him. who knows? but i think i'd get along great with him. the man. how are you? >> rand paul just spent three days here in new hampshire and he spent all of his time criticizing you. >> well, that's because -- yeah. rand paul, you have to understand, is a disaster in the polls. he's a disaster on military and defense. he's getting decimated by everybody. and other than giving him a lot of money for an eye center at his request. he asked me, could i have money. i said absolutely. but i gave him a lot of money for an eye center. which is very hypocritical, when you think of it. other than giving him a tremendous amount of money for his eye center, which i'm happy about frankly because i'm sure they do good work. he's doing so badly that he figured he has to go out and attack trump because i'm leading by a lot everywhere. i don't mind. i think he's -- he's never going to make it. never going to make it.

can't make it. got the wrong message. i mean, this is not a time to be weak on defense. okay? and i'm the opposite. i want to make our military so strong, so powerful, so great that nobody's going to mess with us, and i want to take care of our vets who are treated like third class citizens. you know, two weeks ago on wednesday, our vets, as you know, and you probably reported on it because us have a big problem here with vets that are not taken care of properly, our vets had the longest wait in the history of the v.a. waiting for doctors in rooms. they'll wait four, five, six days. in one case they waited five days and the doctor said, sorry, i'm going on vacation. so our politicians all talk, no action. they're all the same. our politicians have let the vets down. rand paul has let the vets down. he's let the vets down.

so but -- i don't blame him. he's doing so poorly in the polls so he attacks thor. -- hey, look, i've been attacked by perry of texas, and he went bing like a rocket ship except in the wrong direction. i was attacked by lindsey graham and he had two points. now he has zero. now, rand paul has very few points, but i think he's going down, too. i'll say one further thing about rand paul, then let's not waste a lot of time. but rand paul is using the people of kentucky. either run for senate and do a good job or run for president. you don't run for president and, by the way, if i d't make it, i'll become your senator reluctantly. if i were somebody, a good, strong republican from kentucky, i would run against him in a heartbeat and you'd win. because the people of kentucky are being used by rand paul. now, think of it. they're saying, oh, if he doesn't make it, we'll take him. that's not the way it works. the people of kentucky should get a senator that wants to

represent them. not a senator where it's a backup plan. so if i was in kentucky, i would run against him. but believe me, i'd win. yes, hi, yes. >> i understand that you care a lot about veterans. >> i do, a lot. >> i'm glad to hear that. i work with the veterans claims advocate. >> good. >> the problem i have helping them is it takes over three years to process one claim. >> unbelievable. you hear that? it takes over three years to process one veteran's claim. >> do you thing the v.a. has run out of money to help them? >> no, i think they've run out of competence. they have incompetent people running it. and it starts with our senators and our congressmen and our president. and i run things properly. what i run runs properly. one of the things i will do is take care of our veterans. it's going o be very important. you know, your a perfect example when you say three years to process a claim that should take 24 hours? yes, ma'am. >> on a lighter note, boston mayor marty walsh has challenged

you to take the ice bucket challenge. is that something you'll do? >> he's a clown, marty walsh. i don't even know who he is. this guy marty walsh spends all this time and money on an olympic bid and then he goes out and he's talking about ice bucket challenges. get a real mayor. he came out, and he was strongly against -- when we had the original problem with, as you know, when i was totally misquoted, now everybody's apologized to me. illegal immigration. he said, i don't like trump statements. now everybody is apologizing because i turned out to be right. and you've had massive crime, you had beautiful kate in san francisco and even three days ago, a 63-year-old woman, in fact, 66-year-old woman was raped sodomized and tortured by an illegal immigrant and they caught him. and it's just disgraceful what's going on. so i brought up -- and i'm so proud of it. i brought up -- and i took a lot of heat that first week, week and a half, a lot of heat.

they called it incoming from you people. incoming. now, so many people have apologized to me. and it's become a mainstay of everybody's campaign. the problem is they don't know what to do about it. i do. i know how to solve the problem. and it starts with building a wall. believe me. okay. >> massachusetts governor baker has said that some of your recent comments were reprehensible about women. >> i don't think he said that. no, i don't think he said that. let me tell you something, jeb bush said that on women's health issues that he won't fund them, then he apologized -- are you okay? jeb bush said that on women's health issues, he won't fund them. who's phone is that? are you ready? third time. ready? jeb bush said that on women's health issues he won't fund them. then he said, oh, i misspoke, i'm so sorry. i cherish women.

women will be taken care of better with a president trump than anybody else, republican or democrat. anybody else. and you know, you can look at my company. i have many women executives. they make in many cases more money -- because the second question how many do you have? many. i'll be introducing them over a period of time, too. they're unbelievable executives. and they get paid almost -- i think they're paid more. we're looking into it, we're studying it now. they get paid more. they're phenomenal, incredibly talented. even years ago in charge of major construction projects, i've had women in charge which years ago was unheard of. so i've been way out in front. and governor baker should only dream about doing for women what i've done and what i will do. but on the women's health issue, i will -- there will be nobody better than donald trump. it might be more. you know what it means? whatever it takes.

that's what it means. whatever it takes. yes, ma'am. >> bernie sanders -- over hillary clinton -- >> bernie sanders has gained a lot of traction. well, they're looking for real change. obama said they're looking for change and, oy, look what we got. we got change. but they're looking for something different than what they have. and you know, bernie sanders is not going to end up being the standard. but certainly he and i are getting by far the biggest crowds. look at the crowd tonight. other people had 51 people, we had 2,400 people and a thousand more than that are standing outside listening to microphones. so and loudspeakers. so we have, you know, we've had tremendous, we've had tremendous crowds. i had 15,000 in phoenix. every crowd is a record crowd. every crowd is totally sold out. and he's done the same thing on the other side with a very different philosophy to put it mildly. >> rand paul has come out with this ad that sort of strings

together comments about supporting people, health care and single payer health care, supporting hillary clinton. you said your positions have evolved. how concerned are you that people -- >> i don't think so. look, i built a net worth of more than $10 billion. all over the world i build. some of the great assets of the world. i don't say that in a bragadocious way. that's the thinking that our country needs to take our jobs back from china and japan and mexico and clean up the border, by the way, speaking of mexico. but that's the kind of thinking we need to take back our jobs, bring back our money, bring back our manufacturing. take a look at china, what they've done. they've taken our money, our jobs, our base, our manufacturing, and we owe them $1.4 trillion. that's like a magic act. they've taken everything and we owe them money. you know, we owe right now china

$1.4 trillion. i'm telling you it's like a magic act. they get everything and we owe them money, not the other way around. because we're led by people that don't have a clue. honestly, i think we're led by stupid people. i don't thing they'k they're ba people. it used to be they're so bad they must be bad people. i think they're very stupid people. our leaders don't have a clue. they're incompetent. china is a great example. i met with carl icahn, one of the great businesspeople, and i had dinner with him two nights ago. i said, carl, if i do this, i'm going to put you in charge of china and i'm going to add in japan. and you know what? everything will be just fine for us. going to be just fine. we have people negotiating for us that don't have -- they have no idea what they're doing. they're not even businesspeople. and remember this, bush and hillary and all these people, they have a lot of money, they raised a lot of money from my

friends. i used to be one of them, i contribute to everybody. and they're always there for me. but that's not good for the country. that's not good as a system. but jeb has raised $114 million approximately. everybody that puts money up for jeb bush, it's like he's a puppet. he's totally controlled by these people. jeb bush is controlled by the people that put up the money. and so are the other candidates. i don't want money from people. other than small donations because they have so many people -- one woman sent $7. i love that where they invest in my campaign. they invest. i don't want that for the money. psychologically i think it's great. but jeb bush has $114 million. what's he going to do with it? he'll start hitting me with ads. at some point he's got to because the guy's going down the tubes. there's no energy. so when jeb and hillary and all of these other candidates start

spending money, remember this. that money was given by people that have total control over them. and those people, many of whom i know very well, they don't care about him. they don't care about the color of his hair. they don't care anything about him. and they don't care about the country in many cases. they only want whatever they want. and they'll get plenty. yes, sir. yeah. >> we don't know who they are. would you call on jeb bush to have his -- >> they should release the names of the donors. i think we should be much more open, talking about campaign finance. i think we should be much more open. if somebody contributes a lot of money, we should know who those people are. >> did you thing thk that was a decision or did you agree with it? >> it's not a great decision for me and they're friends of mine, david bossy, they're friends of mine because i'm putting up my own money. you have people putting money into other campaigns where they

have total control. 100% they'll have control of those people running for office. one of the reasons i've done so well in the polls is everyone knows i won't be controlled. i'll do what's right for the country. no lobbyists. i know them all. i've hired many of them over the years. they're very good. but when they give a million dollars or $5 million to jeb bush, they have total control over hip. he will do like a puppet whatever they say. with me, there's none of that. >> would you push for legislation to change that? >> i love the idea of campaign finance reform. one of the things you should do is everybody should be known. if somebody gives a million or 2 million or 5 million, it should be known. i will tell you this nonsense with pacs where they have millions of dollars raised, $100 million raised, and they don't coordinate with the other people. i mean, bush puts his best friend in there, and they don't talk. they're not allowed to talk. do you really believe that doesn't happen?

they're not allowed to talk. they play golf on saturday, but they don't talk about the 100 million and where they're going to invest. come on, we're not babies. it's a shame. it's a disgrace. and what i would like to see is if you put money up, you can put money into either or both, do whatever you want, but there has to be transparency. you have to know where the money's coming from, and that would help. >> what about limits to -- >> limits okay. >> what about al gore running? have you heard about that? >> i would love to have -- i think the condition concept of a woman running with him would be fabulous. too soon to say. it's too soon to say. >> al gore and joe biden? >> well, i think that they'll be probably involved at some point because there's a lot of pressure on hillary right now. it's been brutal for hillary. i think at some point she's going to not be able to run. she's going to have to end her

campaign. that seems to be the thinking by so many. it looks to me what they've done, this is top secret stuff. general pet ray oworaeupetraeus destroyed with a tiny fraction of what she's done. very unfair if they destroy him over doing by comparison nothing, i don't see how she can run. i think she's got much bigger problems than running for office. yes, ma'am. >> how much longer? >> last question. >> last question. we'll do two more questions. go ahead. >> giving donations is bad for our country. does that mean when you were giving the donations to the politicians you were doing something bad. >> i thing donations when people don't know who is donating is good. people should know who is contributing. i would rather see that. don't forget, while i'm friends with citizen united and i like them and david bossy who is head of it all, that doesn't help me

because i'm spending my own money. okay? so on a personal basis, i don't love it. i think there should be better transparency. and i think when the money comes in, you should use it for what you want. that's what they do anyway. everybody does it, unfortunately, not us, because i'm not doing it but these candidates are doing it illegally. because they're telling the people running the pacs exactly what to do. anybody who thinks they aren't are children. >> are you headed to iowa. >> i'll be doing jury duty on monday morning. i knew you'd ask me that question. i will be doing jury duty on monday morning in new york city. >> criminal court or district court? >> i don't know. it's one of the courts. >> are you looking forward to it? >> yeah, i'm looking forward to it. i think it's fine. it will be rolled out soon. thank you very much. i will see you. i don't know. are we giving helicopter rides? i think so. i hope so. to the kids.

>> who will be -- >> i don't think it will be hillary, but we'll find out soon. >> all right, good evening. i'm steve kornacki in for chris matthews in new york. you've been listening to donald trump before he hits the road for a big event out in iowa. this was a vintage trump performance you just watched. he made it a point to rip into rand paul. he's been on the attack against him lately. >> rand paul, you have to understand, is a disaster in the polls. he's a disaster on military and defense. he's getting decimated by everybody. he's doing so badly he figures he has to attack trump because i'm leading by a lot everywhere. i don't mind. i think he's never going to make it. never going to make it. can't make it.

>> tha former political directo to president bush, john stanton the washington bureau chief at buzzfeed and kristen welker is nbc news white house correspondent. matt, let me start with you. i don't know where to start exactly in this press conference. we have the clip of him attacking rand paul. he also bluntly attacked jeb bush. he called jeb bush a puppet at one point. he said the last thing we need right now is another bush, jeb bush is totally controlled biz h -- by his donors. when the other candidates attack trump, it's not helping them. what happens in the minds of republican voters when they hear donald trump attacking these candidates? is it more effective? >> look, he's connecting. he's seen as someone who is telling it like it is. he says the things in front of a camera that a lot of people are afraid to say and say behind the camera. there's authenticity to it that republican primary voters are connecting to. >> one thing that really jumped out at me was the attack on rand

paul. one of the things that trump said was this was not the time to be weak on defense. donald trump said that after he attacked and called a mistake the iraq war. it's fascinating to me because the only voice this the republican party for the last decade that's really been raising doubts of iraq has been rand paul, has been his father ron paul. now you have donald trump who is making more of the sort of muscular military strength against iraq. we haven't really heard this on the republican side before, have we? >> i think he's doing the same thing he does with his own personal bluster. we shouldn't have been in iraq, we shouldn't be involved in the ukraine but have this huge military that will scare the hell out of everybody on earth. it actually is a little bit consistent with his personal philosophy of be loud and boisterous and push people around a little bit and throw your weight around. that sounds like what his foreign policy would be, i

guess? that's what it sounds like. >> but the thought i have when i'm watching it is how does that resonate with republicans? because what we've seen with rand paul and ron paul when they attack george w. bush and the decision to go into iraq, they're basically branded as traitors to the cause, traitors to the republican party. they're marginalized. they get their 10, 20%, whatever it is. never climb any higher than that. here is donald trump saying what they believe about rand paul. he's calling him all sorts of names. he's saying he's way out there, weak on defense. but he seems to be offering republicans a way to distance themselves from the iraq war without necessarily being branded as traitors to the cause. >> well, that's right. i think that that is one of the reasons that he is gaining so much traction and taking that point a little bit further. what really stood out to me, steve, is the fact that he said i'm going to get along with putin. i think germany should be pressing russia to get out of

ukraine. i'm going to be fascinated to see how the broader republican party responds to that. a lot of republicans have said president obama should be tougher on putin in terms of pressing him to get out of ukraine. that's something that could potentially alienate some republican voters. i've been talking to republican strategi strategists. they say they want the republican candidates to get their donald trump on them. find that authentic part of themselves to translate the message they want to get out so they can get into this conversation. >> is that possible that we're dealing with -- these guys are professional politicians and trump is just absolutely -- jeb bush, he said the guy's raised $114 million. do you really think these people plopping down tens of millions aren't going to have real control over this politician that's taken all their money? how can they show this authentic side when trump is this point of comparison? >> donald trump is going after his adversaries for this nomination. this is all fair game.

i think this is exactly right. initially a lot of these candidates thought they could lampoon donald trump and could marginalize hill and make fun of him. now they're imitating him. because when you see polls of him getting anywhere from 10 to upwards of 30% in the polls he's really resonating people. when people make fun of donald trump or try to marginalize hill, they're making fun of voters. that's a stupid thing for a republican to do in this nominating process. the fact is carly fiorina, ben carson, donald trump. add up how well they're doing in the polls, and it's a blistering message coming through from republican primary voters. washington is broken. they want to try new candidates. they're ready for a whole new way to approach this. >> that is striking. you add up the outsiders who are performing so well and think back to how the stage was set. you got scott walker, marco rubio, jeb bush, these will be the stars of the field. that's not where the energy is

right now. kristen welker, i understand you have to run. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, steve. >> the question is what can stop donald trump? because nothing has so far. we're not kidding you here. trump confirmed that he's been summoned for jury duty in manhattan. he confirmed that at his press conference just a minute ago. he reports on monday. on the side of your screen there you're looking at an event that donald trump is about to speak at. while we await that, katy tur joins us from the campaign rally in new hampshire. she was in that press conference, you could hear her asking the donald a number of questions. you've interviewed him, watched him in these settings, i've noticed two press conferences he's given this week. this guy is feeling more relaxed and more confident. that's saying something because this is a guy who never lacks for self-confident. >> no, you can see when he doesn't like a question. i don't think he particularly likes the cuba question i posed to him early on, whether or not he agrees with president obama

opening the doors once again to cuba. his answer was a trump answer. we need to make a better deal. the deal was awful. i'd make a better deal. how would you make a better deal? then he doesn't say specifically. when people start asking him questions he knows he can riff a little longer on, you see him start to warm up, certainly with the questions on rand paul. able to denigrate rand paul and how terrible he is doing in the polls. the question about boston's mayor asking him to do the ice bucket challenge saying the boston mayor needs to do something better with his time including some other language that i won't repeat. he enjoys that stuff, talking about campaign finance reform. it's interesting that he is for campaign finance reform given that he's given so much money in the past. he wants it to be very open, that people should know who is giving what money and how. i think a lot of people think that that's a correct thing to do and they see the hypocrisy

and the ludicrousness of the idea that this major corporation or this donor is giving a ton of money to a super pac, yet they can't speak to the candidate. how they were golfing together and not speaking. there's a lot of people in the population who see that as something that doesn't quite connect. they do see other candidates as people who are beholden to special interests. in that way he's connecting to a lot of voters. certainly the voters here said that really resonates with them. but if i asked them if they've decided they want to vote for trump, a lot here in new hampshire say they aren't quite sure yet. they want to hear more policy specifics. the new hampshirens are very used to candidates coming here and having more intimate conversations and talking to them one on one. he hasn't yet done that. i've asked do they trust he'll be able to do it. they do want to hear more details, but they're optimistic he'll have some good ideas. >> that point you make there

about how he talked about jeb bush, the money, the super pac, all those technicalities, all i'm thinking about is the first few months of the year when jeb bush hadn't formally declared his candidacy, every event he was reading this legalize fineprint. i'm considering the possibility that i might have a full-fledged campaign for president. all this was to fulfill the super pac fund-raising fake barrier issues that are raised. trump is stripping away all the artifice, all the phoniness. i can definitely see the appeal of people who are just sick of politics. katy tur, thank you for that. standing by here waiting for donald trump to arrive. we'll have it for you as soon as he appears. we're going to sneak in a quick break here. waiting for donald trump. nobodyl still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do, drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement,

you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. can save you up to 50% on ink, so print all you want and never run out. right now, buy an eligible printer, and get three months of free ink with hp instant ink. available at participating retailers. the most affordable way to print. hp instant ink.

thiproof of less joint pain. and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis from the inside out ...with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage and clear skin in many adults. all right, here's donald trump live in hampton, new hampshire. >> i'm going to make the people outside angry, but they love me and i love them. we have over a thousand people outside. we have hundreds of people in the second auditorium, but you people got the good real estate. right? you got the good real estate. so this is has been an amazing period of time. i know it's very early, but the

polls have been through the roof. every one of them. every one of them. because -- and i don't know if it's for me or if it's for the message or maybe it's a combination of both, but -- you know, i brought back a term that hasn't been used in a long time. it's called the silent majority. there's a tremendous silent majority that politicians have taken advantage of. i mean, they have taken advantage of the people of this country long enough. they're largely incompetent, except when it comes to getting re-elected. that's what they do. who knows better than me? i've contributed to everybody. who knows them better than me? they're great at one thing -- don't make any waves, get re-elected, serve it out, then get re-elected again. i see it all the time.

i've been watching it for so many years, and i personally am sick and tired of it. so backstage i met some of the vets, the greatest people we have in this country. and they've been mistreated. they've been treated like third-class citizens, and it's going to stop. it's going to stop. you look at these senators and the congressmen. they ride around. they're like kings. they think, great, oh, isn't it great, they come, they make speeches. nothing ever happens. so two weeks ago on wednesday they had the longest waits in reception rooms and reception areas in the history of the

veterans administration. people waiting three days, four days, five days to see a doctor, to see a doctor. so we are going to straighten -- it's called management. it's called management. that's all it is. the military is going to be so strong in this country that nobody is going to mess around with the united states. that i can tell you. that i can tell you. nobody. you know, over the last few weeks, jeb bush, in favor of common core, weak on immigration, not good on military.

can you believe thought the iraq war was a good thing? you can make a mistake. i was against it for a long time. i'm the most militaristic person in this room, but you have to know when to use it. you have to know when to use it. think about it. we spend $2 trillion in iraq and, by the way, china's taken out a lot of the oil, just so you understand. isis may have it and iran may have it but china's taken out a lot of the oil. can you imagine? we never do anything right with china. we spend $2 trillion. thousands of lives of great people mostly great young, beautiful people. wounded warriors who i love all over the place. all over the place. not treated properly, by the way. and we have nothing. and iran is taking over iraq. and the parts that they want to give up, they're giving oil to

isis. so isis has the oil. and you remember when i said you shouldn't go in and, in fact, just check reuters wrote an article, big article in 2004 that trump, don't go in because you're going to ruin the balance. you had iran and iraq, they were the same, they were twins. they'd have wars for years wars, boom, one goes this way, one goes that way. i said if you take out one, the other one's going the take over. we took out one and look at the mess we have. we've destabilized the middle east and it's a mess. and jeb bush couldn't -- he didn't know the difference. he couldn't answer a question, was iraq a good thing or a bad thing. it's all right to say they made a mistake. finally after going to his pollster, who he pays a fortune to, by the way, after five days he said it was a bad thing. okay.

let's saaccept that. that's okay. then the other day i'm watching, yesterday, well, we got saddam hussein out, didn't we? i mean, i'm not a fan of saddam hussein, but he ran the place. and he had no weapons of mass destruction. and now instead of saddam hussein, we have far more brutal. we have isis. and we have iran because they're already making deals. i read where the leaders of iraq are visiting the leaders of iran. what did we get out of this? what did we get? we have stupid leadership. now, if you remember -- so i didn't want to go in. i was right. i didn't want to go in. i was right. but then we were in. and it was bad. and there was still bombings, but it was bad. but we're in. and at some point we have to go

out. we can't stay there forever. we have to rebuild this country, we have to rebuild our country. our bridges are falling apart. our roads are a mess. our schools, our highways, everything, it's a mess. who's better at infrastructure than trump? okay? okay? so look, at some point we have to get out. they talk about the surge, the surge. remember bush's brother? he said, the war is over. we've taken over. you know, like two days later it was a disaster. now, obama said it with yemen. he announced yemen was a total victory. and then like three months later it was like a disaster. and we don't have yemen. we don't have anything. we send over to our allies, if you call them that, they don't even know what they are, there's just no word for them. okay? iraq isn't even a country. iraq is a bunch of corrupt

people that sort of string something together. it's not a country. but we send over to our allies 2,500 humvees. so when i heard 2,500, i thought it was a typo in "the new york times." i said, they mean 25. they mean 2 1/2. they mean 250 maybe. that's a lot. so these are 2,500 humvees, armor plated all over. so when the bombs go off, you don't lose your legs and you don't lose your life and you don't lose your arms. really great vehicles. one shot is fired and these guys run away and the enemy picks up. 2,500. think of it, think of it. so we need the right thinking.

i said and people said what a terrible statement he made. because when we had to leave -- we had to leave. you can talk about the surge but at some point we had to leave. we can't stay there forever. if we'd loosen up so many of these ridiculous rules, we have so much oil under our feet, we don't need them because of new technologies. new technology. so we're going to leave. and i say, leave. like take the oil. do you remember that? did anyone ever hear me saying that? i've been saying it for years. take the oil. and i watch these guys on television, political people, many of them are with the administration. and i think they mean well. but they don't have a clue. they'd say, isn't that silly? mr. trump says take the oil. well, you know where's the oil now? iran, isis. everybody has it but us. we're the only ones without the

oil. it's hard to believe. we need general douglas macarthur who i thought he was great. you know, to this day, the highest academic record -- i'm big into school and academics. i love it. i went to the greatest school. you have to be really smart to get into that school, the wharton school of finance. you have to be really smart. and that was before i was trump. you know? that was before i was trump. but you have to be really smart. that's like the hardest one. but you know, even then, by the way. but general douglas macarthur to this day was the greatest student in the history of west point, plus he had the look, he had the whole deal. he was a general. i don't see it now so much. i don't want to knock any of the generals but i'll see some of these guys come on.

can we defeat isis? i don't thing so. i don't want to use names, but he's sort of retiring.kg so. i don't want to use names, but he's sort of retiring. so. i don't want to use names, but he's sort of retiring. then you have general george patton. so do you think, general patton, when president obama -- remember not so long ago he said we're going to attack a certain city. and he said in two weeks we're going to attack this city. and we're going to attack it from the front. and we're going to use drones. in the meantime, the enemy's saying, bing, bing, and it was brutal. it turned out to be a brutal situation. and i said, you know, that's great, that's camouflage. what a smart thing he's doing. because he's probably going to do the opposite. well, in two weeks we attacked. it was the craziest thing i've ever seen.

it was something that should have taken 24 hours was like months. and i said, i wonder what general macarthur and general patton, just to name two of the great ones, are doing right now in their grave? you know what they're doing? they're spinning, they're spinning. they're saying, i don't believe it. i don't believe it. so we have such a great country, but we've gone down so far. china yesterday -- i'm big for the world of financial. and i tell you what, cnn did a poll. and i was through the roof on the economy. i was like really high. i have to be exactly accurate because otherwise they'll have a front page story that donald trump gave false -- but i mean, i was many times number two. i was through the roof on leadership. that's a pretty important subject, right, leadership. i killed everybody on leadership. right? i did great on the military. and i actually think the military would be just as good

as the economic for me, personally. i think i'd be good, oh, wouldn't i be tough? oh, these poor people. i would be creating things and nobody would be playing with us. nobody. nobody. and i don't necessarily -- >> we've been listening to donald trump up there in hampton, new hampshire, talking to a rally. this after he gave another press conference next door. trump spoke with reporters right before he took the stage. it was a vintage trump performance, both the press conference and the speech you're listening to now. he slammed jeb bush on the subject of iraq. rand paul. listen to some of the things he had to say. >> was it worth it? we have nothing over there. his brother made a horrible decision and president obama made a horrible decision the way he left and when he left he should have taken the oil. i heard jeb bush talking about it. first of all, took him five days before he could give an answer. after the pollsters told him what to say, he said it was bad.

now he's trying to backtrack probably because his brother said, wait a minute. you're killing me. >> and trump also delivered a warning shot to rand paul's campaign, specifically saying that paul's attacks on trump will doom the paul campaign. >> i've been attacked now by perry of texas, and he went bing like a rocket ship except in the wrong direction. i was attacked by lindsey graham, and he had two points. now he has zero. now, rand paul has very few points, but i think he's going down, too. >> and even went off on the mayor of boston, marty walsh. >> boston mayor marty walsh has challenged you to take the ice bucket challenge. is that something you'll do? >> he's a clown, marty walsh. he spends all this time and money on an olympic bid and he goes out and talking about ice bucket challenges. get a real mayor. >> michelle bernard is president of the bernard center, richard

fowler a radio talk show host, liz mair. i was watching this and i'm thinking this is why trump is doing so well in the polls. this is why he's such a threat to these other republican candidates because listen to him talk about iraq. listen to him talk about the relationship between these candidates and these million dollar donors. he is saying things that people at a commonsense level start nodding their heads at. things the other candidates can't say or don't think it's safe for them to say politically. >> i was watching the press conference as someone who actually thought after the megyn kelly incident that donald trump would once again be toast. and what was scary but interesting to listen to him tonight in both the press conference and the speech he's giving is that he absolutely makes sense. and there is a method to the madness. the way he was attacking bush. if you listen to people in polls who are asked what it is they like about donald trump, they

keep saying the same thing over and over. he says it like it is. he says it real. he said things that i think but i can't say. when he attacks bush and the others', quote, unquote, establishment republicans who are also running for president, he's really showing the american public what he believes is wrong with establishment politics. and tonight he absolutely made sense on every single statement he made. >> yeah, liz, i got to say, i'm listening to him specifically on iraq. i think he's got turf here on the republican side that no other candidate has claimed or maybe can claim. it's the turf where they don't thing iraq is a good thing and they don't like rand paul. they don't like the idea that rand paul is dovish, trump is saying to those voters out there, we can still throw our weight around in the world.

>> he'll be saying things that will be somewhat appealing to people who take a close look at rand paul. my analysis of why he may be doing better with those people than rand is is a little different. rand has done some things that to some of his supporters have read is a little bit confusing in terms of his philosophy where trump seems extremely clear-cut and you know what he's saying. that's a fundamental issue that politicians have. they do have a hard time saying things with clarity and definition. and trump obviously doesn't have that problem to the same degree. that's perhaps why he's doing better. i would also make the point that watching that press conference, i think it's pretty clear that trump knows he took a beating after that debate and his performance wasn't the way it needed to be and the way he handled the megyn kelly issue

wasn't right. he sounded more credible to me than he has to date. >> he was the infrastructure president tonight. >> there was a moment where he was actually dropping information about the heroin problem in new hampshire saying per capita -- do i'm watching this guy and saying in front of our own eyes we're watching him become a real front-runner. >> watching him become more and more presidential. every time he steps to the mike, he's able to sort of re-create himself. all the republican candidates are fighting for one pie and donald trump is just baking more pies. it's phenomenal to watch as sort of a political insider and to watch him continue to bake more pies, continue to change the game up. every campaign manager is scratching their head thinking about what are we going to do to make our candidate stand out in the new world of donald trump.

>> the panel is sticking with me. behold, these are two wind turbines. can you spot the difference? the wind farm on the right was created using digital models and real world location-based specs that taught it how to follow the wind. so while the ones on the left are waiting, the ones on the right are pulling power out of thin air. pretty impressive, huh? now, two things that are exactly the same have have never been more different. ge software. get connected. get insights. get optimized. when a moment spontaneously turns romantic, why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use, is the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex.

do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any symptoms of an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use. insurance coverage has expanded nationally and you may now be covered. contact your health plan for the latest information.

welcome back to "hardball." we've been bringing you live coverage of donald trump's campaign rally up there in hampton, new hampshire. katy tur joins us from outside the rally. obviously the speech still going on, but the thing i was so struck by is what he said about iraq. he didn't just say he'd been against the iraq war. that was an extended and blunt denunciation of the iraq war. i'm saying there's been an opening for a republican, a major mainstream republican for years now to say what he's saying and none of them have taken it. i guess out of deference to the bushes, out of deference to the fact that republicans a decade ago were for this war. but he's making the hawk's case

to say iraq was a bad thing. i think he's got a lot of room to run with that. >> i think what's surprising is you don't hear republicans say that the iraq war was a mistake or say that wrong to come out a say mission accomplished, before things really started heating up. there was a lot of placing the blame on the obama administration after that or placing the blame on other parties. and you haven't seen very many republicans come out and say, this was a bad idea. and trump is doing that. and i think it's surprising that he's speaking to so many people. and i think it's probably surprising for some in the republican party that he's getting a big reaction from those words, that this was wrong, it wasn't a good idea. it wasn't a war that we should have gone into. and people agree with that. they think that -- they think that he's going to be really strong with the military. when he says, i'm going to be very strong and i'll cut isis off in the oil, i asked them, do you trust him? he doesn't have any military experience. and they wide-eyed say, yes, we do trust him. and that's because i think that he's just such a convincing

personality and larger than life. and there is this whole trend right now going on in america towards reality stars and the worshiping of reality stars, and i think this is almost that taken to the extreme. but he is, frankly, a good businessman. he wasn't born -- he was born into it, in some ways. he was given a lot of money by his father to start things. but he has certainly doubled it, tripled it, billioned it, and done a good jobs since then and they see him as a role model, someone they can look up to and aspire to be. he's like the guy who made a lot of money and now can't stop talking about how cool it is. and that's really resonating. so when he comes out and talks about the iraq war in such blunt words, people feel like he's being honest and he's not double speaking, he's not twisting it around, he's not placing the blame somewhere else. and i think that they're really reacting to that. and you hear big cheers from these crowds wherever he brings up the military and isis. and those words he just talked

about with saddam hussein were actually pretty surprising. >> yeah, katy, an interesting observation from the voters. that's where i picture average republican voters sitting around the kitchen table talking about this stuff, they don't like obama or obama's foreign policy but look back at iraq and they don't know why we went there. and there's no republican who's not a rand paul, ron paul noninterventionist out there saying it and here's donald trump saying it. nbc's katy tur, thanks so much. up next, back with my panel, donald trump next stop in iowa and an appearance on "meet the press." zzzquil. the non habit-forming sleep aid that helps you sleep easily, and wake refreshed. because sleep is a beautiful thing. you're not at all concerned? about what now? oh, i don't know. the apocalypse? we're fine. i bundled renter's with my car insurance through progressive for just six bucks more a month. word.

there's looters running wild out there. covered for theft. okay. that's a tidal wave of fire. covered for fire. what, what? all right. fine. i'm gonna get something to eat. the boy's kind of a drama queen. just wait. where's my burrito? [ chuckles ] worst apocalypse ever. protecting you till the end. now, that's progressive. thiproof of less joint pain. and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis from the inside out ...with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage and clear skin in many adults. doctors have been prescribing humira for nearly 10 years. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis serious,sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb.

tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. visit humira.com and talk to your rheumatologist. humira. this is a body of proof! at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like shopping hungry equals overshopping.

well, they're looking for real change. obama said they're looking for change, and boy, we got change. >> welcome back to "hardball." back now with our roundtable. liz, you were making a point earlier that i thought was really interesting, saying that you thought trump had learned lessons that were evident in his performance tonight from that debate that he was a little more polished, a little bit more prepared, dropped in some policy details, we're talking about this sort of evolution from a front runner, everybody thinks is a fleeting blip into maybe, maybe a real front runner. do you think with that sort of new trump you're talking about, do you think we could start to see some republican establishment figures actually coming on board with this guy? >> i suspect that that's probably quite a ways off. and he would have to do quite a

bit more work to get to that point. but i do think that this particular performance and the context of this press conference is something that definitely ups the game for some of the candidates out there. they're not just necessarily going to be able to treat him as a pure comedy figure and they are actually now in a position where he's bringing some substance to the table. you know, i don't necessarily agree with all of it, but he is, and they'll probably have to engage with him on a bit of that. >> michelle, i guess there's a risk in that for donald trump. everybody's saying, when's he going to start doing policy specifics, he said at the end of this press conference tonight, soon. but i guess when you're donald trump and you have risen this trar in the polls by being the anti-politician, by sounding like a politician that no one's ever heard before, the more you get into footing out these policy plans, the more you might sound like a lawyer, speaking like somebody who has all this fine print they have to get out there, sounding like a politician. >> as a lawyer, i will not take offense at that little dig. >> me either.

>> but you're absolutely right. you know, i got to tell you, chris win also think that tonight trump was not just appealing to the republican base that is angry and wants change, i think he was possibly quite appealing to independents and democrats. we definitely saw a new donald trump tonight. not the trump we saw after the debate. but what i'm still watching for is how he's going to do with women. i think we would be remiss to ignore the fact that we have a gender gap and the women's vote in both parties is absolutely the penultimate. i made note of the fact during the press conference that he said basically under a donald trump presidency, he's going to take care of women. and the first thing i thought is, women don't want to be taken care of, women, whether they are red state or blue state

feminists, conservative, liberal, independent or whatever. women don't want to be taken care of, they want to be taken seriously, they want to earn the same amount of money for the jobs that they do. and so what i am looking for is to see the evolution of donald trump on quote/unquote, women's issues. and i say that as one who believes in women's issues. but i want to see donald trump address the issues that are important to women. >> richard, quickly, we have about 30 seconds, but the question we've been asking for now, what would it actually take to take down donald trump? >> i think it's going to take a lot of campaign spending, a lot of negative advertising, and i even think when that happens, he's going to still manage to rise above the fray on this one. i mean, listen to this speech. he talks about campaign finance reform, infrastructure investment. these are the things that the american people are looking for. and i think that is a problem that -- that's why the republican candidates are in big trouble with donald trump. i've got to tell you. >> yeah, no. three times now, i think people have said, this is it. this is the last line, donald trump's crossed it.

has not happened yet. michelle, richard, liz, thank you all for joining us tonight. really appreciate that. that is "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. chris matthews will be back here on monday night. and "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. and you are looking right now at live pictures from two political events right now kicking off, what happens to be the busiest weekend of the campaign race so far. on the right, hampton, new hampshire, where donald trump is just wrapping up a big campaign rally speech q&a on the left. the iowa democratic wing ding dinner, where four presidential candidates are about to take stage. the front runner, hillary clinton, bernie sanders, who is nipping at her heels, even leading in a current poll in new hampshire, though far behind in iowa, followed by martin o'malley and lincoln chafee. we're awaiting those remarks. we'll bring you some of it live througho t