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Candidate's Last-Minute Push Before Debate Face-Off; State of Emergency Declared, Thousands Flee Homes; Clashes in Jerusalem Ahead of Jewish New Year; Setting the Stage for Republican Debate; Pope Francis to Visit Cuba; Pope Francis Advancing the Role of Catholic Women; Are $20 Barrels of Oil a Reality?. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 13, 2015 - 18:00   ET

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


ROBERT LARA, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: It's still a work in progress but nothing's burned down.

[18:00:01] So, that's good for him.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-six-year-old Erica Moore has dropped weight, stopped drinking and is already signing up for more triathlons.

ERICA MOORE, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: I really got in the zone and I really feel like I awakened the triathlete within myself.

GUPTA: And last, but certainly not least -- PhD candidate Chip Greenidge says despite challenges in time management he's determined to get to the finish line.

CHIP GREENIDGE, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: I'm going to do it. That's why I put my mind to do it. Anything I put my mind to do, I do.

GUPTA: All in all, the team is looking good. So, I'll see you guys at the starting line.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. Six o'clock Eastern this Sunday evening. I'm Poppy Harlow, joining you live from New York.

And we begin with politics.

(MUSIC)

HARLOW: First up, the presidential candidates not holding back as they prepare for the biggest event yet. Just three days from now, they will come face to face in stunning Simi Valley, California, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum for the second GOP debate. It airs here only on CNN.

Inside the library right now, crew members hard at work getting the debate stage ready, right next to Air Force One, the retired presidential plane on exhibit there.

You can expect this debate to potentially be even more contentious than the first one you saw. Fifteen candidates going all out on the Sunday talk shows this morning. Some of them in full attack mode.

First up, Donald Trump center stage and dominating in the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm a deal maker. I will make great deals for this country. Ben can't do that. Ben's a doctor and he's not a deal maker.

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'm gratified to see that so many people are actually starting to listen to what I'm saying. And evaluating it on its merits, as opposed to what people have portrayed me as saying. It makes a big difference.

GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R-WI), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're convinced in the state where caucuses are the name of the game, and it's about five months out. We've got the time to make grassroots connection and get that message out.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have absolutely no doubt that I can come down to Congress, not cave like other people to get the job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: We have got none other than the best political team in television covering the story like no one else can. Begin our coverage with my friend Brooke Baldwin. She's outside the Reagan Library.

She's loving -- she's loving this. I mean, they can't get you out of this place.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, I just hit the ground running here a couple of hours ago. It is a beautiful, beautiful Sunday. This is my home for the next couple of days. And, of course, it will be yours come Wednesday night. All eyes will be on the stage, in just a couple of buildings away.

I have to tell you, I sort of snuck a peek at where this debate will be happening. It is so different from the last one. This is a much more intimate setting, 500 people, some of whom, those first couple of rows, we're talking feet away from these candidates. How it will change the tone I think will be fascinating, Poppy. So, stay tuned for that.

I get to also hang out with the best political team on television and I'm talking to my favorite here in just a minute. Yes, I'm biased because we're sitting right here.

But let me share something with you. Right now the latest CNN/ORC poll has Donald Trump leading by a lot, now with 32 percentage points. His choicest competitor, neurosurgeon Ben Carson just 13 points behind, and then you Jeb Bush 23 points behind, there in the upper left to your screen, the top three.

Translation, debate stage, Wednesday night, the next big chance for the rest of the pact to make their mark to cut in to Trump's lead. How exactly will they do that?

Here's CNN's Sunlen Serfaty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the question at the center of each candidate's debate playbook, to play offense or defense against Donald Trump.

This week, some have given a preview of what could be their upcoming play.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he believes that he can insult his way to the presidency. And I don't think history is a pretty good guide for that.

SERFATY: Calibrating their message, going more aggressively after Trump.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R-LA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He doesn't believe in anything other than Donald Trump. He's a narcissist. He's an egomaniac.

SERFATY: In the first debate, the differing tactics taken led afterwards to a massive reshuffling of the field. Jeb Bush with his strategy of staying out of the fray --

BUSH: I'm done.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS: You are through.

BUSH: I'm through.

I gave my views. I just think that we need to be much more hopeful and optimistic about our ideology.

SERFATY: -- was overshadowed. In the time since, he's seen his support plummet, and maybe looking now to tee up a standout moment against Trump to stop his slide.

By comparison, Carly Fiorina --

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I didn't get a call from Bill Clinton before I jumped in to the race. Any of you get a call from Bill Clinton? I didn't.

SERFATY: -- whose strong debate performance helped earned her a spot on the main stage this time around.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: They've got to make a strategic decision here, go negative on Trump and help take him down, or offer something positive and introduce yourself in a positive way to the public and that might benefit you when eventually Trump falters.

[18:05:03] SERFATY: A spotlight on Ben Carson, now with Trump on center stage. Aides to Carson say he won't back away from drawing distinctions with Trump.

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not taking the bait. I'm not going there. Next question.

SERFATY: But will not go after him in a personal way. The debate stage is unforgiving, creating a series of make-or-break moments for the candidates that can soar.

SEN. DAN QUAYLE (R), INDIANA: I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.

SERFATY: Or flop.

RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can't. The third one I can't. Sorry. Oops.

SERFATY: Leaving a lasting memory tied to each candidate for better or worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Oh, the moments we all remember. What moments will be made in three days.

Let's talk to our guru, to our CNN political director David Chalian who will be watching and hanging on the edge of his seat, of course, for Wednesday night. You came out last hour. You had your first set of cheat sheet notes. What David Chalian will be listening for.

All right. Round two. What's item one. Let me guess. Let me guess what you are going to tell me.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: This is what everybody needs to do, right? I think this is their mission.

BALDWIN: All right. Let's go there.

CHALIAN: Donald Trump, that will be a consistent name you see in this list. He's got to protect his lead. I don't mean protect his lead in a caution way stand there, do no harm.

BALDWIN: OK.

CHALIAN: I mean, he has to protect from being pierced, right? So, we have seen him so successfully answer every attack coming his way. He has to make sure that continues, because as we have seen, Jeb Bush has started to talk on the trail. His super PAC has started advertising, saying that Donald Trump is not a real conservative. He's like Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump has to make sure Jeb Bush brings that attack on the debate stage, that it doesn't actually pierce exactly. He's got to counterpunch.

BALDWIN: OK, item number two?

CHALIAN: Item number two is about Jeb Bush. Is he tough enough to stand up to Trump? This is a big test. This is a big huge test for Jeb Bush.

Does he have the gumption to say, you know what, you and your insults to me are not going to work anymore. He says it on the trail. He says you can't insult your way to the president.

BALDWIN: But when you are inches from the guy.

CHALIAN: Right. If you're willing to stand up and actually make sure that Donald Trump knows, if you attack me I'm punching you back. I'm not going to ignore that. And that's an important thing to do.

The third thing is for Ben Carson. He is number two in the polls. He has to make sure he is seen for the base of the party as the non-Trump alternative. So, any base voter out there who may not have warmed to Donald Trump or Donald Trump is not their cup of tea, Ben Carson wants to be on that stage and be able to have a performance that says if you like what Donald Trump is saying but don't like his style I'm your guy. And that's his mission.

BALDWIN: Here's my quick follow-up for you because you're looking at the stage, and you see smack dab in the middle Donald Trump, I'm sure you know this at home and for those who don't at the very end, right, it's all based upon polling, so those who poll the greatest, you have Trump in the middle, planked by Carson and by Bush, will the piercings come from the outer edges?

CHALIAN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Or will they come from the middle?

CHALIAN: Yes. So, I think it's easier from the outer edges, right?

BALDWIN: What do they have to lose.

CHALIAN: Exactly. They're in the position of like, they've got to put up or shut out now, right? Because they're all out there at the edges.

B, the physical distance matters. That's a psychological thing. If you're at one end of the stage, you can really launch an attack to the center of the stage. When you're standing right next to him, it makes it a little bit tougher, yet they can't back down from it because that will hurt their candidacies.

BALDWIN: Wednesday will be so totally different, I cannot wait. Three days from now. David Chalian, thank you very much. You're going to see this guy on our airwaves a heck of a lot from here until Wednesday.

Poppy Harlow, I will send it back in to you for now, live here from Simi Valley at the Reagan Library.

HARLOW: Thank you, guys. We can all not wait for Wednesday night. It's going to be great. It's going to be fascinating. Best political team of television is there.

Brook is with me for the next hour live from the Reagan Library.

Let's talk more about this, the politics of it all. CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza, also the Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker", with me.

Let's talk first about what RNC chairman Reince Priebus said to Jake Tapper this morning on the "STATE OF THE UNION", talking about when Jake asked him about the tone and tenor of this race. Let's roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, STATE OF THE UNION: Are you at all concerned that any of your candidates are crossing the line when it comes to talking about Latinos to the point that it might actually cost you the White House?

REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIRMAN: Well, look, I've said many times the way you communicate in tone is very important. Sometimes it is not what you say but how you say it. I think all of our moms have told us that. Look, I think at the end of the day, each candidate is going to be accountable for their words and their mouth. And so, they should proceed with caution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So, I mean, he's basically telling them watch your mouth.

LIZZA: Yes, look, this Republican primary is not going the way that Reince Priebus wanted it to go.

[18:10:00] In 2012, after Mitt Romney lost, Reince did something really unprecedented for a party. He did a soul-searching report with senior Republican strategists from across the country. You know, they called it the autopsy. The number one recommendation in his political report as chairman of the RNC was talk about immigration in a welcoming way, and not only that rare for the party committee to have a policy recommendation. He said Congress, Republicans and Democrats should get together and pass comprehensive immigration reform.

There is not -- besides Jeb Bush, I don't think there is anyone on the field that any longer supports the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that Reince Priebus was telling the party to do.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Marco Rubio not done that.

LIZZA: Marco Rubio, to his credits, tried to put a tough bill together, bipartisan bill. He got a lot of political flak for it and nowadays, he's no longer in favor of that approach.

HARLOW: Sure. I want to talk about, this is held at the Reagan Library. We hear a whole of the candidates, especially Donald Trump harkening back to Reagan -- Reagan, Reagan, Reagan.

LIZZA: Yes.

HARLOW: But when you look at Reagan, this is some who expanded the size of the federal government, who raised taxes to fund Social security and Medicaid, who signed the 1986 immigration bill, giving amnesty to 2.7 million Americans. This ad that's running right now on CNN and elsewhere, it's going to run during the debate has come out in the pro-immigration group, the national immigration forum action fund. It goes in to that and it plays the sound byte from Reagan and then it juxtaposes it from what we are hearing from the candidates.

What is that going to do to them?

LIZZA: Yes. Look, all Republicans, of course, revere Reagan. Reagan's record was much more mixed. He was going to cut deals with Congress, and he was willing to do raise taxes. He was willing, of course, to pass the 1986 immigration reform bill that included a very large amnesty program for illegal immigration in the United States. No Republican would say that they are pro-amnesty anymore.

So, Reagan's legacy, if you're conservative, you sure pick the parts that you like and you ignore the parts that are much burden to the left of where the party is right now.

HARLOW: Right, which might work in the surface until people actually dig into it.

LIZZA: Absolutely. You know, this ad and what Reince was talking about in 2012, this is all about a demographic issue that a lot of Republican strategists believe is sort of existential to the Republican Party, that in the long run, unless the Republican Party starts attracting Latino voters, they are going to be relying on a shrinking percentage of only white voters.

HARLOW: Which the numbers don't work.

LIZZA: The numbers don't work. You can't -- they can't increase their numbers with white voters.

HARLOW: It doesn't work in this country. Absolutely not.

Ryan Lizza, thank you. Wish we had much more time, as always. We'll have you on again. The 11th commandment from Reagan, right, do not speak insult your fellow, not ill of another Republican.

LIZZA: Yes, to be fair, that's probably the most violated commandment in politics. LIZZA: I think it's going to be out the window on Wednesday night,

thank you, my friend. Good to have you on, as always.

You will not want to miss the GOP presidential candidates facing off in the back-to-back debates. Watch them only right here on CNN, September 16th, Wednesday night at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. Eastern. We are back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:35] HARLOW: A state of emergency declared in northern California where two huge wildfires are quickly gaining ground. So far, the fast-moving flames have scorched at least 100,000 acres, shut down parts of a freeway and forced thousands of people out of their homes. Those are only two of the blazes that firefighters are up against. You see all of them dotted there from northern to southern California.

Look at how tough it's been throughout the summer. The lingering drought, extremely dry conditions, but it's only expected to get worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNNE TOLMACHOFF, CALFIRE SPOKESWOMAN: That's a very rapid rate of spread. Very dangerous situation with, obviously. You can see what has happened today. It's just a reminder of this is how the conditions are in California right now. With the temperatures and low humidity, four years of a drought, it's -- the conditions are very extreme.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Middletown in Lake County has been hit extremely hard. It is one of several communities under an evacuation order and a state of emergency right now. The Valley Fire exploded in size. It burned through the town overnight.

Stephanie Elam is live for us there.

I mean, wow, I don't know what to say looking at what's behind you, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the devastation that wildfires can just do and do it so fast, Poppy. I want to show you where we are in Middletown, and what happened. This fire exploding from 10,000 acres to 40,000 acres, really in 24 hours. Take a look at this. Think of how hot this fire would have to be to burn out these trucks the way it did.

You can see they are completely gutted. When you look at the rubble of these homes that were here, you can see they are still smoldering, there's barely anything there to salvage. And you can see maybe a chimney in the distance of one of these homes. Just -- that's it. Everything else completely demolished. We know the power is out to people who are in this area, but remember, this is a mandatory evacuation.

We also know that there's a state of emergency that has been declared for Lake County, where we are and also for Napa County because of these fires, 1,000 or so firefighters fighting these blazes. But no matter how much work, sometimes the flames are just crazy enough and spread so fast with the winds, that they can't save every property despite all of their hard efforts working 24 hours a day. And as you see here, it's a really, really state of affairs for the people who are living here.

You can see still that there's still so much smoke in this sky. That it's got this eerie sort of quality over where we are right now here in Middletown. It doesn't look like it is a bright, sunny day that it is. So, when you take a look at what had happened to these homes and these poor people who have been displaced, and so many of them is just a very scary situation here, Poppy.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Those pictures, they say it all. Stephanie Elam reporting from the front line of the fire there. Thank you very much.

To Arizona this evening, where three teenagers have been arrested after a witness spotted them using a slingshot to aim at cars. Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio said the teens are being charged with conspiracy and criminal damage. They're accused of using the slingshots and granite rock to hit seven -- or six or seven passenger cars.

I do want to note here. The Arizona Department of Public Safety says there is no reason to think this incident IS connected with that recent string of ten shootings along I-10 in Phoenix.

[18:20:00] Coming up next, dramatic images from one of the holiest sites in Jerusalem. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: In Jerusalem today, clashes between Arab youth and Israeli police broke out just before the start of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. It happened at the Al Aqsa Mosque, the site considered holy to both Muslims and Jews.

Our Oren Liebermann has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hours of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police in the old city of Jerusalem this morning. It all started just before 7:00 this morning local time when police say they learned a number of Arab youths were barricading themselves inside the Al Aqsa mosque, armed with fireworks, and stones.

Police moved in, closed the doors of the mosque and kept the protesters inside. But the clashes then spilled to the streets of the Old City, where they continued for hours. Police using tear gas, stun grenades and batons, leaving tens of Palestinians injured. The clashes happened hours before the start of the Jewish New Year and the al Aqsa complex, where this all started is one of the holiest sites in the world for Muslims, known as al Haram al-Sharif, where the noble sanctuary and it is the holiest site in the world for Jews known as the Temple Mount.

The clashes ended after a few hours when Muslim worshipers were allowed into the Al Aqsa complex for prayers.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the police action, quote, "an attack at the mosque".

[18:20:00] And, Jordan, which is in charge of the complex, also condemned the Israeli police.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will do whatever is required to maintain order at such a holy place.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Oren, thank you very much for that.

Still to come, politics we go, we are just three days away from CNN's Republican debate. We will take you live to Simi Valley, California, to set the scene at the Reagan Presidential Library.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back. Bottom of the hour, 6:30 Eastern here in New York.

Let's head back to California, the West Coast, beautiful Simi Valley, California, that is where we find my friend Brooke Baldwin, who's very excited, along with so many people for the big GOP debate on Wednesday. How's it looking?

BALDWIN: Do you feel my excitement coming to you through television?

HARLOW: I feel it.

BALDWIN: Do you feel it, Poppy?

HARLOW: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Good.

It is a beautiful, beautiful day here in Simi Valley, flanked by mountains here at the Reagan Library. You're looking inside. That is Reagan's Air Force One, the plane and that is the stage.

Listen, transforming a presidential library into a debate hall, no easy task, and it is still underway as I speak to you. I've just taken a sneak peek myself. It takes many, many hours of planning and preparation and construction and so, our debate moderator himself Jake Tapper takes us behind the scenes of this huge setup.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The debate may be days away but it is all systems go here at the Ronald Reagan Library.

(on camera): This is it -- this stage where the magic is going to happen on Wednesday night at Ronald Reagan Museum and Library. And you can see and hear workers getting the stage ready. Normally, this floor doesn't even exist here. We're all getting prepared for what could be a momentous evening in presidential politics.

(voice-over): The Republican candidates will have this as their backdrop, Air Force One.

MELISSA GILLER, CHIEF MANAGING OFFICER, REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION: This is the plane that flew President Reagan for all eight years of his administration.

TAPPER: It's one of many impressive pieces of presidential memorabilia on display here at the Reagan Library. Library's spokesperson Melissa Giller says Air Force One was always fully stocked.

(On camera): Was there anything on there that was particular to President Reagan?

GILLER: There sure was. He loved chocolate cake. So aboard every single flight there was a chocolate cake in the back alley. Not just because he loved him but just in case someone went up to him and whispered at some point in time, President Reagan, did you know it's Jake's birthday. The cake could come out and they could sing "Happy Birthday."

TAPPER (voice-over): More than 350,000 people each year visit the library to experience the spectacular Simi Valley setting and pay their respects to our 40th president. He was laid here to rest in his beloved California facing westward so he can forever look out towards the Pacific.

(On camera): This is real?

GILLER: A real piece of the Berlin wall came down in 1991. Ronald Reagan was here in '94 when we received the piece.

TAPPER (voice-over): Inside the museum an exact replica of Reagan's Oval Office complete with a jar of jelly beans or jelly bellies that he always kept at hand.

(On camera): And it was a way that he --

GILLER: Gave up smoking.

TAPPER: Gave up smoking. And so whenever he had a --

GILLER: He had -- he had jelly beans -- jelly bellies everywhere.

TAPPER (voice-over): The plane, the Oval, trappings of the very office the candidates will be battling to reach Wednesday night.

I'm Jake Tapper for CNN in Simi Valley, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Two members of our political all-star team. I have Mark Preston here, the executive editor for CNN Politics and CNN political director David Chalian.

So, fellas, fabulous being with you, sharing the scene, sharing the set. Let's talk about the stage. Before we get into any specific people. Listen, when you look at this stage, you have boom, obviously Donald Trump in the middle and it's flanked out 11 different people, I for one am fascinated by the body language, Mark, how they are so close to one another we know jabs will be thrown. What will you be watching for physically speaking?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Well, let's go back to 2011 for that. Unbelievable moment during the CNN debate when Mitt Romney went out and touched Rick Perry. Now I don't know anybody else but I thought Rick Perry was going to punch Mitt Romney on the stage.

(LAUGHTER)

PRESTON: So you've got to wander, given all of the tension that we've seen in this --

BALDWIN: Yes.

PRESTON: In this debate, will we see something like that? They are very close but one thing, and David and I have talked about this, Donald Trump doesn't necessarily look at the people that he is criticizing. He tends to keep his focus straight on. So it will be interesting to see if those rivals will be looking at him.

BALDWIN: What about the rivals and when they punch. And we will talk about if they should punch. When they punch how should they punch?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: When they punch they need to punch in a twofold manner. They need to make the connection for the voters as to why Donald Trump -- if we're talking about punching Donald trump, why Donald Trump is bad for the country, bad for the Republicans Party to nominate as the nominee and standard bearer. And why they have an affirmative reason to be the nominee. If they can accomplish those two tasks in one punch, that is a successful debate.

BALDWIN: To his point, because he said if it's Donald Trump we're talking about, are they even taking the time to punch others?

PRESTON: Well, there's no reason to punch now. And in politics, Donald Trump is at the top of the mountain. And by the way, we're on a mountain and Donald Trump is way at the top right now. He only has 30 percent of the vote but he still leaps and bounds everyone else. I think that if you are trying to make inroads, as David said, you need to convince conservative voters and I only think you really counter Donald Trump, you don't try to go after Trump but I think that he's gotten under people's skins.

BALDWIN: On specifics, Carly Fiorina, she -- this is the first big stage she's been on. She was at the JV debate the last time. She's worked her way up. She was very memorable the last time. What about her will you be looking for? How can she soar?

CHALIAN: So in two ways, one of the things that worked so well for her last time was foreign policy. She was showing her foreign policy chops so that you can envision her as a commander in chief. And I think that that is going to be her mission again. I think she's going to drive home that message. But number two, she and Donald Trump since that last debate have been really mixing it up. And she is not afraid of a fight at all.

BALDWIN: The "Rolling Stone" piece.

CHALIAN: Exactly.

BALDWIN: He says he wasn't insulting her face but her persona.

CHALIAN: Exactly. But she does not shy away from a fight at all. So I actually expect Carly Fiorina to come sort of loaded for that.

BALDWIN: What one person will you also be watching for? And back up with a question, will we see people drop off after this debate?

PRESTON: Look, I mean, I think this debate means a lot for a lot of these candidates. I mean, personally I'll be looking to see where Marco Rubio -- where he is at the end of the night. But let's just go back to August of 2011 when Tim Pawlenty decided to get out of the race after the Iowa straw poll. Now the reason he did so because he didn't want to be in debt, he didn't want to end his campaign having to try to pay off the debt. Now I think that that is a calculus playing in the minds of many of these candidates.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: As in should he have? Or has he continued on --

PRESTON: Why? Because a lot of people -- because a lot of people, you know, hindsight is what it is, but think that Tim Pawlenty should have stayed in and he himself would have had his moment in the sun, but like many of these campaigns can't have that much money.

[18:35:05] CHALIAN: I know, and we're two weeks away in the end of this fundraising period. And so you imagine, if you're sort of fade in the background and you have a poor debate performance and you're perceived not to be relevant to the conversation, if you are a donor or a supporter, you're starting to look elsewhere. And that is just tragic for some of these guys because they are all looking to post a number, a fundraising number in just a couple of weeks' time that says hey, I am relevant, I'm a factor here.

BALDWIN: Three days away, gentlemen. Three days away, we'll be here the entire time.

Poppy, I know you can feel the excitement. How it will feel inside of that building right in front of Air Force One. Will be absolutely tremendous. This truly is like the Super Bowl for politics right now. So please definitely stay tuned.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: It is the Super Bowl for politics. You, Brooke, will be there, a lot of CNN will be there. All of you no doubt will be watching, Brooke. Thank you.

Do month miss the GOP presidential debate, back-to-back debates, Wednesday night, September 16th only right here on CNN, 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

We're back after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00] HARLOW: Pope Francis preparing to make a historic visit to Cuba and the United States. He stops in Cuba first, landing there on Saturday. And the city of Havana is busy making all of the necessary preparations.

Two reports for you tonight ahead of the Pope's visit. We begin with CNN's Patrick Oppmann.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are in Havana's Cathedral Square and this is going to be one of the places that Pope Francis visits on his first stop of his trip to Cuba and the United States. And as you can see, let's walk over here towards the cathedral, they're getting everything ready at a furious pace. Still lots of work being done, though. Streets being fixed up, buildings been painted.