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david gergen prepared candidates with others like with you.a nice guy, self-dep p self-deprecating but it's done with a smile, going to help make america great again. trump is underrated just as a political player. you know, he's good at it. >> what do you say? >> i agree with you. he's right. he's been a gift to a lot of these candidates. he brought an extra 20 million people to cnn. >> afterwards he made that point to me loud and clear. >> for example, marco rubio, you had additional 20 million people watch you in action. that really helps your campaign. rubio is coming up on the outside lane right now. he's going a magnetism about him. he's terribly interesting. he's very shrewd. he is -- he has got a sense about television, about communication that goes way beyond most people in politics. >> let me put the question to you, jack. are you surprised to hear david gergen and bill crystal being this positive about donald trump? you've been fighting donald trump in debates like this for month and you have been the odd guy out. >> you know, i had

. >> joining me now, cnn senior political analyst and former presidential adviser david gergen of david, should a candidate at this stage know the difference between hezbollah and hamas? >> i think you should know basically a lot about the middle east and the dynamics of the middle east, hezbollah being in lebanon an hamas being in gaza, for example. you do need to know that, but i must say traditionally, anderson, when reporters have asked candidates, you know, who is the head of this african government or that african government, what's the difference between tajikistan and pakistan, you know, those are regarded as gotcha questions. that's an old trick and those are gotcha questions. i think far more relevant at this point for a man who is leading the pack in the republican party works has never spent a day in public office is to come forward with thoughtful views and well thought out views on national security and where he would go, what is his strategy post the iran agreement? what strategy would he propose for the middle east and secondly, anderson, we need to know who is coming wi

. >> joining us 1 david gergen who has decades of experience with okccupants of the oval office. >> does it surprise you that donald trump who call himself a straight talker doesn't stand up to somebody in his audience who says the problem in america is muslims in america? >> look. the first guy who asked a question, seemed a little crazy and donald laughed it off and quickly moved to the next question. the idea that donald trump -- the beauty of america is people can say whatever they want. it may be crazy, we may not agree with it, but the idea that donald has to be up there and correct every person on every issue just isn't realistic. that's not realistic. >> amanda, is that not realistic? >> here's the thing. there's no way that donald trump can tell a questioner he's wrong because those are the exact types of thoughts that he's been cultivating over the past four or five years. some are embarrassed that donald trump was preaching to this audience. we didn't feel that was the focus. he was repeatedly questioning president obama's birthplace. i can't imagine that we could go into the

money. [ applause ] >> joining me now is senior political analyst and former presidential advisers david gergen and "washington post" reporter robert costa and cnn political reporter dana bash. dana, you were at press's press conference, news conference. how real is this pledge? >> well, it's as real -- >> there's wiggle room. >> there's wiggle room because it's not legally binding. it's as real as his candidacy for the republican nomination is right now. he said he is absolutely no plans to tear it up, but, you know, he also, if you asked him a few years ago if he had plans to run for president as a republican, no way, i'm pro-choice and i'm for universal health care so even those who are really close to trump, especially those who are close to trump, will say that you expect the unexpected with him. >> robert, i mean, seems like on one hand it's only fair to take donald trump at his word, as you should any candidate, on the other hand, this is politics and not only a lot of wiggle room with the whole concept of being treated fairly by the gop, to use his word and a time in which a lot can cha

. >> our panel tonight, joining me, david gergen and gloria borger. >> david, do you take this apology from former secretary clinton at face value the same day on a strategic makeover for her campaign was reported? >> anderson. i think she deserves credit for taking personal responsibility for the e-mails and stepping up to it finally. it took a long type. for apologies to be effective, they need to be timely and need to come from the heart. this apology wasn't, didn't meet either one of the criteria. it took a long, long time. a begrudging quality. the second point you mentioned. i just can't believe that her team did what they did to her and put out in the newspapers, you know they're coming out, going to unveil the new hillary. that doesn't work. here is the new authenticity. >> nothing worse than that. fights against. david axlerod, just do it. don't talk about being awe then theic. -- authentic. >> political malpractice in my opinion to do that to her. >> political malpractice. same day she apologized for using the server to abc news. and on ellen said she was server not for using

. >> reporter: david gergen agreed with trump's gotcha complaint. >> many foreign policy experts don't know all the names. i don't think that's the standard. i think that's a gotcha. trying to reveal gaps in his knowledge. >> reporter: trump called msnbc to trash hewitt this morning. >> this third rate radio announcer they can a show, a gotcha, gotcha, gotcha, every question was do i know this one and that one? he worked hard on that. >> that's my trump tattoo and i'm always interested in critiques, take them under advisement. i don't think it's a gotcha question to ask about the forces surrounding israel. >> reporter: hewitt's hardly third rate, gop candidates flock to his radio show and he'll be posing more questions as part of the next debate in 12 days. something arranged long before trump's interview. lou? lou: can you bet trump knew that before he went on hugh hewitt's show as well. >>> a third senate democrat bucking the president on iran. coming out against his nuclear deal with iran. but senator ben carden's no vote won't affect the outcome of the deal whatever. since presiden

we have david gergen on the phone.y fiorina for a second, david, because she seemed very prepared. she was prepared for questions on the culture war and also foreign policy. let's listen. >> okay. we don't have that sound. it hurts me we don't. she sounded very prepared on foreign policy. whether you agree with it or not, your opinion, david? >> carol, she was -- she came with crisp, prepared answers. she's a pro. she was principled, she was tough. there was a lot of margaret thatcher in her. which i think all worked. but that putdown of donald trump, he knew he was in trouble. he should have apologized. that would have been the manly thing to do. but instead she walked away with that point. and then on two, three occasions thereafter, i thought especially when she talked about -- about the price she paid in her own family, losing a child to drug addiction, that was moving. overall, she was -- you know, she -- just as she was in the first debate, she was -- this time she graduated to the ground table and she won again.

. >> david gergen? >> i would just like a straight answer for once -- >> i'm sure others have noted this, but if hugh hewett is a third-rate radio show host, why did he go on his show? >> good question. >> ethan, you said trump shouldn't attack every time he is asked a hard question? why not, it kind of is working for. >> this is kind of like the situation where you want the current to be able to talk to people, the current president, he doesn't like to talk to people who don't agree with him. shouldn't the commander in chief be asked tough questions? >> no. >> or about the ayatollah khomeini, he could be asked tough questions -- >> i thought when hewett said quds, not kurds, trump should have just said, they could? >> i don't think knowing every fact makes you a good president, we have two terms of a smart guy making bad decision. but reagan had a philosophy, i do think it was a lot more than just saying the soviet union was bad. he had an actual positive philosophy. what is trump's philosophy? >> i gu

let's dig deeper now, cnn's david gergen, gloria borger. >> donald trump talks about taking the oil from iraq, bringing in oil companies, soldiers, surround the oil fields take the oil and bomb the hell out of isis. every military official i have talked to or former military official said this doesn't make any sense. this is completely. l yet you look at the polls. and gop voters in iowa, when asked who can handle terrorism better they say donald trump. >> because he is entertaining. you listen to donald trump. he is really a bully. that's what he is. a bully who says things he thinks sound great as if he were standing on a street corner with his crew. people who don't examine what he is saying they think that sound great too if he stood up. and said the answer for isis. let's just turn the parts of syria to glass. bomb them flat. would that be good policy. a lot of people would say, hell yeah, that is a real good idea. because people want the problems, the many problems in the world to be solved. he is saying, i can solve them. look at me. i'm rich. i can do it. it is essentially a real

. >> reporter: david gergen, a former adviser to four presidents agreed with trump's gotcha complaintlicy experts don't know all those names. i don't think that's the standard. i do think that's a gotcha. trying to reveal gaps in his knowledge. >> reporter: trump called msnbc to trash hewitt this morning. >> this third rate radio announc announcer that i did the show gotcha gotcha. do i know this one and that one. he worked hard on that. >> third rate announcer. that's my trump tat too. you earn that in this business. i'm always interested in critiques. i take them under advisement. i don't think it's a gotcha question to ask about the forces surrounding israel. >> reporter: hewitt is hardly a third rate reporter. gop candidates flocked to his radio show and he'll be posing more questions as part of the next debate in just 12 days, something that was arranged long before trump's interview just yesterday. >> we are counting down. >> it's getting feistier every morning. >> carl, thank you. >>> still ahead, why are nonpoliticians getting so much support in the presidential race? we're go

. >> reporter: david gergen, a former adviser to four presidents agreed with trump's gotcha complaint. >> many foreign policy experts don't know all those names. i don't think that's the standard. i do think that's a gotcha. trying to reveal gaps in his knowledge. >> reporter: trump called msnbc to trash hewitt this morning. >> this third rate radio announc announcer that i did the show gotcha gotcha. do i know this one and that one. he worked hard on that. >> third rate announcer. that's my trump tat too. you earn that in this business. i'm always interested in critiques. i take them under advisement. i don't think it's a gotcha question to ask about the forces surrounding israel. >> reporter: hewitt is hardly a third rate reporter. gop candidates flocked to his radio show and he'll be posing more questions as part of the next debate in just 12 days, something that was arranged long before trump's interview just yesterday. >> we are counting down. >> it's getting feistier every morning. >> carl, thank you. >>> still ahead, why are nonpoliticians getting so much support in the preside