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Uber Driver Accused of Carrying Out A Violent Killing Spree; Donald Trump Takes All 50 Delegates in South Carolina; Jeb Bush is Out; Government Wants Apple to Unlock Encrypted Messages on a Phone Used by the San Bernardino Shooters. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 21, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:00:04] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Happening now in the NEWSROOM.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think last night was truly the beginning of the real Republican primary. Here's where it really begins at this point now.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's going to be between Hillary and myself.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The only campaign that can beat Donald Trump and has beaten Donald Trump is our campaign.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The truth is for a campaign that started off as a fringe campaign at three percent in the polls, we have enormous momentum.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I understand that voters have questions. I'm going to do my very best to answer those questions.

WHITFIELD: All in the NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hello again everyone and thanks for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We have new developments in the Republican South Carolina primary results. Donald Trump takes all 50 delegates in South Carolina. A decisive victory. This is important because South Carolina has an almost perfect record of predicting who will win the Republican nomination since 1980.

Also enthusiasm is high. Voter turnout records were shattered last night with more than 700,000 Republican votes cast.

And take a look at the people ling up for Trump's rally in Atlanta today. He is expected to address a crowd of thousands in the next hour. And Trump told CNN's Jake Tapper that he expects it to be a Trump-Clinton race. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Bernie's not going to make it in my opinion. I never thought he would. Hilary won't make it. I mean, frankly, if she gets indicted that's the only way she is going to be stopped. And I think it's going to be between Hillary and myself. They say it will be the largest voter turnout in the history of United States elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Today's headlines speak for themselves. Take a look right here. Is there any stopping Donald Trump? Is he inevitable? If Trump can't stop Trump, who can?

Let's go to Jeremy Diamond at the Trump rally in Atlanta.

So Jeremy, what's likely to be the message?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sorry, just one moment as they do the pledge of allegiance here. Hi, Fredricka. I'm sorry.

The pledge of allegiance just beginning here at Donald Trump's rally today. It's his first rally since his victory last night in South Carolina. And certainly a focus here is going to be Atlanta, sorry, Georgia is one of the states that's going to vote on Super Tuesday on March 1st and Donald Trump and other candidates looking to this state and other southern states as the key places to pick up other delegates to go into the Republican nominating fight.

And Donald Trump here, you know, he has been going to southern states. He has been going to states like Oklahoma, like Texas and that's certainly where he thinks that he is going to play strongly going into and trying to forge his path toward the Republican nomination.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, clearly, it looks like a pretty sizable crowd there. By your best estimates and you are been to so many Trump rallies, how does this compare to some in the past?

DIAMOND: It's certainly starting to build up. We are still, you know, about an hour and a half away from -- sorry an hour from this rally actually beginning but it's filling up already. Fire Marshall just told me here that they have already almost 2,000 people showing up. The whole capacity here is about 9500 people and it's very possible that could fill up as we have really long lines outside coming into this rally.

WHITFIELD: Wow, people still lined up.

All right. Thank you so much, Jeremy Diamond. We'll check back with you. Appreciate it.

All right. So even though Donald Trump had a big win in South Carolina it's still relatively early in the race with plenty of action yet to come following Saturday's big win for Trump in South Carolina.

CNN's John King breaks down what it would take for Trump to win the nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On we go into Nevada next. Here for the sake of this hypothetical. We are assigning this to Donald Trump saying he is going to win essentially with the margins we have tonight, 35 percent. The other candidates getting 20, 20, 20, splitting up the delegates there. That's what you would have after Nevada. Four states in. Then you come ahead to Super Tuesday.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, SITUATION ROOM. Which is a week from Tuesday.

KING: A week from Tuesday when you have a dozen states voting and you watch this now, under this scenario, Trump wins them all. Again, essentially 35, 20, 20, 20. I know some of you at home are saying no way. But let's just say, if they won them all under that relatively pause that split, he would start to pull away in the delegate chase.

So let's say, you are Ted Cruz supporter. You say no way Ted Cruz is going to win in Texas. So let's give Ted Cruz first the Texas and give the other - sorry, keep it one and three and four. Let's have it that way. Cruz catches up a little bit.

Dana just mentioned a few minutes ago, governor Kasich tonight is in Massachusetts. It is a more moderate. Let's see what happens. But let's just say for the sake of argument either Kasich of Rubio wins that. We will give it to Kasich here, two, three, four, don't matter as you see (INAUDIBLE). Even if you do that, if Trump wins most he starts to pull away a little bit in the delegate chase.

So this is where it gets really interesting as we go forward because the map. You have so many states voting at once. Donald Trump has such an advantage. These other candidates who say they are still in the race. Cruz has a descent amount of money. Rubio is trying to raise money fast. Kasich doesn't have that much money. Donald Trump has celebrity, 100 percent name I.D. and money if he wants to spend it.

So this is where it gets interesting because with the momentum he has right now you assume Trump is in the lead just about everywhere. And the question is can the other candidate, they are going to have to pick and choose. And if you are Ted Cruz, you are going to have to worry about home.

[15:05:18] BLITZER: They call it super Tuesday. What, 11 or 12 contests. A quarter of all the delegates are awarded, on the Republican side, they are awarded on Super Tuesday, March 1st. That's going to be a huge, huge prize.

KING: Right. That is a big prize. And if you run it out, and again this is a hypothetical. We were assigning these states to Trump on a 35, 20, 20. If you run it out, well, that's Super Tuesday. By the end of March, 50 percent of the delegates on the Republican side will have been decided. So if you assign them all out to Trump this way, he could pull out a stretch. And even if you took a few states away, Trump would still have a big league. Doesn't mean he is going to be the nominee. But at the moment the challenge for the other candidates as the calendar gets crowded, Wolf, and as the calendar gets busy, pick your targets and for several of the candidates they have to raise money and raise it fast because you need resources to win when the map expands so quickly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Our John King and Wolf Blitzer there.

All right. Let's talk more about this with Ben Schreckinger. He is the political reporter for "Politico." Good to see you. And Larry Sabato, director of the center for politics at the University of Virginia back with us now.

All right. So Ben, you first. You wrote about this last night for "Politico" saying that the win looks big but the math remains daunting. So some are thinking that Trump is not so inevitable.

BEN SCHRECKINGER, POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO: That's right. And if you look at prediction markets, betting markets, he has about 50 percent chance at the nomination. I think that that's roughly in the correct ballpark. He is winning now. He is likely to hall away the most delegates on Super Tuesday. But someone like Marco Rubio is unlikely to run out of money. He is unlikely to face pressure about at this race any time soon. So if Ted Cruz can have a strong showing on March 1st and Marco Rubio can hang on in this race, they may be able to deny Trump a majority of delegates even if they can't win out right. They could force it through a convention.

WHITFIELD: And then Larry, what do you think about that? About that potential? Because I know listening to you before Saturday, you had said that if Donald Trump wins South Carolina, that he is virtually unstoppable. Do you still believe that or do you think, just like Ben said that, you know, there are things that could stand in the way. Meaning Donald Trump not getting enough delegates?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UVA'S CENTER FOR POLITICS: I certainly don't think he's unstoppable. There are lots of scenarios by which Trump could be denied the nomination. They wouldn't necessarily be good for the Republican Party. But look it's a long and winding road to Cleveland in July where the Republicans will hold their convention. And the problem for Donald Trump is he still doesn't have much support. Maybe any support in the higher echelons of the Republican Party. They want to stop him.

WHITFIELD: How potentially problematic is that, then?

SABATO: Well, it's very problematic simply because they can fund and encourage probably Rubio, maybe Cruz, but definitely Rubio to stay in all the way through continuing to get delegates. And as Ben was saying if they can keep Trump below a majority of the delegates then they have the opportunity to stop him at the convention. Though it would be very bloody and damage GOP attempts to win the general election.

WHITFIELD: And so, Ben, that really isn't very much in concert with the scenario that you're playing out. Do you think when you talk about inevitability that we are talking about rough road convention?

SCHRECKINGER: It wouldn't say it is inevitable from the standpoint of being a "Politico" reporter. It is desirable. It would be for us, even it is nightmare scenario for the GOP. It will be fun for us. But it's a very real possibility and increasingly it may start to look like the best possibility for those power brokers in the party who don't want to see Trump as the nominee to stop him from getting there.

WHITFIELD: So Larry, how significant do you think that machine is within the GOP. The establishment to stop Trump as best they can by throwing that kind of money and support behind Marco Rubio as you just laid out so that he could stay in as long as possible?

SABATO: Well it certainly hasn't been impressive so far. They have done a pitiful job of stopping Trump. They haven't been able to unify because they have so many candidates that various pieces of the establishment support. But now that the field is finally narrowing, I think they'll try. They seem to be speaking up and it's almost as though last night as Trump won South Carolina they awakened from a long sleep realizing that Trump could be their nominee and they were horrified.

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, the message from Donald Trump has been the antiestablishment. We're seeing that, you know, in both parties. It is the antiestablishment that is really getting people fascinated and engaged in this race.

But does Donald Trump have to bring more than that in this final stretch of the primary, you know, caucus season? Really in the throes of the primary caucus season?

[15:10:04] SCHRECKINGER: He certainly is going to have to at some point if he is going to be the nominee and be competitive in the general election. Make his peace with the Republican establishment. We have seen bits and pieces of that.

WHITFIELD: How does he do that?

SCHRECKINGER: He is a businessman. He's long been a donor to many of these people. He really has demonstrated the ability to get along with them. It's clear that many, many people, senior officials in the Republican Party view Trump as someone they can work with more than Cruz. So it would not be impossible for him to make himself amenable to the establishment if it becomes clear that there's no way to stop him. But I do think that they will put up a fight before they get to that point.

WHITFIELD: All right. We are going to leave it right there.

Ben Schreckinger and Larry Sabato, thanks so much, gentlemen. Appreciate it.

SABATO: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: And of course CNN is the place to be for the 2016 election. Join us Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders answering your questions from South Carolina at the next CNN town hall.

And then, the same week, Thursday night, CNN holds the final debate before Super Tuesday for the Republicans. All the GOP candidates on stage. All five now Thursday night 8:30 eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:14:31] WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

And Uber driver is accused of carrying out a violent killing spree. And a source tells CNN the suspect was picking up passengers in between the shootings. The rampage took place at three locations in and around Kalamazoo, Michigan last night. Six people were killed. A 14-year-old girl and a mother of three were also shot and are now fighting for their lives. The suspected gunman, 45-year-old Jason Brian Dalton, was arrested early this morning. It appears all the shootings were random.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:15:03] JEFF GETTING, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, KALAMAZOO COUNTY: The connection between these three incidents between these three races is the defendant. It was Mr. Dalton. There is no connection that we are aware of between the three differ sets of victims to each other or any of the victims to Mr. Dalton. They appear to have been chosen at random because they were available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining me now with more on this troubling story is CNN's Nick Valencia who is in Kalamazoo with the latest on this -- Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fredricka. I just spoke with a source who has knowledge of the investigation not authorized to speak to the media. But that source does tell me that the suspect was an Uber driver and picking up fairs in between those shootings. He was eventually caught about 12:30 overnight and they believe he was still looking for fairs at the time of his arrest. Police describe him as being even tempered when he was taken into custody without incident.

This nightmare here in Kalamazoo began yesterday at about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday night when the suspect was driving by an apartment complex. Open fire on a woman who was with her three children. That woman was critically injured. She is still recovering in the hospital.

About four hours later, he moved on to a car dealership where he opened fire killing two people there. And then ten minutes later, he moved on to a third and final location, opening fire in a vehicle killing four people and gravely injuring a 14-year-old girl. That girl was injured so badly as a matter of fact that police had initially announced her as one of the seven victims that were killed in this shooting. They scaled that back to include just six victims. Of course, two people still in the hospital.

Fredricka, police say they believe that this suspect acted alone. Still no indication of what caliber of weapon that he used but that weapon was seized from the suspect. Neighbors, we spoke to neighbors of this suspect who described him as mild tempered man that was very quiet and liked guns. But very few details were offered other than that.

We are being told that he has no record. No criminal history that police know of. This community just really shaken to the core at the sheer senselessness of this violent act that happened on Saturday - Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then Nick, we said that 14-year-old and the mother of three are fighting for their lives. What's the latest on their condition? The prospects for them?

VALENCIA: We haven't heard back from the hospital so far, Fred. We just know that they're enlisted in critical condition. We don't even know if they are expected to survive. Of course, that 14-year-old probably the most seriously injured between the two. Officers -- police telling us initially that she was so badly injured that she actually squeezed her mother's hand and until that point they believe she was a victim of this shooting. But this community again no threat to this community. The suspect is in custody and police believe he acted alone, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Terribly sad. Thank you so much, Nick Valencia.

We will be right back.

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[15:21:37] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

One of the surprise results in the South Carolina primary centers on evangelical voters. They are considered a bedrock part of Ted Cruz's support. But it was Donald Trump who got half of them. This evangelical voter explained what he is looking for in a nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX FORREST, EVANGELICAL VOTER: I don't think we're looking for a pastor and chief. I don't think we are looking for somebody to restore a certain set of spiritual values in a president. I think we just want somebody who will respect our faith and allow us to practice it freely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me right now is David Brody, chief political correspondent for CBN, the Christian Broadcasting Network. Good to see you.

DAVID BRODY, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, CBN: Great to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. So how is this being explained today? Why so many evangelicals showing their support for Donald Trump in South Carolina.

BRODY: There are so many different reasons and there are a lot of them. And many of them are valid.

Look. I think we start with this lack of political correctness. Donald Trump speaks to that. Evangelicals like that. You know, Fredricka, evangelicals operate in a world of biblical absolutes. Donald Trump operates in a world of absolutes. Very much things are black and white and just he tells it like it is. Evangelicals like that.

And let's remember. Donald Trump is ridiculed for a lot of things he says in public. Well, you know, what, many evangelicals are ridiculed for their faith when they speak about how Jesus is the only way to heaven and all of that.

So look. I think there is a camaraderie between the two. It is definitely about the fill episode and I pay to watch it.

WHITFIELD: Then how do you further explain that dust up with the Pope and how that didn't seem to hurt Donald Trump?

BRODY: Well, first of all, remember the Pope in evangelical world is considered more of a left leaning Pope so to get into a dust up with the Pope doesn't hurt him at all with the evangelicals. You know, not to mention the fact that the Pope and Donald Trump were talking about immigration or they were having a tweet fest over immigration and that is Donald Trump's wheel house especially as it relates to those evangelicals.

And remember, one of the very interesting parts of the dynamic last night in South Carolina is that Donald Trump was winning blue collar workers in essence and many of them are evangelical. And those evangelicals, immigration, very, very important to them. And that's why when the Pope and Donald Trump got into that tweet fest it wasn't too bad at all for him.

WHITFIELD: And what about Ted Cruz? He has been counting on that evangelical vote and at least in South Carolina that was split in half with Ted Cruz getting half of the support. Donald Trump getting the other half. What does this mean for a Ted Cruz moving forward particularly as it pertains to who he can count on in terms of evangelical voters?

BRODY: Well, he is clearly going to have to do better, you know. I think the feeling within the Ted Cruz campaign was the throw the liberal policy kitchen sink at Donald Trump and hopefully some of that would stick and the answer really has been a resounding no it's not going to stick.

So many people have thrown things at Donald Trump. As a matter of fact, Donald Trump is like the only candidate that brings up his own research on himself. He doesn't care because we are seeing a very untraditional candidate.

So look. For Ted Cruz, it's not that he did poorly with evangelicals. Obviously he did well enough. But actually, I should say he did well enough, but not well enough because if you're losing a Donald Trump in South Carolina evangelicals in Houston we have a problem. When I say Houston literally in Texas, March 1st, that's the key. That's going to be the Alamo moment. He needs to do well down there in Texas, his home state.

[15:25:12] WHITFIELD: Right. The expectation is or at least his camp's expectation is he would do well but I wonder from your point of view I guess sort of a defeat from South Carolina in those evangelicals does that in anyway set the tone moving forward from where that commitment lies?

BRODY: Well, I think he is going to have to recapture some of the narrative. I don't think there's any question about that. But let's also remember, Fredricka, that a lot of the polling a lot of the polling down in those SEC states March 1st, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, I mean, Trump is up in double digits. I mean, solid double digits. So I mean, it's a real issue for Ted Cruz going in there already.

And once again, you know, a lot of politics has to do with defining the narrative and Ted Cruz is starting to have this narrative defined against him in a negative way. Rubio and Trump are really hitting him on some of the phoniness that they call it. Donald Trump has already had this narrative as the successful $10 billion guys, the art of the deal. And a lot of people believe what he says at face value. And that's been a lot of why evangelicals say, hey, we are willing to at least look at this guy because he says Christianity is under attack and he is being believed.

Now Ted Cruz says the same thing and he has the track record to prove it, but Donald Trump has somehow forged an emotional connection and in politics it's all about the emotional connection. No doubt about it.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating.

All right, David Brody. Thank you so much.

BRODY: Pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead. Now that Jeb Bush is out, will he endorse Marco Rubio? We'll talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:51] WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks again for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome back.

Jeb Bush once considered the Republican establishment heavy weight with his multimillion dollar war chest has suspended his campaign and got emotional as he thanked his supporters. He also made subtle references to rival Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:30:09] BUSH: In this campaign, I have stood my ground, refusing to bend to the political winds. We put forth details, innovative conservative plans to address the mounting challenges that we face because despite what you might have heard, ideas matter, policy matters. I firmly believe the American people must entrust this office to someone who understands that whoever holds it is a servant, not the master. Someone who will commit to that service with honor and decency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now then there were five -- Trump, Rubio, Cruz, Kasich and Carson. Who will pick up Jeb Bush's supporters now that he is out and furthermore super pack money?

Joining me right now to talk more about this is the Matt Schlapp. He is chairman of the American Conservative Union and Rachel Campos- Duffy. She is national spokesperson for the Libre Initiative. I believe she is on the phone with us.

So Matt, let me begin with you. You have been talking to some Jeb Bush supporters today. Are they already deciding who they will throw their support behind?

MATT SCHLAPP, CHAIRMAN, AMERICAN CONSERVATION UNION: Well, first of all, Fredricka, they are sad, you know. Their candidate is out of the race and they put their heart and soul into this and that's always a tough moment in politics. I think most of them are trying to consider what to do. He has a lot of big donors from Texas who I think it's inevitable that many will move to Ted Cruz. He has a lot of supporters in Florida. Some of whom like Marco and will move to Marco. Others are still pretty upset with Marco for challenging Jeb.

Florida folks thought this was Jeb's time to run. And so, I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. I think we had to give it some time. And remember, Jeb's son is a statewide elected official in Texas which has implications to what he does with Ted Cruz in the future. So, it's a very interesting question.

WHITFIELD: My God. That really is something. And then there is, of course, all that big donor money that would traditionally have gone to Jeb Bush. One has to wonder if it will automatically go to a Marco Rubio or if those donors are having a difficult time knowing the kind of strained relationship that they - that was on display.

SCHLAPP: Yes, that's exactly right. And basically what I have learned about most donors is they like to go with a winner. And one of the reasons why Jeb Bush had so many of these donors is he was the front runner. He was the guy he was supposed to win. And so, a lot of these donors are going to take a breath and they are going to want to pick a winning candidate as they make their next decision.

WHITFIELD: Because some had already conveyed that they would go for like a Marco Rubio if he were the second runner up, right?

SCHLAPP: Yes. I think that's exactly right. Most people assume that more of the establishment money will go to Marco and Marco will be seen as this establishment candidate. But because Marco and Jeb hail from the same state, look from the Florida donors to have more a fitful decision on this. The Texas donors will actually go through this as well. The New York donors and the Northeast donors, I really believe almost all of them go to Marco. Maybe some to Kasich.

WHITFIELD: All right.

And Rachel now we get to see you. I'm glad you're able to join us here.

OK. So what do you see, you know, in that crystal ball? You know, that was a very tenuous display between what was once mentor and mentee. You know, Jeb and Marco. How soon before you even see Jeb Bush making a decision about who he would support, if anyone.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, NATIONAL SPOKESMAN, THE LIBRE INITIATIVE: I'm not sure but I think one thing that's really obvious to me is that I don't think that the animosity that you're describing between maybe how Jeb feels about Marco really goes toward the donors and I think a lot of people who like Marco were torn between Marco and Jeb. Whether it's people working for that campaign. They have to make a decision early on, do I go with Marco or do I go with Jeb and even some of the voters.

I think that it is very clear to me that so many of these voters are going to go to Marco and so many of the donors are also going to go to Marco. If you were in an absolute, you know, low the system up, you are already in the Trump camp. I mean, I think that Marco is pretty much the establishment next choice.

WHITFIELD: OK. And, well, you know, but isn't Marco, you know, Rubio already trying to change his dialogue a little as if he is trying to distance himself from the establishment? Just listening to his, you know, talk this morning and even last night after that second runner up win in South Carolina, Rachel.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Yes. But one of the things that was so interesting to me was the way he positioned it. He had Tim Scott behind him. He had Nikki Haley. I think he is really -- I think it's a really attractive thing to see this new face of the Republican Party and even donors and I think a lot of voters are excited that finally, look, we had the most -- Republican hearsay the most diverse multicultural field of presidential candidates in the history of the United States. And they often don't get credit for that.

I think that Marco put that face forward in a very clear way that this was going to be a new -- a new way of looking at the Republican Party. One that actually reflected the people that are coming up in the party. I think that's very attractive to voters and to donors. That's something that no other ticket has.

[15:35:21] WHITFIELD: OK. Well, it may be a little bit early for everyone to kind, you know, see who the Bush supporters will, you know, soon be backing.

Matt, I wonder if, you know, now we can kind of look back a little evaluation of Jeb Bush and what happened when he was supposed to be or at least there were high expectations that he was going to potentially win that nomination. Take a look at just this quick reel of Jeb Bush on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: So 40 years ago I smoked marijuana and I admit it. I'm sure that other people might have done it and may not want to say it on front of 25 million people. My mom's not happy that I just did.

My mom is the strongest woman I know.

You find a Democrat that's for cutting spending $10, I'll give them a warm kiss.

Let me show you something, the party that I believe in --

You get back in the business of creating a more peaceful world. Please clap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. These were memorable moments but maybe they also kind of highlight there were a few awkward moments too. So how do you evaluate what happened with Jeb Bush? How do you kind of evaluate his demeanor even?

SCHLAPP: Well, I would say this. I think this is not a cycle where the endorsements of elected officials are all the same old names that are going to make an impact. What people are looking for is an individual. And they really - Republicans and conservatives want to see is characteristics. They want to see strength. They wasn't to see resolve. They want to see independence. Someone who will take on Washington. And that's why the individual characteristics are Trumping everything else.

I think Jeb Bush and his campaign fundamentally whiff on what is the political moment in 2016. And that 2016 moment is so much different from what we have seen in previous presidential cycles and they ran a campaign like the previous presidential cycles. And they didn't run the campaign that would win this year.

WHITFIELD: And Rachel, looking at that video going to strike any, you know, notes for you as to what happened as you evaluate?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: It's painful to watch. But it what really shows is that Jeb Bush was always a donor class creation of a candidate. I don't live in Washington D.C. I live in Wisconsin so I'm very close to I think what the average, you know, every day Republican primary voter looks like and thinks about and I think that there was never an appetite for Jeb Bush from the beginning. It was -- the idea was that, you know, it sounded good on paper. It looked good in a big play book that they put together and they thought they could just, you now, really raise a lot of money and create an appetite for it.

I think the good news for America sadly for Jeb Bush is that this proves that money does not buy elections. He had more money than God and he could not convince more than 6 percent of whatever primary he was in to vote for him. So I think in a sense we can all be happy that, you know, elections cannot be bought in the United States. They are really the voice of the people that have to be listened to. And I would say from the beginning that there never was on the ground in the base in the grass roots an appetite for a Jeb Bush campaign.

WHITFIELD: All right. We are going to have to leave it right there.

Rachel Campos-Duffy and Matt Schlapp, thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then on the democratic side there's Bernie Sanders. Fresh off a pivotal primary night, caucus night and we'll be hitting the campaign trail now. Sanders has a rally a little bit later on today in Greenville South Carolina. He is laser-focused on a victory there after his very close loss last night to Hillary Clinton in Nevada. I spoke to Sanders wife, Jane, yesterday about what sets him apart from the front runner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What's your best sell to people? What's the characteristic about Bernie Sanders that you believe makes him deserving of being in the White House?

JANE SANDERS, WIFE OF BERNIE SANDERS: Sincerity, integrity, commitment, and hard work. He basically -- if he's on your side and on the side of all the working people and the middle class in this country as anybody that needs anything at any time. He seems to be there for them. And if he's with you, he is with you to the max. I mean, he will work on every issue for as long as it takes to implemented it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. The conversation with Jane Sanders there. So CNN is the place to be for the 2016 election. Join us Tuesday night, 8:00 p.m. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders answering questions from South Carolina voters directly at the next CNN town hall.

And Thursday night CNN holds the final debate before Super Tuesday. All the GOP candidates on stage Thursday night at 8:30 eastern right here on CNN and we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:43:51] WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

Investigators in Michigan continue to search for answers following apparently random series of shootings last night in Kalamazoo. An Uber driver, 45-year-old Jason Brian Dalton is accused of killing six people critically injuring two more, all while he picked up passengers in between the killings. He was arrested this morning.

Let's talk more about this with our CNN legal analyst Phillip Holloway and Matthew Horace who is a security expert. Good to see both of you.

So Phillip, you first. You know, the suspect was an Uber driver but apparently had no known criminal record. So what can be done in terms of evaluating drivers by, you know, Uber evaluations at the same time hold any real liability against Uber?

PHILLIP HOLLOWAY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The question becomes whether and to what extent Uber actually does any meaningful background investigation on drivers, presumably. And I think it's been reported that they do driving history and things like that. And of course, I think we now know this shooter had no kind of history. So they wouldn't have found anything if they had looked.

But the question is though do they have to do on going evaluations? Do they have to do anything that will assure the public that they are continuously monitoring the well-being even the mental wellbeing of their drivers. People that basically are representatives of the Uber brand. So it raises real questions of whether uber might have been negligent in supervising and or hiring this individual in the first place.

[15:45:23] WHITFIELD: My God. And so, Horace now, of course, the investigation continues. It really is heightening trying to figure out the motivation. How he allegedly was able to carry this through. What do you see the sequence of events right now in this investigation?

MATTHEW HORACE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, FJC SECURITY SERVICES: Well, Fredricka, as you know, this was psychopathic in nature. This individual killed people and went back to work and dealt and interacted with more people. The police have to interview his family, his friends, his close associates and they have to try to determine what happened here. We understand a background check was done for him to drive for uber. Was he suffering from mental illness? Was he taking medication? Did something happen most recently to cause him to go into this psychopathic rage?

WHITFIELD: And then, Phillip, how would in the state of Michigan this kind of case be prosecuted? He is in custody.

HOLLOWAY: It's interesting to note that Michigan doesn't have the death penalty. So the maximum he can get is life in prison. He could have killed five, ten, 15, 20, or 100 people. And the most he could really get effectively is a life sentence.

But to the point of how this is going to be investigated, yes, I think it's probable that investigators are going to look back to his background in the recent past and see if there's some dramatic event that caused some type of psychotic break because you don't go from giving somebody an uber ride and letting them out and going down the street.

WHITFIELD: Right. That behavior in between has to be notable.

HOLLOWAY: It has to be. But it's easily documented because Uber is GPS based. And Uber knows who it was he picked up and drove during these many hours. And so, it's going to be easy to identify them and talk to them to find out just what his state of mind was. So if there is any good news it's that I think the police will be able to identify what probably was going on with him psychiatrically.

WHITFIELD: And then of course, Horace, as investigators do reach out to the people, those fares in between these, you know, alleged, these killings by this, you know, alleged gunman here, how might that dictate or even help determine his mental state and that of course could potentially then dictate the road of prosecution.

HORACE: Well, you know, when they speak to those people who are in that car they may or may not say that they notice anything that was out of the ordinary. We all agree that it was very psychotic to pick up passengers, kill someone, pick up passengers and go back and kill someone. But police are going to be on the trail. I understand the FBI is involved right now and hopefully over the next couple of days or weeks they'll determine what this motive was and why this happened.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much to both of you gentlemen. Appreciate it.

All right next, the Apple fight. The government wants Apple to unlock encrypted messages on a phone used by the San Bernardino shooters. Next why Apple says it's not going to do that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:55] WHITFIELD: Apple has until Friday to respond to a court order to help the FBI hack into an iPhone in a terrorism case. The tech giant was ordered by a judge to unlock the iPhone belonging to Saeed Razwan Farook. He and his wife killing 14 people last December in San Bernardino.

CNN Money Cristina Alesci is here with more on this.

So Christine, what can Apple do at this point?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: It's going to continue to fight the judge's order. It is going to try and appeal the court's decision. And say, look, we are not even sure the FBI has the power to make this kind of request because Congress hasn't even decided on this issue.

At the core of Apple's argument is if you allow us to make a weakness in our own operating system then it compromises the security of everybody's iPhone. In other words, it opens up a Pandora's Box that can't be closed again. That is what Apple argues.

The FBI is saying look, we are asking for Apple to make the exception for this one iPhone and it won't compromise the security of everybody else's iPhone. And they can do it. They just don't want to do it because this is a good marketing opportunity for them to say that they stand by their customers and they stand by their product.

Two very opposite ends of the spectrum here. It is going to be very hard for the two sides to meet in the middle and this battle has been brewing for quite some time.

WHITFIELD: And what is being said about who is right here?

ALESCI: You know, the experts are really split on this. Most of law enforcement, not surprisingly, really sides with the FBI. In fact, the Manhattan D.A. had some really harsh words for Apple. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRUS VANCE JR., NEW YORK DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This has become, ladies and gentlemen, the Wild West in technology. Apple and Google are their own sheriffs. There are no rules. And for this one person's opinion, when you are dealing with matters that have such consequence and are so ubiquitous in terms of the use of electronic devices, this is a decision of where to draw the line between public safety and privacy that needs to be made by independent players, the legislature and the courts. Not by two companies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALESCI: The rest of Silicon Valley companies like Google and Twitter and Facebook, all came out in support of Apple saying, look, this is going to compromise not just privacy, this is matter of safety. So we are going to have to see how it plays out. But certainly politicians are weighing in. We have Donald Trump saying there should be a boycott of Apple products. On the other side, there are protests being planned in support of Apple. So heated arguments on both sides of this issue.

WHITFIELD: And then what's at stake for Apple if it were to, say, comply? I mean, its best argument would be?

ALESCI: Well, its best legal argument is that the FBI doesn't have the authority to actually request them to do this. Its emotional argument is you are forcing us to break a promise to our customers. And by the way, we have customers around the world. We have customers in China and in Russia who do not want us to cooperate with the U.S. government every time it asks us to get into an iPhone.

[15:55:13] WHITFIELD: Cristina Alesci, thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

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[15:59:04] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Checking top stories.

Pope Francis is calling on world leaders for a one-year suspension of the death penalty. The Pope will lead an international conference tomorrow in Rome called a world without the death penalty. He said he hopes the conference will bring renewed energy to his mission to end capital punishment.

And another American town is having problems with dirty water. Resident of Crystal City, Texas have reported black sludge coming out of their faucets. They city say they drained their water tower for the first time in years. The sludge was built up sediment. The water is being tested for safety and bottled water is now being trucked in.

And at least ten people are dead after a cyclone slammed into (INAUDIBLE), the island's worst storm on record. The storm brought in 80 mile per hour wind, power outages and building damage. Schools will remain closed for a week as the cleanup begins. Australia and New Zealand have stepped in to help with the country's recovery effort.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Hello again and thanks for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.