ultimately, though, it appears when you look at the numbers that sessions will be able to get through this process. the big question is what happens when it becomes attorney general jeff sessions? how does that inform not just policies for the united states, his immigration position, how does that inform some stances there? but what kind of influence does he have on president-elect trump who will then be president trump? how much of a vocal voice will sessions be in donald trump s cabinet? he s been, as you mentioned, one of his most loyal supporters, loyal and vocal surrogates. he was the first senator to come out and back donald trump. we saw him all the time on the campaign trail. how does that influence come to play out come january 20th? hallie jackson down there in bedminster, new jersey. thank you to both of you for joining us. so two sides of this question here i want to talk to you, matt, first of all, on the side
suspen suspense. there s nothing presidential about his debate performance, and his answer. this is the most undemocratic answer that could have been given. that was a horrible answer. he made a mockery of american democracy tonight. you know what s a mockery? this whole conversation is [ overlapping speakers ] she doesn t want to talk about what s really going on. she lied about her immigration position. it wasn t the question asked at the debate. the question was asked by chris wallace, who did a good job pressing both candidates. he did ask some questions of secretary clinton. this was a question anderson did a great job, as well. i m talking about tonight. this question was not asked in 2000. if it had been asked during the debates, i m sure both candidates would have said i fully expect to accept the results.
i think that s a big part of it. a big audience was tuning in for what was largely a good night for ted cruz. but really what s behind these numbers is he s consolidating a lot of conservative support. you have seen ben carson slip over the last month or six weeks or so. ted cruz is getting all of that support. marco rubio has slipped a little as well. the decision by ted cruz to go hard after marco rubio on immigration. e we heard him mention it on stage last week in las vegas. he said amnesty. it takes marco rubio awhile to explain his immigration position. he supports overall comprehensive immigration reform. ted cruz says he does not, although there are some nuances. conservatives hate that. that s one of the reasons he s rising here. he s also been campaigning sort of under the radar for most of the year here. a lot of conservatives, a lot of faith activists and all that is coming into play now at the end of the year. at the debate when he was explaining immigration, it was a
obama position than cruz, he s to the left of where cruz is. and these are pretty important issues. the two where he s closer to obama of course are on immigration and on intervention. cruz, excuse me, rubio supported the intervention in libya, which is becoming very unpopular among republicans, because a lot of republicans, rightly, argue it s left the vacuum that isis has entered. i think rubio has done a good job muddying the waters in the last week over his position and cruz s position on immigration. but if you listen ton the conservative talk radio and you read the conservative online publications, they re with cruz on this. he has staked out a much more hard line trump-like immigration position. and that is paying dividends in this primary and on intervening overseas, he s opposes where obama is and rubio s closer to obama. that s why i argue cruz has the
david. do you think let me give you an elegant answer. we ve heard president obama and other democrats, and even some republicans say that what donald trump is proposing is zone phob zone phobic. others don t agree. is this something that is correct hurt him in a general election? do enough americans share the view or care? well, the polls also show that in a general election, the numbers flip, and there s they don t support it, but would it hurt him? well, i think in combination with some of the other positions he s taken. one thing that scares republicans is the immigration position and the anti-hispanic tenor, and i think this all kind of blends together. when mitt romney said he d ask hispanics to self-support, he lost the asian vote 75-25.