john: i'm john heilemann. mark: and i'm mark halperin. "with all due respect" to chris christie-- he's baa-aack. ♪ john: hey chris christie, if you are still listening, we love you man. i am in south carolina, where my friend mark is in charleston. the races become the political equivalent of a ufc match, without the role of hitting below the belt. our poll of republican voters half of the precious may explain why.

donald trump is on top with 36%, followed by ted cruz with 70%. marco rubio got a huge endorsement from governor nikki haley. he comes in third with 15%. jenna bush at 13%. john kasich and ben carson both in the single digits. no breaking news, but this is the context before south carolina republicans vote. in the center ring in this battle royal is donald trump and ted cruz. for days, trump has been calling curz a liar and threatening to file a lawsuit over his eligibility to run for president. that o, canada thing. he spoke to reporters in seneca, south carolina and offered his strongest counter blow yet. sen. cruz: i understand if a cousin has a record -- if a candidate has a record like canld trump, that anyone point to his record. if he files the lawsuit that he

threatens in this letter, that will be frivolous and it will result in both donald trump and any lawyer that signs his name for filing frivolous litigation. donald happily sat on national tv repeating things that are simply made up. that have no basis in truth. that are complete fabrications. that is a new level for presidential politics. john: mark, ted cruz has long said that he wanted to take the high road in this campaign. why is he suddenly fighting back? mark: things have gotten very personal between them, very better. the growth look at the other one not with a sense of the taunt, but detest. -- of detente, but detest. if trump gallops to a win, trump goes into the next few contests with a head of steam, and

nobody can stop him. john: yes, it has definitely gotten personal. you can only take being called a bald-faced liar for so long. but you look at these polls. you look at the monmouth poll, the arg poll. ted cruz is not only in contention to win, he's in contention to drop into maybe third place. some have him dropping maybe into fourth place. he has to finish a strong second. i think the reason he is fighting back is because he knows what donald trump has been saying has taken a toll. mark: the other thing about cruz -- he has been hit by a lot of people in a lot of ways. people recognize that this primary is about strength. trump's calling card throughout the country has been strength. ted cruz wanted to show he has a strong candidate too. that this state respects strength.

john: this is also a state where taking the high road has never been historically rewarded in south carolina. i'm going to take the high road, not so much here in south carolina. in the marco rubio versus ted cruz ring, rubio trying to recover the momentum after his new hampshire stumble. like trump, that means using the "l" word over his rival senator. in a campaign event in mount pleasant, south carolina, mark got a chance to ask rubio why he has been working so hard to cast ted cruz as a dishonest candidate, and human. mark: are you saying something about his character when you talk about the tactics he is using? sen. rubio: you can't let these things stay out there, these are not true. he said i don't want to fight against planned parenthood or have the same vision as marriage as barack obama. you were going to get challenged when you say something outlandish and unture.

it reflects the campaign that you are running and what you're willing to do to win. ted has unfortunately proven he will say anything to get elected. i don't think that is a positive thing in the president. mark: did you think that before him during the race? sen. rubio: what we have seen in last few weeks has been a disturbing. up until that point, i have not made much attention to it. in this race, it has been apparent, especially over the last month. john: we told you before about ted cruz's seneca press conference against donald trump. he also hit back against what marco rubio has been saying against him, as you just heard. sen. cruz: marco rubio is behaving like donald trump. marco went on univision in spanish and said that on his first day in office he would not rescind president obama's usually get -- illegal executive action. you can go watch the video.

he said this on national television. this bizarre notion that the word set on national television somehow does not exist. marco's response was the same as donald's. it was to yell liar liar. next mark in his installment of the spots of south carolina -- spats of south carolina, who has the upper hand politically? mark: this cycle has been weird. rubio is having the best week of any candidate, with the possible exception of trump. some people wrote him off. he had the nikki haley endorsement. that will dominate news coverage for at least a day. she has an organization. rubio, i saw him after that event, his stump features that are and more energizing. -- strump speech is more energizing. rubio could potentially pass cruz. you could consolidate the kind of report -- rubio could

consolidate the kind of support he needs past march. john: i have to say i was one of those people marco rubio might be dead after his new hampshire collapse. he has certainly come on strong. on the merits of the argument, ted cruz may have that argument. a lot of things that marco rubio says ted cruz is lying about don't fall into the category of lies. politically speaking, rubio has the upper hand. he's coming across as a much more appealing candidate than cruz has. he is being hit from two directions. as both mark and i have mentioned, south carolina governor nikki haley is going to be endorsing tonight marco rubio. it is an important step of approval for an important symbolic and actual palmetto state establishment leader. especially since there are 3 candidates duking it out for the establishment position. which, given the strength of donald trump and ted cruz, means

they needed to get third-place or better in the primary on saturday. ye olde general consistency --general consensus is that john kasich comment fourth. if he does, he has a survival plan. that leaves jeb bush and the upper mentioned marco rubio, -- the aforementioned marco rubio, who took unusually aggressive shots at each other on the campaign trail. here is rubio in mount pleasant talking about how much longer jeb should stay in the race if he performs poorly on saturday. sen. rubio: i'm never going to tell anyone not to continue. he has worked hard and has a right to be in the race as long as he wants. i never really attacked governor bush. he spent $50 million attacking me. if we have a difference in policy, we will talk about it. he doesn't have any foreign policy experience, which is true. but i don't see that as an attack, i see that as a fact. john: you might be wondering what john ellis bush has to say

about that. he took a shot at his former protege on the same topic -- experience. jeb bush: i know what it is to be commander-in-chief. i know what it is to lead. for someone that has no experience to suggest i don't, having lived overseas, having worked overseas, developing relationships with leaders overseas, being governor of the fourth largest state and being a commander-in-chief of the florida national guard -- with all due respect senator rubio, for 4-5 years or whatever it is as senator does not match up to my capabilities understanding how the world works. [applause] cruz andtalked about trump. we have talked about cruz and rubio. neither are exactly death matches. but here, with rubio and bush, is a south carolina turning into an actual death match, where one emerges alive and the other has

to go? mark: i have been reluctant to say there is any must win state for anybody. this is such a weird year. in this case, it might be. bush is in political peril if he finishes behind rubio. rubio is in financial peril if he follows behind bush. i don't think you can raise enough money. it's possible that the loser between bush and rubio will be out of the race after saturday. john: i want to go back to the polls. the bloomberg politics poll has bush in fourth, blue rubio. -- below rubio. one has bush below rubio in case it. -- rubio and kasich. if jeb bush finishes fifth, , i doedly bush country not see how jeb bush continues his campaign. if he finishes fifth here, there is nowhere you can imagine him winning.

i cannot imagine the other way around. mark: i don't think rubio can raise any money if he finishes behind bush. i think it's possible bush could surprise people. but if you look at the public polling and the momentum rubio has, it's going to be hard for bush to survive. he will have to finish at least closer or probably ahead of him. john: i will throw in one more thing. we have this nbc wall street journal national poll that has bush in sixth place with just 4%. that is below cruz, trump, rubio, kasich, and ben carson nationally. that is how tough it is for jeb. if there's anything the candidates agree on, it is their opposition to president obama nominating a supreme court justice before nine months from now. ted cruz is using a tv ad in south carolina to make the case

that of all the republicans running, he alone would've a true conservative to the bench. we tested that question in our new poll with south carolina republicans. we asked which of the candidates voters would appoint the best justice. 24% said donald trump. 20% said ted cruz. 16% said jeb bush. culberson said ben carson. --12% said ben carson. my question for you mark, given this context of instance only passing away --antonin scalia passing away, which of these candidates stands to benefit most for the flight to replace him? mark: i think cruz's credibility. people think of him as a lawyer and someone people too conservative -- someone faithful to conservative principles. rubio has said we needed somebody electable. i think those two guys have the

biggest leg-up, for different reasons. resumes,terms of the the way they talk about the issue, i think ted cruz is r ight. but in this area, it's interesting that donald trump beats both of them handily. there is now this fascination with him being strong and somehow decisive. trump amazingly has no expertise in this area whatsoever. cruz has been hammering him for talking about is sister and all these other things. yet south carolina republicans still think that trump is the one that has the upper hand. it puts to the overall strength of donald trump. mark: as long as trump keeps winning states big like he did in new hampshire, the pollster not help you much. trump aret support

going to think he is very much best at everything. john: 100% right. coming up, the democratic race and what happens if hillary clinton loses nevada right after this. ♪

john: if you have a throw on the uses you the iowa caus are going to love what is going on in the silver state of nevada. hillary clinton and bernie sanders are about this close to each other. bernie fans are showing that he has an edge in caucus states,

just like barack obama did in 2008, even though clinton won the caucus straw poll. mark, all things considered, what happens if hillary clinton gets beat in a nevada? mark: i think it is bad for her. i don't want to overstate it, but it will explode a lot of myths about her strength to win. i think this state would tighten up a lot of things. it would throw march into a lot of difficulty for her. once again, bernie would raise millions of dollars off that win. john: there is a symbolic element to this. nevada was the only caucus state in 2008 where hillary clinton got more votes than barack obama. she got more of the popular vote. the only caucus state where she did that. to lose to bernie sanders would be a symbolic blow. and he could demonstrate there is a coalition of working-class whites, millenial's, and enough

of the hispanic vote to be competitive in a lot of places across the country. mark: the other thing, she's not giving up that state. she has campaigned there. extensive television ads on the air. it begs the question, she tries to beat him and she fails. she is still the favorite, but it would compound her problems in a big way. john: and cast a real must win quality to the south carolina primary next week on the democratic side. the fbi dispute has officially penetrated the campaign trail. today, a response to the news that a federal judge ordered apple to help the fbi break into an iphone used by one of the san bernadino killers. donald trump said on fox and friends that he agrees with the court's decisions. mr. trump: in that case, we should open it up. security overall -- we have to open it up. we have to use common sense. they call me a commonsense conservative. we have to use common sense.

our country has some any problems. we have to be very careful. we have to be very vigilant. to think that apple won't allow us to get into her cell phone. who do they think they are? no, we have to open it up. john: marco rubio was also asked about the apple news in mount pleasant, south carolina. he told my friend mark halperin. privacy is a tough issue and a so-called backdoors to encryption could be used by criminals. so mark, which candidate is doing the best capitalizing on this apple issue? mark: i think is always, mr. trump speaking in black and white and no gray appeals to his supporters. that entails his general views on how to fight terrorism. rubio was much more on the one hand the vanity other hand i thought he would be, giving the current climate. the is an issue that tests

libertarian and antiterrorist streaks of the republican party. it will come up the general election. it is an issue that divides both parties. john: i want to be clear about this. you read what apple ceo tim cook said about this, it's not about opening this one phone, folks. the government is asking for an interesting key that could used on a lot of phones. it will raise a lot of civil liberties concerns. alike that marco rubio at least concerns there are shades of gray. this is not a black-and-white issue at all, no matter what candidates say about it. mark: when we come back, inside the minds, crazy though they sometimes are, of the republican candidates. we are sort of going there when we come back. ♪

john: and about 72 hours, south carolina republicans will make a decision that could automatically change the trajectory of the contest. we have been talking about the campaign event in mark -- >> imagine how unusual it is to have candidates. i wonder if you think that will change anytime soon. >> we will have to see after south carolina. that will eventually change. we got more two weeks ago. mark: why do you think the dynamic has changed? year, virtually everyone that was rumored to

run, ran. so i don't know. probably a combination of things. one, the party has a lot of talent. there are people that are not running for president that have joined his talent. -- that have tremendous talent. we are blessed in the party. you have people in this race that would have been the front-runner any other year. people are making chris christie to run -- begging chris christie to run. i am sure you are going to write a book about it. mark: are you afraid of losing in the race? sen. rubio: i am not afraid. in other countries, you lose an election and you have to go into exile. i trust what the american people will choose. i feel good about that. john: mark, you know what a fan i am of fear and loathing. introduced theu concept of fear. where do you think the heads of

these candidates are at with this impending moment of decision? mark: i am a big believer in two things in presence of politics. voters like resilience, and a candidate does better when his head is clear. marco rubio is in a great place. he has shown extraordinary resilience coming back after new hampshire. his head seems to be in a good place. he is not overconfident, but quite confident. i think donald trump is annoyed. what impresses me about these guys is that they are rested. unlike bernie sanders and hillary clinton, fighting bad cold, these guys seemed pretty well rested. that seems to be putting their two heads in a good place. john: i agree with that. both of those guys are in a good place. one thing that benefits rubio is the sense of being a comeback kid. natalie wood voters see as resilience -- not only what voters see as resilience.

trump is working hard in this state. you get a sense from all of his media appearances that he is not running scared or desperate. he feels strong. he can sense that victory is within his grasp. re do you think cr -- whe you think cruz' head is at now? mark: he is annoyed at defending these attacks. he is being called a liar for doing things that are aggressive politics. almost none of them seem to be actualized. i think he is annoyed with that. -- seem to be actual lies. for the march contest, is his strength depending on how he does on saturday? that uncertainty may be troubling him a bit. that is pure guesswork based on body by which. but he is in a somewhat incomparable session. -- uncomfortable position. does him that should be at least a concern for him.

john: i said before, i thought he seemed defensive. he seemed a little pinched. not necessarily a good look for a winner. i want to talk about jeb bush, but we don't have time for that. we are going to move on because we have something coming up that we both love. two over weber things -- over our favorite things, polls and albert hunt right after this. ♪

john: joining me now to talk is a good our poll

college and was bang a columnist for bloomberg view, mr. albert hunt. how are you, al? al: good. i never knew i was a whiz-bang. i will tell my wife. john: a good complement. the best i could do. what jumps out at you as the most striking, big headline? al: donald trump, donald trump, and the little bit of marco rubio, who did well in the pollen has room to grow. trump dominates, not only the numbers, but questions of who is the strongest leader, who is the best on immigration, who would change washington. he doesn't just win, he runs away with it. you can't help but look at this: say, my gosh, is he in strong shape in south carolina. two of those truths that stood out for me with

trump. the first is that he dominates on "shares or religious studies" and who best understands the black community. can you give an account on how those 2 things could be true. al: john, i am going to correct you. rare john heilemann mistake it he doesn't win on the black community, carson does fit on shares your faith, it seems that republican voters doesn't seem to care about race and on faith they forgive him. there are an awful lot of evangelicals there but doesn't seem to bother them much. john: trump's overall strength means he ends up to doing well in the cross towns and a lot of polls. you see it strikingly in this one. let me make a quick point -- no, sorry, go-ahead. say, in agoing to

primary, there are caution lights that go on as a general election candidate could 43% of republicans have an unfavorable view of him. a strong majority say his profanity is not presidential. and ceiling might be awfully close to each other. that doesn't hurt him in a primary but it is a warning sign about a general election candidacy. john: right, the other riddle i have, al -- the candidates are bunched up underneath trump. a race for second and third place for a number of candidates, including ted cruz, marco rubio, and jeb bush. bush does so well on so many of raits, beatingt hasek, leading rubio on a number of things. talk through how bush is doing so well on attributes but isn't pulling away in the establishment non-trunk line. al: it is interesting, he does much better in south carolina than he does in places like iowa

when you look at the polls, and you have to conclude they like the dog they don't like the dog meat. it is not like they dislike him like they did in iowa. but whatpolating here, comes across is, yeah, he is a qualified guy, smart guy, but he is yesterday. al, he said at the beginning that another headline for the poll is trump trump trump and a little bit of marco rubio. talk about rubio and his standing here. al: very close to ted cruz for second and if he should pass cruz, as mark suggested earlier, that would put him in a formidable position to be a primary trump challenger. when you look at his favorable-unfavorables, they are better than anybody else in the field. 28, 20 9% unfavorable. there is room to grow for him. in new hampshire it looks like he couldn't take a punch. the next 48 hours i suspect ,etween mike murphy, jeb bush

and ted cruz, he is going to get a lot of punches. al, just me ask you, about ted cruz and what this poll -- is there any kind of warning signs you see for ted cruz? a lot of people thought he might come out of south carolina with a trunk-cruise -- trump-cruz two-person race. al: he has to worry primarily by not finishing second. if trump wins and ted cruz is a clear second comments is well-positioned in march 1. if he should finish third or, heaven help them, fourth, that dilutes whatever strength they put together in the so-called fcc primary in march 1. yes the finish a credible second to parlay that into something on march 1. john: let me ask you, les? click here, is there anything in this whole to make john kasich

happy? al: no, not really. there is some hope you could jeb bush thatbeat he will be in massachusetts on saturday night. but i don't think the stakes are quite aside because the expectations were not as high could he could finish fifth in south carolina and still go on and then go to michigan and ohio . real longshot to ever be the nominee, but i'll think south carolina -- i don't think south carolina would hurt him nearly as much as it would jeb bush or potentially marco rubio. john: all right, al hunt, always a pleasure. thanks for coming on. coming up, while the democratic race with hillary clinton and bernie sanders' super south carolina surrogates. if you are watching us in washington, d.c., you can listen to us as well on bloomberg 99.1 fm. we will be back on the tv. ♪

john: joining us now here at the inner risky of south carolina right next to the tom's cooper library on the amazing south carolina set our representatives and a bernie sanders supporter, and hillary clinton supporter and state representative. gentlemen, how are you? >> doing good, doing good. >> fantastic. john: the african-american vote matters a lot in south carolina. i want you guys to make the case , first, why your candidate is

the right candidate for south carolina black community. >> i will take the lead here. bernie sanders is the man. he is the man for the job. his views on economics, social --tice, racial justice essentially, bernie sanders stands for the everyday average american citizen. he is saying let's refocus here, let's turn our priorities, let's focus on things that matter, rather than investing in prisons, rather than looking at third-graders and saying their test scores indicate we need more jails. let's invest in education, let's invest in health care, let's pay them how wage so they don't have to work two or three jobs, so they can enjoy time with their families. john: mr. rutherford? >> let's be honest, if this was a ceo search, billy clinton would be above not only bernie sanders but every republican in this race. her education as a lawyer and former secretary of state, she

is not just the man, but the woman for the job. she is the best person for the involved in issues for african-americans the past 30 years. onroup in vermont african-american's says bernie sanders has been absent entered and ethier to civil rights in vermont -- not just vermont, but nationwide good hillary clinton would make sure that she made sure that -- she went to tell a >> to deal with a private academy, and this was 30 years ago, not 40 days ago like bernie sanders. john: what do you say about that? >> bernie sanders has been standing up not just for african-americans but people who have been oppressed in general for years from dating back to 1962 when he was at the university of chicago and led efforts to desegregate the university department. he didn't just do it from he did it at a time when it was very dangerous for white people to stand up for minorities and people who were suppressed. this is not something new for bernie sanders.

he has been saying the same thing for years and years and years. john: let me ask you about hillary clinton and the clintons. the clinton campaign -- the clintons, both of them have long and historic connections to the african-american community here and nationally. and campaign was ugly overwhelmingly african americans voted for barack obama, not only because he is potentially the first black president, but there was offense taken at the way the clintons campaign, particularly bill clinton. is that the past and people of -- people have let that go? >> i think a lot of the business was congressman clyburn. i was an elected official back then and i look at hillary clinton and barack obama came out late in the game and my mother said that is who i am going with and that is you i went with. the question to me come wise it now that experience matters and it didn't matter in 2008? the challenges are different, world scale, global scale.

ilu look at isis and is -- if she's become isis or isil -- hillary clinton is the only person who can take this job from day one. john: no hard feelings among people of color on 2008? >> not just people of color by democrats as a whole who remember what clinton's have done in this state and the nation as far as democrat greats. arnie sanders has been democrat as linus he has been in this race. people in south carolina like democrats. john: do you think that given, again, putting aside the question of 2008, just thinking of the way the african-american community has been connected to the clintons. ,re there people like you who especially young african-americans, who are open to bernie sanders, someone who is only recently a democrat and

has not had the kind of national profile i'm connection to these issues that hillary clinton does? are many good people like bernie sanders because he is bold and forward thinking it when we talk about foreign affairs, which is something that people say hillary clinton leads on, the other aspect is something bernie sanders has pointed out. you cannot destroy some of his government without a forward thinking plan of how you are going to handle the situations that arise thereafter. these terrorists come and take over because there is no government, no one there to stop them. people like bernie sanders because he stands up for everyday citizens, things they care about. it is hard for someone who can barely keep food on the table or cannot afford medical care to focus on things that are going on in other countries. john: is there something lacking in hillary clinton? you obviously prefer bernie sanders but do you -- is there something lacking in hillary clinton? >> i have nothing but respect for hillary clinton, and one thing i do like that i see in the democrats that you don't see

on the other side is when people like me and the minority leader rutherford can talk about these issues without playing the republican game of whack-a-mole. we're focused on building of american citizens, unlike the republicans, who have shown time and time again that they are more focused on telling each other down. right, i'm grateful to you guys for coming. you were relatively nice to each other. [laughter] brother andrubio's other tales from the campaign chill after these words from our sponsors.

john: today at a marco rubio rally in mount pleasant, south carolina, marco went literally

behind the scenes to speak to someone he mentioned in his speech, his older brother mario rubio. we started talking about this crazy, crazy race. mark: so you are in a sense outside of politics, ordinary american in the best sense of the word. what is this seem like to? >> very hectic, draining. it just gets you tired, but you have got to keep moving on and go forward and do the best you can. mark: your brother has had a pretty intense week between new hampshire and here. what is it like for the family as he has the with a relatively low point in new hampshire and currently bouncing back the well? >> welcome i just got involved here. i was in iowa and i went back home. for me just started this week when i came here. i really didn't see a lot of what was going on except when i saw on the news. i wasn't part of that whole

effort. mark: did you watch the now famous new hampshire debates? >> yes, i did. mark: what did you think of that? >> i think he did fantastic. the whole time of the debate, 80% of it, he won the debate . mark: what about the moments where he did less well? >> i am proud of my brother no matter what he does. he did his best and we go forward from there. mark: how far back to you think of him as a potential president, when he was how old? >> my first thoughts was when he went into the house of representatives at the state level. i could see that he had a lot of potential moving forward and so we are very proud of him and you know, it got him to this point. mark: how long of people you know say to you about your brother, that i could be president? >> yes, since he was in the house. hadt of people knew he potential and things going for

him and that his message was clear and that his conservative efforts in the house and everything was very positive. yeah, i think a lot of people were looking forward to him one day running for president. been what has this like for the family and how is it affected your life and your year? >> for me it is one of those things i am very proud of him and people say that you should be proud of your brother, which i am. that is the effect, people saying to keep up the good work. all very positive for us. joining me is the washington editor for "national eliana bloomberg zonejohnson, and sahil kapur. tell me about ted cruz. what is going on with that guy? >> i think he is an difficult position because he is being

hammered from above and below. he is hammered by donald trump, who has not stopped calling him a liar, and hammered from below by marco rubio. he has a bad habit of not being able to let anybody else have the last word so his message is getting a little bit overshadowed by his attempts to respond to the attacks on him by a pressd he held conference today responding and i think he is not quite getting his message out. he is getting caught up in responding and being on defense. john: he started talking about donald trump pseudonym or file a suit against him for maybe not being able to run for president because of canadian origins and that he would be guilty of filing a frivolous lawsuit and i thought, man, what do republicans from south carolina like most of all? a lawyer. someone who talks like a lawyer and is that you just like a lawyer. wanta: i think these guys

to get him out of his constitutional lawyer mode and get him back on message. rubio was mocked for being so on message. it is to his credit that he is back on the stump and he is also getting hammered by trump and ted cruz with a new attack ad on him, but he is talking to crowds about poverty, being able to unite the republican party could that has been to his detriment cat he is nipping at ruz's heels. john: sahil, talk about rubio. he is having the best week of any republican after horrible weekend in the new hampshire primary. sahil: the nikki haley endorsement probably helps them. he is pulling very close to cruz. donald trump is running away with it, 19 points. no clear vulnerabilities and weaknesses. trump is throwing volley at cruz, calling him a liar liar liar. rubio is doing the same thing. i don't know if this is going to work. the entire point of ted cruz's

appeal is that they trust him more, not less than other washington politicians and generally other politicians. they are trying to pierce his armor and attack his strengths. it is a karl rove strategy. as one strategists said to me, cruz is teflon with the base. nothing seems to stick. john: did you expect marco rubio to be this resilient? i thought there was a reasonable chance after the debate in new hampshire and the collapse in your after that he was going to crumble into a little ball and not rise again in the south carolina. i'm a little surprised by his resilience. a long it took them time, 48 hours and even more to figure out quite how to respond to that disastrous debate performance. but by the time he gave his concession speech, he had figured it out and the has done a great job in south carolina, which is a statement lays to his natural strength -- state that

plays to his natural strength and he is back to his natural cell and he is politically talented. it is concerning that it took them a full 48 hours to figure out how to handle that mr. -- misstep. finishes belowe marco rubio, can his campaign continue? will. he still probably he is playing for florida and has a lot of money and what forces people out of the race is money. fifth-place for jeb bush? eliana: it can but it should not and i believe he will drop out. john: on the basis of what? -- got instinct, reporting? eliana: he will face an order special from donors who want to go to a winning horse. john: do either one of you think he is going to finish higher than rubio? eliana: i don't right now.

i think he was stunned to see his flashes of irritation on the campaign trail. -- you are starting to see his flashes of irritation on the campaign trail. the disappointment is wearing on him and he is showing exasperation on the trail. sahil: can i add how crazy it is the way the whole thing is playing out? is anybody else were leading by this much we would not be talking about a third-place finisher gaining momentum and doing well. they do have an advantage in this regard. john: all right, thank you. we will be right back with internal question -- who won the day?

mark: john, everybody here in

charleston is wondering who won the day. question youiest have asked me all day and one of the easiest ever -- marco rubio, by securing the endorsement of nikki haley, has won the day. mark: that will get a lot of coverage nationally but in south carolina, it is gigantic. the other campaigns are jealous. check out bloombergpolitics.com for more on the endorsement and on that poll and the race in south carolina. john: coming up on "bloomberg west," emily chang talks about apple did we will be back tomorrow. until then, sayonara. we live in a pick and choose world.

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