thank you, michael. pledge of allegiance. let's play "hardball." >> i have signed the pledge. so i will be totally pledging my allegiance to the republican party, and the conservative principles for which it stand. and we will go out and we will fight hard and we will win. >> good evening. i'm in for chris matthews tonight. we begin with donald trump's pledge of allegiance to the republican party. a month-long circus since that fox news debate where he thumbed

his nose at the gop. >> is there anyone on stage, can i see hands, who is unwilling tonight to pledge your support to the eventual nominee of the republican party and pledge to not run an independent campaign against that person? raise your hand now if you won't make that pledge tonight. mr. trump. you're not going to make the pledge. >> i will not make the pledge at this time. >> but it wasn't until today that thing got really interesting. in typical trump fashion, the last 24 hours have been chaos. last night, there was word that there was a coup to try to force him to pledge his loyalty to the party. that was promptly met with derigs from one of his closest allies who tweeted, we don't need your stinking pledges. this morning more leaks.

reporting that trump will indeed sign the pledge. more confusion. the campaign pours cold water on the story saying he has sinlds nothing. then the curtains part and there he is announcing, yes, he has signed on the dotted line. he has pledged his loyalty to the republican party. here's the strange part. the guy who wrote the art of the deal said he got nothing in return. his decision is non-negotiable. >> what did i get for signing the pledge? absolutely nothing. other than the insurance that i would be treated fairly. >> i see no circumstances chund i would tear up the pledge. >> joan walsh editor at large with sal only and robert costa with the "washington post." he was one of the first reporters to break today's big stories so i'll start with you. trump says i got nothing.

what is in this for donald trump to make this pledge today? >> there is a big back story here. trump and the rnc have been in talks for over a week. they set up the timing. trump wanted priebus to come to his home turf to appear to have this be a trump event. what does trump get? according to his advisers, he forces everyone else to pledge to back trump in effect should trump become the nominee. that's the biggest thing he wanted. he thinks he will be the nominee. trump didn't want to talk about supporting the other candidates. he framed it as they'll have to support me if i'm the nominee. the other way is he may be entering a new phase of the campaign. the one thing that has been missing so far for all the success in the polls, he hasn't gotten any endorsements yet. he hasn't gotten any big name republicans to say this is my guy.

i'm with donald trump. by signing this pledge, does he make that possible? >> probably not likely. i don't see any establishment republicans making that run toward trump because of this. and i don't think trump really cares one way or the other if he has anyone's endorsement and probably would not want establishment endorsements to begin with. i think the other big thing he gets out of this is that not only does he now have the opportunity to have the other folks on the stage pledge their support to him should he be the nominee, but he gets access to the entire network of the gop. he is now mitigated the fact in south carolina and other states who were planning to come after him, they're no longer going to be in that posture. so he is now a full pledged player on the gop stage with very little obstacles in front of him and nothing but winning and a big rear view mirror as he creates a greater distance between himself and the other candidates.

>> he continues to soar. a new mon mouth poll has him soaring to 30%. and jeb bush has fallen to 8 points. even more striking is his favorability among republicans. it only goes up. as he was announcing back in june it was just 20% in july. hit jumped to 40% by august. 52%. today near 60%. so donald trump has positioned himself as a force that is sort of simultaneously working within and outside of the republican party. the only candidate on the stage at that debate a month ago to raise his hand and say i'm not big to commit. clearly that's part of his appeal. that perceived independence. is he giving part of that up by saying, yeah, i'm a party man? >> i don't think he's giving it up. i think he is taking over the party. i think this means this is donald trump's party.

i know that's uncomfortable for michael, perhaps, and people who have tried to broaden his reach now. the party is really stuck with that image of, i've signed the pledge. >> i think that's, his point is how much it matters that he now gets endorsement of other republicans. poor jeb bush. has he now promise nod matter what crazy thing, ellen doris him? >> he said that day. >> that does jeb bush, he has no intention of letting up on donald trump criticized jeb bush for speaking spanish and today jeb fired back. >> what was your first thought when he criticized you for speaking spanish? >> i laughed. this is a joke. you laugh because it is so bizarre. it is hurtful for a lot of

people and mr. trump knows this. >> here i am. a candidate for president of the united states, believing we should campaign [ speaking spanish ] with our arms wide open. >> and trump went on the offensive. >> you know, one of the things that i'm most honored about is that so far, everybody that has attacked me has gone down the tubes. as far as jeb is concerned, i watched him this morning on television. it's a little bit sad. don't forget, he was supposed to win and he just doesn't have the energy. >> i'm trying to figure out what a reconciliation would look like. if bush wins and trump has to endorse him or trump wins and bush has to endorse him. i'm thinking this is donald trump who used to be for partial-birth abortion. donald trump who was for single payer health care. he has reinvented himself so many times. is he really going to be bounds by a pledge he makes today? >> no. i checked with republican

establishment figures and people close to trumpl. i said let's say this plays out. is he going to stick to this. no. it is not a legally binding document. it was political theater. if you're rinls priebus and you think he goes down a path you dome like, this isn't a binding contract. >> if thing go south here for donald trump one way or the other, and he wants this third party possibility, all he has to do is say i made this deal in good faith. the republican party stopped being fair to me. they pulled the rug out from you understand me. they screwed me. >> saying the words and following up with the action are two very, very different things. it is not easy to run as a third party candidate at a time when donald trump would be doing. that you're talking sometime early january, february, maybe even as late as march of next year.

the organization is impossible. in one sense, the chairman, reince, they have put him in a box. there is that tension that still exists. there donald trump can make a big noise. it has a huge down side. >> you were making an interesting point about donald trump, you reading this as the trumpification of the republican party. he talk about not wanting to make this pledge before because he would give up his leverage. what kind of leverage do you think he has going forward? >> i think he has these soaring poll numbers. we should say that it is still

early. it is september. we've seen other front-runners crash and burn but this is a lead that he's held and expanded through thick and thin. there have been many things that some of us in this segment have said, that might do it. that might be the thing that takes him down and nothing has. so i think he doesn't feel that he needs leverage. what he needs, it helps him to have the perimeter of the party. and i think it helps inoculate him against what has been jeb bush's attack so far. that he is a closet democrat. well, no, he said before, ronald reagan was a democrat, i'm like him. now the party, reince priebus has come to new york, he's kissed the ring, and he's embraced him with open arms, as jeb might say in spanish. i do love it when jeb bush spoke so passionately and i think, i don't know if that's the secret. i can't say that republican voters are going to be excited to hear him speak spanish. if i was excited, they are probably not excited.

but i think he has to be that passionate. and i think he has to speak that way. how can it be -- how can there be a downside to a president speaking another language so floonltly and being able to court citizens, we were talking about people who are here legally and want to vote republican. >> you're really plugged in. what do the bush people tell but this strategy? do they think they're getting track, turning up the heat here? he always said at the beginning, he wants to be willing to lose the primary to win the general election. i think what joan is talking about is consistent with that. what effect do they think it is having in the here and now? >> another chess game going on. bush is trying to revive his campaign and part of that is framing trump as a democrat. you have bush going after trump as a liberal. trump's people see this. trump has mentioned these attacks. and now they're trying to count we are this pledge so bush may have to recalibrate because now trump is ensconced within the gop. >> appreciate you all joining us.

coming up, the kentucky clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples has been held in contempt of court. she is now in custody. her case has become a hot issue on the campaign trail and it is dividing the republican field. plus, new england patriots super star tom brady beats the nfl. the federal judge nullifies the four-game suspension that roger gerell wanted to impose as part of deflategate. and the former i.t. staffer will plead the fifth on benghazi. what if anything can hillary clinton do to put this controversy behind her? and finally, back to our top story. trump. loyalty in the gop. do we have any reason to believe donald trump will make good on his pledge not to bolt and run third party? start the interview with a firm handshake.

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andrea will be sit go down for an exclusive interview with hillary clinton. the two will discuss the presidential campaign, clinton's houston of a private e-mail server and the republican feel for 2016. tomorrow at noon eastern here on msnbc.

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pg&e is a strong supporter of solar energy. we focus on helping our customers understand it and be able to apply it in the best way possible. not only is it good for the environment, it's good for the businesses' bottom line. these are our neighbors. these are the people that we work with. that matters to me. i have three children that are going to grow up here and i want them to be able to enjoy all the things that i was able to enjoy. together, we're building a better california. there is a dramatic turn in the case of the kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses. she said doing so would conflict with her religious beliefs. the judge ordered her jailed until she agrees to order the los angeleses. the judge telling davis, the idea that natural law super seeds this court would be a dangerous precedent. there is been political reaction

to the case. senator rand paul said jailing davis will back fire against supportes of same-sex marriage. >> i think it is absurd for putting someone in jail for exercising their religious liberty. if you want to convince people that same-sex marriage is something acceptable, i would say try to persuade people. if we're going on use the federal government and get involved in every state locality, do you know what will happen? it will harden people's resolve on this issue. there will be no open minedness on this. >> ted cruz issued a statement saying today judicial lawlessness crossed into judicial tyranny. today for the first time ever, the government arrested a christian woman for living according to her faith. and mike huckabee tweeted, kim davis in federal custody removes all doubts about the criminal skags of christian yandle in this country. we must defend religious liberty. huckabee said he is heading to kentucky next week. joined by a former white house political director for george w. bush and the chairman of the american sempt union. and fred, the president of

rights equals rights. he ran for president as a republican in 2012. i'm curious how you read this one. we have the statements from huckabee, from ted cruz saying this is the persecution of christians trying to exercise their faithful it raises the question to me, what about a gay christian who is trying to exercise his or her right to get married? >> well, guess what, the constitution allows for us to exercise our faith as we choose to exercise it. and this is problem when the supreme court in the stroke of a pen up-ends 50 state laws on marriage. we've had where states would adjudicate how a marriage would happen in its state. and the supreme court upended it all that. and in one fell step -- >> that's how it works, isn't it? >> no. it's not. no. >> for instance, the supreme court 50 years ago, 60 years ago strikes down separate but equal with brown versus board of education and suddenly laws are upended around the country.

>> you're right. i think it happens too much. when it comes to civil rights, clearly we're still debating these important issues. we did pass, we had a civil war. and we passed three constitutional amendments around these issues on civil rights. the problem with issues like abortion and now the questions around marriage, is that when the supreme court up ends all the state laws without going through that amendment process. so without going through democratic process, we will spent another generation fighting about this. and i guarantee you, i don't think this county clerk is interpreting the law correctly at all. i think she needs to issue these licenses. but i agree. if people start going to jail for exercising their religious beliefs, how is that going to get this country to any kind of consensus? >> it is interesting. i think we're entering this interesting cultural debate that will definal the next few years where gay marriage is the law of the land in 50 states. and the people who remain morally opposed to it are trying

to carve out some kind of role in this society, putting somebody like the in jail only got go inflame the situation? and the opposition that's still out there? >> the clerk had ample opportunity to enforce the law. she was warned if she didn't, there would be squenlss. and a very conservative judge put her in jail. she had so much nepotism going on, it was a crazy place. she is very hypocritical. she needs to grand marriage licenses or face the consequences. >> this has divided the field. several candidates have come out strongly supporting her. >> i think there ought to be some room for people to exercise their religious beliefs and not be told they have to do something they find morally objectionable. >> i don't think anybody should have to choose between their conscious, their religious beliefs, and giving up their job or facing financial sanctions.

>> do you want to see other court clerks doing this? >> well, i want people to stand up for their convictions. i want them to have the courage of their convictions. not to acquiesce. >> do you want them to follow the law? >> i would say to you, it is the interpretation of five unelected lawyers on the court. >> on the other side, several candidates have pointed out that davis doesn't work for a private company. she had employed by the federal government. she swore an oath to follow the law. >> i sympathize with her religious beliefs. but she is a public official. and those of us in public life have to administer the law to every american as the law is written. >> given the role that she is playing, given the fact that the government is paying her salary, i think that is not appropriate. i think it is a very different situation for her than someone in a hospital who is asked to perform an abortion or someone who is a florist who is asked to serve a gay wedding. i think when you're a government

employee, you are put in a different position. >> so matt, you say ultimately, she should be issuing the licenses. carly fiorina is saying that, lindsey graham is saying that. why is no one else in the republican field saying this? mike huckabee, for instance, why are they saying this woman should not be giving out these licenses? >> look. i'm trying to look at the words of the zengs candidates as well and it is hard to parse them. i think over the next several days we'll understand them better. i think most are saying the supreme court put us in this terrible place when you can go to jail. something as basic as marriage in this country. so i think they sympathize with her. at the ends of the day, if all the county clerks take it on themselves to interpret the constitution and to interpret supreme court decisions in their own manner, we will have legal chaos. that's not a good thing for a

democracy. we have to have the rule of law and the supreme court has spoken. i don't like how they've spoken but they have spoken. these clerks need to follow lawful i think many candidates will explain that in the end. i think they sympathize with this terrible position she's in. >> that's interesting. there is one candidate who is not articulating the supreme court that way. this morning he said davis was in her right not to issue los angeleses because she was following kentucky law. >> when you say it is the law of the land, can you quote the statute that has been pass bid the people's elected representatives? >> no. the only law she's following is kentucky law which defines marriage as a man and a woman. the specific form that she is required to fill out for a marriage license specifically requires male and female. now, if the kentucky legislature decides that they agree with the supreme court, and they change the laws of kentucky, that's a whole different thing. we're bordering on judicial tyranny.

>> that was astounding me. first of all, let's clear this up. the form in kentucky has been changed. it no longer requires male and female. there is party "a" and party b so he is inaccurate. if the supreme court makes a ruling it is only ruling if the states put that into legislative language. that is a shocking interpretation of the constitution. >> and this is a man running for president of the united states who a year ago said if this happens, if the supreme court allowed gay marriage, it is not the voice of god and he encouraged civil distorn. i am calling for mike huckabee to drop out. she drop out, give back the money and go back to preaching. >> i have a feeling he will end up raising a lot of money off this one. especially now that she's gone to jail. appreciate you both being here. up next, victory for tom brady and the patriots as the judge

overturns the four-game suspension.

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♪ everyone can shop, but members get more with reviews, live customer support, and better pricing. visit angieslist.com today. the only thing tom brady is guilty of is being the greatest quarterback ever. >> we're so excited the judge came down in freed him today. they're always going to call us cheaters and hate on us. >> welcome back to "hardball." patriots fans are thrilled after the judge threw out the suspension over deflate gate. they said the nfl lost the case because during the investigation, brady wasn't told he could be suspend asked that brady's lawyers had no access to nfl officials. nfl commissioner roger goodell hit back in a statement that reads, we will appeal today's ruling in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. rob gronkowski tweeted, let's

go. this season to be one heck of a ride. even donald trump got fired up for brady this afternoon. >> he is really a very good friend of mine and i just spoke to him a little while ago. he is so thrilled and so happy. tom brady, i think what they've done is terrible. and he has been exonerated. >> joining me now, mike florio, the host of pro football talk. the bottom line here, we have one week from tonight. the nfl season starts. as of right now, tom brady would be the start he for the patriots against the steelers. the nfl says it is appealing this thing. is this going to be resolved once and for all before the opener a week from tonight? >> there is no way this will be resolved. the nfl has taken no steps to try to get the suspension imposed, pending the appeal.

i don't think this will be resolved until after the season. maybe not even until at some point during 2016 season. the appeals courts tend on move at their own speed and i don't believe this case will move more quickly than any other. i don't look for tom brady to miss a single game during the regular season or the most season. >> if this continues, will there be some kind of allowance if you get into the middle of the season or late into the season where both parties would agree, let's put this off to the offseason? so we're not talking about playoff suspensions or something like that. >> i think what will happen is, there will be a schedule produced by the u.s. court of appeals for the second circuit. as to when briefs are due. when other information is due to be filed. at some point, all the briefs are filed. the nflpa gets filed. at some point after that you get a date for an oral argument. this is going to take a period of months, not weeks. and it won't be a matter of the two sides having to agree. let's just wait until season

ends. this is at what point after the season ends does this all get resolved? >> the patriots had some fun on social media. they change their twitter profile to a picture of brady holding the trophy. it and showed four super bowl ring in a sweep stakes ad. so a very happy day in new england. what about the standpoint of the league? roger goodell has the commissioner taking so much heat over the last couple years. first it was over his handling of the ray rice domestic violence situation. there's the suspension that was overturned.

his clout, what does it say about that? >> it depends upon who you ask. people not connected to the nfl, fans, mexico of the meetd say say how can the commissioner continue to lead to nfl given all of these hits to his credibility? it doesn't matter what anyone other than the 32 owners of the team believe. if they're happy, if he this believe did he the right thing, if they support him in this fight, it doesn't matter. and regardless of anything off the field. the nfl continues to be wildly popular making billions of dollars every year. the nfl will continue to make billions of dollars. if anything, these embarrassments tend to drive more interest. the rate ogs nbc will be even higher than they would have been, given everything that happened off the field in the last several months. he? they would say he kept them in the news. thank you for joining us. up next, a former aide to hillary clinton plans to invoke the fifth amendment on her e-mails. what that means for clinton's presidential campaign ahead.

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the manhunt continues in fox >> i have said repeatedly that i did not send nor receive classified material and i'm very confident that when this entire process plays out, that will be understood by everyone. it will prove what i have been saying. >> welcome back to "hardball." more bad news for hillary clinton in the saga surrounding

her e-mails today. a former i.t. internalist who served as an aide to hillary clinton on her 200 aept presidential campaign and at the state department has indicated he will plead the fifth to a congressional subpoena to the house benghazi committee. that staffer bryan pagliano has been identified as the individual who set up hillary clinton's private server back in 2009. his attorney writing, while wenls that mr. pagliano's response to this subpoena may be controversial in the current political environment, we hope the members of the select committee will respect our client's right the invoke the protections of the constitution. brian fallon was on msnbc today. >> this is a right man who was in his mid 20s when he set up the server. he is an i.t. professional, a wonderful human being according to everybody who knows him. i think his lawyer is understandably not wanting him to get caught up in a partisan swirl where he'll be used in a pawn in a, what has sfwurnds a

political exercise on capitol hill. we encouraged him to testify. there is absolutely nothing that went on that was wrong here. he didn't do anything wrong. again, that's why we urged him to testify. ultimately it is his decision. bryan's lawyer was judging that he wonderful get a fair share from the committee republicans. >> meanwhile, hillary clinton's state department chief of staff cheryl mills did testify before the benghazi court. and the white house correspondent for american urban radio networks. let me start with you, this guy, pagliano, he sets up that e-mail server in the clintons' house six years ago. obviously, politically the headline looks bad for the clintons. any time there's a political investigation and the fifth amendment is invoked, it doesn't look good. is there some potential exposure

for this guy? >> clearly, there are a couple kinds of exposure. the potential down the road for criminal exposure, there is an fbi investigation into whether classified material was compromised through this system that he set up. they're a long way from getting to that point. looking down the road as you would have to if you were in his shoes. he has hired lawyers. and those lawyers in the meantime have said to him, clearly, don't complicate matters. don't put yourself in additional jeopardy. don't be a pawn before this committee. it looks bad for the clinton campaign in a couple ways. it makes it looks like they have something to hide if someone who worked for her refuses to talk about it in that setting. at the benghazi committee. and it potentially looks like

they can't control their own troops. he no longer works for them and he doesn't really owe them anything except political allegiance and he said thanks very much but i'm going my own way. >> you covered the clinton campaign all the time. they have to be obviously, if nothing else, very frustrated and probably concerned about the direction this has taken. the relentlessness. we've been talking about this for months with this fbi investigation going on. with these continual releases of parts of her e-mails. it is not going to go away any time soon. do you have a sense, do they have a plan in mind for how to deal with this? so far what they're doing isn't making the story go away. >> it goes to show how little control clinton and her team have over the story. a democrat put to it me this way. they're playing a game of cards where not only are they not dealing, they don't even know how many cards are in the deck. they could wake up any day and not really know what's coming down the pike. this as guy who used to work for them. they tried to get him to testify and he refused.

they're hoping after clinton testifies in okay, that will be a big event them hope that will kind of be the pink press conference in the 90s and maybe get had behind him. i'm not sure. who knows what's coming next? even they don't. >> so what would put this behind the clintons? is it the testimony this fall, is there an opportunity there? is it this fbi investigation? do they have to wait and hope the fbi comes out and basically gives her a clean bill of health? what do you think it would take? >> i think each probe has to literally give her a clean bill of health. even if there is something, it has to be so slight that it really doesn't matter if they do find something. and october cannot come fast enough for her, before hillary clinton would stand before the, or sit before the congressional hearing and talk about what actually happened. what is interesting, the clinton campaign is trying to show that they are transapparently.

they pushed for cheryl mills and others to have public testimony, public conversations, and it didn't happen. they were hoping that this guy with the server would come out and he didn't. and i asked the white house today, what did they think as this happened during the time that secretary clinton was within the obama administration. they had no comment. they don't want to put their hands on it. that's saying that there is an issue she has to deal with. she has to get it behind her. >> there is a lot of controversy here. here's what i'm wondering. here's what we know so far. the obama administration did not want her setting up this server in the first place shelf did it any way. she has since deleted e-mails. they may not get that back. classified information that was retro actively classified. it popped up and a few years later it was deemed to be classified information. is that the worst of what we know happened so far?

or is there more? >> well, as alex alluded to, part of the reason the story is as confusing and confounding as it is, nobody really knows the answer to that. the fbi investigation could go many ways. there could be any number of other twists and turns here. politically it is something that the campaign never saw coming months and months ago when they were planning very carefully, what her strategy would look like. they were focused on iowa, new hampshire and what not and not the way her e-mail system was set up five and six years before. you mentioned the obama administration. it is not clear even now how many people knew whether she cleared this at any high level, with the obama administration at the outset when she set it up. the starl has refused to say from the podium for days and days and days who at the state

department approved it. so it is an open question. how, was she even, did she get permission? did anybody even know how this was set up? >> as we mentioned before, you can catch andrea mitchell with her exclusive interview with hillary clinton tomorrow at noon eastern. pretty sure a lot of it will come up then. up next, back to the big story of the day, donald trump signs the pledge averting the potential third party run. at least he says. this is "hardball." the place for politics.

there are new numbers for the clinton opponents. clinton beats jeb bush by 4 points. against carly fiorina, clinton is up by just 2 points. 45-43 in that one. and a 2-point margin in a potential match-up of clinton and donald trump. there it is 46-4. the closest match-up, hillary versus dr. ben carson. all tied there. 44-44.

the chairman just rest, as you probably know. and he has been extremely fair. the rnc has been absolutely terrific over the last two-month period. and as you know, that's what i've wanted. i've wanted fairness. >> we are back with the round table. in april, in his press conference, he unambiguously closed the door on a third party run should he not win the nomination next year. he had repeatedly used the prospect of an independent bid as a not so subtle threat against the party as leverage to ensure he would be treated fairly. the question is, why did trump give up that leverage? in his explanation, he said it was base in the part the

chairman just left, as you probably know. and he's been extremely fair. the rnc has been absolutely terrific over the last two-month period. and as you know that's what i wanted. i've wanted fairness. >> we are back with the round table. in april and in his press conference today donald trump closed the door on a third party

fractured. in order to keep the party together, they have to play ball with donald trump. but the issue really is, you know, he says, you know, it's about fairness. well what happens if donald trump feels there is not fairness right now? this is not a legally binding document. so, you know, he could move on. we have seen it before. if donald trump were to say i don't feel they are being fair to me, there is a little question mark. will he go. le forget about the pact and move on. reince priebus is doing what he has to do for the republican party right now. >> 180-degree reversals aren't a new concept when it comes to donald trump. i can ask you about leverage between trump and the republican party. people say trump has given up some of the leverage by making the decision. i look at it and wonder if he has the next debate. if donald trump were to threaten not to participate in the next republican debate, the party would be panicked. they would lose 20 million viewers. if the party tried to threaten

donald trump with not getting into the debate they would be committing political suicide. >> he's still got the polls. that means he has the power, the leverage down the road. keep in mind that at the end of the month to get on the south carolina ballot next year he would have to take a loyalty oath. he has to do it no matter what. it was smart to do it now when you can make a show of the chairman of the party coming to trump headquarters, hold it up. it's not a legally binding document. he wrote august 3 instead of september 3. he made tearing up trade treaties a part of his platform. those are legally binding. i don't think he would have trouble throwing this out down the road if he decides it's the right thing to do. >> trump is facing a surging ben carson. monday a monmouth poll showed both tied in iowa. now a new national poll today shows ben carson has taken second place, surpassing jeb bush. trump is at 30%.

carson at 18. bush is tied in third with ted cruz at 8%. trump has praised carson in the past and was less courteous toward him today. in an interview trump said, carson is a wonderful guy. he thinks it would be tough for someone who spent life as a surgeon to handle the job. i think it is a difficult situation that he puts himself into to have a doctor who wasn't creating jobs and would have a nurse or maybe two nurses. it's a different world. i have created tens of thousands of jobs over the years. ann, take a step back. this is amazing to me. it's basically labor day. we were told the trump thing was a temporary, fleeting phenomenon. labor day, if you add up donald trump and ben carson, you're almost at 50% now. meanwhile, jeb bush, son and brother of former presidents is in single digits. >> it's remarkable. i assumed trump was a summer

phenomenon and carson really wasn't on the radar screen at the beginning of the summer. to be where we are is remarkable. i will go out on a limb here and say i don't think that carson will be in the same position as he has now maybe say after the next republican debate. but you see trump is spending most of his energy attacking jeb bush and not attacking carson. he's being careful there. he doesn't want to take on carson too directly and run risks there if he does, so he goes after bush. >> going after jeb bush looks like an easy target for donald trump. when you look at ben carson, you look at the poll numbers among republicans, there is all these candidates running. there is no republican candidate who the voters of the party now respect more than ben carson. that maybe makes it more complicated for donald trump in

trying to take the wind out of his sails. >> ben carson, dr. ben carson resired neurosurgeon is an intelligent and brilliant man when it comes to medicine. he's separated the brains of siamese twins -- the bender twins. how do you go up against that? he said carson hasn't created jobs. he kept people healthy so they are working. that may be a play on that. when it comes to ben carson, he is a minority. any way you put it he's a minority and carly fiorina is a minority as well. she's a woman. he has to be careful with the issue of women he's already had a problem with and with the minority issue. he's trying to smooth over things with the hispanic community and then with the black community he doesn't want to go down that road. he's already started something when it comes to the issue of the birther issue with president

obama. he has to be careful in how he attacks ben carson. >> it would be interesting to watch. we are coming up on the next presidential debate. donald trump, making a loyalty oath. will that affect his behavior, his posture, approach to other candidates when on stage or will it be the gloves are off for donald trump as somebody to check off and in april. "hard ball" is back.

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tonight on "all in" -- >> i have signed the pledge. >> trump promises he won't run as an independent candidate at a positively surreal news conference in new york. >> do they like me in indonesia? >> yes. thank you very much. >> then bernie sanders hits iowa as joe biden stokes 2016 speculation in florida and georgia. plus, jail time for the kentucky clerk who wouldn't marry same-sex couples. upon further review a judge throws out tom brady's suspension and pats nation rejoices. "all in" starts right now. >> good evening. from new york i'm chris hayes. it's official. donald trump is formally, more or less, at least for the moment a loyal republican. as the only candidate on the debate stage who wouldn't rule out a third party run he met wi