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Battle Between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Continues; South Carolina Primary a Week From Today; Russia's Prime Minister Says World May be in New Cold War; Former President George W. Bush Hitting the Campaign Trail; Clinton Leads Sanders in Latest Polling. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 13, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:10] POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: All right. Top of 9 hour. 3:00 p.m. eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Thank you for joining me.

This is where we began. Battleground, South Carolina. The state with a near perfect record for picking the Republican Party's eventful nominee. It is a major debate tonight there. The stakes could not be higher. Just six Republican candidates on the stage tonight with Donald Trump and Ted Cruz at the center of what is sure to be a political slugfest.

One that will drag out for another seven days until South Carolina voters go to the polls as one CNN contributor put it, this is quote "southern charm with elbows."

Let's talk it all over with our Ryan Nobles. He is in Greenville, South Carolina, the site of the debate tonight and our CNN politics reporter M.J. Lee.

All right. Ryan, begin with you. You're there. You are on the ground. You hear what people are saying. When you look at the history of politics and campaigns in South Carolina, it's certainly not all niceties, right? This is tough political, a tough political landscape, I would say. A lot of sharp elbows. And we are seeing that tonight, right, leading into the debate?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We are definitely seeing that. We are seeing it in the candidates when they talk about each other, on the campaign trail. We are seeing it in the campaign ads that are flooding the television stations here across South Carolina.

You know, you have to play tough in South Carolina if you want to be successful and we're particularly seeing that in the battle between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. They are in first and second place here in South Carolina. And they need to make a statement to the South Carolina voters going into the primary which takes place a week from today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's more than a little irony in Donald accusing anyone of being nasty given the amazing torrent of insults and obscenities and vulgarities that come out of his mouth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: Basically what we see happening there is he said/he said between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, both accusing the other are being too negative here. So it would be interesting to see how that plays out on the debate stage.

One thing to keep in mind, Poppy, is that even though these guys are not afraid to attack each other on the campaign trail, when they get face-to-face on the debate stage, they usually play nice, but perhaps that changes tonight.

HARLOW: But it is interesting, because, you know, Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski came out and said, look, we are going to make this a positive campaign. Right? But then Trump just tweeted yesterday he might have to sue Ted Cruz for where he was born.

NOBLES: Yes. That's just adding to the dynamic and to the tension here tonight. You know, at one point Trump says he wants to run a positive campaign. He even said during a stump speech recently that he was going to stop using vulgarities and saying bad words so to speak on the campaign trail. But then a few minutes later he is happy to attack Jeb Bush in the amount of negative spending that he is putting into this race in South Carolina.

So you know, the game plan for Trump generally is, if someone comes after him, then he respond. That's how he handles debates for the most part. So, someone comes after him early, don't be surprised if he returns fire.

HARLOW: Yes. No question.

All right. Before I let you go, quickly though. Jeb Bush, John Kasich, the only two GOP candidate, right, to hit the trail today ahead of the debate tonight?

NOBLES: Yes, that's right. John Kasich held a rally at a barbecue joint here in the Greenville area. Had a pretty big crowd at that. And Jeb Bush did a little bit of retail politics. He was at a diner talking to some voters there. And he talked about his debate strategy. Listen to what Jeb Bush had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, just trying to butt in when I have a chance, when I have something to say that's important. Try to remember I'm speaking to an audience of whatever it is, 10 million, 15 million people rather than just the crowd there. Answer the questions respectfully but say what's important to say about the future of the country. (END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And one other quick note, Poppy. We did see Dr. Ben Carson who is right now in sixth place in the polls here in South Carolina. He made a trip to the spin room and he said he is prepared to interrupt the debate moderators tonight if he feels that he is not getting enough attention on the debate stage. So we will see if we see a little bit more of a feisty Ben Carson here in Greenville tonight.

HARLOW: Maybe we will. Stay with me. Let me bring in M.J. Lee, CNN politics reporter.

M.J., thanks for being with us as well.

All right, you got three major issues, right, to watch for in the debate tonight. You just wrote about them on CNN.com. You got immigration, you got the critical evangelical vote once again in South Carolina and you got veterans, a major population base in South Carolina.

When you look at immigration, we have seen the candidates try very hard to outdo each other on sort of who is more hard line? Who was part of the gang of eight? Who is not? Who is for amnesty, who is not? And it gets very muddied and you see them say, I didn't say that. I did say that.

Bottom line when it comes down to the voter, M.J., how critical really is immigration in South Carolina as a key voting issue?

[15:05:00] M. J. LEE, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we are seeing here is a handful of Republican candidates really trying to grab the mantle of being the most conservative candidate in the GOP field.

HARLOW: Right.

LEE: And you ask Donald Trump and he will gladly tell you I am the reason that all of the candidates are talking about the issue of immigration. Remember, hiss is a platform that is based on building a wall along the southern border, deporting people who are undocumented, not letting in refugees from the Middle East. And I think a lot of the candidates who are fighting against Donald Trump as he has really dominated this race, they have really had to contend with that. And we are seeing a couple of the other candidates, like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, all trying to say, look, I am also very conservative, when it comes to the issue of immigration.

And I think it's hard to overstate how important the issue of national security has suddenly become, you know, in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, what happened in San Bernardino and a lot of people, you know, you talk to people at campaign rallies, they will say, the country doesn't feel safe and we want someone who is going to be tough are on these issues.

HARLOW: Sure. I mean - and we will get to national security any a minute, but it is important to point out, unlike Senator Ted Cruz or Senator Marco Rubio, Donald Trump being not from the political sphere has not had to cast a vote either way or had to try to reach consensus in Washington like they have before on immigration.

But let's talk about national security, because you are talking about that in the context of a quote/unquote "military, you know, focused state" for many in South Carolina. You have a large military personnel base. You have a lot of veterans. You're talking about a state that elected, you know, voted for both, both former President Bushs in the primaries there previously, and the question is, how much does that help Jeb Bush?

LEE: Yes. I mean, there is a huge veterans and military community here in the state, and that issue and the issues that are important to those communities are going to be critical. And we can expect them to be really front stage at the debate tonight.

Jeb Bush, he is bringing W. Bush, his brother, on to the campaign trail on Monday. He is someone that is very popular among Republicans. Still, even though earlier in the campaign you remember very well, Jeb Bush struggled to answer questions about the Iraq war and his brother's, you know, position and, you know, his actions towards the war.

And you know, someone like John Kasich, I think it's interesting. He won New Hampshire but I think he is coming to South Carolina knowing that because of his past actions , you know, on closing down military facilities, he gets that it's an uphill climb for him in a state like this where those issues are so critically important. There are eight military bases in this state and that community is very, very influential.

HARLOW: Also influential, Ryan, the evangelical vote, right? Just like Iowa, but different. You have about half of the GOP primary voters considering themselves to be evangelicals. But I thought it was interesting ahead of the Republican Party in South Carolina came out and said this week, you know, don't group them all together. The evangelical in our state really differ from the north to the southern part of the low country they call it. Who does that help?

NOBLES: Well, you have to think that Ted Cruz is the candidate among all of them whose ideological views fit in best with the conservative voters here in South Carolina. The question is can he reach them with that message? You know, it is -- Donald Trump has sucked up a lot of oxygen with folks on that side. He is obviously got some big endorsements from evangelical leaders. But you even see somebody like Marco Rubio reaching out to that group as well.

We were at one of the largest Christian schools in the state on Thursday, and he talked very passionately about how God will inform his presidency, and how his faith is an important part of his politics. So every one of these candidates are making sure that these conservative voters know they are with them on the key issues and that they can feel comfortable casting a ballot for them next Saturday.

HARLOW: And M.J., what is so fascinating about South Carolina and I think a lot of conservatives look at this at a better tell for them, of who could be their nominee, then Iowa or New Hampshire, right? South Carolina residents have gotten it right in the primary on the Republican side every single time since 1980, with the exception of 2012 when Gingrich won.

LEE: Yes, that's right. And something that South Carolinian voters take a lot of pride in. You know? People in Iowa, people in New Hampshire will say, look, we are first, and so that's a very important thing. But you come to South Carolina and they will tell you, look, Iowa and New Hampshire may come before us, but we are the state that is best at predicting who the eventual GOP nominee is going to be. And I think if you're Marco Rubio or Jeb Bush, you're going to keep that in mind why you come to this state and you realize if you win this state and history shows I have a very good chance of actually becoming the nominee, and you know, facing off against whoever the Democratic nominee will be in November.

HARLOW: We'll see what happens tonight on the debate stage. Big debate a few hours away.

M.J. Lee, Ryan Nobles, thank you both very much.

Be sure to tune in here to CNN right after the debate. We have special post-debate coverage, our very own Erin Burnett hosting along with the best political team in television all right here immediately after the debate.

Also, tomorrow morning on "STATE OF THE UNION," Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio both guests of my friend Jake Tapper. "STATE OF THE UNION" starts 9:00 a.m. eastern only right here on CNN.

Coming up a lot ahead this hour, a top Russian official, a former president, Dimitry Medvedev saying today the world may be in a new cold war, those his words. Also, he is placing the blame squarely on the west.

Also ahead, former president George W. Bush about to hit the trail for his brother in South Carolina. Could the former president really shake up this race and help boost Jeb Bush to the top? Is that possible?

And Pope Francis on a major trip in Mexico. He is bringing a message of hope and solidarity. How he is hoping to reach the victims of drug cartel violence? Also what he told our very owned Rosa Flores on the papal plane. We are back in a moment.

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[15:14:04] HARLOW: All right. Strong words today from Russia's prime minister while speaking at the Munich security conference. Dmitry Medvedev described Russia's current train relationship with the west as a quote "new cold war."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIMITRY MEDVEDEV, RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): -- the policy with Russia remains unfriendly and opaque, one could go as far to say we have slid back into a new cold war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Critical four words, "a new cold war."

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson live in Munich. That is where the international series support group met this week. We have U.S. secretary of state John Kerry there. He met on the sideline, right Nic, with Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

Let's just get reaction from one of the top NATO commanders to what Medvedev has said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Isn't this by definition the cold war? Arms buildup?

GEN. PHILIP MARK BREEDLOVE, NATO COMMANDER FOR EUROPE: Well, they are entitled to their understanding of this and their description's this. We in NATO do not want to see a cold war. We do not talk about it. It is not what we want to happen or anticipate happening. We are a defensive alliance who are arraying ourselves to face a challenge that we see. That challenge is a nation that once again has decided that it will use force to change internationally recognized borders. And so we take those appropriate actions to be able to assure, defend and deter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:15:36] HARLOW: So Nic, I mean, you did the interview. Walk me through that. What does he mean? What is his stance?

ROBERTSON: What he is saying is, look, if Medvedev is saying that NATO is being unfriendly and opaque, how can it be? Because when NATO does military exercises everything is put online. It's trying to be friendly to Russia, you know, using Russia as supply route to get supplies through to NATO troops, U.S. forces inside Afghanistan. There are some of those run through Russia. So he says look, we have been trying to be friendly, but we are not seeing that coming from the other side. He said look, it is Russia that is breaking international laws, going, crossing international borders into Ukraine, annexing Crimea. Trying not just to rewrite the international rule book but to create a whole new set of rules and he pointed to missile defense systems that Russia has so-called A-2 AD systems, these anti-access aerial denial systems. They target and can target any threat from the air, coming from sea, coming from the land. And what NATO is saying Russia building up clusters of these all across, all down the length of the border between Russia or Russian interests and NATO, to Leningrad in the north, St. Petersburg, Crimea and now in northern Syria. Complex, sophisticated missile systems that look right at NATO, Turkey, in the south. This is a concern. So while he says we don't see it as a cold war, it appears on the other side that Russia looks at Europe and that's what it thinks it sees, and it's making those responses itself, Poppy. HARLOW: All right. Nic Robertson, live for us tonight in Munich.

Nic, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Fascinating interview there with the NATO commander.

Coming up next, politics. There you see it. Two former presidents, one soon former, to be former president. We'll talk about Bush XLIII who is about to make his campaign debut for his brother, but he is not the only one having an impact on this 2016 race. The legacies of president Obama and former president Clinton also in the mix. We will discuss with a president's historian next Julian Zelizer next.

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[15:21:41] HARLOW: Former president George W. Bush hitting the campaign trail making his debut, a big debut in support of his brother Jeb, but this will all take place on Monday in South Carolina. It is the first time the two brothers have publicly campaigned together this entire season. After coming in fourth in New Hampshire this week, it is a very critical week ahead for Jeb Bush ahead of the South Carolina primary.

Our Athena Jones looks at how big of a boost this could be.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Poppy. George W. Bush has been largely absent from politics since leaving the White House. He has helped raise money for his brother's campaign this election season, but other than that he has remained off the political stage. Well, that's all changing on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know Jeb.

JONES (voice-over): George W. Bush is back.

G. BUSH: Experience and judgment count in the oval office. Jeb Bush is a leader who will keep our country safe.

He respects the military. He honors their families.

JONES: And Jeb Bush couldn't be happier about it.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's the last Republican that was president. He is the most popular Republican alive.

J. BUSH: I'm a proud brother of George W. Bush.

JONES: Bush, whose campaign logo doesn't even include his famous last name, and who began his one stressing he would be quote "his own man" has been embracing his family more with each passing day.

J. BUSH: I'm Jeb, exclamation point, proud to be a Bush.

JONES: His mother, Barbara Bush, joining him on the stump in New Hampshire.

J. BUSH: You met Barbara Bush.

JONES: The brothers will be campaigning together for the first time Monday. Until now, W. has been helping out behind the scenes.

J. BUSH: This is the first time that he is really kind of stepped out in the political realm since he was president. I think it will be a lot of interesting what he has to say.

JONES: It was once the younger Bush who was thought to have a head for politics but his older brother beat him there, winning a governorship first and later the White House.

G. BUSH: I George Walker Bush to solemnly swear.

JONES: Eight years during which Jeb Bush has said he never disagreed with his brother on policy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not one time would you call up and say, you know what? Don't do that?

J. BUSH: I'm not going to start now. It is just until death do us part.

JONES: The assist from W. won't come without criticism.

TRUMP: Your brother and your brother's administration gave us Barack Obama because it was such a disaster those last three months that Abraham Lincoln couldn't have been elected.

J. BUSH: You know what? As it relates to my brother, there is one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe.

JONES: Donald Trump repeatedly bashed the elder Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq.

TRUMP: And I see he's bringing his brother in now.

JONES: And the GOP front-runner says he will be ready with some more choice words for the Bushes in the coming days.

TRUMP: Now he is bringing in his brother. I won't say anything. I'm going to save that for after his brother makes a statement, because there's plenty to say about what happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now, the Bush campaign is making a big play for South Carolina. In many ways they are raising the bar on how well we will do there. Campaign officials say it's his best early state and he has the strongest organization there. When I asked if all of this means Bush will beat Trump and Ted Cruz, aides tell me the goal is to do best among quote "the electable candidates." That does not include Trump or Cruz -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Athena Jones, thank you so much for that. Let's talk more about this with Professor Julian Zelizer, professor

and historian at Princeton. He is also author of the book "the Fierce Urgency of Now."

Thank you very much for being with me. You have a new article coming out tomorrow on sort of exactly this, "the shadows cast."

[15:25:08] JULIAN ZELIZER, HISTORIAN/PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: On the campaign trail.

HARLOW: There you go. So let's talk about this. I mean, Jeb Bush started this campaign with a very clear message that I am Jeb. I am different. His logo doesn't even say Bush. Right? He said, I am my own man. Now this week you have Bush 43 coming on the trail with him. Makes sense in South Carolina. They voted for him in the past primary. They like him still. He is very popular there. Is it too late or does this give him a significant boost?

ZELIZER: I think it's both too late and very risky. So this comes very late in the campaign, perceptions have hardened on Jeb Bush and unclear popularity of W. in that state is going to rub off on his brother. And it's also risky, because after this primary, George W. Bush is not so popular, and this is going to bring back all the memories of Iraq, of the administration. Even the Florida vote in 2000 that could become a problem as Jeb Bush tries to revitalize himself.

HARLOW: This is not a calculus you would have made? It is not a move you would made.

ZELIZER: Well, I think it's a calculus for someone who is desperate at this point. And so, I understand it but I think it comes with costs.

HARLOW: So let's talk about Donald Trump. He has been mocking Jeb Bush for getting his family involved. Tweeted about Jeb bringing his mother on the trail last week in New Hampshire and what he tweeted this week. Jeb failed as Jeb. He gave up and enlisted mommy and his brother who got us into the quick sand of Iraq, spent $120 million. Weak, no chance. Do you think it makes him look weak?

ZELIZER: Well, it does, only in that he hasn't done this until now. He has gone to such lengths not even to use his last name on the placards, that it looks like he is desperate. It's not weak to bring in your family especially if your family is of great prominence, but it opens you to that kind of attack at this point in the campaign.

HARLOW: Especially I think when somehow in this election, the word established has equaled negative.

ZELIZER: Well, this is a reminder of the dynasty. This is a reminder of your roots in Washington and how much you're a part of that city. So it plays in the Cruz, Trump narrative perfectly.

HARLOW: So we also have obviously both Clinton on the trail. He is speaking right now actually in College Park, Georgia one of the SEC primary Super Tuesday states. Hillary Clinton spoke last night in St. Paul, Minnesota. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was very honored after running a hard campaign against then senator Obama to be asked to serve as his secretary of state. And I had a front-row seat in watching him do what needed to be done and responding to the financial crisis. I don't think he gets the credit he deserves, for saving our economy from the horrible ditch that the Republicans drove us into in 2008.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So you see her really hugging President Obama on economic issues and the recovery from the recession. But you got Bill Clinton out stumping for her, very popular former president. At the same time, you've written about this, when you look at his economic record, yes we had a boom in the '90s because of some of this economic policies. That's also the time when the divide between the rich and poor started to grow significantly. Some of these economic policies loosening regulations on the banks et cetera created more of that divide. Does that resonate with voters?

ZELIZER: Well, there is going to be a lot of Democrats who this will bring up bad memories for. It will bring the problems of Democratic politics in the 1990s when we moved too far to the center in their mind. And it will also bring all the scandals back and it will bring fears about Hillary Clinton and what will come next. But I think she is making the calculation that he is a huge asset on the campaign trail.

HARLOW: Right.

ZELIZER: And that outweighs any problems that he brings.

HARLOW: I mean, we are looking at live pictures of former president Bill Clinton there in College Park, Georgia. Kind of looking like people are responding to him like, a rock star, and, look. This is what happened to Donald Trump as well. He's not running for president.

ZELIZER: Right. And so, again, the question is, does his popularity in the state rub off, you know, on his wife's political success? But you know, his approval ratings are very strong with African-American voters, and there is a belief that that's going to be the key in the Democratic primaries and Sanders is struggling.

HARLOW: It was tony Morrison who famously called him, right? America's first black president?

ZELIZER: Right. Although on policy there's been a lot of debate whether the '90s, the crime bill, the inequality in some ways -- yes.

HARLOW: And he has said, and Hillary Clinton has said, look, we looked back on that as having some negative effects, certainly for African-Americans. Finally, you wrote about this in your op-ed. You write, the Sanders campaign is on to something. Polls have consistently shown that Americans like government much more than the pundits suspect. Really?

ZELIZER: Yes. I think if you look at polls on specific issues, the minimum wage, Social Security, Medicare, again and again, there is a lot of support for these programs. And people don't like is government in the abstract. And I think part of what Sanders picks up on is there is more support than some Democrats think and some Republicans think, I believe in the electorate, and that's some of what's giving him some juice on the campaign trail.

[15:30:21] HARLOW: Yes. And he has got 25-years experienced from, you know, in Congress to back that up.

Julian Zelizer, thank you so much.

HARLOW: Will there are coming out tomorrow?

ZELIZER: CNN.com.

HARLOW: There you go. Nowhere else to go for your politics, CNN.com.

Julian, thank you so much.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

HARLOW: We appreciate it.

Coming up next, Hillary Clinton supporters switching gears, pouring big money into Bernie Sanders, her opponent. The new expensive push to shore up minority voters in South Carolina.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:51] HARLOW: All right. In a huge strategy shift, Hillary Clinton's main super PAC right now is reallocating money from the general election push to focus on how to beat Bernie Sanders in South Carolina. You might scratch your head and say, what? I thought she was ahead by a wide margin in South Carolina?

She is. This is a state where Clinton is ahead of Sanders by more than 30 points in the latest polling. Still, though, this super PAC called priorities is launching a $4.5 million effort to increase turnout among African-Americans, women and Latinos in South Carolina. It is a big deal, because prior to this effort, the super PAC was only focused on how Clinton might win a general election. Does this mean the Clinton supporters have fresh fears about a Sanders surge?

Let's talk it over with M.J. Lee. She is live in Greenville, South Carolina. That is where the debate is. The GOP debate, I should say tonight.

How do you read this, M.J.? Is this a sign of chinks in Clinton's armor or this just being extra cautious?

LEE: Look, I think this is Hillary Clinton and her allies not wanting to take any chances heading into South Carolina. You saw what happened in Iowa and New Hampshire. In Iowa, Clinton won, but barely won by razor-thin margins. And then in New Hampshire, Sanders really blew her out. And I think that many people did not expect Hillary Clinton to have such a tough campaign, and a lot of people didn't expect Bernie Sanders to become such a cult phenomenon and to be such a durable candidate and to be such a popular candidate. And I think heading into South Carolina, a state that is Hillary Clinton and her allies for a long time sort of views as her firewall don't want to take chances and want to make sure as they see Sanders raising money, doing outreach to African-American voters here and really laying down the groundwork, they don't want to get beaten at a game they know she should be able to win.

HARLOW: I mean, yes, you have Ben Jealous head of the NAACP coming on and backing Sanders. Obviously, very influential voice in the African-American communities. Still, though, you had the congressional black caucus is backing Hillary. I wonder do you think this new influx of cash for Clinton, right, from this super PAC might backfire on her in South Carolina. Because Sanders could use this and say, there again is her big money campaign, you know, the connections to Wall Street, et cetera, that he harps on. There it is again at play?

LEE: Yes. I mean, clearly this has been a very pointed strategy coming from Bernie Sanders and his campaign tying Hillary Clinton to Wall Street, saying that she comes from big money, and contrasting Sanders against that and saying he doesn't have a super PAC. He's not dependent on wealthy donors that work in the finance world.

But, look, I think that if you are a Hillary Clinton supporter, you are very well aware already that she has friends on Wall Street. She and her husband have raised a lot of money over the years from that industry. So I don't know if you're necessarily going to be turned off at this point in 2016, to suddenly learn that as she has friends in these arenas. But I do think that what Sanders is trying to do, is to point out to people who are a little more skeptical about Hillary Clinton, and to Sanders' own supporters who are not enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton, that she is sort of a D.C. insider. That she, you know, runs among these people that a lot of people are sort of tired of having such a big role in the political process.

HARLOW: There is this new ad, Ted Cruz releasing a new ad mocking Clinton's email scandal in a spoof of a called movie "classic office space." Let's watch it.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

HARLOW: An interesting ad to watch, but M.J., interesting in a few ways. First of all, it's Cruz you're targeting a millennial audience. But second of all, maybe more importantly, this is Cruz already going after Clinton as if we were in a general election.

LEE: Yes. I mean, to be clear, this ad, even though it features Hillary Clinton look alike it's not really about Hillary Clinton. It's about Ted Cruz. This is Ted Cruz looking ahead to the general election and saying to the Republican base and Republican voters, I am the most conservative candidate that is best able to take on Hillary Clinton come November. The field obviously on the GOP side is still quite large. There are six candidates -- excuse me - you know, competing in tonight's debate. And so, Ted Cruz wants to set himself apart as the candidate who can best take on Hillary Clinton.

HARLOW: All right. M.J., live there in Greenville where the debate is tonight, the GOP debate. Thank you so much.

Coming up next, we will take you live to Mexico. Pope Francis, look at him there, on a trip to Mexico City today, focusing, really, on drug cartels and the violence and havoc they have really spread throughout Mexico and the people of that country. A live report with our Shasta Darlington, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:45] HARLOW: Pope Francis' first full day in Mexico has been packed as you would expect after a rousing welcome with full honors at the national palace. He went on to give a speech to the catholic clergy at the metropolitan cathedral. He called Mexico today a great country but a country with a history of quote "difficult moments." He alluded to the ravages of the drug cartels and the violence that has permeated Mexico.

CNN international correspondent Shasta Darlington is live for us. She is traveling with the Pope in Mexico City. Also with me CNN's Nick Valencia. He has reported extensively on Mexico's drug cartels, the violence and the corruption.

Thank you both for being here.

Shasta, to you first. I know the Pope made a number of addresses today. This is certainly not the end of his trip. He is traveling south, to the north, to the border with the United States. What struck you most about what he said today?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, we have heard him mention on a couple occasions already, and this is his first day, some of the key issues that he vowed he wasn't going to brush under the carpet. We are talking about problems of corruption, of inequality, drug trafficking, and of course, violence here in Mexico. And we heard him mention it during a speech in front of the president of Mexico, where he said, a society that benefits a few paves the way for drug trafficking and violence.

And then he also spoke to, to the bishops, and he said, you know, you also have a role to play in this. He said, you need to be doing something to make, to fight this drug trafficking and make sure that parish priests aren't on the front line of these wars and getting injured. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (through translator): I urge you not to underestimate the moral and antisocial challenge, which the drug trade represents for Mexican's society as a whole, including the church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINGTON: And it's this kind of a plain talk that really appeals to Mexicans. We have talked to many parishioners like the people gathered behind me here waiting for Pope Francis to drive by on his way to mass. And what they say is, they are here for their faith. This is the second biggest catholic country in Latin but they are also here because they are holding out some kind of hope that he can turn the tables. That he can really - that he help hold the authorities accountable and maybe bring about change, Poppy.

[15:45:15] HARLOW: And Shasta stay with me while I bring Nick Valencia in here.

I mean, Nick, you reported extensively from Mexico about the drug cartels. You wrote a fascinating piece back in 2010, profiling a priest. A priest so afraid of the violence and the drug cartels and being targeted in Mexico. What stands out to you most about this Pope's visit, given that context?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Almost as if the untouchable aura of priests in this country, the world's second biggest catholic country in the world, that untouchable aura of the clerics and priests there, it was no longer during the height of the drug violence. You had drug cartel members who, most of them were catholic, you know, very guilty, as many Catholics are, guilty about the crimes that they were committing. So they would go to confessionals, and admit the details of these massacres, of these killings to the priests. And you had cartels in that country that didn't want those facts repeated or remembered. So you had priests that were extorted or threatened. There are 15,000 priests in Mexico. A thousand of which have been threatened directly or indirectly. And it is almost as if there was no sort of -- no sort of rule of law.

Shasta touched on the problems and issues in the country of Mexico. You have the femesides (ph), the violence against women, the (INAUDIBLE), they disappears, the judicial system where 90 percent of the violent crimes in the killings and the murders go unprosecuted. These are tremendous issues where you have conversation with local police officers, federal police officers and Poppy, they tell you in (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE), in Mexico anything possible with the right amount of money, the right amount of influence, and you saw that in cases. And in fact, continues to be the case even while the Pope is in the country.

HARLOW: And Nick, how does that play into the places that the Pope is visiting on this trip?

VALENCIA: Well, you have (INAUDIBLE). See, (INAUDIBLE) is as probably the most extraordinary places that he is going to and I spent time there in the years past. When while I was there I saw children playing a game of cops and robbers. But Poppy, in this game, the robbers weren't the bad guys. It was the police officers that were the bad guys. You have Bishops as I mentioned that were targeted. Bishops that wrote an open letter to the cartels asking them to turn towards God. To be ashamed of what they were doing and you saw instead the cartels create their own patron saints. They prayed instead of to Guadeloupe, the Virgin Guadeloupe, instead they were praying to (INAUDIBLE), the saint of death, or to (INAUDIBLE) who is their patron saint or Robin Hood-type figure. So you saw many of these criminals organized or not, turned away from the Catholic Church, turned toward more nefarious types of idols if you will and these issues of corruption and these issues of violence are long- standing and it seems that they are going to continue to go on - Poppy.

HARLOW: And Shasta, to you. On certainly a lighter note but something revealing that we found out on the papal plane, what the Pope told our Rosa Flores.

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DARLINGTON: A stack of letters that children in Chicago had written to the Pope. So, she hand delivered them to him and in a very touching moment. He told her, he thanked her, said that he would treasure them. And he also let slip that he is working on a children's book. So it is not a surprise, given how much Pope Francis clearly lights up every time there are children in the room. Every time he drives by them in his Popemobile, he has to stop, and kiss babies, and hug the children. But certainly a really touching moment, Poppy.

HARLOW: Shasta, thank you very much live for us in Mexico City on the Pope's visit.

Nick, thank you so much. Such important context for this visit from you both. Appreciate it.

Coming up next, switching gears in a major way, a little bit of levity and anchor stumbles and internet does what it does. It feasts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: And Bernie sandwich -- Bernie Sanders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Jeanne Moos dishing up some Bernie sandwiches right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:53:00] HARLOW: All right. If all the political talk this election season has you feeling hungry, how about a Bernie sandwich, seriously? Our Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOOS (voice-over): Bernie sander which makes a minor slip of the tongue by MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes all the more delicious.

CHRIS HAYES, MSNBC ANCHOR: Rallying against pharmaceutical companies alike and Bernie sandwich -- Bernie Sanders passage from the beginning.

MOOS: Mat I please have a second helping?

HAYES: And Bernie sandwiches -

MOOS: Next thing you know everyone was making Bernie sandwiches. Bernie and corn beef, Bernie on toast, Bernie between buns. Holding a sandwich aloft, pulling one out of his pocket. #Berniesandwiches unleash tweets like feel the heartburn and comments like Bernie sandwiches, that's his mafia name.

As for Chris Hayes.

HAYES: And Bernie sandwiches -

MOOS: He tweeted, in my defense, I was literally watching people being served dinner when I said Bernie sandwiches. And as if Bernie sandwiches wasn't enough for one election night, another anchor put her foot in her mouth. Though Megyn Kelly's blooper on FOX News wasn't quite so mouth-watering.

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The democratic side Bernie Sandals, Sanders, Sandals, that could catch on in the summer months.

MOOS: It's already caught on.

KELLY: Bernie Sandals.

MOOS: The Bernie sandwich likewise already exists. Food and wine magazine created sandwiches to represent various candidates. Hillary's was a subway sandwich.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little bit of everything and anything anyone could ever want on it. It will agree to put under that bread.

MOOS: Whale Bernie's was a Vietnamese sandwich, spicy and obscure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your hipster friends are going to tell you about it.

MOOS: Even Chelsea Clinton once misspoke while bringing up Bernie.

CHELSEA CLINTON, BILL CLINTON'S DAUGHTER: The president Sanders -- excuse me, senator Sanders, I hope not president Sanders.

MOOS: Yes. Well, how about President Bernie sandwiches?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sandwich, sandwich, sandwich.

[15:55:01] MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Making me hungry. I'll take any of those sandwiches.

Jeanne, thank you so much for that. Coming up, how much do you really know about presidential politics?

Next, we are going to show a sneak peek of the brand new "CNN quiz show" race for the White House edition putting our very own anchors and analysts to the test next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:59:04] HARLOW: All right. Well, this president's day three teams of CNN anchors and analysts are going head to head to test their knowledge of all things presidential. Here's a sneak a peek at the latest edition of the CNN quiz show" race for the White House."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, AC 360: Three teams face-off against each other answering trivia questions about everything from debates to running mates.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: What have you got for us, Anderson?

COOPER: It's going to be hard.

CUPP: It's right!

COOPER: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: C.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We will take your pity if it comes with points.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on!

COOPER: Jake, that is incorrect.

CUPP: Come on, man.

KING: Oh, my God.

COOPER: Jake, that is correct.

KING: Wow. Wow. Wow.

COOPER: I thought that was going to be tough. I got to say.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: So who will win? Tune in Monday 9:00 p.m. Eastern for the "CNN Quiz Show, Race for the White House Edition." It is only right here on CNN.