Return to Transcripts main page
Hala Gorani Tonight
Trump Denounces Cruz-Kasich Agreement; Obama Orders 250 Additional Troops To Syria; Turkish Town Hit By Rocket Fire; Saudi Arabia Seeks To Diversify Economy; Brazil's Vice President Speaks To CNN; Activist Murdered in Bangladesh; Boko Haram and Nigereia; Beyonce's New Album; . Aired 3-4p ET
Aired April 25, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[15:00:17] HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We're live at CNN London. Thanks for being with us this
hour. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Well, it is certainly looking like they cannot stop him on their own so they have agreed to join forces to divide and conquer. We begin with an
extraordinary alliance meant to take down Donald Trump.
Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich are out on the campaign trail today after mapping out a strategy that appears
unprecedented in modern U.S. politics. Trump is firing back saying the move wreaks of desperation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Did you see the news today? Did you see where they banned together, where they collude? It's collusion.
You know, if you collude in business, if you collude in business or if you collude in the stock market, they put you in jail.
But in politics because it's a rigged system, because it's a corrupt enterprise, in politics you're allowed to collude. So they colluded and
actually, I was happy because it shows how weak they are. It shows how pathetic they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Tomorrow is another Super Tuesday, 172 delegates are at stake for the Republicans in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode
Island. The new Cruz-Kasich deal wouldn't cover tomorrow's primary votes, but it starts in contests taking place in May.
As we were saying for Cruz and Kasich the idea is simple. They need to deny Trump enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination outright
so they can get to a contested convention, where all bets are off. Phil Mattingly explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to ask each and every one of you to come out and vote for me ten times.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ted Cruz betting big on Indiana, announcing he's joining forces with John Kasich in an
unprecedented last-ditch effort to stop Donald Trump.
The divide and conquer agreement -- Cruz's campaign will "focus its time and resources in Indiana and clear the path for Kasich in Oregon and
New Mexico."
Kasich confirming the campaign collusion in a statement, writing that, quote, "keeping Trump from plurality in Indiana is critical to
keeping him from the nomination."
Recent polling shows Cruz trailing Trump by single digits in the Hoosier state. The strategy shift coming despite the fact that Kasich and
Cruz continue to attack each other on the campaign trail.
JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A vote for Cruz or Trump, frankly, is a vote for Hillary Clinton.
CRUZ: John Kasich has no path whatsoever to the nomination.
MATTINGLY: Trump lashing out on the on Twitter and issuing a lengthy statement, writing "collusion is often illegal in many other industries and
yet these two Washington insiders have had to revert to collusion in order to stay alive.
They are mathematically dead and this act only shows as puppets of donors and special interests how truly weak they and their campaigns are."
The latest GOP bombshell coming ahead of Tuesday's primaries in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. States
where Trump appears poised to perform well. The Republican frontrunner continuing his own attack dog strategy on the trail this weekend.
TRUMP: Cruz is working really hard to -- I don't want to use the word bribe, but to bribe the delegates.
MATTINGLY: Accusing Cruz of illegal activity and rejecting calls to appear more presidential.
TRUMP: It's so much easier to be presidential because I don't have to use any energy. You know, I could just walk out. It's so much easier. You
think this is easy? Ranting and raving. I've got to entertain 18,000, whatever the hell number of people we have here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, that was Phil Mattingly reporting. With just 15 primary votes left in the Republican presidential race, the window of opportunity
to stop Trump is narrowing fast.
[05:05:02]Let's talk about the Cruz-Kasich bombshell with executive editor for CNN politics, Mark Preston. So the big question is will this work or
could it backfire?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS: Well, Hala, they certainly want it to work, but as you said, 15 contests remaining. Five of them taking place tomorrow
here in the Acela corridor. That is the fast train that runs between Washington, D.C. and Boston.
Donald Trump is expected to do very well in these states. Now, Donald Trump right now needs to win 58 percent of the remaining delegates.
But he has a bit of momentum at his back, Hala.
He won New York overwhelmingly, almost taking every delegate last week. He's expected to do well tomorrow in the five states here in the
east.
And then when we get out to Indiana, this is why we've seen this unholy alliance between John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, and Ted Cruz,
the senator from Texas, as they are trying to stop Trump from amassing the 1,237 delegates that he needs to become the Republican nominee.
GORANI: And essentially, they want to force a contested convention. Their main goal is don't let Trump get 1,237 delegates.
PRESTON: Correct. They want to take this to the convention floor in Cleveland, Ohio. What we're seeing is John Kasich will politically disarm
in the state of Indiana, try to allow this to be a one-on-one battle between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
Meanwhile, as we had mentioned earlier, if you look at John Kasich, he is going to focus his efforts on Oregon and the state of New Mexico as
well and Ted Cruz will step out of there.
The idea is if they can force this to the convention that either one of them will have a shot at winning the nomination. Right now neither of
them has a mathematical shot of this happening -- Hala.
GORANI: I'm just curious. What is John Kasich getting out of this? Clearly, he has no shot at all at the nomination outright. Was he promised
something?
PRESTON: No, I don't think so. I think that what he got out of this was a little bit more oxygen, perhaps a little more gasoline for his campaign to
move forward. Right now, he's mathematically eliminated from winning it.
Ted Cruz would have to win 100 percent of the remaining delegates himself to try to get it. So this is what you call self-preservation.
What's interesting about these two politicians, Hala, is that Ted Cruz and John Kasich come from different wings of the Republican Party.
Ted Cruz from the very conservative social conservative wing. John Kasich more from the fiscal, more centrist part of the wing.
GORANI: All right, Mark Preston, thanks very much joining us from Washington. We'll have much more on this story ahead in this show,
including some reaction from Trump and Cruz campaign supporters. So do stay tuned for that.
Now to President Obama's announcement. He is expected to arrive home in the United States in the next hour after a busy trip to the Middle
East and Europe. Mr. Obama visited Saudi Arabia.
There was a tenth set of meetings there, we understand. But also Great Britain where he met with royal family members and Germany. Here you
see him with the Chancellor Angela Merkel.
And he saved a pretty significant policy announcement for the end. Hours ago, he did confirm that some 250 more American troops are heading to
Syria. He drove home a larger point about global unity as he explained the role of these new Special Forces inside of Syria to fight ISIS. Listen to
President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They will be essential in providing the training and assisting the local forces that
continue to drive ISIL back. So make no mistakes. These terrorists will learn the same lesson as others before them have, which is your hatred is
no match for our nations united in the defense of our way of life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. President Obama there now. For more on the U.S. involvement inside Syria let's head to the border with Turkey. Nick Paton-
Walsh is in Gaziantep and he joins me now live. So 250 Special Forces, what will their role be? Will it make any kind of difference?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're said to be there in an advice and assist capacity, but it's quite likely if
they get caught up in shooting on the front line they may have to defend themselves in what may effectively be a combat role.
But their main goal I think will be to increase the frequency and accuracy of coalition air strikes against ISIS, make sure the weapons
deliveries to any of the groups fighting ISIS, regular and consistent.
But I think also too to focus on Raqqah, the ISIS self-declared caliphate city. That is the main focus of much of the activity of the
Syrian Kurds who are fighting ISIS, but also two of the Sunni Syrian Arab rebel groups that are alongside them too.
That second group so vital because Raqqah is a Sunni Syrian Arab city. They can't let the Kurds move in and kick ISIS out. That would
increase the ethnic divisions already in this particular area.
So I think a lot of the U.S. special forces will be trying to make sure the Sunni Syrian Arabs are working cohesively together enough, doing
enough of the fighting are enough equipped to they can lead the fight against Raqqah. That will be most vital -- Hala.
[05:10:00]GORANI: All right, you visited a border town between Turkey and Syria where some Syrian refugees even thinking that they've reached safety
have been having to dodge rocket fire from inside Syria. Tell us more about what you saw.
WALSH: Well, this is what's so terrifying. At a time when the cessation of hostilities are supposed to be trying to reduce violence, in fact it's
expanding. ISIS seen to be to blame behind the rockets that have been fired on Killis, a town in Southern Turkey that has for years been simply a
peaceful haven for refugees. What we saw yesterday is increasingly hit by rockets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): This was day 55 of Syria's cessation of hostilities for those who live in Aleppo. No military target here, activists said, an
inferno. Many of the 12 dead burned alive. Zahir is dead, he says.
It was much the same on day 56. Another building in Aleppo hit. U.S. officials troubled that Russian heavy weapons are amassing near the
city and that whatever the ceasefire was is crumbling.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I am deeply concerned about the cessation of hostilities fraying and whether it's sustainable.
WALSH: But Syria's world is slowly crossing the border to one town in Southern Turkey. Killis, hit by rockets almost daily in the past weeks,
fired from Syria, probably by ISIS who were never part of the ceasefire.
This woman sat here when the rockets tore through her roof. A Syrian family scrabbling out a life on the floor below. This used to be
their shelter, their respite.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The Syrians fled. They took refuge here. The bombs are also raining on their heads. The government
keeps saying shelter in your house. But didn't it fall on our house, on our roof now? So where are we supposed to go?
WALSH (on camera): It is staggering. During the supposed cessation of hostilities across the border there in Syria that the war is spreading even
to a peaceful Turkish town like this, a haven for refugees that now finds itself pretty much every other day hit by rocket fire.
(voice-over): Fresh rockets have just whizzed over this, the funeral of local plumber, Abdullah Kachan, killed Friday also by a rocket.
Rage is against the government. Where are they?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Bombs are falling on everyone's home. Where are you, President Erdogan? Where are you? A bomb fell on
our house. Is this what you promised?
WALSH: Another rocket trike here. Five Syrian children injured. The shattered places where they once slept. The dust, the rubble are what they
fled, but now it just followed them here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: Now, the Turkish government responded to that criticism to some degree by sending the deputy prime minister down there yesterday. He
promised to obliterate the ISIS militants firing rockets.
They also actually sent in riot police to subdue some of the protests in that town against the lack of Turkish official involvement.
But today the Turkish military, it seems to have responded.
They say they used artillery to hit an ISIS rocket launching facility inside of Syria and killed eight ISIS militants. No reports of
attacks on Killis today as far as we're aware. That is a town frankly terrified that the war has come to them -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Understandably so. Thanks very much. Nick Paton- Walsh live in Gaziantep in Southern Turkey.
News just coming in to CNN, a Canadian hostage has been killed by an ISIS affiliate group in the Philippines. John Risdell had been held since
September along with three others. Now the militants have threatened to do something terrible in a video that showed the hostages pleading for their
lives.
And moments ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed what he is calling Ridsdell's cold-blooded murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Canada condemns without reservation the brutality of the hostage takers. This was an act of cold-
blooded murder, and responsibility rests squarely with the terrorist group who took him hostage.
The government of Canada is committed to working with the government of Philippines and international partners to pursue those responsible for
this heinous act and bring them to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A lot more ahead this evening. Do stay tuned.
Now, Saudi Arabia, big changes on the way. That country so dependent on oil is aiming to drastically change its economy. Will it
succeed? We'll tell you in a few minutes.
[05:15:12]And with the country mired in political scandal, CNN speaks exclusively to Brazil's vice president. All that and much more when we
come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, more shocking news out of Bangladesh. A leading gay rights activist and U.S. embassy worker is among the latest victims to be hacked
to death there. Pulrash Manan (ph) seen on the right in this photo was the editor of Bangladesh's first LGBT magazine.
Police say five or six people went to his Dhaka apartment posing as couriers. Then they attacked him and a friend with machetes. That other
victim is not shown in this picture.
The murders come just days after a university professor was hacked to death in the northwestern part of the country. We'll have a lot more on
this story with a report a little bit later this hour.
Now to that story out of Saudi Arabia. And for decades that country's economy has been synonymous with one big commodity, and it's made
that country and its residents very rich. Of course, it is oil.
But all that could be about to change. The country's deputy crown prince has announced a sweeping reform plan that would wean the kingdom off
of crude in just four years.
Under the plan, Saudi Arabia wants to boost non-oil revenues six- fold by 2030, sell part of national oil company, Aramco, on the stock market and create a $1.9 trillion public fund to invest at home and abroad.
Mohammed Bin Salman said Saudis have an addiction to oil even. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, SAUDI DEPUTY CROWN PRINCE (through translator): The oil today became like constitution. The holy book the Sunna and the oil
and that is very dangerous. We have addiction to oil in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Everyone has it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Now let's go live to the Saudi capital, Riyadh. My colleague, Becky Anderson, joins me live from there. So the big question is -- and
those are the broad outlines of the plan is, of course, oil is really the only commodity in Saudi Arabia. So how do you make up for that revenue?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, "CONNECT THE WORLD": You make a very good point. The 30-year-old son of the Saudi king has spent the past four
years, Hala, consolidating power very slowly but surely, my sources tell me, and convincing what is an older generation and one it seems his 80-
year-old father is in on this.
That change is not only good for this conservative kingdom, but it is also absolutely necessary for its future identity and its success. He's
known as Mr. Everything here, anent moniker given he pretty much runs everything from the massive state oil company, Aramco.
[05:20:03]And in terms of market cap that is the biggest company in the world, to economic policy to the defense portfolio and spending there.
So he certainly calls the shots. The headline to this vision, as you rightly pointed out, massive asset sales including 5 percent of Aramco,
most likely with a dual listing in the states.
And at $100 billion that would be the largest IPO in the world by some distance. And the plan is to throw Aramco's remaining assets in too.
And the numbers have gone up from that which you just reported today at the press conference just hours ago. He said the sovereign world fund
could be nearly $3 trillion. Some shopping spree then potentially in anybody's books.
And what they're telling us here is that they're hoping that this sovereign wealth fund very quickly could be invested some 50 percent in
foreign assets. So he is talking tax increases. He is talking spending cuts.
He is talking about more efficiency in government. He's talking about making the country open for business. He's talking about fostering
young talent and allowing for more equality.
As ever the devil is in the details. For example, Aramco is Saudi policy when it comes to oil of course. How do you split policy from
production? And the company I'm told is one of the most secretive in the world.
So who is going to want a slice of the action in a company that lacks transparency? Saudis are going to feel the pinch themselves. If
they have to start paying taxes, will they be looking for more accountability and demanding that?
So I think there are a lot of questions still to be answered here. I'd suggest this is as much about placing the face of the new guard amongst
the people of Saudi, 70 percent of whom of course are under the age of 30.
And that was the message today when he spoke to us. He said he was one of them and he appealed to the youth of Saudi to support him in this.
He also warned things wouldn't be easy.
He said there would be inflation for a couple of years. He said there would be setbacks. But what he says is the Saudi vision for 2030 is
a road map and he says it will work -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, well, certainly it's a long timeline. It's something we'll have to keep our eye on. Becky Anderson is in Riyadh. Thanks so
much, Becky.
Let's turn now to Brazil. For weeks now we've been reporting on the political turmoil there just a little over 100 days from the Olympic Games
in Rio.
If Brazil's Senate votes to impeach that country's president, Dilma Rousseff, the vice president would become the country's interim president.
Shasta Darlington spoke exclusively to him a short time ago. She joins me now from the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. Tell us a little more
about what the Brazilian vice president has told you about the possible impeachment of Dilma Rousseff.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Hala, we had pretty incredible access to a man who up until now has kept a really low profile. This is
the man who could step in as president as early as May.
He hasn't spoken to the press. So I asked him why he was coming out now, and he said he felt he needed to defend himself and the country
against these allegations by President Rousseff that this is not an impeachment but actually a coup d'etat. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHEL TEMER, BRAZILIAN VICE PRESIDENT (through translator): This impression that Brazil's a little republic where there could be a coup.
That's why I say there isn't a coup in this country. There isn't an attempt to violate the constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DARLINGTON: Now, the fact is that whoever were to step in still faces a whole host of problems. There's a deep recession here. The political
chaos will continue. And according to polls, a majority of Brazilians want to impeach not only President Rousseff but also Vice President Temer. I
asked him how he could possibly bring this country together and govern it. This is what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEMER (through translator): My goal will be to work with the country's political forces and to form a good cabinet to advise me, to guarantee
governability, to help the economy recover, and put the country back on track for a smooth election in 2018.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DARLINGTON: But any way you look at it there are no quick fixes for Brazil. This political back and forth will no doubt continue. We'll have
protests from both sides. It really is a political circus we're going to see playing out on this global stage as Brazil prepares for the Olympics --
Hala.
GORANI: All right, so much going on in Brazil and so much uncertainty. Thanks very much. Shasta Darlington is in Brasilia. In fact, you heard
from the vice president.
Hear from the president, Dilma Rousseff. What she has to say about all this when she sits down with our chief correspondent, Christiane
Amanpour.
[05:25:04]It's Dilma Rousseff's first one-on-one interview since the lower House of Congress voted to impeach her. And it's an exclusive interview
which airs at 3:00 p.m. in Rio de Janeiro, Thursday, 7:00 p.m. London time on CNN.
Well, for years people traveled through Maalbeek Metro Station in Brussels, just another stop on their daily commute. But since the
murderous terrorist attacks there on March 22nd, the station has been closed until today.
Well, it reopened, and it is a big psychological step in Brussels' slow healing process. Erin McLaughlin was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today is the first day since the attacks the trains are stopping at this Metro Station. It was here after
all on March 22nd that a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing 20 passengers.
People were calm as they made their way to the darkened tunnels to safety. Memories that will haunt this current forever. And today for
these people it's an emotional commute.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's rather difficult to come here again because we are still thinking about the people who died here.
MCLAUGHLIN: What's just kind of going through your mind as you stop at this train station and sort of see life go on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's strange. It's strange. You tend to look to all the other passengers. You know, it's strange.
MCLAUGHLIN: Strange to see the military patrolling a Metro Station in a European capital. Belgium remains under threat level 3 meaning that an
attack is likely and possible.
People who visit this Metro Station are being encouraged to leave messages on this whiteboard. On Saturday many of the victims' families as
well as survivors visited the station.
So many of the notes you see here are from them. Down here a family is mourning. A father first, it reads, with love. We'll never forget you.
And here poignantly in Spanish it reads "Love for all. Even for them. For they know not what they do."
This board is very much an outpouring of love and compassion from people affected by this tragedy all around the world. Erin McLaughlin,
CNN, Maalbeek Station, Brussels.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still to come, we have learned to expect the unexpected in the U.S. race for president, and yet this news was still somewhat of a shocker.
Ted Cruz and John Kasich announced an extraordinary alliance meant to take down Donald Trump. We'll speak to Trump and Cruz supporters after the
break.
And Beyonce releases a new album and an hour-long music video this weekend. But did she also tell the world that Jay-z may have had an
affair? We take the pulse of that story that has been making the rounds. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:20]
GORANI: A look at our top stories. Donald Trump says a new alliance between Ted Cruz and John Kasich shows how "weak and pathetic they are."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The Republican Presidential front-runner is firing back after both his rivals announced a bombshell new strategy. They are teaming up to try
to Deny Trump enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Also among our top stories, the American President Barack Obama is ordering 250 new special forces to Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: President Obama says the troops will join efforts already under way to train local forces to fight ISIS, but they will not take the lead on the
battlefield he has said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: A Canadian hostage has been killed by ISIS affiliated terrorists in the Philippines. John Ridsdale had been held since September along with
three others. The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed and condemned the murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: In Bangladesh a high-profile activist has been hacked to death. It comes two days after a liberal professor was murdered there. The latest
killings in a string of very gruesome attacks. This time the victim was a leading gay rights activist who also worked at the American embassy. He was
killed in his home along with a friend. Ivan Watson has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Police in Bangladesh say a group of attackers have killed an employee of the U.S. Embassy and the
organization USAID who was also an editor at the only LGBT magazine in this majority Muslim country, Bangladesh.
They say that the killing took place on Monday afternoon when a group of five or six attackers were able to get into the home of 35-year-old Xulhaz
Mannan by posing as -- one of them posed as a delivery person and then they were able to infiltrate his apartment and kill him and a second Bangladeshi
named Tanai Mojumdar.
Now the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Ambassador in Dhaka has since put out a statement condemning the attack saying "I am devastated by the brutal
murder of Xulhaz Mannan and another young Bangladeshi this evening in Dhaka. We abhor this senseless act of violence and urge the government of
Bangladesh in the strongest terms to apprehend the criminals behind these murders."
Amnesty International, a human rights group coming out, also condemning an attack on a gay rights activist here. Now what is disturbing here is this
fits a pattern, a growing pattern of deadly violence in which attackers have targeted secular and in at least six cases atheist bloggers and
secular writers and publishers in Dhaka who were killed over the course of the past 14 months.
Earlier this month a graduate student named Mazimudin Samad who was killed in Dhaka again with machetes after being ambushed by a group of attackers.
That murder was claimed responsible by a group affiliating itself with Al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent.
And just last Saturday a university professor in the provincial city of Radshahi, his name is Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, he was a professor of
English, cut down with machetes while waiting for a bus there.
The Bangladeshi government insists that groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS are not active in Bangladesh and that it is currently trying to crack down on
homegrown extremists. But there has been an increase in attacks leading to a climate of fear in this majority Muslim country, especially since also
minority Muslim groups as well as liberal Muslim clerics have become victims of this growing tide of violence.
Ivan Watson, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Let's return now to the race for the White House. They're still rivals, but they share a common goal that trumps almost everything else --
preventing Donald Trump from winning the Republican presidential nomination any way that they can at this late stage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Ted Cruz and John Kasich are forming a pretty unusual alliance. They've agreed to divide up three of the remaining 15 primary contests
according to which candidate has a better shot at beating Trump in those states. They both say it's about resources. Listen.
[15:35:05]
TED CRUZ, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is big news today that John Kasich has decided to pull out of Indiana to give us a head-to-head
contest with Donald Trump. That is good for the men and women of Indiana. It's good for the country to have a clear and direct choice. After
discussions with the Kasich campaign we made a decision about allocating resources.
JOHN KASICH, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't see this as any big deal other than the fact that I'm not going to spend resources in
Indiana, he's not going to spend them in other places. So what? What's the big deal? I've never told them not to vote for me. They ought to vote for
me. But I'm not over there campaigning and spending resources. We have limited resources. You know you ought to feel good about it. Mine's like
the people's campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: John Kasich is saying his is the people's campaign, it's about resources. Donald Trump says he actually welcomes this last-ditch effort to
stop him because it shows, "according to him how pathetic his rivals are."
We're joined now by Brent Bozell, chairman of ForAmerica, he supports Ted Cruz. We also have Jeffrey Lord, a CNN political commentator and Donald
Trump supporter.
Jeffrey Lord, when did Trump start disliking deals? That's what his entire career is about. All of a sudden he hates deals when the deal is designed
to take him down.
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Donald Trump is no dummy, of course. When his opponents conspire against him, I mean he's going to be
against that deal. There's no question about it. And as I start, I realize I'm debating my friend Brent Bozell which always makes me feel like I'm
debating myself and losing.
But I would say I'm concerned about Senator Cruz here because if any two candidates should be paired together it would be Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
And for some reason Senator Cruz has gotten off message by being the anti- establishment candidate and has gone in the other direction here. And I have to say I'm a little puzzled at the whole thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right, Brent. Jeffrey says he's puzzled at this strategy. Do you think it's a winning strategy?
BRENT BOZELL, CHAIRMAN FORAMERICA: Well, I'm not at all - I'm not at all puzzled. Look, Ted Cruz has said since the beginning that he would hope
this would be a two-man race because he believes one on one he can beat Donald Trump. When it was down to a three-man race, he implored John Kasich
over and over and over again to step aside since Kasich can't win at all, saying that if he stepped aside he believed that he could win against
Donald Trump. Well Kasich has said in no uncertain terms he's not going to step aside. So they've made a strategic alliance and a strategic alliance
that says I'll go for these votes, you go for those votes. That's all this is about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. And what both of them are saying, by the way, and John Kasich is saying it's a resources thing, but both of them are all -- and
their campaigns are saying this is about beating Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump doesn't have a chance against Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So we really need to make sure he doesn't get the nomination. Jeffrey, what do you make of that?
LORD: Yes, Well, you know Donald Trump is -- I'm talking to you from Pennsylvania, my home state. He is poised to win the primary tomorrow by
quite a bit. One poll has him as much as 20 points up. You've got to be able to win some of these northeastern states as Ronald Reagan did if
you're going to win the general election. And so far Senator Cruz, as much as I love him, just hasn't been able to show this. This is a real problem
here. This is a real weakness for the Cruz campaign, which is why I perpetually suggest to no avail that he be Donald Trump's running mate.
GORANI: All right, Brent, what do you think? That Ted Cruz would become Donald Trump's running mate? That would become a winning ticket there? What
is your thought on that?
BOZELL: The pigs are flying from here and they're headed for Pennsylvania right now, to meet with Jeff. No, look, here's some reality -- two
realities. Reality number one is that Donald Trump has a 65% unfavorable rating. He can't win. He simply cannot win the presidency when 2 out of 3
people in this country dislike him. Secondly, his strong suit is the northeastern states. Those states are going to be taken by Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton's going to take New York. She's going to take the liberal bastions. It's almost insane to consider that he can beat her in a liberal
bastion like New York. Maybe in Pennsylvania it's more competitive. But he can't win in the left - in the left-wing states. She's going to take those
blue states, period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And Jeffrey, Brent is making the point that where Donald Trump is strong are liberal bastions, as he calls them. So really, if that's your
Republican nominee, you've got a losing game on your hands.
LORD: Well, all I can say is that this was exactly what President Ford used to say about Ronald Reagan, that he couldn't possibly win in the
northeastern United States. President Ford managed to lose it. Ronald Reagan swept the whole of it except for the state of Rhode Island in 1980
and then won all of it in 1984. So there's nothing wrong with being able to do this. Donald Trump is about where Ronald Reagan was early in 1980 when
he was trailing Jimmy Carter by 30 points, and he had quite a comeback.
[15:40:00]
GORANI: And Jeffrey, by the way, Donald Trump, I thought the whole point after he won New York was that he was going to start sounding more
presidential and a little more measured. And he's gone - he's gone even, you know, full throttle even more with the "lyin' Ted," the "crooked
Hillary," and mocking how John Kasich eats breakfast. Is that sounding presidential so close to the nominating results?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORD: You know, I have to tell you, he's not a big fan of doing this until you win. I've gone back and looked at the 1948 race for President in which
Thomas E. Dewey, who was overwhelmingly favored to win, acted presidential. And his opponent, President Harry Truman, won the nickname "give 'em hell"
Harry because he ripped Dewey apart. I don't think you act presidential until you win the presidential election. President Romney had the same
problem.
GORANI: Brent, what do you think? You don't have to act presidential until you become the president. So I guess all bets are off during the election
period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOZELL: The problem is that he won't get to be President. There's a mythology that's been pushed by the Trump campaign, and I will say
emphatically here my good friend Jeffrey Lord's fingerprints are nowhere on there. But it was begun by Ann Coulter to suggest that Ronald Reagan also
had negative ratings and in fact his favorable rating was only 30% and look what he did. In fact, that was a dishonest statement to make because they
were looking at a snapshot of one state, New York City, exit polls. The national polls showed that Ronald Reagan was between 60% and 70% favorable
when he ran against Jimmy Carter. That's why he won. And that's why Donald Trump can't win.
GORANI: But Brent, you're saying Donald Trump can't win. But the candidate you support, I mean, the only way he can even get a shot at the nomination
is by blocking the front-runner by forming an alliance with the third-place candidate who's only won one state so far, and that's his own. How is that
a winning strategy? How is that a winning candidate?
BOZELL: 1,237 is the only number that matters. If Donald Trump comes into the convention and wins it on the first ballot, he's got it. If it goes
past the first ballot, it becomes an open convention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOZELL: And at that point the delegates can do what they wish. And that's what Donald Trump is so afraid of. He's afraid of them doing what they
wish, which is so many of them are going to go to Ted Cruz and everybody knows that's going to happen. So Ted Cruz is in a good position past the
first round. And that's the math.
GORANI: Assuming he gets the nomination by strategizing in that way, still more people have voted for Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: How can you have a party nominate a candidate who has not been the candidate so far to have received the most number of votes?
BOZELL: Because in the Republican field Donald Trump except for New York and a couple other states hasn't been able to break 35%, 38%. If you look
at all the national polls he gets trounced by Hillary Clinton. You look at the polls, and Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton are neck and neck. Every poll
shows that Ted Cruz does substantially better than Donald Trump. Ted Cruz doesn't have this hate factor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOZELL: You know, Jeffrey Lord is a good man who fervently believes what he believes with Donald Trump. The problem is the vast majority of Americans
don't see Donald Trump the way that Jeffrey Lord sees him.
GORANI: Jeffrey Lord, last w0rd for you. He called you a good man. So I guess --
LORD: Well, ditto with my friend Brent.
GORANI: Oh, he's made up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LORD: It's my job to help convince. We had 10,000 here at the Farm Shore arena in Harrisburg. And I will say one thing. I was referring to a poll,
December 1979 Gallup poll that had Jimmy Carter beating Ronald Reagan by 30 points. And Pat Caddell the Carter pollster of the day who's now a fox
contributor, said he was just salivating at all the internals of the polls which showed how unfavorable Ronald Reagan was so that was my reference.
GORANI: OK. Jeffrey Lord, thanks very much. And also Brent Bozell. To both of you really appreciate your time with us this evening. And CNN of course
is your home for American politics. All of this week we'll have full coverages five northeastern states cast and count their votes. That's all
day Tuesday right here on CNN. Super Tuesday part 4.
This is "The World Right Now." still to come --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boko Haram do indeed appear to have been pushed back, but their presence lingers. Everywhere you look, scenes of
devastation.
The primary goal is unmet, and even the progress seems grim.
CNN is on the road with Nigerian forces as they hunt for more than 200 missing schoolgirls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:46:30]
GORANI: Now to Nigeria. The front line in the fight against Boko Haram and the epicenter of efforts to find more than 200 schoolgirls missing for over
two years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The world is outraged that Nigeria has been unable to rescue them but government forces are slowly but surely whittling down the territory in
which Boko Haram moves. Nima Elbagir brings us exclusive and unprecedented access to those operations starting from Maiduguri.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Monday market in Maiduguri. Two men sowing absolute panic, both suspected terrorists. Quickly they say subdued.
Normality returns but it gives a sense of the tension here. As Boko Haram have lost their territorial footprint or much of it, they're growing
increasingly reliant on unleashing waves of suicide bombers into the hearts of Maiduguri and beyond.
In a city on edge no one is above suspicion. Maiduguri is at the heart of the Nigerian army's campaign to retake Boko Haram's territory. Under
operation Lafiodola, peace by any means spread out across the country's vast northeast. The road to the Sambisa Forest, or what's been cleared so
far relentless heat bears down on our heavily armored convoy.
Soft sand. Ideal hiding holes for IEDs, the scout in the lead car directing our convoy on and off the track. Two years ago when we visited Chibok after
the mass abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls parents described to us how they followed the trail of their daughters to the front gates, to the entry
point of the Sambisa Forest and were unable to move any further. This is the Sambisa.
The Nigerian government has been able to start clawing back territory from Boko Haram but the Sambisa fortress, the territory right in the center,
that is still where they're moving towards. And this is where some of the Chibok girls are believed to still be held.
Let's say you're out on a patrol like this. What are your scouts looking for? Are they looking for tracks? Are they looking for -- do they
specifically know that this area will have had heat signals? Are you using thermal imaging? What techniques are you using to get you closer?
BRIGADIER GENERAL BA RAJI, 29 BRIGADE TASK FORCE: Yes, I would say we have possibility of the necessary flares like thermal imaging. But we rely a lot
on the Americans that have provided the ISR planes. Give some information as to cluster group of persons. We try to search out footprints and
sometimes you see children, their footprints on the ground.
ELBAGIR: As if on cue a surveillance plane flies overhead. One of the eyes in the sky.
Back in Meduguri, the operation's theater commander Major General Leo Irabor tells us he's proud of his men but they are in need of more
international support.
Why do you think it's taking so long to find the girls?
[15:50:05]
MAJOR GENERAL LEO IRABOR: Well the question of Chibok girls remains a sore point in our history. We're seeing that from the intelligence available to
us that the remaining areas that we're walking to, moving to, we want to see if we're able to rescue the Chibok girls.
ELBAGIR: Irabor is tasked with both following the girls' two-year-old trail and waging war against Boko Haram's brutal insurgency in the face of
heightening frustration.
IRABOR: It is a huge challenge, and the mandate is enormous. But currently we've come very far in achieving the mandate.
ELBAGIR: But the threat remains.
IRABOR: The threat remains. Of course. Just like in all other areas.
ELBAGIR: The commander allowed us to join his men moving east toward the Boko Haram front lines to see for ourselves. Boko Haram do indeed appear to
have been pushed back. But their presence lingers. Everywhere you look scenes of devastation.
All the way through our journey cross-country we've seen village after abandoned village, devastated, destroyed. What Boko Haram couldn't loot
they attempted to burn to the ground. And people are still too afraid to come back to their homes.
But the hope is that the longer the Nigerian military maintain their hold on the territory up here the more people's confidence will grow. The more
willing they'll be to return and reclaim their lives and their homes.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, northeast Nigeria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: We'll have a lot more after a quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GORANI: Well, Beyonce released, and it was a surprise move, a new album on Saturday to go with her T.V. special, a virtual album. Her legions of fans,
and they are passionate, could purchase "Lemonade" on her husband Jay-Z's streaming service tidal before its wider release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[SINGING]
GORANI: This is a very political album. It addresses themes of love, female empowerment, the black lives movement. But the topic of infidelity has
overshadowed the passionate album in some ways. We'll explain that more thoroughly in a minute. First let's get more on the political and
empowering themes of Beyonce's latest work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Michaela Davis is a cultural critic. She joins me from New York with more. So Michaela, let's first talk about this, now this was a
surprise, right? Because it went along hand in hand with an HBO sort of special and this was released to fans on Saturday. Talk to me a little bit
about what we find in the album.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELA DAVIS, CULTURAL CRITIC AND WRITER: Well, you know, it was a bit of a surprise. But a week prior they dropped a little promo and it was just a
scene of her with her head tucked in a fur coat with blond cornrows, which inspired my current hairdo, with just the word "Lemonade." So for about a
week fans were really craving what we didn't even know was coming, right? And so then when the fuller promos came that it was going to be an hour-
long event on HBO on Saturday, like bated breath we were waiting to see what this was going to be. And it turned out to be a much more layered,
textured, artistic, political, pop culture event than any of us I think ever imagined.
[15:55:05]
GORANI: And this is quite new for Beyonce. I mean, for one thing you have obviously female empowerment. You have tough issues such as the killing of
young black men by white police officers. There's even a section of the video where you see the mother -- the mothers of some of these victims
holding up pictures of their dead sons. Talk to us a little bit about this departure for Beyonce.
DAVIS: Well, I think - I think - when we -- I think the "formation" video that showed during the Super Bowl that also got everybody really up in arms
was a precursor to this. There was a lot of political messaging. There was a lot of messaging about black lives matter and Katrina and social justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIS: So we saw in that video that Beyonce was growing up and that she was expanding herself as an artist. And I think this album, that "Lemonade"
really was this turning point, this flash-point in seeing her really evolve as an artist and being a part of a world that's in the black lives matter
movement. So you've got her motherhood issues, but you also have a time in America that's affecting real artists.
GORANI: And let me just because of course the big buzz -- and I'm sure, by the way, Beyonce knew this was going to happen, is some of her lyrics in
one of her songs sort of hint at infidelity by her husband.
DAVIS: Oh they weren't hints --
GORANI: -- If they were direct references. Fans speculating that Jay-Z may have cheated on her in her lyrics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: He better call Becky with the good hair. And then Rachel Roy, who's a fashion designer, fueled the controversy by posting to Instagram "good
hair don't care," then she also tweeted "I respect love, marriages, families, and strength but I don't respect bullying," et cetera, et cetera.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Why something so personal, also so painful out there in her new album, in her art in this way, do you think?
DAVIS: Well you know I think this -- this is what artists do. They pull from real life. They pull from things that affect all of us. And betrayal,
revenge, rage is part of the, you know, tropes from the beginning of time right. So we've seen Shakespearean plays about it and operas. So I don't
think the subject matter is so provocative but because we're so in this pop culture moment where we know Beyonce, we know Jay-Z, that it has really
kind of shocked everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIS: But also let's be clear that though some of this may be autobiographical, and for most artists their work is, but it was also
pushed through the lens of a host of really talented directors and poetry. So I think part of it is real and then part of it is art. But she did
directly throw her wedding ring, say that -- she used the word "cheated" more than once.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Michaela Angela Davis, thanks very much. And only Beyonce would release a song about her husband's infidelity exclusively on her husband's
streaming platform.
DAVIS: They're a very smart and calculating family.
GORANI: Thank you very much, Michaela. Appreciate it.
DAVIS: Thank you.
GORANI: And you can check us out on Facebook. Facebook.com/halagoranicnn. This has been "The World Right Now." I'm Hala Gorani Quest Means Business
is next.
END
