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Trump Rallies Supporters in Tucson, Arizona; Top Conservatives Plot Anti-Trump Uprising; President Obama to Visit Cuba on Sunday; Bombing in Turkey; Kipp Academy in Camden. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired March 19, 2016 - 19:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:17] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow. It is 7:00 p.m. on the East Coast, 4:00 p.m. Pacific. Glad you're with us.

Up first, Donald Trump rallying a crowd of supporters right now in Tucson, Arizona, ahead of the state's winner-take-all primary on Tuesday. Security for the event today tight after an afternoon of anti-Trump protests and not one but two states.

Earlier today, protesters blocked the road near Trump's event. That was happening. Demonstrators in New York marched through the streets from Columbus Circle down to Trump tower on 5th Avenue. A few of them pepper sprayed and arrested after throwing water bottles at police.

We have the story covered from every angle. Our Boris Sanchez and Sara Sidner are live at Trump's Tucson event. Also with me, CNN political commentators, Ryan Lizza, Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker", and Scottie Nell Hughes is surrogate for the Trump campaign.

Let's go straight to Boris Sanchez. He's standing by at Trump's rally in Tucson, that got under way just about an hour ago.

Immigration, this is all about immigration. Trump is still speaking. When you look at Arizona, yes, he's leading in the polls. This is also a state with a significant number of Hispanics, 30 percent according to the most recent census.

Is Trump departing from his message about building a wall in Mexico, deporting 11 million undocumented workers?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He's really sticking to the point of immigration here. A lot of applause for the lines about building a wall, making Mexico pay for it, and deporting the roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants that are here in the United States.

I can tell you that there have been several interruptions, about a half dozen, maybe slightly more, during his speech. At one point, there was actually a group of people in the staircase directly behind me that were lodged in there. There was a Black Lives Matter protest chanting at Trump and they couldn't be removed because they were caught between seats and Trump's supporters, so police couldn't get directly to them.

There was a bit of a standoff between security and those protesters as Trump was speaking. He kept getting louder and louder, seemingly unfazed by the y those people were deterred and they left. For the most part, it's just pushing and shoving. Trump gathering a lot of applause, sticking to the message of immigration.

And before he came out and spoke, he touted Sheriff Joe Arpaio came out and spoke for him. Trump has been touting his endorsement.

Here's some of what they said earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So they blocked the road. They changed themselves to the cars. There were about 50 of them, but listen to this, what Sheriff Joe did, he said get up, get out, they didn't. They cut the chains, it took like two minutes. They cut the chains, they arrested three people, and everybody else left, right? They left.

(CHEERS)

I love our police, but you should do a little more of that, you'd have a lot less protesters, you'd have a lot less agitators.

We're going to kick ISIS where it hurts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That was Trump talking about protesters blocking the road and saying Sheriff Joe Arpaio helped get them out of the way. As those protesters were lodged in the staircase, he said he wished he had Sheriff Joe there to get them out and give him a piece of his mind, Poppy.

HARLOW: Boris Sanchez, live for us in Tucson, thank you very much.

Talking about those protesters, dozens of people staged an anti-Trump protest ahead of that rally. Many of them chanting, at least one of those protesters was removed by police.

So, Sara Sidner has been outside, sort of in the thick of it.

It is loud there. What is their main message?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Their main message is talking to the focus who are supporting Donald Trump, while some folks have come to listen to his message, some of the folks supporting Trump and the protesters here are railing directly at those folks who have come in to watch Trump and support Trump, calling them racist, saying if they support Donald Trump, they feel he is racist and therefore they are saying the crowd that has come to see him is racist as well.

We're hearing a lot of them also talk about immigration out here. There are a lot of (INAUDIBLE). A lot of folks of Mexican descent who feel they've been attacked by Donald Trump and some of the things he's said throughout the campaign and frankly how he's been talking his policy on immigration. But really what you're seeing here are some passionate people.

So far, there have been no violent incidents. In other words, they are letting people through. The police had it very much under control.

[19:05:00] This is getting a little more raucous, a lot louder, but mostly what we're seeing is a lot of yelling back and forth but not a whole lot of violence at all when you're looking at the crowd as a whole.

HARLOW: They are making their voices heard and everyone has a right to. Glad to hear there is no violence. Sara Sidner, thank you very much.

Let's talk more about all of this, what has transpired today. With me Ryan Lizza and Scottie Nell Hughes.

Scottie Nell, let me begin with you. Trump's in Arizona. You got a population, 30 percent Hispanic population according to the latest census. You got a population in that that the GOP has said we have to be courting to win this time around.

Look at the scene next to Sara, look at those live images. Are you worried at all that reinforces the trouble the GOP had winning over that crucial Hispanic vote last time?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, of course you want to reach out to all, especially Hispanics. The only polls we have of actual GOP voters, Hispanics, over in the state of Nevada, Mr. Trump won with, because those are legal residents of the United States who have come over, have put a lot of time and effort into becoming resident. So --

HARLOW: Scottie, let me point out -- here's the problem with the Nevada number. It was such a small amount of Hispanic voters, and then when you look at Florida, Trump lost in Florida by double to Marco Rubio, who took home 52 percent of the Hispanic vote and Trump took 26 percent.

HUGHES: But he still overwhelmingly won in the state of Florida so much. That's what we're finding out. You can't sit there and compromise your principles in order to reach out to a base.

Are you really winning if you did that? I mean, Marco Rubio is sitting at home based on mainly because he signed the "gang of eight" amnesty bill. So, as long as you have a candidate out there that is not willing to compromise his principles like Mr. Trump, he can still overwhelmingly win, and legal Latin-American residents will sit there and identify with his idea of supporting the economy and encouraging education and that we can actually strengthen our country together as Americans, not necessarily as one demographic versus another. HARLOW: So, that's interesting. Ryan, do you think given Scottie's

point perhaps the GOP autopsy report that came out in 2012 after Romney lost saying you can't do this with just white voters, you have to be better in terms of getting the Latino vote, the African-American vote, is that miscalculated given the support we're seeing Trump has?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, frankly, there really was a debate in the Republican Party between the autopsy report authors who said the way to go is to reach out to the two fastest growing groups in America, and that is Hispanic-Americans and Asian- Americans, believe it or not. Asian-Americans are growing at a faster clip than Hispanic-Americans.

And the big part of that project was that the RNC said comprehensive immigration reform should be embraced by all Republicans. There was counterargument to that. A lot of people said, wait a second, what about cranking up the white vote and not going with comprehensive immigration reform and that's sort of the avenue Trump has taken. A lot of strategists think in an election it is the death knell for the Republican Party but certainly in a primary where the overwhelming population is white, you can do quite well.

I have to say, though, if you look at the general election numbers, if you look at Trump's numbers, his favorability numbers with Hispanics, they are abysmal. He has to do quite a turnaround in the general election to win that group back.

You know, truth is, how you do with a group in a Republican primary tells you very little about how you'd do with a broader group in a general election. And right now, he would be the most unpopular general election nominee in modern times.

HARLOW: There is this fascinating study out of the City University of New York and CNN Espanol recently that found that the Latino voting bloc could sway this election in nine different states, outlining them, one of them being Florida and naming the other, so we'll watch that.

Ryan, I do want to turn to the Democrats right now because Bernie Sanders just said something today, struck lot of people. He's reminding people, basically saying, I'm not going anywhere. Listen.

LIZZA: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, in my mind, it would be extraordinary undemocratic to he people half the states of America you don't have a right to get involved in the nominating process for the Democratic candidate. Second of all, from a more practical point of view, I think if you write off or say to half states in the country that they should not participate, their response may well be on Election Day -- well, you didn't want us to participate in the primary process, we're not going to come out for general election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Obviously, Ryan, Bernie Sanders has the right to run. Look at how much he has increased his national stature. But I wonder if you think that him staying in sort of through the bitter end, which by the way Clinton did in 2008.

Does that hurt his standing with the Democratic Party, a party that may be ready to focus their attention Trump more?

[19:10:04] LIZZA: You know, I don't think it's coincidental that as Trump has risen Hillary Clinton solidified her grip on the Democratic nomination. I think a lot of voters decided they just needed something sort of good and they didn't want to take a risk with Bernie Sanders and wanted sort of, you know, what was familiar and solid in Clinton.

That's speculation. But -- and I think you're right, Poppy, that some Democrats are going to start getting a little queasy about Bernie Sanders continuing to run, compete in these elections. He's going to win states, right? It's basically a 60/40 race.

By the end of this, she'll probably have 60 percent of the delegates, he'll have 40 percent. That's not bad for him. The reason he's going to stay in is he has money. He has a huge small donor army and he can stay in until the convention.

HARLOW: Scottie, very quickly, does it help your candidate? Does it help Donald Trump to have Bernie Sanders in here taking some shots at Hillary Clinton, Wall Street ties, et cetera?

HUGHES: Absolutely, but you cannot ignore the fact that Democrats right now have a major issue on their hands. They're not coming out to the polls. Their voter turnout is extremely low compared to 2008 and 2012.

They're disenfranchised. They're crossing over by the tens of thousands to vote in the Republican primary. And for who we think is Mr. Trump.

So, the Democrats right now are going to have to do some major change of their messaging if they're going to hope to try to get those folks back for general election.

HARLOW: That was not the case in South Carolina, but I digress. Stay with me. Much more ahead.

Ryan Lizza, Scottie Nell Hughes, thank you very much.

Also programming note, stay with CNN for a three-hour prime time event with the final five. All five presidential candidates on one stage Monday night. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders on the stage Monday night.

Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer host. That is 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only right here. A lot ahead this hour: we have certainly never seen an election just

like this one. Forget about rallying around Donald Trump. Some of the GOP are determined to take him down. We will talk about whether they stand a chance in their Republican revolt.

Also tomorrow night, we will witness history as President Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba in 88 years. We will look ahead to the trip and look back at how relations between the United States and Cuba have changed.

And the latest on the terror investigation in Europe. The most wanted man in Europe captured. Now, he's talking to police. What he's saying about the Paris terror attack that claimed 130 lives, next.

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[19:15:09] HARLOW: Donald Trump protesters in a standoff with traffic in Arizona this afternoon, blocking the road leading to Trump's rally. And this isn't the only roadblock that Trump is facing. Growing efforts to block him from winning the nomination show just how disruptive his candidacy has been.

Our chief political correspondent Dana Bash has a lot more on the movement the conservatives are plotting to try to derail Trump's rise to the nomination -- Dana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, as Donald Trump increased his delegate lead this week, there were new efforts to try to stop his march towards the Republican nomination.

(voice-over): Love him --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Donald Trump or nobody.

BASH: -- or hate him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to see Donald Trump get in.

BASH: Donald Trump is leading a realignment of the Republican Party.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a movement.

BASH: One stop Trump forces warn poses an existential threat to the Grand Old Party.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The contest for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. I think if we nominate Mr. Trump, we lose our heart and our soul.

BASH (on camera): people say this is a fight for the heart and soul of the Republican party. Do you agree?

STEPHEN MILLER, TRUMP ADVISOR: Absolutely.

BASH (voice-over): But Trump adviser Stephen Miller insists it's for the better.

MILLER: Lindsey Graham's Republican Party is a Republican party of more foreign wars, of large-scale wage-suppressing immigration and trade deals that send our manufacturing jobs overseas. That is not a long-term recipe for growth.

TRUMP: So incredible.

BASH: Some scholars compare this Republican identity crisis to the one in 1964 when Barry Goldwater was on the ticket. Until then, the GOP was the civil rights party of Abraham Lincoln. But Goldwater opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

BARRY GOLDWATER, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I will never vote for a public accommodations clause in any civil rights bill because I think it's unconstitutional.

BASH: Party leaders inside the 1964 Republican convention worked against him, and protesters outside on the streets warned Goldwater wouldn't just ruin the GOP but the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am compelled to urge Negroes and all people to vote against him. His election will be a tragedy and certainly suicidal almost for the nation and the world.

BASH: Back in 1964, George Romney said about Goldwater what his son Mitt Romney is now saying about Donald Trump.

MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished.

BASH: But Trump supporters argue American anger he's tapping into stems from decades-long Republican orthodoxy that left workers behind, from free trade to military intervention.

MILLER: If the voters are ignored long enough, they're going to force change on the party.

BASH (on camera): Which you think is exactly what's happening now?

MILLER: Which is happening now.

BASH (voice-over): To be sure, frustration with Republican establishment has been brewing for some time. Showing itself with the Tea Party movement and propelling past GOP disrupters like Ron Paul's presidential campaign.

RON PAUL (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So they're terrified of competition. Now the establishment has competition that really looks strong, there's a lot of people behind Trump. This is a big problem for them.

BASH: Conservative activists meeting in Washington this week talked about abandoning the GOP for another party if Trump becomes Republican nominee. Team Trump is already urging against that, arguing for that old

Republican big tent.

TRUMP: I think if we go down the line, I think things will happen and there will be a healing process, but this has been a rough one.

BASH: A rare understatement from Donald Trump.

(on camera): At this point, no matter what happens, what we see on the convention floor in Cleveland, Ohio, in July is going to be nothing like any of us have seen in more than a generation -- Poppy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Indeed. Dana Bash, thank you so much.

Coming up, we take you live to Havana where they are getting ready for a historic visit. The first time a U.S. president has visited Havana in 88 years. You're looking at beautiful live pictures of the coastline there. We'll take you there live next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:36] HARLOW: President Obama will make history tomorrow when he lands in Cuba on an official visit. He will be the first sitting president to set foot in Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. The two- day visit underscores a warming of relations between the two countries following the recent U.S. sanctions against Cuba partially being lifted.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann live for us tonight in Havana.

The sentiment on the ground, is it one of excitement? Are citizens sort of split about this? What are they saying?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So much excitement really across the board, Poppy. When Calvin Coolidge came to Cuba some 90 years ago, he came aboard a U.S. gunship.

President Obama is promising something much different, what he called cruise ship diplomacy -- more trade, close relations, much more interactions on the governmental level and really on the people-to- people level.

And, Poppy, earlier today, we had the rare $ opportunity to sit down with one of the top Cuban negotiators who has made the normalization of relations between Cuba and the U.S. happen. And she talked about some of the issues that are going to be addressed during this historic visit, Poppy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEFINA VIDAL, CUBAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: I think there is a respect, undoubtedly, there is respect. You saw that and I saw that during the summit of the Americas in Panama. How President Raul Castro addressed to President Obama, recognizing that after President Jimmy Carter, he has been the only one in our past history who has decided to begin the process to a normalization of relations with Cuba.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN: And President Obama will of course meet with Cuban President Raul Castro. There will be several opportunities for those two leaders to interact as they have in the past. He's also going to engage in cultural events. He'll walk around old Havana, the area I'm in now, he'll attend a baseball game, and then on Tuesday what U.S. diplomats are telling me is really going to be the highlight of this trip, he will have the opportunity, an opportunity that no U.S. president has ever had before, to address the Cuban people live on TV on Cuban-run state TV.

HARLOW: Wow.

OPPMANN: And, of course, there will be the opportunity we expect for President Obama to express some criticisms and some ideas for change in Cuba.

[19:25:03] And that's something the Cuban people are not used to hearing. It will be a moment I think that many, many people here will remember for years to come, Poppy.

HARLOW: I mean, no question, especially with such limited internet access for many of them. They don't have access to hear from the president every time he speaks live.

But here's the thing -- I just wonder, Patrick, how he walks that line, being on Cuban state television and also talking about some of the human rights violations, a lot of the reasons why the U.S. Congress right now won't lift those economic sanctions against Cuba.

How does he walk that line while being basically a guest of the Castro administration?

OPPMANN: You know, on one side, of course, he's coming with his wife, but his daughters, his mother-in-law, and they're going to show a vibrant American first family. And there will be moments he'll reach out and shake Cubans' hands.

In so many ways, of course, there are the government meetings but the emphasis of this trip is to get around the government and speak directly to the Cuban people, to empower them. That's going to be difficult. The government here of course wants to highlight President Obama's calling for the lifting of trade sanctions.

HARLOW: Right.

OPPMANN: We expect him to do that as he has done before, but President Obama saying that he really is not here to speak to the Cuban government. He's here to speak to the Cuban people, Poppy.

HARLOW: Seeing those posters around Havana of President Obama, President Castro side by side, never would have thought maybe two years ago, before December 2014, we would see that.

Patrick Oppmann, thank you. Live from Havana for us.

And a programming note, our Bill Weir traveled to Havana for the season premiere of "THE WONDER LIST." This is a fascinating inside look at Cuba, the people of Cuba, the progress being made, et cetera. Tonight, it will air -- tomorrow night, I should say, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, after the president lands, right here on CNN.

Coming up, the top suspects in last year's deadly Paris attacks is finally charged after his dramatic arrest last night in Belgium. What investigators hope to learn from him? He is speaking with them. What is he saying and what does it mean for the broader fight against is? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:33] HARLOW: All right. This just in to CNN. Two American- Israeli citizens were killed today in a suicide bombing in Turkey. It also claimed two other lives. In total, 36 people were injured including 11 Israelis when the explosion ripped through a busy tourist section of Istanbul.

Seven of the injured are in critical condition. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it is unclear whether the suicide bombing was targeting Israelis. So far, no group has claimed responsibility and Israel is holding an emergency meeting tonight. The country now advising its citizens to avoid all nonessential travel to Turkey.

The one remaining at-large suspect from the horrific Paris terror attacks in November is now in a high-security prison in Belgium. Abdeslam and four other people were captured in a Brussels suburb after a fierce gun battle with authorities broke out late yesterday. He and another man arrested have been charged with participation in a terrorist murder.

The November 13th attacks in Paris left 130 people dead. Our senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir is in the suburb of Molenbeek. That is where, Nima, it appears, he's been hiding out this entire time, which is remarkable that he was basically in plain sight and yet he's the most wanted man in Europe and it took four months to finally track him down. What is he saying now?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, authorities gleaning, really a much more central role for Salah Abdeslam than had previously perhaps been suspected. The French prosecutors are saying that he was ferrying the attackers to the attack sites in that rental (INAUDIBLE). They're learning also that he was deploying what they're characterizing as the commando team that carried out the attack. And they're also casting suspicion on his claim of having had a change of heart, that he claims to have been en route to the Stade de France, where he was intending to detonate his vest and simply changed his mind.

Prosecutors are saying that that's leading them perhaps to treat with caution the rest of the information because they believe that perhaps there was a separate mission in the (INAUDIBLE) but for them both in Belgium and in France, where authorities either side of this border, just the mere presence of finally having captured Salah Abdeslam after so long is in and of itself a huge coup tonight.

HARLOW: It absolutely is something that they had wanted and it looks like intelligence really came together to get this done. Hopefully a little bit of solace for those families of the 130 victims. Nima, thank you so much. Keep us posted on what you hear.

Coming up next, to politics, Donald Trump not the only one campaigning out west. You're looking at live pictures of John Kasich. He is speaking right now in St. George, Utah. Can he or Cruz overtake Donald Trump? What about all this talk of a unity ticket? Could it happen? We'll talk about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:25]

HARLOW: Donald Trump not the only one campaigning out west today, not by a long shot. Republican hopeful Senator Ted Cruz, Governor John Kasich both also in Utah , rallying supporters ahead of Tuesday's caucuses there.

Senator Cruz highlight the fact that the former GOP nominee Mitt Romney is now backing him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Men encouraged, every man and woman in Utah and every voter across the country, if you want to stop Donald Trump, stand and vote with Cruz. Then observe a vote for John Kasich is a vote for Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Governor John Kasich holding a town hall in St. George, Utah, tonight. This was the Ohio governor just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Work is part of what we do. It's part of how we were made. And when somebody can't work, it is very, very hard for them to realize their purpose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Both Kasich and Cruz face a tough climb to try and topple Trump. But all is certainly not lost. This race is very much still on and the two races out west on Tuesday are Arizona and Utah. Let's talk about all of that with CNN political commentator and Ted Cruz supporter Buck Sexton and also national political commentator for USA Radio Network and a Trump surrogate, Scottie Neil Hughes. Thank you both for being here. Buck, let me start with you. You are a Ted Cruz supporter. Trump is leading in Arizona right now, but they're in a tight battle in Utah. What do you see is the best-case scenario for Ted Cruz if he is able to take Utah?

BUCK SEXTON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean the best-case scenario is that he'll obviously take both of these states. Utah with the caucuses looks like the more likely one for a number of reasons but obviously just because people at the grassroots level, conservatives have tended to go for Ted Cruz. He's done better in caucuses in general.

The best scenario is that Ted Cruz shows that in what's close to a head to head competition with Donald Trump, there's obviously still Kasich in this and many of us like me who support Ted Cruz wish that John Kasich would bow to the inevitable and step aside -

HARLOW: Not happening.

SEXTON: I know. Best-case scenario is going to be that Ted Cruz shows that when the voters have really a choice between - the GOP voters have a choice between Trump and Cruz that Cruz actually does very well and win the majority of those contests even if he can't get ahead of him delegate wise and also of course, Cruz has to prevent Trump from getting to 1,237 to clinch the nomination.

HARLOW: The magic number.

SEXTON: That is the best case and that is the narrative the Cruz campaign is trying to put together.

HARLOW: Scottie Nell, to you, Ted Cruz has some very strong words for Donald Trump this morning. He was asked about Trump questioning Mitt Romney's faith, which Trump did last night. Let's listen to Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: Stop going to the gutter. Politics should be about bringing us together, about uniting us. It shouldn't be following the pattern of Barack Obama and the last seven years. It shouldn't be dividing us and tearing us apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Heading into the Utah caucus, Scottie, on Tuesday, do you fear that this is going to hurt Trump's chances at all? I mean, I just want to put it in context here the fact that, you know, Ted Cruz is the one who questioned President Obama's faith not that long ago.

HUGHES: And I don't always have to agree with Mr. Trump on everything. This case, I do disagree. I think Mitt Romney is a very good Mormon and so in this case I don't agree with him. But I think it's funny, I have a lot of respect for Senator Ted Cruz. But on this case and that sound bite you talked about unity yet on the previous sound bite he's like a vote for John Kasich is a vote for Donald Trump. [19:40:00]

I mean he's sitting there talking about unity but it's unifying against anybody but Trump. And so it's kind of a double standard in hypocrisy that has made Mr. Trump being be at the top and we're hearing all these conversations of unity between Kasich and Cruz - I know that's probably something just the candidates are talking about because here in the grassroots the delegates and the people that support Cruz are actually having conversations according to an article yesterday that came out in Brightbart with the Trump campaign with the delegates for the Trump campaign, because they realize that they have a lot of things in common and when you talk about things like being pro common core, pro-amnesty, pro NAFTA, that is not what Ted Cruz in the past has said he is going to like.

So the alignment between the Cruz and the Kasich campaign is absolutely ludicrous. Ted Cruz faces disenfranchising his own voters and taking -- choosing his ego over actually what his voters are voting for him to support.

HARLOW: Let's take a look at this - I mean, Buck, as we look at some of these numbers. Do you think denial is turning into desperation among some of the GOP establishment when it comes to trying to stop Donald Trump?

SEXTON: No. I think if you look at the way a contested convention is likely to play out and also the odds of the GOP nomination going to a contested convention, I think that's very realistic and I think that once you get past that first ballot, and it looks like there's a good chance that somebody other than Donald Trump may come out of that. Now, I'm not one of the people from within the GOP, I'm not a conservative who detests Donald Trump and is part of the never-Trump movement such as it is. I'm part of the never-Hillary movement for whatever that's worth.

So as I look at this, I see Ted Cruz as the midway candidate between Trump supporters and Rubio supporters and everybody else along with that, Jeb and Kasich and the rest of them, I feel like he's the one that's sort of the midway between all the different aspects of the party. So I do think he's a unifier in that sense.

In the mean time, he's in a political campaign so he has to say a couple mean things about Trump because they're trying to win, right? So I think we can expect that.

HARLOW: Scottie, final words, is there anything that can unite this party going into a general? Because that is going to matter.

HUGHES: Absolutely. It's Hillary Clinton. I think we're talking last segment about Bernie Sanders, as you eloquently point out, that they're going to soon realize that they probably don't have much of a mathematical chance at it. Hillary Clinton is why we're seeing such a strong unification between a lot of these people in the grassroots.

So the stronger that she continues to look, the more that her machine starts to get geared up towards the general, I guarantee the voters within the GOP are going to go, listen, I would rather have someone like a Donald Trump, I'd rather have a Ted Cruz in office and quit this little childish play than have to sit here and worry about Hillary Clinton taking on the White House.

HARLOW: Buck, yes or no?

SEXTON: Oh, no, there's no point on this that I feel like I have to contest vehemently.

HARLOW: Wow, let's just all sing kumbaya and go to break.

SEXTON: Get somebody else out here who hates Trump. I'm not that guy.

HARLOW: OK. Rainbows and kumbaya. Thank you very much. Buck Sexton, Scottie Nell Hughes, nice to have you both.

Coming up. We're switching gears to a very important topic in this election, inequality on so many levels, fighting crime and poverty with education. Can it work?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Can't expect a child to learn at school if they're worried about their safety getting to there or how they're going to get home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it all goes hand in hand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: In today's "American Opportunity," we travel to Camden, New Jersey, to see first hand the fight to give these kids the brightest future possible.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:51]

HARLOW: In this week's "American Opportunity," the battle over education reform. You've heard it on the campaign trail, but the battle started years ago, pitting reformers, pushing charter and so- called renaissance schools against those supporting traditional public schools. Regardless of what side you are on, we can all agree we owe it to our children to give them the brightest future possible and key to that all is education.

Kipp Academy has found success across the country, and now they are taking on a huge challenge in Camden, New Jersey, a city known by many for its high crime rates and high poverty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: It's a very challenged city. It's been poor for quite some time.

HARLOW (voice-over): Camden, New Jersey, a city written off by many.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: It's survival every day.

HARLOW: A city where crime and poverty have devastated neighborhoods and left some with little hope.

CHIEF J. SCOTT THOMSON, CAMDEN COUNTY POLICE DEPT: This was the heroin highway. At one point in time this was one of our most heavily trafficked open-air drug markets in the city. Can't expect a child to learn at school if they're worried about their safety getting to there or how they're going to get home.

HARLOW (ON CAMERA): It all goes hand in hand.

(VOICE-OVER): In a dramatic and controversial move, Camden overhauled its entire police force and replaced it.

Then came the schools. In 2012, almost all of Camden's public schools were performing in the lowest five percent of the entire state. Failing public schools, in the words of Mayor Dana Redd.

MAYOR DANA REDD (D), CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY: This is totally unacceptable. We knew we had to pursue other innovative strategies to make sure that children had a high quality education and to get parents choice.

HARLOW: New Jersey passed the Urban Hope Act, ushering in so-called renaissance schools in Camden, Trenton, and Newark. A hybrid of charter and traditional public schools, meaning all kids in the neighborhood can attend, but they don't have to follow a set curriculum, school hours, or length of the school year. And perhaps most controversial, teachers aren't unionized.

DREW MARTIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: The simple answer is that the red tape is just not in our way and so we are freed up to make decisions very quickly that benefit our kids and families.

HARLOW: Enter Kip Academy and executive director Drew Martin.

MARTIN: We believe when our kids enter on the very first day of school that it is our job and our mission to make sure that they will go all the way to and then through college.

HARLOW (on camera): Wouldn't the traditional public schools here in Camden say the same thing?

MARTIN: Can't speak for the traditional public schools here in Camden. But I can say is that for far too long in our city we have not been producing enough college going and enough college graduating students.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Book bags?

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Yes.

HARLOW (voice-over): Not only do Melinda Moore's six children attend Kip, she moved to Camden from the suburbs just so they could go to school here.

MELINDA MOORE, MOTHER OF KIPP STUDENTS: I had to find a place where I knew that their culture was similar to the one at home and (INAUDIBLE) to learn. My son, Noah, he's never excited about anything. He used to just do homework. Now he's doing the homework and the extra credit. That right there is a change.

[19:50:05]

HARLOW: But Camden's traditional public school results have been improving. The high school graduation rate rose from 49 percent in 2012 to 64 percent last year. A statistic the president of the teachers union here says points to progress.

ROBERT FARMER, PRESIDENT, CAMDEN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: We need more of a level playing field to make these things happen. To better the instructional practices in Camden.

HARLOW (on camera): What would that level playing field include? What do you need?

FARMER: We need more technology. In the classroom. We need books. We need materials. We need high-quality training for our teachers. We need funding. Charter schools are taking money from the public school system.

HARLOW: What about those, the head of the teachers union here who say we just need a level playing field. We need more funding. We need better technology. That will help us. We -

REDD: I heard those arguments before as a former state senator. What we needed was a solution for our children. And if we really care about making the difference in communities such as Camden, New Jersey, then we don't have a problem making tough decisions.

HARLOW: Is Kipp coming into Camden with the renaissance schools - is that a good thing?

FARMER: It could be. Right now Kipp has no scores in this district, no proof that they're making a great change. But right now it's - the public schools are losing children.

HARLOW: And what does that do to your union?

FARMER: It causes job losses.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inner circle. Turn to your notes.

HARLOW (voice-over): KIPPS in Camden opened just last year so there are no high school graduation rates to compare.

Drew Martin points to the results in Newark, where 75 percent of KIPP students graduated high school last year and 92 percent of those went on to college.

(On camera): You know what the critics say. This "no excuses" model. MARTIN: Yes.

HARLOW: And they say it's too tough, too long of days, too long of hours. You're wearing the teachers out. What do you say to them?

MARTIN: Yes, well, I don't agree that. So life is really difficult in our country for kids that don't graduate from high school. And don't graduate from college. And so we want to make sure that if we're going to be tough, that we're making sure that our kids are not leaving tough lives.

HARLOW: So you would say there are no excuses.

MARTIN: Yes.

HARLOW: What do the test scores show us? Are these renaissance and charter schools better? Are the kids doing better?

REDD: Absolutely. Kids are doing great. Just in the first year of students being enrolled in kindergarten at KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, we're seeing dramatic improvements in reading and math.

HARLOW: Camden has a long way to go, no question. But the recent crime statistics are encouraging. Murders down 52 percent since 2012. Robberies and aggravated assaults have also fallen. And if you ask anyone in this city, they will tell you, education is key in all of it.

THOMSON: If you increase our graduation rate 20 percent, you could drop our murder rate 30, 40 percent in this city. And that's absolutely true.

REDD: I think they're directly correlated. The only way to overcome poverty is through education. Making sure that you are prepared to compete in the global economy.

HARLOW: Those who believe that if you took any of the money that's going to KIPP and instead flooded it, poured it into the existing traditional public schools, they would do better.

MARTIN: Unfortunately, for decades - for generations in this city, there has been a monopoly. There's been a single type of school. And it's produced the results we're seeing.

THOMSON: Over the definition insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. We saw that in public safety. You see that in the schools. Competition is not an unhealthy thing.

HARLOW: KIPP plans to expand widely in Camden, hoping for five schools by 2020.

MARTIN: I want people to know that it doesn't matter or it shouldn't matter where you're born. What zip code you're born in. What connections your parents have or what kind of job they have. I want people to know we need to build an education system in our country that makes it so that whoever you are, if you're an American citizen, then you are going to have the opportunity to learn and succeed. HARLOW: Is there any path you see to these two sides coming together?

REDD: Well, you know, hopefully in time these two sides will come together. But the only way we can rebuild and restore Camden and to strengthen children, youth and families is to provide these types of alternatives, renaissance schools.

MOORE: Things are evolving. And I really hope they get on board as far as coming to cohesion with the KIPP school because they can learn from each other.

HARLOW (voice-over): The divide is clear. And it is still to be seen if the sides will come together. But ultimately, all here have the same hope for these children.

[19:55:02]

THOMSON: The hope is in the people in and of themselves. Of the resiliency of the people in this city is amazing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: You can see much more of our reporting at CNN money.com/american opportunity.

Coming up next, Pope Francis adding a new app to his social media mix. The pontiff just joined Instagram, seriously. The amazing number of followers he gained in just the first hour, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Finally tonight's number is 100,000. That is how many followers Pope Francis gained in the first hour after joining Instagram today. His first photo shows him kneeling in prayer accompanied by the words "pray for me" translated into nine languages. He has embraced social media as a way to communicate with followers all around the world.

Today's post coincides with the third anniversary of his inauguration. And in the last hour, he posted his first video and he exceeded one million followers.

Welcome to Instagram, Pope Francis.

That will do it for me tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. A lot ahead tonight on CNN. Back-to-back episodes of the CNN original series, "Race for the White House" inside the most ruthless presidential races in history. At 8:00 p.m., tune in for a look back at the JFK versus Nixon matchup. That is followed by Lincoln, Douglas at 9:00.

And at 10:00 p.m., a film that is still making waves, "BLACKFISH" returned to CNN.

And also another programming note on Monday night only here on CNN, a three-hour prime time event, all five remaining presidential candidates will be on the same stage. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders. All interviewed, one stage, one big night. Monday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Only right here.

I'm Poppy Harlow. Thank you for joining me. I'll see you back here tomorrow night when President Obama lands in Cuba.