I want you to notice in the bottom tier, rand paul has overtaken jeb bush. Well turn to cnn Political Correspondent dana bash. Good afternoon. This poll shows more voters have made up their minds. Theres so many fascinating things in this poll. Youre right, that is a key issue because its not just that donald trump is doing so well. Its that hes doing so well and were getting close to the time where people go to the polls or caucus uz in the case of iowa. Youre right, people are getting more comfortable with the field. Check out this part of the poll. Asked whether they prefer one or two candidates now 60 say that they do. Thats up a lot from july. Only 40 say they believe from their perspective the field is wide open. Again, its that donald trump is like so far out ahead that the people behind him can barely see him. But its also that the voters who are telling us that are saying that, you know, theyre kind of comfortable where they are. I was going to say this is a comfortability poll. It shows more Republican Voters are comfortable or more comfortable with the idea of donald trump possibly being the republican nominee. To me, this is fascinating because you hear a lot from the democrats saying, oh, kind of rubbing their handzus together saying, we hope donald trump is the nominee. Because if he is, the democrats will be thrilled and a lot of republicans anecdotally saying, it would be terrible for party. But this poll suggests that thats changing as well. Check it out. The whole question about whether or not republicans chances would be better with donald trump at the top of the ticket now 46 say yes, not trump say 50. More say no than yes but its a big difference from just in august where it was 38 who said that they thought donald trump would put republicans in a better place. So again, things are changing. Things are solidifying for donald trump. At least when youre looking at the national level. Well see what happens when the voters go to the caucus, what, 40 days from now . I think 46 days. 40 days. There we go. Getting pretty close. Dana bash, happy holidays. You look gorgeous by the way. Thank you, don. Merry christmas. Appreciate it. Trump has been leading the National Polls, but remember in iowa and Des Moines Register showed ted cruz winning that states caucuses february 1st . And cruz may well win over more supporters as well. After what many are calling a low blow from the Washington Post. The paper depicted ted cruzs daughters as monkeys. It was a response to a parody ad ted cruz produced which he reads to his 5 and 7yearold daughters. Cruz today slammed the drawings. Take a look. I have to admit yesterday when i saw that cartoon, not much ticks me off. But making fun of my girls . That will do it. I typed th tweet i typed out on iphone. All of us learned in kindergarten dont hit little girls. Its not complicated. Dont make fun of a 5yearold girl and a 7yearold. It used to be for a long time the rules across the board that kids are off limits. That should be the rule. Dont mess with our kids. Dont mess with my kids. Dont mess with hillarys kids. Dont mess with anybodys kids. Leave kids alone. And if the media wants to attack and ridicule every republican, thats what theyll do. But leave our kids alone. Lets talk politics now about bon cusack editor in chief at the hill. I hope you got some sleep. You were on with me last night. A republican strategist joining us as well. Bob, you run a newsroom. A cartoonist put ted cruzs kids in an ad. I want to ask if that is a fair point. Weve said for years with almost every president ial candidate that the kids are off limits. Does he have a point here . Ted cruz is right. The Washington Post made a mistake. News organizations do make mistaigss but this was out of bounds. I thought cruzs remarks afterward, whether its rubios kids, hilalary clintons kids, theyre not running for an office. Sure, you are going to use kids in campaign ads. Thats been done before. But still portraying them as monkeys, it gives the media a bad name. Of course it helps ted cruz because once again hes bashing the media and he has a very valid point. Talking about this cartoonist. Kaley, ted cruz used this cartoon and emailed his supporter list asking for an emergency donation as he hoped to raise 1 million in the next 24 hours. If hes redistributing it as a campaign letter, what gives here . I think hes pointing out an important him okypocrisy we see the Washington Post. They treat republican candidates differently than republican candidates. A year ago the Washington Post was criticizing a Republican Communications director for making fun of obamas children. Now they did the same exact thing except it was acceptable because it was a republican candidate that they were attacking and it wasnt a democrat whose kids were being attacked. Theres this hypocrisy that ted cruz has pointed out brilliantly in some media organizations. We saw him do that at the cnbc debates, doing it at the Washington Post. But my question is, i think everyone agrees here that it iss a mistake far the cartoonist. I thinks wrong. I think most people believe that. But by him emailing it out and raising money, my question is, is he the one whos keeping it alive at this point . When he said, look, my kids are off limits, all kids should be off limits, i think everybody agree was him. But by sending it out to raise money, you know . I think the point that hes trying to make is, look at how the media treats republicans. Look how the media has attacked me. So give me money . Hes not perfepetuating the. Hes pointing out a hypocrisy within the media. Hes not perpetuating it. Merely showing his supporters, this is how ive been treated. Come to my support. The media is scared of me. This is an example of why they dont want me to be the nominee. Do you understand what im saying here . Hes saying dont use my kids but is he usie ining his kiddin well . Don, i think its a fair question. Ive seen a lot of chatter on that on twitter. Whether its people in washington with congress or certainly on a campaign trail, there are people on campaigns who are thinking, how can i use this controversy to make money . This is one of those situation wrz thats the political system, that its all about the money and he certainly using this to make more money. Maybe he thinks, theyve already done it, but is he bringing more attention to it by seeking money . Of course he is. Lets get to the polls now. Donald trump 39 of the gop vote with 40 days until the Iowa Caucuses. Many Establishment Republicans i just spoke to one yesterday think gop voters will come around to who they think is a more viable candidate. But that doesnt look like its happening, kayleigh. What is a gop to do . The gop is coalescing around donald trump and historically we see that the frontrunner in december ends up being the nominee. Republicans are getting to the point where theyre accepting trump. Really the only way wait, hang on, kayleigh. Not to be argumentative, you think the gop is really the republican establishment doesnt appear to want donald trump as a nominee. The gop voters seem to, but the republican establishment doesnt seem to want him. Sure. But the republican establishment, theyre a small contingency with a very loud voice. Theyre going to have to accept the will of the american people. Donald trump has a 21point lead now. When you average every poll together, its 17 points. They have to accept donald trump or theyre criticizing their voting base. When jeb bush came out and said trump is not a serious candidate, that is directly insulting Republican Voters. That is directly insulting the people who you purport to represent. The establishment needs to back off because donald trump will be the nominee most likely. If not him, ted cruz. If they dont coalesce around him, theyll be expelled from the party. Speaking of jeb bush, bob, hes now behind rand paul. Is he going to get booted from the main stage at the next debate . Its a real possibility. Thats what trump prediced during the last debate. Bush had a decent debate the last time. Certainly his best debate. But were not seeing it in the numbers. Bush will have to do very well in New Hampshire. He wont do well in iowa. Hes not doing well in New Hampshire right now. The pressure is really picking up on jeb bush. Listen, if you look at trumps numbers, it twas the summer of tru trump, autumn of trump and now a trump christmas. He is dominating the field and the establishment is freaking out. Yes, they are. Im not sure if youre on my show tonight. But listen, Merry Christmas if i dont see you between now and then. Merry christmas. Appreciate it. Up next, happening right now, demonstrators from black lives matter converging on the nations largest mall this after the groups organize hes were hit with a restraining order barring some of them from taking part in that rally. Also, disneyland strtrip denied. Two muslim families from the uk saying they suspect that their plans to fly to los angeles were reswrekted because of their religion. And suggests a tone of american politics may have play aid role. A woman accused of running down pedestrians on the vegas strip makes her first court appearance. Her attorney intimating it may not have been intentional. Well hear what they have to say when we come back. Gegiving up all the thingsan she loves to do. It should just mean, well, finding new ways to do them. Right at homes professional team thoughtfully selects caregivers to provide help with personal care, housekeeping, and of course, meal preparation. Oh, that smells so good. Aw, and it tastes good, too. We can provide the right care, right at home. Weve been telling you about whats going on at the mall of america. The protests will go today at the mall of america but without three black lives matter leaders. A minnesota judge granted the malls restraining order request against the activists but she would not order the group to cancel its protest. The rally is now getting under way. Cnn cameras were not allowed inside. I should tell you the east side of the mall is shoulding down. Its not clear what additional steps the mall has taken to kpur tail the protests but were getting report thats other parts will be closing. One of the managers at the stores says following the malls instructions to close her doors until the protesters are over. I imagine several stores there are getting ready for this. The scene, check it out, this is last december, when nearly 2,000 protesters took over part of the mall at the height of the Holiday Shopping season. They with were rallying against the Police Killing of several unarmed africanamerican men. This years protest revolves around the recent shooting death of a minneapolis resident. The mall of america says its satisfied with one of the rulings but one the black lives matters leaders who was banned said there are plenty more organizers to replace him. We are very pleased with the ruling. The court yet again said the law of minnesota protects private Property Owners such as the mall of america. Theres so many of us that are stepping up and dog the work, you can take ten of us out we have ten more to take the place and do the exact same thing. Cnn legal analyst and criminal defense attorney mark omara is with me now. Mark, just as we hear, theyre taking precautions. Were being told some of the offices were searching bags upon entering the mall. They said that the traffic in the mall today is down. And again, they were shutting some of the doors. My question to you is, i want to say cnn did invite the mall to join us. They decline. Also we invited some of the black lives matter folks on. They declined as well because i guess theyre concerned now about getting in trouble for doing this. Whats your reaction to the ruling, mark . Well, first of all, the ruling was a nice way to try and split the baby in half. Allowing the protest to go forward was i think tantamount. They had to do that paramount. They had to do that because we do have the right to protest and we do have the right to speak. Its that First Amendment that is one of the foundations, cornersto cornerstones, of who we are and the way we get to zmademand reds against the government. With that as a premise, this isnt yet a question about black lives matter, do they get to protest. Weve had cases in the u. S. Supreme court and other courts about the nazi party being able to protest, the Klu Klux Klan being able to protest. Weve even had a situation where people wanted to protest against veterans at veterans funerals and we had to allow a certain amount of that. So this is a question of our right to freedom of assembly. Now, does it happen on private property . Im a little concerned about the judges decision, respect it but im concerned with it to say a mall is now private property. Granted, it is owned by one person and one conglomerate. I get that. But a mall has now taken the place of the town square in american life. So if youre going to have a conversation, youre going to talk to your peers, our citizens, youre now not going to do it in the town square like we did 200 years ago. Youre going to do it at the mall. I like they allowed the provo test to go forward. Im sorry people dont like the fact of what the black lives matter has to say or what they say. This is a conversation you and don we have talked about. These are difficult conversations. Everybody wants to hide from them. We dont want to talk about it, around christmastime. This is exactly when we need to talk about it, today. You read my mind. I was just thinking about that last night, that when you go home to your family, probably when you should talk about it. Otherwise you wont get the chance to talk about it. I know its uncomfortable. Being the legal person here, i have to ask you, given the judges limited ruling, what does that mean for the mall security . What does it mean for the protesters . Are they confused in a way . Yes, we can protest . Or we cant protest . Its a little confusing. It is very confusing. And im only hoping that confusion is going to be dealt with with a better perspective than was dealt with the request for a tro. Should they let them in . I think they should let them in. Heres what i think should have happened. The mall of america should have said to black lives matter and by that matter, anybody else who wants to protest, lets have some ground rules. Heres the area. Heres how to do it. Not too much limitations but a cooperative agreement just like we did in every other protest weve seen. There laes a place to do it, a place not do it, a way to do it a way not to do it. Saying thou shalt not come here is stupid. I think it was illadvised. They have a lawyer who said, lets try to keep them out. Not only do they focus the nations attention on it, now we make mall of america who could have been a positive influence in this occurrence look like the bad guy thats they didnt have to. This is an event, a protest. A conversation that has to occur. They could have said yes instead of no. I wonder if this you said that the mall is now the Public Square in many ways. Does this set some sort of precedent when it comes to how we can gather and protest . Well, i think it should. It certainly is a compromise. This is not well settled law. Theres no way that that mall is private property. But its private property that they invite everybody to for the hours they invite them to it. Why is black lives matter, don, much different from the Salvation Army when they are there with their bell saying, please give to our Christian Organization . Much less controversial, but the idea of free speech not dependent upon the message. Its dependent upon the fact that we allow the messengers to say this stuff even if we dont like what they say. Thats where the mall missed the ball in this case. Mark, you know as an attorney the Salvation Army probably got a permit, they asked the stores permission, mall management and they gave it to them. But in in case, nobody is asking for permission here. They just want to come in and do their thing. Thats one of the distinctions. Ive got to go. Agreed. The rules should be followed on both sides. Thanks. Merry christmas. See you soon. Up next, tragedy on the vegas strip. The woman accused of mowing down dozens of people on a busy vegas sidewalk appearing in court today. Why her Attorney Says its too early to know what her motivations were. Plus, the nfl playing defense today after espn reports the league backed out of paying for a study of traumatic brain injuries. That story coming up next. Now more than ever americas electricity comes from cleaner burning natural gas. And no one produces more of it than exxonmobil. Helping dramatically reduce u. S. Emissions. Because turning on the lights. Isnt as simple as just flipping a switch. Energy lives here. Whether your car is a new car. An old car. A big car. A small car. A long car. A short car. A car you soup up. A car you show off. A car you deck out. A car for the open road. A car for off road. A car for on the road. All you have to do is plug in hum for a smarter, safer car. Diagnostic updates, certified mechanics hotline, pinpoint roadside assistance. Hum by verizon. Put some smarts in your car. Welcome back. The woman accused of intentio l intentionally plowing her car into the Las Vegas Strip, Lakeisha Holloway, charged with murder with a deadly weapon, also with child abuse and leaving the scene of an accident, faces a judge. One person was killed, 37 others injured. I want to turn to krn legal analyst and defense attorney joey jackson. Also with me Stephanie Elam in las vegas. Outside of the courthouse in stephan vegas, what happened in court . Reporter she was not in there long at all, don. I was in the courtroom when Lakeisha Holloway made her first appearance in court. She was in there for probably two minutes. She was very quiet, reserved, answered yes, maam, yes, maam, i think i heard her say it twice to the judge. That was it. What theyve decided to do is go ahead and ask for the preliminary hearing to not happen until after the 30day status check, which means the ne