just plain refuse to rumble. >> if he was a maniac. >> i got to know him over the last three or four days. he has a wonderful temperament. he's just fine. don't worry about it. >> reporter: his strongest disavow yet of a third party run. >> i'm totally committed to the republican party. i feel honored to be the front-runner. >> okay. a lot to talk about. john berman, stay with us. we also want to bring in our cnn national political reporter maeve reston and senior political analyst and editorial director for the national journal, ron brownstein. what was your takeaway? >> it was a terrific debate. i've been covering presidential debates for a long time. it was crisp, informative and teased out subtle differences. the cruz/rubio showdown was center stage. trump was more measured than presidential i've seen him. it was the first time i thought

he was calibrating his words against the possibility that he might actually be the nominee. you have the two front-runners in the race by the polls, donald trump and ted cruz, each largely repudiating the foreign policy of the last republican president, george w. bush and both trump and cruz making a strong case against the interventionist foreign policy that defined bush. being more assertive in their argument than those defending the intervention, marco rubio and jeb bush, primarily. >> john berman ended his piece with what is probably the biggest news. donald trump, under intense questioning, on the stage, to me with several follow-ups. he went to the spin room and said the same thing. he's giving up the biggest leverage anybody has in this race right now and saying i will not run as a third party candidate. how big is that, maeve, and why do you think he's doing it? >> i think it's huge. as we were talking about this morning, i don't know why he did that, giving up that leverage. but at the same time, you know,

it's donald trump. he could go back and -- >> what? >> and find wiggle room somewhere there. >> he was very declarative. >> i agree. he could find wiggle room someday. you're moving into a political primary. you're not a real republican or committed to the party. it takes away a line of attack for the others if he sticks with it over the next several weeks. >> why would he leave? he's winning handily in the republican party. let's listen to that moment where he declared that again. >> i am totally committed to the republican party. i feel very honored to be the front-runner and i think i do very well if i'm chosen, if i'm so fortunate to be chosen, i think i'll do very well. >> he went farther than that. >> what was interesting there, he's saying i'm the front-runner but there was a tiny dose, if you listen very carefully, of humility there. >> if i'm fortunate enough. >> exactly. >> honored.

>> he for the first time, he may be feeling like this is actually possible and he's playing to the crowd here. >> yes. absolutely. the positions he put out there are still on the muslim ban, for example, where only jeb bush really challenged him. rubio and cruz disagreed but after so much kind of understanding that it was hard to find the need until that haystack of disagreement, trump represents a large roll of the dice for the party based on the things he said and the coalition that might away against him. last night he seem to be more calibra calibrated, less about the bo bombbast of the moment and how does this fit in with getting republicans comfortable with me actually being the nominee. >> did christie borrow from the trump playbook by doing something the others don't do well. rubio and cruz, a great battle of the minds.

you see, this is the problem with how many angels on the head of a pin. the ability to connect to the mood as opposed to arguing the policy. trump is genius at that. christie tried to do it last night. let's play you the moment just so you get the context. >> i want to talk to the audience at home for a second. if your eyes are glazing over like mine, this is what it's like to be on the floor of the united states senate. endless debates about how many angel are on the head of a pin by people who have never had to make a consequential decision. >> that is vintage christie. he cuts through it. he was able to connect in the same way as you were saying that donald trump has. carly fiorina tried that a couple of times but was not as effective as christie in doing that. i thought christie did have a number of strong moments in the debate last night. there was a little bit of trumpism, almost, in some of his

going after obamacare, the feckless -- >> weakling. >> weakling, right. >> does marco rubio understand the race that he is in? his principle focus is squeezing ted cruz on the right, carving into that support that cruz has on the right. ultimately, the question is, if rubio cannot emerge in new hampshire, does he emerge at any point to get to that point of worrying about ted cruz and he has jeb bush. >> all of a sudden jeb bush. >> and there was as john said before, there was no focus in that direction. as christie rises, rubio needs a strong performance in new hampshire to emerge as this candidate. they believe the senator will ultimately consolidate behind them because there won't be anybody else. maybe there will be somebody else if one of those others can rise in new hampshire. >> let's talk about -- let's just talk about jeb bush. that came up. there was a different tone from him. people said that he seemed feistier if that's the right word were more forceful.

let's watch the exchange between jeb bush and donald trump. >> this is a tough business to run for president. >> you're a tough guy, jeb. i know. >> we need to have a leader that -- >> you're tough. you're real tough. >> you're never going to be president of the united states by insulting your way to the presidency. >> i'm at 43, you're at 3. so far i'm doing better. >> doesn't matter. >> so far i'm doing better. >> john? >> he took on donald trump and was there at the end of every one of the exchanges. that's the first time you've seen that from jeb bush, really in an exchange with anybody, including marco rubio up to this point. for all the tough talk with donald trump, i don't think he hurt trump one bit. trump, you can make a case that jeb bush helps donald trump because bush takes away from rubio in new hampshire, christie in new hampshire and levels and groups that field together there and trump stays right where he is. trump is like, yeah, sure, bring it on, doesn't hurt me one bit. >> what is the big calculus at the end of the day?

once you approach super tuesday and you get tro decisional gops, we're saying they're some type of dinosaur they're still a main part of the party. within they have a moment, when they walk into whatever the voting contraption is, they say who's going to beat hillary? >> that is why it was such an important performance from trump last night. in those moments of humility. that's clearly what he was going for, the electability, argument, everyone can calm down. i'm going to be an adult in the room. and you know, i think that it is going to be a fascinating dynamic to see what the voters do, all of the voters who will make up their muned in the final weekend from new hampshire. >> the paradox as john said, though, as bush rises, ultima ultimately, if he does rise, if christie rises, you increase the challenges that that vote that you're describing will fragment in new hampshire and you'll have rubio, bush, kasich, chris, somewhere between 8 and 18 and donald trump at a relatively low

number, 25, 26, 27 could win new hampshire. ted cruz seems to be on track to possibly winning iowa. you could have cruz, trump, cruz in south carolina and then the establishment of the party really is, you know, kind of at whit's end. >> let's talk about how much time everyone got. wolf blitzer did a good job of trying to arbitrate the time and the clock. cruz dominated. he got 16 minutes. followed by rubio. that's pretty far behind. 2:30 behind rubio, trump, christie, carson who complained at one point that he was not being called upon. jeb bush, not that much time. rand paul, carly fiorina also had a harder time, john, in the past than getting words in edgewise and then john kasich. >> bush making the most of his time, speaks to the point we're hearing from the panel here, which is maybe he did make the most of his moment last night. let me ask you something. when you get to the lower time allotments, you think that's also an indication of who really is slipping out of this top tier

of candidates? >> yes, absolutely. someone like carson who -- >> you think that last night was bad for him last night? >> oh, yeah. >> you think he's going to drop again? >> he's had such a flame out over the last couple of weeks and months here. and he doesn't interject the way -- in an aggressive way the way the other candidates do. that's really his loss. >> fiorina tried it last night. >> finally you weren't allowed to. >> the extra two points cruz had were the two he was trying to talk over wolf which is not a good moment. >> as if anybody didn't know it, i called wolf blitzer the captain for good reason. he is no joke. >> wolf told me to stand by once two years ago and i'm still standing by. >> you're sitting by. >> john, maeve, thank you. throughout the morning you'll hear from the candidates about how they themselves believe they fared last night. coming up in the next hour, jeb bush will join us live. also in our 8:00 hour, we'll

have carly fiorina here and lindsey graham. a lot to talk about. >> lindsey graham, very strong in the first debate. i'll tell you what, donald trump lucky he wasn't on the stage last night because of what he was saying about the threat of the ban of all muslims. trump, no question, tcoming in the front-runner, goes out the front-runner. how was his ratio of give to take in the debate last night? maybe we're seeing a new strategy. we'll go through it. >> why didn't ted cruz go after trump? we spoke to both candidates moments after the debate, chris did, we'll have their reactions for you, next. ♪ have you ever thought, "i could never do that"? have you ever thought... you just didn't have anything left in the tank?

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so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. ancestry has many paths to discovering your story. get started for free at ancestry.com. donald trump, different on the stage in the debate last night. i would submit and different after the debate than i've seen him in the past. comfortable. confident, reserved. and he seemed to show that in the interview that we did with him right after the debate. you have to remember, there's no time to talk to the handlers. there's no time to process. >> because you descend. you just get right in there with

your microphone. >> i'm the reporter at his worst. just when you don't want the person there. and to talk to him about the big news, you're really going to say you won't run as a third party candidate. what about ted cruz? he took a shot at you in private. you're supposed to go after him. that's what trump does. not this time. why? here are the answers. >> the burden of being a front-runner. as you say, you set the agenda on some big issues, certainly you brought immigration into the fore in a way it hadn't been before. you could argue you did that about how to deal with radical islamism. you'll be taking the heat when you set the agenda, aren't you? >> i don't think there was ever a burden to be a front-runner. i'd like to have that burden for the rest of my life. it's a great honor, having the center podium is a great honor to me. >> i want to make sure we got something right. you were asked, will you promise to honor basically the pledge that you'll stick with the party no matter what. you said yes. >> look, number one i'm in first place, not by a little bit, by a

lot. you saw the polls that came out today. "washington post," abc news, it's been amaze. monmouth came out with one that was 41 to 14 or 15. number one, the i'm the front-runner. i've really gotten to respect so many of the people in the party that i didn't know on the other side. i'd been in the party, but i've been a contributor, a fair haired boy. now all of a sudden i've been a little bit different. i have a lot of respect for a lost the people on the stage. i just decided -- i didn't know that question was going to be asked. when they ask it, i decided to say, yes, i'm a republican. i'm going to be a republican. i'm not going to be doing a third party. >> no matter what? >> no matter what. look -- >> not no matter what. >> no matter what. look, it's like a boxer. the only way you win a home decision is if you have to knock them out. if i get the votes, nobody can do anything. if i get the delegates, nobody can do anything.

i'm leading in a lot of states. ppg just came out, i'm leading in iowa now. it's on my shoulders. i hope i get the votes. i will be trying very hard. i will make our country great again. >> what if you have some delegates with be not enough, it goes to convention and you feel they want to box you out. >> i'm going to try to do is the old-fashioned way. fox came out with a poll, i beat hillary clinton head on. there are a couple others that say that. i haven't really gone after her yet. there's 15 people here. i've been focused here as you may have noticed. when i focus on hillary, i think she's going to fall. when she does as poor a job -- if she's allowed to run. i don't even know she'll be allowed to run. >> why wouldn't she be allowed to run. >> what she did with the e-mails is a big problem for her, however, she probably will be protected because she's a democrat in a democratic administration. on the assumption that she's allowed to run, i think i will

beat her soundly. i hope. if i do, we will make this country so great again and we'll have such great spirit and happiness and we're just going to have victories we don't have victories anymore. in my closing statement i said we don't win anymore. that's the case, chris. our country doesn't win. we done the win with isis. we don't win with health care. we don't win with anything. we done the win with trade. china is eating our lunch. japan is eating our lunch. vietnam, eating our lunch. they're just taking our money out of our pocket. if i win, all of that is going to change. >> you've got to see the two big weapons that he uses. the one is what you saw him do with hillary. is she going to be allowed to run. i don't know where he's going with that. it shows he ran overreach to make a point. >> that's his specialty. >> that's why it's shocking that he's giving up the leverage about the third party. i wasn't being a nudge. i heard what he said. i wanted to see what the wiggle room was. >> he tried to trip you up with

the double negative. not no matter what. does that mean yes or no. >> it's not like a gotcha moment. >> you wanted to clarify what was happening. >> that's a big deal. >> that is a big headline. your energy was a big deal. in the past he seemed fatigued after the debates. he also, his tone -- >> what have we seen in the past? you go at donald trump, you're going to get it back. you bring the noise, you get the funk. that's how it is. not last night. specifically with ted cruz. i was talking it up before. i thought i wonder what donald trump will say about what he said about him in front of fund-raisers. but as they went through the issues, the opportunities were there and trump didn't go after ted cruz. now, how did cruz see that? how did he see his night? he spoke to jake tapper right afterwards. here's what he said. >> let me ask you a question about immigration where you went

after marco rubio very strongly. >> yes. >> what would you do with the 11 million or however many are in this country illegally? donald trump says deport them all. i don't know what you would do with them. >> what i've said, i've laid out a detailed 11-page immigration plan. i'd enforce the law. existing law provides what you do. start by securing the borders. if you have a sinking ship, the first thing you do is fill the hole so you don't have people coming back in. the second thing you do is start deporting illegal, criminal illegal aliens. >> people who have broken the law beyond just immigration. >> in 2013 the obama administration released 104,000 criminal illegal aliens. you begin enforcing the law. if someone is apprehended crossing illegal, if someone is apprehended by i.c.e., you deport them. which i would note is what every other country on earth does. >> a majority of the republican voters out there, according to at least one or two polls i've

seen support donald trump's proposal, disagree with you. >> people are reacting to the orwellian double speak from barack obama and hillary clinton. when you have the democratic party refusing to utter the words radical islamic -- >> you know why they're doing that. national security experts say if you do that you feed into the propaganda. >> they're doing it because of political correctness. they don't want to identify what it is we're fighting. it's having consequences because we're not stopping the bad guys. you look at the female jihadist in san bernardino. she posted on facebook years ago calling for jihad, yet, dhs when processing her fiance visa didn't look at social media. they have a policy in place not to look at social media which is public, looking to see what she has said publicly to the world

because they think it would be inappropriate. political correctness doesn't make any sense when we are fighting -- >> how is that political corr t correctness and not just privacy issues? >> the message she wrote was under a pseudonym and in a private message. >> if we're not capable of understanding urdo we -- >> we don't have access to facebook private messages. this wasn't posted on her page. this was a private message. >> we should be focusing on radical islamic terrorism. nidal hasan. he was in touch with al awlaki. apparently because it was politically incorrect and as a

result, nidal hasan murdered 14 innocent souls. and this is the consistent problem of the obama administration is their approach over and over again. it is to focus on law abiding citizens. what did president obama, what did hillary clinton say after san bernardino? let's take away the second amendment right to keep and bear arms of law abiding citizens. that's the wrong problem. you have to focus on the bad guys. >> all right. always interesting to hear from the candidates after the debate how they think they did and the points they want to build upon. we'll be bringing those to you this morning. you'll hear from several of the other candidates live. jeb bush is coming up in our next hour. we also have carly fiorina coming up and lindsey graham who many believe dominated that first undercard debate. he always has zingers. he's always funny but people thought he gave a particularly emotional performance also. we will ask him about that. so fears of terrorism and how each candidate would handle it were dominating last night's debate. and that appears to be coming

the defining issue of this race. >> you have to address the race, the fear, the mood in the country. you have to talk about why you believe what you believe and how you would get it done. that was the standard last night. we did see candidates laying out plans to combat isis, combat terror and fear. did anyone own the issue? judge for yourself when we come back. to get where i am. and i didn't 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, i'm prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. every someday needs a plan. let's talk about your old 401(k) today.

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we'll head back to las vegas in a moment for more debate coverage. right now, headlines for you. public schools in los angeles will re-open. classes will resume in a matter of hours. classes were canceled for 650,000 students in the l.a. unified school system tuesday after authorities received an e-mail threat, a threat that was later determined to be a hoax. the school superintendent now coming under fire for his decision, however, he says he is not willing to take chances with the lives of his students. a threatened government shutdown averted. hour speaker paul ryan saying house leaders reached a $1.1

trillion deal. the reauthorization of a health program for 9/11 first responders. a deal was also reached for a $600 billion in tax breaks. votes on those packages are set for the end of the week. defense secretary ash carter made a surprise visit to baghdad this morning. this, a week after he told a senate armed services committee isis had not been contained. and he -- u.s. military advisers might be sent to help take back key territory. fight a scarry landing for passengers on a southwest flight in nashville. that flight from houston rolled off a taxiway, got stuck, in fact, after landing. a southwest spokesman said the nose gear collapsed. 133 people were on board, 8 we're told were sent to the hospital, mostly with bumps and bruises. the faa is investigating.

29 minutes past the hour. back to las vegas. how you doing, guys? >> we're doing well, michaela. it was a great debate, really energizing, actually. >> it was worth the money to have the private guard standing outside alisyn's room. she only tried to slip out once. >> it starts at 6:29 east coast time. >> getting arrested, when on assignment is an unusual thing, i think is worthy of comment. >> thank you for the bond money. i know that's what you're looking for. last night was about what it's supposed to be about, terrorism, national security. what you would do as president, specifically different from what we're seeing right now. >> the republican candidates presented their plan to keep the country safe. whose ideas best past the test? we'll explore all of that, next. technology empowers us to achieve more.

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welcome back. we are live at the venetian hotel in las vegas. this was the scene of the big event. there it is, the beautiful windows, the beautiful canals where one "new day" anchor was known to be hanging out, screaming, you know i'm the best, you know i am. >> you shouldn't have done that. >> we won't say who but the name rhymed with ralyson rameato. let's discuss with big brains, matt schlapp, matt lewis, senior contributor for the daily caller and jennifer granholm as well.

let me start with you, mr. schlapp. who do you think last night said things that showed a distinction and ownership of the issue. >> jeb bush had a solid night. these debates have not been his best moments. last night he felt and looked much more comfortable. i think he had solid answers on the questions of national security. i also think when you hear carly fiorina go through these questions, including the question on north korea, she just sounds so ready to make these decisions. >> let's talk about one of the headlines. donald trump often speaks in headlines and then is pressed to have to give specifics, including shutting down the internet. he would in terms of fighting terrorism, within of his suggestions was, well, don't let terrorists get on the internet. so he was asked how he would possibly do that. let's play his response. >> isis is using the internet better than we are using the internet and it was our idea. what i wanted to do is i wanted to get our brilliant people from

silicon valley and other places and figure out a way that isis cannot do what they're doing. you talk freedom of speech or anything you want. i don't want them using our internet to take our young, impressionable youth. >> vintage trump. >> yes. >> where it just makes you feel good. there's a logic in that, get our smartest people to get them to stop doing that. >> of course you would. right? >> does that work? >> i think actually rand paul had a great response to him following that, really. but what i thought was so interesting, trump of course always has the simplistic solutions, which people like. they do want to feel good. but in reality, it is a really complex problem. i agree with you that bush had a good night. but what's interesting to me is that bush's solutions are almost all of same things that hillary clinton has been saying, including on the internet. she gave a speech, prebutted last night's debate when she was in minnesota about national

security. >> about national security. >> she called it a 360 degree strategy where you defeat them there, you defeat them here and you defeat them on the internet. and had very specific measures under each of those. when you combine that with the two other previous speeches she gave at the council of foreign relations and the brookings institute, she has this unbelievably comprehensive adult strategy. compared with what you heard last night it was very difficult. bush's differences with her are really only about boots on the ground. trump has so many differences it's not even funny. >> i couldn't disagree with you more. >> then do it. >> this debate last night, i'm sure matt would agree, this debate was about the problem of the obama/clinton foreign policy and that we're less safe today, at least americans feel that way. look at obama's approval ratings -- >> tell me what bush is saying that's different. >> how about this, how about our enemy fears us. that's been the biggest change of what's happened on the world xeer. >> wait, wait.

using language that stokes our enemy into making us the recruiter, which is what -- >> stop. >> by more mentions of -- >> it's not america's fault that isis is trying to destroy us. >> you need to have allies, muslim allies with you on the ground to be able to -- >> that's what jeb bush said. >> he said that. then the language they're using, the insulting language that they have against allies that we want to recruit to be able to put boots on the ground -- >> hold on a second. we know what the two lines of attack are here. no, no, no. >> i thought the debate ended last night. no, it didn't. >> here's the fair space for you to come in here, matt. it's not just about what you would do. we know what to do. you're not getting it done. we know what to say. you're not saying it the right way. what did you take away last night that made you giddy with excitement that you can win this thing in the general? >> first of all, let me just say i think it was a great debate. very, you know, nuanced. i think you had different world views shown there. but i think it was very clear that republicans are very

comfortable talking about the serious threats. i think they're getting better. barack obama went through something like 19 debates against hillary clinton before he ended up getting the nomination. i think if ted cruz or marco rubio or whomever becomes the nominee, the fact that they went through this process will make them stronger, especially when it comes to talking about national security. the one thing i would caution, though, i do think that when it comes to somebody having a hawkish foreign policy, sort of defending the bush era, lindsey graham actually was the best at doing that. >> i'm glad you brought that up. he's no dove as we all know. to matt schlapp, to the governor's point, he does believe that trump's rhetoric, he does tie a direct thread between trump's rhetoric to recruitment for isis. in fact, he felt it was important last night to talk about how many american muslims are in our armed forces. let me play that moment for you last night from the undercard debate. >> at least 3,500 american

muslims serving in the armed forces. thank you for your service. [ applause ] you are not the enemy. your religion is not the enemy. >> so, matt, strong point? >> yes. i think it's a great answer. look, i always say donald trump is like forrest gump. he makes a point, scores a touchdown but he just keeps running. in the case on his language of barring muslims, he went way too far. in fact, several of our candidates last night made the point very clear. if we don't want to put american boots on the ground you have to deal with partners. in the case of the middle east, you have to deal with moderates. >> the problem though, is, trump's simplistic solution sells better, maybe to a republican base and certainly on the stage. what lindsey graham was talking about there is absolutely correct. but it's a harder argument to make. it requires more steps to comprehended. >> it's a harder argument to

make to a republican base in terms of -- >> it's also not a bumper sticker, though. >> that's exactly right. this is a complex problem. this is not a bumper sticker problem. that's why what he said in that first debate, i actually stood up and said bravo. >> that's why he's doing so poorly in all candor. he appeals to the people who aren't voting in our primary. >> i know. your primary strategy is really going to be damaging for the general election. whoever your nominee is. >> we'll find out. >> we will find out about this notion banning muslims and the language that is being used is not language that most americans want. it's why -- >> we don't know that yet. >> if you ask -- if you ask across the board, hillary clinton is nine points up among trump, cruz, et cetera. >> that's not true. >> i'm just talking about the polls. on who would make america safer. >> thank you very much, gov. the matts, thank you very much. >> going to the matt. >> beautiful thing is, you know who decides? you do. you get to watch what's going on. we'll test it all but you make the decisions.

who you want to hear from most, the candidates we'll play you the sound but you'll get to hear from them this morning. tough time for them to get up. shows how important it is. florida governor, former govern jeb bush will be on live in a little bit. we'll have carly fiorina and we're going to have certainly the man of the moment on the undercard, senator lindsey graham. he'll be here. you'll get to hear from all of them directly. >> tons of people taking to social media during last night's debate. and boy was there a strong reaction. >> there was -- you know, we were expecting that. how big the ratings are going to be. we don't know. the residents across the country, clear who dominated and why, we'll tell you. right when you feel a cold sore, abreva can heal it in as few as two and a half days when used at the first sign. without it the virus spreads

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what do you think? who dominated? got to look online. it's all about social media. we were monitoring it and we got some results. >> first let's go to michaela in new york for a look at who stole the show online. she's been crunching the numbers. i do like to crunch numbers, especially for breakfast. we love a good word cloud around here on "new day." interesting to see given the united stig r in the uni conversation that popped -- the words that popped, war, isis, attack, not surprising given the events of late. it directly translates to the topics that were most discussed on facebook. again, they co-sponsored the debate last night with cnn. islam, isis, terrorism. if you take yourself back a few months to previous debates we saw both racial discrimination and immigration much higher in what was discussed on facebook.

how about the candidates themselves? donald trump obviously coming out on top. ted cruz having a good night as did jeb bush. but all three of them being discussed with great frequency online on facebook. but if you want to see how that compares to who actually spoke the most, it's interesting. let me draw on this. this is trump. let me try it again. trump was number one. cruz number two and bush was number three and win who was discussed the most. it doesn't really relate to how long they spoke. the most talked about moment interestingly, jeb bush and donald trump, some are arguing that jeb bush had his best debate by far. watch what happens. see what you think. i have to touch his nose. >> you're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency. that's not going to happen. i do have the strength. >> there you go. that's the moment that popped

for most people. we'll see how it plays out. we'll see how it plays out when the next polling figures are released. alisyn, back to you in vegas. >> so fascinating, mick, thanks so much. that's interesting to hear what the most talked about moment was. i'm not surprised but it was interesting to get it confirmed. thank you, michaela. when it comes down to it, all that matters, of course, is how you as chris has been saying, the voter, thinks the candidate fared. >> we asked you. who do voters think were the big winners, losers and why? we talked to some voters. we'll get the take, next. what makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever?

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the republican candidates, how did they raez nature wieson voters? we have real voters. you might recognize them. there's derrick, jesus marquez and brenda flank, all registered republicans here in nevada. thanks for getting up early. >> thanks for having us back. >> your man was jeb bush. you must be happy this morning. how do you think he did? >> the fact you mentioned him, i must be happy. that speaks by itself. >> great question. >> the buzz is he exceeded expectations. >> he did. he did very well last night. he showed some passion. on top of the passion he showed some experience. in the times when national security is at issue, i believe

the people are going to be leaning more toward somebody with experience. that can be jeb bush. >> let's get a quick poll. you went in there bush, you went out bush. you went in, brenda -- tell us how you went in and came out. >> i went in and came out the same way with donald trump. >> donald trump. jeremy? >> i went in with trump, more favorable opinions with fiorina, carson and christie. >> what impressed you about carson last night? i'm asking, obviously, because the take from the insiders is that he took a beating last night. >> the concern prior to the debate was nice guy but is he tough enough? can he handle the issues? i felt like he made a different case for it. we're looking for something different. he brings a different approach. i think he made the case that it could work. i like that.

fear rece fiorina, thoughtful. i think she demonstrated strength. i think she has a lot to offer. christie had great interventions in particular, i like how he got in the middle when rubio and cruz were going head to head. >> is d thdid that work for you >> going back to what you said about needing something different, a raccoon can be different. it doesn't mean that it's the best option. i believe that carson and donald trump were the big losers of last night because they seemed like they didn't know exactly -- they seemed lost at times. >> oh, is that right? at what moment did you think they seemed lost? >> donald trump when he was asked about the nuclear -- >> triad? >> yes, triad. and carson, i believe he didn't show too much passion. he showed like he was a little bit out. >> let's play a moment of ben carson. originally carson was your

favorite candidate, brenda. >> yes. >> let's play a moment when ben carson talks about oxygen masks. >> no one is ever better off with dictators. there comes a time, when you're on a airplane, they always say, in case of an emergency, oxygen masks will drop down. put yours on first and then administer help to your neighbor. we need oxygen right now. >> brenda, what did you think about ben carson and why hasn't he become your favorite again? >> well, i think part of dr. ben's challenges that he has, it has to do with his position on immigration and for me, that is number one. there are things with our immigration program to date that not necessarily needs to be fixed. i think that if we follow the laws that are currently on the books, that we'd be in a lot better position. >> you think that's donald trump's position? >> yes. donald trump wants to follow the

law. he also disagrees with the birth right citizenship. that is very big for me. now, we have people up there on the stage -- >> cruz owns those two positions as well. why isn't he resonating as much. >> he does. he's my number two guy. that's my ticket. the thing we're looking at here is people that are on that stage, that have contributed to the problems that we have. we have these professional politicians that know everything. look at the mess our country is in. >> yes. >> that's why so-called outsiders are resignating. >> go ahead. >> she says that trump wants to follow the law. what about the geneva law when he speaks about killing the families of terrorists or when he says that we have to not allow any muslims into the country. what part of following the law is that? >> what's the problem with that? >> hold on. >> there's a lot of problems. >> what people are saying online

is that was a substantive debate, perhaps the best debate. did you get all of your questions answered that you wanted? >> i think at the end of the day we are looking for someone who can make decisions. we can talk policy all we want. >> i agree with you. >> look at the senators going back and forth, they created this, they're part of the system. >> they are part of the problem f. we're looking for something different, that's not it. >> does one person win last night? >> i think so. >> is one person better than all of those? for you it's trump. >> he's still my pick. but i think ted cruz won the debate. >> you think ted cruz was the best on the debate. >> i don't know that anyone stuck out in that dominant a fashion. for me, trump was there. it's up to someone else to take him down. i don't think anyone took him down. >> i believe last night was the night of bush and maybe christie. i believe the big losers are carson and trump and ted cruz and rubio, they -- you know, they were fighting among each

other. like christie is saying, sometimes it comes to the point that what they do as senators doesn't really matter much. >> we want to talk to you about issues. we'll do that in our 8:00 hour. get some coffee, get some breakfast. we'll see you shortly. we have a lot of news this morning. let's get right to it. donald, you're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency. >> with jeb's attitude we will never be great again. that i can tell you. >> marco knows what he's saying isn't true. >> he has a wonderful temperament. he's just fine. don't worry about it. >> i don't want to get in between them. let them fight. >> ted, you support legalizing people who are in this country illegally? >> not a factor. >> am i talking or are you talking? >> i'm talking right now. >> yes, we'd shoot down the planes of russian pilots. >> i think if you're in favor of world war iii, you have your candidate. >> if you watch the something done, ask a woman. >> the world wants us to function from strength, believe it or not.

>> you're a tough guy, jeb. >> you're not going to be president of the united states by insulting your way to the presidency. >> i'm at 42, you're at 3. >> doesn't matter. doesn't matter. >> good morning, everyone. welcome back to your "new day." it is wednesday, december 16th. michaela is in new york with other headlines, chris and i are here at the venetian hotel in los angeles. the republican race -- you had a long night last night, my friend. you got some great tidbits out of donald trump. we'll talk about that. the race begins anew today. following last night's fierce cnn debate. there were nine contenders that took the main stage but only two heated rivalries are dominating the headlines this morning. that is ted cruz and marco rubio. they were duking it out over immigration and nsa own other topics. jeb bush tried to revive his campaign, lashing out at donald trump. many say he was successful.

>> we built up big expectations and they were delivered upon. the race is going to be different today as a result of what happened last night. you saw a different donald trump last night. you saw ted cruz in a way that you hadn't seen him before. so who really resonated? who really made the most of the moment and what are we going to see reflected in the polls? there's only one person who can answer these questions, of course, that's john berman. pleas answer everything i just asked. >> this was a fascinating debate, right? the last debate of the year you had perhaps the most serious discussion of substance to this moment. you had the most electric moment of tension but you also had the most surprising moments of nonconfrontation. take a look. >> reporter: this is the final republican debate before the election year begins. >> reporter: there was serious substance like donald trump's plan to ban muslims from entering the country. >> we are not talking about isolation. we're talk be about security.

>> reporter: to throw down or not to throw down. the answer a definitive yes to both. >> donald is great at the one liners. but he's a chaos candidate. he'd be a chaos president. >> he's failed in this campaign. it's been awe total disaster. nobody cares. >> reporter: jeb bush taking it to donald trump not just once -- >> donald, you're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency. that's not going to happen. >> reporter: not just twice -- >> if i'm president, i'll be a commander in chief, not an agitator in chief or divider in chief. >> reporter: but at least three times and maybe, just maybe, getting under his skin. >> you're never going to be president of the united states. >> you're real tough. >> i'm at 42 and you're at 3. >> doesn't matter. >> so far i'm doing better. >> doesn't matter. >> so far i'm doing better. >> reporter: that was just one

battle, another, between ted cruz and marco rubio on several fronts, domestic surveillance -- >> we're now at a time when we need more tools, not less tools. that tool we loss, the metadata program was a valuable tool we no longer have at our disposal. >> marco knows what he's saying isn't true. >> reporter: defense spending. >> he voted against the act that funds the troops. >> he knows they're not true. >> reporter: and crucially, immigration. >> it's an issue i've lived around my whole life. my family are migrants, my wife's family are migrants. my neighbors are migrants. >> there was a time for choosing as reagan put it that there was a battle over amnesty. some chose to stand with barack obama and support a massive amnesty plan. he was fighting to grant amnesty and not to secure the border. i was fighting to secure the border. >> reporter: carly fiorina suggested neither candidate is

up to the task. >> to wage war, we need a commander in chief who has made tough calls in tough times and stood up to be held accountable over and over. not first-term senators who never made an executive decision in their life. i'll just add that margaret thatcher once said, if you want something talked about, ask a man. if you want something done, ask a woman. [ applause ] >> reporter: there was heat between chris christie and rand paul over no-fly zones in syria. >> we would shot down the planes of russian pilots if in fact they were stupid enough to think that this president was the same feckless weakling that the president we have in the oval office is right now. >> well, i think if you're in favor of world war iii, you have your candidate. here's the thing. >> reporter: but for all the insults hurled, there were also hugs. rhetorical. >> we will build a wall that work and i'll get donald trump to pay for it.

>> reporter: and fight literal between donald trump and ted cruz. the current front-runners who just plain refused to rumble. >> maniac, one heart beat away from the presidency. >> he has a wonderful temperament. he's just fine. don't worry about it. >> reporter: finally, a revealing truce, perhaps, between donald trump and the party. his strongest disavowal yet of a third party run. >> i am totally committed to the republican party. i feel very honored to be the front-runner. >> to take mr. trump's word, that admission was huge that he made, that he will not run as a third party candidate. an amazing give back of leverage for him, an amazing sigh of relief for reince priebus and the rnc to be sure. how did donald trump do on the stage? how does he think he did? i'll tell you what. he was different, on the stage and after the debate, than i've seen him in the past. here's a little look at our

discussion. >> the burden of being a front-runner. as you say, you set the agenda on some big issues, certainly you brought immigration into the fore in a way it hadn't been before. you could argue you did that about how to deal with radical islamism. you'll be taking the heat when you set the agenda, aren't you? >> i don't think there was ever a burden to be a front-runner. i'd like to have that burden for the rest of my life. it's a great honor, having the center podium is a great honor to me. >> i want to make sure we got something right. you were asked, will you promise to honor basically the pledge that you'll stick with the party no matter what. you said yes. >> look, number one i'm in first place, not by a little bit, by a lot. you saw the polls that came out today. "washington post," abc, it's been amazing. monmouth came out with one that was 41 to 14 or 15. number one, the i'm the front-runner. i've really gotten to respect so many of the people in the party that i didn't know on the other side. i'd been in the party, but i've been a contributor, a fair

haired boy. now all of a sudden i've been a little bit different. i have a lot of respect for a lost the people on the stage. i have a lot of respect for a lot of people on the stage. i just decided -- i didn't know that question was going to be asked. when they asked it, i did not hesitate. i decided to say, yes, i'm a republican. i'm going to be a republican. i'm not going to be doing a third party. >> no matter what? >> no, not no matter what. >> not no matter what or no matter what? >> no matter what. look, it's like a boxer. the only way you win a home decision is if you have to knock them out. if i get the votes, nobody can do anything. if i get the delegates, nobody is going to do anything. i'm leading in a lot of states. ppg just came out, i'm leading in iowa now. i'm leading in a lot of states. it's on my shoulders. i hope i get the votes. i will be trying very hard. i will make our country great again. >> what if you have some delegates, not enough, it goes to convention and you feel they want to box you out. >> i'm going to try to do is the old-fashioned way.

i'm going to run as a republican. i hope i win as a republican. hopefully i'll be treated fairly. fox came out with a poll, i beat hillary clinton head on. there are a couple others that say that. i haven't really gone after her yet. i've been focused here. there's 15 people here. i've been focused here as you may have noticed. i haven't really focused on hillary. within i do, i think she's going to fall. when she does as poor a job -- if she's allowed to run. i don't even know she'll be allowed to run. >> why wouldn't she be allowed to run. >> what she did with the e-mails is a big problem for her, however, she probably will be protected because she's a democrat in a democratic administration. on the assumption that she's allowed to run, i think i will beat her soundly. i hope. if i do, we will make this country so great again and we'll have such great spirit and happiness and we're just going to have victories. we don't have victories anymore. in my closing statement i said we don't win anymore. that's the case, chris. our country doesn't win. we done the win with isis.

we don't win with health care. we don't win with anything. we don't win with trade. china is eating our lunch. japan is eating our lunch. vietnam, eating our lunch. they're just taking our money out of our pocket. if i win, all of that is going to change. >> we have so much to dive into and here to analyze with us, john berman sticks around. also we'll bring in michael smerconish, cnn political commentator and hew hewitt, host of the hugh hewitt show. he was a questioner at the debate last night. great to see you. thanks for getting up early. >> my pleasure. >> did you think that anybody was dominant or the winner last night? >> i gave the gold to chris christie, the silver to jeb bush and two bronzes out to the senators who sparred, rubio and cruz. i saw chris's interview with donald trump for the first time. the platinum goes to the party. because when chris got donald trump to double down on staying in the party in a way he did on

stage, i was happy. i even clapped. i'm a republican. i'm a conservative. i don't have to be objective. >> you asked him. >> people call my radio show, they might call michael's. if he ran as a third party, it was over, hillary wins. he's in the republican party, we have a two-way race. he can beat her. that's how i called it for the night. i'm so glad, chris, you got him in the aftershore. that helps him with rank and file republicans who want him to be a republican and not do the straddle thing. he may have got a medal out of this as well. >> smerconish, thumbs up, thumbs down? >> i would be accepting of what donald trump said to you, what donald trump said to hugh but from donald trump, i just can't accept it. i listen to donald trump and i think those are the words of someone who on the eve -- >> did you run over your dog at some point? what did he do to you? >> from donald trump, i hear the man who is now losing on two

polls in iowa and he needs to staunch the bleeding because the momentum has shifted to ted cruz. and i just can't accept him at his word because within the next 50 days, something huge could happen where that was then, this is now. >> john, stylistically, donald trump has the opposite of a poker face. he has an elastic face. you knew exactly how he felt when anybody was saying anything he disagreed with. he at times touched his fellow candidates. it was an interesting display. >> you can turn the volume off and have a fun two hours watching a donald trump debate. i thought he actually began the debate with the most concise opening statement he's had, with the clearest answer he's given yet on his proposal to ban muslims. he was in complete control, then when jeb bush started going after him, he's like, forget about it it i'm going to be donald trump for a few moments here, just swing, sigh, roll his eyes. when he did that thing with ted

cruz at the end, i thought that was genius, here's my little friend, ted cruz, right here. physicality can work in your favor, too. >> deciding your fate. that's what a debate is about. let's say last night ted cruz had a moment. he had a chance to make it. ben carson was put in a spot by hugh hewitt. do we have the sound where hugh's making this very tough point, which is this is about doing the worst things that human beings can do when we're talking about war and how to fight it. are you the man for it? ben carson gave an interesting answer. let's play it and then we'll discuss it. >> interestingly enough, you should see the eyes of some of those children when i say to them, we're going to have to open your head up and take out this tumor. they're not happy about it, believe me. they don't like me very much at that point. but later on, they love me. sometimes you -- i sound like him.

later on, you know, they really realize what's going on. by the same token, you have to be able to look at the big picture and understand that it's actual actually merciful if you go ahead and finish the job rather than death by a thousand pricks. >> you are okay with the deaths of thousands of innocent children and civilian? it's like -- >> thank god that wasn't me, hugh. you're asking him this hard question. do you have what it takes to kill often innocence in a situation? he gives that answer. did you feel that that was a good answer and what did you make of the reaction from the crowd. >> i did not expect the reaction from the crowd. as clementine churchill said about winston, he had the lethality necessary for the job. it's a ben carson could handle and he handled it well.

do people believe him? he broke out at the national day of prayer. he broke out because he's an evangelical, the nicest man you'll meet on that stage. and did he carry through the idea that he could be a warmaker in the way that world war iii in i don't know. i'll stand by the question. if you can't, you shouldn't want this job. everybody else on that stage is pretty persuasive. general ben, that's the question. >> why were you surprised by the mini mutiny that you heard from the crowd? they thought that that was out of bounds. >> well, because they don't like the idea -- they can't do it to me because i'm a conservative. they think the media might be baiting people into, oh, you want to kill people. i want talking about that. i was talking about lethality. they're okay. it's fine. >> how did you like that taste of what happened? >> i felt like cleveland brown's quarterback. >> now you know how it feels, my brother, when you ask something that seems to make sense to you

and you get pillary. >> it's a smart crowd that we attract after the debate, everybody weighing in and offering their opinions. i'd like to lock in exactly as i saw it. >> your first impression. >> before i hear any spin. for me, i thought kasich had a decent evening. i don't expect it was a breakout moment. carly fiorina, not so much. rubio, big night. carson, i thought down night. i didn't think he could compete on a granular basis and with rubio and cruz. trump, a down arrow. you're right. ted cruz, big night. jeb, we haven't discussioned jeb bush. i think jeb bush had his best performance yet. i've not been favorable towards had debate. >> benefiting from no expectations or absolutely good night. >> maybe the bar has been set lower, chris, but i thought he had a genuinely good night, a complete performance. chris christie, i disagree.

not so much as far as i was concerned. and rand paul, i know he got in by the hair of his chiny hin chin. i appreciate having someone on the stage advancing the argument that every time we open a base overseas, we're not making ourselves more safe, we're making ourselves less safe. >> we haven't talked enough about jeb bush. and people thought that he held his own against donald trump. >> look, had he done this in august, had he done this in september at the reagan library, this could be a different campaign. there is no question about it. this was the jeb bush i think people thought they needed to see early on to prove he could take on this field and appeal to the wide republican base right now. is it enough now? he's down at 3% in some polls. he has a lot of ground to pick up. he has tough competitors to do it against. it's not trump, it's rubio, chris christie. >> one of bush's people grabbed

me last night after the debate and made a compelling point. of course, that's their job. he does not benefit from the big crowd. they say the smaller the crowd gets, as long as he's in it, the more he will rise. and maybe now if he's a group of five, his fates change. once the primaries begin it's always only about three or four. maybe that winds up being his boost. >> i have very good news for him. he's about to meet a group of three, you, me and hum. he's in the elevator. >> a pleasure. >> thank you. >> great to see you. jeb bush, some felt brought the heat last night. will it be enough? what will happen to his campaign now? we'll talk to jeb bush, live right after the break.

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jeb bush had intense moments last night. he traded blows with donald trump and many people say today that it might be enough to revive what was a bit of an anemic candidacy. will it turn around his poll numbers? we have an opportunity to ask him. >> alisyn camerota, showing the discretion that comes with the candidate sitting immediately to your right. we have republican presidential candidate, former governor jeb bush. >> alisyn, you stalled out right there. you were about ready to take a shot and you didn't even feel it. >> it's tough with you sitting right there. let's talk about what many say is your possibly biggest night. how did you feel last night? >> i feel good. kudos to cnn for having a substantive debate. there was not a single process question. people are scared. they want to know what people believe about how to protect the homeland. we had a substantive debate about foreign policy and the importance of american leadership. there's differences of opinion. those all got expressed.

i thought it was a great debate. i got to post up against donald trump. i don't think he's a serious candidate. i don't know why others don't feel compelled to point that out, but i did. i think i got a chance to express my views and compare them to someone who talks a big game but really hasn't thought it through. >> let me ask you something. people who know you say if you were in trouble, jeb is a guy you want on your side. and when you have come across in these debates, you come across as, hey, there's a decorum here, i'm not going to sink to the level. some sea that as a weakness. last night when he said am i talking or are you talking? you took that a different way. >> it's not really a debate. it's a performance. you have to take the moment to be able to say what you want to say rather than answer the question. i was brought up in a family where you, you know, someone asked you a question, you answer it. you really have to be respectful of the question but get to the

point you want to make. and in the case of donald trump, he's a bully. look, i mean, you gus initer view him all the time. he has his way. and to push up -- post up against him a little bit and push back, you get a sense of, he's not fight all in command. >> does he worry you at all in those moments? what's emotionally going through -- >> there's not enough to think about it in that way, in an abstract way. you're in the middle of it and you go at it. what brothers me is our party will win if we have a hopeful optimistic message on foreign policy, if we have a message that believes in america's exceptionalism. i don't think he does. i think he views the world in negative, pessimistic terms. he's the mirror image of barack obama in a strange way that they both have competing forms of pessimism and express it in clearly different ways but we

need to have a hopeful optimistic message, believing in the strength of our country and how we keep ourselves safe by projecting american leadership in the world. and the debate last night, i think brought some clarity to that. >> let's take a look at the moment that you and donald trump butted heads. you might not have seen this recently. >> in case you forgot? >> let's see. >> he's a very nice person but we need tough people. toughness, intelligence and we need tough. jeb said when they come across the southern border they come as an act of love. >> you said in september 30th that isis was not a factor. >> am i talking or are you talking, jeb? >> i'm talking right now. >> you interrupted. are you going to apologize, jeb? no. >> am i allowed to finish. >> one at a time. >> excuse me, am i allowed to finish? go ahead, mr. trump. >> a little bit of your own medicine. >> please, one at a time. >> right. that was different than what you've done in the past. when he said don't interrupt me and are you talking, or i'm

talking, in the past you might have given him, seeded him the floor because it is rude to interrupt. you did something different there last night. >> i did. i did. look, donald trump's not going to be president of the united states by insulting every group on the planet. you know, insulting women, p.o.w.s, war heroes, hispanics, disabled, african-americans, you can't insult your way to the presidency. and i think people have to stand up against that. look, people are angry. they have lots of anxiety for good reason but preying on that is not how you win. you have to give people a sense that we have to fix these complex things both in foreign policy and our domestic economy. >> i know it somehow cheapens the situation but i do see a lot of analogies to prize fighting in these moments. you guys are heavyweights. this is about big blows, energy and emotion. and when you said i'm talking right now, i'm talking right now and you saw donald trump turn back to wolf and say, am i allowed to finish talking here or not? it reminded me of a scene in one

of the "rocky" movies. the bell rings, the guy looks at him and walks back to his corner. you then came up with two great lines i'm thinking anna navarro probably wrote. you called him the chaos candidate. you said i don't get my information about what's going on by watching the weekend shows. the question with donald, are they saturday morning or sunday morning. >> i have to admit those were mine. >> that was quality. that was strong. >> it actually just came to me. >> saturday or sunday just came? >> the sunday shows, he said. but the saturday part i just kind of made it up as i went along. >> really? now -- >> how about chaos. >> that was a committee effort, i guess. >> that was a good zinger you said, the saturday or sunday. you mentioned it almost with a whisper of regret. why? >> it's not a regret. look, the performance side of this is not why i'm running for president. >> and that's the part you're not comfortable with, really, that it has to be a performance. >> we are the greatest country

on the face of the earth. we need a president that can unite us around a set of common purposes. and the debates are important because millions of people watch it. i mean, i get that. but performing is not what a president does. leading is what a president does. and so, it's not that i'm not comfortable with it, it's not my motivation. it's not who i am. i don't wake up each day saying, well, i can have a zinger and attack somebody. that's not who i am. and -- but you've got to do it. you've got to be in the moment when these things happen. i totally understand that. and i'm getting better at it, i hope. >> were you surprised by how much marco rubio and ted cruz engaged and went after each other? >> not really, because it was all kind of set up by the questions. it was designed that way. i thought the interchanges that we all had were very substantive. and it's important, because americans need to understand that there are differents of opinion about the role of america in the world and i think the interchange was good.

chris christie said something really interesting and i totally agree with him, which was they started talking like they were back benchers filing amendments and calling it success and it kind of got really into the weeds. but that's what they do in washington. you know? they forget that english is the language that unites us as a country. >> allegiance of governors there with christie and bush with guys who actually do executive jobs. the big question on the voters' mind going into last night is i'm afraid. i think that bad things can happen anywhere at any time in the country right now. what do you say to the american people to make them not act out of that fear, to whant to targe muslims because that's who it seems is coming after us. >> if i was president of the united states right now, the speech that the president gave on sunday that now, you know, thanks to donald trump, actually, got off the radar was one that didn't -- didn't alleviate people's kerns. i think a people has to give

people a sense, look, i'm on this, we got this, we can do this. we have the capability of protecting the homeland. here's how we'll do it. he talked about gun control. >> i'm afraid, i'm afraid. it's beginning to happen. what do you say to aswaj the fear that makes me not hate muslims? >> you send the signal that you're working on this, that you have the fbi on the case, if you're cooperating with local law enforcement, that there's no reason -- that the terrorists want us to be frozen in place. they do this. they're attacking our freedom. that's our vulnerability. and if we start acting less free, and, you know, the tragedy of los angeles was that it's a victory for isis. and who knows, there will be another example of this. i think the president needs to be much more engaged than he appears to be right now and tell people what the strategy is to destroy isis in the caliphate. if we do that, i think people will begin to believe our country is safe and that we can

move on with our lives. >> governor jeb bush, great to have you on "new day" this morning. >> thank you. go get some sleep. >> you, too. next hour, we'll talk to carly fiorina and lindsay graul. they will also both join us live. >> a lot of moments as well during the debate. we'll play them to you so you can process who was up and who is down. right when you feel a cold sore, abreva can heal it in as few as two and a half days when used at the first sign. without it the virus spreads from cell to cell. only abreva penetrates deep and starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells. you could heal your cold sore, fast, as fast as two and a half days when used at the first sign. learn how abreva starts to work immediately at abreva.com don't tough it out, knock it out, fast. with abreva. after a dvt blood clot.mind when i got out of the hospital

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eliquis treats dvt & pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding. both made switching to eliquis right for me. ask your doctor if it's right for you. welcome back. we are still at the venetian hotel in las vegas. this was the scene of the big night in amidst the canals and gondolas and beautiful architecture that is the venetian, we had a big night that changed the state of play in the republican race. donald trump, big headline.

he says, i'm going to stay a republican. i will not run as an independent. but he wasn't the whole deal last night. >> right. but that is what the party had been waiting for him to say. there were moments between ted cruz and marco rubio, they were sparring on national security and immigration. there's a lot to talk about. joining us now is reince priebus, the chairman of the republican national committee. good morning, reince, great to see you. how are you feeling? >> hey, this isn't fair. you guys are inside the venetian and i'm on the outside where it's like 32 degrees. >> we are literally chilling you. >> that is terrible. >> it was a good night. i thought cnn and wolf did an exceptional job. we were pretty pleased. >> so, reince, other than when you almost gave me a beatdown right before the men went on stage, how did you feel about the state of play out there? and when you heard donald trump say i respect the party, i've learned to respect the people on

the stage, i will stay a republican, i'm not running as an independent, what did it mean to you? >> i never -- i never worried about it. i really -- it's not something i'm traned to say here with the question. i never was. i never lost any sleep over it. the truth is it's extremely difficult. once you start running on ballots as a republican or democrat, it's very, very difficult in this country to then change your mind and reverse course because most states have what they call loser laws which means once you're on the ballot in one party, you can't switch. on top of that, i knew when the candidates gave me their pledge and when they agreed to their word that they were beginning to support our party, i never doubted that any of these folks would reverse course. i trusted the people that were on the stage and i always knew that they would adhere to the pledge. >> that's interesting, reince.

donald trump is unpredictable. he's nothing if not unpredictable. in this whole race he's done things that were different than what people said he might do or they certainly had different outcomes. so you believed him but many in the party were fight nervous about it, because they said that if he were to run as an independent, that would be hanged the election to hillary. go ahead. >> yes, but the difference is, we're the only place the republican national committee, that's actually interacting with every single campaign on a daily basis. we know what's going on. we're visiting the campaigns. our political director, our finance directors, our chief of staff, they're all in communication, not just over the telephone but in person with all these campaigns. we know, you know, we know pretty much everything that's going on. so i wasn't -- i was never worried about it and so it was one of those narratives out there that percolates every once in a while that we deal with but it doesn't mean that we're actually sitting around biting our fingernails, you know,

concerned that something like that will actually happen. >> reince, a couple things for you to help us on. one is, do you think that the party will continue to want undercard debates after last night? do you think you're moving into a new phase? and second, you have a classical italian name, reince priebus, last night when dr. carson seemed to struggle with your last name, is that something you've become comfortable with? does it just happen over the years? >> listen, from the moment i've been in kindergarten on, i've dreaded the first day of school when the teacher would try to pronounce my name. i tell people, it's what happens when a greek and a german get married, chris. it's like a cultural disaster. but it's been -- it's unique and i've learned to live with it. i will tell you guys this. we naumed our kids jack and grace. one family tradition i put an end to and that's the name reince.

we're going simple now. >> you think you're going to ask for another undercard, reince, or do you think it's time to move into one echelon? >> i think we're going to reval wait that -- re-evaluate that as we go on. the ratings on the first debate are probably through the roof. when you've got -- these past debates when you have 5 million, 6 million people watching the first debate, it's sort of hard to make the case that it's not something that's very valuable for our party and these candidate s obviously deserve a opportunity to make their case. >> reince priebus, thanks so much for getting up early and standing outside in the cold to talk to us. great to have you on "new day." >> that wasn't my decision, by the way. i said you should be inside. alisyn said she wanted you outside. i don't know why. >> i said you were hearty enough to be out there. >> greek german, they love the cold. >> thanks, reince. for the first time, ted

cruz, some said trumped trump in terms of -- well, certainly in terms of talk time but sometimes even in terms of tone during the debate. >> it is a heavyweight bout. who scored the points? who won the matchups? there's one on your screen right now. we'll get a take from both sides, next. when i was sidelined with blood clots in my lung,h. it was serious. fortunately, my doctor had a game plan. treatment with xarelto®. hey guys!

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all eyes on donald trump and ted cruz at last night's debate. they were expected to spar but, in fact, they played nice on stage. so which one fared better? >> big brains, cnn political commentator and former white house political director for ronald reagan, mr. jeffrey lord. also a trump supporter, cnn political commentator as well, former communications director for senator ted cruz, a man da carpenter. you see where we're going with this. amanda, we know what it was supposed to be. you told us before the debate several times, i don't think they're going to fight. in terms of how the men handle

the moments. what did you see? what did you like, what did you not like? >> i thought it was great. we saw a truce come between the two candidates. take my former cruz hat off, just as a republican voter, i'm so sick of the in-fighting. we went through that in 2012 with romney and newt gingrich. i do not want another repeat of that. i was happy to see they weren't going to get into it and we have a substantive debate on the issues. >> not only did they got get into it, they played nice. here's a moment. watch this. >> over the last three or four days i've gotten to know hill. he has a wonderful temperament. he's just fine. don't worry about it. >> okay. [ applause ] >> senator cruz. senator cruz, you have not been willing to attack mr. trump in public. but you did -- >> you better not attack. >> the question is judgment. >> dana, what i said in private is exactly what i'll say here,

the judgment that every voter is making of every one of us up here is who has the experience, who has the vision, who has the judgment to be commander in chief. >> jeffrey, ted cruz didn't look altogether comfortable with the pat from donald trump. what did you think of their exchanges all night? >> i thought it was very telling. i'm with amanda. i don't like this primary stuff but you have to do it. that said, you must do it. it's always done. it gets rugged. you look at the history of the stuff in both parties, they're terrible, frankly. so there are little telling signs. i thought that was a significant moment where he reached over, donald trump reached over and patted ted cruz on the back and he basically said, you've got a great temperament or whatever. this is in fact, what happens when someone wins, finally, and all the others are supposed to rally around and all is forgiven and forgotten. i think you're already beginning to see a touch of that. >> isn't that premature? we're not at the point where

donald trump has won. >> you're right. you're right. it is premature. i think it was the communication that, hey, we've got to do what we've got to do. you do yours, i'll do mine. at some point we'll -- >> be friends. >> amanda carpenter has the lump of coal look on her face. do you believe anybody was looking to abdicate to donald trump on that stage last night? and do you think that ted cruz owned the potential of the moment that was presented him? >> between donald trump and ted cruz, i think it was a good moment, a chummy moment. what i think is very positive is that we aren't talking about the cruz/trump matchup so much as the cruz/rubio matchup where a lot of people wanted to see this debate go. >> who did better. >> there was immigration, surveillance and the concept of military intervention, the issues where they clashed. cruz won on immigration. i think it was more of a draw on the other two issues, due to the complex nature of the subject. there's been some criticism because they were debating policy maybe a little too much. it may have been too much in the

weeds. i think chris christie, people are saying he had a great moment interrupting the two. i didn't like that moment largely because if someone is campaigning to be commander in chief, president, i want them to have an interest in the legislation. who do you think sends him the bills to sign? him dismissing this as inside baseball, i thought was a negative pore someone who may be signing those bills. >> what a lot of people looked at the jeb bush/donald trump exchanges. jeb bush for the first time in a debate seemed to hole his own. >> yes. >> stand his ground against donald trump and people thought that he -- because he exceeded expectations, won. >> right. you know, an a personal level, i like governor bush. whoen does the like governor bush. the point is, i'm wondering if it's not too late here. there was this vast expectation here. i mean, all of the money and the establishment and all of this kind of thing. and it didn't come to fruition. i'm not saying this is necessarily his blame, i just

think they perhaps overexpected something here. and it's not come to pass. i'm not sure it was ever destined to come to pass, that someone else, it could have been donald trump, it could have been somebody else on that stage, was going to overtake the third bush as it were. >> but you know what, politics is the world of perception as reality. you see rebirth all the time. marco rubio went from the reaching for the glass thing to now often looking like the most polished guy on the stage. you have chris christie who was written off, now he's back on the main stage. we haven't even had a vote yet. >> chris, this is, i think, forgetting for a moment donald trump and watching ted cruz and marco rubio, you know what it reminded me of? you have to be old for this. when senator john f. kennedy addressed the democratic national convention of 1956 and gave endorsement and speech for adelaide stevenson. everybody said, wow, who is that? they threw the thing up and he

was almost vice president and he became the future. those two guys somewhere are the future of the republican party. >> jeffrey, amanda, great to have your analysis with us this morning. thanks so much. >> early christmas wishes to match the tie. >> yes, sir, we're on our way. >> very nice. in 15 minutes from now we'll get reaction from more of the candidates. carly fiorina will be with us at the top of the hour. also, lindsey graham. he'll assess his performance on the undercard debate which many felt was the most emotional of the night. >> one of the reasons is we hype the debate so much is because they matter so much. the debate raised the stakes last night. coming out of it, who's going to wind up in a different position? >> maybe ted cruz, maybe marco rubio. of course donald trump. but you might be surprised to know who voters -- which voters are supporting which candidate. we have real voters with us and we'll talk to them as well. >> we have all the voters and who they want. and fever, there's no such thing as a little flu.

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the race is different today because of what happened here the the venetian in las vegas last night. next supervisor the iowa caucuses. 47 days away. >> time is flying. >> right? >> who helped themselves? who did not in last night's debate. there are numbers to discuss. we dig deeper with the candidates. who they are attracting, who they need to attract for the race. let's bring in our cnn political director and executive editor. great job last night coordinating what we all got to benefit from last night. let's take a look. when you look at the top guy, trump, rubio and carson, who do

they have? who do they need? who's for trump. >> everybody angry at washington but yet not is republican establishment. and i don't think he had a very good night last night. i still think he did okay with those who don't like the republican establishment and could still come out okay. >> why the do you see he tenant have a good night? >> i think he lost a little energy. and at one point he seemed to get a little angry and coming after the media, coming after cnn. however he seemed tired at that point. he powered through that and what have you. but if you look at others. you said ted cruz looking at iowa. seemed to be directly at the members of iowa, really hammering home some conservative values. and then marco rubio playing the conservative and mainstream game. >> who did you think won, david? >> i don't think there was a loser among them. i think it was a really good debate and i think they each hit their obserwn marks. two things happen.

one, that is debate about what the presidency was about. so this was a real commander in chief test for those candidates. these are really big issues and i think avoiding the shiny objects and side shows that sometimes dominant the campaign coverage probably helped the candidates quite a bit and certainly helped the voters measure up. i think also last night laid this predicate for rubio versus cruz battle that is going to be a dominant force going forward. and i think whether on surveillance or immigration you just started seeing where those two guys are dividing the party. >> so what will wind up determining who wins that slice of the pie? >> well what slice of the pie? because it is really cut up in so many pieces right now. i think you have to look at three paths towards the nomination. the donald trump path and that is his path. there is nobody else in that line. you have the establishment path, which is the marco rubio path which is moving into. jeb bush i think did okay last

night. did better certainly than he has done in the past and he's trying to retake that. and then you really have the social/conservative path and that is clearly what ted cruz is trying to do. when you heard cruz last night he certainly was reaching out and telling them i'm your candidate. >> let's talk about cruz's supporters. they are only 22% female. of all of the people who supported him. they are 50 and plus is 18% it white evangelicals they say 20%. i want to get to the female party. because he needs more women in order to win. was there anything last night that would attract women to him? >> and why doesn't he have them? >> he certainly wants that to go up. but his favorable unfavorable numbers are the best in the field. he's a likable person right knew for those iowa republican conservatives. so that shows he's got real room to grow across the board because

if he is somebody they find appealing in that way and he's not turning them off there is an opportunity for a sale. >> and if they find him appealing in a room with a small number. that will work for him in new hampshire. as opposed to people who may not in a big forum like this find him as appealing. >> no doubt about it. >> but ted cruz, marcus wright xz he is going to make a play to own the evangelical base especially in the early states. but when the bluer states in the process and where establishment republicans have tended in the past to make their play that is where cruz has to figure out a path around marco rubio. one thing about donald trump, when you come in a dominant front runner and you have a performance where you are unscathed, you emerge a dominant front runner still. and he is going to is this own path of his, potentially bringing in people from outside of the process fuelling his

candidacy. >> he felt that also that he had had a good night for his position. >> yeah. and we're going into christmas right now. we're talking about this campaign being frozen for two weeks. so what happened here last night. >> this is discussion about the festivists table. >> correct. correct. and you are not going to see any of thesed a candidates on the campaign trail. it is frozen in in january. then game on again. >> any question of trump giving away the leverage of a third party candidacy was huge. >> oh my god. >> he's running with it. >> you know who the big runner was last night was reince priebus. sitting right behind us, watching donald trump say i will not do a third party candidacy. huge. >> we're going to get the reaction from more candidates right up. we have carly fiorina here, we have lindsey graham here.

they will talk how they did and how others did. stay with us for that. we've got a lot of news, let's get to it. >> i am totally committed to the republican party. >> you are never going to be president of the united states. >> i'm at 42 and you are at 3. >> doesn't matter. >> so so far i'm doing better. >> time to take our country back. >> america has been betrayed. >> marco can't have it both ways. >> i've got to be know him over the last three or fur days. he's had a wonderful temper. he's just fine. >> this is what it's like to be on the floor of the united states senate. >> he's a chaos candidate. and he would be a chaos president. >> jeb doesn't really believe i'm unhinged. he said that very simply because he has failed in this campaign. >> good morning. welcome to your "new day," it is

wednesday december 16th, 8:00 in the east. mic in new york. alisyn and i here at the venetian in las vegas. this is the scene of the spectacle. the republican race in now in a new phase because of what happened last night. nine candidates squared off in prime time. you had two big rivalry pop up. you had trump and cruz, what would happen there? you had jeb bush and trump? what would happen there and then you have what emerged on the stage. that would be the story of the day. >> and before it all ended, also a major headline. donald trump renewed his vow not to run as an independent. he said he will stay in the gop. so who were the big winners and losers? and how are the voters rating the candidates this morning? we have it covered for you the way only cnn can. john berman joins us now with all of the big moments. >> the 2015 campaign year. man did it go out with a bang. this was a serious debate. serious discussions about

substance, great performances. electricity there. and in you stayed away to the end and we know you did. you were legally required. but if you watched until the end there was big news. >> this is the final republican debate before the election year begins. >> there was serious substance. like donald trump's plan to ban muslims before entering the country. >> we're not talking about isolati isolation. we're talking about security. we're not talking about religion. we're talking about security. >> namely the question, to throw down or not to throw down. the answer, a definitive yes. to both. >> donald, you know, is great at the one-liners. but he's a chaos candidate. and he'd be a chaos president. >> jeb doesn't really believe i'm unhinged. he said that very because he has failed in this campaign. it's been a total disaster. >> jeb bush, taking it to donald

trump not just once. >> donald you are not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency. that is not going to happen. >> not just twice. >> but at least three times. and maybe, just maybe getting under his skin. >> you are never going to be president of the united states by insulting your way to the presidency. >> well let's see. i'm at 42 and you are at 3 so so far i'm doing better. >> doesn't matter. doesn't matter. >> between ted cruz and marco rubio on several fronts. domestic surveillance. >> we're now at the time we need more tools, not less. and that tool we lost, the meta data program was a valuable tool we no longer have our disposal. >> marco knows it isn't true. >> a bill that funds the troops. >> marco has continued these attacks and he knows they are not true. >> and crucially immigration. >> it is an issue i've live around my whole life. my family are immigrants, my

wife's family. all of my neighbors are immigrants. >> first time he's been pushed on a support for immigration reform in a debate. >> there was a time for choosing as reagan put it. where there was a battle over amnesty. and some chose to stand and support a massive am nest plan. he was fighting to grant amnesty and not to secure approximate border. i was fighting to secure the border. >> carly fiorina suggested either candidate is up to the task. >> we need a commander in chief who he's made tough calls in tough times and stood up to be accountable over and over. not first term senators who've never made an executive decision in their life. i'll just audit that margaret thatcher said if you want something talked abouting ask a man. if you want something done, ask a woman. >> there was heat between chris christie and rand paul over no

fly zones in syria. >> we would shoot down the planes of russian pilots if they were stupid enough to think that this president was the same weakling as the president in the oval right now. >> well i think if you are in favor of world war iii you have your candidate. >> but for all the insults hurled there were also hugs. rhetorical. >> we will build a wall that works. and i'll get donald trump to pay for it. >> and quite literal. between donald trump and ted cruz. the current front runners who just plain refused to rumble. >> i've gotten to know him. he is a wonderful temperament. he's just fine. don't worry about it. >> and finally a revealing truce perhaps between donald trump and the party. his strongest disavowal yet of a third party run. >> i am totally committed to the republican party. i feel very honored to be the front runner.

all right. let's bring in republican presidential candidate carly fiorina. good morning. early christmas wishes. >> thank you. >> last night. what did you see on the stage for yourself in terms of what came out of you and others? what should matter to voters today? >> well i am a tested leader and i think that is what we need the white house. and i think a lot of what viewers saw last night is why they are tide of politics. it is why 80% of the american people now think we have a professional political class that cares more about its ambition, its privilege, it's position than getting something done. there was a debate, argument about immigration between three first term senators and we've been talking about immigration for 25 years. we've been talking about the border for 25 years. donald trump didn't bring this up. we talked about it the last election and the last four elections and yet it's not gotten fixed.

politicians talk. leaders act. >> you thought that sparring between rubio and cruz was not helpful, it didn't advance any conversation. >> they have their opinions and what i'm saying is politicians have been arguing about all of these subject, particularly immigration for 25 years. and it remains an unsolved problem. and i think part of the reason for that is because lawyers, politicians, they argue about laws. that is what they do. but the american people are close to -- they are so frused. you see that in all the polls because they don't like the argues. they'd actually like the problem solved. >> is there a simple solution to immigration. >> we have to secure the border. securing the border take money, manpower, technology. but mostly leadership and political will power. and we have to fix the legal

immigration system. this is the most sophisticated technological system on the planet and we can't create a system that works? of course we can. but our bureaucracy in government has become completely inept. we know that. the people know it. 75% think the government is inept and corrupt. and they are right. >> the flipz is people will say yeah the system is what it is. intractable, difficult. but the idea of changing it wholesale is equally as absurd. >> that is what they always say. but i've laid out a blueprint. there are six points. what i would like is for voters to hold me accountable for getting that blueprint done in the first couple years of my first term it. starts with reforming the tax code. but it also starts with going to zero-based budgeting, where you can exam every single, cut any dollar, move any dollar. by the tway political class hates that. >> how? >> there is a bill sitting there

to get it done but nobody wants to vote on it because it will gore lots of oxes. >> how are you going to vote on it. >> i'm going into the oval office every week i'll ask do you think we ought to force government to justify any dollar so we can cut any dollar and move any, press one for yes and two for no. the technology exists. we need to use technology to reengage citizens in the process. the political class had ruled this country, along with an inept corrupt government brurk sif for far to long. people know and it they are tired of it. >> you always get high marks in these debates for slicing through ill logic and giving a no nonsense answer. and last night you said every parent in the country knows how to check their child's facebook. let's listen to that moment because it was about terrorism. >> we now learn that dhs says no

we can't check that you are social media. for heaven same-skes the bureau procedures are so far behind. >> the crowd liked that moment that we should be checking especially after san bernardino. >> better to check it before. >> yes before. in the aftermath of the san bernardino. but of course the devils in the details. these weren't posts. these were direct messages. how are you supposed to figure out what terrorists are up to when they are using encryption. >> they were not uses encryption. and we are confusing several things. okay? so yes terrorists are using encryption. terrorists now, isis has a help desk on their website for how to make your messages disappear. you don't think we have more sophisticated technologists than isis? of course we do. but we are not using them. we are not engaging with them.

every employer in this country has figured out with people's permission how to check social postings. orr government has become inept, sometimes because it is politically correct. sometimes because bureaucrats are driven by ideology but sometimes because bureaucracies are always behind the times. when technology moves on five generations and bureaucrats and politicians are still fighting the fights of 2002 we're going to keep losing. >> how do you deal with the fact that the practicalities often make solutions that sound simple not simple. dhs would say we check. >> but they didn't. they admitted they didn't. >> they will say we do, in this case with the woman t wife, she was on facebook under a pseudonym speaking euro due and using direct messages. how would that be perceptible to any vetting? >> well if our government, our

government, cannot figure out how to adequately vet people who are coming into this country using the technology tools that our enemies are using, then our government is incompetent. look, i am not saying that this is not a somewhat complex procedure. what i am saying is people do it all the time. but our government does not. we have o face up to the reality here. we have gigantic bureaucracies. we have a political class that spends its time arguing and the result of that is inend tude and corruption. and 75% of the american people see that. it is why they are so frustrated and so angry. and it is why we need a different kind of leadership. >> where does your campaign go from here? you often get a big poll bump after your debate performances that people give kudos to. what do you think happens next? >> well i'm going have a campaign rally here in nevada

next. and then i'm going to iowa. that is what i think happens night. >> you know what happens next. >> right. i'm going on. >> where is the point of no return in this process? with poll numbers? how many votes do you go out success before you reestablish? >> oh wow you're declaring end to my candidacy. >> not at all. >> i think we're just getting started. look, here is the truth. going into this debate i was tied in national polls with jeb bush who has spent $50 million on air and i haven't spent a dime. so i have gone further faster than anyone imagined. here is what i believe. people watching that debate need to think about the next debate, next fall where there are two podiums on the stage. behind one is going to be hillary clinton. who do we want behind another? someone who's never made an executive decision? someone who insults women? someone who talks a good game

but hasn't ever led? or do we want someone who can actually beat her? and i think people want to win. they know we have to take our country back. and they understand that is going to require real leadership. not talk. results. >> carly fiorina. thanks so much for being on "new day." >> thanks. >> good luck going forward. >> thank you. >> another undercard debate. another strong showing for senator lindsey graham. >> he had not only did he grab attention because of his delivery. but he made a case last night for what america is and what america is not that may have resonated great in the country but hurt him within the party. so we're going to bring on senator graham. when i lay in my tempur-pedic contour- the next thing i know it's morning.

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so just how many republicans would stand up in patrick and stay they miss george w. bush? well one of them did and he is getting rave reviews at last night's undercard debate. >> and it wasn't jeb bush. >> that's right. >> ask senator lindsey graham joins us now. objectively you had a very strong night. >> thank you. >> in the first debate. i want to ask you a question. you made a case for what america is at her best -- >> yes. >> -- we deal with the ban of an entire faith.

could it be true that while you impress so many, social media lit up, you may have hurt yourself in your own party. >> there is a dislike for president obama in my party that is unhealthy. a dislike for president bush in the democratic party that was unhealthy. he is my president. i talked to him yesterday. i think he has screwed this up ten ways to sunday but bush made his fair share of mistakes too. and we talked about what can we do working together to help a new prime minister of iraq? i i tried to articulate what i think with will work. if you don't have partnerships in the faith we're going to lose this war. he said the people who knocked down these towers will hear from us all soon. and he went to a mosque and said it is not about your religion. it is about the radical strain of islam that effects you and the world as much as us and

we're going to partner together. >> people felt that -- you are always funny. >> i am hilarious. >> it is entertaining and we'll get to your zingers in the moment. >> -- i'm not speaking again until somebody sends a hundred thousand dollars quick. >> that's quite a promise. but you were very emotional last night. >> i was. >> let's play a moment after that. >> i was. >> when you you hutter the word will ban all muslims coming to america how do you think the king of jordan must feel to hear that? this is a way to -- stop this before it's too late. leave the faith alone. go after the radicals that kill us all. >> why were you emotional about that? >> number one i know the king of jordan and the president of egypt who went to a sunni mosque to denounce radical islam.

and now they are dealing with a political leaders who's basically denigrated their faith. when you ban all muslims that puts america against the faith. that is exactly what isil wants. they want a war between the west and the faith. they like this far right french party doing well. they are trying to scare western world against muslims in general. don't take the bait but the story about the young sergeant who grow up in achgs, went to high school in afghanistan. came to america. joined the army. became a u.s. citizen, went back over to serve as an interpreter. he was my interpreter on election day on second presidential election. i went to his high school with him about eight people and met his principipaprincipal. the neighborhood the guy grew up in his high school, he was there as an american sergeant representing our country, wearing the american flag and seeing his former country adopt democracy. we all cried like a baby. 000s of muslims have been

slaughtered by this form of radical islam. i have known people who became judges and lawyers and police chiefs to be killed. and someone would take their place. so i was thinking about all the people i had worked with ads a reservist over the last ten years who had been killed fighting rad call islam and what was being said last night was a really slanderous to their efforts. >> the count i have afraid senator. you know the cost of war as well or better than anyone in the race. what do you say to the american people who say i am scared. it can happen any time, anywhere. i'm not safe. and it is muslim whose want to do it. i'm angry at them. i want them out. >> fear is logical. isil does want to hit us here at home. but there is good news. take your fear. fear is not a strategy. take your fear and do something about it. understand that most muslims are not wiing what isil is selling.

i've been there 36 times. the number of muslims who want to follow or want to live under the isil flag is a 1% or less. partner with the 99% to destroy the ideology. take your fear and form a partnership with people in the faith, more american boots on the ground. not a hundred thousand but some to keep the war from coming to our shores. if you want to win, here is what it looks like. there will come a day where the local armies and the local police forces can contain the threat without us. a young woman will go to school, get an education and have a say about her children and she can vote. when that day comes we can win the war. and it is possible but it is a generational struggle. dropping a bomb on the terrorist is one small part. elevating young people. giving them something to live for versus something to die for is how you win and we're going to win. they don't buy what isil is selling. they need our help. >> because you feel so strongly, the last time you were on with

us on "new day" you said you had a way to make america great again. and it wasn't donald trump's suggestion. do you still feel as strongly? do you think. >> he's tempered a bit. all i'm -- so. >> so when you say donald trump should go to hell, have you now changed the circle of hell? it's no longer the seventh circle. >> -- when they basically declare war on another person's face. we must defend ourselves. i want a program that can pick up the attack before it happens. i want to fight the war over there before it comes here. we are at war. the bottom line, what mr. trump is doing the one thing we can't afford to do is to denigrate the faith as a whole. >> 60% of your party agrees with them. >> i don't think that -- >> they think all jihadis are muslims. >> all jihadis are muslims but the only way we're going to win

this war is to partner phenotype 90%. >> here is what i can tell you. most all muslims don't want to live under the isil flag anymore than you do. most young men don't --. here is what bothered me. there as yeerning for some to bring back the dictators of the past. take your family and go over there and live in saddam's syria. if your daughter looks nice to his daughters they grab her off the street for his sons. for a an american leader to suggest a young muslim should live in a dictatorship for our convenience, that is not going to happen. they are in the going to do it anymore. the big mistake is not helping young people form a better life. they are not going to live in a dictatorship to make you or me happy nor should they. and there is a fight between rad cams and most. i'm going to side with the most and i'm going to side with young people, particularly women who want a better life and that is

the key to this war. not dictators, impowering young people who want to live in peace with us if they could. >> on another note. >> have i raised a hundred -- >>. you have -- [ inaudible ] >> -- not enough time. >> do you practice these beforehand? >> some of them. i wanted to talk about iran. getting four -- wolf asked what would you do, get four people out of jail? i tell you. this if you gave me a hundred billion to work with i could get oj out of jail with a hundred billion dollars. >> i still think the line of the night for you is when isil hears what donald trump said about banishing all muslims. >> they just don't fwlooef dancing --. one isil guy would shoot the other for dancing.

>> on that note senator. >> have we raised any money yet? >> i'm cutting a check. >> great debate last night. wolf and hugh, well done. >> no question last night mattered. it matter forward senator graham. it mattered in the big debate as well. new rivalries emerging among republicans. did you see what happened between cruz and rubio? they tangled during the debate. who got the better? we're going post that question and maybe even answer it next. cl p i have asthma... ...one of many pieces in my life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my long-term control medicine, i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms.

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one of us told you that the race would be different today after the debate and the other one is alisyn cammaraerota and enough -- >> you were right. >> sure enough in the gop we see new state. big issues coming to the fore. what is it going to mean today when we get the results in the polls and going forward?

let's gribring in anna navarro. jeb bush supporters, also a friend of the marco rubio -- >> yay. >> -- for senator ted cruz, amanda carpeter is here. and former advisor to president obama, david the ax, axelrod. >> please do not say one good thing about jeb bush this entire morning. okay? we're riding on a roll. don't ruins his reputation now. >> we haven't seen you this happy in month. what did you think of jeb's performance. >> he really needed it. he nailed it. he saw an opening. everybody else on that stage did not have the guts to do the right thing and take on donald trump and the one guy who stepped up was jeb bush. and he had the lane all to himself. i thought it led to a great exchange. he got under donald trump's skin on a couple of occasions.

he actually had some memorable lines. he created some moments. i think that jeb has finally understood part of it is performance. and he needs to embrace it. he did it. he did it well. he's now heading to new hampshire. i hope he pulls up stakes from iowa and moves to new hampshire. and he's going to get people to give him a second look. he is now in a turnaround campaign and last night was an important part of that. >> if you were one of those who didn't see the debate and believe this is can't be true and anna has finally found an alcohol that will distort her memory, let's play you a big moment from last night that does involve donald trump and former governor jeb bush. >> this is a tough business to run for president. >> you're a tough guy, jeb i know. >> and we need a leader that is -- >> you are real tough. >> you are never going to be the president of the united states by insulting you way to presidency. >> i'm at 42 and you are three at so i'm doing better.

>> doesn't matter. >> so far i'm doing matter. >> doesn't matter. >> in the past jeb bush has seemed reluctant out of decency or taken aback by trump and seems to lose those matches. >> well this isn't his natural sport. and obviously there were moments that were sharp. the things you get rewarded for in life you don't get rewarded for in politics, like civility. and he has civility. but when it comes to the performance arts of politics, you know, he had a good night by jeb bush standards. the dancing bear. my god that bear can dance. he had a decent night. the question is does it translate? he has very high negatives among republicans in iowa. he's trailing in new hampshire. chris christie had a good night too. hooegs very much in the way. so jeb bush has his work cut out for him but he showed a pulse

and it gives him hope. >> amanda, do you think it translates? >> i don't think it is the best thing for jeb bush to define his good performance via donald trump, he's still stuck in the trump trap. that said it was really nice to see jeb bush's personality. he had the best lining i thought of the night was joking that donald trump gets his foreign policy advice from the weekend shows but we don't know if it is a saturday or sunday show. that was really fun. he was finally loose and comfortable. great night for jeb and potentially complicates things for rubio because they are so similar in foreign policy. >> anna is right. this part of the virtue for him was that it was unexpected. what was expected was that ted cruz was riding a wave. he had a moment. you know the senator well. did we see him at his best? >> for what he needed to do and have those complex fights with marco rubio and issues of immigration, surveillance and military intervention, long-term

that was very good to get that discussion started. it was a little bit in the weeds for the general audience i think. but in terms of what we need to do to advance those issues for the republican party as a whole. because we must hash this out. that has been brewing for a long time. we need to get these discussions resolved. that was very very good to hit those marks. >> marco rubio, whether did you think? >> i thought they were very evenly matched and i think we're going to see a lot more of that rivalry in the next months and weeks. i think you are going to see those two young bulls locking horns over and over again through media interviews in the next debates on the trail. and they have been telegraphing it now a while and frankly i think chris christie made a very good point there. they sound like senators debating with each other on the well of a senate. you are weak on immigration, you are weak on national security. i think they both took their licks. i think they are both very good debaters. came prepared. new those attacks were coming

and were able to defend them. >> this was in fact the beginning of the next phase of the campaign. ittin' outlined itself last night. rubio attacking cruz on national defense and being weak on national defense. cruz attacking rubio on immigration. i think you will see those debates again and again in the next few weeks. christie making the argument that he's the only guy who has hands on experience fighting terrorism. you will see a lot of that in the next few weeks. the guy we've not talked about is the guy on the top of the polls. and donald trump, it is phenomenal because he operates by his own set of rules. he's not held to fact checks. he doesn't have to have any linear thoughts. and yet, you know, he seems to survive these debates. he doesn't excel -- >> tell us why. he's the one guy on the stage who does something -- >> you are going to tell them why. >> -- [inaudible]. >> you can't want me to tell

them w them. i'm just a foil for you your -- >> it means something to voters? >> well first he benefitted a lot from what happened in paris and what happened in california because there is an element of fear out there now. also particularly among non college educated whites have taken a big hit in this economy. a lot of frustration with politics and with government. and he articulates that frustration in the kind of terms they use. and he's very very good at it. so it really doesn't matter whether the facts line up or the arguments line up. he has moments when he said last night, you know, we wasted trillions of dollars we should have spent at home. i hear that all of the time from people. and not just on the left but on the right. and every day people. he has that ability and he's a great and we've said it many times, a great entertainer. he said it on your air. and that is the way he thinks of

himself. >> he did something tactically last night which was very smart. he's not a good debater. it doesn't matter. he does well nonetheless. but last night he got given the bait to go after ted cruz, which he had been doing and he realized he was treading on thin ice. his attacks didn't work earlier in the week. he backed off and played nice with both ted -- >> interesting quality. >> he played nice with ted cruz and ben carson. nicest man on the stage when just a couple of weeks ago didn't have some sort of pathological disease or something. >> interesting about trump. he goes after people who go after him. but he doesn't initiate. i thought strategically if you were advising him you would say hey this guy is in your way. he could win the iowa caucuses. he is your lane. he said something in private and you can challenge him. you are a politics man. you say one thing one place and one thing somewhere else. he didn't do it.

>> we now know what the pundits think but of course it is the voters and what they think who ultimately decide what is going to happen in 2016. we're going to bring back our voter panel next. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

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the five things for your "new day." the republican race entering a final phase. also some key moments between marco rubio and ted cruz. a deal has been reached on a $1.1 trillion spending plan. the deal funds the government through september. the vote is set for the end of the week. over 600 thousand los angeles county students will be back in class this morning, a day after

the e-mail threat prompted the superintendent to be shut down all of the schools. that threat turned out to be a hoax. deliberations resuming for officer porter. he's charged in the death of freddie gray. the jury telling the judge it was deadlocked. but the judge said keep deliberating. and the fed expected to raise its key interest rate for the first time in almost ten years. stock futures are up for all three major indices this morning and for more visit "new day" cnn.com. >> to sports, an emotional pete rose opening up to the media. >> you can see and feel some of the disappointment yesterday over mlb commissioners's decision to uphold rose's

lifetime ban from baseball. and it is clear that rose hasn't given up hope. >> i want baseball and peat rose to be friends. that is all i want. so i can say i'm not an outsider looking in. i got grand kids. they want their grandpa. to be associated with baseball. that is all. now rose says that while he still gambles recreationally he says he's not out of control. from t and from rondo, bill kennedy is the official he revealed homophobic slurs. rondo has been scrutinized after

his first response many felt was essentially a non apology. national security and protecting america were big topics last night here at the debate. so how to do voters feel the candidates handled those questions? do voters feel safer this morning? we'll ask our panel. that is next.

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last night's gop debate focusing on national security and terrorism. so who do republican voters think will best keep america safe? we bring back our real voters panel about their real choices. let's bring in our voter panel. derrick, jesus marquez and brenda flank, all registered nevada republicans. good to have you with us this morning. derrick, you were and i believe still are a donald trump supporter. what did he say last night that

made you feel that he knows how to handle national security best? >> you in he, i think trump states his positions clearly. he has conviction about it and you get the sense that he's not doing anything for political expediency. many of the other candidates respond to him. they respond to him coming out on his stance about national security. we need leadership. he's leading. everyone else is responding to him. nothing's changed. i don't think anyone won the debate per se. he is leading, everyone is still responding to him. >> let's tee up a moment. let's tee up a moment. another person that you had said stood out to you was dr. ben carson. this was a big test for him last night about whether he has it when it comes to what it takes to fight a war. he gave a very interesting answer about what makes him feel that he knows how to do the job even when it involves a killing of innocence like women and children. take a listen.

>> interestingly enough, you should see the eyes of some those children when i say to them, we're going to have to open your head up and take out this tumor they're not happy about it, believe me. they don't like me very much at that point but later on they love me. sometimes you -- i sound like him. you know, later on, you know, they really realize what's going on. by the same token, you have to be able to look at the big picture and understand that it's actually merciful, if you go ahead and finish the job rather than death by a thousand pricks. >> you are okay with the deaths of thousands of innocent children and civilians. it's like -- >> all right. let's leave the reaction for a different moment. did that work for you, what you

heard from dr. ben carson. >> he seemed a little lost there at times, you know. he was trying to be calm answering the question and at the same time being a little funny there. i think he was lost. going back to what derrick said, everybody is responding to trump, well, of course, they're responding to trump when he comes out and says we have to kill the families of terrorists. yes, we have to kill terrorists, not their families. and also not let all muslims come into the country, instead we have to take -- be careful who's coming into the country. but just to say all muslims are not welcome into our country is not nice. >> brenda, you've recently shifted your allegiance. you were a dr. ben carson supporter, he was your number one choice. now you feel better about trump. what did you hear last night? did you feel safer after hearing all of the candidates talk about their plans? >> i think what it boils down to, the bottom line is, we have people that have not gotten a

job done. we need people that can make things happen. donald trump, he has shown that he has the leadership, the experience to get things done. now, you guys live in new york. remember the ice skate rink back in the '80s. >> wohlman rink. >> that's it. that rink was over budget six yearsment ma menin the making. donald trump went to the mayor and said we have to get this done. he made it happen. our country for decades have been dealing with the immigration issue and we're still talking about it. all of the things that are happening in this country, nothing can get done. >> i don't think he can be a dealmaker. we need a leader, not somebody who can talk about making deals like this. for example, jeb bush talking about a no-fly zone, talking about making alliances with

muslims, muslim countries that are our friends and with the rhetoric that donald trump is using, that's elevating that part of the world. >> i want to get derrick in. >> i think the issue with trump is he takes a stand and he's out there. you may not agree with everything he says. i think many of us have difference of opinion in terms of what exactly to do. he's taken a stand. that's leadership. everyone is responding to what he says. >> what are his ideas? >> he's getting things done. >> we have to be strong and protect america first. nothing else matters when we're under attack. >> how is he going to achieve what he says he's going to do. >> you're looking for specifics, more than just bomb the heck out of isis. >> yes. >> who says something different? who says we don't have to be strong? who says we don't have to fight isis? >> nobody. >> donald trump says it, maybe better than other people. >> he is saying it but there are a lot of people that are in a

position to make a difference and they haven't. people are listening to a new voice and that's what's important. it's a new voice. >> brenda, jesus, derrick, thanks so much for being on our panel. >> best of the holidays. >> merry christmas. >> you, too. cnn's post-debate continues on "cnn newsroom" with carol costello right after this short break. we'll see you tomorrow. ow...♪ it's more than just a meal, it's meow mix mealtime. with great taste and 100% complete nutrition, it's the only one cats ask for by name. this holiday season, gi 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. it's the event you don't want to miss. it's the season of audi sales event. get up to a $2,500 bonus for highly qualified lessees on select audi models.

good morning. i'm county kick. thank you so much for joining me. plenty of fireworkses at the venetian between the candidates. the word war was used 49 times, the term world war iii was used five times. as for how to win that war, the word tough comes to mind. >> america's at war. our enemy is not violent extremism. it is not some unnamed malevolent force. it is radical islamic terrorists. >> we must deal frontally with this terror group. it's the most sophisticated terror group that's threatened the world or the united states of ic