with all due respect to chris christie, tmi, dude. chris christie: i am a catholic and i have used birth control. not just the rhythm method, ok? mark: in our lineup tonight donald trump, the event without donald trump and then donald trump again in an interview later on in the show. the big event with donald trump front and center, fox news's

debate. turns out the criteria to determine which candidates would make the cut were not all that controversial. all the polls had the same top 10. john kasich, chris christie brought up the rear appearing to edge out rick perry and the donald tops every leaderboard insight. mark how do we end up here? mark: the top ten average, you will see basically the same group. no one from the bottom. carly fiorina said she would fight her way in. john kasich went from zero to three or four or five depending on the poll in a way that was quite strategic and tactical and smart and he gets on the stage which for him is a huge deal. john: and the big loser

apparently, rick perry who did a lot of stuff to try to get himself in the national news from attacking donald trump informal settings a cancer and conservatism to making funny jokes about him all kinds of stuff to breakthrough yet he kept slipping back. the first form with fewer candidates will get to talk more in a substantive discussion that will not be dominated i donald trump will get a ton of coverage and rick perry will be better off. john: that may turn out to be true. mark: it will. john: all these people who have been with the candidates have been saying we do not care, it will work out fine. the ones who are on the bubble who tipped over, the people around them are saying they got we made that primetime debate. mark: if you look at people at

carly fiorina, rick santorum the other people, rick perry, george pataki, they will have a serious mature, substantive conversation. they think they can shine. john: not that many people know who they are and they are playing to a considerably smaller crowd. i bet it is less than half. john: a lot of coverage about the debate is not live. we have known that mr. trump is at the top of the polling charts but we are seeing his standing improve on some specific issues in important places. he states voters shows that trump gets crazy hype rest in show marks on handling immigration. his favorability ratings are rising faster than you can say make america great again.

what is the best news? john: make america great again. you would expect that trump would be, given his business back around that the economy scores would be strong, right? the immigration score, whatever you think of his position people know him for that. he is doing so well on terrorism and health care. i do not think anybody has any idea what israel positions are. it tells you what afraid cheney is -- a freight train he is during this campaign. mark: favorability is going to him. people think now that he is a strong general election candidate and only jeb bush and people thinking he may not be nominated. people think he is not going to win in the end. if we nominated him he would be with you guess hillary clinton.

those numbers are important if he tries to grow therefore it from 20 to 30. john: not that he will be the nominee, that not that he will not be president. he would easily kind of those songs that is like a summer jingled. mark: i do not rule out the things you said. john: the one thing we said all along is this is not just a joke candidacy that will pop up and go away. mark: every other candidate would kill for his numbers. john: a funny thing happened at the form. republican hopeful mica could be an jim gilmore entered stage right and exited stage left over and over as they answered questions. one thing we noticed republicans read maureen dowd.

>> i am a new freshfaced as opposed to the past. >> we have to have a nominee on our side who is going to throw every punch. john: when the candidates are not on stage they do funny things and those things are even funnier when we set them to music. ♪ john: one final thing we notice.

jeb bush had trouble putting sentences together even on what should be easy topics like his dad. jeb bush: i differ from my sister greatly on politics. you have a brother who is pretty well known. do you feel you have two different year -- differentiate yourself? jeb bush: people get this by your point. around the kitchen table, your sister does not agree with you on things so i have a different view than my brother. my dad is probably the most perfect man alive so it is hard for me to be critical of him. i got a t-shirt that says i am -- my dad is the greatest man alive, if you do not like it i will take you outside. john: the answer just a bad night or things to come? mark: i do not realize how good he was at sun -- some stuff.

that was flabby and unfocused. if he performs like that he will hurt his chances of winning. that is not him at his best. a lot of people are still getting to know him. john: i continue to be baffled and amazed and kind of appalled about his ability to nail down all the ways he talks about his emily. -- his family. it is the topic that will come up a million times and it is the elephant in the room. how can you not have it practiced and perfect? mark: i find them to be both self-conscious performers on uncomfortable topics in a way that his brother was hurt by but jeb rush does not have some things to offset that. coming up, please hold for donald trump. he telephones into the program after this word from our sponsors. ♪

john: our guest tonight is the real donald trump. thanks for joining us for a classic trump phoner. you were aware that i was in new hampshire to conduct a focus group who are strong supporters of yours or leaning toward you. what a lot of people said he is a billionaire, he is successful we love that about him but he is one of us. a phrase that came up a lot. how do you explain that people who see you as so different from them can see you as being one of them? donald trump: it was interesting and i did happen to watch that. it was a great group of people. they see the country like i do. it is run by incompetent people. we are written off left and right by china, by everybody. we do not make good deals a more. they want to see it stop. we'll have better relationships

with those countries. now it is a one-way street out and they hate us. that will change very dramatically. mark: voters are reading yours the best to deal with the economy amongst the republican field area people know you are a successful businessman but we want to talk about your views on rings related to the economy. i want to start the -- start with the xm bank. what are your views of the pros and consa? ? donald trump: it is a featherbedding for politicians and these are companies that can do well without it so i do not like it. it is a lot of excess baggage area did is -- excess agates. it is unnecessary necessary. i would be against it. john: you think back on all the fed chairs in the past, who has been the best?

donald trump: janet is sort of more of the same. i often talk with two hats. i have been a politician and previous to that i have in a business person. i always loved law interest rates as a developer and i have always done very well with low interest rates. you look at what is going on now, the problem is you are creating a bubble in the bubble could explode. i liked paul volcker a lot. he was a terrific guy and he had a good pulse and would, to me come a he was doing what had to be done. right now we have the low rates again from the standpoint of what i do in terms of real estate i am building the old post office now. i am finishing trump national doral in miami. from the country's standpoint i am not sure it is a good thing. i agree with creating a bubble.

john: do you like the volcker rule? donald trump: i met him a few times and i thought he was terrific. his policy and demeanor, it was something very solid about him. his demeanor were very good. mark: i asked about treasury secretary's, if you look across the history of the u.s., who is the treasury secretary you think was the best? donald trump: i do not have an opinion on that. we have had some good ones and we have had some bad ones. they are talking about lots of info pictures on beautiful bills and we will see whether that works out. i have a real opinion on that. federal reserve right now in this world, the way we build it up and probably has more of an impact than almost any other position other than a couple of biggies. mark: let me ask you about a

recent treasury secretary who some people like. what do you think of bob rubin, was he a good treasury secretary was to mark donald trump: he went with citibank and sit -- it crashed. that is his reputation as far as i am concerned. i think he worked hard at it. he was a smart guy. we were doing fairly well under him. he left and the world cratered. does he get some point deductions for that? i would have to take a look at it. citibank did not do well. john: you tweeted something that some of your rivals would be puppets. i want to ask you a policy question that under-gerdes that which is about citizens united. you think that case was wrongly decided? donald trump: i think for my standpoint i would almost rather not see it.

you understand that. i see the money that has been raised are these folks. they are raising hundreds of millions of dollars, billions of dollars. i do not need anybody's money and i want to do it the old-fashioned way. i do not like the fact that lots of people are getting into the act. personally, i would not like it. i would like to see it differently where it is not tax -- pacs. when bush races 100 some million dollars and he waits because you are not allowed to talk to the pac than the money is sitting in there and he puts his best friend in charge or someone who is close and then they never talk. if anybody believes they never talk, it is a joke. john: well campaign-finance reform be a part of your ticket? grexit would be -- number one would be trade and number two is

obamacare. we have a lot of things. we took -- we could talk all day long about things we have to do. a campaign, finance reform certainly would recent and we could talk about. more than anything else this transparency. there should be total transparency. if someone is going to something and one of the reasons i am so high in polls is that people know many of the lobbyists are people that i used to point. they have tremendous power over these candidates. i'm not just about cooked. i am talking about lobbyists special-interest, donors. i was one of the big donors. i know the system as well as you would know the system. you have tremendous power when you give my especially substantial money.

the candidates will do things that are very bad for the country but good for the company that the power represents. john: just a couple questions so we can help our viewers get to know you as a person a little better. one of my fundamentals is the question of whether you're a beatles person or a stones person? donald trump i like them both but i will go with the beatles. mark: what else do you like to do these days for fun? donald trump: a lot of fun is talking to you guys. i just got back from scotland as i own one of the rate resorts of the world that we had the women's british open which is there a guest tournament and i had to be there for two days. i did not get to stay for the final day because i was anxious to get back on the trail. mark: you do not have time for

anything else fun? donald trump: my life is an interesting life but i would say i am maxed out. john: you are very busy. we know that you tweet at all hours of the day and night. how many hours are you sleeping every night? donald trump: i have not needed to much. that is a genetic thing or maybe it is a thing that once you do. they -- whether it is my is this or now, what i am doing now because want to make america great again and i love what i am doing. imm bold and by the polls are coming out. mark: it seems like you sleep four hours a night, do you ever nap question mark donald trump: no. mark: that would be an

incredible benefit. your of 20 hours a day. donald trump: i always say to friends that we have a big advantage because we have more hours in the day to work and compete. it is a definite advantage. john: i want to commend the idea of trying out our naps. hopefully you get a lot out of those. think for coming on the show. the real ann seltzer next.

mark: mr. trump said some interesting things. he called the xm bank unnecessary and voiced support for paul bulger and the volcker rule and he said the low interest rates have created a bubble that could explode. all that and more written up on bloomberg politics including his views on citizens united what

he called a phony deal. is anything in there going to cause him problems? john: he seemed to enjoy being asked those questions. you could hear him warming to the questions. he had not been asked many of them before because he was groping his way toward answers and then finally, there were some internal contradictions in that he said. very interest for high interest rates volcker. i want to ask ann about this. as he starts to take addition on issues of this kind, that will hurt or help his support given what we know about his supporters? ann: the question and the lead up to the debate is is this guy for real? listening to these answers, he has got stuff in his mind. maybe -- he has got substance.

you could give other candidates who would fumble and not have answer or just pause. he has got so much that has been going on for so long he is ready and not shy. mark: the senior aides are saying he is a fad. howwho is this guy? our his supporters people he would bring into the process? ann: we know that new people are coming in. among the people who say the this will be their first timer code -- participating in a republican race, 30% said donald trump is their first choice. if his average is 21, he is being weighted by the first people.

john: i'm curious about whether in the numbers whether we see a difference in terms of republican -- between early states and the rest of the country. ann: it is one of the questions i had when fox announced they would use a national poll. the action is in the early states. with there be a difference the super tuesday states. we saw no real difference. no meaningful difference. if this is rewarding, basically turning the knots to be true. the top 10 are just about the same. last question because we have to go. we asked about what voters want. they want my -- do they want more international --

interaction? ann: they want to engage. the trip will be for the candidates to execute on that. if you make nice, how do you stand out? you can stand up by not make a nice. how do you stand out, going to take a very strong position in an affirmative way that will make a strong affirmative cases. mark: people no-trump well. they have known him for a long time so gas from trump will not be a defining moment as someone who is more of a blank slate. ann: that is what he is enjoying right now. mark: more on bloomberg politics. we will be right back after this.

>> tomorrow, ed gillespie.

he is a republican wise man. we run twice a day. see you then. sayonara.

>> we moments away from the closing bell. >> i am joe. >> lease stocks are closing down and the s&p 500 is slipping. >> the question is, what did you miss? the territory groans under debts. alex: all about real estate with