good evening. 8:00 p.m. here in houston, site of tomorrow night's cnn republican debate and tuesday's primary. one of 13 primaries and caucuses

being held march 1st. which donald trump stands a good chance of winning. it was his third straight victory and fair to say it's shaken the republican party. in a moment, more of my conversation with donald trump. first jim acosta with a tour of the political landscape and political rumble. >> reporter: donald trump's first campaign event after his win in nevada says it all. eyeing the bible belt states up for grabs on super tuesday next week, trump appealed to trician conser christian conservatives by sitting down with pat robertson. trump talked about forgiveness, perhaps even for his arch rival ted cruz. maybe. >> i can forgive. every once in a while there will be something that went too far and things were said that were lies. i've got to be a good person today. at least for the next hour or so.

>> reporter: trump isn't spending much time talking about his opponents. he's busy envisioning his days in the white house. he'd likely want a political insider as his vice president. >> i do want somebody that's political because i want to get lots of great legislation that we all want passed. >> reporter: and strong conservatives for the supreme court. >> pro-life. starts with that. very conservative. very, very smart. i mean like judge scalia. he was a perfect representative. >> reporter: on day one of the trump administration, the gop front-runner vows he'll scrap obamacare, improve veterans health care. >> especially on the border where people are allowed to come in and pour into our country like swiss cheese. >> reporter: a load ballooning quickly with five times the number of delegates as his nearest rivals. >> the establishment, special

interest, the lobbyists, the donors, they're all against me. >> reporter: trump is also warning a new ad warning that d.c. establishment is out to get him. he's making the case republicans should consider how he's expanding the party and get on board. >> we won with highly educated, we won with poorly educated. i really love the poorly educated. and what i'm happy about? 46% with the hispanics. 46%. number one with hispanics. >> reporter: the contenders vying to be the anti-trump insist the race is far from over. >> we can't get this wrong. we can't be fooled by p.t. barnum. the time for the clowns and the acrobats of the dancing bears has passed. >> reporter: cruz went back to delegate-rich texas to secure the endorsement of that state's popular governor. marco rubio is urging candidates to pick a candidate who can

actually win in november. trump is not slowing down. a bunch of events set up throughout the south and southwest. and all of the early polls show that trump has a chance to clean up and perhaps force some of his rivals out of the race. anderson? >> jim acosta, thanks. back with gloria borger, david chalian, jeffrey lord, ana navarro. the delegate count looks pretty good. >> he's got a significant delegate lead. those are not easy to give up. between now and march 15th, everything is awarded on a proportional basis. if he continues to win contests with the kind of margins we've seen in new hampshire, south carolina and nevada, he consistently builds up a bigger and bigger delegate lead and makes it difficult for cruz or rubio or anyone else to dig into

that. >> somewhere along the way, ted cruz, any of his other opponents have to start winning somewhere. and it's not clear where that's going to be other than perhaps ted cruz in texas. >> cruz can say he wants something because he did. but marco rubio started out this campaign as everybody's second choice and seems to be finishing this so far as everybody's second choice. he's got to win somewhere. you can't become the establishment sort of candidate with all these endorsements but you need voters, too. endorsements aren't enough. that's marco rubio's problem which is why today we see him more frontally taking on donald trump. gradually tip toeing into that arena. he understands now, i think, that he's got to start taking him on. >> what's is the route forward for a cruz, for rubio, if there is one? >> i do think the dynamics of this race have to change in some manner. something big has to happen before next tuesday to shift the momentum that donald trump is

building. like david pointed out, next week on tuesday there's going to be proportional delegates allocated if trump rolls and then goes into next tuesday where it's winner take all states. trump is going to swing like a guillotine and sweep everything up. i've been encouraging them to do something bold. adopt some of donald trump's frankness in talking about issues, not in the lens of being conservative or ideological but just straight to the voters. that's so appealing right now. this race has to be about adapting to what the voters want without mimicking the worst of his tactics. >> it has to be a two-man race. this looks like a big stare down between ted cruz and marco rubio and who is going to be that person to take donald trump head-on. the only way to make that argument is to have somebody like ted cruz get upset in his own home state and leave the rest of the calendar for marco rubio to go with donald trump. >> somebody has to drop out. >> and that is probably a dream

scenario for marco rubio but it's hard to see it happening. >> jeffrey, to donald trumpae point, even if ted cruz drops out, he feels like he'd pick up a fair amount of ted cruz supporters. >> it's fair to think. i think i heard today that a new york congressman who had been supporting jeb bush endorsed donald trump today. and that, i think, is indicative of the point that you can't just expect all of the bush people and all of the support for these other candidates to go behind marco rubio. some of them are going to go to donald trump. >> one of the problems that marco rubio and ted cruz are having is that they are so bogged down in this intrafight amongst themselves. it's now lasted very long time. it's gone on now for about two months. it's getting very exhausting, very repetsative. and it makes them look as -- you have john kasich who has no plan to drop out, playing the

role of mr. rogers, isn't it a beautiful day in the neighborhood, waiting for these two guys to kill each other off and be the last man standing. at some point there is going to be one last man standing against donald trump. he's going to be battered, bruised, maybe poverty stricken. but the question is, will it be in time to be able to take on donald trump? >> one of the things -- >> go ahead. >> one thing that's going to start to happen is one of these people is going to start to think, maybe i can't win but i better not overstep because i could be number two. that's what happened with george h.w. bush and -- >> marco rubio? >> i think there's a better chance -- >> what name could possibly have popped in my head? >> there's less of a chance of marco rubio or ted cruz being number two than maybe setting themselves up to be the next one in line which in the republican party has been an important notion. >> people do not end campaigns for any other reason other than they run out of money. that's completely true.

if you look at -- >> or fresh laundry. >> i just don't see anybody running out of money and not being able to go through at least until march 15th and the winner take all states. i don't see this circuited into a two-man race in the next two, three weeks. >> the more they take on each other, cruz and rubio, the more they enlarge donald trump who sort of hovers above them and, you know, that's why you'll see them start, or rubio start taking on trump. >> you'll also see hum start to take him on because that's where a lot of jeb bush donors and marco rubio is going after them and wants to appeal to some of those supporters. it's important to have a candidate and back a candidate who can and will support -- take on donald trump. >> tomorrow at the cnn debate in houston, do you anticipate more assaults on donald trump? >> yeah, i do. just because there's been so much pressure on ted cruz and marco rubio to stop fighting each other and take on donald trump. i think ted cruz and marco rubio

will be competing to see who can take a stronger stand against donald trump. what this is really all about, who can stop trump? who will the donors get behind and give them the money and say this is our guy. this is our best chance going forward. >> have donors been giving money to run ads against trump? doesn't seem like -- >> you talk to folks in both camps, cruz and rubio camps, they'll tell you the money is coming in. they feel they have enough resources they need to go on and take donald trump on. tomorrow night there will be enough attacks to go around. >> yeah. >> but i think it's very clear that i believe that one of these campaigns has to come to the conclusion that's the way to consolidate, that anti-trump or to become the alternative is to show that your best position to take donald trump on and finally start making some progress. >> right now cruz and rubio are both arguing tat they are the ones -- >> but i think the best way to take it on is not to play bumper

cars with cruz and rubio but to point the boat directly into the wind of donald trump and take him on. >> cruz has been doing it a lot more forcefully the last several weeks. i think that may start changing tomorrow. >> i have, at this point, donald trump has had everything including the kitchen sink thrown at him. i'm not sure what more can be said in one of these debates. >> stick around. i want to get their take in a moment on senate republicans fighting any obama supreme court appointee and what the president can do about it. also more on my conversation with donald trump covered a lot of ground including questions of his taxes and when the public will get a look at them, if they will. >> i have many, many companies. i have tremendously -- i have a very complex system of taxes. and frankly, i get audited every single year. but we'll make a determination over the next couple of months. it's very complicated. gary tuchman goes to texas/mexico border talking to

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as the candidates get ready for tomorrow night's cnn republican debate tomorrow night, we had a chance to talk with donald trump today. we spoke for white a while about quite a lot including about his taxes and whether hige's going release them. >> congratsulations. an enormous win last night in

nevada. beating your opponents nearly every category. do you see the race ending sooner than pundits predicted? >> i don't see it going to the convention. we're doing fairly well. >> you've been pretty modest in going after rubio. i am going to play a sound bite from him. >> the majority of republican voters in this country do not want donald trump to be the nominee. i think that's been pretty clear. the problem is they are divided up among four people. >> do you buy that argument that the fact that there's a divided field going against you that is allowing you to win? >> no, i don't. i think i'd do well one on one. i'd almost like that. it would be a simplification. when you get up to 46% and that's in a five-person field. that's a very high position. and i laugh at the pundits when they say if you add on all of

the rest, it's 53. well, when people leave, i pick up a lot of votes. >> you are gearing up for the cnn republican debate tomorrow in houston. what do you see as senator rubio's biggest vulnerability. >> i think i'll save that for tomorrow. we have to keep some good action for tomorrow night. we'll be totally prepared. people have not done very well against me. so far everybody that's attacked me has gone down. >> you talked about also winning 44% of the latino vote last night. obviously some polling experts who point out there were so few people involved in the caucus in terms of latinos it represents about one-half of one percentage of the entire latino population in nevada. are you planning to make more of an outreach to latinos and african-americans? >> well, i think so. when you say one half of one percent, i don't know what that represents. we got 46% of the latino vote or the hispanic vote, and that

was far more than anybody else in the field. and that's pretty good, i think. obviously, it's not the whole nation but it's what we had to deal with. we were dealing with that area and got 46% of the vote. i think that's indicative of the nation, actually. >> you've been asked when you'll release your tax returns. on monday you said you'd do it, quote, at some point. today mitt romney said, quote, i think there's reason to believe there's a bombshell in trump's taxes. we should point out, mitt romney refused to release his taxes for quite a while. he ults matultimately did. why not just put it out there? >> i'll make a decision at the right time. the reason mitt romney brings it up is because he lost in the last election and lost very badly. there are many, many companies. i have tremendously -- i have a very complex system of taxes. we'll make a determination over the next couple of months. it's very complicated. >> point blank, does that mean

you absolutely will release them? just a question of when? >> no, i'll make a determination over the next, i would say, couple of months we'll make that determination, absolutely. >> did you actually make it and become president of the united states, i'm not going to ask you who your vice president would be. it's too early for that. you wouldn't even say if you had been considering it but are you going to look for somebody with political experience to help you with congress and help you once you're in washington if you get there? >> yes. the answer is yes. i would not do -- i'm very political and i've been political and you've known me for a long time. but i would absolutely not need another business person. i'll have many business people, i mean, some of the greats. carl icahn endorsed me. many of them endorsed me, the best ones. >> you'd want someone with congressional experience -- >> i'd want someone with political skill because that's where i would really want that. dealing with congress, et cetera. i also think in terms of vice president, the key is, who would be a great president.

if something should happen, who would be a great president? that has to be the first. but i'd really want somebody that would be in the world of politics in that case. i will keep it going really beautifully, but i like the concept of politics. not 100%, but i think i like the concept of having somebody that's in the world of politics for that position. >> donald trump, again, congratulations on last night. >> thank you, anderson. covered a lot of ground today. he mention his support with latino voters in nevada. that may mean his comments about illegal immigrants may not hurt him with that demographic. how is it playing with voters living on the borders of this state. gary tuchman reports. >> reporter: george is a ranch owner in el paso county, texas. his ranch a short walk from the mexican border. and one of the most violent border areas there is. >> are you carrying a gun right now? >> yes, sir. it's a normal thing out here. >> would you ever walk down here

without carrying a gun? >> no. >> because? >> i'm no full. >> reporter: he's never voted for a democrat for president. and that string will continue this year. illegal immigration issue has a lot to do with it. >> we need to secure the border and prosecute those that came in illegally. deport but secure this border first. >> reporter: the rio grande separates the united states from mexico from one end of texas to the other. there are fences and walls in this state but not right here. and you can see the rio grande over here which separates the two countries, mexico is over here, has no water in it. it's just mud. very easy to cross. the only water we see is right here in this swampy area. about a half mile away there is a border fence but it abruptly comes to an end. anyone can just wander around it. one more reason george and his wife want this area more secure asap. so who is their choice for

president? >> i've got all my cards on the table for donald trump. >> reporter: he has faith in the new york city billionaire. >> do you think donald trump knows what he's talking about? >> i think so. nafta is a big failure. we'll use all that money to build a wall you can't imagine. >> reporter: there are registered republicans who don't much like trump. steven brewer likes the immigration stance of ben carson whom he will vote for tuesday. >> do you think carson is tough enough on that. >> i believe he's tough enough. i believe he's fair. i believe that donald trump is over the top. he really is. what he wants to do with immigration, especially in this area on the border is going to breed ill will between the two countries. >> reporter: but this republican says the former reality show host is not over the top. saying he was thinking of voting for rubio but will instead vote for trump. >> does it trouble you that he talks about sending everyone back who is undocumented in this country? >> notic, i'd help him.

i think a lot of people would help him. >> reporter: george is one of them. he wants his land back from people crossing through it illegally. he wants his safety back so he doesn't have to carry a gun nearly everywhere he goes. >> i'm retired. my roots are deep. my property is paid off. i'm staying. >> reporter: gary tuchman, el paso county, texas. >> right along the border. how ted cruz is faring in his home state. he's a polarizing figure in washington and capitol hill. can he win the hearts and minds of the texas voters. we'll take you to a diner in dallas to find out what people there are saying. deadly tornadoes strike the southeastern united states. the latest on whether the powerful storm system is hitting as we come to you live from the university of houston where the cnn debate is tomorrow night. f. he's agreed to give it up. ok, but i have 30 acres to cover by sundown. we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. yeah, i was ok, but after lunch my knee started hurting again so...

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now when someone says... show me funny movies. watch discovery. record this. voila. remotes, come out from the cushions, you are back. the x1 voice remote is here. after coming in third in nevada, ted cruz has his eyes planted firmly on super tuesday. today he said he believes it will be the most important day of the election and that he'll have a very good night. one of the states voting on super tuesday is his home state of texas. randi kaye went to a diner to see if his style is playing well

with the voters in the lone star state. here's what's she found. >> reporter: at the diner of dallas, supersized burgers, and super tuesday go hand in hand. everyone here had an opinion about whether or not texas senator ted cruz will win his home state. especially after finishing third everywhere but iowa. >> do you think ted cruz could win his home state of texas? >> no. >> do you want him to? >> no. negative, no. this is a very conservative state. and i feel he'll have the backing to do it. >> you don't think he's too conservative for texas? >> i hope not. >> do you think that ted cruz can win texas on super tuesday? >> i really don't think he can. i think he's too divisive. >> reporter: sam rogers thinks cruz will win texas. >> the fact he's not popular

means he's hard to work with. if he's hard to work with that means he's not just going along with how things have been. and things that haven't been good. >> reporter: this republican voter disagrees suggesting cruz's unwillingness to bend has done his party more harm than good. >> he's unwielding and just will not negotiate. >> reporter: you think that would be bad for washington? >> i think it's what we have now. what's the change? and that's why trump is winning. >> reporter: some here are looking for a more compassionate conservative. after all, this is bush country and there's no love lost between george w. and cruz. >> i think george bush, george w. was more compassionate, more outreaching. ted cruz to me, i am a republican. however, but i think he's the bison. >> we have a lot of hard-liners in washington right now and we see where the country is because of that. 17% approval rating for congress, things like that. i think people need to come together a lot more and his

being a hard-liner would not go over well in washington. >> reporter: this woman disagrees. >> i think compassionate is not what's playing well right now. >> do you think ted cruz can bring down donald trump? >> if anyone can do it it will be him. >> reporter: like donald trump, ted cruz is extremely polarizing, almost a rorschach test. >> i don't think people believe what he says. >> randi joins me from dallas. where is ted cruz in the polls in texas? is he making headway >> well, there's a new statewide poll out tonight from the university of houston. that poll shows ted cruz 15 points ahead of donald trump. i should point out only about 400 voters were included in that poll but here's what's interesting. 19% of those polled say they are still undecided. i guess we'll have to watch the cnn republican debate tomorrow night to try and make up their

minds. we hear donald trump saying he'd like to win texas. he also expects to see ted cruz go way, way down in texas. those are his words. we'll see what's happens come super tuesday. >> randi, thanks. tune in tomorrow night when the republicans meet here at the university of houston. wolf blitzer will be moderating the republican presidential debate starting at 8:30 eastern. join us here at 8:00 p.m. for the run-up to the debate. you may not recognize this man. not a household name. it's being floated as a potential nominee for the supreme court justice. he's a republican. how will that play into senate republicans plans to block any nominee by president obama. we'll look into that next. ♪ (stranger) good mornin'! ♪ (store p.a.) attention shoppers,

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this new developments in the battle over replacing the late supreme court justice antonin scalia. a name being floated that republican nevada governor ryan sandoval is being vetted by the white house. it comes even as mitch mcconnell is saying there will be no hearing for anyone president obama chooses. today the president said it's his job. he's got a year left, and he's going to do it.

>> one side made a nomination, then leader mcconnell and all the members of the senate are going to make a decision about how do they fulfill their constitutional responsibilities. hard for them because the easier thing to do is to give in to the most extreme voices within their party and stand pat and do nothing. but that's not our job. our job is to fulfill our constitutional duties. >> joining me now is cnn cnn political reporter manu raju. you spoke to senate minority leader harry reid of nevada. what did he say about the possibility of sandoval being the nominee? >> reid and sandoval have a long and complicated relationship. sandoval later ran for governor

and defeated reid's son in the 2010 elections. sandoval was heavily courted by republicans to run in 2016 for the senate seat that reid now holds. but sand doval declined. reid said it would be smart for them to give sandoval a lifetime position on the supreme court. you met with sandoval. he's been mentioned as a possible supreme court justice. do you think he'd be a good supreme court justice? >> i don't pick the justices but i know if he were picked, i would support the man. he's a good person. has a great record and he's been a tremendously good governor. in spite of having to deal with some very big problems there. >> do you advise the white house to pick a moderate republican who could divide the republican party or pick a progressive that could fire up the liberal base? >> i'd talk to the president and his chief of staff. i talked to his political guy today. and he should pick who he thinks is the best. >> now anderson, it's unclear if

this just a trial balloon to make republicans look unreasonable for refusing to consider a moderate hispanic republican. but we know that reid and sandoval discussed the possibility of a supreme court nomination in that private meeting on monday. while sandoval's office says the obama administration has not yet contacted the governor, he is at least being considered as of now. >> and how are republicans going to react to the news? >> not very well. leading the party lunch today, i talked to a number of republican senators. up and down they'll refuse to consider a nominee no matter who it is. they think it should be left to he next president and as deb fisher, republican of nebraska told me, it's not about the person, she said. >> all right. manu raju, thanks. joining me now, cnn senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin, david chalian and gloria borger. jeff, you know the court probably better than anybody. loved your book "the nine." is this a political trial

platoon balloon to see how the senate reacts? >> i think it's a combination. the most important fact here is that the republican senate is not going to consider anybody. barring some political development that just seems completely unlikely at this point. so this is a political act. and the idea of considering a moderate republican is a good symbol for a democratic president. makes him look broad minded. is a comparison to what he would say is the very close minded republican senate. keep in mind also the democrats would not be happy with a sandoval appointment. he is certainly more liberal than most republicans today, but he is someone who said the affordable care act was unconstitutional. yes, he's been pro-choice as a governor. but democrats care too much about this seat to give it away to a republican. so i don't think it's going to

happen. this is the first of several names we're going to hear, and they are mostly for political positioning, and that's really what sandoval trial balloon is. >> gloria, to jeff's point, how bad of a position would it put republicans in to just obstruct it? >> i think harry reid knows it would make them squirm and that's why he's talking about it. but i think to jeff's point, that this would truly alienate the democratic base to such a degree that i don't think president obama would do it. he has said that he's going to take the long view and not the short-term view. the short-term view would be to do something that makes republicans squirm. and i just don't think that that is what the president has been talking about doing. >> part of this is also to fire up the democratic base. >> right. >> and the way i've been thinking about the politics of this is sort of whoever barack obama names to this job is basically going to become de

facto hillary clinton's running mate for the rest of this season. she's going to want to use this to fire up the base and bash the republicans for saying they should be giving this person a vote. brian sandoval doesn't fit that mold of what the white house would like to put forward, what's hillary clinton and the democratic party would like to have out there as sort of a calling card and to use against the republicans. >> anderson -- >> and competition. he is a constitutional scholar but a politician. >> the president wrote a post today for scotus blog which is a website devoted to the supreme court. and he talked about the kind of justice he wants. and it was very clear, i thought, that the president is talking about a sitting judge, someone who is a judge now, who has a record as a judge, who has impeccable qualifications. i think that returns us to the judge universe of candidates,

the paul watfords, sri srinivasans, the jean kelly s, not the politicians. even though we used to have them on the court all the time. >> jeff, where do you stand on the precedence of this? again, the president today said, look, this is not something written in the constitution that a sitting president, the last year, can't nominate. in fact, he is saying this is part of his duty. >> you know, it is certainly the president's right to nominate someone. and he will, and he should. but it's also the senate the right to advise and consent or withhold consent. and these supreme court nominations have always been more about power than principle. the republicans know this is a seat that could turn the court to five liberals for a generation. there have not been five liberals on the supreme court for two generations, since the

late 60s. there is no way the supreme court is going to give president obama this opportunity. and it doesn't matter what joe biden said in 1992. it doesn't matter what mitch mcconnell sayses too. they're just not going to do it because they don't want to give up that seat and they have the power to stop it. >> and, yes, again, republicans do point to joe biden said, you know, and to sort of show the hypocrisy that exists, frankly, on both sides. >> and joe biden said that, i believe, four months before the election. not 10 or 11 months before. >> but still. >> but still, of course they are going to use it. but the time frame is a little bit different. >> right. >> all right. gloria borger, jeffrey toobin, david chalian as well. the battle intensifies between apple and the fbi. what ceo tim cook said just a short time ago. a deadly storm system sends tornadoes ripping through the southeast and dangerous weather

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reports of buildings down to the west in lancaster, pennsylvania. debris making it hard for emergency vehicles to get through. no information yet on any injuries. at least six people were killed as tornadoes ripped through mississippi and louisiana and a possible tornado touched down in waverly, virginia, devastating that small town. right now there are more than 200,000 people without power from the carolinas up to the northeast. meteorologist tom sader joins me with the latest. what's happening with the system, tom? >> it's still pretty strong. massive winds still creating blizzard conditions in the great lakes. still a threat for severe weather from around the philadelphia area to new york city. and rivers and streams rising. this storm is massive in its size taking up one-third of the country. it's been a triple threat. besides the flooding and blizzard conditions, it's been the severe weather. yesterday afternoon, 36 tornadoes, three fatalities, two in louisiana, one in southern

mississippi. over toward escambia county near pensacola, over 200 homes damaged or destroy. it didn't end there. during the heat of the day, which upper 60s and 70-degree temperatures on the east coast, we had many more. a total of 51 tornadoes. unfortunately, the tragedies continue. about 45 miles south of richmond, virginia, in a town of waverly, virginia, we lost three more citizens. another tornado moving through the area. see the thunderstorm right there. the youngest of the three victims was a 2-year-old boy. authorities found the three bodies thrown 300 yards from their destroyed mobile home. we had hail, numerous reports of golf ball-sized hail and one report of softball sized hail near the north carolina border. 2,100 flights were canceled today in the u.s. blizzard conditions in chicago canceled over 650 of them. but really it's been about the

rare event. the northern extent of having tornado watches and warnings in february just does not happen when you get up to areas of pennsylvania into new york. just unbelievable. >> yeah, how unexpected was this? >> well, the storm prediction center did do a pretty good job >> yeah, how unexpected was this? >> the storm center expanded it somewhat. until 11:00 a storm watch is still in effect. in yellow, anderson, including new york city until 2:00 in the morning, we could have some strong thunderstorms, highly unusual, changing the lives of thousands of u.s. citizens the last couple of days. >> yeah. tom, thanks. the "new york times" is reporting that apple engineers have begun developing new security measures that would prevent the government from breaking into a locked iphone like the ones that belonged to one of the san bernardino

terrorists. here what's apple ceo tim cook said on abc news. >> this case is not about my phone. this case is about the future. what is at stake here is can the government come pem apple to write software that we believe would make hundreds mof million of customers vulnerable around the world? >> and you'd have to write that software? >> yes, we'd have to write a piece of software that we view as the software equivalent of cancer. we think it's bad news to write. we would never write it, we have never written it and that is what is at stake here. >> the fbi and justice department see it differently. earlier i spoke to john miller, the new york city commissioner and deputy of terrorism.

john, tim cook did an interview today with abc news. in the interview he said the request about the fbi would set a precedent that is bad for america and his words could expose people to incredible vulnerabilities, saying they're asking him to create software that would make everybody's phone vulnerable. >> this is the kind of talk that's confusing the issue here. we've got it yget to the baselie issue. it's not about a back door, it's about a front door when the government comes in with a legal search warrant. under ios 7, apple announced it provides security and privacy for apple's users but allows apple to comply with legal search warrants in cases involving robbery, kidnapping. what changed between the time that apple held a key of its own that could open a phone for

legal process and when they came out with ios 8 at which point apple announced and, quote, apple will not perform ios data extractions in response to government search warrants. behind every phone where we request a search warrant, there as a crime. behind every crime there's a victim. >> aren't the phones more vulnerable potentially to hackers if there is a master lock or a back door to an operating system? >> i don't see how. it's about the physical phone. it's not about hacking into the system. the apple that says they're so worried about this back door also encourages users to pay apple to store large amounts of data in the cloud, which is far more vulnerable to hackers than the actual device where you'd have to figure out the code. >> but one of the arguments is that the fbi made a mistake, essentially, that apple was willing to help them get access to the cloud of this particular

user, but the city which owned the phone along with the fbi changed the password remotely, thereby making it impossible for the fbi get access to the cloud. wouldn't this not have happened if -- i think the only cloud is clouding the issue. by zeroing in on one obscure fact about this case obfuscates the real question here. the real question for apple and for tim cook is do we want to produce a warrant-proof phone that is a mass storage device for information at a time when every criminal and every criminal network uses these communications devices for their bread and butter. >> i want to use something that the director of the fbi james comey said, he said o"we have awesome new technology that

creates a serious tension between two values we all treasure, privacy and safety. it also should not be resolved by the fbi, which investigates for a living. for those millions of iphone users who see this as an invasion of their privacy, what do you say? >> i don't see how any iphone users see this as an invasion of their privacy. this isn't going to be solved by the fbi yelling at apple and apple yelling back at the fbi. this is a question for the american people that's not really about privacy. apple is framing it as privacy pip think in some measure because in marketing products, other people make similar products of, the thing that celts you apart in a business model is what makes my product different. >> you're saying essentially this is about marketing? you really believe this is a marketing effort by apple to show the world they have a

great, private secure system? >> i'm saying in the marketplace the thing that makes you sell over the other guys and apple and an drodroid are locked in t on a dil daily basis what sets apart is what makes you difference. >> we'll be right back. ♪ those who define sophistication stand out. those who dare to redefine it stand apart. the all-new lexus rx and rx hybrid. never has luxury been this expressive. this is the pursuit of perfection. it's easy to love your laxative when that lax loves your body back. only miralax hydrates, eases and softens to unblock naturally,

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and that does it for us, live from the campus of the university of houston. we'll see you the 12 a.m. eastern for another edition of "a.c. 360." don lemon is on now. >>. >> we've had three in a row now, three special groups of people, but the whole country is special, the people. i sort of think it's a movement, anderson. >> but mitt romney says something in trump's taxes could derail him. is he right? or will the trump train just keep rolling right not nomination? meanwhile, hillary clinton and bernie sanders fighting for every last vote in south carolina, but will black voters make all the