so not only does he give voice to the angered. not only does he look like the can't of change, all big important stuff for south carolina republican voters, he also doesn't allow anyone to take turf with evangelical voters. that is -- put that all together. that's how you get a big donald trump win tonight. >> that's right. and obviously shows that even people who are evangelicals are voting other -- other issues not necessarily voting that issue. >> because that he want change. >> absolutely. wolf? >> it's the top of the hour. let's update our viewers. donald trump wins the south carolina republican presidential primary. that's our projection right now. let's take a look at the votes. he is ahead with 15% of the actual vote now in, 32.9%. a fierce battle for second place between marco rubio and ted cruz. rubio right now is in second place. look at this. it just changed. 22.2% for rubio. 20.6% for cruz. kasich, bush, carson, donald.

but kasich now in fourth place, took over for jeb bush. jeb bush now in fifth place. dr. ben carson in sixth place. look at donald trump, a very, very impressive win for him right now in south carolina. let's go over to john king. john, these numbers are impressive. a fierce fight for number two, it's going back and forth between marco rubio and ted cruz. but you've got to give donald trump credit for a big win. >> we're going to spend a lot of time from now until the end of the night how it impacts the race going forward. let's make sure while we have the time to salute the winner. if you look at this and watch this and this dark red is donald trump. he's winning everywhere. he's winning here in the center of the state. main line establishment republican voters. he's winning along the coast. military bases, you have retirees, more moderate voters in charleston. at the moment, donald trump is not only winning, but winning impressive margins. 28% there, marco rubio, second. ted cruz third. you want to watch this down here for marco rubio. he needs to stay as close as he can to trump along the coast if he's going to pull out the

second-place finish tonight. a lot of people looking at the early results here. this is greenville. this is in the evangelical base of south carolina. rubio is ahead right now. a lot of people notice that. but just barely. just the first precincts being counted there. greenville and spartanburg to the right or east. we don't have any votes there. this is evangelical, the highlands in south carolina. very important territory. but as you watch the rubio -- if marco rubio can keep that, that's impressive tonight. we're just starting to count the votes. as you watch, wolf, it tells you about trump. a lot of people say yes, only 33, 34% of the vote. once the field this rimpgs, you get him. when john mccain won this state in 2008, he only got 33% of the vote. he went on to become the republican nominee. a lot of people win south carolina in the 30s and go on to be the republican nominee. so as we watch this fill in for donald trump tonight, he is once again, as he did in new hampshire, winning in places where we have very conservative voters, more moderate voters. winning across the republican spectrum right now. so the big conversation in the republican party will be, you know, who is the alternative.

cruz very much wants second place here. so that he can head south when the map from here -- a lot of the march 1 states are down here. this will be the fight next. most of them. not all of them. down here, though. ted cruz wants to be the alternative for donald trump. marco rubio wants to say he's the alternative to trump and cruz. and if you look at this, you have 33, 22, 21. and then it drops quite a bit. kasich and bush fighting it out at 9% each. dr. carson at the bottom of the pack now at 6%. one of the big conversations tonight, definitely will be the future of the jeb bush campaign, especially if he's this low in the pack, a state so good to his dad, so good to his brother. the republican voters in south carolina are essentially sending a message tonight that we have moved on from the bush family. >> let me walk over. there's a fierce ballots for second place under way. let's look at the battle for second place. once again, donald trump is the winner. he's got an impressive lead, 34.2%. but marco rubio is now in second place. with 21.6%. but ted cruz, 21.2%.

27,205 for rubio. 26,701 for cruz. so there is a fierce fight under way right now. and look at this, john kasich, the ohio governor, he's in fourth place right now. he's ahead of jeb bush. ben carson is in sixth place. but john kasich has now moved up to fourth place, just ahead of jeb bush. so this is a fierce battle under way for second place. but donald trump. donald trump is the big winner in south carolina. and no one can take that away from him right now. jake. >> wolf, if these numbers hold up, this is a rough result for jeb bush. i have to say. coming in fifth, and let's turn to our analyst table here, coming in fifth behind john kasich. this might not be the end result. if he actually ends up coming in fifth behind john kasich, who barely competed in south carolina, and jeb bush put a lot into south carolina, it's tough to make the argument that this is a campaign that should continue. >> it is, as john was just saying. look, i think he needed to break into the double digits here.

i think it's going to be a very tough conversation to have with your funders about continuing to support your campaign after you brought your brother to the state, who was so popular in the republican party and very popular in south carolina. and you couldn't do any better than single digits, if that's where it remains for jeb bush. so i think there are a lot of tough conversations going on within the bush campaign this evening. and if you are a financial supporter of jeb bush, i think you're probably making some phone calls and saying to the bush people, look, we have to think about what our next move is. >> i don't think this is a tough conversation. i just think it's a sad conversation. >> tough and sad. >> he had to beat marco rubio in south carolina. his campaign effectively came to an end when nikki haley endorsed marco rubio. that was the death necessarily nell for the jeb bush campaign. looking back, he started as the

front runner, but temperamentally, in terms of his approach to politics, in terms of -- he simply wasn't the right guy for a party that is obviously very edgy, very angry are right now. and so this has been the writing on the wall for some time. >> right. >> yeah. and in some ways, you even saw kasich at our town hall. a lot of those people were bush people going in, and then kasich, who was very warm, connected with the audience, really took that compassionate, conservative mantle, and you could sort of see it wasn't going to quite work forbush. >> hold that talk for one second. athena jones at bush campaign headquarters. athena, it's got to be rough in that room night rite now. >> well, surprisingly, jay, there is a lot of festive atmosphere in this room. a lot of attention being paid, of course, to what's going on in the polls. but right here, it feels like a party. of course, if you're with a few bush campaign staffers who are

gathered around looking at numbers, it probably doesn't feel much like a party. because as you mentioned, jeb bush campaigned hard here. he brought out his brother, he brought out his mother. he campaigned all across the state. coming into south carolina, his campaign was saying, this is his best early state. he has the strongest organization of any candidates. his only goal in this state is to do the best among the candidates not named donald trump and not named ted cruz. and the language has shifted over the last several days. they wanted to be in third and talking about even a close fourth wouldn't be so bad. it's all going to come down to the point spread. but i've got to imagine they weren't expecting a point spread as big as this one. it's still early yet. we have to wait for numbers to come in. but it's not looking good for governor bush. >> let's turn to our commentators, mike rogers. it's tough to make an argument that after three primaries where you don't come in top three in any of them, that your campaign has a life. that the voters want you to stay in the race.

>> just one more state. just one more state. you know, part of the problem is, what these bush events were very well attended, when president bush showed up at these events, huge crowds, adoring crowds. they do love george w. bush in south carolina. they turned out to be spectator events. they were there for, weren't there for jeb bush. i agree, this is not only going to be a sad, it's going to be a hard conversation. he's going to have to make that determination, hemorrhaging donors, and, you know, $100 million in your pac is apparently not going to do it. he spent a lot of money in south carolina. >> van, one of the things that's interesting, voters i met in iowa and new hampshire, they like jeb bush. >> yeah. >> they just didn't vote for him. >> it's an amazing thing. in some ways, the death of a dynasty, in a way. you see, you know, the w comes, the mom comes, the grandkids were there. he's there, and he's giving it his all. and frankly, he earned my respect. and i think he earn add highway

the people's respect. he didn't bow down. i was making the joke, it's like the revenge of the nerd, you know. the bully pushed him and pushed him and he stood up for himself. he earned a lot of respect. he didn't earn their votes. >> that's what made this race so exciting. regardless of what happens, i think all the candidates pulled out all the stops. to try to win in south carolina. you saw jeb coming out with his family. you saw marco rubio pulling out the nikki haley endorsement. ted cruz with all his supporters on the ground. this is an exciting race. and no matter what happens, there are more republicans activated, energized, excited, because people like jeb bush, although they may not win the nomination, they're not going to go away. they're going to keep fighting for republican victory. >> i want to ask a question. do you think that jeb bush has had such a rough time, because he's just the wrong man for this moment in terms of the anger, among the republican party, the fact that his last name is bush and elections tend to be looking towards the future, not towards the past? or do you think donald trump, as a master brander, just labeled

him low energy and just steroid him? >> i think that is at play here. i think there is something else going on here, jay. my friend, ed rollins, who was a white house political director for reagan and managed the re-election campaign, years later wrote in his memoirs that when ronald reagan picked george h.w. bush as his vice president, the thought that went through ed's head was, that the republican conservative base had just cut the fuse on the reagan revolution, because they set up the succession process. and that is, in fact, what happened with george h.w. bush, who then lost after a term and then it was bob dole, and on to president bush 43, who had his own difficulties with the conservative base over no child left behind and spending, et cetera. what's going on tonight, i think is the reclaiming, when you look across the board here, of the reagan revolution, and turning it into something that might be called the trump revolution. >> let's looking look at something else. you don't want to take anything away from donald trump and his

triumphant victory but a keen battle going on for second place between marco rubio and ted cruz. both at 21.5%. >> something else occurs to me. donald trump, and i don't want to take away from his victory. congratulations, again, jeffrey. >> ambassador lord. >> and thanks to the pope. >> and he's at a third, right? he's at a third, and he is static. i don't see the growth potential. when you look at the internals, people who decided late, they heard enough routine and weren't buying it. but look at the tote board, if you will, and add together -- >> just one second. if we're looking at the tote board? just look at cruz and rubio right now. they have the exact same vote count. >> right. >> 34,163 each. >> i'm looking not only at that, but i'm also adding the vote total of marco rubio, john kasich, and also jeb bush. and that is a total that exceeds donald trump. and wouldn't that be an interesting dynamic if it then becomes one of between cruz and

trump, which one is getting out? >> that's the rubio scenario. that is the rubio scenario. >> right. >> those guys drop, he picks up vote and suddenly is competitive with donald trump. and there's some logic to it. >> so here's the phone call. it's to governor kasich. it's a phone call to governor kasich and saying the two of us together, we win this thing. >> but cruz -- kasich says, okay fine? >> well then they argue. >> that's a conversation they have in a couple weeks. >> i don't think -- >> i have to be honest, i find all of this fuzzy in terms of the math. people who don't want donald trump to become the nominee -- no offense to you, michael smerconish who i respect and adore. the idea that two-thirds of the voters are not going for donald trump, i would rather have a third. >> that's right, that's right. and still, if you look at the vote between trump and cruz, which is the anti establishment vote, they're still doing better than all the establishment candidates combined. so all of this -- >> i have no dog in this hunt, i

would be the first to admit that donald trump has been -- and to acknowledge that donald trump has been a phenomenon in this campaign. but he does have somewhere there's a ceiling, there's a very high floor. somewhere there is a ceiling. it may not come into play -- >> probably the oval office. the oval office ceiling. >> we don't want you to kick the dog. >> i think the donald trump people make the point, if there were any other candidate, we would be saying he's well on his way to the nomination wishes actually, i think is true. >> that's the point. john mccain got 33% or something like that when he won south carolina. and we weren't here saying, well, look, 67% or anti mccain. >> absolutely right. anybody would trade places and yet there is still skepticism, can this really be happening. >> on paper, jeb bush looked like the perfect nominee. except it turned out to be for 2008, right? and not for 2016. on paper, donald trump did not

look like the perfect nominee. guess what, all the things we have seen from the exit polls about republican voters and where they are and how they want an outsider and feel betrayed by the republican party and on and on, and how they don't value experience, it looks like this trump fits that mold. better than any of these other candidates. now maybe ted cruz. >> maybe ted cruz, i'll give you that, amanda. comes in a second. >> and he's still doing well with a broad base of the party. main line folks, military folks, moderate, evangelicals. i mean, rubio is making the case that he is the win that can unite the party, which actually isn't a very good argument to make. >> while we were saying that, ted cruz just overtook marco rubio on the clock there. >> and you guys know, i've been afraid of rubio. i have a lot of respect for rubio. but if he goes 3-5-3. three, third place, fifth place, third place, can he come out and give another -- look at me

speech? at a certain point, i think this narrative starts to fall apart. >> you were just giving him, like -- a trophy about ten minutes ago. >> i love the guy. listen, he fought his way back from having his obituary written off one banana peel debate performance that i thought was very, very tough to come back from. the reality is, nobody is talking about that now. that shows character. >> his fourth-place finish that you yourself say was a problem. >> huge problem for him. it shows character when you're able to fight back. but if you fight back to, you know, another loss and a loss to cruz in this situation, i don't think it's good for him. and the other thing i want to say is simply this. cruz doesn't get enough respect for the machinery that he has built. >> yeah. >> the ground game? yeah. >> there's a little bit of trump in rubio, in terms of i'm good-looking, i'm out here, i'm good with the crowd. and he doesn't always build that machinery. cruz, say what you want about him. he has built the machinery to go

out and find those votes and get them. and rubio might pay a price -- >> his high turnout elections we're finding out what the price is. >> everybody wanted to say that evangelical vote was going to go for cruz. it is not monolithic. we talked about that earlier. they have also have economic pressures on their families like they have never had before. last ten years, no raises, they certainly down in south carolina, the textile industry has completely flipped it up. they did get jobs with bmw, and boeing moved down there, big wins for south carolina. but it wasn't really enough. so these evangelical voters are saying, maybe my economics can get through it. >> let's go to wolf blitzer, a key race alert. >> thanks, jake. let's show our viewers this key race alert right now. quarter of the vote now officially in. donald trump is the winner. we projected that a while ago. he's got 33.8%. there's a fierce battle for second place under way between ted cruz and marco rubio. they have been going back and forth for second place.

21.7% for cruz, 21.5% for rubio. jeb bush is now back in fourth place, 8.6%, john kasich not far behind with 8%, ben carson, 6.4%. cruz, the winner tonight, ahead by 21,289 votes, a sizeable lead. we have projected he is the winner. and you know, it's -- what, tuesday night, the republican presidential caucuses in nevada. doing well, according to the polls in nevada, as well. >> trump is a big name. he's all over the place in nevada. so maybe that's not -- >> literally. >> literally. >> let's not forget, we have a republican presidential debate thursday night in houston. that's the last debate before super tuesday. so we're excited about that, as well. >> we are. and we will both be there. we'll all be there. but let's talk about the breakdowns a little bit more of why the voters voted the way they did. and their perceptions of these candidates. >> so we keep talking about this close race for second place. between ted cruz and marco rubio. so we took a deep dive into the

numbers to see sort of where are their strengths, where are cruz and rubio, obviously not as strong as trump tonight. where are their strengths and that might inform us how they plan to message and build their campaigns going forward from here. so take a look at this. among republican voters who say i need a candidate who shares my values, that is where ted cruz wins. 36% of those voters to rubio's 26%. carson has got 11%. and bush down at 10%. and they make up 37% of the electorate. electability is a marco rubio strength. those voters that want a candidate who can win in november big-time. by 30 points. rubio wins 49%. trump 19%. cruz 19%. kasich 6%. the problem for marco rubio there, only 15% of the electorate is looking for the candidate that can win in november. and then take a look at when people decided. this is fascinating to me. if you look among voters who decided in the last week 30% of

them went for rubio. 27% went for cruz. 16% went for trump. and kasich 10%. compare that to the voters that decided much earlier. trump won those big time. so here you go. marco rubio can make the case, based on that number right there, that he was the late momentum candidate in this south carolina race. as he was trying to build that rebound from new hampshire. he and cruz did better among the folks that decided in this last week that donald trump did. that is a moment, if you are the trump campaign, you are thrilled with your victory tonight, where you're going to see that number and be like, so what did we do in the final week of the south carolina campaign that we don't want to repeat again, because we want late deciders to come our way going forward. >> that's right. although it may be hard for marco rubio to recreate what he had in south carolina, not only momentum but all of these leaders who are very well-respected on his side. one of the things that just strikes me when you were going through all those numbers, is the person not on that list at all, which is -- who is jeb bush. >> right. >> and not at all. i've been texting and

communicating with some people who are close to him tonight. and one saying something i thought was very interesting. jeb is the biggest establishment candidate in generations, running the most anti establishment -- in the most anti establishment environment in generations. and he just can't do it. >> i mean, that to me can be translated to this is not jeb bush's year. >> it's not jeb bush's year. and a lot of people who are close to him and have been lamenting for some time that he is a great leader, has a proven record, but you can't become a leader until you can prove that you're a good candidate. and he just hasn't been able to catch that fire, no matter what he did. and even with his brother coming in south carolina, where he's wildly popular, george w. bush, it was a one-day bump. and just the next day i was down in south carolina talking to a lot of people saying, it vanished. it was just too quick. it didn't help him. >> and it raises the serious question, is money really all that important? n politics? because david, you know he and a

super pac had $100 million to do the job. that wasn't done. >> it's unbelievable. in every one of these states, the largest spender on television ads is the jeb bush super pac. zero. zero traction for what they were doing. and i think that gets back to dana's point, wolf. the electorate was just in a different place. >> all right. stand by, guys. we're going to take a quick break. we think we're getting ready to hear directly from donald trump, the big winner in south carolina tonight. we'll take a quick break and be right back. xcited crowd] hello! thank you. yes, thank you. now that we represent the bud light party, we need a little security. so we found the toughest person that we know. blam! ronda rousey you were all expecting a man, weren't you? typical. amy, amy will you read my screenplay? no questions! seth why don't you make better movies? hey, i said no questions! you're very good at this. when are you going to fight again? didn't i just say no questions? alright! alright!

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welcome back. let's get a cnn key race alert now. donald trump is the big winner in south carolina tonight. he's got 33.2%. a fight for second place. ted cruz slightly ahead of marco rubio, 22.1%. to 21% for rubio. jeb bush is in fourth place right now, slightly ahead of john kasich, 8.5% to 8% for john

kasich. dr. ben carson in sixth place, 6.5%. but it's a third of the vote, that's a significant number right now. you see this battle for second place between cruz and rubio. they have been going back and forth. let's go over to john king. john, significant numbers right now. we know trump is the big winner. it's interesting who is going to wind up in second place. >> let's focus on the winner for a secretary. the dark red is donald trump, winning along the coast military bases, retirees, moderate republicans. he's winning across the state and up here in the evangelical heartland of south carolina. essentially, donald trump is winning everywhere. as we saw in new hampshire, across the board now. where is this red? the center part of the state, richland county, columbia, the state capitol, rubio ahead 28 to 23%. ted cruz third place there. this is a mainstream establishment area. lube oleading right now, 34% of the vote there. that will help. a major population center. if he can keep that margin in this close race for second

place, more votes help. this is interesting. up here, greenville county. this is in the evangelical belt up here in the highlands of south carolina. at the moment, rubio is winning. but i want to say, zero percent officially in. so this is a few early precincts. ted cruz third. if ted cruz is running third here, that will deeply impact his effort to get into second place. spartanburg, greenville, part of the conservative evangelical wave, band across northern south carolina. and you have trump, rubio, cruz. but again, very early on. so we're going to watch greenville and spartanburg in this race for second place. when you pull out all together, wolf, this is pretty striking again. donald trump proving he can win republicans, he can win evangelical republicans. a lot of people say it's only 33%. let's flip it the other way. in a state built for him, in a state with anal base, with a strong tea party support, ted cruz is pulling 22%. that's tough to look a camera dead on and saying i'm doing great in south carolina tonight, whether second or third.

this is a state built for him. and he's getting 22% of the vote. rubio, again, wants to be the new face of the republican party, the indian-american governor, african-american republican senator. 22%. again, they're going to spin this as on we go. that's pretty tough. getting 22% to donald trump. especially the new force in the republican party. and when you get beyond the top three, no question, these three are in the race to stay. you start moving down, you're going to have some questions here. kasich says he's in no matter what. i was just communicating with his high command. somebody in the bush campaign, a close friend who said please be respectful, we're still counting the results. >> we are waiting to hear. are you surprised there is so much red there, donald trump's numbers, almost all of the counties, he is ahead right now. >> if you asked me that question a few months ago, i would say yes. if you watched what happened in iowa, where trump ran second and in new hampshire where trump won by a big margin, something like this, this is the proof of donald trump. and when you travel and talk to our correspondents who have been to his rallies, you meet people who are evangelicals, people who voted for mccain and romney.

you meet people who say, if trump doesn't win, i'm going to go look at bernie sanders. he is bringing a very mixed coalition. he has the broadest coalition among the republican candidates right now. a lot of people skeptical of his drawing power early on. this is a primary, maybe hits celebrity, maybe rallies. the combination of that and mechanics. go through and look. 30% here, just barely beating here. you come over here, 29%. but when you move back toward the coast, this is a thumping. he's getting nearly half the votes here in the myrtle beach area. a big population center. nearly 6% of the state population. he's getting near 50%. so whether you like donald trump or don't like donald trump, that speaks for itself, wolf. this is a thumping, shellacking. >> a comparative four years ago and eight years ago. we see a lot of red over there. this map looks like the newt gingrich map, essentially. look at this map. this is newt gingrich, who won 40% over romney. again, rubio is winning here. and rubio is competitive here along the coast. this is where you find your more moderate or mainstream

establishment republicans. the 2008 map, again, john mccain won here. won a broader swath. this is the evangelical belt up here. for mike huckabee. now remember this. just remember these areas here. this -- i'll circle in green, mainstream republicans. this, i'll circle in white up here. those are evangelical republicans. right? so what is happening this year? donald trump. >> getting both. >> getting both. >> again, you could argue with only 34%. but winning is winning. and he's winning in a very good, deep republican field. donald trump is winning across the spectrum. >> look at this battle for second place, ted cruz and marco rubio. they're both at 21%. only a 400-vote difference. we're over at marco rubio headquarters now. manu, what are you learning over there, hearing from the rubio folks? >> reporter: well, the rubio camp is very emboldened by these results, particularly after their disappointing finish in new hampshire. if they come up in second place, this would be a big surprise, given what we have seen in the polls in the last several days.

what you're hearing from rubio officials and people close to the center is they believe that the longer jeb bush stays in the race, the more likely it is to help donald trump. you heard that message coming out of iowa, new hampshire. that is going to be a very loud drumbeat. we're going to hear over the next several days, if jeb bush does not get out of the race. not just because they have similar types of voters, but jeb bush's super pac has just been pummelling marco rubio across the airwaves and all of the early states, driving up marco rubio's negatives like no other group. so if jeb gets out, marco rubio thinks that's going to be a big boon for them. they'll have to worry about another person in the race, john kasich, showing no signs of getting out. that's a fight that could intensify in the coming days, wolf. >> do they think the jeb bush votes would go towards marco rubio, a fello floridan or john kasich? >> reporter: they think it would

come to them more naturally. i thi i think it's up for grabs. and the other thing we have to look at is that up until march 15th, all these states vote -- give out a delegates proportional proportionally. after march 15th, that's when it comes down to winning, which marco rubio has not proven yet, that he can do. sure, he can end up it in the top tier, but he has to win. and if he does not win after march 15th, donald trump could potentially run away with it, wolf. >> manu, stand by. i want to update viewers now in the actual votes. you can see trump is the big winner. almost 40% of the vote is now in. he's got 34.3%. ted cruz is in second place. but barely. 21.6% to 21.3% for marco rubio. it's neck and neck between cruz and rubio, a fierce battle for second place under way. jeb bush in fourth place. just slightly ahead of john kasich, 8.2% to 8.1%. that has just changed. 8.2% to 8% for john kasich.

dr. ben carson has only 6.6%. once again, donald trump, the big winner. you see the fierce battle for second place between cruz and rubio. jake, back to you. >> ben carson, incidentally, has taken the stage and said he's not going anywhere. he's going to continue to run in this race. let's ask some tough questions right now about the guys vying for second place, ted cruz and marco rubio. let's start with ted cruz, in second right now. gloria, ted cruz, just to play devil's advocate for a second, it's a state with 73% evangelical turnout. he should be doing very well. he has this much heralded ground game, and still he has this rather anemic potentially second place finish. >> right. and i think what we're seeing want to tonight is this question of what republican voters value the most. is it someone who shares their values, or is somebody who is an outsider and tells it like it is and is kind of the truth-telling

candidate? and that's the difference between -- >> or will kick some butt. >> kick some butt, right? to put it nicely. and to that's the difference between those two guys. look, i think cruz is very well-organized, heading into this other state, other southern states. i think nothing succeeds like success. and so trump is also going to ride that wagon, and, you know, don't forget, rubio is also well-organized and well-financed. >> if you ask -- when ted cruz started planning this race and i think he's planned his race more assiduously than anyone else. >> oh, yeah. >> if you asked him whether he thought he would be struggling to hang on to second in the south carolina primary and lose to donald trump, he would have thought you were crazy. this is a blow to him. >> totally. >> he can stay, he is fortified to stay. this battle for second is meaningful. but this is a blow to his strategy. >> there is something about the brashness and the honesty of a

donald trump, whether you agree with him or you disagree with him, that's appealing to voters, and appealing to these voters, because he gives voice to their frustration and anxiety. >> just one quick note for our viewers who are looking on the right side of the screen. top right, donald trump headquarters. the bottom right is jeb bush headquarters. and we will be bringing you those speeches when they come. we do expect jeb bush to make remarks any moment, and we'll bring that to you live. >> we keep talking about the economic grievances that people feel who are supporting donald trump. i think there are cultural grievances, as well. there are people, you know, who share his views or the views he's articulated about immigration, who share his views about refugees. and are thrilled that he is articulating these views and thumbing his nose at a political establishment they believe has looked down on them. >> yeah. >> and i think that's another part of what's going on here. >> i think that especially resonates in the south, right? where you do have a region where

some people have felt like they have been looked down on. blue collar, white voters. i do think this poses a question for rubio going forward. does he have to change his message? in some ways, what is his message? it's partly i can unite the party, partly i can win in november. it's partly i won't say anything that offenders you. but he's got to figure out, is that going to really resonate broadly, this idea that he's the -- the face of the new republican party? it seems like they kind of like the old face of the republican party. >> or electability, only 15% in the exit polls. only 15% of republicans thought that electability was important. rubio won those 50%. but electability doesn't -- >> strategy has always been if i am everybody's second choice -- if i'm acceptable to every faction of the party, that it ultimately will come together for me. so far it hasn't come together. >> ted cruz, if i'm ted cruz, i think i'm a little disappointed to hear ben carson's speech tonight. i mean, what's he hanging in

for? we've already been talking about jeb bush, is this the swan song for bush. what about ben carson? is this about anything more at this stage, i have to say it, than selling books? and if i'm ted cruz, i want the those 5 or 6% who are largely evangelical, and have supported carson thus far. >> although i will say a pollster in iowa told us that there is this assumption that carson voters would go for cruz and that wasn't borne out -- this was in iowa where they poll for second choices. where cruz is not necessarily the second choice for carson supporters, because one of the reasons that they like ben war son is because of his demeanor, because of his attitude, because of how pleasant and nice he seemed, which are not necessarily qualities one would describe ted cruz. >> some of those voters may have gone to john kasich, by the way. >> we should give credit to dr. carson. he said tonight he's not going anywhere. and he's not going anywhere. >> let me ask about marco rubio. because here's the other devils

advocate question about marco rubio. you're marco rubio, you're this great right hook for the republican establishment. you have the endorsement of nikki haley. you have the endorsement of tim scott. you have the endorsement the of trey gowdy and other members of the congressional delegation in south carolina. and yet this is what you managed to get. >> well, right. and they're going to spin it, by the way. i totally agree with you. they're going to spin it that a close third, if they were to come in third, would be fine. but i remember the days they were talking about winning in south carolina. and i think it is a real disappointment for them. look, there is no doubt that nikki haley's endorsement really helps him. there is no doubt that rubio sees himself as the generational change. that the republican party needs. but i'm just not sure at this point whether the republican party feels that way. because they owe on immigration, for example, as you look the these exit polls, rubio was hurt by his position on immigration.

it's not like any republican has clean hands on that, because they all sort of change their views, except for one person. and that's donald trump, who shares the views of most of the republican voters we saw. >> although donald trump in 2012 criticized mitt romney for having too hard line a position on immigration. 2012 is ancient history. one would think, on paper, with marco rubio, and nikki haley -- we're going to wolf politicser right now or jeb bush? we're going to wolf blitzer. >> hold on for a moment. >> mark preston, we see jeb bush on the stage, mark preston. tell us what you have learned. >> now we know jeb bush is on the stage, and he is going to suspend his campaign for the presidency. jeb bush, who has run a very hard race, at one time considered the front runner right now has decided to suspend his campaign. we'll hear him shortly say that. >> short and sweet. >> lindsey graham, one of the supporters the senator from south carolina. dana, you want to weigh in and

give more information? >> i just want to say that i was speaking to one of his top donors who said that the discussions were under way. obviously we had this position that he, meaning jeb bush, wanted to get out tonight. that after the discussions, his decision, he wants to end it. >> david chelian. >> i'm sorry, i was just watching this moment of jeb bush bending over to his wife and giving her a kiss, as lindsay graham is introducing him for obviously what is going to be a suspension of his campaign. >> i think we just saw his wife, mark, crying. obviously very sad moment for the bush family. but he's about to speak right now. he's getting a little hug from lindsay graham. i he here is the former florida governor. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> jeb, jeb, jeb! >> thank you. thank you, lindsay. when i began this journey in miami, i committed that i would campaign as i would serve. going everywhere. speaking to everyone. keeping my word.

facing the issues without flinching. and staying true to what i believe. for the better part of a year, i've endeavored to do just exactly can that. i have put forth a vision for america that includes all, because our country deserves a president for everyone. the presidency is bigger than any one person. and is certainly bigger than any candidate. this is not -- we're different in our country, because our head of state is not above us. but because the head of state, the people that aspire to the presidency, are part of the people. in a government of the people, by the people and for the people, we elect a president like us, in perfect under god's watchful eye. i've had a front row seat to this office for most of my adult life. i've seen fallible men rise up to the challenges of our time, with humility. and clarity of purpose. to make our nation safer, stronger and freer. i firmly believe the american

people must entrust this office to someone who understands that whoever holds it is a servant, not the master. someone who will commit to that service with honor and decency. our next president will lead an extraordinary country, whose people have always made the improbable possible. in big ways and small. every day, americans test the boundaries of freedom and achieve more than what they could have ever dreamed. but over the last seven years, our nation's bright light has become little more than a flicker. we have retreated from the world stage. the american values that have brought peace and opportunity are fading. that is not the america we know and love. america is a country that thinks big, acts boldly and leads without apology. it will be up to the next president to restore that kind of leadership. i'm proud of the campaign that we have run to unify our country.

and to advocate conservative solutions that would give more americans the opportunity to rise up and reach their god-given potential. but the people of iowa and new hampshire and south carolina have spoken, and i really respect their decision. so tonight i am suspending my campaign. yeah, yeah. i congratulate my competitors that are remaining on the island. on their success for a race that has been hard-fought. just as the contest for the presidency should be, because it is a tough job. in this campaign, i have stood my ground, refusing to bend to the political winds. we put forward detailed,in no advocative, conservative plans

to address the mounting challenges that we face, because despite what you might have heard, ideas matter, policy matters. and i truly hope that these ideas that we have laid out will serve as a blueprint for a generation of conservative leaders at every level of government so that we can take back our country. we laid out plans on everything from a reforming our tax and regulatory system to reviving our economy to rebuilding our military, and to fixing the v.a. once and for all. finally, i am so grateful of to senator lindsay graham of south carolina here for his steadfast support.

and his amazing humor. he stole the line that i'm now saying, which is that he's become a friend for life. i thank all of the general alumni, many here going door to door across the country who have put their lives on hold for this cause. and i want to thank my mom and brother, who came here to south carolina. america truly loves them and respects them and so do i. i want to thank all my family, 2.0 is always back there in the back. and to my dad, who has served as an inspiration to me. he's the greatest man alive. and continues to be that way. i want to thank all the volunteers and supporters that

i've met along this incredible journey, and to all the fellow grinders in our ampaign,our staff who never, ever, ever gave up. i've had an incredible life, and for me, public service has been the highlight of that life. but no matter what the future holds, here's the greatest safety landing, if you can imagine. tonight i'm going to sleep with the best friend i have and the love of my life. and i am totally blessed to be the father of three extraordinary children. and as you might know, four near perfect grandchildren. and i'll be blessed to say that i'm living in the greatest country the world has ever known. i remain optimistic and with the right kind of leadership that we

all need to work to make sure happens, america's best days are ahead. with strong conservative leadership, republicans can win the white house and we can get back to being in the verge of having the greatest time to be alive. and that's what i hobble believe and i know you do, as well. i look forward to working to make that dream come true. i will do is it as a private citizen, just as you are. thank you for the opportunity to run for the greatest office on the face of the earth. i love you all. god bless you. >> jeb bush, the former florida governor, the son of one president, the brother of another president. ends his quest to become the third president bush. you heard it first here. mark preston, you broke the news just before his speech. he ends his quest for the white house. >> a couple things about jeb bush. one, he did it with dignity. and he ran a very honorable campaign. this has been a very dirty campaign. it's been a lot of fighting back and forth. something we have never seen before. i think jeb bush did run an

laudable campaign. and the three of us, dana, myself and david were all in south carolina for the town hall. just a couple days ago, jeb bush came out and it was an interesting moment, because he had his mother in the audience. he had his wife in the audience. and he really seemed at peace with himself. and i do have to say this. i was talking to his debate team earlier today, and they were preparing to go to houston. they were asking questions, they wanted to know how the format was going to go. they were all ready to go to houston. clearly, after tonight's poor showing, they decided it was time. >> the next republican presid t presidentialdapresiden presidential debate in houston. jeb bush will not be attending that debate. david, it's a very sad moment for the bush family. you saw his brother, the former president, come in. his mom came in. didn't really work. >> and we heard stories throughout the campaign about his dad, the former president bush 41, watching the tv, getting so angry at what he was seeing happening in the campaign. take a moment, wolf, to step back here and think where we were a year ago at the beginning

pha phases of this race. and this talk of a potential bush-clinton rematch. this was the guy that everyone, as this race began, assumed would likely emerge the nominee. and jeb bush, i think informed us early on about 14 months ago earlier than anyone else did, when he used that line and said, "you've got to be willing to lose the primary to win the general." as we know, you can't actually do that. and that is what jeb bush is figuring out tonight. he was unable to win the primary to move on to the general. but he was keenly aware, even before donald trump was a contender in this, of the forces inside the republican party. that's what he was speaking to when he said that line. and it proved to be true. he was not able to win this primary with this electorate at this time. >> and dana, you saw the love of his life, his wife colombo, trig there on the stage. i thought he ended his campaign for the white house with a lot

of class, with a lot of dignity. >> he sure did. and frankly, i think most people would say that's how he spent his entire campaign. but you mentioned his wife. i thought that was poignant for many reasons. he was very clear and the people near him were clear when it was should he or shouldn't he run in the first place, she didn't want it. she was always the reluctant spouse. and there you see her standing with the man she loves watching him fail. and getting emotional about it. even though she didn't want it in the first place. on his decision to drop out, i told you right before he spoke that i was texting with a donor saying it was his decision. another source just texted me saying that he just didn't want to drag this out. it shows he's a reasonable and sober leader. obviously, this is somebody very close to general. b jeb. but doing the right thing. he wanted to be the bigger guy. that's sort of the moment. the other thing, just one quick political note here. remember how much money he raised for his super pac.

he delayed his announcement for months and months and months, so that he could by legal standards raise a lot of money for his super pac, because that was the place where they could have unlimited funds. and unlimited donations. it didn't work. it didn't work. so that campaign didn't work with the super pac, plus -- wisconsin. scott walker did the same thing. and it didn't work. >> stand by, guys. donald trump has just been introduced. he's about to emerge. he's about to deliver his victory speech. he's the big winner in south carolina tonight. this is a moment that he has wanted. there you see him, walking out. he's about to give his big speech. he's looking forward to the next several contests. he's got his family there with him, as well. you know what, let's listen in. donald trump, the winner of the south carolina republican primary. he is getting ready to speak right now. his supporters are very, very excited. understandably so.

>> usa! usa! usa! >> thank you very much, everybody. well, i want to begin by thanking the people of south carolina. this is a special state. thank you. these are special people. and you know, we get a little boost last week from new hampshire. we can't forget it. special, special. we love it. and they sent us in here with a very good feeling, right? very good feeling. so i really want to thank you. and my volunteers, all of these people, volunteers. and they travel, and they go --

say, what are you doing. and now they're going to texas and they're going all over. some are going to nevada. i'll be going to nevada. we're making a big speech tomorrow in atlanta. and then we're going right to nevada. and i think we're going to do terrific there. and the s.e.c. is going to be very, very exciting. we expect to do very, very well. very well. i want to just say thank you to my family. it's been not easy for them. they don't see me any more. i'm making speeches all of the time. and i have a great family. i really have a great family. so i just want to thank all of you. and ivanka, you know we have a hospital ready just in case. and south carolina, we're going to have a baby. there is nothing wrong with that, right? so it could be any second. it could even be before i'm finished. i mean, but it's -- but you know, she insisted on being here. it was so important to ivanka to insist on being here. so thank you.

very good, and jared, vanessa, don. we have a wonderful lieutenant governor who backed us very early in the process. you know henry, right? the lieutenant governor of south carolina. i will take him over the governor any time. because we won. we won. he can handle that very nicely. he's tough. he's very tough. tiffany, eric, lara and mill millania. millania, saying it. please. >> just want to say, it's an amazing place, south carolina. congratulations to my husband. he was working very hard. and he loves you. we love you. and we are going ahead to

nevada. and we'll see what happens. he will be the best president! >> and representing some very, very wonderful children, ivanka. just say a few words. >> thank you, south carolina. this is an amazing, amazing night. the momentum, since the beginning of this campaign has been unbelievable. and that's because my father's message resonates so deeply with so many people. so as our family, we're incredibly proud. we're incredibly grateful to each of you. so thank you for being here to support us. and i will say this. my father is an incredibly hard worker. and he'll be working for each and every one of you. so together we'll make america great again. >> thank you very much. thank you very much.

so you know, i was watching upstairs, and it was really amazing to be watching what i was watching. and some of the pundits -- and you know, over all fair, but not too much. a number of the pundits said, well, if a couple of the other candidates dropped out -- if you add their scores together, it's going to equal trump! what? these geniuses. they're geniuses. they don't understand that as people drop out, i'm going to get a lot of those votes also. you don't just add them together. so i think we're going to do very, very well. i think we're going to do very well. i want to also congratulate the other candidates. in particular, i have to say ted and marco did a really good job, and they got -- they did quite well, as i understand. no, come on of the just one minute. come on. one second, right? good. we go back to war tomorrow morning. tomorrow morning we'll be back. but i just want to congratulate

the other candidates. there is nothing easy about running for president, i can tell you. it's tough, it's nasty. it's mean. it's vicious. it's beautiful. when you win, it's beautiful. and we're going to start -- we are going to start winning for our country. we're going to start winning. because our country doesn't win any more. doesn't win. we don't win with the military. we can't beat isis. we have great military, but we can't beat isis. we don't win on trade. you look at what china is doing to us, what japan does to us. what mexico is just killing us at the border, at the border, and with trade. mexico is killing us. absolutely. we'll do the wall. don't worry, we're going to do the wall. we're going to do the wall, and by the way, who is going to pay for the wall? >> mechanic

mexico. >> the other politicians say you can't get mexico to pay for the wall. i said, 100%. we have a $58 billion trade deficit with mexico. the wall is going to cause 10 to $12 billion, okay? believe me, they will pay. one of the officials, actually, one of the ex officials from mexico had a news conference, and he announced that we will not be paying for the wall. who does mr. trump think he is? they came to me, the press, look at those cameras back there. the press came to me, and they told me they would not pay for the wall. do you have a comment? i said, yes, the wall just got ten feet taller. it's true. and i love mexico. i love china. i love many of these countries that rip us off, because we have leaders that are incompetent and don't know what they're doing. i love these countries. they're great. i have thousands and thousands

of hispanics. we're going to nevada. i lead -- i lead with the hispanics. i'm leading in every poll with the hispanics. they love me, i love them. the problem is, that the leaders of these countries, whether it's mexico, or japan or vietnam, which is just doing a big number now all of a sudden, or china in particular. that's the big one. the greatest abuse of a country that i think i've ever seen financially, china. what they have done to us is the greatest single in the history of the world. they have taken our jobs, they have taken our money. they have taken everything. we're bringing our jobs back, folks. we're bringing our jobs back. we're going to bring them back. and i know how to do it. we've had so many incredible endorsements. and to me, getting the greatest business people to endorse me is very important. carl icahn endorsed me, several others have endorsed me. and we're going to put these

great business people in charge of trade. and when china wants to come and negotiate, they're going to negotiate, not with a political hack, which is what they have now, they're going to negotiate with the best business minds in the world. and we have them in this country. so we're going to do a lot of beautiful work. we're going to terminate obamacare. it's going to be terminated. it's going to be over. it's going to be repealed. and it's going to be replaced. and you're going to have much better health care at a much smaller cost, because obamacare -- if you look, look at the increases in your obamacare. 25, 35, 45, even 55%. it's dead. it's not working. we're going to go to a plan that's going to be so much better and so much less expensive. so second amendment, by the way. this is a room, loves the second amendment -- thank you, fellas.