stand back and allow others to get into the fray. there's some candidates like joe biden who might benefit from not being the one to actually take bloomberg on and standing back is another strategy that might be successful for some of the other candidates on that stage. >> i want to come back to something biden has just said. what will you be looking for? >> i'm going to be looking to bloomberg for his reaction. a few of those other candidates are really going to go after him and give him a punch, and i'm curious to see how he reacts. i've interviewed him over the years, many years going way back when he was mayor of new york, and he gets irritated when you go after him, even if you ask specifically in my particular case, a few serious important, but tough questions, you know, he gets -- he gets irritated, and he responds. so i'm curious to see how he will respond to the attacks he's almost certainly going to get from bernie sanders. i'm sure that klobuchar and the others will go after him as well. maybe not biden, you make a good

point about biden because he's trying to stay a little bit above the fray, but it could get ugly. >> u i was talking to a debate coach yesterday and he was saying if you're bloomberg, there's going to be incoming coming from all directions, and his phrase was do the back step and then pivot. what does that look like? when they come after him on, you know, stop and frisk or you're buying the election or all these allegations of workplace harassment issues, what does he need to do? >> this is where what wolf said is really important. can he keep his cool. he's going to get attacked on all kinds of things. people are going to be questioning his character, you know, his morality in a lot of cases based on some of the things he's said and done over the years, and will he be able to just calmly respond and pivot back to talking points? that's a skill that a lot of the other candidates have had many, many months to hone. michael bloomberg hasn't been on the debate stage in many years. it's entirely possible he'll be able to do it, but it's going to require a lot of control and

discipline in order to do it. frankly, if he can do that, i'm not sure there's much else michael bloomberg needs to do tonight on the debate stage. the bar is a little bit low in some cases because i think voters just want to see people's demeanors, how they parity these attacks. it's really about personality and less so about the issues that have dominated the topics over the last several weeks. >> one thing he does have going for him, he spent the last not just several days but i'm sure it's been weeks gearing up for this political debate. he has excellent political operatives who have gone through political debate preparation for other democratic candidates. they're going to through mock debates, rehearsals, they're practicing. they're slamming him. they're seeing how he responds. they're reviewing the videotape. they're going through a lot of practice sessions. >> i know there's a lot of buzz just because he's the first fresh face really on the stage tonight, but i do want to ask you about senator bernie

sanders. he's really showing strong in this poll of polls, the latest one cnn tally of the five most recent national polls shows him firmly in the lead, and so obviously he'll be punching and be presumably on the receiving end of some tonight. what does he need to do? >> well, you know, i'm sure he will respond -- you know, he's bernie sanders, and you know, you can't -- he's not going to change. if he gets a hit, he'll hit back, but he'll come out swinging as well. he is the front runner right now in this poll of polls. he's the top, so he's got a lot going on right now, and he certainly doesn't want to lose that advantage that he has. so it's going to be -- i'm sure they will go after him on several issues, most recently this whole issue are you going to release your medical history, your medical reports? are we going to know all the numbers about your history of cholesterol and blood pressure and all that kind of stuff. the guy three months ago had a heart attack, and you know, he's 78 years old. people have a right to know what's going on, and i think the other candidates have to do exactly the same thing,

including bloomberg who's also 78 years old. he's got to release all of his medical records, so we know specifically what's going on. >> just there is a lack of transparency with the current administration doesn't mean other potential presidents can get away with that. >> i think tonight is also a chance for bernie sanders to broaden his appeal. he's got a lot of eyeballs on him tonight. i think people will be interested in this debate because of bloomberg's appearance on it. he is now leading as you pointed out in these national polls and there's the question can he get beyond his 28, 30% in the democratic field and make himself more appealing to some democrats who are concerned about the fact he's a democratic socialist or the fact that he's one of the oldest candidates on that stage. is he going to even try to pivot? bernie sanders is not known to really do that at all, and if he does, will it be effective? that's what i'm looking for from him tonight because i don't think that he necessarily needs to be getting into food fights with the other candidates.

when you're leading, it's your opportunity to really start expanding your reach and expanding that lead, and taking advantage of the upper hand that you have over the rest of the people on hthat stage. >> former vice president joe biden, he has just said this. >> what's the truth about bloomberg? >> truth is he didn't endorse barack or me when we ran. this is a guy using barack's pictures like they're good buddies. i'm going to talk about his record. >> do you think he's disingenuous? do you think painting him as a friend of bloomberg is disingenuous? >> mildly, mildly. >> so obviously the context of this is the fact that michael bloomberg has put out some ads recently including who is sort of the perception is his long-time ally president barack obama, and i'm wondering if you think this a preview of what's

to come from joe biden tonight? >> i suspect it is because, you know, the former president, president obama, he's been relatively out of it. he's staying out of it. he hasn't, you know, publicly at least as far as i know complained to the bloomberg campaign about all those ads. he's staying away from all the politics right now, and he certainly hasn't come out and formally endorsed his vice president for eight years, joe biden, and you would have thought the guy was his vice president. he picked him to be vice president because he thought he was the most qualified person god forbid to emerge as president of the united states one heartbeat away from that. but he's stayed out of it completely, and he's staying out of this little controversy over whether or not, you know, barack obama and michael bloomberg are on the same page. >> i cannot overestimate this. people do see that bloomberg ad and believe that obama has endorsed him, for joe biden that's a real problem as we go into south carolina, a state where that endorsement matters a lot. so biden tonight not only has to

deal with bloomberg maybe trying to co-opt the obama mantle but also some of the other candidates have used obama in ads. elizabeth warren has done it, even bernie sanders put out an ad in south carolina today that features video of him walking with president obama at the white house. joe biden wants to hold onto that because that has been really the pillar of his ability to hold onto the african-american vote. he needs it in south carolina, and i think we will see biden trying to put a lot of people in their place tonight as the person who, you know, as he said to voters, he believes that he is the person who deserves to be associated with president obama in a way that some of these other candidates want. >> president obama the most popular democrat still to this day out there. if he were to come out and formally endorse these candidates that would be a huge moment. but he's staying out of it. >> we've been talking about

obama whisperers and what's going on behind the scenes there. abby, wolf, such a treat. >> what are you going to be doing at 5:00 p.m. tonight? >> watching you my friend. >> joining us in the situation room. >> thanks for that promotion. >> you got it. let me bring in cnn political writer harry enten. >> thanks for cracking me up, goodness gracious. >> all the love for wolf. >> and the buffalo bills. >> yes, go bill ls michael bloomberg has pinned his to 20 hopes on super tuesday. he skipped all the early states. you say he still has a steep climb to securing the nomination. go through the delegate math. >> despite the fact that michael bloomberg's getting all this attention right now, he is still well behind in the national polls, even though his support has jumped from 9% to 16% that's well behind bernie sanders's 27%. of course the question is how do you translate this support nationally into the delegate math? and i have attempted to do so basically right here.

so essentially bloomberg's super tuesday math, given the polls and given that democrats have that 15% threshold for delegates, so those people low down on the bottom aren't going to receive that many delegates if any at all. what we're expecting is that bloomberg is expected to get about 20% of the delegates, which obviously isn't bad but isn't anywhere near the majority of the delegates that are available on super tuesday. now, why is that important, brooke, as we look forward through the entire primary season? it's very important because keep in mind 38% of the pledged delegates are awarded by super tuesday. that's, of course, counting the states that voted before iowa, new hampshire, nevada, south carolina, through super tuesday. 38% of the delegates are already awarded. that is a huge block, and remember, of course, that democrats use proportional representation. that is the delegates are awarded proportionally. it's very difficult to run the field, get 100% of the delegates. that simply put not going to happen, and so essentially if you're looking after super

tuesday, right, and you realize that bloomberg wins 20% of the delegates on super tuesday, he will need to get this, 70% of the remaining delegates to win a delegate majority. that's basically impossible if we're being real with ourselves. if there's any competition at all, and i can assure you that bernie sanders isn't leaving this race, this is basically impossible math, and it basically means that bloomberg's best path is a delegate plurality. i'm not sure anyone will get a delegate majority, if you take a look, and basically i've averaged across a few sources, there's still a 4.5 in 10 shot of a contested wch means that no one will have a majority of delegates. bloomberg doesn't really have a shot. sanders has the best shot but it's very much up in the air whether anyone will get that majority. >> thank you for doing the math. we'll keep a close eye on that. i know you will. >> i'm trying my best. >> thank you. >> thank you. coming up next, fresh off of

his release from prison, former democratic governor of illinois rod blagojevich now calls himself a trumpocrat. hear what else he has to say. also ahead, attorney general bill barr is reportedly saying he has considered resigning over president trump's interference at the doj, but that has not stopped a series of new tweets from the president himself. we'll be right back. being able to retire on our terms. taking care of dad. why ameriprise financial? my advisor cares about my personal goals. he gives us comprehensive advice. i feel prepared for what's expected in life and even what's not. she helps us feel confident. we know our financial future is secure. with the right financial advice, life can be brilliant. ameriprise financial.

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you can build big dreams. spend less. get way more. shop everything home at wayfair toda. today former illinois governor rod blagojevich faced a circus, look at this, signing his own head. e outside of his home where he held this news conference before he signed a number of, you know, pieces of paper from well wishers. blagojevich served eight years of a 14-year sentence before president trump granted him clemency. the 63-year-old father was one of 11 who received that favor whether it was clemency or pardon from the president, commutation of sentence or a pardon. many of these people like the

former governor were convicted of white collar crimes. they include junk bond king michael milken, the ex-owner of the 49ers, eddie debartolo and former police commissioner bernard kerik. in blagojevich's case, the president had seen his wife patty plead on fox news for clemency. >> he's a republican president. i was a democratic governor, and doing this does nothing to help his politics. i've got 10,000 reasons to be thankful to president trump. i'm obviously thankful to be home, to have my freedom back, to just be able to hold my wife's hand, but most of all, i'm thankful to you mr. president for giving my daughters their father back. now i wish i could slow down time, but no matter where their life's journey may lead, they may always take with them the realization that the kindest gift they've ever received in their lives came from you. >> and the part of the government that sent blagojevich

to prison, the justice department is apparently getting too much attention from the president on twitter. a source close to the situation says attorney general bill barr has told people he's considered resigning over the president's interference with the justice department, especially his tweets. outcry over the president's interference reached a fever pitch after four career prosecutors withdrew from the case of the president's long-time friend roger stone. their sentencing recommendation from stone had been rescinded after the president sent a tweet opposing it. now, what we don't know is how serious barr is about this resignation, potentially, but it is crystal clear that barr is frustrated with the president's use of twitter. >> to have public statements and tweets made about the department, about people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending in the department, and about judges before whom we have cases make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and

the prosecutors in the department that we're doing our work with integrity. >> that was thursday. the president has been tweeting on multiple federal cases ever since then, but he did offer this one concession to his attorney general. >> i have total confidence in my attorney general. i do make his job harder. i do agree with that. i think that's true. he's a very straight shooter. we have a great attorney general, and he's working very hard. >> j.w. verret is an associate professor of law, once advised the trump transition team. great to see you in person. >> good to be here. >> the barr potential resignation, how serious is that? >> i think it's a paper tiger. i already saw this guy run essentially a communications operation for the president as the mueller report came out, and that was when i went from respecting a man who served well in the reagan administration to being disappointed and frankly,

questioning his ethical leadership at the department. >> you've seen all of these tweets, you know, just even in the last 12 hours from this president on doj issues. i mean, the president himself said yesterday i realize i make his life more difficult. what does barr do? >> you know, i think there are parts of the department that continue to function as they should because the career attorneys, civil and criminal attorneys are doing their jobs, and some of the politicals are doing their jobs there as well, but meanwhile, barr is running political interference for the president. there's no question about that, and that's a threat to the health of the justice department. i think the department can endure it in the next administration, but it is a threat to justice in the long-term. >> what about all the pardons and the commutations from yesterday, the list of 11 mostly white collar crime, and i sit here obviously very aware of what tomorrow is with the roger stone sentencing, but why do you think he did all of that? >> yeah, so i teach white collar criminal law, securities and

banking law. i think we've watched trump commit a number of white collar violations over the course of the last few years alone, bribery and witness tampering. we've seen it in realtime. i'm pretty sure evidence suggests we'll see with the tax returns that he's committed bank fraud and/or tax fraud or both, so maybe he just discounts white collar crime. so some of the individuals on there, examples of overcharging by the justice department. but that's not why he's doing what he's doing. >> why is he doing it. >> >> i think he's doing it to -- >> soften the blows for the upcoming pardons? >> that's certainly consistent with the timing, for this happening as part of his vibt ri lap post impeachment, the stone pardon that we can anticipate based on his already trying to interfere in the stone sentencing. i think that's coming, i think we should expect it coming. i only hope the american people see it for what it is. the president may have technically a power to do this pardon, but that doesn't make it any more ethical. it's just wrong. >> reiterating what you said,

perhaps this president doesn't see white collar crime as crime. i mentioned rod blagojevich. let's listen to this. this is something rod blagojevich brought up. >> got -- i'm a trumpocrat? >> if i had the ability to vote, i would have voted for him. >> illinois does allow blagojevich to vote now that he's out of prison, but a trumpocrat. is that a new one for merriam webst webster? >> i think -- >> what is that? >> nothing surprises me anymore, but i think we'll see a lot of crossover republicans voting for democrats if the democrats nominate a moderate like i've hoped they'll do. i think we also have to get ready for "dancing with the stars" pardoned criminals. three days from now, the nevada caucus is happening, and the clear leader in the polls is senator bernie sanders. he says he doesn't plan to release any more medical records despite his promises to do so prior to his heart attack.

also, pete buttigieg fires back at rush limbaugh for attacking his sexuality, but hear what he had to say about family values in a cnn town hall. they get that no two people are alike and customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. almost done. what do you think? i don't see it. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ like.. pnc easy lock, so you can easily lock your credit card when its maximum limit differs from its vertical limit. and clover flex, for when you need to take credit cards when no one carries cash. or requesting a call to help get a new credit card-

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senator bernie sanders made this promise last september before he had a heart attack. >> i think it's the right thing to do for the american people have a right to know whether the person they're going to be voting for for president is healthy, and we will certainly release our medical records before the primaries -- certainly before the first votes are cast. >> that was then. this is now. >> now, we have released, i think, anderson, quite as much as any other candidate has. >> if you think i'm not in good health, come on out on the campaign trail and i'll let you introduce me at the three or four rallies we do every day. >> you don't plan to release any more records? >> i don't think so no. >> cnn political commentator and democratic strategist hilary

rosen and tara sudd mayer, lad s ladies, welcome. hillary, senator sanders refu refusing -- they sent out letters from two korjt kojjtss >> there doesn't seem to be a consequence for saying you're going to do something and not going to do something, except for the fact that bernie sanders tries to hold himself to a bigger standard than others. people are entitled to medical privacy. don't say you're going to do it. don't legitimize people's doubts and then keep it going. >> but he had a heart attack. >> he had a heart attack, and then the other thing that happened yesterday was one of his spokespeople -- >> we're going to get to that. >> -- went out there and said mayor bloomberg had a heart attack too, and he actually didn't. >> that was this morning on our air. let me go ahead and jump there, tara we'll talk about how this campaign aide of the senator's campaign came on air this morning and said this. >> i think the american people deserve to know exactly as much

as every other candidate has released in this race currently and historically. it's really telling given that none of the same concern is being demonstrated for michael bloomberg who's the same age as bernie sanders, who has suffered heart attacks in the past, and what we're seeing is a kind of smear campaign. >> so she later clarified -- by the way, michael bloomberg has never had a heart attack, and she clarified this is what she said, i misspoke when i said bloomberg had a heart attack. rather he underwent the same stent procedure as bernie. bernie released three detailed medical reports in december like all the other candidates. tara, what is that more just deflect but don't apologize? >> well, sure, and when you're on the national stage like that as the spokesperson for a national candidate, you can't make mistakes like that. and i believe she also exaggerated the sexual harassment cases and things against bloomberg yesterday as

well on another network. i mean, it is -- she -- it's irresponsible, and you can't do that. if you're not ready for prime time, they shouldn't be putting her out there, and that's coming from a former spokesperson for an elected official. another mistake that she made but i don't know -- while this probably wasn't a mistake, this was on purpose, comparing this to birtherism, which is outrageous saying that the demand for the right to know whether bernie sanders is healthy enough, the american voter should know that. he did have a heart attack. he will be 79, i believe, when he's sworn in if he did win. the american people have a right to know if he's healthy enough to handle the rigors of the job. people want more transparency, not less of it especially with what we're dealing with with this current president, so it is cut from the same political cloth somewhat of the trump play book. you've got two demagogue disrupters out there at the same time and a spokesperson using inflammatory language like comparing this to birtherism, which is outrageous, nowhere

close to that. it's just irresponsible, and i think that now that bernie's coming under more scrutiny because he has been now given the front runner moniker, some of these things, they better be better prepared for, but his people better be ready for it. >> i think that's really the point. >> the original point is that voters deserve to see his full picture of medical records, do they not? >> he apparently thought so at one point after his heart attack when he said that he would release his medical records, and he wasn't in the lead then. and -- >> that changes things. >> now that he's in the lead, he's pulling back and having a different story, and i think that's the problem is that do you get to do that and how do people trust you. but look, you know, between michael bloomberg, bernie sanders, joe biden, and donald trump, we have, you know, men in their late 70s. voters have questions about all of them, and that's okay. >> speaking of the younger set,

pete buttigieg -- and the double standard, no, i hear you on that. >> i was just going to say with the way they treated hillary clinton and her -- >> when she was stumbling. >> when she barely had a cold, right, or something. >> pete buttigieg downtotown ha responds to rush limbaugh's insult about his marriage. >> the idea of the likes of rush limbaugh or donald trump lecturing anybody on family values. [ applause ] >> i mean. [ applause ] >> i'm sorry, but one thing about my marriage is it's never involved me having to send hush money to a porn star after cheating on my spouse with him or her. >> this comes after rush limbaugh said on monday that he is not apologizing because the president called him and told

him not to, quote, this is rush talking, limbaugh talking. he calls when i am moments away from commencing a medical procedure, and i had to tell the doctors you've got to give me a half hour. the president's calling. okay, we'll wait a half hour. then i told the white house, look, i've got a medical procedure in ten minutes, can you have the president call me back in 35, and they did. so he called back, and he said, rush, i just got t tell you something, never apologize. don't ever. and i said for what? there's obviously the piece of what pete buttigieg said last night, but now it's also knowing that the president took the time to pick up the phone and call rush limbaugh to say don't apologize and then he had a medical procedure, and he's like okay, i'll call you back, but don't apologize. tara, how do you -- how do you see that? >> i mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. first of all, it's mellow dramatic because that's what rush does. going through the whole thing about oh, the president called me back and i was having a medical procedure. the whole thing is so reality show dramatic that it's hard to take any of this seriously, and

the fact that the president did that, if he actually did do that, i wonder, but if he did, it just goes to show you the things this president's obsessing over. this is what they're worrying about? and the two of them are the biggest hypocrites when it comes to that. pete buttigieg had a brilliant answer to it, and i just think it just furthers this sensationalism that's coming from the right wing media and right wing talk radio to gin people up and to go try to make these kinds of issues, especially about pete buttigieg being married to a man, they've telegraphed that that will be something they will go after because they know the social conservatives that listen to them intently will find this something that's fodder for them. i think it's not right. it's disrespectful to gay families in this country, but it's not surprising because they debase themselves this way in talk right wing radio for many years with this.

>> we've got to go, but i think also my point of bringing that up and you made the point, the president's governing the country and instead this is what he's choosing to spend -- >> and he's getting away with hypocrisy on gay rights forever. >> hilary rosen, tara set mayer, thank you both so much. coming up next, how president obama will factor into this 2020 race, what he's saying behind the scenes and why he has yet to weigh in on the divide between moderates and progressives in this heated democratic primary. managing type 2 diabetes?

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michael bloomberg's rise in the polls and growing list of endorsements have propelled him into his first democratic presidential debate, but the one endorsement many candidates are hoping for from former president barack obama remains elusive. he has been quiet thus far leaving everyone wondering what he is going to do, and more importantly, when. but a new report in new york magazine says that president obama promised democratic front runner senator bernie sanders that he would not weigh in at all on the primary. of course that hasn't stopped some candidates from using obama's likeness in their campaign ads. gabriel devideo debt tee is the national correspondent for new york magazine. he is with me now. gabriel, welcome. >> thank you very much. so for everyone out there who's wondering what does former president obama think about these candidates, when do you expect people to hear from him?

>> he's made pretty clear to not just senator sanders but all the campaigns and lots of people who come to him saying hey, man, do you want to weigh in, basically saying i'm not going to do anything at this point, until there's a nominee. he's not going to weigh in with an endorsement until it's very clear who the nominee is going to be for a few reasons. one is what he thinks that the party is going to need a lot of uniting this spring and early in the summer, and he thinks as the most popular figure in the party with the widest appeal, he's probably in the best position to do that. two, he knows he's going to have to play a pretty big role in the general election. he doesn't want to weigh in now before the race is over and effectively divide the party and limit his own appeal. so he's waiting in the wings. he's made it clear to all the campaigns if they have questions for him, they can reach out to him, but he's not reaching out to anyone to offer advice proactively. >> going into tonight, the debate, bernie sanders is the front runner, you know, you report that team obama has talked to team sanders directly

during this election psycycle. if bernie sanders becomes the nominee, is it safe to assume that obama will throw his support behind him even though they represent very different wings in the democratic party? >> yeah, let's make no mistake that president obama has made his reservations with bernie sanders pretty clear, you know, in the past he's gone out of his way to essentially say they don't agree ideologically and obviously they've had a complicated history personally, but he has also made clear to friends, president obama has if bernie's the nominee he will support him. he hasn't said that on the record, obviously, out loud but people have asked him about this over and over. he's made this clear to bernie sanders' camp, people around president obama have talked to them about this because there have been rumors every few months that president obama might be afraid of what bernie sanders would do. listen, obama had said over and over to people who ask, i will support bernie if he's the nominee. that doesn't mean that, of course, he's backing him now, and of course bernie sanders isn't claiming support from obama, but you know, lots of other candidates are using obama in their ads. >> well, let me -- thank you for

teeing up any next question. michael bloomberg, you know, as you report one of the few serious contenders actually not to give obama the heads-up that he's entering the race, and he has included obama in recent ads, you know, giving off this impression that they're these long-time friends. what are obama whisperers telling you about that? >> yeah, well, bloomberg is one of the other people in this race that has a really long complicated history with obama, too. lots of people around president obama like michael bloomberg, but there are also a lot of people in that inner circle who sort of find this a little bit annoying, the degree to which obama is being used in these ads, the two strategists behind president obama's '08 campaign have gone on record and said people keep asking them why obama has endorsed bloomberg, which of course is not the case. it's just that the ads make it seem that way. there are people in that orbit who sort of remember and often bring up, well, you know, bloomberg didn't endorse obama in 2008.

he only doorsed obaendorsed oba very end in 2012. he's been very critical of his key positions, whether it's obamacare or, well, a wide range of different issues. joe biden today released a video hitting bloomberg on that fact. effectively saying stop pretending that obama supports you. obama is being neutral for a reason. >> that's a preview of what we're going o'hear from joe biden at the debate. thank you very much. great reporting. >> thank you. the post-impeachment purge continues, another official who raised a red flag about the delay in ukraine aid is forced out. we'll have those details ahead, and i'll speak live to the mother who was featured in michael bloomberg's super bowl ad. hear why losing her son to gun violence has led her to back the former new york city mayor. >> when i heard mike was stepping into the ring, i thought now we have a dog in the fight. butter poached, creamy and roasted. or try lobster sautéed with crab, shrimp and more.

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for the very first time the voters will see a new face on the democratic debate stage tonight. billionaire mike bloomberg is going to head-to-head with those who have criticized him for trying to buy his way into the white house, and so bloomberg has spent hundreds of billions on campaign ad and far more than his rivals. and one of my next guests appeared in a super bowl ad and she is joining him for an extremely personal reason. >> george started playing football when he was 4 years old. he would wake up every saturday ready for the game. that became our life. he had aspirations of going to

the nfl. on a friday morning george was shot. george didn't survive. i just kept saying that you cannot tell me that the child i gave birth to is no longer here. lives are being lost everyday, and it is a national crisis. i heard mike bloomberg speak, and he has been in the fight for so long that he heard mothers crying and so he started fighting. >> and that mother featured in the ad, she is with me now, and thank you for joining me, kalandrian. >> thank you for having me. i truly appreciate it. >> and i want to know more about the personal story and tell me about george and how you feel that his death could have been prevented? >> my son george kemp was my only son. he was a special child. george not only loved football,

but he loved the horses and george loved to help his friends become who they could be. he was always been a mentor to someone. and just to know that my son's life, george kemp, was taken by a gun is hard, but i know that his life, and this could have been prevented by not having young adults to having the access to guns. >> in the wake of george's death and you being active in moms demand action and play it forward for me how you first met mike bloomberg? >> well, being involved in moms mean action, and i met him at a breakfast in 2019. i sat down and i brought him a picture of my son george and i wanted to hear what he had to say about ending gun violence, and he really listened, but the main thing about it is that mothers all across this country

are in so much pain from losing their children, and they just want answers, and more than just thoughts and prayers. they want solutions and they want to use the voice to get into the fight to end gun violence, and mike is like, he has heard many mothers crying across the country and especially in new york. he had a plan. and just that meeting, that is what made me say, okay, then let's do this. so i feel like my son's life is not in vain. >> i know that initially when b beto o'rourke was in the race, you supported him, and now just a question on the policy, while bloomberg's plan is to continue a ban on assault weapons and other gun, and do you believe his plan goes far enough? >> well, i think it does.

for me, it is about the safety. anything that we can do to preserve the lives of our fellow citizens is fine. i think about when you are thinking about assault weapons and all that and you think about the mass shootings and the children having to do active shooter drills. i mean, have we thought about the long term effect that we have on children? so i believe that anything that we can do in the law that will preserve lives is well worth it. >> i know that this is about your son, and this is about guns for you, but, you know, we have to obviously look at the candidates in totality and bloomberg has been receiving the criticism over stop and frisk and claims of sexist workplace conditions, and so i'm wondering, calandria, if any of that gives you pause? >> it gave me pause at first, but knowing that michael bloomberg has openly apologized

for those policies and the things that he said and i believe that everybody deserves a second chance, and i believe that especially with the stop and frisk and making it right is the initiative to help uplift the communities of color through creating homeownership as well as businesses. >> thank you for your voice and coming on, and it is a pleasure. sorry about your son. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> and still ahead here on cnn, much anticipated update on the condition of ryan newman who ended the daytona 500 in that fiery crash. so did you get a new car? kind of. thanks to navy federal it only took 5 minutes. so vets can join? oh yeah. how do you kind of buy a new car? it's used. it's for mikey. you know he's gonna have girls in that car. yeah. he's gonna have two of them.

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some encouraging news for veteran nascar driver ryan newman who has been released from the hospital after that fiery crash in the daytona 500, and this is a snapshot of him with his two daughters and this one with his two daughters in the hospital. he was showing great improvement and fully alert and joking with the staff and the family and friends and of course, we wish hem well. i'm brooke baldwin and thank you for being with me. "the lead with jake tapper" starts right now. we are finally going to hear from mike bloomberg without him disclosing that he approved this message. "the lead" starts right now. attacks over the heart

attack, and the battle is ugly at the top of the democratic race as senator bernie sanders says that you have seen enough of his medical history and while the campaign called sanders the trump of the left. from off of the stage to primary target, mayor bloomberg is expected to catch a ton of heat from the 2020 rivals as the billionaire's treatment of women in the workplace is coming under new scrutiny and money, power and pardons and the name drops and cash and major players that all led to president trump letting some powerful criminals off of the hook. welcome to "the lead."