Carter in 1976. It was anybody but Carter.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BRINKLEY: And at the last minute, they tried to throw Frank Church and Jerry Brow from California and all the stop Jimmy Carter because the party apparatus didn't like him, but alas Carter had enough delegated.

BALDWIN: Could there be a stop Trump movement, you know, we talk about the whisperings in the wings of the brokered convention, and who would throw out other potential names? I mean, it could just go wild.

BRINKLEY: It could. And that's why I think if Trump, did this is the big day for Donald Trump. He needs a win in Ohio. He really doesn't want do come out with just getting rid of Rubio but still have Kasich hanging in there in the Midwest and taking delegates away from him.

So this is, I think, the big super Tuesday. We'll know tonight whether I think it will go into brokered convention or not. So this is the key night for folks to be watching.

BALDWIN: This is the night to watch.

Douglas Brinkley, as always, thank you very much.

We'll be watching, perhaps into the wee hours, to be determined.

Next, what happens when the hottest show on Broadway, have you seen this? "Hamilton?" It so good. I saw it off Broadway. I saw it. I saw it a while ago. It is phenomenal. Here he is. So President Obama is helping him freestyle, you know, in the Rose Garden because that's how they roll. We will show that with you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:47] BALDWIN: The cast of the Grammy award winning Broadway musical "Hamilton" which is awesome was a special guest of President Obama and the first lady at White House. But the best part is when actor and creator and star actor Lin-Manuel Miranda freestyled in the Rose garden with President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Serious business right here. You know.

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, ACTOR: Are we in the Rose Garden right now?

OBAMA: We are. This is the rose garden right here. Must be nerve- racking. I hope I don't drop the cards.

MIRANDA: Ready.

OBAMA: Ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All set.

OBAMA: All right. Drop the beat.

MIRANDA: (SINGING)

OBAMA: How good is that? That's -- you think that's going viral? That's going viral.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

MIRANDA: I did see not those words prior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I did not see those words prior, he says.

President Obama said the musical "Hamilton "is the only thing he and former vice president Cheney actually agree on. There you have it there at the White House.

Stay with CNN for all day coverage. Super Tuesday. We have extensive coverage across all five states. There you have it.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me. "The LEAD" starts right now.