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 columbia, south carolina, where my friend mark is in charleston. as expected, the race in south carolina has become the political equivalent of a ufc match, without the rule of hitting below the belt. our poll of republican voters , hot off the digital presses, may explain why. donald trump is on top with 36%,

followed by ted cruz with 17%. and marco rubio, who today got a huge endorsement from south carolina governor nikki haley, he comes in third with 15%. jeb bush at 13%. john kasich and ben carson both in the single digits. no breaking news, but this is the context for the next three days 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 cruz a liar and threatening to file a lawsuit over his eligibility to run for president. remember that whole o, canada thing? today, ted cruz spoke to reporters in seneca, south carolina and offered his strongest counter blow yet. sen. cruz: i understand if a candidate has a record like donald trump, how he can point to anyone's record.

that anyone can 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. and on this issue. so, why is he suddenly fighting back? mark: things have gotten very personal between them, very bitter. they both look at the other one not with a sense of detente, but detest. i think you will see ted cruz fighting back. because if trump gallops to a win, trump goes into the next few contests with a head of steam, and nobody can stop him.

including ted cruz. john: yes, it has definitely gotten personal. there is no doubt about that. you can only take being called a bald-faced liar for so long. but i have to say, you look at these polls. you look at the monmouth poll, the arg poll. ted cruz is not only not in real contention to win, he's in contention to drop into maybe third place. some of these polls 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. on his standing here. mark: the other thing about cruz -- he has been hit by a lot of people in a lot of ways. and i think, in general, people recognize that this primary is about strength. trump's calling card throughout the country has been strength. and i think ted cruz wanted to show he has a strong candidate , too.

he is a guy of strength. and this state respects strength. john: this is also a state where taking the high road has never been historically rewarded in south carolina. so the stance of i'm going to take the high road, not so much here in south carolina. let us move on. 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. this morning, 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 went around saying i don't want to fight against planned parenthood and that i have the same position on marriage as barack obama. you are going to get challenged when you say something outlandish and untrue.

when you say that every day, it does reflect the campaign that you are running and what you're willing to do to win. i have been saying that 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. i cannot say that 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 where he hit back against donald trump. he also took the opportunity at that same press conference to hit back against what marco rubio, 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 illegal executive action. on univision, you can go watch

the video. he said this on national television. this bizarre notion that the words said on national television somehow does not exist. marco's response was the same as donald's. it was to yell liar, liar. john: mark, in this next installment of the spats of south carolina, that would be rubio, who has the upper hand politically? mark: this cycle has been weird. we have all talked about that. rubio is having the best week of any candidate, with the possible exception of trump. some people wrote him off. he got the the nikki haley endorsement. that will dominate news coverage for at least a day. maybe longer. she has an organization. she is a popular governor. rubio, i saw him after that event, his stump speeches are more energizing. then most of the other candidates in this race right now. i think as you said, rubio could potentially pass cruz. rubio could consolidate the kind of support he needs past march.

if he is going to be a finalist. to sayeah, look, i have i was one of those people thinking marco rubio might be dead after his new hampshire collapse. he has certainly come on strong. i think that maybe 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. but politically speaking, rubio has the upper hand. he has the memorandum, as you said. he's coming across as a much more appealing candidate than cruz has. he is being hit from two directions. it seems defensive to me. as both mark and i have mentioned, south carolina governor nikki haley is going to be endorsing marco rubio tonight. it is an important, symbolic 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 consensus is that john kasich comes in fourth. if he does, he has a survival plan for the future states. that leaves jeb bush and the aforementioned marco rubio, who incredibly 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've never really attacked governor bush. he spent $50 million attacking me. if we have a difference in policy, we will talk about it. what i said about governor bush is that 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.

morning, 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. and 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, your 4-5 years or whatever it is as senator does not match up to my capabilities understanding how the world works. [applause] john: mark, we talked about cruz and trump. we have talked about cruz and rubio. neither are exactly death matches. but here, with rubio and bush, is 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, if he finishes behind bush, he 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, below rubio. the monmouth has bush below rubio and kasich. g has jeb bush finishing fifth, in supposedly bush country, i do not see how jeb bush continues his campaign. if he finishes fifth here, there is nowhere you can imagine him winning.

i think it is a death match for him. bush finishing ahead, but i cannot imagine the other way around. mark: i don't think rubio can raise any money if he finishes behind bush. where is he going to win? 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 shows you how tough it is for john ellis bush. 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. but that is where the agreement ends. , iscruz, in particular

using a tv ad in south carolina to make the case that of all the republicans running, he alone would elect a true conservative to the bench. we tested that question in our new bloomberg politics poll with south carolina republicans. we asked which of the candidates voters would appoint the best justice. and here is what we found. 24% said donald trump. 20% said ted cruz. 16% said jeb bush. 12% said ben carson. 10% said marco rubio. john kasich came in last with just 7%. my question for you, mark, given this context of antonin scalia passing away, which of these candidates stands to benefit most for the fight to replace him? mark: i think cruz's credibility. people think of him as a lawyer and someone faithful to conservative principles. i also think rubio has in a pretty good job of saying we

needed somebody electable. i think those two guys have the biggest leg-up, for different reasons. john: you know, in terms of the resumes, the way they talk about the issue, i think ted cruz is right. it is interesting to me, in this area, it's interesting that donald trump beats both of them handily. he does that because there is now this fascination with him being strong and somehow decisive. trump amazingly has no expertise in this area whatsoever. and cruz has been hammering him for talking about his sister and all these other things. yet, south carolina republicans , according to our poll, still think that trump is the one that has the upper hand. it points to the overall strength of donald trump. mark: well, that is right. as long as trump keeps winning states big like he did in new hampshire, the polls do not help you much. people that support trump are

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 had a thrill on the night of the iowa caucuses, seeing the race be this close, you are going to love what is going on in the silver state of nevada. a new poll out of that state shows 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. so mark, all things considered, politically speaking, what happens if hillary clinton gets beat in nevada? mark: i think it is bad for her. and i don't want to overstate it, but it will explode a lot of myths about her strength to win. beyond iowa and new hampshire. i think this state would tighten up a lot of things. i don't think bernie sanders can necessarily win. 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. even though she lost the delegate count, 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 then there is the practical effect -- that bernie sanders good demonstrate there is a

coalition of working-class whites, millenials, 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. right? she is going back out there, she has campaigned there. extensive television ads on the air. it begs the question, if 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 apple, 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 & friends" that he agrees with the court's decisions. mr. trump: in that case, we should open it up. i think, security overall -- we have to open it up. and we have to use our heads. we have to use common sense.

somebody called me a common sense conservative. we have to use common sense. our country has so many problems. we have to be very careful. we have to be very vigilant. but 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 our friend, my colleague, bloomberg reporter mark halperin that privacy is a tough issue and a so-called backdoor to encryption could be used by criminals. so mark, which candidate is doing the best capitalizing on this apple issue? mark: i think, as always, mr. trump speaking in black and white and no gray appeals to his supporters. and that dovetails with his general views on how to fight terrorism. i was more fascinated by marco rubio. rubio was much more on the one hand than the other hand i thought he would be on, giving

the current climate. this is an issue that tests the libertarian and antiterrorist streaks of the republican party. i think it will come up not just now, but 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. he is talking about, in his interpretation, the government is asking for a backdoor key that could used on a lot of other phones. it will raise a lot of civil liberties concerns. i like that marco rubio at least acknowledges there are shades of gray. this is not a black-and-white issue at all, no matter what candidates say about it. 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: in about 72 hours, south carolina republicans will make a decision that could dramatically change the trajectory of the contest. today, at that campaign event in marcopleasant, mark asked rubio about his views, and the campaign going forward. mark: imagine how unusual it is to have so many candidates. i wonder if you think that will change anytime soon. sen. rubio: we will have to see after south carolina. that will eventually change. obviously, we had a lot more two weeks ago. mark: why do you think the dynamic has changed? sen. rubio: i don't know. this year, virtually everyone

that was rumored to run had ran. so i don't know. probably a combination of things. i think one, the party has a lot of talent. the republican party has a lot of talent. there are people that are not running for president that have tremendous talent. we are blessed in the party. we have a lot of really good people. you have people in this race that would have been the front-runner any other year. four years ago people were begging chris christie to run, now he's out of the race. it is just a very unusual time. 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. of anybody. in other countries, you lose an election and you have to go into exile. god's will will be done. 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. i like that you introduced the concept of fear. i liked his answer, too. 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 related things in presidential politics. voters like resilience, and a candidate does better when his head is clear. when he is not afraid. i think 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 he is quite confident. i think donald trump is annoyed. particularly, with ted cruz. what impresses me about these guys is that they are rested. unlike bernie sanders and hillary clinton, fighting bad colds, these guys seemed pretty well rested. under those circumstances. that seems to be putting their two heads in a good place. john: i agree with that. i think both of those guys are in a good place. one thing that benefits rubio is the sense of being a comeback kid. not only what voters see as resilience, but feeling their own sense of resilience.

you can feel that in marco rubio right now. 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. and he wants to make sure he goes and gets it. where do you think cruz's head is at now? mark: he is annoyed at defending these attacks. you and i talked about this yesterday, and agree with him. he is being called a liar for doing things that are aggressive politics. almost none of them seem to be actual lies. i think he is annoyed with that. i think, for ted cruz again, for the march contest, is his dependent onmarch how he does on saturday? that uncertainty may be troubling him a bit. that is pure guesswork based on body language. no one has said that to me. but he is in a somewhat uncomfortable position. 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 would like to talk to you 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 of our favorite things, in fact, polls and albert hunt, right after this. ♪

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

friend and a great colleague and a whiz-bang columnist for bloomberg view, mr. albert hunt. how are you, al? al: i am great. i never knew i was a whiz-bang. i will tell my wife. john: a good compliment. the best i could do. thetell me, looking at south carolina poll, what jumps out at you as the most striking, big headline? al: donald trump, donald trump, and a little bit of marco rubio, who did well in the poll and has room to grow. trump dominates, not only the numbers, john, but looking at 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. so, it is just like you can't help but look at this poll and say, my gosh, is he in strong shape in south carolina. john: al, two of those truths that stood out for me with trump.

i would like you to explain them for me, if you can. the first is that he dominates on "shares our religious values" and who best understands the black community. can you give an account on how those two things could be true? al: john, i am going to correct you. it is a rare john heilemann mistake. he doesn't win on the black community, carson does. on shares your faith, it seems to me 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: right. obviously, 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. al: let me make a quick point -- no, sorry, go ahead. john: go ahead. al: no, i was going to say, in a

primary, there are caution lights that go on as a general election candidate. 43% of republicans have an unfavorable view of him. a strong majority say his profanity is not presidential. and 47% say he is too radical. his floor 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. you have a race for second and third place for a number of candidates, including ted cruz, marco rubio, and jeb bush. the interesting thing to me is that bush does so well on so many of the traits, beating kasich, leading rubio on a number of things. in some instances. just talk through how bush is doing so well on attributes but still isn't pulling away in the establishment non-trump lane. 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. they just do not want him to be the nominee. because it is not like they dislike him like they did in iowa. i'm extrapolating here, but what comes across is, yeah, he is a qualified guy, smart guy, but he is yesterday. john: al, you 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, i think that would put him in a formidable position to be a primary trump challenger. also, when you look at his favorable-unfavorables, they are better than anybody else in the field. i think 28, 29% 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 between mike murphy, jeb bush, and ted cruz, he is going to get a lot of punches. john: let me ask you, al, just 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 trump-cruz two-person race. what does the poll have to say about where ted cruz currently stands, and what he may have to worry about? al: he has to worry primarily by not finishing second. if trump wins and ted cruz is a clear second, i still think he is well-positioned in march 1. if he should finish third or, heaven help them, fourth, that really dilutes whatever strength they put together in the so-called sec primary in march 1. he has to finish a credible second to parlay that into something on march 1. john: let me ask you, last question real quick here, is there anything in this poll to make john kasich happy? al: no, not really.

i suppose he could -- there is some hope he could beat jeb bush . but he will be in massachusetts on saturday night. but i don't think the stakes are quite as high because the expectations were not as high. he could finish fifth in south carolina and still go on and then go to michigan and ohio. a real long shot to ever be the nominee, but i don't think south carolina would hurt him nearly as much as it would jeb bush or potentially marco rubio. john: alright, al hunt, always a pleasure. thanks for coming on. al: thank you, john. john: coming up, more on 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. and we will be right back, here on the tv.

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john: joining us now here at the university of south carolina, right next to the thomas cooper library on the amazing south carolina set, are representative and a bernie sanders support, justin bamberg. and hillary clinton supporter and state representative, todd rutherford. gentlemen, how are you? >> doing good, doing good. >> fantastic. john: the african-american vote matters a lot in south carolina. 55% of the vote in 2008 came from the african-american vote. 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. you know, bernie sanders is the man. he is the man for the job. you know, his views on economics, social justice, racial justice -- essentially, bernie sanders stands for the everyday average american citizen. you know, 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 a wage so they don't have to work two or three jobs, so they can enjoy time with their families. that is what is speaking to people here in south carolina. john: mr. rutherford? todd: let's be honest, if this was a ceo search, hillary 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 job, involved in issues for african-americans the past 30 years. you heard a group in vermont on african-american's says bernie sanders has been absent and turned a deaf ear to civil rights in vermont -- not just vermont, but nationwide. hillary clinton has been involved in south carolina, making sure that teenagers are not separated. she went to alabama 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? justin: bernie sanders has been standing up not just for african-americans but people who have been oppressed in general for years, 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, 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. one thing that resonates with people is that he has been

saying the same thing for years and years and years. john: let me ask you about hillary clinton and the clintons. ok, as you know, coming into the 2000 race, the clinton campaign -- the clintons, both of them have long and historic connections to the african-american community here and nationally. this campaign was ugly and 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 campaigned, particularly bill clinton. is that now a thing of the past and people have let that go? there was some bitterness in the community. todd: i think a lot of the business was congressman clyburn. that was a personal level. 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 who i went with. the question was posed to me, experience matter now,

and it didn't matter in 2008? the challenges are different, world scale, global scale. you look at isis and isil excuse me, isis or isil -- hillary clinton is the only person who can take this job from day one. and do what needs to be done. john: no hard feelings among people of color on 2008? here in south carolina? todd: 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 democratic rights. bernie sanders has been a democrat as long as he has been in this race. and that is it. people in south carolina like democrats. we vote for democrats. bernie sanders is not one. 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. are 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 and connection to these issues that hillary clinton does?

justin: yes, there are many. people like bernie sanders because he is bold and forward thinking. and 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. for example, these terrorists come and take over because there is no government, no one there to stop them. people like bernie sanders because, again, 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: let me ask you this, real quick. is there something lacking in hillary clinton? you obviously prefer bernie sanders but do you -- is there something lacking in hillary clinton? something problematic about her? justin: no. 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 todd 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. john: justin bamberg, todd rutherford, i am grateful to you guys for coming. you were relatively nice to each other. [laughter] up next, marco rubio's brother and other tales from the campaign trail, after these words from our sponsors.

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

carolina, we talked about that earlier, mark went literally behind the scenes to speak to someone he mentioned in his speech. that would be his older brother, mario rubio. he 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. circus is this sir seem like to you? mario: 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 dealt with a relatively low point in new hampshire and currently bouncing back pretty well? mario: well, i just got involved here. i was in iowa and i went back home. so 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? mario: yes, i did. mark: what did you think of that? mario: 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? mario: 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 did you think of him as a potential president, when he was how old? mario: i think my first thoughts was when he went into the house of representatives at the state level. i could see then 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 have people you know said to you about your brother, that guy could be president? a long time? mario: yes, since he was in the house. a lot of people knew he had 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. mark: what has this been like for the family and how has it affected your life and your year? and everybody else in the family? think, 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. john: joining me is the washington editor for "national review," eliana johnson, and bloomberg's own sahil kapur. tell me about ted cruz. tell me, what is going on with ted cruz? you is been a lot reporting on, tracking. what is going on with that guy?

eliana: i think he is in a 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. i think his message is getting a little bit drowned out because 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 trump. he held a press 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: i noticed today he started talking about donald trump sued him or filed 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 that anyone who signed on would be sanctioned by the court. and i thought, man, what do republicans from south carolina like most of all? a lawyer. someone who talks like a lawyer and is litigious like a lawyer. eliana: i think these guys want to get ted cruz out of his constitutional lawyer mode and get him back on message.

and rubio was really mocked for being so on message. i think it has been 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. and i think that has been to his detriment that he is nipping at cruz's heels. john: sahil, talk about rubio. he is having the best week of any republican after horrible weekend right before the new hampshire primary. he has managed to turn it around, apparently. 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. what rubio is trying to do, is tearing them down. trump is throwing a 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. this is something they are most trying. , if he can getio second place, he can rattle that momentum to nevada. john: did you expect marco rubio to be this resilient? i have to say, i thought there was a reasonable chance after the debate in new hampshire and the collapse in new hampshire 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. what do you think? think: i have to say, i it took them a long 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 he has done a great job in

south carolina, which is a state that plays to his natural strength and he is back to his natural self and he is politically talented. i think he is in a great job. but i do think it is concerning that it took them a full 48 hours to figure out how to handle that misstep. john: i want to ask you both the quick question right now. if jeb bush finishes below marco rubio, can his campaign continue? sahil: he still probably will. he is playing for florida and has a lot of money and what forces people out of the race is money. john: by that, i'm assuming ted cruz and donald trump -- 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? gut instinct, reporting? eliana: he will face an order -- enormous pressure 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? what is your gut telling you right now? eliana: i don't right now. i think you are starting to see

his flashes of irritation on the campaign trail. i think it is starting. 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? if anybody but trump and ted cruz 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: alright, thank you. we will be right back with the eternal question -- who won the day? ♪

mark: john, everybody

here in charleston is wondering who won the day? john: the easiest question you 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. we will be back here in south carolina tomorrow. until then, sayonara. ♪

>> it is february 18, and this is "trending business." here is what we are watching this morning. sharp on the rise after a decision on the rescue bid may be made on saturday. foxconn supporters may be excluded. sand.draws a line in the it will not help the feds tap into an iphone.

takeoff, boeing signs another big deal in china as ok air buys a new 737. you can let us know what you think of today's top stories by following me on twitter. do not forget to include the #trendingbusiness. trading in indonesia is just getting underway. zeb eckert joins us with a look at the markets. give us a sense of the big picture todayz. eb: the big picture is a decent picture. emerging market assets are doing well. advancecontinuing the we are seeing all across the region. nowof the major markets trading higher today.