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N.Y. Judge Dismisses Petition on Cruz Citizenship, Candidacy; Nancy Reagan Funeral Arrangements Announcement; Florida Do or Die for Rubio; What History Says on Brokered Conventions. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 07, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00] RANDY ZELIN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Because in order to remove this from a win for the plaintiff, in order to make it newsworthy, the fact that they commented on it, the fact that they discussed it. Now it's not simply for commercial gain, now it's not simply to hurt someone, it's newsworthy and they're providing commentary on the video. That was calculated. That was design. It was pretty damn smart.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures, he's on the stand, hasn't said a whole heck of a lot yet, but we're monitoring.

Meantime, let's talk about Ted Cruz. We've just gotten some news in from this New York judge, just into us here at CNN. This is one of Donald Trump's main arguments for weeks now against Ted Cruz, the Senator's eligibility to be president, since he was born on Canadian soil, even though his mother is a U.S. citizen. This judge in New York dismissing a petition challenging his candidacy. He says the folks who filed the petition failed to submit timely objections so the court didn't have any jurisdiction there.

Bottom line, what happened? New York?

ZELIN: On fourth down, you punt.

BALDWIN: Punting.

ZELIN: We live in a law, in a judicial system of rules, very strict rules, very strict deadlines. Sometimes when a court does not want to tackle a very sensitive issue or an issue that no one's going to come out the winner on and it's just not something they want to touch, we find a technicality.

BALDWIN: A technicality, yeah.

ZELIN: If you don't want me on your show but you don't want to tell me you don't want me on because I'll say something you won't like --

(CROSSTALK)

ZELIN: -- no, you just send the car and say, hey, Randy, you needed to be here by 2:30, love to have you on, but too late.

BALDWIN: Technicality, dismissed, done, in the state of New York.

Randy Zelin, always a pleasure. Thank you.

Coming up next, as Trump's rise splits the Republican Party, what would a split party look like? How would that work? One historian will explain that. Also ahead if Florida, Ted Cruz smells blood in Marco Rubio's home

state. But one major newspaper refusing to endorse a single candidate, why? We'll talk to her coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:36:25] BALDWIN: Getting some news just in here. As the nation mourns former First Lady Nancy Reagan, who passed away at her Los Angeles home Sunday morning, news from the Reagan Presidential Library in beautiful Simi Valley, California. Let's take a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICIAL, RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: I want to thank everyone for with us as we've been working on trying to get out the announcement on when Mrs. Reagan's funeral will be.

Mrs. Reagan will be buried here at the Reagan library this Friday, March 11th, beginning at 11:00 a.m. The funeral service will be closed to the public. It will most likely be televised so that information will be forthcoming. Invitations for the funeral will be going out immediately. So the next couple of days, actually starting tomorrow, we'll notify the media who's coming, who's part of the program, who the pallbearers are, things of that nature.

In terms of how the public can pay their respects, we are allowing the public to come up in two separate days at two separate times to come up to the library to pay their respects to Mrs. Reagan while she lay in repose here at the Reagan Library. Those times are this Wednesday, March 9th, from 1:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., and again this Thursday on March 10th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. All the information will be located on our website at Reaganlibrary.com.

There's an off-site parking lot in an old bank of America lot located about two miles down the road. People will park at that remote lot, be shuttled here to the Reagan Library to pay their respects. For security purposes, no large bags, no back bags, strollers will be allowed on the premises but not in the lobby.

More information will come out throughout the week. Everything will be loaded at Reaganlibrary.com. And that's what we have for you.

BALDWIN: Now that we've officially learned of some of those funeral plans for the former first lady, Carl Bernstein, I'd love to bring you back in and talk about this.

The world has been talking so much about her. Of course, we think of her so no to drugs campaign in the '80s and how much she loved her hero, Ronnie, so much. I will never forget watching president Reagan's funeral at Simi Valley and watching Nancy Reagan bend down and kiss that casket. She loved him so much.

Can Carl hear me? CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. It's one of the great -- one

of the great love affairs. I had a wonderful but very distant correspondence and relationship of friendship with Mrs. Reagan. It started in 1999. I was seated next to her at the Reagan Library. John McCain was then running for president. We kept up a slight correspondence, and I would see her occasionally. She was great fun.

She also in terms of first ladies is so influential in her husband's presidency in a way that few first ladies were. Ronald Reagan listened to Nancy Reagan, and he was stubborn but also she was a brilliant person who was not bothered by people's political beliefs. She had a great friendship with Katherine Graham, the publisher of "The Washington Post," in Washington. They would sneak off together for lunches during the Reagan presidency, girls' lunches as she and Mrs. Reagan called them.

She was just great to be around. She didn't want to see people in her last year. She was infirm. But she was mentally as sharp as a tack right up through the end. And we've lost a great person who I think managed to bring all kinds of cultures, Hollywood, Washington, politics, fashion. We're not going to see her likes again. It's about a different era. But a really wonderful person. I know there are many people on opposite sides of the political fence from Ronald Reagan who had nothing but love and affection for Nancy Reagan.

[14:40:50] BALDWIN: Thank you so much for that. Carl Bernstein, thank you.

Coming up next, in Florida, Ted Cruz looking for a win in Marco Rubio's home state. One major newspaper isn't endorsing a single candidate. Let's ask why. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:10] BALDWIN: Florida is a do-or-die state for Senator Marco Rubio. The Florida Senator has just two wins thus far, is vowing to win his home state in a matter of eight days. Trump and Cruz are also targeting an upset in the Sunshine State with hopes to putting an end to Marco Rubio's campaign. They're getting help from some super PACs, releasing anti-Rubio ads. Here is just one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Marco Rubio once said --

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you don't want to vote on things, don't run for the Senate.

ANNOUNCER: Really? Rubio talks up his national security experience, but did you know he skipped 18 defensive votes, including one to arm the Kurds to fight ISIS. And what does Rubio say about skipping votes?

RUBIO: In essence, not voting for it is voting against it.

ANNOUNCER: So if not voting against it, was Rubio voting against defense spending and fighting ISIS?

Marco Rubio, absent on national defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Can only imagine what it's like to watch TV in Florida now? That was an ad from Keep the Promise, a pro-Cruz super PAC. Rubio's also taking a hit from his hometown newspaper. Not only will the Florida Sun Sentinel" editorial board not endorse Rubio, the paper is not endorsing a single Republican candidate ahead of next week's important primary.

So Rosemary O'Hara is with me, the editorial page editor for the "Sun Sentinel."

Rosemary, nice to see you.

ROSEMARY O'HARA, EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR, SUN SENTINEL: Hi, Brooke. Nice to be here.

So the all important, you know, winner-take-all Florida primary. Smart newspaper such as yours not endorsing a single one of these candidates. My question to you is, is it really that bad?

O'HARA: Well, we take -- it's a big deal for us not to endorse. We know that when people go into the voting booth, they have to make a choice. So we want to make a choice too and tell you what we think and why we think it. But after looking at the candidates, we did end up with none of the above.

BALDWIN: Have you ever not endorsed a candidate in yours past?

O'HARA: No, this is the first time that we've made this choice.

BALDWIN: Walk me through why you made these decisions, especially starting with Senator Marco Rubio. Why not endorse him?

O'HARA: You know, it's not unusual for people who know the candidates best not to pick them, but with Senator Rubio, we do know him best and we're disappointed with him. We endorsed him when he ran for Senate, believing that he was an agent of change and that he would follow through. But he -- as soon as he got to Washington, he started running for president, and we're happy to see him back in Florida right now in advance of the primary because we haven't seen much of him since he went to Washington. So because he hasn't followed through on the promises, we just couldn't endorse him for president.

BALDWIN: No to Rubio. No to Trump. Your paper says he's dangerous. Tell me why.

O'HARA: He's dangerous, you know, he's entertaining, it's like he would blow things up. You don't really know what he stands for. You think maybe he doesn't really mean everything he says. If you believe he doesn't believe everything he says, then you're buying a pig in the poke. What if he does believe everything he says? You know, the presidency is serious business, not a reality TV show, and we just don't believe he's qualified to be president.

BALDWIN: Ted Cruz, you say he scares you and should scare voters. Let's leave that there. John Kasich -- you say Kasich is the best of the bench, so why not give him an endorsement?

O'HARA: Because you judge a candidate by the caliber of the campaign they've run. He was out of the gate late. He has not, you know -- he's not gained traction. He's not got much of an organization here. And so while he is the best of the Bench, you know, he -- it's hard to tell somebody to vote for somebody when you think they're throwing their vote away.

BALDWIN: You know, as we are approaching Florida, I keep thinking of Bush and your paper did initially favor him. You write, "We favor the adult in the room, Jeb Bush, smart experienced and principled conservative, but the nation wasn't ready for another Bush and our former governor wasn't ready for the anti-establishment edge in today's Twitter-fueled campaign era." Let me ask you this, Rosemary, do you think, does he keep quiet, does he not endorse anyone, Marco Rubio, because the "Tampa Bay Times" said on CNN today they'd be surprised if he didn't come forward with a Rubio endorsement.

O'HARA: I guess the question is does it really matter. Jeb's voice wasn't heard very loudly in this campaign. And even if he does come forward and like his bruises and put his, you know, vote behind the person who was his mentee, does it really matter? I'm not sure that it does.

[14:50:09] BALDWIN: Rosemary O'Hara, "Sun Sentinel," thank you so much for your candor. I appreciate that.

O'HARA: Happy to be here, Brooke. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

Coming up next, with the Republican Party more divided than ever, could it all come down to a brokered convention, and if it does and if Trump were to grab it, what would a Trump administration look like, even if the party is so incredibly divided? We'll explore that and look at history, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:54:53] BALDWIN: It kind of depends on who you ask, two of the most feared words in the Republican party these days could be "brokered convention." Donald Trump is the clear Republican front- runner, but Cruz had a big weekend, wins in Kansas, wins in Maine, and a strong close second place finish behind Trump in Louisiana. Remember this number, 848. That is how many delegates Trump needs to clinch the nomination, from here on out.

It's also the number his three remaining rivals need among them to force a contested convention. Add that to the Republican establishment's resistance to Donald Trump, many party operatives fear there will be open warfare at the Republican convention in Cleveland this summer. So what does this mean to the Republican Party's chances of putting their candidate in the White House?

Let's talk about this with political scientist, David Karol, a poli- sci professor at the University of Maryland.

Professor, thank you for being here.

DAVID KAROL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: It's great to be here. Thank you.

BALDWIN: The notion of any fractured party is nothing new, but I'd love to pick your brain. And if you can just tick through examples going back decades and decades of fractured parties in recent U.S. history beginning with the president and how many it's not worked out.

KAROL: Oh, yeah, there are a number of cases, if you go back in history, the Democrats were really divided over the slavery issue and they had two candidates and two conventions. Lincoln was elected in 1812. Teddy Roosevelt, the former Republican candidate, ran on his party. Woodrow Wilson, the Democrat, was elected. We also have cases in which a candidate is nominated and there isn't a formal split, but they can't hold their party together. They can't really draw from all segments of the party in the general election, so more recent examples include Barry Goldwater for the Republicans in 1964 and George McGovern for the Democrats in 1972. And those also ended badly for those parties.

BALDWIN: So then looking at the current state of play, the current state of politics now, knowing the history as well as you do, what about this seems different?

KAROL: Well, this is kind of unusual, because the objections to Mr. Trump who is the likely nominee at this point are really different from some of the others. It's not a single issue that divides the Republican party the way slavery did at one time for Democrats or -- and Trump is not someone on, let's say, the right fringe of his party, the way Goldwater was, or the way McGovern was on left of the party. It's much more that he's not really trusted. He's not seen as a real Republican, reliable, committed to the party's principles and who would be a safe choice. You know, it's the objections are somewhat different from those that other candidates face.

BALDWIN: So then if we were to play the "what if" game and the "what if," let's take it a step further, that not only Donald Trump gets the nomination, he wins the White House and you have this crevasse within the Republican party, what would a split look like for him and for Washington moving forward?

KAROL: Well, I think that -- I wouldn't say it would only deepen. I think if he's the nominee, which, you know, is the most likely scenario now, people are going to have several months to get used to this idea. I think we are a polarized country. In the end, most Republicans would reluctantly support him, but most is not necessarily enough. If he has faced any significant number of defections or abstentions, it would be enough to sink him, and that's really what's likely. So for Washington, you know, it only matters in the sense if he becomes president, and that seems unlikely right now. Hillary Clinton would certainly have the advantage in a general election. I guess for Washington the consequences would be a divided Republican party would be likely to lose the presidency and probably the Senate as well.

BALDWIN: Beyond the executive branch, affecting the Supreme Court, affecting the Senate.

KAROL: Right, the U.S. Supreme Court is a consequence of that. If the Democrats regain a Senate majority and the White House, then no question they're going to fill Justice Scalia's seat and possible other seats down the road.

BALDWIN: Always important to look back, moving forward, I think.

David Karol, thank you so much. Associate professor, political science, university of Maryland. Thanks.

KAROL: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And we continue on. Hour two. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's talk politics. We begin with what may be truly a turning point in the Republican race for president. Are we seeing the beginning of a rise, maybe a mini surge of Senator Ted Cruz against front-runner Donald Trump? Four states hold their Republican nominating contests tomorrow. In total, we're talking 150 delegates up for grabs.