i'm chris matthews in washington. it didn't take long for the political battle to start over filling justice scalia's seat. what is less than zero? the chances of obama successfully appointing a supreme court justice to replace scalia, within minutes of the justice's death. mitch mcconnell said in part, the american people should have a voice in the selection of their next supreme court justice. therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president. senator chuck grassley, the chair of the judiciary committee said given the huge divide in the country and this president above all others to use the court to circumvent congress, it only makes sense that we defer to the american people who will elect a new president to select the next supreme court justice. and senator ted cruz told chuck todd on "meet the press" he would stop any nominee at all from even being considered. >> doesn't the united states have an obligation to at least go through the process and have an up or down vote? >> not remotely. p

back in washington, robert costa joins us, msnbc analyst as well. the republican party's reacting now to the news of trump's dominance in different ways. for some they are pushing resistance. henry barber, the nephew of hallie barber, a member of the republican national committee said, after trump has won in new hampshire and south carolina, republicans are crazy and are about to blow the white house if we don't rally to stop him, close quote. marco rubio made the case for why the party needed to nominate him. >> we can't win. if we nominate someone, if we nominate someone that half of the republican party hates, we're going to be fighting against each other all the way to november. we will never win that way. i don't care how much you may think they're funny or how interesting they may sound. if we nominate someone that 40% to 50% of our party can't stand, we are going to lose. >> katy, i don't know what all these guys are thinking, but he sounded desperate. we've got a leak in the dike, we've got to stop this thing. >> which is the case right now.

, the political grass roots speaking up and speaking out about what we have to try to accomplish in washington, but we also need to have a very clear set of goals that we are going to achieve and we need to level with the american people about what they are, what they will cost, what will be expected of our citizenry. so i see as president having a constant dialogue with americans. here's what we're trying to get done, here's why i need your help, here's why you may think comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship isn't something you care about, but i'm telling you it will help fix the labor market, it will bring people out of the shadows. you have to make those connections so you have people with you every step of the way. that's what i want to do. >> thank you. before we go, i want to ask secretary clinton you've made it clear when you look at senator sanders you do not see a president. >> i did not say that. >> do you see a vice president? would you unite the party by trying to pick senator sanders as a runningmate? >> i'm not getting ahead of myself. if i'm fortunate to be

." >>> good evening, i'm chris mathews back in washington. that reference i made to bernie, that's at the university of chicago, the whole hour, starting at 8:00 tomorrow night, the college tour, which we've always loved. he'll be leading the way. five days before super tuesday, we'll be at the university of chicago with senator bernie sanders. meanwhile, last night in nevada, donald trump scored a big win, of course, with record turnout in that state. trump got 46% of the vote. his biggest percentage so far. close to 50 now. three straight contests ahead of super tuesday, which is unbelievable coming tuesday. this morning, he picked up two u.s. congressional endorsements, chris collins of new york, and duncan. meanwhile, super tuesday states, is donald trump completing his hostile takeover, the republican party, that's our question tonight. is it over? trump celebrated his victory last night in las vegas, and promised a lot of winning for the country if he is elected. >> we weren't expected a couple of months ago, we weren't expected to win

national correspondent washington bureau chief for buzzfeed. when you're picking a president of the united states, everybody has to endorse up. no super president or chairman of the board to point down and say pick this guy. how do you endorse up? whether you're al sharpton or congressional black caucus. how do you tell to vote for somebody. endorsements matter for president? >> they do in the sense that particularly for african-american voters, there is still a core of the black vote that is largely, you know, not entirely, but that is very much influenced by religious leaders, by the church. that voter who is in a certain demographic, meaning, black voters over 40 who do still believe in the influence of the civil rights move and reverend al sharpton is that second generation, so i think there is still something to be said for endorsements. they do still feel they have something to say. now, by the way, the entire sort of weight of the black political class endorsed hillary clinton last time and that didn't way voters at all. they went with o

katy tur has to cover the guy, ralston live is at msnbc political analyst, and back from washington, yes, the former chair of the republican party when it was a normal political party, michael steele. the former chair of the former republican party. also an msnbc political analyst. caucus site, msnbc jacob soborof. you're already in position. we'll get the reality. john, something happened this weekend, starting here on saturday night. something is going on. not here, but out in south carolina. all of a sudden, trump is unstoppable, if you listen to all the nervousness. the titanic is sinking. >> as i've told you, nevada is ground zero. the -- >> what i was -- >> i know what you're talking about. listen, trump is going to win nevada. it's going to be a bad night for the antiestablishment. >> it's going to be bad for. >> exactly. i talked to one of the key advisors, who predicted, predicted that his guy would finish in second, 25 points behind trump tonight. and they thought, well, at least we're going to get second place. how do you argue. >> that's not second place. >> marco rubio c

. >> clinton responded in a statement to the "washington post" that reads in part, i was talking about the impact violence crimes was having on communities. i shouldn't have used those words. i wouldn't use them today. like the entirety of the democratic party, has changed in 20 years. she now embraces the language of reform, but the legacy of bill clinton's policies continue to be debated throughout the campaign. press conference in south carolina yesterday, senator bernie sanders appeared to attack hillary clinton for another controversial piece of her husband's presidency, welfare reform bill. >> what welfare reform did in my view was to go after some of the weakest and most vulnerable people in this country. and during that period, i spoke out against so-called welfare reform. secretary clinton at that time had a very different position on welfare reform strongly supported it. and worked hard to roundup votes for its passage. >> coming up, we'll talk to a former member of the clinton administration about bill clinton's legacy and the problems it created in the 2016 race. (patrick 1

donald trump represents strength and marco rubio represents washington, d.c. we don't need any more dc politicians. and so i just want to remind senator rubio, confused about this, president of the united states is not a no show job like he has treated the united states senate. we need an executive on the job, and that man is donald trump. so i am proud to be part of the team. i'm proud to be part of the team that will restore strength and confidence and faith and hope in our country, and it's people again, nothing that has happened in america under barack obama is not able to be reversed by having a strong person in the white house to lead us again, and donald trump is that man. so we're counting on you. we're counting you, oklahoma, when you go to the polls. we not just a win here. we need a trump size dollars win in oklahoma. i think you're going to give it to us. so it is my honor, my privilege, and my pleasure, to introduce to you the next president of the united states of america, donald j. trump. ♪ ♪ >> well, you know, think trump has what he has ne

they're both for comprehensive immigration reform but let's get to the political realities of what washington is like. >> maria teresa, you were on the ground in nevada recently talking to caucusgoers including first time caucusgoers. in terms of the depth of policy here, is that going to be the grounds on which people make their decision between these two candidates? is that the grounds on which people decide whether or not to go out, whether they feel there's real mastery and commitment on these issues? >> i think that's part of it. when you look at first time caucusgoers, first time voters in most immigrant communities, i liken them to buying their first car. they ask the tough questions to see how much mileage is a car is going to get. if it works, they bet on you. that's what they're doing. if you saw a lot of questions being asked today, they were quite sophisticated for first time voters. they're getting into the meat and potatoes of it. i want to talk about the whole idea what we're seeing on the ground when it comes to why many of the unions don't want to endorse. it's because there

that hasn't changed since george washington. we got to produce results now, because a democracy is a fragile organize natural. they have a stake in it, their voices count, their votes count. but they have to see results from their investment in our democracy. it has to work better. our economy has to work better. our politics has to work better. that's what i know how to do, and that's what we have to get done in this election. >> madam secretary, unofficially, not on behalf of nsnbc, congratulations. >> thank you. >> and break a leg on thursday night. even if you're the only one in the chair. >> i'm going to be there. >> you said it, i believe you. >> thanks a lot. take care. >> i'll be there. bye-bye. >> coming up, we're waiting for donald trump to take the stage at a rally in milford, new hampshire. it comes after a surprising second place visit, finish out in iowa. what's he going to say and do tonight to get back in the satle. he is after all the man on horseback. we'll find out any minute. this is "hardball," the place for

hallie jackson, katy tur, as well as contributor robert costa of the "washington post." it's consistent, no outliers, 10 to 12 points. >> you look at who is at second and third, and you see marco rubio. ted cruz maybe third or fourth, but there seems to be a sense among rubio's campaign that the momentum is real. >> why do people vote for rubio. >> you hear about electability. >> he doesn't have obvious flaws. >> he's easy to look at as well. he speaks well. he seems like a charming guy. he's -- he comes off to voters as somebody likeable and natural. >> in the short run, he brings us back to the memory of john edwards. >> he can be, certainly be very vulnerable to attacks, whether he has any depth. he doesn't have any voting record. there are certainly ways that the rubio campaign has cracks in their facacadfacade. >> does he have a record of any kind that i watched this young guy for about 10, 15 years, like kennedy did when he ran, you know. obama didn't have much to look at either, but you like to look at something, watch how he has dealt with crisis, how he stood on

." >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews, in washington, with just eight days until south carolina's republican primary, a poll finds donald trump well in the lead. 36% of likely republican voters back him. according to the augusta conical survey, cruz comes in at 20%, rubio, third at 15. last night, nbc pollster peter heart focused group of republican voters in south carolina, and here's what they said about those three front runners. >> marco rubio. >> rising star. >> marco rubio. >> fresh face. >> marco rubio. >> still new. >> marco rubio. >> immigration. >> fin finish your term as senator first. >> needs experience. >> ted cruz. >> negative. >> give me a word or phrase for a feeling. >> feeling? divisive. >> opportunist. >> fake. >> fake. >> dock tore near. >> donald trump, go around the room, get ready, everybody got their word. i want one word, fast and i want it served up to me. >> leader. >> flashy. >> alpha dog. >> rich. >> dog matt particular. >> narcissistic. >> inspirational. >> divisive. >> greedy. >> that's something i can believe. i think they made sense. peter hart told nbc news

washington is in gridlock right now. you understand that. >> i know all about this. and i know how things don't get done. >> when you see congress, i think the last time i saw it 9% -- about 9%. we're going to make it better. we're going to bring it up and get things done. >> when you put up a building in new york, there it is that big building on fifth avenue, the trump tower. i'm not in the business. what i've heard about is you have to pay a special percent, maybe 5% to the bad guy. the councilman will stiff you. or a labor union being very difficult. what do you do? how do you scare them into doing what you want them to do or pay them off? how do you get it done? >> i'm the king of zoning. >> what's your technique? >> i deal with people. i hire experts. i hire people that are good -- >> do you pay these guys? >> they're consultants. >> do you pay the -- >> no, i don't. the problem is, first of all, it's dishonest, and i'm an honest guy. if you do that, everybody else comes along and it never ends. if you don't do it, like the old story, you take care of building

i've got a conservative record of things i can get done and we need to get that into washington so we can solve some of our big problems. >> if you can write the second or third, second paragraph coming out in the big news reports of what happens up here next tuesday night, what do you want it to say about you? >> he's on the move. you know, he had a great time, a great night in new hampshire and he's on the move and we're going to -- look, we are poised to move all over this country. we've got people in south carolina, people in nevada, we gotmississippi, alabama, tennessee. we're all over the place. we need to come out of here and be a story. >> i meant to say what brand of conservatism. define your conservativism as a unique selling point. make your case. >> well, look, my position is that you don't have anything if you don't have economic growth and job creation. once you have it, it's not an end unto itself and everybody ought to have a chance. the mentally ill, the drug addicted, the working poor, the developmentally disabled and the minority community has to have a chance to li

typically smaller states, minnesota, washington state, colorado, iowa. and new england, other than massachusetts. can bernie sanders win non-new england primaries, where half the vote is minority. and until, i mean, i -- i can't see him doing that that well. >> hillary clinton last time i remember, won all the big states except illinois. she wept the country in new york, new jersey, pennsylvania. >> but she got minority votes. >> oh, that's it? so that's minority votes and the big states? >> yes. >> so what do you they will them, you're the republican out here, conservative republican i would say, knowing all these years. >> for you to say that. >> i don't want to kill you. >> do they feel the bern out here? people are talkative, tourists. >> they have their buttons on. they say i'm for bernie, my husband is, my wife is not. >> i'm feeling it with younger people, with college people. >> couldn't it be the smartest poll in the world. what do young people have to worry about, thirst fair experience with canpitalism is tuition. but what i do have a huge dam

he's up late tonight and "the washington post" opinion writer. we have a great team here to analyze this. i want to start with katie who has been covering trump since he became a presidential candidate. do you think he weathered the storm tonight. >> i think that marco rubio came out the winner of this debate. he was attacking him and i think from his university, his fake university he called it, his suites and ties being made in mexico, his health care he came out firing. his campaign pushes out trump watches, if you donate you don't get a watch, you get rubio instead. the trump campaign doesn't feel happy about marco rubio, but what they have in their pocket is the fact that he is winning by double digits over him in florida so the trump campaign is going to continue on with that. whether this diminishes him in the polls, we're going to have wait and see. i think he had a much better debate than ted cruz, but donald trump has proven so far that these debates don't matter too much, even if he has a not so good performance. he didn't have a good

women, so the fight for women support is pivotal, from new york, gail sheehy, here with me in durham, "washington post," ruth marcus. gail, what is the -- is your evidence, what is your evidence? what are you hearing about hillary clinton? because our numbers are overwhelmingly 2-1 among women. 65% nationally for hillary among democrats? >> well, i think andrea mitchell said on your show that recently, hillary has been losing among women over all. and even among some older women. those are the women in her generation that have always been the bedrock of her voters. as i've spoken to them over the last three months, they're kind of private about this, because they would like to support her, but it's been ebbing, ebbing. and what they recognize that she is the most experienced, that she's the smartest one in the room, but some of them shot back at me, there is nothing more sexist than wanting hillary clinton to be president, because she's a woman. and that has flipped. that used to be the rallying cry in 2008. and now, it's not enough. it's the problem that they find is they're not sure that she is