john roberts, i think, can be a defended choice for sure. just, you know, the obamacare decision i was disappointed in. but he's made some really good rulings beyond that. here's the deal, i think the lesson learned is, you pick someone with a proven, long-standing record, a history that you can point too, when he wasn't considered or she wasn't being considered for a nomination of the supreme court. >> the unexpected court vacancy has legal world buzzing we have destabilized the middle east. >> but so you -- so i mean -- so you still think he should be impeached? >> i think it's my turn. >> you do whatever you want. you call it whatever you want. i want to tell you, they lied. they said there were weapons of mass destruction. there were none. and they knew there were none. there were no weapons of mass destruction. >> okay, all right. >> i'm sick and tired of barack obama blaming my brother for all of the problems that he's had. and frankly, i could care less about the insults that donald trump gives to me. it's blood sport for him. he enjo

john roberts i think can be a defended choice for sure. the obamacare decision i was disappointed in but he's made really good rulings beyond that here's the deal. the lesson learned is you pick someone with a proven long-standing record, a history that you can point to. when he wasn't considered -- or she wasn't being considered a nomination in the supreme court. >> so, sam, the battle began immediately after scalia -- >> five minutes. five minutes. >> i would usually be offended by such things but it was so obviously a titanic event in american politics that you couldn't be shocked saying oh, we must mourn for two or three days, i expected it immediately and you know what? justice scalia would have expected it immediately, too, because so many cases hang in the balance, 5-4. "heller" is just one of them. the gun case. >> it does raise a question about the structure of our lifetime appointments to the supreme court. maybe it will spark a conversation about judicial term limits. >> you and dr. ben car jon? ben carson does agree with that.

and like in 2000, you'll hear a lot of scalia, a lot of clarence thomas, not as much of john roberts, who has annoyed conservatives by defending obamacare now twice. so i think you'll hear from that. i will be interested to watch tonight, ted cruz, a justice -- a clerk on the supreme court. so tonight is the one time where in terms of these candidates, he is much more versed on legal issues than the other candidates. i think this is a night for him to show that and to really speak more eloquently about the issues. >> you make such an interesting point. what you're saying is it's not just where people stand, and from what we can tell, the entire leadership of the republican party within a few hours has taken the same position. it's not just so much where they stand on that, but who knows what? you make the point that ted cruz who has done well so far, is by any stretch the best lawyer on the stage, the most practiced legal mind. he already has that reputation. he had an exchange with donald trump about who was going to take advice on who on constitutional issues when the eligibility is

not as much as john roberts who has defended obamacare twice. i'll be particularly interested to watch tonight. ted cruz was a clerk on the supreme court. so i think tonight is the one time where in terms of looking at the candidates, he is much more versed on legal issues than the other candidates. and i think it is potentially a in it for him to show that and to speak for he will quenly about the issues. >> you make such an interesting point. i want to draw you out on it. it is not just where people stand. from what we can tell, the entire leadership of the republican party within a few hours has taken the same position. no obama nominee, the supreme court, sight unseen. so not so much just on where they stand on that. but who knows what? you make the possibly ted cruz who has done well thus far is i think by any stretch the best lawyer on the stage. the most practiced legal mind. he already has that reputation. he has an exchange about who will take advice from whom on constitutional issues when the eligibility issue came up. i saw him out on

and i would not have nominated john roberts. once george bush nominated him, i supported the nomination as a republican nominee, but i would have nominated my former boss, a court of appeals judge, justice scalia's very first law clerk and had a long proven track record. and, chuck, just as ronald reagan was to the presidency, so antonin scalia was to the supreme court. he had that big an impact. and i think his passing yesterday really underscores the stakes of this election. we are facing our fundamental rights in a balance. >> let me ask you, does the united states senate have an obligation to at least consider a nomination that president obama puts forward? i understand that you guys don't want it. and you would prefer to let the -- but doesn't the united states have an obligation to at least go through the process and have an up or down vote? >> not remotely. >> why? >> it has been 80 years since a supreme court vacancy was nominated and confirmed in an election year. there is a long tradition that you don't do this in an e

it's a statement from the chief justice, john roberts. i'll read it to you. it says on behalf of the court and retired justices, i am saddened to report that our colleague, justice antonin scalia has passed away. he was an extraordinary individual, admired and treasured by his colleagues. his passing is a great loss to the court and the country he so loyally served. we extend our deepest condolences to his wife, maureen, and his family. that from the chief justice, john roberts, coming out here now at 5:34, the first official word from the supreme court about what we had already learned, which was that justice antonin scalia, associate justice of the supreme court, who has been -- who served on the court since 1986, he actually arrived on september 26th of 1986, appointed by president reagan, that he died apparently overnight of natural causes while vacationing in texas. >> pete, as you bring us that latest news also, the governor of texas, greg abbott, tweeting out in addition to perhaps previous statements that he shares the grief saying, quote, in his twit

chief justice john roberts called scalia extraordinary, saying his passing was a great loss to the court and the country. justice anthony kennedy called him a powerful personality with unyielding commitment to the constitution. clarence thomas said scalia was a towering intellect and legal giant. former president bill clinton praised the justice, saying even though we disagreed on nearly everything, i always kind of liked justice scalia, because he never pretended to be anything he wasn't. he was very straightforward about what he believed. >>> justice ruth bader ginsburg had the most touching of distributes for her ideological opponent. from our years together at the d.c. circuit court, we were best buddies. it was my great fortune to have known him as a working colleague and treasured friend. >>> the race to fill republican presidential candidate marco rubio's senate seat in florida is getting nasty. it is dominated in a fight between two congressmen. representative allen grayson currently under a house ethics investigation over his handling of hedge funds is feuding with primary oppon

you look at the votes under john roberts and onso sam alito. the opposition from democrats in 2005 and 2006 wasn't enough to stop either of those nominees, but you had opposition then you weren't seeing 20 years earlier. >> republicans would say that was mounting on the democratic side and the rule changing has happened from both sides. thanks for jumping on the phone with us. i want to go to our own chris matthews here. chris, as i've been doing with several people i've talked to tonight, i want to start with scalia, the man, before we get to the politics. your view view of the kind of person he was. the jubilant, excitable, and direct, strong leader that he was. >> well, i guess i'm fortunate to have grown up around people like justice scalia, antonin scalia. he's a man of his times, a man of his religion, a conservative roman catholic. the kind of guy my dad hung out with and enjoyed the company of for most of his adulthood, the knights of columbus. a classic catholic in the sense that his philosophy of the courts and his political, his poli

. >> john roberts, twice over by upholding obamacare. what happens now with who is acceptable for republicans, you kind of have to go to someone like robert bork or justice samuel alito. that will be difficult for a democratic president such as obama to put forward to the senate. who at all could obama put forward that would even in some measure make chuck grassley, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee or mitch mcconnell go back on their stances that they're not going to hear confirmation hearings of any nominee obama puts forward. if john roberts is too liberal for that, who's acceptable? >> before we go, trump speaking at 2:00 p.m. what do we expect there? >> well, he has a news conference at 2:00 p.m. he made this announcement late yesterday. of course, today's headline, everybody anticipated, would be the return of george w. bush to the campaign trail. that scheduled for 6:00 this evening. a rally with the two brothers standing sigh-by-side on the campaign trail for the first time. once again, donald trump has inserted hims

. >>> at the supreme court today chief justice john roberts opened the first session since justice scalia's death with a tribute calling the late justice a man for all seasons. joining me now is pete williams and tom goldstein. welcome both. i know you were in the chambers today. this was very touching. it's such a rare tribute. >> it's been about 60 years since a justice died during a term and the replacement wasn't ready to go. they did the ceremony with the black drapery. he went through the biography and gave the names of his children and talked about how he met his wife in law school and was quiet serious and then got lighthearted. he noted justice scalia argued a case in the supreme court before he was justice and there he prevailed. noted some statistics as he came on as the 103rd justice. he wrote 292 majority opinions and paused and said he was also noted to file some descents. >> just a few. >> yes. it was a somber day because usually when the justices come out from behind the big velvet curtain they smile at people they recognize. not today. very somber and dig any identified. sh

chief justice john roberts has said in the past at least that he's very proud of the fact that it was a judgeless court before he came onto the court it was all judges. but i think that may actually be changing because i think the court has a real need to speak to the country in more direct ways and not to be part of like the cognoscenti or to borrow from justice scalia's language himself not to be with the templars rather than the valeans. i think we need people that are actually out there in public life before they go onto the court. >> and i think your point is taken that in addition somebody like that may have the ability to focus public attention on what is now going to be an absolutely massive and massively consequential political fight. kenji yoshina, professor of constitutional law at nyu and all-round smart human. thanks so much. >> always a pleasure. >> lots more ahead. stay with us. >>> so maybe president obama will pick a nominee for the u.s. supreme court who's already on a lower court, somebody who was, say, approved unanimously by the senate, and so the senate can't say

that was john roberts' role when he was a young lawyer, was opposition to the voting rights act. roberts famously said he wanted to make sure that violations of the voting rights act were not too easy to prove. that's what he did three decades later when he became chief justice along with scalia, thomas, and the rest of the justices. this has been a key part of their mandate, is to roll back the civil rights laws of the 1960s, which are now under attack. reverend barber made a great point. we had 15 debates now, but no questions about voting rights, even though this is the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protection of the voting rights act, and 16 states, including south carolina, which is voting soon, including north carolina, which is voting after that, have new restrictions in place this year. this is a huge, huge issue, but it's treatied as a fringe issue. >> you have clarence thomas who also wanted to delete section two of the voting right ask if potentially another justice were to retire, and republicans had a 6-3 majority, you could see the entire

. >> i did not nominate john roberts. i would not have nominated -- >> you pushed him. you pushed him. you worked with him and you pushed him. why do you lie? >> donald -- >> why do you lie? >> adults learn not to interrupt people. >> and the wildest liar in the video recorded history of presidential campaigning went after jeb bush once again when jeb bush talked about donald trump's multiple business bankruptcies. >> because he could use the legal system. >> let me respond. that's another lie. i never went bankrupt. it's another lie. no, but it's a lie. this guy, he doesn't know what he's talking about. >> we need someone with a proven record -- >> now, notice that there are no arrows to or from john kasich or ben carson down at the other end there. those guys stayed out of the liar line of fire. the liar liar campaign continued today. >> i like both donald and marco. but it is a very odd reaction when somebody points to their record, points to the words that came out of their own mouth, for them simply to respond by yelling and screaming liar liar liar. truth matters.

and this morning, chief justice john roberts noted that scalia authored 282 majority opinions. in echoing scalia's own sarcastic humor, roberts drew laughter in the court when he said his colleague was known, occasionally, to dissent. he'll be remembered as one of the court east most vocal justices. we'll have much more on the fight over the future of the high court, that's ahead. incredible bladder protection from always discreet that lets you move like you mean it now comes with an incredible promise. the always discreet double your money back guarantee. always discreet is for bladder leaks and it's drier than poise. try it. we're so confident you'll love it, we'll give you double your money back if you don't. incredible bladder protection. double your money back guarantee. that's always discreet. >>> hey! >> how are you? >> fine. >> so nice to see you. >> oh, my goodness! >> i want to be like you when i grow up. >> that is 106-year-old virginia mclauren, meeting with the president and first lady at the white house as part of black history month. you see so much negativity in

ted cruz's mentor, john roberts, is just the latest in a long list of justices that many conservatives believe said one thing when they were, before they became justices, and another after they became justice justices. antonin scalia was the exception to that rule. and as you know, you can go back to earl warren, which i said was the biggest mistake he made in his life, justice brennan, liberal stalwarts appointed by republican justices. of course, author of roe v. wade, appointed by a republican. and we could go down the list, all the way through souter. and so conservatives, republicans, are more sensitive to this issue an anything else. they also understand the right to keep and bear arms, the way they interpret the second amendment is, you know, it's a 5-4 decision. so there are so many things that rest on who the next justice will be. >> you cite heller, the case that did establish the individual right the to bear arms. justice scalia muscularly argued in that opinion, that had always been true, that had always been what the text said, but the court had resisted it. talk to us abo

roberts but david axelrod told him he could not support john roberts because it would hurt him in a primary. >> we'll dig into that. >> there are dirty hands on both sides. the republicans are shameless on this, shameless for what they said in response to chuck schumer several years ago and the democrats are shameless as well. both sides shameless. >> more of this ahead on "morning joe." y. all across the state the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, the lowest taxes in decades, and university partnerships, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in utica, where a new kind of workforce is being trained. and in albany, the nanotechnology capital of the world. let us help grow your company's tomorrow, today at business.ny.gov it took joel silverman years to become a master dog trainer. but only a few commands to master depositing checks at chase atms. technology designed for you. so you can easily master the way you bank. this just got interesting. why pause to take a pill? or stop to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use is approved to treat both

my brother bishop's distinguished participants at this funeral, especially the honorable john roberts, chief justice of the united states. and the other justices of the supreme court. the vice president of the united states, joseph biden, former vice president, richard cheney. newt gingrich, former speaker of the house. president and mrs. john garvey of the catholic university of america. and so many other distinguished guests here present. to my brother priests, deacons, women and men in consecrated life, brothers and sisters in the lord and friends all who have come here to show their respect. as i extend this warm welcome to each of you, i also express profound gratitude to all who are here. as i now ask justice scalia's son, father paul, to lead us in the church's lit urgency for him who has god has called to his eternal home. ♪ let us pray ♪ oh god whose nature is always to forgive and to show mercy ♪ ♪ we humbly implore you for your servant antonin who you have called to journey to you ♪ ♪ and since he hoped and believed in you ♪ ♪ grant that he may be led to our

if you look at john roberts, he had two chances to end it. you saw what tred cruz did with ben carson. he lies. i've never seen anyone lie like him. even marco rubio said he lied. i felt much better when he said that, that way i could come out and say it. he's not an honorable guy, but that's okay. >> mr. trump, you have a town hall tonight with miko and joe on msnbc. i know you don't feel you were treated fairly at the last debate. the term you like to use is burn grass. are you about to burn grass if you're treated unfairly? >> i don't know the term "burn grass." i'm putting up my own money. the other people are getting money from all the different industries, the pharmaceutical industry, et cetera, et cetera. all of those people were in the hall. i had no people. except for my family, i had no people in the hall because i'm not special interest, i'm not getting special interest or donor money. so i thought it was a very unfash situatiu unfair situation, and i think the rnc handled it very badly. most polls show i won the debate, and i gues

john roberts opened with a tribute to scalia. roberts called him a man for all seasons. pete williams was at that session this morning. give us a sense of how it was this morning and how people are looking forward. >> well, it was somber today. the justices frequently come out from behind those velvet drapes and smile at people in the courtroom. not today. very somber faces for this tribute. not a long one, but a heartfelt one from the chief justice to his former colleague who sat just to his right, the seat you now see covered with black. that's a tradition that goes back 100 years. the last time they did it for a justice who died in the middle of his office was 60 years ago. they paid tribute to scalia today, talked about his life, his children, his wife. said he had written 292 majority opinions for the supreme court, and then paused to laughter in the courtroom and said, and occasionally he had a dissent. he said justice scalia had argued one case before as a lawyer, which he won, which the chief justice said gave him a perfect record. now the court is back in busine

and robert costa, an msnbc political analyst. john, pass it over to mark when you're done. how do you see the whole race, trump sort of -- i think he's pretty much happy right now, based upon our interview. john, and then mark. how is the race playing? >> chris, i think there's a rough consensus now, if you take what the rival campaigns are saying, and look at the public polling that donald trump is likely to win the new hampshire primary tomorrow. likely to win it bay healthy margin. whether he's over 30 or under 30, unclear. anything besides that is totally unknown. the polling is really tough to read. there's at least four or five candidates who are in contention to finish second. >> mark? >> unless trump really surges above where he is, or cruz surges above where he is, i think mathematically it's likely one of the four establishment gets in the 20s. and i think they leave with a leg up. it means one of them will leave with a leg up. >> guys, there are always about two or three points. how many votes haven't been decided as yet in the polling? >> i think there's a sense

it is draped in a black cloth just to the right of chief justice john roberts who remembered his colleague at the start of the session. justice correspondent pete williams was inside the court and joins us now live. good morning. >> good morning. this is something that the supreme court hasn't seen for at least 50 years. the death of a justice in the middle of a term, and the justices coming back. normally, when they enter the courtroom, they smile at people. they recognize in the courtroom, they smile at us. not today. somber faces from justice scalia's former colleagues. the chief justice said that that blake drapery signifies a period of mourning for the loss of her friend and colleague. he went through his biography. named all of his nine children, their full names, noted that he married his wife maureen when he was in law school, and then he said his love of knowledge drew him to academe yeah and the life and law, and then lighthearted comments from the chief. he noted that justice scalia argued his first and only case as a lawyer before the supreme court in 1976. the chief said he pr

and john ralston. and robert costa back in washington. >>> fresh off her win here saturday, hillary clinton is looking for a decisive victory over bernie sanders down in south carolina. she looks very good down there. can clinton forge a message to get people excited about her campaign? she's got great organization, great name i.d. by the way, can she learn the bern? can she put sanders' policies to work for her to put him away? that would be great politics. and a reminder we'll have complete coverage of tomorrow night's republican caucuses here in nevada. "hardball" out here. and at 10:00 eastern, i'll join brian williams and rachel maddow with full results and analysis late into the night out here. >>> we reported earlier the outlook for the republican primary in massachusetts. but now we've got to look at the democratic race. let's check the scoreboard. voters go to the polls a week from tomorrow up in massachusetts. look at this. it's a tie between hillary clinton and bernie sanders up there. 46 po

you see elena kagan, elena ginsberg, chief justice john roberts. justice scalia would have sat in between those two when he was on the court. clarence thomas and then the other two justices of the court, they're just coming into the frame now, serena bryer and sonja sotomayor. there were several dig adignita that came through, and this was symbolically interesting for two reasons. one was justice scalia was on that court, and in the middle of the picture you see patricia molette andsand sherene dawson, names that were pensioned as a possible replacement for justice scalia. there was that moment here about an hour and a half ago when they passed by, chris. >> and that line that has been really just keeps regenerating despite the cold today, throughout the day many people lining up well before the doors were open at 10:00 this morning. as i walked it and spoke to a couple people a short time ago, you could hear conversations about the loss. at least in one case i heard them debate a very specific court case. they were families, they were mothers who

bush made when he nominated chief justice john roberts. but it's the third quality, the idea that this person is someone who isn't -- who has experience sort of the daily life of law and how it affects other persons is the one that's a little more unusual. it sounds a lot like what he said before he nominated justice sonia sotomayor. >> we know on the other side, you have supporters of the president. other democrats who see this latest vow from republicans as obstructionism. and many republicans, though, are pointing to then senator biden, 1992, advocating against considering a supreme court pick by george w. bush in the election year. let me play it, and we'll talk about it in context. let's play it. >> it is my view that if a supreme court justice resigns tomorrow or within the next several weeks, or resigns at the end of the summer, president bush should consider following the practice of a majority of his predecessors and not, and not, name a nominee until after the november election is completed. >> that's been put out on social media

roberts. so it was interesting to me that cruz took a little while to get his groove when it came to attacking trump. >> elise, 11 states on the board next week, ted cruz is making a real big deal obviously about texas, his home state, that's the one state where he is leading donald trump in the polls. from the standpoint, though, of marco rubio, this idea of getting the one-on-one shot with donald trump a little bit of what we saw last night, does he need ted cruz next tuesday to lose in texas to get him out of the race right now to get a one on one with donald trump? >> i think cruz being out of the race certainly would help rubio, it wouldn't hurt him but really john kasich dropping out of the race would help marco rubio more. last night i saw no indications that john kasich was a man who is going to drop anytime soon. certainly he will stay in the game throughç michigan at the very least. i think rubio could use a kasich supporters more than cruz but it will be interesting to see who man

robert costa, define winning for those various candidates there. for donald trump, winning means coming in first and having at least a ten-point lead, it seems to me. what does it mean for marco rubio? what does winning mean for ted cruz? >> at this point though, lawrence, the trump campaign just wants to win. i stopped by their manchester headquarters. there's a sense that though he's way ahead in the polls because of the tightness in this race the final few days they just want to get over the hump. but the real race is for second place. if you can get second place in new hampshire, you're an establishment governor, you're rubio, you come out of new hampshire as much a story as the possible victor in trump. >> david, right now in today's tracking poll, the fun about second place is we've got a tie. we have a republican tie for second place. if we have that at 2:00 a.m. wednesday morning -- >> well, the interesting thing too, trump -- everyone likes to talk about lanes this campaign season. trump will be in his own lane, maybe it's a jet lane, what

we'll see, robert. i don't know. thank you. >>> coming up, republicans, donald trump, marco rubio, and ted cruz, have all called to keep the prison at guantanamo bay open. we know that. we have said that a couple times. up next, i'll talk live with their supporters. one from the rubio camp, one from the cruz campaign. how do they react to some of the dollar figures, some of the numbers presented from the president, putting american taxpayers on the hook for a sizable amount of money to keep the prison open. ve pain... shoots and burns its way into your day, i hear you. to everyone with this pain that makes ordinary tasks extraordinarily painful, i hear you. make sure your doctor hears you too! i hear you because i was there when my dad suffered with diabetic nerve pain. if you have diabetes and burning, shooting pain in your feet or hands, don't suffer in silence! step on up and ask your doctor about diabetic nerve pain. tell 'em cedric sent you. >>> we are monitoring senator marco rubio's campaign event this hour in

. >> robert costa, thank you. >>> governor john kasich clarifies off the cuff comments. >>> jeff greenfield joins the discussion. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪ after brushing, listerine® total care strengthens teeth, helps prevent cavities and restores tooth enamel. it's an easy way to give listerine® total care to the total family. listerine® total care. one bottle, six benefits. power to your mouth™. the market.redict but through good times and bad... ...at t. rowe price... ...we've helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. >>> a new poll just out this morning in ohio shows governor john kasich behind donald trump in his home state's primary. the quinnipiac poll shows trump ahead of kasich. ted cruz at 21%. marco rubio at 13% and ben carson at 5%. the ohio primary is on march 13th. >> mark halperin you have a texas poll. >> the university of texas poll showing ted cruz actually ahead by a pretty sizable margin, 37% over donald trump at 29%. marco rubio at 15%. on one hand you could

charlie, sue and robert. it's nasty down there. why do they think it's okay to be nasty? i'm talking about voters. they don't seem to mind it. >> it's a direct place. it's not subtle. >> okay, john mccain had a legitimate daughter with an african-american daughter. it wasn't his adopted daughter from south asia and his wife is a druggie. this stuff is dirty. >> the world isn't iowa and new hampshire. >> they put up with a lot of stuff and thought it was funny and began to think politics matter? i'm being mean here. >> he is. >> i it will you what, looks great. looks great. mind's sharp as a whip. >> good for him. he got through it all. i'm not sure your state is better for it. >> do you watch this fight. look at what happened at john mccain. he was a good candidate. he appealed to the middle. trashed him. just destroyed the guy. terrible, personal things. >> that's what's going on in our primary. how do you recover from that if you become the nominee? >> i think this guy, cruz is a tough player. he does things like this little push polls and spreading rumors that carson's

heilemann, political reporter for the "washington post" and msnbc political analyst robert costa, msnbc correspondent kasie hunt. [ cheers and applause ] we like her, right? you watch all the time. she's awesome. from the "wall street journal" editorial board member mary kissel joins us from new york. mary, good to have you as well. >> good morning, it's quiet in the studio without you guys. >> i bet but we're glad you're joining us. >> we've been looking at a lot of polls. there are tracking poll which is average three days. so we won't get the full impact of what happens debate night but we have a new tracking poll out that -- >> a glimpse? >> a glimpse we'll see if there's any big movement. >> here's the latest poll by 7 news boston and umass-lowell. little has changed since saturday night's debate. trurch sti trump still leading at 34%. cruz and rubio tied at 13%. bush and kasich tied at 10%, christie at 5% and fiorina at 4%. >> so explain if you will, john heilemann, about three-day tracking polls. sometimes it takes a while? i saw an internal yesterday that showed a significant dr

and it's great, robert, michael, louis, thank you very much. and now to today's pulse question. should jeb bush drop out if he doesn't finish in the top three in south carolina? check out the results so far and keep voting at pulse.msnbc.com. they represent blood cells. and if you have afib-an irregular heartbeat that may put you at five times greater risk of stroke they can pool together in the heart, forming a clot that can break free and travel upstream to the brain, where it can block blood flow and cause a stroke. but if you have afib that's not caused by a heart valve problem, pradaxa can help stop clots from forming. pradaxa was even proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke, in a clinical trial without the need for regular blood tests. and, in the rare event of an emergency, pradaxa is the only oral blood thinner other than warfarin with a specific reversal treatment to help your body clot normally again. pradaxa is not for people who have had a heart valve replacement. don't stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. stopping increases your ris