How Gov. John Kasich feels heading into Michigan
On 'The Kelly File,' presidential candidate reflects on his chances ahead of the primary
This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," March 7, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: Breaking tonight after a big weekend on the campaign trail, the Republican presidential race may be even more up in the air than ever before. Entering what could be the most crucial week yet on the road to the White House.
Welcome to "The Kelly File," everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly. Saturday Donald Trump and Ted Cruz splitting the states with two wins a piece. Sunday Marco Rubio securing a victory in Puerto Rico. But when all was said and done, Ted Cruz proved to be the biggest winner gaining the most delegates overall and it comes as we enter a key eight-day stretch in this campaign. Starting tomorrow when four states hold contests with 150 delegates at stake, there will be a few smaller races in the days following, all leading up to the big prize. Super Tuesday II on March 15th, when 367 delegates will be in play and most of those states are winner take all.
We have a big show filled with analysis and new polling for you tonight, but we begin with our chief political correspondent campaign Carl Cameron reporting from Troy, Michigan. Carl?
CARL CAMERON, FOX NEWS CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Megyn. Welcome to Troy, Michigan, where it is the big prize in tomorrow's voting. It's a very, very consequential day tomorrow. Four states are voting and each one of them significant in some ways. Michigan obviously, 59 delegates, where all the candidates are competing. And more about that in just a second. But as we look at the map, look, too, at Mississippi and Idaho. Both of these are very red, very Republican states and all the candidates have made an effort particularly in Mississippi. Ted Cruz has been looking at Mississippi since the very beginnings of his campaign thinking it's one of the southern states that he could do well at.
And Idaho has seen a number of the candidates actually go there and campaign. Hawaii not so much. The commute's far distant into the pacific and it's a very, very blue state so it's more of a measure of Democratic strength than it is a Republican one. And Michigan really is where all the action is here. John Kasich has been running as though he's competing for the governor's race here. He's spent much of the last week here. He's got a lot of ads running and has been playing up his local favorite nephew status.
Ohio and Michigan are neighbor states. They share a lot in terms of the Midwestern industrial economy and John Kasich is counting on Michiganders to come to his aid. His campaign staff will never admit it, but they've been looking at numbers and watching the reaction and they think that there is an outside chance that he could actually pull off a victory here. That would really set up Kasich strongly for what follows. Lots to come a week from tomorrow.
KELLY: Indeed, there is. Thanks, Carl.
Also tonight, we are getting a fresh look at new polling from two of the biggest prizes, Michigan and Florida. Michigan votes tomorrow, and the latest polling shows Donald trump leading by double digits there. Ted Cruz and John Kasich are fighting it out for second place. Meanwhile in Florida, which holds its winner take all primary March 15th, a new Monmouth poll shows Donald Trump ahead of Florida Senator Marco Rubio by eight points but that is significantly closer than earlier polls have shown.
Joining us now, Patrick Murray who's director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. Patrick, great to see you. So you're showing a tightening in Michigan and tightening in Florida from the look of it.
PATRICK MURRAY, MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY POLLING INSTITUTE DIRECTOR: Yes, in Michigan we're seeing that just over the past couple of days, we have -- the poll that you just showed, we have Trump up by 13 points. But if we just look at the interviews we did over the last two nights, it's a six- point lead and that's over Kasich. Kasich was in third place. He actually was in fourth place when we started on Thursday. He's moved up to second place by Sunday night. So what we just heard from Cameron about the Kasich people being very optimistic, I think we're going to see a good night for Kasich. I don't know whether he's going to win but I think we're going to see a good night in Michigan.
KELLY: And Michigan is proportional delegates, it's not winner take all.
MURRAY: It's actually -- it's a mix of things. It's winner take all in the Congressional district and it's --
KELLY: Confusing.
MURRAY: And Kasich can win a lot of those Congressional districts around the Detroit area, along the border with Indiana. I think that's -- I think it could be a very good night --
KELLY: So why is this happening? You're showing Kasich is surging in the -- with the late voters, the people who are just now deciding, and Trump was doing better beforehand. Can you attribute to what that is owed?
MURRAY: Yes. We've seen that all along that Trump's voters were kind of etched in concrete when this started. Months ago. And it's who's moving around at the other side. But we actually now start seeing a little crack in the Trump voters. I think the debate on Thursday night, I mean, you were in the room, those of us watching it on TV saw that, you know, Trump, I think, dipped to a low -- I mean, he was brought down by Marco Rubio -- in a way that I think that turned off some of his own supporters. So, he lost a few points there. Kasich stood out on the side and I think he really stood out because of that. And that plays well in a place like Michigan.
KELLY: But what did it do to Rubio? And what are you seeing in Florida which is a big contest?
MURRAY: Well, that is a problem. It hurt Rubio. I thought Rubio's numbers went down in Michigan but in Florida he's kind of holding steady and I think what we're seeing in Florida, as a reverse of what we're seeing in a lot of other states which is the early vote. I mean, there's early voting in Florida. The early vote has gone to Rubio, the early vote is coming largely from South Florida, from Rubio's base. And the question is, will that be enough on Election Day if Trump can still win the Election Day vote? I think what we're seeing is a central part of the state, which is a part where Rubio is doing the worst, is the part where Cruz is actually going -- Ted Cruz is going to go in there and campaign.
KELLY: Uh-hm. Does that hurt Trump or does that hurt Rubio?
MURRAY: That hurts Rubio because what it's going to do is deliver the state, if it's successful, deliver the state to Trump. Cruz's objective here is to turn this into a two-person race.
KELLY: To get rid of Rubio.
MURRAY: Yep.
KELLY: And cut out the last man, let himself be the last man standing against Trump.
MURRAY: Yep.
KELLY: Great to see you, Patrick. Thank you.
So, as of right now, Donald Trump has command of the delegate count but NBC's political unit recently took a look at the potential delegate scenarios and determined the winner take all states of Florida and Ohio on March 15th are critical to Trump's attempt to secure this nomination outright. Again, these are possible outcomes based on their calculations. Here's what they show. If Trump wins both states, he'd be almost 300 delegates ahead of his next closest competitor, right? If he wins Florida and Ohio, it looks great for Trump.
And then he would need to win about 52 percent of the remaining delegates to reach the magic delegate number of 1,237. Hi, I'm going to introduce these guys in one second. We're obviously having problem with their graphics. If Trump wins Florida but he loses Ohio to John Kasich, the businessman would need to win 59 percent of the remaining delegates and if he loses both Florida and Ohio with Rubio winning Florida, and Kasich winning Ohio, then Trump would need to win a whopping 69 percent of the remaining delegates to reach the magic number.
Joining us now, Chris Stirewalt, our Fox News digital politics editor. Charlie Hurt, political columnist for The Washington Times and Judge Andrew Napolitano, who is our Fox News senior judicial analyst.
It's great to see you all. So, you can see the scenario played out right there where if we wins Florida and Ohio, he is in high cotton, he has it made because the delegate number is low, it still could happen, he wouldn't reach 52 percent in every other race that goes from this point forward. But you can see if he loses one or both of those states, Chris, he's in a much more precarious position because it would require him to win at a much higher rate than we've seen and capable of doing so far.
CHRIS STIREWALT, FOX NEWS DIGITAL POLITICS EDITOR: Right. And we've seen his norm getting about 45 percent of the overall delegates so far and that's been very good. But then we saw over this past weekend in the contest that took place around the country and in Puerto Rico that he only got 31 percent of the delegates. That is a significant slackening, he didn't have a great showing, delegate whole wise on the Super Tuesday, he sacrificed some in some places. So, he needs Michigan tomorrow.
KELLY: Uh-hm.
STIREWALT: We expect him to do very, very well in Mississippi but he needs a good showing in Michigan tomorrow to get this reset and then you go into the Super baduper Tuesday, or whatever you want to call it, but it's Michigan and Ohio, it's the swing state Super Tuesday. If he can deliver a knockout blow there, we're talking about 99 delegates in Florida, another bushel of them in Ohio and it puts him in this great position. But if he misses in even one the math starts to become really painful for him.
KELLY: What about that, Charlie? If he wins Florida, and I realize that race is tightening according to what the director of Monmouth just told us. Now, it's an eight-point race. Trump's still leading. But if he wins in Florida and he loses in Ohio which Governor Kasich is about to join us and he's going to guarantee a win for himself there, then he's got -- then Trump according to the NBC math, then Trump would have to win 59 percent of the remaining delegates so far -- or in every other contest. Do you believe he can do that?
CHARLES HURT, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON TIMES: Well, there's no doubt, Megyn, that it's going to be tough. You know, at this point in 2012, Mitt Romney who was not a beloved nominee, it took a lot to get the party to get behind him. It did, but at this point in 2012, Romney had already broken 50 percent in several races, had hit 65 percent in several states. So obviously Trump is working from behind. But the problem that the Republicans have right now, is all their -- I mean, they have thrown everything and the kitchen sink at this guy trying to get -- people to get behind Rubio and people aren't getting behind Rubio, they're getting behind Cruz which --
KELLY: That's right. Just --
HURT: Republicans hate even more.
KELLY: Just as potentially troubling as some of these late numbers might be to the Trump campaign. I mean, it's all relative. Anybody would rather trade places with him. They are worse for Marco Rubio. I mean, his numbers, there's almost no good news in here except for the fact that he won Puerto Rico and that may help him somewhat in Florida. But he's still behind in Florida. Judge, let me ask you. Because more and more now we're hearing people talk about a contested convention. You can see why. If Trump manages to lose Florida and Ohio, these other guys have no reason to get out because he probably can't get enough numbers to win before we get to July. If they get to July and it's contested, what happens then?
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO, FOX NEWS SENIOR JUDICIAL ANALYST: Well, we start with a couple basics. One is, they can't change the rules after the convention starts. So they can change the rules right up to the minute of the convention. That's the Republican National Committee. Meeting in a public meeting to do that. Two is, the delegates that go to the convention are only bound to the candidate for whom they are pledged for the first ballot. If Donald Trump does not get or if no one gets a majority in the first ballot, then all those delegates are free to vote for whomever they want.
And three is, the plain old vanilla, as my buddy Chris Stirewalt would say, basic rule of democracy which is the majority rules. A simple majority vote, any delegate voting for any candidate will choose who that nominee is going to be. It's about as pure democracy, lower case "d" as you can imagine. So the concept of brokered means deals are being made and carrots are being offered and sticks are being shaken, but in public, it will be a roll call vote and whoever gets the majority wins. Whether it two ballots or 22 ballots.
KELLY: Uh-hm. Chris, based on what we saw this weekend, because what analysts are saying is that, you know, Trump lost in Maine and he stumbled in Kansas and he won in Louisiana and Kentucky but it was tighter than expected. And so what does that tell you? I mean, is that just a natural tightening that we see as the race goes on?
STIREWALT: No, it usually goes the other way, and Charles is quite right. This is the face in which the front-runner, and if Trump were a normal front-runner, he would be starting to pull away, people would say, well, we have to unite behind the guy. But instead the opposite thing is happening, which is resistance is hardening and as we saw in the Monmouth poll, there's some indications that his support is softening. That some of his - - most of his supporters are diehard.
KELLY: Right.
STIREWALT: They're absolutely all the Trump, nothing but the Trump. But we're starting to see that at the margins maybe there could be a little bit of limpness. So we don't know how this is going to play out in Michigan. We certainly don't know how it's going to play out in Florida but I will say this, if Donald Trump does not get to that convention with the requisite number of delegates to win outright, it will be very hard for him to win because it is much more likely that the delegates, as the judge talks about, who are become free agents -- remember, a little more than 10 percent of those delegates are unbound when they get there. It is very unlikely that they would band together to help Trump be the nominee, it's much more likely they would help --
KELLY: And then you tell me, Charlie, if Trump goes into that convention with the most delegates but not enough delegates and it winds up going to somebody else, full-scale revolt in the Republican Party? I mean, what -- what would that do?
HURT: I think as broken as the Republican Party is now, with Donald Trump as their front-runner, it will be irretrievably broken. If something like that happens. And it's why this strategy of the establishment Republicans, to make all this talk now, early on, about how they're going to -- whatever happens they're going to run a third-party candidate, they're going to do everything that they can to stop Donald Trump from getting the nominee. Well, all of that will serve to hurt them very badly at the convention if they end up -- if Donald Trump goes in with the highest number and then is denied the nomination.
KELLY: The nomination. But hey, it's swimming. It's swimming. By the way, you should know that Mayor Bloomberg today said he is not running. So, if there's going to be a third-party run it will not be with Mayor Mike Bloomberg. He said he believes if he did that it would hand the presidency to the Republican nominee who he thinks if it's either Cruz or Trump, he's not in favor of it so he's out. Great to see you all.
HURT: Hillary Clinton, a sigh of relief on that one.
(LAUGHTER)
KELLY: Great to see you all. Thank you, gentlemen.
Well, you just saw the latest polling for Governor John Kasich. Food new good news for him. And he is with us next to explain how he thinks he is going to win this nomination.
Plus after last week's debate, Donald Trump switched his position again on bringing foreign workers into America. A big issue in a couple of key states still to vote. We'll be joined by Newt Gingrich to talk about what just happened and how it could affect voting in the next few days.
Plus the Democratic candidates face off at the FOX News town hall. And wait until you see the reaction from the Frank Luntz Focus Group, just ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER: Who's going to be the next president of the United States?
FOCUS GROUP: Bernie!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Breaking tonight. You just heard from the director of Monmouth polling who says the latest numbers show that Ohio Governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich is seeing new support in one key state. The Monmouth poll out of Michigan released today, they're voting tomorrow, shows Governor Kasich vying for second place now after the polling outfit found him surging in the weekend interviews it conducted. All this as businessman Donald Trump still leads in Michigan at 36 percent over the next closest right now as Ted Cruz at 23 percent. Governor Kasich is hitting the trail across the Northern Midwest for the next few days ahead of big primaries tomorrow and next Tuesday. When the buckeye state, his state, heads to the polls for a chance to vote for their governor.
Joining me now, Republican candidate for president, John Kasich. Governor, great to see you. So there's some good news for you in that --
GOV. JOHN KASICH, R-OHIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks, Megyn.
KELLY: -- in that Monmouth poll. You're third. But it's a close third. What are you predicting will happen in Michigan for you?
KASICH: Well, we're definitely are closing strong and we have a great grassroots organization. And you can just feel it. So, and I don't know, Megyn, but we're going to certainly do better than what all the experts were predicting and we'll just have to wait until all the votes are in. And, but you knows we're absolutely gaining ground here in Michigan and it's a lot of fun.
KELLY: Why do you think that is? What is turning that tide for you?
KASICH: I think it's because people are -- I'm starting to get some of my own time out there. I think people are beginning to hear the message that I have and I think they very much appreciate the fact that I've conducted the campaign on a high basis, you know, that I haven't really gotten into all this fighting and then they hear more and more about what I've achieved. So I think it's accomplishments and I think it's the trajectory of the campaign.
KELLY: Uh-hm. If the race were longer, more people would be putting money on you, but what the experts are saying now is, it's happening too late because they believe Trump has this thing secured.
KASICH: Well, the experts have never been right on anything this year, Megyn. So these experts, I don't know who they are. You know what an expert is, it's a guy who lives 40 miles out of town.
KELLY: How does Trump possibly lose it? That's what they're saying. How does he possibly lose it unless he loses Ohio, Michigan, and Florida?
KASICH: Well, he's going to lose Ohio. And then we're about halfway through the race. And, look, everybody's now starting to squawk, the Trump people are beginning to squawk that, you know, he may have the plurality, he may not have enough delegates to win the nomination but we should give it to him, anyway. I just don't buy that and there's a lot of races to go and I do well in Ohio. It's a whole new ball game if I win Ohio. I have to win Ohio. No question about it. And I will. And then we're on to the rest of the country. So I don't know who these experts are. Most experts know that it's very likely that no one is going to have enough delegates going into the --
KELLY: Walk us through that -- walk us through that Governor, because, you know, right now Trump is winning in the delegate count and he's beating you --
KASICH: Not by a lot.
KELLY: He's beating you in Ohio according to the average of polls and the latest poll. It's tight but he's beating you. So how, you know, if he manages a win in just Florida, how do you see him not securing the numbers?
KASICH: Because I don't think the numbers work out for him, Megyn. I mean, think there's a lot of races yet to go. Now, if he were to win Florida and Ohio then I think that could be said. But he's not going to win Ohio. I'm going to win Ohio. And I don't care what these, whatever these polls --
KELLY: Do you know something we don't? Yes. Tell us about the polls. Why do you believe it? Do you have internal polling that tells you something different or what?
KASICH: Well, because I know Ohio. I know what the heck we can do on the ground and I know what the organization is capable of. Look, I mean, these polls -- you take 300 or 400 samples, the margin of error is way off. I don't want to get into, you know, a discussion of polls.
KELLY: Uh-hm.
KASICH: I will come on here in a week. If I don't win Ohio, I'll come on here and I'll say, okay, I was wrong. That's not going to happen.
KELLY: Uh-hm.
KASICH: Now, here's the other thing. If I win Ohio then we got to have the experts come on and say, they were wrong.
KELLY: Uh-hm.
KASICH: I don't hear many of them saying they're wrong. They just keep changing, setting the bar. You know what I mean?
KELLY: You have a good point on that. You have a good point on that. What about -- I heard you this weekend talking about, you know, if it's anybody other than Trump, it's going to be a contested convention in which they get it. The numbers definitely don't work out for anybody just to amass the delegate count prior to July other than maybe Trump. And Rush Limbaugh was on FOX News Sunday this weekend saying that would be utter chaos, contested convention, utter chaos. You said I think it will be fun. Who's right there?
KASICH: Absolutely.
KELLY: How do you justify that?
KASICH: You know why, because, I'll tell you why, because these delegates will be capable of picking somebody who has a record of job growth, of creating income security rather than insecurity, they'll be able to pick somebody who actually has the experience and the record on foreign affairs. This is not a parlor game. We're not, you know, we're not out there trying to pick class president. We're picking the leader of the free world and the president of the United States. And when you get to that point, sound bites that attack one another back and forth and ratings aren't going to matter that much. You know, Megyn, one big television executive said Trump may be bad for the country but he's good for my ratings.
KELLY: Uh-hm.
KASICH: I mean, what are we talking about in America?
KELLY: CBS.
KASICH: This is supposed to be a country where we take -- picking the President is a very serious matter. Not about who's got the best soundbite it about who has got the experience of leading America and getting us out of the doldrums. How do you like that?
(LAUGHTER)
KELLY: I feel your frustration on that. I can feel it.
KASICH: I'm not frustrated. I'm having --
KELLY: Well, I mean, it's hard to get airtime for a governor like you who's trying to talk policy in this particular race which has been so dominated by other headlines. I understand your message.
KASICH: Yes, but Megyn, I'm still in it. I'm the last person left. Okay? Last governor left. There's only four of us in the race and you just said I'm rising in Michigan. You'll see the result. Probably do better in Mississippi than you think. Then I'm going to win Ohio. And what are we going to say then? Then we're going to say, okay, what's the next thing he's got to do?
KELLY: Uh-hm.
KASICH: Look, we're the little engine that can and we just keep chugging along. And you know why? Because we have a positive message. I have a record of helping people to get on their feet and making sure that I know how to run the country when it comes to the rest of the world. That's what's happening out here. People are finally, finally starting to hear a little bit about who I am, what I think and what I will do.
KELLY: Governor John Kasich, always great to speak with you. Thanks for being here.
KASICH: Okay, Megyn, thank you.
KELLY: And count on FOX News for complete coverage of the March 8th, I say primaries and caucuses. Starting at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. Yours truly and Bret Baier will be on the air as the results come in. We'll be watching the numbers in critical states like Michigan where 59 delegates are up for grabs. You could hear in that last discussion how important that state is. So, tune in for what is going to be an exciting night.
And breaking tonight, new developments on a big moment at the Fox News GOP debate between the Republican front-runner and yours truly showing what his campaign did after the debate. And then Newt Gingrich will join us about how this will play in the key states just ahead.
And earlier tonight, the Democratic candidates facing off at the Fox News town hall hosted by our own Bret Baier. Pollster Frank Luntz has voter reaction before tomorrow's primary contests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: What was so powerful about what Sanders said?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he said that health care is a right because we're all human beings. I thought that that was really powerful what he said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Breaking tonight, one critical issue in the state of Florida, the influx of foreign workers here on visas. Replacing Americans at companies like Disney. Senator Ted Cruz has flip-flopped on these visas. First he wanted to increase them, now he doesn't, citing abuse of the visa program. Senator Marco Rubio wants to double these visas but says companies must hold the jobs open for Americans for six months first. Donald Trump argued against these visas then said he favored these visas then stood by his position in favor of these visas only to once again condemn these visas one day after last week's debate.
Trace Gallagher has that report. Trace?
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And Megyn, Donald Trump has repeatedly cited this case in Florida where 250 Disney I.T. workers were laid off and they were replaced by these foreign workers with H-1B visas. Donald Trump called this outrageous that these workers were even forced to train their own replacements.
Two of these workers have now sued Disney and they have appeared on the campaign trail with Donald Trump. One of them even appeared before and broke down in front of Congress, watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEO PERRERO, FORMER DISNEY EMPLOYEE: Later that same day I clearly remember going to the local church pumpkin sale and having to tell the kids I couldn't buy any that year because my job was being turned over to a foreign worker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: But Donald Trump has continually changed his position on the H- B1 visa issue and he did it again in last week's debate. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Mr. Trump, your campaign web site to this day argues that more visas for highly skilled workers would, quote, "decimate American voters." However, at the CNBC debate you spoke enthusiastically in favor of these visas. So, which is it?
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm changing. I'm change. We need highly skilled people in this country and if we can't do it, we'll get them in.
GALLAGHER: but after the debate, the final flop, Donald Trump's campaign backtracking, saying, and I'm quoting here, "The H-1B visa program is neither high-skilled nor immigration. These are temporary foreign workers imported from abroad for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay." And now, of course, Marco Rubio is trying to capitalize that in Florida trying to focus on Donald Trump's continuous changes of heart. Megyn?
KELLY: Trace, thank you.
Joining us now, former Speaker of the House and Republican presidential candidate at one time, Newt Gingrich is here with more. He's the author of the novel "Duplicity." I like that. It's exciting. Great to see you, Mr. Speaker. So, I mean...
(CROSSTALK)
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER U.S. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Good to be with you.
KELLY: I found this extraordinary because I did specifically ask Mr. Trump about this at the debate and he said, "I'm changing." And I said, you no longer stand by what's on your web site? Because the web site says we've had enough of these visas, this is what they're doing to American workers. And he said, "yes, I'm changing." And then the next day he disavowed that position and changed back. What do you make of it?
GINGRICH: Well, this is one of the problems you get when you have an outsider candidate who has never done this before and he gets involved in very complicated issues and I think he genuinely was confused. I think he was going back and forth on ways that, frankly, hurt him more than the others because he has made immigration such a key part of his campaign.
So, I think that this is a sort of thing that people are, I think, in danger of when they're first-time candidates. He's coming an amazing distance in a short time. But here's one, I watched you the other night. I thought, by the way, I thought it was a civil dialogue. I thought both of you handled it very, very well.
But in the end, he put himself in an untenable position. My hunch is he was referring to students who graduate say, from MIT Or Cal Tech (ph) who currently have to go home. Those are very rare and very, very skilled. H- 1B, a different program.
And my guess is that they just got -- he got it in his own head totally mixed up. And he's going to pay a price. How big a price, we don't know. But he will pay a price for this.
KELLY: Look, I mean, the reason people are focusing on him is because he also flipped the next day as you know, on whether he would issue commands to our military instructing them to commit acts that are illegal.
And at the debate he said, they will listen to me because I'm a leader and I've never had any trouble leading people. The next day all these military generals and others came out and said, that's not how it works.
GINGRICH: Right.
KELLY: I mean, does it give you any pause as, you know...
GINGRICH: Sure.
KELLY: ... somebody who's open minded to Donald Trump? Does it give you any pause?
GINGRICH: Of course. Look, I think the great question for Trump is, he's been a remarkable challenger insurgent up until now. But now he's in a different world. And as the frontrunner, he has to, frankly, spend less time talking, more time learning.
He's got to really think through these policies and you'll notice that the next day he issued a statement said he wrong, in fact, it would be illegal to require the American troops to do what he was saying.
KELLY: What do you make of the fact that you could see he held that position for months. He'd been defending it since early December.
GINGRICH: I think -- I think he got hammered in about a 10-hour period by virtually every competent person he knows who is in this area who just said to him, this would be an impeachable offense by a president, you cannot order illegality. And, you know, but his problem was...
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: And he listened.
GINGRICH: Yes. His challenges there are 50 or 60 issues like this that he has got to get under his belt very fast. So, he needs to do more listening and more studying and less speaking in the next 30 to 60 days or he, frankly, won't make it.
KELLY: But again, in his defense, Cruz flipped on this. You know, he said, oh, it's because of abuse of the program. But like, the abuse had been going on for a while. Rubio's position is still that we should double them. So, you know, these guys are -- I don't know what Kasich's position is but he's probably going to emerge as the one who says whatever people...
GINGRICH: The thing about this way...
KELLY: I never flipped.
GINGRICH: ... you won -- you won. No, we understand this, Megyn, because you've covered all this. These guys are out here and there are 11,000 issues that can come up.
And you get hit by one in the middle of the debate, you give the best answer you can, you walk off the stage and suddenly someone says to you, either you misstated your earlier position or...
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: Right. You have to go fix it.
GINGRICH: ... or you're wrong or you're going to fix it. This happens to every candidate 10 or 15 times in a campaign. The ones that are really successful, get it, fix it, get it over with and move on.
KELLY: Yes.
GINGRICH: The ones that get killed sit out there, and Trump got a little bit of this last week, sit out there and flounder for two, three days and that's when you get eaten up.
KELLY: Great to see you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for being here.
GINGRICH: Good to be with you. Thank you.
KELLY: Coming up, a tribute to Nancy Reagan. With a touching story of how the former first lady reacted after his husband's life was almost taken. And it is one you will only hear right here on The Kelly File.
Plus, the Democratic candidates face off, at the Fox News town hall ahead of tomorrow's primary contest. We'll show you what the voters liked and what they did not like and what it means for the general election, next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER: Why was that so powerful to you? What stuck out to you in that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think if Hillary finds a way to get past her trustworthiness issue, it's a landslide in November, it's not even close.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Breaking tonight, the Democratic presidential candidates go face to face with voters in Motor City ahead of tomorrow's primary contests in Michigan and Mississippi. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders answering questions on issues from health care to the Iraq war to Mrs. Clinton's e- mail scandal. At a town hall moderated by our very own Bret Baier just a short time ago. Here's some of the highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that health care is a right of all people. I believe that there is something wrong when we are spending --
BRET BAIER, SPECIAL REPORT SHOW HOST: Excuse me, where did that right come from, in your mind?
SANDERS: Being a human being. Being a human being.
(APPLAUSE)
One of the differences between Secretary Clinton and myself is I voted against the war in Iraq. She voted for the war in Iraq. And...
(APPLAUSE)
.. in many ways a lot of the turmoil and the instability that we're seeing right now resulted from that disastrous decision.
BAIER: Your contention now is the 2,101 e-mails contain information that should be classified at any time, that should be now or then. You're just saying it's not it wasn't shouldn't have been classified.
HILLARY CLINTON, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, what I'm saying, it wasn't at the time. Now, if you -- let's take Mary Smith who has some information in the government and she is FOIA, Freedom of Information Act, give us your information, your memos, e-mails, whatever it might have been. That then goes through a process.
So, even though the agency she works in has said none of this is classified, others start to have a chance to weigh in. I have good relations with a lot of Republicans. I hesitate to mention any more names. It will probably hurt them. And I do want to work with them.
(APPLAUSE)
I am very proud of the campaign that Senator Sanders and I are running and I have said publicly, I will repeat that tonight, I hope to win the nomination. If I am so fortunate, I hope to work with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Pollster Frank Luntz is in Detroit with reaction from his focus group of Democratic voters. Frank?
LUNTZ: Megyn, tonight's town hall was significant. Lot of issues. Lot of substance. Lot of interaction between the Democratic candidates and the voters, themselves. So, let's talk to Michigan voters. Michigan Democrats. Who's going to be the next president of the United States?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bernie!
LUNTZ: OK. I heard one person say Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody but Trump.
LUNTZ: No, anybody but Trump. Who won tonight's town hall?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bernie!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hillary!
LUNTZ: Why Hillary?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because she's good. I mean, she came out with the issues. She answered the questions. And what else could we expect? Hillary was Hillary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I liked when Hillary talked about compromise, we're working with the Republicans. This is a government that has to work with two parties. Half this country are not Democrats. But she had a great answer on compromise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her numbers added up. Her numbers added up. When Bernie was asked about the debt $18 trillion for his plan, he dismissed $15 trillion saying, well, that's health care. Her numbers add up.
LUNTZ: I got to ask the first question for you all. We're going to show clips but the first thing is, you're calling them Bernie and Hillary. You're on a first-name basis with possibly the next president. What does that mean?
I don't hear anyone calling him Ted or John. Why do you call him Bernie and Hillary?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He can relate to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can actually relate to them. Bernie is trustworthy. I'd say that Hillary has some issues but otherwise there you can relate to both candidates.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I can relate to Bernie just on a personal level because he just -- I don't know, I'm just confident in a lot of the things that he says and there's a level of comfort that I think all of America wants to feel. We don't feel comfortable. And I think we want to get back to a point where we're comfortable with one another and with this country and the people that lead us.
LUNTZ: I love the idea you actually can feel that way, that you'll call them on a first-name basis. I don't hear anyone calling them Donald, they all call him Trump. Even people who work for him call him Trump.
So, what I want to do is, Megyn, there were a couple moments tonight that got particular applause from the people here that were here in the town hall and the first one is Hillary Clinton trying to put an end to the e- mail scandal. We're going to play the clip and then we're going to get our participants' response. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: As you know, just recently, Colin Powell's e-mails were retroactively classified from more than 10 years ago.
BAIER: Right.
CLINTON: As he said, that was an absurdity. I could not agree more. I've asked and I echo Colin Powell on this, release it and once the American people see it, they will know how absurd this is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUNTZ: Why was that so powerful to you? What stuck out to you in that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think if Hillary finds a way to get past her trustworthiness issue it's a landslide in November. It's not even close. But she's got to find a way to get past it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't buy that the FBI immunity thing is just going to go away. I think it's going to be a thorn in her back and I think it's only going to get worse. It's not why I'm holding my position against Hillary. But I don't think that it's an open and closed case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My problem is it is an issue, everybody is making it an issue and it's going to constastly that we can't focus on the real issues. It's always going to be about e-mail or Benghazi. Let's get down to the brass tax.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that, you know, at the time things were not classified, they may have been retroactively classified but she has no impression that she was doing the things.
LUNTZ: You're a Sanders person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LUNTZ: So, you're one of the people who says let's put it away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bernie says it's an issue, I say it's not an issue.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And always Democrats it's non-issues either. We have closed the book on the e-mails. I'm tired of hearing about it. Everybody is tired of hearing about it. Just like Bernie Sanders said. So, I think what but it's still an issue of transparency with Hillary. And I think the trustworthiness isn't just the e-mails.
LUNTZ: I love what he said. He's tired of her damn e-mails, not just e- mails, damn e-mails. OK. There was an important segment that Hillary Clinton -- that Bernie Sanders talked about tonight when he talked about health care being a right for all Americans and not just a right, but that it should not depend on how much money you make. Whether you're the poorest or richest person, you're still qualified for the same health care. Let's play that clip and then we'll get our Michigan Democrats to respond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Well, I happen to believe, and I know not everybody agrees with me, I believe that health care is a right of all people. I believe that there is something wrong when we are spending...
(CROSSTALK)
BAIER: Excuse me, where did that right come from, in your mind?
SANDERS: Being a human being. Being a human being.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUNTZ: Michigan Democrats, what was so powerful about what Sanders said? Someone back there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To me, when he said that health care is a right because we're all human beings. I thought that that was really powerful what he said and I think it would echo, you know, what Pope Francis has been saying, you know, about how we need to take care of people more instead of building walls, we need to build bridges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bernie's got the human touch. He has the human touch. I mean, as much as I want to believe Hillary, every time she speaks, yes, Hillary, you're qualified, we know that, but you're lacking that empathy that the Bernie, you know, followers feel when he speaks.
LUNTZ: Yes, just one more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It goes along with the trust aspect that Bernie has. We all trust him. I believe in that and we all trust him. So that, I think, is something that we can all relate to and call trust.
LUNTZ: So, is this -- we got to get out. Is this -- are you happy with the Democratic campaign so far? Do you think it has been good for the Democratic Party?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. It really shows America that this is the way that we can relate to each other as humans and respect each other's dignity.
LUNTZ: You buy that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stark contrast between what we've seen on the other side and what we've seen on the Democratic side, full of substance.
LUNTZ: And I can tell you that there is a stark contrast. That you all in your participation, you're thoughtful, you're less emotional. You're very thoughtful. And it's something that we have not seen enough of and I'm glad that we had a chance, Megyn, to bring it to your viewers tonight.
This is going to be a very long campaign cycle. It is unclear who is going to emerge at the end and what is clear is the importance of the voice of the voter and that's exactly what you got. Back to you.
KELLY: Thanks, Frank. Frank did a great job. It was very interesting.
And up next, remembering the legacy of former First Lady, Nancy Reagan and the one secret about her beloved Ronnie she did not want to take to the grave. The untold story delivered exclusively to The Kelly File by a former Reagan biographer. Don't miss this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Former First Lady Nancy Reagan will be laid to rest on Friday beside her husband at the Regan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. The former first lady died yesterday of congestive heart failure at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 94.
Paul Kengor is the author of six books on Ronald Reagan including best- sellers "God and Ronald Reagan" and "The Crusader." And he has a remarkable untold story about Nancy shared exclusively here. Paul, great to see you.
PAUL KENGOR, "GOD AND RONALD REAGAN" AUTHOR: Thank you, Megyn.
KELLY: So, you were contacted by a pastor several years ago who was present when Nancy Reagan had just -- was discussing the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan's life. And what did he tell you he heard?
KENGOR: You know, it was an amazing thing. So, he called me in February 2006. This was the Reverend Louie Evans who was the pastor of the Reagan's Church, national Presbyterian Church in Washington. And he had read my book on the faith of Ronald Reagan, "God and Ronald Reagan" that came out in 2004. I didn't interview him for the book because I didn't know him so I didn't know how to reach him.
So, he called me a couple years later and clearly, Megyn, he was taking, you know, he was realizing it was near the end of his life. And he wanted to get this information to him. So, he told me some stuff about Ronald Reagan and his faith and then he said, now I haven't mentioned Nancy Reagan, have I? And I said, no. You haven't.
And he said, well, I want to tell you something about her, as well. And he said that when Ronald Reagan was shot, March 30th, 1981, Nancy called the Reverend Evans and apparently she was in need of some spiritual counseling. She wanted the talk to him.
So, he went over to White House to meet with her and the Reverend Billy Graham was there. Frank Sinatra and his wife were there. They were close to the Reagans. A California businessman that Reverend Evans didn't remember his name, and Nancy was sitting there and she said, you know, I'm struggling with this -- with this feeling of failed responsibility.
And Evans thought that was odd. He said, well, why is that? And she said, because I always stand next to Ronnie on his left side. And he was shot on his left side. And if I had only been there, when he was walking to that car at his left side, I could have taken that bullet for Ronnie.
KELLY: Wow.
KENGOR: And Evans was shocked by that. I was shocked by it. I said, wow. I asked him to repeat it again. He repeated it. And when I told the story to Bill Clark, who was really close to both Reagans, I was Clark's biographer and we were working on Clark's biography at the time.
KELLY: Yes.
KENGOR: Clark had been Reagan's Chief of Staff back in Sacramento. He knew both of Reagan's.
KELLY: Understood.
KENGOR: When I told him the story, yes, Bill Clark said, you know, that doesn't surprise me. He quoted...
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: I got to go, Paul. My apologies. We're up against a hard break.
KENGOR: That's OK.
KELLY: Otherwise, I could listen to this all day. But thank you for sharing a beautiful memory.
KENGOR: Sure thing.
KELLY: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: For more on Paul Kengor's story, go to foxnews.com the opinion section. You know, Ronald Reagan once wrote a love letter to Nancy. He told her, "I more than love you. I'm not whole without you. When you're gone, I'm waiting for you to return so I can start living again."
Content and Programming Copyright 2016 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2016 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox