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Hala Gorani Tonight
Ben Carson Endorses Donald Trump; Candidates Prep For Florida And Ohio Primaries On Tuesday; Obama Comments On Aftermath Of Libya Intervention; Ex-Putin Aide Killed By Blunt Force Trauma. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired March 11, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(RONALD PRESCOTT REAGAN EULOGY SPEECH)
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We heard from both Reagan children, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan. Patti Davis was talking about how she grew
closer to her mom in her final years. She said it wasn't a secret that the two had sometimes a difficult relationship.
She told the "Today" show on NBC that she felt complete in her relationship with her mom. Ron Reagan, more light hearted tone, perhaps, with funny
anecdotes about his mom and the time she spent in the White House with her husband, of course, former President Ronald Reagan.
All right. We'll have a lot more from Simi Valley, California.
Apologies for that, that ran a bit early. We're going to have more from the funeral of Nancy Reagan a little bit later. List of distinguished
guest speakers, James Baker, Tom Brokaw, the two Reagan children.
We will also be hearing from some musical groups as well. A high school choir will be singing and performing "Amazing Grace" among other things.
We'll get back to that in California a little bit later in the program.
But for now, let's talk about current U.S. politics and former Republican presidential candidate, Ben Carson, says he is ready to bury the hatchet
with Donald Trump. The retired neurosurgeon buried it deep enough to endorse the frontrunner today during a news conference at Trump's resort in
Florida.
Carson just dropped out last week after his campaign failed to catch on with voters. He says he prayed over the decision to endorse Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BEN CARSON (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are two different Donald Trumps. There's the one you see on the stage, and there's
the one who's very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully. You can have a very good conversation with him. And that's the
Donald Trump that you're going to start seeing more and more of right now.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think there are two Donald Trumps. There is the public version and people see that and I don't know
what they see exactly, but it seems to have worked over in my lifetime. But it's probably different, I think, than the personal Donald Trump I
think Ben would say that. Ben said it very well. Perhaps there are two Donald Trumps. But, well, you know, I'm somebody that is a thinker. I'm a
big thinker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:05:03]GORANI: I'm a big thinker says Donald Trump. Trump's deep thoughts were on display during Thursday's Republican debate on CNN. The
debate seemed to break a pattern set in previous face-offs.
For one thing, the candidates spent more time explaining their policies than personally attacking each other. Senior political reporter, Manu Raju
reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: I cannot believe how civil it's been up here.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): A major shift in tone at last night's GOP debate. The rivals moving away from the personal attacks
of the past --
SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Have you seen his hands? They're like this.
TRUMP: Little Marco spews his crap. Lying Ted.
MURRAY: And toward more civil contrast. As Trump's competitors argue, he doesn't have the details to back up his campaign promises. From U.S. trade
deals --
TRUMP: Trade deals are absolutely killing our country. And the only way we're going to be able to do it is we're going to have to do taxes unless
they behave.
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald is right for example, he was just talking about international trade. He's right about the
problems, but his solutions don't work. The effect of a 45 percent tariff would be when you go to the store, Walmart, when you're shopping for kids,
the prices you pay go up 45 percent.
TRUMP: The 45 percent tax is a threat. It's not a tax, it was a threat. It will be a tax if they don't behave.
MURRAY: To Social Security.
TRUMP: My absolute intention to leave Social Security the way it is. Not increase the age and to leave it as-is. Get rid of waste, fraud, abuse.
RUBIO: The numbers don't add up. The bottom line is we can't continue to tiptoe around this and fraud and abuse, but you still have hundreds of
billions of dollars of deficit that you're going to have to make up.
MURRAY: And Mideast peace.
TRUMP: If I go in, I'll say I'm pro-Israel and I've told that to everybody and anybody that would listen, I would like to at least have the
other side think I'm somewhat neutral as to them, so that we can maybe get a deal done.
RUBIO: The policy Donald has outlined, I don't know if he realizes is an anti-Israeli policy, maybe that's not your intent, but here's why. There
is no peace deal possible with the Palestinians at this moment. There just isn't because there's no one to negotiate with.
MURRAY: The audience chuckling at Trump's seemingly simple response about whether he would close the U.S. embassy in Cuba.
TRUMP: I would probably have the embassy closed until such time as a really good deal was made and struck by the United States.
MURRAY: As Rubio jumped at the chance to weigh in on an issue that might give him a boost here in Florida.
RUBIO: Here's a good deal, Cuba has free elections. Cuba stops putting people in jail for speaking out. Cuba has freedom of the press. Cuba
kicks out the Russians from lords, and kicks out the Chinese listening station, Cuba stops helping North Korea invade U.N. sanctions.
MURRAY: The sunshine state senator looking for any opportunity to go after Trump in this do or die debate for his campaign.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Last night, you told CNN, quote, "Islam hates us." Did you mean all 1.6 billion Muslims?
TRUMP: I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them. There's tremendous hatred and I will stick with exactly what I said to Anderson Cooper.
RUBIO: The problem is presidents can't say anything they want. It has consequences, here and around the world.
TRUMP: You can be politically correct if you want, I don't want to be so politically correct. I like to solve problems. We have a serious, serious
problem of hate.
RUBIO: I'm not interested in being politically correct, I'm interested in being correct. We are going to have to work with people in the Muslim
faith, even as Islam itself faces a serious crisis within it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Those are the highlights from the debate yesterday. Of the Republican presidential debate on CNN brought to us there by Sara Murray.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio taking on Donald Trump. It was quite obvious during that debate. Rubio essentially is in a do or die situation. He has
one last chance to prove himself this coming Tuesday when his home state, Florida, holds its primary.
But the latest numbers do not look good for Rubio. There they are. Trump is leading CNN's poll of polls by 40 percent among Florida Republican
voters to Rubio's 26 percent, Cruz rounds out a distant third at 18 percent.
CNN political analyst, Josh Rogin, joins me now from Washington with a look ahead to next Tuesday's contest. So Josh, Rubio clearly is in a position
where, and he didn't, he did well in yesterday's debate.
But will it be enough to help him with those numbers in Florida ahead of that crucial primary on Tuesday?
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right, exactly as you've said, Marco Rubio decided to change tactics after a week of attacking Trump in the most
sort of vulgar manner. He saw his numbers go down, so he altered his strategy and decided to go back to his original tact, which is to take the
high road and focus on policy.
The problem is that the damage that his last week's strategy had has already taken affect. Those poll numbers you showed, showed that Marco
Rubio's numbers in Florida are going in the wrong direction.
[15:10:01]He had been closing the gap, now the gap is getting wider, and time is running short. All indications are that he's going to lose Florida
and there's nothing he can do at this point to really stem that, that loss of support and after that, he's going to have a very hard decision to make.
Most people think he's going to drop out of the race after next Tuesday.
GORANI: And we're reporting that he's told his supporters in Ohio where he's dead last in the polls, to support John Kasich, who's in a very close
second position to Donald Trump in order to try to defeat Trump in the very important swing state of Ohio. Will that work?
ROGIN: Right. Kasich has a chance of winning Ohio, but, the core Rubio strategy here is, never Trump. It's that you have to stop Trump next
Tuesday or Trump will become the nominee. It's his rational for why he says that we should support him in Florida because that's the only way to
defeat Trump in Florida.
It won't work in the sense that it won't provide Marco Rubio a path to the nomination. His best chance is to deny Trump of getting a majority of
delegates, and then forcing some sort of contested convention in Cleveland in July that is so unpredictable, nobody can really tell what's going to
happen.
He's flailing. He's got very few options, John Kasich similarly does not have a real path to the nomination. That's why you see the anti-Trump
voters, who are ruthlessly mobile and really willing to support anybody who they think can stop Trump really congregating around Ted Cruz at this time.
GORANI: And Ben Carson is supporting Donald Trump. Will it have any kind of impact?
ROGIN: Yes, it has a small impact. It slowly builds the idea that the establishment and the political figures in the Republican Party are
coalescing around Trump. Every endorsement he gets, every popular figure and former official that signs on with the Trump campaign gives his
campaign a little extra credibility.
So he can run as the outsider, but at the same time, say that he's got institutional support. It socializes the idea of a Trump nomination with
the greater Republican Party, where slowly but surely coming around to the reluctant realization that Trump is likely to be the nominee and that seems
to be the case.
GORANI: And no real controversy seems to be hurting Trump. Beyond saying once again that basically all Muslims hate America, all 1.2 to 1.6 billion
of them. Then you have this recurring issue of violence in his campaign rally.
Most recently with a news reporter who accused Trump's campaign manager of grabbing her by the arm and basically throwing her to the floor.
He was asked about these instances, these attacks and these cases of violence at his campaign events. This is how he answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have some protesters who are bad dudes. They have done bad things. They are swinging, they are really dangerous, and they get in
there, and they start hitting people, and we had a couple big, strong, powerful guys doing damage to people, not only the loudness, the loudness I
don't mind, but doing serious damage, and if they're going to be taken out.
I'll be honest, we have to run something. And it's not me. It's usually the municipal government, the police, because I don't have guards all over
these stadiums.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. Now he's saying it's not me, it's usually the police, but Michelle Fields, the reporter claims that she was grabbed and assaulted
by the campaign manager of Donald Trump. And now there's some video circulating that might prove this to be true.
ROGIN: Yes. Eyewitness accounts say that is the case. And it speaks to the broader issue, which is that Trump from the podium has been talking
about his supporters using violence, and then they use violence and he claims no responsibility.
I mean, it's so interesting in the larger sense that as we hear today people talk about the legacy of Ronald Reagan, a legacy that Donald Trump
invoked in the debate last night, right.
He said that Ronald Reagan was a deal maker and he wants to be a deal maker like Ronald Reagan, at the same time, Ronald Reagan built the legacy of
tolerance and amnesty and portraying America that welcomes everybody.
And in that sense, the Trump campaign is the complete antithesis to that in the sense that they're calling a ban on Muslims, broad deportations, and
really a crackdown on the basic understandings of how campaigns interact with members of the press and the rest of the people that are involved in
the political process. I think Michelle Fields incident is just the latest example of that.
GORANI: Well, one wonders if Ronald Reagan would get the nomination today of the Republican Party.
ROGIN: Well, I've talked to officials who say that he would not be electable in today's Republican Party. And you know, as each of the
candidates sort of invokes the legacy of Ronald Reagan, Trump is the one who seems to be contradicting so many of the sort of tolerant, and open and
high minded principles that were part of the legacy that Ronald and Nancy Reagan have left on the country.
[15:15:05]GORANI: All right, Josh Rogin, thanks very much. Thanks for joining us. Have a great weekend.
North Carolina is another state that goes to the polls next Tuesday for Super Tuesday III. Democrat Bernie Sanders took direct aim at Donald Trump
during an event in Raleigh.
Sanders said he'd win the election, quote, "Because the American people understand that bringing us together, Trump's dividing us up and love
Trump's hatred." That's Bernie sanders' speaking.
Now Hillary Clinton took a break from the campaign trail today. She as we've been showing you in some live images from Simi Valley has been
attending the funeral of former first lady, Nancy Reagan. She is not campaigning on this day.
Quick break, when we come back, this is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, this article on the Atlantic has definitely got people talking. We'll have all the
reaction to President Obama's criticisms over Libya in just a few minutes. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The White House press secretary is doing his best today to diffuse a potential row between the United States and the U.K. Josh Earnest said
President Obama did not mean to be critical of British Prime Minister David Cameron over policy in Libya and that the U.S., quote, "Values deeply the
special relationship between the two countries."
Now what happened that led him to say that? This comes after Obama told "The Atlantic" magazine that Cameron, quote, "became distracted by a range
of other things after the 2011 intervention."
Let's get the latest on the fallout from all of this, Fred Pleitgen is with me here in the studio. Last hour, you are at 10 Downing Street?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Didn't go down well there.
GORANI: But the reaction, it's all been very diplomatic. Nobody's really sort of trading insults over this.
PLEITGEN: No, they aren't, and number 10 Downing Street has said look, of course, there are things in the Libya policy that didn't go right. No one
says that Libya is where people want to be.
At the same time, the United Kingdom says, they are, of course, part of the larger effort to try and find a solution for Libya, which is the U.N.-led
effort not just to rebuild Libya, but to rebuild civil society there. It was very blunt remarks by the president of the United States.
GORANI: Tell us exactly how well -- what did he blame, David Cameron (inaudible)?
PLEITGEN: First of all, he said that he made clear that he believed that the intervention in Libya was a mistake in retrospect. He also said that
he believed that it was pressure from France and Britain that almost sucked the United States into that conflict.
And then he felt it was the U.S. doing most of the heavy lifting. If you go back and look at, at least, the initial stage of the airstrikes, most of
them, the airstrikes and the cruise missile strikes were conducted by the United States.
And he says in the aftermath, the big problem was that as we've read there that David Cameron, he says was distracted by a range of issues and that
Nicholas Sarkozy, who, of course, was on the French side of the equation, was not in office anymore.
And earlier, I asked the former British ambassador to Washington what he felt about this, whether or not he felt there was some merit to this
criticism. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[15:20:06] CHRISTOPHER MAYER, FORMER BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: First of all, there's been a long, long standing bone of contention between the USA
and the outland members of NATO, that the, in particular, the Europeans don't pull their weight where defense spending is concerned.
And the United States now by a calculation I saw the other day contributes almost three quarters of defense spending inside the NATO alliance. So you
can understand why President Obama is the latest of a long line of American presidents who feels aggrieved about this.
In the old days, when the U.K. spent about 4 percent, maybe more, of its gross domestic product on defense, we were never included among the
(inaudible), but the United States has been lobbying, hard, for several years now to get us up to the baseline of 2 percent of GDP.
And in the end, David Cameron agreed to do this. Not least because of the pressure from Obama. Now one of the ways in which the United States is
very good at exerting pressure on the U.K. is by saying if you don't do this or if you don't do that, or if you do that, it's going to damage
special relationship.
I'm sure this is what Obama said to Cameron. If you don't step up to the plate on defense spending, you're going to do serious damage to the special
relationship, at least so long as I'm president of the United States. And it's an effective argument that will work with the U.K. time and time
again.
GORANI: In this interview, what is Obama quoting as saying should have been done by the U.K. and France post-intervention in Libya?
PLEITGEN: He didn't really go into that. What I think he meant to say, was the first time he wasn't sure that the intervention in the form that
happened was a good idea, but his criticism really goes more towards the aftermath.
More towards nation building that possibly could have been conducted afterwards even though he didn't go into it. That's the very good point.
That's exactly the point that he makes, not just about Libya, but about other places in the Middle East as well, is that he feels that in many
cases, the U.S.' use of force in many of these countries has made it more difficult for it to try and project some of the soft power that no doubt
America has around the world to try and to try and build societies there. And he said that it was detrimental.
GORANI: But I do wonder, and of course, this is something we discussed last hour, Fred, if you hadn't had no-fly zones, this was a pre-announced
massacre of eastern rebels by Moammar Gaddafi, what would have happened? Is there a better scenario. Would you have ended up with a Syria in Libya?
PLEITGEN: It's the same as in the presidential campaign as well. Hillary Clinton said, look, if he hadn't intervene, then what sort of massacre
would there have been? The question then is how far did intervention have to go because remember that the original resolution that they had was a no
fly-zone. So could you have stopped the massacre in Benghazi and cut short of taking out the entire state. There is a lot of ifs --
GORANI: Could you have had a no-fly zone in Syria when Assad started bombing civilians and avoided the refugee crisis?
PLEITGEN: Also he talks about that as well. He said that he believes that the not intervening in Syria after the 2013 gas attack, he said that he
believes that it was one of his best moments as president stepping back from doing that. Very interesting article.
GORANI: And you have some critics who will say that was one of his worst moments as president. You draw a red line, and then you ignore it.
Anyway, it was an interesting article. Very long and interesting article, called "The Obama Doctrine" in "The Atlantic" monthly. Thanks very much,
Fred Pleitgen.
This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Coming up, mysterious death that has all the makings of a cold war spy novel. New information surfaces about the fate
of a former aide to Vladimir Putin, killed in Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:25:31]
GORANI: Well, it's an update for the Dow Jones, up 2156 points just about at 17,205. The NASDAQ and S&P for you, tech heavy NASDAQ, also up one and
three quarters percent and the S&P 500 up about 1.5 percent.
European markets on this Friday, also a positive picture especially for the Xetra DAX, up 3.5 percent at 9,831 at the close.
The Kremlin says it expects, quote, "detailed information" from the United States about the mysterious death of a former key aide to Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
That's after an American medical examiner's report found that he did not die of a heart attack, but quote, "A blunt force trauma." Matthew Chance
is in Moscow with more reaction.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This really is like a cold war spy novel. Mikhail Lesin was a key figure in the Kremlin
who wound up dead in his Washington hotel room. Russian state media first said it was a heart attack that Mr. Lesin for years, a close advisor of
President Putin, had been suffering with poor health.
But now, police in the United States say otherwise. According to a statement issued by police and the coroners in Washington, D.C., the cause
of death was, quote, "blunt force injuries on the head." Other injuries the report says to the neck and torso as well.
The report stops short of this, but of course, it raises the possibility that Mikhail Lesin was murdered. He was certainly a controversial figure
with plenty of enemies. Oversaw the taming of Russian's media effectively bringing in under Kremlin control.
After a period of Russian press minister, establishing Russia today, the television network, he went on to head the country's biggest media holding
company, until he resigned or forced out in 2014.
The Kremlin says its repeatedly asked to be given no information about the U.S. investigation so far, but the revolution that his was not a natural
death is fueling speculation that Mikhail Lesin was killed because of his political connections. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
GORANI: Still to come tonight. As former U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan is laid to rest, we'll take a look at her life and her legacy. We'll be right
back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:30]
GORANI: Our top stories, heavy on policy and lighter on personal attacks. The latest American Republican Presidential debate was a pretty big
departure from previous slug fests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: But Donald Trump's rivals still went after him. This time on the issue hoping to dent his lead in the polls ahead of the next Super Tuesday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Also this hour, we've been look at funeral services for former U.S. First lady Nancy Reagan. They're taking place this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: These are live pictures from the Reagan presidential library. She will be laid to rest there alongside her husband, Ronald Reagan who died in
2004.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: U.S. Authorities say a former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin was killed by head trauma, not a heart attack as reported by Russian
media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Mikhail Lesin was found dead in a Washington hotel room in November. There's a picture of him. Now police there say an investigation
into his death is ongoing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And gone, but not forgotten, Japan is remembering the thousands of lives that were lost in one of the worst disasters in history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: It's been five years since the powerful earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami that led to the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Will Ripley
is in Tokyo with a look at today's commemorations.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Japan, pretty much everybody remembers where they were, what they were doing at 2:46 p.m. local time on
3/11, Japan's version of 9/11. When the great east Japan earthquake shook the ground for a terrifying six minutes. And then the tsunami waves
followed. Killing in total that day, when you account for those still missing, around 20,000 people. A couple thousand more have since died
either in the evacuation or due to health complications from their trauma that they went through been 22,000 lives lost being remembered today.
Here in Tokyo and at ceremonies across Japan, including a moment of silence at the moment when that earthquake hit. Of course the tsunami it triggered
caused the most devastation and loss of life. There are still communities that remain flattened. We flew over them with a drone and still the scope
of the devastation five years later is really stunning.
But adding to that, the man-made disaster, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant meltdown, that happened when the plant lost power and the reactors
overheated. That has been perhaps the most long lasting impact as a result of all of this because there are still communities around the nuclear
plant, home to thousands of people that remain uninhabitable, people living in temporary housing, people that don't know if they'll ever get to go back
to their con dominated homes and the effects of this disaster could continue to last for generations.
That's not to mention the health consequences there have been 167 cases suspected cases of childhood thyroid cancer and why opinion is divided over
whether it's connected to the Fukushima meltdown for so many parents in that area, they live every day with the fear that their children may have
long-term health consequences as a result of radiation exposure.
Today, five years later, remembering the lives lost here in Japan and looking forward at the future, an uncertain future, as the clean-up work
continues.
Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: One of America's highest profile First Lady's is being laid to rest this hour in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Nancy Reagan died Sunday, she was 94. These are some live images there. You see her children, Ron Reagan and Patti Davis there, her casket
is, has been placed on a support structure and there you see Reverend Kenworthy behind Nancy Reagan's children as well. He's been presiding over
this ceremony. We've heard from stars past and present, we heard from James Baker, the former chief of staff of Ronald Reagan, Tom Brokaw as well.
Nancy Reagan had been suffering from congestive heart failure. Reagan is credited with redefining of course the role of First Lady. And she had some
causes, she was a passionate advocate of causes like drug abuse prevention and Alzheimer's disease. Let's get more on Reagan's life and legacy, let's
bring in Larry Sabato, The Director for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
So we talked a lot about Nancy Reagan, her close and loving relationship with Ronald Reagan, the fact that she embraced causes publicly. What else
will she be remembered for?
[15:35:05]
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER FOR POLITICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: I think she will be remembered for another kind of Republican
Party. A party that was perhaps more open to a broader group of Americans than we often find today. You didn't hear the kind of harsh rhetoric that
we often hear from the current crop of presidential candidates, from her or from her husband. I think she had a great influence on him in making sure
that that didn't happen.
One other thing, for those who weren't watching. They may to want at least read the wonderful eulogies provided by her and Ronald Reagan's two
children. Ron Jr. and Patti Davis. They were remarkable in many ways. Very blunt and direct. Very honest. And they told a great deal, really, about
Nancy Reagan and how she really was.
GORANI: But, Larry, can I ask you about the Reagan years. Because this is really closing that chapter with the death of Nancy Reagan. Oftentimes
people refer to those years as, you know, sort of the epitome, the what everything that the Republican Party wants itself to be, but it had major
issues. Why is it being remembered so kindly?
SABATO: Because the whole world has turned over many times since. In retrospect, the Reagan years were full of accomplishments and achievements,
not from a conservative perspective alone, but from the national interest. That was certainly true in foreign policy. And I think on the domestic
side, with the exception of certain social issues, the Reagan administration achieved a great deal. It was reasonable and many of its
policies were in fact adopted by the Clinton administration. So that should tell people something as well.
GORANI: So, we saw, I think all of the living First Lady's, except Barbara Bush, if I'm not mistaken attend this funeral. But I thought it was
interesting that you had personalities from very diverse backgrounds, not just former politicians, but journalists, entertainers, I mean, Mr. T. Is
on the guest list as well. Because he was part of the just say no campaign that Nancy Reagan supported. And they really, the Reagans, they were, they
were almost a celebrity couple. I mean, obviously Ronald Reagan was a Hollywood actor before he became governor and then President.
SABATO: You're absolutely right. Look, they had two full careers. One career in Hollywood, before they went to the California State House and
Reagan became Governor for eight years and then eventually President for eight years. Remember Ronald Reagan did not become President until he was
nearly 70 years old. That's when most people are retiring. So you had two full careers, they were as much about Hollywood as they were about
government. They combined the two worlds. And you see that today at the funeral. The two worlds are combined once again.
GORANI: One of the things that Patti Davis, Nancy Reagan's daughter told the "Today Show" was that her mother just didn't seem afraid of dying
because she knew, she said that she believed that would mean she would join Ronny again in heaven. Talk to us a little bit about the couple that they
formed.
SABATO: Well, this was the ideal marriage in many ways. At least as people imagine it and hope that it will be for them. These two were inseparable.
Even when they were apart for professional reasons, they would talk daily, sometimes several times a day. And they really depended on each other's
judgment. And this, and in a Presidency, that's very important when a President can depend on the First Lady, knowing that her only agenda is to
support him, to protect him, and that's precisely what she did for the eight years of the Reagan administration.
GORANI: All right. Now with Hillary Clinton running for President, maybe a female President will seek support and guidance from a male first -- what
would we call a first --
SABATO: First Gentleman.
GORANI: First Gentleman. We would call him a First Gentleman.
SABATO: I think we've decides on that, but who knows, it'll either be first man or first gentleman, or first spouse, something like that.
GORANI: We'll see if there's a female President in the White House this cycle least. Thanks very much, Larry Sabato, really appreciate it. Thanks
for joining us.
SABATO: Thank you. Thanks a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, it's become almost a daily occurrence at Donald Trump rallies, protesters showing up, then getting thrown out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[crowd booing]
[15:40:02]
GORANI: This happened a short time ago in St. Louis, Missouri. As the crowd jeered and began chanting "USA" the Republican Presidential candidate
joined in. Listen.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: USA, USA, USA, [crowd chanting "USA" ] go home and -- go home and get a job. Go home, get a job.
Get a job. I'll tell you, these are not good people, folks, just so you understand. These are not good people. And I heard this was going to
happen, and they said, Mr. Trump, would you like to cancel. I said absolutely not. [crowd cheering]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Go home and get a job was his advice for that particular protester. Not sure how he knows what his employment status is. Let's go now to
Chicago. That is the next stop for Trump today. Senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, is there.
So what is - what's the importance of Chicago here for Trump, Jim?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Hala, I can tell you that Donald Trump may have a bit of a repeat of what you saw there
happening in St. Louis earlier today in terms of what have we're going to see later tonight here in Chicago.
There are civil rights groups, progressive groups, groups that support the immigration rights of Latino and Hispanic immigrants into this country,
they are all saying they're going to be protesting later on this evening when Donald Trump holds a rally here in Chicago later on tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And you know, this has been sort of building up over the last couple of weeks. We've been to a number of these rallies, Hala, as you
know, where we've seen scuffles breaking out between protesters and police sometimes protesters and supporters. There was an event earlier this week
in North Carolina where a Donald Trump supporter just flat out sucker punched a protester whose already being led peacefully out of a venue by a
local law enforcement official. That supporter we should mention was charged with assault and making threats to that demonstrator.
And so you know, this is something that's been happening at these rallies. Donald Trump has said at a number of these rallies, either he would like to
punch some of these protesters in the face or get them out of here. That seems to be the line he tends to use more often. That he just doesn't have
any time or patience for these protesters. And it is, it does seem to be building up to potentially something that is more dangerous. We're going to
have to wait and see what happens with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But Donald Trump was asked about this last night after the CNN debate in Miami, Florida. Trump blamed all of this on the protesters
saying, "there are bad dudes who show up at his rallies" and earlier today, he said "sometimes these protesters do have to be punched back." And so no
apologies from the GOP front runner when it comes to the rallies and some of the violence that breaks out at these rallies.
GORANI: Well, not just protesters, there's a (inaudible) reporter, Michelle Fields who said she was strong armed by the campaign manager for Donald
Trump. But is it me or are we seeing more violence at these rallies? Because it appears as though now every day, there's a different instance of
something going on.
ACOSTA: Right. And keep in mind, there are protesters who know, you know, what they're getting themselves into at this the point. They're going in
there with the intent of stirring up some kind of incident that will get the attention of the cameras, which it often does.
We should point out to our international viewers. This is not happening at John Kasich rallies at Marco Rubio rallies, at Ted Cruz rallies, these are
basically happening at Donald Trump rallies, in part because the GOP front runner is taunting these protesters to some extent.
Earlier today he said in St. Louis that he likes some of these protesters, he feels like they spice up his rallies. That they would be much more
boring if he didn't have these kinds of demonstrations breaking out.
As for that reporter, you mentioned with (inaudible) which is a conservative media outlet, she alleging that the campaign manager for
Donald Trump, Corey Lewandowski, grabbed her arm and tried to drag her down after a press conference earlier this week. We should point out though,
Cory Lewandowski denies that, the Trump campaign, vehemently denies it. They say that that reporter is making it up. There is some video that is
starting to surface on social media though that does appear to show for just a brief second Corey Lewandowski putting his hand on that reporter's
arm, but you don't see her being man handled in any kind of way. So this case is going to continue on. She has filed a police report. And so we just
haven't gotten to the outcome of that investigation yet. Hala.
GORANI: All right, Jim Acosta, in Chicago, thanks very much.
A lot more to come, the new face of Germany's conservative movement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: She has some controversial proposals, including stopping migration all together for now. Stay with us here at CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:47:00]
GORANI: Earlier this week, Turkey and the European Union reached a landmark deal on the continent's migrant crisis. Now turkey is pledging to fulfill
its part of the bargain legally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The deal you'll remember included provisions that would see illegal migrants transported back to Turkey from Europe. Now critics say some of
the measures violate international law, plain and simple. But Turkish officials pledge to involve the U.N. to ensure that its actions are legal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Now, three German states go to the polls on Sunday in elections widely seen as a referendum on Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policy. A
far right party, known as "The Alternative for Germany" is expected to make gains despite what some of have seen as its very controversial views on
migrants. Here's CNN's Atika Shubert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As campaign ads go, it's a soft sell, hazy images of idyllic German life for our country, for
our security. No mention of specific issues or policies. The AFD or "Alternative for Germany" is selling an idea. The only political party it
will says willing to stand up and defend German identity and values, especially on the refugee crisis.
FRAUKE PETRY, AFD LEADER: We have the labels of being Nazi, of being brown, which is something very, very bad in Germany. Something which frightens
most people in society, and we say hey, whatever the label is, let's discuss content.
SHUBERT: AFD leader, Frauke Petry, is a chemist turned politician. The new face of Germany's conservative movement. She talked to CNN on the campaign
trail as extra security patrolled the grounds of the local sports center where she was speaking. Petry has received threats and protests follow her
campaign. But her party stands to make big gains on a policy that advocates stopping migration altogether, at least for now.
PETRY: We need to define who is allowed to stay, who's going to go back. And then we need to talk about after that, about migration laws. And at the
moment, we have the problem that we don't take these two problems apart, and that the Merkel Government is obviously afraid of sending a clear
signal.
SHUBERT: Germany is under pressure, last year German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, appealed to the country to take in more than a million asylum
seekers, initially basking in (inaudible) or welcoming refugees. But then, came New Year's Eve in Cologne. Refugees and migrants were blamed for the
mass sexual assault on scores of women and then came the backlash. Arson attacks on refugee shelters. In one case, an angry mob blocked a bus full
of refugees from moving to town.
Recent polls show that a whopping 80% of Germans no longer support Merkel's refugee policy, but many do not want to be lumped in with far right anti-
Islamic groups either as audience members made clear to Petry during the rally we attended.
[15:50:00]
SHUBERT: The AFD fills that gap but Petry she struggles to define where the party stands. A local paper quoted her as saying, "police should use
firearms if necessary to stop people from crossing the border illegally." That sparked magazine covers accusing her of inciting violence.
I mean the headline here, "the hate preacher." What do you make of it?
PETRY: Yes, it hurts. It hurts because what I really want to say doesn't get through anymore. We need to be very strong about that and punish
everyone who is involved in violence.
SHUBERT: But precisely by providing a conservative alternative to the powerful center block of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Frauke Petry believes
the AFD is here to stay.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All next week, CNN's Clarissa Ward is taking you on a harrowing journey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Deep into Syria, a country scarred by five years of conflict. You'll get an exclusive look inside the rebel held parts of Syria in the
northern parts of the country. Meet the people who call what's left of the embattled country, home.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We had to travel undercover to see a war few outsiders have witnessed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (As translated) The Russian planes target anything that works in the interest of the people. The goal is that people here live in
destroyed life, that people never see any good.
WARD: There are snipers all around here, but this is the only road now to get into Aleppo. Aleppo was once Syria's largest city, now an apocalyptic
landscape. Any civilian infrastructure is a potential target, including hospitals. Is it possible that they did not know that this was a hospital?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (As translated) Everyone knows this is a hospital.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, all part of our exclusive special coverage "Inside Syria Behind Rebel Lines," only on CNN starts next Monday. Don't forget, you can
get all the latest news, interviews, and analysis on our Facebook page. Find us at Facebook.com/halagoranicnn. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: What if you're most embarrassing moments were caught on tape, clipped, and then replayed again and again and again? That's what's
happening to the U.S. Presidential candidates. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's happened again.
TED CRUZ, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Not going to happen. Not going to happen.
MOOS: Oh yes it did.
CRUZ: Not going to happen.
MOOS: Another campaign moment turned into an endless loop. Just like when that eagle pecked Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders danced his way on to
Ellen. The New York Times declared, political gifts are the new sound bytes this campaign season. Gif, graphics interchange format, animated looping
images only seconds long.
And though there's a never ending argument over how to pronounce the word, the inventor says it should be gif, not jif, JIF as in the peanut butter. I
was turned into a jif in a matter of moments. No one's more gifable than this guy. Gifs in six second vines. Donald Trump just did every emoji face
on your phone, seven seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You wouldn't want "such a hot head with his finger on the nuclear codes."
[15:55:05]
MOOS: The COO of a company called Giphy with a hard "G" says politicians are getting more savvy.
ADAM LEIBSOHN, COO, GIPHY: Candidates are turning themselves into sort of like visual language, so shrugging or finger guns or brushing your
shoulders off like Hillary Clinton did.
MOOS: Her campaign tweeted out a dismissive gesture from the Benghazi hearings as a response to what was said at R republican debate. Reacting to
another GOP debate, she rubbed her temples.
Marco Rubio became a "gif" when he desperately grabbed for a bottle of water, then Donald Trump's imitation of Rubio likewise became a "gif." But
don't expect any context.
CRUZ: Not going to happen.
MOOS: The Cruz mousier moment came when he imitated his daughter reacting to a T.V. commentator saying it would be a disaster for Cruz if Trump won
Texas.
CRUZ: Jumps up on the couch, sticks both fingers in her ears and goes, not going to happen, not going to happen.
MOOS: You can expect these to happen and happen and happen. And live on in cyber space until the end of time.
Jeanne Moos, CNN --
CRUZ: Not going to happen.
MOOS: New York.
CRUZ: Not going to happen.
GORANI: For the very latest on our election, check out our website, CNN/com/politics. You'll have all of the latest commentary video, photo
galleries from the campaign trail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: This has been "The World Right Now," thanks for watching. I'm Hala Gorani, "Quest Means Business" is up next, from right here in London, stay
with us.
END
