joining us is sean spicer, the chief strategist, communications director for the republican national committee. sean, thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you. >> we did some math today. so far more than half of the states, they have already voted in primaries and caucuses. among republicans, take a look at these numbers. donald trump has 2 million more votes than ted cruz. he's got 7,500,000 to cruz's 5,400,000 or so. rubio has his 3,390,000 but right now he's out of the race. kasich is down at 2,700,000 so you've got 2 million more votes for trump over cruz. why isn't the republican leadership, establishment embracing this leader? he's way ahead. >> because we have a process. that process is you have to get 1237 delegates to become the nominee. and when that happens, we will embrace that person. we've had 31 of 50 states -- 56 states and territories vote. just over 1400 of the delegates have been selected. but we have about a thousand to go. the process still has a ways to work itself out. when someone gets to that magic number, whether it's through the process or at the conven

he is running for president, a front runner and i saw your interview with sean spicer earlier today.ave a mess age to sean. look, it's republicans are spending millions of dollars to defeat donald trump. not democrats. democrats may go to those rallies, but honestly, and i think they want to see this and there are those that believe donald trump is running the kind of campaign they want to stand up against. but i believe republicans are spending millions to take out their front runner. >> a super pac put up that ad. >> the voters are showing enormous support for donald trump. he hit 49% in one poll and 53% among republicans and republicans like donald trump. the republican leadership sees him as a threat to their interest and platform. he's shaking up the party in a way that voters like. they are trying to take him down and will do whatever it takes, even if it means. >> overall he said a lot of stuff people said was outrageous and doesn't seem to have hurt him among republicans going to the polls. >> most republicans find it objectable. i count myself among those. republican leaders

david: sean spicer, using is earning his pay. thank you, sean.melissa: ted cruz thinks the pick pub divide is fueling the front-runner. >> as long as the field is fractured, that benefits donald. it allows him to state after state after state because there are multiple opponents dividing the vote. melissa: plus the one person who doesn't spar with donald trump. how his wife melania deals with the don. that's next. e*trade is all about seizing opportunity. and i'd like to... cut. so i'm gonna take this opportunity to direct. thank you, we'll call you. evening, film noir, smoke, atmosphere... bob... you're a young farmhand and e*trade is your cow. milk it. e*trade is all about seizing opportunity. melissa: the republican candidates gearing up for fight night in detroit. a few hours before the big debate. facebook is us about about what voters want to hear. fox news's shannon bream is live from detroit with the trending data. shannon? reporter: melissa, this is so much fun because unlike a formal poll or survey you're asked specific questions and pe

we're joined by the republican national committee communications director strategist sean spicer. sean, thanks very much for joining us here in lovely miami. >> it's the best-looking situation room you've had. >> it's a great looking situation room. let's talk about these polls, florida and ohio. if trump wins both of these home states of kasich and rubio, is it over for them? >> i think that's what they're going to have to decide. i know they have talked about the importance of winning their home states, but ultimately it's them that have to decide whether or not they move forward or not, whether they have the requisite backing to continue. they have personally talked about what's at stake for each. >> because it's winner take all. >> that's right. >> starting next tuesday. you don't split up the delegates. >> so 99 in florida, 66 in -- >> if he wins those delegates and wins illinois, missouri, north carolina, he's well on his way, right? >> again, the name of the game is 1237. whoever gets to 1237 with pledged delegates becomes the nominee. and that would definitely be a big boo

@spicer with a big up and a big @block. @kent state looks good at the @rob had no answer for this guy @spencer parker @bowling green beats them 80-79. @>>> free agencies for the @browns. @wednesday afternoon at 4:00. @that's when you can announce @deals hue jackson knows about @his old team the cincinnati @bangles and they have a lot of @free agents. @they are interested in getting @a deal done with jones this @could be one of the early ones. @another report says over on @defense adam jones has been @around the nfl a lot and had a @good year last year with @cincinnati. @he would be of interesting with @the browns too. @hose had trouble in his career, @especially early but has played @well at times with cincinnati. @>>> if they lose alex max there @is interest with stephen. @the browns could be interested @in him as an insurance policy. @remember he opted out of his @browns contract. @he's out there. @he wants 10 million a year. @that's a lot for a center. @jacksonville could be one and @interest. @kyle, the former offensive

the july fourth beating of a man on fountain square.raeshaun hand, steven montgomery, and darnell spicer all agreed to a plea deal today. today.they faced felonious assault and aggravated riot charges in the beating of christopher mcknight.as part of the deal- the men will spend 6 years in prison. tonight we have new information in the shooting at madison high school. school.the school says that later this week... there will be two forums for students and parents.the meetings are aimed at making sure kids are feeling okay about returning to the classroom.they are planned for wednesday and thursday nights.one week ago... police say austin hancock opened fire in the school's cafeteria.four people were hurt... and are all expected to recover. and when we come back... pro wrestler hulk hogan says he is the victim... as he takes on the website that posted his sex tape.new details from inside the courtroom, coming up next. and steve is tracking your nine first warning forecast. just how warm we could get -- when we come back. talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, scream. only o

well he'll need as much momentum as possible as the party considers chaos at the convention.sean spicer/rnc communications director "...there's 3 candidates now who believe they have a path to the nomination so from an rnc perspective we'll continue to prepare for all contingencies including an open convention." haines 014716 i'm not going to say there's no chance for governor kasich to walk away, stranger things have happened but it all hinges on a contested convention. and if you get to that second ballot, ok, who knows what's going to happen? it could be someone who hasn't been considered so far.kasich said tuesday he's running for a return to cleveland - and that nomination.with the governor's campaign -haines 015048 it's going to be a going to happen?i'm em, 9oys. this was a scene that caught many peoples' eyes...a blast of confetti as kasich ended his speech after winning ohio. many of you talking about it on social media... a reporter at the event says she learned why.quoting a campaign staffer -- a buzzfeed correspondent says kasich complained that the confetti was "weak" after

raeshaun hand -- steve montgomery -- darnell spicer... to six years in prison.11 people in all have been charged in that july fourth disturbance. a thief targeting a girl scout troop... steals hundreds of dollars from those girls during a fundraiser! fundraiser!this happened outside a walmart in a columbus suburb.they were selling cookies -- when someone walked up and stole a box of cash.police are hoping surveillance video will help catch the thief. tonight -- tri-state police officers are remembering a former co-worker... who lost cancer.family -- friends -- and officers poured into the "saint martin of tours church" today for the funeral of ingrid weber.she served with cincinnati police for 25 years... and retired just recently.coworkers say weber was outgoing and energetic -- and had a true passion for law enforcement. "she lit up a room any time she came in, great smile, so passionate about service, and loved the city of cincinnati. she was a mounted police officer, so she was downtown a lot, so many people got to know her through th

sean spicer. very good seeing you. >> it is other way, i count down. neil: i gotcha.it. sean spicer, thank you very much. >>> all right the supreme court is now in the middle of becoming a political weapon, or is it? are we in the media more obsessed with than you folks at home? after this. >> very good afternoon, live from the floor of new york stock exchange. lori rothman with business brief. a lot of investors traders down here quite frankly don't know what to expect ahead of all important fed decision on interest rates and fed chair janet yellen's press conference with the decision at top of the hour. look at markets ahead of all of that. dow is off 27. nasdaq down four 1/2. we had a bullish energy oil inventory data read this morning. look at that. 4% gain in oil prices. that is giving a boost to the energy sector but some winners on the dow, the component were doing better earlier today. we have winners with apple. breaking out of $100 a share. ibm is higher. defensive sectors are selling off, that is unusual made of the fed. health care utilities and consumers.

@spicer with a big up and a big @block. @kent state looks good at the @half. @rob had no answer for this guy @spencer parker @bowling green beats them 80-79. @>>> free agencies for the @browns. @wednesday afternoon at 4:00. @that's when you can announce @deals hue jackson knows about @his old team the cincinnati @bangles and they have a lot of @free agents. @they are interested in getting @a deal done with jones this @could be one of the early ones. @another report says over on @around the nfl a lot and had a @good year last year with @cincinnati. @he would be of interesting with @the browns too. @hose had trouble in his career, @especially early but has played @well at times with cincinnati. @>>> if they lose alex max there @is interest with stephen. @the browns could be interested @in him as an insurance policy. @remember he opted out of his @browns contract. @he's out there. @he wants 10 million a year. @that's a lot for a center. @jacksonville could be one and @the falcons are showing @interest. @kyle, the former offensive @coordinator who couched mac is @

i want to bring in sean spicer, the communications director for the republican national committee.y, so here we are. >> beautiful backdrop. >> this is a big one with a lot of people here tonight. >> that's right. >> you want it to be a kinder, gentler debate. >> that's right. at least pg. >> have you talked to the candidates? is this going to happen? >> a couple of things. the chairman has talked to most of the candidates and made them understand, which is something that's not lost on them, the more we can be a welcoming party, we've got amazing ratings. this is a huge opportunity for our party at a time when the democrats are seeing not as high turnout in their debates, in their turnout. a lot of democrats come over to the republican side. so we're seeing that energy and need to capitalize and show people we're a welcoming party and we've got the better solutions and tone down the rhetoric a little. >> so do you have people calling up. we talk about all this money coming in and there is a lot of money coming in, coalescing around trying to stop donald trump. are they trying to coo

i want to listen so some sound from sean spicer who spoke on cnn about the rnc and where they're at. >> our job is to wait until the voters decide, our republican voters decide who that nominee will be, embrace them, provide for them the resources and the outreach and the tools that we have been building on the last four years and ensure that they have the capabilities to win. >> if he's the nominee, donald trump, will the republican party rally around him? >> 100%. >> realistically, rick, can the rnc just let this play out? >> i think they have to and i think they will. look, donald trump has a -- probably a 50/50 clans of getting to the nomination with the requisite amount of delegates, i still believe that today. it's still wide open. if he doesn't have the requisite amount of delegates on the opening ballot then all -- most of the delegates would become unbound, in fact, pennsylvania most of their delegates are unbound from the first ballot, marco rubio's most of his delegates and the other camp's candidates their delegates will become unbound on the first ballot. there will be a

sean spicer, joining us of the rnc communications director. he's getting ready for that debate, as well. thanks very much. >> you bet, wolf. see you in miami. >> thank you. >>> the new jersey governor, chris christie, is taking questions right now during a news conference in trenton, new jersey. questions about donald trump. let's listen in. >> you don't sit on the sidelines, but you actually get involved in the game. now let me be really clear. i am not a full time surrogate for donald trump. i don't have a title or a position in the trump campaign. i am an endorser of trump. and after i made that decision with mary pat last thursday to endorse him, i went out on the road on friday and saturday with him. to announce and reinforce that endorsement. and then i went out on super tuesday with him to emphasize that endorsement. i got back to the state yesterday. i'm going to be in the state for the rest of the week and through the weekend. i have no current plans to go back out on the road with him again. but i will at some point, i'm sure, do so.

sean spicer with the rnc. more on that coming up throughout the day.s in the fight against isis you have next. ♪ the roles you play in life are part of what make you, you. and you're not going to let anything keep you sidelined. that's why you drink ensure with nutritious calories, 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. come on grandma! giving you the strength and energy to get back to doing... what you love. from the #1 doctr recommended bran. ensure. always stay you. >> . >> . >> what super poligrip does for me is it keeps the food out. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. just a few dabs is clinically proven to seal out more food particles. super poligrip is part of my life now. going to follow up with this information. us forces going after a chemical weapons site near mosul, iraq the northern part of the country. this information gleaned from the capture they made a month ago so we will follow that story as well. a big morning pick up >> lots of breaking nose. >> a lot happening

here is a bit of that exchange i had with shawn spicer. >> i assume he's speaking figuratively. i assume if we go to the convention, whoever gets 1237 delegates becomes the nominee. plain and simple. delegates are represent -- >> i'm sorry to interrupt but i don't think mr. trump was speaking figuratively. i don't think he was. i think he was serious. >> then you should ask him carol. well i appreciate you trying to guess what he was saying. >> so sean spicer did not like my, you know, my interruption but you can see the rnc is showing little concern things could actually get ugly but what is the reality. >> well behind closed doors republican officials were always concerned about the security of a convention. that is just the way things go every four years. but the direction of this campaign has obviously increased that probably tenfold. i think what the rnc and what sean is trying to do there is tamp things down a little bit. maybe bring rational thought to the direction things are happening and look at this logically. there is a lot of time to play out and a mathematical poss

round mack tournament at the mack center can state facing bowling green after a block this is click spicer and he scores for the golden flashes falcons david joseph to spencer parker spencer gets it to go in the golden flashes cashing in from the outside dion edwin but rashida while of the falcons were out of the falcons by way of cooker alabama he scores in bowling green registers the upset they knock out the sixth 70 - -dash 69 the final that is sports a good night and goodbye to peyton manning who struck a relevant court today and saying goodbye to the national football league after 18 years he played the game the right way he got everything out himself in the out of everyone else that he played with quite the career and yes indeed mr. manning we will see you in five years. >> very emotional press conference it was awesome it was really awesome. >> pushy at your time here fox news at 10:00 o'clock morning show crew ball will is and in at 4:00 a.m. good night

in the meantime, does the cruz surge make a contested convention more likely in we'll ask sean spicer who will join us live. >> plus a scathing report on rubio's melt down. hear who supporters are blaming for the troubles. and a mysterious incident involving a cruz supporter after a pastor led a prayer at a cruz rally, she was shot outside a church. a man hunt is underway. what's the motive? horsepower, and best in class v8 towing? chevy. i'm going with ram. definitely ford. the new 2016 chevy silverado offers best in class v8 fuel economy... holy smokes! horsepower, and towing. they're all chevy. it's truck month. get a total value of seventy five hundred dollars on this silverado all star with a 5.3 liter v8. plus, find your tag and get one thousand cash allowance on select silverado models in stock. find new roads at your local chevy dealer. then your eyes may see it, differently.ave allergies. only flonase is approved to relieve both your itchy, watery eyes and congestion. no other nasal allergy spray can say that. complete allergy relief or incomplete. let your eyes decide. flona

. >> reporter: sean spicer, thank you very much. anderson, back to you. >> he's got to be relieved tonight certainly with the way this debate went and what -- is this never trump movement, is it too soon to tell what the fate of it is and will it not be clear wednesday morning next week? >> the incoming from all stripes of republicans, people who support these different candidates, people who don't have a horse in this race, this was a sigh of relief that they were debating about issues. and attacks were about policy and not people. to the never trump movement, it means different things to different people. to republicans it means trying to stop trump from getting the nomination. there are some people who if trump wins the nomination we mean never. sean's boss, in the intro remarks says there is no doubt. the party chairman has to say that this deep in the process tells you there is a lot of tension. do we give money to the anti-trump effort, do we tackle people planning to endorse trump, do we get the lawyers involved? how deep do

communications director sean spicer in detroit with that. good to see you. >> reporter: thank you for having me on. it's a pleasure to be here in the historic fox theater in detroit. >> a beautiful place itch have a feeling it won't all be beautiful today. what do you think of this maybe preview coming attractions? >> it's cold and snowing outside but i think it's going to be hot inside here. in the debate hall. >> sean, one of the big comments that has come up since mitt romney came out to say what he said about donald trump, a., why he didn't say it- say, this is a concert party attack on us. is mlt7 >> if you mean party from -- riff speak suspect to the rnyc, no. clearly there's folks not in first place are and surrounding themselves and attacking the front runner in. in politics, if you not in first place the way to get to first place is to attack the person in first place. >> as one who is trying to keep the peace, i've been with you multiple debates, something always happens. could you have done without the romney comments? should they

. >> maybe sean spicer, maybe paul ryan, maybe mitch mcconnell. >> you must have been up late last nightere's no power brokers left. it just doesn't exist. and donald trump has redefined that party in a way they don't want to be redefined. think about the neocons. they were the ascendent foreign policy party for years. there's a meeting in washington to try to stop trump. >> what happens if he gets elected and there isn't a wall built and everybody didn't get terrific jobs and there isn't so much winning all over the place as people have promised. then what, matt? >> we have what happened when barack obama got elected. remember the hillary clinton commercial, the seas will heal themselves, the skies will clear. she was mocking this, the hope and change. that would lead -- if trump gets elected and doesn't fix things, we don't get tired of winning and feeds the pessimism and political apathy. really, it's a mess right now. i think that the problem for republicans is if donald trump is the nominee, republicans lose if he wins and they lose if he loses. >> so then what? it becomes american

>> well, i mean, i think that rants and sean spicer have great hearts. i think they came into this election with the intentions of broadening their base, having a marco rubio who was actually talking about some of these issues, a rand paul who was talking about some of these issues. tim scott, rand scott, cory booker working together. however, when you have ted cruz and donald trump, who monopolize the conversation and donald trump just tapped into this george wallace vein of the political discourse that we're having in this country now, you know, the playbook's thrown out the window. you know, i go back to the first debate they had, when scott walker literally spent 47 seconds talking about civil rights and issues that were related to black lives matter. and just recently, in detroit, michigan, marco rubio gave the wrong answer to the flint water crisis. and we all know flint wouldn't happen in orange county, flint wouldn't happen in a majority white neighborhood, yet the majority party didn't want to answer those questions. i think they've kind of thro

sean spicer, the communications director and chief strategist for the rnc, he said very clearly thishorseshoes. you get the nomination and to get the nomination you need numbers, you need 216 and anything short of that means you're not going to -- nothing -- a bill is not going to be -- to become law. are you going to follow those rules? >> well, the phrase this is how the system works is hardly a bumper sticker that we should be embracing as a country. this is how the system works is why we don't have manufacturing jobs any more. this is how the system works is why we don't have a border any more. this is how the system works is why we are trapped in terrible middle eastern disputes that have been draining this country of blood and treasure. but the reality is -- if you want to talk about how the system works, in a normal election cycle, marco rubio would have dropped out before florida and john kasich would have dropped out before ohio and ted cruz would have dropped out after getting shellacked again in another super tuesday. unprecedented that you have an effort from special inte

convention this morning implicitly threatening violence to make sure he gets his way, rnc spokesman sean spicerually came to his defense. >> i think you'd have riots. i think you'd have riots. i'm representing a tremendous, many, many millions of people. >> i assume he's speaking figuratively. if we go into convention, whoever gets 1,237 delegates become the nominee. >> a trump surrogate if they -- today after trump dropped out of next monday's republican debate, the rnc and fox news decided to, well, cancel it altogether sending a clear signal to the current front-runner, yes, mr. trump, right away mr. trump. i spoke earlier to elizabeth warren, a democrat from massachusetts, and i started by asking what she makes of the response to president obama's supreme court nomination. >> one of the most solemn undertakings that we have in government is filling a vacancy on the united states supreme court. the president has just completed his constitutional duty. article 2 section 2. he has nominated someone to fill that vacancy. and now what we want is for the republicans to join us in doing the job th

sean spicer of the rnc is with me here.going to happen in florida and what's going to happen there and beyond. interestingly enough in a new cnn poll out this morning, trump is leading florida and ohio on tuesday. one question in there i want to ask you about. voters were asked, if the candidate in the state doesn't win, should they get out? 71% said if kasich doesn't win ohio he should get out. 66% said if rubio doesn't win florida he should get out. what do you think republicans are saying here? >> look, we're at a phase where each of the candidates has to assess their viability, their resources and support. as they go in to these key phases that's important to determine whether or not or whether they can continue. far be it from me or anyone in washington to tell them what they need to do. it will be up to them to determine if they have a level of support that allows them to continue. if they want to stay in the race and have support they should do it. if they want to suspend their campaign they should do that. it is up

andrea: but rnc spokesman sean spicer trying to tamp down trump's rhetoric, insisting that's not whatmeant. >> i assume he's speaking figuratively. i think if we go into a convention, whoever gets 1237 delegates becomes the nominee, it's plain and simple. andrea: and one of trump's most outspoken sporters, scotty nell hughes, defending his remarks. >> riots aren't necessarily a bad thing if it means because it's fighting the fact that our establishment republican party has gone corrupt and decided to ignore the voice of the people. andrea: hughes would add later that by "riots," she means trump's supporters making their voices heard and not actual violence. okay, anthony, what do you make of donald trump saying if he's denied the nomination, this is likely to be violent acts? >> one of the things we've learned about him, he doesn't have a great filter for this sort of thing, so using the word "riot" was probably the wrong thing to say. i don't think he means he wants violence in the streets, but he's saying he's won the process, he's done all the work, andrea, he's gone to all the ele

maybe sean spicer. maybe it's paul ryan.nell. >> you know, you must have been up late last night. there's no power brokers left. it just doesn't exist. and donald trump has redefined that party in a way they don't want to be redefined. think about the neocons. they were the big ascendant foreign policy crowd for years, and he's exactly the opposite of them. and they're going crazy. they're trying to lead the way -- by the way, tomorrow there's a meeting of conservatives in washington to try to stop trump. good luck. >> what happens if he gets elected and there's no -- there isn't a wall built and everybody doesn't get terrific jobs and there isn't as much winning, so much winning all over the place as he had promised? then what, matt? >> well, then we have what happened when barack obama got elected. remember the hillary clinton campaign commercial, you know, the seas will heal themselves, the skies will -- you know, she was mocking this. i mean, the hope and change. that would lead -- if trump gets elected and doesn't fix t

spoke to shawn spicer. >> how did he feel about that. >> he said when you have a debate, you have audienceill cheer for candidates. three were escorted out of the debate thursday by police because it was too rowdy. i spoke with others, including david gregory, he thought it was interrupting the debate to have the audience so loud. >> i was focusing on the moderators, people were making faces, trying to get on television, even during questioning people were screaming at the top of their lungs. it was very distracting. >> there are good reasons to have audiences, some donors come, local elected officials, networks invite people, good to have an audience, instant focus group, candidates can feel comfortable knowing they're speaking to representatives in the crowd. in this case seems to get worse. i wonder if it is a metaphor for the electorate, a frothy nature out there, people have anxiety, for trump, against trump, whether you don't care about trump. i wonder if that's coming through with this wwe style audience. >> there are definitely a lot of sub texts to that very discussion, a lot of p

sean spicer, great to have new studio. >> thank you. >> do you see this headed for a brokered conventionow this is all adding up? >> we have 906 of 4,672. >> don't try to wow with with your math. >> i went to a liberal arts college. no math involved. we start getting the key winner take all in ohio. and eight other states will be winner take all between now and the end. there is an opportunity for folks to break away. if you won every single delegate going forward today, no candidate could reach the 1,237 to be the nominee until april 26th. that's impossible. we guarantee won't have a nominee until may. >> wow. that is an interesting perspective in terms of how it is all going to shake out. ted cruz won two states. marco rubio won puerto rico. john kasich was never planning to win any of these states. he has his eyes on michigan and ohio. in terms of your math and your wizardry at it, cruz and trump are now in the 300s. what surprised you about what happened this weekend? >> people are focusing on choices. it is not the 17 we started off with. so you are seeing is a bit of that tightenin

spicer out there. >> but the other thing was, i think it's also important as i pointed out earlier thato election law, you have to get to 1,234. it's not up to somebody else to say you're close -- >> 1,237? >> 1,237. you have to get to that threshold. >> if going in though, nobody has that number, but let's say donald trump is way ahead. then what happens? then you have this contested election process. and you don't know what's going to happen in the second ballot. that's really -- we're getting into areas we haven't seen in generations and that is the big concern because let's say donald trump has got 45% and then ted cruz has got 35%. then what happens on the second ballot? >> you're right. but these are the rules. it's not -- if they make the rules up on the fly, if they collude to stop one man -- >> which is the fear. >> we'll learn a lot next week. we've got ohio and florida coming up. >> winner take all. >> i thought it was very civil and donald trump even said in the middle of the debate, so far i can't believe how civil it has been up here and the whole audience laughed. >> dona

talked with the communications director from the republican national committee this morning, shawn spicerlity of a contested convention. with that said, what do you think is happening behind the scenes with the rnc today? >> i don't think the rnc is in a position to do much brokering or negotiating. but i'll tell you what people haven't focused on, this is going to clearly go through the final primaries on june 7th. while the republican convention isn't up until july 18th, there are 40 precious days available for negotiation between the candidates, the staff and others in the republican party. that's when the decision may be made. >> all right. larry sabato, thank you for your wise insight as usual. appreciate it. thank you for joining me today. i'm carol costello. our special coverage with wolf blitzer and jake tapper starts now. >>> hello, i'm jake tapper. this is cnn's special live coverage of an historic moment for the nation's highest court. >> and i'm wolf blitzer. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. moments from now, president obama will a