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New Day Saturday

Louisiana Polls Now Open For Primary Voters; Trump Snubs Speech At Conservative Meeting; Carson: Mistake To "Thwart Will Of The People"; Trump's Popularity Creates Disarray In GOP; Voters Head To The Polls For Super Saturday; Trump to Hold Rally in Kansas; Flint Water Crisis: How They Are Coping; LAPD Investigating Knife Found at O.J. Simpson Estate. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired March 05, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

PAMELA BROWN, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: -- but Victor today is Super Saturday, the biggest Saturday of the year in the race for the White House so certainly a big day in politics.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: It is a very big day in politics. Pamela, good morning to you. Good morning to you at home. And yes, it is Super Saturday. It's now underway, a busy day for the presidential candidates, both GOP and Democrats.

This minute polls are opening in Louisiana. Right here at the top of the hour, 15 seconds into the 8:00 Eastern hour, 7:00 there in Louisiana. Live pictures at a polling station in Baton Rouge.

Five states are voting today. Louisiana is the only primary, the rest are caucuses. One hundred fifty five delegates are at stake for Republicans in Louisiana, Maine, Kansas and Kentucky. Democrats battling over 109 delegates in Kansas, Louisiana and Nebraska.

Meanwhile, this is the final day of the Conservative Political Action Conference there in Maryland, the CPAC. Marco Rubio scheduled to take the stage there about 11:35 we're told.

Donald Trump snubs an appearance there, snubs a group last minute deciding not to attend instead he is opting for a rally in Wichita, Kansas this hour about 8:30 scheduled to be his speaking time there at CPAC.

Trump's campaign is taking heat for what you're seeing on your screen right now. I don't know if you can hear there they are saying Black Lives Matter and some of the Trump supporters are responding with all lives matter.

More than two dozen of those Black Lives Matters protesters forcibly removed from the Trump rally in New Orleans last night.

I want to bring in CNN senior political reporter, Manu Raju. He is live in National Harbor, Maryland, the site of CPAC.

And Manu, good morning to you, we know that from your reporting that the crowds at CPAC aren't majority pro-Trump but still the attendees are disappointed nonetheless by Trump's decision to drop out of his appearance at the last minute. What are you hearing from those activists and conservative voters?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: They certainly would have liked to hear from him. Yesterday when we talked to a bunch of these supporters, they said that they wanted the frontrunner to come out and lay his vision out for the future and why he thinks he deserves conservative support.

But one of the reasons why he did not come was that he disagreed with the format that the organizers have laid out. The format being that the candidate actually would deliver their stump speech or whatever speech they want to deliver and afterwards submit to a Q and A session.

The Trump campaign did not want to do a Q and A session and as a result, the American Conservative Union, which puts on this event said we're not going to go forward with this and Donald Trump said I'm going to go my own way.

So Donald Trump clearly views the best chance for him going forward today is to spend his time in Kansas and rack up potentially a big win there and prevent Marco Rubio for instance of getting a number of delegates there.

Donald Trump has two rallies in Kansas and in Florida, also later tonight ahead of the critical March 15th date. So clearly, Donald Trump believes that's his time is better placed there than it is here before an audience that could be somewhat hostile.

BLACKWELL: Manu, we know that we'll get results of the straw poll later today and you said this is not a majority pro-Trump group. Is there a single candidate the attendees are supporting or coalescing around?

RAJU: You know, probably, if I were to guess, probably Ted Cruz, this is sort of his audience. Yesterday, he really riled up the crowd. We'll see how Marco Rubio does in a matter of hours.

There was uncertainty for some time whether or not he would actually come to this event and he of course, now is. We'll see how he's received here.

I want to mention about Ben Carson yesterday. He did come and he announced he was going to suspend his campaign, one of the things that was interesting that he said to us afterwards was how Mitt Romney, how he disagreed with the way Mitt Romney was going after Donald Trump.

I asked him specifically about this. Here is a little bit more about what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People that think Donald Trump will be the worst thing that ever happen need to also understand that if he is the person selected by the people, you make a mistake to thwart the will of the people and Mr. Trump really does want to be successful. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:01] RAJU: It really shows how divided this party is going forward. Getting behind in tactics they use so we'll see how Marco Rubio when he addresses this crowd in a couple of hours, and what he says about Donald Trump. I'm sure it won't be very positive -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Probably not. Manu providing the perfect segue way into our next segment here. Manu Raju there at CPAC, thank you so much.

Mitt Romney sat down with CNN chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, for a one-on-one and he had a lot to say about Donald Trump and why he went after Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wanted to remain as a neutral umpire, if you will, calling balls and strikes and fouls and I've done that along the way. But over the last several weeks, some of the things Donald Trump has said and done on policy as well as temperamental things have suggested to me I just couldn't wait any longer.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Do you think it's too late, though?

ROMNEY: You know, I don't know what impact these things have politically, but I do know that when my grandkids say what did you do to stop Donald Trump? I want to be able to say something. I wasn't going to sit on the sidelines until the very end.

BORGER: You could potentially drive his supporters into his arms even more by doing this because you're the symbol of the Republican establishment.

ROMNEY: Well, you know, I spent my life in business. I didn't get involved in politics until quite late in life. I think everybody someone is opposed to becomes establishment. The term anti- establishment is a very popular term.

I don't call myself establishment. I don't think others do either, that want to have the support of fellow Republicans. They may say they are main stream and conservative, but Donald Trump is not Republican in any sense of the word.

BORGER: At the debate, the other candidates said that they would support Trump if he became the nominee. Is there any circumstance under which you would?

ROMNEY: Well, I can't imagine supporting Donald Trump for president or Hillary Clinton for president, either one. I'll hopefully be able to find a conservative on the ballot who I can vote for.

BORGER: Did party leaders looking back and I guess yourself included, misread their own voters in the Republican base by betting on the fact that perhaps Donald Trump would simply implode of his own free will?

ROMNEY: I don't know about other people. I certainly paid attention to Donald Trump. I didn't expect him to do so well.

BORGER: Right.

ROMNEY: But he has tapped into an anger which is very much understood. What he's done with the anger, however, is not to build it into resolve and high purpose, but instead to take it down a very dark alley.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: We've got with us CNN Politics executive editor, Mark Preston, here to discuss Romney and that decision to go after Donald Trump. Mark, good to have you back.

And I want to start where Governor Romney left off. He says that Donald Trump is playing to a lot of anger in the GOP electorate. He understands that anger, but I wonder if he does understand it.

Because if he understands it, he would understand the point that Gloria Borger made that he is the symbol of Republican establishment and possibly he is not the right messenger for this message.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, Victor, you know, a couple things to unpack here, first of all, there had been no unifying voice until we saw Mitt Romney earlier this week come out and speak out so forcefully against Donald Trump.

We have seen his rivals do that, but Romney was the only person that did step up. It is true the fact is that Mitt Romney, many people were very frustrated when he ran for president in 2012.

They didn't think that he was a strong enough candidate against Barack Obama and didn't take the fight to Barack Obama nor was as conservative enough of a candidate to placate all corners of the Republican Party.

Mitt Romney did what Mitt Romney thought he had to do, but the question is, Victor, is it really effective, will it be effective or will it fly back on the Republican establishment.

Because they will have really set up a fight between the grassroots that are supporting Donald Trump and the establishment here in Washington D.C.

BLACKWELL: And will one speech be enough? I mean, Mitt Romney's speech owned maybe a quarter of a new cycle and then we went into debate coverage and ever since the coverage has been about Donald Trump's hands, and torture, and water boarding.

I wonder, will he have to make this speech again? Will he have to do more cable news, more talk raid radio to launch this campaign against Donald Trump throughout the primaries? PRESTON: That's a great question. I got to tell you going into the speech, I wasn't so concerned to hear about what Mitt Romney was going to say during the speech. I was waiting to see what the reaction was going to be after the speech.

Because that is really what is going to matter over the next couple of months. I don't suspect this is the last time we will hear Mitt Romney talk about these issues, but it just can't be Mitt Romney.

If you're the Republican establishment right now, you can't be having this chattering here in Washington D.C. and places like New York about how to try to stop Donald Trump. You need to start put things into action and into work.

[08:10:05] What is very interesting what he told Gloria there is that he could not support Donald Trump, which we've heard from several, other Republicans, but what he did say is that I hope to be able to find another consecutive on the ballot.

While we talk about trying or at least the establishment trying to stop Donald Trump in the delegate hunt, right, to try to prevent him from the delegates, well, that might be a fool's thing to do.

But they will likely do is to run another candidate against Donald Trump, and that will be somebody that Mitt Romney and others probably will flock to. If that happens, not only will you see a split in the Republican Party, but that could certainly help the Democratic nominee.

BLACKWELL: Fascinating. All of this. Mark Preston there from the site of CPAC, the final day of that conference, thank you so much.

Ahead this hour, we'll be talking with Arizona treasurer and Trump supporter, Jeff Duwit (ph) and we'll talk about Trump's change of heart or change of stance on torture.

When we come back, the polls now open in Louisiana and the caucuses coming up in Kansas, Kentucky. Maine as well. Nebraska for the Dems. A 109 delegates on the line for Democrats, 155 for the GOP. As we turn to the Democrats, what is at stake for them on Super Saturday? Can Sanders pull out a win in one of these states?

Plus are Trump's rallies getting out of control. Some would argue they didn't for some time. Last night, another incident, protestors pushed, shoved, during a Trump event.

Also talks inside the Republican Party about a possible brokered convention to stop frontrunner, Donald Trump. We talked about that with Mark. The candidates now weigh in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In my view a brokered convention ain't going to happen and if the Washington deal makers try to steal the nomination from the people, I think it would be a disaster. It would cause a revolt. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:13]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Have you chosen a candidate you're going to support?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have. I'm looking toward Hillary to be honest. I think she's going to be a great candidate for our community, especially, because she came and represented us with the water crisis that we're having and I thought she showed up and represented us well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like realistic goals and I respect the Clintons, you know, nobody is perfect, but I'm saying there is total alternative. I have a lot of respect for her, and I have a lot of -- I feel that she can accomplish some of those things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None of the above.

BLACKWELL: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I don't feel that they are putting candidates out there and neither party are addressing the people's needs, not their wants, their needs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Normally I vote Republican, and just for my own standards, and what I believe in and so typically that's what it is, but as for a certain person, I haven't really seen one that I actually love yet. So it will probably be a last-minute decision.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoever makes the most sense.

BLACKWELL: And have you chosen who that is yet?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My choices are Hillary, Sanders or Kasich.

BLACKWELL: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm still deciding.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Still deciding. There are a lot of voters here across the state of Michigan who are doing just that. Those are some thoughts from voters I spoke with here in Flint, Michigan. Flint is the site of Sunday night's Democratic debate.

So the Democrats today, though, this is a big day for both the Democrats and Republicans. For the Democrats, there are 109 delegates on the line at stake as voters head to the polls in Louisiana. Caucuses in Kansas and Nebraska. Polls open already in Louisiana.

The focus then turns here to Michigan, where voters will be heading to the polls on Tuesday. Of course, Maine on Sunday, as well.

Let's look ahead to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders face-to-face on the debate stage live on CNN and bring in Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics, University of Virginia.

Larry, good morning to you and I want to put the map back up for the Democrats today, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska. Which of these states, I guess, look good for Senator Sanders? Does he have a chance to win here? We understand he'll earn some delegates, but can he get a w?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UVA'S CENTER FOR POLITICS: Sure, Louisiana, which is the only primary and I have a strong bias towards primaries rather than caucuses, the primarily will almost certainly go to Hillary Clinton by a wide margin.

But notice, Victor, the others are caucuses and I think we'll see this going forward. Caucuses are Bernie Sanders best hope. He will end up winning some of them probably during the whole primary season.

That's going to give his supporters some hope, even though mathematically he almost certainly will not be the Democratic nominee and just can't find a path to be the Democratic nominee. It will recreate some headlines that will suggest momentum for Bernie Sanders.

BLACKWELL: You bring up a good point there, momentum. Of course, there is the math and narrative, the perception of viability of a campaign. By the end of today, almost half of the 2,383 delegates will be allotted. Of course, that's the number needed to secure the nomination.

Does he have to a path to the nomination mathematically and give us a gauge of the perception, the narrative about that possible path?

SABATO: Well, technically, theoretically, of course, you can assign wins in every state that has not yet voted to Bernie Sanders and I suppose very narrowly he could win the Democratic nomination, but of course that's not going to happen.

We already see the pattern, any state that has a large African- American population and probably a large Hispanic population will be voting for Hillary Clinton.

States that will liberal rights as the core of the Democratic Party will probably vote for Bernie Sanders but in the end, even if you don't consider the super delegates, which are overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton and comprised a total of 15 percent, a big percentage of the entire Democratic convention.

Hillary Clinton will still probably edge Bernie Sanders in elected delegates then when you add the super delegates on top, it's not even going to be close.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk policy. Sanders has been hitting Hillary Clinton lately on her stance on trade agreements. We are talking NAFTA, the Transpacific Partnership, the TPP, the impact on jobs and outsourcing especially for Michigan. [08:20:09]And we saw a bit of video from his rally in Traverse City. How effective are those attacks here?

SABATO: They can be effective at least with the individual voters who perhaps have lost their jobs or had family member who's lost a job and may be attributed to the trade deal. You know, Victor, it brings up an important point.

What Bernie Sanders is doing is collecting delegates which he'll do all the way through June. I can't see him dropping out. What do those delegates mean?

They are an opportunity to influence the platform, to pull the platform to the left and therefore, to pull Hillary Clinton to the left. I think that is his realistic goal, and he's been doing a good job of it.

BLACKWELL: All right. Larry Sabato, thank you so much for joining us this morning. There are some who are asking, though, as some point if there is no viable path forward, is he then damaging a general election candidate by continuing. But that of course mostly from Clinton supporters. Larry, thanks so much.

Next debate is live from Flint, Michigan. The CNN Democratic presidential debate Sunday night at 8:00 only on CNN and then immediately following, catch the new CNN original series "Race for the White House." This is an amazing series. Six of the most contentious races in history. That's Sunday night at 10:00 Eastern.

Pamela, I'm going to send it back to you in Atlanta.

BROWN: All right, sounds good. Thanks so much, Victor. We have more stories making headlines this morning. Could plane debris found to be part of missing airlines, MH 370? Details on that.

Plus new information that notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman snuck into the U.S. while on the run. What he was doing and why we're just finding this out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:25:00]

BROWN: Back to NEW DAY, I'm Pamela Brown. We'll get you back to Victor Blackwell in Flint, Michigan in just a moment. But first, here is a look at some other stories we're following on this Saturday morning.

Malaysian aviation experts are on their way to the African nation of Mozambique to inspect a piece of debris and determine if it came from missing airliner, MH370. The triangular piece is believed to be from the tail section of a large plane like a Boeing 777. The scrap was found washed up on a beach earlier this week by an American tourist. MH370 vanished almost exactly two years ago with 239 people aboard.

Notorious Mexican drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman reportedly snuck into the United States twice after escaping last year from a Mexican prison. Guzman's daughter said he came to her home in California. This came to light in an interview published in "Time" magazine. Guzman's daughter said she had no idea how he slipped across the border when both U.S. and Mexican authorities were looking for him.

Police in Maine have arrested a 55-year-old man and charged him with the murder that took place 35 years ago. The death of Joyce McClain has been a cold case ever since her body was found back in August of 1980. Police say the suspect made a number of incriminating remarks over the years that suggested he may have been involved in the girl's death.

The author of the best seller's "The Prince of Tides" has died. Pat Conroy's publisher says he has pancreatic cancer and died in his home in South Carolina. Conroy wrote 11 books during his career. He was 70 years old.

Up next, Donald Trump snubs the conservative convention and hits the road holding rallies in both Florida and Kansas. One of those states holding a caucus today and we are there live.

Plus, Trump reverses his position on water boarding after getting heavy criticism. We talk to Jeff Duwit, a Trump supporter about this change in stance. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:48] BLACKWELL: Welcome back. I'm Victor Blackwell, live from Flint, Michigan, the site of Sunday night's Democratic presidential debate.

The race for the White House is in full sprint this Super Saturday. For Republicans, 155 delegates are at stake in Maine and Kentucky, Louisiana, Kansas. In fact, the polls are already open in the state of Louisiana.

CNN's Rosa Flores joins us from Wichita, Kansas, where Donald Trump, the front runner in the race, will hold a rally in a few hours.

Again, the rally is a few hours away. But I could see, Rosa, there are already people crowding in behind you.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORESPONDENT: Victor, people didn't sleep. Some didn't eat. They wanted to make sure to be here early to make sure they could take one of the about 1,000 seats in here.

I want to show you around. You can see that there are people of all ages. They asked the crowd moments ago and about -- there's a range between kids as young as 1 year old and 92 years old. So, there are people here and some of them Kansas City. Others from Wichita, others from other parts of the country that wanted to make sure that they were here to listen to Trump.

But, you know, I've talked to these people about why they are here. There's a gentleman right over here that tells me that he's still undecided, Victor.

He says, I'm here to listen to what Trump has to say. He's like, I'm really swaying towards Trump, but he says I don't like what he says sometimes. He can come out as rude. He's like, I like he's not a politician but can be blunt and rude.

Other people here are saying, you know what, Rosa? We were so upset by what Mitt Romney said about Donald Trump, calling him a phony and fraud that we wanted to be here to support Donald Trump and that's why they are here because they want to make sure that they have their support.

Now what does this mean? This area is just right next door to the caucusing area, Victor. So, some of these people will move to the caucuses so it wild completely translate into caucus votes. Others are not. Others said I tried to register but I didn't register on time. But again, they wanted to make sure they supported Donald Trump in person -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Rosa Flores there for us in Wichita -- thank you so much.

And we know that rally set to begin in just about 90 minutes, caucusing beginning a little later today.

A lot of potential voters may be listening to hear, of course, his stance on torture, and he says the U.S. should bring back waterboarding and go, as he says, even further.

But then, a reversal yesterday. Trump put out a statement reading in part, the United States is bound by laws and treaties and I would not order our military or other officials to violate those laws and will seek their advice on such matters. But just to understand what the Trump position has been up to, listen to what he said at Thursday night's debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He didn't want to get into it. He didn't sort of answer the question. What do you think Mr. Trump?

So, I said, well, throughout the Middle East they are chopping off heads of Christians. They are chopping off heads of people, anybody that gets in the way. They are drowning 30, 40 people at a time in heavy steel cages.

As far as I'm concerned, waterboarding is absolutely fine, but we should go much further. I got a standing, standing ovation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. Obviously, that was Trump on Friday after the debate, but let's bring in Jeff DeWit. He's the Arizona state treasurer and a Donald Trump supporter. So, Jeff, we're seeing at the rally where he's calling for water

boarding and go further. He also talked about killing the family members of terrorists. These are war crimes and then he says, as president, I'll follow the law, of course.

I mean, which is it and why the change now?

JEFF DEWIT, ARIZONA STATE TREASURER: Well, there's not a change. What he's saying is we need to enable our brave men and women that go fight for us to have every tool available to protect themselves. We keep sending our men and women on the front lines and we tie them with their hands behind their back and we need to let them do their jobs and win a war.

[08:35:08] If we're at war, then we need to go and win the war, and he hasn't flipped at all but obviously, we are bound by treaties and laws in terms of what we can do.

BLACKWELL: That is a flip. I hate to interrupt you, but that is a flip. If he first calls for killing the family members of terrorists -- I mean, first there is due process for those family members, but also, waterboarding is considered torture and of course, illegal. To say now he will follow the law, that takes those two things off the table. That's not only change, a 180 degree change.

DEWIT: No, I don't think he took them off the table, either. I'll look at a definition of that for you, by way of Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz said in a debate unambiguously, he will not condone torture of any kind. No torture at all.

And then later came out and said, oh, yes, well, we still waterboard and do these other things, because that's not torture. So, if you look at Ted Cruz how he's defining torture, he says torture is everything up until the pain of losing an organ. And that's a complete flip. That's a politician that's trying to appeal to both sides of the argument by speaking out of both sides of his mouth. And that's what we should talk about and waterboarding and isn't torture because it's not the full pain of losing an organ and he doesn't condone torture at all.

BLACKWELL: Let me bring back to Donald Trump, though.

DEWIT: So, I think Donald Trump is courageous talking about enabling our troops to win a war if we're in a war.

BLACKWELL: Let me bring you back to Donald Trump and I'm glad you brought up troops because there was that letter that was signed by dozens of former military leaders who said that what Donald Trump was asking military members to do was to break the law and commit a war crime and they would not obey those demands. Trump says they'll do what they're told, they'll do what I tell them to do.

I mean, what do you think was the impact of that collective voice of military leaders?

DEWIT: Well, any change in policy has to go through a basically committee progress. What we need to do is get Congress defining these things and that's what Donald Trump wants to do is to get the argument going and get the definition on the table so we can absolutely, conclusively say, this is torture, this is not torture, and here's what we do.

The bottom line is, we're not out there just trying to -- no one wants to go and torture anyone just to make them hurt or inflict pain, but if there is an imminent attack on America or our troops, there is a question of how far do we go to get the information to stop the attack? Because job number one is protecting our citizens.

And so, we have to look at what that is. I don't like torture like anybody else, and there are certainly arguments in some cases we get better information by being nice. There are have been cases of that. But there's also cases with extreme terrorists, there is only one way to get information and there has been information through waterboarding and other means that has saved American lives.

Now, you know, it's hard to say which way is the best way to go. But the bottom line is the discussion needs to take place and I think it's been a brave and courageous thing by a leader like Donald Trump to get the argument going.

BLACKWELL: I got you. I know there are a lot of people this agree with you, but when you say there is confusion on which way to go, one of those ways is illegal. And military members have said that they will not obey those illegal commands. But you made your point, and I challenged them.

Let's move to CPAC, and his decision, Donald Trump's decision not to appear today. Now, he's going to be in Wichita. He's going to be campaigning in Florida. I wonder as I asked one of our analyst earlier, do we expect that there will be, as Donald Trump admitted after skipping the Iowa debate that there will be some quantifiable consequence to not speaking to this group of grassroots conservatives?

DEWIT: Well, we love CPAC. We would have obviously loved to go there. But when you look at the middle of a presidential race with the front runner, and honestly, the presumptive nominee is the only one to win the states per the RNC guidelines, he's the only that has eight states under his belt, so we call him the presumptive nominee by RNC rules, we have to look at where is the best place to deploy not only him but our team. And we look at Wichita who's going to be voting today, Kansas voting and a chance to do this big crowd.

BLACKWELL: We had Matt Schlapp was on early today and he said that the reason that Trump campaign gave for not attending was that Trump didn't like the format. He didn't want to be questioned by a journalist. He didn't think he had enough time.

So, this isn't the schedule. Marco Rubio is going to be there. Ted Cruz was there yesterday. John Kasich speaks, as well.

[08:40:02] So, the other candidates made time and they're also rallying today and campaigning today.

Why couldn't Donald Trump do both?

DEWIT: Well, I don't know if anybody could say he's afraid to answer a journalist question because we have him on media all day long answering questions. He's been the only one in debates to actually directly answer questions, which the American people give us a lot of feedback that they appreciate it. This is just a matter of, you know, when we do another event like a CPAC, we do it according to their schedule, too, and it could screw up the entire day of doing multiple events.

And so, when we look at this, when we could go to Wichita in the morning, be in Orlando later and look at these events, look at the size of the event in Wichita that we had on and how big it's going to be with 48 hours notice. No one knew there would be an event and look how many people turn out. So, we have the chance to go out --

BLACKWELL: The hours --

(CROSSTALK)

DEWIT: Take the message right to the people, a lot more people, and we have to deploy it in the best way we can.

BLACKWELL: Jeff DeWit, thank you so much. You make a good point. Your candidate has been very accessible leading up to this point for most reporters who want to get a question in. He is available in front of the camera when there is an opportunity.

Jeff, thank you so much.

DEWIT: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Next, we're in Flint, Michigan, of course, the site of Sunday night's debate. But we have to talk about the water crisis here, the lead in the drinking water.

How are the people here coping? Do they want to hear from candidates on Sunday night? More importantly, what do they want to be done?

We're seeing video of the replacement, the first replacement of a pipe here. We'll bring you more details from Flint.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:33] BLACKWELL: But as the residents of Flint, Michigan, they want to know what Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton will do about the city's water crisis when they appear on the stage for the debate here in Flint here tomorrow night. It's been two years since dangerous levels of lead began leeching into Flint's water supply.

Actually, there is no safe level of lead to be in water, but there has been very little done to stop it, replacing individual water lines to thousands of homes is very expensive. $250 million in federal aid has been allocated to help but it's been stalled in Congress. We'll talk about that in a moment.

Sara Ganim following this story has been in Flint for literally months is back with us now.

Sara, I've been speaking to people in Flint. You've got to know them better than I admittedly. What do they want to hear tomorrow night?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, it really comes down to money for new infrastructure. There has been a lack of money and abundance of red tape when it comes to fixing this issue. What residents say is they're not going to trust their water and they're certainly not going to trust their government until there are new lead pipes.

I want to show you what we're talking about here.

BLACKWELL: All right.

GANIM: This is a lead pipe from Lansing, Michigan. I witness a removable there. See this orange substance inside, that's the coating that's supposed to protect lead pipes from leeching into water supply.

That's what was ripped away from the pipes here in Flint and that's what caused this problem. Until they replace the pipes with new ones, the people say they won't trust their water and you need money to do that. The mayor has asked for $55 million. So far she has gotten none of -- no money from the state or from the feds for that replacement.

BLACKWELL: Yes. So, let's talk about this $250 million that's being held up. What do you know about that?

GANIM: So, in the federal government, the U.S. Senate has proposed $250 million to go to the people of Flint but there is at least one senator, a senator from Utah, Mike Lee, who's going to hold it up because he believes this is a manmade problem, a problem caused by the state and he thinks the state should fix it.

I have to tell you, a lot of people agree with him. People who are in Flint agree with him. There is a surplus in the state of Michigan. They believe some of that money should go to fixing this problem.

Now, the governor here to be fair has proposed a lot of money to fix the problem, a lot of it is tied up in red tape. Some of it won't come until after budget negotiations, which means it won't come until October. He's proposed $195 million, but so far, no money to fix these pipes and that's what these people want.

BLACKWELL: It's a nightmare. It's a nightmare. Added frustration and anger, because there is money available, it's just not getting to them, no consolation that there are people who agree with Mike Lee, that the state should pay for it.

Sara Ganim, thanks you so much for staying on top of this.

BLACKWELL: All right. For ways to help in the residents here, go to CNN.com/impact.

Pamela, I'm going to send it back to you in Atlanta.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you so much, Victor.

After this break, a new twist in one of the sensational murder trials of modern times. Police are now testing a knife allegedly found at the O.J. Simpson estate. Details when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Los Angeles police are investigating a knife allegedly found at the former estate of O.J. Simpson. The blade is being checked for DNA and hair at a forensics lab. Allegedly, a construction worker gave the weapon to an L.A. traffic officer sometime in the '90s. It's unclear why it's taken so long for this knife to surface. This is all bizarre.

Now, I want to bring in CNN's Paul Vercammen with the very latest on this discovery.

There's a lot of skeptics here, Paul, of course, and the timing is suspicious. How significant is this finding?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the range that we're getting here from the LAPD is it could be very significant or absolutely bogus.

Let's try to give you a timeline, Pam. I'll go ahead and lay this out in the words of the attorney for George Maycott. He is retired L.A. police officer working on a movie shoot, the lawyer says somewhere around 2003, 2002 in O.J. Simpson's neighborhood when according to the lawyer, a construction worker walks up to this officer on duty on the movie shoot and hands him a knife.

This knife is seemingly been buried under ground for a long time and it's very dirty. The officer according to his lawyer then calls the West Los Angeles police station to report this knife. Let's go ahead and listen to what the lawyer said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRENT COPELAND, RET. OFFICER GEORGE MAYCOTT'S LAWYER: He did what I think every person would have done under the circumstances, you call LAPD and let them make the call. They made the call and the call was, look, this doesn't have any value to us. It's not useful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: So then the officer puts that knife in a tool box and it resurfaces later and here we are right now, Pam, and tonight, by the way, is the five-hour marathon of the new O.J. Simpson series off camera. The LAPD captain who was speaking at the press conference said to me, quote, "timing is interesting" -- Pam.

BROWN: It absolutely is interesting. Paul Vercammen, thank you very much.

Well, this is an option that keeps popping up in the fight to stop Donald Trump, a convention fight. Some say a contested convention, some say a brokered one. Up next, the difference between the two and what the candidates are saying. We'll be right back.

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[08:57:48] BLACKWELL: All right. It is Super Saturday and Donald Trump is expected to do well in the four contests on the GOP side gaining steam and there are some say fewer options to stop him as the calendar proceeds.

Now, the idea of a brokered convention keeps coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I win Ohio and I'll be doing better in other northern states, this will go to the convention. It's going to be a very exciting time and why not?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In my view a brokered convention ain't going to happen and if the Washington deal makers try to steal the nomination from the people, I think it would be a disaster. It would cause a revolt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Kasich says he's going ahead to a convention showdown as he says why not? Cruz says that is a bad idea but what's the difference between a brokered convention and a contested one?

Here's Jonathan Mann to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN HOST, "POLITICAL MANN": If the anti-Trump forces are serious about stopping him, they do not have a lot of time. Primaries, of course, are well underway and, of course, Trump is mostly winning them. The next best hope will be at the presidential nominating convention months from now in July.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The next president of the United States of America, Mitt Romney.

MANN (voice-over): The modern American party convention is as scripted as anything you'll see on TV. State delegates elected by the primaries and caucuses nominate the presidential candidate they have chosen months earlier. The last time the Republicans gathered for example, Mitt Romney was so far ahead, there was a crushing majority and no suspension. He had 90 percent of the delegates.

But what if Donald Trump's rivals can get enough delegates to keep him from getting a majority? He doesn't have one yet. The convention could turn into a real competition, voting until it can find a consensus. It hasn't happened in decades, but it's known as a contested convention or if voting doesn't deliver a nominee, party leaders could intervene to guide the outcome, what's known as a brokered convention. (on camera): It's all mathematically possible, but it looks very

uncertain. The crucial thing is this, Trump's opponents have to start winning primaries and caucuses and what they know what we know is the polls are still very clearly against them.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)