donald trump and me. we are the only candidate that has beaten donald trump, and i believe we're the only candidate that can beat donald trump. >> but if it doesn't go to a ç two-person race that day, or afterwards? >> well, we'll see what the results are, but i think we're going to come out of super tuesday, seeing a meaningful difference in the delegate allocation. and, you know, if you look at republican primary voters, they're a good 65% of primary voters nationwide, who don't believe donald trump is the best candidate to go head-to-head with hillary. we saw why last night. donald trump and hillary's policy views on issue after issue are virtually indistinguishable. on foreign policy, donald trump agreed with hillary on the catastrophic libya policy that led to benghazi, that led to handing that country over to radical islamic terrorists. donald trump agreed with hillary supporting john kerry and the disastrous foreign policy of john kerry has dramatically undermined the nation of israel. indeed, do

>> donald trump, like hillary clinton, is a rich new york liberal. >> i am pleased to endorse donald trump for the presidency of the united states. >> what will the conservative movement be like if the front-runner in this race right now, donald trump, is put in charge of the conservative movement? >> he is not conservative. he is not -- folks, i call myself common-sense conservative, you know? >> as mitt romney observed, the fact that donald seems terrified to release his taxes, suggests that there's a bombshell there. there are multiple media reports about dond's business dealings with the mob, the mafia. maybe his taxes show those business dealings are a lot more extensive than has been reported. >> quote, the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky has laid out a plan that would have lawmakers break with mr. trump. explicitly in the general election. >> would you just say, unequivocally, you condemn them and don't want their support? >> well, i have to look at the group. i don't know what group you're talking about. >> i'm talking about david duke and the ku klux klan

he had to attack donald trump and he attacked donald trump. >> bill crystal told him to. >> everybody told him to. >> you have to punch. >> he tried. and he scored some points. he got the trump -- >> to what effect. >> he won the verbal confrontation, but the nonverbal was all trump because you still had the big dog standing in the middle with the two little dogs on the side yaping at him from the side. >> it looked like the three sto stoojs, but i do think this thing about donald trump he's the worst psychological assas n assassin. low energy, people have been translating this for me. i didn't know what it meant. iron defifsy. the guy's getting old, he's tired. how about the big ears, he uses make up to cover his ears. that was today from trump. >> even today it's like the water thing, it's the one thing people know about marco rubio is he gets thirsty. >> rubio famously could not -- he kept reaching for water, couldn't finish drinking and trump finding that one thing about you and hits on it. trump is becoming the establishment is kind of joining him now. members of congress joining

. >> donald j. trump is calling for a toll and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. >> trump's statement is a dangerous proposal that overrides history, the law, and the foundation of america itself. >> you're kidding. donald trump, full throttle, ready to destroy anyone who gets in his way. >> i don't think this country's establishment, politicians, the media, ever got this guy. they certainly journal estimated him. not going anywhere. can't last. what about the man himself? who is this guy so many people have told pollsters they want as the next president? what ahead done to get where he is? what has he got hold of? we're going to look at the donald trump story as whole. you'll see that the experts have been counting him out for decades. >> trump told "the new york times" it was his all time favorite movie. >> it is my pleasure to make sure they're not ronald. >> trump echoed those sentiments for month

donald trump doesn't. so we're going to make that comparison. >> all right, rick, thank you so much for joining me. greatly appreciate it, and we wish your campaign the best. we'll see what happens next. >>> coming up, bill clinton campaigning for hillary clinton today across the super tuesday voting state of texas. a lot of texas talk this hour. we're in south carolina. we're going to check in with our reporter covering the campaign. stay with us. we're live at city market where there's really nice people helping me with my cold. gave me a little blanket. so sweet of y'all in south carolina. we'll be right back. if you havee rheumatoid arthritis like me, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira giving me new perspective. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that c

donald trump. donald trump. donald trump. donald trump. jeb bush. jeb bush. donald trump. >> well, somewhere nicole wallace is smiling. >> yes. >> jeb bush who of course left the race, and chris hayes is with us by telephone. chris, this is the location you've been covering tonight. >> reporter: yeah. i'm actually right here with the folks doing the counting here. >> oh, good. >> reporter: and they have this -- they each make hashmarks to make sure they're getting it all right. you saw a run of donald trump there. that has been basically what's happened at every table donald trump has been entirely dominant so far at every precinct that i've seen at every table. folks come through, make the hash marks and then they will report that up. but so far what we have seen is basically in this location -- and again, this is a specific location, not broadly representative in any way -- in this specific location as you can see from the hash marks there next to trump on that tally sheet that he is looking at, donald trump has had a completely dominant performance at toni

he took on donald trump. you're not going to beat hillary clinton unless you can deal with donald trump and donald trump calling george w. bush a liar, donald trump praising putin and attacking bush. and jeb bush, he's in control, in command. i thought this was his best debate. >> how do you think it played with the discussion and some might say attacks on george bush's brother? >> i can't believe it plays well in south carolina. i can't believe it plays well throughout the country. >> do you think discussing 9/11, the lack of -- the world trade center and the lack of weapons of mass destruction hurt donald trump? >> i think what hurt is not discussing. you can talk about the weapons of mass destruction, you can talk about the world trade center. but i think what hurt donald trump is when he called president bush a liar. what hurt donald trump, he accused president bush of being responsible for 9/11. that's kookey stuff. it wasn't the nature of the issues, but the way trump approached it. donald trump is up t

donald trump is a businessman. he understands the value as i do being a businessman myself of surrounding yourself with good people and donald trump will do that. i don't have any at all if he is the nominee in supporting donald trump. >> is there a message to you and to other elected officials in the republican party, i mean, when you look at donald trump winning new hampshire, south carolina, nevada, leading in your state right now and doing it as you say he got two congressional endorsements yesterday but before that nothing. >> right. >> no endorsements from elected officials and leaders in the republican party, what does that say about the state of the republican party right now? >> what it says is more about the nation itself. people are frustrated. look, i'm frustrated, i was frustrated midafternoon of the first day i got up here. people want to see change and that's what donald trump is offering and that's what we've got to have. we've got to have a shake up and people are ready for that. so, you know, this

it is donald trump. tonight, the conversation will center around the viability of several candidates. among them, jeb bush. let's be charitable. among the least self-aware candidates we've ever seen was talked into just this week. contact lenses and out of his glass frames as a 2.0. a remaking of jeb bush. i don't know why i'm looking at nicole wallace as opposed to lawrence o'donnell. what a week. >> i would be using contact lenses if i knew how to put them in. the big decision for jeb bush, is it over? what would be the justification for going forward at this point? we are bound in the media to overreact to wents. this is not for donald trump a win of the majority of the vote. we've only seen that in the democratic elections. sense there are two candidates. he is going to win about 35%. 73%, 73% in the exit poll favor donald trump's unconstitutional ban on muslims entering the united states. he lost most of the people who favor his wildest idea. that is how challenging the trump candidacy actually is.

both of them wearing trsh shirts for donald trump. both of them enthusiastic for donald trump. neither of them have ever gone to a caucus. larry says there's no question i'm going tonight, but he and his wife had a debate because elizabeth said it's going to be cold. i don't think i want to go through all this and go to the caucus. and so that's what happens necessarily with a poll. and i think donald trump recognizes that. those who are the supporters, those who have never done this before, may sit back and go, look, he's winning in the polls. what do i need to go to a caucus tonight? finally, one thing i thought was interesting if you have never participated, some folks have never registered and votes much less gone to a caucus. where spoke to one young man, i asked whether he was intimidated. he said a caucus, it sounds like something caught in your throat. he goes, i don't know what this is going to be like, but i'm going to go anyway. >> comedy routines aside, tell me about the crowd behind you. do they seem enthusiastic? there was a rally for trump, and maybe we have grow

donald trump is slamming it. the republican pollster behind it is saying that this could be an outlier but also could signal that they are on top of a shift in the campaign after the debate in south carolina where donald trump took on the bush family legacy, specifically, george w. bush. >> it's interesting because it's the first poll after the saturday night debate and i wanted to see how much -- the question everyone's been wondering about is how much impact will donald trump's conspiratorial attack on president bush have on his standing and it will be interesting in south carolina, even though trump is in double digits and he's ahead, it may not be enough to blunt him but i think it was a turning point within the race just really challenging republican voters and the party orthodoxy and the legacy of president george w. bush, too. >> i want to play this ad at the center of the lawsuit, an ad that trump is very upset about. let's play a little bit of it. >> we're just one supreme court justice away from losing

donald trump winning them, over ted cruz. ted cruz has been targeting this group of people, he's losing to donald trump tonight. how about somewhat conservative, another large chunk of voters here, again, a bigger donald trump win, 18 points. rubio jumps up there. there's moderate republicans, that's not an insignificant chunk of the electorate. donald trump, a lot of people look at him on immigration, he's doing the best among moderate voters. note, rubio, he jumps up and down, he does better with moderates, not as with well very conservatives. cruz is jumping around. trump is winning all the groups, he wins again. white evangelical voters. he did this in south carolina. he's doing it here by an even bigger margin. this is a bigger group of voters that the ted cruz campaign has been built up. we have seen this college/noncollege, donald trump does better with those without college degrees. rubio does well among noncollege. a huge win for donald trump. he gets half the vote tonight. there's the question of when did voters mak

it's donald trump. so somehow kasich or ted cruz or senator rubio have to find a way to blunt him without having enough money to go after him on the airwaves against a guy who is really good at getting free time on the airwaves. >> you mentioned he's so good at that, and i'm here in south carolina where i spoke to don fowler, a national chair of the democratic party. we talked about trump and he was complimentary about trump's political skills, his intelligence, his ability to use that earned media to actually drive a message with what he connects to working class voters. take a listen. >> people listen to him and say, yeah, he's right, because they're feeling the same kind of frustration that he's expressing. you know, i hear a lot of people say, oh, donald trump is stupid. donald trump is smart as you-know-what. and he knows what he's doing, and he's very good at it. i don't think this is some random doofus. >> his point from a political perspective, there, and that's columns coming from the opposing

could it hurt donald trump? >> it just seems like the voters who support donald trump are not the same as jeb bush's. and bush is kind of making a play for third place in south carolina. it doesn't seem like south carolina is interested right now in his campaign proposal. they're more interested in the economy and the idea of bringing jobs back to the state. that's what donald trump is promoting. bush is hoping to end -- to fare well in south carolina, potentially a third place, to place him in the position that gives him a momentum boost to continue on to other states and see where it goes fraumg there. >> when you look at the huge numbers, you're looking at national numbers, jack, so we don't know how many of those folks are in south carolina or nevada, for that matter. with the popularity that george w. bush still holds here and the entire bush family, could what happened on saturday night backfire on donald trump? >> it's possible, but every time everybody predicts donald trump says the thing that is going t

it's donald trump. tonight the conversation will center around the viability of several candidates, among them jeb bush. let's be charitable. among the least self-aware candidates we've ever seen was talked in to just this week contact lenses and out of his glass frames as a 2.0, a remaking of jeb bush. i don't know why i'm looking at nicole wallace as opposed to lawrence o'donnell, both of whom join us. what a week. >> i would be using contact lenses if i could. i just don't know how to put them in. obviously too late for jeb bush and the big decision for jeb bush tonight is is it over? what would be the justification for going forward at this point? you know, we are bound in the media to overreact to wins. this is not for donald trump a win of the majority of the vote. we've only seen that in democratic elections, since there's two candidates, that's where it's possible on the democratic side. he's going to win about 35%. 73%, 73% notice exit poll favor donald trump's unconstitutional ban on muslims e

>> probably donald trump. i'm still kind of looking at and studying it. >> reporter: who are you going to vote for? >> i'm going to swing for donald trump, honestly. he's probably the best guy right now. >> reporter: do you think cruz is in trouble on tuesday here? >> i think donald trump is going to give him a run for his money, honestly. >> reporter: cruz doesn't look like he's going to beat trump out. i would love to go for cruz, but because the polls are in trump's favor right now, i would choose for the winner. i'm big on immigration, build a wall. i'll help build it. i mean, and i'm a mexican-american. so i'm all for it. >> i'm a ted cruz guy for sure. >> reporter: but you like trump's message better? >> i like trump's message. >> reporter: what does cruz need to do better to win here? >> step up his competition and quit being so political. if he's more himself and he called donald trump out for what he is, more power to him. bring it on. >> reporter: brian, rachel, if what went on inside that building l

donald trump. john kasich. donald trump. rand paul. marco rubio. donald trump. marco rubio. marco rubio. rand paul. marco rubio. marco rubio. marco rubio. marco rubio. governor christie. jeb bush. marco rubio. rand paul. marco rubio. marco rubio. marco rubio. rubio. marco rubio. donald trump. chris christie. rand paul. rubio. >> we hesitate to jump in here like golf announcers. let's state the obvious. something as basic and organic as folded pieces of paper in an organic u.s. mail paper while everyone who has watched a device is watching it being tallied up. it's from here that the voters in iowa, those who cared enough to go out and caucus can send a message that's heard not just around the political country but around the world. let's given where we stand given the fact this is very early on tonight. this is the republican side. again, pay attention to the percentage of the vote in. as you saw, republicans do one person, one vote. it's raw vote. having said that with 5% reporting, it's a cruz, trump, rubio race. those are the top three in a crowded republican field. to th

than donald trump's jokes. i'm going to do jokes and read mean tweets, is that an effective way to try to overtake donald trump? >> unfortunately, i think it is. i think it's the only measure he has at this point. 2016 has not been an election about policy. attacks on donald trump is not being conservative enough have failed. now they're turning to what is the only attack that has ever been effective in countering donald trump. that's making fun of him. and they need to be doing this. they should have been doing this, i wish the debate that happened on thursday had happened in august and they started really challenging donald trump's record as a businessman, challenging some of his fraudulent behavior with trump university. there had been none of that until just this week. and now rubio is attacking, and he's attacking hard, but too much time probably has passed for it to have an impact. >> i mean, you know, well, gilda, i'm going to bring you. there's been a conversation for democrats whether the biggest high

media reports about donald's business dealings with the mob, with the mafia. >> donald trump is not a republican, not a conservative. donald trump is trying to pull off the biggest scam in american political history, a con job trying to take over the republican party. >> i don't think it is fair the way the establishment is treating donald trump. i signed a pledge and i will abide by the pledge unless they default. >> now, trump will be here in alabama tonight holding a rally in huntsville, an event he says is so big it had to be moved to a football stadium. senators marco rubio and ted cruz have four events in virginia, arkansas and oklahoma today. we have new nbc news wall street journi journal polling out. ted cruz is ahead in his home state of texas. and on the democratic side hillary clinton leading bernie sanders in all three of those southern states by about a two to one margin. right now sanders is about to hold a rally in oklahoma city, another super tuesday state. we will be monitoring his comments and bringing you updates. sanders says he is looking towards super tuesday

donald trump and us. and the undeniable reality that the first four states has shown is the only campaign that has beaten donald trump and the only campaign that can beat donald trump is this campaign. [ cheers and applause ] if you are 1 of the 65% of republicans across this country who doesn't think donald is the best candidate to go head-to-head with hillary, who believes we do better in elections when we actually nominate a conservative. then first four states that performed a vital function of narrowing this race and presenting a clear choice. you can choose between two washington deal makers or one proven consistent conservative. one week from today will be the most important night of this campaign. one week from today is super tuesday. 11 states, alabama, alaska, arkansas, georgia, massachusetts, minnesota, oklahoma, tennessee, vermont, virginia, and the great state of texas. one week from today the most delegates that are awarded on a single day will be awarded next tuesday. the role of the first

donald trump, i'm getting behind donald trump. >> the lively debate. you heard luke giving examples of how these two a literally going head-to-head now. have you marco rubio matching donald trump's style. how is that going to work out for a candidate who is not donald trump? >> it might be too little too late. when you go after donald trump, you will not dent his support after all. they dig their heels in, even harder. what marco rubio is trying to do is save the people who are supporting ted cruz, john kasich and ben carson, look, we need to go, find somebody with donald trump and pull those votes away and hoping build his support. >> okay. also, the i go es the least extreme candidate in the party. what does it say about this? john caseic? i mean, he cannot seem to get any oxygen in this race, joe. >> he's a great candidate for general election. he makes so much sense. he is somebody who obviously reaches out to democrats or independents, to people everywhere. and he has been very consistent about. that he's a smart guy to want to stay into ohio. at

let's start with donald trump. winning big here. >> winning. >> feeling incredibly kflt last night. >> huge. >> we heard a huge speech from him last night. where does he go now? >> he's going to be in south carolina tonight, rallying a crowd down there, which they expect to be thousands strong. much like their rallies in south carolina. they have a commanding lead in the polls down there as well. what they're coming out of here in new hampshire, the big thing is that they can now say that the enthusiasm that we have garnered, all of those people who show up to see us, does actually translate into votes. also, the way that we have done politics, the traditional way of retail politics, getting out there with an organization, knocking on doors, shaking people's hands, having conversations in smaller groups. that's not necessarily the only way anymore. we can do it in our own way. this big flashy way. have the voters come to me. name recognition. star power. donald trump proved that here in new hampshire. i would even

it is donald trump. tonight, the conversation will center around the viability of several candidates. among them, jeb bush. let's be charitable. among the least self-aware candidates we've ever seen was talked into just this week. contact lenses and out of his glass frames as a 2.0. a remaking of jeb bush. i don't know why i'm looking at nicole wallace as opposed to lawrence o'donnell. both only -- both of whom join us. what a week. >> i would be using contact lenses if i knew how to put them in. the big decision for jeb bush, is it over? what would be the justification for going forward at this point? we are bound in the media to overreact to wins. this is not for donald trump a win of the majority of the vote. we've only seen that in the democratic elections. since there's only two candidates. that's why it's possible on the democratic side. he is going to win about 35%. 73%, 73% in the exit poll favor donald trump's unconstitutional ban on muslims entering the united states. he lost most of the people

donald trump. donald trump is his own lane. we're calling it the outsider lane, but it's really the trump lane, right? >> like a trump superhighway. >> it's a new thing. >> it's gold and beautiful and huge. >> it's huge. >> but it's real. so this sets up the kind of contest that we haven't ever seen really. >> no. >> and it could go on for a while. >> let's put some meat on those bones, though. in terms of talking about who's winning what, how this race is shaping up, steve kornacki has the second wave, new wave of exit poll data out of south carolina, who's doing well with who? >> that's an interesting discussion. this has been a surprise all along. this is the percentage of the electorate in all the early states and how many identified themselves as white evangelical or born again christian. it was big in iowa, small in new hampshire. biggest we've seen. 70% in south carolina. how are the voters casting their ballots? donald trump. donald trump right now -- >> winning evangelicals. >> this is the

and when you listen to donald trump, all you really hear is more donald trump, more tear it down, and a lot of praise of foreign dictators. i don't think the american people, and i don't think most republicans really want a strongman. >> what's more important to you, at this point. if it means electing hillary clinton, you would rather see anything to be done to stop donald trump from taking over the republican party? >> no, it's a false choice. the american people deserve better than two fundamentally dishonest new york liberals. this is a country that put a man on the moon. and the american people deserve a better choice than this. but you asked what a party is. a political party is a tool. it's not a religion, it's not a family, it's not the nation, it's not even as important as husker football. the republican party is a tool. and if it's useful, people should embrace it. and if it becomes totally vacuous, they should find a candidate that believes in the american ideals and they should want somebody who will lead us forward by celebrating a washington that is about servant leaders

can anybody beat donald trump? well, the two candidates who are most poised to do that are both making their case today about how they'd pull it off. take a listen. >> i think donald's campaign has largely been about how bad things are. there's no doubt we need to recognize how difficult things are but you can't just say you'll make america great again. you have to explain how you're going do it. >> if you want to beat donald trump, one of the clearest indications of who can beat trump is donald spends every waking minute attacking me. his campaign views us as the only real threat to him. >> both of the democrats in the race looking to expand the electora electorate. >> we will do well when young people, working class people come out. we do not do well when the voter turnout is not large. we did not do as good a job as i had wanted to bring out a large turnout. i think we have a good shot in colorado, a good shot in minnesota, a good shot in massachusetts. i think we're looking pretty good in oklahoma. last poll i

and donald trump is still on top. but trump's been here before. how does he plan to avoid another disappointing finish on tuesday? team christie and team bush are targeting rubio, b

that's a very confident donald trump. i noticed he was gracious to his two chief opponents, cruz and rubio. let's see how long that lasts. i think rubio is the one he's going to have to be most fearful of. because the big news is jeb dropping out. in this respect, it does mean he has a ton of money, people. now does money matter anymore? we'll find out, but all of those people are going to move over to rubio, whatever is left of this establishment wing of the party. and i think we have to question how much juice they have. they're going to put all their chips in with rubio, so rubio's going to have the resources, and seeing how that argument is framed between the two of them, and i tell you, it's going to be immigration. we know where it's going to go. this has been trump's strength. look at how he does the audience back and forth, who's going to pay for that wall? and the whole audience jumps in. and that's what the whole rest of the week's going to be like for marco rubio. it will be interesting to see how he's going to

>> donald actually did it. the trump machine pulled off the victory that they said they were going to pull off. i mean, my second thought was, i really feel bad for jeb bush. a good man. you know, came home last night, my wife said his speech, getting out of the race, the grace, the emotion, i wish we heard that earlier in the campaign, but a great plan. great family. donald won, and i'm sorry jeb's out. >> matthew, let me pick up what he said about the supporters of jeb bush. last night, my colleague kerry sanders was at the campaign with jeb bush. spoke with a supporter who was in near tears, and vowed there was no way that she would support donald trump. she in fact said for the first time in her life, she may consider a democrat. so when you look at the map and this was something that got the attention of donald trump when he said the pundits are wrong, assuming that all of those supporters of jub would go to rubio and not to him. is he the second choice for jeb bush supporters? is donald trump the second c

that's a very confident donald trump. i noticed he was gracious to his chief opponents, cruz and rubio. let's see how long that lasts. i think it is essentially rubio will be the one. he will have to be the most fearful of. the big news tonight is jeb dropping out in this respect, it means he does have a ton of money people. does money matter anymore? we'll find out. but all of those people will move to rubio. whatever is left of this establishment wing of the party. and we have to question how much juice they really have. they'll put their chips in with rubio. so he'll have the resources. so seeing how that argument is framed between two of them it will be immigration. we know where it will go. this is what has been trump's strength. look how he does the audience back and forth. who will pay for that wall? and the whole audience jumps in. i think a's what the next couple of weeks is going to be like for marco rubio. it will be interesting to see how he handles it. what will he do to fight back against trump on the issue

jimmy carter endorsed donald trump. he was asked, over in london asking at the house of lords, he was asked about the race, and said, i would support donald trump. because drump drmp is malleable. he has no fixed set of beliefs. we can work with him. he'll do what we want. on the other hand, he said, ted cruz is not malleable. he actually believes these things. he believes in life and marriage and religious liberty. he believes in the second amendment. he believes in the constitution and bill of rights. he spent his whole life fighting for them. that's the simple difference. and it's a difference the men and women of south carolina are assessing. do they want someone who is telling us right now that any given position he might change tomorrow if the political winds shift? or do the people of south carolina want a consistent conservative, a fiscal conservative, a social conservative, a national security conservative, who has been the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow? that's why conservatives are uniting behind our can

week. >> donald trump is very rattled right now. he told the entire world he was going to win iowa. and then he didn't win. and his reaction is he got very angry. it is no surprise that donald is throwing yet another temper tantrum, or if you like, another trumpertantrum. it seems his reaction to everything is to throw a fit. >> joining us is katy tur. leading into iowa, donald trump -- the thing he was trying to get into everybody's head was this canadian citizenship, the canadian birth status thing. now it sounds like he's just trying to discredit ted cruz's iowa victory. what's the strategy here? what's the likelihood he could get people to actually put an asterisk next to that cruz win in iowa? >> reporter: he was doing that more so earlier this week, saying that ted cruz committed fraud and that that election should be either reheld or ted cruz's votes should not count. that obviously is not going to happen. he stepped away from that in the later part of this week. he did make an allusion to it last night in south carolina sayi

donald trump, yes, donald trump is now the clear front-runner to win the republican nomination for president of the united states. can you believe that? and the bernie sanders revolution, well, it came up short in nevada over the weekend. and that puts hillary clinton in total control of the democratic race heading into south carolina this saturday. and all of those primaries on super tuesday on march 1st. and right now, we are barreling toward a general election matchup that would pit donald trump and hillary clinton clinton. let that sink in for just a minute. we'll get the early handicap on what that matchup would look like later in the show. but first, begin with the seemingly unstoppable force in the republican party. donald trump is on the precipice of amassing an overpowering coalition of voters and potentially delegates. this is what trump's opponents would call a nightmare scenario for the republican establishment. it's something far worse for them. right now, it is reality. trump has jumped out to the early lead in the delegate count. this after steam rolling the field in south car

>> donald trump is king of the south. and he is strong not just in the horse race, but the voters here don't consider him the most conservative, and yet they still give him the lead. that means attempts to paint him less conservative will not have an affect and the other thing in the poll, we tested him head to head with the individual candidates and he beats them. that puts -- that undermines the argument, there you see it, trump over cruz, 49-40, trump over rubio, 48-44. close, but it puts if the field were just winno, somehow trump would disintegrate. >> i agree. if you look at this poll and look, it's hard to poll a whole bunch of states altogether, but it's a complicated business here doing all the solt eauthern sta. it's the way is he ahead and all important trait, donald trump holdings a commanding lead over these two guys. a delegate race as you know, and so it's possible that in given states, ted cruz could put up a state, one of these southern states, particularly texas, marco rubio could get some delegates, but

he has been with donald trump. tell us a little bit about what that campaign is talking about this morning, what their strategy is, what's going on after both of these guys, and what's on the agenda today. >> interestingly, there's a rather large group of people who have gathered in the area with their cell phones lined up to try to get a picture of either donald trump on their cell phone or a selfie with him. he will be speaking in north augusta today. he's doing what i guess you can call two-a-days now. he's doing two rallies today and through the rest of the week across the state. spending his time continuously in the state rather than what he's done in previous times where he would fly home to new york. he does have a private jet. interestingly, one of the things he has done, yesterday, he came out and really hammered on george w. bush being in charge of 9/11. not only did he hammer, as peter alexander mentioned during the press conference, and quite a contrast to have jeb bush with his brother campaigning, but

donald trump won all 50 of them. it's early but he's pulling away a little bit because of that. >> delegate math. nothing like it. not even in the casinos. thank you. up next, we're going to be talking much more live from vegas about the potential consequences of ohio governor john kasich's comments about women leaving the kitchen to help him get elected. >> with older airplanes than ever, the average age of an air force plane the 27-years-old. that means the pilots are younger than a plane. by the way, it's unfair to our men and women in uniform. beyond natural grain free pet food is committed to truth on the label. when we say real meat is the first ingredient, it is always number one. we leave out poultry by-product meal, corn, wheat and soy. and, we own where our dry food is made - 100%. can other brands say all that? for grain-free nutrition you can trust, does your food go beyond? learn more at beyondpetfood.com iher life's work has been about breaking barriers.age. and so would her presidency. which is why, fo

donald trump said those were some dirty tricks. we know recently, there has been a person who left the cruz campaign for dirty tricks against marco rubio. there was an accountability there for the marco rubio situation. your situation didn't get that type of response or accountability from ted cruz. are you disappointed they didn't take what happened to you and your campaign out of iowa more seriously based on their own actions? >> sometimes these things are cumulative. and you know, one thing happens and you can deny it to a certain degree, and then something else happens and it's pointing in the same direction. so you know, ultimately, it leads to the right thing being done. ultimately, there's some accountability. i guess that's a good thing. >> has anybody approached you, insiders in the republican race, asking that maybe you should step aside and allow a different candidate to come up that could challenge donald trump with more strength? in the delegate count. >> no one has come and made that suggestion. but of course, you hea

donald j. trump. >> what a book end. jeb bush gets out. that's a very confident donald trump. i noticed he was gracious to his chief opponents, cruz and rubio. let's see how long that lasts. i think it is essentially rubio will be the one. he will have to be the most fearful of. the big news tonight is jeb dropping out in this almost, it means he does have a ton of money people. does money matter anymore? we'll find out. but all of those people will move to rubio. whatever is left of this establishment wing of the party. and we have to question how much they really have. they'll put their chips in with rubio. so seeing how that argument is framed between two of them. it will be immigration. we know where it will go. this is what has been trump's strength. look how he does the audience back and forth? who will pay for that wall? and the whole audience jumps in. what will dough to fight back against trump on the issue of immigration? i keep coming back to that issue. we talk about, i can't believe trump did this in a week that he defended planned parenthood. there's one issue he

and how hard will the bush brothers try to beat back relentless attacks from donald donald starts right now. >>> and good evening and welcome to "mtp daily." i'm steve kornacki in for chuck todd. we're here at the liberty taproom and grill in columbia, south carolina. the state capital. and as you have no doubt seen the feuds brewing on the campaign trail, boiling over big-time at saturday's republican debate here in the palmetto state, and then today, well, they outright exploded. in just under an hour from now, former president george w. bush is due to hit the presidential campaign trail, for the first time in over a decade. a rally with his brother, jeb. remember, george w. bush wasn't a presence, physically, at least, on the trail when mitt romney and john mccain were running. as bush 43 hopes to stump for the man he hopes will be bush 54, donald trump is lashing out yet again at the former president and his record. >> if the ex-president is campaigning for his brother, i think he's probably open to great scrutiny. maybe things that haven't been thought of in the past. the whole thi

donald trump is the man to beat. last night in nevada, trump won 45% of the caucus voteds, marco rubio was second, with 24%, cruz had 21%. trump won in every demographic, except young voters. today in virginia beach, his victory lap took the form of a q and a with pat robert son where he mused openly about his running mate possibilities, ted cruz and the democrats. >> bernie is heading down. it looks like he's over. hillary will be protected from the e-mail scandal. as i promise you, it will be discussed, often, often, often. if you look at justice roberts, he could have killed obama care twice. senator cruz pushed him. he most wanted him. what are the most important qualities you're going to look for in a vice-president den - >> political, because i want to get lots of great legislation we all want passed, sitting there for years and years and years. things sitting there that would be so good. >> that session, trump also la meant mented. al hunt, sitting in formal mal who -- for mark halperin. >> huge. as he might s

donald trump may mark his third win in a row. sweating not just under the desert sun here, but across the fruited plain. today, the gop establishment consider the only hope of stopping trump, use one of his last silver state events to tell voters they're running out of time, and that quote, we cannot nominate someone who cannot win because they can't unite us. despite rubio's urgency, the news cycle suggests rubio might be too little too late. why? because of this remark that mr. trump made at a rally i attended last night. listen to what he said and then i'll explain. >> here is a guy, throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming at everything else when we're talking and we're not allowed, the guards are very gentle, big high-fives, smiling, laughing, i would like to punch him in the face, i'll tell you. >> all right, so i've been to a lot of trump rallies and for the donald, that crack would not crack what he has said at his rallies, and yet look at how much that one remark dominated the news cycle today. >> trump causing another

where was donald? he was firingç dennis rodman o "celebrity apprentice." >> i won't let people die on the streets -- let me talk. >> explain away. >> i now you're embarrassed, keep swinging for the fences. >> yeah. things got hot in houston last night where marco rubio and ted cruz got the memo about going after trump but is it too late to stop him? >>> plus another mass shooting in america. this time four people are dead. more than a dozen injured after a single gunman goes on the attack at multiple locations near wichita. it is 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. this is "way too early." >> good morning, everyone. it is friday, february 26th, i'm alex witt and we begin with this breaking news out of kansas this morning. where a shooting s h

supporters for donald trump. donald trump will be taking the podium here in about an hour, as you say. we will expect him to continue as he has done, focusing on ted cruz. he had a very effective strategy at the very outset focusing on jeb bush, constantly attacking jeb bush and jeb bush eventually losing the support he needed to continue going forward and dropped out. we've already heard that donald trump is now picking up that laser focus on ted cruz. and he's sending a little quick note here to the folks here before they even see donald trump, by tweeting out just a short time ago that unlike the other republican candidates, i will be in nevada all day and night. i won't be fleeing in and out. i love and invest in nevada. of course, we have the caucus tonight. many of the republicans i've spoken to say they don't like the caucus process, but it's one that they will live with. and as you know, donald trump seems, according to the polls, to have a significant lead here in this state. kate? >> all right. kerry sa

>> south carolina is a crucial state for donald trump. there is a sense that trump has been winning in the polls in south carolina for months on end. big leads in the poll. this is state lines where newt gingrich didn't win there. work the media savvy campaign. he doesn't need a the love grounds game in south carolina. that's where he could come back. there is a sense that has to be a state that he wins. new hampshire remains the target. this is a state pat buchanan won. anti-illegal immigration. this is his home base. >> david, just an example of how die animalic and fluid this electorate is. i was talking to an undecided voter. she is undecided between ted cruz and hillary clinton. that's how undecided you can get in new hampshire. >> i was just talking on senator smith who was on earlier. he is making calls for ted cruz to independent voting last time. he has found more than one independent voting republican telling hill, they're voting for bernie. so go figure. i mean, i don't anything will be determined. in fact, new hampshire doesn'

donald trump is leading by 26 points. is there a clear path for donald trump, or do you see momentum stopping at a certain point? >> i see him doing great in the s.e.c. states. he put in a lot of time in those different states having huge rallies in alabama, mississippi, and georgia today i think he will do well there. the only hope for the rubio campaign is that come march 15th he could do well in the winner take all states. you have illinois, ohio, florida all in one day. if he could take three out of the five, he could sweep up 230 delegates and be tied around where trump would be. that's a very optimistic katie is this a three-person race now? our does kasich have an outside chance still? >> it makes it much more difficult, his showing last night. he did well in new hampshire. he did not do well last night. he is looking forward to the northeastern and midwestern states. just seeing the battle between rubio and cruz makes it look like a three-person race. >> yeah, and where did jeb bush's voters go now? >> i think the

it was clear, the only choice was donald trump. the best choice was donald trump. the last thing is, our family is one that prides loyalty. and the fact is, we've been good presents with donald and his family for many years. i don't send smoke signals. i'm endorsing the person i believe is the best person to defeat hillary clintonç and restore american jobs, restore american prestige around the world, and restore the faith and confidence of the american people again. we are an exceptional and great nate e nation. >> we're going to breakdown the extraordinary tag team press conference late near the program. but nor, why did chris christie do the endorsement and how does it change the republican race? >> all right, we have a lot of time to talk about this mark. we'll have a start with the first part. why? chris christie has made it clear throughout the race that he thought the freshmen centers, ted cruz, marco rubio are not ready to be president, and can't beat hillary clinton. that kind of ruled them out as endorsements, especially since christie took rubio out in

you don't want donald trump. and you know, whether or not you're truly in either ted cruz's or marco rubio's corner, i suppose you could say john kasich or ben carson. or you just are anybody but trump, what do you do? >> well, i was actually at marco rubio's rally in south carolina the night of the primary there. and i started getting called literally minutes after jeb bush announced he was dropping out from party elites, party elders, leaders across the country saying there was already movement to very quickly consolidate establishment support behind rubio. we saw some of this last night at rubio's rally. a lot of prominent jeb bush endorsers shifted over to rubio. they're doing what they can to try to rally the prominent endorsements, the money, the resources to rubio. the concern is that it might just be too late for the establishment to pick a champion. right? they have obviously settled on rubio at this point, but we're already about to have our fourth primary here, and rubio, you know, he hasn't won any ra

that was donald trump. when he says security guys, one would presume he's talking about the united states secret service. >> advising your supporters that they should beat the -- it's an unusual year. >> in effect, another day on the campaign trail for donald trump. kate snow is with us, at least 50 feet away from us here in the newsroom with a look at how we got here, this unlikely ride of mr. trump. >> we're going to look at the phenomenon that is trump. here is a number that really matters. i want to point it out. in december, our poll among republicans found that 40% said donald trump is telling it like it is. 37% of republicans said he's raising important issues despite his language. and 16%, only 16% find him insulting. that helps explain how he has survived through all those controversial moments, when pundits said he had gone too far. >> i don't think i've made mistakes. whenever people say i make mistakes, my polls go up. >> now the race to the white house. billionaire donald trump combining his fi

i think donald trump is close to nominee. at the same time, the thing that occurred to me most is when al gore endorsed howard dean in, you know, i think it was late -- >> no. >> no, no. >> oh. >> i don't think it's that big a deal, but the surprise factor, it's all coming together, and then maybe it doesn't come together. >> it told me that we keep thinking that the trump campaign is not sophisticated. this was what -- >> he is doing somethingç righ >> campaigns have the ready. what do you do when you're having a bad day. do you have a trick in your bag. he had a pretty good trick in his bag. >> this isn't trumpy, it's kind of -- >> we didn't think -- >> we didn't think he would do that. >> it's one card. not a pair, all right. >> it doesn't last the whole weekend. the debate for rubio was not a great moment, but the beginning of the next stage of the campaign. trump is not going to be able to -- >> that is -- >> as you saw today on the stump, rubio is having fun. mocking trump, integrating trump. he is going after his per

donald trump. but again, that's just the polling. who knows what's going to happen today when those polls close and what's going to happen in terms of second, third, fourth place on the republican side and what the margin might be on the democratic side. indeed, who the winner is going to be. it feels very uncertain. >> a ton of people in one of those groups deciding between trump and sanders, another deciding clinton and kasich. all kinds of combinations. the campaigns are trying to take advantage of that. joining us to talk politics from a part of our sprawling election headquarters, we'll put it this way, we figured if we put a cram if a tavern, our job was to draw stories out of stories in new hampshire to cover politics, that it might be a great combination. who best to host that than chris matthews. hey, buddy. >> thank you, brian, thank you, rachel. you know, new hampshire has had this habit, going back to '52 when it became the hot place to pick presidents to go outside the system, outside