Transcripts For CNNW Wolf 20160510 : vimarsana.com
CNNW Wolf May 10, 2016
Senator marco rubio is speaking right now about the situation in the middle east. Were monitoring that. Also, senator ted cruz. Hes returning to his job back at the United States senate today. Were monitoring that as well. A reminder. Trump still needs to capture the 1,237 delegates to secure the republican nomination. Democrats are only battling for delegates in West Virginia today. It may be a very close race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders there. Clinton is holding an event in lexington, kentucky, by the way, right now. Kentucky votes in their primary a week from today and senator sanders preparing to take the stage in stockton, california. The california primary is june 7th but there are 29 delegates at stake for the democrats in West Virginia. Heres how they stand right now. Hillary clinton has a 301 pledge delegate lead. Now lets take a closer look at how Hillary Clinton and donald trump match up in some key swing states. The new Quinnipiac University poll showing Clinton Holding a 1 point lead in florida and pennsylvania over trump while trump beats Hillary Clinton in ohio by 4 points. The polls also show, by the way, that Bernie Sanders, he beats donald trump in all three states. Here with us right now, the Trump National campaign cochairman, i should say, thank you very much for coming in. Any fireworks from marco rubio . Hes been talking about the situation in the middle east. You expect the formal endorsement or anything along those lines . I thought we were listening to marco together here and i thought he was articulate and he talked about mr. Trumps concerns that hes raised about the middle east and said those are legitimate concerns and need to be discussed. I think what was interesting here is a calm discussion that marco was having at the hudson institute. It was really interesting to get some of his insights talking about the fact theres no culture over there in the middle east for a particular type of government that we would be recognizing or comfortable with and i think that that really speaks to the whole issue of a jen rati generational issue and the sectarian aspects and hes probably on point. Back on work in the u. S. Senate, ted cruz is holding on to his delegates hes accumulated so far, not releasing them going into the convention. He did a radio interview earlier today. Listen to this portion of the interview. If there is a path to victory, we launched this campaign intending to win. The reason we suspended the race last week is in indianas loss, i didnt see a viable path to victory. If that changes, we will certainly respond accordingly. That was pretty interesting in the interview with glenn beck in which he is not necessarily ruling out jumping back into the race if theres an opportunity. Although, he later said that was unlikely. I think it is unlikely because the math is against him. I think this really comes down to the fact that well capture the delegates going into the convention. 1237 puts us over the top. We win the nomination and the rest becomes moot. You think theres a chance he could still decide between now and the convention to throw his hat back into the ring . Ted cruz . I think its highly unlikely and if ted has a future in republican politics, i think hell hawant to preserve that a suspending his campaign and trying to jump back in i think damages his brand. Look at the new Quinnipiac University poll. Donald trump basically in a dead heat within the margin and in all three of these critical battleground states but a big percentage of undecided voters in all three of that states. Is that a source of concern . No, i think its actually a favorable indicator to us because i think one of the things wed have to look at is with undecided voters, typically with these kinds of candidates, were going to see some crystallization of supporters as we go forward. You and i were talking off air with two conventions to go, six months until the campaign, three president ial debates and we start to see those undecided numbers dwindle. Heres some bad numbers for donald trump in all three states. Women voters in pennsylvania. Hillary clinton is up 51 , 32 in pennsylvania and got to do a lot more work to convince women voters out there. Not just republican women voters or independent, potentially Democratic Women voters that hes good for women in america. I think this is a key point and this is one. I am glad you asked the question because one of the factors that goes into this is making sure that you have a message to give people a reason to vote for you and that message is very strong. If you take a look at the internals, well, in those polls, youll see that the economy is the number one factor and donald trump has a resounding lead in all aspects of the economy. I think when people, particularly women, who are strong in america, strong in the households, they start to see that the security of their lives, the security of their families, the security of their livelihoods and their futures are going to be better guaranteed, better secured by donald trump than those numbers will show. You surprised that Bernie Sanders actually does better than Hillary Clinton in these head to head matchups against donald trump in the three battleground states . We dont know much about the sampling but weve seen so many things in the polls and, you know, its interesting. I think the numbers are close. Were inside the margin of error on all of these and i think we have to wait and see. You were national cochair. You assume its going to be Hillary Clinton, right . I assume it will be hillary but we have a long way to go and well have to see what happens with the email issues and with the fbi. And bernie is not done. I think bernie may have a good showing today in West Virginia. Sam clovis joining us from the Trump Campaign. Not everyone is down on the ideas for dealing with the nations debt. Rick perry said its time to consider new approaches. Perry ran against trump for the republican president ial nomination but now supporting him. Heres what he said on cnns new day about the debt proposal. Having a conversation about a lot of different alternatives out there about how you deal with the debt and so, you know, having a conversation and then moving it through washington and getting that to be reality are two different things. Throwing out a lot of different ideas, i mean, chunk it at the wall and see what sticks. I dont have a problem with that. I think what people hear very often from donald trump is that, number one, washington has fullti fouled this up beyond recognition. They have really messed up our economy. Lets bring in country swomeone who has a record as a business individual. I want to bring in mark pr s presston. This is the first major address for marco rubio at a think tank in washington but earlier said this. I want to play this clip talking about the campaign. Its a lot easier to say, lets not, why do we give all this money to nato and other people were protecting do not . Its easier to say than to explain what would happen if you didnt. And so that doesnt mean we shouldnt do it. I just think it takes time and quite frankly, to be fair, todays press that covers this process is not interested in covering any of that. A little swipe at the news media which seems a lot of candidates are saying that nowadays the news media not necessarily doing a good job. I was talking to a senior official from the Cruz Campaign about whats their explanation for why cruz couldnt actually win in the end and his number one reason was Donald Trumps ability to completely dominate the conversation and he was generous, he wasnt criticizing us in the press but implicit in that we pay too much attention to trump and that when hes getting 50 to 60 coverage, the other candidates never had a choice. Now, i think we would say, hey, the invitation for some of the candidates was always open to come on our air and our magazines and trump was willing to do it and they werent. I think rubio does have a point that trumps ability to dominate the conversation is significant and Hillary Clinton is going to have to get used to that. But to that point, they were offered day in and day out to come on to talk about their message, to talk about what their vision is for america. In many ways, they chose not to take on donald trump. Ted cruz went on donald trump too late. He could have and he chose not to and this is where he is now. Rubio said, why didnt you cover what i want you to cover . The news media covers it as it presents itself to us. As it unfolds. We got into substantive policy issues, agreements, disagreements, where the candidates stand, and youre right, we invited all the candidates to come on frequently and donald trump always used to say yes. Still yes very often and the others were reluctant to do so for whatever reason. You can testify for that. It wasnt just debates. It was our daytoday coverage. It was the town halls. We came up with town halls that gave them extended time to talk about whatever policy issues were important and were pushing through the campaign. Listen, what you have now are candidates who are looking in the Rearview Mirror and saying, what happened . Why am i not the nominee and in many ways, they have to blame somebody. Its easy to blame us. What do you think of trump seemingly back and forth on various sensitive issues when they suggest something, the next day, moving away from that whether it is the debt, the minimum wage, whether its taxes, hes increasingly in the last few days, he needs to clarify his stance. Yes. So my view, on debt, i think he made a mistake because its a sensitive issue to economists. To simply print more money and as a result, doesnt worry about a default. He doesnt seem to take seriously the idea of default and the entire world has depended on them. When you cant invest in any, it would be that. It would be massive inflation. I think he tried to clean it up and i dont think he accomplished that. I think on taxes and the minimum wage, he does what a lot have been saying for a long time now. If you want to attract, if you want a new middle class economic agenda as a republican candidate, do something on wages and maybe look at the minimum wage increasing it and dont be so wedded to upper income tax cuts. The problem is he doesnt have the conservative base locked down. So to move to the middle or to the left on those two crucial issues, very hard for him because already, conservatives dont trust him. On the minimum wage, he made it clear to me last week, hes made it clear since then, he doesnt think they can live on 7. 27 an hour. Thats knnot livable but saying hes open to increasing minimum wage but let the states do it because there are different costs of livings in new york versus some of the smaller states. And into the populist message whereas sanders is a liberal populist. Their two flavors taste the same and they dont but have overlapping issues. Democratic strategists would Say Something like this recently. If, you know, the way to beat a democrat for the white house is to have more of an economically populist agenda as a republican. I think his instincts are right in terms of strategy to find those spots but if you dont have a united party, you cant do it. Look at how close it is. This quinnipiac poll. Florida, ohio, pennsylvania. In terms of the Electoral College, those are key states. In florida, she beats him by 43 to 42 and in ohio, beats her and in pennsylvania, 43 to 42 . Within the margin of era in ae a lot closer than people anticipated in these three states. And we certainly didnt think he would be the person to be the nominee at this stage in the game, if the nominee at all, but one thing though. We talk about populism. Populism plays well in the three states who have been hard hit by the economy. Florida, devastated. Housing market, devastated. He talks about bringing jobs back to ohio and same thing in pennsylvania. Thats going to play well. The problem for donald trump is sometimes he goes too far and he says things that could be off putting to some folks but if hes able to stay on message, talk about bringing jobs back, maybe raising the minimum wage in a way that the Business Community can accept, hes going to be formidable. Youve got to be worried if youre the clinton campaign. These are the first piece of evidence that the argument that the Trump Campaign makes that they could win the industrial midwest is real. Now, we have to wait. We look at polling trends between now and the election. Every Single National poll with a few exceptions, she has been clobbering him. This is the first red light on the dashboard of the Hillary Clinton campaign. National polls are very important and polls in these battleground states when you work to try to get 270 Electoral College votes that are much more important. I think well be hearing about these quinnipiac polls for donald trump frequently. Thank you very much. Senator rubio, by the way, sitting down with our own jake tapper later this afternoon. This will be the First National avenue since leaving the white house. 4 00 p. M. Eastern on the lead right here on cnn. Coming up, londons first muslim mayor rejecting a travel offer from donald trump. We have details. Plus, heading to the polls in West Virginia. Hillary clinton won the state by a landslide back in 2008. Tonight, Bernie Sanders may be able to pull off an upset. Looking at live pictures coming in from West Virginia right now. What has changed . If anything, well discuss. Stay with us. Ifor all the wrong reasons. Gical you may be muddling through allergies. Try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. And zyrtec® is different than claritin®. Because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Try zyrtec®. Muddle no more®. Parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what . You could apply for a Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan whenever you want. No enrollment window. No waiting to apply. That means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan, insured by unitedhealthcare Insurance Company. Medicare doesnt cover everything. And like all standardized Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesnt pay. So dont wait. Call now to request your free decision guide. It could help you find the aarp Medicare Supplement plan that works for you. These types of plans have no networks, so you get to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. Rates are competitive, and theyre the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. Remember these plans let you apply all year round. So call today. Because nows the perfect time to learn more. Go long. That just tastes better. With more vitamins. And 25 less saturated fat. Only egglands best. Better taste. Better nutrition. Better eggs. Its primary day in West Virginia and nebraska. Donald trump now the lone candidate for the republicans and Hillary Clinton still battling Bernie Sanders but clinton now has a more clear battle line drawn with trump over the economy. Trump saying this week he has an agenda of tax cuts on top of his plan to eliminate the u. S. Debt. Joining us is gene sperling. Economic advisor to obama and clinton. Thanks very much, gene, for joining us. Whats wrong with reducing taxes, which is what trump says he wants to do as opposed to raising taxes because i think Hillary Clintons position is in certain key areas for the wealthy to increase taxes. Well, donald trump has a plan, no doubt. It is by far the most risky, reckless, and unfair t proposal we probably have ever seen and wolf, ill give you a couple of facts. The independent Tax Policy Center estimates and this is hard to get your arms around, your mind around, that his plan would increase the debt by 45 trillion. Not billion, trillion, over 20 years and he would give more in his tax cuts to the top 1,000s of americans making over 5 million. He would give more to the top 1 tenth than to the bottom 60 of all americans put together. That is just extraordinary. And he would have the very Top Hedge Fund managers, the top lawyers, the top real estate deal makers like himself paying a rate of only 15 . They would be paying lower taxes under his plan than middle class people pay today, than many would pay under his plan. Nobody needs to write about hes changing positions or flipflopping. Hes sometimes misleading and deceptive but his plan stayed steadfast in being an incredibly regressive plan that benefits the most well off millionaires in our countries at the expense of middle class and hard working families who are looking for a more fair economy, more shared prosperity. His plan would reduce the tax rates for virtually everyone going down from 39 to 25 . Middle class tax rates would go down. Business tax rates would go down. That would stimulate the economy, there would be job growth. More revenue comes in to the government. Thats his argument. Take a look at this. Theres the quinnipiac poll. Whos better at handling the economy and three thrkey states trump is better 54 and Hillary Clinton, 40 . In ohio, 52 for trump and 40 for Hillary Clinton, in pennsylvania, 51 say trump is better at handling the economy than Hillary Clinton. Shes down at 42 . If its the economy, stupid as you guys suggested back in 92 when bill clinton was running for president , shes got a problem in those three states. You know, wolf, with all respect, youre making a big deal out of one poll thats out today and ill tell you what well be talking about this campaign. Youll have barack obama and bill clinton out there reminding people that under democratic administration, you had the strongest job growth. Youve had deficits going down, not up, and i think the more people understand Donald Trumps plans, the recklessness youve seen on him flirting with default, just this weekend, his cluelessness as to why that could lead to a global meltdown but then when they see the contrast, Hillary Clinton today in kentucky talking about child care, Kitchen Table Economic Issues that affect whether working families can get ahead and whether women have a chance to both increase their participation in the workforce, versus donald trump whos out there talking about a tax plan that would lower tax rates for billionaires from 39. 6 to 15 . The most dramatic and aggressive. 25 . No, wolf, lets make this clear. If you get business income or partnership income, most of the well off people. Were talking about basic income. No, wolf. No, wolf. No, wolf. For people who make the most money, corporate lawyers, hedge funds, they get partnership and escort income and that would go to 15 . So if you want to accurately report what he is offering to the most well off americans like himself, it is lowering the tax rate all the way to 15 . So bottom line, why is he doing better according to this Quinnipiac University poll than Hillary Clinton is on the economy . You know, wolf, im a policy guy, not a pollster but i saw a poll at 12 . As people understand her plan, theyre going to realize she is the one who champions middle class family every day. Child care, talking about lowering college costs, paid family leave, a jobs plan that focuses on infrastructure, manufacturing, modernizing and renovating Energy Efficiency in our country versus donald trump who has blusered around and shifts position but when you look on the black and white, they are offering 3 trillion to people who make over 1 million. One last fact, wolf. The amount of money that donald trump gives in his tax plan to people who make over a Million Dollars would be enough to make medicare and Social Security solvent for the next 75 years. Thats quite a value choice hes making in terms of the most well off, the most fortunate, the mo most well connected and struggling even in a stronger economy for years and years to see the type of shared prosperity and wage gains since the year 2000 that they deserve and need. An Economic Advisor to Hillary Clinton, former Economic Advisor to both president s, clinton and obama. Gene, thanks for coming . Thank you very much, wolf. Appreciate it. Thank you. Coming up, Bernie Sanders holding a rally right now in california. All while voters in West Virginia could give him a potential boost tonight. Why isnt he there . Well talk to his campaign manager, jeff weaver, standing by live. And i said come to class, lets start walking together and i said and i bet you money youll be able to do that senior walk. That day i said ok its me and you girl, me and you i said if you need to stop, theres a bench well just hang out in the shade. She said absolutely not we are going to finish this race and we were the last ones in, but you know what . We finished the race. And she goes desiree, ill never quit walking. Ever a perfect car then smash it into a tree. Your Insurance Company raises your rates. Maybe you should have done more research on them. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Just one of the many features that comes standard with our base policy. Call for a free quote today. See Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. Take a look at these live pictures of the Bernie Sanders Campaign Stop in stockton, california. Right now, the battle today between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton is taking place in West Virginia which is holding its primary. A new poll taken among voters in three key swing states shows sanders edging out donald trump in a head to head matchup in all three states. Clinton only beats trump in two of those three states. I want to bring in jeff weaver, the Bernie Sanders campaign manager. Thank you so much for joining us. Obviously, all within the margin of error but can you parlay sanders lead in those three polls in these three key battleground states . Were talking about pennsylvania, ohio, and florida. He does better against trump than Hillary Clinton does. Can you convince super delegates in the Democratic Party to switch and go with him as opposed to her . Thats the point weve been making, wolf. The polls have been consistent for months as well as state level polls that Bernie Sanders does better against donald trump than secretary clinton. I think these three polls today are extremely troubling. You have the secretary losing in ohio. Up by 1 in florida and pennsylvania. Trump is w hes winning all three against trump and neither one is going to the convention with enough pledge delegates. Super delegates decide who the winner is and i think this is compelling evidence why Bernie Sanders would be a much better candidate. Well see if theyre consistent with the Quinnipiac University poll but lets talk a bit about taxes for a moment. Donald trump, he says he wants to reduce taxes for everybody. The highest wage earner is going down from 39. 6 to 25 . How high does Bernie Sanders want that highest wage earner to be taxed . His highest rate is 52 . Thats for people over 10 million a year in earnings. Thats a small group of people who would be paying that highest rate. But look, the truth is that almost all new wealth and income is going top 1 in the country and those people should be paying their fair share of taxes. Weve seen stories where you have wealthy investors and others paying lower than secretaries. Its not right. Its not sustainable. And you cant run a country like that. What about people making more than 250,000 a year . Would their income go up from 39. 6 . Its graduated. Its a progressive system. But above 250, it goes up a couple of points and then would lift the cap on income above 250 so that we not only save Social Security for the long term but also expand benefits for people at the bottom who are making very, very little right now. A lot of seniors are trying to get by at 11,000, 12,000 an income a year, wolf, and you just cant do it. The cost of the kind of goods and services that they buy, largely health care, keep going up much faster than the cost of everything else. The coalers arent keeping up and they fall further and further behind. Hes campaigning, as we mentioned, in california today. June 7th is the primary there. You made it clear hes staying in this race until at least the convention, right . Absolutely. We anticipate it will be beyond the convention, wolf. Theres a general election in november. But yes, hes been campaigning all over the country. Hes going to campaign for every vote, for every delegate. Hes going to go to the convention, hopefully with a pledge delegate lead but certainly having had closed the gap substantially with the secretary. And then i think hes going to have to make the case which he will make. The quinnipiac polls today are, again, a good justification for why super delegates, you know, many of whom, wolf, announce to the secretary before there was even the Campaign Going on. So, you know, they really havent had a chance to look at this race and to really judge the candidate side by side who can best lead the democrats in the fall. Keep the white house and expand democratic numbers in the house and senate. Jeff weaver is the Bernie Sanders campaign manager. Thank you for coming in. My pleasure as always, wolf. Its a major issue out there on the campaign trail now. Tomorrow night, Anderson Cooper and dr. Sanjay gupta will hold a special town hall on Prescription Drug abuse in america. Thats a special on cnn. Ted cruz, hes back up on capitol hill today. The texas senator suspended his campaign for the white house but still plans to play a big role in the republican convention. Were going to tell you what hes saying today when we come back. Cancer. We dont want to think about it. But i had to. Because, you see i was traveling, i was enjoying life, i was working. It was too long since my last pap. When i was finally tested, we thought i might have cervical cancer. After worrying no cancer. I was lucky. Women. Please get a pap test to check for cervical cancer. And get the inside knowledge about gynecologic cancers. For you and the people who care about you. Senator marco rubio has been speaking at the think tank here and he was commenting on Donald Trumps campaign. My policy differences are well established and said them often and those remain. I hope theyll be addressed, but those remain. That said, i dont view myself as a guy to sit here for the next 7 months taking shots at him. People know where i stand and our differences are. Hes the nominee of the republican party, via the voters. I respect that and accept it. But thats not going to change the reservations i have about his campaign or about some of the policies that hes established. But im not insisting he change anything. He needs to be true to who he is and thats what he believes in and maybe hell have a chance to make that argument to the american people. Congress, meanwhile, back at work here in washington and up on capitol hill but the talk in the halls isnt necessarily about legislation. A lot of that talk involves donald trump and how republicans in congress are reacting to him being the presumptive president ial nominee. Manu raju is our senior political reporter joining us live from capitol hill. What are you hearing up there, manu . Is anybody coming out to support donald trump . Reporter not quite at this point, wolf. People say, i guess hes the nominee. I guess well support him. They caught up quickly with rand paul, the kentucky senator saying, ill support donald trump because i pledge to support the republican nominee. Others wouldnt take questions about him. Mark kirk of illinois in a very difficult senate race said im not taking questions about donald trump today and some said they want trump to do more outreach. In maine, asked about whether shell support donald trump and she said that trump needs to change his rhetoric and incendiary rhetoric and to give a clearer vision where he wants to take the country. So thats really just showing the hurdle that donald trump has in getting sort of the Party Establishment to line up behind him because right now, its looking like a difficult sell on capitol hill, wolf. Senator ted cruz suspended his Campaign Last month an sad d hell hold on to texas, oklahoma delegates. Why is that . It looks like theres a lot of ill will still from this very bitter contentious campaign. In that interview with glenn beck earlier today, he really criticized donald trump. He did not put out an olive branch at all towards trump, actually suggested, didnt even suggest or get back in the race if there was a viable path for him to take the nomination. Heres a little bit more, wolf, of what he had to say. The voters in the primary have seem to have made a choice and well see what happens as the months go forward, but i think we need to watch and see what the candidates say and do. Reporter it will be interesting, wolf, how much is actually positioning to 2020 if donald trump does not win in 2016 because well know that 2020 race begin and see ted cruz and marco rubio back on the stump. Wolf . I see trump just tweeted an hour ago, he said i look very much forward to meeting with paul ryan and the gop Party Leaders on thursday in dc. Together, we will beat the dems at all levels. Maybe a bit of an olive branch. Coming up, londons mayor blasting donald trump in what he calls his ignorant views on islam. The details next. Muddling through your morning is nothing new. Your nose is the only thing on your mind. And to get relief, anything is fair game. Introducing rhinocort® allergy spray from the makers of zyrtec®. Powerful relief from your most frustrating nasal allergy symptom ,all day and all night. Hasnt your nose been through enough already . Try new rhinocort® allergy spray. Muddle no more® im spending too muchs for time hiringnter. And not enough time in my kitchen. announcer need to hire fast . Go to ziprecruiter. Com and post your job to over 100 of the webs leading job boards with a single click. Then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. You put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. Makes my job a lot easier. announcer over 400,000 businesses have already used ziprecruiter. And now you can use ziprecruiter for free. Go to ziprecruiter. Com offer6 perfect driving record. Perfect. No tickets. No accidents. That is until one of you clips a food truck, ruining your perfect record. Yup. Now, you would think your Insurance Company would cut you some slack, right . No. Your insurance rates go through the roof. Your perfect record doesnt get you anything. Anything. Perfect for drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. And if you do have an accident, our claim centers are available to assist you 24 7. For a free quote, call Liberty Mutual at switch to Liberty Mutual and you could save up to 509 call today at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. Donald trumps proposal to ban temporarily ban muslims from entering the United States now soured relations with one of the most senior muslim politicians in europe. Sadiq khan is the first muslim mayor of london. Today, he condemned donald trump for the suggestion the mayor could be an exception to the u. S. Muslim ban he put on the table. Our International Correspondent joining us live now from london. The potential relationship already off to a relatively bad start. What else has khan said about donald trump and the overall situation . Reporter wolf, sadiq khan isnt interested in being Donald Trumps exception. He says the issue is not whether he can visit the United States but the fact that under Donald Trumps proposed policy that no muslim will be able to visit the United States. So its not about sadiq khan and his family, his friends, indeed, muslim community. But he said its the policy. And he wants donald trump to rethink it. This was sadiq khan in london earlier today. I think donald trump has ignorant views about islam. Not just about me but said im the exception to his rule but if youre a muslim from any part of the world, you cant go to the usa. My point is this. There are many muslims that want to go to america to disneyland or Business People or want to be students in america. Reporter ignorant views about islam. Pretty strong stuff, really, but more than that, sadiq khan believes that donald trump through this policy is making both the United States and the United Kingdom less safe because he is alienating mainstream muslims and therefore, playing in to the extremist narrative in that way. But sadiq khan is simply the latest high profile british politician to criticize this whole deal. Remember, in parliament, at the time that donald trump was first suggesting this, the british prime minister, David Cameron described this policy as divisive, stupid, and wrong and he stands by those remarks, wolf. Phil black in london for us, thank you very much. Coming up, were going to bring you, take you inside syria right now to witness the growing presence of Russian Military forces. Were going to live to damascus as a cnn crew inside north koreas secretive congress. We go to pyongyang, north korea, as well. Ifor all the wrong reasons. Gical you may be muddling through allergies. Try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. And zyrtec® is different than claritin®. Because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Try zyrtec®. Muddle no more®. Why do people have eyebrows . I. Why do people put milk on cereal . Oh, are you reading why people put milk on cereal . Why does your tummy go grumbily, grumbily, grumbily . Why is it all mimics a stomach grumble no more questions for you ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasnt it . Yeah, happens to more people than you think. Try lactaid, its real milk, without that annoying lactose. Good, right . Mmm, yeah. I got your back. Lactaid. Its the milk that doesnt mess with you. Ceasefire in effect in the syrian city of aleppo after extended a second time. Both the u. S. And russia instrument nal trying to secure these truces but questions remain about russias political motivation. In march, the russian president Vladimir Putin called for the majority of forces in syria to return home to russia but as senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen found out the presence of Russian Forces is bigger than you might think. Reporter this is the russian intervention the world has come to know. But rush whys footprint in syria seems to be far bigger than just combat jets. There are thousands of troops stationed at its Main Air Base disciplined and highly motivated. We caught up with this First Lieutenant during his boxing practice. Im glad to serve my country here he says and im not afraid. What is there to be afraid of in syria . The west said the air strikes target mostly moderate antiassad rebels. The russians claiming they bomb only isis and other terror groups. But while moscow says its withdrawn most forces from syria, we saw what appeared several bases in western and central syria with a variety of attack helicopters. Also, a brandnew base for its demining crews with dozens of fighting vehicles and even antiaircraft missile systems. On top of its own assets, the military spokesman said the forces closely cooperate with assads troops. We receive a great deal of information from the syrian general staff, he says. Theyre on the ground and close to the rebels. As for the military technical cooperation, of course, we help them, as well. None of this seems to indicate a full russian withdrawal from syria any time soon and for many in damascus, thats just fine. The people here in the governmentheld part of damascus seem to be very well aware to the extent of the Russian Military helping the assad forces and say theres going to be a solution to the syrian crisis, it has to come from syrians themselves and not from outside powers. Violence still rages in most of the country. Conciliation seems nowhere in sight and neither is an end of rush whys involvement in the conflict. Fred is joining us live now from damascus. Fred, russians say theyre the guests. Do they follow the lead of government forces, or do these Russian Troops act on their own authority . Reporter they absolutely act on their own authority, wolf. A thing that struck us when we were going around syria, theyre with the russians is ease with which they move there and dont ask the syrians for permission to go anywhere. They might tell them theyre going somewhere and they fly wherever they want, drive wherever they want and they have access to any sort of area that is controlled by the Syrian Government at this point in time. And, you know, one of the Big Questions asking is why they have so many Ground Forces around the country. And some of it could be for force protection but, of course, one of the reasons nor that is that they have such a big footprint now. That new base is pretty big, its state of the art, very well maintained and needs a substantial force to be able to protect it, as well. A lot more hardware there on the ground and the russians and one thing we didnt see, wolf, an army that seems to be ready to leave very soon. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case. Do they release numbers . How many Russian Troops are still on the ground . Reporter its impossible to tell at this point. Theres no real numbers out there. There are some people saying they believe its between 6,000 and 8,000 at this point in time and difficult to tell. The u. S. , for instance, believes that the russians might be moving artillery in the aleppo area. They havent confirmed that so its difficult to tell but i would say from what we saw its at least several thousands on the ground there for the russians, wolf. All right. Thank you. In north korea today hundreds of thousands flocked to the main square in pyongyang for a parade for the end of the Workers Party congress, the first in decades. During the historic meeting the leader got a new title and a tighter grip on power. Cnns will ripley is inside north korea. He was at the congress for us. Will . Reporter wolf, a dramatic finish to the first Workers Partys congress in 36 years. Two huge celebrations in the square. One in fact morning attended by this countrys Supreme Leader kim jongun and waving from the stands to hundreds of thousands of North Koreans who have been practicing for months to make sure every move is perfect. In the evening, the teenagers did the same thing, except they were holding up torches, dancing and there was a huge fireworks display all of this to celebrate what happened over the weekend at the seventh congress of the Workers Party of congress and very little trance pay sy in the government aside from updates on state television. We came here to cover it, pushing for access and final day of the congress, a handful of us told to board a bus, put on suits and bring our passports but we didnt know where we were going. We passed the Security Check and rows of bodyguards and then we entered the venue where the congress was being held. We balked in and homes later, the leader and his highest level Party Officials took the stage and when it was announced he has this brandnew title, created for him to give him even more authority and hard to imagine him getting more power in a country where he already has absolute power. The vote as you might expect was yunanimous as the votes always are here in north korea and the citizens that had no direct role in the process, the 5,000 delegates in attendance, everybody else to watch, listen and accept what the government was telling them and nonetheless people on the streets were saying theyre happy that their leader has a new position and they say they agree with his strategy to try to grow in nations impoverished economy and invest billions on developing and even bigger and stronger Nuclear Arsenal even meaning heightened International Sanctions and hardship for the people saying they support him and here in north korea what else would they say . Wolf . Thanks very much. Thats it for me. The news continues next on cnn. Wolf blitzer, thank you so much. Im brooke baldwin. Youre warming cnnon this tuesday. We begin with a surprise twist in the race for president , a republican source