ukraine. but this is a key moment, wolf. >> it certainly is, nick paton walsh with the breaking news. we will stay all over it. nick paton walsh and clarissa ward, excellent reporting. thanks for watching. the news continues next on cnn. hi there, everyone, i'm brooke baldwin. thank you for being with me on this monday. i want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world as we're going to continue on this significant breaking news here we're learning. russian president vladimir putin has ordered some troops to withdraw from syria. this is specifically coming from russian state media. let me begin our coverage this hour with our pentagon correspondent barbara starr and also nick paton walsh on the phone with me from beirut, our senior international correspondent there. barbara, to you first here, i have a note that putin said they have achieved their goals in syria.

what does that mean? >> well, what it means is that certainly bashar al assad is in a stronger position as president of that country than he was months ago which is what caused the russians to a large extent to move in. now, how many russian troops will they really leave? what does all of it mean? from the white house to the state department to the pentagon, in the last several minutes, they are looking at this report out of moscow and, so far, u.s. officials, to be blunt, have no reaction because they don't really know what putin is talking about. look, in the last several days, putin's air force has begun air strikes against isis targets in syria, which is what the u.s. wanted. if he has shored up assad enough that he can turn to isis targets, does this mean that putin is really done with what he wants to do in syria? unlikely at this point. because you have to consider a couple of military facts on the

ground in syria that the pentagon and the obama administration is facing. the russians can still exert massive military influence no matter what troops, no matter what airplanes and ground forces they have there. they work through the regime. the assad regime as a surrogate for their agenda. they work through the iranians as a surrogate for their agenda in syria. and perhaps most important is a port in syria called lachtia, the port that the u.s. believes the russians will continue to hold on to no matter what. that is a syrian port on the mediterranean where they began basing a lot of their operations out of. the russians have always wanted that warm water port in the mediterranean. i will tell you, across the board, don't think there's a single u.s. official that believes the russians are going to give up that port, access to that port, ever. so you are seeing a statement,

again, by vladimir putin's government out of moscow, but what it means militarily on the ground and perhaps most importantly what it means for the people in syria who have suffered so much. i think it remains a very open question. the russians as we have seen in ukraine, in crimea, the russians are savvy at exerting their military influence even when they're not really there, brooke. >> barbara starr, thank you. obviously as soon as we do start to get reaction from officials here in the united states, we'll get that to you. if you're just joining me, we're learning from russian president vladimir putin ordering russian forces to begin withdrawing from syria. someone who has just been there is clarissa ward, just now joining me, so nice to see you. talk about the timing of all this. she's sayinging what does this mean militarily on the ground in syria, but also what about the syrians? your response to this? >> i'm gob smacked, to be honest.

especially that the russian president is marketing this as the task has been completed, because the stated goal has always been, of the russians, that they're trying to defeat the terrorists and essentially bolster president bashar al assad. >> the terrorists have not been defeated. >> isis still has large swaths of territory. they've not been the hardest hit by the russian bombardment. it's mainly been various islamist groups and a lot of civilian infrastructure that has born the lion's share of the russian bombardment. an important point, which is this is a question of semantics. what exactly does president putin mean when he says pulling back ground forces, some troops? does this mean an end to the aerial bombardment? because that is what is having the most impact, the most suffering on the ground, as opposed to the actual presence of these ground troops. certainly russians always like

the element of surprise and they've definitely got that going for them here. i think everybody is sort of running around right now, trying to find out exactly what this news means and exactly what prompted it. you know, you heard earlier this war has been costing russian a lot of money. millions and millions of dollars. thousands of sorties every single month. so it's perhaps not entirely surprising they want to curtail their role in some sense, but i think the dev will really be in the details here. we'll have to keep a close eye and wait to hear from the kremlin as to what exactly this means. >> as we do that, we will talk to you later about the reporting from rebel-controlled syria, which was pretty phenomena we were able to gain access and tell the stories of these people and the fear they face each and every day. thank you, don't go too far. to politics here in the united states. a pivotal day in the republican race for president happening now. a full-court press on the campaign trail.

donald trump and marco rubio holding events on opposite sides of the coast. ted cruz making his second of four stops today in illinois. and john kasich, keeping his eye on the prize. his home state of ohio, expected to take the stage there any minute. with former presidential nominee mitt romney. that is today. and in little more than 24 hours from now, the political landscape of this race could look dramatically different. first up here for trump's opponents, tomorrow offers the last best shot to knock the republican front-runner off his trajectory, toward the nomination. on the flip side, if trump wins florida and ohio, his delegate lead, count of those all-important delegates, will be virtually insurmountable, putting him within grabbing distance of the republican nomination for president. the magic number, 1,237. in florida and ohio tomorrow, it is not about getting as many votes as possible, it is about

the most votes period, these are winner take all states. so just one vote, more than any other republican means the winner gets all 99 delegates in florida and all 66 delegates in ohio. that's key to remember. that is also how high the bar is for florida senator marco rubio and ohio governor john kasich. both men say they need to win their home states to keep their campaigns alive. let's begin our coverage here with phil mattingly who is live in ohio right now as we're watching and waiting to see mitt romney appearing with governor kasich. but again, as we saw with the university of utah address, again, this is not a romney endorsement, correct? >> that's right, not an endorsement, just another piece of romney, who is going to full-court press to stop anybody who might stop trump. kasich for much of the last months has avoided going into the fight with donald trump as much as he possibly can.

that started to shift. take a listen to what he had to say this morning. >> this country is not about tearing one another down or having fights on the campaign rally. that's not what america is. >> so brooke, john kasich referring multiple times in the last 24 hours to the poison nuz atmosphere that trump has brought to the trail. there's been some criticism about what mitt romney did, whether or not it actually ended up having the effect of helping donald trump. here in ohio, team kasich has a different plan for him. they're not looking at him to bolster john kasich on the top line level. he's been very specifically deployed today, heading to stark county and franklin and delaware counties today, two areas where mitt romney did well in 2012, where john kasich has to do very well on tuesday. >> phil mattingly, thank you. we want to hear from these candidates who are crisscrossing some of these states. let's go to marco rubio speaking live in florida. >> there is no reason why the

21st century can't be the greatest era in our history. that is what we have the chance to do together in this generation at this time in our history. but we have to do it now. we have to do it now in 2016. the price of failure is too high. if we lose this election, that means hillary clinton will be president and that will be a disaster for america. i don't want him to feel lonely -- bernie sanders. bernie sanders sign. don't worry, you're not going to get beat up at my rally. that would be a disaster for america. we cannot afford another four years like the last eight years. that is why we must win in november.

but to win in november, we must first win now. if we allow the republican party and the conservative movement to be defined as anger and frustration, we will not win. for while we do have a right to be angry at our political class and frustrate ted direction of our country, we cannot allow ourselves to be defined by that anger and by that frustration. we must use it to motivate us but do not use it to define us. we know we can do anything. this is a nation that put a man on the moon. this is a nation that invented the internet. not al gore, the american people. this is the country that has cured diseases and liberated nations. and that for over two centuries, the nation where each generation has left the next better off. americans are a blessed people. for over two centuries, this has

been the land in which parents have fulfilled dreams and left their children better off than themselves. we must remember who we are in this election cycle. this is the time for us to remember the journey that has brought us to this point as a nation and as a people. to embrace our heritage has an optimistic people. who understand and believe that our tomorrows are always better than our yesterdays. while we face great challenges, we are reminded each generation before us as well, this has never been a time in american history where we never had it easy. there's never been a generation in our history that did not face great challenges. because they did, you and i inherited the single greatest nation in the history of mankind. >> marco rubio, firing up the crowd there in melbourne, florida. note, though, he said don't worry, you won't get beat up in my rally, referring to some of

the clashes we've seen recently. we'll talk about those clashes and some of the anger being experienced at other rallies here. meantime, we have eyes all over this country here. cruz all over the country following ahead of super tues y tuesday, the third super tuesday. live pictures, canton, ohio, the home state for governor kasich. we're waiting to hear mitt romney speak beside him. quick break, back in a flash. oh, look... ...another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair works... ...in one week. with the... fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and... ...even deep wrinkles. "one week? that definitely works!" rapid wrinkle repair. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair. neutrogena®. "see what's possible."

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we're back, you're watching cnn, i'm brooke baldwin. on the eve of super tuesday number three. the most consequential day of this race up until this point. what if john kasich wins his home state of ohio? today ted cruz said all those votes would be wasted. but kasich countered saying at this stage of the race, anything is possible. >> look, with john kasich, it's real simple, it's impossible for him to become the nominee. he cannot beat trump. a vote for kasich or a vote for rubio is a vote that's thrown away.

john kasich would take greater than 100% of the delegates to go on and have a path to winning. math actually matters. and we've had over 20 states vote. governor kasich has won zero. >> i'm not running to block anybody, but the math is real. and if somebody can't get the total number of delegates, and look, we have 1,000 delegates yet to go. you will see me pick up speed and have momentum. i may go to the convention with more delegates than any of them but probably not enough to win, so we'll see what happens. >> so let's begin with some simple math with my two friends here, a.b. stoddard, associate editor at the hill, and cnn political director david chalian. chalian, to you first, you heard what cruz was saying kasich saying, with regard to those delegates. who's right? >> they don't disagree, they're both right in what they're saying. it is true that john kasich would need more than 100% of the delegates remaining in order to become the nominee outright before the convention, getting to that magic number of 1,237,

50% plus one, a true majority, but as kasich stated if kasich wins ohio, it is quite possible this thing goes on potentially as a three-man race if rubio ends up getting out, if he does indeed lose florida. and nobody gets to 1,237 before the convention and it goes to a contested convention. what cruz and kasich are saying are actually not at odds with each other, they're just try to push their best spin forward to win votes tomorrow. >> a.b., let's go down a couple different narratives. what happens if john kasich were to win his home state of ohio tomorrow? then what? >> well, i think he's going to say it's resetting the race. you might actually see some more endorsements and kind of a coalescing behind him, if marco rubio loses florida, i think you're going to see a lot of people like mitt romney and others say good-bye. and back kasich. i'm not saying they will

outright but this trump bandwagon is going to have to get behind somebody. cruz is willing -- he doesn't want to join a ban wagon. he wants to win on his own. he says things like there shouldn't be a contested convention. he doesn't have the math either so he has to win a contested convention as well. i do think you're going to see kasich confident that the party would like him to come out of a contested convention maybe with marco rubio as a vp pick, push and push and push. when he says i'm not running to block anybody and the math is real, those two statements are wrong. he's an honest man. but really the math is not in his favor. if rubio and kasich win florida and ohio tomorrow, combined, they will have fewer delegates than ted cruz. >> okay. and again, just reminding people as we're talking about ohio, live pictures here in north canton. where we're waiting to see the governor, john kasich, and with him mitt romney.

chalian, talk about full-court press in his home state. he said, listen, if i don't win my home state, i'm out. what is he hoping mitt romney can help deliver for him on the eve of this all-important primary? >> he's hoping to motivate, tried and true ohio republicans to get out to the polls that he believes will be in his corner on election day. he's also trying to persuade the few folks that are still undecided out there or very late deciders in this race. listen, in one respect of this, brooke, you know, john kasich is the current governor of ohio. he should win ohio. like, this is not -- this should not be a huge lift for him. but obviously donald trump has been extraordinarily competitive there. it is a hugely significant victory if he does win ohio, if john kasich does, because it really does mean it throws a wrench into the works and that this contest is more likely than not to head to a contested convention. if donald trump does not sweep all these states tomorrow.

>> okay what about democrats, a.b., you have illinois, missouri, ohio, they're tossups. we saw what happened, that massive surprise upset, michigan, with bernie sanders clinching there, super, super tight race. could we see some of that going into tomorrow with bernie sanders and clinton? >> it's the same thing, the delegate math could be on the side of clinton but the psychology could sort of reset the race just like kasich hopes it will. if he takes 66 delegates in ohio to add to what's already a feeble pile. but because it's such a significant battleground, he'll have a case to make. even if she loses ohio, illinois with more delegates, but that would be a huge blow. it would make -- it would create more momentum and more excitement around bernie. he'd raise a gazillion dollars like he does avenue time after he has a good election night. he intends as he keeps saying to

go all the way to the convention. it makes it a longer path to the general election, a more expensive one and potentially more just politically damaging as he continues to hammer her for months and months to come. >> so that's the dems. let's pull up this picture, back in ohio, as we now -- we can't really see it now. but mitt romney will be standing alongside john kasich. to david chalian's point, listen this is do or die for kasich. this is his state. he's the executive of the state as governor. david, as we wait to hear from mitt romney, yes, this is a valid issue, getting republicans out at the polls tomorrow and voting for the establishment candidate being john kasich instead of, say, john trump, what do you expect to hear from him in this sort of 11th hour push? >> i think we'll hear a lot of what we heard from mitt romney in his big speech a couple years ago. we're going to hear the never

trump, the stop trump movement. remember, as you said, mitt romney hasn't endorsed kasich. he's offering his help to kasich, cruz, rubio, anyone who wants it. this protester holding up the sign -- >> now we have a clear view, let's go ahead and dip in. >> -- become the next president of the united states. you had this chance about six years ago. you were looking for someone to come to this state. you did some interviews and you concluded this was the man you wanted as the governor. the reason was not just that he say the right things but he had a record. you could look at his resume so to speak. you could see what he'd done. he'd been in washington where he helped balance the budget. getting that done, the economy began to come back and create jobs for people across the country. so you said, you know, this guy's kind of been there. let's try him as governor. when he got in, you know, he made a lot of changes. a lot of people said, boy, this

is uncomfortable. but those changes made a difference. and now he's come back again to you. and he said, look, i'd like to be able to take the reins of the country. the people of ohio are once again, tomorrow, going to be able to decide who is it that should lead our nation. this time you also have a track record. and the track record is, hey, this is a guy who came into ohio when things were tough, when there was an $8 billion, $8 billion, budget gap, and he turned that around, turned it into a surplus. when you were losing employers and losing jobs every month. he turned that around. 400,000 jobs have been created. and he also had a little part of his resume that says he was in washington for a while, worked with the armed services committee. unlike the other people running, he has a real track record. he has the kind of -- the kind of record that you want in washington. and that's why i'm convinced that you're going to do the right thing tomorrow, agreed?

and so if you want to see a balanced budget in washington, you want to see that balanced budget, you want to get rid of obamacare, you want to see employers come back to america instead of fleeing america and jobs come again if you want to get wages up. by the way, the only way you get wages up, the only way you get real wages up is if you're creating more jobs and more employers come here and they start competing for good employees and they have to raise wages in order to get those good employ employees. this is the guy that ohio needs to vote for. america's counting on you. let's do it. let's welcome a great governor of a great state. john kasich. governor. thanks, buddy. >> thank you. thank you.

>> wow, how things would have been different if the election results had been different four years ago, huh? if mitt romney would have been president? what do you think, huh? you know, it's so nice of mitt to come out and support me here in this effort to win this state. i want to just say a couple things about mitt. you know, the thing that always -- first all, he was the governor of massachusetts, and that's not an easy state to win in, massachusetts, when you're a conservative republican. and he did' fantastic job. and he was a leader when he was there. but you know what always has stood out -- by the way, incredible family. his wife, incredible lady. but what always stood out for me more than anything else, one of the things that the world watches are the olympics.

we had the olympics in salt lake city. and they were falling apart. and they didn't know what they were going to do. could you imagine having that kind of an embarrassment? i mean, it would almost be as bad as people slugging it out at a campaign rally with images -- no, seriously, you think about this, we kind of chuckle about this. think of the images that have been broadcast around this world of the way we're picking a president here. i mean, my kids are watching this. your kids. your grandkids are watching what's happening here. and they're looking at a scene of people ponding each other. you think they're not using that for propaganda to send a message to people that america's broken, that america's lost? well, we had that other opportunity back with the olympics. we could have looked really, really bad. and mitt romney went in and saved the day and ran one of the greatest olympics games in modern history because of his

leadership and because of what he was able to do. and he's a great job creator. i tell you something. you think i'm going to let hillary clinton disparage job creators in this country, you got another thing coming. it is not going to happen. because we need the job creators to help our families. so, folks, here's the way i've been seeing it. first of all, you know, where i grew up my dad carried mail on his back. do you know that? i mean, 29 years, my dad carried mail on his back. what you don't know is my father's father, my grandfather, was a coal miner. he'd go down in the mine, he'd dig all day long and he'd think he had a good haul and he'd go up top and they would say to my grandfather, well, you dug too much peat, you didn't dig enough coal so we're going to cut what

we give you in half. he had nobody to go to, nobody to talk to. he died of black lung. losing his eyesight along the way. my mother's mother, or my mother, let me tell you a little bit about her, i just found out the other day -- because we didn't talk about these things. it's sort of funny because my uncle george who is now turned 90, my father's brother, he and his brothers used to go to school in remade flour sacks. they didn't have anything. my uncle was really mad at me. if he's watching today, uncle george, if we're on television, i'm not saying that to embarrass you, i'm saying that because i want people to know how proud that i am, your nephew, of the fact you graduated from high school, went to college and became a guidance counselor for 39 years, helping kids get their lives. and you built yourself up.

and how proud i am that your my uncle and that it happened in america. so i didn't -- we didn't talk a lot about this. i found out my mother is one of four. two brothers and a sister. my cousin told me the other day that my mother was the only one to have graduated from high school and the other three, she didn't think even got beyond the eighth grade. you see, folks, all of my career, those folks, my family, the place where i grew up, in mckees rocks, all blue collar, all democrat. when the wind blew the wrong way, people found themselves out of work. and i could see it as a kid on the ball field. my buddies would come up and you could see when they were down. i didn't figure it out until a few years ago why they were down. is because dad or mom lost a

job. i learned the value of work. let me tell you another thing that i feel strongly about. you know, the lord has made each and every one of us special. do you know that? there's nobody ever been born like you. there will never be another person that will come after you that will be like you. you were made special, sir, you were made special to accomplish something significant. to change the world. you don't have to change the world by running for president -- >> that is ohio governor john kasich there in his home state of ohio. let's skip back to florida, to florida senator marco rubio, answering questions from some reporters. let's dip in. >> that's why from the very beginning our message has been about -- because i honestly believe while we have real problems, we're fixing every

single one of them. so i hope that americans will choose optimism over fear and hope over anger. we haven't even analyzed it that way and never have. we plan to win tomorrow. >> two two days ago, you said you didn't know if you could still support donald trump. >> you want to know if i thought about it some more? it's getting harder every day. right now, we want to just focus on the vote tomorrow. i think my concerns about his candida candidacy have been expressed already. the rhetoric he continues to use. he continues to tell the story about an american general who executed prisoners of war with bullets soaked in pig's blood. that never happened. he talks about it as if -- it's a guy now saying he's going to pay the legal fees of a guy who sucker punched a protester at a

rally. the rhetoric is irresponsible and over the top. i don't think it reflects well on our party, doesn't reflect well on our country. again, i ask americans, do we really want to live in a country where people hate each other, where people are at each other's throat? where we can't even have a debate, a passionate debate, but a debate nonetheless? if we become a country where everybody hates each other, we're in a lot of trouble. we shouldn't have leaders who encourage that. >> -- jeb bush? >> what's that? no, i absolutely have not -- well, except for one guy. because the guy makes fun of everybody. that was one day. this is ten months. every day for ten months. i don't think there's anyone in the history of american politics that compares to the vulgarity -- [ inaudible ] >> -- focusing on the end, remaining optimistic, how important is that -- >> i think that's always

important, any of us, you know, elections are also -- you have a job to do, you have a plan, you execute on the plan. the outcome is up to voters and god's will. that's true before florida. my job as a candidate is to go out there and execute on our plan and do the best we can. ultimately voters decide. >> speaking of your campaign, speaking of donald trump's rhetoric -- [ inaudible ] >> yeah -- >> do you have any regrets about not striking this contrast -- >> oh, i did, when he said john mccain was not a hero. we've done it. there comes a point when -- well, because there comes a point where you're not going to allow your campaign, if all you do is react to donald trump all day. >> the first ten debates, you tint say a word. >> that's not true. i've always distinguished myself from donald trump. especially if the questions were

directly on point about him. at some point you had 10 people, 11 people running at the time. if all you do is react to every outrageous statement he makes, my campaign would have been nothing but reactions to donald trump's outrageous statements. we had to tell people who we were in the hopes that voters would eventually reject it. obviously that has not worked as well as we hoped but i think as the race continues to narrow, it will. two-thirds of republican voters reject donald trump as their nominee. hopefully that will come to fruition here sooner rather than later before it's too late. i don't know. in terms of voters? i have no idea. friday in chicago, i already told everybody, chicago has a professional class of protesters. and they don't have a right to do that. you don't have a right to disrupt an event because you don't agree with a speaker. this is about the broader scope of this campaign, where his campaign manager is accused of

assaulting a reporter. where he has openly mused about how great it would be if protesters were carried out in stretchers and how he's going to pay their legal fees when they assault someone. offended women, offended minorities, offended a disabled reporter. used profanity repeatedly. i mean, the discourse of our elections has become the equivalent of the comment section in a blog. i mean, you have to be a country where you are capable of having compassionate debate about issues but there's got to be limits. what are the limits now to what you're allowed to say before it goes too far? i don't know if they exist anymore. so i hope we'll take a step back and realize this is really not good for our republican, it's not good for our process, it's not good for our people. [ inaudible ] >> -- russian forces, what do you think that means for the peace talks that are currently under way? >> well, other than the fact -- again, it just came over the

wire so i wouldn't necessarily want to reply on it without any more information other than to say that as you've seen the syrian army under assad has helped hezbollah and has been able to make significant advances in key areas. so perhaps this is part of a new phase in that. but as i said it just came over the wire so i'd have to have more detail. suffice it to say, i believe they will continue to keep a permanent presence both in the naval base and aerial assets in the regions. >> marco rubio answering questions from reporters. a lot of them are regard to donald trump. from senator rubio himself, talking about the vulgarity, something he said he has not really seen in american politics. we'll talk about that, some of the angeanger, some of the vitr coming up. we saw john cakasich, a moment

ago, speaking. just reminder, all day long tomorrow, we will have complete coverage, super tuesday, part 3, all up for grabs. our teams of reporters will be covering the contest from every single angle. live here on cnn. quick break. we'll be right back.

donald trump's political rhetoric and style has been described in many ways, but is it fair to call him a neo

fascist? that is how one of america's must well-known and well-respected journalists is describing trump. carl bernstein who with his reporting partner broke the watergate scandal, argues that trump is the first presidential candidate in modern american history to embody the classic definition of fascism. cnn political commentator carl bernstein is with me, along with barry bennett, senior adviser to donald trump, former campaign manager for ben carson who has now endorsed trump. thank you for joining me. carl, to you first, to set this up, you've been on my show for months dating back to the fall. you have thrown out the word neofascist. i want to begin how in 2016, in this political climate, how do you -- >> i think the word neo is crucial because it means new and it's a pea kwul larly american kind of fascism, about a kind of

real who is contemptuous of real democracy, of real democratic institutions, contemptuous of the press and a free press who extols torture and violence, who incites hatreds, and there's a great book, sinclair lewis "it can't happen here," published in the '30s, and we've never quite had a presidential candidate reach this level of prominence who embodies kind of what sinclair lewis was talking about in that book "it can't happen here." because, well, maybe it could happen here. that's not to say that trump hasn't said and isn't saying some very sensible things about policy, about criticism of past leaders and presidents, but he's a demagogue. above all else, he's a demagogue, and he aspires to say, i can do this, i can do that, i can wipe out this, i can wipe out that, to hell with democratic processes, let's get there the fast way. let's put up the wall.

let's expel hispanics really. let's keep out muslims. let's not like the other. >> so are you putting him in the same category -- just so i hear you correctly. maybe neo is the appropriate way to say it because i think of a muse lysolini or hitler. >> this is not anything about fascism which was an economic system as well. but this is much more in terms of a maximum leader and authoritarian, demagogic, who does not respect, encourage or want real democratic processes. >> how do you explain -- >> and who exploits -- >> -- how so many people support him and some of what you just laid out? people believe he can make america great again. >> i think, first of all, that many of the things he and bernie sanders for that matter are addressing in this country are real people, are angry for the

right reasons. their grievances are indeed because working class people have been screwed in this country for some 30 years now, it's an environment in which there is rich and fertile soil for exploitation of nasty movement that marginalizes those who are immigrants. >> let me get barry on this too. there are a lot of words thrown out. but also just exploiting. how would you respond to the accusation that carl is throwing down? >> carl, you've had an amazing career and so many people across the country look up to you. you're above being a shock jock, i mean, that's ridiculous. fascism is the most important word. that's what people are hearing and that's ridiculous. he's not running for dictator, he's running for president. there's a primary process. i mean, that's absurd.

>> i couldn't hear the last word. >> he said that's absurd. >> it's absurd? again, i think this is a very loaded word and i've never used it before, fascist or neofascist, to describe a living american politician. but i think the appeal that the methodology, that the underlining message embraces fascism and fascist tendencies in a classic sense but with an american twist on it. that is not to say that those who are voting, supporting trump, are fascist in any regard. >> is it possible that you're reading too much into this, that this is someone who wants fame, who knows fame, who has a big ego, who perhaps got into this race having always wanted to run for president and lo and behold he has tapped into something extraordinary in this country, people feel screwed economically, he's tapped into

that, as has bernie sanders, and that's that? >> it's possible, but i also think it's a fascinating intersection of celebrity and neofascism. you have to go to what the message is. it's not accidental. about incitement, there is real incitement. look at what he has done in terms of saying, i'll pay the legal fees for that guy who punched out a protester. >> america is very angry at our leaders in washington. he's not inciting -- >> with good reason. >> absolutely. i mean, my kid's future has been mortgaged, all right. we were promised a secure border ten years ago, nothing happened. i mean, lie after lie after lie. our taxes go up and up and up. and nothing ever gets done. that's why america's angry. it has nothing to do with what trump's saying at rallies. he's not inciting anyone. he has a good political ear for how angry they are. >> i think you're right. he has a very good political ear. i think the problem is trump.

and what he advocates. not what his followers believe. i think that he -- >> what he's advocating with regard to hispanics and building a wall and banning muslims? to that point, barry, how would you respond to that in terms of what he's advocating? >> we have a bunch of illegal immigrants in this country. not legal immigrants. people who violated the law to get here. we have to figure out what to do with them. that's a problem. our leaders in washington have done nothing about it for ten years. now, muslims, if you can tell me how it is we can separate the good ones from the ones that want to kill us, i'm open to it. how do you do that? >> well, i think that there's many processes to do that. >> the obama administration can't figure it out. >> again, criticism of our policies is one thing. just saying, okay, keep them all out, expel them, build a wall. this is no accident.

it is not about policy. if it were about policy, i would agree with you 100%, where is the policy, where are the details? it is -- >> we need a wall because -- >> let me finish this one point -- >> i'm from ohio where emotion is overrunning our schools and our kids. where does this heroin come from? it comes from porous borders. we need to secure the borders for a lot of other reasons than just immigration. >> you'll get no argument -- >> why if donald trump talking about it means it's suddenly fascist? >> very, very important safeguards about who is admitted to this country, but talk about just throwing 12 million people out of the country, to hell with them, get them out of here, that is a nativist appeal. that is not about orderly democratic process. my whole point about neo fascism is a rejection of democracy and its institutions.

>> carl bernstein, barry bennett, thank you. i appreciate both perspectives. let's go to live pictures. did i hear tampa correctly? tampa, florida. we're going to see sarah palin who has actually got noten into horrendous accident but she has surprised and has shown up. do we have pictures? here we go. >> -- before i get on a flight, ice fishing, frozen lake, and my husband was out snow machining, and -- thank you, guys, for your prayers for my husband who is recovering right now in icu after a wreck on a snow machine, so thank you. big wreck. thank you. but you know, when real life happens, right, when somebody is sick in your family, there's an accident that happens, all these challenges, these struggles in your business, in your family, with your finances, trying to get your kids to be able to

afford to go to college, all these real-life issues that happen, it really puts things in perspective, doesn't it? doesn't it make you so appreciate your time? time is our most valuable resource. it makes me appreciate the time that we have to spend in doing something so worthy and that's to get donald trump elected president. >> sarah palin there in tampa, florida. as you know, she has supported donald trump. carl, thank you, barry, standby. hillary clinton revealing she has a secret game plan in the works to beat donald trump. what is her strategy? as trump blames sanders for some of the violence at the rallies, ben carson is warning the violence could escalate. "the bank on yourself revolution". over the last 25 years, i've researched more than 450 financial products. i found that one of the best-kept secrets to help you plan for your retirement is the

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shouting, fighting. all in the name of politics. if you ask donald trump, he will tell you at his rallies folks don't get injured. take a listen to what he said just a short time ago. >> we had one two weeks ago. 35,000 people. no disruption. the press is calling saying, oh, but there's such violence. there's no violence. you know how many people have been hurt at our rallies? basically none. other than somebody got hit once. people say well, is there violence? there's no violence. these are love fests. >> let's just fact check the love fest here. watch. >> isn't it great to be at a trump rally? really? it's more fun.

>> i can't breathe. >> this is becoming violent. there's pushing and shoving. people are throwing objects. with me now, our guest who is a freelance writer embedded with protester before that trump rally. and barry bennett, former campaign manager for dr. carson and a republican consultant. welcome to both of you. keith, beginning with you, you were there, i read your piece, shoulder to shoulder with, you know, some of these usc students who wanted to stand in solidarity and some other trump supporters. what was the purpose of the

protest? >> the protesters at the university of illinois/chicago wanted to go in and raise their voices to what they perceive as a personal attack. many of those students are latino, muslim, african-american. they believe that the statements that trump has made in recent weeks and days at his rallies is threatening to them. they wanted to go in, like a lot of people across the political spectrum these days, and raise their voices to that -- to that perceived threat. >> so we know it happened. the rally was called. you say there was zero violence. until trump's officials, you know, cancelled that event. when you were there, you know, standing shoulder to shower in between these different groups of people, you said you could feel it, what exactly did you feel? >> i was standing with the protesters, or the soon to be protesters, about 50 feet from donald trump's podium about 2 1/2 hours before that rally

was canceled. in that 2 1/2 hours, there was great tension amidst the protesters, the students who were just standing there quietly and the trump supporters around them. the trump supporters knew simply by the color of the skin of the folks who were there that something was going to go down. everybody was clear on that. but it wasn't until the trump rally was canceled, until the campaign staffer took the stage and canceled it, that it grew violent, that it grew to the point of people were afraid for their physical safety. at the point it was canceled, the trump supporters were very angry. the protesters were thrilled. never in a million years could they have imagined that just standing inside the arena would lead to the gop front-runner canceling his appearance. and so they erupted in celebration. and the people around them, after getting their bearings for about 45 seconds, turned on the protesters with a great fury and

a great anger, expressed to them, often just inches away from their faces. and some of the most insulting things anyone would want to hear. >> so on the fury, barry, i want to make sure i hear from you. trump talked to wolf blitzer and said essentially there hasn't been much violence at his rallies. later saying that at his rally to date, maybe there were some injuries. why contradict himself like that? >> well, you know, these people in chicago despite what we just heard, they came there for one reason, and that was to stop the rally. to stop donald trump from talking. that's what they planned to do. that's what they were going to do. that's what they admit they were going to do. they wanted to stop trump which is what they were chanting after the rally canceled. they had won. they had stopped trump. they were so excited. you know, this was a trump rally. republicans don't go to

democrats rallies and try to shut up hillary clinton. we think that's rule. we don't do that. the left is the one that does that. they do it to hillary clinton. they do it to bernie sanders. but, i mean, it's ridiculous. that's where all the trouble comes from. if they were there, nothing would have happened. >> i hear that criticism, you know, why have folks show up just for the point of disrupting. that is one point. but the other i just -- i would be remiss in not asking you about that 78-year-old. we talked about this last week. now it's developed because, you know, trump says he doesn't condone a 78-year-old who punch add protester at that rally last week but apparently his campaign is looking into paying his legal fees. >> the protester who he swung at had shown him a finger that wasn't his -- >> who cares, he sucker punched him. >> i'm not saying the 78-year-old man did anything right. he should never hit anybody -- >> but what about the trump camp

potentially paying legal fees? this something we heard from the trump camp. >> well, i mean, he's an old man. if he's going to be financially ruined by legal fees then, you know, i'm sure, you know, people will help him. but, i mean, doesn't absolve him of his guilt. we all saw him take a swing at the guy. i'm not sure if he hit him or not but, i mean, a 78-year-old man hitting somebody else is not something i would associate myself with. >> barry bennett -- >> but this could all be stopped. >> thank you. >> thank you. we will have much more on that conversation, by the way, not finished there. top of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin. the former alaska governor sarah palin who is planning to stump later in ohio and florida for donald trump, she has had to cancel those appearances. we just saw her at a trump rally in tampa. but that is due to be her last stop on this critical eve of

super tuesday number three as she returns home for a family emergency. apparently her husband, todd palin, has been seriously injured in a snow machine crash in alaska. so let's go straight to stephanie elam for more on that. stephanie, do you know what happened? how's he doing? >> we still don't know. we know he's in intensive care at this point, brooke. but as we saw, we did see that sarah palin made this one stop in tampa but she did put out a statement saying she is changing her plans because of this. she's basically as far away from alaska as she could be while being in the continental united states now. what she said is a source from the family is saying palin has been on the phone with doctors and family all morning. she booked a flight back to alaska from tampa, stopping by the rally we just saw there where she mentioned very briefly her husband was in this accident, then stumped for trump. she's not going to go on to ohio or further stops in florida at this point, just to get back to him, to see how he's doing.

obviously, the trump campaign coming out with a statement as well, brooke, saying that they support governor palin and her need to be with her family at this time and they look to welcome her back on the campaign trail soon. but at this point, putting the priorities of her family over what's going on with donald trump, aside from this one stop she just did in tampa, brooke. >> it is the number one priority. stephanie elam, thank you so much. meantime, on the trail here, marco rubio wants voters in his native state of florida to know this that he desperately needs a win in tomorrow's republican primary there if he is to stay in the race whatsoever for the white house. and if he is to stop rival donald trump from running away from the republican nomination. cnn's sara murray is with the rubio campaign in west palm beach. sara murray, we just saw him speaking to reports, talking about some of the rhetoric with the trump campaign. >> that's right, brooke, it seems like in these final hours, marco rubio wants to remind people he is not donald trump, he is an alternative to donald

trump, and if they want anyone but him, they should turn out to vote. today he decided to do that by takiining aim at some of the intense violence we've seen at some trump events. take a listen. >> i don't want him to feel lonely -- or bernie sanders. hold on. bernie sanders sign. don't worry, you're not going to get beat up at my rally. >> so you see rubio sort of light-hearted take here. you're not going to get beat up at one of my events. even though he's been optimistic on the campaign trail, the stakes could not be higher. not only does he need to win if he bt whats to have his campaign move forward, if he wants to pick up these 99 delegates, but there's pressure from everyone who wants to stop trump. there are people who are looking at him saying, look, we need you to head trump off in florida, we need john kasich to head him off in ohio if we have a chance of moving forward with this

movement. so sort of double the pressure for marco rubio and his last full day of campaigning today, brooke. >> sara murray, thank you very much. reminder, winner take all, that's why tomorrow is so, so important. during the town hall, bernie sanders and hillary clinton not only went after one another but donald trump, blaming him for the violence that has erupted at his rallies. >> i hate to say this because i don't like to disparage public officials, but donald trump is a pathological liar. donald trump is literally inciting violence with his supporters. he is saying, if you go out and beat somebody up, that's okay. >> donald trump is responsible for what happens at his events. what trump has done is like a case of political arson, you know, he has lit the fire and then he throws his hands up. he has been incredibly bigoted toward so many groups.

>> joining me now, cnn political commentator donna brazile who's a vice chairwoman for the democratic national committee. our guest the editor in chief for the washington free beacon. ron williams, former spokesmn for mitt romney and clay aiken, former congressional candidate, now officially endorsing bernie sanders. first, great to have you here. donna, let's just begin, if we can, the verbiage being thrown out. we've heard some of the republicans, you know, ripping obviously trump for the rhetoric. from dems as well. pathological liar. bigoted. political arsonist. should the dems share some of the blame with this language? >> no, and let me tell you why. i do believe that donald trump should own not just the language, but the tone and temperament that he has set throughout this campaign. from the day he announced his candidacy, denouncing mexicans,

calling them raprapists, that i the moment you put what i call the stop, what i call madness phase. this is really shameful that a candidate who is seeking the presidency, someone who should know better. i'm sure mr. trump knows better. someone who has raised some awesome kids. this is a candidate who understands what he's doing. he's demonizing, you know, individuals but the time to stop donald trump and this kind of madness was not just the day of his announcement, it was years ago when he tried to delegitimatize president obama. so good luck with stopping trump, good luck with trying to outcall him, shame him. unless mr. trump owns this kind of tenure and what i call the craziness of this moment, then, by the way, you can call him

anything because he's not going to answer to it. >> i just wanted to get that beat and i wanted to go to you for that. let's talk about ohio and florida tomorrow. winner take all. this is do or die both for marco rubio and john kasich. we just saw last hour mitt romney in north canton, ohio, helping to trump with kasich. he hasn't endorsed anyone. how much influence do you think mitt romney will have on the eve of this extraordinarily important primary? >> governor romney's made it clear he's going to help any of the three candidates that he views are good nominees. john kasich, ted cruz and marco rubio. in any way he can between now and the nomination. the convention. but, look, the governor brings a very clear voice. someone who 50 million people in this country voted for. someone who's respected by mainstream republicans. i think he helps to galvanize the anti-trump candidates behind

the candidates he's helped. >> but why stay neutral? wouldn't it be more helpful if he threw down for one of them? >> i think he wants to make the case against trump and not be accused of supporting one candidate over another. he supports any of the other three candidates. he's been clear about that. he does not support trump. he does not want to endorse so he can remain neutral in the contest. >> okay. let me get to some sound. this is one comment from hillary clinton during our town hall. >> where we are right now before everybody votes on tuesday i'm the only candidate who has gotten more votes than trump. >> so clay aiken, i'm going to ask you about that. your big news today, officially endorsing bernie sanders. it seems to me your point in doing that is about, you know, you're feeling the burn, you're feeing the inspiration, but hillary clinton i mean, you know, she says she's gotten more

votes from americans thus far from all these contests than any of these other candidates, republican or democrat. is that not enthusiasm from americans? >> i mean, it is enthusiasm but you're looking at someone who has been the presumptive front-runner and someone who has come from relative obscurity and get enthusiasm from so many millions. in a way, a bit of a statement from me. not because i'm against hillary clinton. i am a supporter of hillary clinton and always have been. but i think there are -- the benefit to having a primary in some ways is to strengthen the candidates. in the clown car over on the republican side, you have people who are going to come out of that primary battle tested, and i think it's important to continue having a premier on the democratic side to strengthen other candidate who becomes the nominee and i think hillary clinton has some things she might be able to learn from bernie sanders about really energizing the base.

>> i want to show you something you'll appreciate. roll the clip from "saturday night live," guys. >> you're fired up. you're angry. i'm angry too. because the top 10% of the top 1% control 90% of the wealth in this country! and i've always said that. so thank you, millennials, for lending your support to the biggest outsider in the race. hillary rodham clinton. there's light a lot of work to e and that's why i'm sick and tired of hearing about my own e-mails. >> i mean, she's phenomenal. >> it was said on "meet the press" yesterday bernie sanders has won the message primary. >> he talked about a retch lucian. >> he has, and he pushed hillary clinton to the left on some of the issues a lot of people in the democratic party care about. he certainly won the message primary."saturday night live"

has done a skit like that. i want to make sure hillary clinton has the skills to fire up the base and bernie sanders needs to stay in the race for her to be able to do that. >> matthew, what happens if -- i'm jumping all over the place. because each of these are so important on both sides. what happens if john kasich wins ohio tomorrow? >> it's very important because if it's kasich wins ohio tomorr it's unlikely trump will be able to reach the number of delegates. so then you have a situation where there would be a contested convention. if he's unable to reach that 1237 number. donna was right, no one's been able to stop trump yet, but i think the last ditch effort to stop trump at the republican convention will be riveting and possibly dangerous experience for all parties involved. >> what happens, ryan, if rubio loses florida tomorrow? >> i think his campaign has made it clear that their race is probably over if he doesn't win florida.

they've been predicting for weeks he's going to win florida. rubio today is even saying he's going to win. if he doesn't win, it would be a big disappointment and i don't know if he'd have a path forward. i don't think he'd have a path forward after losing in his home state. >> let's say rubio does lose florida and you have three that remain, kasich, cruz and trump, what does a three-way race to clinch that nomination and potentially, who knows what, in cleveland, look like? >> well, the situation where kasich wins ohio, but trump wins florida and maybe cruz takes missouri, it's a messy situation. that means most likely no one will reach the outright delegate number, the 1237 number. in that case, i would say rubio should probably stay in the race and pick up delegates here and there because basically you're headed towards a contested convention where everything is up for grabs. >> donna, from your perch, what do you think? >> well, you have only maybe three or four more big days

remaining. the april 5th wisconsin primary, the april 19th primary in new york, and of course the yankee primary on april 26th. a few more delegates available the month of march. you need an inside straight. ted cruz might have a remaining opportunity in some of the western states where you have closed primaries. donald trump's ability to get independents, draw across the board, i still believe he will go into what i call cleveland with the majority of the delegates but maybe not enough to clinch the nomination. >> ryan and matthew, thank you both very much. clay and donna, pretty please stick around. we have more, including as trump is blaming bernie sanders, we talk for a moment about the violence at some of his rallies. carson is now coming out and warning the violence here could escalate. we'll talk to a pastor who helped introduce trump at one of his rallies today. as we talk about some of this anger. also today, breaking news overseas, russian president vladimir putin has ordered some troops to withdraw from syria.

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we're back, you're watching cnn, i'm brooke baldwin. pepper spray, fighting, in some cases, blood. if you ask trump, he will tell you at his rallies, folks don't get injured. >> we had one two weeks ago in alabama, 35,000 people. no disruption. no nothing. but the press is now calling this saying, oh, but there's such violence. no violence. you know how many people have been hurt at our rallies? i think like basically none. other than i guess maybe somebody got hit once. people say, well, is there violence. there's no violence. these are love fests. >> hardly love fests. there have definitely been some injuries. pastor burns, also a trump supporter, welcome back. and donna, to you first, listen, i was on the plane yesterday coming home reading about everything that happened over the weekend and just sort of

thinking from your perspective and life type, watching presidential politics, have you ever seen this level of tension or anger ever, in recent years? >> i'm too young to have experienced what i call the '68 convention, although i'm old enough to have read about it. look, want to go back to what i've been saying throughout this entire campaign season. words matter. presidential temperament, tone. donald trump, with the message that he has been giving to his audiences and to the country on make america great again. you can do a lot of riffs. that involve here's why we want america to be great. we want to make sure that america has the best military. there are many ways. i've heard enough of trump speeches, a lot of his interviews to know if -- when he's on that riff, that's a riff that appeals to a certain segment of the american people. but there's another part of donald trump's riff or rhetoric

that i do believe is incendiary and it is causing people a lot of discomfort. that's when he begins to marg marginalize and delegitimatize and demonize a certain portion of the american people. i would say at this point half of the american people by this sort of strange rhetoric. as someone who is now in the lead to the republican nomination, we don't know what the results will be tomorrow. this is an opportunity to change that tone. to begin to be more of a healing force and to begin -- i do believe, to say things that do not incite, to kind of hateful rhetoric and ma sage ni and dog whistle we've heard over the last couple of months. >> as a man who speaks to so many, as a leader, you know tone matters, being a leader, acting like a leader matters.

why do you think thus far donald trump has not made an effort to tone down the temperature? >> first, let me say this, donna, i'm a fan. even though i'm a trump suppo support supporter. you've been a blessing to us. >> thank you, sir. >> concerning donald trump, i do believe he has done just that. obviously, he's still going to be donald trump. again, cannot speak for him, but i think at the last debate we saw a completely different donald trump. a donald trump that was more substantive and more about the positions and not just his personality. again, we cannot control 100% what happened in some of these rallies and his supporters of donald trump. donald trump needs to be a president for all people. one of the things that struck a chord with millions of americans and why he's consistently still the front-runner and we're

expecting him to have a great super tuesday tomorrow, again, is because he is a person that is speaking passionately from his heart. he doesn't have the political rhetoric that if itfits inside narrative of a politician. but for while, speaking publicly what millions of americans have been saying privately. but again, i do believe he has made strong strides to become more presidential. again, as you've heard him say over and over again, you know, he's brand-new at this. he's not your typical politician. he doesn't know how to -- it but he knows what it's like to be in the limelight. he knows what that's like. this is not the first rodeo for him there. i would love to get clay. because clay knows mr. trump. i'd love to get his thoughts. but pastor, back to you just quickly, i have to ask, you were suddenly thrust in the headlines. because you were, what, just a

little while ago at this trump rally in north carolina and you're now making news because you were essentially saying to bernie sanders, you need to meet jesus. explain to me what happened there, please, sir. >> whoa. >> well, you know, again, let me just say this, first of all, you know, i don't know bernie sanders personally. i don't know his relationship -- i don't know his relationship with -- >> he's jewish. >> even if he has one. okay, so based on, you know, his comments and based off some of the mistakes he's made, when he's been asked how he views -- how your religious views -- how is your faith, et cetera, he's never really, in my eyes, really hit it right on the nail. again, i think in -- he's jewish and this is not against the jewish people. only speaking based off of how i've seen bernie sanders as a candidate. he's one that does not profess

faith as a major part of his -- >> he has a lot of faith, pastor. >> -- he has a lot of faith -- bernie sanders has spoken of his spirituality -- >> -- these comments after what he's spoken of himself -- >> as a christian, i can affirm that he, you know, his religious -- >> i say to the people in -- >> hold on, pastor, let's let donna speak -- >> i'm disappointed that -- >> i want to finish my statement -- >> disappointed -- >> i apologize but i wasn't finished with my statement because i was try to continue my statement, which is simply this. you know, i believe -- i believe the name of the lord jesus christ, i believe, like jesus said in john 14, he said, i am the truth and the light, no man can come to the father except through the son. and i said -- >> very disappointed, sir. >> -- bernie sanders would need to get -- would need to have a coming to jesus meeting because those of us who have strong conservative views truly believe faith is such a huge part of

that lifestyle from ted cruz to marco rubio and even to -- >> three weeks ago -- >> there's no religious test -- >> -- donald trump say the pope so not jump in and speak, that a religious leader should not jump in and speak on the religion or faith of somebody else. and so i think it's a little bit hypocritical for anybody from the trump camp, anybody speaking on behalf of that, to jump in and do exactly the same thing that trump said the pope shouldn't be doing. >> i wasn't speaking -- i didn't speak at all negatively about his faith. >> there's no religious test -- >> you said he needed to meet jesus which is saying that he does not -- >> and not only that, i believe anybody who doesn't believe in the name of jesus christ need to have a come to jesus meeting, that's why -- >> that's not what jesus would do -- >> -- who do not believe in jesus christ, john the baptist says, hear me, hear me, for the kingdom of heaven is near, repent and be saved.

help made he made it very clear, he wasn't quiet in his faith. i'm sorry if my approach trying to reach out to anyone who is lost and does not know the name of jesus offend you. i'm so sorry -- >> that's offensive. not only to jewish americans, jews all over -- >> but i don't apologize for it. i'm so sorry how the libya media once again -- >> the liberal media -- >> liberals are christians and jews and all religions. >> this is once again an attempt by the liberal media -- >> that's what the law would -- >> hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on -- >> -- bits and pieces of what has been said -- >> pastor, pastor, i just wanted you on the record. it is my duty as a journalist to get you on record. i hear you sir, loud and clear. we're going to leave it there. no one's putting any words in anyone's mouth. we're checking everyone. pastor, donna -- >> i still love you, donna. >> i love the lord and this is not jesus.

jesus would not have gone this way, my friend, and god bless you. >> jesus was bold. >> and hopefully you will -- >> and jesus don't kill babies either. >> you will understand the consequences -- >> jesus don't support abortion either. >> but jesus -- >> let's go. >> jesus is love -- >> and jesus defends the weak. jesus would defend those that -- >> jesus would never, ever -- >> -- that have abortions -- >> okay, okay, thank you, moving on. >> -- never spew the hate -- breaking news, russian president vladimir putin giving the order to pull his troops out of syria. we'll talk live to clarissa ward who just went to rebel-controlled parts of syria. she saw the horrific aftermath of a violent air strike with her own eyes. you can fly across town in minutes or across the globe in under an hour. whole communities are living on mars and solar satellites provide earth with unlimited clean power.

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developing news out of russia. president vladimir putp has ordered russian forces out of syria. >> translator: i believe the goal set out to the ministry of defense and the armed forces has overall been fulfilled, and that's why i ordered the minister of defense as of tomorrow to start the pull-out of the main part of our military grouping from the syrian arab republic. >> cnn senior international correspondent clarissa ward is here with me, she just came back from syria. we'll talk about that experience in a second. first, you were saying you were gob-smacked to hear about this order from putin. >> i think everybody is struggling to make sense of this news and perhaps more importantly to understand what does it really mean. are we talking about a complete cessation of russian military

involvement in syria, which would indeed be a pretty radical and shocking about-face for the russians? or are we talking about more of an incremental withdrawal of ground troops specifically that might not have an effect -- >> we don't know yet. >> we just don't know yet. we're waiting to find out more certainly on the face of it. this is intended as some kind of good will jess sugesture i, the are trying to show they can play some kind of role in these peace talks. up until this point, russia has certainly not been playing a productive role. >> on that, let's get to your piece. unprecedented exclusive access. this is behind rebel lines in syria. you went undercover to report on the violence in everyday life. take a look. >> reporter: moving through rebel-held northern syria is difficult and dangerous. as foreign journalists in areas with a strong jihadist presence,

we had to travel undercover, to see a war few outsiders have witnessed. this city is the only provincial capital under rebel control. this was the courthouse until it was hit by an air strike into december. dozens were killed. 40-year-old lawyer tala al jawai told us he was inside the building when it was hit. his arm was smashed but he was lucky to survive. >> translator: the russian planes target anything that works in the interest of the people. the goal is that people here live a destroyed life, that people never see any good, that they never taste life. this is the tax of living in a liberated area. >> reporter: an hour later, we saw that tax for ourselves. while filming in a town nearby. we heard the scream of fighter jets wheeling overhead.

moments later, a hit. there was just an air strike here in the town of arihi. we're driving quickly. it's not clear what was hit. we are hearing there are still planes in the sky. arriving on the scene, our team found chaos. and carnage. volunteers shouted for an ambulance as they tried to ferry out the wounded. for many, it was too late. a woman lay dead on the ground. a jacket draped over her. an attempt to preserve her dignity. russia has repeatedly claimed it is only hitting terrorist targets. this strike hit a busy fruit

market. >> translator: this is just a civilian market, this is not a military area. >> translator: there are no military insulations here or anything, it's a market. look, it's a market. a fruit market. is that what you want, bashar? >> reporter: we couldn't stay long, often jets circled back to hit the same place twice. it's called a double tap. [ sirens ] we just arrived at the hospital where they're bringing the dead and wounded from the three strikes which hit a park and fruit market. we don't know the number of casualties. the scenes of devastation, blood on the ground, dismembered body parts and the injured and dead we've seen arriving here indicate this was a very bad strike indeed. among the injured brought in, a young boy, moaning in pain. he died moments later.

the strikes on arihi that day killed 11 people, among them, a woman and two children. rescue workers waste nod time clearing away the rubble. in this ugly war, massacres have become routine. >> wow, i mean, the men with the orange, furious, you know, saying this is a market, no military installations. i know you've been a war correspondent for years. what about this experience did you truly take away with you? >> i mean, i just think that you never get used to seeing something like this. you never get used to seeing civilians killed in such a brutal way, doing something as bennal and normal as going out to buy fruit. nothing really prepares you for that. no amount of experience. and i've covered every war in the last ten years from iraq to afghanistan to gaza, and syria

is unique in a sense because -- >> why? >> -- it's just a david and goliath scale here, where on the one side you have this air force with the backing of russian superpower's air force and massive military power, and on the other side, you have rebels who are still fighting with largely rudimentary weapons. and then in the middle of all this of course you have the civilians who really, from what we saw on the ground, they are the ones bearing the bruntbomba since the russian intervention began in late september. there will be many syrians on the ground in the areas who we visited who will be delighted if, in fact, russia really is going to curtail its military involvement in syria. at this stage, i would guess most of them are very skeptical indeed that that will actually happen. >> it was a risk you and your crew took, but we're grateful you did to shine a light on this part of the world. thank you so much, clarissa ward.

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just a short time ago, donald trump defending himself and his supporters over violence at his rallies. >> both of the democratic candidates had sharp words for you. first, listen to hillary clinton. >> like a case of political arson, you know, he has lit the fire and then he throws his hands up and claims he shouldn't be held responsible and he should be held responsible. >> your reaction to secretary

clinton? >> well, she has to say what she has to say, wolf. i mean, she has very uninspired crowds. her crowds are very small. her -- you know, if you look at the poll numbers, they're down 35%, because people from four years ago, because people are not inspired by her or by bernie. there's nothing much to be inspired. it's boring and it's not very inspiring. so she only wished she had my crowds and she only wished she had the enthusiasm i have in my crowds. >> and wolf joins us now. so in this conversation, did donald trump take any responsibility for any of the violence at his rallies? >> no, he really didn't. he was insistent that whatever violence occurred had nothing to do with his supporters. i pointed out that elderly man who sucker punched that

individual who was being esco escorted out. he said he doesn't condone that, but he was not blaming himself. he pointed out of the tens of thousands of people who have showed up at his rallies over the past several months, said there's been very little violence, and he basically was blaming, you know, bernie sanders supporters, to a lesser degree, hillary clinton supporters and others showing up, trying to disrupt that chicago event he had scheduled for friday night, that they had to cancel, and he thought it was the smart thing to do because he was really afraud people could be injured in the course of that friday night event. he was not saying he was responsible for that at all. >> okay, in terms of tomorrow, the all important florida and ohio primaries, i'm sure you asked him about how he's feeling going into tomorrow, what did he say? >> well, he said that john kasich, the governor of ohio, possibly could win in ohio. he says the polls are very close, shows a very tight race. so he's open to the possibility of maybe not winning ohio. think he's very confident about florida. polls there show he's got a significant lead over marco

rubio. i think he's confident about the other states as well. five contests tomorrow. the two most important winner take all, ohio and florida. of course, my own sense is based on conversations not with him but with others close to him, if he does win all those states tomorrow, he thinks he's well on his way to capturing the nomination. we'll see what happens tomorrow. ohio could be very, very close. >> let's hear a little more from your view. >> if you're calling the governor an absentee governor, you've added another ohio rally to your schedule later today, are you concerned that kasich will win in ohio and keep on going? >> well, don't think he'll keep on going. he may win ohio. it's right now a tie according to most of the polls. literally tied. he may win in ohio. i mean, who knows, he's the governor. but he has not done a good job. he's convinced people he has, he hasn't. they're losing industry tremendously. he voted for nafta which is the

reason they're losing industry. now he wants tpp. he raised real estate taxes in ohio through the roof. and frankly the only reason he's doing well in ohio is because of the oil that they got lucky and they found. i mean, ohio happened to be sitting on top of oil. >> what about florida tomorrow? because the polls show you way ahead of the incumbent senator marco rubio. cruz looks like there's a little fight going on for second place. >> well marco is not a very popular guy in florida. he doesn't show up to vote. he's got the worst voting record in the united states senate in 20 years. this guy doesn't vote. they put him in. he really defrauded the people of florida, wolf, because they put him in and he was their senator and from that point on, i mean, he started running for president. he's failed very, very badly at that. >> we will watch much more of your interview on "the situation room," 5:00 eastern, right here on cnn.

thank you, sir, very much. still ahead, a man who spent years on death row for a crime he did not commit. he challenges hillary clinton about her stance on the death penalty. he said he was satisfied with her answer. are you? we'll play it for you next.

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. donald trump speaking live there in tampa, florida, as he hits all the big super tuesday states including florida and ohio. the results could shape the outcome of the race. cnn will have complete live coverage all day. do not miss it. coming up next, the emotional moment between hillary clinton and someone who asked her a question during our cnn town hall. ♪ you're not gonna watch it! ♪

♪ no, you're not gonna watch it! ♪ ♪ we can't let you download on the goooooo! ♪ ♪ you'll just have to miss it! ♪ yeah, you'll just have to miss it! ♪ ♪ we can't let you download... uh, no thanks. i have x1 from xfinity so... don't fall for directv. xfinity lets you download your shows from anywhere. i used to like that song. an innocent man spends nearly 40 years of his life in prison. part of it on death row. now he gets a chance to challenge hillary clinton face to face during cnn's town hall. >> senator, i spent some of

those years on death row, and -- excuse me, i'm sorry. >> it's okay, brother. >> i came perilously close to my own execution. in light of that, what you've just shared with you and in light of the fact that there are -- there are documented cases of innocent people who have been executed in our country, i would like to know how can you still take your stance on the death penalty in light of what you know right now. >> you know, this is such a profoundly difficult question, and what i have said and what i continue to believe is that the states have proven themselves incapable of carrying out fair

trials that give any defendant all the rights that defendants should have, all the support that the defendants' lawyer should have. and i've said i would breathe a sigh of relief if either the supreme court or the states themselves began to eliminate the death penalty. where i end up is this, and maybe it's a distinction that is hard to support, but at this point given the challenges we face from terrorist activities primarily in our country that end up under federal jurisdiction for very limited purposes, i think it can still be held in reserve for those. but what happened to you was a travesty and i off the can't even imagine what you went through and how terrible those

days and nights must have been for all those years. >> that was hillary clinton's response. by the way, bernie sanders says he opposes the death penalty in all cases. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you for being with me on this monday afternoon. "the lead with jake tapper" starts now. >> thanks, brooke. the big question, who will survive super tuesday, the threequel. "the lead" starts right now. it is the final last chance for the stop donald trump republicans. campaigns in overdrive ahead of super tuesday, and the two states everyone is watching, ohio and florida. donald trump and chris christie sit down for a fire side chat in front of a fired-up crowd as the violence and volume continue to trump the issues. plus, breaking news. all of a sudden vladimir putin ordering russian troops to pull out of syria. where does this leave the battle against a brutal dictator and the war againsi