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Hala Gorani Tonight
Deal Would See Migrants Sent Back To Turkey; Hungary Threatens To Veto Turkey-EU Plan; Stakes High In Second "Super Tuesday" Contests; Sharapova Loses Endorsements After Failing Drug Test; Two Years Since Flight MH370 Disappeared; US Presidential Race Latest; US Strike Possibly Hits Leading ISIS Figure Serbia and Slovenia Closing Borders to Migrants. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired March 08, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We are live at CNN London. Thanks for being with us. A busy hour ahead.
This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
A break through on the migrant crisis, at least that's how European leaders are describing their new apparently hard fought draft deal with Turkey.
Let's try to understand the details. First off, all new irregular migrants as they're called, crossing the sea to Greece, will be returned to Turkey,
the E.U. will pay for that. It's one person in one out as we understand it.
For every Syrian refugee returned to Turkey from Greece, another Syrian refugee will be taken from Turkey and resettled in the E.U. Now Turkey is
getting quite a bit in return for all of this.
For one thing, the E.U. is going to rush the funding, 3 billion euros, $3.3 billion. Turkey also should be able to have some visa waiver program that
would benefit its citizens in order to travel to Europe.
Now of course, for people who've made that treacherous journey into Greece from Turkey, it's difficult to imagine what it would be like to only be
turned around and sent back to Turkey from Greece.
Arwa Damon is joining us live from (inaudible) in Greece and she's been speaking with people who are potentially in that exact situation.
Arwa, what did you see today? And were you able to ask refugees and migrants what they think of this new deal that was struck in Brussels?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, they are very confused by it especially because no one, not even organizations like
UNHCR really understand how it would in fact be implemented. What it is doing is leaving a very vulnerable population and an increasing state of
limbo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON (voice-over): These are the people whose fate was bartered by European and Turkish leaders, trying to clean up and recover from a night
spent in the bitter cold and pouring rains. The (inaudible) family's kids are all sick, vomiting, their parents say.
We tried to stack the blankets on the floor, but it didn't work, (inaudible) tells us. We don't know what is going to happen to us.
(on camera): They tried to stay as dry as they could, trying to keep at least the kids clothing out of the water that was coming through. And you
can see, what a lot of people have done now that the sun is finally beginning to come out is take their sopping, wet things and try to dry them
off.
(voice-over): So the-called breakthrough agreement is not about saving the most vulnerable of people, it's about protecting Europe from them. Human
Rights Watch's Peter Buckardt says it is as if what is happening here is disconnected from the war zones.
PETER BOUCKART, EMERGENCIES DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: We need to connect these two crises and understand, these are the people fleeing from
the Islamic State, from Assad's terror. A year of talks about human rights and about promoting human rights abroad, and now there's a crisis coming to
Europe, and they close their borders.
DAMON: The agreement he says is a slap in the face to those fleeing conflict. Europe has received over 1.5 million asylum requests in the past
year. They say they can't handle the influx.
The agreement which still needs to be put to a vote in ten days would push the crisis outside of most of the European Union, to Greece, and ultimately
to Turkey.
At this camp along the Greek side of the border with Macedonia, 13,000 people are waiting. Lines for food, a sandwich, lasts two hours.
It's where we meet this woman and her sister, sporting necklaces given to them by a volunteer. A small act of kindness that has become a rarity
these days.
But one that at least helps them forget a little of what they're going through. I was very cold. I was shivering she tells us, all the water
came inside the tent.
[15:05:08]What will happen to them and the other refugees stranded along the way is unclear and Amnesty International is calling this agreement a
death blow to the right to seek asylum.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: And Hala, Amnesty International has also gone on to say that with this new agreement, European Union and Turkish leaders have effectively
sunk to an entirely new low.
GORANI: And meantime, what happens to those stranded in Greece right now? All of these countries that migrants usually cross through are closing
their borders and tens of thousands have nowhere to go.
DAMON: That's a great question. That is exactly what everyone is trying to figure out at this point. Both the Greek government and UNHCR are
trying to build up a better accommodations than the ones you saw in our reporting.
There is something that will, at least, depending on how long these people have to wait provide them with better shelter, but there's the issue of
food distribution, medicine.
And there's also the looming question of will they then be allowed to remain in Greece and be processed from here to their end destinations or
also be a part of the group that ends up being sent back to Turkey?
We understand to a certain degree that new arrivals are the ones that will be subjected to this agreement if and when it is implemented. But there's
still so much confusion, so much that needs to be answered, and so little preparation that has actually been made.
GORANI: Right. Interesting also logistically how it would all work, we'll try to figure that out this hour. Arwa Damon is in (inaudible), Greece,
thanks very much.
Many migrants as we've been covering for a long time now, who've risked their lives to make it to Europe, may have big issues with this plan. Even
European leaders are not all on the same page.
Hungary is sticking to its staunch anti-migration position. It is threatening a veto. Zoltan Kovacs is the Hungarian government spokesman
and he joins me via Skype from Budapest.
So Mr. Kovacs, first of all, let me get your reaction as the Hungarian government spokesperson to this E.U. draft proposal that for every
irregular migrant that Turkey takes back. That one refugee from Syria would be accepted and relocated into Europe. What's your reaction to that
draft plan?
ZOLTAN KOVACS, HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: That was indeed the point on which the prime minister has basically gone against the proposal. We
believe we still believe it's almost a year by now actually.
It's very consistent Hungarian standpoint, that any kind of quota, any kind of approach that suggests that on the basis of principle, it's a good thing
to bring in the resettled people into Europe, directly from the conflict zones is a good idea. We believe it's not a good idea. We shall --
GORANI: But what plan would you support, though? Because you're right, you have been saying this for a year, but it's a humanitarian disaster,
what's the position of Hungary here? Is there a plan you would support?
KOVACS: Very unfortunately for almost for the past year, you are able to witness these scenes scenarios around the borders of Europe. Last summer
at the borders of Hungary and we've been calling attention to the very fact that you have to handle this situation.
You have to handle the fate of these people as good as people to their birthplace. That's why we are ready, and that's why we are looking forward
to a deal to an agreement with Turkey as a key actor in the region. To help Turkey, to help those people close to Syria and close to the war
conflict zones.
GORANI: But, you know, Mr. Kovacs, that people who are refugees in Turkey and Jordan and other places have no opportunity and in many cases no right
to work, no health care, no schooling for their children. Do not support at least a small number of these desperate people to be relocated in the
European Union.
KOVACS: I would rather agree with you, but still, the solution is not to bring them, to import them to the heart of Europe. It poses more problems
for themselves and for those countries actually that are being affected, including Germany and the rest of the European countries, which are not
really able to deal with the influx of 1.5 million, maybe 2 million people in a year.
GORANI: That's a smaller number that your country would take in, smaller than 1.5 million and Germany is willingly taking in that number. It's not
being imposed on the country.
KOVACS: Well, we are back to the very point. It is unworkable because most of these people wouldn't like to be distributed among the countries of
the European Union. They wanted to go and they want to go through a certain country, namely as Germany or the Scandinavian country which are
obviously overwhelmed.
So we believe that the quota itself by principle is bad. It's unworkable and as a matter of fact by European law and international law is unlawful.
[15:10:09]GORANI: Can I ask you just a wider European Union question? I mean, and many people, and I have a guest coming up later in the program I
think who will echo this sentiment. We'll see.
Here's Hungary, a member of the E.U., benefitting from funds, E.U. funds, and not wanting to do its part when it comes to sharing any of the burden.
Why would Hungary get a special deal? And if so, why not just exit the European Union and not have to deal with this problem at all?
KOVACS: Well, you might frame that question that way, but that would be completely illogical and would constitute an ignorance of the fact how the
European Union is working. The structure of funds, most of the central European and eastern European countries are receiving are not a gift.
That's if you like as a deal within the European Union --
GORANI: I'm not saying it's a gift. I'm saying you share funds, share the burden. Other countries are doing it, why not yours? Why should you be
the exception? It's not ignorance of how the E.U. works at all.
KOVACS: And we are ready to do so. I would like to call your attention to the very fact that back in September last year, among the first actually to
call, if you like, a fiscal plan. How to finance the help of these migrants and refugees in Turkey, around the conflict zones, as soon as
possible.
So we have a clear plan how to finance the costs of supporting logistical, humanitarian, and other ways, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of
people. Definitely we believe that solution is not in the heart of Europe.
So you shouldn't, we shouldn't import these people, we shouldn't bring these people into Europe. We should have them as close as possible to the
birthplace.
GORANI: All right, Zoltan Kovacs, the Hungarian government spokesperson joining us from Budapest with the Hungarian government's position on this
E.U. deal. Thanks very much for your time this evening.
You know what that music means, U.S. politics. The delegate-rich state of Michigan is the biggest prize on this Super Tuesday, part two, but voters
in Mississippi, Idaho, and Hawaii will also make their voices heard.
Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton hope to build on their respective leads. Phil Mattingly reports on their chances and if their
rivals will still be standing by sundown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: NASCAR endorsed Trump. Can you believe that?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump running strong as voters head to the polls today for what's being dubbed Super
Tuesday two.
TRUMP: I've been to Michigan a lot and I think we're going to do well there.
MATTINGLY: With 150 crucial delegates at stake, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz hustle to take votes away from Trump. The front runners sparring with
protesters during his swing through North Carolina.
TRUMP: We have a protester. Out. Out. Bye. Go home to mommy. Go home to mommy. Tell her to tuck you in bed. Bye-bye.
MATTINGLY: Cruz making quick and previously unannounced stops in Mississippi --
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're seeing folks who had been supporting Donald Trump, who are realizing he isn't who they thought
he was.
MATTINGLY: And grappling with flight delays to arrive late in another state voting today, Michigan.
CRUZ: This is effectively a rally in the middle of the night.
MATTINGLY: Florida Senator Marco Rubio shifting his focus to his home state.
SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It always comes down to Florida.
MATTINGLY: A new poll showing Rubio down by eight points in the sunshine state as he continues making the case that he's the best Trump alternative.
RUBIO: I'm the only one that has any chance of beating Donald Trump in Florida. If you don't want Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee. You
have to vote for Marco Rubio.
MATTINGLY: And Ohio Governor John Kasich also finishing a push through Michigan before ramping up his own efforts in his must-win home state
contest next week.
JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to get momentum out of Michigan. We're going to win Ohio. There's going to be campaigning all
across the country, it's going to be exciting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: There you have it. This sets the scene for you, Jean Casarez, joins me now live from a polling place in Warren, Michigan, just north of
Detroit. Jean, so big day in Michigan, what's the expectation?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a very big day and I'll tell you, there are a lot of people voting. I mean, it started at 7:00 this morning,
it goes until 8:00 tonight, and it's just been a steady stream. I think that's the best way of really verbalizing it.
And Warren, Michigan, is the heart of the Midwest because this is the auto country. This is where people work in the factories. The blue collar
workers. General Motors Technical Center is several miles away.
And this is an area that has been hit so hard in the United States and so they realize that they want to make their vote count. Now, what's
interesting about it here is that it's an open primary.
[15:15:01]So you have registered Democrats. You have registered Republicans here in the United States, well, they can vote for whoever they
want to vote for. They don't have to vote along party lines.
And this is where the Reagan Democrat was born. This is back in the 1980s. It was those registered Democrats that just didn't believe that the party
was working for them.
So they voted for Ronald Reagan and they really led the way for Ronald Reagan becoming president. I want to show you a, little bit. Come with me
here. I want to show you, this is where people put their ballot. This is the ballot box.
It is all computerized that the point when they put their ballot in, it actually immediately registers inside the box, who they voted for. Now,
how do you get started, well you come here. This is where you check in.
All right, one of several tables here. And walk over there, and that's where you show your picture id, you get your ballot, but you've got to ask
for Republican ballot or Democratic ballot because they don't -- it's not all on one ballot.
You can vote for whoever you want to. And then you go to the ballot box, people have been voting right now. You vote and you cast your vote. So
this is very important. It is a Midwest and we've got the rest of the Midwest and the upcoming weeks.
We've got Illinois. We've got Ohio. And as far as candidates, many people say they're voting for Donald Trump. I hear a lot of people voting for
Hillary Clinton, but even surpassing Hillary, at least right here, we're talking to people that are voting for Bernie Sanders.
Because they believe he is of the people, for the people, and just authentic in his caring for the individual, and that's what this community
wants. Someone that brings jobs and cares about that little person.
GORANI: I know, it's going to be really interesting to see what happens in Michigan here with the polls. Still putting Trump ahead, but Cruz closing
in on him. Thanks very much, Jean Casarez. We'll continue to follow your reporting and our team on the ground there. A lot more to come this
evening.
She is the world's highest-paid female sports star, but she's losing endorsement fast. We have the latest on Maria Sharapova's stunning
announcement that she failed a drug test.
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GORANI: It's 24 hours after the stunning announcement that we reported on this program that tennis star, Maria Sharapova had failed a drug test. The
backlash is growing. The world's highest paid female athlete had major endorsement deals suspended by Nike, Porsche, and Swiss watch brand, Tag
Heuer.
Sharapova tested positive for a "recently banned substance, "meldonium" at January's Australian Open. But the world's number one women's player,
Serena Williams, says Sharapova is showing a lot of courage in the middle of all of this. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERENA WILLIAMS, WORLD NUMBER ONE TENNIS PLAYER: Like everyone else said, I think most people were surprised and shocked by Maria, but, at the same
time, I think most people were happy that she was, was up front and very honest and showed a lot of courage to admit to what she had done and what
she had neglected to look at in terms of the list at the end of the year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:20:10]GORANI: All right. And you heard there from the world number one, let's get more though on the business, the marketing side of this
story because it's so much of what sport is about.
Sports marketing expert, Jennifer Karpf, joins me now from Washington. Jennifer, first let me ask you, this was a super swift response. It didn't
sound like a capital crime, right? Very recently banned substance.
She says it was a mistake. She came out and immediately announced, made the announcement herself, and Nike, Porsche and Tag Heuer, are all
suspending her, what do you make of that?
JENNIFER KARPF, SPORTS MARKETING EXPERT: I think she did a great job coming out ahead of the story, so her sponsors and the media and her fans
and the tennis community heard directly from her. It's rare that we see an athlete come out ahead of the story and break the news themselves.
I think there has to be a big investigation still that will play out. I think that in the journey of brand sponsorship and sports sponsorship with
athletes and the different occurrences that have happened with them.
I think brands are more act faster rather than waiting. So that their fans and customers don't react through social media and so forth. So I think
that they'll --
GORANI: And that's --
KARPF: -- there'll be more to the story.
GORANI: Yes, I was going to say, sorry to jump in. That's change because initially for instance, we all remember the Lance Armstrong, and I'm not
saying these are similar cases, but we all remember that Nike for instance was slower with Lance Armstrong.
Eventually, of course, Nike dropped Lance Armstrong. Nike suspended Oscar Pistorius and Manny Pacquiao was immediately dropped after those homophobic
comments. We're seeing brands act quicker.
KARPF: Yes, absolutely act quicker and you know, back to Maria, this was a drug that was prescribed by her family doctor. She admitted to taking it.
It is just recently banned.
And part of the investigation that the International Tennis Federation will conduct and other officials will be to see why she was taking this drug.
I think in the other cases that you mentioned, whether it was murder charges. And whether it was intentional drug use for player enhancement,
in this case, it seemed to be a medical reason that she was taking the drug.
Is she wrong for not opening up the e-mail that had an updated list of banned drugs? Absolutely. She took responsibility for that. I think the
story will evolve. I think as the story evolves, her sponsors will come back to her. A lot of them have postponed involvement, but have not
cancelled out involvement.
GORANI: That was going to be the next question because --
KARPF: Yes.
GORANI: I mean, if it's found that this was innocent enough than presumably, this is still an extremely marketable athlete here, one of the
most marketable athletes in in the world.
KARPF: Yes. She's the most marketable woman in the world, and interestingly most of her wealth comes from corporate endorsements. Very
high end brands, including Mercedes and I think that, I think what she did coming out with a story, you know, ahead of a story and making the news
herself, hearing in her own words, you know is great.
I think that there will be a lesson from this for children and for the community on how to handle a problem. How it to fix an error that we've
made. But did she take these drugs intentionally? Did she lie about it? I think this case is very different than other recent cases we've seen.
GORANI: And take us a little bit behind the scenes. I'm sure you've been in some of these meetings. You know, where you have kind of a disaster.
This is considered a disaster for a brand sponsor, I'm sure. What's the -- walk us through what happens. What's the decision process, making process
like?
KARPF: Well, the brands definitely do meet. They meet with their agencies. They are governed, their endorsements are covered by contracts.
There are ethics closes in there. These contracts look a lot different than they did 10, 15, 20 years ago, as you can imagine.
There are very specific conditions, but I don't think that any brands will do anything drastic until there is a ruling and if there is an actual
suspension. Right now, we're talking about what the suspension could be, but there hasn't been any decision yet because there still has to be an
investigation. So I think this story will continue to evolve.
GORANI: Jennifer Karpf, thanks very much. Appreciate you joining us on CNN.
KARPF: My pleasure.
GORANI: Coming up, two years on and still no closer to solving one of aviation's biggest mysteries. What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight
370?
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[15:26:25]
GORANI: Well, it's one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history. Probably the biggest. Malaysia's prime minister is still hopeful that
Flight MH370 will eventually be found. It's exactly two years since the plane vanished with 239 people on board. Its fate, one of the biggest
mystery as I mentioned in aviation history. Richard Quest has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Through years of searching, tens of millions of dollars spent, countless theories about
what happened, and still, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 hasn't been found.
Experts say the plane is in the Southern Indian Ocean where teams funded by Australia, Malaysia, and China, have scoured 70 percent of the huge target
area above and below the waves. The search is unprecedented in terms of cost and complexity.
The remote area is 3,000 kilometers southwest of Perth where the seas are rough with depths up to 6,000 meters and the underwater terrain has
mountains and canyons. Officials are certain they're searching in the right place especially after two independent reports came to the same
conclusion.
And part of the plane's wing, the flapperon washed up on Reunion Island, an area consistent with oceanic drift models. Australian officials are also
testing another piece of plane debris found last week by an American tourist in Mozambique. This location also fits the analysis.
MARTIN DOLAN, ATS CHIEF COMMISSIONER: We still optimistic that we can find the aircraft. And there's still nearly 35,000 square kilometers still to
cover.
QUEST (on camera): So we have the where, we still don't have the why. What caused the plane to go off-course? Was it a mechanical fault or
nefarious action? We just don't know. There are those conspiracy theorists who still believe the plane was taken by a government or shot
down.
(voice-over): For the families of the 239 victims on board, this two-year anniversary marks the deadline to either settle compensation claims or
bring lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines.
The families are also coming to terms with this ticking clock on the search operation. It will be called off this summer if the plane isn't found and
there are no new leads. A stark reality that for the time being at least, the plane and their loved ones, may not be found. Richard Quest, CNN, New
York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: It's hard to believe it has been two years and still no sign of the wreckage.
And just ahead on THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, we'll do the delegate math for you. Why today's contests matter so much for the presidential race in the U.S.
and where Trump's rivals could stand by the time it's all over.
Also coming up, an American air strike may have killed a top ISIS leader. We'll have the latest from the Pentagon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:32:10]
GORANI: Welcome back. A look at the top stories this hour. Thousands of people who risked their lives making it to Europe may end up being sent
right back to Turkey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That is the major provision of a controversial draft deal aimed at stemming the refugee crisis. It says that for every one Syrian sent back to
Turkey from Greece, another would be resettled somewhere in the E.U.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: In just a few hours, the polls will begin closing in some American states holding nominating contests on this Super Tuesday, round two.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The biggest prize for both Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates today is Michigan. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are hoping
to gain ground against their respective rivals they're in the lead in polls in Michigan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Israeli police say an American tourist has been killed in a mass stabbing attack in Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: They say a Palestinian man began indiscriminately attacking people Tuesday in a popular area near the beach front and wounded ten others.
Police say the assailant was shot and killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Also among the stories we're following this hour, the United States is assessing right now whether an air strike killed a top ISIS leader, Abu
Omar al-Shishani.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The strike came on Friday near the Syrian town of Al-Shaddadah. Al- Shishani is a former member of an elite Georgian military unit, a Chechen we understand. He's the man with the ginger beard there in the photo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Let's go live to the Pentagon and get the latest from Barbara Starr. So how close are they, U.S. authorities, to making some sort of
identification on who they hit here?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are still looking at the situation, Hala, trying to assess the results of the air strike. He was
the man, Shishani also known as Omar the Chechen, that they were going after.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: He was specifically targeted, but did they get him? This is always a very delicate matter for U.S. intelligence agencies and the U.S. Military.
They have to look at everything. They have had cases in the past where they haven't been able to resolve absolutely that they killed their target and
they've had some where it's very clear. They've also had some where they think they've killed him and it turns out the person pops back up on social
media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: So they're going to be very cautious about this. But this is someone that they clearly wanted to get. He is said to have had involvement in the
past in holding foreign hostages in ISIS financial operations, and operating near the top of the organization. In fact, there was even a $5
million U.S. State Department reward for information about him.
So, this is someone that they very much wanted to get. Kind of interesting that they targeted him in the area of course that border crossing town
essentially between Raqqa in Syria, and Mosul in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: There was a lot of fighting there in recent days. A little bit surprising that he might have strayed so far as to be in that area. Hala.
[15:35:04]
GORANI: And if indeed he was targeted and hit, I mean, whatever his status is, how much of these air strikes over the last several months have
affected the leadership of ISIS? I mean because they're still holding on, I mean, they're not gaining ground anymore, but they're still holding on to
major cities, Raqqa, Mosul, et cetera, and holding on to very significant portions of territory in both Syria and Iraq.
STARR: Absolutely. And you know what the Pentagon would tell you is or what the U.S. Government would tell you, as they strike and kill these leaders
others of course step up. We've seen that for years in terror organizations, but they feel those people are less experienced right off
the top.
But look, the question, I think, that many in the intelligence community are looking at is recruiting. Is ISIS really still able to bring in
recruits from abroad or are people seeing it as sort of a no-win situation. What is the morale of the, you know, rank and file, ISIS leadership that is
not treated very well by their organization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: So there's a lot in play here. But I think you make the critical point. At this point, ISIS holding on to Raqqa and Mosul those are two of
the key areas. You're not going to get ISIS out of power unless you get them out of both of those cities.
GORANI: All right. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, appreciate it, thanks.
STARR: Sure.
GORANI: Let's return now to the race for the White House. Time is running out to turn things around for candidates. Not named Donald Trump or Hillary
Clinton. CNN's John King breaks down the math to tell us why today matters and what's at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Four states with primaries on our second Super Tuesday of the campaign two for the Democrats, four for the
Republicans, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi and Michigan. 166 Democratic delegates at stake, 150 delegates at stake on the Republican side. Just
Mississippi and Michigan voting on the Democratic side.
Let's look at the state of play right now on the Republican side. Donald Trump with a delegate lead but Ted Cruz after a good weekend closing in in
second place. He says he has momentum. Marco Rubio won Puerto Rico over the weekend. He's says he's still on the hunt. A lot of question marks
about that.
Let's just take a look on our second Super Tuesday, if Donald Trump sweeps with about 35% of the vote on those wins, he'll start to pull away a little
bit. Ted Cruz hoping to run at least second everywhere. And also hoping for maybe a surprise in Mississippi. Maybe a little closer than you would
expect in Michigan and watch the smaller battles in Hawaii and in Idaho. Sometimes if you do get a surprise, that's where you get it. But if Trump
sweeps which is his belief going in, he starts to pull away a little bit in the delegate side. This is why it matters.
Donald Trump has won 43% of the Republican delegates today. If he can win 54% from here on out, he'll clench the nomination. Now that's not as hard
as it looks in the sense that we begin to move next week in to winner take all. Big prizes like Florida, big prizes like Ohio, if you can win them on,
you'll add to the numbers. A little steeper hill for Ted Cruz, he's won 33% so far, he needs 60%. And you see Marco Rubio in third place and John
Kasich in fourth place. They need to change the dynamic of the race fundamentally if they could ever make the math work. But Trump and Cruz
right now at the top of the pack looking for tomorrow and beyond to show they can add up some more delegates.
Let's switch to the Democratic side, come back over here. Here's where we start. This is pledged delegates, Hillary Clinton with a 200 delegate lead
over Bernie Sanders. She's favored in both contests tomorrow. If she picks them both up, number one she'll start to stretch out her delegate lead.
Number two, she'll send a very important message to Bernie Sanders, I'm beating you in the South and now I'm proving I can beat you in the big
industrial Midwest.
So Michigan is a huge test for Bernie Sanders, not only for momentum and the message of the Midwest, but also because of the math. If you look at
the Democratic math, Hillary Clinton has won nearly 60% of the delegates today. If she wins 59%, the same percentage of the pledged delegates
meaning on primary and caucus day here on out she'll clench the nomination. Bernie Sanders has a much steeper hill. He's only won four in 10, he needs
to win 66. And this math for Hillary Clinton is actually a tad misleading.
This she would clench if she won only the pledge delegates. She also has some super delegates in her back pocket so Bernie Sanders needs to make a
statement and make it soon. The Michigan contest and the Midwest would be the right place to do that, but the latest polls show Hillary Clinton with
the lead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: John King, thanks for that. And believe it or not, a Super Tuesday round three is coming up and it could have some of the most dramatic
numbers of all. The race enters a new phase for Republicans next week when the winner of a state can take all of its delegates, it's not proportional.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Marco Rubio is holding out for Florida, it's his home state. He needs it. He needs it bad. And he is among those voting next Tuesday. And
for him it's considered of course a must-win. Rubio's campaign is dismissing reports that he's looking for the exit. Watch this exchange with
CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: You're the Communications Director for the campaign, definitively, there is no way he's going to get out of this race
before Florida.
ALEX CONANT, RUBIO'S COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Look, Marco is - definitively there is no way -- not only is he not getting out of the race before
Florida, he's not getting out of the race after Florida.
BLITZER: Even if he doesn't win in Florida.
CONANT: We're going to win Florida.
BLITZER: But, let's say he doesn't win.
[15:40:05]
CONANT: Look, we're going to win Florida, but either way, Marco is committed to going to all 50 states in his pickup truck if he needs to
because we cannot let Donald Trump become the Republican - become the nominee of the Republican Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The Rubio team say no way he's dropping out. A new poll has some encouraging news for Rubio as well as Ted Cruz. But the problem is for now
it's purely hypothetical as it tests one on one match-ups with Donald Trump.
Let's bring in our CNN senior political analyst, David Gergen. David, I want to jump in straight to these - the lead, the polling numbers narrowing
between Donald Trump, Cruz, and Rubio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Trump lately at 34 nationally, Cruz at 25 among Republicans, Rubio at 18. So clearly we're seeing Trump's lead shrinking. What does this tell
us?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think that the assault on Trump have been massive over the last two weeks. Not only coming from the
Republican "establishment," but also coming from the media are taking a toll on him. They're knocking some of the paint off the car, and they're
just chipping the paint. So that he is -- there's a sense that I'm not sure he's peeked, but that he doesn't have that "that star power" that he had as
luminously as in the past.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERGEN: What's striking, and the big question is this coming too late? We're moving into a phase of the campaign as going into the industrial
north, industrial Midwest, the heartland of the country, which should be pretty good for Trump. This is where the old Reagan Democrats, a lot of
them came from. People who crossed over from the Democratic Party.
So we're going to be watching tonight from Michigan in particularly are people in the Democratic Party crossing over in an open primary and voting
for Donald Trump. If so, that's a signal for the fall. It'll strengthen Trump. If Trump were to lose Michigan, then he's in real trouble. So, it's
a big race -- we're all watching tonight in Michigan first and then it moves onto Ohio and Florida.
GORANI: It's going to be so interesting to see what happens in Michigan. I was mentioning the one on one hypotheticals here, David, and what I thought
was interesting here, maybe our international viewers haven't seen these numbers in this ABC/Washington Post Poll.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Is that in a match-up, in a hypothetical match-up between Trump and Cruz and Trump and Rubio, both Cruz and Rubio come out on top.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Here you have 41/54 in favor of Cruz, and then the next one is 45/51 in favor of Rubio. So in a one on one, Republicans would still pick
the non-Trump candidate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GERGEN: Well, that's true. And that's why there's a crisis in the Republican Party. There is no one who is really got a commanding lead now.
Trump has the lead, but the time is working against the anti-Trump forces. They've got to beat him in a few more big states in order to really take
him down. So that's why it's going to be so important to watch this.
And I would -- I would tell you that if he wins Michigan tonight and if he wins Mississippi as he's expected to do, that's going to bolster him going
into next week when you have round three as you said of Super Tuesday.
If anything, the man to keep an eye on tonight is John Kasich, the Governor of Ohio who has been surging in Michigan. If he were to come close to
Trump, it would give people a sense, you know, Trump is not as strong in this industrial heartland as we supposed and he may be a much weaker
national candidate than we hoped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERGEN: And a lot of forces are going to really start banging on him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. David Gergen, thanks very much. You mentioned Michigan, Kasich is polling well there, 21% if the latest poll. Cruz at 23, Trump at
36. Fascinating stuff. Thanks so much for joining us, David Gergen.
GERGEN: Thank you, take care. Bye.
GORANI: And stay with CNN for all of your political coverage of course, David Gergen and the rest of our expert team. It starts later today with
the results from four state contests in Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, and Michigan, again, that's throughout the day and tonight here on CNN.
This is "The World Right Now."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: E.U. leaders say a draft plan on the table can help end the refugee crisis. How would it actually work? I'll ask the United Nations Special
Representative for International Migrants, and he's not convinced and he'll tell us why after the break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:46:25]
GORANI: Let's return now to our top story this hour. What E.U. leaders called the beginning of the end of what they are calling irregular
migration?
Europe's doors are already closing by the way because this happened today, Serbia and Slovenia say they are shutting their borders tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Refugees and migrants cannot get through anymore. In its statement, Serbia said it couldn't become a "collection center for refugees," this is
the word -- these are the words used by Serbian officials.
In Greece, thousands are massing their unable to head north. The plan on the table says that many people in camps such as this one will be sent back
to Turkey and in exchange for each people returned the E.U. will settle a different Syrian refugee.
Let's get more on the logistic and also general reaction to this plan. Peter Sutherland is the U.N. Special Representative for Migration, and he
joins me now live in the studio.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: First of all, I'm having trouble understanding how this would even work. Would you just deport in large numbers people massed in Greece to
then pluck an equal number of Syrian refugees from Turkey to then legally resettle them. I'm having a hard time how that would work.
PETER SUTHERLAND, U.N. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR MIGRATION: Well if you're having a hard time, so am I. It's a very complex deal with all sorts of
issues lurking behind. I mean, the High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations, his office has already issued a statement questioning the
legality of mass transfers of people from one place to another. And that that breaches the convention. Which exists as an international law
convention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUTHERLAND: But leaving that aside, what we're really dealing with here is a simple issue, and the simple issue is, do we have a humanitarian
responsibility collectively, to deal with the challenge of providing sanctuary for refugees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUTHERLAND: That's the issue. And Europe seems to be building fences, razor wire fences, the whole way up through the Balkans and blocking people and
converting Greece into a cap. And that is unacceptable.
GORANI: Hungary, I just spoke with their government spokesperson, he said look, this is not our responsibility. We are not here to take in refugees.
This is not our European responsibility. We opposed the quota system and the best way to deal with these refugees is have them just resettle at the
border close to their birthplace. This should not be our problem.
SUTHERLAND: I absolutely disagree with him if I may express a personal view, rather than that of the Secretary General. This is everybody's
responsibility. It is a humanitarian crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUTHERLAND: There is no law that justifies pointing the finger at countries which happen to be closest to a disaster and say that they have the
responsibility, which is what you say he said to look after the migrants. Why should Greece have 30,000 plus migrants now in Greece with no
willingness or solidarity elsewhere in the European Union? Well there is some, Germany and Sweden for two have evidenced it so have others. But why
should they carry the responsibility? Why should Turkey have 2.7 million? Why should Lebanon have a quarter of its population because they happen to
be located closer to Syria. It's an outrageous argument.
GORANI: Yes, Turkey has been using this really as a bargaining chip in a way saying look, we want visa waiver for our citizens to enter Europe. We
want an extra amount of money to help care for these refugees. What do you make of how this negotiation unfolded in Brussels?
[15:50:00]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUTHERLAND: What I make of it in the first instance is that there have not been sufficient solidarity shown globally in sharing the refugee numbers
that are vastly in one place as opposed to another, have that agreement within the European union, and in a global sense, the obligation of the
global community including the United States and many others to take large numbers of refugees, as they did ironically in 1956 from Hungary, then we
wouldn't be in the problem that we're in.
GORANI: And it's very uneven because Canada has taking in 25,000, but then if you look at how many have been resettled through the re-settlement quota
system in Europe, it's just a few hundred, and in the U.S., just a few dozen.
SUTHERLAND: It's 660 which is ludicrously low in the context of what is required.
GORANI: And sir, you've been active on twitter, you've said "the absence of political leadership has resulted in a humanitarian crisis being discussed
in terms of how to keep them out. A disgrace." And this also. "It is an anomaly to demand E.U. solidarity in distributing E.U. structural funds but
then to deny solidarity in sharing refugees." Why is this happening in Europe today, do you think?
SUTHERLAND: Well, there is no doubt that there is a popular revolt against the numbers which are perceived to be huge that are coming in of migrants
and refugees. In fact, the numbers are not huge. They could be handled. We're talking about a million or so a year, with a population of 540
million within the European Union.
The argument that they all want to go to one country as opposed to another, has some validity because there is obviously a desire to be in a place
where you can get work. Or you can speak the language as in the case of England and English. But, the reality is that people, if they're offered
proper places in countries even very different climatically to the ones that they've come from, they will accept the offers. They've done it in
Finland for example.
GORANI: But do you think part of it is that these are Middle Eastern refugees? That they're of a different religion, that people - I mean that
there may be some xenophobia there? That that could explain it? I mean we've heard from some Central European countries that they'd be happy to
accept them if they were Christian, but not if they are Muslim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUTHERLAND: Well there clearly is xenophobia involved. I mean some of the utterances by leaders of political leaders in countries in Europe have been
to my mind, quite contrary to the basic principles of the U.N. Charter, that we will only take Christians. I mean, we're not living in the time of
the crusades.
People have to integrate, and they've a responsibility to the people who come. But, to exclude people by virtue of their religion from sanctuary
that you're obliged by treaty to give seems to me to be extraordinary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And I was - very briefly, when we look back in his history because, we look back at times in history, other times in history when refugees were
taken in and how grateful they were and how many of them thrived, how do you think we'll look back on this time in history?
SUTHERLAND: Not well. If you compared this with Vietnam, the Vietnamese boat people, or the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, this will not stack up
well.
GORANI: Peter Sutherland, the U.N. Representative -- Special Representative for International Migration, we really appreciate your time here in our
studio with us this evening.
And don't forget, check out our Facebook page, we'll have the interview here with Mr. Sutherland and you can find it at Facebook.com/halagorani. A
lot more coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Not today (inaudible) told us in 1999 what they thought about Donald Trump. We'll be right back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:55:45]
GORANI: As four U.S. states today hold their primaries and caucuses, Donald Trump remains the Republican front runner. It's the businessman's first
foray into politics. But he has toyed with the idea in the past once before, before the 2000 election. So CNN has dug in the vaults to see what
people in 1999 thought about a Donald Trump Presidency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 1990s --1990s.
BERNIE SANDERS, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 1990s
CLINTON: If we're going to talk about the '90s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's forming an exploratory committee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald trump for President. Ludicrous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little concerned. About individuals who don't really have a track record in politics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's the most ridiculous thing. What makes him eligible to be qualified to run the country?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's idiotic. He has no prior experience in politics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of celebrity and well-known people are starting to do this. It seems to be like it's in fashion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think so. No, sorry Donald.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forget it. Forget it. Tell him to stick to the casinos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any way possible that you'd ever vote for him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think overall I'm pretty tired of people with a lot of money getting into politics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't trust him. He's rich and works deals, and you know he is a power broker and I don't trust him. I would never, would
never, never vote for Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he'd be good. Because I'm a Republican and I'm for big business and all that sort of thing. So I'd vote for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Wasn't so long ago. I'm Hala Gorani, this has been "The World Right Now" "Quest Means Business" is next.
END
