Trump and Anger in America; Kasich Reacts to Trump Protest Violence.
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST: I'm Michael Smerconish. It's getting scary out there. Is this a presidential race or uncivil war? In Chicago last night, angry confrontations between supporters and protesters at a Donald Trump rally, things quickly spiralled out of control. Police had to intervene. The event postponed. And now, you're looking at a packed Trump rally in Ohio that begins in about an hour, unprecedented heavy security, five law enforcement groups represented. Is this the new normal? When the dust settles, do or die week for Marco Rubio and John Kasich, both have to win their home states, Florida and Ohio and that's just to thwart Trump's nomination. Things have gotten so crazy that Rubio's team has been asking Rubio supporters in Ohio to vote for Kasich and wait, there is more, a ground swell of Democrats are switching parties so that they can vote for Donald Trump, but is it because they believe in him or because they see him as the weakest candidate to face on general election day. As I mentioned, another Trump rally scheduled to start in the hour within near Dayton, Ohio. Thousands have shown up for a rally in an airport hanger. Can things stay calm? Mark Preston joins me, from Vendalia (ph). He is the executive editor of CNN Politics. I think, mark, everybody wants to know, is there any presence of protesters in ohio akin to what there were in chicago last night?</s>MARK PRESTON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CNN POLITICS: Well, Michael, certainly not at this moment right now. This is a very secure area we are right now. We're right next to the Dayton International Airport. As you said, unprecedented amount of police activity around here. This place is pretty locked down. Having said that, there are thousands of people going inside this hanger right behind me who knows who is a protester and who is not. I have to tell you though there is a level of support that I haven't seen for Donald Trump in the past few weeks, certainly the past few months of seeing him on the campaign trail and a lot of that is probably going to be based upon what we saw last night in Chicago. These Trump supporters, Michael, are very frustrated by these protesters that keep on interrupting these Donald Trump rallies.</s>SMERCONISH: It's so interesting that you say that because it's a subject I'm about to pursue with other guests. Mark Preston, a bright bulb politically speaking especially, you think this plays to his benefit?</s>PRESTON: Look, it does if you are a hardened Trump supporter, Michael, what happened in Chicago last night is only making you even more supportive of Donald Trump. Several people I spoke to today in the line said they say "listen, Donald Trump is going to say what he wants to say and if you don't like it, that's too bad. You have a right to protest, sure, what you don't have a right to do," the said "is to interrupt these presidential rallies." One gentleman in particular, who said he's a retired police officer said to me "listen, if you get in my face, I'm going to get in your face." So there is this level of anger right now that is percolating certainly something I haven't seen in the several presidential campaigns that I've covered but again, as you said, is this the new norm?</s>SMERCONISH: But all of the behaviour that we witnessed at these Trump rallies is just a Hillary or a Bernie commercial waiting to happen in a general election. Mark, you can see that loop already.</s>PRESTON: No question. You know, it's interesting even behind me you look behind me right now and it doesn't look like there's a lot of people here. They have moved several thousand people probably into the hanger behind me but I have to tell you, right off, to the side off camera, there is a line of cars that is stretched right out, people still trying to get into this rally right now. People, Michael, started coming here in the middle of the night just to get in line to see Donald Trump. It's really an amazing scene.</s>SMERCONISH: Mark Preston, thank you. We'll come back to you later, OK?</s>PRESTON: Thank you.</s>SMERCONISH: I want to tell you what I think. What happened last night in Chicago was a Republican</s>JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, my rebuttal is this is what the American left does. You know, I am writing a column at this moment and I looked at video from Occupy Wall Street, from Black Lives Matter, from the Chicago Convention of 1968, the democratic convention. This is what the American left does. Donald Trump has nothing to do with it. Donald Trump is an excuse. At one point it was Hubert Humphry. You know, as they say, there is a video out there going through downtown Seattle smashing windows. A video of the Black Lives Matter people silencing Bernie Sanders at one of his own rallies. This is the American left in action. It's just that Donald Trump happens to be the target of it right this minute.</s>SMERCONISH: No, Jeffrey, respectfully, I've already read what you pen for the "Spectator" and it's very well done but what you failed to show me is where Hubert Humphry stood up and said "I wish I can punch that guy in the face. Get him out." There is no behavior like that from the elected officials that you cite but where you can draw a causal connection but there is here.</s>LORD: But Michael, we have free speech in this country. Candidates can say anything they want. You can't blame this kind of stuff on the candidate. Hubert Humphrey used the Secret Service to get protesters out. He ordered them out. He did the same thing as Donald Trump. You can't blame Humphrey, you can't blame Trump. You can't blame some merchant in Seattle. You can't blame Bernie Sanders. These candidates have first amendment rights. They can say anything they choose to say. You can't blame them.</s>SMERCONISH: Crystal Wright, what I am blaming Trump for is creating an environment and let me say to Jeffrey's point, I don't think it's fair to interrupt these candidates and I recognize the free speech rights that exists on both side of the equation but when you see the old- timer who could cocked that guy - run that footage if you would in Fayetteville. Isn't Donald Trump enciting that kind of a response, when Donald Trump says I wish I could punch him in the face, do we have that footage? Can we put it up on the screen of what happened in Fayetteville. African American guy walking out of the place. Here it comes. A white guy with a cowboy hat, boom. Isn't he doing what Donald Trump said he wished he could do?</s>CRYSTAL WRIGHT, "BLACK CHICK" BLOG: Isn't it interesting we're missing a lot of facts when we talk about Chicago and we talk about Donald Trump's rallies? It's interesting that Donald Trump is the only candidate who has protesters show up by the thousands. A friend of mine was in Chicago, she brought her teenage daughter who was about 13 or 14 and got her out of school early at 1:30 to go to stand in line for hours to hear Donald Trump speak, and Bernie Sanders supporters had a calculate coordinated effort on social media to have protesters sneak into Donald Trump's event last night, get in Trump supporter's faces and ripped up signs and they achieved what they wanted. But nobody is blaming the liberal protesters for stopping free speech and nobody is telling Bernie Sanders to calm him people down and another unreported fact at these rallies, Donald Trump is actually playing over a loud speaker before each rally there is an audio recording telling his supporters not to get into fights with protesters.</s>SMERCONISH: Wait a minute - but Crytal -</s>WRIGHT: No, no, let me just finish here. Let's wait a minute here. Donald Trump is one man. He is not - I think the blame is on the protesters, even some of the protesters. There is an article in the "Washington Post" this morning, the protesters are on record saying that it's not Donald Trump's fault. They go in there with specific purpose --</s>SMERCONISH: Crystal, you have to let me respond. Wait a minute.</s>WRIGHT: You have to be fair, Michael.</s>SMERCONISH: Being fair, I'm not being asked to vote for any of these protesters for president of the United States. I am being - I am being asked to vote for Donald Trump. And respectfully, you're both comparing apples and oranges when you reference Bernie and the left, I want to say this -</s>WRIGHT: OK.</s>SMERCONISH: You can't give to me the litany I'm about to give to you. I want to show you Jake Tapper</s>WRIGHT: You're giving a free pass to Bernie Sanders -</s>SMERCONISH: No, I'm not giving a free past. WRIGHT - liberal protesters. If you shut down free speech last night and you know what -</s>SMERCONISH: Crystal, no - I'm talking about the candidates. I'm not defending the behaviour of the protestors -</s>WRIGHT: You're --</s>SMERCONISH: You're defending - I'm going to show you something. Here is Jake Tapper in the debate. Roll it.</s>JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Some of your critics point to quotes that you made at the debates, at these rallies including February 23rd, "I'd like to punch him in the face" referring to a protester. February 27th in the good old days they would have ripped him out of the seat so fast, February 1st, knock the crap out of him. Seriously, just knock the hell, I promise you I will pay for the legal fees, I promise, I promise."</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: We have some protesters who are bad dudes. They have done bad things. They are swinging. They are really dangerous and they get in there and start hitting people and we had a couple big, strong, powerful guys doing damage to people, not only the loudness - the loudness I don't mind but doing serious damage and if they are going to be taken out, I'd be honest, I mean, we have to run something. It's not me. It's usually the municipal government, the police because I don't have guards all over these stadiums. I mean, we fill up stadiums.</s>SMERCONISH: Jeffrey, what I'm saying is that there is nothing you can show me from any of the other candidates where they made similar statements to Donald Trump. I abhor incivility. I'm not about that. I don't like the fact these protesters have interrupted your guy but other candidates have done nothing like he has done. You get to respond.</s>LORD: Michael, I love you but what I hear you saying is the political equivalent of the woman who was asking to be raped because she wears short skirt. This is wrong. This is wrong. Candidates can say anything they please, anything they please, they do not deserve to be -</s>WRIGHT: Michael, look, I think that showing that clip you raise an important point, Michael. No other candidate is being heckled and havig protesters disrupt his rallies with the intent purpose of getting into inciting fights with supporters. And I agree with what Donald Trump said, you have one protestor after another - do I think these people should be punched in the gut? No. I'm with you, Michael. I think on both sides, the violence is not acceptable but to blame it on Donald Trump when you have him being gang banged by protesters and his supporters, I don't think that 75- year-old man should have sucker punched that young black kid, at the same time, we have to ask ourselves a question. Why are so many liberals coming out in hordes in Donald Trump's rallies? Shouldn't they focus energy on supporting their candidate, Hillary or Bernie? Isn't that what democracy is about? I don't like the violence, Michael. I agree with you.</s>SMERCONISH: I get the final word. I don't see correlation, I see causation. I see a direct connection between fomenting the seeds of discontent and telling an angry white middle class, that the others could be Barack Obama without a birth certificate or the Mexicans who are the rapists or the Muslims that we need to keep as a religion out of this country and then to act like you're surprised when people go crazy at these rallies. I'm sorry, guys.</s>WRIGHT: I'm not white and I agree with them. The Muslims, we need a temporary moratorium on Muslims coming into the country and get a handle on illegal immigration. I'm not white. I agree with Donald Trump.</s>SMERCONISH: Next time you come on, don't hold back and tell me what you really think. Jeffrey Lord and Crystal Wright, thank you. How will voters react to last night's clashes? What does the rest of the path to the convention now look like? Joining me three smart individuals, Dr. Terry Madonna, director for the Center of Politics at Franklin and Marshall College, Michael Waldman, former speech writer for Bill Clinton, democratic strategist, Bob Beckel. Dr. Madonna, Terry, I want to begin with you. Politically speaking, who benefits from what we saw last night?</s>DR. TERRY MADONNA, DIRECTOR, CENTER OF POLITICS, FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE: Well, I think Donald Trump support just hardens. Remember, he had it early and it's firm. Nothing he has said and done has diminished that support. He is now about a third of the way towards the magic 1237, barring something in this sort of almost insane presidential nomination contest, I think it's going to be very difficult to stop him. We're going to know a lot more Tuesday in Ohio, Florida, and Illinois. But the facts are his support is firm. It's been consistent. His rallies will only grow. You hit the nail on the head. We are seeing the culmination of these deep divisions, polarization that has come to grow and enlarge over the last decade and a half and it's being crystallized in the candidacy of Donald Trump.</s>SMERCONISH: Michael Waldman, I see part as a part of the continuum that's been building for the last 30 years, I've spoken extensively on the past, the polarization, I believe, emanates from some of the conservative influences in the media because the GOP has abdicated its leadership to them and this therefore shouldn't be a surprise.</s>MICHAEL WALDMAN, FMR. SPEECH WRITER FOR BILL CLINTON: Well, it comes at a period of economic change and stagnating wages for many people. Significant demographic change and yes, a lot of voices in the media and conservative media telling people this is the fault of the others. And you need to go out and do something about it. Anybody who pretends that this is a surprise, that a major candidate likely to be the nominee of one of the two parties who gets up and speaks in such incindiary and racial terms, anyone whose surprised that violence erupted at these rallies is faking it. The fact of the matter is, this is an inevitable consequence of this kind of language and while it's not the first time in American history that we've seen this kind of think play out in an election but it's been the first time in a long time not since George Wallace's presidential campaign in 1968 and he used code words, much more than Donald Trump does now.</s>SMERCONISH: Hey, Bob Beckel, I want to show you how some of the other candidates are handling this, Trump's opponents. I'll begin with Ted Cruz. You tell me if he is striking the right chord with an eye Tuesday. Roll that. Do have -</s>TED CRUZ, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The campaign bears responsibility for creating an environment, when the candidate urges supporters to engage in physical violence to punch people in the face, the predictable consequence of that is that it escalates.</s>SMERCONISH: Bob Beckel, Marco Rubio said words have consequences and John Kasich said Trump has been sowing the seeds of this for a while. How should they respond?</s>BOB BECKEL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, they responded the right way because once again, Trump captured the entire news cycle. So the only way you're going to get in is somehow comment on what happened last night. Look, I was at the Chicago convention in '68. I was there as a marshall. You don't know fear until you see a horse bearing down on you at 12:00 at night. But this was not comparable to Chicago but the seeds are. Trump has a responsibility. Certainly he should have been allowed to speak. He had a responsibility to set the tone. He had a perfect opportunity last night to say when Don Lemon asked him this that we should all come down here, I ask my supporters not to engage. I asked those who want to protest to please do it in the areas they are supposed to but this will in the short run certainly help him probably in Florida and</s>SMERCONISH: Hey, Terry, you've been focused on some of the strategic implications of what's going on out there. Two things I want to ask you about, quickly, a fusion ticket. Might the net of this be the two candidates on the Republican side pair up and there is a lot of strategic voting taking place in this cycle. I get phone calls on a daily basis on my radio show from individuals who say I just want out and voted for Donald Trump. Half the time it's because they are for him and half the time it's because they want to elevate him as a weak candidate.</s>MADONNA: Yes, we'll first of all, there is almost no way I think to stop Trump barring something that we don't know and in this campaign that could occur tomorrow. The fact of the matter is that three of these other candidates are not going to be the nominee, they could put a fusion ticket together, a kind of unity ticket, you know, you pick it, Kasich-Rubio, Rubio-Kasich. Mathematically, it looks like that Cruz has the outside chance to stop Trump win the nomination as this whole process moves forward. That was done, of course, in 1976 when Ronald Reagan picked democrat - United States senator, a Republican named Richard</s>SMERCONISH: Strange bedfellows coming -</s>MADONA: Yes.</s>SMERCONISH: Hey, guys, gents, I have to move. I want to say this, Michael Waldman, I just read "The Fight to Vote," your new book. It's terrific. Thank you all three of you for being here, I really appreciate it.</s>WALDMAN: Thank you.</s>SMERCONISH: What do you think? Tweet me your feedback @smerconish. I'll read some of them later in the program. Still to come, waiting on the rally in Ohio and Trump's tactics on terrorists and their families have put him at odds with a former general, one-time head of the NSA and CIA, Michael Hayden, General Hayden is about to join me. And it wasn't just Chicago. Several Trump rallies are now turning into scenes of confrontation and outright brawling. It is it his fault?