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IDESK

Bernie Sanders Wins Big in New Hampshire, Trump Cruises Past Rivals; George W. to Join Jeb on Campaign Trail; Laurent Fabius Resigns as French Foreign Minister; Reports from War-Torn Aleppo; U.S. Presidential Candidates Look to South Carolina; The Cuban Roots of Cruz and Rubio; Partygoers Revel through Mardi Gras. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired February 10, 2016 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST (voice-over): Two big wins in New Hampshire, Donald Trump beat his Republican rivals by double digits and Bernie Sanders

crushes Hillary Clinton. All that and much more ahead at the INTERNATIONAL DESK.

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CURNOW: Hello and welcome, I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center. And we start with that New Hampshire primary, voters giving big wins to outsiders

and a resounding "no" to establishment candidates.

In the Democratic race Bernie Sanders sought a 22-point victory over Hillary Clinton. That's one of the largest margins of victory in a

contested primary in New Hampshire history.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump breezed to a 19-point win, better than predicted in the polls. He told CNN he learned from his mistakes in Iowa

and upped his ground game in New Hampshire.

Well, maybe the biggest surprise for the Republicans was who finished second. It's John Kasich, followed by Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush. Marco Rubio,

a favorite of the Republican establishment, finished a disappointing fifth.

Sanders' big win in New Hampshire ups the stakes for Clinton in the next presidential contest in South Carolina and Nevada. As CNN's Jeff Zeleny

tells us, it's game on for the Democrats.

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JEFF ZELENY, CNN SR. WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A victory lap for Bernie Sanders.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VT., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The people of New Hampshire have sent a profound message to the political establishment, to

the economic establishment and, by the way, to the media establishment.

ZELENY (voice-over): In a profound message to Hillary Clinton, who is no longer the undisputed Democratic front-runner, a commanding across-the-

board win for Sanders among women, young voters and independents, riding a wave of discontent at politics-as-usual.

SANDERS: The people want real change.

ZELENY (voice-over): The Clinton campaign had predicted a loss in New Hampshire -- and they got one, even bigger than they feared. Supporters

masked their frustration with cheers.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My goodness, I don't know what we'd have done tonight if we'd actually won.

ZELENY (voice-over): It's a new day in the Democratic primary fight. Sanders will suddenly draw more scrutiny as the battle with Clinton

intensifies.

SANDERS: They are throwing everything at me except the kitchen sink and I have the feeling that kitchen sink is coming pretty soon.

ZELENY (voice-over): As the race moves to Nevada and South Carolina, Sanders vowed to build on his growing movement. But it's an open question

whether he can find the same appeal in a diverse electorate of black and Hispanic voters.

SANDERS: What began last week in Iowa, what voters here in New Hampshire confirmed tonight is nothing short of the beginning of a political

revolution.

ZELENY (voice-over): A humbling and frustrating moment for Clinton but she made clear she's been down that road before.

CLINTON: I know, I've had a blessed life. But I also know what it's like to stumble and fall. And we have learned it's not whether you get knocked

down that matters. It's whether you get back up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Well, Donald Trump has scored his first electoral victory of the primary season. In fact, it's his first ballot win ever. This, despite --

or perhaps because of his many decisive divisive controversial statements. CNN's Sara Murray has more on Trump's big win.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: New Hampshire, I want to thank you. We love you. We're going to be back a lot. We're not going to

forget you. You started it.

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump exhilarated after crushing his GOP rivals by more than 50,000 votes.

TRUMP: We are going to make America so great again, maybe greater than ever before.

MURRAY (voice-over): Boasting amid record Republican turnout about how he pulled off his big win after a disappointing loss in Iowa.

TRUMP: I think the ground game was very strong. And I tell you, we really focused on it after Iowa. You know, the ground game was not something I

was extremely familiar with but I learned quickly.

MURRAY (voice-over): The other big winner of the night, second-place finisher Ohio governor John Kasich.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: If you don't have a seat belt, go get one.

MURRAY (voice-over): Kasich taking pride in running a positive campaign in a field of sharp elbows.

KASICH: Tonight the light overcame the darkness of negative campaigning.

MURRAY (voice-over): Meanwhile the winner of the Iowa caucuses, Ted Cruz, in a dead heat for third with Jeb Bush.

JEB BUSH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This campaign is not dead. We're going on to South Carolina.

MURRAY (voice-over): As Marco Rubio suffered a bruising fifth-place finish.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know many people disappointed, I'm disappointed with tonight.

MURRAY (voice-over): Even admitting his rocky debate performance --

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MURRAY (voice-over): -- was likely to blame.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: Our disappointment tonight is not on you. It's on me. It's on me. I did not -- I did not do well on Saturday night, so if you listen to this,

that will never happen again.

(APPLAUSE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Lots to unpack. Let's get to my first guest, CNN Politics executive editor Mark Preston is live in New Hampshire.

Hi, there, Mark. And you have some news coming from the Christie camp.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I do, I do, Robyn. In fact, after last night's poor showing in the New Hampshire primary, Chris Christie, the

New Jersey governor, is meeting with top campaign aides today and all indications are that he will leave the race for the Republican presidential

nomination.

Now I have been told that Chris Christie is a realist and he understood that the fundraising was going to dry up and, quite honestly, he was not

going to qualify to appear on the stage on a debate that's going to take place on Saturday.

Now Chris Christie is unlikely to endorse anybody at this moment. But you have to wonder, will he eventually endorse one of the two remaining

governors who are in the race? That's the former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, and the current Ohio governor, John Kasich, who placed second here in

New Hampshire.

So we expect Chris Christie sometime today to announce that he will be leaving the Republican presidential nomination -- Robyn.

CURNOW: You mentioned those other two governors. This is also the latest development in the fight for who will be the candidate to go up against the

so-called -- you know, the Cruz and Trump, the so-called Republican establishment candidate.

And this -- does this clarify things a bit more?

PRESTON: Well, in some ways, they were hoping it would even be more clarified. They were hoping that two of the governors would step out of

this race after Saturday -- excuse me -- after Tuesday night.

But with the Marco Rubio implosion during the debate Saturday night, it opened up a little more space in that centrist/moderate establishment lane

to allow two governors to move on.

So in many ways, five tickets out of New Hampshire heading down to South Carolina and out to Nevada. They will be Donald Trump, who has his own

lane; Ted Cruz, who will have the conservative ticket, he will have his own lane.

And then you'll have a bunch up in this middle lane. In that lane, John Kasich placing number two here again in New Hampshire; Jeb Bush, the former

Florida governor and as well as Marco Rubio, the Florida senator.

So right now the coalescing of the establishment behind one candidate is going to have to wait a while -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, prolonged and messy, perhaps.

You're on the ground. Let's talk about Donald Trump. He really delivered on his poll numbers. It's showing he's a real contender here, that his

support is real.

PRESTON: His support is real. And you know, coming out of Iowa, there was a lot of talk that Donald Trump's campaign was going in a downward

trajectory. But he still placed second in Iowa, in a state that you would never think he did very well.

He's East Coast; he's brash; he's a New Yorker. Those kinds of attributes and personality attributes are not something you would expect to play well

in Iowa. But he still came in second.

But up here in the Northeast, Donald Trump did very well. He won resoundingly.

The question is, as his campaign turns back down South, can Donald Trump appeal to Southern Republicans?

And we'll have to see if that happens. But Donald Trump right now certainly riding a wave of support right now.

The question is, will that wave continue for him?

CURNOW: Yes. Big question, of course; same question for Bernie Sanders.

Wow, Hillary Clinton must be taking a very hard, cold look at her campaign today.

PRESTON: Well, there's a lot of talk that there would be a shakeup in the campaign and the Clinton folks tried to push back on that. But they

certainly have to consider how they plan to campaign over the next six weeks or so.

Now the Bernie Sanders folks tell me -- their campaign tells me that they are mapping out this national strategy. They're not just going to play the

next two states, the next two states that are up again, South Carolina and Nevada, but they are going to try to make this a national campaign, try to

get as many delegates as possible.

So while you have seen so much focus here and our viewers around the world have seen so much focus on two states early on, Iowa and New Hampshire,

expect to see this campaign now expand out across the United States as these candidates fight for every delegate vote that they can get -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Fascinating race for the White House, Mark Preston, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

And of course, we'll have much more on the U.S. presidential race when we come back.

Will the groundswell of disillusionment with the establishment continue beyond New Hampshire?

Jonathan Mann will be here to dig into the message voters are sending. That's after the break, of course.

Plus: the wary faces of Aleppo. A report from the government-controlled side of the city, not far from the front lines of the regime offensive.

That's next.

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JEB BUSH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm the son of George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush and my brother, George W. Bush, is -- was

president. I love them all.

But my record is one of being a disrupter in Tallahassee. I haven't lived in Washington. I'm not a creature of Washington; 32 years in the private

sector, eight years as governor of the state of Florida, where I did what people want to see happen in Washington, D.C.

And then you had a national security issue. They want a commander in chief that will have a steady hand and have a backbone and will support the

troops and have detailed plans on how to keep us safe as it relates to this (INAUDIBLE) of terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: That's Jeb Bush, talking to CNN's "NEW DAY" show, campaigning in South Carolina after his fourth place showing Tuesday night in the New

Hampshire primary.

The former Florida governor outperformed the polls and perhaps, more importantly, he finished ahead of Florida senator Marco Rubio.

He'll now be joined on the campaign trail by his brother, former president George W. Bush. Bush says he can resonate with South Carolina voters on

the key issues. The state holds its primary in 10 days.

Meanwhile the Democrat, Bernie Sanders, isn't missing a beat after his stunning win in New Hampshire. The Vermont senator is expected to meet

with civil rights advocate, Al Sharpton, for a sitdown at the iconic Sylvia's Restaurant in New York's Harlem district.

He's also no doubt hoping to forge an alliance similar to the one between Sharpton and Barack Obama in advance of Mr. Obama's presidential win in

2008.

Now Sanders reveals something of a hidden talent, too. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW (voice-over): While waiting for the returns in New Hampshire, he shot a few hoops with his grandkids (INAUDIBLE) -- slam dunk there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, candidates are moving quickly to act on the outcome in New Hampshire and voter discontent with the emerging -- with the status quo is

emerging as a driving force. Jonathan Mann, host of CNN's "POLITICAL MANN," joins me now to shed more light on what is happening.

This is a jolt to the political system, isn't it?

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It completely is. What we saw in New Hampshire is a man only -- not associated with the Democratic

Party, Bernie Sanders, he's independent, after all -- and a man only recently and nominally associated with the Republican Party, have both won.

Essentially every real long-standing member of the political parties was shut out of that race.

It's now owned -- New Hampshire is owned by outsiders. I cannot recall a primary in the decades since the United States adopted this system where

this has ever happened.

These men are not creatures of the political parties; instead they have commandeered, they have hijacked the political parties. And the parties

are just watching powerless. And in both cases, I think, with great discomfort at what's going on.

CURNOW: And the reason for this is both of these men are riding on a wave of anger, of working class discontent.

MANN: Right. You can choose whatever adjective or noun you want: anger, frustration, discontent. And in fact, in the exit polls that we have done,

you can see that among the voters and it basically wore out their support.

I think the first full screen we have is voters for Donald Trump. And there you see -- we were asking voters what was --

[10:15:00]

MANN: -- on their minds, how angry they were.

Do we have a screen?

Maybe not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANN (voice-over): There it is. OK.

Among voters who feel betrayed by Republican politicians, Donald Trump, 36 percent. Basically that's the vote that he got. And he is as much anger

among his voters as the other three candidates combined. That's the key to Donald Trump's support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: But that is the sense we have across the political spectrum. Have a look at the Democrats. Exactly the same kind of phenomenon, enormous anger

with people who feel like they have been abandoned by the Democratic Party.

Do we have that full screen?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANN (voice-over): There you go, 83 percent for Bernie Sanders. There, you know, people think Trump is the candidate of angry frustration but 83

percent of Bernie Sanders voters were on that side of the coin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: And poor Hillary Clinton, who is basically an iconic figure in the Democratic Party, only 1 out of 9 voters still wants to stick with that

vision of America's future. That is such a telling snapshot about where this country is right now.

CURNOW: It's a stunning rebuke. Let's talk about rebukes and Hillary Clinton. I mean, those numbers, that loss there in New Hampshire, as much

a denial or rejection of Hillary as it is a support of Bernie Sanders.

MANN: She is being rejected rather soundly. Her total vote last night in New Hampshire is less than she got eight years ago. She's moving backwards

in absolute votes. You have something like 20,000 votes fewer than she did last time. And last time she won against a divided field.

Her numbers are not helping. And when you look at why, one thing, we have more exit polling information, at every level of every demographic

practically, among women voters -- this is the most astonishing thing because if there's one revolutionary element to Hillary Clinton's

candidacy, if there is one element where she is really a path breaker, a pioneer, it's on the very basic matter of her gender.

Women are not supporting her. And younger women are really not supporting her. She does better with women closer to her own age. But among women 45

or younger, this doesn't even begin to tell the story.

Bernie Sanders is attracting more women.

Let's move on because you see we have other demographics as well. And Bernie Sanders is winning them. The take on Bernie Sanders, the criticism

of Bernie Sanders is he's only got the support of limousine liberals, well- educated, affluent people who like to think that they, too, are Democratic socialists.

But when you look at the bedrock of the Democratic Party, the people it claims to represent, the working families of America or, in this case, the

working families of New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders, 2:1.

Once again, if she cannot attract the working class to the Democratic Party, that's been a problem in a lot of places. But for the Democratic

Party this is, once again, a very serious indictment.

We move on; I think there's one more full screen. And there's one demographic where she did well.

I don't know if that's the one we've got. But here we go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANN (voice-over): This is very, very telling. Now this is voters aged 18 to 44. Let me remind you there are no voters younger than 18. So it's not

like this is a slice of the demographic. This is basically half of the whole demographic of who actually votes. Sanders is winning, what is that,

3:1.

Hillary Clinton does better with older voters but, once again, when it comes to the bulk of the population, Bernie Sanders is way, way ahead.

CURNOW: I mean, those numbers are fascinating. And it really questions why Hillary Clinton hasn't managed to capitalize on what could have been a

potentially historical moment.

Let's move on, though, because it's game on for Mr. Trump.

MANN: Mr. Trump also, exit polls are telling us extraordinary things about him. And once again, the tick on Donald Trump is that he wouldn't get very

far. He would implode. That was the early talk, Donald Trump's a remarkable figure, but he's never going to succeed as a political candidate

--

(CROSSTALK)

MANN: -- right. Well, we know that's not true. He's doing extraordinarily well. He's second place and then first place.

And when you look at who is supporting him, there was this thought that people diminished his importance as a candidate by saying, oh, he's only

attracting undereducated, angry white men, white men without -- or with a high school education or less. No college graduates.

But when you look at the demographics, here, college graduates, he's doing pretty well among college graduates, essentially getting as many college

graduates virtually as his next two rivals combined.

So he's scoring among the best educated voters. And we go on through the demographics and you'll see more.

Among women voters, remember, Donald Trump is the man who said some extraordinary things about Carly Fiorina, one of the candidates; about

Megyn Kelly, the host on FOX. He uses really, really crass language. I mean, this is a kind of man who, in polite company, would be considered

offensive to women.

He's doing as well as -- let's add it up -- almost as well as his next three rivals combined.

This is the stunning thing. Trump isn't just winning. He's winning over like entire groups of candidates. I think we have one more -- if we don't

-- this is the number that emerges also from the results we saw in New Hampshire.

He didn't just defeat John Kasich. Kasich is being lauded as a miraculous second-place finisher. He was -- did better than the top two. I think

it's the top three finishers combined. He is doing well across all the demographics. He is literally running away with it. And no one seems to

have the ability to stop him.

[10:20:00]

CURNOW: And that's then my next question as we've just heard now the potential of Chris Christie stepping out. But it's the second tier, this

alternative to Trump within the Republican Party. There's still no clarity, really, is there?

MANN: Well, there --

(CROSSTALK)

MANN: -- I'm going to beg to disagree with you on this. There is clarity on this.

There's Donald Trump and there's everybody else. And as long as everybody else remains a crowded field competing against each other --

CURNOW: Cannibalizing each other.

MANN: -- cannibalizing each other, he can win with 36 percent of the vote. If everyone but one -- choose one, it could be Kasich, it could be Fiorina,

it could be Bozo the Clown. If everybody but Trump would drop out, Trump would there would be a real alternative, a real choice for Republican

voters.

But right now it's Trump against everybody else. And the longer everybody else stays in the fight and attacks each other, Trump wins from that kind

of chaos. You know, in a time of confusion, a man who knows what he wants wins.

A clear message and a clear alternative. Trump, everybody else, everybody else stands for, I don't know, if there's Kasich and kind of in the center,

there was Rand Paul on the right there was -- Trump voters know what they want and they know who to vote for.

If you're not a Trump voter, your votes are being split five or six different ways. And until people really start dropping out, much more than

Chris Christie, the anti-Trump vote is going to be split and that's going to deliver the primaries to Donald Trump.

CURNOW: Fascinating talking to you. Thanks so much for breaking those numbers down as well.

MANN: You bet.

CURNOW: It says a lot. Jon Mann, thank you.

And don't forget Jon has a show every week that covers the race for the White House from top to bottom. "POLITICAL MANN" is on Saturdays at 7:00

pm in London. Be sure to watch every week for the entire campaign season.

Ahead at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, a city besieged and a critical battle of Syria's civil war. We'll have an exclusive report from inside Aleppo.

Stay with us.

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CURNOW: France's foreign minister is stepping down. Laurent Fabius offhandedly confirmed to reporters at Wednesday's cabinet meeting that that

would be his last. Fabius served nearly four years in the post. The former prime minister is being considered to head France's Constitutional

Council, which is charged with upholding the constitution.

Next hour, the U.N. Security Council is set to hold a closed-door meeting on the dire humanitarian crisis in Northern Syria. A Syrian government

offensive around Aleppo backed by Russian airpower is forcing tens of thousands of people to flee to the Turkish border.

CNN is now being given access to the regime-controlled western part of Aleppo. Our Fred Pleitgen has this exclusive report from the city that

could change the course of the war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are right in the heart of Aleppo. This is the Jamalia (ph) area and it's actually

fairly close to the front line. But it's also one of the main places held by the Syrian government.

Now as you can see in this area, there are a lot of products that are actually available. Food, also a lot of other products as well. However,

the people here, it is very, very difficult for them. There's almost no electricity. Most of it comes from generators.

And of course, because we're so close to the front lines, there is also shelling here and it's quite dangerous for the folks who live here.

"I believe we already endured about 80 percent of the hardship," this man says, "and I hope the remaining 20 percent will end soon."

[10:25:00]

"The situation is very tough right now," he adds, "but we are steadfast and we believe the power will be on the correct side."

And this man says, "We have had very tough times. But thanks to the victory of the army, we have survived these hard times."

Aleppo is also currently the key battleground in Syria's civil war. The Syrian government, under President Bashar al-Assad, has started a brutal

offensive in this part of the country, also, of course, backed by Russian airpower and pro-Iranian militias as well.

And they believe that if they are able to deal a crushing blow to the rebels in this part of Syria, that they could decide the Syrian civil war

for themselves. Of course, that still is unclear. They don't know how solid their games are at this point or whether or not the rebels might try

to launch a counterattack.

But at this point in time Aleppo is certainly one of the toughest battlegrounds in the civil war that's been going on for about five years --

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Aleppo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks to Fred for that report. And with regime forces, Iranian- backed militias and Russian warplanes closing in on rebel fighters, what kind of leverage does the U.S. have to influence the outcome?

Well, let's bring in Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He joins us via Skype.

Hi, there, Andrew. You have spent a lot of time in Syria. And as you saw from Fred's report there, there's two sides of Aleppo that we're seeing.

How do you think that could change in coming weeks?

Do you believe the Syrians can hold and take Aleppo?

ANDREW TABLER, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: I think the real question here is I think that Aleppo can be encircled. And I think that's

what their regime's intention is at this point, the regime's ability to go in and retake and hold Aleppo is another matter. The regime lacks a lot of

manpower.

We'll have to wait and see. I think at the moment they are trying to use this juggernaut, Russian-Iranian regime juggernaut, to sort of cajole and

to scare the opposition into surrender. I think that's what their game plan is at the moment.

CURNOW: OK. Well, we've just heard that the French foreign minister says he's going to resign. He -- in that speech, he kind of questioned U.S.'

commitment to Syria. He said, we don't have the feeling that there's a very strong commitment -- commitment he's referring to from the U.S.

He also said, "There are words but actions are different and obviously the Iranians and Russians feel that."

Do you agree with him?

What is the feeling in Washington -- and is there a sense that there's not a lot of commitment?

TABLER: I don't think there is commitment. I think it's pretty clear, it's not new. I think what's changed is that now the U.S.-backed rebels

are losing at such a rate due to the Russian intervention that now it's very much a situation where Russia is looking very good and victorious in

all this and Washington's foreign policy is in tatters.

And I think that's what's behind the French foreign minister's statements. We'll have to wait and see what happens in the coming days as we have talks

here in Munich and beyond.

CURNOW: You reference that; has the U.S. then abandoned the opposition rebels as an article of foreign policy, sort of alleged -- you know, rebels

saying they won't surrender to Mr. Assad under any circumstances, that they are being pushed into a corner.

So there's the fear that some might join more radical organizations. There might be a consolidation but not a particularly good consolidation.

TABLER: Sure. So there's a lot of things that can happen here. The regime and the Iranian forces, if they had the manpower to retake and hold

all their territory, it would be one matter. They don't.

So what is -- perhaps could happen here, we're not sure -- is that the rebels can either call a cease-fire -- which is, I think, what the Russians

are trying to control them into doing -- or they can go over and join ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra and other groups, which will not surrender. And we'll

have to wait and see. I would imagine do a little bit of both.

CURNOW: OK. So Fabius talks about Assad's brutality, Russian and Iran's complicity, American ambiguity. We've just heard from the Department of

Defense, our Barbara Starr saying the U.S. is calling the situation dire.

"The Washington Post" talks of an uncontrollable disaster. This is bad and there doesn't seem to be any exit strategy.

TABLER: There isn't. I think it's a situation where, at least in this conflict but particularly in the Middle East, the United States is

withdrawing and "rebalancing," quote-unquote, in the wake of the nuclear deal faster than the other side can advance.

I think Vladimir Putin and the Iranians saw this opportunity and now are exploiting it with, I think quite deep ramifications that if the northern

offensive continues or if Aleppo is besieged or there's further conflict, it's likely to push even more refugees out of Syria into Turkey. And those

are going to be heading --

[10:30:00]

TABLER: -- for Europe's shores very shortly in the spring as things warm up. That, in itself, has ramifications for not just the security situation

in Europe but also European politics in the coming election cycles.

CURNOW: Yes, that's a good point. Andrew, thanks so much for joining us here on the IDESK. Appreciate it.

TABLER: My pleasure.

CURNOW: Well, we return to the U.S. presidential race after this. The outsiders deal big blows to establishment candidates in New Hampshire.

Can they keep the momentum up in the next contest in South Carolina and Nevada?

We'll have a live report.

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CURNOW: Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. CNN is covering the race for the White House like no one else. The past 24 hours

on the campaign trail, two big wins for two insurgent candidates.

When the results were in, Republican Donald Trump thanked his campaign team, talked about his plans to wall off the border and grow the military

and he expressed gratitude for his first real victory in this race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: New Hampshire, I want to thank you. We love you. We're going to be back a lot. We're not going to forget you. You started it. Remember,

you started it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, Democrat Bernie Sanders' win over Hillary Clinton was also a resounding one. And he told supporters he thinks he can keep the momentum

going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: What happened here in New Hampshire in terms of an enthusiastic and aroused electorate, people who came out in large numbers, that is what

will happen all over this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: So it's now on to South Carolina for the next primaries. Those start in 10 days. CNN's Victor Blackwell joins me from Bluffton, South

Carolina.

So all of these states have their own identity. And it seems like South Carolina voters are concerned about race and religion.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Absolutely, Robyn. A very different electorate as compared to New Hampshire. This is the first-in-the-South

primary for the Republicans coming up 10 days from now.

And there is a large group of electorate here, a majority, some would say, at least a plurality, that consider themselves conservative Christians, the

evangelical vote here very important. Virtually now or very few evangelicals in New Hampshire.

Donald Trump has shown strength with that group. So has Ted Cruz. They will fight that out. They both are up on the air with ads today, making

their pleas to those groups. This is also a state that treasures and values military service. More than a half-dozen military bases here.

[10:35:00]

BLACKWELL: The Citadel, the military college, is in Charleston, South Carolina. I'm at a Jeb Bush rally right now. And Jeb Bush is renewing his

campaign narrative that he is the most prepared, the best prepared to be commander in chief.

Of course, his brother, George W. Bush, the former president, won here in 2000. Their father won here as well. And he has with him a surrogate, a

supporter, former opponent now supporter, South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, who will be making that case with him as well.

Now the Bush campaign will tell you that, although they came in fourth place, it is a momentum booster for them. They, of course, have been

fighting it out with Florida senator Marco Rubio, who turned in, by his own admission, a poor performance on Saturday at the debate and came in right

behind the former governor in fifth place.

They also believe the second place finisher, Ohio governor John Kasich, does not have the infrastructure nor the finances to compete here, that he

essentially had a one-state strategy. So that will be the narrative for the Republicans moving through the next several days.

Let's turn to the Democrats now, Robyn, because the demographics here mean something to their race as well. This is a state in which the Democratic

electorate is at least one-third African American. In the first two contests, in Iowa and New Hampshire, that was not the case, states that are

mostly great majorities of white voters.

Here Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, believes she has an advantage and the polls are proving that's true. But Vermont senator

Bernie Sanders is also making some inroads into the African American community, getting some endorsements from high-profile and African American

leaders and hoping to make some inroads into that community and cut the lead that we have seen here in South Carolina -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Thank you so much. Really appreciate, Victor, your assessment there. And I think we're going to be talking a lot because there's 10 days

to go still until that South Carolina primary.

Well, coming up at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, it's the Cuban connection. We'll dig into the Cuban roots of U.S. presidential hopefuls Marco Rubio

and Ted Cruz, who are both promising to act tough towards the island nation.

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CURNOW: U.S. presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have more in common than just seeking the Republican nomination. Both have Cuban roots

and frequently bring it up during their campaign speeches.

Our Patrick Oppmann is in Havana and he uncovers more about their heritage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio spend a lot of time talking about Cuba on the campaign trail.

RUBIO: My parents weren't born here. They were born on the island of Cuba to poor families. They had very limited education, no access to power.

They came here in 1956. They had no money, they didn't know anyone, they barely spoke English at the time. And yet somehow, working hard as a

bartender and a maid --

[10:40:00]

RUBIO: -- my parents owned a home in a safe and stable neighborhood. My parents retired with dignity. My parents left all four of their children

better off than themselves.

CRUZ: To my dad, a man who came from Cuba at age 18 with nothing, with $100 in his underwear -- he doesn't carry money in his underwear anymore --

a man who was imprisoned, who was tortured, who washed dishes, making 50 cents an hour, who has lived the American dream.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Cruz's father, Rafael, grew up here in the seaside city of Matanzas. In his memoir, Rafael Cruz writes about fishing for

sharks and how he initially backed Fidel Castro's revolution before fleeing to the United States.

A schoolmate of the elder Cruz we spoke to, who fought to bring Castro to power and later retired with the rank of colonel, said Cruz supported but

didn't play a very active role in the revolution.

"I don't remember him," he says, "throwing Molotov cocktails or planting bombs or putting up revolutionary signs against the tyranny."

Today the streets of Matanzas are covered in propaganda supporting the revolution that Rafael Cruz says he once fought for but now opposes.

In Havana, much has also changed since the 1950s, when Marco Rubio's family lived here.

OPPMANN: This is the store where both Marco Rubio's parents once worked, according to his book. His mother worked at the cash register and his

father as the store's security guard. And it's here where they actually met.

Of course, following the Cuban revolution, the store, just like all private property in Cuba, was taken away by the government.

OPPMANN (voice-over): On Tenerife Street, where the Rubios once lived, no one we talked to remembers the family. Resident Julio Fabian (ph) said he

has a message to critics like Cruz and Rubio of the new U.S. policy of restoring ties with Cuba.

"Why break relations now that we are just starting?" he says.

"If both sides keep talking, I think we will arrive at an even better understanding."

If Cruz or Rubio is elected president, that's not likely a conversation either man would be willing to have. Both have said they won't engage with

Cuba until the island changes its leadership -- Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks to Patrick for that report.

And before we go, we want to share some images from the grand finale of Carnival season, the most iconic of the celebrations, perhaps, in Rio de

Janeiro. Parties going strong through every drop of that tequila.

More than a million people crowded the streets of Ipanema, dancing, sweating, living it up.

Of course, the Zika virus isn't far from the minds of Brazilians and visitors. Street cleaners donned uniforms and flags with bold messages for

the virus and mosquitoes that carry it. That insignia says, "Bye, Zika."

Well, as revelers down their drinks and flung their beads in New Orleans, Louisiana, the traditional street sweep began down Bourbon Street. This

closes out Mardi Gras festivities in the Big Easy. It's mostly symbolic, though. The bars stayed open even after the streets were clean. Cin-Cin.

That does it for us. I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks for joining me. I'll be back in just over an hour. Christina Macfarlane, though, is next.

END