[Whitfield:] All right, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Donald Trump has some harsh remarks about George W. Bush's handling of 911 and the war in Iraq during last night's Republican debate in South Carolina sparking a faceoff between candidates.
[Bush:] I'm sick and tired of him going after my family. My dad is the greatest man alive, in my mind. And while Donald Trump was building a reality TV show, my brother was building a security apparatus to keep us safe and I'm proud of what he did. He has had the gall to go after my mother.
[Trump:] The World Trade center came down -.
[Bush:] He has had the gall to go after my mother. Look. I won the lottery when I was born 63 years ago, looked up and I saw my mom. My mom is the strongest woman I know.
[Trump:] She should be running.
[Bush:] It's not about my family or his family. This about the South Carolina families that needs someone to be a commander-in-chief that can lead.
[Whitfield:] Boy, gloves were definitely off. Let's talk more about this. Republican strategist, Brian Morgenstern and Republican strategist, conservative columnist and Donald Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany are back with me. All right. Brian, you first. You know, the boos in the audience when Trump referred to 911 happening on President George W. Bush's watch, Well, Trump said he said this before but the South Carolina debate audience didn't seem to like this. So was this a big risk for him in such a Bush friendly state?
[Morgenstern:] Sure. Well, both politically and, you know, if you have any regard for the truth especially when you are talking about the weapons of mass destruction that he cited. Remember, in 1998, Bill Clinton bombed Iraq to target weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein gassed hundreds of thousands of Kurds because of weapons of mass destruction. At the time we went in, this was, you know, as George Tenant said, a slam dunk. So now, Donald Trump joining not just the Democratic party, but really like code pink activists and people who are way out of step with Republicans. That is a huge political risk especially, as you mentioned, in a state that loves the Bushes.
[Whitfield:] And you know, Kayleigh, it doesn't seem as though people want to kind to re-litigate what happened or what led up to, but it's here and it is right back on the debate stage again. So Trump took it even further, you know, saying Bush lied leading up to the Iraq war. How does that potentially impact what has been his lead?
[Mcenany:] You know, I don't think it's good. And Fred, as you mentioned, I'm a Trump supporter. I think he would be a great president. I think he won the debate last night. But I do wish he would dial back the criticism of George W. Bush because here is what Trump supporters are made of. It's partly conservatives but it's also independents and Democrats. And while what he said may play well among independents and Democrats, in South Carolina, 83 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of George W. Bush. So I wish he would rein that criticism in a little bit and just stick to the criticism of the war itself.
[Whitfield:] And then Kayleigh, you said you thought he won the debate. Why do you think he won the debate? And on what points did he win, in your view?
[Mcenany:] It is overall, the demeanor that he presented his closing argument I think nailed home why he is resonating so much in the hearts of voters. He said I am be holdings any political interest. I am here for you. And I think his populist message for instance on preserving Social Security in saying voters paid into this, they need to be able to take out of it. That's not a conservative point, but it is populist one and it is one that appeals broadly beyond the narrow conservative base.
[Whitfield:] And Brian, do you agree with that, you know? Did it seem as though, you know, Donald Trump seemed particularly his feathers were ruffled last night? He seemed like he was about to lose his temper.
[Morgenstern:] Yes. He was yelling into the microphone at one point. I will agree with Kayleigh on one thing and then vehemently disagree in another direction. On the one hand, that populist argument that he's beholden to no one and he has got his own
[Whitfield:] Who?
[Morgenstern:] with everybody screaming at each other, it wasn't a very high bar, but I think Rubio came out looking well because he had been so damaged to begin with, I think that exceeding expectations the way he did in this debate, he probably had the most to gain.
[Whitfield:] OK. And then there was Marco Rubio who might, you know, who has been arguing that he is the one who looked most presidential. In fact, you know, he even tried to deflect Trump's blame on George W. Bush and instead said it was former president Clinton who failed. Listen.
[Rubio:] The world trade center came down because Bill Clinton didn't kill Osama bin Laden when he had the chance to kill him.
[Whitfield:] So Kayleigh, did we see a kind of more reinvented, more confident Marco Rubio last night particularly after the New Hampshire debate that did not go his way?
[Mcenany:] I don't think so. Because everyone you know, this morning is touting his great performance but what comes to mind when I think about Marco Rubio last night is his spat with Ted Cruz over immigration and where he said Ted Cruz how do you know what I said on Univision, I don't you don't speak Spanish. And then Ted Cruz responded in Spanish. He really out of place in that encounter. And he looked like he was lying about Ted Cruz's record. So I don't think we saw a reinvigorated Marco Rubio. He did better than last time but the bar was kind of low last time if you ask me.
[Whitfield:] OK. There was a lot of name calling last night and there were even those calling each other liars. Listen.
[Trump:] You're the biggest liar. You're probably worse than Jeb Bush. You are the single biggest liar.
[Rubio:] This is a disturbing pattern now because for a number of weeks now, Ted Cruz has just been telling lies. He lied about Ben Carson in Iowa. He lies about marriage. He's lying about all sorts of things.
[Whitfield:] So Brian, is this more of a display of desperation or down to the wire trying to stay out in front of what could be a very pivotal race in South Carolina?
[Morgenstern:] I wouldn't call it desperation. I would say its crunch time behavior. This is how you do it. You go after the candidate sort of, you know, main brand, the theme of the brand. And Ted Cruz wants him brand of the reliable conservatism. The fact is that he has not necessarily been on a number of issues. And, in particular, with this immigration issue, the notion that Ted Cruz is this reliable conservative when basically everyone on the stage agrees that enforcement first is necessary. And then, you know, we'll talk about maybe legal status or citizenship depending on the candidate and that's where they disagree. But what he's trying to do is boil it down into who seems tougher, who can come off as the real tough guy and that I think is being dishonest.
[Mcenany:] I just want to quickly respond. There's a difference in action, you know. There's no doubt when you looked at what happened in the Senate, Ted Cruz was on the side of Jeff Sessions fighting against the bill that Rubio was on the side of Chuck Schumer on. I mean, those are very different position. It's not just, you know, a difference in attitude, it is a difference in position. One was for the Schumer bill. One was against it. Those are the differences.
[Whitfield:] All right, we will leave it right there.
[Morgenstern:] But Ted Cruz was in favor of legal status increasing visas by 500 percent, something like that. He said openly fought passionately for legal status and now he's trying to
[Mcenany:] Miss characterization.
[Morgenstern:] Out Trump, Trump.
[Whitfield:] All right, we will leave it there. \ Brian Morgenstern, Kayleigh McEnany, thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.
[Mcenany:] Thanks, Fred.
[Whitfield:] All right. Still ahead, remembering Justice Antonin Scalia. He has called a hero and mentor by one of his former law clerks. We'll talk about Justice Scalia, next.