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Hillary Clinton Rolling Out A New Message on the Campaign Trail; Charles Koch Endorsing Hillary Clinton; President Obama Selling A Controversial Trade Deal Overseas; Remembering Prince; Paul Ryan Will Not Be Running For President in 2016. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired April 24, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:00:04] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People are unsettled by globalization.

WHITFIELD: President Obama in Germany today trying to counter deep skepticism on a trade deal with Europe.

OBAMA: Although, trade has brought enormous benefits to many of our countries, people visibly see a plant moving and jobs lost and the narrative develops that this is weakening rather than strengthening the position of order people.

WHITFIELD: Plus, Donald Trump's son on whether his dad is putting on an act.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I'm in a room talking, when I'm out here talking to you people I have to be different.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: What part of what we see is the part he's been playing?

DONALD TRUMP JR., TRUMP'S SON: I think there's aspects of things where he will take things to a level that they need to be taken to be able to draw attention to it.

WHITFIELD: And why one of the most influential Republican donors in country says it's possible Hillary Clinton might be the best person for the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it possible another Clinton could be better than another Republican?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's possible.

WHITFIELD: NEWSROOM starts now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Hello again. And thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. Just two days away from another Super Tuesday primary and it could be the make or break moment for Ted Cruz and John Kasich. Front-runner Donald Trump is hoping to increase his delegate lead, his campaign forecasting a softened tone and more presidential image in the coming days, 172 Republican delegates up tore grabs in Tuesday's primary.

And stakes are particularly high for Democrats as well with 384 delegates up for grabs. Bernie Sanders trails Hillary Clinton by about 700 delegates and three million votes. And right now Clinton making her case to voters in Bridgeport, Connecticut. One of the five states with primaries on Tuesday. Let's listen in.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This battle against the gun lobby. But we need to turn this into a voting issue. People need to really pay attention to how their elected officials vote and there needs to be an enormous outcry that we can do this consistent with the second amendment. So please work with us. Don't be intimidated by the gun lobby.

And if you have -- if you have someone you know who has been killed or maybe used a gun to take his or her own life or maybe died in a tragic avoidable accident, then you know exactly why we have to make this a high priority for our country.

But this gun violence knows no boundaries, no borders. I have held the hands and looked into the eyes of so many families, from Columbine and Aurora in Colorado, to Sandy Hook in Connecticut, and every place in between. I have been working with the mothers of the movement, women who have lost their children and so many other mothers who demand action.

So I'm going to make this a centerpiece of what I do as president and together we're going to save lives and we're going to make it clear we cannot stand idly by and see 33,000 people a year die. Now, I hope that you have paid attention to what the Republicans who are running for president have been saying because -- everything I have just said they disagree with. I mean, really, they don't believe in equal pay. They don't believe in raising the minimum wage. Donald Trump actually says wages are too high in America. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Hillary Clinton there in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Certainly, the issue of gun control has been a big one in Connecticut. She spoke to that particularly following the years of Sandy Hook and now kind of pivoting to an issue that would impact the country in another way. She is talking about equal pay, drawing a distension between she and the Republicans thinking more of the race between she and perhaps the Republican front-runner as opposed to her race against the other Democrat, Bernie Sanders.

Let's bring in CNN's Chris Frates.

So Chris, let's talk about this. There has been a lot more of a concentrated effort on the behalf of Hillary Clinton's campaign with the rollout of a new ad saying that her competition right now is Donald Trump. And the message behind a Donald Trump.

[15:05:05] CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Fred. But it was interesting to listen to Hillary Clinton there talk about guns. Of course, she is in Connecticut, Sandy Hook, huge there, a big issue. And she has used that to define herself against Bernie Sanders a little bit. And that is interesting to watch. She is keeping one eye on Bernie Sanders. Sanders, of course, being a Vermont senator, more pro-gun and she is drawing that distinction. But then we saw her pivot very quickly to Donald Trump and making the case that Donald Trump doesn't want to see wages grow. That is because she is really looking at the general election and she can do that because she is on really friendly turf when voters go to the polls on Tuesday.

But look. She is in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Delaware. Those are all places where she's expected to do very well. They were all vote on Tuesday. And Hillary Clinton, she spent the morning campaigning -- one of her key constituencies, she was visiting African-American churches in Philadelphia. And her strength among that African-American community, that's a big reason why she is leading Sanders right now.

And in fact, if you look at the numbers, Sanders now needs to win more than 80 percent of the remaining delegates at stake to win that nomination. Clinton, she needs just about 30 percent. So that's part of the reason why she has the ability to start to pivot to the general election and taking on Donald Trump.

In addition to that wed ad, we've seen that with anti-Trump web ad, her campaign released yesterday. She's been hammering Trump on the stump, you know. So, it's increasingly Hillary Clinton kind of keeping an eye on November while trying to sew up the nomination against Bernie Sanders. And Tuesday will be a big test for her, Fred.

WHITFIELD: A big test indeed.

All right. Thanks so much, Chris Frates. We will check back with you.

All right. Meantime, the Republicans are also campaigning hard for votes ahead of the primaries. And they are hitting one another even harder on the trail. Ted Cruz holding a rally in Indiana. Indian is not one of the five states holding the primary on Tuesday, however, the Cruz campaign sees an opportunity to compete with Trump in the state which votes on May 3rd. The Texas senator is aiming to present trump from getting enough delegates to clinch the nomination. Donald Trump will hold a rally, in fact, next hour in Hagerstown, Maryland, one of the five states on Monday which has a primary. He has been calling for Cruz to drop out, saying mathematically, he has no chance to win.

Let's go to CNN's Jason Carroll who is at the site of that Trump event.

And so, Jason, you have been to a lot of these Donald Trump events. Does this one look any different? Does it look feel any different? Is the mood any different than the others that you have attended and covered?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you, it certainly feels like a lot of Trump events we have been to in the past. And I think what we can expect today is what we have seen in past we can expect more of that name call and expect this crowd to hear lying Ted Cruz. Expect Trump to talk more about that crooked delegate system, one which he says is rigged. In fact, earlier today in "STATE IN THE UNION," Donald Trump Jr. spoke to Jake Tapper. He spoke about that delegate system, also talked about Ted Cruz and says the only way Cruz can get delegates, he says, is to bribe them.

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TRUMP JR.: Ted Cruz has no chance of winning this without bribing the delegates. That's his game at this point, OK. He is mathematically eliminated. But that his game from day one because he is not an appealing candidate to the general election voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Cruz has said repeatedly that the Trump team simply needs to do more of the homework, have a better ground game. He has called Trump and his team a bunch of quote "whiners going forward despite what the team thinks of the delegate system. Both Donald Trump Jr. and his sister Ivanna will both be out on the trail trying to win over some of those delegates in the upcoming races -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jason Carroll, thanks so much. We'll check back with you there from Hagerstown, Maryland.

Let's talk more about this Trump/Cruz battle with our political panel. Julian Zelizer is a CNN contributor and historian and professor at Princeton University. Good to see you. And Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst. Good to see you as well.

All right. So gentlemen, let's begin with you Ron. You know, another Super Tuesday of votes just two days away now and Trump is favored to sweep the five northeast states. Will it be enough to get him to that crucial 1,237?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: No. Not by itself. He is going to have a strong day on Tuesday as he did in New York last week, but he will need further games in November -- in May to get over the top on that first ballot.

Now look, we have seen by this point in the race, Fredricka, the grooves are cut pretty deep in terms of patterns of support for remaining candidates. And if you look at Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz's biggest weakness has been, that he has been - he has run consistently poorly among voters who are not evangelical Christians. He has only carried them in a single state with an exit poll. Wisconsin. In most of the northeast states, he has been around 10 percent or less among those non-evangelical voters. And when you look at that map next Tuesday, those are states across the northeast, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and so forth, Delaware, that are very small, relatively small evangelical population. So Donald Trump is in a very strong position. But if you look at the

trajectory, he will have to do more, particularly in Indiana the next week. That looks like a critical battleground, demographically very similar to Missouri which was a dead heat. If he can win there, he may be able to get over the top on first ballot.

[15:10:27] WHITFIELD: And so Julian, is this an acknowledgement from Ted Cruz that he is not campaigning in one of five states today, but instead, he is going ahead to May thinking about the May contest in Indiana?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I think he has been quite clear what he's doing is not running to game the nomination on the first ballot. He is trying to win the nomination on the second or third ballot. So this is about making sure Trump does not go over the magic number to secure the nomination. And at the same time, fighting these battles over the delegates so that if there's a second ballot there will be people who are sympathetic to voting for Cruz. And I think he is aware that the next round of primaries this week are just not favorable for someone who is very much to the right on most issues.

WHITFIELD: And it seems, Ron, you know - well, it is not even seems, Ted Cruz has said it, he continues to remain in it as does John Kasich because the longer they are in to try to chip away and steal those of delegates even, they don't come out first, it makes it harder for Donald Trump to get 1,237. So you know, are you seeing that there are certainly, you know, the road is becoming more clear of a broker convention?

BROWNSTEIN: I think Julian, his point is exactly right. I mean, it's going to be very tough for Donald Trump to get to 1,237 through the primaries on June 7th. But you might get close enough that (INAUDIBLE) the delegates he needs still before the first ballot among that limited pool of uncommitted and unpledged delegates. And I think, so what you have from Trump at this point is fascinating. It's really kind of a two-front war, carrot and stick simultaneously. On the one end, you have Paul Manafort and so forth going down to the RNC in Florida and saying look, you can trust him if you turn over the party to him. He will not be an erratic nominee. He is someone you can trust.

And on the other hand, you hear the kind of language from his son on CNN today basically saying if he doesn't get the nomination, here are the kind of accusations you are going to face. Here is the kind of open fish you're going to face. So they are trying to both reassure and to some extent frighten the party about what it would mean if he does or does not obtain that nomination in Cleveland.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia, you got ten seconds to punctuate that if you like.

ZELIZER: Look. I think if this is close enough, I think what you are going to see is a really crazy few weeks where they are trying to win over delegates going into the convention through means that will shock a lot of Americans. So I think it is going to be an interesting few months. WHITFIELD: Buckle the seatbelts as they say, right?

All right. Thanks so much, Julian Zelizer and Ron Brownstein. Appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Tuesday is a big day, five states holding primaries, CNN will have complete coverage all day long starting with "NEW DAY" at 6:00 p.m. eastern time.

All right. Also, up next, President Barack Obama playing strong defense against criticism of international trade deals.

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OBAMA: It's always tough, when we're in the heat of campaigns, people naturally are going to worry more about what's lost than what's gained with respect to trade agreements. But I'm confident that we're going to be able to get this done.

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[15:16:39] WHITFIELD: All right. Europeans are getting the hard sell from President Obama today telling allies to get on board with the controversial new trade deal. He is in Germany meeting with Chancellor Merkel imploring Germans to support a free trade accord that could raise some $100 billion to each country.

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OBAMA: With respect to trade, I think what you're seeing around the world is people are unsettled by globalization. And although trade has brought enormous benefits to many of our countries that have been engaged in trade, although typically jobs that are produced from exports and higher wages and better benefits than those that are not involved with the export market, people visibly see a plant moving and jobs lost and the narrative develops that this is weakening rather than strengthening the position of ordinary people and ordinary workers. And it's forcing them to compete with low wage labor. And that I think is what drives a lot of suspicion understandably of these trade deals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Michelle Kosinski is traveling with the president joins us from Germany.

So Germany is one of America's most powerful allies in Europe. Why is this trade deal such a hard sell?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's opposition in a number of European countries over this. In a way the U.S. promotes it, they make it sound like it's going to boost jobs, increase trade, lower tax, be a great thing for both economies.

But there are people within each economy, even within each government who feel that the way these things are formed tends to cater to corporate interest and, you know, where's the voice of the people in putting these things together. Many feel that they are formed in secret. They worry about a trade deal killing jobs. That has happened with other deals in the past although the White House says this has a lot of safeguards built in. And that is why this is so important.

But you do see protests in opposition out there. I mean, today, there were some 30,000 people on the streets of Hanover against this deal. And it's going to have a tough road ahead because of that level of opposition especially in countries like Austria and Germany, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then the president also addressed Syria, didn't he today, to what degree?

KOSINSKI: Yes. I mean, they had so many topics on the plate. And just to start off this press conference between the president and German chancellor Angela Merkel, they listed everything they covered. And it seems like that was pretty much every topic that could possibly be discussed out there, all of these weighty subjects. But yes, Syria is always going to be one of them.

And you know, we have heard in the past the White House dismiss this idea of a no fly zone. And that's something that's been called upon by other world leaders, by some within the U.S. government. It's been a subject of dispute even among presidential candidates, should or no fly zone in Syria along the border with Turkey? And you know, the U.S. has balked at this saying, how are we really going to enforce it. Here's what President Obama said himself about it.

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[15:20:02] OBAMA: The issue surrounding a safe zone in Syrian territory is not a matter of an ideological objection on my part. It's not a matter of me not wishing I could help and protect a whole bunch of people. It's a very practical issue about how do you do it and who's going to put on a bunch of ground troops inside Syria. And how do you let people in. And who do you let in and let out? And how is it monitored?

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KOSINSKI: I think that's one of the best descriptions we have heard from the president, on the difficulties of making something like that happen, even though others feel that they are strongly that that is the right thing to do. But on Syria, you know, the president really stressed the importance of diplomacy in moving forward, forming a government, no military solutions, and that's really a strategy that he has stuck with throughout -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Michelle Kosinski, thank you so much. All right. Up next, Prince's remains have been cremated as his family

and friends hold a small private ceremony to honor the music legend. We are live at Paisley Park right after this.

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[15:25:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to see them, you got them down somewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, man, I don't write them down. No have to. There's a big difference between you and me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Prince, the actor, and that about his life, the iconic movie "Purple Rain" there. It has been playing on stations like MTV and VH1 throughout the weekend as people try to remember and pay tribute to Prince.

Now despite the rain, fans are gathering outside Paisley Park again today. It is behind those walls where a private memorial service was held yesterday for close friends and family of prince.

CNN's Ryan Young is there.

Ryan, the memorial has been held. Prince's remains have been cremated. So now what?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, that is the big question right now. In fact, we were talking to several people who said they believe in next few months will be some sort of musical treatment - tribute. But we don't know what's going to happen next because now, if you look here behind me, everyone is sort of focused on the gates. They want to know if anyone is going to step out. Yesterday we saw so many people from family and friends come out and talk to the people. Hand them boxes. Talk to them about their love for Prince.

This is continuing despite of the raining conditions. As you look all the way down here you can see the fans lining this gate. You're talking about hundreds and hundreds of people who have been coming for several hours despite the rain, despite the cold temperatures. This is not like yesterday.

Everyone is still coming here to pay tremendous inspects to Prince. We have heard so many stories about the idea that he is someone who did not leave the city. I mean, obviously, he can leave anywhere in this world but he decided to stay here in Minnesota. And people are taking that to heart. They are sharing their stories amongst each other about why they loved him. There was an all-night dance party last night that still lasted until 7:00 a.m. So you can see people still have that enthusiasm about this moment in terms of the idea of celebrating his life. One of the things we do want to talk about is when people come out

here, they are looking to connect with others who love this artist. And they are hoping that there will be some larger sort of tribute that will happen in the next few months because they want to get together and celebrate Prince.

You talk about the movie "Purple Rain." They have been watching it. There are people talking about they will be playing in other locations. Of course, AMC is playing it all across the country this weekend. So you have those kind of moments where people are coming together and rallying around the superstar.

There have been a lot of questions and a lot of people have stopped by and asked us, do we have information about how he died. And that has not changed. We do know that staff members called him around 8:30, 9:00 in the morning, could not get in contact with him. They rushed here and found him slumped in the elevator. And that story hasn't changed as it get. And neither has the love and outpouring of affection.

[15:27:44] WHITFIELD: Not at all. Still so sad. So terrible.

All right. Thank you so much, Ryan Young. Appreciate it. (INAUDIBLE) so. I'm not only watching "Purple Rain," pulling out the CDs and listening on their iPod, whatever they can do to just hear as much as prince as they can.

And of course, the coverage of the death of Prince continues throughout the day here on CNN. And in the next hour, James Brown's daughters join me on their father's influence on the music legend and the connection between James Brown and Prince.

And at 5:00, Kiss founder and front man Gene Simmons joins us with his memories of Prince as well.

We will be right back.

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[15:31:29] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

This morning, Hillary Clinton almost received an influential endorsement that she is now making clear she doesn't want. Billionaire businessman Charles Koch, one of the two Koch brothers told ABC News that Clinton may be a better choice for president than any Republican running.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it possible another Clinton could be better than another Republican this time around?

CHARLES KOCH, CEO, KOCH INDUSTRIES: It's possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You couldn't see yourself supporting Hillary Clinton, could you?

KOCH: Well, her -- we would have to believe her actions would be quite different than her rhetoric, let me put it that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And then in response Clinton just tweeted this. Quote "not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science and try to make it harder for people to vote," end quote. And she included a link to Koch's ABC interview.

All right. So this is all, of course, ahead of a very important five- state primary on Tuesday. Maryland is one of those states, 95 delegates up for grabs for the Democrats, 38 for Republicans.

Let's talk about this with former Maryland governor Bob Ehrlich.

So governor, good to see you.

BOB EHRLICH (R), FORMER MARYLAND GOVERNOR: Fredricka, good to see you.

WHITFIELD: Well, thank you. So what do you make of this kind of back and forth of the, you know, the Koch brothers or one of them say, you know, maybe sort of kind Hillary Clinton would be the best one and then Hillary Clinton saying I wouldn't want his endorsement?

EHRLICH: This is a nonstory. I think I know you have to report it so I'm not critical of you or any news media outlet for that matter, but this is a function of the frustration that a lot of folks from the right particularly the Koch brothers and other conservatives have with Donald Trump, obviously, and number of his positions. The Kochs have been pretty critical of him for a long time. So I think it would be very, very, very hard to believe that Koch brothers would support anyone other than the Republican nominee.

WHITFIELD: So you think they are just teasing, toying with people.

EHRLICH: Well, it's not toying, its frustration is what it is. It's a profound sense of frustration, I think.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. So heading into your primary on Tuesday, are you getting a sense from voters whether they feel very clear who they want to throw their support or will the votes come as a result of borrowing your word, frustration?

EHRLICH: There's a lot of anger.

WHITFIELD: Yes. OK.

EHRLICH: There's a lot of anger on the right and left. You see it with the fuel, the burn.

WHITFIELD: But now, is it anger prior to seeing the candidates go after one another or is it a new kind of anger and frustration about the tension building between candidates? EHRLICH: Lingering anger with the president, with the leftward drift

of the country, with losing four years ago with the failure of Republican leadership to really confront this president, with all of the animosity of the primary, all the above, A, B, C and D.

So you're seeing it play out. And as you know, it's a very tough time for partisans, for party people, primaries either on the right or left, Republican or Democrat, everyone feels a lot better once the nominee is chosen, everybody can wear the same uniform again. But for now, primaries are pretty ugly. (INAUDIBLE) fights are always ugly.

WHITFIELD: Who do you like?

EHRLICH: I like Kasich. And every poll I have seen by the way, he beats Hillary Clinton straight up comfortably. But I'm, obviously, going to support the Republican nominee.

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, but when you say in a race against Hillary he wins straight up but, you know, he's got to win these races in order --

[15:35:01] EHRLICH: Yes. That's a problem.

Well, but you're right. And that's the math obviously is in not in his favor right now. Really, you have three possibilities and you've been reporting them. One is Donald Trump wins and rest with numbers of delegates, he's the nominee. Second, he comes close. He has a compelling moral argument, hey, I came very close. I'm a couple dozen short. I should be the nominee. And the third option really is the one that the media I think probably wants convention. He is relatively far apart from 100, 150, 175 and in that case it's an open convention, anything can happen. You are going to be very busy if that's the case.

WHITFIELD: I know. So let's talk about the two out of those three, you know, scenarios because you already said you have the nominee. Then you support, you know, the nominee. But if Donald Trump comes close, do you believe he should gr the nomination? When we say close, within 20 votes, 100?

EHRLICH: Boy. You ask me these hard questions, it's a Sunday, I can't even think.

WHITFIELD: Why not.

EHRLICH: I want to say this. It is, obviously, I'm concerned like other conservatives, like other -- not establishment types, just by some of his positions when he said on the other hand I will support the nominee. On the other hand, you have a pretty good -- three hands, by the way. But he has some pretty good moral argument, any candidate would if he is a couple dozen short, had the most votes, won the most primaries. That's some really compelling case. So --.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, then that third scenario, I know John Kasich is your guy. If it's a brokered convention, you know, are you even -- are you hoping for that or do you think that would simply be chaos or healthy for, you know, the environment?

EHRLICH: All of the above. Again, it's chaos but it could be healthy particularly if a stronger candidate emerges a candidate who has proven ability to attract more conservative Democrats to win. You know, I'm about winning. This is about winning the election. Not maybe who is perfect and who your best candidate is. It's the most conservative candidate who can win. That's my test. I would hope that would be the test coming out of Cleveland as well.

WHITFIELD: OK, thanks so much, Bob Ehrlich, very good. Enjoy talking to you. Appreciate it.

EHRLICH: Good talking to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, as we mentioned, five states are holding primaries this Tuesday. It could be a make or break moment for the candidates. More on that when we come back.

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[15:41:17] WHITFIELD: All right. We are continuing to monitor the ongoing manhunt in Ohio where eight people were killed execution style. All of them family members. Ohio's attorney general and local police are expected to hold a news conference in the next hour. We will take you there live.

But first, presidential politics and the critical role Pennsylvania could play in the race. It's one of the five states holding primaries on Tuesday and there are a whopping 189 delegates up for grabs on the Democratic side and on Republican side, 71. But the delegate count isn't the only reason Pennsylvania is considered a big prize.

Here's CNN's John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That was Hollywood, baby.

It's a big state. It is a battleground state. This is diverse state. So you want to prove as a candidate, you can win in Philadelphia and in Pittsburgh, two very different places. You can win in the middle part of the state, much more conservative. A lot of people think this is more like the south. This is more like the Midwest and this is more like the east coast. It's a big complicated state.

Places that Clinton won in 2008, white rural areas, Bernie Sanders is winning. Places that Obama won 2008, African-American's close in suburbs, Hillary Clinton is winning this time. She just did in New York this past week. So watch Tuesday night in Pennsylvania on the Democratic side if this map flips a little bit.

Bernie Sanders needs to prove himself. He needs to come away with something like this. That would be a 55/45, a ten-point victory to start and, you know, pick up some delegates and also just to prove I can win a big major industrial state. Because if this goes as Hillary Clinton expects it to go and she can add Philadelphia as the rest of Pennsylvania to her total, not only does she stretch her delegate lead but just look at the map. She is winning big in New York. She won in Ohio. She won down here across the south. The math already is very difficult for Bernie Sanders. That would send both a symbolic message and a math message and the momentum message to Bernie Sanders said, sorry, you can't catch me.

We have not had a competitive Republican presidential primary in Pennsylvania in some time. What you are looking for here is in the central part of the state, if Cruz is going to prove he can content, it has to be in the middle here. Maybe up here in the northwest.

John Kasich was born in the western part of the state. If he wants to take some delegates, he has to do it here. But Donald Trump has proven he can win in the suburbs. Donald Trump has, his trade message sells in places where you have former steel factories and car factories our in the west and here in Pittsburgh, here in the east, Scranton, Reading and Allentown. So Donald Trump has proven and has brought appeal. The question is can Kasich and Cruz pick off enough of the congressional districts and enough of the delegates to slow his march to 1,237?

What happens on Super Tuesday in Pennsylvania is you win statewide, you're only winning 17 delegates. The other 54 are unpledged. They go to Cleveland as unpledged delegates. These 54 could be absolutely critical in who wins the nomination which is why Donald Trump knows I might only get to 1210. I might only get to 1,220. But he wants to win Pennsylvania with 50 percent or more so he can to go back to these 54 and say I won your state. I won it big. You owe me your votes in Cleveland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Lots to learn there. Thanks so much, John King.

All right, straight ahead, a CNN exclusive. House speaker Paul Ryan talks about why he is not running for president. How he compares to his predecessor John Boehner and whether he thinks there will be another government shutdown.

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[15:48:30] WHITFIELD: All right. As the Republican Party faces a possible contested convention this July, many had hoped house speaker Paul Ryan would rise to the occasion and take the lead. But in an exclusive interview with CNN's senior political reporter, Manu Raju, the speaker explains why he has ruled out a run for president, for now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): Paul Ryan has his hands full. REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: As you can tell, I'm more than

busy with my day job.

RAJU: 46-year-old house speaker is leading a deeply divided Republican conference. He will chair the contentious Republican convention, a battle that Donald Trump said could lead to riot. And he is trying to hold onto the GOP's majority in the house. Similar struggles brought down his predecessor, John Boehner.

How are you doing it differently what John Boehner done?

RYAN: I think I do it better. Not to knock John, but I spend more time with all of our members on a continual basis. And so, because I was a person that wasn't looking for this job, what I'm trying to be responsible with the power that comes with this job and be sensualize that power to make members more empowered.

RAJU: The GOP-led house is now struggling with major issues like resolving Puerto Rico's death crisis in even passing a budget.

You guys are having a difficult time over here passing a budget. Can you guarantee in the fall there will be no government shutdown?

RYAN: There will be no government shut down. We're actually getting some pretty big things done. The big highway bill, big education bill, big customs bill. We are about to do (INAUDIBLE).

RAJU: With many Republicans worried about Trump or Ted Cruz as their nominee, Ryan has given two high profile speeches to cry in the state of politics in America. And trying to set an agenda that the house GOP can campaign on. All of which is only stoked speculation that Ryan himself is gunning to be the GOP nominee in an open convention in Cleveland.

[15:50:15] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got it. So you're considering a nomination.

RYAN: No I'm not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me say it in clear English, no. OK. How about clear German?

RYAN: Nine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clear Russian?

RYAN: Niet.

RAJU: But Ryan made clear to CNN that he's only talking about not running in this election. Are you for closing a run - running for president?

RYAN: Well, no. But I don't think that far down the road. I made a decision in this cycle for 2016 not to run for president. I really believe that if you are going to be the nominee, you should run for the job. RAJU: Will you run for speaker in the next congress?

RYAN: Look. I am planning on running for reelection. I'm staying where I am. Because you know what? I want to take these ideas that we're developing and I want to execute in 2017.

RAJU: But will he even have a chance to be speaker next year? The biggest house GOP majority in nearly 70 years could be in danger, in no small part because of the presidential campaign.

To save his majority, Ryan has been on a relentless fund raising drive tapping into a vast donor network he built as Mitt Romney's running mate in 2012, raising over $23 million since becoming speaker last October. Still, some of his conservative colleagues won't commit yet to voting for him for speaker.

REP. KEN BUCK (R), COLORADO: It's a long time in politics between today and tomorrow, much less today and January 3rd.

RAJU: On top of hat, another challenge at home in Wisconsin. A long- shot primary challenger is trying to gin up and tip (ph) on the right over Ryan's trade in immigration positions.

PAUL NEHLEN, REPUBLICAN BUSINESSMAN: I'm putting a substantial amount of my own money in this race.

RAJU: But Ryan is more worried about trying to heal his fractured party.

RYAN: I think we have a pretty good morale around here. Not everybody agrees on everything, but we're not focused on tearing each other apart. We don't have the kind of schism we have before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So you heard Ryan say there will be no government shutdown. But right now he says he doesn't have enough GOP votes to pass the budget.

All right. Coming up, it is award-winning and considered one of the most talked about shows on television. I'm talking about "Game of Thrones." It is the sixth season starting tonight. But how does it stack up against other shows? We're going to discuss it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:56:11] WHITFIELD: All right, I know it's really hot outside in some places, but just work with me here. There really is a chill in the air. And that's because winter is coming. That's right. In just a few short hours from now, HBO's "Game of Thrones" returns to your television screen. So let's look at the preview HBO which is owned by our parent company, Time Warner, released to tease awaiting fans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought he was the man to lead us through the long night. But I was wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You would spill blood in this holy place?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I spill more blood than the rest of us combined.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Enticing and intense. "Game of Thrones."

All right, let's bring in CNN Money media reporter Frank Pallotta.

All right, Frank, this is - this is like a cult following isn't it? I mean, if you are onboard all the way or you are not. HBO just renewed "Game of Thrones" for a seventh season. Some reports are saying this could be the show's last season?

FRANK PALLOTTA, CNN MONEY MEDIA REPORTER: Reports do have that. But other reports are saying that the show Warner have said that they are reaching the finish line. And there's only about 13 more hours after this season which they might split into two. But if it was up to HBO, they would have another 20 seasons. This is just the monster of television. I would take another 30 seasons easily.

WHITFIELD: So what is it about, you know, this show and its ability to kind of transport you to another place, another time? I mean, the imagination, you know, revealed here is just extraordinary.

PALLOTTA: It's based on the George R. Martin books. And it is really coming down with the characters and the production values of the show. There is nothing like this show on television. And you compare it to other things. Its finale had about eight million viewers. It has won 12 Emmys at the Emmys last year which was a record for one Emmys. But that number's not even fair to the viewership because this is one

of the most pirated shows on television. This is one of the most communal shows on television. Perfect example. I'm going to a bar in New York City tonight that's going to be packed solid to watch it. A sports bar, a different type of game, but still as much fun.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. It really is something. So, you know, people who are on board with this, you know, we have heard countless tales of people of the - the real disappointment. That their stars, their favorite get kind of killed off.

PALLOTTA: Yes. And the biggest disappoint has been over the last season and the end of the final season. One of the most beloved character is John Snow was actually, spoiler alert, stabbed to death by his own fans. But fans are rejecting this and are saying that he is going to be back. This is even gone as high as President Obama who went up to someone on the show and said, he's not really dead, right? Better not be.

WHITFIELD: Hooks you in. All right, Frank Pallotta, thank you so much. We know folks are going

to be glued to their sets this evening.

All right. Check out Frank's latest report on CNNmoney.com.

Meantime, the next hour of the NEWSROOM starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: And we are following this breaking news out of Ohio where are expecting investigators to give us an update on the man hunt for the person or persons wanted for the cold-blooded murders of eight family members.

Our Nick Valencia is in Piketon, Ohio with more on this -- Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fred.

I just spoke to a state official on background. They tell me that no arrest is imminent, but that they are advancing their investigation. We are expecting to get more details about that in the press conference about 30 minutes from now.