good work. congressman dan kildee of michigan. thank you for watching. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." the news continues next right here on cnn. hi there, good to be with you. i'm brooke baldwin. listen, right now, it's trump versus everyone else. some of his fellow conservatives today meeting behind closed door, talking about ways to take him down. you're about to hear from one republican senator who is now backing senator ted cruz for the party's nomination after joking about his murder on the senate floor. so stand by for that. but first the senate's top democrat blaming republicans for creating donald trump. each talking about senator harry reid. he laid into republican leaders today. saying their obstructionism, quote, created the drought

conditions donald trump has simply struck the match. what is more here, senator reid challenged republican leaders to quote/unquote get some backbone and denounce donald trump outright. then there is this. perhaps even the best evidence that is an exceptional year for presidential politics. senator reid complimented ted cruz, the republican blame for shutting down the federal government, with regard to president obama's bobamacare. >> i at least have to say this about cruz, he at least has some principles. don't like what he stands for, but he stands for something. not a very little of which i'm finding i agree with. so i'm not as turned off by cruz, because he stands for something. >> joining me now, the senior adviser to the trump campaign, mr. barry bennett, and our chief political correspondent dana bash. so a lot to get through on the democrat and republican side with regard to mr. trump.

dana bash, first to you on your interview with senator lindsey graham and on pig's flying. is that an appropriate way to set it up? >> that's pretty much what i asked him. because senator graham has been for the past several years, since ted cruz has been his senate republican colleague, has been very open about his disdain for cruz's tactics. thought it was the wrong thing to do, the wrong way to go. obviously, lindsey graham ran initially against ted cruz, then he backed jeb bush. basically, at that point, it was anybody but cruz. but now it is anybody but trump, which is why lindsey graham is now backing ted cruz. listen to paret of our intervie. so you are raising money for him, are you endorsing him? is that effectively an endorsement? >> what i'm saying, john kasich i think is the most viable general election candidate. i just don't see how john gets through the primary.

i think the best alternative to donald trump to stop him from getting 1,237 is ted cruz and i'm going to help ted in every way i can. i'm going to raise money for him. if i were in one of the states coming up in terms of voting and i didn't like trump, i'd vote for cruz. >> brooke, obviously the reason you asked about pigs flying is the next question i asked is do you see pigs flying down street because that's what i thought would have to happen before you would back ted cruz, never mind open up your donor list to him, which is effectively what he's doing. this is the invitation going out today for a fund-raiser that lindsey graham is hosting for ted cruz on monday with a lot of lindsey graham supporters, which is going to be important for cruz if he has to, wants to keep this going all the way through july. just very quickly before i button this up just to give you a sense of how much things have changed and how dire lindsey graham thinks this is for the

republican party, the concept of trump as their nominee. this is what he said not that long ago about ted cruz. if you kill ted cruz on the floor of senate and the trial was in the senate, nobody would convict you. it was tongue in cheek but it gives you a sense of what others have thought and how much they have shifted given the reality of what they're facing now. >> on the notion of pigs flying with regard to, you know, lindsey grahams of the world, even hearing harry reid saying at least ted cruz has some thing he stands by, other than comparing him to donald trump. then you have this meeting, barry, of these, you know, republicans, today, behind closed doors, the conservatives of faith meeting. they, too, were trying to get together to figure out how we stop donald trump from getting to that magic number so he can't clinch the nomination. these were apparently not establishment republicans. they refer to themselves perhaps as reagan revolutionaries, going to great lengths to stop your guy. your thoughts? >> i think a couple of them were

lobbyists so i would disagree with calling them establishment republicans. the only thing i know for sure is i'm going to start keeping lindsey graham's scorecard in pencil because i'm tired of using ink. you know, this is -- there's a lot of mourning to be done, there's a lot of grieving to be done. but donald trump is going to be our nominee, plain and simple. he's the only one that has the path to 1,237. and when we get to cleveland, he's going to be our nominee. and, you know, some of these guys are going to have to decide how much damage they're willing to do to the party because they're not -- they don't like that. but, you know, he's going to walk into cleveland with more than enough delegates and millions of more votes than anybody else and he's going to be our nominee. they're going to have to decide if they're republicans or if they leave party. but i hope they stay in the party and i hope they work with us because, you know, we can win in november and we can make some significant changes how this country's run. >> dana, you hear barry

indisputably saying mr. trump is the guy, he's going to get to that number. i heard an rnc member who came out today essentially who said it's the party who decides, you know, who this nominee is, it's not the people. he may not entirely be wrong but why would he say that? >> well, no, he's not wrong technically. because the party, you know, people are out there voting all across the country. but they are votes for a nominee, which is a party function. it's not anything broader than that which i think is easy to forget. however there is the practical and then there are the rules. and to barry's point, the rules are that, you know, they can be changed. even if donald trump has more delegates than anybody else. but, you know, they can do that at their own peril. if people here in washington, you know, whether it is the lindsey grahams, the ted cruzes, you know, pick your anti-trump

force, don't see the anger out there that has attached itself to donald trump and, more importantly, the support for somebody who is just a disrupter, somebody who is different from everybody else here in washington, then, you know, they don't -- they're not getting what's happening out there the and that is a very, very big cautionary tale for whatever happens at the convention. everybody understands that, but i think once they're faced with it, it will be a whole different ball game. >> when you look at the two potential nominees, trump and hillary, they are both loathed and loved. we talked yesterday about the donald trump video and the hillary clinton barking and the vladimir putin laughter. so now we have this today. this is from clinton's superpac responding to that very video. >> ♪ ♪

>> who are you consulting with consistency so you're ready on day one? >> i'm speaking with myself, number one. because i have a very good brain and i've said a lot of things. [ laughter ] >> barry? it's on, isn't it? >> it's going to be a very different campaign. yes, it's going to be a lot of fun. i mean, i love the way it sets up frankly. mrs. clinton moved to washington, what, 1993. and has been here ever since. the quintessential establishment democrat. she's running away with the superdell gats and all those things. versus a complete outsider. if the question lays out as, you know, you want four more years of the policies and the path we're currently on or do you want to try something different? i feel pretty good about it. >> we are seeing what our next six months look like, i do believe. dana bash, great senator with

senator graham. barry, stick around, we'll see you back in a minute here. former first lady laura bush has now weighed in on the 2016 race in an interview with "usa today" and it's actually what she wouldn't quite say that's grabbing the attention. >> if donald trump's the nominee, the republican nominee, are you going to vote for him? >> susan, i'm not going to answer. don't ask that. >> just the last question then. you have stayed on the sidelines of politics since you left the white house and so has president bush and i think a lot of americans have respected that. >> we got off the sidelines for jeb. he was our candidate. >> and yet in your book it's clear that you don't think islam hates america, that you don't think all muslims should be banned from entering the united states. is there a point where you would feel compelled to come off the sidelines to speak against -- >> well, this is what i want americans to remember. what our real values are. and one of the very first things, one of the reasons we're a country, is because we believe

in freedom of religion, we believe that people can be religious, they can choose any religion they wanted to, or they could not worship if they didn't want to. we don't have any religious test in the united states. and that's what we need to remember. we need to remember what our own values are. >> susan page, susan page, the washington bureau chief of the "usa today." love having you on. listen, laura bush, she is an intelligent woman and she knew darn well, you know, you had to ask about the race, you had to ask about donald trump. i was asking her face. she looks frustrated. >> you know, she's got a new book out called "we are afghan women." that's a cause she's been involved with since a few weeks after the 9/11 attack. she wanted to talk about that. shep wallace not too egger to talk about the 2016 race or donald trump. but, you know, there's no mistaking what her message was in that final question. which is she fundamentally

disagrees with the approach donald trump has taken on issues like islam and the immigration of muslims to the united states. she went on to say this is part of our history. she said we've had zenophobic episodes in our history but it's important to remember our fundamental values. >> i'm curious, did she say anything to you -- obviously she mentioned, you know, jeb coming off the sidelines. has she talked about any conversations, you know, she's had with jeb, you know, what he's been up to since he dropped out? >> no, i didn't ask her about that, that would be interesting to know, but it's not something we discussed. >> we've talked several types. i saw you in iowa, saw you in new hampshire. you covered what, ten presidential elections or campaigns. and just sort of comparing all of them. we keep saying the word "unprecedented." but for you it's such an excellent perspective. what is so totally different this time around?

>> this campaign is going to make history regardless of what happens. we're going to likely have the first woman nominee of a major party. perhaps the first woman president. but the rise of donald trump. did any of us really see this coming when he made his initial presidential announcement? the fact that somebody who has never sought office before has such perfect pitch with the anger, with the big portion of the american electorate, is something i have never seen before in the, as you say, ten campaigns i've covered for the white house. >> thank you for sharing your laura bush interview. >> thanks, brooke. >> thank you. you know, it is the biggest question of the day, can donald trump actually defeat hillary clinton in a general election? the man who helped get president obama elected says watch out. plus, moments from now, president obama's supreme court nominee is speaking with lawmakers up on capitol hill, but which republicans might be breaking rankings to actually meet with him?

and i'll speak live with a father and son, dad, an immigrant, explains why he is supporting donald trump. you're watching cnn. we'll be right back. t they shoud start saving for retirement. then we asked some older people when they actually did start saving. this gap between when we should start saving and when we actually do is one of the reasons why too many of us aren't prepared for retirement. just start as early as you can. it's going to pay off in the future. if we all start saving a little more today, we'll all be better prepared tomorrow. prudential. bring your challenges.

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you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. president obama reportedly telling them it's approaching time to back hillary clinton. and leave bernie sanders behind. this is reporting specifically coming from "the new york times." if it's true, we could see this race change faster than anyone anticipa anticipated. joining me, the former adviser to president obama, and barry bennett is back with us, senior adviser for the trump campaign and former campaign manager to dr. carson's campaign and a republican consultant. so dan pfeiffer first to you, on this president obama news, so far the president has been careful not to explicitly endorse secretary clinton but it appears now if he's talking to donors like this, he's approaching that lane. why do you think he's doing this now? >> well, first, i'd be a little

skeptical of why it gets read out like second and third hand. i've spent a lot of time over the few years where it came out of the president's mouth and then got read back to people is not exactly the same but there are some truths here in this recording that is important. one, the delegate race is essentially over. i can't see a world in which bernie sanders can make up that deficit in time given the proportional rules democrats have. second, president obama cares a lot about winning this election. it's very important to him. it's very -- he knows it's very important for the country. i think there's no question that hillary clinton, although not a perfect candidate, is a more electable candidate. we're going to get to a point at some point the party is going to have to decide at what point the primary becomes hurtful to hillary clinton's general election chances or continues

on. >> to your point, we don't know, it's a game of telephone between the president and reporters. can't imagine that could ever happen ever in a million years. i kid. if this is true and the president has done this, do you think this could give a little nudge to the sanders campaign? this is coming from the president. >> no, look, i think bernie sanders and -- has every right to stay in this race for as long as he wants to stay in it. i think he has accomplished tremendous things. to go from where he was to making this a close race is incredibly impressive. the question will be for the period of time in which he's still in the race, what will the tone be? is he making negative arguments against hillary clinton? is he creating video snippets or clips used in ads by republicans? or continuing to carry his positive populous message to the rest of the contest? i think that will be the question. >> okay, barry, let meive about vote to you. one big question we all need to start asking is can donald trump defeat hillary clinton in november. i know your answer's going toby.

want you to tell me how that can happen. >> i think the political map we always, you know, that i grew up with is going to change. i mean, if we look at -- since january 1st in pennsylvania. in ohio as well. in massachusetts as well. there's a shift. traditional battle lines are probably not going to be in play this cycle, it will change. i feel very good about it. if the campaign is about who continues. i feel very good about it. so, you know -- it will be a different campaign. both candidates have pretty high negatives. i feel pretty good about trump getting elected in november. >> you former colleague, you know, where i'm going with this, his would et to paraphrase, democrats should not start popping bottles of champagne just yet.

how would you assess mr. trump as a challenger? >> all the people who said donald trump couldn't win the primary are the same ones saying he can't win the general so i don't know why we would listen to them. for any candidate, for a republican to win, they have to improve their position with nonwhite voters and flip a lot of states. a lot of states that obama won in 2012. and so it can happen. i think hillary clinton will go into this as a very strong favorite. donald trump's negatives among latino voters in particular. but if democrats take this lightly, we could lose.

>> both of these candidates, their unfavorables are very, very high. how would hillary clinton, starting with her, how would she overcome that? >> well, i think this is going to become largely a campaign motivating people's bases of support. i expect both of their numbers, but particularly hillary's, to improve over the coming months. because there's some portion of democratic voters who are now giving hillary clinton an unfavorable rating. and one of the choices, hillary clinton versus donald trump, i think her numbers will improve. >> if looking ahead to a potential matchup, do we think we will see a record turnout or a record low turnout? >> i bet we have a record turnout. i bet a lot of people -- we're seeing on the republican and

democratic primaries right now huge turnouts. so, you know, i think it's good for the democratic process. i also agree that, you know, right now, what's fueling their high languages is their primary opponents. i said never mccain, never that guy. i vote him a check and i voted for him. so those options will come down significantly. >> coming up next, president obama's choice as nominee for the u.s. supreme court, he will making the rounds on capitol hill today but will he actually meet with any republican lawmakers? stay with me. pet moments are beautiful, unless you have allergies. then your eyes may see it differently. only flonase is approved to relieve both itchy, watery eyes and congestion. no other nasal allergy spray can say that. when we breathe in allergens our bodies react by

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u.s. supreme court nominee judge merrick garland making the rounds on capitol hill today. when i say rounds and meetings, this is what he's supposed to be doing. the judge is schedule to meet with a number of lawmakers in advance of potential confirmation hearings. we're hearing many republican members of congress might conveniently be out to lunch when judge garland comes knocking. cnn justice correspondent pamela brown has more on these potential political snubs. is he meeting with any republicans? >> some are saying they are open to meeting with mayor garland including the chairman of the judiciary committee chuck

grassley. today he told reporters if i'm willing to meet with dictators the least i can do is meet with garland. we're anticipating some of these meetings to happen after recess in a couple of weeks. but today merrick garland is meeting with democratic -- >> oh, pamela brown, let me stop you right now. we have marco rubio back at work, capitol hill, let's dip in. >> are you going to support him? >> i don't have any announcement on that today. we're still in the process of thanking all the people who were helpful to us but i don't have anything to announce today. >> what did you mean by that comment? >> clearly, ted's positions on issues are conservative so -- but i don't have anything further to elaborate -- i don't have anything to announce today. >> what about kasich? is he not conservative enough? >> i like governor kasich. >> -- time for republicans to coalesce around one of the two candidates -- to be able to stop him? >> i think that's going to

happen, with the race narrowed further. i think would fracture the party and be damaging to the conservative movement. >> would you consider being cruz's vice president -- >> i'm not going to be anybody's vice president. i'm not interested in being vice president. i don't mean that in a disrespectful way. i don't want to be vice president. i'll finish out my term in the senate. we're going to work really hard here. we have some things we want to achieve. then i'll be a private citizen in january. >> you're not going to rethink this and go back and file in april or may? >> no, i'm not running for re-election to the senate. i'm going to finish my term here and then i'll be a private citizen. >> what about this idea of a -- it's so fractured, as we get to the summertime, there's been chatter over the last 48 hours over a contested convention. paul ryan said today he was boning up on the rules in case it gets to that -- >> my campaign barely ended 48 hours ago so i haven't thought through that. certainly not anything we're planning on. if you go on to the convention

and no one has the requisite number of delegates, then there are rules that account for it. we ran a race i'm very proud of from the messaging perspective. it's not what the electorate -- >> what to you make of trump's comments that he might incite riots -- sorry, i'm wearing headphones. that he might incite a riot -- >> at this point, it's like daily occurrence, you know. there isn't going to be any riots. it's a very unusual political year. there's going to be a lot of -- >> will you write a book? >> about this election? >> i'm not planning on it. it might be a good idea though. >> -- supreme court nominee -- >> well, i just started.

not in the middle of it. i just started yesterday. moo position remains the same. i mean, i don't see the point of it. i know enough about his record to know i wouldn't support him. i know enough about the position in general to say, number one, i don't think we should be moving forward on a nominee in the last year of this president's term. and number two, even if this was a third year of this president's term, this is not someone i would support -- >> meeting with him, courtesy call meeting -- >> i'd be more than happy to talk to anybody but i wouldn't change my position -- >> senator, we talked -- when you look back at the campaign, two questions, one, what do you think went wrong? two, you actually wanted to take this -- your campaign certainly kept open the option of going to the convention and fighting it out. why do you choose not to do that? >> couple points, number one no one ever gets into an election saying i can't wait to get to the convention. you want to win the delegates and unite the party. that's the ideal outcome. it doesn't appear to be headed there.

except after tuesday night, you know, perhaps trump has gained enough delegates to move closer in that direction. there's still an open question about whether he gets to 1237 and we'll see as it prlays out. in an ideal world, you have a nominee. and it gives you a stronger position in the general election. don't believe donald trump will ever be able to do that. that's my opinion -- >> -- on your campaign though, look back at the nature of this, the volatility that gravitated towards trump. you said the right message but you weren't on the winning side this time around. >> right. >> what was the fundamental flaw in that? what was different? >> i just think, you know, you see what's happening. people really got hurt in 2007 and 2008. we had this massive economic downturn. most americans, their number one investment is their home and it took a bath and it really went underneath and none of it has gotten better for them. you have millions of americans who are struggling financially. the changes in our economics have been very disrupptive.

many of the jobs people relied on are either gone or they don't pay enough or they're sent overseas. my argument was yes, these things are really happening, but there's also opportunities being created and we should embrace those. that's just not a message people wanted to hear or really caught on. i understood we could run a campaign based on speaking to people's frustrations and anger and getting them angry and more frustrated, but i really continue to believe these disruptionings in our economy also provide opportunities. that's why i focus so much on vocational training and higher education reform. i think that's what we're going to need to do. i still think that's the right approach. but politically, it's just not something that necessarily cuts through the it in a year where someone like donald trump so far has been able to capture that frustration and anger and exerer bait is in a wait that -- >> -- with donald trump? >> yeah, i already said, we

almost won virginia after that, beat ted cruz in georgia after that, and i don't think -- >> how much on the immigration issue? >> it was a factor. i don't think it was -- at the end of the day, it's a 17 person field and i was one of the last four stand. in a field that ran basically every major political figure in the republican party at the national level ran for president. i'm proud of how far we got but it wasn't far enough. at the end of the day, you look at how we performed in many places. i don't think it's the reason why i'm not still in the race -- >> what's your -- >> good run -- >> could you foresee another run for office in the future? >> i mean, guys, i just got here, i'm not running for governor. beyond that -- >> priorities -- >> endorse anybody -- >> lieutenant governor's a good friend of mine -- >> thank you, guys.

>> now that is what we call a scrum there on capitol hill, lots of people chasing down marco rubio. we've seen him in a much different light these past i don't know how many months, ten-plus. he wanted the party's nomination for president of the united states. instead, he's back to just being senator marco rubio here, his first day back to work on capitol hill. dana bash, let me bring you in, our chief congressional correspondent, highlights to me -- political correspondent, forgive me. i'm not going to be anyone's vp. i'm not running for governor of florida. trump would fracture the republican party. it's the first time we're hearing from him. >> it is, it's the first time he's been back in the senate today. he's doing his day job. he's voting. something we remember he was criticized heavily by jeb bush and others for not doing because he was running for president. and he is not running for re-election from florida. look, this is tough. i mean, you can kind of see it on his face. >> he looks tired. >> he's tired and it's not easy. i mean, this is not where he

wanted to be. there's a lot of humble pie being eaten in the hallways there when he's talking to reporters. the fact he is saying he doesn't want to be vice president is interesting. before he started to go after donald trump really, really hard, the kind of betting in some of the parlor games here in washington was, well, maybe rubio wasn't going after donald trump because he is thinking maybe he wants to be his vp running mate, you know, he's ruled that out today. again, we've heard politicians rule things in and out and change their minds not long after -- look, think the bottom line is you step back and you see that this is a young man who decided to just go for it, thought maybe the time was right for him to be president, even though there were so many people in the race. he did get further than most of the 17 people who also threw their hats into the ring. now he's trying to at least fill out the rest of his term, which

ends at the end of this year and then, you know, it's going to be -- who knows what he's going to do. >> maybe he'll write a book. think it's interesting how he was responding to those questions -- >> guarantee he's going to write a book. >> you think? you know, books, movies, unprecedented. now sounds like a cliched word as we talk about this election cycle. senator lindsey graham, now marco rubio saying i don't know if i felt a ton of love, but did acknowledge he seems like the most conservative man standing. >> exactly. that is the sense of a lot of republicans here in washington who thought they would never say that because they have been so aggravated with ted cruz for the way he has, you know, kind of held things up on senate floor in ways -- he never really had a

chance of winning and so on and so forth. but that's just the reality where we are right now. the question is going to be if even that is going to be enough. because of the fact that donald trump only needs about half of the remaining delegates to get to that magic 1,237 to clinch the nomination. ted cruz needs about 80%, which is pretty challenging to do. and so that's where everybody is going to be at the -- at the floor of the convention in cleveland. >> dana, thank you. we will chat again soon. gloria borger was just seated because we wanted to make sure we talk to you it we', we'll ta you in a second about all your great reporting about this republican meeting behind closed doors. manu raju firing a question away at him. he's back, to quote dana, back at his day job. >> back in the saddle.

>> back in the saddle. specifically saying he doesn't want to be anyone's vice president and he isn't running for re-election for senate in florida and he i guess will in ten months be a citizen of florida. >> right. i think, you know, people who know marco rubio well say that what he wants to do now is get out there and earn a little money. when you've been in public service and you have a growing family, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea. i think there are people talking about him potentially as a run for governor. having lost your state in a presidential primary, doesn't really help you with that. but he's a young guy. he's hugely talented. and i think he has a great feature, whatever he wants to do, you know. >> okay. we'll talk to you at the top of the hour, thank you so much for the hustle, i appreciate that, and your reporting on this meeting of republicans coalescing against mr. trump, so see you then. coming up, my next guest says he knows one trump supporter who truly surprised him, his own father, an immigrant to the

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welcome back, i'm brooke baldwin. question who are donald trump supporters? it is a question we have been asking since the new york billionaire launched his campaign. if you hook at the crowds at trump rallies, you know, for the most part when you look at this, covering it for months and months. trump has cobbled together a far broader coalition in his run to become the undisputed republican front-runner.

my next guest profiled one trump supporter who he found particularly fascinating. because its his own dad. he came to the united states in the 1970s and voted for donald trump. his son, my friend, is the editor ain chief of swagger new york. he wrote this piece called "my dad voted for trump and theirs will too." both of the regises on my panel today, wonderful to have both of you on. >> thank you so much. >> jean pierre, let me turn to you because i've known you for, what, a year or two. you're this fashionable young hip progressive dude living in manhattan. i would only imagine knowing you as i do that the last person you would want as president would be donald trump. am i wrong? >> you'd be right on the mark. to me and most of my friends, the reason i wrote this article,

to me, he's misogynist, he's racist, he really plays into all these things that i don't want to surround myself by. so many people on my social media feeds are spewing this vitriol which i understand. then i speak to my dad and so many other people about why they're doing it. it's sort of start to make sense to me. it's wild. >> on the making sense. you're in your car and your dad drops on you, son, i voted for donald trump. so mr. regis, jean robert, why, with your back story, a haitian immigrant, coming to the country legally and all that you've done and made for you and your family, talk to me about why your back story then sort of funnels into why you think donald trump should be president. >> i came to this country legally and i think donald trump

stand for this people to come to this country legally. and also i tend to focus my attention on the economy and jobs, national security, border control, reduce the debt and control the deficit. and a strong national security. so donald trump, he's -- >> jean robert, when your son said donald trump is misogynist and racist, your response is what? >> my response to him is he's still young, he doesn't understand life yet, that's why he's on the side that he is on. >> and one thing i would say that i think is important is my dad is an immigrant, came here and worked tooth and nail to get everything he had. my dad didn't really speak too much english. he worked three jobs, you know, he worked so hard to amass a

little bit of wealth and the thought of my dad losing everything that he's made -- >> you're getting emotional. >> it's hard, because in this way, i understand it. i understand the voices that my dad has. i think we're misrepresenting a lot the voters. my dad worked so hard to have what he has and to give it all away to people who, for him, he doesn't believe work that hard. >> they haven't earned it. >> right. and he deserves it. he came here for the american dream. he came here to get all of what he has. and to think that that would be taken away from him. that the money -- the only reason he came here was for money for his family. to think that would be taken away is so hard. >> you not only profiled your dad, but you also made this point in talking to other people. because there are a lot of anti-trump folks who do say, listen, all of his supporters are white, sezenseexena pho be,

true? >> i talked to a family who knows about communism. it ruined their networks. they say yes, we now live in a country where our president potentially wants to go out to the country that screwed our families, you know, and for that reason, you know, they want him. there's another woman in the outskirts of philadelphia, wealthy woman who's son is a good friend of mine. lives in new york city. she is so afraid that her son is going to die at a movie theater through some act of terrorism. she's getting herself a gun. that's how afraid she is. he speaks some rhetoric to all different walks of people and it touches them. >> i would push then on what foreign policy, national security, specifics. that's been the criticism. >> i talk to my dad about that too. dad, you can take it from here but i said, listen,

sociopolitically, to you care that he's a misogynismisogynist? to me, you said no, care about my money, i care about my safety. >> jean robert, go ahead. >> that's exactly right. i don't really care about who donald trump is. i care about the action that he is about to take to put the country back on the right track. >> jean robert, what would you say to your son here on live national television? what is the one thing you would tell him to try to sway him that mr. trump should be commander in chief? >> one thing i would tell him, if he's thinking about his future, he should look toward donald trump because, again, the past experience that we've had i don't think it was a good thing. something, you know, when you

look back, i don't see for the past few years. again, i've been here for a long time. past 30 years. i've seen administrations come and go but, you know, i've never seen almost anything like what donald trump is talking about. >> jean robert, thank you so much for your time. if i may just say you've done a really nice job with this son of yours. thank you very much. thank you, thank you. just in, on politics, john kasich, the man who has refused to go negative, the man who has remained the adult in the room, just did. his target, trump. the first shots fired. ahead.

for five decades, it was a place almost frozen in time, cut off froms world and barred from diplomatic relations with the united states. this sunday, president obama hopes to change all that, traveling to cuba for an historic visit. cnn's bill weir traveled south to explore some of the places

once off limit also s to americ. what he found, the cuban dream might be just as powerful. >> it looks like trendy boutique you might see in soho or melrose district in los angeles. across the street, you have people raising chickens on their balcony. how is life in havana these days? >> it's really hard. >> it's hard. >> yeah. some people think change in the future. i hope so. >> you don't think so? >> maybe it's change for business, for government, but for the people, i don't know.

more young people, it's better. more revolutions, new ideas, we need that. maybe in few years, good. >> really? all right. i came here expecting to find that sentiment everywhere. but to my surprise, so many seem proud of the cuban system. warts and all. >> warts and all. bill weir. so great to have you back. >> good to see you again, thank you, thank you. >> so you've never been to cube. >> no, no. >> on bucket list destination for me. walking around what most surprised you? >> first all, how broken the island is, you know, the '57 chevies are charming. the '57 plumbing and electricity and communications not so ideal. the most luscious ruin in the world i think. they got a long way to do to get to speed to accent the millions of tourists coming there. two old cubans are talking. they say you know what the three

greatest successes of the retch luci revolution are, of course, sports, culture and science. and what are the their greatest failures? breakfast, lunch and dinner. these are jokes that would have gotten these people locked up just a few years ago. but they're speaking freely. but at the same time so proud of its soul. i expected people to be very careful of how they talk but they're completely open hearted. they love americans. they're not sure they love the idea of the american way yet. >> that's what i wanted to ask you. >> so how it changed. >> once the floodgates open and, boom, we're rushing down there. i mean, are they going to -- >> everybody thinks it's going to turn into cancun next week. but they don't want that. especially -- what's interesting is meeting cubans who have been to america and say, you know, we say the american dream is when you fall asleep at a stop light between your second and third job because you need to work three jobs to afford america, you know, it's just a different way of looking at 50 years of history between these neighbors

that don't know each other. but they're so warm and so inviting. for 30 bucks a night, you can stay at a casa and have fresh lobster and cold beer and air conditioning. and we should all do it. i highly recommend it. but you'll probably have your mines blown. i went down there as sort of -- these preconceived notions of we're to turn this place into godfather 2 but it's going to take a while, fascinating place. >> love your perspective. congratulations on the show. the best job in the building. bill weir. make sure you watch more with bill come up sunday night at 10:00 eastern right here on cnn. next, she was a tea party darling who made national headlines. >> i'm not a witch. i'm nothing you've heard. i'm you. >> now christine o'donnell is back. you know what, she has a lot to say about the current state of the 2016 presidential race especially when it comes to

trump. she'll join me live. stay with me.

hour two. you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. so great to be with you. a lot of developments. he promised he would not go there and now ohio governor john kasich is firing his very first shots against the man who is leading the republican race for president donald trump. governor kasich is going after what trump said to cnn's chris cuomo. >> if we're 100 short, we're way ahead of everybody, don't think you can say that we don't get it automatically. i think it would be -- i think you'd have riots. i think you'd have riots. i'm representing a tremendous -- many, many millions of people. >> kasich today now tweeted

this. donald trump said there could be riots if he's, quote, denied the republican nomination in a contested convention. that is more unacceptable language. he goes on, this implicit acceptance of violence is the kind of rhetoric that is pulling people apart, a true leader, a true leader, urges peaceful debate over violence, leadership requires responsibility, i have faith the american people want civilized debate over violence, it is what kept our nation the strongest in the world. governor kasich there today, his shots against trump. he finishes with, now i'm going to bring in the co-author of "why you're wrong about the right." s.e. cupp. and gloria borger. our guests. awesome to have you on. reading all those tweets, you know, he's always said i want to be the adult in the room, i want

to remain above the fray. is this as attacky as he's going to get? >> attacky, that's about right. he does sort of want to remain above the fray. i think he's never really done that before. and he hinted before he won ohio in a bunch of interviews including with anderson cooper that he would have more to say about donald trump. i think this gave him an opportunity to say it. and i wouldn't be surprised as it gets more and more try dent if trump continues along this vein. >> s.e., what do you think, think he needs to say more than this? >> yeah, welcome to the fight. it's not even nine months. i don't think it's particularly courageous for john kasich to call trump out on what a lot of us have been calling out for months. just conveniently after he put, you know, 66 delegates in his back pocket. >> right.

>> i don't think it looks very genuine for john kasich to have said, well now enough's enough. no, enough was enough a long time ago. but john kasich is trying to mount what looks like an impossible campaign for the nomination. i think it's a little too late. >> so number one, it's the number about john kasich. the news that some people seem to be getting behind cruz, including of all people senator lindsey graham. lindsey graham is the same man who once joked about ted cruz's murder on the senate floor here and how no one would have been convicted for that. here you go, here's the interview. >> so you are raising money for him, are you endorsing him? >> well, i think -- >> is that effectively an endorsement? >> john kasich i think is the most viable general election candidate. i just don't see how john get through the primary. this is an outsider year. he's seen as an insider. i think the best alternative to donald trump to stop him from

getting 1,237 is ted cruz. i'm going to help ted every way i can. eye going to raise money for him in the pro-israel community. if i were in one of states coming up in terms of voting and i didn't like trump, i'd vote to cruz. >> to you, mr. dallas morning news, covering cruz and texas here. to quote dana bash with this enthusiasm from graham, are pigs flying today? >> it's unbelievable. well, on the one hand, it's unbelievable because graham has been so antagonistic towards cruz and vice versa. if you step back from it, the beef that so many republicans have with ted cruz have been over tactics and over the sense he's been self-serving and self-promotional and notideolog. there's obviously a huge gap over immigration policy and the gang of eight legislation. but on the other hand, i think graham -- graham clearly has been one of the most outspoken

anti-trump voices in the field. was until he was forced out. i don't think an endorsement like this makes a big difference per se by itself. but if it's emblematic of finally, you know, a swing towards cruz among senators and the establishment. that definitely would help cruz. it would be awfully odd after he's been so alienated in this environment. >> it would be a shifting of the tide. you have graham and senator reid. here's what he said. >> he at least has some principles. he stands for something. very little of which i agree with. at least he stands for something. >> s.e., one thing to have lindsey graham. this is leader of the democratic

party. this is like doing the macarena. >> yeah, and that's what this meeting today of conservatives trying to figure out how to get around donald trump. this is exactly why. because there is a sense, a real sense that donald trump has no conservative core. recently came to the party. i don't have to remind you the rnc made him sign a pledge that he would run as a republican just a few months ago. so, you know, for people who want to protect the future of the republican party, the future of the conservative movement, there's real fear that donald trump will destroy both of those on the way to the nomination. and so people like ted cruz, who, you know, a lot of people didn't like his tactics, but you still can trust he's a conservative at his core and a constitutional conservative and that is reassuring to people even like lindsey graham or

people like me. >> okay. marco rubio as we know, he's out, dropped after losing florida to trump. back to his day job. back on capitol hill today. found himself in the thick of a scrum. he was asked a lot of questions. really, the headline was he didn't want to be anyone's vice president. here is rubio. >> i mean, i think that's going to happen now. the race has narrowed even further. hopefully there's time to still prevent a trump nomination which i think would be damaging to the conservative movement. >> would you consider being cruz's vice president? >> i'm not going to be anybody's vice president. i'm not interested in being vice president. i don't mean that in a disrespectful way. i'm not going to be vice president. i'm not running for governor of florida. i'm going to finish out my term in the senate. we're going to work really hard here. we have some things we want to achieve. then a private citizen in january. >> just turning to you on that. you said before he's a young guy, he's a bright guy, he's got a bright political future

potentially so there's that. i also really walted to ask you about your reporting. you had a source in the room, this closed door meeting, republicans who are all sort of getting together, trying to figure out how can we stop trump from getting to that 1,237 number? what did you learn? >> they want to do everything they can. they stopped short of calling for a cruz/kasich ticket which did come under discussion there. what they did was they said, look, we have to stop them from getting to 1,237. there was consensus in that room. there was a lot of discussion and disagreement over whether these folks are to actually support some kind of a third party candidate. >> -- stop trump but they can't figure out -- >> right, and they didn't go there for third party because they didn't want it to look like they were pro hillary by doing that but look at what we have. we have the establishment meeting somewhere. trying to figure out how to stop trump. you have people who identify themselves as the last of the

reagan revolutionaries. try meeting somewhere trying to stop trump. in the meantime you have donald trump marching towards the nomination and nobody can figure out a way to do it or agree on what's the best way. >> todd they have had, you know, ten months that mr. trump got into this race in june. they have had ten months to figure this out. as gloria is reporting, they still don't have a path to do that. >> trump has benefited all along. even now that it's down to three people. he by far has the best possibility of clinching the nomination. i ran the numbers yesterday. he only reads -- only, but he needs 60% of the remaining delegate. cruz needs nearly 90%. kasich need 1s s 115% of all th delegates remaining. there's no chance. the only way to stop trump i think at this point is to force a contested convention, to deprive him of that clinching

number, and hope that he doesn't encourage these riots that he's now warned us might occur if he's denied the nomination. but it's very possible there is a tipping point. public perception. how do you deprive a guy who has the most delegates going into the convention and is this close to the finish line? how do you deprive him? it's going to be difficult. >> todd, gloria borger, s.e.cupp, thank you very much. can donald trump actually defeat hillary clinton in a general election? a man who helped get president obama elected says, you know, watch out, we'll discuss that. plus, she was a tea party darling who made national headlines. >> i'm not a witch. i'm nothing you've heard. i'm you. >> now christine o'donnll is back and she has a lot to say about the 2016 presidential race including how she really feels about donald trump. she joins me live.

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i'm not a witch. i'm nothing you heard. i'm you. >> remember that? this is one of the more -- she laughs, laughing about it. one of the more famous moments of the 2010 tea party wave, senate candidate christine o'donnell put out that ad after it surfaced she dabbled in witchcraft in the '90s. while some of her colleagues support trump this year, she joined me today to wholeheartedly denounce donald trump. thank you for coming in. >> thank you. >> let me point out, because we haven't seen you in a few years. you took some time away to took care of both of your parents who were ill. they have both since passed. my condolences to you. thank you for coming back and spend some time with us. >> yes, yes. it's funny because people have called me, especially when sarah palin endorsed trump. it's like, you know, i have no

desire to get in the fray but now it looks like he's going to be the nominee. can't sit back anymore. i can't hold my tongue. >> let's not hold our tongue. it's safe to say you are not a fan of mr. trump's. >> no, i'm not a fan. >> why? >> every time i post something on facebook about him, people call me an establishment hack. and that's such a joke. the commercial you just ran should say, hey that gives me street cred, anti-establishment. for the record, never approved that commercial. it was leaked. 3 million people saw it before everyone -- i did. so i think it's credibility to not be called establishment or in anybody's pocket. >> what do you like about him? >> first all, get the reason why people are flocking to him. the average middle class american, especially the right male or the immigrant who's come here legally -- >> like the father we just spoke with. republican women. >> exactly.

they have been told to sit down and shut up, to take a back seat to political correctness, and every time they get pushed aside to make room for what is politically correct and they see our leaders ignore them, this anger is bubbling and it's finally erupted. here's the thing about trump, he didn't lead them. he's like the french leader who said, find out where my people are going so i can lead them there. he's actually following something that already happened. he did nothing to lib rat the middle class from plid call correctness until running for president. then he's only giving voice. he's actually not doing anything except inciting riots -- well, let me take -- loosely i say that because i don't blame him for the violence. but at the same time, as a candidate, your words will -- >> matter -- >> have consequences. your words will inspire certain

behavior. and he's a calculated man. he knows exactly what he's doing. he knows the impact that his words will have. >> it's interesting, so you get this anger and there are a lot of people that are passionate. >> i get it. >> you understand why people are flocking to him, but are you saying you feel like his words and his promises are empty? >> oh, they are definitely empty. let me just distinguish, i get why middle class average middle class americans, especially the white male, i get why they're flocking to him. what i do not get is why the evangelical leaders are. many of my friends are behind him. and i've thought about it a lot. because it's -- it's caused tension in our friendships. it's crazy because, you know, as a conservative you kind of get used to agreeing to disagree and liking the people anyway -- >> why do you think your evangelical friends like him? >> it's one of a couple things. first of all, these are the same people who for decades fought against pornography because it exploited women.

fought for the sanctionty of human life. donald trump openly mocks the disabled. the first casino in america with a strip club was donald trump's. >> why do they elect him? >> it's one of three things. either they're hypocritical and they have to tell everyone, including me, that the issues we fought for for the past several decades don't matter when it company comes to immigration, you know, that they've decided to put all that on hold, securing our borders. because that's the real only issue that he can explain. that's the only real issue he actually has a policy for. >> so they're hypocrites, number one. number two? >> i'm not calling them hypocrites. i'm saying maybe. wink wink. or number two, their anger is blinding them to reason. and they, too, are so angry at everything that's been going on that they can't -- they're letting their emotions cloud them from the truth about what's

going on with donald trump or, which unfortunately this is one of the reasons why so many people don't like christian political leaders, they just want to be around winners, you know, so they're putting all that around because they want to be around a winner and that's a shame. >> he was talking to wolf blitzer in 2010, this is when you were running, and he spoke about the tea party really commending the movement that was the tea party then. here is mr. trump. >> there's a lot of great things happening in the so-called tea party movement. and i'll tell you, it's got people thinking. it's got people on the democratic side and the republican side thinking. >> and these candidates like christine o'donnell and rand paul and sharon engel what do you think? >> i'm not saying -- i'm not particularly talking about any candidate, i'm just saying the tea party has the democrats and the republicans starting to think for the first time in a

long time. this country is going to go down if they don't change their policies, and they'd better change them fast. >> so obviously that was' huge compliment to the movement that you were a huge part of. >> absolutely. >> do you think the tea party then created this opening, planted the seeds for the donald trump we know today? candidate trump? nominee trump? >> well, that perfectly encapsulates my point. he gave lip service to the tea party. he had 2012 in mind. what has he done since then? he's funded mitch mcconnell's path to destroy the tea party. he funded nancy pelosi's campaign. what did he do once he decided he didn't want to run in 2012? again, he didn't give anyone in the movement a second thought until he wanted to run in 2016. you have to look at his actions. he has been inconsistent. i honestly don't know what i'm going to do if he gets the nominee. >> i want to keep you over

commercial break. i have so much more for you if you want to hang out on who you're thinking of endorsing. the possibility of a brokered against. lets to talk about. christine o'donnell, she's back. here's the plan. you're a financial company that cares,

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we're back. you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. in the midst of this fascinating conversation with christine o'donnell, conservative commentator, former tea party candidate, former delaware candidate for senate just a couple years ago. she's back with us. she's back on tv. and just being incredibly candid

which is so refreshing on the current state of play that is the 2016 presidential race. if you've missed the last couple of minutes, not a fan of trump at all. you haven't officially endorsed anyone. care to? >> well, at this point, i mean, it's pretty much trump or cruz so if it makes a difference then of course i would endorse cruz. but i haven't so far because honestly with what's going on, i don't want cruz to leave the senate, you know. he has been a bulark. one of the only ones who kept his campaign promise. republicans had control of the congress for much of president obama's terms and they've done nothing with it. so i kind of worry about what's going to happen without -- >> we were talking during commercial -- just speaking of congress and you were saying -- it's fine to share, just you

would fear a trump presidency more than a clinton presidency, depending on which way congress is -- >> absolutely, absolutely. the key here is who controls congress. if we have people like ted cruz in the senate and if we can elect some more people who -- i don't care if it's republican or democrat, as long as your litmus test for what you get behind is the constitution and making america solvent again. i don't care what party you're with as long as you're not going to play the game. if hillary clinton does what her husband did in the '90s when newt gingrich pretty much ran the show and trent lott and all president clinton did was sign his name to that beautiful conservative legislation -- >> well, there sure were jobs created during the clinton presidency. >> well, that's my point, is because of what the republicans did in congress. so clinton, if you look at some of her policies, she's a moderate. she's not a far left liberal.

she's appealing to the far left -- now, i'm going to get in so much trouble for saying that. i'm not saying i would. i'm saying i don't know what i would do if trump became the nominee. >> on hillary clinton, we've heard from donald trump, he repeatedly said hillary clinton lacks the strength and stamina to be president. hearing that, is that a sexist comment? >> absolutely, absolutely. again, i've gotten in trouble for saying this. i, as a woman in politics, hillary clinton has proven that she has the strength. it is not easy to be a woman in a man's world. and face it, the political arena is definitely still a man's world. i'm not saying i support her policies. i'm saying it's easy to take shots at someone. like people the other day when people were criticizing her for yelling. what does trump do all the time? but it's okay? it's okay when trump yells and screams? it's not okay when hillary

clinton does? there was definitely a double standard for female candidates. >> what about just the debate behavior on the republican side, getting down to pant wetting, hand size, you name it. just watching from afar with your perspective, having been out the limelight for a couple years, thoughts? >> it is great for ratings. as an observer, those are the more fun debates to watch. but it has destroyed our credibility as a party. i don't know how we're going to come back from this. i say the republican party is wigging out, but with an "h," like the whig party when they fought each other so much they went into extinction and made room for the are many party what the republicans right now are doing are whiging themselves out and paving the road for a third party to emerge, whether it's this election cycle or another one. >> potential for other names

getting floated in if no one hits that magic number. are there other names -- paul ryan has said thanks but no thanks. >> right, right. >> a couple of names thrown out. >> i don't know because i do agree with a lot of the sentiment that if you jump in now, it is -- it is disruptive. it is unfair -- >> even if it's a career politician? >> especially if it's a career politician. i think in a brokered against it should be one of the three guys who are left. and i don't -- i hope it's not kasich, but kasich or cruz is so much better than trump, i believe. but when it comes to a brokered against, one of the things you hear people talking about is even the mere discussion of a brokered convention right now is undoing the will of the republican voters. that's not true. donald trump, first of all, what, he isn't even at halfway yet, or he's close to it. he got his lead when there were 17 candidates in the field.

and he got his lead when there were open primaries. when there were democrats voting for who the republican nominee is going to be. so discussion of a brokered convention right now is completely appropriate and completely fair game. the thing that i fear -- >> it wasn't just open primaries that he's won. >> no, absolutely, but he got his lead. he's tight. he's not so far ahead. are against him.the delegates - so if it were a narrower field, he might not have the lead that he has. so it's not undoing the will of republican voters, and that's the misconception that's being put out there. co come, you know, come july if he's got 1,207 or something like that, then sure, then that's the majority. >> final question, do you miss it do you want back in? >> i don't want to be a candidate again. or at least if i ever were to run again, i'm doing things my way. >> so is that a yes to politics?

>> well, i love politics. even when my parents were ill, i would watch it -- i don't want to say a hobby, you know, but i love it. it's in my blood. it's in my family. but i never want to have to listen -- i never want to have to toe the line again. >> christine o'donnell, she's back. it is a pleasure to meet you and have you on, thank you so much. >> thank you, my pleasure. >> coming up next, cnn's exclusive reporting from inside of syria. tod today, you will see clear evidence that areas like schools and hospitals have been targeted by air strikes. we'll talk to a doctor committed to fighting isis. >> translator: i am prepared to die rather than to leave.

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u.s. secretary of state john kerry making official what many have believed for a long time, the actions of isis, the terror group also known as daesh, constitute genocide in iraq and in syria. >> daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology and by actions. what it says, what it believes, and what it does. >> that's the reality that our own cnn photo journalist, correspondents, producers, have been seeing firsthand, cnn's gripping coverage, under syria in syria, takes us to the provincial capital of idlib today. where the rebels saw opportunity and took control. hitting schools, courthouses, hospitals. i have to warn you, some of the footage is graphic but we think it's important to share this exclusive reporting from our own

clarissa ward. >> reporter: it is an all too common sight in rebel-held parts of syria. the moments after an air strike. dazed survivors stagger from the rubble. those still trapped call out for help. the target this time, the courthouse in idlib city. activists say the bombs were russian. when rebels took the provincial kt of idlib, capital of idlib, they saw it as a crucial opportunity to demonstrate that they could build their own state. and they believe that's exactly why the russians bombed this courthouse, to undermine that effort. any civilian infrastructure is a potential target, including hospitals. last month, four were hit in a single day. one in the city of maretoman was supported by doctors without borders. this is what remains now.

at least 25 people were killed. dr. masen el sued was the general manager. he told us russian and regime forces target hospitals cynically and deliberately. >> translator: they want to kill the maximum number of people. also, they want to forbid the area from having medical service. if there's no doctor, no nurse, no hospital, then there is no health care for the people, and people will flee. >> reporter: is it possible that they did not know that this was a hospital? >> translator: everyone knows this is a hospital. there was even a sign that said this is a hospital. but if they didn't know, this is an even bigger disaster. because if you were bombing a building like this without knowing it's a hospital, it means you are hitting totally indiscriminately. >> reporter: against the backdrop of this vicious war is

islamist factions who have gained the upper hand here. among them, al qaeda affiliate jabba al nusra. the landscape is peppered with signing shunning western democracy and urging all men to join the jihad. one encourages women to cover up completely. dr. gindi works at the only hospital still standing. in maretoman. he's no militant but sees this conflict in black and white. >> translator: the whole of the syrian people is against isis and against extremism. but we see that the russians are bombing far from isis, and they're focused on civilian areas. >> reporter: i asked him why he doesn't leave syria. >> translator: if i did that, i would abandon my conscience.

this is our country. we can't desert it. if we left, then we have sold our morals. who would treat the people? i can very easily leave, but we will remain steadfast. i am prepared to die rather than to leave. and i will carry on no matter what. >> reporter: carry on in the faint hope that for the next generation of syrians, it will be better. >> and clarissa ward is joining us with yet another gripping piece. i mean, to hear you ask him, you know, after the hospital was hit is it possible that perhaps they didn't know. he said it's impossible because there was a sign or even if not, that was an indiscriminate hit. what is the regime say, russia

saying? >> we reached out specifically to the russian ministry of defense. they told us they have never targeted civilians, they have never killed any civilians. the regime of bashar al assad also for years now has been denying any targeting of hospitals. but we did manage to get our hands on a report put out last year by doctors without borders that deteas how many hospitals were hit in rebel-held areas and just in 2015, 82 medical facilities were hit. 82. 12 of them were completely destroyed. if you look at the breakdown month by month, there is a huge spike in the month of october. that of course is the month after russia began its military intervention in syria. so i'll leave it to our viewers to decide for themselves. but certainly we can categorically say that civilian infrastructure and civilians are paying a huge price for this war. >> just the picture of the baby at the end of your piece and who knows what he or she will face and their generation moving

forward and whatever syria will look like, but this notion of peace, right, the peace talks in gene geneva, i mean, the doctor you spoke with, is peace on the horizon for him? >> this story we shot happened -- it took place before the cessation of hostilities began. there's definitely been a dramatic decrease in the amount of bombardment since the cessation of hostilities. certainly people on the ground welcome the idea that russia is now talking about withdrawing its military, although they're still skeptical about what realistically that would look like. i do believe there's a certain momentum going now with these peace talks in geneva. there is still a fundamental disconnect betwee people like this doctor who are living and fighting and dying on the ground, and the people who are in geneva brokering these deals. the main issue that they don't see eye to eye on is the issue of whether president bashar al assad must go. for people on the ground, that is non-negotiable.

for people in geneva, it's a slightly more complex issue because obviously it's diplomatic wrangling and you have to be able to make some compromises. but for people on the ground, it's a deal breaker, brooke. >> clarissa ward, thank you very much. >> thank you. next, the president trying to give the democrats a jump start on donald trump. find out what he's reportedly telling donors behind closed doors. you both have a perfect driving record. >>perfect. no tickets. no accidents... >>that is until one of you clips a food truck, ruining your perfect record. >>yup... now, you would think your insurance company would cut you some slack, right? >>no. your insurance rates go through the roof. your perfect record doesn't get you anything. >>anything. perfect! for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. and if you do have an accident, our claim centers are available to assist you 24/7. for a free quote, call liberty mutual at

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the evolution of cancer care is here. that's definitely something worth celebrating. learn more about precision cancer treatment at cancercenter.com. appointments are available now. richard horn is quite the renaissance man. musician, woodworker, magician. >> i can turn them into $100 bills. >> he's a professor emeritus at thomas jefferson university. >> i am a passionate man in many ways. >> when richard was diagnosed with parkinson's disease in 2010, he thought to give up doing what he loves. >> it was devastating because i saw all the beauty of magic and

music being taken away from me. >> parkinson's disease is a progressive motor system disorder that can cause a gradual loss of movement. symptoms can be pretty mild at first, sometimes just a hand tremor, but eventually balance and coordination can deteriorate. treatments can slow the progression, but as things stand now, there is no cure. richard refuses to let the disease stop him. the 70-year-old still plays piano several times a week. >> it improves my coordination pretty dramatically. >> and performs magic. he says his shows have actually gotten better. >> i change my focus to people. poetry and artist reare the things that drive magic, not fast hands. >> he's also encouraging others not to give up, just like him. >> for the moment, i'm motivated to keep going. it will get harder but it's not going to necessarily stop me. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. meantime the white house is denying a "new york times"

report that president obama told doe donors that they should unite behind hillary clinton. he has been very careful, not endorsing anyone yet. but the hottest question of the day, can donald trump beat hillary clinton if these two are ultimately the nominees? joining me now, miss donna brazile and scott greer, associate editor atdaily caller. six months from now, donna, how could donald trump beat hillary clinton? >> well, first of all, i am not going to give donald trump any recommendations or suggestions, as you well know. i believe at the end of the day, despite the fact that this would be the third term of a democratic president, that hillary clinton is well positioned if she secures the democratic nomination to defeat donald trump and any of the other republicans who might come out ahead at the brokered convention. it's not just the math or the

electoral college that i believe strongly favors the democratic party, it's the fact that i believe that hillary clinton or bernie sanders will be able to put together the broadest possible coalition of americans who want to continue to make progress along the lines of job creation, keeping the country safe and secure, dealing with climate change and others. so i think at the end of the day the democrats will have a very, very strong advantage in the electoral college to continue to make gains to secure the presidency. >> okay. so you can't even, won't even go there. i still had to ask. >> no. >> listen, it's a question we need to be asking. scott, same question to you. how does he gedefeat her? >> hillary clinton is an incredibly weak candidate going into 2016. in 2008 she was a much stronger candidate. she has a federal investigation over her head. she has her record as secretary of state, which she likes to tout as an achievement, but the only crowning achievements as secretary of state is the failed

state of libya and the further destabilization of the middle east. so it's not -- it's not quite sure what she wants to run on her record and she's flip-flopped on every issue, she's flip-flopped on immigration, trade, even on criminal justice. so she is an incredibly weak candidate and not inspiring the crowds that bernie sanders or donald trump are. there are certain demographics that donald trump can win over to the gop. >> go ahead, donna. >> i had to laugh because hillary clinton is the top vote getter right now. donald trump brags about everything in terms of the size of his crowds and the size of his polls but she is the top vote getter in a contested democratic primary that's not over. so she has enormous strengths, including her credentials as secretary of state, her terrific tenure as a senator from new york state. i'm going to wait until this is over with, the primary ballot, because bernie sanders is still in the race. >> scott, let's talk about your piece entitled "rallying to ted cruz to lose the election."

you write cruz could be the only republican candidate that could beat trump. he has become the reluctant choice of many republicans, although it sounds to me now as you've probably seen dana bash's interview with senator lindsey graham that that may be changing, that the tide could be turning. why choose cruz over trump? >> well, republican leaders want to choose cruz over trump because cruz doesn't present the time of armageddon situation trump has. he's not going to destroy the party. a lot of conservatives greatly prefer cruz over him because they believe trump is going to entirely annihilate the conservative movement if he's elected or gets the nominated and is elected president. and they think he's more willing to work surprisingly even though with his record in the senate, he's more willing to work with the republican party leaders. >> he was the face of the government shutdown. we were all in d.c. covering that some years ago. >> that's the crazy part. >> how is he working with republicans? >> well, their new thing is that he is the -- in comparison with

donald trump, people don't know what donald trump is going to do as president. with ted cruz, they think, well, we know what he's going to do. he has this record in the senate. yes, he went against republican leadership and they would have preferred marco rubio or john kasich in this race, but now they think he's just a safe nd - choice. they don't like him, but they don't think he is going to present this nightmarish situation that would happen with donald trump. >> i keep going back to dana bash when she was talking to senator graham. >> lesser of two evils. >> pigs are flying, pigs are flying. scott greer, thank you so much. donna brazile, always a pleasure. back in just a moment. (boy) ma, pa - why do we settle for cable?

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this delicious graywater soup? and a single lick of the family lolli every harvest moon? (vo) don't be a settler, get a $100 reward card when you switch to directv. minutes from now, kansas tips off for the first round of march madness. later on our sister network it is little rock and miami versus buffalo. some of miami's players have been preparing by practicing dance themselves. >> there's plenty of time to just think about yourself and kind of like zone out and just relax your mind kind of.

>> dance is more of a fun class and also we stretch every morning and stuff like that, which is beneficial towards basketball. >> big dance. all of us anchor types have filled out our brackets. i have my alma mater, unc chapel hill, going all the way. i'm brooke baldwin. "t "the lead" starts now. >> i'm just filling out my brackets right now. i've got trump university upsetting duke in the sweet 16. "the lead" starts now. the plan to stop trump. details of a secret back room meeting. leaders plotting to deny trump the nomination in cleveland no matter how many millions of people vote for him. liberal leaders calling the trump campaign a five-alarm fire for democracy, but will a new plan of attack against trump back fire just like every single other one before it? plus, the black fish effect. seaworld announcing a major change saying this generation of