>> most people think trouble flameout or drop out. >> this is the beginning of the end for donald trump. >> the beginning of the end for donald trump. i will eat my right hand is the republican nominee. mark: happy 2016. the countdown is over and i was has begun.

this month, you can expect major speeches. what matters more than anything else is which candidate has the strongest closing argument. we saw three candidates make their bed today. >> on donald trump and i approve this message. donald trump called it radical islamic terrorism. he is calling for a shutdown of muslims entering the united states until we can figure out what's going on. he will stop illegal immigration by building a wall. we will make america great again.

mark: in new hampshire to top candidates put forward their own closing cases. >> i won in one of the toughest places in america. i know better than anyone how to prosecute. >> we need a commander in chief. which of these three arguments you think is the strongest? it's only the 1st avenue year. trump is the strongest closing argument. it brooks no quarter.

he said two phases to his campaign, one stop illegal immigration to crush muslim immigration. the come from the center he is taken a lot of peavy said i'm not backing down. >> they strike emotional cords. and he reinforces them regularly. i have to hand it to him. john: it's entirely based on fear. an honorable campaign but it's a strong campaign. mark: christy's argument is also very strong. he argues that he is the one it can do it and he does it with the motion. >> here's my problem. the core of it is we need a grown-up.

it is not into an with what the republican electorate so far has demonstrated. if there is no closing argument that will work, you're right. but i think between bush crews -- bush christie rubio and kay say, right now christie has the broadest argument. mark: the new year has artie brought about some juicy stock. today, ted cruz got the negative ad treatment in iowa. i'm like green egg than a.m.. >> ted cruz is wonderful and reading children's fairytales on the senate floor. rick santorum spent his time a little differently. you want someone to read stories

did ted cruz if you want someone to defeat isis get rick santorum. >> we saw a super pac supporting ted cruz. >> and only have a debate plan to get this fantasy football thing right. now the third and final. the rubio super pac.

there will be a lot of campaigns and a lot of packs going up. that should amount to your classic circular firing squad. what do these three examples tell us about the carnage sitcom? that everybody is getting your after each other. think a particular you will see crews and rubio go after each other. these started in the vengeance today. i think the key is you have to have your candidate reinforce the message. the ads alone are too much clutter, sure also driving the message. >> the most interesting thing about this is that these guys are not shooting at the front runner but shooting around at

each other. the question of law than that -- unintended consequences. that's going to be the big story. especially if everyone continues to think it is not in their interest in the short term to go after trial. >> the same chris christie is the best brawler. he's going to come back with a vengeance and rubio. in the fascinating to see how he takes a punch. john: is a laundry list. mark: he is prepared to respond. tonight, donald trump is in lowell massachusetts.

while trump may have battled his way to the top, so for the pattern for 2013 is holding mostly true in 2016. republican candidates are not eager to pick a fight with the front runner. politicians behave a certain way when they are panicked. linkage of attacks engage in personal attacks. that's human nature. i'm not going to get drawn into that. and they keep the focus on the issues that matter. so he calls trump a politician who is panicking but doesn't name him. chris christie took a couple of apparent swipes at trout during his speech today in new hampshire. >> there are many republican voters supporting with the media like protest candidates donald trump ted cruz or ben carson.

showtime is over everybody. we are not electing an educator in chief. showmanship is fun but it's not the kind of leadership that will truly change america. for something that will actually change american lives, we must elect someone who has been tested. in the end given that everyone is firing in different directions, who is the most likely to take on trump? john: when he really takes the gloves off to try to have trump are. he's super vulnerable.

i think the most interesting line of attack on trump when he takes that there is crews who has laid off for this whole year. way accruet found a so far. no one has effectively taken on trump. cruz has the resources and political skills. christie is such a great brawler. they both have an incentive. gets slammed for saying one thing in front of manhattan and the other and iowa. i think the one place where trump comes across as a phony -- no one really believes he is an evangelical. i think crews could take them out on that score.

if drunk comes after him he may go on offense. , bill clinton is back on the trail.

mark: so far the new year looks a lot like the old year.

trump was saying. >> she is the word sexist. she was using very derogatory terms. i somehow malcolm she do that when she has one of the great women abusers of all time sitting at her house. new hampshire, where the upper mentioned man gave a speech on behalf of his wife said this when andrea mitchell asked about trump's campaign. >> how you feel that the kind of campaign donald trump is running? >> the republicans will have to decide whether or not he can be nominated. the clinton campaign in

recent days have sworn it would not back down. what do you make of bill clinton's uncharacteristic restraints. john: i think trump is really get have to push this. this is not the fight that the clintons want to have. i think they will try to find other ways to criticize trump. >> i said this morning i thought the issues would stop when clinton knew about them. whot of younger voters rarely remember impeachment. we're an environment where these issues are more highly charged.

is a free radical. you never know what might strike a chord. john: it's in trump's interest to keep it up. he doesn't fight with symmetry. if they attack him on the economy the clintons are going have to face the choice of the republicans have. if you want to fight with donald trump generali you find by his roles not yours. the question is what happens after. john: the obama administration is now dealing with three very big challenges. which of these three is most likely to become a presidential campaign issue? mark: sadly it is the case that we continue to have mass shootings.

i think the gun issue, this is what is going to do in 2016. his last act in politics. hillary clinton likes this issue. the relationship with saudi arabia now is fraught. this is still unpredictable. i think americans want someone who can speak to the complexity of all of saudi arabia versus iran. it exposes some of the cleavages in terms of foreign

policy and national security doctrine. there is no hero in this story. you will have to keep up with fast-moving developments. hasone republican established himself as a dominant figure on foreign policy. when we come back, the guy who has a red state talking. chris christie.

mark: our first guest tonight is coming to us via satellite.

governor chris christie of new jersey. thanks for making time for us. >> thank you. conflicts of saudi arabia and iran is much in the news. i want to ask you about that. i would to value a record of the last five years? >> i think it leaves something to be desired. but the fact is we have to work with them to continue to express our concerns about things that happen in the country. it should not be the dominant factor. we have larger issues to deal with. how we deal with syrian refugees. theirher issues including

breaking off of diplomatic ties with iran. all of those of the significant factors the next president has to take into consideration. when you say leaves something to be desired, what is this a civic practices that you would characterize that way? i think generally what we find is that the treatment of women is not exactly what we would say here is acceptable. but there are other examples as well. the fact is we need to work with our friends to make sure we're trying to have a positive influence on their human rights record. while not letting that dominate the geopolitical relationship that we have. john: governor you like a lot of criticght -- ribald art of the regime. do you feel any sympathy for the

reigning cosan this instance? >> no. given the executions, given the nature of the crime are you saying the crime itself is pretty egregious. >> i have no something for the iranians. were elected, would you were about the nuclear deal? the time ithat by get to the office in january that agreement will be violated multiple times and it won't be worth the paper it's written on anyway and we will have to start over. we are discussing guns a lot in the context of president obama's executive action on deck

. i want to ask you about your record on assault weapons. you described yourself as having involved over time. can you explain that? the original position that i took back well over 20 years ago was based on my position as a prosecutor. what i became focused on was dealing on -- dealing with criminals with guns. we use that very effectively when i was the u.s. attorney. those of the kinds of things we need to focus on. we don't need to be worrying about creating new laws. >> in 2009 you told sean hannity

or moderate to left on gun control issues. is that true? >> no. i don't think it is in at the time i don't know who i was comparing myself to. the fact is my record in government -- as governor of new jersey as been very clear. i vetoed a statewide registration system. state folksx out of who were arrested in new jersey for having legally own a handgun somewhere else and carried at their jersey. i think it's wrong and i pardon those people. my record on gun issues in new jersey has been very clear. it's been something i've been pretty firm on. >> before the vw just talked about, your office put out a press release.

your banning the future sales of a specific type of assault rifle. does that square with your general posture on the issue. >> i've taken steps necessary to protect second amendment rights in new jersey. >> there has to be a peaceful resolution to this issue. the balance you try to reach in situations like this is to let folks know that the loss reinforced and followed. but he also tried to do so without the loss of any life.

tried to do as governor and i think that's what most responsible people try to do as well.

john: we are back with governor chris christie of new jersey, who is in new hampshire right now. speaking of new hampshire,

governor, you're not doing too badly in the polls there these days. let me ask you this. if you could name an issue where you are out of step with the conservative base of the republican party. mr. christie: i don't think i am out of step with the conservative base. john: on not one issue? mr. christie: i don't know what you are looking for, but no, i am not going to go through a laundry list of things where you might think, or someone else might think i am out of step with the republican base. i am a conservative. i have been my whole life. i don't feel out of step. john: look back on past presidential nominees of either party, at each instance, at some point in their campaign, they

challenged the base of their party even though they were largely in step with the base. i just wonder if there is some point at which you feel the base is wrong. you can say hey, i am in line with my party on most things, but on this issue, i feel the base is wrong. mr. christie: i think you are looking for a sister soldier moment, which are kind of manufactured things. i have tried to lead the way on the issue of drug addiction. and the fact is, we no longer need to be jailing first time, nonviolent, non-dealing drug offenders. we don't do that in new jersey anymore. we send them to mandatory drug treatment. i think we need to get away from incarceration as the solution

for nonviolent, non-dealing drug offenders. i have been a solid, strong voice on that. we need to put families back him together, make society more productive. getting people treatment for addiction, which i believe is a disease that needs to be treated, is something i have stepped out front on very early on in my time as governor and continue to push for. john: the first lady of new jersey has campaigned actively in new hampshire and elsewhere

for you. i'm wondering what you think the standards should be for scrutiny of the positions, the financial statements, the public relations of spouses in this race. mr. christie: well, listen, my wife is a big girl and she understands that part of the package is that she is going to be asked questions and subject to scrutiny. that is why we have released our him tax returns, and seven years of our tax returns before i became governor. now you have 12 years of tax returns out there on myself and my wife. what it shows is that my wife for every one of those 12 years has earned more than me. if she is ready to be scrutinized about that, go ahead and ask your questions. john: donald trump has been very critical of bill clinton, for instance. i just wonder if you think that any spouse or spouses campaigning is fair game or if you think there is a line politicians should draw for each other, for spouses as opposed to candidates? mr. christie: i think you have to judge that individual by individual and circumstance by circumstance. i think that has to be judged on a case-by-case basis. i can only say that mary pat has been used to getting scrutiny from the media in the new york, new jersey, philadelphia area, and we will be used to getting scrutiny as i roll on towards

the republican nomination. mark: is the line of criticism in the personal nature of what donald trump is saying about bill clinton, is that fair game? is that something you might bring up in the context of running against hillary clinton? mr. christie: i think there are so many other problems that currently exist in our country. and opportunities to take advantage. i don't know that relitigating bill clinton's personal life is the most productive expenditure of time for the american people for moving our country forward. it's not something i would be all that interested in, but every candidate has to make their own judgment and then be ready for the scrutiny that comes back at them for the judgments they make. john: you made a speech in new hampshire. one phrase jumped off the page to my eye. "the carnival barker's of today." who were you thinking of?

mr. christie: a number of people. both who are running for president and who are commenting on this race for president as members of congress and others, who only care more about telling people what they think they want to hear rather than what they think they need to know. mark: who are you thinking of? mr. christie: if i wanted to name names during the speech i certainly would have. john: you could elaborate. you could tell it like it is right here. mr. christie: and i did. i told it like it was today in the speech. anybody who has trouble understanding that as somebody who has not been observing the race closely. john: it is being reported by national review that marco rubio is going to run two ads against you in new hampshire tomorrow. i wish i had more details for you on that. what do you make of that development and of becoming negative ads presumably against you and others in this fight in

the coming months. mr. christie: i wonder what happened to the marco who so indignantly look to jeb bush and set i guess somebody must have convinced you -- said i guess somebody must have convinced you that going negative against me helps you. the fact is, listen, i stand by my record as governor in new jersey. it is a good one. him we've had the greatest private-sector job growth that new jersey has had an 15 years, nearly cut unemployment and half. i think it's important that if senator rubio would show up for work every once in a while -- he only has one job.

he has to cast votes in the him united states senate. if you thinks that is a himif you thinks that is a worthless job, as he has said before, he should resign. mark: i just want to be clear, it is a super pac supporting senator rubio, not the campaign him him itself. i know that distinction will not mean much. mr. christie: of course. mark: thank you. john: chris christie up in manchester, thanks from both of us. when we come back, we are spicing things up cajun style with james carville and mary matalin. ♪

john: i think it is fair to say that none of us have ever seen a candidate like donald trump.

most remarkable, he is seemingly impervious to any of the fallout from things he says. last year, the punditry predicted over and over again that trumps candidacy would unravel, but it didn't. take a listen. donald trump: they are bringing him drugs, they are bringing crime, they are rapists, and some, i assume, are good people. >> donald trump isn't afraid to speak his mind, but this time, it could cost him. >> he is going to flame out. wax he is a top contender for the republican presidential nomination. donald trump: he is a war hero who was captured. i like people who weren't captured. >> has the donald trump shtick run its course? with his comments about john mccain, i think it might have. >> i think this is the beginning

of the end. >> the beginning of the end. >> i will eat my right hand if donald trump is the republican nominee. >> a new poll conducted after his remarks about john mccain still show him in first place at 19%. donald trump: there was blood coming out of her eyes. blood coming out of her wherever. >> red state organizers say this is the beginning of the end. >> i think this could be the beginning of the end for donald trump. >> two new polls have donald trump in the lead of the gop pack even after his recent controversial comments about foxnews anchor megan kelly. donald trump: donald trump

him is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states. >> many people think this controversy could be the last straw for donald trump. >> new evidence that donald trump's recent comments about him muslims are not keeping his popularity from rising. >> he will probably flame out in the next 3-6 months. >> i don't think we are going to be talking about donald trump next month. he will flame out. >> he will flame out. >> like a roman candle, he will burn out. >> donald trump is going to him him flame out soon.

>> every time the media predicts the end of donald trump, he gets stronger. >> you always wonder if he is about to go over the line, and he always seems to recover. >> the latest round of nonsense is going to destroy you candidacy, stop. >> i thought donald trump was going to self-destruct.

john: what better way to start the new year than with two of our best friends, television or otherwise, james carville and mary matalin. thank you both for joining us from the big easy.

happy new year to you both. glad to see side-by-side. we want to get right into the race. mary, who would you say is the front runner or the front runners for the nomination? mary: well, is that a trick question? mark: no, straightforward. mary: trump is the front runner, and but we have and then sin front of us. ted cruz is probably going to win -- we have events in front of us. ted cruz is probably going to win iowa. as you just noted, you all have been wrong the whole year. mark: what is the universe of people who can be nominated at this point?

mary: the conventional wisdom is donald trump is too cold, and marco rubio is -- donald trump him and is too hot, ted cruz is too cold, and marco rubio is goldilocks. james: ted cruz said about a year ago -- i said about a year ago is the most talented politician i ever saw. rubio seemed like he was going to do it, but rubio is like brazil. brazil is a nation with a future and it always will be. rubio has to hurry up and get in the present ready soon. john: we just showed a bunch of our fellow pundits getting it wrong last year. let me ask you this. if you have to stipulate a theory right now as to what an would bring down donald trump, what would it be? and james: it's going to be a

surprise, whatever it is, because everything in the cycle so far has been a surprise. i have a place on the mississippi gulf coast, and i drove by the trump rally in biloxi, and it was late morning, early afternoon, and there were a gazillion people there. there were 15,000 people in the him arena and maybe another him 5000 outside. are those 20,000 people going to vote? i think the assumption is that he will come down, but a lot of people say if he loses iowa, will that pierce his cloak of invisibility or something? i don't know, but his support is pretty dog on deep. you have to admit that. john: mary, you are a great student of politicians weaknesses. if donald trump has an achilles him and heel, what is it? mary: he doesn't have one. he can take himself out. what surprises me are two things, how everybody was surprised by him. it's not like mainstream conservatives have not been

voice saying their preferences loudly. they are not the silent majority. they have been the screaming majority since 2009. we have more seats since the civil war. that it manifested in trump is not expected, but not a surprise. of the candidates left, only one really understood the trump phenomenon, and that's ted cruz. i think if there is an achilles heel, it's somebody who gets trump, and i will tell you who is not going to get him, bill clinton. and he is catnip for the press and catnip for bill clinton. you watch his response mode. james: this is such an odd cycle that a man who bankrupted for companies is attacking a man who balanced for better old budgets. i/o bill -- a man who bankrupted four companies is attacking a man who balanced four federal him man who balanced four federal budgets.

mark: mary, could you clarify what you are saying about trump and clinton, i didn't quite get your point? him him him him him him him mary: we are kicking off the new year with the h-bomb is going to put out her husband, right? no one has been able to

withstand trump taking them on. everybody thinks they are strong enough to combat him. the only guy who didn't take the inthe only guy who didn't take the bait is ted cruz. mark: you think if bill clinton takes trump on he will lose? mary: i think it will be one more fun thing to watch. because she is putting out her himbecause she is putting out her husband as her secret weapon. james: let me say this. donald trump bankrupted four companies. mark: james, on the democratic side, what are the odds that bernie sanders wins iowa and new hampshire? james: it's possible. mark: put some numbers down. james: 43.258%. mark: that high, or are you kidding around? james: i don't think it's a 50% chance, but there's a chance. and i tell you one thing. i will say this. hillary and her campaign take nothing for granted. they have run a good campaign and they are going to be in

there plugging away, but bernie is going to be in there plugging and away as well. mary: she is to this campaign as he said about george w. bush in 1992, last year's calendar. she could dress up as catwoman and set herself on fire and she him would still be a boring candidate. that would surprise you to that something could still happen in the democratic field. james: she may be boring, but she didn't bankrupt any companies. john: in 2008, when hillary clinton barely lost the nomination to barack obama, was bill clinton a net liability or a net asset? james: i think you could look at it in one of two ways. him and i think this time he is going to be a net liability. i think he is going to be a good sarah get, but -- a good sarah him sarah get, but -- a good sarah get -- surrogate. john: you said net liability, but i think you mean that asset -- net asset. dr. freud.

james: is that what i said? mary: you said the truth. john: but you don't want the rnc to run a clip of you saying net liability, right? you mean net asset. was he an asset or liability in 2008? james: i think it was mixed but more on the asset side. mary: sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. mark: you think he will be a liability to her in this campaign. is that right, mary? mary: yes, for all the reasons. it's her campaign. for the things that -- what i just said.

he cannot -- he will not be able to resist trump. trump is going to attack him, and it also is going to be the stage for undermining hillary's him stage for undermining hillary's base of support, which is women. she brought this on herself. we all knew she would play the woman card. no unanticipated she would play the abused woman card, and that just sets it up. james: what is it about bill clinton's presidency that really gets to republicans? the piece or the prosperity -- peace or the prosperity? him mark: mary is going to him ponder that original line that she has never heard before. him we thank you both for being here. we will be right back. ♪

john: tomorrow, you will be looking live at bernie sanders as our guest on the program. right now, check out our 2016 campaign tracker for all the latest political news. mark: we also have stories about donald trump and ted cruz. him you could listen to us on 99.1 fm in washington, d.c. until tomorrow, sayonara. ♪ him

rishaad: tuesday the fifth of january. this is trending business. we are to sydney new delhi and mumbai. renewed optimism in the asia-pacific. markets have opened down but they are recovering. the bank injecting almost $20 billion. hong kong who done it.

the latest literary disappearance of the city. us know you think of our top stories. system in jakarta is just getting underway. needed losses turning a corner. >> a quite interesting time release for jakarta. market seem to be stabilizing. have a look at what's happening with the nikkei. aboveo to five back 18,000. 21,404. a third of 1% has recovered. 3300.