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Violence in Donald Trump's Rallies; John Kasich Sees No Way To A Split The Map Strategy To Stop Trump; President Barack Obama On His Way to Cuba; Trump Campaign Manager Involved In Altercation; Viewers' Brain Waves Respond To Trump During Debate; Why Donald Trump Is Winning Over Evangelicals?; CNN Explores Cuba Ahead Of Obama's Visit. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired March 20, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:14] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We don't condone violence and I say it and we have very little violence. Very, very little violence at the rallies.

WHITFIELD: Trump's response to violence breaking out at his rally this weekend.

TRUMP: We had thousands and thousands of people wanting to come. They were delayed for an hour because of these protesters and, you know, at what point do people blame the protesters?

WHITFIELD: At least one demonstrator punched and kicked. And Trump's campaign manager appears to grab a protester by the collar.

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Getting involved in confrontation, violence is not the answer.

WHITFIELD: Plus, John Kasich sees no way to a split the map strategy to stop Trump.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a crazy idea. Who could actually be president of the United States and do a good job?

WHITFIELD: And the historic visit. President Barack Obama is hours away from being the first president in nearly 90 years to step foot on the island of Cuba.

NEWSROOM starts right now.

Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome.

Right now, history is being made. You are about to look right there live pictures of President Obama and the first family leaving for Cuba on his two-day trip. The president will tour old Havana, meet with Cuban leader Raul Castro as well as political dissidents inside that country. We will, of course, have live coverage from Havana when the president arrives. But first, more violence at a Donald Trump rally, this time in Tucson,

Arizona. Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, the man in the navy blazer there, caught on camera in what appears to an altercation between Lewandowski and a protester a rally last night. You can see on the video Lewandowski apparently pulling the man's collar as member of Trump's security details and grabbed the protester from behind. The Trump campaign responded saying this quote "the video clearly shows the protester reacting to the man who pulled him, not to Mr. Lewandowski. Mr. Trump does not condone violence at his rallies," end quote.

So before that altercation, a protester was beaten by a man attending the rally, a sucker punched in the face and violently kicked as he fell to the ground. In this video also that now we are able to show you, the man who attacked him was arrested and then released. And this morning on ABC, Trump was asked about the incident and here is how he responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Because security at the arena, the police were a little bit lacks and he had signs, they had signs up in that area that were horrendous that I cannot say what they said on the sign but the ultimate word and it was all over the camera. And, frankly, the television cameras can't take it and they can't do anything about it and I will give him credit. Now, he didn't touch -- he wasn't --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The video does show that he touched him.

TRUMP: well, I give him credit for having spared it. He wanted them to take down those horrible, profanity-laced signs. Look, lease are disrupters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about this with Republican strategist and Marco Rubio supporter Brian Morgenstern and columnist and co-author of the party is over Elis Henican and CNN political commentator and Donald Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany.

All right, good to see all of you.

So Kayleigh, you first. You know, Corey Lewandowski, he is-you heard Donald Trump say that he comments him for being spirited by trying to get in the middle of what the protester in Trump's view was being disruptive. What -- how do you defend what happened there at the rally?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Corey went into the crowd to remove vulgarity, signs with language that is not allowed to be aired on television. And he asked the protester to remove the signs. And you can see the protester peacefully leaving but I encourage everyone to go online and look at the raw footage. And what you'll see is moments before Corey grabs him by the collar, the protester actually grabs the arm of a young woman inexplicably in front of him. And that point is when three men from behind him intervened to stop him from touching this young girl for who knows what reason.

So you know, I think that's what happened with regard to that incident. But I think the bigger picture here is that protesters over this entire weekend have engaged in violence and vulgarities. Three have been arrested. They have had to be dispersed with pepper spray. They are blocking entrances into Trump rallies. They tried to break- in to the door of a rally. And you saw on Friday night. You know, why are we not asking - why are we not talking about the violence of these protesters? That's seems to be the bigger picture, not one incident that happened at a rally yesterday.

[14:05:03] WHITFIELD: So what is the Trump's campaign explanation as to why Lewandowski was down there on the floor and with security in the first place? I mean, that seems very unusual for a campaign manager to be there with security to now be confrontational with what appeared to be protesters?

MCENANY: You know, as Mr. Trump said this morning, he said that the police had not removed the signs. There were expletives on the signs. So Corey went into the crowd and say, hey, take down the signs please. We can't have these on television. Because here is the thing. Had those signs not been removed and had the cameras gone to them, it would look like these are Trump supporters with these vulgarities on the signs when it is not the case.

Protesters are infiltrating these rallies. They are throwing out vulgarities and expletives. Friday night on air on the Anderson Cooper show, they couldn't even put the camera of CNN in the direction of the protesters because there were expletives on the signs. People are flicking off camera. You know, it's at the point where even the media can't cover this without engaging in what is illegal to show on national television.

WHITFIELD: But doesn't it appears, though, there is one thing to have protesters, people gathering, or vulgarities, but it seems as though what's been caught on tape as of recent is it's the Trump supporters who then will take matters into their own hands, throw a punch or intervene like we are seeing in this videotape. Why can't there be protests? Why can't there be dissent without their being violence?

MCENANY: There can be protests. Everyone in this country has a right to protests. And there's no excuse for violence. The video you showed a few moments ago of the Trump supporter who did throw a punch, that is unacceptable, not condoned. Trump has not condoned that. In fact, he said that there is no room for violence. But that was one isolated incident among many, many protesters who have engaged in violence and vulgarities. That is one incident. It's the exception to the rule.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, there's more in terms of reaction to what has transpired. RNC chairman Reince Priebus was asked about the violence at the rallies this morning and this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRIEBUS: It's obviously not completely in my control what happens at these rallies and what people say and do but I'd leave it to the professionals and continue to talk about the fact that we need to have a solutions-based campaign and not obviously something that, you know, creates an environment that violence is present.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Brian, you know, should the RNC leadership be saying more, doing more, is that response enough from Reince Priebus?

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, Reince is in a tough spot because he is not allowed to take sides. He needs to just represent the party and is sort of in a position where he needs to let the candidates run their own events.

That said, over the course of this campaign, we've seen not just Reince but Paul Ryan, obviously, Mitt and other party leaders have to weigh in at various points when Donald Trump has been inflammatory.

And now, I'll be clear, that the protesters have the right to free speech. They don't have a right to disrupt an event. There are time, place and manner of restriction. They don't have a right to shout down at rallies and hold up, you know, vulgar sign.

That said, you know, Donald Trump has been the one when speaking and seeing protesters at his rallies saying, I wish I could punch him in the face and setting a tone that is not great. It's not a good reaction to that. And a leader who is commanding a sort of personality especially the way that Trump does has a responsibility to condemn violence.

Now, he is doing it now but, you know, earlier in this campaign he wasn't. And so, the tone was set early on and he is now having to go back and correct that.

As for Reince and his responsibility, as I said, he is in a tough spot because he needs to remain neutral in all this.

WHITFIELD: OK. So Ellis, meantime, you know, a lot of things focus on the Republican Party as a whole as it relates to what is happening at Trump rallies, how is this playing for the Democratic candidates?

ELLIS HENICAN, COLUMNIST: Splendidly, right? I mean, Hillary ought to just shut up and let this play out. We finally have an official greeting of the Trump campaign. It's the sucker punch, right. I mean, what image could you beg for any greater than that one, right? Not only do we have that as a response to these protesters, right, it's also in effect what Trump has done to his Republican opponents quite successfully. And what Hillary Clinton needs to watch out for is that surprise punch that you don't expect coming at you.

WHITFIELD: Is there danger for the Democrats playing this up, remaining -- you know, being silent on it or, you know, further expressing their sentiment, Bernie Sanders as well as Hillary Clinton, about what's transpiring?

HENICAN: I mean, listen. You don't need to lay it on too thick. It's certainly creating huge up roar and outrage on its own. I mean, I don't think Hillary needs to particularly ring her hands about it. She does need to be aware, though, that Donald Trump, assuming he's the nominee, which is looking increasingly likely, he's going to be a very unpredictable candidate and it will come at you from all kind of unexpected directions and Dems, smart Dems recognize -- they need to be prepared for that. Because believe me, that soccer punch is coming.

[14:10:06] WHITFIELD: All right. Let's stop right there. We are going to talk some more.

Thanks so much to all of you, Brian, Ellis and Kayleigh.

We have the Tuesday primaries right around the corner. We are going to talk a little bit more about that.

Meantime, a new into CNN right now, an ISIS attack in Iraq leaving one U.S. marine dead. It happened Saturday in northern Iraq at the first American fire base. That's what it's being called in that country. It was set up to target ISIS and was only operational for a few days.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now on the phone.

So Barbara, let's start with what we know about this U.S. marine and this attack.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): Well, for just a short time ago, the Pentagon issued a statement identifying the marine who was killed. He is staff sergeant (INAUDIBLE) from Temecula, California. He was with the marines at this fire base in northern Iraq. And, you're right, they had only moved in a short time ago. And the fire base itself only became fully operational a couple of days ago.

Why are we focusing on the word fire base? We haven't heard that word in an awfully long time and this is what the Pentagon is telling us, the first U.S. fire base in Iraq. A fire base is usually a very remote location such as this was, is, small, relatively small number of U.S. troops there. And they have artillery guns and they use those artillery guns to support infantry troops further out, maybe five or ten or more miles away. They will use the artillery guns to fire on enemy positions to support those troops very far out in the field.

Right now, that is the goal we are told of the fire base. They would be using it to support Iraqi troops in the coming weeks, as they get ready, those Iraqi troops, to move towards Mosul, Iraq's second largest city and try once and for all to get it back from ISIS.

Right now the base is generally being used to defend other positions in the area. But it is a bit of a shift. It has a little bit to do with geography, how to get Mosul back. But I have to tell you, in speaking with defense officials today who say, indeed, in their view, limited but indeed leaning towards a ground combat role in a very limited fashion that we know to be artillery support for Iraq troops.

WHITFIELD: All right. Barbara Starr, thank you so much. Keep us posted.

All right. Meantime, all of this as the president of the United States is on route to Cuba, the first U.S. president in 90 years. There are live pictures of Havana, Cuba right now. The president will be making history when he land there in just over two hours from now.

We have got full coverage of the visit starting with CNN's Ed Lavandera who is in Havana, ahead of the first family's arrival.

So, what do you know to be on the agenda for the president as soon as they land?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as soon as President Obama and the delegation traveling with him from Washington D.C. here to Havana, Cuba, he will leave the airport and make his way to a hotel where the president is expected to meet with members of the staff that work with the newly opened U.S. embassy here in Havana.

And then from there, the president and first lady will make their way into old Havana, a walking tour. This is an area that has undergone great change over the last couple of years as tourism has exploded here in Havana. This is really a part of town that has been much highly developed in a much faster rate than the rest of the city. But the president, the first lady and their daughters will walk tough that old part of town as well as.

And as well as meeting with Cardinal Ortega, the Catholic cardinal that was instrumental in bringing the United States and Cuba and helped facilitate the easing of tensions and (INAUDIBLE) of relations. So, that's on the agenda for tonight, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Lavandera, thank you very much from Havana. Weill check back with you.

So again, president of the United States along with the first family is to land there in Havana in just a couple of hours. Watch it all right here on CNN.

All right. There's a lot of talk of a brokered convention now on the road to the White House. But is that really the best approach? We'll bring back our panel right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:18:36] WHITFIELD: All right. This Tuesday, the GOP presidential race heads west to Arizona and Utah. John Kasich is ignoring the suggestions some have had that he should shift his focus away from states where Ted Cruz has a better chance of winning to defeat Donald Trump.

Our Dana Bash got Kasich's reaction this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One scenario that I have heard is that split the map scenario. You focus, from now on, on the east where you do quite well, Ted Cruz focuses on the west where he does better to try to keep Donald Trump's delegate count low through the convention. Is that a strategy you or anybody on your team would pursue?

KASICH: Not at this point. We're not thinking that way. I'm thinking that we are getting momentum and I can go east and I can go west. Think about California and me. OK? You know, I've got positions that unify people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. But Kasich is fighting an uphill battle for delegates. Trump has a commanding lead with 683, Ted Cruz has 421, Kasich, even after winning Ohio is way back there with 145.

So let's bring back our panel, Brian Morgenstern, Ellis Henican and Kayleigh McEnany.

So Brian, you are a Republican strategist. Let's talk a little bit more about splitting the map strategy. He really did kind of make it seem like that is a ridiculous notion for him. There is no way he is a participant of that. But in general, is that a strategy to try to stop a Donald Trump?

[14:20:05] MORGENSTERN: I think for the non-Trump supporters, that makes a lot of sense. It also makes sense for Kasich to deny it. Because, you know, a candidate can never signal weakness in their campaign. You saw towards the end of the Rubio campaign, for example, when he actually told Kasich supporters - sorry, his supporters in Ohio to vote for Kasich, it revealed, you know, I mean, I think what everybody already knew, which was that the campaign was struggling at that point and that sort of ends up, you know, creating a snowball effect rolling down the mountain. And so, Kasich doesn't want that.

So what he's saying makes sense. But also the facts are the facts and if the non-Trump candidates want to keep him from getting 1237 delegates to secure the nomination, they need to play to the strengths of each of these two remaining alternative candidates, Kasich and Cruz.

WHITFIELD: And of course, you know, Kasich said, you know, what a ridiculous question to ask him or anybody. You know, if you're in the race, you want to stay in as long as you can. And he said had he stepped out before Ohio, then he says Donald Trump would have had more delegates thereby putting him closer to that, you know, 50 plus one percent majority. So he says he is helping to keep the challenge going.

So if you look at the delegates available on Tuesday and in Arizona, the biggest prize winner-take-all, Kayleigh, how does this assist Donald Trump, in your view, or should he feel confident about the state of Arizona, particularly?

MCENANY: I think he should feel confident about Arizona. You know, look, that's a winner-take-all state. So if Donald Trump wins that, that's very big for him. That means he gets all of that I believe it's almost 50 delegates in Arizona. Likewise, if you look to Utah, if it he can keep Ted Cruz below 50 percent, then that splits the delegates in Utah between the three of the candidates which would also be good for Trump.

I think going forward, it looks really good for Trump. And as for John Kasich, I thought that was a very fair question that Dana asked him. Because when you look forward, in order for John Kasich to win the nomination, he would have to win 112 percent of the delegates, which is obviously mathematically impossible. So he is either trying to deny Trump the nomination or he's trying to get a large number of delegates where he could potentially broker his way into a vice president spot which I don't think is a foregone conclusion. He would be a great vice president.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, Donald Trump is still away from the 1237, right, Ellis. So you know, the GOP chair says it's all about the delegates. And even if Trump, you know, has the majority, he still has to have that two-thirds majority. And it doesn't necessarily mean that he deserves the nomination just because he has more than others if it's not at 1231. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Donald Trump told CNN this week that if he is 20 or 100 delegates short of the magic number of 1237, he should still get the nomination. Does that sound fair to you?

PRIEBUS: Well, there's two things. Number one, I mean, history would show, whether it be Walter Mondale, Gerald Ford, when somebody is a little short, you know, you let the process play out and generally if it's that close, generally that's what happens. But certainly, what I would say is that the minority of delegates doesn't rule for the majority. So, this is a delegate-driven process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Ellis, reading your tea leaves, what do you see potentially as happening?

HENICAN: It's fascinating. We get these grand philosophical explanations which all are completely self-interested, right. We could justify any of the stuff with philosophy. And it also doesn't account for ego, right? Because first, it's the divide the state strategy where it works beautifully as soon as politicians have no ego. It obviously is a much more sensible strategy to attack Trump with.

But listen. You're dealing with politicians and none of them can ever agree to let the other person go first. And so, I think we're stuck with this situation.

WHITFIELD: It's a competition, is it not, about the candidates right now? So let's talk about the Democrats now. Let's give them a little bit of love, a little bit of time. Hillary Clinton, as you can see, holding a commanding lead in delegates. I think we've got a full screen of what those numbers look like. More than twice as many as Bernie Sanders. And looking to Tuesday, the Democrats have 131 delegates at stake. Looking at the map, is there even a chance that Bernie Sanders can catch up to Clinton brand?

MORGENSTERN: It's not looking like it. And she has the added advantage of not only a strong delegate lead and what looks like a lead heading in to even more delegates. She doesn't have to attack her opponent and split the Democratic Party. So if Clinton is in a pretty comfy spot right now and pretty much the (INAUDIBLE) of what the Republicans are going through.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, you know, I wonder, Kayleigh, maybe you can answer this. Donald Trump is going to be talking to APAC this week. He's got a message. There are many who say they are not even going to be in attendance of that APAC meeting. And you know, that's for the Republican candidate who is going to be there. Meantime, there's Bernie Sanders, the only Jewish candidate, he is skipping the APAC meeting all together. Who stands the best approach here with their approach to APAC?

[14:25:23] MCENANY: I think Trump can gain the most because he needs to clarify his Israel position. Historically, he has been very pro- Israel. He has been strongly on the side of the Jewish community and on Israel's side. He made the one comment about neutrality which I think has been taken out of context. And I think he was being very honest when he said, look, if we ever want to broker a Middle East peace-deal between the Palestinians and the Israelis, I have to let the Palestinians know. I'm not coming in and going to be an unfair negotiator. I'm going to listen to their claims. I'm going to think what it is like to be on their side of the argument. At the end of the day, though, you know, I'm pro-Israel. So I think that that is an important new ones that he has to clarify tomorrow. And I think that if he can clarify that and explain that in a compelling way, he could do very well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brian Morgenstern, Ellis Henican and Kayleigh McEnany, thank you so much to all of you. Appreciate it.

MORGENSTERN: Thanks, Fred.

MCENANY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And of course, you can hear from all five presidential candidates this Monday right here on CNN. They will make their cases to voters starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern time.

All right, Donald Trump and the human brain. CNN conducts an experiment to see what happens to people's brains when they see or hear Donald Trump? A very interesting experiment. The results, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): Security at the arena, the police were a little bit lax. I give them credit for having spirit. He wanted them to take down those horrible, profanity- laced signs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, that was Donald Trump responding to this video from a Trump rally appearing to show Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, grabbing a protester by his shirt collar.

Lewandowski is the man seen directly behind the protester in the dark gray blazer, but the campaign denies that the manager took part in this altercation.

Let's bring CNN host of "RELIABLE SOURCES," Brian Stelter talk more about all of this. So Brian, what is going on here? Donald Trump says it was spirited, you know, on behalf of Lewandowski for trying to get in there.

Also saying, you know, kind of placing blame on what's -- who is promoting this kind of violence. Is this a problem for this campaign, a big problem for these rallies?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: This morning on ABC, Trump said that Lewandowski did not touch the protester, but when you look at the video, it is pretty clear that Lewandowski does touch the protester. Maybe the other security man does there as well.

There's a private security guard working with the campaign manager in that scene. The reason why this is notable is because it's part of a narrative involving Trump's campaign manager.

About a week and a half ago, Lewandowski allegedly grabbed a reporter for breitbart.com, Michelle Fields. The campaign has denied. It's very much in dispute, but Fields has asked the local police department to look into what happened. She says she was manhandled on that occasion.

"Politico" has also reported on incidents in Lewandowski's past where he's been perhaps aggressive on the job. So this is part of a narrative at this point involving the campaign manager. I think that's why it's getting so much attention today.

The video is pretty incontrovertible although the campaign is saying he was not involved in the way he was.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, you've actually conducted a study, have you not, about what goes through people's minds, their brains when they see images like this or other kind of conflict that has played out in Donald Trump land.

STELTER: Yes. This is something that we aired on "RELIABLE SOURCES" earlier today. I've been looking forward to sharing it with people because we did this during the last GOP debate more than a week ago.

We wanted to crunch the numbers from what this was. It was basically an EEG study. We put helmets on about a dozen people and monitored their brain waves during the debate and what we found was Donald Trump was by far the most engaging candidate. Here's a little bit about what the researcher told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: When Trump's on the screen, I see this data shoot up. What does that mean about Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's at 35.09 when these other candidates are in the 20s. The fact that you can make everyone feel at least on a neuro and fundamental basis the same way is very interesting because they might subjectively or consciously disagree with that, but something is ticking in the same way when that's happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: What's remarkable about this, Fred, is that this included Republicans, Democrats and independents. So no matter where you fall in the political spectrum, when you hear Trump's voice or when you see his face on TV, your brain lights up in a way that it doesn't light up with the other GOP candidates.

Now, we did not test Trump against Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. That makes you wonder in the summer or the fall if any those candidates are as engaging as Trump.

But it was very clear from the study that Trump was the most engaging of the GOP candidates. I think that might have to do with his decade on reality TV.

He was able to practice being on television for a long time on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" and maybe some of those skills he's now applied to the campaign trail.

WHITFIELD: And you're kind of inferring that's a very conscientious planned move to --

STELTER: Maybe, maybe not. Those skills have been very useful. On the campaign trail, we've seen Glenn Beck, a television star rooting for Ted Cruz and he's been very effective at that perhaps because he has similar television skills.

But Trump has one of kind presentation. I think his rallies, when we see his rallies and the electricity in the air, sometimes the altercations that happen, it's partly because he is a very strong performer.

Now I think getting back to the first question about the campaign manager. It's very odd to see a campaign manager up in the bleachers dealing with protesters during the rally. But these events for Trump have become like stages, performances, and the protesters, for better or worse, are part of his performance.

[14:35:03]WHITFIELD: All right, Brian Stelter, thank you so much. Brian's show on Sundays, "RELIABLE SOURCES" airing right here on CNN. All right, just one surprising twist in the election has been the Evangelical vote. Ted Cruz may have thought that was his base, but they've been voting for Donald Trump instead in larger numbers. What Evangelicals see in the GOP frontrunner? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, with two days until Arizona and Utah hold the Republican contest, the two leading GOP candidates are trying to get every vote they can, including the Evangelicals.

Many expected Cruz to lock up that electorate with his fundamental Christian views, but Donald Trump is winning. Trump has won 18 states so far including a near sweep of the Bible belt.

That includes carrying the Born Again vote in Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia. That's perplexing a lot of pundits.

[14:40:03]Trump is brashy. He's been called a bully and once described himself as pro-choice in the 1990s and then made this gaffe about the Bible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I asked Jerry and some of the folks because I hear this is a major theme right here, but 2 Corinthians 3:17, that's the whole ball game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the book is known as the Second Corinthian so why is Trump getting the Evangelical support in large part. I'm joined by the founder of the Public Religion Research Institute, Robert P. Jones. Good to see you.

ROBERT P. JONES, CEO AND FOUNDER, PUBLIC RELIGION RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Great to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right, so I want you to listen to the messaging from Cruz and Trump over the last few days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So lion Ted comes up with a bible high and he's going with a bible and puts it down and he starts lying. And you know what, the Evangelicals don't like liars. So we go into South Carolina. That was his stronghold. That was going to be an easy victory and Trump wins it in a landslide.

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I ran for the Senate initially, I promised, if you elect me, I will fight with every breath in my body to stop the disaster that is Obamacare, to stop amnesty and secure the border, to stop the debt that is bankrupting our kids and grandkids, to defend religious liberty in the second amendment in the Bill of Rights. And every day in the Senate, I have honored that promise and stood with the American people against the corruption of Washington. Now, we welcome the support of everyone. We welcome everyone with open arms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so Robert, while Trump goes on the attack there, Cruz is talking about, you know, welcoming people with open arms. So which of those messages best resonates with Evangelicals?

JONES: Well, as you said, we have seen so much -- so many surprises. You know, Ted Cruz should have come out on Super Tuesday coasting off of wins across the south but, instead, as you said, we see Trump winning.

WHITFIELD: Right. What happened?

JONES: Yes, what I think is going on here is Ted Cruz is really playing his old Christian right playbook and Donald Trump is rewriting the rules here and his appeal to make America great again I think has really transformed what we were calling -- many of us were calling values voterss that Cruz is appealing to with these religious liberty appeals into what I've been calling nostalgic voters.

I think that's a bigger bucket. It's a bigger appeal and Trump's appeal to make America great again goes well beyond specific policies, but to really restore a vision of America that many of the voters that are culturally and economically disaffected say they want to see restored.

WHITFIELD: In fact, let's kind of read with you and kind of read between the lines of what you wrote in an article just last month in "The Atlantic" saying, quote, "there is empirical evidence that the cultural world of conservative white Christians has been losing its central place in the country.

White evangelical Protestants are the group most opposed to same-sex marriage and they clearly lost this battle both legally and culturally. Beyond that, white Christians have in fact been steadily shrinking as a proportion of the population over the past decade."

Is it that evangelicals are looking at it as the cultural change as you just spell out and Donald Trump is speaking to them on that, especially when he says making America great again?

Because you went on to write about how white evangelicals are seeing the cultural change of America with more immigrants, more immigrants who were speaking little or no English and that, in large part, is also at the root of anger and frustration.

JONES: That's exactly right. Just to give you a couple of quick numbers here, these changes have been real and they have been fast. So just if we look from the time President Obama was running for president in 2008, 54 percent of the country was white and Christian. Today, that number is 45 percent. So we've seen a decline in the proportion of white Christians in the country. The other thing that I think can't be overstated is the significance of the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Again, we go back to 2008, only four in ten Americans supported the legalization of same-sex marriage. That number is 53 percent today and the Supreme Court made it the law of the land last year. Evangelicals were all in opposing that law.

So I think it's the demographic changes wrapped around these cultural changes and it's also worth noting, evangelicals have been hit pretty hard by economic downturn.

So wrap all that together. It's economic, cultural and demographic and makes for a very volatile mix. So when Trump comes in and says let's make America great again, he's speaking to evangelicals on multiple levels.

WHITFIELD: All right, Robert P. Jones, thank you very much. It's a fascinating read. Appreciate it.

JONES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, at this hour, President Barack Obama on his way to Cuba. Coming up, we're taking a look at what it is like in Havana and how broader U.S. relations could impact this very small nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:45:07]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is life in Havana these days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really hard, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Some people think change is crucial. I hope so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hope so? You don't think so?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe for business, for the government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But for the people? I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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WHITFIELD: All right, at this hour, President Barack Obama and the first family are on their way to that sprawling city, Havana, Cuba. Obama is the first U.S. president to visit Cuba in nearly 90 years.

CNN's Bill Weir traveled south ahead of the president to explore places once off limits for Americans and the legendary American dream.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[14:50:03]BILL WEIR, CNN HOST, "THE WONDER LIST": It looks like trendy boutique you might see in Soho or Melrose District of Los Angeles and right across the street people raising chickens on their balcony. How is life in Havana these days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really hard, man.

WEIR: It's hard?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Some people think change is crucial. I hope so.

WEIR: You hope so? You don't think so?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe for business, for the government.

WEIR: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But for the people? I don't know. More young people is better.

WEIR: More young people in government. New ideas?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, new idea. Maybe that. Maybe a few years, good.

WEIR: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, man.

WEIR (voice-over): I came here expecting to find that sentiment everywhere. But to my surprise, so many seemed proud of the Cuban system, warts and all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, that's a clip from the premier episode of "THE WONDER LIST." This evening, Bill Weir is joining us live from New York City.

Bill, the last time I was there, of course, to me it was like a city of contrasts. It was beautiful but at the same time, you know, it showed that beauty and a bit of hope despite the hardships.

So it was kind of at a standstill for me many years ago. But since you were there kind of on the eve of real change, did you feel that in people there?

WEIR: Yes. Yes, the anticipation is thick. You can feel it in the air. I went down there to try to see the world as a Cuban after so many generations of the forbidden island and those folks being so close but yet so far. You've got to understand, they have been living through sort of the worst-case economy that you can imagine. There's two currencies, one for Cubans and one for outsiders and as a result there's this black market on the economy.

The idea that now it's moving, the Airbnb and all of these American dollars are coming, that excites them, but at the same time there is this trepidation.

They don't want to get bulldozed or turn into the next Cancun where it's American big brands blotting out what they take big pride in culturally.

WHITFIELD: So here's some sounds of tourists about the president's visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came to Cuba because we wanted to see it before all of the big changes happen. We just hope that Obama -- President Obama can make the best.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure he'll see what I've seen Cuba, that people are really friendly and wanting to help and they want change for themselves. Hopefully he'll be able to implement some kind of change on our end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Bill, when you spoke with people there, are they looking at President Obama as the real key to change or, you know, the next I guess generation of Cuba?

WEIR: Yes. For the simple reason he's the first one to ease the blockade. They blame so much of their hardship on America. Not just keeping goods and services from going there but also, you know, punishing banks in Switzerland and Europe if they do business with Cuba.

This is a last sort of vestige to the cold war. The berlin war came down and their sugar daddy, the Soviet Union, dried up. You've got a million Cuban-Americans who resent this new policy.

They think that they are desperate now is not the time to take their boot off the neck. Let's get the dissidents free and more elections. It's a fascinating point in history right now.

WHITFIELD: President Obama appeared in a skit with an award-winning comedian. This is a portion of it and I'd love your impressions of it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Hello? Yes. Yes. This is the real White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The White House? (Inaudible)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

PRESIDENT OBAMA: This is President Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And this is airing on Monday. So how might this resonate with people?

[14:55:07]WEIR: My goodness, that right there is just another symbol of the thawing of the seismic change. Not too many years ago, you could get locked up for listening to rock and roll and they were passing around newspapers sereptiously on thumb drives.

The idea that the American president would appear on Cuban television, it's a nod to the citizens from the Castro regime that things are changing there. There will not be any meetings between POTUS and their leader, Raul Castro.

WHITFIELD: Well, we can't to see the rest of the "WONDER LIST," what an incredible journey. Thanks for a little slice, a little taste of it for now. Bill Weir, appreciate it.

WEIR: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, you don't miss the premier of "THE WONDER LIST" tonight on CNN at 10:00 Eastern Time.

Stay with CNN for our special coverage of President Obama's trip to Cuba today. CNN's Chris Cuomo will begin our special coverage from Havana starting at 4:00 Eastern Time when the president and first family arrives.

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