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New Day Saturday

Interview with John Kasich; "Bonnie & Clyde" Crime Spree Ends in Shootout; Peyton's Swan Song; Seven GOP Candidates Debate Tonight; Sanders, Trump Top Latest New Hampshire Polls; Death Toll Rises to 11 in Taiwan Earthquake. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired February 06, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:40] SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: God bless the a great state of New Hampshire.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's some talent running for president for sure.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My total focus now is on New Hampshire.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the Bernie Sanders free tuition plan. I want you to go into my pocket. Now, give that to him.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This really is a campaign of the people, by the people, and for the people.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We think we're in second place.

TRUMP: I don't think I did come in second. I think I came in first.

CRUZ: The first thing I intend to do is rescind every single illegal and unconstitutional executive action taken by President Obama.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm fighting for people who can't wait. I won't make promises I can't keep.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This generation of leadership in this country right now is the most selfish generation of leaders we have ever had in Washington, D.C.

BUSH: We've got to rebuild dins by confidence by rebuilding democracy in D.C. because it's completely broken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Saturday morning. It's 7:00 a.m., and so much to talk about. We're so grateful for your company as always. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you this morning.

Also with us, John Berman. He is joining us from Manchester, New Hampshire, where we're three days away from the primaries.

John, good morning.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Three days away and three degrees here in chilly Manchester. I exaggerate but just a little. It's 16 degrees here this morning this Saturday, this final Saturday before the first primary in the country. Just hours also until seven Republican candidates get on a debate stage for their final debate before the New Hampshire voting. High, high stakes.

Donald Trump, he is going to this debate. He'll be right in the middle of the stage because he's number one in the polls here in New Hampshire. The candidates are all over the state today campaigning.

This is where things stand this morning. We have a new CNN/WMUR poll. Donald Trump, as I just said, he is out in front at 28 percent. You can see Marco Rubio there in second, 17 percent. Ted Cruz and John Kasich tied for third at 13 percent. Jeb Bush at 9 percent.

On the Democratic side, a different story, way different. Bernie Sanders, really a 2-1 edge over Hillary Clinton. A 30-point lead right now, shaping her strategies certainly going for it. Not to mention his.

A lot to talk about this morning. Joining me now, CNN senior political reporter Manu Raju.

Manu, you've been out with the Republicans quite a bit. What are you seeing?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, this is a race that sort of Donald Trump is holding steady at the top, but the race is really for second, third, and fourth place. I mean, when you look at the field, it's sort of broken up into two tiers.

You have Trump, Cruz, and Rubio are at the top. They're almost certainly going to be in a decent position going into South Carolina. The second is going what's going to happen to the other candidates, John Kasich, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush in particular. I mean, Kasich and Christie have really put all into this state, hoping that they could have a strong finish and taking them into South Carolina.

But if you're Chris Christie, you're looking at these polls, you're getting very, very nervous. He's only at 4 percent in a lot of these recent tracking polls, including this CNN poll. If he ends up at 4 percent, I can't see how he could continue on to South Carolina.

But Jeb Bush really needs to be close to Marco Rubio in order to continue his race into South Carolina.

Now, John, I was out with Jeb Bush yesterday. He made it very clear he's going to continue on to South Carolina. He made no bones about it. He needs to do well. He really pleaded with voters and said this is a state that needs to reset the race. So, clearly, they are pushing very hard.

And one of the things the guys are looking at and kind of looking at hopefully is the fact that about 31 percent of the voters have yet to make up their minds, all of which really raises the stakes for tonight's debate.

BERMAN: Manu Raju with us in New Hampshire, thanks so much.

I want to bring in CNN executive editor of politics, Mark Preston.

You hear Manu talking about the fact that 31 percent of New Hampshire voters decide the second they walk into that poll. You really see it out here. You know, we were at a Ted Cruz event last night, and I was saying the first two questions were from people who clearly aren't Ted Cruz supporters. They're still looking at these candidates.

[07:05:01] So, what opportunity does that give to those guys who are trying to claw their way up, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Right. So, the problem is, too, is that Hillary Clinton, although she is down 30 points right now to Bernie Sanders, is vying for the same amount of voters. I don't mean the Republican voters. It's this undeclared voters, about 40 percent of the electorate right now.

So, you have these centrist, moderate Republicans and Hillary Clinton both vying for them. Now, they're lucky, though, John, because Clinton is not going to win here so maybe her backing off will give Kasich, Jeb --

BERMAN: It's really interesting that you say that, because Hillary Clinton who may be backing off ever so slightly, she's not giving up on New Hampshire, but that may open up a lane, and may be. You talk about Bernie Sanders. You think why is Chris Christie talking about Bernie Sanders?

PRESTON: Well, you know, talking, in fact, to a Chris Christie person just about the attacks he had on Marco Rubio, calling him the boy in the bubble, right, which to bring it to full circle to Bernie Sanders, it's very hard to break through the clutter right now and the noise. We've been talking about Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton very much. We've talked about Donald Trump and Marco Rubio.

Who we haven't been talking about, John Kasich and Chris Christie. So, anything they can do right now to get into the conversation is very important.

BERMAN: Chris Christie, you see him at the polls here at 13 percent. We didn't talk about him at all in Iowa, largely because he wasn't really in Iowa, doesn't get much national attention. But he's been running, you know, really in his own universe here.

PRESTON: He has been running in his own universe and like, let's go back two years, John, we looked at Chris Christie and we said, wow, he could be a Republican front runner, he had the bridge scandal, he was able to get through that. But he didn't stalk his campaign on Iowa. He staked his campaign here in New Hampshire, as has John Kasich.

So, when we talk about it's all on to New Hampshire for them, it's all on New Hampshire for them.

BERMAN: I want to talk expectations for Donald Trump. Donald Trump was hurt by the expectations game in Iowa. Some of the polls, all the polls leading up into the caucuses had him out in front by four, five, six, seven points. You know, not shocking that he gave up that lead up.

Here, he's up by a lot more. There's the assumption he's the clear front-runner going in. Will he get credit for the victory if it's, you know, a slim win, if he wins by 3 percent 4r, 4 percent, 5 percent? Does he worry about expectations here?

PRESTON: So, absolutely, all expectations for Donald Trump. Look, he's up 11 points right now in the CNN/WMUR poll. The problem for Donald Trump, though, is that the focus is on Donald Trump. He's asked for it. The light is shining brightly on him.

So, when he comes in second in Iowa, which is a good showing for Donald Trump in Iowa, he's not a big evangelical person, but yet he comes in second. If he doesn't win here by five, six, seven points, people are going to say, support for him is eroding.

BERMAN: I do wonder on the debate stage tonight, ABC News has got a big debate tonight, with seven candidates, though. You know, Donald Trump has been the target of the -- of many of the debates, even the one he wasn't at he was talked about quite a bit. But tonight, some of these other candidates have other issues and other candidates they have to deal. A lot of these guys have to deal with Marco Rubio. They want to keep him down. I wonder if maybe Donald Trump skates a little free.

PRESTON: Well, so, again, talking to some folks who have a lot in line right now, the Bush folks think their candidate has to go right at Trump. They have to show that he's a hard charger and that he's willing to push. At the same point, he has to go up against Marco Rubio, not as hard, though, just to compare and the contrast for him.

But if you look at John Kasich -- it's all on the line for John Kasich. He's got to be able to be forceful but doesn't look like he's on the attack.

BERMAN: Again, Chris Christie who's been up here for the last five days just exploding on Marco Rubio, you would think he has to do that tonight when there are more eyeballs.

PRESTON: Up to a point, though, and I talked to a Christie adviser late last night. They want Chris Christie to come out. Now, if you back to past debates, Chris Christie was conciliatory. We're all Republicans, we shouldn't attack each other, let's attack Hillary Clinton.

However, at this point, calling Marco Rubio the boy in the bubble, just attacking the Florida senator over and over again, tonight, they need to go right after him, however, he can't go the full Christie. There's a fine line.

BERMAN: Really? So, they're saying there's a limit there.

PRESTON: Well, there's a limit because if you go too far, then you're over the edge and you look out of control.

BERMAN: Mark Preston, interesting analysis and some news there. Thanks so much.

PRESTON: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: All right. Still to come, fresh off his victory in Iowa, Ted Cruz campaigning here in New Hampshire. Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, they're all here as well. What is the state of the Ted Cruz campaign?

Plus, winter warfare, Republican John Kasich -- again, he says he's running in the Kasich lane and throwing snowballs here. He's throwing hard in that Kasich lane. A direct hit right there.

We're going to talk about where he stands, what he needs do. He goes one on one with Gloria Borger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASICH: You know, if you're in an establishment --

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Is that a vice presidential nod from somebody?

KASICH: No, no. I don't even -- that's some kind of crazy. I mean, I wouldn't even think about that. I'm running for president.

BORGER: Well, you are governor of Ohio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back to Manchester, New Hampshire.

Interesting twists and turns this morning in the Democratic battle here in the New Hampshire primary. Bernie Sanders way out in front in the latest CNN/WMUR poll, nearly a 2-1 advantage, a 30-point lead right now over Hillary Clinton, who won the New Hampshire primary back in 2008.

Hillary Clinton insists she is not giving up here. She's working hard -- though, she's doing some new interesting things which means she may be looking beyond New Hampshire as well.

Chris Frates here in New Hampshire following the Democrats -- Chris.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John.

So, things are heating up in the race in very chilly Vermont. Just last night, Secretary Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders spoke to thousands at a dinner here and Secretary Clinton said, you know, despite lagging Bernie Sanders by double digits in most polls, she's not giving up on New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Over the past few days, some people look at the polls with Bernie Sanders in the lead here and suggested -- yes.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

That's a fact. And suggested I should just look past New Hampshire and focus on the next states. Well -- New Hampshire's never quit on me, and I'm not going to quit on you.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So, Secretary Sanders on the other -- excuse me, Senator Sanders on the other hand looking forward to South Carolina where he needs to increase his support among the African-American community. And so, he talked to Democrats last night about police shootings and that's on the heels of a big endorsement that his campaign received from former NCAAP President Ben Jealous.

[07:15:02] He needs to increase his support among African-Americans because Secretary Clinton does have a big lead among the black community, particularly in South Carolina.

Here's what Senator Sanders had to say about police shootings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: When we talk about criminal justice reform, we say we're tired of unarmed people being shot down by police.

(APPLAUSE)

What we're saying is that a police officer who breaks the law like any other public official must be held comfortable, must make police departments all across this country look like the diversity on the communities they serve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So, while that dinner was largely civil, there was a little bit of a Donald Trumpesque Twitter back and forth between Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders yesterday. Bernie Sanders saying, "I urge Secretary Clinton to join me in saying loudly and clearly that we will never cut Social Security." Hillary Clinton firing back, saying, "Bernie Sanders, I won't cut Social Security. As always, I'll defend it and expand it. Enough false innuendo."

So, still, things are a little testy here, despite the civil tune of the dinner last night, John. BERMAN: That's right. You say things on Twitter that you won't say

out loud in the political discourse.

Chris Frates in Manchester with us, thanks so much.

Let's shift back to the Republican race right now. Again, the polls have Donald Trump out in front here in the clear. Ted Cruz, John Kasich, they're tied for third right now behind Marco Rubio.

Ted Cruz out campaigning last night. It was at a town hall with the senator last night. A very different political landscape for him in New Hampshire. The Iowa caucus winner, different scene here. Evangelical voters do not play as big of a role. Nevertheless, Ted Cruz hoping for a big finish here.

I want to bring in Manny Roman. He's the vice chair of the Miami-Dade Republican Party and a Cruz supporter.

Manny, the first thing people note when they look at you and they look at the lines describing you -- you're in Florida right now. You have two candidates in Florida, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio that you could be supporting. It would seem natural to support either your sitting senator or your former governor.

So, why support Ted Cruz?

MANNY ROMAN, VICE CHAIR, MIAMI-DATE REPUBLICAN PARTY: Well, I wanted to support the one candidate that's gone to Washington and has done everything he said he's going to do. That's Ted Cruz.

You know, I want to talk about Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio, who I know well, we're both from Miami, we're both sons of immigrants. We both teach at FIU. He teaches politics, I teach business. So, I had every reason to support Marco Rubio.

But I always like to say my story about Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio went to Washington in 2010 and then in 2013, he turned his back on Floridians. You know, he's -- Marco Rubio, the bottom line about Marco Rubio is he's a career politician who's never had a real job. And that he went to Washington, surrounded himself by Washington insiders and decided to turn his back on Floridians like myself and support amnesty, when he co-authored the gang of the amnesty bill.

So, you know, Marco Rubio was never my choice coming into 2016. I looked around the field and I looked at Ted Cruz as someone who's taken on the entire Washington establishment, someone who hasn't been afraid to take on his own party, and that's the guy I decided to go with.

BERMAN: But it's not like Ted Cruz had some long glorious career in the private sector. I met him in 2000 when he was working in the Bush campaign. He was solicitor general in Texas for a long time. He did work in a private practice.

But you say Marco Rubio is a career politician. Is Ted Cruz really that different? ROMAN: No, Ted Cruz has prior experience. Remember, when he

graduated law school, he wanted to do a clerkship. And he wanted to go -- he did a career in law, which is very different than what Marco Rubio did. Marco Rubio graduated school, became a commissioner in the city of Miami, went on to be a rep at the Florida house, and the only reason he stopped doing that is he turned out. And then he joined the Florida senate.

And there was a lot of passion behind Marco Rubio. I think that Floridians like myself think we made a mistake in 2010 by supporting Marco Rubio and we're not going to make the same mistake in 2016. So, there's a reason Marco Rubio is behind both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in his home state of Florida. I think that speaks to how conservatives feel betrayed by him.

And speaking about electability, I know that the media likes to say that Marco Rubio is very electable. But the fact is that the conservative base is not going to turn out for Marco Rubio, just like they didn't turn out for Mitt Romney and like they didn't turn out for John McCain.

I think this time around, conservatives have a good option. We have an option of someone who's gone to Washington and has done everything he said he's going to do. And that's who I'm going to support.

[07:20:01] I'm all in for Ted Cruz.

BERMAN: You talked about conservative betrayal. There is a candidate right now running for president who considers himself conservative who thinks he has been betrayed by Ted Cruz and his supporters. I'm talking about Ben Carson and I'm talking about what happened in Iowa.

A lot of people very upset in the Ben Carson campaign about what happened there. Ted Cruz supporters now we know making phone calls just before the voting took place in the Iowa caucuses, saying that Ben Carson had dropped out. He had not.

You are a Republican Party official. You know, part of your job is to make sure there's a level playing field here. You know, why did that not cross the line in Iowa?

ROMAN: Look, there was one staffer who apparently sent an e-mail saying that -- who reported on a new story that CNN broke.

And here are the facts: CNN reporting that news story that he wasn't going to go to New Hampshire, he wasn't going to go to South Carolina after the caucuses. He was going to go back to Florida and that he was going to make an announcement.

And here's what happened: He didn't go back to New Hampshire or to South Carolina until yesterday and he made an announcement that he was going to go to the National Prayer Breakfast.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Manny, you know -- Manny -- Manny, hang on, hang on. We never reported that he suspended the campaign and we have voicemail messages from Cruz supporters saying that, you know, Ben Carson was suspending the campaign.

It's not a one for one here. You know, we reported one thing. You told voters another.

ROMAN: Yes, I was in Iowa, I spoke to one of the largest caucuses, I never received any news about spreading the rumor about Ben Carson. There hasn't been one Iowa voter that we know of that's come on and said that they switched their vote from Ben Carson to Ted Cruz because of some speculation that he's dropping out.

We passed on breaking news story that's important in a such fluid race and I think the message being pushed now, the narrative, is partly being pushed by Donald Trump because he wanted to do everything that -- he's going to do what Donald Trump does, which is speak about everything but the issues. That's Donald Trump's history in this race. We know that we're not going to be distracted by these issues that are not important. The voters want to know about substance and about what you're going to do as commander in chief.

The fact is that from what we know, no one switched their vote from Ben Carson to Ted Cruz because of this story. All we did was report on the factual news story that CNN had broken 15 minutes before the caucuses.

BERMAN: Manny Roman, I tell you one thing. I wish I were out in Miami. I'm freezing here in New Hampshire. Thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it, sir.

ROMAN: Thank you for having me on. I appreciate it.

BERMAN: All right. One programming note. Be sure to watch "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER" this Sunday live from New Hampshire. His guests include everyone who's anyone in this race, practically. Donald Trump, John Kasich, Chris Christie, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders. Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

Victor and Christi, back to you guys in Atlanta.

BLACKWELL: All right. John, thank you so much.

There's a lot going on this morning, including a rush to find survivors after that earthquake in Taiwan. The death toll is rising. We've got new details this morning right now about the rush to pull people out of that collapsed building and rubble across the city.

PAUL: And people have been comparing it to a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Listen to the bullets there as a dramatic crime spree is brought to a very dramatic end.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:27:17] BLACKWELL: All right. Twenty-seven minutes after the hour. And right now, rescue operations are under way in Taiwan's oldest city of Tainan. Devastating earthquake there has killed at least 11 people, injured more than 475 others. Rescue workers at the site of the collapsed 17-story apartment building crumbled after a powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Saturday while people were sleeping. They're looking for any survivors. More than 200 thus far have been rescued.

PAUL: Investigators are now saying the murder of a Virginia teen was indeed premeditated and the plot was conspired in a fast food restaurant. The body of 13-year-old Nicole Lovell was found in North Carolina last Saturday, three days after she disappeared.

Investigators say Virginia Tech students David Eisenhauer and Natalie Keepers plotted to stab the seventh grader and planned on how they were going to get rid of her body. The details came to light Thursday as a judge denied Keepers bail. Eisenhauer will appear in court late next month. He's accused of killing Lovell to hide their inappropriate relationship.

BLACKWELL: A police officer has been shot and killed in Seaside, Oregon, according to CNN affiliate KGW. This happened as two officers were serving warrant last night. The officer was shot as he walked up to the suspect. The second officer was able to shoot back. The suspect is now in the hospital. There's no word yet on his condition.

PAUL: The Zika virus is prompting the CDC to issue new safe-sex guidelines here. The virus causes a neurological disorder in newborns, resulting in babies being born with abnormally small heads and severe developments. Officials say men who have been exposed to the virus and who have a pregnant partner should use protection or not have sex at all until the baby is born. Officials also say pregnant women who have been exposed to Zika should get tested for the virus.

All right. Three days and counting to the New Hampshire primary. We're taking you back to Manchester with details on John Kasich, next.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The Republican presidential hopeful expecting to be strong in this state. Find out why he says he'd be the worst vice president anybody could imagine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:02] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Mortgage rates dipped a little lower this week. Here's your look.

(COMMERRCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Truly, one of the a great traditions in New Hampshire primary politics, the snowball fight and whitewash. I have rarely seen a candidate involved in a whitewash, though. Many snowballs thrown, but that's the first candidate I've ever seen whitewash someone. Assume that was an aide, because if that was a reporter, John Kasich is not getting favorable coverage, not anymore.

Yesterday, Kasich, he was telling reporters that the establishment is scared of him. And that's when this snowball fight happened. Could this be a preview of how John Kasich will take the debate stage tonight? Will he be throwing proverbial rhetorical snowballs? We will see.

The Ohio governor clearly thinks his campaign right now, the future depends on the outcome in New Hampshire. He says flat out, if he gets smoked here, he will go home.

Our chief political analyst Gloria Borger sat down with Governor Kasich and asked about the entire campaign experience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What has been amazing in these town halls that I have noticed, my friends pointed it out, I think they've turned some of them into a safe harbor for people or safe haven. I mean people come, they talk about the trouble their kids are having. They -- I mean people will come and they'll cry, they'll give me a big hug or I'll give them a big hug. They need someone to care about them, somewhere to go where it's safe. It's so weird for me to find it at a political event.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Let me ask you, now here in New Hampshire, Trump has started to go on the retail circuit a little bit.

[07:35:00] He's doing a few town halls.

KASICH: Isn't that interesting?

BORGER: Yes. What you do think about that?

KASICH: That's the way you do it here. They don't care about celebrity. They don't care about money. They don't care. These people want to know who you are.

BORGER: What's your advice for him because he hasn't really done it, didn't do it in Iowa.

KASICH: I just think it's -- you can't play catch-up here.

BORGER: Who's your biggest competitor right now if you look at this field?

KASICH: I think my biggest competitor is being able to get my message out and correct, you know, the millions of negative about me. That's what I think the biggest challenge is for me. I mean people have spent $4 million, $5 million, $6 million on the air, in mailboxes, you know, talking about thing.

BORGER: Jeb and Christie, you mean?

KASICH: All of them. Even Rubio. They've all spent money bashing me. Fiorina has called me the media candidate, you know?

But my challenge is, I just wish people would say, well, tell me about this, or answer this question.

BORGER: You're tired for third in our latest poll behind Rubio and Trump, and you have said if you get smoked in New Hampshire, that it's over.

KASICH: Yes.

BORGER: What does "getting smoked" mean?

KASICH: Oh, finishing in sixth or seventh. That's not going to happen. I don't even think we're third. I think -- I think we're running second.

BORGER: Would you ever accept a vice-presidential nod from somebody?

KASICH: No, no. That's some kind of crazy. I wouldn't even think about that. I'm running for president.

BORGER: Well, you're governor of Ohio. So, people might think about it for you if you didn't get the nomination.

KASICH: Well, that doesn't matter. I don't -- I don't even think that way.

BORGER: You don't.

KASICH: I'd be the worst vice president than anybody could ever imagine. I'd be worse than Biden, because I'm my own man. I don't take orders from these people. It's not what I do. It's not who I am. I'm basically an unrelenting agent of change.

BORGER: And you couldn't do that as a vice presidential nominee?

KASICH: No. I have no interest in that. I'm running for president.

BORGER: What do you say about Bernie Sanders' charge that if you have a super PAC, then you're bought and sold?

KASICH: Well, it's extreme statement. I knew Bernie when I was in Congress. Give me a break.

BORGER: What was he like?

KASICH: Just way out, in the middle. You know, floating around Pluto somewhere. I mean, he's not. This is ridiculous. I don't dislike Bernie. I just don't take him seriously.

BORGER: I was going to ask you about Hillary Clinton taking money from Goldman Sachs. Hundreds of thousands to give speeches.

KASICH: Just because they're paid to give speeches means they're on the take. I don't think that's Hillary's biggest problem.

BORGER: Is there anything that drives you crazy about running for president? KASICH: No, look, here's the thing. Somebody said, how would you feel, would do it again if you had to do it? The answer would be yes. I mean, it's been a great experience.

No, we're not done yet. Maybe something's going to happen and, you know, I'm going to hate it, I don't know. But right now, I've enjoyed it. Driving me crazy, no, nothing's driving me crazy.

You know, we're like a traveling band of minstrels to tell you the truth. I mean, isn't it -- you know, they talk about no drama Obama. We don't have drama.

BORGER: No drama?

And let me ask you. If you could finish this sentence this way. I ran for president --

KASICH: To change the world.

BORGER: And may be I lost but --

KASICH: I held my head high, kept my integrity, and created a positive legacy for my children and grandchildren.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: John Kasich with Gloria Borger. Look that bus. It says "results now."

I'm joined by CNN executive editor of politics, Mark Preston.

Results now. Well, say, John Kasich gets the results he wants now in New Hampshire. Say he pulls off a really strong second place finish, you know, beats everyone else, gets exactly what he wants? Does that mean he has an easy path forward?

PRESTON: No, absolutely not. And look, we're talking about South Carolina for all these candidates. But for John Kasich, it's the Midwest, it's Ohio, his home state, it's Michigan, it's Illinois, it's Missouri. These are states that they think he can do very well in.

BERMAN: And those are in the middle of March.

PRESTON: Right, right, they're in the mid of March, yes.

BERMAN: Talk about patience. I mean, even if he gets everything he wants, he's got to sit out another tough month on the campaign trail with South Carolina. It doesn't seem like that will be a great state for him. Some of those March 1st states in the South, maybe not so strong for him. You know, does he have the money, does he have the support, does he have the mandate to wait until the middle of March?

PRESTON: I think the big moment of the campaign is going to happen on Wednesday morning when there's a coming to Jesus moment to say, three of these moderate candidates have to drop and one has to stay in it. For John Kasich, maybe the money has to go his way. Who knows? BERMAN: Mark Preston, great to have you here with us.

That was a great interview with John Kasich as well. So, our thanks to Gloria for that.

Victor, Christi, back to you guys in Atlanta.

PAUL: All righty. Thank you so much.

Listen, we have some other big stories to talk to you about.

[07:40:00] In fact, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: What you're looking at, what you're hearing. A dramatic cream spree that spanned three states before the police caught up with a couple nicknamed the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And it is a very busy weekend with parties and festivals and, of course, Super Bowl 50, the game itself. We're live in San Francisco with the details on the heightened security already under way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: All right. That's not a movie. That's a shoot-out you're looking at there, in the Florida panhandle after a crime spree that lasted six days and stretched across three states.

BLACKWELL: A Missouri couple that's been compared to Bonnie and Clyde stopped by police after a chase in Florida, as you heard there. They did not go quietly.

Blake Fitzgerald was killed. Brittany Harper is now recovering in the hospital. She's been guarded by officers.

CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson joins us now.

Joey, first, how does Blake Fitzgerald's death change this case and how it maybe prosecuted against Harper?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Victor. Good morning, Christi.

Well, it's from the obvious to not so obvious, and that means the following, obviously, to the extent that there's one dead, the decedent can't be prosecuted. And therefore, she's left to be prosecuted here.

The not so obvious is whether the authorities in fact under a theory of felony murder decide to charge her with the very murder that may have come at the hands of police, but you have to look at who caused the chain of events to make it happen.

[07:45:09] And so, I think that certainly would be significant. Not that she'll see the light of day anyway because as you remember, Victor, clearly this is a multi-level, multi-state prosecution and even something the federal government could get involved in. And that gets into the issue of consecutive time, wherein once she's prosecuted in Florida, now the Missouri authorities can have a shot at her, of course, the Alabama authorities have a shot at her, and so on, and certainly the federal government has dual jurisdiction.

So, she's in a world of hurt independently. But the open question is, will she, in fact, be accountable for his murder?

BLACKWELL: So, Joey, we know that this ended with a shoot-out after an armed standoff in its Pensacola neighborhood. The sheriff there said that they were going into a home and that's when the shots were fired but did not explicitly confirm that either Fitzgerald or Harper shot back.

What does that investigation look like if they determine that the shots fired by officers were indeed justified?

JACKSON: I think it's certainly critical to know that, but I think in a case like this, Victor, the ties certainly would go to law enforcement. You're looking at people who have a history, you know, certainly the male who's dead has a significant criminal history of engaging in activities of violence against people.

But to the extent that you have two people that are on the loose, on the run, engaging in home invasions and kidnapping and doing other things that represent a threat to the public, you could clearly then see what the state of mind of law enforcement is. They don't have to -- that is, law enforcement -- wait until they get inside the home and thereby represent a danger to anybody who may be occupying the home to act.

So, law enforcement on a heightened state of alert want to prevent any danger, certainly to themselves as law enforcement officials. But more importantly, because law enforcement serves to protect anyone in that home or community. And so, you know, the investigation clearly wants to know whether any shots were fired by the other side. But even if not, that's not going to be the outcome determinative to the issue of whether officers were justified. Clearly in this instant, it looks like they were.

BLACKWELL: All right. Joey Jackson, CNN legal analyst -- Joey, thank you so much.

JACKSON: Thank you, Victor. PAUL: So, it's the golden Super Bowl? I supposed, you know?

BLACKWELL: I get it, I get it.

PAUL: Panthers or Broncos. Who are you hoping for?

BLACKWELL: I'm going with Cam. I'm going with Cam.

All right, San Francisco, of course, hoping last night with the bleacher report's bleacher ball. And the red carpet was full of celebrities. All the details next and a live report for you.

PAUL: Also ahead, incredible video we want to share with you of a volcano erupting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:31] BLACKWELL: Fifty-one minutes after the hour now. Let's take you to Syria where thousands of desperate civilians are leaving the city of Aleppo. The U.N. says that 40,000 have been displaced. Syrian regime forces backed by Russian air support are aggressively trying to retake the city. Syrian forces have already cut off the only opposition supply route to the city and Turkey is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in the making.

PAUL: Well, Twitter has suspended more than 125,000 accounts because they appeared to have links to terrorism. The move comes about a month after a meeting with White House officials in Silicon Valley where the White House asked private companies to help combat terrorism. Twitter said the accounts were suspended because they threatened or promoted terrorist acts and mostly they were related, they say, to ISIS.

BLACKWELL: So, I'm sure you heard of losing bags. Maybe losing some of your bags, but one Middle Eastern airline has lost its passengers. The Pakistan International Airlines is facing protests and worker strikes over plans to privatize the airline that has shut down their booking system and now they're having trouble locating passengers, 2,500 of them are stranded all over Europe and North America. Many more are still unaccounted for. Other carriers are now trying to help track them down and get them home.

PAUL: And part of southern Japan on alert today as the Sakurajima volcano erupts, spewing more than a mile from the crater here and more eruptions can be coming. The environmental group Greenpeace says there's another threat, too. Two nuclear reactors within 30 miles of the volcano. But power company that owns them contends they are not in danger.

BLACKWELL: All right. Coming up at the top of the hour, Carly Fiorina excluded from tonight's ABC debate despite petitions by supporters and fellow candidates heading to Twitter to take her -- to take up her case and bring her to the stage. Why is Carly Fiorina struggling in the polls in the Granite State?

PAUL: Also, Super Bowl 50, the party, the players, the predictions. CNN has it all live from San Francisco.

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[07:57:14] BLACKWELL: Counting down now. Just one day away. Some people are counting down hours instead of days now until the kickoff of Super Bowl 50.

PAUL: Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, and lots of really bad food.

Andy Scholes is covering the big game in San Francisco.

Andy, it's so good to see you, but listen, I know we have to start with other news this morning coming out about NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, guys.

Things aren't looking good for Johnny Manziel. His agent cut ties with him yesterday and his father tells "The Dallas Morning News" that if Johnny doesn't get help soon he fears he won't make it to his 24th birthday in December.

Now, Dallas police are investigating an incident between Manziel and his ex-girlfriend that happened last Saturday. Johnny's ex-girlfriend said that Johnny allegedly hit her multiple times. She gave her account of incident to police yesterday and has reportedly got a restraining order against Manziel. In an interview with TMZ, Manziel has denied ever hitting Crowley.

All right. Here in San Francisco, at 39 years old, Peyton Manning will become the oldest quarterback ever to play in the Super Bowl tomorrow. The speculation, of course, is that this is Peyton's final game. That's the impression I got when I spoke with Peyton's father Archie earlier this week. Now, Peyton would not confirm that this week with speaking with the media. But he did talk about how grateful he was to have one more chance at a Super Bowl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEYTON MANNING, DENVER BRONCOS: If you have any appreciation for the history of the game, certainly you've watched Super Bowls and played in Super Bowl, had a sibling that's played in Super Bowls, it does make it even more special. So, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here and as I feel like our whole team is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Super Bowl Week is almost just as much about the parties as it is the big game. Last night was the first annual bleacher ball. I was working the red carpet and I was trying to find out who everyone is rooting for on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Peyton Manning, Cam Newton. Who's the boss? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peyton. I mean, cam's amazing, don't get me

wrong, but it would be really, really special to see Peyton just walk off into the sunset with a win.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really came into it just saying there's no way that Carolina can lose this game, and the more I watch Denver's defense, the more I think this going to be a lot closer than people think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. We're going to have much more on the big game coming up later today. Be sure to tune in on "Kickoff by the Bay", a CNN bleacher report special. That's 2:30 Eastern, right here on CNN. Chris Cuomo and Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino will be hosting that.

Guys, do you notice how similar they look to one another?

PAUL: Yes, we were talking about that.

BLACKWELL: Uh-huh, uh-huh, we picked that up.

SCHOLES: They're twins.