>> "the five" is up next. rescue. so catch me. i'm on the hello, everyone. it's 5:00 in new york city and this right here is "the five." eight days until the south carolina primary takes place on the gop side. and the three front-runners today announcing big shift in the direction of their respective campaign strategies. donald trump's trademark is his bold brass style. he isn't one to mince words. that's part of his appeal to voters. he is vowing to clean up his language after coming under criticism for cursing too much on the trail.

he swears he isn't going to swear again. >> i won't use foul language. i won't do it. you're all saying do it, do it, no. i'm not. even if it is not a bad word. if it is a little bit off, they kill me. i'll never do it again, actually. and i'll never even copy somebody what they asked me to say. >> all right. trump's campaign is documenting an all positive strategy, pulling an ad that was running in south carolina that attacked ted cruz. cruz, however, isn't letting up accusing his possibly of a long time pattern of sleaze. >> that her home was all she had left but it stood in donald trump's way. and the parking lot he wants for his casino. to him she was a nobody. so trump schemed with the atlanta city government. they steam rolled the little guy. a pattern of sleaze stretching back decades.

>> eminent domain is wonderful. yes, we have to use the power of eminent domain. >> that didn't sit well. trump says those are all ads. >> these ads are vicious and they say anything. i just hope you don't believe the crap. because it's all crap, okay? they're lies. they talk about eminent domain. without eminent domain you wouldn't have a road. you wouldn't have hospitals, you wouldn't have anything. by the way, without eminent domain, you wouldn't have the key stone pipeline. >> let's start with you. a good idea or a bad idea for trump to pivot to all positive? >> look, swearing is like, i always compare them to those dried red pepper flakes you put on a beats. pizza. you have to use it sparingly. so when you start relying on

swearing too much, it loses its meaning and i think he saw the light which was that focus group by bloomberg. everybody was aghast. he should travel with a swear jar. i think that would be a fun thing for him to do. as for this ad, i'm not so sure it exists. this is brilliant. we're still talking about the ad. we led the block with an ad that we don't even see and we're not even sure it exists. so he's played the media like a violin. we're all talking about it. as fortunate cruz ad, he is right about hospital and pipelines. but that's still not a casino parking lot. that's a private thing. the casino parking lot is a private thing. pipelines for the country, eminent domain is for important matters. >> eight days out. >> yeah, it worked well for him in new hampshire when he was trying to be more positive and stop doing the attacks. two, three days before. they said that worked well for them there. they are going to repeat that and ended up pulling the ad.

ted cruz is the one doing the negative ads. so he will have to deal with that. you have that coming up. >> we'll have a little of that. juan, just a quick thought on trump's new kinder, gentler donald? >> he is alpha male, mr. tough guy. i think the cursing and the profanity which rubio said he can't even tell his kid to use the word, i don't know how to get around this. but he can't use that word because he can't explain it to his own kids. i think that's a legit point. on the other hand, if you are a donald trump fan, i think you say he is not a pc guy. he just tells it like it is and i like it. so i think it sells the trump brand. >> i think sheppard smith pointed out, there are already a few after posts. no more swearing. >> they were little words. little small words that you don't flinch at right away. they said right now we're running a positive campaign. as if we're going to be positive today and that's it. what is so funny about that, from trump that's news. the fact that he will get out there and say we won't go scorched earth and make fun of

everyone and swear, that he can turn that into a news story. because that's the difference for him. i think this is what he's doing today and he'll be back to normal trump. >> when somebody tries to hit him, he'll knock them down. >> ted cruz accuses trump of sleaze. but he just suffered a major embarrassment after featuring an adult film star in his attack ad. >> has anyone else here struggled with being lied to? >> well, i voted for a guy who was a team hero on the campaign trail. then he went to d.c. and played patty and cut a deal on amnesty. >> does that make you angry? >> it makes me feel dumb for trusting him. >> maybe should you vote for more than a pretty face next time. >> do you have room for one more? >> come on in. come on in. >> you can have frank's chair. i'm ted cruz and i approved this message. >> the cruz campaign immediately

pulled the ad after realizing she had an x-rated resume. they say she was not vetted fully by the casting company. >> they said she is an actress and it was an open call. i think it's pretty funny. he put his name on it and somebody should have vetted it. especially when you have actress, open casting call. anything can happen. >> now juan, we're not prudes here. we get it. however, going into south carolina, very evangelical, very religious group. they may not like that and now it's been on every tv for the last 12 hours. >> i'm going to stand up for this young lady. i find this outrageous. this is a fox news alert. supreme court anthony scalia has died at age 79. scalia was nominated to the u.s. supreme court in 1986. we understand through reports right now that he was a guest at the sebola creek ranch in the big bend region south of marla where he was found dead. and we are continuing to follow the developments of this story and are waiting for our chief

legal correspondent who covers the supreme court on a routine basis, shannon breen, we'll get a phone report with her momentarily. but again, just to acknowledge what is going on right now for those of you just tuning in, justice anthony scalia has been found dead at age 79. we are continuing to follow the developments of this breaking story. heather, you and i just finished wrapping up our 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. newscast for "america news headquarters" when we were getting word about this and now the confirmation is in. >> a tremendous loss and reportedly initial reports say he died of natural causes. back in 1986, he was appointed by ronald reagan. he was the longest serving chief justice, originally appointed to fill the associate justice seat of justice william rindquist.

>> he was the one that many figured would be a lightning rod on the supreme court because of some of the ways he ruled on cases or gave his decision. >> describes at the intellectual anchor for the originalist in the conservative wing. >> we'll go to our supreme court corresponden this catches us by surprise about justice scalia passing at the age of 79. what can you tell us about his personality and what will the court miss from his contributions over the years? >> reporter: well, he was the anchor for conservative positions and undoubtedly. he was also one of the most combative, i would say, when people would be asking him questions. he was very common sense and would say to them, you know, that can't possibly be right. you can't possibly mean that. i mean, to lawyers who are very

seasoned and standing there to make the arguments, he asked very tough questions and he really -- you know, it is sort of a very pedestrian way to say it, but he sort of didn't take bull from anybody. he really pressed hard, questioned hard. he wasn't necessarily deeply influenced by others. he was very much his own man on the court. and he -- you know, was probably the most entertaining justice to watch in arguments. because he was always very astute and well read in, whether the topic was technology or some keen part of the law. he was always completely engaged and had a lot of questions. and you knew as a lawyer regardless of where you were on the case, often both sides would get tough questions from him. but he was very much an anchor for the conservative wing of the court. and he's been there for decades. he has shaped this country because of his position. he's known for very fiery defense, too. and over the last few years we saw those growing. when he disagreed with the

majority opinion, he never minced words and was very tough in his defense. and his vote is one that will be very critical. there are a number of big cases. we expect this term on abortion, on executive action, affirmative power, affirmative action, the voting rights act, his vote will be missed on those cases. >> pretty significant cases. shannon, hold on for a moment. we want to read a statement right now from governor abbott in texas on justice antonin scalia. his statement says, justice scalia was a man of god, a patriot and an unwavering defender of the written constitution of the rule of law. he was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the constitution. his fierce loyalty to the constitution set an unmatched example, not just for judges and lawyers, but for all americans. and he goes on to say, shannon,

we mourn his passing and we pray that his successor on the supreme court will take his place as a champion for the written constitution and the rule of law. let me stop right there because at this point president barack obama who is the president right now will likely have to make an appointment and that will have to go through a senate confirmation. and at this point, no one knows who he will choose. many people have argued against some of his previous picks. but nevertheless, this is another situation that the president will have to deal with. do you have any idea where he might go to look for someone who has the capability to become a supreme court justice and perhaps have the same contribution as that justice scalia had? >> reporter: the one thing i can say with certainty is he probably won't pick anyone like justice scalia. that's just not -- that would never -- i wouldn't see that lining up with any of his

political or legal philosophy. so i think that's -- that's what they have said. they will speculate if anyone will retire at the end of june. the left wing of the court, several of the justices said i'm not going anywhere, don't look at me to retire. i'm staying put, i don't care about elections, those kind of things. we haven't thought about what would happen during the last few months of president obama's administration if somebody from the right side of the board left. and so it's something that's going to -- it just shocks everyone and takes everyone off guard. so i think that there are definitely names that the president has been considering and thinking about, but whether we thought somebody from the left possibly would be this year, the discussion is that it would be an incredible fight in the senate. because the president is going to be closing out his term in the next few months. and if he goes too far to the

left, the senate is -- majority republican, although it's not 60 votes. and the agreement has been you don't filibuster a supreme court nominee, but it could be a very ugly fight in the senate if the president decides to go too far left. we'll have to say. >> in terms of a replacement, you were talking about how he stuck to the constitution, called himself an originalist. this is a quote from him. he said, in reference to the constitution, it is what the words mean to the people who ratified the bill, who ratify the bill of rights or who ratify the constitution. meaning basically he would like to stick to the words. that he interpreted the constitution the way it was adopted. >> reporter: yeah, he was in that vain of thought and took a lot of heat for it. because people on the other side of the political spectrum said things are changed, time has passed, but he always felt it

was very important to remain anchored to what the founders he believed intended. and he was unapologetic about that, whether it was the second amendment, the bill of rights and anything else. he very much was a man who said the words mean what they mean. and you don't run two otho othe countries or other bodies to figure that out. you uh look to the original words and figure out exactly what they meant. >> he argued abortion was not unconstitutional. he argued that the death penalty was constitutional. >> reporter: yeah. he was very consistent in the way that he saw the law. and you have to remember, too, he himself was catholic. so there were times that he very much had to possibly divorce his beliefs from interpreting the law he felt he was assigned to interpret. but you have to know his views did influence them. and there was so much of who he

was. his faith shape has been a big part of his life always. >> speaking of the fact that his faith was such a huge part of his life, can you give us a description of what he was like as a person? so many times we don't really get to know the supreme court justices in terms of what they do, when they are away from court, what they do as people who, like us, walk around every day. and once we are done with our jobs, where do we go to spend time with our families and even have fun? what kind of man would you -- how would you describe his lifestyle? >> reporter: he was hilarious and was adventurous. the funny thing is he formed a good friendship with people on the court that he probably wouldn't agree with them philosophically. he was oftentimes on the other side of a vote from them, but he had deep friendships with him. he and justice ruth bader ginsburg enjoyed the opera together and were very close. he is a hunter. he loves the outdoors. so he had been going to the

hunting range. and the pictures always give us a chuckle, but you need to find -- he seemed to have very unique friendships with people on the court. but very independent and very much was not ever going to apologize for the way he decided anything or saw the world. and he was more than willing to have relationships with people who were very different from him on the court. i would venture to say that he and justice ginsburg we are exceptionally close. and i think this is going to be difficult for everyone on the court. maybe for her most especially. >> how did he look at the partisan divide? because you're talking about the person now, the individual was saying who would reach across the aisle to deal with people who didn't see life or see things politically as he saw them or even legally as he saw them. but what was his view of

america? did he see it as a place for all races, all people, no matter what their political strifes are, the color of the skin, they could get along? >> reporter: yeah, i think he tried very much to stay out of politics. he felt a court's view was something very divorced from the typical capitol hill politics or white house politics. of course, you are nominated by a president who you believe you share his legal philosophy. and will be best representative of you. but they will all tell you that the justices, each one, that they don't like to get involved in politics. they don't want to take positions on politics. and sometimes they are dragged into cases where they are afraid it will be due they are taking a political position. so i wouldn't say that any of them are party advocates or take sides in that way. they very much see the court's role as something divorced from that and see a check on the other branches. and very independent of thosen

branches. >> and shannon, what will be the process to begin to replace him? >> reporter: well, the court is in the middle of a very busy session at this point. so they will continue on with the work that they have with eight justices. and the president, of course, will have to quickly put together a list of nominations, get that to the senate and see what they can get done. it's a very busy year on so many different levels politically and as a court, that i think it's going to be difficult because it's obviously very unexpected. but, at the same time, the court has work to do. the justices are all very dedicated to that. i think justice ginsberg was on the bench the day after her husband passed away. the justices know they have a unique job. they have an obligation to this country. that no other eight or nine people have. so i think they are going to, of course, be grieving the loss of

their colleague and fund, but very much under the direction of chief justice john roberts who will be a guiding hand through this for them. and will have to continue on with the cases they are hearing and the work they're doing. they happen to be in a break right now for another week or two before they are back hearing cases, but they are always working behind the scenes on the cases they have already heard. so it's a very heavy load and that will continue. >> what is up next when they do return in a week or two? >> reporter: well, the one very big case that they have the first week they're back is the abortion case out of texas where the state of texas has passed medical standards, requirements such as things that abortion doctors have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of their clinics. things opponents are saying would lead to 75% of abortion clinics in texas being closed. so there's obviously strong opposition to that. but, at the same time, texas has felt very much that it has been on the right track. they passed this legislatively.

they feel it will pass constitutional muster, but we already know, i got an e-mail yesterday reminding me of the protesters that plan to be out there that day, march 2nd, so it will be a busy week back with the potentially landmarked case that they'll have to tackle with all the others on the docket. >> we mentioned he believed that abortion was unconstitutional. and in reference to that, in texas they believe they have that right. and he believed frequently in state rights versus, you know, federal. >> reporter: yeah, and i think back to a case, i believe it was the 1070 case, if i'm right, it would be the tough immigration law that arizona passed. when it said, listen, the feds aren't doing the job on immigration. that we're going to have to do it. and it was an epic fight at the court about that and a lot of tough language from him in that decision about the fact that the state sometimes has to step up if they think the feds aren't doing the job, if he very much

did understand that states have rights under the tenth amendment. and that there was a tough overlap a lot of times with federal issues, but yes, very much a believer in state's rights. >> shannon, i want to keep you with us for a while and put you on hold for a minute. we'll bring in our legal analyst for fox news. thank you for joining us. your passing to justice anthony scalia? >> well, as a legal analyst right now, i have known justice scalia since i was 23 years old. i'm devastated. i'm beyond devastated. i'm so sad. tuesday the 23rd he's supposed to swear me into the court. i have been to the court, i don't know, 40 times as his guest, i've never been sworn in. and my father is like, why don't you let him swear you in?

right before christmas i picked the date of february 23rd, if my dad and i are supposed to go there and he can swear me in. we have reservations in washington for 12:30. unfortunately, i'm going to be at his funeral as opposed to being or having lunch with him. forget about his politics. i know what's what america knows him for. he's done commercial decisions or defense, and you love him or hate him. right up until last year, i was the president of the brooklyn bar association. as a courtesy to me, he came from washington to brooklyn and did a cle, a continuing legal education lecture for the people in my bar association, which is

just such a nice thing for at the time a 78-year-old man can do. to take that time out of his life. there's nobody you would want to go to lunch with more than him. he can tell you war story after war story, not necessarily about the court but about his hunting trips. he'll talk about religion, pop culture, a little bit of red wine, a little bit of everything -- i am so upset. i can't even tell you. >> first of all, i want to say how sorry i am to hear of the passing of a man who -- for all intensive purposes, was like an uncle figure to you, a big brother to you, a friend. and i appreciate you coming on and sharing this. >> i'm in my living room in my house in brooklyn right now. and i have pictures of my

grandparents, i have pictures of my son and my fiance. and there's a picture of justice scalia and i on january 7, 2000. who knows, i have been to 50 events with him. when he would come to new york, i would see him regularly. he loved to smoke a cigar now and then. he loved to have a glass of scotch. he was being honored at the waldorf astoria, a grand marshal of the columbus day parade. i spent all day with him the day before, the day of, that night, the new york yankees were playing in the playoffs. he was wearing his flannel pajamas in the hotel room and we were drinking beers watching the yankee game together. i mean, so, again, i know from the legal point of view, if i'm the legal analyst, there's a million things i could say. but everybody should know that he was a really, really good guy. >> that's what i want to talk about. we can get all the legal aspect and the political aspects.

you're talking about the man himself, someone you knew personally for all of these years. and i guess i should ask you, what was his view of america? how did he perceive america overcoming some of the things that we go through in this country? >> i would say the biggest disappointments was the breakdown of the family unit. you're talking about a man who has nine children. i could be wrong about this, but 35 grandchildren. the last time i was with him -- just the two of us had lunch together. i believe it was just this fall. and i made a joke, i was like, how many of them can you name of the 35? he was like, i'm pretty good. i got them almost all down. and he would give me a hard time because i only have one child. even though i'm trying to have more. but, you know, he's -- he felt that the core of america was the family.

and the erosion of the family was the problem. so, you know, my phone is blowing up right now, phone calls, texts, everybody knows. he was my guy. >> arthur, you said something very critical, the erosion of the family. because so many times we hear about that and let's face it, the greatness of a nation begins in the homes of its people. and the root of the nation begins at the home of its people. therefore, the family is broken down and it is difficult to maintain that family and maintain a nation. so you really delivered how he viewed life. >> we have to outnumber them. he felt everyone should have four, five, six kids. he would refer to the fact that

in italy, he was a proud civilian, justice scalia was. they were known to have one child per household, maybe less. and he thought that was ridiculous. and i referred to him about the cost of education. and he said to me, how expensive children are, he said to me, you go to public schools? i said, yeah, i went to public college and public schools. he said, you didn't turn out so bad. so that's what americans need to do. we need to make more great americans. there's so many -- when my son was born, he told me, just remember one thing, arthur, that year -- you're never as vulnerable as when you're a parent. and you're so right about that. there are so many life lessons that he taught me that -- i live my life by and really appreciate

the past and relationship with him. >> arthur, i'm going to give you time to take a moment. well, we were going to laura ingraham, maybe she can call back in. i just want to give you time to compose yourself. >> i'm all right. he'll live inside me forever. another thing is, when he was the grand marshal of the columbus day parade that i've been attending since i was 12 years old. he stood outside from the minute the parade started until the minute it ended. i said, your honor, nobody does -- he waited until the department of sanitation cleaned up, they are the last ones to clean the streets. and i said, justice scalia, you're the only grand marshal who has done this. he said, arthur, whenever you do anything in life, you do it 100% and do it right or don't do it at all. >> for those of you tuning in

right now, we are talking to arthur idala, a personal friend of justice antonin scalia who was sadly found dead today. heather childress is here with me today. we are talking to various people who knew justice scalia so personally like an uncle. and we really appreciate you sharing this with us. because your grief is palpable, but your respect and admiration for this man, regardless of what people have said about him, the criticisms, you have brought his person -- his personality to him so we can know him better. >> what shannon was saying about how he's so close with ginsberg, and before ginsberg, the person who he loved on the court was justice brennan. there's no justice more opposed to justin scalia than justice

brennan. and when justin brennan retired, justice scalia asked for justice brennan's chambers. that's when my friends would say, how could you like scalia because he voted this way or that way? when you knew him, you forgot about those things. you weren't looking at a guy who has a fifth boat on some cape. >> arthur, give us a minute and hold on as you collect yourself. and heather has a guest for us. >> we'll definitely come back to you. but we have another personal friend of judge scalia. laura ingraham is joining us on the phone now. laura, i don't know if you heard arthur talking to us, but to judge scalia, it was the core of america that counted. the core of america was the family. share with us your thoughts on his passing. >> i collect for justice thomas on the court, but many years

before that i became a family friend of the scalias and vacationed with them and spent holidays with them. and the first time i meant justice scalia, he was actually a named -- he had just been nominated by president reagan. i was a young speech writer in the reagan administration. i remember walking over to his office at the d.c. circuit court of appeals with his son gene at the time. the first time i met him he was 50 years old. and he's literally -- i mean, irreplaceable jurist. he's an irreplaceable friend, intellect, legal historian in his own right, hilariously funny. a great wit. a great contour. he loved teasing friends and laughing and was a loving

father, grandfather. and all of his clerks and his extended clerk family -- we're all going to stay in a state of shock. it feels like a big punch, there's a big hole there. i know everyone says that when someone passes away, but justice scalia had such a unique voice, his beliefs, his deep belief in originalism, which he steadfastly believed was critical to abide by, let the court become another legislative branch. yet this one unaccountable to the people because of course the nine justices served for life. people can't remove a justice unless the justice is impeached. so he thought it was very, very important that the court not veer into issues of social matters that were best left to

the state. and he thought that was the best way to preserve the social order and to be faithful to the constitution. so, you know, i had dinner with him two-and-a-half weeks ago with a group of people at the dominican house in washington, and he was there with justice alito and in his usual fine fellow. a wonderful man. an irrelaceable jurist. and a desperately needed voice on this court today that frankly many of us believe has gone far field from its original understanding as conceived by the framers. he is going to be missed very, very much. >> when you sit and have dinner with someone like him, did he talk to you about his thoughts on what is going on in america today? like what did you talk about?

>> well, i want to keep that private. but he was someone who never let his statures, obviously one of nine justices on a third of the u.s. government, he never let that interfere with his personal relationship and his -- his sense of caring and friendship for others. he will forever go down as a man who had a core believe and the greatness and goodness of the united states of america. and the wisdom of the framers, the constitution. and that is -- that is something that -- again, that sorely needs needed and will be sorely missed with his voice silent. but he would talk about everything, how my kids were, how is everything? how is radio? what is going on in television? he was a friend. so i will miss him as much as a friend. but for our country, our country

has suffered a great, great loss in his passing. >> laura ingraham joining us live. thank you so much for sharing your personal thoughts and your personal stories about him with us. you know, and our condolences to you as well as his friend. >> thank you so much. thank you. >> for those of you who are coming to the understanding of what's happening, this is a fox news alert. supreme court justice antonin scalia died at the age of 79. one of our top correspondents in the d.c. bureau james rosen was following the supreme court as well is now on the line with us to share some of his insights into the passing of justice scalia. we have heard from arthur idala who has been a very personal friend to the justice, laura ingraham as well. and while many people may have criticized him for some of the things that took place on the court that he was, in terms of his decisions, what we are

finding out that hands-down he was a man's man and a kind of man who believed in family as being the core value of america. and certainly people would be hard pressed to disagree with that. james? >> well, kelly, of course our condolences are with the scalia family at this time. i wouldn't pretend to be an expert in justice scalia. but the concrete impacts on the way we live as americans are how we cover the supreme court. i was privileged to observe justice scalia up close in different settings. one of which was the supreme court during oral arguments that i covered from time to time as a reporter. the other of which was the a.v. restaurant on new york avenue now closed. but for 40-odd years the justices favorite place was where we dined for lunch just the two of us on a couple

occasions. after which on one occasion justice scalia gave me a ride back to fox news with me as the passenger in his car and me behind the wheel. and not utterly immune to road rage, i would say. we also enjoyed a live liqul iv correspondence for a time. he was a genius legal mind. scalia had a devilish sense of humor. all of these traits standing quite apart from his judicial philosophy, which championed texturalism. the idea that text or law should be considered by judges when interpreting foreign case law and so on. and these traits also stood apart from the political outlook that scalia could be discerned as harboring. i remember one of the cases, not one where i attended, but the

issue at hand had to deal with disabled golfers and how far that should be taken in competitive situations. and justice scalia posted the question of little leaguers meeting certain standards would be granted a fourth strike at the plate. that was just the kind of needling wit he brought to the affairs. scalia is also reputed to have authored the shortest and most direct sentence in supreme court case law. quote, context matters. and that was also very much like him. the lunches that i had with him, kelly, were wide ranging affairs during which in the comfort of the protection of our lunches being off the record, he sounded off to me on a number of events and personalities both immediate and historical interest ranging from richard nixon to george w. bush to anita hill and clarence thomas. i'm sure when the moment is more appropriate i'll share some of

that with the world. because it was fascinating stuff and often very surprising. >> you know, i'm looking at some of his quotes, james, and because of the fact that you've had lunch with him and you may have been able to hear and glean from his sense of purpose, sense of humor as well. but one quote here is, i don't assess the nation's mood. i assess my own and i'm feeling good. those are remarks he made at the columbus citizens foundation dinner in october 8, 2005. he said he was especially proud of his legal reasoning in this opinion. frequently an issue of this sort will come before the court clad, so to speak, in sheep's clothing. they want to say the potential of the assertive principle to affect important change in the equ equ equalibrium of power. this comes as a wolf.

that was going back to 1988. there's so many quotes from this man who was a brilliant legal mind. >> and the longest serving justice on the court. we do have a statement coming in now from chief justice roberts. at least part of it. he's saying, on behalf of the court and retired justices, i'm saddened to report that our colleague, justice antonin scalia has passed away. and then he goes on to say that justice scalia was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues. just the beginning of the several statements and comments that we'll continue to see come in this evening. >> james, when you look at washington and the fact that washington in and of itself can be a different place, totally foreign to many americans who live out in other parts or smaller cities or cities that are just trying to make their

own mark in sustaining their american values and american lifestyle, in washington it gets to -- when it comes down to the supreme court, looking forward as we talk to shannon brean, president obama has to come up with a nominee. and he will likely face some blow-back or criticism from the right that will probably try to make sure that the president picks someone that they believe will be conservative. the president has his own opinions and how he wants to proceed. what kind of fight are we possibly looking at to replace this supreme court justice? >> well, we shouldn't really expect that president obama will have much of his ear directed at what the right will want in this process. >> exactly. >> i think that for the president, this is an unexpected and rather potent opportunity for him to add to his presidential legacy in the final

year of his administration. supreme court nominations, in general, are to official washington what a new home is to a couple, in a sense. you only get to decorate it a few times, right? so a lot of resources are invested in it. it only comes around once or twice typically in ten years or so. so we can expect this will be a pitched battle for the president, of course. he's going to approach it with majority control of the house and the senate. but we will see a real spectacle going forward, but i imagine president obama will try to use this opportunity to extend and to implement those aspects of his policies, perhaps that he has not been able to do for accomplishing a bigger legislative vehicle. >> you look back at the state of

the union address as some of the opinions expressed when some members of the supreme court did not show up when the president was giving the state of the union address. i'm sorry, i'm at a loss for the year that took place, but it was -- it was something that really shocked a lot of people in washington as well. and washington is sometimes above being shocked by any situation. >> i think washington is below being shocked, kelly, but look, there's no question that the supreme court from time to time is seen to be political. certainly it's a political process as in direct elections or the electoral college that produced presidents who nominate supreme court justices. but nonetheless, for many, many years the supreme court occupied a place where it was hallowed and considered the marble temple. in more recent decades, particularly with the publication of certain books, including memoirs by certain

clerks to the supreme court justices. we have a more implement look at how the supreme court looks. personalities come into play and so does politics. justice scalias critics would say of him that while he championed texturalism, the idea that text of the law should matter, he himself seemed to use that theory to arrive at decisions that invariably favored one political philosophy, which was conservative. but nevertheless, i can just say from my personal experience with the man, which is what i think we should be remembering at this time, was a man. he was a very down to earth guy. and at one point in our lunches, justice scalia insisted i eat vegetables off his plate. of course, i demurred and he insisted. and there was no resisting his force of nature at that point and i did so. on other occasion, when he finished ordering his meal, delivering that to the waiter

and i was in mid sentence of ordering mine, justice scalia interrupted and instructed the waiter to bring me a certain dish, which i won't name here, but which was one i have never had, choosely for the reason that i find it repulsi. and again, there was no denying the man and i had to endure eating this dish while keeping up my end of the conversation. and i later informed justice scalia i considered that act on his part in that instance that he had been guilty of judicial activism. >> james, well said. as only james rosen can do. i would like you to stand by with us. there's a campaign going on right now for the president of the united states. and there's a thing called the south carolina primary. and our john roberts is there in south carolina as republican candidates prepare for a debate tonight. and also as they vie for winning that south carolina primary. but john, obviously a lot of candidates are responding to or reacting to the news of justice

antonin scalia passing at the age of 79. what are some of the candidates saying in response? >> reporter: hey, kelly, good afternoon and good evening to you. this is a huge development and reflected in tonight's game. i'm sure this will be an enormous topic of discussion. ted cruz already kind of delaying or laying down the gauntlet here to congress saying that it should be the next president who chooses the replacement to antonin scalia. suggesting as everyone knows, if barack obama would replace antonin scalia, it would tilt the justices the other way, 5-4. in a quick tweet, a tweet was sent out saying today the nation mourns one of the greatest justices. justice scalia will go down as one of the justices who single-handedly changed the legal course of history. john kasich weighed in here as

well. quote, i'm deeply saddened by the passing of justice scalia and send my prayers out to his family in a difficult time. his death is a serious loss to our nation in the court. he was a force for conservative thought and is a model for others to follow. his indication to the constitution and love and service to our country will be deeply missed. and donald trump, i just got this from the donald trump campaign, quote, i would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the scalia family after the passing of justice scalia. he was a remarkable person, brilliant supreme court justice. one of the best of all time. his career was defined by his reverence to the constitution and protecting the most cherished freedoms. he is a person who i hold in the highest regard and will greatly respect his intelligence and conviction to uphold the constitution of our country. my thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time. as you can imagine, kelly,

everything just coming in very quickly right now. still waiting for some reaction from marco rubio. i was told by his campaign we would have it momentarily. i talked to marco rubio, it was probably about three weeks ago, and i asked him who on the court reflects your view of the type of ideology and philosophy you would want your supreme court justices or your supreme court nominees, rather, to have should you become president? and he said, two people that i really admire are justice thomas and justice scalia. so we can expect from the rubio campaign really soon we'll hear a statement. but let me go back first of all to what ted cruz said in that brief tweet a little while ago. let me see if i can pull that up quickly. he says, this is in the tweet, which is different than the statement he put out. justice scalia was an american hero. we owe it to him and the nation in the senate to insure that the

next president names his replacement. that's a shot across the bow to the senate to say do not confirm anybody that president obama wants. this senate has the power to confirm or not confirm his nominee. but i think ted cruz is really sending a signal here to the senate to say, whatever president obama sends up, do not confirm that person. leave it until after november. now, he says the next president, if the next president was a hillary clinton, bernie sanders or hillary clinton, certainly there's not much to be done about that, but cruz is saying don't do anything now. wait until after the election to go down this road. so. >> john roberts, thank you for reporting from south carolina.

joining me now is arthel neville. we have some stunning news here. >> i'm not sure if john is back up. i do have a question for john as he noted that, of course, all the presidential candidates naturally are offering condolences the as they should. but john, highlight this political fight that will ensure immediately. i believe i have john back in my ear. i can tell by the audio. john, are you there? >> hey, arthell. we just got something in for president bush. he said, laura and i mourn the death of an important journalist in justice and a ya. he was a towering figure and an important judge on the nation's highest court. he brought intellect, good judgment and wit to the bench and will be missed by

colleagues. laura and i send our condolences to the entire scalia family. i'll keep monitoring my e-mail and twitter and all of that as things come over. but you were going to ask -- >> while you monitor that, of course the topic of who is next, who is the next justice after antonin scalia? you mentioned earlier that people like senator cruz are fighting for the next president, whoever he or she might be to nominate the next justice. how will this play out on the campaign trail. one of the things the americans are tired of is the gridlock. so this throws a situation in play that could perhaps have a gridlock in place for the next ten months. >> you know, really, one of the only candidates talking regularly about supreme court justices is ted cruz. you know, he's a constitutional lawyer and has argued before the supreme court on a number of different occasions. he was talking about it just

yesterday in bob jones university. i expect it tonight on the stage and the first question out of the block could be at 9:00, i expect to hear ted cruz weigh in at length on this. the way that he weighs in on legal matters certainly seems to be head and shoulders about everyone else in the republican field. but moui would expect all the candidates to take this on and really make a point that when you've got a justice who passes away, which will completely change the entire tenure of the court depending on who is nominated to replace that person, you're going to hear a lot of very strong opinions from the candidates on the stage tonight about what should happen and how this should proceed going forward. >> speaking of tenure, that brings to mind exactly the tone of tonight's debate as we have all been anticipating south carolina to be the rough and

tumble. now that this haze happened, the unfortunate passing of justice scalia, how do you think the candidates will play it in terms of getting their messages across and taking this turn of events and putting forth and projecting what they will do in terms of become becoming the replacement, if you will? >> we'll frame that from the perspective of marco rubio. marco rubio was detriment to new hampshire last week who has been talking in very strong terms about president obama and where this administration and this president is taking the country. so i expect that you'll hear him double down. and i don't have the -- he could

set up a warning saying president obama knows what he's doing trying to reform countries around the world. i expect you'll hear marco rubio very strong on this as i expect you will jeb bush. we heard from john kasich, nothing in terms of a policy statement would be the way to proceed going forward in replacing justice scalia. >> just stand by with us for a moment. we are going to chris landoff at the phone. i hope i pronounced your name right. we're hearing about the political ramifications of moving forward but what can you tell us about the man at this point? because certainly that is something people want to think about in terms of antonin scalia, the father of nine children. we are told 35 grandchildren.

what do you recall? >> justice scalia was truly a great american. this is a huge shock to me and i think to all of us who worked with justice scalia. he was a mentor to an entire generation of lawyers. and truly someone who changed the terms of a debate on the supreme court, who really made a major impact on american laws and lawyers. this is just a wonderful loss. >> are there any cases that standout to you at this point? >> well, for me, i wouldn't say there's a particular case as opposed to the way he changed legal thinking and legal

reasoning. and kind of brought it back to a more professional place. i think a very profound transformation had happened in the warren court years and kind of expected into the burglar years even thouch though there are particular provisions -- that's why he's so important of a figure in our law, it's not particular results, it's more the methodology he really cared about. >> chris, in his passing, how do you think he would want the world -- how do you think he would want the legal world to move forward on the justice

bench of the court. how would he like to decide his replacement and see the country move forward? would he like to see it mired in political intrigue or want to see a smooth transition on half of /* behalf of the country moving forward without the political fireworks likely to come? >> well, i don't know that i could speak to how he would have wanted just to play out after his death. it is just a huge shock and something we are not used to in washington. i don't think a sitting supreme court justice has died in office for a generation now. i think probably -- it gave everybody a chance to take a deep breath and they retired on their own schedule.

i think this is somebody that nobody knows how to deal with. and i don't know that justice scalia had any particular views on that situation. >> had he moved on with working as a legal clerk -- what do you apply to your own life in terms of his inspiration of punure of lawyers. how is he going to impact your life? he was someone that believed in doing what he thought was the right thing to do. with a man of integrity and character. i think that's recognized by really everyone. if they agree with him or not on

particular things, just someo someone -- he was such an inspiration. a lot of people don't know this, but when he wrote an opinion, at the end before it became public, he would personally have a cart come in with the law books with every page cited in the opinion. and he looked through the citation personally to make sure the exact citation to that precedent was accurate and on point. it's something that a lot of lawyers and practices can do. >> he was such a master of his craft and a real joy to all who had the equal opportunity for h

him. >> chris, thank you for sharing your insights on antonin scalia. i'm going to turn it over to eric and arthel. >> we are reporting on the unfortunate death of justice antonin scalia. he died at the age of 79. we have not confirmed this on fox news, but according to earlier reports justice scalia mentioned to friends he was not feeling well and died in his sleep. the cause of death is unknown at this point. >> he is an american legal giant. the leader of the conservative wing of the supreme court known to be pugnacious and blunt and funny. a leader in so many different issues on the court that face this nation dealing with affirmative action, abortion, for the death penalty, he deeply believed in the constitution and the founding document of our nation's founding