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The Situation Room
The Real Donald Trump?; Prince Death Investigation; Adviser Tells GOP Trump Playing a Part, Evolving; Clinton, Sanders Battling Ahead of Next Primaries. Aired 6-7p ETp ET
Aired April 22, 2016 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:10]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news: Police probe an investigation into the death of music icon Prince. It is under way tonight, officials revealing new details of his shocking death and the autopsy and drug test that may solve the growing mystery. What caused his sudden passing?
Purple rain. Emotional tributes, vigils, celebrations of Prince's life, as fans around the world are mourning his death, his decades of music filling the airwaves, underscoring his eclectic talent and appeal. Did he leave behind a trove of unreleased songs in a secret vault?
And playing a part. Donald Trump's convention manager telling Republican insiders the controversial candidate at war with the GOP is not the real Trump. The top aide assuring nervous party officials Trump is ready to evolve into the role of presidential nominee. Do weary Republicans believe him?
We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I am Brianna Keilar. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KEILAR: We are following breaking news, the police investigation under way into the death of legendary musician Prince. New details emerging just a short time ago, as the first news conference since his body was discovered Thursday.
Officials reveal the autopsy lasted for four hours. They say results from toxicology tests are likely weeks away. But the sheriff says there were no obvious signs of trauma, there's no reason to suspect suicide. Prince's body has been released to his family, and we are awaiting word on funeral plans.
We're also following the race for the White House and a top aide to Donald Trump trying to reassure anxious GOP insiders. CNN has obtained reporting of longtime operative Paul Manafort telling party officials that Trump is "playing a part" and now ready to evolve as a candidate.
We are covering all of that and more with correspondents, our guests and our expert analysts.
And we want to begin now with the investigation into Prince's death.
CNN national correspondent Ryan Young has been working the story for us.
Ryan, you were at that news conference. What have you learned?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We were at the news conference, and we have moved over to Paisley Park, where so many are still gathering.
But everyone wanted to know that big question. Was there any trauma involved? And that was answered by the sheriff. He did say there was no trauma involved. But when you look back this direction, you can see all the people who have gathered here to remember Prince. We wanted to break away from being able to stand still, so we can show you the hundreds of people here that are here.
And in a sweet move by the people who love Prince, they have actually come and started delivering food to all the fans that traveled from so far and so wide to come and remember someone they loved.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YOUNG (voice-over): Tonight, investigators now piecing together the details surrounding Prince's death.
JIM OLSON, CARVER COUNTY, MINNESOTA: At about 9:43 yesterday morning, we received a medical call at Paisley Park in Chanhassen. Chanhassen Fire, the Carver County Sheriff's Office and rescue ambulance all responded to the call. That is our standard protocol, and it's not unusual at all for us to have everybody respond to a medical like that.
They found an unresponsive male in the elevator. CPR was initially started, but was unsuccessful. He was pronounced deceased at 10:07.
YOUNG: Among questions authorities are trying to answer, what took place in the house leading up to the discovery of Prince's slumped body in an elevator in his Paisley Park complex?
OLSON: Staff members from Paisley Park had been able to -- had been unable to contact Prince yesterday morning and went to check on him. They found him unresponsive and called 911. Deputies went through the building to make sure that there was nobody else inside.
Because this was an unwitnessed death of a middle-aged adult, the decision was made to process the scene. That is also normal protocol.
YOUNG: Though nothing can be ruled out in this early stage of investigation, authorities say there are no signs of conflict.
OLSON: There were no obvious signs of trauma on the body at all.
YOUNG: The medical examiner says a full autopsy report could take weeks to complete. OLSON: This is a tragedy for all of us. To you, Prince Rogers Nelson
was a celebrity. To us, he is a community member and a good neighbor. To his family, he's a loved one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YOUNG: Now, Prince was 57. That's part of the reason why they said they decided to do that full investigation. But this is a death investigation until they rule out everything.
That's why they have done a search warrant. They will not file that search warrant until some time next week, so we won't be able to know what they have gathered from this. They kept stressing this is an open investigation. They won't be giving us much details until they find out everything in terms of what happened with this case -- Brianna.
[18:05:04]
KEILAR: Yes, that search warrant would certainly be revealing. All right, Ryan Young, thank you so much.
So many unanswered questions here.
I want to get more now with CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
What stands out to you, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A couple of things really stood out.
They got this call at 9:43 a.m. on Tuesday, and at 10:07, just 24 minutes after that, Prince was pronounced dead. It was very fast. A lot of times, if there's some signs that someone can be saved, they will take the person to the hospital as quickly as possible.
If there were signs that the person was -- still could be saved after overdose, for example, they will give them medication known as Narcan. Paramedics carry that medication with them. They did not give it.
We also know that because it was an unwitnessed death, and it was unusual death, that the entire area around where Prince was found was also examined. They want to see if they can find any clues. We know there was an autopsy performed that took about four hours. A complete autopsy is the way the medical examiner put it, and they wanted to basically look at anything, which says to me that there's still -- there was nothing obvious, nothing that sort of was a good hunch that they were following up on.
They wanted to really examine everything. The medical examiner representative also spoke at this press conference. Listen to how she put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARTHA WEAVER, MIDWEST MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE: We say that we're going to be doing a complete exam. That not only includes the present state of the body that is brought to us, but also the medical history of the individual, the family medical history of the individual.
So those types of things will be encompassed in the medical examiner's report that will be delivered to the sheriff for his investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: So there's not an obvious thing, I think, Brianna, is what jumped out to me, or at least if there is, they're not disclosing that at this time.
They want to look at everything. That's part of the reason we are hearing this welcome be not hours and days before we get a response, but days and weeks in terms of putting this all together, Brianna.
KEILAR: Why does it take so long, the toxicology tests? Why does it take weeks?
GUPTA: Part of it is you have to figure out what you're actually looking for. You can test for all sorts of different things, and then you may get more information and say we should test for this as well.
Sometimes, what you are finding in the body could just be very, very small amounts. You have to take those tests and then you may have to confirm those tests, so I think it is just being really diligent about those tests, making sure the results match the rest of the findings, match the autopsy and match the family history, match the description of any medications he may have been taking.
They probably will have preliminary results earlier than that, but I think what I sense from hearing the sheriff and the folks from the M.E.'s office, they want a more complete picture before they release something.
And again I think one of the salient points is that there wasn't anything obvious here. It wasn't a suicide. There was no evidence of trauma. There wasn't something very obvious here. I think they want to make sure, as the sheriff put it, they leave no stone unturned here.
KEILAR: All right, Sanjay, thanks so much.
I want to get more now on this with CNN anchor Don Lemon and we also have the former executive vice president of Prince's company, Paisley Park, Kerry Gordy, with us, as well as CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
I want to ask you, Kerry, you talked before about the elevator. Prince was found unresponsive in the elevator. You said, having been there at Paisley Park numerous times, he never really used the elevator, right?
KERRY GORDY, FORMER EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, PAISLEY PARK: He never used the elevator when he was with me.
I can't speak to whether he used it at night, or whether he used it in other circumstances, but it seemed to me that we were always kind of not only just walking around the place. We were kind of always on a little jog whenever I was with him. He was in very good shape.
Like I said, I think the elevator when the complex was built was because he thought it was a cool thing to have more than something that was really functional.
KEILAR: You thought it was more like a novelty, a nice feature in an expansive home there, that he was -- I know you said maybe he used it some other times, but are you thinking perhaps he was using it just because he wasn't feeling up to heading up flights of stairs?
GORDY: Yes. You know what, I think that that could be the case in this case. I'm not sure, but I would think that, like I said, most of the time I was with him, we were not only walking, we were kind of jogging through the facility.
KEILAR: Yes.
Don, we heard earlier from Nischelle Turner reporting that she spoke with Prince's ex-fiancee, Sheila E., and she said he was in a lot of pain in recent years. Of course, he was known for wearing basically high heels, right, very high-heeled shoes, and she said he would do moves where he was jumping off things. He was on stage, and it had caused pain for him.
[18:10:15]
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
I mean, but Prince was very athletic. He wasn't a big man. I don't think it was that hard for him to move around, but he did. I don't know if he had pain, but Sheila E. certainly knows better, would know better than anyone else if he did or not.
He also had the cane. The cane could have just been for style reasons or it could have been because he had some sort of medical issue from being so active and jumping up and down on stage. All of that is yet to be determined. As Dr. Gupta said, I am sure that they get those results back earlier or faster than they let onto, but what they want to do is compare them to other things to see how -- the percentage of what was in his body, the combination, what would lead to what, and to make sure that he is taking -- as he is taking certain medications, whether or not it was interacting or reacting with other medication.
We don't know his medical history. The sheriff alluded to that in the press conference as well.
KEILAR: Jeffrey, we want to know of course what officials took from his home. But what does it tell you that the sheriff said today they haven't filed a search warrant?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this is a real investigation, and they are going to want to talk to people.
They're going to want to see what was in the house, what was in the medicine cabinet, what was by his bed, the places where people keep medications or drugs they might be taking, and there might be people involved who supplied him with his medication.
That isn't to say that there's something sinister or untoward went on, but it is something investigators that want to know. You can't just rummage in a house without a search warrant. Investigators also don't want everyone to know in real time what they're doing. They have a right to go slowly in an investigation, so that they can ask people questions and not have people line up their stories if they were inclined to do it.
This is a prudent way to proceed. It's not a suggestion that anyone did anything wrong or criminal, but it is a real investigation when a 57-year-old person dies for no apparent reason. It is an appropriate thing to do.
LEMON: Brianna?
KEILAR: Yes, Don.
LEMON: I think what's important is -- what's going to be important is whether or not there are cameras.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: Yes, exactly right. That's actually what I wanted to ask Kerry, because having there in Paisley Park, Kerry, so many times, did he have these security cameras installed or audio devices where that might be essential for these 12 missing hours?
GORDY: You know what, I believe so, but I don't remember.
But I believe -- I can't imagine him not having them, but I don't remember that as an element, because I never felt paranoid when I was in the place.
LEMON: He didn't like to be photographed and he didn't like to have cameras in his private facility. It will be interesting.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: You think, Don, he might not have?
LEMON: He may not have, because he was so private.
But, again, this is also a place where people come in from outside, and I think it would be prudent to have them, one should have them, but Prince is so private. The sheriff has said it, Kerry has said it, all of his friends, people who know him have said -- and even he didn't want people recording when they came into Paisley Park. That is going to be interesting to see.
KEILAR: We know, Don, that he was clothed in a shirt and pants, but it's unclear if those are pajamas, if that is -- obviously, that's something that officials are looking at. Was he dressed in his clothes from the day before, had he retired from the night, and was waking up in the morning? Was he alive in the morning before he was found?
LEMON: Yes. That will establish a timeline.
It's common sense. If he was in pajamas, or what have you, it would lead them to believe he had some sort of trouble in the middle of the night, or he was getting up to get help or try to or, you know, do something to help himself, or if he was in street clothing from the night before when he came in, or maybe he was leaving early in the morning. They don't know. We simply don't know at this point.
They hadn't seen him since I think 8:00 the night before.
KEILAR: All right, gentlemen, Don, Kerry, Jeffrey, thank you so much. We will be talking more about Prince and this investigation that we are learning new details about after a quick break.
I do want to say that Don is going to be back as well with much more on this at 9:00 p.m. Eastern for a special two-hour "CNN TONIGHT."
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:18:58]
KEILAR: Breaking news we are following tonight, the investigation into the death of the award-winning musician Prince.
An autopsy has been completed, his body now released to his family. Officials say there were no obvious signs of trauma. And we are expecting results likely in weeks from drug tests that they did.
We are back now with the former executive vice president of Prince's company, Paisley Park, Kerry Gordy, and we also have CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
There was a moment, Jeffrey, in this press conference not too long ago where police were asked, are you going to look at security cameras in drugstores that may have been visited by Prince here or on his behalf in recent days? They wouldn't answer that. What did that tell you?
TOOBIN: Again, it is early in the investigation, and everything intersects. Depending on results of the autopsy, they may become more interested in what sort of medications or drugs he or someone on his behalf has purchased.
[18:20:01]
They have to know all this stuff to know what happened. The surveillance video could or could not be relevant, but also very basic investigative facts that need to be known. This was an enormous complex, Paisley Park. Who was present last night? Did he have a friend there?
Were there bodyguards present? Were there people working all night in music studios, as often happens in music studios? Those are very basic investigative facts that have to be known. And then anyone who might have information about what happened in the hours leading to his death has to be interviewed. This is a process that is going to take some time.
KEILAR: Kerry, Prince actually came up today at this joint press conference that we were monitoring between President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron. I want you to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I loved Prince because he put out great music and he was a great performer.
I didn't know him well. He came to perform at the White House last year and was extraordinary and creative and original and full of energy. And so it's a remarkable loss. And I'm staying at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador's residence. It so happens our ambassador has a turntable, and so this morning we played "Purple Rain" and "Delirious" just to get warmed up before we left the house for important bilateral meetings like this.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: What do you think. That's a pretty amazing moment to hear the president talking about that, and sort of imagining him and the ambassador rocking out to some Prince music this morning as a tribute.
GORDY: Well, demographically, I think that the president is in that age group that would appreciate Prince. He is a young president, and he and Prince are probably near the same age.
So anybody that grew up during this -- that time period and this time period would be a fan of Prince if they were a fan of any type of R&B or rock or pop music.
I was glad that he said -- that he used those songs, because there were other Prince songs that he could have played would not have been appropriate for TV.
KEILAR: Yes. That's a good point. And you are right. President Obama is 54. Prince is 57. So, you're right, they are in the same little cohort there.
GORDY: Yes.
KEILAR: But this is -- that's not even necessarily unique, right? Of course, it is the president, and it's the ambassador, so that makes it sort of unique, but this is what people are doing around the country and around the world. There are dance parties. They will be going to see his film "Purple Rain" in theaters starting this weekend. They're there at Paisley Park. They're going -- people are driving
through cities all over this country blaring his music. What do you think needs to happen as a memorial for Prince?
GORDY: Yes. I think that what's happening right now is exactly what Prince would want to happen.
He would want to be recognized kind of the same way that I'm doing. I'm celebrating my relationship and my life with him, and I am thinking about all of the good times and the things that he meant to the world and all the happiness that he gave all of the people.
So, in my mourning, I'm happy that I actually and all of you actually had a chance to really experience someone of this magnitude with this level of talent.
KEILAR: Yes, there's a lot of sadness, a lot of appreciation, though, as well for his talent and the years he did spend here on earth.
Kerry Gordy, thank you so much. Jeffrey Toobin, thanks to both of you.
And just ahead, we are going to have more details tonight that are emerging about the death of Prince. We have our breaking news coverage that will continue in just a moment.
And also this: Is Donald Trump about to change before our eyes? One of his top aides says Trump is about to evolve.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:29:00]
KEILAR: We will have more breaking news coverage of the death of Prince ahead, but, first, another major story that we are following, a top adviser to Donald Trump, his convention manager, caught on tape telling Republican Party officials behind closed doors that the controversial GOP front-runner has been playing a part up until now.
CNN's Jim Acosta is at the site of a Trump rally in Delaware.
And, Jim, this is new ammo for rivals.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, first among them, Ted Cruz, Brianna.
As Donald Trump has been ripping the Republican Party's delegate process, his advisers are quietly trying to calm the jitters of GOP insiders. One Trump adviser says Trump is just projecting an image to the public, a comment Ted Cruz said is proof that the GOP front-runner is lying to voters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Go ahead. What the hell. Let's have some fun. ACOSTA (voice-over): With Donald Trump closing in on the GOP
nomination...
TRUMP: I was hit really, really hard. And if I didn't hit them back really, really harder, I wouldn't be here.
ACOSTA: ... one of his top advisers, Paul Manafort, spent part of this week wooing Republican Party officials down in Florida, making the case that there's more to the real estate tycoon than his brash image on the stump.
[18:30:13] PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP CONVENTION MANAGER: When he is talking about the kinds of things he's talking about on the stump, he's projecting that for that purpose, and you'll start to see it come together in the course of the next -- next several months.
ACOSTA: In this recording obtained by CNN, Manafort can be heard behind closed doors, explaining to RNC leaders that much of Trump's super-heated rhetoric, which has savaged the party's delegate process in recent days...
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's such a crooked system it's disgusting.
ACOSTA: ... will cool down to just the right temperature over time.
MANAFORT: The part that he's been playing is evolving into the part that you've been expecting, but he wasn't ready. The negatives will come down, the image is going to change, but Clinton is still going to be "Crooked Hillary."
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald's campaign is now run by a Washington lobbyist who has been a lobbyist for 40 years.
ACOSTA: Ted Cruz seized on Manafort's remarks as evidence that the man who's dubbed him "Lyin' Ted"...
TRUMP: If it's Lyin' Ted Cruz.
Lyin' Ted.
Lyin' Ted Cruz.
ACOSTA: ... is telling some whoppers of his own.
CRUZ: They've been down in Florida, meeting with party leaders, and they were saying -- these are their words -- that all of this is just a show. That he doesn't believe anything he's saying. He's just trying to fool gullible voters, and he's not going to do any of it. He's not going to build a wall; he's not going to deport anyone. He is telling us he is lying to us.
ACOSTA: Cruz is arguing Trump is already betraying conservatives on controversial state bathroom laws that aim to bar transgender people from using the restroom of their choice. CRUZ: A couple of months ago Donald Trump told us he could be the
most politically correct person on earth. Well, we're beginning to see what that looks like.
ACOSTA: Trump counters that Cruz and John Kasich are wasting the voters' time, as they no longer have no path to the nomination outside a contested convention.
TRUMP: here's no path to victory for Cruz, so they should both get out.
ACOSTA: Caught in the crossfire, RNC chair Reince Priebus is calling on the GOP to look past the bitter primary season and stand united.
REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIR: Now, I know that our candidates are going to try to say things to attract attention. That's part of politics. We all need to get behind the nominee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: But some top Republicans are not so sure they can stomach more of what Trump is dishing out. As one strategist put it to me, Manafort was basically telling GOP members down in Florida, quote, "Don't worry; Trump's a fraud."
The GOP frontrunner, though, will have a chance to put this controversy behind him. Brianna, Donald Trump could have another big night coming up on Tuesday. The big primary night coming up on the calendar next week -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right. Jim Acosta in Delaware. Thank you.
And I want to get more on all of this now with one of Donald Trump's key supporters, Scottie Nell Hughes of USA Radio Network. So Scottie, you heard what Paul Manafort said. What do you make of this? People are saying that he's basically admitting that Donald Trump is two faced or that he's a phony or that he's just playing a part.
SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, USA RADIO NETWORK: OK, I didn't hear that from him. I have to tell you, I'm very, very, very -- I'm very disheartened by the fact that I'm listening once again to secretive tapes leaked out. This has to obviously be linked to Ted Cruz, showing his desperation. To sit there and record behind closed doors one of the advisors to the Trump campaign and then release the tape, as if they're going to expose some sort of fraud.
Instead of actually questioning the candidate, now they're going after the staff. And I think that's absolutely deplorable. One of the reasons why people don't trust politicians today, and why Ted Cruz is once again showing that he is your typical politician that will cut and do whatever he needs to do just to get elected.
KEILAR: Manafort -- Manafort says, and this is a quote from him, "playing a part." What is that -- why is that not a problem? So explain this to me. You're saying that this is a nothing burger. Then why is that not an issue? HUGHES: Well, this is nothing new. I mean, we've talked in the past.
Always said that Mr. Trump, there's nobody better in business than Mr. Trump, and he knows his brand.
And while you don't compromise the product -- and he has not changed -- you change the message depending on the audience and the environment that you're in.
Listen, Michael Jordan when he was on the basketball court in the early '90s, was one of the fiercest competitors you'd ever want to go against. But when you got him off the court, he was one of the nicest guys you've ever met. You adjust according to your settings.
That's something Mr. Trump has always done. That's why he's so successful in business. But you don't compromise the product. Mr. Trump has never compromised what he said or his values or exactly what he's going to do for this country. But it's depending on the message and the environment and the people he's talking to. This is nothing new from what Paul Manafort said than what we've been saying since September, when he had 17 people on the stage with him competing. And obviously, his message works, because he's still in the race; and he's beating the other two by quite good numbers at this point.
[18:35:06] KEILAR: No, I will say there are a lot of Republicans who say he would need to make a change if he is going to be successful in the general election. So if he is now evolving, if he is going to be changing, what does that look like, Scottie? What does he do to appeal to more people, and how does that work?
HUGHES: Well, just like his campaign is changing by bringing on more staff, getting ready for a general campaign, I think it is. I think it's true that Mr. Trump is evolving into a general race candidate with the insurance that, in case we go to brokered convention, we can handle it.
But I think we're all pretty much set that Mr. Trump is going to be our nominee, and we're going to have to be prepared to go against the Democratic Party. That includes bringing in unity and evolving into a candidate that can talk to all different groups, all the diversity that we're seeing within his supporters right now. He's going to continue to expand that.
And one of the best ways is going to be tapering down some of the vocabulary he has used in the past. I mean, you go back and you watch Mr. Trump from the '80s and the '90s, and the way that he has been able to portray himself. There's a reason why so many people respect him, so many people work for him.
I talked to a gentleman that works for him. He's been with him since the '70s. He does not -- people that work for him love him, are loyal to him, and there's a reason why.
You can't say that about any of the other campaigns, especially Senator Ted Cruz's campaign, where fiercely loyal people don't stay loyal for very long. Because he turns around, and something happens. Mr. Trump, once you're with him, and once you stick with him, you realize you respect him. And that's the same type of respect he's going to continue to grow and gain amongst the Republican Party and the rest of the country when he becomes president.
KEILAR: He is showing a new side of himself in a new ad. Let's play this. Then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Washington is broken. The truth is too many politicians are totally controlled by special interests and lobbyists. That's going to change quickly. We'll cut taxes for the middle class, negotiate new trade deals, bring back jobs, save Social Security and Medicare without cuts, end illegal immigration, build a wall, strengthen our military, knock out ISIS, and take care of our great veterans. We're going to make America great again.
I am Donald Trump, and I approved this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Now, he's sort of -- you hear the music there. And obviously, the tone that he's trying to kind of get across is one of "These are the things I'm promising to do." He does sound a little -- I guess you could say -- more presidential, or he certainly did on the evening of the New York primary. He's trying to project something here. We did see that he went back to attacking Ted Cruz with the nickname "Lyin' Ted" and so forth.
So which one is it that we're going to be seeing more of? Or is this his effort to show more that he's multi-facetted? Are we going to see both of these Donald Trumps?
HUGHES: I think you're going to continue, like you said, how we started the segment, to see him evolve. I think he still has to deal with Senator Cruz, and he still has to deal with Governor Kasich, but the truth is neither one of them got 50 percent in their own state. They've got almost a zero chance of being able to get the nomination before going to a chaotic convention.
I think you're going to see Mr. Trump continue a message. What was great about that commercial is that it was clear; it was understandable; it didn't have a bunch of ways to do it. It's something every single American, whether you're Republican or a Democrat, could relate to something in that commercial, say, "That's exactly what I want."
That's the kind of candidate that I think you're going to see Mr. Trump continue to evolve into on the stump. It's nothing new, but it's just making his message be able to be more clear so that more people understand him. Now that he doesn't have to deal with all of the riffraff and hopefully not any more of the shenanigans that we've seen from the other campaigns as we get closer to July.
KEILAR: All right, Scottie. Thanks so much for being with us. Scottie Nell Hughes there, representing the Donald Trump campaign. We do appreciate it. We do have some breaking news ahead. New details of the death of
Prince and this police investigation that is under way tonight. What did the autopsy reveal?
And then Ted Cruz seizing on those remarks by Donald Trump's convention manager about Trump playing a part. Can he help Cruz close the gap in next week's key primaries?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:43:46] KEILAR: Our breaking news coverage of the death of Prince continues in a moment.
But first, an update on the Democratic race for the White House. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are locked in a battle for the five states that are holding primaries four days from today.
And CNN senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is in Philadelphia for us tonight.
Joe, what's the latest on the Dems?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bri, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders continue to work through a grueling day on the campaign trail. Three stops a piece for both of these candidates among the highlights. A hint from Hillary Clinton today of what the future could look like, suggesting that, should she win the nomination, she will be subjected to a campaign on the other side of insults and derogatory comments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS (voice-over): Tonight Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are crisscrossing Pennsylvania ahead of the Keystone State's primary next Tuesday. Clinton addressing a range of issues, including online bullying and tying it to the presidential race.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I am the nominee, we could very well have a campaign that is exactly all about that.
JOHNS: Clinton offering a rebuke of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail.
[18:45:00] CLINTON: It isn't really about me, and I am not going to respond to what he says about me. I'm going to respond to what he has said about women in general. I'm going to respond to what he said about immigrants.
JOHNS (voice-over): And on Earth Day, she challenges all of the Republican candidates on climate change in a new Instagram video.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This global warming hoax.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some theory that's not proven.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There has been zero warming. None whatsoever.
JOHNS: Clinton is locked in a primary fight with Sanders but she's dialing back attacks on her Democratic rival. Her message now, one of unity.
CLINTON: We've got to pull the country around to a point of unity where we're all helping each other again.
JOHNS: But Sanders is not backing down, calling out Clinton for her stance on reforming Social Security.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Time after time after time, she has waffled, not given a straightforward answer.
JOHNS: Sanders is seizing on comments Vice President Joe Biden gave to "The New York Times," praising the Vermont senator's aspirational message.
SANDERS: Mr. Biden said in an interview, quote, "I don't think any Democrat's ever won saying, quote, we can't think that big. We ought to really downsize here because it is not realistic," he said in a mocking tone.
JOHNS: Biden telling "The Times", I like the idea of saying we can do so much more because we can.
SANDERS: I think the vice president is exactly right. That is what this campaign is about.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: The Sanders campaign says it is actively pushing for votes in all five states that vote on Tuesday. However, of those states Hillary Clinton has double digit leads, according to the polls, here in Pennsylvania as well as in Maryland and also in Connecticut -- Bri.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOIR: Yes, in Pennsylvania and Maryland, the big ones there. We'll be watching. Joe Johns in Philadelphia for us -- thanks so much.
Let's get more now with CNN's Sunlen Serfaty, CNN political commentator and the host of CNN's "SMERCONISH", Michael Smerconish, and CNN senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. He is back with us as well.
And, Michael, you say it has been known that Donald Trump when we get back to this idea, you know, Hillary Clinton says she expects she will be bullied, but the big story today is his convention manager is saying that he's been playing a part. You're saying this has been clear since 2 Corinthians, which, you know, you would say, Second Corinthians, if you knew the bible. So, the question is, does this matter? Do voters even care?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Brianna, I think it was deliberate. KEILAR: You do?
SMERCONISH: I don't think that this was -- yes, I don't think this was some bombshell. I don't think it was an error. I think that Paul Manafort is a very skilled political operative who knew exactly what he was doing. He would never say something in a room like that without an expectation it would get out.
And my interpretation is that this is the early stage of Donald Trump pivoting toward the general election. He thinks he is coming in the home stretch of the 1,237, and knows he's got to appeal to more centrists to win this thing.
KEILAR: What do you think, Jeffrey?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I do think this process of on. I think we disagree about this Paul Manafort statement which I continue to believe is no big deal. The real problem Donald Trump has is that his views on a lot of issues are still not very consistent with what the base of or generations, so he has to walk this line of still continuing to campaign in the Republican primaries while turning towards the general election when his deal is not quite done yet.
KEILAR: But can't that work for him? Let me play devil's advocate here. If his policies are a little, not right there with the base, but the base likes his tone, and if folks have issues with his policies would like to see him moderate his tone a little bit, can't this work for him?
TOOBIN: Absolutely. And that's why candidates always move toward the center when it comes to the general election. His problem is some of his policies he can't really change. He does say he's going to build this gigantic wall, which -- that's the core of his campaign. He also said he is going to keep all Muslims who are not citizens outside the United States. That's a rather extreme, unprecedented view that I don't think he can modulate or change because it has been such a high profile position.
Those will remain problems regardless of what happens in the Republican primary.
KEILAR: Sunlen, Ted Cruz is just jumping on these comments, right? He really sees an opening here or is this sort of a Hail Mary, do you think?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, he went out of his way multiple times today and yesterday, bringing it up in radio interviews, bringing it up to rallies today.
It so reminds me, Brianna, of the early days of the Cruz campaign, his first foray into criticizing Donald Trump. Where he in Iowa, sort of caucus stores rather breathlessly was trying to make this argument, really drilling down and hammering down at every turn -- Donald Trump is not a Republican.
[18:50:03] Donald Trump is not a conservative. He doesn't share your Iowa values.
This really has given him an opening to kind of refresh the argument once again.
And I think also the fact that these comments were made in his behind closed doors setting in front of Republican officials. I think that also plays into, you know, Ted Cruz's hand, arguing what more don't we know about Donald Trump. So I suspect we will continue to hear him argue this going forward.
KEILAR: All right. And, Sunlen, I want to ask about this. It does seem like Ted Cruz is hanging his hopes on Indiana. He says if Trump doesn't win, he's not going to reach this 1,237 number for delegates and the latest poll out of Indiana from FOX, Trump is ahead only by eight points, though.
Does Ted Cruz think he can close this gap?
SERFATY: Well, the Cruz complain certainly sees Indiana as a good opportunity for them. We know that they have already really laid the groundwork in the state, they're already on TV rather quietly went on the air there just recently.
And I was with Ted Cruz yesterday in Indiana. He's very clearly sensed that he is in Indiana to do well, to win it. He was courting the governor there, Mike Pence. He was the only candidate to appear at this GOP state dinner last night. So, very clearly setting his sights on Indiana, playing out the stakes high for Donald Trump, saying this is pivotal to really not shy at all about his strategy going forward. And he even himself says I expect to spend a lot of time here in Indiana over the next week and a half.
It's a better opportunity and frankly, for him than the states coming up in the next go-round on Tuesday. Much better terrain for the Cruz campaign going forward, and it seems they know that.
KEILAR: Yes, we'll see if it's a game-changer.
All right, friends, stick around with me. We'll be back with more on this in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:56:12] KEILAR: We are counting down to the next presidential primaries, just four days from now in Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Maryland and the big win, Pennsylvania. And we have our group of folks back with us, Michael, Sunlen, and Jeffrey.
Michael Smerconish, to you first. You did this focus group with 11 voters. This is fascinating. This is part of a 165,000 voters in Pennsylvania who switched their registration this year to vote in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary.
You got some surprising answers. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SMERCONISH: How many of you switched from Democratic Party to the Republican Party? Raise your hand.
Wow. Everybody.
How many of you either favorably or unfavorably were motivated by Donald Trump? Raise your hand. Oh, my.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's your focus group.
SMERCONISH: Maybe this is why I've never done a focus group before. OK. Is there anyone among you who joined to vote for Trump because you want to prop him up so that Hillary or Bernie can beat him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
SMERCONISH: Ah. A couple of those.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump, I believe, is truly a dangerous man. For American democracy. If he was to be elected president, it would say more about the electorate, actually, than Donald Trump.
SMERCONISH: You don't want him to be your president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I do not.
SMERCONISH: Even if you vote for him, it's to prop him up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be to set up the showdown in the general election. Yeah. Essentially, I don't want Donald Trump to be president. And I listen to Cruz and he's even scarier in many ways.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I agree with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: All right. That was pretty interesting. And it's also very strategic on the part of these voters.
What else did you learn?
SMERCONISH: What I learned is that it's a referendum on Donald Trump, right? So we had 11 individuals all former D's who became R's. We knew they had become R's. We weren't sure if they had been independents or they'd been Democratic or not voting in the past at all.
They were all motivated by Donald Trump. And, Brianna, some because they want to vote for Trump, and as you just heard from that gentleman, some because they view him as the weakest Republican, and they want to prop him up. What's interesting about Tuesday in Pennsylvania, is that we will
elect 71 delegates, and 54 of them, regardless of the outcome, will go to Cleveland and be untethered, unaffiliated. It's the single-largest delegation that will be unaffiliated to a particular candidate.
So, regardless of what happens, it's a beauty contest Tuesday. They are ripe for Trump or a Trump opponent.
KEILAR: So what --
TOOBIN: Brianna, can I just raise one issue?
KEILAR: Yes.
TOOBIN: I think that suggests that Donald Trump is having a big problem with the people who wear jackets that are the stars and stripes and hats that wear stars and stripes. And that may be a weakness of his going forward, because that jacket may set off a huge trend. I was really impressed by that jacket.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: I wonder, Sunlen, are you hearing -- when you talk to folks on the road there, do you hear them doing this? Switching?
SERFATY: You know, yeah. Well, I think that you -- certainly on the ground in Pennsylvania, there is certainly this reflection of what battling with the last several months, people strategically voting to stop Trump and then voters who like that one voter said, I'm scared of Ted Cruz. These two who are emerging as the front runner and then the one that wants to put this into a contested convention has now -- his path forward.
I think it is this divide between voters that you very well see going to these town halls, going to dinners like here in Pennsylvania.
KEILAR: Yes, it's fascinating. All right, Sunlen, Michael, Jeffrey. Thank you so much.
And be sure to join Michael Smerconish for his show tomorrow at 9:00 Eastern, and tomorrow as well at 6:00 in the evening.
Thanks so much for watching. I'm Brianna Keilar.
And "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
