Transcripts For CNNW New Day 20151223

Few look at the next three candidates, ted cruz in second place. The Democratic Front runner talked in an interview. Though she refused to address his comments directly. Listen. I really support the tone of this campaign and the inflammato ininflammatory rhetoric he is using to divide people. Reporter now trump for his part tweeting overnight, quote, when i said Hillary Clinton slot shlonged by obama, it meant, beaten badly. The media knows this, often used word if politics. Not sure how to fact check that assertion at this point. Chris. Maybe its more common if you give it a different accent in french, maybe then its more common. Okay. We are joining now by cnn political director David Callahan an senior contributor for the daily caller, matt lewis, author of the new book too dumb to fail. Lets put it up one more time. This is interesting to see the progress or lack thereof. The candidates have made. Donald trump far and away again the leader. He is up since, hmm, this is no. So donald trump is 39 . He had been at 36 in november. He is more than twice his closest competitor. You cant look at the numbers and say that donald trump closes out 2015 in the most dominant position hes been in and probably a more dominant position than any of us ever expected when we got to the place that we would be just a month away from the voting. But the other thing that is as stroundi i astounding in these numbers is that you cant find a bad number for donald trump here. Across the issues, he does better than his overall support which means that there are republicans who are choosing other candidates to vote for in this poll who still believe donald trump would be the best on economy, the best on immigration, the best on isis. He has real strength underneath his horse race number. So while it is fair criticism that the media has to get out of no one expected mode and trump only gains and if you look at the numbers, other than cruz, taking some of carsons bacon, everybody else has stayed static or even dropped. What does this mean for you and people in your party . Because there is this what seems increasingly like a fantasy that somehow there is going to be a sea change and trump will no longer be as big a deal because of the votes. Now what . To me the big number, its not that trump is up by so much, although he is up by so much, but its also if you add up his votes with ted cruzs votes, with ben carsons numbers, youre at like a supermajority of the Republican Base right now nationally. And thats a really, really big deal because if you were holding out hope that voters will come to their senses, theyre flirting with donald trump but they will marry marco rubio lets say, those numbers make it really hard to sort of come to that conclusion. And again, if you add up trump and ben carson and ted cruz, you have a combined three years of elected experience for about, what, 67 to 70 of the vote right now. Ted cruz is the guy who looks like the experienced serious guy that could win and yet this is a guy who shut down the government and attacked the senate majority, republican majority leader on the floor of the senate. So an amazing turn of events not even doturn of events, itsn amazing development. And we do want to get to the love fest, but just to prove your point, immigration which of course is the signature issue of donald trump you could say, who would be best to handle illegal immigration was the question asked. Now 55 of republicans believe it is trump. Thats up from before the debate, which where it was still huge at 48 . Ted cruz second at 15 . But in terms of it being a twoman race, which is how ted cruz is now framing what is going on bd at poand the poll n lets me play for you what ted cruz said yesterday. Donald may well be right that this is turning more and more into a twoman race between donald trump and me. And i think if thats the case, the decision will be made by the voters in terms of who has the experience, the record, who has been a consistent conservative, standing for the constitution, standing for our freedom, standing with the american people. So if this is a twoman race and ted cruz likes to think that it is, why arent these two trump and cruz going at each other more . Well, im not as convinced that it is down to a twoman race. I think we still have many more lives in this battle. But i do think what you just heard there is ted cruz who has done the consistent conservative message throughout the entirety of his campaign i think is starting to prepare a contrast you can hear with donald trump. Interestingly, jeb bub back in t bush back in the summer tried this line of attack that trump hasnt been a true consistent conservative. Hes given Campaign Contributions to democrats, he has supported policy positions which are not in line with the conservative principles, and yet it has had no affect on his supporters. Hes a smart guy. Obviously he should say its a twoman race because its good for him. And there is no reason to race powder right now for either of these guys. You havent even had a vote yet. About tbut the bigger question, are we going to do the classic bun gel which is get a candidate that makes us happy on the inside and hurts us on the outside and we lose the general. Where is the hope in the general . Well, really interesting things raised. There is the of a yot aof a cav nobody has voted yet. If you want to hold out hope and maybe this is a desperation clinging, its possible if cruz wins iowa, somebody like christie or rubio wins New Hampshire, the donald trump facade comes crashing down that hes a winner. But you could imagine that the Republican Party will nominate somebody like a donald trump who will use rhetoric that is divisive, that will cast the Republican Party and the conservative movement not as a party of ideas even like ted cruz wants it, but as a sort of white populist nativist party. And if that happens, in the short run, its maybe not as devastating, but in the long run, it would be very damaging i think for the Republican Party to sort of be a tribalist party that is kind of exclusively for older white rural voters. And that is a real danger that well have the parties essentially line up and it would be identity politics, which i really hate honestly. I think politics should be about ideas. But the donald trump model that were seeing would be an identity politics model that is more cultural, more clash based than philosophy based. David, matt, we have many more numbers to run through but, but well have to wait until our 8 00 hour do that. A polster made that point yesterday, trump may win, but his numbers wont be like this, it wont be that he has three times what the next person has and that will contract the race and may drive confidence in other candidates. Not a single caucus or primary has happened yet. True. Did donald trump make Hillary Clinton cry . No. But clinton did get emotional after referencing donald trump tuesday responding to a young girls question about bullying. Take a listen. I think we are not treating each other with the respect and the and the care that we should show toward each other. And thats why its important to stand up to bullies wherever they are and why we shouldnt let anybody bully his way into the presidency. What really got you you is the girl asking the question, she says she hears other people whisper about her because she has asthma. So it was good for her to have that moment. But interesting moment for Hillary Clinton, as well. Yeah. Quick programming note to tell you about. Tomorrow we will hear from bernie sanders. Hes going to join us on new day with the latest he believes on the race. And we have news about the war happening right now. Iraqi Government Forces backed by air Coalition Air power advancing into ramadi, this is the latest movement in a fierce fight against isis since the terrorists took hold of that critical region in may. We have robyn kriel live with the latest. Reporter fierce fighting ever since iraqi forces entered parts of the city early yesterday morning in a daring raid. We understand that the United States has been helping, as well. They have been launching a number of air strikes, the u. S. Led coalition has been launching a number of air strikes, hitting weapons caches and command posts. They also helped build a bridge that was used in a daring move, a temporary bridge because isis has destroyed all the bridges around the city of ramadi. The city is enclosed by a number of canals really from the euphrates river. Iraqi troops crossing over that bridge Early Morning and entering in a daring morning raid. Commandos are trying to advance on the city center, theyre looking for those key government buildings in the center of the city to raise their flag and recapture the city. Now, we understand as well that iraqi forces include Counterterrorism Forces also trained by the americans, they include sunni tribes, as well as shia forces. Theyre battling against isis fighters around 250 to 300 isis fighters and they also we also understand they have to do this slowly because isis has kept a number of civilians as human shields. Okay, keep us updated on that unfolding story. Meanwhile, Amnesty International releasing a new report this morning calling out russia for ignoring the growing civilian death toll while launching air strikes in syria. Moscow says its targeting terrorists, but others disagree. Matthew chance is live in moscow with the latest for us. Reporter thanks. Its not the first time of course that russia has been accused of killing civilians in syria. Its been launching more than 4,000 Bombing Missions across that country in the past three months. They say they have had a massive impact on isis and other islamist groups. But of course the allegation that civilians have been paying a price as well has always been there. The amnesty report on this occasion says that it focuses on six attacks specifically that they have been investigating. A mosque attack, an attack on a hospital, civilian areas, as well, in which at least 200 civilians were killed as a result of russian air strikes. The russians havent directly commented on the latest amnesty report, but they have spoken in the past about who they target, they have rejected any allegations that they killed any civilians. I was in syria last week and asked the defense spokesman who was with me this question and he said we show you what we hit, we hit terrorist targets, islamic groups. We havent killed any civilians. Thats the russian position. Also amnesty says not everyone agrees, there are lots of critics on the ground, aid workers, eyewitnesses, doctor, who amnesty have spoken to who contradict that russian account, but that is what the russians have said in the past and i expect it is what they will say this time if they react. Brings up the sensitive term of collateral damage. Matthew, thank you. Were learning that the militarys first openly gay woman is one of the six victims of mondays Taliban Attack in afghanistan. She is air force major vond von brew again. Breaking overnight, two men arrested by counterterrorism teams in sydney, australia as part of and Ongoing Investigation into the alleged planning of terror attacks. The arrests have based on documents seized more than a year ago. Formal charges are expected later today. Officials say there is no evidence to suggest a current or inpending threat. An agent he gun, bamg and flash drive stolen from his car in broad daylight. Blocks from the white house. A source says the agent works in the president ial protective divisio division. Secret service, no comment. They leave their cars unlocked . Meanwhile with iraq fighting to get the key city of ramadi back from isis, how involved is the u. S. . How involved should we be . Well get a former ambassador to iraq with his view next. The flu virus hits big. With aches, chills, and fever, theres no such thing as a little flu. And it needs a big solution an antiviral. So when the flu hits, call your doctor right away and up the ante with antiviral tamiflu. Prescription tamiflu is an antiviral that attacks the flu virus at its source and helps stop it from spreading in the body. Tamiflu is fda approved to treat the flu in people two weeks of age and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. 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So what is next for this key city and what does this show us overall . We have james jeffrey, currently a visiting fellow at the washington institute. Mr. Ambassador, thank you for joining us. What is different now and what do you see as the importance of this battle in ramadi . Thank you. Well, it isnt over yet, but it looks like that the iraqi forces will seize control of the town in a matter of days. Three things are different. First, you have a very significant increase in the types and quantity of american support including air support, engineering support, fairly close up front advisinging the iraqis on how to take down the isis forces. Secondly, you have local sunni forces, sunni arab forces, deeply involved in this fight. Thats important. Thirdly, you have really good iraqi units, what is called the golden lions Counterterrorism Division is this charge of this fight. Theyre very good, they have been trained by us for years. So those are the three things that are different. What will happen in further battles in bigger cities where there are more isis troops, it will be a very long struggle, but the underlying point is the more the United States puts people on the ground and puts people and air force elements into the fight, the faster well be able to take down isis. And that is job one for thissed administration and for the next one. But the rub is that that means the more you will see u. S. Men and women this harms way and the more bad things we will hear about happening to them which raises the question of whose war is this to fight. At some point do the u. S. Contributions wind upping at least supplemented if not replaced by other arab Muslim States, arab and or Muslim States who get into fight their own battle . The u. S. Has to play a role. It cannot play the complete role of the majority, provide the majority of forces on the ground. Right now there are hundreds of thousands of troops, kurdish troop, various other forces holding the line against 20,000 to 20 30,000 isis forces. We cant replace that. But on offensive operations, we can employee complete forces to take the lead, but also to show others that were not trying to stay out of this fight. Thats been part of the administrations problem all along in mobilizing arab forces to fight with us. What do you make of a lot of the gop rhetoric that we dont have any strategy going on and that you have to do more . Do you hear anything that rings true and do you hear any ideas that would make us per off than we are right now . John mccain and Lindsey Graham have good ideas, but theyre not at the Center Obviously of this campaign. In the campaign itself, i think that a lot of the rhetoric doesnt show a lot of understanding about what is going on. Now, something that does show some understanding of what is going on is when we look at this new report about the breakdown of the reb speel groups in syrit is a frightening revelation for many here that many of these rebel groups that want to take out assad share fundamentalist extremist islamist sympathies. So what does that say . If you get rid of a assad and one of these groups come on in take share the same basic ideology of isis, is anybody better off . Absolutely. You have to get rid of assad and isis for any stability in this entire region. Secondly, in iraq we dealt all of the time with Islamic Religious parties from the shia side and sunni arab side. Much of the middle east has ideologies that indicate the islamic law should be applied. And basically social values and rules that we in the west dont find com mattabbapatible with o. The question is will they take up arms against us and fellow muslims who dont believe what they believe. And that is a different question. But thats the whole concern. You dont want to help people who will turn around and attack you you once they get in. 60 of these rebel groups have islamic extremist sympathies, what does that tell you about the future . Again, much of the middle east has islamic extremist sympathies, but most dont take up arms. That is a small group of people around al qaeda and isis. Except theyre taking up arms right now to ass assad. Thats different, that is insurgency against a government that has been repressing them. Ambassador, thank you very much. Best of the holidays to you. Thank you. Listen to this, there has been a major Security Breach at one of americas busiest airports. This of course during the busy holiday season. We give you all the details next. Discover card hey so im looking at my bill and my fico Credit Scores on here. Yeah we give you your fico credit score. For free awesomesauce the only person i know that says that is. Lisa . Julie . 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A man jumping the perimeter fence and ending up on the taxiway. Rene marsh has more for us in d. C. What have you learned . Well, investigators still arent sure who or where this man is. He was able to get away before police even got on scene. Investigators are now going through Surveillance Video frame by frame. We are told there are no clear shots of the mans face. The video shows him from behind only as he scales that fence at the airport. We do know it was a Cargo Airline worker who 1309 spotted and questioned the intruder who didnt have the required i. D. Thats when the trespasser warned, quote, you better not say expletive, this all happened about a week ago. And it demonstrates the holes it security, Perimeter Security, which is the airports responsibility. What is the airline and airports response to this report . Well, Port Authority is in charge of the airport. We reached out to them to find out what kind of changes have been put in place since will this incident happened to make sure it doesnt happen again. We have not received a response as yet. The fact of the matter is because the intruder got away, investigators still dont know what the motive was. And the congressman who represents the district is extremely concerned about the fact that there are so many questions about this mystery man who made it on to the taxi way at jfk airport. He tells cnn that he has reached out to the department of Homeland Security, hes asking for an independent assessment of jfks Perimeter Security to make sure its up to par. Here he is. Take a listen. We dont know whether or not they were there casing the airport, whether they were testing security, what the purpose was. And stld seem it would seem to person has some idea if they got away of weak points in the securi security. So the concern really is, is the Perimeter Security at jfk airport which by the way one of the busiest in the country, is it up to par. Conscien congressman meeks says this should not happen and asking the department of Homeland Security to step in and do an independent assessment to step in where the weaknesses are, what needs to be improved. This is troubling on many of levels. Rene, thank you. So with all of this in mind, what are officials going to do to fix this, is the Perimeter Security a question at other airports, as well . We will be speaking more with congressman meeks live next. Another incident raising the alarm about Airport Security ahead of the holiday season. A man breaching the fence at jfk last week, just walking on to the taxiway. That man still at large and many want to determine his intent. Lets bring in gregory meeks, he represents the area. Early christmas wishes to you and the family. Doesnt it seem, congressman, like we have these conversations at different intervals where, wow, this was really bad, wow, this really exposes weakness in our security, this by waxwby gu in, who knows where he is, why he was there. And then seems like we dont get any better. Is that an unfair characterization some. Its a concern and thats why im asking for the department of Homeland Security to come in and do an independent investigation. And make recommendations to how we make our airport more secure. I dont want people to panic or anything of that nature. But when you see that youve got a hole in your system, its got to be fixed. And what is disconcerting to me is not only that he got in and on to the tarmac, but he got out. You know, to me that means either you knew something about the airport, and how you know how to get out, and also the fact that it took a period of time for Law Enforcement to get on the scene so that we could have made sure that we caught this guy. And now i want to make sure there is an investigation that is continuing so we can find who this guy is and what he was doing on the arrest mactarmac b were not sure. Some of the chatter out of the authorities yesterday was this is probably a guy who was mentally ill. That means you have an unsophisticated guy who was able to wander on. But the information about the visa application for the San Bernardino murdering wife says is government cant get this done. Even Something Like protecting one of the nations biggest airports, cant do it. Fair criticism . Well, i think that we have to fix it. I think there is also when i called in the Port Authority to my office to find out what was going on, there are a number of cases in which people were caught who attempted to get on the tarmac. Fair point. So we just need to fix and continue to review and revise wherever we find a weak link. And thats what we have to continually do to keep up with whoever is trying to become to invade the airport or try to get in through the visa program. So we have to keep fixing and moving. You can never be complacent. There are holes and then there are hole. If i walk through your front door into your house, its not like we need to fix that problem. In f. A guy hops the fence and walks on to jfk and the cops complai cant get there time, you have a bigger problem. Well, is there something that needs to be fixed. And thats why im upset. Not only that, the time lapse for police to get there, where the communications between the Port Authority police and the new York City Police department and tsa, whether or not that was there. Also, what is really concerning to me is the perimeter. Because were talking about protecting the perimeter. We have this perimeter intrusion defense system, they cost a lot of money. The first question i have is did the fence work or didnt it work. Im finding that that fence was not what was infiltrated. Will are other parts where the fence is not there. So now the question is and there are areas where the tenants of the Port Authority are in charge of security. So do we need to put the fence around the entire airport. Are there not patrols. Those questions that have to be answered and fixed at jfk and maybe other airports about. So you get to the metaphor value. It takes us back to San Bernardino, the visa application for that murdering wife is now out there. And we all know the speculation that they missed what she was doing online. Yes, it was in another language and she was using a different name and it was direct messages on facebook, this is harder to t detect. But it makes people feel like government complaint gant get done and fueling a lot of animosity toward refugees. How can we get refugees in the country when you let this lady go even though she had all bad motives. We have zero room for error because we dont want any type of malfunction of the system. But you cant guarantee me 100 . Nothing is ever guaranteed 100 . And we have to continue to work hard to try to make sure that we review and review and review. And if you find a deficit someplace that you fix it and you move forward. But when you look at the number of cases that are not reported, where individuals were stopped, it shows that the system is functioning and people in government is working, but it is 24 not perfect. I dont know anything that is, but i know that we have to continue to work and understand the climate in which we live in and that was important to me even when i talked to the Port Authority and when you talk to the department of Homeland Security, that theyre not complacent, they understand that even with the successes that they have had, they cant afford to have one failure. And they have to keep moving and try to stay on top of it. And its a continuing process. So people shouldnt be panicked like we dont have a system out there that is working. There is. But there is no 100 guarantees. Thats why we also immediate folks to if you hear something or see something, say something. I think that that employee that was on the airport that saw and challenged that person and then reported him immediately thar, s a good thing. Important thing, dont let the exception become the rule. Thank you, congressman. Break out the barbecue. It looks like it will be a warm christmas. Still, there are some areas of the country that could see more Severe Weather this weekend. We have the latest on your holiday forecast straight ahead. Just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda®. No calorie sweetener. Splenda® lets you experience. The joy of sugar. Without all the calories. Think sugar, say splenda® big day . Ah, the usual. Moved some new cars. Hauled a bunch of steel. Kept the supermarket shelves stocked. Made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. Whats up for the next shift . Ah, nothing much. Just keeping the lights on. laugh nice. Doing the big things that move an economy. See you tomorrow, mac. See you tomorrow, sam. Just another day at norfolk southern. I provide for my family. I will use my education to help my community. I will inspire our next generation of leaders. I am a college student, but i am only 1 . Only 1 of College Students are american indian. Donate now, and help our numbers grow. Three people wounded in a stabbing attack in gentlemjerus. Two are seriously wounded. Attacker was shot at the scene, his condition unknown at this hour. This is just the latest in a string of near daily attacks on israelis since last month. Well have a live report from jerusalem coming up. Donald trump decisively the man to beat as republicans turn the corner into 2016. A poll out just this morning, his lead, you cant find a better superlative, he is more than the next three people combined. 39 , yes, he doesnt have a majority yet, but he doesnt need one. Republicans say they also trust trump most on major issues. The economy, isis, immigration. Right now republicans are pointing at this man as hair hope for the future. A mysterious streak of light appeared over california and nevada last night. Look at this. The bright light igniting social media. People asking what it was. It turns out it was not a ufo. It was not a meteor either. Who says that . Officials say. Officials say it was russia space debris entering the atmosphere. In bla. Blaming it on the russians. And now the control room saying we have no time to chat. So convenient. Dreaming of a white christmas, chad everett, youre always dreaming. What do you see on that map . You will be fishing on christmas day. It will be that nice. 70 something across all of the northeast. I mean, this sun heard of. Even when i was a kid growing up in buffalo, we had snow every single christmas. Its not even close this year. In fact Severe Weather take, it feels like spring outside. We have spring type weather across the east coast. Temperatures are in the 60s and 70s. There may be tornadoes around memphis today, record i highs. Every red tot today is a forecast record high. Look at tomorrow, new york city gets to 72. L. A. Or 71. L. A. Gets to 62. Were not even close. Were ten degrees warmer than los angeles here in new york and were forecasting a record high on christmas day. Again, 64 degrees. Record warmth across the east, cold across the west. If youre going skiing in the rockies, it couldnt be a better place to go. But if youre traveling through the middle part of the country, watch out for hail, tornadoes and gusty winds. Im going to have to change my sweater dress plan for tomorrow. Thank you. Trump is on top in the latest poll. And the gop insiders are sinking. Is this the end of the gop as we know it . A new piece in the atlantic explains how the gop can save itself. David frum the author is here next. Some of these experimentsere notmay not work. Il. But a few might shape the future. Like turning algae into biofuel. New technology for capturing co2 emissions. And cars twice as efficient as the average car today. Ideas exxonmobil scientists are working on to make energy go further. No matter how many tries it takes. Energy lives here. Discover card. Hooh, youre real . . You know im real at discover, were always here to talk. Good, cause i dont have time for machines. Some Companies Just dont appreciate the power of conversation you know, i like you i like you too at discover, we treat you like youd treat you. Get the it card and talk to a real person. Donald trump atop the republican field. New cnn polling shows trump at 39 nationwide, that is more than the next three candidates combined. Many Trump Supporters say they feel abandoned by politics as usual and they like trumps message of bring back the country. Lets bring in david frum, now Senior Editor at the atlantic and hes written a new article called the great republican revolt in which he offers solutions to fix the party. David, nice to see you this morning. Good morning. So this is a provocative piece where youre speaking about the republican revolt. Let me read a passage. You say the most pessimistic people in america are the people we use order call middle americans, middle class, and middle aged. Not rich and not poor. People who are irked when asked to press one for english and who wonder how white male became an accusation rather than a description. So tell me what your evidence is for seeing this new demographic. Well, there is a lot of survey evidence backing up those words. For example, if you ask white people who didnt graduate from college do you think youll be better off in ten years, will your children have a Better Future than you, they offer the most pessimistic answers than any group in america, more pessimistic than groups who are doing objectively worse in economic terms. And interestingly, the second most pessimistic group, the only group almost as pessimistic as whiteses who didnt goat to college are whites who did go to college. And Donald Trumps message which isnt hope and the best of america is yet to come, but, hey, were dying, the country is crippled, that resonates, it sounds true. He does say well be winning, there will be so much winning when im president , you want know what to do with yourself. But how did a billionaire new yorker come to be the voice for these people . He offers partly by default. The Republican Partys idea after the romney defeat in 2012 was they were going to put a nice dish of jeb bush in front of the Republican Party and it was going to eat it whether it liked it or not. And about they if they didnt like it, there would be 100 million of super pac money to make them eat it. And the party changed nothing. It had this message this 2012. And its kind of incredible. Well take away medicare from people under 55, well use that money to finance a giant tax cut, this at a time when americans have never had less confidence in business and the traditional leaders of the economy. And the only change were going to make between 2012 and 2016 is well have much more immigration. And well have jeb bush, the brother of the president who you didnt like last time, to execute all of it. That seems looking back on the o. It not a very plausible plan, but that was the plan and donald trump knocked that plan to the floor. So this morning the polls suggest that donald trump is the far and away leader. Does trump win the gop nomination . Its still true that 70 of republicans dont approve of him and say they will a majority of the party says they will never vote for him. And he retains the hostility of anybody in the Republican Party who can write a big check. So those things matter. But if republicans are to stop him, they need do more than simply say well offer you back what we did in the bush years plus more immigration. So you have some suggestions in the article of what you believe could fix the gop. First thing you say is double down. What does that mean . I offer four options to the Republican Party. I like one. I dont think they will choose the one i like. Double down means republicans can say the problem wasnt the message, the problem was the messeng messenger. Lets get a more attractive version of jeb bush, here is marco rubio, same message, new guy. Option into is on say lets make tactical on immigration. Ted cruz, same message, but we can moderate our immigration message in a way that appeals to the trump voters. Option three, the one i like, you come up with a plan to address the economic concerns of middle income republicans. I have some details on that in the article. What is the headline, what would reform look like . True reform is you remain a party of enterprise and business, but concentrate more of your tax Cutting Energy in the middle, less at the top, and think about investing in the country in ways that create jobs for republican supporters. Hard infrastructure, not the soft infrastructure that president obama did, but roads and bridges and Water Treatment plants on which he spent very little money in the stimulus and you would restrict immigration, but in a way that boosted wages at the middle rather than as we do now depressing wages at the middle. And last you say change the rules of the game. Isnt that exactly what donald trump has been doing . Thats what the part theity elite will try to do to him. And changing thats what they tried to do in 2016 to write the rules so that they would smooth jeb bushs path to the nomination. But there is Something Else they can do. And that is, hey, the Republican Party is it in many ways is very succe successful, it controls the senate, the house, most of the starts. Withining the president city may require changes that many dont like and many would say good enough, we control congress, we control the states. If it takes change to win the presidency, maybe the presidency although its good to have isnt a must have. That was the choice the democrats made back in the 1980s. You can see the republicans making ta making that deal in the future. Donald trump is in the lenin in iowa, ted cruz is. But who will win it if not him . I think there will be an enormous amount of money spent on selling marco rubio. He is certainly if he did it in the old days of smoke filled rooms and say after you take all the vetoes, who is the guy nobody vetoes, that look like rubio and there will be a lot of money behind him. And i think cruz will discover that his message, although very powerful in iowa, is a little too secretatarian for the north states which have a lot of delegates. But although the republican votes may be in the south, republican delegates are in the midwest and north, too. David frum, thanks soo much. Were following a lot of news this morning. So lets get right to it. Trump leads in in the National Poll with 39 . This is turning more and more into a twoman race between donald trump and me. I really deplore the tone of his campaign. Shes great at being the victim. This will enhance her victim ol gi. The affluenza teenager. No one knows where he is. When is the last time you recall disciplining ethan for anything . I dont remember. Special Operations Forces, they are now on the ground in Northern Syria. There to help antiisis forces. I want the president to develop a strategy and i want to be able to convey that to the u. S. Military. This is new day. Good morning. Welcome back to new day. So all the controversy does not seem to slow donald trump. New cnn polling out this morning shows trump the overwhelming favorite in the gop as 2016 approaches. He even beats the next three in the field combined. We have democrat polling, as well. Hillary clinton is leading there very highly. But shes also making it more and more about trump. She is talking about his language. Trump surprisingly standing his ground. Joe johns has more this morning. What is the state of play, my friend . Good morning. The new cnn orc poll very much about Donald Trumps huge lead as the choice of republicans for the president ial nomination. Now, if you look at the numbers, we have trump at 39 , then if you look at the next three candidates, ted cruz firmly in second at 18 , ben carson and marco rubio both at 10 . And there is real consistency here at the top for trump over the last seven months. His largest margin. If you look at the favorability ratings, trump is in third place, but even there, hes seen a 20 jump suggesting Republican Voters are getting far more comfortable with him. Ted cruz in first, marco rubio in second. So lets take a look at some of the issues voters care about. Trump running strong there, well over half of Republican Voters say trump is best at handling the economy and illegal immigration. And 47 say he would be best at handling isis. And finally, Republican Voters more optimistic about their chances in 2016 with trump in the picture. That number has jumped since august by 8 percentage points. Meanwhile there is more rhetoric on the campaign trail this morning after trumps latest blast against Hillary Clinton, talking about trump in an interview with the des moines register, though, she refused to address his comments directly. Listen. I really deplore the tone of his campaign and the inflammatory rhetoric that he is using to divide people. Donald trump for his part tweeting overnight, quote, when i said that Hillary Clinton got schlonged by obama, it meant got beaten badly. The media knows this. Honestly, i dont know if well get any metrics how often that word is used in politics. Well, were sure using it a rot lot. Appreciate the reporting. Before yesterday, it was not a word on which used in politics. We are joined now by cnn political commentator Michael Smerconish who comes on to smerconish us all the time. Hes the host of smerconish. Hi, michael. Merry christmas. And to you. Lets talk about the new poll numbers. We have lots of different ways to slice and dice them. Since november, donald trump has gone up once again as has cruz who has picked up, ben carson has gone down a hair, so has marco rubio. I was going to show you fiorina, but we dont have that one there. You struggle with these graphics. Because i never know exactly what to zoom in on. Obviously the headline is that donald trump continues to be the far and away this is what i was going to show you p fiorina, look at this, from 52 down to 4 in terms of who did best at the debate. 33 think that donald trump won that debate. And poor jeb bush isnt even registering. You know, its funny you circle in on that because that is something that i, too, identified as being very telling about this poll. The night of the debate this vegas, i was not the only one among the pundit class on cnn who said this was the best performance turned in by jeb bush thus far. 1 of republicans thought that jeb was the one who won that debate. Donald trump i dont think distinguished himself on that stage. There was nothing memorable, there was no particular one liner. There was no policy statement. And yet a full third of republicans thought that he emerged victorious that night. So the overall picture is just one of incredible strength for him in a national survey. You know that we nominate on a state by state basis. But as i look at the totality of this new cnn survey, there is no achilles heel evident for him. The internals show his groiwth, his favorite ability, evangelicals hes getting 45 of the vote. Those without a College Degree holding firm. So hard to see where the vulnerability is within the Republican Party. And the suggestion that its just the talk, its just the hype, no on the issues will put up p4. On the issue, illegal immigration, isis, trump 55 favored on immigration. 47 on isis. Nobody is close. Senator cruz says its a twoman race. Hes getting more than doubled and tripled by this guy. Why even talk about you how trump is nick ephemeral and what does it mean going through these primaries, how could it change . Well, it could change in iowa if ted cruz should defeat him. And you know that there are a variety of surveys showing cruz now with an edge. It wouldnt surprise me if cruz were to win. I would think iowa would either be trump or cruz. New hampshire is where the more establishment types are laying it all on line. Thats where youre seeing Chris Christie concentrate, thats where jeb thinks he can pull an upset, thats where john kasich hopes much like john hunts man did four years ago that he has a shot. Im now circling not only New Hampshire, but also South Carolina. I always thought Lindsey Graham perhaps would not have won South Carolina but would have run well there because he was the hometown hero. Thats often been a firewall for the more moderate influences in the party. And i think now without graham in the race and with some of the Political Class endorsements up for grabs, South Carolina takes on added significance. One of the questions that i ask, because i still think marco rubio is very much in this hunt, i know ted cruz wants to say its a two person race. I dont believe that. Where does rubio get an early state victory. It might not come until nevada. And by the time we get there, a lot of things are going to happen. Some people think its a two person race but the other person is Hillary Clinton. And as you know, 24 this wethis of the rhetoric has been dominated by a term donald trump used. Hillary clinton responded to that yesterday and she seems just sort of resigned or exhausted by this whole having to squabble with trump. Listen. I think were not treating each other with the respect and and the care that we should show toward each other. And thats why its important to stand up to bullies wherever they are. And why we shouldnt let anybody bully his way in to the presidency. Michael, at the moment donald trump is doing well with women, female independents. But what do you think about his language, do you think that that ever comes back to haunt him with women in particular . Ive never heard it used as a verb. Ive only used it as a noun before. So hes breaking new ground on a whole host of bases. I think it catches up with him in a general election. I think it plays well to his base. The only thing that would please his core constituency more are those things that he might say about secretary clinton. You just heard david frum on, that excellent piece. It plays to the hostility and anger that he identifies in his ess essay. Now were starting to work, right, were working sources, getting ready for the ground game. There is this this suggestion that is almost uniquely democrat, this con deessential, this feel of arrogance that eventually the gop voters will understand that they cant just be angry and they will start looking at these other candidates. Im not seeing it from regular people who are living their lives who say, you know what, the gop has been right all these years. This system stinks. And none can fix it, we need someone on the outside. Cruz, relative outsider. Look at how he treats the leader and everybody else. Rubio, new. Talks like an outsider. Carson, trump, they dominate everything. You keep wondering when pragmatism will kick in. Yesterday in the journajourna journal, there was a tremendous piece under the headline lets elect hillary right now. Hes a conservative and ocean hes saying we are driving ourselves in to a ditch. Wouldnt we rather have someone in the white house with whom we can often fre nfrd of someone that we can revile. And yet there is a sentiment out there that says and i think it gets stirred by individuals who are on a. M. Talk radio and have cable programs not on cnn, but they make their living by fomenting discontent, by attracting web clicks, by getting people to tune in and watch and listen. And they laugh all the way to the bank. They now control a large part of the nomination process and the party can be damned. Its not about governing, its about getting p. O. Ed. Fascinating perspective. Always great to talk to you. Thank you. A quick programming note for you. Tomorrow we will hear from bernie sanders, elg johe will j on new day. And coming up, Mike Huckabee will be here. And in gentleman reese lemm, three people wounded in a stabbing attack. We have cnns or ren lieberman live in jerusalem. Police say attackers came up to the jafa gate,entrances that the christian corner. Police say three he israelis were injured. Of the two attackers, one shot and killed at the scene, the other shot and is in critical condition. Important to note police are investigating reports that one of the three israelis injured in this attack was actually injured by israeli fire. But it has added to the sense of tension away the holidays here. Obviously a very critical important time for the old city of jerusalem during this time of year. Thanks so much for the update. Mean while a small con ttingent muof u. S. Special forces help to go retake the key city of ramadi. Barbara starr is live with the very latest on these battles. Good morning. A small number of special Operations Forces back in Northern Syria to work with antiisis forces there, advise them on how to move against isis. It is a very fraught situation there, their security is number the number one concern. So the pentagon not openly acknowledging it, saying nothing about exactly where they are and how much are there. This effort in syria unfolding as across the border in iraq, the battle for ramadi continues. A short time ago, u. S. Official told me today it is very slow going, very methodical work for the iraqi forces in ramadi. They are moving towards the city center, they are encountering road blocks, barricades, ieds, bombs, booby trap, all of it. There are whole houses in ramadi that are wired to blow. So its very slow going for the iraqi forces. The Golden Division Iraqi Special Operations Forces trained by the u. S. Are in the fight, the hope is after months, seven months after ramadi fell to isis, the seven months of u. S. Training, u. S. Effort to get the iraqis ready hopefully the pentagon believes it will work this time. This is a strategic must win not just for the iraqis, but for the Obama Administration did desperate to show its antiisis strategy is going to work. A lot at play here. Thank you for the reporting on that. A heartracing scene playing out in kenya. A bus ambushed by armed militants ready to kill christians. David mckenzie live in joy johannesburg with more. This story is real. What happened . Reporter its very real. Good morning. And its quite extraordinary. We spoke to a survivor who was on the bus, described it in great detail how these kenyan muslims stood up to an Al Qaedalinked group. On monday more than 100 passengers were crammed on this bus traveling on the insecure border. Bullets ripped through the side of the bus in an ambush. There were two group, one group so i immediately see people running. They told us those of white house are muslims to come out. Go back. Reporter a man on the bus told cnn there were 12 christians on board. The gunmen wanted to identify them and execute them. He says muslim passengers helped hide some of them on the bus. And they gave the christian woman head scarves before the gunmen made them line up on the road. They stood strong said the witness, telling the gun men, quote, if you want to kill us, then kill us. There are no christians here. Al shabaab then fled. We are kenyans. We are not separated by religion. Everybody can profess. We are one country, one people. That is a very good message. Reporter civilians have suffered through countless al shabaab attacks. Earlier this year, al shabaab attacked a university killing 147 innocent students. Again, they singled out christians. More than 20 killed in a shocking bus ambush last year. There really is a sense that it could have been so much worse. Tragically two people were killed, one a christian man who ran into the bush away from the bus. But its clear the death toll could have been so much higher if it wasnt for the brave actions of these kenyan muslims who kifrisked it all to save th fellow citizens. Such a powerful story this christmas week. Thank you. An incredible pifight in china, a 19yearold pulled live after being buried under landslide rubble for 67 hours. Chinese state media reports a second person was also pulled out alive, but later died of his injuries. According to state media, four bodies have been pulled from the mud and rubble. Kentuckys new governor issis ordering clerks names to be removed from all marriage licenses. This is following the after kim davis was jailed. Youll remember that. But officials for the aclu say this further complicates things since state law requires clerks names be on licenses. A champion skier counting his blessings after narrowly avoiding disaster. It that he was almost taken out by a drone. It hit the snow at full speed, it missed him by just a couple of feet, maybe inches. When all said and done, champion skier posting heavy air traffic in italy, lucky me. He was lucky there. Youll see more drones, not less. We do keep seeing them. The u. S. Taking a more limited role in the iraqi fighting to retake ramadi from isis, but they are there. And the question is how much is enough, how much is too much. And is any of it really working. We have a top u. S. Military official joining us live from baghdad next. This holiday season, get ready for homecomings. I see you brought a friend . I wanna see, i wanna see. Longing. Serendipity. What are the. Chances. And good tidings to all. Hang onto your antlers. Its the event you dont want to miss. Its the season of audi sales event. Get up to a 2,500 bonus for highly qualified lessees on select audi models. When your cold makes you wish. You could stay. In bed all day. You need the power of. New theraflu expressmax. New theraflu expressmax. The power to feel better. We danced in a german dance group. I wore lederhosen. Man. When i first got on ancestry i was really surprised that i wasnt finding all of these germans in my tree. I decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. 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Usaa, they just really make sure that youre well taken care of. Usaa car buying service. Powered by truecar. Online and on the usaa app. Right now iraqi troops are fighting to retake ramadi, a city that has been held by isis since may. Efforts being conducted with limited u. S. Aerial support. We have the spokesman for Operation Inherent resolve and antiisis coalition in iraq. He joins live from baghdad. Core colonel, early christmas wishes and thank you for your service. The politics in this country suggests strongly that we are not getting it doneand thank yo. The politics in this country suggests strongly that we are not getting it done against isis, we are losing, we are raerae weak. What is your experience on the ground, sir . Thank you for having me. Greetings from baghdad. Weve seen notable progress. As you know, a year ago the coalition began conducting strikes. Weve begun a Training Program a year ago to train iraqi forces to be able to take their country back. And in the last several weeks, wife begun weve begun to see that training take hold. Two weeks ago, weve seen the iraqi Security Forces really begin to encircle and constrict their presence away ramadi like a bow a constrictor. They secured the Operations Center and as recently as yesterday, they were finally able to bridge a constrictor. They secured the Operations Center and as recently as yesterday, they were finally able to bridgea constrictor. They secured the Operations Center and as recently as yesterday, they were finally able to bridge the uhe freigeup. One of the things that is commonly misunderstood is the concept of time. They say that this america, everybody thinks this is going to get done quickly and if it isnt, then were losing. Thats not the reality. What is the reality . The reality is this is going to be a long and difficult tight fight. And im use ramadi as the example. Its a dense urban area, very built up. Urban fighting is the toughest fighting there is. Its scary. Its hot. Its built up areas. Its constricted and difficult to move through. This enemy has had months to place mines, boobytrapboobytr wire houses to become bombs. So this enemy has had time to set up their defense inside of this city and it will be very difficult and it will be a very slow process for the iraqis to slowly methodically and carefully clear their way through this city. And thats what well see everywhere. This is a large country. Sigh sti isil has gotten a hold of a fairly large swathe. You have a lot of experience in theaters in and around that region. The idea that if the u. S. Came heavy and hard right now, that it would end it very quickly, is that a realistic expectation . Well, that is an interesting concept. The idea that an American Military power could break the isil army is in fact correct. But what you have to ask is what comes next. The problem here in iraq and syria is not something that we can bomb our way out of. This is an idea that has to be defeated. And this is an idea that can really only be defeated through the political process, through the reconciliation process here in iraq, through getting rid of al assad oig wwho really is the reason isil has achieved all that they have achieved. He has treated his population so horrible that it gave rise to this type of evil. You are not a politician. Im slow to ever ask anything that even smacks of the political. But one of the things i keep hearing from people doing the actual fighting is these rebel groups complicate the picture this syria. Yes, they say what you just said. Assad is a problem. Hes bad for the people. But this new report we just got says that 60 of the rebel groups there, and many different factions, all share islamic extremist tendencies not unlike what isis believes in. So if you are arming some of them, if they take over for assad, is there any guarantee that you get a better situation . Its an extraordinarily complex situation in syria. More complex that i personally have ever seen anywhere in the world. So it is a very tricky situation that we need to work our way through. There is good guys and there is bad guys. What we need to do is find the moderate Syrian Opposition that we can work with, empower them and bring them into a position where they can then begin to run this country. In syria, its regular people. Ss people like you you and me who just want to raise families, and live their lives. We have to give that a chance to really take hold and thats what will end some of this radical extremism that we see everywhere. Resolve is such an interesting word. As we come into christmas, the heads and hearts of the fighting men and women, how are they doing over there, how is the resolve . The resolve is great. I do want to say that the American Service members, Coalition Service members here in iraq and my brothers and sisters in arms all around the world deployed everywhere, well stand the watch over christmas so that everyone can enjoy that season with their friends, their family and their loved ones and know that were looking out for you. I know it sometimes seems over there that we dont understand what is going on, we dont understand what the sacrifice takes. But let me speak for many when i say thank you for what you do every day. We know that youre there for us. Colonel warren, all the best for christmas. Thank you for coming on new day. Thank you. Merry christmas. Former arkansas governor Mike Huckabee won the Iowa Caucuses in 2008, but this time around, the antiestablishment feeling seems to be keeping his numbers in the low Single Digits. So what is keeping him in the race . He tells us live next. Woman its been a journey to get where i am. And i didnt get here alone. There were people who listened along the way. People who gave me options. Kept me on track. And through it all, my retirement never got left behind. So today, im prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. Every someday needs a plan. Lets talk about your old 401 k today. But i think women would agree. Watching football together is great. Huddling with their man after the game is nice too. The thing is, about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. Well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension. Your Blood Pressure could drop to an unsafe level. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. Ask your doctor about viagra. Available in single packs. A cnn orc poll released in the last hour shows donald trump way ahead of the gop pack with 39 support. The poll not looking promising for Mike Huckabee the former arkansas governor. A 2008 iowa caucus winner stuck at just 2 . Governor huckabee joins us now to weigh in on those numbers. Good morning, governor. Good morning. Good to be with you. Before we get to your numbers, lets talk about donald trump for a moment and his continued dominance. Right now the numbers in the latest cnn poll, he has more than his closest three rivals combined. How do you explain what were seeing with trump . Voters are really, really angry. And frankly, i dont blame them. Im angry, too. I think were all frustrated. Government is completely out of touch with us. They have ruined or economy. They havent protected us. Ic people ares gusted and frustrated with the insider dealing that goes on. What i call the washington to wall street axis of power where the politicians do the dance of the donor class. Usually its at the expense of the working class. And people are sick of it. So do yyou do see this incredib frustration and anger out there. I see it everywhere i go. Its visceral, its visible and very vocal this year. And governor, donald trump does seem to be tapping into that and resonating with voters who feel that way. On monday at a campaign stop, he made what can only be described as vulgar comments about Hillary Clinton and how she lost in 2008. What do you think of his language . Well, its earthy. Thats the best way to put it. Hes tapping in to a sense of which people just want someone to say publicly at the podium what they might say at the coffee shop with three or four Close Friends as they huddle together. And i think to some people that is incredibly appealing. So this election, i know polls are all that people talk about, but nobody has voted yet. And i just keep reminding people that until voters go on february 1 and actually start voting, we dont know what will happen. And the polls have been incredibly wrong. It was wrong in the Kentucky Governor race, it was wrong in the Eric Cantor Bratt race. Polls can be off key and i think we might be surprised at what happens february 1 when the Iowa Caucuses actually happen and people are voting and not just answering a phone. Governor, i think youre being charitable to donald trump. You and i have known each other for a long time. We used to Work Together in different tv gigs where we saw each other every weekend. Our offices were right next to each other and never once have i ever heard you utter a profane word. Never. I mean if youre really worked up, you might call somebody like a rascal. So you cant be happy with the language that donald trump is using. And do you think hes hurt willing twilhurting the gop brand shall. He uses language that as you stated i dont use. I cant be some im not. A lot of people can run for office and they can decide what the polls say. But i believe that real leaders are not thermometers just reflecting the mood of vote voters. Theyre thermostats, they seek to adjust the temperature for what it ought to be, rather than just simply reflect for what it is. If we want a leadership election, that will be a different kind of vote that we will have if we have a what i call a thermostat election rather than a thermometer election where all we do is simply reflect the mood of voters, sometimes very angrily. So lets talk about those poll numbers. I know that you say that National Poll numbers are not that significant, nobody has voted yet and you make a good point. But lets talk about what is going on in iowa. Herest iowa polling. Ted cruz is winning there. Towards the middle of the pack, you find governor hike hug bee at 3 . So, governor, what is the path . How do you think you can possibly leap frog all of those people ahead of you to get some traction in iowa . Well, we did a survey last week of 5,000 voters in iowa. 5,000. Not a few hundred, 5,000. 75 of those voters said they havent made up their mind. 58 said they havent even really come to any conclusion yet. Iowa voters break late. I like to say this way. Iowa voters typically love to date, but they dofrnnt put a r on it until just before the wedding. And we saw Rick Santorum five days out was in sixth place out of seven hits. He was in low Single Digits and he ended up winning the caucuses. Eight years ago, people were saying i might come in third, maybe second, but romney would run away with it. And it would be pretty much foregone conclusion that he would win. I ended up winning. Got more votes than anyone in the history of the Iowa Caucuses. So i go into this with a little different perspective because i know how iowa breaks late, i know that its about the ground game. I just was there last night, i will be there right after christmas. Well pretty much spend the month of january there. It may not work. I dont know. Well see. But im not willing to just throw in the towel because some poll numbers based on a few hundred people, which have been so wrong in the past, so completely misjudging where things will land when folks actually vote, i still think people will say we like someone in the cockpit who has flown a plane before, not somebody who makes a good speech, but somebody who has actually made tough decisions in an a ex executive level of government and has a history of getting things done. Because americans dont want more speeches. Weve had seven years of a president who makes a lot of speeches. We want somebody who knows how to govern. And that means getting both democrats and republicans together and true leadership follows ts not what voters seem to want this year. They want the outsider, somebody who has been unsullied by washington and by government and by politics as usual. So your pitch to them, i dont know if it is falling on deaf ears this time around. One of things i have to remind them is im not a washington guy. Im not an insider if insider means youve ever had a paycheck from washington. Some of people that they seem to be liking right now they need to remember they are washington insiders. Thats where they have had most of their adult paychecks. They live there you now, they havent changed the system. So if you havent been able to do it since youve been there, its kind of like the old biblical principle of the parable that says if youve not been faithful over little things, dont make you master over bigger things. People need to ask what have you done where you are. And if youve not done well there, maybe we dont really want to elevate you to give you greater responsibility when youve not shown an extraordinary ability to get the things done where you already stand. So your plan is to move to iowa for january, basically moving your house to iowa. And youre going to do a lot of gum shoe politicking there. It doesnt go your way in iowa, then what . Well, if we dont come in in the top three in iowa and we just dont have a good finish there, look, its probably not going to happen for us in the states that are coming later. So we all understand that. But i just keep going back to the fact that the polls have been so wrong in the past and iowa voters dont like to be told what theyre going to do. And well see. On february 1, they will actually vote. Wont be a poll. It will be people going to a caucus. And at that point, the whole trajectory of this election could change overnight. If it does, ill see them in South Carolina. If it doesnt, then ive made a good stab at it. But im confident that there are people who when they really get down to the point where they vote, they will start thinking about somebody has to sit at that desk, they have to fly the plane. Have they ever done that before, have they ever landed one before. And they need to remember their kids and their grandkids are aboard that plane for the future and they might want someone who has flown through the storms and safely landed the plane time and time again. Well see if that matters this year. I hope it does. Governor, the master of the metaphor, governor Mike Huckabee, we will see you in iowa. Merry christmas to you. Merry christmas to you. Great talking to you again. Quick programming note. Tomorrow well hear from democratic president ial candidate bernie sanders. Weve also been following this affluenza story, are the teen involved ethan couch and his mother, where are they . Tips are pouring in, but are the police close to finding them . We have two officials heading up the search. Stay with us. Discover card hey so im looking at my bill and my fico Credit Scores on here. Yeah we give you your fico credit score. For free awesomesauce the only person i know that says that is. Lisa . Julie . Weve already given more than 175 million free fico Credit Scores to our cardmembers. Apply today at discover. Com do something get on the floor oh im not a security guard, im a security monitor. I only notify people if there is a robbery. Theres a robbery. Why monitor a problem if you dont fix it . Thats why lifelock does more than free credit monitoring to protect you from identity theft. We not only alert you to identity threats, if you have a problem, well spend up to a Million Dollars on lawyers and experts to fix it. Lifelock. Join starting at 9. 99 a month. Hundreds of tips, yet no actual proof of where 18yearold ethan couch is at this moment. On the lam for over a week. You remember him, the teen dodging prison because he has affluenza, he was too rich to know right from wrong. His mother missing, as well. The manhunt now the top priority for would people helping lead the search. U. S. Marshal mr. Richard taylor and tear raarrant county sherif joining us. Richard, ill start with you. Where is he, whats the best sense . Well, we dont know right now. We continue to work very closely with Tarrant County Sheriffs Office and the district attorneys office. Investigators are poring over all the leads that we have, theyre developing leads. Theyre pursuing those. Theyre closing out some of those leads. But theyre also looking at all the tips that have come in and weve been getting tips from all over the country. Theyre sifting through those and those that are relevant and importance are pursuing them and those that are not, were closing those out, as well. We have clouds in front of us because we dont know where he is. Lets take one step back, sheriff. Was this kid being monitored the right way, do we see anything there that went wrong . Well, always in my opinion he should have never been free to be monitored. But his probation terms were not as strict as i would have liked to have seen them or anyone else. He was just reporting to a probation officer on a schedule. There was no real close monitoring of him. So someone that had committed that kind of crime i would have certainly like to have seen different terms of probation with a closer watch put on him. But of course thats a decision in by the court by the same people who decided he wasnt going to serve any prison time for i will canning four people while diriving with three times the limit of alcohol in him. So what sense do you get when you talk to friends, family members, do you think anybody knows something . You always believe someone knows something. What they tell you and how much information theyre willing to give you is always suspect. But weve talked to people. And as rick said, we have so many leads coming in, its almost like we have to triage the leads like an emergency room. Were trying to work the best leads first. So we have so much information coming in, but we remain hopeful as the marshals do that that one call will come in or that one piece of information will come in that will lead us where we need to go. And with the a amount of people have working on it and the amount of tips and amount of outrage and response that the public has given over this case, i remain confident that someone will give us the right information or there will be a slip up somewhere by ethan or his mother and well find out where they are and be able to bring them into custody. Thats what this did, it compounded the feeling that the kid wasnt treated in the right way in the first place and sure enough it has. Do we still think that it is about him being with his mom, that theyre in a black ford, what is the freshest information for us to put out there . We still believe that he is with his othmother. We are looking for the truck, but were also looking for other vehicles, as well. We look for everything. But its our belief that theyre still together. I think that if she was not with him, she would have reached out to us. Otherwise why wouldnt she. But were taking all that in stride and we are confident and im very pleased with the progress of the investigation so far. And being a fugitive is not easy. Its very difficult. Takes an emotional and physical toll on the persons body. They will make a mistake eventually. And we will be there when they make that mistake. It is somewhat surprising they have managed to elude this long. What happens to the mom if you do catch her . We will follow the criminal case or cases as serious and with as much punishment for her as we can get. Weve said since day one if shes helping him, if shes helping him evade the detention, if shies helping him hide, she breaking the law. So we will final case or cases against her that we will push with the d. A. Who is cooperating with us fully. And our hope is that they will both be locked up for some time and finally ethan will be held accountable for what he did. How long could ethan do after this . Well, the original sentence was ten years, which hes done about two years of. So he could certainly have to serve out the remainder of his probation sentence would be about eight years. But now you also could potentially face murder charges for fleeing and evading and doing what hes doing right now. So we could see some substantial actual prison time for him when we locate him. Gentlemen, you have plenty on your plate already as we head into christmas. Thank you very much for joining us. Best to your families. Thank you. Here is a controversial story. There are calls if florida for a muslim sheriffs deputy to step down. His critics say he would not be tough on extremists. We look at this case next. vo what does the world run on . It runs on optimism. Its what sparks ideas. Moves the world forward. Invest with those who see the world as unstoppable. Who have the curiosity to look beyond the expected and the conviction to be in it for the long term. Oppenheimerfunds believes thats the right way to invest. In this big, bold, beautiful world. This holiday season, gewhats in the trunk . Nothing. Romance. 18 inch alloys. You remembered. Family fun. Everybody squeeze in. Dont block anyone. And nonstop action. Noooooooo its the event you dont want to miss. Its the season of audi sales event. Get up to a 2,500 bonus for highly qualified lessees on select audi models. By all accounts the muslim sheriffs deputy in florida is trying to do his job, but some in his Community Want him to step aside, they doubt his commitment to stopping islamic terrorism. What i want do is get my questions answered. I know not every muslim is a jihadist, but all the jihadists seem to be muslims. Reporter joyce has been on talk radio in south florida for more than 0 years. A hot topic these days as a man who is the regional director of cair, always sheriffs deputy of produce arrested broward county. Joyce wants him gone from the Police Department because he wasnt properly vetted. Ive been called racist, moron, one trick pony. And i refuse to bow down. Reporter are you an islamophobe . Not at all. Reporter a spokesperson for the Sheriffs Department told me hes been with the Department Since 2011, a fulltime deputity since 2014. The department considers him an excellent deputy and loyal american. He travels the state speaking out against extremism and trains muslims in mosques how to escape an active shooter. Still, skakaufman wants him investigated and shes not alone. I hate islam. Reporter rosenthal held a rally protesting him, but cair floridas lawyer says critics have it all wrong. Whenever were in an electoral year, there is a spike of this islamophobe piic rhetor. Reporter he supports Donald Trumps idea to ban muslims. Are you contributing to the fear when you bring it up on the air . I think the fear is there. I dont think i do anything to stoke it. I dont have to. Reporter the fact is, only a very small fraction of the worlds 1. 6 billion muslims endorse the violence of terror groups like isis and al qaeda. Still, she wonders if hamsey would take action. His job is to uphold the law and it sounds like youre concerned that maybe he would turn the other way if he heard some radical conversations taking place. That is correct. I dont know. I cant say that is a fact, but i cant say its not a fact. Reporter she wants to know if hamsey was ever cleared by the fbi. The lawyer for cair says he was fully vetted by the fbi. Randi kaye, cnn, ft. Lauderdale. Critics say all the time moderate muslims need to speak out in their communities against extremism. Why arent they doing that. Here is a guy doing that and that is not good enough for the critics. Its fear of the unknown. On that radio ladys wall, it says its not the strong that survive, its the intelligent ones. The intelligence is lacking in this fear. All jihadis are muslim. Yes, jihadi is a muslim term. Its a per version of a quest to truth within the faith. So, yes thats true. But that has been extended to all muslims. We see it again and again. It is a fear of the irrational. The Sheriffs Department says hes good enough for them and he was vet and hes connected to cair which is another big target for people who have concerns about muslims. That group is seen as being connected rightly or wrongly. But this is a problem to deal with. More and more we see that muslim equals terrorist to people in this country. Let us know your take. You can find us both on twitter as well as the show. And we have new poll numbers this morning that give a true picture of the state of play in the gop right at this moment. Lets get to it. Trump the overwhelming favorite in the gop. This is turning more and more into a twoman race between donald trump and me. The people who like cruz also like donald trump. Shes playing the woman card. We shouldnt let anyone bully his way into the presidency. This will enhansz her vehicee victimolo victimology. On the move to take back the city. Its a big test. They havent passed even part one yet. As Holiday Travel rush gets going, major Security Breach at Jfk International airport. He crime eclimbed a fence and across two runways. And the person was able to get away. This is new day. My christmas list of what i want you to give me p. Ill rolook forward to that. Welcome to new day. We have new cnn polling out just this morning. Headline, donald trump numero uno. Look at it, 39 in the nation. Hes got a high floor, but you low ceiling. Whatever. 39 . The next three in the field dont match him combined. Meanwhile Hillary Clinton now responding to trumps vulgar language about her this week. Trump surprisingly standing his ground. Joe johns with more this morning. Good morning, joe. Tell us the background here. Good morning. The new cnn orc poll very much about Donald Trumps huge lead as the choice of republicans for the president ial nomination looking at the numbers, trump at 39 , then look at the next three candidates. Ted cruz in second at 18 , ben carson at 10 , marco rubio at 10 . Thats right, Donald Trumps thu number bigger than the next three combined. And at the top for trump over the last seven months. His largest margin. Favorability rating, trump in third place, but even there, hes seen a 20 jump suggesting the voters are perhaps getting more comfortable with him on the republican side. Ted cruz is first, marco rubio second. Now taking a look at some of the issues voters care about, trump running strong, as well, well over half of Republican Voters say trump is best at handling the economy and illegal immigration. 47 , not a bad number either, say he would be best at handling isis. And finally Republican Voters more optimistic about their chances in 2016 with trump in the picture. That number has jumped since august by 8 percentage points. Meanwhile there is more about the rhetoric on the campaign trail this morning after trumps latest blast against Hillary Clinton talking about trump in an interview with the des moines, iowa register, though she refused to address his comments directly. Take a listen. I really deplore the tone of his campaign and the inflammatory rhetoric that he is using to divide people. Donald trump for his part tweeting overnight, quote, when i said that Hillary Clinton got schlonged by obama, it meant got beaten badly. The media knows this, often used word this politics. So i assume when he says often used, hes talking about privately used. You cant find a trace of it publicly. Okay. Thank you, joe. So were joined how by cnn political director and con alwa matt lieu irks author of the book too item to fail. Guys, great to have you with us. David, its interesting to look again at what has happened in the last month. So lets put up the poll that shows where all the gop candidates were in november versus today. Donald trump waonce again ticki up as did ted cruz. Not so for ben carson who has gone down. Be rubio 10 . And then you see the remainder. Christie, because, bush. What do you see here, david . I see donald trump closing out the year in as strong a fashion as possible. And you are right to look at those trends. Obviously cruz is on the rise. Rubio is having a little slippage. Clearly i think cruz sort of got the upper hand with rubio out of our debate. But remember, donald trump has more than twice the level of support as ted cruzs closest competitor. He is occupying a universe of support in this race all by himself. And then there is another race happening underneath him right now. And that is the dynamic as we head into the final month home stretch before the caucuses. Matt, make sense of this. White evangelicals, republicans choice for nominee in 2016, even though cruz has made his greatest progress there arguably stealing the bacon from ben carson, 45 of them say trump. This is a group that he does not have a natural connection with. What do you read into this strength . Yeah, its really interesting. Remember donald trump is a guy who said that he doesnt ask god for forgiveness. He later walked that back. But again, this is a guy, a new york casino magnet, right, not exactly tailor made for evangelicals. I think ted cruz is much more made for them and i think cruz will win iowa. But its fascinating. And i think what this shows you is that culture and class matters much more than political ideology or theology. And i think that explains it, trump is resonating with working class white voters who probably also happen the vin diagram with evangelicals is probably pretty strong in the republican primary. David, lets look at the impression of the cnn debate last week. So its always interesting after the punditry weighs in, this is who did best at the debate. Among gop voters, 33 of them believed that trump won that cnn debate. 28 thought krocruz did. And rubio and cruz famously sort of went at 50e67 otheach other immigration and who was for legalization of immigrants. Rubio did not fair that well in that moment. He got 13 . And fiorina, who people thought had won back in september during that cnn debate, now at 4 . Right. And you make a good point about rubio and cruz. When we the look at who do you trust to handle immigration, cruz bests rubio there. Cruzs numbers going up there, rubio struggling a little bit more there. Then you look at how the voters responded to the debate itself, it is clear even though Rubio Campaign tried to muddy the waters, he had a couple rough interviews, it is clear when you are talking about immigration and that is front and center, that is an achilles heel for marco rubio. Because his support of that path to citizenship is out of sync with where the party is right now. So no matter how much they want to muddy ted cruzs record, just having immigration front and center and marco rubio part of that conversation is tricky territory. Certainly proof of where the conservative base of the party is and no question that this campaign is moving the party that way. But of all of the Different Reasons that i hear from gop people to discount what is going on with trump, i think only one really works, which is once we get to iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and on, does become a situation where his margins will have to be much smaller. He may well win these at least two or three of those primaries, but the margins wont be so big. Do you buy that . Yeah. I dont want to dismiss these numbers because they are stark. You cannot look at these numbers and think anything other than trump is dominating. But at this point in 2004, howard dean appeared to be the democratic nominee. So we have to put that into perspective. We do not have a national election. And when ted cruz wins iowa and donald trump is a leerz by defini loser by definition there, what will that do to trumps image and maybe his numbers. So hes factors, we have to and the other point, too, there is a question about polling, whether or not there is a theory that we actually are underestimating trumps support and there is a theory that were overestimating it. Will Trump Supporters actually show up in caucus. We dont know that yet. David, back to the after math of the cnn debate last week for a second before jeb bush, so many pundits said he turned in his best debate performance, he finally stepped it up. Thats why im not a pundit. The biggest pundit being wrong. Wow. He has not registered in the polls and in fact if we look back at that how people thought that he did, his number went down after the debate. Yeah, 1 of the people said he did best i think in that debate fp th. Thats not a number you want. If you just look at the Favorable Unfavorable among republicans in the poll, jeb bush, a majority of republicans view him unfavorably. 72 about of republicans or whatever it was that find donald trump favorably, they sort of swapped positions since this campaign started. It is very, very difficult when a majority of the party that youre seeking the nomination for has an unfavorable opinion of you to make much head way. And i think that that debate performance, although it may make jeb bush feel better sort of taking down donald trump and may breathe new life into his supporters that hes finally taking the fight, i dont think were seeing much traction yet for that. Well see what happens in New Hampshire when they go focus their attention, about you nationally not seeing that much traction yet. Great to talk to you both. Well also have numbers on the democrat side and to that, tomorrow we have the man on your screen on the show. Democratic president ial candidate better arnie sander. We will do a team testing on what matters with the senator. Breaking news out of jerusalem. Three people wounded in a stabbing attack at the jaf if a oig Oren Liebermann is live with the latest for us. Reporter moments of panic outside the jafa gate of the old city, a notable place because it leads straight in to the christian quarter of the old city which means even if tourism is struggling, it still is a very busy area. Heres what police say happened. Two palestinian attackers approached israelis and stabbed them. Two were seriously injured. One was moderately injured in this attack. Police say israeli Security Forces at the scene opened fire. One of attacker was killed at the scene, the other was shot and taken to the hospital where he later died. It is important to note that Police Say One israelis was injured by gunfire and police are examining the possibility that that gun fire came from israeli Security Forces at the he sce scene responding to attackers. So this adding to the long list of violence weve seen here between protesters and israelly Security Forces in and around jerusalem. Thank you very much. Also news that a small contingent of u. S. Special ops forces are back in Northern Syria to help in the war against isis. This as Iraqi Forces Battle to retake the key city of ramadi. We have Barbara Starr with all the latest. Good morning. A small number of u. S. Special Operations Forces back in Northern Syria as expected, but very quietly. They are there to help antiisis forces, advise them on how to proceed with their efforts to root isis out of Northern Syria. The pentagon not saying exactly where they are or how many are there because of security concerns. All of this of course as the battle for ramadi across the border in iraq rages on for a second day now, Iraqi Forces Trained and advised by the u. S. Are moving through ramadi. They are encountering road blocks, barricades, booby traps, ieds, improvised bombs. Were told whole houses are wired to blow in that city. So it is very slow painstaking work. But the stakes could not be higher. Of course first for humanitarian reasons, for the people of ramadi, but the iraqis very much needing to prove that their forces seven months after they ran from the fight in ramadi are back and can win. And a strategic victory very much needed for the Obama Administration trying to prove that months of training and advising, that its strategy to help the iraqis can really work. Barbara, thanks for that update. The woman police say slammed into dozens of people with her car on the vegas strip sunday night is due in court today. Shes facing multiple charges including murder. Stephanie elam is live in las vegas with more for us. Reporter good morning. Yes, youre talking about three felony counts that Lakeisha Holloway is facing, the 4yearold woman who police say drove her car intentionally and multiple times on to the crowded Las Vegas Strip sidewalk on sunday evenings. Now, what we know is that the three counts that shes facing include one count of murder with a deadly weapon, one count of child abuse, neglect or endangerment because when this incident happened, her 3yearold daughter was in the back seat of her car police say. And one count of leaving the scene of an accident which how is something that you cant even get probation for in ht state of nevada. So that those are the three counts. She could get more charges depending on what else comes out as Police Investigate this case. She is expected to be in court today making her First Court Appearance at 8 00 a. M. Local time. And one other thing that we are learning about her is that she legally changed her name in october to paris paradise morton. What is not clear at this point is whether or not she changed her name, why the police are using her new level name but using her former name that she was born with. All right. Appreciate that update. Youll stay on the story and let us know when you hear anything new. So as the Holiday Travel rush gets ready to be in full swing, police are investigating a major Security Breach at jfk airport in new york. A man jumped the perimeter fence last weekending up on the taxiway, walking around, wound upping confronted by a cargo worker and he then told the cargo worker to be quiet about the incident. The map did not. B man did not. But the guy escaped. The Port Authority is reviewing security procedures. And vowing to forge add at the mall of america after a judges order prohibiting organizers from protesting. Today is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. The mall says a similar protest last year drove away you thousands of customers. Investigators say they busted a celebrity hacker after he offered to sell very personal stolen items to undercover agents. 23yearold alonzo knolls o s w arrested. He tried to sell sex tapes, nud pictures and stolen scripts. The feds were tipped off by an unnamed radio host who knolls allegedly approached as a potential buyer. And iraqi forces trying to reta retake ramadi. How much should the u. S. Help . We examine that next. On what was arguably the scariest day of their lives. Neither has any idea what the future holds for them. But they bought into a 30year mortgage anyway. That was bold. They must really believe in themselves. Buy in. Quickenloans home buy. Refi. Power. Just serve classy snacks and bew a gracious host,iday party. No matter who shows up. [cricket sound] richard. Didnt think you were going to make it. Hey sorry about last weekend, i dont know what got into me. Well forgive and forget. Kind of. I dont think so do you like nuts . U. S. Led air strikes helping iraqi forces in their battle to retake ramadi from isis. This is just one of the terror fronts the u. S. Is helping. How should the u. S. Navigate handling fights on multiple . Ramadi fell in may of 2014. So what makes the iraqi forces think that they can now take it back, what has changed since then . Well, the most important thing is greater resolve on previous occasions when they first encountered isis, they basically dropped their weapons a and ran. And now with greater political willingness and more training, there is more steel in the spine if you like. They have gone about this slowly and carefully. The work to try and work with the tribes around ramadi so that this is not another of those situations where they take the city is for a few days and lose it again. That will be the real challenge if they take the city how are they going to make sure isis never comes back. So what is the u. S. Roll here, just air strikes or more . No, much more than air strikes. Its training, help on the ground. There is as tatalk of special f doing raids in to the city and taking out specific targets. A lot of political support, a lot of military and intelligence support. The u. S. Fingerprints are all over this. Sglnd sglnd. And what is at air strike . About if they get ramadi back, does that change the landscape . This would be the second major city isis held after and that is a important psychological moment for iraqi security. Everybody has been citying is for a long time now when will the iraqis a responsibility of their own kuewn security. And here we are. Thats not the end of it. There are questions of what do they do after they retake the city. In tikrit, there were reports of revenge. We cant see that happen in ramadi because that would antagonize civilians. But the fact is Iraqi Military is showing that they are capable of taking back a major city. That is something to be celebrated and assumed for more such actions. Lets talk about the new stunning findings from this report from tony blairs Organization Called the center on religion and politics. And it finds a lot of things. Number one, that there are more extremists in the Syrian Rebels than previously thought. It also finds their objectives so they questioned them. 90 of them wanted to feed assad. Heres where it gets complicated. 68 of them want islamic law, 38 want to defeat isis, 38 want democracy. Its more complicated than the u. S. Likes to position. Its not democracy or islamic law, its both. But we have to remember where that study comes from. Its from tony playerblairs gr not exactly neutral party. But islamic law is a large tent. Not all is extreme or automatically something to be feared. Most muslims want to live under islamic law. But islamic law doesnt actually mean the cutting off of hands and stoning offed a dull terers. A lot of it is just law. Its about justice, about fairness and right. Its not something to be automatically frightened. Youre right. That isnt the stunning findings as much as this next banner if we have it, which talks about their sort of demographics and how theyre broken up by ideology. So 33 a laugh if i jihadi. Almost 30 islamist. And thats what we say are extremists. There have various shades. A lot would never pick up a gun, would not throw a rock in anger. They regard themselves as people of peace. We in the west is v. Tended to simplify it and paint them all of the same brush. Thats not how they see each other. And so these kinds of studies need to be looked at more closely and the terminology more specific. If they are saying they are in favor of violence, thats one thing. If theyre simply identifying themselves as islamists, i dont think that means that they pad guys or antiwestern or antimodern. Theyre islams. No more, no rest. Thats really helpful. Thank you so much. Merry christmas to you. And to you. A question. After what donald trump said about Hillary Clinton, do we believe that he respects women . Do you believe . Many people are questioning it. Do we see anything in polls . Well, this situation with Hillary Clinton certainly raised it. Shes certainly making hay out of it in her campaign. What does it mean and does it matter . When we come back. Try alkaseltzer heartburn reliefchews. They work fast and dont taste chalky. Mmm. Amazing. I have heartburn. Alkaseltzer heartburn reliefchews. Enjoy the relief. For the new mattress models its time to make room during sleep trains huge year end Clearance Sale. Get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempurpedic mattress sets at low clearance prices save even more on floor samples, demonstrators, and closeout inventory plus, sameday delivery, setup and removal of your old set. Why wait for the new models . Sleep trains year end Clearance Sale is on now superior service, best selection, lowest price guaranteed your ticket to a better nights sleep time for the five things that you must thouknow for your day. Number one, donald trump running away from the republican field in the final cnn poll before the holidays, trump commands support of 39 of the party. The next three in the field total 38 . A small contingent of u. S. Special Operations Forces back in Northern Syria to help in the war against isis. This as Iraqi Forces Battle to retake the key city of ramadi from the terror group. Theyre about half a mile from the center of the city. Three people wounded in a stabbing attack at the jaffa gate in jerusalem, one attacker killed, the other apprehended. This the latest in a series of  attacks on israelis stretching back to october. Another blow to the secret service, an agents gun, badge and flash drive stolen from his car which was just blocks from the white house. Leaving a weapon and badge up attended in a car, violation of security rules. The woman police say slammed into dozens of people with her car on the vegas strip killing one is due in court today. That is Lakeisha Holloway. She faces charges of murder, child abuse and leaving the scene of an accident. For more on all five things to know, go to new day cnn. Com for the latest. Now to an extraordinary story of a boy who keeps beating the odds. He was born after his mom was declared brain dead. Now hes making a can i have with the help of his devoted grandmother. Dr. Sanjay gupta explains in this edition of turning points. Reporter Emanuel Hawkins doesnt give up. His mom was 12 weeks pregnant when she was attacked by a teenager she was trying to help. She was in a coma and brain dead. Theres kept her on life support for 16 weeks until emanuel was born two months early. They told me be prepared to bury him in 24 hours. Reporter he weighed less than three pounds. His lungs were underdeveloped, his kidneys shut down. He had surgeries on his heart and eyes before he was three weeks old. Two days after giving birth, his mother died leaving him in the care of his grand mother. I was told that he would have chronic lung disease. He wouldnt be able to walk. He wouldnt be able to talk. So i dismissed anything negative and i worked with emanuel around the clock. I literally have poured myself in him. Reporter at age eight, he can only say ten words. Now 11 years old, he can express himself and tries to prevent the type of violence that killed his mom. He wrote a comic book starring himself as a super hero who fights bullies. The free comic book is going to be turned into an antibullying Public Service announcement. Life happens. But you can turn around for the good. Reporter dr. Sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. That is a great story. You can always you were it around. Beautiful message. Do you know who doesnt have to turn it around . Donald trump. Leading in the polls. Yes, criticism of profane comments. He says hes not apologizing. Do you know why . Because he believes it and it helps him. What is behind what mr. Trump says and why it works even among women . Next. Everything that has been involved in hillary has been losses. She was going to beat obama. I dont know who would be worse. I dont know. How does it get worse . Because she was going to beat she was favored to win and she got schlonged. She lost. She lost. Today donald trump defending those remarks about Hillary Clinton that many call vulgar. So how is trump fairing in the latest polls with women . Joining us to discuss is amanda carpenter, former Communications Director for ted cruz. And amanda, youre a conservative woman. You know many. How are they processing Donald Trumps often coarse language . Well, there is one respect in that trump has become immune from criticism because hes always saying controversial things. But this one, man, this is a hard one. Its uncomfortable for me to even use this word. I would certainly not accept will kind of language from anyone in the workplace. I dont think any other woman should even if its coming from the oval office. This is a bridge too far. And i really position its a bad idea considering the fact that republicans are very likely to face the first female democratic president ial nominee who wants to stake her entire election on becoming the first female president. He is just handing her loads of ammunition to use against republicans up and down the ticket. So i wish he would consider becoming more precise and respectful with his language particularly when it comes to women. Its hard to see it in the polls, though. He seems to be doing well certainly within the gop with women if we want to put up some of our recent polling here. Strong favorable ratings. In some places competitive with other dwitcandidates. In others better. He says this word is commonly used in politics. Probably isnt. Doesnt really matter. What about the idea of the bathroom break and how it was disgusting and why he took the time to mention that. Is that something that might matter more to women or no, maria . I think that it goes in to the bucket of the kinds of completely it is respectful and frankly massaisogynistic commen that hes made about women. And it might be that he holds favorable ratings among gop women, but thats not the case among the general electorate which in case he hasnt figured will out, he is going to face an electorate that is majority women, that is increasingly more multicultural women. And i can guarantee you that among latino women, africanamerican women, newly immigrant naturalized citizen women who are flocking to register as democrats, he will face another woman as a man take carpenter said. And what will happen to him is the same thing that he said happened to hillary in 2008. Ouch. Turn about fair play. Even though all of us are reluck tabts to utter the word except chris. So amanda, so he has 69 as we just saw in our poll of favorability with gop women. But look what happens to marias point of all women. Favorability drops down to 34 , unfavorable, 61 . And his closest competitors have better numbers. Cruz, carson and rubio. So that will be a problem in the general. Well, i think other republican candidates who are male do get it, they work with women all the time. Ive always had the feeling that donald trump thinks the highest aspiration for men is to be rich and women to be pretty. I just get that vibe. I dont think other people believe that to be true. Republican men ive worked with have working wives. We had paul ryan talking about you how he wants more Work Life Balance to spend time with his kids. I think its a generational thing with republican men. Younger guys get it, they know how to treat women and himself talk tough at the same time. Donald trump is not in that league. You know what the defense is, hold on a second, yes, ill take up for donald. He says i claiherish women, and this is hyper pc. Theyre just words. The proof is in the pudding. He has women in many positions of high management within his company. Look at his daughter, look at you how his wife feels about him. This is false. All of those women are not representative of the general elect electorate that he would be facing. And i think that there is a huge chance that he will become the nomny givinee given the numbers were seeing. Ivanka is the best spokesperson that he can put out there to counter all of his own comments. But the fact of the matter is what is also cooked is his image of him will as somebody who does not respect women. And i agree with amanda that there are many, many other readers in the gop that dont agree with him, but guess what, the problem is that none of those leaders are speaking out against these kinds of horrific comments that hes making against women, making itfrankly to paint the gop with broad brush that is antiwomen, antilatino, antithe new face of america and that will make it a lot harder for him or anyone in the gop to win a general election. Hillary clinton could even make jorge oig with thmore hay this is what she said in response yesterday which isnt the most energetic rebuttal, but listen to this. I really deplore the tone of his campaign and the inflammatory rhetoric that he is using to divide people. Amanda, does that go far enough . Well, i think she made the statement i see where shes coming from i think. As a woman, i dont want to repeat what he said. I dont want tape of me using that word on national tv to be circulated on youtube and neither does Hillary Clinton. I mean, its so far over the line. We know this is not a word that is commonly used in politics as donald trump pretends. And i think this is one that causes women to rethink what hes saying. Just imagine him saying this to Hillary Clinton in a debate. Its a nonstarter. The guy is not to be trusted with his language. Words have meaning. And the fact that were contemplating the meaning of this one today is really concerning. And she doesnt really need to be more outraged than what she just said because guess what, were kind of leaning back and letting him two our own work for us. When you have a frontrunner who has become the frat boy and has made america his kegger, i think that says it all. She doesnt need to dignify it. Gotcha. Thank you both so much. Merry christmas. You, too. Speaking of women in powerful mode, tina fey is back in the news because she has brought back her classic sarah palin impression on snl over the weekend. Palin turning the tables and shes not the only politician putting themselves in the comedic cross hairs. Sara sidner explains. Reporter being parodied on saturday night live oig is almost a right of passage. Look at this guy. Reporter but former Vice President ial candidate sarah palin is turning the tables. She left a small town for the big city. Reporter yep, that is palin spoofing her tv look alike tina fey. Instead of the hit show 30 rock, this is palins version. 30 31 rock. Tackling allimportant subjects like the missing snowflakes on starbucks cups. And bashing political correctness. The only pc i need is right here. Reporter clinton and palin have been fodder for years. I believe diplomacy should be the corner stone of any foreign policy. And i can see russia from my house. Reporter and the two are still favorite targets of the show. That was a real fun election. I was paired up with that cute litt little john mccain fellow. May he rest in peace. Heres what do you. Reporter senator john mccain tweeting i think i like sarahs impression of tina better. Senator ted cruz is also getting in on political satire. Remember that time when he read dr. Seuss to stall a vote on obamas Health Care Bill . Now he has an snl style commercial about it. Imagine the greatest christmas stories told by the senator who once read green eggs and ham from the senate floor. Twas oig the night before the shut down and all through the house reporter politicians are taking the old saying to heart. If you cant beat them, join them. Sara sidner, cnn, new york. Star wars didnt actually change cinema. Very clever. It is, you just have to be good at it. Funny is done any p funny. Always good to be part of a joke. I think we give politicians a pass because we know that theyre not at the same level as tina fey. So i think its just fun to see them better than most of the stuff we wind up reporting on. So it is that time of the year when we like to take a nostalgic look back. Well break down the highlights of 2015. Discover card. Hooh, youre real . . You know im real at discover, were always here to talk. Good, cause i dont have time for machines. Some Companies Just dont appreciate the power of conversation you know, i like you i like you too at discover, we treat you like youd treat you. Get the it card and talk to a real person. But i think women would agree. Watching football together is great. Huddling with their man after the game is nice too. The thing is, about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. Well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension. Your Blood Pressure could drop to an unsafe level. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. Ask your doctor about viagra. Available in single packs. Do you remember the dress with the color that everyone should see as blue . White and gold. Nobody says that. In 2015, we had a ton of these ranging from significant to the bizarre. Also they were getting it from social media. So what were the biggest trends of the year . My friend, lets go through them. The dress. The dress. We looked at google, facebook, trends for the year, this one on all the year. What color do you see . He i see blue and black because that is the factually accurate answer. No e i see blue and black because that is the factually accurate answer. No i see blue and black bece that is the factually accurate answer. No i see blue and black beca that is the factually accurate answer. No this is why it got 26 million pages. Buzz feed had to get extra servers to keep up with the action. You really see blue and black right there . I certainly see blue. Thats all that matters. Its about whether you see white or blue. What . Number four. This is why it dominated the web. Much more serious story, the ability for exchange your profile picture. Mark zuckerberg changed it. Thats become a new concept on facebook that has taken off and we saw the white house light up the front of the building, as well. 6. 2 million tweets on that initial day of the victory. And of course love wins, that was the message from supporters of the ruling about we also saw a lot of criticism of it. Love wins was the dom thaninant online. All right. Number three. This is another the example of a story i think that you see it happen on a local level, might never have made National News before social media, but as a result this became internationally known. The student who brought the homemade clock to school, some thought it might be a bomb. Of course even president obama came out and stood with him. Again this became a big controversial story, politicized. But the kind of thing we probably never would have heard of if it werent for the ability of social media to make these stories light up. These hashtags have a life of their own. There are College Students who have Different Things going on, controversies going on, things on local campuses that now become interNational News stories. That may be good or bad, but thats the world we now live in because of the web. You have social media specifically twitter that winds up being a best worst ratio. A kind of thunder dome. This ahmed story, was it about cultural muslims in general . Because the facts didnt work because it was a clock. I think the facts worked on the other side because it was a clock. If it had been a white kid that brought in a block, would you have assumed it was bomb, no. But when its a brown kid who happens to be muslim in the country right now, there is a growing phobia. So how big does the story wind up being i dont understand the clicks . I think this is something that well hear about this student years down the road. There was talk about him maybe leaving the country. So there will be curiosity. But a highly politicized story that started in a local community. And of course this is an important social trend for the country, this acceptance of transgender americans. But particularly in the United States, indica Caitlyn Jenners transition this year. It is something that i think really showed where the country is and how the country is changing. Of course she signed up for twitter the day she was coming online with this cover, as well. So this was a carefully orchestrated pr rollout, it and it had to be because bruce jenner is one of the most famous people in the world and now Caitlyn Jenner continuing to speak out and help people understand just what its like for a person who is going through this transition. Fascinating to watch every step of the way play out. And Diane Sawyers ability to shape culture. Number one. I had to put this as number one. This was the year of donald trump. Weve all been watching the donald trump show. 15, 20 years ago, you didnt see president ial candidates becoming a gladiator in the ring. These are examples that even trump has embraced these. He uses them to share theme, retweet these. And that is something that i think will be in the history books regardless of what happens to donald trump next year, his use of these mediums has been masterful. Fascinating. Brian, thank you so much. So tease. Cop responds to shoplifting call, but it doesnt end the way you expect. This is a healthy dose of good stuff christmas flavor next. When your cold makes you wish. You could stay. In bed all day. You need the power of. New theraflu expressmax. New theraflu expressmax. The power to feel better. Every Auto Insurance policy has a number. But not every Insurance Company understands the life behind it. Those who have served our nation have earned the very best service in return. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. Get an Auto Insurance quote and see why 92 of our members plan to stay for life. Listen to this one, alyso this. With a y. A cop makes an unusual decision. I made a phone call to my wife and i asked her to see if we had shoes and jeans. Why . Christmas spirit protect and serve on display. Whatever. He found out the man he was coming to arrest only had jail issued flipflops, stole shoes so he could walk. He said i got to help him first. Hes like i dont understand. Youre a Police Officer and you just arrested me for shoplifting. And now youre helping me. I dont get it. Oh, my gosh. This is a wonderful sorry story because he lookeded in to the reason the person was doing a criminal act. Thats right. Not all crimes are equal. And nobody understands that better than the men and women on the job. Absolutely. I love these stories of our Law Enforcement and police doing the right thing which they do every hour of the day and we highlight it so often on the if stuff. Do you really love them . I love them. I love these stories. Love them. Bring us more. What do you think . Tomorrow well do it. Time now for newsroom with carol costello. Carol with a y. I missed that totally. You guys have a happy holiday. Newsroom starts now. Happening now in the newsroom, trumps early christmas gift. A bump in a brand new cnn poll. But Hillary Clinton says give him a lump of coal. His bigotry, his bluster, his bullying have become his campaign. Also, six