matter how much he insists. it is john berman. first, do your job says president obama to senate republicans for when he tphop nominates a successor to antonin scalia. he plans to pick an in disputably qualified nominee. one key gop senator now says he isn't ruling out holding hearings. >> president obama using a news conference to take on republican front-runner donald trump. he insists he will not be the next president because he is not, quote, hosting a talk show. we begin with cnn chris frates right at the white house. >> reporter: my cada, good morning. he said anybody he chooses to replace justice scalia will be in disputably qualified. president obama made his

expectations clear. he will do his job and nominate a replacement and he expects the senate to do theirs and hold a vote. >> the constitution is pretty clear about what is is supposed to happen now. >> reporter: president obama again vowing to nominate a replacement for the hraeupt chief justice antonin scalia, lashing out at republicans who say the next president should fill the seat. >> this will be an opportunity for senators to do their job. your job doesn't stop until you're voted out or until your term expires. >> reporter: in the fierce battle brewing over his replacement, he said it shouldn't get caught to the crosshairs of partisan politics. >> i intend to nominate someone, to present them to the american people, to present them to the senate. i expect them to hold hearings. i'm amused when i hear people to be strict interpreters of the constitution suddenly reading

into it. a whole series is of provisions not there. >> reporter: chairman chuck grassley saying he hasn't decided if they would hold confirmation hearings for the president's nominee. >> i would wait until the nominee is made before i would make any decisions. in other words, take it a step at a time. >> reporter: but post senate republicans are toeing the party line. >> there is no doubt following what our leader, mitch mcconnell has said, we are not going to bring the nominee out this year. he is doing exactly what harry reid would do if he were in the majority at this point. >> the democrats are crying and moneying and groaning. it is highly hypocritical. late really we are in the middle of a voting campaign for president of the united states. i think it makes sense to put this off for the next president. >> justice scalia will lie in

repose in the great hall. even though his chair is draped in black to honor him, the political battle on how to succeed him wages on. >> chris, thank you very much. let's bring in former federal prosecutor jeffrey toobin. and historian at rice university mr. douglas brinkley. douglas, let's start with you. so we can have history in context. this is about politics. that's the argument we have been forwarding here on "new day". when you look at the constitution, when you look at historical precedent, is there any legitimate basis for saying we don't do this in the final year of a presidential term. we traditionally don't tkho. as a matter of fact, we hold off on these types of appointments. is there any basis for that in fact? >> of course not. that was the point president obama was making yesterday. he's doing his job. he has a vacant seat to fill.

he plans to nominate somebody. he wants the senate to act responsibly. but as you intimated, this is a heavy political season. so it's unlikely the president is going to be able to get anybody through this year. but he very well might be able to get a senate hearing, particularly if he can get senator chuck grassley of iowa at least the bucking mitch mcconnell crowd saying at least if owe bam picks somebody we need to give somebody a public hearing. >> let's play that sound from the senior senator from the state of iowa again. this is new. play this. >> i would wait until the nominee is made before i would make any decisions. in other words, take it a step at a time. >> jeffrey toobin, mitch mconly

said no hearings. not nothing. now you have chuck grassly saying you know what, i'm not ruling out hearings. that's a shift. this is not to punish him or not punish him. what will the functional be in having hearings on this. may not change the outcome. it would change at least the environment. >> it would change the environment a lot. it would give the nominee a forum to make his or her case. if there are not hearings we're going to have a press conference where the president introduces the nominee. the story will will inevitably fade away. democrats will continue to press. but you will not have a focus of attention that hearings -- >> except for the election. see, i think that -- look, the reason i don't think we should punish the politicians for doing

the right. the democrats will. you know they will start coming out and start poking at jeff is sessions. you should encourage people to come to the table. i think they will high ground. it is not going away because it's a presidential year. democrats say they are outsiders. look how they are abusing the process. they're all the same. they just want instruction. you listen and make the case against. >> i think the context of this whole thing is 14. if barack obama's nominee is to get past a filibuster, he or she has to get 14 republican senators to vote for him or her. think about how unlikely that is. 14 republican senators? one would be unlikely. and that's why i just think whether they're hearings or not,

the odds of obama getting a nominee on the supreme court seem very, very slim. >> i think it is next to impossible that he can do so. but it is not impossible to have these hearings. during an election year, this could be a spectacle the likes of which we have never seen. what does history tell us? we have seen some contentious, some headlining supreme court hearings before. what would that look like? >> spectacle is correct. all eyes would be on the senate hearings if they took place. the white house would have to have really vetted their choice knowing this person, whoever president on obama picks is going to be a great mind. but they're going to be under intense scrutiny. you think about what happened to clarence thomas when he came up.

unusual behaviors. suddenly you can become the butt of humor. or somebody is to undenable that the public says confirm, confirm. that could happen too. so it's a -- you can see why mitch mcconnell would like to shut this whole thing down until after the election. if you get to the point of the hearing, there may be sympathy for obama's hearing and it could help hillary clinton or bernie sanders's campaign as you go through summer and early fall. >> your number is 14. >> yeah. >> mine would be 4. not just because that's how many doughnuts i had last night after a particularly stressful episode. i needed it just to bring myself down. that's not my point, jeffrey. 4-4. a court evenly divided. we are hearing from orrin hatch that's not a big deal.

the court operate just fine 4-4. it's done it in the past. it's done it for a long time. they will just push off some cases. but they are not pushing off cases. if they are split, they will have to wind up having circuit authority that be very divergent. what is your take on 4-4, something to be worried or not worried about? >> well, it's not a problem. it is not a problem if it goes for a year. the supreme court is designed to have nine people. it is supposed to have an odd number of people for the obvious reason that you don't want tie votes. but it is true that there have been times in history when the justice has retired or died in office or sometimes they were recused in a case. so they can function with eight justices. most of the decisions are not 5-4. they are unanimous or close to unanimous. it wouldn't make much difference if there are nine justices.

but the longest period where there has been an absolute vacancy or a period with no one filled is 391 days. over a year. but if they kick the can into obama's successor's term, it's going to be longer than 391 days. because the new president takes office january 20th. you don't know that that new president will nominate someone right away. you don't know how long hearings will take. that pushes it into is a year and a half. it's a long time. >> good perspective. thank you very much. douglas, briefly we will bring you back to discuss this throughout the morning. jeffrey toobin as well. appreciate it. breaking news in the 2016 race. a new cnn/orc poll out this morning shows the democrats are in a virtual tie in nevada. 48% of voters say they will support hillary clinton. bernie sanders surging to be right on her heels with 47%. on the republican side, donald trump trouncing his rivals there in nevada, garnering more

support than his nearest three competitors combined. marco rubio and ted cruz in a race, very close race for second. trump holding a commanding 16-point lead in south carolina, three days before the gop primary. cruz, rubio, bush trailing the front-runner, as you can see. trump and cruz best with evangelicals by a 2:1 margin. it looks like saturday's wild debate could have cost a bit of a dip in the polls. as for the democrats, hillary clinton leads bernie sanders by a comfortable margin in south carolina. she has the most support among women and african-american voters, who groups she will need in her corner in order to clinch the nomination. again, more than half of democratic voters still making up their minds on who they will support. all right.

president obama exercising the bully pulpit at a press conference, asking republicans to hold hearings on the scotus nominee. unusual for president obama. what went into it? that was its impact? athena jones live from beaufort, south carolina. >> reporter: you have the president throwing some punches of his own. >> i continue to believe mr. trump will not be president. >> reporter: weighing in just days before the south carolina primary, president obama confident donald trump won't win the white house. >> i have a lot of faith in the american people. and i think they recognize being president is a serious job. it's not hosting a talk show or a reality show. >> reporter: obama blasting the

billionaire tuesday evening saying trump panders and lackings even basic foreign policy knowledge. >> it requires being able to work with leaders around the world in a way that reflects the importance of the office. and gives people confidence that you know the facts and you know their names and you know where they are on a map and you know something about their history. and you're not just going to play to the crowd back home. >> reporter: not one to keep quiet -- >> he has done such a lousy job as president. >> reporter: the gop front-runner shot back an hour later. >> you look at our budgets, you look the our spending, we can't beat isis, obama care is terrible. you're lucky i didn't run last year when romney ran because you would have been a one-term president. >> reporter: his rivals were hit too. >> if you look at what the other

republican candidates have said, that's pretty troubling too. >> reporter: specifically calling out marco rubio for an immigration bill back in 2014. >> you have a candidate who sponsored a bill that i supported to finally solve the immigration problem, and he's running away from it as fast as he can. >> reporter: no response from marco rubio. the caption, america. new york daily news having fun with that, dolt .45. suggest. >> athena, thank you very much. we have a quick programming note from you. big, big night. the republican presidential candidates get make their last pitch to south carolina voters in a live town

hall that starts tonight and extends into tomorrow on cnn. our man, anderson cooper, guiding you along as real voters put their concerns. you get to see how the men who want to be president respond. first night carson, rubio, cruz. the next night kasich, bush, trump. all beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern only on cnn, j.b. >> so nice we're doing it twice. breaking news this morning, apple refusing a judge's order to help the fbi up lock a phone used by one of the san bernardino terrorists. tech giant ceo tim cook calls the move chilling while undermining the security of its users. what's going on here? >> reporter: john, apple says it is fighting the judge's order to break into a cell phone.

the fbi says it needs apple's help to get into an apple 5c. the iphone has a security feature that erases data if the password set by the user is entered incorrectly 10 times. here is james comey discussing the issues. >> it is a big problem armed with a seven warrant when you can't enter a phone that the judge says can be opened. sit a very important investigation to us. we still have one of those killer's phones that we have not been able to open. >> apple ceo tim cook says it isn't just about a terrorist's phone. the government wants apple to build a back door that would affect each and every one of us. cook says, the united states government has demanded that apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. we oppose this order, which has

implications far beyond the legal case at hand. and, chris, we expect this fight to go all the way to the supreme court. >> very interesting segue. what will that court look like when this case finally gets there. evan, thank you very much. all right. let's take a quick break. we have three days until the gop primary in south carolina and the republican candidates piling on each other. but there is a new dynamic. look at your screen. who won the war of worlds in trump v. obama. our panel will discuss next. one totally focused on what's next for your business. the true partnership where people,technology and ideas push everyone forward. accelerating innovation. accelerating transformation. accelerating next. hewlett packard enterprise. they say that in life, we shouldn't sweat the small stuff.

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i continue to believe mr. trump will not be president. and the reason is because i have a lot of faith in the american people. and i think they recognize that being president is a serious job. >> all right. a stunning news conference from president obama naming names on both sides, talking way, way more about specific is candidates, for example, donald j. trump than you historically hear any president do. finally, opening the door wide,

wide open to the notion that he might endorse in the democratic race. again, something you never, never really see a sitting president do. ron brownstein, senior editor at the atlantic. and douglas brinkley, cnn historical and history professor at rice university. douglas, just from a historical perspective, i'm not overblowing this. sitting presidents during a primary don't normally weigh in like this. >> no. it is very unusual i think part of the answer is he's out there in rancho mirage. all the leaders are going up and saying, can donald trump really be president? are you crazy in america? is this the real thing. i don't think he was interfering in south carolina politics. he was addressing a world community, global journalists, if you would like, saying it's my opinion. and i'm somebody who won the white house twice that this guy will not be able to win because

the american people don't want a climate denier, who is a bigot, who has somebody that's irrational, who has fingers on nuclear codes, on and on and on. it was a very pointed message that barack obama was telling the world that donald trump is not the person in command. >> i was watching j.b. eat his cottage cheese during the break. he said this winds up helping trump. why do this? why fan the flames of the trump train to mix metaphors? >> it certainly doesn't hurt him in the primary. obviously donald trump was leading questioning president obama's birth. you know, i would say this is an

escalation, but it is not unprecedented for presidents to want to be involved in the race to succeed them. i remember in 1988 the most defining line was ronald reagan rebutting the democrats when he said we are the change. in 1999, bill clinton jabbed george w. bush over the claim that he was a compassionate conservative. what is unusual here is how explicit this was, how early it was and how many candidates the president addressed. it is part of the general escalation that we are seeing, the breaking down of all the boundaries this week on the supreme court. it is part of the same upward spiral that is defining american politics year after year. >> you had marco rubio, though not by name. and and he hit donald trump very much on a wide range of subjects. donald trump was only all too

eager to respond. let's just play a little bit of sound on donald j. trump. >> he has done such a lousy job as president. >> this man has done such a bad job. he set us back so far. for him to say that is actually a great compliment. >> he is smiling, ron, because he knows that criticism for president obama helps you in a republican primary. >> right. it elevates him. as chris may have been suggesting, democrats still believe that trump is beatable in a general is election. he has alien ate millennials, trying to elevate trump. but i do think it is deeper than that. i think the president is -- look, is signaling that he is going to be involved in the campaign to defend him. by the way he is on the ballot

whether he likes it or not. 2000, 88% of the people who disapproved of clinton out the door voted republican for president. '08, two-thirds of the people who disapproved of bush voted for obama for president regardless of the president's posture, he is on the ballot. what we have seen early on and i'm sure we will see all year long he is going to be tkpwaeupbled in the fight to defend the white house and his legacy. >> gave us context on what j.b. was referring to, the unprecedented move of a sitting president endorsing in the successive election. >> ultimately i will try to have an opinion on it based on both the candidate of hope and change and a president who has nicks and can cuts and bruises from

getting stuff done over the last seven years. >> i've got to say, i gasped when he said that. it seemed to me to say he could well endorse a candidate. >> he is for hillary clinton. he constantly reminds us what a great secretary of state she was. look at what hillary clinton does every moment. she is wrapping herself around his legacy. she is doubling and tripling down and say i will be like barack obama. and he's going to be a potent weapon come fall because he has an approval rate in the african-american community of 90%. when he gets activated as surrogate in the fall, it will help hillary clinton particularly in that moment in time. but right now, i mean, he wants to make sure obama care continues. and hillary clinton's best chance of getting elected and keeping his signature piece of

legislation alive, becoming like ale birth right in america. >> the next turn will be if they delay disappointment on the court. if it's hillary clinton, imagine if they start raising the name barack obama in terms of people she might nominate for that position. >> they already asked. all right, guys, thanks so much. michaela. >> this next story may have hillary clinton barking again but for a good reason. we have a winner at the westminster dog show. you will meet the new top dog. stealing your customers' secrets. there's an army of us. relentlessly unpicking your patchwork of security. think you'll spot us? ♪ you haven't so far. the next wave of the internet requires the next wave of security. we're ready. are you?

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tensions in the south china sea. surface-to-air missiles after president obama's summit with southeast asian leaders. china is trying to change the status quo. china claims this is its territory, adding it has had defenses on the island for years. the u.s. defloyd four f-22

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did you know that? >> how do you choose between breeding and bragging rights? >> i don't know. >> sometimes they lead to the same place. >> will you take to social media to discuss westminster. >> ahead, the state of the presidential race coming into focus on both sides ahead of weekend contests in south carolina is and nevada. ahead, we will break down new poll numbers and also try to get to the bottom of j.b.'s angst. i'm there for bessie.

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>> breaking news out of nevada. a brand-new poll. man, oh, man, is it close at least on one side. hillary clinton with a one-point edge over bernie sanders. that is nothing. he was a point ahead in october.

donald pwrufpl with trump with a lead in nevada. brianna, you covered the hillary clinton campaign oh, so very closely. with three days to go they have a one-point lead. characterize the level of gasp that may have just come from brooklyn. >> i think there is a lot of concern. a lot has to do with the fact that nevada is pretty unpredictable. you see things that are close. if you asked, hey, do you think bernie sanders will give you a run for your money, i don't think they thought it would be this close. it is really nail biting because it's hard to know. nevada is tricky. they have the caucuses. it is tricky to look at the polls and extrapolate that on what's going to happen and who

is going to show up. a sizable block. >> nearly 10% african-american. these are groups hillary clinton has said she is going to depend on. if bernie sanders wins in nevada, he has two wins and she has just one. he had a big win in new hampshire. she won in iowa, very slim there. going into south carolina and super tuesday, it's just not what the narrative wants. >> breaking news from nevada. donald trump has a big lead there. 45%. marco rubio with 19% ted cruz, 17%. i'm not a mind reader, but i'm

going to chen cher a guess that your mind is saying holy schnikes. >> yeah. i remember when establishment used to mean liberal. now it just means you have been around for 15 minutes. it's time to hit the pan ebg button. they have been saying, okay, let donald trump have his fun. once voting starts they're going to get serious. it's never happened. look at new hampshire. the exit polls. he basically won every cohort. he won conservatives, college graduates. this is a real phenomenon that's happening. i don't know if we hit a panic button or if there is one to

hit. it looks like he will easily win south carolina. >> i think he did just hit the panic button. among evangelical voters, which is supposed to be the base for ted cruz. it is a group he is running directly towards. evangelical voters, dontal trump is winning by a lot. >> if you told me he would be able to beat ted cruz i would have told you you were crazy. but clearly trump is resonating and tapping into something that's out there. i think everybody underestimated the magnitude that was out

there. this is a big, big deal. >> we will let you breathe in a paper bag. hillary clinton has a big week in south carolina. people need to take a close look. she's got a big lead in south carolina. a lead among african-american voters. she has been working very hard to win. >> this is the group giving her that big lead. 18-point looked by our latest poll over bernie sanders in general. with african-american voters, a 37-point lead. she has a lot of support from this voting bloc that is essential in south carolina. 6 in 10 voters are african-american. if you're a democrat you cannot win this state without winning the black vote.

>> thanks so much, guys. >> you bet. ronda rousey appeared to be unbeatable until she was knocking out in the ufc title bout. now we are learning just how hard she took that loss. that's ahead in the bleacher report.

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only one nfl player made more than goodell in that season. that was falcons quarter matt ryan. he is still making more than ceos at target and exxon. he has made over $174 million, chris. >> that's a lot of ramen. nobody is feeling bad for goodell, that's for sure. coy, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. when we come back from break, john kerry announced a cease-fire in syria this friday. what is the chance that that happens and that it holds? we test it with a member of kerry's team next. it took joel silverman years to become a master dog trainer. but only a few commands to master depositing checks

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now, it does depend on how you ask. but the cease-fire may not take part. the deputy secretary of state joins us now to explain all of this and tell us about a shift in the state department's fight. >> hey, chris. >> good to have you here. if you look at syria and look at the fight against isis in any region, what we are seeing with the chinese islands, the

perception is america's strength has diminished in terms of its power of mandate around the world. can you defend that claim? >> sure. it is wrong. we brought together now more than 65 in the fight against isil. look at what's happening. in iraq, we have taken back 40% of the territory from just a year ago. syria, 10%. they haven't gone on the offensive since last spring. so the work is moving forward and succeeding. at the same time you have a civil war going on inside syria. unless and until we're able to bring that to app end, you don't end the suffering. as long as assad is there, he is a magnet for recruits to come in and fight. >> at least two of the factors

have to do with russia. the tpaoeur is only as good as their compliance. we're basically going to bomb anyone we want. that's not a cease-fire. how can you even contemplate when you know russia is not going to comply. >> they can keep brutalizing working with the apposition to do that. but they can't win the war. even as they continue to use an air campaign against the opposition, three-quarters of syria is controlled by someone other than assad. so they can win a battle here and there. they are not going to change the funneled mental dynamic. that is a quagmire. it is not in their interest.

we will test in the coming days. >> is that the basis or is it perception of power is and control. they go in and help the regime. people telling the u.s., you're not stronger than we are, take a seat. >> that's what happened for years in the civil war. russia was propping up assad. they saw assad following off the edge. that's from a position of weakness not strength. they are trying to hold on to what they have much they can continue to have influence in syria. all of this is compatible with political transition that moves assad out, take out the main driver of conflict of tremendous

suffering. on paper, that's what it says it is going to do. >> what do you make of this notion? even with the tortured price, the white house has the justification to do it. why get involved in that? >> a few reasons. what assad has done has created extraordinary human suffering. >> that does not make him unique. >> but here's what does. one, we have a real stake, as i said, in defeating isil.

assad is the main driver of recruits to isil. the fact that he is there brutalizing people. what you see now is people not only moving to the neighboring countries of lebanon, turkey, jordan but increasingly going to europe. that is threatening the cohesion itself. we are seeing that more and more. this is also a strategic issue for the united states. but we have to do it in a smart way. getting directly involved, putting the thousands of troops in someone else's civil war. but also drive this to a political transition that moves assad hout and loaves syrian. we are trying to look at not

only what you do when it has erupted. it is starting to kill people and attack people. what are the best policies to prevent it before it gets started. that are the most credible. a lot of radicalization take place in prisons. increasingly what we have done is established new networks. and changing the way we are organized. preventing the problem from starting in the first place. >> tony, thank you very much. >> thanks for having me, chris.

>> appreciate everything you're trying to do. big story out of syria. a lot of news. new you will want to hear in the election. let's get right to it. the very balance of the supreme is court. >> the job doesn't stop until you're voted out or until your term expires. >> i expect them to do their job as well. >> this man has done such a bad job. he set us back so far. >> every region on either has gotten worse under the obama and clinton policy. >> what the other candidatesed, that's pretty troubling too. >> building a hotel overseas is not foreign policy experience. >> he lies about so many things. >> when radical terrorists wage jihad on the united states of america, the answer is not to tweet insults at them. >> this is "new day" with chris

cuomo, alisyn camerota and michaela pereira. >> good morning. welcome to "new day". alisyn is off. john berman is with us. president obama and senate republicans digging in their heels in what is shaping up as a battle royale of the replacement for antonin scalia. president obama also weighing in on the 2016 race in a way we have not heard before. obama insisting trump will not be the next president because the presidency is not hosting a talk show. and his critique of the republican field did not stop there. let's begin with chris frates live at the white house. >> good morning. president obama said no matter who he nominates to replace justice scalia, they will be in disputable qualified.

despite this slug fest, president obama made his expectations clear he'll do his job is and nominate a replacement. he expects the senate to do theirs and vote on one. the constitution is pretty clear. >> reporter: president obama again vowing to nominate a replacement for the late chief justice antonin scalia, lashing out at republicans who say the next president should fill the seat. >> this will be an opportunity for senators to do their job. your job doesn't stop until you're voted out or until your term expires. >> reporter: in the fierce battle brewing over his replacement, he said it shouldn't get caught to the crosshairs of partisan politics. >> i intend to nominate someone, to present them to the american people, to present them to the senate. i expect them to hold hearings. i expect there to be a vote. i'm amused when i hear people to be strict interpreters of the constitution suddenly reading into it.

a whole series is of provisions not there. >> reporter: chairman chuck grassley saying he hasn't decided if they would hold confirmation hearings for the president's nominee. >> i would wait until the nominee is made before i would make any decisions. in other words, take it a step at a time. >> reporter: but post senate republicans are toeing the party line. >> there is no doubt following what our leader, mitch mcconnell has said, we are not going to bring the nominee out this year. he is doing exactly what harry reid would do if he were in the majority at this point. >> the democrats are crying and moneying and groaning. it is highly hypocritical. late really we are in the middle of a voting campaign for president of the united states.

i think it makes sense to put this off for the next president. >> justice scalia will lie in repose in the great hall. even though his chair is draped in black to honor him, the political battle on how to succeed him wages on. >> chris, thank you very much. so as we talk about the fight over scalia's replacement, it is not the president's only branch over the judicial branch. they are sitting on his nominees for federal appeals courts as well. manu has more on that >> reporter: for president owe bam marks the objection to replacing antonin scalia is just the start of a much bigger problem. the senate is sitting on 14 nominations and waiting on a vote. >> republicans and democrats on the judiciary committee all agreed that they were well qualified for the position. and yet we can't get a vote.

>> reporter: a florida judge was nominated only a year ago. it's been vacant since may 2014. no sign-out from home state senator marco rubio. republicans say it's no different than democratic foot dragging under president george w. bush. they are approved 22 more judges under president obama. and at the same point in bush's term. as chuck grassley told new york democrat chuck schumer last july. >> so put that in your pipe and smoke it. >> so we're moving at a reasonable pace. >> it is not exactly a straight comparison. >> there have been more confirmed during president obama's tenure but more vacancies. the trend is to confirm fewer of president obama's nominees compared to open judgeships.

>> reporter: changing the number of votes needed to confirm a judge from a filibuster proof 60 to a simple majority, 51. a year later, democrats lost control of the senate. but tension still lingers. manu raju, cnn. i want to bring in jeffrey toobin and ron brownstein. thanks for being with us. jeffrey, you hear about the appel as court. president obama admits sort of he has been part of the problem the last 10 years in washington. when he was in the senate, he talked about the idea of standing in the way of samuel alito becoming supreme court justice. but now he says it's too much too far. >> and one back drop to all of this is that republicans have

been more motivated on legal issues on judicial nominations than democrats have been. then senator obama talked about a filibuster against samuel alito they could only muster 24 senators which is useless in filibuster terms. but republicans are much more united on trying to stop president obama's nomination. and i think that tells you something about the issue on both sides. >> jeffrey toobin is saying democrats don't have the stomach or perhaps another part of the anatomy to fight the fight when it can pls to supreme court justices going forward. one of the bets you hear democrats maying right now is, oh, this will be a big issue. this will help democrats. it will motivate voters. is there any evidence that that's true? >> well i think, first of all, this is more concrete than it's ever been. you can literally say if republicans follow through on what they are saying the vote for the president is also a vote

to determine the direction and the control of the supreme court possibly for many years to come. and i do think this is something of a gamble for republicans in two senses. one is the most obvious one. the question whether obstruction and a blockade idea is popular with voters. but there is a larger issue. you look across the playing field now. you look at the economy and national security. democrats are looking at a draw. they are behind the eight ball. the strongest is cultural issues. that looms largest in the minds of americans. if you want to try to overturn the decision on gay marriage orban abortion, i think that is relatively weaker ground for republicans to vote on than prosperity and security this is a big gamble across the board to basically raise this as the

central if not a central issue in the 2016 campaign. >> so one big change since yesterday. we heard the president answer questions in the nomination process. we heard from senator chuck glassley who says now he's open to the idea of holding hearings. let's listen. >> i would wait until the nominee is made before i would make any decision, in other words, take it a step at a time. >> all right. that's a change, ron. saturday, sunday, they suggested there would be no hearings, no jog. if there are hearings. and i can't imagine when they would be. talking april, may, june, the middle of an election year, describe what impact they would have. >> well, first of all, i think there are voices who have quietly said it would have been better for the party to open a

process and vote down a dom knee than to seem to be opposing anyone sight unseen. the nominee could prove attractive to the public. just opening a lot of uncertainties if you go forward with the process. it probably does create more momentum and demand, support for the nominee in all likelihood. from the point of view of mitch mcconnell, they are trying to minimize risk by shutting down the process. but that has, as i said, risks of its own. there is no easy way around this. i think americans will find it a bit too far. >> but, remember, if they succeed in shutting down hearings all altogether,

mcconnell may be betting in the absence of hearings how many times are we going to cover the nonholding of hearings? the hearings will certainly be a focus for both sides. how do the democrats keep the story alive for 10 months? i don't know. >> this is a fight worth having for the republicans or the people who don't want a liberal. let's just forget about the idea of is there precedent or not precedent. forget it. it's silly. say we don't want a liberal judge and we're going to obstruct it as long as we can. >> when you think of the stakes of this vacancy, they are so is enormous, especially for republicans. because for the first time in two generations if a democrat fills the seat, you could have a liberal majority on the supreme

court. it just tells you how big a deal this vacancy is. >> say a democrat wins the white house, which is by no means a certainty. if it is roughly 50/50 there is no way to guarantee a democratic president could get a nominee through the court next year if ted cruz is still in the senate. >> it will be a debate in the presidential campaign and senate races all the way through. the geneva convention on politics has been shredded year after year. if democrats regain a majority i do not think it will survive.

>> we'll see. there are plenty of republicans saying bring it. michaela. breaking news in the 2016 race. a cnn/orc poll just released in the last hour show clinton and sanders neck and neck. donald trump with a shocking lead over his rivals more than the next three combined. trump holding a commanding 16-point lead in south carolina three days before the gop primary. he's way ahead of cruz, bush, and rubio. the front-runner even rating high among evangelicals which is typically a cruz stronghold with 42% of their vote. half republican voters remain uncommitted to a candidate. as for the democrats, hillary

clinton leads bernie sanders about i a comfortable margin in south carolina. she has the most support in african-american voters, two groups she will need to clinch nomination. president obama ripping into the republican field at his news conference. declaring donald trump will not be his successor and accuses marco rubio of flip-flopping. athena jones live from beaufort, south carolina. good morning, athena. >> reporter: good morning, chris. we're talking about a bare-knuckle bronze to win, place, or show in south carolina. now you have president obama throwing some punches of his own. >> i continue to believe mr. trump will not be president. >> reporter: weighing in just days before the south carolina primary, president obama confident donald trump won't win the white house. >> i have a lot of faith in the american people. and i think they recognize being

president is a serious job. it's not hosting a talk show or a reality show. >> reporter: obama blasting the billionaire tuesday evening saying trump panders and lacks even basic foreign policy knowledge. >> it requires being able to work with leaders around the world in a way that reflects the importance of the office. and gives people confidence that you know the facts and you know their names and you know where they are on a map and you know something about their history. and you're not just going to play to the crowd back home. >> reporter: not one to keep quiet -- >> he has done such a lousy job as president. >> reporter: the gop front-runner shot back an hour later. >> you look at our budgets, you look at our spending, we can't beat isis, obama care is terrible. you're lucky i didn't run last

time when romney ran because you would have been a one-term president. >> reporter: his rivals were hit too. >> if you look at what the other republican candidates have said, that's pretty troubling too. >> reporter: specifically calling out marco rubio for an immigration bill back in 2013. >> you have a candidate who sponsored a bill that i supported to finally solve the immigration problem, and he's running away from it as fast as he can. >> reporter: no response from marco rubio. a tweeted photo of a handgun with his name. the caption, america. new york daily news having fun with that, dolt .45. desperate jeb bush gets ripped for suggesting guns are america. >> athena, thank you very much.

apple refusing a judge's order to help the fbi up lock a phone used by one of the san bernardino terrorists. tech giant ceo tim cook calls the move chilling while undermining the security of its users. fbi is trying to get data they believe could help the investigation into the attack that killed 14 people last year. all right. a new cnn poll shows donald trump is way on top with evangelical votes in south carolina. can ted cruz stop them and woo conservative voters? that's ahead. you almost get used to it. (voice on phone) main menu. representative. please hold-- representative! hello, retirement account number 61414-- here's a retirement plan built just for you. vo: which is why being put first-- you built this just for me? that's how it works. takes some getting used to. not always. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side

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polls are a suggestion not a prediction. we have new numbers from quinnipiac that give a different picture of what's going on in the national race on the gop side. trump up. february 5. look at the spread. now up 8. rubio and cruz flipping positions. what else do we see? what is the bush momentum?

not so much. kasich, cruz, carson. you see all the headlines there. we have a good window of what's happening and not happening in south carolina. whrags happening? trump is just crushing the field. what is not happening is with evangelicals. the presumption was ted cruz, ben carson would take a bite out of that. not so much. not even close to what trump is bringing in right now. so let's get some perspective on what the numbers do. we have the two best guests for this comparison. president and ceo of a polling company. and we have cnn political commentator and author of "what america needs:the case for

trump." thank you for being here. the big troubling headline for you kelly ann is what seems to be a perceptible swap in numbers two and three according to quinnipiac. and what's going on with evangelicals in south carolina. what do you see? >> thanks, chris. there is one point separating cruz and rubio. it is in distinguishable. no surprise that people are looking at this in a three-person race. the question is when will other establishment candidates drop out and give a clearer path. there was enormous pressure on bush and kasich to drop out after new hampshire. on the other hand, when you look at some of the polls, senator rubio saw yesterday, they are all over the place. the cnn poll that has mr. trump way ahead, it was at 41%.

he got 24%. here at our superpac. we knocked on the 100,000th door this sunday. the campaign has a ground game. you saw what it did in iowa. i hope people take from this election, chris and jeffrey. some care about abortion and religious liberty. others look at mr. trump the same way nonvoters do. he is not a politician he will be held to his performance after he's in office. all the others are elected officials with the exception of dr. carson. they are held to theirs now. >> the big theory that works against a trump nomination is consolidation of the rest of the

field. the rest of the pie will all be in one slice against trump. >> basically the last straw, people are grasping and grasping. we can defeat donald trump. it isn't happening. kelly ann touched on something. i absolutely agree with this. when you look at that cnn poll, donald trump is way ahead on dealing with immigration, the economy, isis. evangelicals are not one issue voters. there may be some. but they're regular folks. they have mortgages to pay, kids to educate. they may be out of a job. so they are looking at donald trump through that lens i believe. and i think this is across the

board. >> it makes sense for, oh, a little while now. explain this to me. ted cruz by all accounts is incredibly intelligent. why did he trump early on? you tell him i've been trying to get him for two days. what about all the talk about lying, kelly app? that seems beneath the dignity of where ted cruz would want to be arguing. >> ted cruz is being called a liar by both trump and rubio. rubio is playing a mini me. he is trying to break into some of his support. there were 500,000 robo calls deployed by calling ted cruz a liar, accusing him of dirty

tricks. any time you challenge mr. trump on one of his policy preparations are philosophical differences he streams liar, liar, liar. i'm sure you would agree it would be much better for the voters to hear about policy differences other than personal insults. one thing i want to address that's very important. you said why did he cotton to donald trump early on? i love that word. it is the one-two trump/cruz punch that left them on the back. they are a pays of the party not a wing of the party. that is one of the by-products of the cycle. >> look, voters are making

themselves heard here. donald trump came in at a close razor thin second. he came in first in new hampshire. he is like ronald reagan before and arnold schwarzenegger. he is a cultural figure. and i think that when a cultural figure of his magnitude that he has an asset here. because the american people they know it. so not something they know donald trump.

>> thank you both, my friend. a quick programming note, making a pitch directly to south carolina. remember how different that dynamic is. when you hear them address concerns and worries of real voters you get a different window. tonight, wednesday, carson, rubio, cruz. thursday, kasich, bush, trump. all of it begins 8:00 p.m. eastern. our man anderson cooper will run the show. jb? >> we have brand-new polling out of the state of nevada. this is a state not polled off. what does it say about the democratic race? eyebrow raising to be sure. what does it say about the republican side of the race? it rhymes with frump. reflexes faster than the speed of thought. can a business have a spirit? can a business have a soul?

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breaking this morning. three days to go.

48% to 47%. a sirius xm radio host. iowa too white. new hampshire too white and next to vermont. what's nevada's problem? >> too tight. this is going to be a great, great caucus. hillary has held her support. but bernie has surged. she's not collapsing. >> they are dead even. we were at the las vegas debate. we have a great organization in this state. latino vote is going to help us. 10% african-american. this is where it's all going to turn out well for us.

>> we will have to see if it works out. hillary beats barack obama in 2008. that is not easy to do. bernie has been able to build one. he has the money to get in there. of course i'm for hillary. but they are actually talking about issues. >> this is donald trump picked up an endorsement from the president of the united states. listen to what the president had to say. >> i continue to believe mr. trump will not be president. and the reason is because i have a lot of faith in the american

people. and i think they recognize that being president is a serious job. >> i was being factious in case you didn't know. barack obama not especially tkorsing donald trump. i believe they were probably high-fiving each other in campaign headquarters when barack obama went of him by name. in this is the best insult to the american people. they just got slapped around by the president of the united states. i think the president was as well. donald trump very likely could be the nominee on the republican party. if he is the nominee, he has a fair shot at the presidency. this is something everybody needs to take seriously, including the president of the united states. i think just riling up the passion of the base suspect helping anybody here.

>> barack obama had no idea this might help donald trump by saying mean things about him. >> exactly. let me channel my inner marco rubio. let's dispell this notion that barack obama doesn't know what he's doing. he knows exactly what he's doing. he's saying what he thinks. trump is i think a good thing for democrats. it's going to be a close race no matter who runs. i think trump is the weakest in the field. >> i hesitate. i think you're playing with fire a little bit here. what we know is there is an outside sentiment of working class americans who are disenfranchised.

they are in fusing the guy taking on hillary. the outsider representing the working class the last 50 years. >> be careful what you wish for. >> i just want to say i hate when margaret is so right. nobody should take it lightly. >> the president had someplace to say. he weighed in on the democratic race. i have to say, i stopped in my tracks when i heard it. let's play it. >> ultimately i will try and have an opinion on it based on both a candidate of hope and change and a president who nicks and cuts and bruises of getting stuff done the last seven years. >> i think the president just

opened the door for especialndo >> he has a 90% approval rating among democrats. he is a guy, as you had, got some nicks and cuts. got things done in a practical way. he wants to be -- i don't speak for him of course. i'm sure he wants to be a unifying figure. i do not think he will endorse on this. i don't think he's going to come out publicly and endorse anybody. apple refusing to help the a fbi unlock the phone of a terrorist. ning

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breaking this morning. apple refusing to unlock a phone owned by one of the san bernardino terrorists. joining us is senior editor, don. don, good to have you with us. we'll talk about the precedent in a second. but we understand the ruling requires apple to provide the fbi with the ability of the technology to bypass this feature that automatically erases the data after too many tries to unlock it. tell us what apple would have to do to make that happen.

>> apple would have to create software that undoes one of the key security features of its iphone. apple has protection on its iphone now that protects the device from being hacked by users trying to guess passwords. so apple says this doesn't exist. engineers have been working for years to create better and better protections on its devices. now engineers will have to undo the protections it has already put in place. >> let's actually read what apple's sort of forceful response would be. some would argue building a back door for one iphone is a simple, clean cut technicology. it would be capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks. it essentially invites hackers. does it leave us all more vulnerable? >> this has been the ongoing

argument. there's been tension for the last year since apple and google announced pro bust protections on these. there has been this tension between security and personal privacy and then law enforcement says to be able to access communications on these devices to keep us all safe. now we see this debate playing out. >> and it takes on a different tone when you talk about terrorism and the fact that these two people killed multiple others, innocent people. it takes on a different tone than just you and i protecting our financial information. it takes on a much more sinister tone. >> right. exactly. and apple acknowledges that. when you and i are talking about jennifer lawrence's private images finding its way to the internet, that's one thing. that's embarrassing. but this issue doesn't pertain to 14 people dead and 22 other people injured. that's the argument that the government is making in this

case. tim cook in his statement last night said, look, we are completely sympathetic here. we had our engineers work with the fbi. we turned over the information that we had in our possession helpful to this investigation. what the government is asking for now is going too far. >> what's really interesting is the judge didn't rule to unlock the phone. they just asked them to remove one step. that is interesting, isn't it? >> well, it is. the judge asked for three things in a way that took multiple reads to figure out. apple, turn over software to the fbi or install it yourself that will work on just this one device that would basically be like a software upgrade that would disable this feature that automatically that would erase data after 10 failed tries. what they are at the saying is, further more, allow the deposit to input this information electronically, not manually keying in thousands of numbers

on a phone. but to do it like at the speed of a computer. so those two things don't exist now. so the government is very specific. and the courts also said, apple, you have to do whatever you can to ensure that the data doesn't get lost in this process. >> all right. so two things then. what kind of precedent does this set? what do you think is going to happen if apple is digging its heels and saying, hey, we're sympathetic but we're not budging. >> it sounds like apple will continue to challenge this in court. it gives apple five days to make its argument what they are asking is burdensome. it seems that was extremely likely. meanwhile, we have congress to consider here. this debate has been going on since the san bernardino attacks in december. it is likely the house and senate intelligence committee might put forth legislation that would require device makers to create technological back doors.

>> the debate will play out in court and in congress. >> dawn, thank you so much. we appreciate it. i'm sure we will be talking about this in the near future. you can post your comment on facebook, join us on twitter of course with your commentary. chris. all right. mcdonald trump's rhetoric is a rallying cry for many others. what is the republican party to do as his nomination starts to become more and more of a probability and not just a possibility. rnc official joins us next. youn. ... starting tonight. part of the new absolutely ageless collection from aveeno® theand to help you accelerate,. we've created a new company... one totally focused on what's next for your business. the true partnership

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the six republican presidential candidates are preparing to take the stage once again. a two-night cnn town hall event. making their pitch directly to the people who matter most. forget the pundits. it is about the voters of south carolina. how will these men respond to real problems, real concerns, from real people? we've got latest poll numbers. quinnipiac just came out with national numbers. lest talk about all the potential here with sean spicer. chief strategist and

communications director. good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> we've got a big set up for tonight. new numbers we vetted here at cnn specifically and quinnipiac. the national picture here somewhat familiar at the top. trump trump trump trump. number two, rubio and cruz swapping but it is really within the margin of error there. and then people still not getting traction below. if you look at south carolina and.5, ve nevada very similar pictures. the prevailing theory that trump gets the nomination unless it becomes a two-man race. do you buy into that as the variable? >> you have to look at it like this. right now we're in february. at the third contest in this process. less than 5% of the delegates will be selected in the month of february alone. march 1st, you have 11 states and 60% of the delegates being allocated in the month of march. so i think that right now there

is a lot of handicapping and punditry going on but i think we have a few more contests before we start seeing how the race really takes shape. i understand where people are trying to formulate it now but i think we have to get to at least march 1st, maybe even the 15th before we see where the delegates go. because at the end of the day you still need 1237 delegates to be nominated and right now we're talking about the total of 50. >> a sober point that also has the benefit of being true. well done for you mr. spicer. >> point one. >> in recent history we've not had a front runner doing as much potential damage to the party overall as donald trump arguably is doing. for two main reasons. one what he recently said about president george w. bush with respect to the war and 9/11 a reminder for people. >> i had to say i'm sorry. but we were nlt safe the world

trade center came down. which was the greatest attack in history on this country. so you had that. you obviously had the war which was a big mistake. i think faw people would say the war in iraq was a positive. you had him on the aircraft carrier saying all sorts of wonderful things how the war was essentially over. guess what. not over. >> republicans do not go there and if they do they do not go there this way. how damaging this to his chances in a general election or to any republicans? >> well i think look, every one of these candidates has to sort of figure out what strategy is going to get them to the nomination and then we'll work with them to figure out how we defeat the democrats going into the election. i believe that when our chances are up against hillary clinton who's potentially under investigation by the fbi in terms of further indictment, they have already confirmed they are investigating her and bernie sanders even most democrats would admit they are not ready to take this country into a full

socialist mode. i think that's at least heartwarming for our party as we go into this election. we've got two very flawed democrats that we'll face and i think each one of the six individuals that was on the stage last week and we'll take your air ways in the next two nights will present at least a vision that puts america back to work. that talks about reforming some of the key programs that need to reform. talk about the debt that's straddling so much of our economic growth and revibrance here as a country. so i think when the contrast is made in a general election our candidates will bate either of theirs every day of the week. >> so that would be how you would look at it in terms of the typical strategic set up of the race. but with trump there is something a little different. you had a deal -- i use that in a loose sense -- that trump says the party assures me i'll be treated fairly. is it fair to the party for donald trump to raise strenuously one of the most dangerous arguments against the party? and to boot strap by saying

again, by the way the party is rigging the debates against me so they stack the audience with people who boo every time i'm up. is that him honoring the pledge to the party to be the best republican he can be during this process? >> right, well let's get back to what this pledge was. it simply said the following. i agree to run as only a republican and to be, support the nominee of the party whether it is me or not. that is it. plain and simple. nothing more, nothing less. so this idea of what else the pledge said it is out there. everyone can look at it. there is nothing more. it is no addendums. it is like a hundred words long. that is all people are saying. if we want top participate in the process we're going to agree that we're only going to run as the republican. and further we're going to agree that whoever that nominee is we'll support. that is it. any further discussion is kind of moot because that is all the pledge said. second with respect to the debate accusations we issued a

memo last night that laid out very clearly who attended those debate, how the tickets were allocated and the facts are what they are. number one, at the south carolina debate we had a total of ten rnc donors there out of 16 hundred people. ten people gave to the rnc. that is what it is. in new hampshire the number was seven. in iowa, 16. so the idea that -- again, take it for what it's worth. those are the numbers of the donors at the debate. the rest of the tickets are allocated to the candidates. when the candidates asked for more tickets going into the debate they got more. and guess what? you get more tickets you get more partisans yorks get more excitement, that is how it goes. >> sean spicer. appreciate the perspective here on "new day." good luck to you and the process going forward. and we want to remind you because it is a big deal. tonight is the night and tomorrow night as well. all the republican candidates for president are having the toughest o forum they can have.

with real voters. tonight. carson, rubio, cruz. tomorrow night, kasich, bush, trump. 8:00 p.m. eastern only an cnn only with ourman anderson cooper. new poll numbers. new back and forth for mr. trump and the president. let's get to it. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>>. good morning. welcome to to your "new day." it is wednesday february 17th, 8:00 in the east. allison is michaela is right here. president obama has a promise and a demand. he's calling on the senate to do its job, hold hearings, vote on whoever he noomt nominates as the supreme court replacement for antonin scalia. he says it is all about the constitution. >> and for the first time the president taking on donald trump. the president says the presidency is "not hosting a talk show" and all but guarantees trump will be the next occupant of the oval office. we begin with cnn's chris frates

live at the white house. >> reporter: president obama said yesterday no matter who he nominates to replace justice scalia they will be indisputably qualified. and the president made his expectations clear. he'll do his job and put a nomination forward. and he expects the senate will do theirs and vote on it. >> the constitution is pretty clear about what is supposed to happen now. >> president obama again vowing to nominate a replacement for the late antonin scalia. lashing out at republican whose say the next president should fill the seat. >> this will be the opportunity for senators to do their job. your job doesn't stop until your voted out. or until your term expires. >> and the fierce battle brews, obama said the vacancy shouldn't get caught in the cross hairs of partisan politics. >> i intend to nominate someone, to present them to the people,

to the senate, i expect them to hold hearings. i expect there to be a vote. i'm mused when i hear people who claim to be strict interpreters of the constitution suddenly reading into it a whole series of provisions that are not there. >> senate judiciary chairman chuck grassley telling iowa radio he hasn't decided if his committee will hold confirmation hearings finish the president's nominee. >> i will would until the nominee was made before i make any decisions in other words take it a step at a time. >> but most are toeing the line. promising to delay the process until after the election. >> there is no doubt that by following what mitch mcconnell, our leader, republican leader has said. that we are not going to bring this nominee up this year. he's doing exactly what harry reid would do if he were in the magenta at this time. >> the democrats are crying and moaning and growning.

it is highly hip critical. literally we're in the middle of a voting campaign for president of the united states and i think it just makes sense to put this off for the next president. >> justice scalia will be in the great hall on friday but the political battle over how to succeed him rages on. >> exactly what scalia did not like about politics on full display. there is a lot of debate. let's get both sides. the washington director of moveon.org and then mr. james petersen. we know what both sides of the debate are in terms of why to to it. why not to do it. republicans are now saying these hypocritical democrats. schumer did the same thing in 2007. they play to advantage as well.

why would you rely on the two wrongs make a right analogy in a situation like this? >> good morning chris. what's important here though is what this boils down to is a political question. and that is exactly right. if the democrats, if the situation was reverse they would be doing the same thing, delaying this. because this is a big question with big consequences. and this is because we now have a supreme court that takes it upon itself to decide many important questions of our own lives. and this is a huge seat. it could change the outcome -- >> we get that it's a big deal. the question is how do you go about with the process of dealing with this big deal? mr. wick ler, you have a sour look. shaking your head back and forth. what do you object to so much. >> this is fundamentally a constitutional question not political. and if the republican senators don't like the constitution they

can come out and say it. but it says clear as day that the president shall appoint with the advice and the consent of the senate supreme court judges. that is the job. it is time to move forward and do this. and i think scalia of anyone would agree that that is what the president and senate are supposed to do. >> the constitution is clear about what it says. what's also clear is what it does not say. there is no suggestion of timing in there. there is no suggestion in there of voelgsal capabilities. politics is always played in these situations. how is this different to your mind than what knockouts are promised in the past? >> schumer in 2007 said that if the president bush nominated a supreme court justice who was an extremist than he would want to oppose that extremist nomination. he was saying he would consider a nominee -- >> that's not what shurm said. schumer said because of what bush has done, i am saying we should not go with any of his

nominations in except in extreme circumstances. he was laying it down. his best defense would be yeah but we never actually did it. i just said it. wouldn't that be a closer reading of the truth? >> you know, i think in the context he was talking about extremist nominations by president bush. and there is only one example where a president in the last few decades has nominated a supreme court justice in an election year and that is president reagan. and president reagan said every day that passes with a supreme court below full strength impairs the people's business. democrats voted. i think it's time for republicans to consider and vote as well. >> and that nomination and eventual confirmation as you well know was anthony kennedy who has only contribute as much to the court as anyone else in terms of swing rulings during his tenure. so the question becomes this is a naked political play and at some point doesn't politics have to take a backseat to process in at least as much as holding the hearings? you are going to control the outcome with the current configuration of the senate.

why not just have the hearing? >> well this -- krischris, thisa political process. that is right. and if someone wants to have a show and to blame the other side that is fine. but these are important questions. it is a political question. and the american people ought to have a right to participate in this. >> see that is the part i don't get. the american people should have a part in it. they did. they elected barack obama president for a second term. he's now sitting there just like reagan was when he appointed kennedy in his last year. why not let the process go out and you will control it anyway. we're seeing grassry back up. and i don't think he should be punished for that. i think he should be applauded. i'll hold the hearing. we'll see the nominee and see what happens. you will still be able to vote it down. why give up the leverage of doing something and replacing it with the jaundsis of doing nothing? >> key question here is whether

or not the american people get a chance to participate in these significant issues. everybody knows the democrats will be saying the opposite if the situation was reversed. if the democrats really believe that american people ought to be able to participate in this process they should let it play forward and let the senate do its job of waiting until it provides consent. the senate is not required to do anything. and the court will move along just fine in the next year while eight justices remain. >> four and four is not optimal obviously. and we all know that. we all know it is not a catastrophe but it is about why would you play to the lowest form of efficiency when you could play to the highest? mr. wick ler, a big reason you are in this position is because of how republicans feel that president obama has dealt with judicial selections in the past and how they feel there is no real sense of compromise or a chance to work with him.

isn't that a big reason why we're in the situation in the first place? >> i think we're seeing the same dynamic play out we've seen throughout the period of republican control at senate. which is obstruction, obstruction, obstruction. i hope that in this case they will at least consider the individual nominee rather than blanketly announcing they will obstruct anyone. the president is promising to appoint, nominate someone who's superbly qualified. indisputedly. i think it is up to the senate to consider that person and whether they agree. >> the big question that separates the two of you would be just one word, when. that's the word that separates it. thank you for laying out the two sides. appreciate it. we have breaking news in the 2016 race. a new cnn orc poll out this morning. shows the democrats a virtual tie in nevada. voting just three days from now

in its caucuses. 48% with hillary clinton. bernie sanders at 47%. almost no difference there. on the republican side donald trump, he is way out in front in nevada. he's at 45%. marco rubio, ted cruz in a close battle for second. trump also holds a commanding lead in south carolina as well. that is again just three days before the primary there, up 16 points. cruz, and bush and rubio they all trail the front runner. trump does best even among evangelicals by nearly a 2-1 margin. one thing that is worth noting. a lot of voters still about half have yet to finalize their choice and it does look like the debate on saturday might have cost donald trump a bit in the polls. he dropped a little bit after the debate saturday night. as for the democrat, hillary clinton leads bernie sanders by a big margin in south carolina.

most support among women and african american voters. two groups she will need in her corner moving forward but again more than half of democratic voters still making up their minds. >> beyond the supreme court, president obama ripping into the republican field. the president declaring donald trump will not be the 45th president and takes on marco rubio for abandoning a plan on immigration. cnn's athena jonas live from buford, south carolina with more for us. high athena. >> reporter: we've been witnessing an all out slug fest among the gop candidates to win, place or show here in south carolina. and now you have the president throwing some punches of his own. >> i continue to believe mr. trump will not be president. >> reporter: weighing in just days before the south carolina pliemry president obama confident donald trump won't win the white house. >> i have a lot of faith in the american people. and i think they recognize that

being president is a serious job. it is not hosting a talk show or a reality show. >> obama blasting the billionaire tuesday evening saying trump panders and lacks even basic foreign policy knowledge. >> it requires being able to work with leaders around the world in a way that reflects the importance of the office. and gives people confidence that you know the facts. and you know their names. and you know where they are on a map. and you know something about their history. and you are not just going to play to the crowd back home. >> not one to keep quiet. >> he has done such a lousy job as president. >> the gop front runner shot back an hour later. >> you look at euour budgets, o spending. we can't beat isis. obamacare is terrible. you are lucky i didn't run last time when romney ran because you would have been a one-term president. >> reporter: but obama didn't

detain his criticism to trump's rhetoric. his rivals were hit too. >> if you look at what the other republican candidates have said, that's pretty troubling too. >> reporter: the president specifically calling out marco rubio for his previous support of an immigration bill back in 2013. >> you have a candidate who sponsored a bill. that i supported. to finally solve the immigration problem. and he's running away from it as fast as he can. >> no response yet from marco rubio. meanwhile jeb bush is getting attention for a tweeted photo of a handgun engraved with his name. the caption says "america." the new york daily news is having some fun with that picture with the headline dolt '45. >> thank you very much athena for that. in other news the big man pope francis wrapping up his five day visit to mexico with a

mass near the border this afternoon. live in mexico with more. set the scene for us. >> reporter: well not only is this pope francis's final stop in mexico, many will tell you that it will be perhaps the most symbolic of his trip here to mexico. one of several reasons just as soon as he arrives here at about noon eastern he'll head directly to a place that was one considered the most dangerous prison in latin america. they tell us it was a place once controlled by inmates, where there were daily riots. today it prepares to welcome the pontiff. after that a couple of stops before he eventually heads here to celebrate a huge mass. at least 215,000 people expected to be in attendance. perhaps the most symbolic moment will be as pope makes his way to a temporary memorial set up feet

away from the banks of the ree grand that divides the u.s. and mexico. he'll play for people who made it across the boarder and those who did not. and then that massive mass here. and that moment will be extremely crucial as it will highlight the issue of immigration. something highly debated. right next door. especially right now given the political climate among presidential candidates. so we'll have to see what agenda items he touches on. what is for sure. security will be extra tight, especially after a moment, a fairly tense moment that happened during his stop in mexico yesterday. several of these followers perhaps a bit too excited actually pulled on the pope's arm, almost leading him to fall over a child. so as the result we saw a very frustrated pontiff. it was perhaps the first time that that enduring smile left his face. he was quite update at that

moment but then eventually went back to mexico city at that moment. anticipation is building. >> thanks so much. i hand seen that video. you can't pull the pope over. u.s. commercial airlines free to apply for flight opportunities to cuba. part of app agreement by both countries. 110 daily flights to ten destinations. about twenty to havana. there is a hang up right now. general travel by u.s. tourists still bard under the embargo from the 1960s. so we know donald trump has been on "new day" many a time by phone. late show host stephen colbert took notice of that. so he set up trump phone complete with trump hair. pretty soon you know who came calling. check out the best late night laughs. >> behold. the trump phone.

donald, call me on this phone. meanwhile on the democratic side hillary clinton and bernie sanders -- >> trump trump -- trump trump -- trump trump -- trump trump. >> hello. who is this? >> this is donald trump. hello steven. >> let's talk about what experts are calling your potty mouth. how are you going to stop? >> well it's easy. i've decided to stop. i do that sometimes for emphasis and sometimes non politically. >> but you didn't stop. running for office. you didn't stop. >> these are minor words and in many cases i actually bleeped them out myself. i never said the word and they will belief skmit people think i said the word which is a little deceptive but that's okay. >> why don't you have a swear jar. every time you say a bad word, you put a billion dollars in it. >> [ cheers and applause ]

-- great idea. i'm going to do that. i like that. >> after the call in colbert joked to the audience, let's make this show great again. >> nobody comes up with something to say faster than donald trump. sometimes they bleep words and i didn't actually say the word, but it's okay. >> but you put the bleep in it's misleading america. >> he's got an agile mind and that was very funny. trump trump, trump trump. i'm going put that on my phone. all right. hillary clinton getting high praise but not an endorsement from president obama. is that enough to help her in nevada? is it squeaky close. how about in south carolina? not so close. we have the latest next. ♪

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know hillary better than i know bernie because she served in my administration and she was an outstanding secretary of state. i suspect on certain issues she agrees with me more on on the other hand there may be issues with bernie agrees with me more. >> new cnn polls show a mixed bag for the former secretary of state. she is in a virtual tie with bernie sanders in nevada, just three days before the caucuses. and thinker tied there.

hillary clinton maintains a strong lead in south carolina. let's bring in brian fallon, press secretary for hillary for america. so you have the good and bad. you choose where to go first. >> up to you. i think this terms of nevada we've had a very seasoned team on the ground. >> even, like the polling in nevada. 48/47 hillary clinton. not as white as iowa. not focus in vermont like new hampshire. you told us it was going to be good all along for hillary clinton yet it's tight right now. >> hillary clinton is going to be flying to nevada tonight after a visit to chicago and appearing with the mother of sandra bland. out to nevada all the way through saturday. we have a seasoned team that knows how to organize this caucus. so it is going to be tight and

down to the wire but we're confident in our grassroots organization that we billionuil nevada. and then looking ahead in terms of south carolina. hillary clinton was there the other day going off the beaten trail to one of the most em p r impoverierished areas of the st. she gave a whole speech on that topic yesterday. and i think she is really appealing to voters by talking about the issues they encounter in their every day lives. >> i know the secretary is proud of her outreach to the african american community over time and it is reflected a little least in the polls in south carolina. up by a very big margin among african american voters in south carolina. do you see this as your message working right now? >> well i think that hillary clinton has been quite clear in recent days, especially that she's not a single issue candidate. now bernie sanders likes to talk about wall street and they need to hold them accountable and they both share the view that you need to be tough in terms of

regulating wall street. but breaking up the banks is not a solution for dealing with families, latino immigrant families that are worried about being broken up due to deportation. it is not a solution to deal with the systemic racism that many african americans encounter to this day. so just to take an example yesterday she was in harlem and gave a whole speech about how to deal with those barriers, including prison the school-to-prison pipeline where you see zero tolerance discipline practices in schools, public schools that filter young african american children into the criminal justice system when these routine infractions should be just sending them to the principals office. >> michael render, yesterday, a rapper, said this in georgia. >> jane said michael, a uterus doesn't qualify you to be president of the united states. >> now he's quoting jane elliot who did a lot of research on

this. nevertheless he did say a uterus doesn't qualify you to be president of the united states. your reaction? >> it's disappointing. obviously if the selection there is that hillary clinton is asking anyone to vote for her based on her gender that's completely off based. and this is just the latest in a series of instance where some of senator's top -- have said things off script. >> madeline albright, there is a special place in hell -- >> she wrote a op ed in the "new york times" saying that was a statement she's made for years and probably made in the ron context in the course of this campaign. but this is an instance, senator sanders has been defloi ploying surg -- deploying surrogates on the stump have had unkind things about obama. >> that wasn't about obama.

it was clearly talking about t hillary clinton. and we hear from the clinton campaign she's not saying vote for me pause i'm a woman explicitly. but she does say this is the first time of woman on stage. and she says how can bernie sanders say i'm not in the establishment when i'd be the first woman president. this is something she uses a lot. >> but there is a difference. she's not saying it is not the point of our campaign that anybody should make a decision to vote based on gender alone. but it does bare relevance that she water bring a unique perspective. day to day decisions in the oval office and also a sensitivity and tenantiveness to the minds of women voters. >> one other thing hillary clinton said, she suggested you

need a long-term relationship with the african american community. she essentially said the relationship is not something you can create just a few months before an election. the inference or implication is she's talking about bernie sanders. didn't bernie sanders endorse jesse jackson twice? >> i think she was making a larger comment, about democrats need to be held to a higher standard. no democrat, including hillary clinton can take african american supporters for granted. and i think the point you heard her making was that for all democrats who in the past have had the good fortune of being supported in large number bis african americans we have to be mindful of the fact that we have to earn and rear in that support every day and keep in the front of mind the issues at that community. that was the point she's making. >> three days. thanks. donald trump is not going to be taking the oath come january.

trump never wanted to take a punch quitely or at all. firing back. next.

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i continue to believe trump will not be president. because i continue to have faith in the american people. >> president is a very smart guy. he must be looking at the polls. take a look at them. quinnipiac has new numbers saying trump has a prohibitive lead almost across the country. look at nevada, big lead. south carolina, big lead. among evangelical, who many felt that group would be a big inroads for cruz. not carson but maybe cruz. not so much. he has over 40% of evangelicals as well. how is trump getting to that level of popularity?

and may he wind up hurting himself within the party so much as the result? let's discuss with katrina pearson. always good to see you. what i'm talking about is this notion of mutually assured destruction that's starting to circle around your man donald trump. that, what he's saying may be making him popular but may be hurting republicans. no less than mark levin is making the case against him now. take a listen to what he had to say. >> the fact that he attacked george bush as a commander in chi chief, not because he disagreed with him. but he attacked him as a liar who knew there were not weapons of mass destruction in iraq and said he was responsible for 9/11 and he was responsible for those towers coming down. ladies and gentlemen, that's why i posted on my facebook this guy sounds like code pink. sounds like a radical cook.

all the rest aside, all of it aside, i know too many gold star families who lost sons over there. to hear this 9/11 truther crap, which is pretty close to it. pretty damn close to it. >> so what is your reaction to a not so happy mark levin, and his millions of listeners? >> well, you know, i think there is some credibility issues here considering how mark is supporting ted cruz and has a member working in the senators office. but if i was a ted cruz supporter i wouldn't be happy right now. you mentioned the statistics of evangelicals. but i will say donald trump did not say it was george bush's fault. he said george bush didn't keep us safe and there are 3,000 families that agreed with that. particularly with the campaign that donald trump launched back in june. the whole premise was border

security. and then the muslim immigration from hostile nations. all things that should have been the top priority of all presidents in the past and they weren't chris. >> however we both know that donald trump went farther than that with respect to the war at least initially. i know sometimes he gets out over his skis and backs up like here. but the word "lying" and it being attached to the president and the administration as then was at a minimum implied if not splesly stated by donald trump. he then backed off but you have to own the original statement as well especially when it is such a and a half ma for republicans. >> donald trump is the outsider. he's not inside the hall of mirrors. he's saying exactly what happened. he said there were weapons of mass destruction and there wasn't. how many years and lives is it

going to take a to take a step back and reevaluate. jeb bush who's hired a lot of the same people that were the architects of this war, how is he going to get us outlet of this? no one is questioning the leadership george w. bush put forth after eleven. jeb bush is no george bush. >> i'm just saying that at some point he's going to need the party. he's going to need people. you say he's an outsider. outside, inside he's been all over the place. malleability is a strength of him. however what you are saying about the war, yes there are people who believe you about that, may even agree but they ain't going to be voting for you in primaries, and the party is not going to like it. and then the stuff about the party. they fix the debates. they have people in the audience. why make war with the rnc? with your own. >> i think you have to go back and ask the rnc why they have

made war with their own base. one of the reasons that's given rise to someone like donald trump is you have had the party trying to stomp out their own base. donald trump has put people back in politics. and yes some may not like what he says or how he says but it at the end of the day we're seeing a lot of people and new people coming in behind donald trump because of the policies. this is very important moving forward when you look at the type of crowds that mr. trump is bringing and he has brought on the fence. libertarians supporting donald trump. veterans, millennial, minorities. there is a broad spectrum there. >> do you think it is the policies or the pot shots that he's appealing to people in a way that certainly over rides the brain, it is stomach and heart they like what they're hearing from him and it's not necessarily policy talk. it's how everyone thinks. >> i'm going to say policy first. the immigration policy that's

put out really catapulted him tot the top and that's where he's been. but you are right. the political correctness that is just not existent in our campaign and i'm very proud of. that not only do we have to fight back against establishment and the party but liberals and the media and the only way to do is to have someone bold enough and courageous enough to say what needs to be said. >> last question. very particular one among people on social media when they knew you were going to be coming on. they want to see where the money went from the big event. the 6 million dollars. which groups got it. how it was allocated. they say it hasn't been put out yet. is that something you could put up or explain for us. >> absolutely. there is a list on the website. i think it was 22 or 23 organizations that received the money. i just saw an article yesterday of one of the organizations that received a hundred thousand check and they were surprised. but there are some articles coming out now of those organizations that did receive the checks and the list is on the website. >> katrina pearson, thank you

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get started for free at ancestry.com here are the five things to know for your "new day." at number one president obama challenging senate republicans to do their job once he picks a replacement for supreme court justice scalia. meanwhile the president also letting loose on republican presidential contenders, especially donald trump. he says he has faith in the american people and predicts the billionaire will not become the next president. a new cnn orc poll out this morning shows the democrats in a statistical tie on saturday. donald trump nominating the gop field in nevada with more than the next three contenders combined. apple is pushing back demanding

the company help the fbi access a phone used by one of the san bernardino killers. ceo tim cook says doing so would set a bad precedent. and the short haired pointer wins best in show at the 140th westminster kennel dog show beating out 3,000 others. a dynasty of sorts. his grandmother took the top prize back in 2005. living with parksens can make every day activities very difficult. a philadelphia man is fighting his diagnosis. he's using music and magic. cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta has his story on this week's turning points. >> richard horn is quite the renaissance man. musician, wood worker, magician. a neuroscientist by trade and professor emeritus of physiology

at thomas jefferson university. when richard was diagnosed with parkinson's in 2010 he thought he'd have to give up doing what he loves. >> it was just devastating. because i saw all of the beauty of magic and music being taken away from me. >> parkinson's is a progressive motor system disorder that can cause a gradual loss of movement. symptoms are mild at first. sometimes just a hand tremor but eventually balance and coordination will also deteriorate. treatments can slow the progression but as things stand now there is no cure. >> richard refuses to let the disease stop him. the 70-year-old still plays piano several times a week. >> it improves my coordination pretty dramatically. >> and performs magic. he says his shows have actually gotten better. >> changed my focus to people, poetry and artistry are the things that drive magic. not fast hands. >> he's also encouraging others

not to give up just like him. >> for the moment i'm motivated to keep going. it will get harder but it isn't necessarily going to stop me. >> cnn reporting. >> another great piece from sanjay gupta. after the break, newly released letters from pope john paul ii and what they reveal about his unique relationship with a married woman that lasted decades. more on that next. let's celebrate these moments... this woman... this cancer patient... christine... living her life... loving her family. moments made possible in part by the breakthrough science of advanced genomic testing. after christine exhausted the standard treatment options for her disease, doctors working with the center for advanced individual medicine at cancer treatment centers of america suggested

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see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. fascinating here. newly uncovered letters lending perspective into the unique friendship with that polish american philosopher. we're learning that prior to becoming pope the cardinal, the then cardinal described this woman as a gift from god. tell us a little bit about how to friendship formed. >> well, she wrote to the pope in 1973 in polish. and commended him on a book he had written as the archbishop of cra

kra cow. a year later she flew to meet with him and they began to collaborate on a version of his book. they spent lots of time together in rome and names and in switzerland. a lot of people knew about her though. so she wasn't a big secret. these letters are showing a different side because they have never been seen before along with the photos. >> we're showing some of the pictures now. as you mentioned anyone who now pope john paul ii and people biographers say this is no news. he had relationships with people of all walks of life but there is an air of familiarity that is in these letters that is undeniable. >> and you really see his response to her letter. we haven't seen any of the

letters that she's written. those are we understand in a university library in harvard under lock and key at this point. but in his responses he said very intimate things, almost comforting her in a way that made it seem like she was struggling with the relationship or her emotion and feelings. in fact many biographers who interviewed her asked her very specifically if she was in love with him. iffic she replied how can i be in love with a middle aged clergyman and things like that. but they were really discussing an intimate topic. philosophy is not for the light heart. noh those without a light heart. >> how are those letters being received in rome? news of them. >> well, you know, a lot of people knew about her. so her name was no surprise. the intimacy of the letters really does cast more of a human light on john paul ii. a lot of us only remember him in

his later years when he was suffering from parkinson's disease and we saw him in those many difficult moments but he was a young man, very vibrate, great writer, great philosopher who spent lots of time in the mountains doing long hikes. we find in some of the letters and some of the information that he spent time in vermont at her house that she shared with her husband and three children giving a sermon at the picnic table in the backyard. all of these things are intimate details we've never heard before. >> and of course there already people who try to make some salacious is suggestion but i think what it does is humanizes this man and i think that is probably the most fascinating thing. quick final thought on that. >> absolutely right. this really gives him a human side and shows, you know, a person can be capable of a p platonic relationship without

crossing those boundaries. no one is suggesting at all he broke his vows of celibacy. she was there on the night he died. and there was a long vigil in st. peter's square when he was dying. she was one of the last people seeing him alive. so important to him. >> the letters, they're one-sided because we haven't seen her letters to him. thank you so much for all that. that wraps it up for "new day." newsroom will begin after a short break

happening now in the newsroom, the president unleashes. first a supreme scolding. >> i intend to do my job between now and january 20th of 2017 and i expect them to do their job as well. >> next up the gop front runner. >> i continue to believe mr. trump will not be president. >> trump launching his own attacks. >> president obama hasn't done a damn thing. >> and tonight will trump take even more hits at cnn's town hall? plus the fbi says it needs apple's help hacking a san bernardino shooter's phone. >> we still have one of those killer's phobes that we have not