masri, ma good evening, 6:00 p.m. here in a very chilly las vegas, odds are by this time tomorrow night millions of viewers will watch the top republican presidential candidates on stage at the casino. which is what makes them uniquely suited to becoming the next commander-in-chief. that of course is the next focus on the debate. national security. we have new pollings on how the gop ranks the candidates. and more on the message against isis. >> today, the united states and our armed forces continue to lead the global coalition in our mission to destroy the terrorist group, isol. as i outlined last weekend, our strategy is moving forward with

a great sense of urgency on four fronts, hunting down and taking out the terrorists, training iraqi security forces to stop isol on the ground. stopping the financing and propaganda and finally, persistent diplomacy to end the syrian civil wars so everybody can focus on destroying isol. they cannot hide, and our message to them, you are next. >> it goes without saying that most republicans do not believe that the president's strategy is not succeeding. as to who they think will do better, we begin with our poll breaking it all down by the numbers. so john, who among the republican candidates gets the highest marks when it comes to handling terrorism? >> let's start with this one, anderson, it looks at the reuters poll which starts with all of them. donald trump and hillary clinton were tied at 23%, bernie sanders next at nine, americans were

asked about all the candidates. of course, it's a republican debate and you're there in las vegas, what do the republican voters think about the candidates? donald trump is viewed as the candidate who can best handle isis. 46%, 15 for ted cruz, you see rubio, carson and bush. no secret why it is happening. you just heard donald trump saying he will bomb the bleep out of isis. and says if the president would let the refugees in, he would kick them out. and at the moment heading into the debate trump has the clear lead on who is toughest against isis. >> and the idea of banning muslims entering the united states, does it seem to have had any effect one way or the other on polls? >> it is one of the great examples of what we could call the trump paradox. and let's take a look at the numbers, 82% of democrats think banning muslims is nuts, they

think it's a bad idea. six in ten independents say donald trump is wrong to ban muslims and in fact, six in ten americans say donald trump is wrong when he says we should ban muslims. but anderson, it is a republican debate, a republican primary he is running in right now, the republican nomination he seeks and ten in six republicans support the idea of banning muslims, 38% oppose it. on the stage tomorrow, when jeb bush says you're wrong, when marco rubio says you're wrong, donald trump can say, guess what, you're with president obama, i'm comfortable i'm right. >> are the national numbers different than they were like in the early stage, or does the state track the national numbers? >> we talked about how donald trump is ahead in the race nationally, but when you get to ted cruz, the terrorism issues, donald trump is benefitting, republicans likely to go to the caucuses, who would better

handle terrorism? donald trump at 33%, ted cruz at a distant 24%, and then marco rubio, it is interesting, the national security terrorism in iowa is now the number one issue. the economy has been number one, post-paris and san bernardino heading into the final debate of the year, terrorism, now 30% say it's the top issue, and foreign policy is third at 13%. trump leads on terrorism, cruz on foreign policy, a nice issued debate tomorrow night. >> yes, also the longest interim on television, cnn former contender, and mile smirconish, also anna navarro, and former reagan white house political

director, dan is a former top adviser to president obama. all right, that is it. we'll take a break. >> so chairman, it's fascinating, a lot of people said look, president obama had no experience you know going into -- on national security or not a lot going into national security before he became president. this time around they're going to go for somebody who is a governor on the gop side. donald trump is leading without any actual national security experience. >> you know, i think what you are finding happening is every time the president comes out and says nothing to see here, it's working, people know that the policy was not working. the strategy was not working. so when you get a cruz or trump that come out and say bombastic things, we're going to bomb them, bomb the snot out of them, people say yes, that is strength. >> the muscular rhetoric. >> yes, and at some point, that will have to be fettered out.

bombing is a strategy, not a tactic. if you add a foreign policy in terrorism, it is 43%. that means that will be the number one issue when people walk in the poll in iowa. that will be a weighted issue. there will be a lot of time between now and when they walk in the voting booth to actually get through what is their strategy on defeating terrorism and all of the other national security issues. >> gloria, i mean, there already has been a lot of time to talk about it. the candidates have talked about it. people criticized donald trump, there is no meat on the bone other than bomb the heck out of them and take the oil. and yet voters are responding. >> they are responding, as much an action against president obama as it is support for donald trump. you know, trump talks the talk, but also what i see we're seeing is the decline of dr. carson, and one of the reasons we're seeing the decline of carson and the rise of cruz is because people don't see him as a commander-in-chief. and the more of this question of

who is best able to handle terrorism or isis becomes issue number one as we see in the polls. john was just talking about i think somebody like carson has more of a problem. i think the challenge for trump tomorrow night is to talk about specifics. i'm sure he is going to be pressed by wolf and our colleagues on specifics because we really have not heard that from trump beyond what you were talking about. >> but jeff, does he need to talk about specifics? he has not talked about them in great detail so far and yet he is doing very well. >> i don't think he does. i really do think we collectively are policy-wonkish. i think voters out there want the basic message. they want -- is this somebody i can trust? is this a strong person to go to mike's comments? this was in many respects, as i said before, the kind of thing that happened with ronald reagan, he was a message guy and used messages very much like this when he was running for

president and was poo-pooed. after he was president they wrote a whole book saying he knew nothing about arms control and this was four years into his term. >> but you have had a lot of generals in our area and elsewhere, saying the idea of bombing the heck out of them and taking iraq's oil you know, that doesn't make much sense. >> and yet that has not dented any of his popularity thus far. i'm thinking of jeb bush two years ago if i'm not mistaken saying you need to be prepared to lose primaries in order to win the general election. this is the reverse of that. this will catch up with the gop. i mean, look at the data that you just shared where six in ten americans say they don't agree with donald trump on the muslim immigration issue. he curries favor with the republicans but long-term, that dog just won't hunt. >> and your friend has gone

after ted cruz, linking him with rand paul, as an isolationist, do you expect it to continue tomorrow night? >> it will be surprised if it doesn't. ted cruz has been going after him on immigration calling him soft on that. where as marco, chris christie, jeb bush have been going after ted cruz on national security shs the national security vote. we have not seen it make a didn't on ted cruz so far. look at the poll numbers, he is number two when it comes to who can handle the national security issues. i agree with michael. i think that you know, at some point, at some point we're going to need specifics. but right now what people are looking for is a contrast with a president obama who republicans view as weak, as pussy-footed, as you know talking a very low talk deliberative. they want somebody with bluster, to project strength, that looks like they will be the leader of the free world.

and that is what they're seeing on somebody like a donald trump or ted cruz, despite the lack of specifics. >> and despite all pundits specifics when they're asked about who should be president republican voters point to donald trump. >> i think that says something about this republican party. look, if you're a democrat and watching this, an independent and watching this you're seeing something very bizarre. it seems that republicans are chasing themselves off a cliff. a leader describes a solution. a demagogue describes a problem and blames somebody. trump is a demagogue. he is describing the problem very well and then he blames somebody. the object people he is leading, though, are other republicans who then start to imitate him in this sort of tougher and tougher position against muslims. i think it's very, very dangerous. i have said before as a democrat i used to love to see trump say this crazy stuff, and it's great, he is ruining the republicans. i think he may be poisoning the overall electorate.

i am afraid you may see other people run for office saying these things against muslims when a fact is, that only a small, small portion of the muslim community is a part of this. >> i think he will get a lot of democratic support and is attracting democrats. reagan democrats -- >> i miss ronald reagan, he showed a level of level-headedness on gun policy i don't see in this party. george w. bush put his arm around the muslims and went to a mosque six days after the attack. i don't see the kind of strength or the wisdom with reagan, if you want to talk about reagan -- >> van jones -- >> he couldn't get nominated in this incarnation of the republican party. i don't think that papa bush could win the nomination. there is an exodus of i's from the r ohio -- >> do you believe that -- he

could not get nominated? >> i think one of the visions, the only ones that they have heard say something they can identify with. they can say i understand what carpetbombing is. >> this too, will pass. these are polls, this is temporary, this will go on. these candidates, it's really fascinating. remember, iowa, south carolina, new hampshire, they take their job very seriously. they will weigh in to the details of their plans. so it sells right now. maybe so. but i think they're going to have to have more meat on the bone. that becomes more leadership. i think the elder bush could get elected. people identify with people who show leadership at tough times. that is what they think they saw in these candidates. >> but the field is so large now, it's hard to differentiate when you have 14 people.

whoever survives will get pressed harder by the voters. >> i feel like people have been saying that on television for quite a while. i remember this. we've heard this before. so let's -- >> the field is so large. >> all right, we'll have more after a quick break including how the race plays out now that ted cruz and donald trump are no longer campaign bff's. later, why the military went against the recommendation and decided to put bowe bergdahl on life sentence charges, if he is convicted. i take pictures of sunrises, but with my back pain i couldn't sleep and get up in time. then i found aleve pm. aleve pm is the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve.

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>> when he goes in there like a maniac, you never get things done like that. >> senator cruz says in honor of my friend at real donald trump, in honor of friends everywhere, including the best made movie, "flashdance." no, just kidding. get ready for tough campaigning, when will a victor emerge, or will one emerge? cnn's tom foreman has more. >> anderson, let's look at the early states, they all go off for february and their votes are divided proportionally, it's not winners take all. in iowa, trump and cruz are virtually tied and will split the 27 delegates almost evenly if the polls are right. in new hampshire, trump has the bigger lead. but now in second, chris christie and marco rubio and ted cruz, bring it down the south carolina where you have 50 delegates in play.

and there trump has a big lead. now it's ben carson, ted cruz and marco rubio. and over here in nevada, another equation altogether. here, it is donald trump out front, second place is ben carson. so you can see the challengers in the debate. these challengers have to not only knock donald trump down, but if they can't do that somebody needs to come in as a second contender or the race could be over pretty quick. once you get past the first rush in february look what happens in march. now you have 13 states in one day with hundreds of delegates in play. we don't have great polling out here to know how the candidates are all doing. but we do know that in many of these states donald trump's agenda plays very, very well. so again, that is why this debate matters so very much. because it is the last face to face chance that these other candidates have to somehow stop his momentum if they want to

keep this race alive and not have it over really fast. anderson? >> yeah, the clock is ticking on that. tom foreman, thank you very much. back with the panel, jeffrey lord and van jones, and gloria borger, jeff, do you see this going all the way to the convention? come march, we'll know more things. >> everything i thought i knew about politics just went out the window. you know, iowa is not new hampshire. so you're seeing the candidates now start to gel to where they believe their strengths are. chris christie is a national security guy and doing a platform that is pretty significant in new hampshire on that. it helped if you read the endorsement there, it was huge. by the way, they will endorse every day and say something good about him every day. his numbers are on the way up. that first round, by the way, people who do well in iowa tend not to do well in new hampshire. i think you're seeing that in all the polling right now.

i think there will be less seats at the table. the big super tuesday day is where it really saturdays to matter. >> and with this one angle, mike roger's hair is looking strangely like donald trump's. >> for that kind of money, i would have this kind of hair -- >> gloria, what do you expect tomorrow night in terms of strange strategies going into this? because donald trump has done well, in the polls. there were other people in the debate who jumped up. carly fiorina, who then faded. donald trump doesn't seem to need these debates like others do. >> honestly, he attacks out on twitter but kind of wimps out on the debates. i have been talking to the cruz people. they have no intention of going after donald trump whatsoever. i think you're going to see rubio and cruz mix it up on

national security. and i think you know, they will be calling each other you know -- rubio will be calling cruz an isolationist, cruz is lucky that rand paul will also be on the stage because he will take some of that heat. my question tomorrow is what happens to jeb bush? he is not in the main conversation anymore. >> hasn't that question been asked before and after every single debate? >> i only know that i only answered it over a thousand times in the last six months. if you would like for me to answer it again i would be happy to. >> what are you looking for? >> i'm looking at ben carson to have a put-up moment. >> why do you think he has faded stude ? >> because of ted cruz, and what happened to his rise, this is not his strong suit. this is national security and carson needs to stop the bleeding -- >> ben carson has faded because

he doesn't know the difference between hamas and homas, and we -- >> this is where real old fashioned politics counts. where ted cruz has been running an old fashioned campaign. >> and he has the right wing media very much in his corner. >> we're not talking about somebody who is going to cause problems. we talk about rubio a lot. chris christie is a zombie who cannot be killed. he will not be president. but he can cause real problems for rubio. and back on the main stage. you would have thought that chris christie was done with bridge-gate, falls off the main stage into the kiddy table. comes back just in time -- >> to -- >> rubio needs this moment to shine on national security. he needs to be able to say look, i'm your guy. you have now chris christie back from the dead to step on him with national security and he also has a ground game in new hampshire.

rubio has got a problem. because if he loses, and he will lose in iowa and will not perform well in new hampshire because of chris christie where does this guy go. >> also against hillary clinton, by the way, he matches up against the best. >> democrats are terrified of rubio. my point is that rubio must have been very happy to see chris christie fall off the main stage. chris christie only causes problems for rubio. >> and he causes problems for john kasich and jeb bush. >> but they're gone, they're dead -- >> all of them are eating out of the same bowl in new hampshire and at some point i think you will see republicans call for unity if we start to see that trump or cruz could be the nominee. >> we still have the dynamic of the outsiders here. that is what the real message is. donald trump and ted cruz is by no means an insider. >> the brilliance of this man got the whole world saying outsiders and insider, not

extremisti is extremists, trump is not an outsider, he is a billionaire, he is an extremist and a democrat goi demagogue -- >> trump is a member of the establishment -- >> i realize people think that barack obama is a demagogue. >> but the dynamic on this with cruz, outsider and insider is interesting, he can lay claim to being an outsider, but he is an insider. the guy has been in government jobs for at least a decade, yet he goes to washington -- >> do you see trump goes there and talking about cruz -- >> if he watches tv or listens to radio, he knows that his comments fall flat. he has gotten attacks from rush

limbaugh, i think he has to tread carefully. he has been very effective in the attacks he laid on jeb bush and marco rubio and practically everybody else. but the right wing base likes ted cruz a lot and he has a lot of credibility. >> i think donald trump will still go after ted cruz, i think he will do it early and often. and i think that cruz will not respond in kind. he will have a one-liner up his sleeve and dispicture trump. >> but cruz has real support among tea party voters, evangelical, and libertarians. >> and even those who -- >> in iowa, if you look at people's first and second choice, cruz has 51%. okay, so very important in iowa. so if trump attacks cruz frontally -- >> it didn't matter for mike huckabee and santorum. >> i think the debate itself doesn't play into trump's game

plan. he understands he can take a step back and do his built. he will do his bit on social media and pick up the phone and get on any sunday talk show that he wants without having to show up. he has something that is different than any other candidate. i think if they're sitting in the back room, they are giving advice. saying you only have to have a couple of one-liners. >> mike huckabee had no money after iowa, i would argue that iowa did matter for santorum. this is a guy who had nothing going for him, and lasted until the very end, the guy going run on run with mitt romney. >> cruz goes from somebody who was down there in the kiddy leagues, now you have people saying he could be the presumptive winner. cruz is so luck y, on turns of surveillance, trump makes cruz

look more reasonable. so cruz is being benefitted by having a trump. cruz -- it's his night. and cruz seems all along for just waiting for trump to fade away. >> exactly. >> it seems like cruz was playing a long war, a long vision. >> he spent a lot of his august in the south. in those super tuesday states. after being in las vegas, he is going to go back down to the south. he has an organization throughout the south. so in a way, while he is -- barack obama 3.0 with technology he is also running an old fashioned campaign. so -- >> we have to take a break here, about an hour from now, donald trump will speak at a rally here in las vegas. we'll get a preview of what the event is shaping up like. plus, we'll hear from some cruz supporters, why they're backing him and what they like most about him. we'll be right back. ♪

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in the hotel. what is the latest on the ground there tonight, sarah? >> reporter: well, i athink, anderson, the interesting thing when you talk about voters they really don't want to see donald trump go after ted cruz. there are a number of people here who are still split, looking at cruz, and trump and carson. they think it would be bad for republicans if they go head to head. that said, a couple of people i talked to said look, if they go after each other organically, they are really looking for substance with the candidates, looking where they stand on their positions especially on national security, anderson. >> has the campaign itself given any indication of what they expect to see from trump tomorrow night? >> reporter: well, his campaign staffers are very careful about predicting what trump will do in part because of what we all

learned in this election cycle. donald trump is very unpredictable. but i think what we've seen before, trump who is willing to attack at events like this. and much more reserved when we see him on the debate stage. and part of that could be a strategy to appeal to maybe more moderates who want to see that donald trump can sort of rein it in a little bit on a bigger stage. but i think it's a big question on the cnn debate tomorrow night, you're also looking at a guy. sure, trump is leading in the national polls but in iowa it is a very tight race and that could be what pushes him over the edge. >> sarah, is somebody actually singing opera behind you or is that a recording? >> reporter: this is part of donald trump's play list. it is not actual loud opera, just very loud opera music behind me. yeah, he likes this. >> very pretty, very nice. just ahead as we have been

reporting, ted cruz is heading into tomorrow's debate with new momentum. his support surging in iowa where he made gains in several polls. our gary tuchman spent time with the cruz supporters. here is what they told him. >> reporter: nine people meeting at the clark county headquarters including a man holding a cruz fundraiser at his home tonight. you're all supporting ted cruz tonight. how many of you have been supporting him the whole way? so seven of the nine of you have been with cruz from the beginning. you, ron, who are hosting the event. what changed you? >> he is basically saying the same things when he opened up, make america great. a lot of things have to be done to make america great, and he is not really saying what they are. >> and you think cruz will

explosive. >> i think he has priorities and he can make america change. >> he is very much like ronald reagan and knows how to work with other people. but you're talking about the u.s. senate in this moment. a lot of people you didn't want to get along with. >> does it trouble any of you that ted cruz, even a lot of republicans say they have a tough time getting along with him? >> i think they're not getting along with his principles. he is standing on his principles in a bold manner and will not move to what he calls the mushy middle. >> why do you think -- >> he is a good person. >> you better have courage of convictions. >> i just personally think that cruz is not worried about pleasing everyone necessarily. and he would rather stick to his own values in what he believes in and push for conservative principles than have to go in the middle to compromise than what he believes in to get along with everyone.

>> how do you feel? >> i think bipartisanship is overrated. that is not what we send the politicians to washington to do. >> how important are cruz' religious beliefs to you? >> very. >> is that one of the reasons you're supporting? >> no, no -- >> it's part of the package. >> he does what he says, it's a proven package, that is part of it. >> so you don't just think he is the evangelical candidate you're supporting? >> i see him as a constitutional candidate. >> and these people believe he is the toughest candidate and feel it's no coincidence that his poll numbers are going up in the days since san bernardino. >> when he talks about his quote, carpet-bombing isis, do you all think that will work? >> yes, i think on the front of that he will listen to his generals. >> we're in nevada, so what do you think the odds are being in nevada that ted cruz will become president? real quick, let's see numbers.

>> 50/50. >> i think it's way too early to say. it's going to be strong. >> it's nevada, they put it out there right away. >> i think 100%. >> gary tuchman joins us, now, did anybody say who they would support as their second if ted cruz was not in the final race? >> two others say they're not considering him winning, the other seven people said they would support trump. but they're not nearly as enthusiastic. they do say if donald trump would run as an independent candidate they would support whomever ran as a republican. >> gary, thank you very much. just ahead, bowe bergdahl, the decision today to court-martial him. he was a prisoner of the taliban, now, he could spend life in prison. details ahead.

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. the army has decided that sergeant bowe bergdahl will face a court-martial on charges of desertion and facing the enemy. he disappeared after his base was captured by the taliban, in 2014, he was released in a controversial exchange. joining me, a cnn global affairs analyst, also joining us retired general spider marks, a military analyst, and patrick mcmclean, a former military lawyer and judge. can you just explain how it

differs from a special court-martial which was the original recommendation? >> a special court-martial is like a misdemeanor court, a general court-martial is like a felony court. it is limited to 12 month confinement. in this case, a misbehavior before the enemy, he could receive life in prison. >> what do you make of it? should bowe bergdahl face a general court-martial? >> he should, the special court-martial was recommended. the general court-martial is what the general does who oversees the proceedings, making a decision to go to that limit because it includes a broader range of options. he says look, justice will be served but also talks to the outside which says as well, i am

going to try to assure that justice is served here and i have a broader range in terms of punishment. and also on sentencing he then has the option the lower it if he decides to. so it gives him a broader set of options. >> david, i mean, how do you square in decision with the fact that the army's own investigator says that a jail sentence would be the most inappropriate? >> that is correct, general dahl did 57 interviews, they spoke to members of bergdahl's unit, his family, commanders. they found huge fault with his decision to walk off this base. general dahl thought he was delusional in making that decision. but they did feel he was truthful and the descriptions of the suffering he did endure, there was also a training segment, they felt it was the

worst treatment meted out against a prisoner, the five years he was in captivity. >> in terms of sentencing, patrick, what could bergdahl be looking at? >> again, misbehavior with an enemy could be looked at. if it was desertion, which is what the second charge is he could face a maximum of five years. but i really think that the general who sent this to a general court-martial, general abrams wants, is to have a range of free options, which is what general marks told you. even the lieutenant officer who gave him advice about what to do said send this to a special court-martial. but by sending it to a general court-martial it permits him to negotiate with the defense and not tie his hands or options until all the facts are out. but the facts certainly seem to be a lot different than we're reading. >> and general marks, you have had experience with military

trials, how does it differ than a regular military trial? how is it actually orchestrate ed? >> clearly, in my experience as a commanding general who had general court-martial authority i can tell you that the article 32 or the investigation not unlike a grand jury is an extremely exhaustive process that really gives the defendant an amazing number of rights. so counter-intuitively, the military justice is extremely procedural and really looks at the individual and what that individual service member's rights are. so this is a very thorough process. >> david, i know you have been in touch with bergdahl's attorney, how are they reacting to the news? >> well, they're disappointed. and they're saying they're not questioning the military at all in the way they have handled this.

they're very happy with the investigation. they're very upset that last month senator john mccain said he would hold a hearing if bergdahl was unpunished at the end of this procedure. and the problem with that is that the four-star general who will make the final decision in this case, when he comes up for promotion next that promotion will be reviewed by mccain's own committee. so today, bergdahl's lawyer said he was appalled that mccain did this, to he would be talking or maybe pressuring people in the middle of a criminal trial. >> david rhode, spider marks, thank you for joining us. coming up, what this says that the attackers were doing in paris at the bataclan theater. this is claira.

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a disturbing new report on the paris attacks. it suggests the ringleader was on the phone outside the bataclan concert hall directing the terrorists as the massacre went on inside. paul krukshank is a analyst and

i spoke to him earlier. paul, what more are you learning about how this ringleader orchestrated these attackses? >> anderson, we're learning stunning new details about the role of the ringleader abbaoud that night. we're learning he spent about an hour outside the bataclan concert hall while the attack was ongoing inside the concert hall. apparently stage managing the attack inside via his cell phone. there was a witness that saw him very, very near the concert venue speaking in a very agitated way into his cell phone. it was a hands free cell phone. so he was speaking in that fashion with an ear piece and the supposition, anderson, is that he was giving orders for this slaughter inside the bataclan concert hall in realtime. all of this after earlier in the evening he had been in phone

contact with one of the stadium attackers right until the point when the stadium attackers started blowing themselves up. all of this creating a picture of a ringleader coordinating this terrorism operation in realtime the night of the att k attacks, anderson. >> what's even more incredible about this is all along we've been comparing this to the mumbai attacks back in 20308 where there was a central controller in pakistan at the time in phone communication with the terrorists who were attacking the various locations. this is yet another similarity now with mumbai. he was actually on the scene but giving direction and the fact that he chose not to get himself killed in the initial round, is it clear now that he was saving himself for a second wave of attacks? >> that's exactly right, annerson, that he was saving himself. there were plans that he had to launch a second wave of attacks

against an upscale shopping mall of paris. he had tasked his female cousin with buying two expensive suits worth more than $5,000 for him and another male attacker who hasn't been identified yet. and their plans was to get into this shopping district, dress very sharply to blend in. obviously, they would have the element of surprise bus no one would expect to dressed that way on a killing spree. >> the fact that he wanted command and control during the attack is really -- i have to come back to it. it's a cause for concern for western security officials as something to look for in future attacks. >> absolutely right. and it really raises the bar of what isis can be capable of.

if you've got somebody on the ground coordinating between all these different attack teams, it means you can launch multi hour attacks, rolling attacks against multiple targets. you have a certain amount of flexibility. you can improvise. that's what isis is trying to do. it's trying to launch attack wes a maximum possible impact, anderson. >> paul, thank you. some key developments, as well, in the san bernardino investigation. the fbi has been working with cell phones found at or near the couple's home. so far, they've been unable to recover anything from a pair of them that were smashed apparently by the terrorists. they were able to retrieve some data from two other phones near their home. fbi divers searched a lake over the weekend but apparently came up empty. we'll be right back here in las

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footnote on the campaign before we hand it off here in las vegas. this is a primary race. it is by any measure defying all convention where we we see something new nearly every day. it's in that spirit that we

leave you with this from donald trump's long-time doctor, that doctor said mr. trump's blood pressure, and that's his lab results are, quote, astonishingly excellent. he add the 69-year-old's physical strength and stamina are, yost, extraordinary and as a could data added, if elected, mr. trump will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency, unquote. you are welcome. that does it for us. my friend, don lemon starts right now. >> it's 10:00 here on the west coast. 7:00 p.m. in las vegas. before you get away, anderson, i wanted to ask you, you moderated the last debate. any question you would like those guys up on the stage to answer? >> i think this is going to be the first time we see all these candidates since donald trump