Transcripts For CNNW Anderson Cooper 360 Post Debate Special 20151216

Reagan who did not give into this remarkable fear they have come a long way from him. I would have liked to hear happy warrior and less war but this was a positive debate largely because of the exchanges between ted cruz and marco rubio. They fought on the issues and largely fair. Although i might disagree with the characterizations. But the immigration, military intervention, surveillance, those are the things that we have to sort through, through the lens of marco rubio and ted cruz you saw that beginning to happen. You could see the field coming down to those two. We got a look at what that might look like. And exchanges between rand paul and Chris Christie. And governor christie touched on it where he said if you are listening to these senators your ey eyes glaze over. What donald trump and governor christie were doing were delivering a message and the others were debating in a senorial fashion. The other folks are lost in the weeds. That said i think it was a great debate. I like to hear the weeds of policy stuff. I like to go through it and like to hear them do it. And one thing i would say about paul and the families, if you recall in the early 1980s, mr. Gaddafi blew up a west german distech and killed a number of american servicemen. President reagan sent the military to attack gaddafis home and killed one of his family members [ inaudible ] not doing the same thing not purposefully. You dont send them to bomb someones home without that being there. Van . Two things. First of all, i thought this is the first time i saw marco rubio rattled. Listen, there was a competition for some reason a lot of times they let it go with trump you expect with trump being the front runner and having said shocking things about muslims you saw more cross fire between rubio and cruz. I thought you want to go . Okay. Listen, i thought that rubio for the first time on a debate stage lost. I thought for the first time on a debate stage he looked rattled. He was getting hit by cruz and on the other side by rand paul and he lost his cool. I think if there is a competition between these two young rising stars, not only is cruz beating him in iowa and the ground game he beat him on the stage. I want to go to jake tapper who has more. Thanks, anderson. Lets continue the conversation. With me here, michael smerconish. Also with me, chief National Correspondent john king, also senior political commentator, david axelrod. And gloria borger. There is so much to digest. But lets just start with a key moment. Jeb bush saying that donald trump is not going to i think that jeb bush turned in a strong performance. There were a number of strong performances on the stage. Jeb had a good night. I think it may be Wishful Thinking but a lot of republican strategists think he will be at the top of the polls now but when iowa votes the race will change and a lot of republicans think its going to come down to a cruzrubio race. If it does and even if it doesnt we saw the beginning of some deepseeded animosity between them. Rubio scored points for his votes to curtail surveillance and cruz put rubio on his heels on the immigration debate. And he tried to explain its different now. You cant sell what he tried to sell then to the Republican Base where rubio was on immigration was a bad place. The bad blood between those two bubbled up tonight. They are anticipating a showdown between the two of them. It is up to the Republican Voters. But we saw some of that. But what struck you, david . Lets say a word about the front runner. If you hold the candidate to the fact check and linear thinking test, donald trump would never do well. But donald trump did what he needed to do tonight. And none of the prominent candidates, cruz, rubio, and Chris Christie, were willing to tangle or eager to tangle with donald trump. They navigated around him. Jeb bush went after him. But it hasnt redowned to his benefit. You said that you thought trump should go after ted cruz for saying one thing behind his back. He had an opportunity. And he took a pass. He may live to regret that. I think cruz is beating him in iowa. One thing we ought to note is Chris Christie has the ability to define this race by doing well in New Hampshire. I dont think he can win. I think he has a lot of baggage from new jersey. But if he emerges as the center right candidate in New Hampshire thats trouble for rubio. Its probably the end of busch, the end of kasich and i think he had a good debate tonight. Lets play the bite in which trump decided not to be after ted cruz. Mr. Trump, just this weekend you said that senator cruz is not qualified to be president because he does not have the right temperament and acted like a maniac when he arrived in the senate. But you said you are open to naming senator cruz as your running mate. I did. Why would you i have gotten to know him over the last three or four days, he has a wonderful temperament. Dont worry about it. Hes just fine. Senator cruz, you have not been willing to attack mr. Trump in public. You better not attack. But you questioned his judgment in having control of Americas Nuclear arsenal. Why are you willing to say things about him in private and not in public . What i said in private is what ill say here is that the judgment that every voter is making of every one of us up here is who has the experience, who has the vision, who has the judgment to be commanderinchief. That is the most important decision for the voters to make. Its a standard im held to and everyone else is held to. Gloria, its not true what he said tonight. Suggesting because of the gravity of San Bernardino and paris and terrorism it is going to be tough for donald trump and ber ben carson. I think that trump is thinking about iowa and cruz is doing really well in iowa and he doesnt want to alienate people who like cruz but night vote for trump. And what i noticed overall tonight in terms of cruz is i think he is playing to that primary pool of voters on immigration and on every other issue. And i think that when you look at rubio and you look at christie and you look at jeb bush, theyre looking towards a general election or New Hampshire, where independent voters can vote. They were playing different games tonight. Trump was being trump. We have to take a quick break. We expect to hear from more of the nine candidates. Jeb bush will join us when we come back. We want to hear from you, did donald trump do well tonight . You can weigh in by going to facebook. Com cnn. Well go to don lemon later in the facebook lounge and he will bring us the results of this and other questions we asked during the debate. While youre watching this, im hacking your company. Grabbing your data. Stealing your customers secrets. Theres an army of us. Relentlessly unpicking your patchwork of security. Think youll spot us . You havent so far. The next wave of the internet requires the next wave of security. Were ready. Are you . Style lets you stand out from the herd. Whats inside sets you apart. The 2016 cadillac escalade. Nine candidates here in las vegas. One very freewheeling cnn debate. A crucial one for Florida Governor jeb bush. He came out swinging against donald trump. Two months ago donald trump staid isis was not our fight. He said that Hillary Clinton would be a great negotiator with iran. And he gets his Foreign Policy experience from the shows. Honestly, i think that jeb is a very nice person. But we need tough people. We need toughness and intelligence and we need tough. Jeb said when they come across the southern border they come as an act of love. You said on september 30th am i talking or you talking . You can go back. Youre not talking. You interrupted are you going to apologize . Am i allowed to finish . When jeb comes out and talks about the border and i saw it and was witness to it and so was everyone else. I was standing there. They come across as an act of love. He is saying the same thing right now with radical islam. We cant have that in our country. It just wont work. We need strength. Governor bush . You cannot insult your way to the presidency. Thats not going to happen and i do have the strength. Joining me now, former Florida Governor jeb bush. How did you do tonight . I had fun. Cnn deserves high praise. I dont think there was a single question about process, maybe one. A lot of serious questions about National Security. I think i did pretty good. You do. Let me ask you a question. When you are trying to appeal to voters that respect the idea of National Security Officials Say that its you cant just ban muslims from entering the United States. Right. And the response from the front runner is you got to be tough. You got to be tough. Its not toughness to do something that would be against our National Security interests. I can see why people would support that idea on the surface. But the simple fact is how are we going to garner the International Support to take out isis if the kurds who are muslims would be offended by this . The turks, apart from the fact you have the largest muslim pop layings are in india and pakistan and indonesia. We have to lead as a nation. The United States is not going to be a follower, we have to lead to. Do this would be an unmitigated disaster. This is dog whistle talk. This is to try to get people who are fearful about where we are to be latched on to him. But i think tonight was a good example of why he may not be the proper guy to be commanderinchief. Were you sprurprised that yo fellow republican candidates werent as aggressive as you were . I dont know. Look, the politics of all this, im not an expert. Sometimes you have to take a stand. This country is a great country extraordinary in every way. Were not a country of idiots. Were a country capable of leading and creating a peace and security for ourselves and the world. We have to act that way. I dont think that donald trump understands that. He is a gifted politician. He sure is. What do you make of the fact he is going up in the polls . I dont think its going to continue. No . I dont. When you think about who is sitting behind the big desk and has to make the Big Decisions the questions about the nuke tr itch triads. You dont think he knew what it was about . I dont know. What about you . I dont know. Thank you, a lot of talk obviously. Lets talk about cruz and rubio. A lot of interesting exchanges. Lets take a look at the exchange. Do we have that . Marco has continued these attacks and he knows theyre not true. Yes, it is true i voted against the National Defense authorization act because when i campaigned in texas i told voters in texas that i would oppose the federal government having the authority to detain u. S. Citizens permanently with no due process, the notion that marco is suggesting that somehow he also has tossed more than a few insults in this direction. Lets be absolutely career, isis and radical islamic terrorism will face no more determined foe than i will be. If you are an american citizen and decide to join up with isis were not going to read you your rights you will be treated as an enemy combatant attacking this country. And number two, we do need our defense capabilities. The cuts we are facing today would leave us with a smaller air force and navy than the one we are going to be left with. And the final point is Hillary Clinton and Barack Obamas strategy is to lead from behind. It sounds like what he is outlining is not to lead at all. Joined by our panel. And amanda, you have talked about the battle between individual rights and individual liberty and keeping this country safe. We saw it there, marco rubio saying an american citizen who is joining isis isnt going to be read miranda rights or treated as a citizen but as an enemy combatant. After working for ted cruz he studied the constitutional issues deeply and cares a lot we are not going to throw away the bill of rights. I mean, there is a number of ways. We dont have to give up our freedom in order to protect america from the next terrorist attack. When you are talking about the debate over due process, cruz is simply saying that were going to use the system we have in place. Were not going to take that out. When it comes to surveillance if we need to go search american phone records, get a warrant. We are not giving up metadata collection. But rubio is painting himself in a corner, miscontaharacterizing cruzs position. And cruz is eager for the legal discussions. Rubios position played well in the hall tonight. Legally he is right. When you are talking about american citizens who declare war, the debate at the time was, these american citizens, some wanted to extent him the constitutional privileges that would come under the u. S. Law. Many argued against it. There is great case law when germans were here and american citizens who decided to fight on behalf of germany and doing sabotage efforts they were treated as enemy combatants. That is the correct legal standard. We are getting into the parsing of issues. You have to look at that exchange, who has the demeanor and understanding of how complex this is. How complex it is to figure out what if you do if an anwar awlaki wants to blow up the United States. What are you doing in the legal rights of this. You know, look, these guys have been telegraphing for the last ten days they were going to come at each other on the subjects. They both came prepared. I think that marco rubio won the exchange on the nsa and i think ted cruz took a ding at marco rubio took a nick at him on the immigration issue. Now i think also the person that made the opening was Chris Christie, what that exchanged highlighted was a procedural exchange is they are rookie senators debating legislative proposals. And here i am Chris Christie who is an executive. He made them look like what they are. Can i put a bow on this, the thing that is going to stick with marco rubio ties it together. What conservatives have been worried about is that marco rubio is willing to let illegal aliens get a path to citizenship and be willing to spry on the phone records of all americans. That doesnt match up. But on the other point i lost my train of thought. We have senator cruz standing by with jake tapper. They will probably talk about this very debate. Thanks, anderson. Sitting here with senator ted cruz, who is leading in at least one poll in iowa and on in second place nationally. How do you think you did, senator . I thought it was a great debate. It was a lot of fun and lively and we covered a lot of substance. Interesting that there was more back and forth between you and senator rubio than between you and the front runner, donald trump. Why do you think that is . I dont think that is terrible surprising. Senator rubios campaign has been running attack ads against me. I think they are concerned about the momentum our campaign is getting. That we are seeing conservatives united and there was a New York Times article talking about how worried they were if they didnt slow down this momentum they would be in real trouble. I think that prompted some of the sparks. But what i think was most valuable about this debate is it gave people a real opportunity to see who has the judgment and experience and understanding to be commanderinchief. And i think thats the most important question in this election. During the debate over surveillance and the reformation of the surveillance program, a democrat from oregon, very ideologically different from you except not on that bill. You supported his efforts or vice versa. He put out a fact check saying that marco rubio was wrong. It wasnt that you could do anything you wanted to afterwards. Yeah. What would you do with the 11 Million People in this country. I have laid out a plan. I would enforce the law. And existing law provides what you do. You start by securing the board you. If you have a sinking ship, the first thing you do is fill the hole so people are not coming back in. The second thing is you deport illegal criminal illegal aliens. People who have broken the law beyond just immigration. 2013, the Obama Administration released 104,000 criminal illegal aliens. You begin enforcing the law. If someone is apprehended crossing illegally or by i. C. E. You enforce the law which is what every other country does. What do you do with those who have been here a decade or more . If you look at what prior administrations have done. The bill Clinton Administration deported 12 Million People. You would deport them . The president does not have the right to say i dont like this law and im not going to enforce it. If someone is here illegally and apprehended they will be sent back to their home country. Its critical. Im also a big advocate of welcoming and celebrating legal immigrants. And i think most americans agree with the principle legal, good, illegal, bad. Interesting moment, when you were asked pressed on Donald Trumps proposal to ban all nonamerican muslims from being lets play this segment. Im reminded of what fdrs grandfather said. He said all horse thieves are democrats. But not all democrats are horse thieves. In this instance, there are millions of peaceful muslims across the world in countries like india where there is not the problems we are seeing in nations that are controlled and have territory controlled by al qaeda or isis. And we should direct at the problem, focus on the problem and defeat radical islamic terrorism. Its not a war on a faith but on a political and theocratic ideology that seeks to murder us. A majority of the Republican Voters out there according to one or two polls ive seen support Donald Trumps proposal and disagree with you. People are reacting to t the orwellean speech. National Security Experts say if you say the words you feed into the propaganda. That is fundamentally wrong. They are doing it because of Political Correctness. They dont want to identify what we are fighting and it is having real consequences. We are not stopping the bad guys. You look at the female jihadist in San Bernardino. She posted on facebook years ago calling for jihad and yet dhs did not look at social media. They have a policy in place not to look at social media which is public. Its just looking to see what she has said publicly to the world because they think it would be inappropriate. Political correctness does not make sense how is that not just privacy issues. The message she wrote was first of all an under a pseudonym and in a private message she was saying back and forth with some friends. If we are not capable of understanding we downtown have access to the facebook private messages to people. This wasnt posted on her page. We should be directing our attention to focusing on radical islamic terrorism. Nidal hasan. The Obama Administration had known that he was in contact with anwar awlaki and inquired about waging jihad against american soldiers. And they did nothing. Because it was political incorrect and as a result, nidal hasan murdered 14 innocent souls. This is the problem of the Obama Administration is their approach over and over again is to focus on lawabiding citizens. What did they say after San Bernardino, lets take away the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms of american citizens. You have to focus on the bad guys. Senator ted cruz thanks very much. Many people are saying nice things about it. Were going to hear what voters in South Carolina have to say about what they heard tonight. Did the debate change any of their minds . Well be right back after this. What makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. The best simple veggie dish ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. The best simple dinner ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. Great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. So simple. Get the recipes at walnuts. Org. Welcome back. Weve been hearing from the candidates tonight as they try to put their own spin on their performance at the cnn debate. We are expecting to hear from more candidates. Rand paul and donald trump clashing own internet monitoring and isis. When you ask yourself, whoever you are that thinking youre going to support donald trump, do you believe in the constitution . Are you going to change the constitution . Mr. Trump . So they can kill us. But we cant kill them. Thats what youre saying. And as far as the internet is concerned im not talking about closing the internet. Im talking about parts of syria, parts of iraq where isis is, spotting it, not you could close it. What i like even better than that, is getting our smartest and getting our best to infiltrate their internet, so that we know exactly where theyre going, exactly where theyre going to be. I like that better. But we have to who would i just cant imagine someone booing. These are people who want to kill us. And you are objecting to us infiltrating their conversations . I dont think so. And back with our panel. We heard a lot about Political Correctness and ted cruz talking about that as well. And it obviously plays well, certainly to the crowd in the rom. To ted cruzs point about nidal hasan communicating with anwar awlaki, he made it sound like the u. S. Knew about that in advance and didnt want to Pay Attention to it. That was subsequently learned after the attack in the investigation, right . Thats correct. The only thing they did know is he had expressed some extremist opinions through psychological exams that he had and there was disconnect in that information getting into his personnel file but the communications came after the shooting. This idea of Political Correctness being a major hindrance, do you buy that . A big issue. Its a huge issue in the Republican Base. People are frustrated with what they have seen as a politically correct administration, a politically correct and timid, weak, soft spoken president who doesnt lead. And they want something that is the opposite. Not wanting to insult the feelings of our adversaries. This is going on in spades on college campuses. When you hear people say about donald trump he says things that im afraid to say. Theyre afraid to say it because of Political Correctness. I just see it very, very differently. There is this whole thing now that Political Correctness is what is keeping us from doing certain things. I want to say something, if you are a muslim in the United States, we have 6 million muslims in the United States. If you watched this debate you would feel very, very much like you are not welcome in this country. You have a 900 increase in the number of muslim kids who are calling Suicide Prevention hot lines because they are getting so Much Negative echo back from society. Its about being respectful of people and being smart. When you have a Political Party who is just trying to debate how tough to be on a faith, what that says is that if you are not a particular kind of person in this country you dont fit in or belong. I was very, very saw pauled, frankly, that donald trump said again he thinks its appropriate to target innocent muslims and kill family members. There was no essentially no outcry from that. I think thats inaccurate and unfair that jeb bush took him on that over and over again. I think that what you saw is other people on the stage who are walking on egg shells when it comes to donald trump. You saw jeb bush saw that opening and went right for it and he rattled donald trump today. Paul . The issue that exploded donald trump was immigration. Illegal immigration. You are going to see i think the fear of terrorism is going to fade again and be back to anger against the immigrants. And the fact that marco rubio co sponsored Immigration Reform is their magic bullet. I want to go back to jake tapper. Im here with two of our colleagues tonight. Dana bash and hugh hewitt. I know it is weird when you are up there. But what did you pick up. And you remember when we did it, it takes a minute to digest what just happened. Youve had a minute. So what do you got . To me just on the substance. We went into obviously, focusing on National Security. But really trying to develop the genuine split on a very important difference, whether or not as commanderinchief they would push democracy around the world whatever it takes. Regime change or if there is a dictator there and stability maybe that is not so bad and i think that conversation developed and Republican Voters got to see the differences between how each of them would take that question. And interesting, hugh, we were talking during the break. And you think the undercard debate really had an impact on the main stage. Because i was told by one of the people that the main stage candidates watched intently and Lindsey Graham brought the syrian conflict to the center of the stage where it did not leave all night except when dana brought up immigration, the most requested subject i have had is that immigration be discussed in depth at lentsz between marco rubio and ted cruz which happened. It was a little bit into the weeds but the republican primary voters got the weeds and i will also say for my conservative friends watching, after two of these things now, i dont work for you guys, but it is fair and the time worked out tonight and i didnt know how that would work once rand paul got added in. But i dont think anyone was shorted. You got donald trump to make the pledge. And i think i understand carson to say the same at the end. In general it with u. S. The night of the governors. They talked in specifics. And Chris Christies hit a couple of babe ruth shots tonight. He is always good in the debates. Except in New Hampshire does it translate to support in the polls. Ted cruz or donald trump will win iowa. Ted cruz had a very good night tonight. Isnt he good . Thats why you go to the Supreme Court nine times. You are not lucky. There is one question i have been asked by many people on twitter. And you have to answer it, okay . Okay. Who was coughing all night . It wasnt me or hugh, it was ben carson. Physician, heal thyself. Much more ahead as our special post debate coverage continues. Stay with us. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. They are. Do i look smarter . Yeah, a little. Youre making money now, are you investing . Well, ive been doing some research. Let me introduce you to our broker. How much does he charge . I dont know. Okay. Uh, do you get your fees back if youre not happy . dad laughs wow, youre laughing. Thats not the way the world works. Well, the worlds changing. Are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is managed . Wealth management, at charles schwab. phone ringing you cant deal with something by ignoring. T but thats how some president ial candidates seem to be dealing with social security. Americans work hard and pay into it, so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. elephant noise donkey noise hey candidates answer the call already. The books. Tonight along with my colleague jake tapper were starting with what happened on the stage. Speaking to the candidates who made it happen. In a moment well talk to ben carson. First, some of the key moments from tonight. To months ago donald trump said that isis was not our fight. Just two months ago. He said that Hillary Clinton would be a great negotiator with iran, and he gets his Foreign Policy experience from the shows. That is not a serious kind of candidate. We need someone that thinks it through and can lead our country to safety and security. Mr. Trump . Look, the problem is we need toughness. Honestly, i think jeb is a very nice person. Hes a very nice person, but we need tough people and toughness. We need intelligence and we need tough. Jeb said when they come across the southern border acome as an act of love. . You said september 30th, isis was not a factor. Am i talking or you in. Im talking right now. Are you going to apologize, jeb . Am i allowed to finish . One at a time. Am i allowed to finish . Go ahead, mr. Trump. A little of your own medicine. Youre trying to build up your energy, jeb, but its not working very well. Look, when jeb comes out and talks about the border and i was witness to it and so was everyone else and i was standing there, they come across as an act of love. Hes saying the same thing right now with cad rradical islam. We cant have this in your country. Youre not going to be able to insult your way to the country, thats not going to happen. And i have the strength. Could you order air strikes, would you wage war as a commander in chief . Interestingly enough, you should see the eyes of some of those children when i say the to them were going to have to open your head up and take out this tumor. Theyre not happy about it, believe me. And they dont like me very much at that point, but later on they love me. I sound like him. [ laughter ] later on, they realize whats going on, and by the same token, you have to be able to look at the big picture. And understand that its actually merciful if you go ahead and finish the job rather than death by a thousand tricks. So youre okay with the deaths of thousands of innocent children and civilians . Its like you got it. You got it. That is what war is can you be as ruthless as churchill was . Ruthless is not necessarily the word i would use but tough, resolute, understanding what the problems are. Weve seen what happened in San Bernardino when youre letting people in when the fbi cant vet them. It puts american citizens at risk. And i tell you, if im elected president , we will secure the border. We will triple the border patrol. We will build a wall that works, and ill get donald trump to pay for it. Ill build it. So when you ask yourself whoever you are, that think youre going to support donald trump, think, do you believe in the constitution . Are you going to change the constitution . Mr. Trump . So they can kill us, but we cant kill them. Thats what youre saying, and as far as the internet is concerned, im not talking about closing the internet. Im talking about parts of syria, parts of iraq where isis is. Spotting it. Now, you could close it. What i like even better than that is getting our smartest and getting our best to infiltrate their internet so that we know exactly where theyre going and exactly where theyre going to be. I like that better. But we have to [ applause ] i cant imagine somebody booing. These are people that want to kill us, folks, youre objecting to us infiltrating their conversations . I dont think so. I dont think so. Are you ready to reassure republicans tonight that youll run as a republican and abide by the decision of the republicans . I really am. I really am. People have been putting me i really am. I like that applause. Doctor carson dch. Let me finish, please. Please. Ive gained Great Respect for the republican leadership. Ive gained Great Respect for many, and im going to say all, i mean, in different forms, for the people on the day. In different forms. But i have Great Respect for the people ive met through this process before. Ive never been a politician before until the last six months. But i am totally committed to the Republican Party. Some of the highlights from tonights debate. Im joined now by dr. Ben carson who obviously was on the stage tonight. Dr. Carson, thanks for joining us. How duke you did . I think i did very well. I was very pleased with the debate, because, you know, it gave me an opportunity to dispel the myth that i dont know anything about Foreign Policy. I would have loved to talk more about it, but at least i had an opportunity to show it. Was there anything that surprised you tonight that you heard people say or that you heard from between some of these candidates . It was pretty much what i expected to see. I thought some of the exchanges between tcandidates were a litte bit unnecessary, but i guess people get caught up in emotion, and they go further than they had planned on going. Should those who think youre a nice guy and an incredibly accomplished guy, but may not have the toughness to make command and control decisions in a tough war, what do you say . Do you think, a, you put any concerns that some people may have to rest tonight . Well, i would hope so. And i hope people recognize that toughness is not defined by the decibels with which you say something. Toughness is defined by what youre able to accomplish when you put your mind to doing something. Thats what you really should look at. You should look at the kinds of things that a person has been able to accomplish. Thatll tell you a lot about how tough they are. You have taken a dip in the polls in the last couple of weeks. What do you attribute that to . The terrorist attacks in paris, and in San Bernardino, and the narrative that im not tough and that i dont know anything about Foreign Policy. And the good thing is that its a marathon, not a sprint, so theres time to repair that and to change that narrative just by continuing to speak up about these issues and let people actually hear what im saying and not what people said that i said. You were also asked tonight about after donald trump said that he is pledging not to leave the Republican Party, not to run as an independent, you were asked as well. Just to be clear on your answer, you said when you talked about possibly leaving was predicated on past sub tri fuj which you believe took place in the gop. Are you saying tonight that you would support whoever the gop nominee is . Yeah, as long as theres no back room deals in an attempt to forward the wills to the people, absolutely. Dr. Ben carson, i know its been a long time. Appreciate you taking the time, and i hope your cold gets better. Thank you. Appreciate it. Dr. Carson, lets go back to jake. Jake . Thanks, anderson. With me here in the crows nest, our senior correspondent, senior political reporter, and im also joined by our chief National Correspondent and a top obama. And michael smerconish. Thank you. He makes it. And the breakfast cereal smerconish. I thought it was a vitamin. Let me start with you, jeff. What struck you . You cover these guys on the campaign trail. Did anything surprise you . I dont think there were any clear winners, but there were losers, and were down to five people with a possible path to this nomination. Jeb bush, donald trump, rubio, and cruz, and Chris Christie. We need to see the kruz rubio fight play out a little bit more. There are real distinctions happening. And immigration, rubio has been able to escape this so far this campaign year. Shocking to me. Were not sure if its baked in, conservatives opposed to his views, or if its going to play out. Chris christie hold the phone, i want to play some of the cruz rubio back and forth that you were just referring to. The front line with isis isnt just in iraq and syria. Its also in Kennedy Airport and the rio grand. Border security is National Security. And one of the most troubling aspects of the Rubio Schumer gang of eight bill was that it gave president obama blanket authority to admit refugees including Syrian Refugees without mandating any background checks whatsoever. Weve seen what happened in San Bernardino when youre letting people in when the fbi cant vet them. It puts american citizens at risk. As far as teds record, im always puzzled by his attack on this issue. You support legalizing support of people who are in this country illegally. He supports doubling the number of green cards. I understand that marco wants to raise confusion. It is not accurate what he said i supported legalization. Indeed, i led the fight against his legalization and amnesty bill. There was one commentator what said for marco to suggest our record is the same like suggesting the fireman and the arsonist have the same record because theyre both at the scene of the fire. You heard the professor say there are five candidates with a both of the nomination. I noticed ben carson was not one, but he added jeb bush and Chris Christie to the list. How do you think bush did tonight . I think in some ways, it might be too much to say he was reborn, but i think he made the case he should be back in the fight. Talking to people in New Hampshire, they were looking for him too much good debate, and they feel like he had one. They like that he took on trump and took him on consistently. And they feel like rubio should take trump on. He is doing the cruz strategy. Rubio is by avoiding trump. It seems to me that bush is obviously making a different strategy that the establishment wants to see somebody chop trump down to size, and if in general, hes the person that does it, it will work to his benefit. Although, to be the antitrump, john, is it that you are the most forceful one or that you have the best chance of beating him. Were about to move from this National Race which trump has dominated and is growing his lead as the year ends, and were just days away from that. Iowa votes in 48 days. Trumps whole premwhems is winn. Most people on the ground think cruz will win iowa. To New Hampshire, trump is ahead. That is christys bet and kasich and a lot of the establishment that started with bush is now saying rubio is going to be our guy, our establishment horse against the outsider, trump, and the evangelical cruz. Okay. Thats fine, and clearly hes a good debater. A lot of people think hes the best athlete on the field. Is he ready for the major leagues . You have to win somewhere and hes not. And New Hampshire is much different than iowa in the sense that its a pry marry and its an open primary. Independent voters can participant. The biggest voting block in New Hampshire. And it gives a better chance to a center right candidate. Theres a glut of them, and the endorsement by the Manchester Union leader to Chris Christie has given him energy. I thought he did well. Jeb bush did have a more energetic performance tonight, but is it enough . And i suspect maybe not. Only one of those four may survive New Hampshire. Its incredible. Theyll start to drop out. Michael, i was talking to a Pennsylvania Republican earlier today, and he was just praying for a christie win in New Hampshire because he thinks it will help pat tumy keep his seat. They want somebody that the republican establishment wants to help them keep senate seats. On friday the pennsylvania society, which is actually a group of pennsylvania people who go to new york for a political con fab gathered. Donald trump was the headliner for a 1,000 per person fund riser event. Pat tuumi had a scheduling confli conflict. They dont want to be seen on the same stage. Theyre concerned about the issues if donald trump is the nominee. Its a serious concern. Lets go to gary tuchman. He spent the evening with Republican Voters in South Carolina. They watched the debates in a Movie Theater not far from charleston. Gary . Reporter jake, if you want to maximize the fun, watch it in a Movie Theater. Pizza, popcorn, politics, great combination. The Charleston County South Carolina Republican Party invited us to this viewing party, and people here seemed to have a good time. Some of the people have gone home, but these people have stuck around. I want to ask you folks a question. I need quiet for a second. Quiet for a second. Heres my question. You can cheer now and answer this. How many of you thought this debate was good for the Republican Party . [ cheers ]. They took a straw poll. There were 138 people voting. And i will tell you the number one in the straw poll vote who did the best in this debate according to this group, was ted cruz. 31 votes. Number two, ben carson, 24 votes. John kasich came in third with 22. Donald trump fourth with 18. All right. Theres a guy whos happy. Marco rubio fifth with 16. Rand paul with 10 votes. Carly fiorina with 8. And the last two were jeb bush with three and those three arent here anymore. And Chris Christie with two. Now, i want to talk up here with some of the ted cruz supporters who came in first among this group. What is your name. Marin. Tell me why you thought cruz did so well . I thought he was poised, knowledgeable. You can look at me when you talk. Okay. And he eviscerated are you afraid of me . The camera. And he eviscerated rubio on immigration. The rubio voters, there was a lot of confrontations between cruz and rubio. What did you think of the way rubio did today . I think he did well, and i think he has the message for the message of the Republican Party. Carson was wonderful. He was concise and to the point, very clear. And donald trump, who supported him . Right here. Trump came in fourth place in the straw poll here which isnt as good as he would have liked to have done here. This is a crucial state. The third president ial contest after New Hampshire and iowa. This state is representative of the trump. I think trump did terrific because hes decisive. He knows what he wants to do, and he has the vision of getting great people in office to work with him to get things done, and i think hell make a great president and i think all the experience dealing with government and all of his businesses makes his unique any quali uniquely qualified. I wish i could talk to all of you. This is an interesting slice of the political life here in South Carolina which they call charleston. The people here say its the friendliest city in america. Thanks to everybody who waited around for us in that theater. A lot more to talk babout. The chairman of the party is struggling at times in dealing with the donald trump phenomenon. Well be right back. If you think theres no solution to think again. Crisis, in america, clean energy is already producing enough power for 18 million homes, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and supporting over one million jobs. Im tom steyer. With bold leadership and an Endless Supply of wind and sun, we can do even more. 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With humira, control is possible. One of the Big Questions leading up to the debate here in las vegas is how will the Republican Party deal with trump. They have been trstrategizing about how to stomp him. We spoke with Reince Priebus. Anderson, this has been a year of a lot of hand wringing for gop leaders. Theyve seen a guy leading who they werent sure was going to commit to running as a republican. I spoke with Reince Priebus about that and the possibility of a convention, take a listen to what he had to say. I want to know how you think it went . If you feel like we got into some of the issues that are in the americans minds in the wake of San Bernardino and paris. I thought that cnn did a great job tonight, and its a tough thing. You have nine people up there. Theyre fighting hard. I think wolf did a very nice job of trying to control the situation which is not easy. I thought the Time Distribution was pretty good. It may not have been perfect. Its hard, and they tried to do a nice job. I thought incorporating dana and hu was great. You saw trump once again rule out an independent bid. Is this a sigh of relief or are you still always on edge with the possibility that look, its trump. Hes hard to predict . Im not on edge at all. You trust him . I think the Media Coverage and people running as independents is laughable. I do. I find it to be totally silly and an opportunity for the media to fill air time with silly stories. The next president will be a republican or a democrat. If they want to participate in the republican process, they have to be aligned with the Republican Party. Otherwise, they will not be the nominee of our party, period. What about a brokered convention. Is that laughable . Do you think it could happen . I think its highly unlikely. Well have a m no knee by the end of march or mid april. Its nothing different. I think the only way you ever get to that place is if someone doesnt have enough delegates on the floor, and i dont think thats likely. But its not something that we never think about. And the idea that we would never you asked the question. Everyone asked that question. Of course we prepare for anything, but i think its unlikely. Thank you to much. Appreciate it. Thank you. So you see an rnc chairman who believes there wont be an independent run, but you didnt see him rule out the possibility of a brokered convention. I think thats a reality more and more people are are entertaining because its such a fractured field and the rules are difficult for a republican to cinch the nomination when there are so many republicans. Very interesting to hear from the leader of the Republican Party. Back to you, anderson. And very happy, obviously, he is about how things went tonight. Here with us tonight, cnn National Security commentator, mike rogers who chaired the house intelligence committee. Also cnn commentators. Joining us as well. Trump supporter, andy dean. And cnn political commentator. Andy, youre joining us. How do you think your candidate did tonight . I think it was a good night. 130,000 people poll, trump 47 . Cruz, 24 . I think the big win for trump is there were two fights in the debate. There was trump versus jeb bush whos been rejected by voters, and then rubio against cruz. Theyre highlighting each others problems. Cruz is highlighting rubios problem on immigration. I think its lining up to be a good night for trump. Trump was given the chance to go after cruz previously in previous days, trump said hes a little bit of a maniac. Trump stepping back and not going after him, in fact, saying ive gotten to know him. Hes a good guy. Why fight cruz when rubio will do it for you. And trump will ride the wave. We like where he is in iowa. We like the cnn poll, and we think were going to win iowa and New Hampshire. Like the poll where youre doing good and not the other one. Thats the trump way. I think the strategy that cruz has is working pretty well for him. Bear hugging donald trump to the point where donald trump doesnt feel antagonized. That works to his favor. The fight between cruz and rubio, rubio had better control on issues. He controlled the line of scrimma scrimmage, if youre a rubio voter youre convinced that rubio won. If youre a cruz voter, you think he won. I dont think a whole lot changed other than the atmosphere on the stage. Do you think well be hearing more about rubios position on immigration from cruz . That seems like a line that cruz wants to expose as much as possible. The cruz folks believe its a vulnerability for rubio. But if you talk to the rubio folks, they also believe that cruz has a vulnerability there. For many of his stronger supporters, its new information to them that cruz at one time supported a pathway to citizenship as part of a reform bill. That may give them some pause inside the primary. What did you Pay Attention to as a democrat . I agree with andy. I thought donald trump, in terms of needing to do what he did, he won. He needed to maintain his lead, go into the christmas dinner, he needs to maintain the 41 , and he gave his supporters exactly what they wanted to hear. He talked over the top touuft, when he said they can kill us but we cant kill them. He doubled down an banning muslims and mass deportation, and he also gave a crowd pleasers and bashed cnn for the way they talked. He seems more comfortable in the debate format now, and, again, and he said this after to chris cuomo, that he hadnt done this before. Hes getting kind of used to it. Tonight i thought he seemed to enjoy the process and seemed a lot more comfortable. Hes always relatively comfortable, but i thought tonight was probably one of his better debates. No. No. I mean, not so much. I should have gone to andy. Not surprisingly, i dont think it was great. Usually hes kind of a nan factor in debates. Hes a lot better at these rallies. Tonight i didnt think he was a nonfactor. I thought he had a poor performance. He struggled to explain what he meant by closing down the internet. I think marco got him tripped up on the nuclear triad. He got a number of boos at times, and in particular, during one of jeb bushs lines which was unexpected. I dont think it was a great performance, but his supporters dont care. I do think the debate between rubio and cruz was a really good one, and they both won. You know, rubio won when he had to explain his Foreign Policy and the nsa data collection, and ted cruz, i think won on immigration. I think the point that weve rel seeing from these candidates, if you need more than 15 seconds to explain your position, its too granular, and thats why someone like trump is leading when it comes to terrorism. Marco wins on Foreign Policy as opposed to ted cruz who has to explain his position. Ted cruz wins on immigration next to rubio who has to explain a position on immigration. This is just not the climate for that. Lets show the exchange between rubio and cruz on data collection. We are now at a time when we need more tools, not less tools, and that tool we lost was a valuable tool that we no longer have at our disposal. Senator cruz . I would note that marco knows what hes saying isnt true. What he knows is the old program covered 20 to 30 of phone numbers to search for terrorists. The new Program Covers nearly 100 . That gives us greater ability to stop acts of terrorism. He knows thats the case. This bill took away a valuable tool that allowed the National Agency security, and other intelligence agencies to rapidly access phone records and match them up with other phone records to see who terrorists had been calling because i promise you, the next time there is an attack on this country, the first thing people want to know is why didnt we know about it and why didnt we stop it. The answer better not be because we didnt have access to records or information that would have allowed us to identify the killers before they attacked. Who do you think did best on that . I think if youre not familiar with all of the details of that, i think thats where Chris Christie won a good shot, its hard to follow that debate. I dont think if you had a position you looked at that and thought i got flipped or im not sure. I happen to be involved in that so i think theyre both a little bit wrong, candidly, on their position. One, there is a program. Its not what it was, and as senator cruz says, he was wrong in the sense that we lose time. Its not that we can go do it. We lost a lot of time in the fact that you cant like happened in San Bernardino, they would be able to get that information. Now it may take hours or days to get that information, and if youre trying to fight a terrorist attack, thats the problem. Theyre both a little bit wrong . Im excited were having the conversation. Ill tell you one thing i saw tonight with the coverage in South Carolina. What that told me as a political candidate before is cruz has a better ground game. Youll have ground folks driving people to that event. So this wasnt about somebody walking in not entg a cruz supporter saying i think he won. This was cruz supporters being driven to the event who came out and said i vote for cruz. I think that shows he has a better ground game. Thats important. First of all, if hes right and they both won, that means rubio lost. Because ted cruz is ascending right now. He has better data and a better ground game and better numbers in iowa. Rubio needed to get out and show hes a rising star. He did not look like a rising star today, from my point of view. I think he needed to slow some of cruzs momentum. He didnt. The other thing, there was a lot of from a democrats point of view. A lot of mythology that was not challenged. Talking about deportations. Cruz talked about other president s deported millions of people. Obama has deported millions of people. Nobody challenged him on his facts. Other things that are, as if obama isnt being muscular in terms of using drones. Backups base is mad at him for being too militaristic. Theres a mythology that is counter factual about obama. Were going to go to jake. We have more tonight. Anderson, thanks oh so much. Facts are stubborn things. There was a lot of tough talk claiming the obama failed to do enough to prevent the San Bernardino terrorist attack, the female terrorist had posted her support for violent jihad online. Tom foreman joins us with a reality check. Tom . Jake, several of the candidates went directly at that saying if only Security Experts in the government had looked at social media closer, they could have stopped it. Listen. We didnt monitor the facebook posting of the female San Bernardino terrorist because the obama dhs thought it would be inappropriate. Every parent in america is checking social ya and every employer, but our government cant do it . This lady was posting things on facebook. Yet, we were restricted from looking. The problem with all of that is that government officials tell us there is no policy against looking at social media. Its just not done a terrible amount of the time. Its not really common because they dont think it works terribly well. Why . Because its a little bit too easy to conceal your identity on social media y a and the woman was using a false identity and hiding her messages. She wasnt on a watch list. Could they get better at this . Sure. But to suggest that somehow this was the key that was overlooked because of Political Correctness, that is simply false across the board. You can find out more about this and all our reality checks at cnn. Com reality check. Jake . Thanks, tom. Next, speaking social media, online reaction. What debate viewers are saying on facebook. Well check on with don lemon. Hes at the facebook lounge. [eerie music] i am the ghost of cookies past. Residue. Oh. So gross. Well, you didnt use pam. So it looks like youre stuwith me bargain brand cooking spray leaves annoying residue. Thats why theres pam. Weve heard from the candidates, the spin doctors and panelists. We wanted to get a sense of how the debate played out outside of las vegas. Don lemon has been combing through the reaction through the facebook lounge. Don . Pundits have been listening to the strategists talking about who they thought won. 1. 5 Million People weighed in on cnns facebook page. This is the only question we asked after the debate at the end of the debate. Did donald trump do a good job defending his position to ban muslims from entering the United States. 63 of people saying he did a good job. I have to remind you, this is an unscientific poll. This is taken by people watching the debate. Also, what is the most effective tool for combatting isis . An overwhelming people of people, 69 said arab coalition. Thats the most effective tool for combatting isis. Another question, should the u. S. Accept refugees from syria. 69 of people said no. They were paying attention to what the candidates were saying and agreeing with many of the candidates up there. What is the greatest National Security threat to the u. S. . Obviously here they said isis. 73 of the people watching isis. The top five issues at home being discussed, discussing at home, meaning on facebook, islam, isis, terrorism, racial discrimination, and immigration. Those are the top five most discussed topics on facebook. The top five candidates, of course, donald trump is number one. Ted cruz is two. This is the first time jeb bush has been in the top five. People on Facebook Think jeb bush did himself a service in this debate, and then sharing that number three is rubio, and number five is ben carson. And here is the top social moment on facebook right here. The Second Exchange between trump and bush where bush said trump youre not going to insult your way to the white house. That was the most discussed conversation on facebook. Thanks, don, from the facebook lounge to the twitter attic. Were back with our panel. Let me ask you a question, david. Do you think let me give you an elegant answer. Weve heard president obama and other democrats, and even some republicans say that what donald trump is proposing is zone phob zone phobic. Others dont agree. Is this something that is correct hurt him in a general election . Do enough americans share the view or care . Well, the polls also show that in a general election, the numbers flip, and theres they dont support it, but would it hurt him . Well, i think in combination with some of the other positions hes taken. One thing that scares republicans is the immigration position and the antihispanic tenor, and i think this all kind of blends together. When mitt romney said hed ask hispanics to selfsupport, he lost the asian vote 7525. Everyone felt they were being impui impugned by that position. I dont know if thats true. No offense to you, but that is crass. Michael, what do you think . I guess my question is, i dont know. If it drives people to the polls. You acknowledge the numbers. Twothirds of americans are opposed to what hes put forth. Youre asking if it would drive people to the polls. I think that it is that kind of an issue. I think there would be an antagonism toward trump and the perception of islam phobia that i think would do the republican candidate if he were at the top of the ticket. We are becoming a more diverse country each election, and his base is among mostly noncollegeeducated whites who are resistant to change. When he gets into a general election environment, these are not salable, and it puts the republican in great jeopardy. The question is if trump is the nominee, what is the mood of the country . Are they as frightened as they are. If there are no more terrorist attacks, and we go back to an election more about economy and structural politics, then trumps issues with nonwhite voters, if you look at the data, theyre off the charts, and every second we sit here, we get a more diverse electorate. We hear, maybe i dont agree with what he said about mexican immigrants, but hes talking about doing something and getting the issue on the table, and thats what i like. Its leadership. Thats right. And santorum, that was essentially what he was arguing there too, and you heard this audience. They were clapping. When he was trying to thread that needle saying i dont necessarily agree with his policy, but its a good thing hes raising the issue. Sarah palin was in the audience and clapping. She supports the policy. And she supports trump and cruz. She likes both of them. I think shes got a read on that crowd that trump likes and the cruz crowd as well. And jeff, you work for the Des Moines Register for years. This is not a measure, the diversity that david is talking about, the demographic, not necessarily really reflected in the iowa Republican Party. Its not reflected in that, but i can tell you when i talk to voters in iowa, i was there on friday night, i was struck by the number of people who said they have caucused before. Im not sure hes bringing that many new people in in iowa. They were also looking at trump and cruz. That is the dynamic there. People dont necessarily agree with everything he says, but they love his strength and how he gives obama held and how he talks about i can beat hillary which may or may not be accurate. Most polls show the opposite. They still like what hes saying, but i believe as we get closer and everyone says when it comes time to pick a president , voters take a different view. Iowa, New Hampshire voters are savvy. That is the thing to watch Going Forward here. The race is propelling us, but are the voters going to stick with donald trump . Is he giving them enough specifics . They love his strength. Im not sure. In iowa, the most strident antiimmigration voice in the United States congress, steve king with a lot of leverage in that caucus, has endorsed ted cruz. Despite Donald Trumps nativism, cruz has been endorsed by king. No question. Donald trump, do you think he can get the nomination . Leaving las vegas, to quote the movie title, id rather be ted cruz. Politically speaking, as i look at the stage and say who would i want to be, i think the momentum is more on cruzs side. I think hes going tob to have a better organization. He has enough money. I dont think trump is going to spend his money when all is said and done, and i think cruz is leaving this town ahead of steam. How candidates did using online crowd sourcing. Stay with us. Snowmen with buttons, snowflakes with icing candy corn feathers, sure look enticing Rice Krispies treats, the fun doesnt stop how many ways can you snap, crackle, pop . Make the holidays a treat with kelloggs Rice Krispies. What a night here in las vegas. The republican candidates facing off in their final debate of 202 2015. The focus tonight National Security. The spin room has been buzzing. We have another early measure of what who may have one. Weve teamed up with pivot. Here are the results of our poll. The three kdss with the biggest change tonight . Donald trumps odds are fallen three points to 25 . Rubio has dropped two points at 34 . Cruz is up a point now at 32 . Again, just one early measure of tonights debate. I want to bring back our panel again. Van, you were talking about Carly Fiorina a little bit during the break. I want to play one of the things shes talked about. Lets play that. Talking tough is not the same as being strong, and to wang war, we need a commander in chief who has made tough calls in tough times and stood up to be accountable over and over. Not first term senators who never made an executive decision in their life. One of the things i would immediately do in addition to defeating them at home is bring back the warrior class, petraeus, mccrystal, mad us, keene, flynn. They were all retired early because they told president obama things he didnt want to hear. Ill add Margaret Thatcher once said if you want something talked about, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman. I mean, that was wrong. Obviously, crystal had some personal issues. Heres what i like, though, about carly. Every time she got on the mike, she tried to put forward a workable solution. For instance, the reason that certain things arent done in the government is because of federal government. Some of it is because the technology is so outdated. Whether its the right answer or not, at least shes trying to identify real solutions. She could get more credit for trying to be a voice of problem solving and not just point scoring. Whats happened to her on the campaign trail . Shes had strong debate performances in the past. Weve seen numbers go up, and then she slides down again. Shes really good on the debate stage. She does have a good story. But timing is crucial in politics, and Carly Fiorina may have missed her moment. Its weird. She always has a good debate performance, and then for whatever reason, she seems to disappear afterwards. I dont mean just in the polls. I mean physically, she kind of goes dark. After these great performances, i want to see her on a morning show own a late night show. I know carly and ive met her a number of times. Shes very warm. She has a great personality. Shes very funny, and i wish more people would get to see that. For whatever reason, thats not the plan. Ive never seen a debate performance like the one where the consensus was that Carly Fiorina won. But she did not build infrastructure off of that. She does not raise the money off of that. That has hurt her. She went up quick, but now you need a debate performance to get you out of the poll spiral, alo along with carson. I dont think the debate performance, i agree with van. I dont think she got it. I think shes having a hard time connecting to voters. Shes a rock star when you sit her in a room and talk to her about National Security. Off the charts. And when she got out with after that particular debate and was doing National Security forums, she was hard a hard time connecting. Part of it is that ceo style of even temperament. Sometimes they want their candidates to get a little feisty and emotional. She missed that part, and i think thats what cost her that momentum. Ive been on the trail with her, and she really does connect on the ground. I just wish she would make more of these great debate performances, and do the sort of get to know you stuff that other candidates do after they have a great debate performance. To andys, trump connects in a way that no other candidate out there does, and with for a guy as wealthy as he is, you might expect him not being able to connect, and yet, he has this bond. Theres a genuineness to him, whether you believe what he says or like it or not, people kind of want to be part of that experience. Right. To that point, there are three things people look at. What you say, how often you interrupt and your body language. Carly does well with what she says. She interrupts at the wrong time. She interrupted a great moment. Thats bad debate etiquette. Carly doesnt have the body language thing down. I think shes really polished. Like i said, ive spoken to her a lot. Shes polished and serious. She knows her stuff. Shes taking this race seriously. The other person is Chris Christie. He came to fight i really thought when he the thing he does often, you know, scolding people. You guys are talking in ways that arent connecting with the american people. Tonight it was effective. Tonight when you had rubio and cruz going down the senate rabbit hole. Listen, guys at home, i know you dont know what theyre talking about. I want to talk to you. When he does stuff like that, sometimes but tonight it was very effective. I think he is going to cause rubio problems. Im terrified of rubio. I dont mean to him to win. Im clear about that. I would have expected as a democrat . Thats the one we dont want. We feel like rubio will give us fits. He comes in with florida and the Latino Connection and the young thing. Hes so different from Hillary Clinton. Tonight i go to sleep sleeping better because between what Chris Christie is doing to him in New Hampshire and what ted cruz did to him on the debate stage, i think rubio is in trouble. Thats a campaign commercial for rubio right there. Sure. Right there. One more time to make sure. Look into the camera. Were getting the tape out. I want to thank our panelists. We mentioned the fiorina clip wasnt exactly 100 accurate. Tom foreman joins us with another reality check. No one tougher than cruz when he talked about the white houses failed syria policy. Even worse, president obama and Hillary Clinton are thousands of Syrian Refugees to this poirnt when the head of the fbi has told congress they cannot vet those refugees. This has been the hot issue lately. Lets look at the numbers. Since 2011 2200 have come here. No indication its tens of thousands. While the head of the fbi says its difficult to vet them, he hasnt said it cant be done. Well say the claim is false. That does it for us here. I want to thank our panelists who braved the cold temperatures out here while jake and his team got to be inside. I want to thank the dabt team. Thanks for staying up. Coming up, an encovre edition o the debate. 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