it's 2016 and "hardball" has come to iowa and to hillary clinton. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews in des moines where a pitched battle is on right now between the two party front runners, hillary clinton and donald trump. clinton accuses trump of a penchant for sexism. trump says this makes bill clinton fair game. all this is preview to my sitdown interview tomorrow night with secretary clinton. her first of 2016. the iowa caucuses are now exactly four weeks away and the two biggest races in american politics today is taking the stage tonight. donald trump is about to speak at a campaign rally in massachusetts. hillary clinton is here in des moines holding a town hall. katy tur joins us from trump's rally in massachusetts. first donald trump has launched

an assault on the clintons in interviews with fox, cbs and cnn, trump went after hillary clinton's husband. >> she's got a problem. she is married to a person that's a serious abuser. i mean at the highest level. she's not an innocent victim. she was the one that would go along with him in this whole game that they play. she is not like the innocent person sitting by the side with tears in her eyes. i'm the only one willing to talk about his problems. i mean, what he did and what he has gone through, i think is frankly terrible, especially if she wants to play the woman card. she's got one of the great women abusers of all time sitting at her house. i don't care about monica lewinsky other than i think hillary was an enabler and a lot of things happened that were obviously very seedy. he was impeached, for heaven's sake. >> trump's attacks came as

candidate clinton brought bill clinton into the campaign for the first time. here is what he told nbc's andrea mitchell while working the rope line up in new hampshire after a rally there for hillary. >> how do you feel about the kind of campaign donald trump is running, sir? >> the republicans will have to decide who is going to be nominated. how i feel is only relevant. we are trying to win a primary. >> thank you. >> here is what hillary clinton told crowds here in iowa when she was asked to respond to one of trump's attacks. >> i've adopted a new year's resolution. i'm going to let him live in his alternative reality and i'm not going to respond. >> katy tur, that's interesting because it seems like trump responded to the charge that he

had a penchant for sexism. those were the words used by secretary clinton. now the clintons decided enough, i guess, of this back and forth. they are not continuing the volleying here. >> i don't think they are going to be able to ignore it as long as they want to ignore it. jeb bush tried to ignore trump, marco rubio, john kasich. the problem is they may not directly respond to him, but reporters continue to ask them about this when they are on rope lines, they have media availabilities. so they can't quite avoid responding to them even if they would like to. he's just so cloud. he has such a platform right now. he gets national media attention. he's out there tweeting to more than 5 million followers. those are resonating across the social media sphere for their outrageousness at some points. they are not going to be able to ignore him as much as they may want to. this is in some ways a sore

point for them, a weakness for them, the idea bill clinton is not as much of an asset as hillary clinton may want him to be, bringing up his past infidelities, past problems, bringing the clinton foundation into it and the money they take for speeches. the questioning what ties they have. they have to respond at some point. >> how does this fit into trump and what he's up to with a paid media campaign in iowa? does it look like he's trying to win iowa now? he's not going to let cruz win one then he comes back in new hampshire. >> i think that he's trying to win iowa certainly. his ground game in iowa is formidable. he has chuck laudner who drove rick santorum around the state and essentially to the win. they know iowa politics. to count trump out would be

unwise. ted cruz got the endorsement of the family leader and all the evangelicals out there. donald trump may still want to win iowa and may be trying to win iowa. he is trying to lay the ground work for a potential loss saying the media is hyping it up too much. if he does lose by a couple of points, he'll take it in stride and move on to the next state. whether that will work for him remains to be seen. he has been campaigning on being a winner. if he loses iowa, he is in iowa a loser out there. how that will change his position in the mind of his supporters, we'll have to find out. i don't think it will be that big of a deal if he loses iowa. i think if he loses a couple of points, he will be fine. he does know it will be a hard state to take away from ted cruz. >> thank you so much, katy tur.

hillary clinton was heckled during a rally in new hampshire this weekend by a republican state representative who told reporters she wanted to ask hillary about allegations against her husband. it was quite a scene. let's watch it. >> i'm not going to take your question because other people have been -- yes. right there we'll bring you a microphone. here you go. there you go. okay. let me see. right back there. this man right there. here we go. right there. you are very rude. i'm not going to ever call on you. thank you. >> heidi przybilla, in this question. if hillary clinton takes a shot

at trump and says he's got a penchant for sexism, he goes after bill clinton. then the clintons apparently had this strategy they are going to let it go at that. does that mean they made a mistake going after trump that way? he is calling hillary clinton an enabler. i never heard anybody say anything like that about her. this is personal, and i would think over the line that she is an enabler of her husband. what do you think of this? this is personal. how can trump walk back and say that's campaigning. >> it's not a mistake. if you remember the origination of all this was over hillary clinton criticizing crumb over isis and his counterpunch was to go after hillary clinton about her bathroom break and the schlonging comment. if you ask about the clinton's campaign approach, they made clear they are not going to respond to specific attacks and

get in the mud on monica lewinsky or any women of bill clinton's past. they are going to comment on his tactics. bill clinton did that today. you played back the clip of andrea mitchell. there were later comments he made insinuating donald trump is trying to change the narrative, steal the election, what have you. part of their strategy is also to have other people point out, which i'm surprised hasn't been pointed out yet, here is donald trump trying to make the argument i'm not the sexist. bill clinton is the sexist. in so doing, he is making an inherently sexist argument that hillary is to blame for her husband's infidelities. you are starting to see women from all political stripes speak out on this. it's something i don't think sits very well with all women. >> let me go to david drucker on that. the decision to bring clinton into the campaign was interesting.

to do it in the beginning of the year. was it considered to be a helpful, bringing a bit of joy to the campaign? clinton is a happy warrior. hillary is more of a trudge, not as delightful as bill clinton is as a campaigner. was it to bring joy into the campaign? if so, is that going to work? >> bill clinton is one of the more natural communicators and happy, quite frankly, talented campaigners we've seen. hillary isn't very good at it. you bring bill clinton in now because you want to check the box and not take the primary for granted. if she can use bill clinton properly, and it's delicate because he's not just the ex-president, he's her husband, then he can be a major asset. it is dicey because she wants to

be her own person. this is where the first spout to be a former president. it's tricky for her than when he ran. remember that famous line, two for the price of one. he had to make clear, i'm the only president. it's reverse for her but trickier. >> for donald trump, i've been following politics as well as anybody out there including all you guys, i never heard anybody go after hillary clinton say she is an enabler. nobody blamed her for monica she was shocked by monica and i believe that story she had no idea something like that was going on in the white house. she was hurt by it. people could see the hurt in her face. why would this trump guy say

somehow she was in cahoots with this mess? i don't get that as a reasonably honest statement. >> his supporters don't see her as a human figure. they see her as somebody that is devisive. they see her as the enemy almost. they are not going to vote for her or feel sorry for her. you brang her name up here at his rallies, they say hillary for jail time. they are vitriolic about her. the humanity she may have shown, the shock, sadness, isn't in the top of their memory. now there's a lot of anger and devisiveness he is playing off of.

donald trump, i don't think you should be surprised. >> he is willing to go there when nobody else is going there we saw it with a proposed muslim ban and calling secretary state john kerry a putz. calling for the execution of bowe bergdahl. he says things nobody else will say. calling john mccain not a war hero. the idea he has gone too far or not something you should say doesn't hold water with trump. he's willing to go there when no one else is. his supporters don't mind it. >> heidi, women will react to this in what way? i do believe anyone who covered that whole situation in '98,

left, right or center, knew hillary clinton was shocked by it. knew she was overwhelmed by the horror of the whole thing. humiliated. of course she came back strong and showed her resolve and campaigned for chuck schumer and built out her own political career. nobody i ever heard has ever said see was an enabler of monica lewinsky. it's beyond indecent. >> look at hillary clinton over the lifetime of her career when her approval ratings were the highest. they peaked when she was secretary of state. another time when they were high was when she was going through all of that because like you said, people really believed that she was a woman who had been betrayed by her husband in the most public of ways. the sympathy meter went up for her. i think trump has to be very careful here over the long haul if he is going to make this a continuing theme. he is facing a quandary,

frankly. his whole campaign has been built around and skyrocketed off personal attacks. jeb is low testosterone, rubio is sweaty. he tried it on hillary with the bathroom break comments which some of his own supporters thought wasn't tasteful and it didn't work effectively. he is struggling. he made personal attacks on bill clinton. if he makes it into a general election, he has to find a way to attack her on issues. it doesn't work as well as it does against his republican male competitors. >> by the way, to make the point clear here, it wasn't sympathy for hillary. the way she showed her strength after that whole incident and the way she put herself together, dealt with the situation, carried on as a partisan and came on as much more of an independent political figure than she had been before. a lot of strength was shown there. thank you, heidi przybilla. thank you, david drucker.

more with you next time. "hardball" has the first interview of 2016 with hillary clinton. we want to know what you want to ask us. tweet us using the hashtag hrconhardball or send us your questions via facebook. facebook.com/hardball. the all-out battle for iowa. ted cruz has the edge for now. trump's on the attack as we said against the senator from texas. he thinks he can beat cruz in iowa. could trump be out to take cruz out early in this campaign? if he knocks him out in iowa, cruz is in real trouble. president obama making good on his promise to act on gun safety with or without congress. his big move today has sparked a big fight from the right. and my interview with hillary clinton, her first of the new year. big question. what is her answer to the rise of donald trump? what is her alternative to what he's been promising?

finally, let me finish with the revolution erupting in the republican party right now. this is "hardball" place for politics. when a moment turns romantic why pause to take a pill? or stop to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the 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 and a $200 savings card i'm here in des moines this week and tonight we are just 28 days away from the iowa caucuses. according to the real clear politics average of polls out here, hillary clinton has 13-point lead over bernie sanders in iowa. averages 50% support in the latest iowa polling with sanders at 37% and martin o'malley at 6%. let's not forget she had a big national lead over barack obama heading into iowa eight years ago.

two weeks ago, every candidate in the field or just about every candidate in the field was attacking donald trump. now just about every candidate in the republican field is attacking me. i guess something has changed. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was senator ted cruz earlier today as part of his six-day, 28-stop bus tour through iowa this week. with just 28 days until the caucuses, cruz leads the pack in the hawkeye state with 31% according to the real clear politics average of recent polls. trump is in a close second with 27%. marco rubio is a distant third at 12%. despite holding his fire against cruz in the past, it appears trump is trying to undercut him on immigration policy. here is trump yesterday on "face the nation." >> i was watching the other day and watching ted talk. he said, we will bill the wall. first time i heard him say it. my wife said, look, he's been copying what you've been saying a long period of time. ted cruz is trying to step up his whole game on amnesty and illegal immigration because it

was weak. >> trump was asked about his past statements, questioning whether evangelicals like cruz can come from cuba. here's trump. >> when you say about senator cruz not too many evangelicals come out of cuba, what does that mean? >> well, it just means cuba, generally speaking, is a catholic country and you don't equate evangelicals with cuba. i don't. i think of evangelicals, and i have, i guess i am, i'm presbyterian. >> you're not questioning, as far as you know he could be more devout than you are? >> it's possible. i'm not questioning it. i say it in a somewhat smiling manner, but there's a little truth to it. >> today nbc's hallie jackson asked cruz about that attack. take a look at what he said then. >> oh, listen, politicians

behave a certain way when they're panicking and they engage in personal attacks. that's human nature. i understand that. i'm not going to get drawn into that muck. i'm going to keep the focus on the issues that matter. the reason everyone's attacking us because conservatives are uniting. that scares them. >> i'm joined by hallie jackson as well as director of the paul simon public policy institute and former political editor of the des moines "register." halle, that interview there. the use of the word panic is interesting. does he think he can than spin that word into reality? somehow trump is panicked by ted cruz? >> well, i think maybe the spin the cruz campaign, and frankly other campaign was want to talk about here in iowa is maybe donald trump is panicked. let's look at what we've seen in the past. he is losing in the polls here. he looks poised to not win. what has trump talked about?

he said if i lose by a couple of points, people are going to say it's a big deal. he blows it off. he talks about the fact he is winning 49 other states. that he has a strong showing in places like new hampshire. >> if he gets beaten in iowa, if trump beats cruz in iowa four weeks from today, it is death for cruz. if he can't win here among the home scores, fellow evangelicals, where can he win? >> that's the thing. we talked about this. i asked the senator about this exact topic. we don't consider any state a must-win. iowa is not a must-win state for him. that's raising eyebrows because if he doesn't win iowa, it's tough to see where he picks up momentum to do well in new hampshire and south carolina and so on. even if he has a strong showing in s.e.c. primary states. they don't exist in a vacuum come march. they will be influenced by what happens in february. surprising cruz doesn't consider

this a must-win or not publically talking about it. it is a state where he is investing a ton of resources and time as we see this week. >> do you think it's possible when trump refers to cruz as coming from cuba, his father did, he didn't, that he was born in canada. that will be a problem for people anti-immigrant? he came here from another country. it seems that's a pretty obvious shot by trump at cruz' background, maybe trying to include him? >> we've seen this before. trump doing these insinuations attacks. not the blunt force over the head. it's that low-level insination. is to bring out his father. he could be an effective tool to back any of those attacks.

>> he is from cuba. interesting how the whole thing will develop. "the washington post" robert costas is with us now. he just interviewed donald trump before his campaign rally up in massachusetts where katy tur is. what have you got for us? what do you know about this big ad campaign. it's saying what he says on the stump, but doing it with paying for it by $1.25 million this week just in iowa. is he going to try to knock off cruz in iowa? is that what's going on here? >> he thinks he can close the gap with cruz in iowa. he thinks iowa is in sight. his strategy is to get a big bounce out of iowa and sweep it to new hampshire and south carolina. he's been reviewing ads the past 24 hours. he was in high spirits

backstage. the ad campaign has gotten a lot of attention in the press and thinks it can control this message on the air waves. >> let's take a look at it. hang in there, robert. it all comes with this debut of this tv ad of the campaign. the first one trump's ever paid for highlighting his policies on immigration and terrorism, including his controversial proposed muslim ban set to run in iowa and new hampshire starting tomorrow. here's a clip. >> the politicians can pretend it's something else but donald trump calls it radical islamic terrorism. that's yes is calling for a temporary shutdown of muslims entering the united states until we can figure out what's going on. he'll quickly cut the head off isis and take their oil. he'll stop illegal immigration by building a wall in our southern border that mexico will pay for. >> the footage used to show mexicans crossing the southern

border of the united states was actually filmed by an italian television network in morocco in north africa. trump's campaign manager told nbc, no expletive, we can't say what he said. it's not the mexican border, but that is what our country is going to look like. this was 1,000% on purpose. they put out a more official statement. robert, why didn't they use all kinds of footage which is available from our network and elsewhere that has watched people running across our southern border from mexico? why would they choose to use the other picture from morocco? why would you do it on purpose? >> trump told me he had two key aims with this ad. it wasn't about the images, but the images had to be bleak. they had to be dark. almost apocalyptic to paint a picture of the united states and the way he views the united states.

he wanted to make sure he had rally footage to capture what he thinks is his energy. that was his goal. not about getting u.s. footage or news footage. >> i'm not sure where this phony baloney ad campaign where you throw in something from north africa and say this is what it looks like at the border of mexico. if i were trump i would be trying to fire somebody. i wouldn't be saying what a great idea to show "casablanca" scenes here, to make my point. >> i don't know why he did that either. i call it artistic license. i don't hear a lot of iowa republicans going around today saying oh, my goodness. trump has a hokey tv ad, politifact didn't like it so we are not for donald trump. i think it's a little blip. >> do you think trump is going for the win in iowa?

no more of this? i can get by the home scores and evangelicals? go back to the mainstream conservatives in new hampshire? >> i think he is going for the win here. that explains a lot of what he's been doing on the stadium. ted cruz has 2 million legs to his campaign. tea partiers and evangelicals. these comments donald trump made in the last few days are designed to try to kick those legs out from under or take part of those tea partiers back. take a back part of those evangelicals. getting into it with hillary and bill clinton, that is red meat for tea partier republicans. it's designed to get him back in a better position here in iowa. he's town four points, five points. that is margin of error stuff in these polls. most iowa republicans were undecided or say they could be persuaded to change their mind. this race, it's only 20 some days to go.

it has a long way to go in the minds of some republicans who have yet to make up their minds. >> what about this reference by trump about cruz being a family from cuba? are there many evangelicals in iowa who have hispanic backgrounds? there are are involvement you have to be careful about dragging somebody's father in and questioning the sincerity of their religious faith. that can backfire. the suggestion is ted cruz might send his father here to say a few things to evangelicals in iowa. trump has to be careful how he uses that. he's obviously trying to get at the immigration issue and cruz' base and the evangelical community. that's what he's trying to do. we'll see how it works.

>> okay. thank you very much, david yepsen. hallie jackson covering the campaign of ted cruz and robert costas. president obama goes it alone announcing executive actions on gun safety reforms. he is doing it today. it is sure to trigger fire from the right.

this is not going to solve every violent crime in this country. it's not going to prevent any mass shooting. it's not going to keep every gun out of the hands of criminals. it will potentially save lives in this country. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was president obama in the oval office earlier today. announcing he is poised to take

executive action on gun control. the white house says he'll reveal details of his speech tomorrow morning, but he promises it will be legal and respect the second amendment in the constitution. republicans went on the attack against president obama for his effort to curb gun violence. here is donald trump and ted cruz both. pretty soon you won't be able to get guns. that's another step in a way of not getting guns. he will sign an executive order having to do with the second amendment, having to do with guns. i will unsign that so fast. >> i fully intend to delight in rescinding whatever illegal and unconstitutional executive actions president obama takes to try to undermine our right to keep and bear arms. >> after those horrific mass shootings of the 2015, like the charleston church killings and the attack at umpqua community college in oregon, polls show president obama has a tough sell increasing gun control laws.

joining me is senior nbc white house correspondent chris jansing. politically, i look at hillary clinton and it shows a lot of guts, a profile in courage, if you will, to be talking about gun safety in a presidential election year because states like pennsylvania, lots of gun owners up there. lots of hunters, lots of nra people. you've got people in ohio and kentucky and states she will need to carry like ohio and virginia. it's a tough one. >> yeah. i think they looked at this on a couple of levels. the first level is first and foremost that they see that the majority of americans are for common sense gun reform. so that means things like closing a little bit or narrowing this gun show loophole which is probably the main thing that the president is going to do of the 10 provisions he is

going to unveil tomorrow. there is obviously a lot of politics involved in this. you heard paul ryan saying they are trying to usurp legislative power. you heard everyone on the campaign trail on the republican side going after him. they think they've got a strong case to make. it's been a source of frustration for the white house since newtown that they were not able to get strong gun legislation passed. hillary clinton obviously a part of that. even though you might not hear her speak as strongly as we are going to hear from the president tomorrow, the democrats think that this is a really key issue for their base, and they also think when sort of the heat of the moment goes by and things did change with san bernardino because this was a terror attack. very different from what happened in newtown and these other mass shootings. they see the average american will support these laws which are fairly narrow.

as you know, an executive action does not require congressional approval. >> chris jansing, thank you so much. dan gross, one of the problems that chris mentioned, they need to keep the heat on. gun owners, gun rights supporters never seem to change their tune. they are always ready to defend their rights. others may have concerns about jobs or inequality of income and foreign policy questions. they occasionally think about gun control and gun safety. how do you keep their minds on that in november? >> that's really what's changed. hillary clinton being out front talking about this issue. the american public is coming together not just after these mass shootings but the daily terror where 89 people are killed every day to say enough. the president used those terms

and tomorrow the president is going to demonstrate that he's had enough. he'll take meaningful action. it's classic how these presidential candidates on the republican side are coming out criticizing it saying it's unconstitutional without knowing what it is. all the president is going to be doing tomorrow is going to be clarifying and enforcing laws that already exist and laws that are focused on keeping guns out of the hands of the people that we all agree shouldn't have them. laws that i might add that 93% of the american public when it comes to expanding brady background checks, 93% of the american public supports. it appears as though it's a bold action. reality is if you message this correctly and show this is just about keeping guns out of the hands of the people we all agree should aren't have them, it's actually a very politically safe and smart place to be. >> you've got to tell that to the members of the congress because they are antsy about this stuff. thank you so much, dan gross. keep up the good work.

>> thanks, chris. clinton versus trump. the two front runners take each other on while ignoring their primary rivals. they are acting like they are the nominees. hillary clinton may have a leg up on that, but trump acts like he's going against hillary clinton. we are here in des moines live. the group that seized

when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business.

i want to clarify something that's personal to me. every presidential election, people run and believe it or not it's kind of scary this year, but believe it or not, most everybody actually tries to do what they say they are going to do when they're running. they're telling you what they believe and so you've got to take them seriously. welcome back to "hardball." that was the great man former president bill clinton today on the stump the first time in his wife's campaign this year. follows weeks of attacks by the

republican front-runner donald trump. he called the former president fair game and accused him of abuse of women. those are trump's words. tomorrow i will sit down with hillary clinton here in iowa, a critical state for her. it's her first interview of 2016. i'll ask about trump's attacks on her and her husband and does she understand the appeal of trump for millions of americans. what senators sanders and rand paul are saying about her arguing she is a political hawk in terms of foreign policy. i'm joined by tonight's "hardball" round table. let me ask you about this general. i want your all response. broad influence how women are changing the way america works. howard, meghan and jay, there is this period thing where hillary clinton made a comment about

trump's penchant for sexism. trump went wild on this thing, accusing her of enabling bill clinton's misbehavior in the white house, the whole works. now it seems bill clinton and hillary clinton are going to shut down this conversation. >> i think it's going to help him more than her. one thing to her biggest advantage is to look presidential, to set out detailed policy proposals to target the changing demographics with certain proposals. you don't want to bring a knife to a gun fight. if you get into a gun fight with trump, you are going to lose. he has shown no aptitude for drawing the line anywhere, drawing the line on taste or where he is going to go. for his base, this plays squarely into it and those people, which is a large portion of people who can't stand hillary clinton. anything he says gains points with them. for her, i think it's a much more difficult. if she lowers the tone, if her husband who has gone out the first day today lowers the tone,

it could start to hurt her in terms of the amount of vitriol he might take on her. >> i think what the clintons were up to and i talked to some people in their camp is if people are going to talk about bill clinton in a certain framework, they are going to change the framework and put bill clinton in his best situation, which is bill clinton out there on the campaign trail making the case for his wife. i think that was the thinking. i agree normal political calculations about putting bill clinton out on the campaign trail in iowa or new hampshire which might make sense in another era in a less caustic, toxic political environment, that kind of thinking doesn't work with donald trump. if donald trump smells weakness

or retreat, he will come after him again and try to get under bill clinton's famously thick skin and attack hillary frontily. it's catnip to trump supporters and undecided iowa caucus goers. the more any republican beats up on clintons, the more they ridicule them or attack them on whatever basis, it's all bets are off. that appeals to the angry base of the republican party. >> let's go to jay newton small. another personal attack besides accusing her of enabling her husband's misbehavior. he says she doesn't have the stamp in or strength to be president. is that ageism, sexism or what is that? that's what nixon did back 65 years ago. what do we make of that? >> hillary's entire appeal is to female voters and the more trump attacks her, the more it helps her with female voters.

women get upset by this. they feel personally attacked. >> republican women? >> even republican women with, especially ageism. >> do they? >> certainly. carly fiorina is the only person got a dent in the trump when she went after trump for his sexist comments. megyn kelly, as well. this is something if he keeps up the attacks, it's hard for him to be successful. >> can i also add that donald trump is older than hillary clinton. >> i know. >> he's 69, she's 68. what else could it be but sexist? >> we'll hear that resound, i think. the round table is staying with us. up next, they'll tell me what i don't know whichknow, and that's a lot. tell me something i don't know, coming up. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

we're back. megan, tell me something i don't know.

we're back. megan, tell me something i don't know. >> get ready for the ballot of who can be tougher on wall street. bernie sanders going to release his financial reform plan tomorrow. it's going to focus not just on breaking up the big banks but being tougher on fines, penalties and sanctions against the big banks. >> well, that's going to be a big one. howard. >> i'm going to stick with bernie sanders, chris. i was talking to one of his top people a little while ago. they're flush with money. they've got almost as much money as hillary does. they're already buying ads in states such as nevada. they're big in nevada. which is going to be an early and important state. they're in it for the long haul and they're planning for that. >> i sense a comeback there. jay. >> in my interview with hillary clinton for my book last year i asked what foreign leader she would most like to resemble if she were elected president and

she said angela merkel. let's look forward to an america that looks like germany? >> okay. anyway, thank you, megan murphy, howard fineman, and jay newton small. by the way, your book, "broad influence," comes into bookstores tomorrow morning early. get there and get the book. we'll be right back after this.

when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business. let me finish tonight with this remarkable campaign year of 2016. the republican party seems to be coming apart at the seams. the people doing well in the

polls, trump and cruz, are running against the party itself. the person who personifies the republican party establishment, the son and brother of a republican president, jeb bush, is getting low single digits. my sense is there's revolution in the air. remember the french revolution when anyone with even a taint of the aristocracy had their heads chopped off? it's like that today in the republican party. the only candidates that are trusted enough, the only ones getting any good numbers in the polls are the ones who have never held any public office whatsoever. the people in trouble are those who have held office. their resumes are being treated like rap sheets. they are the ones being marched to the guillotine. i think there's a good chance that no establishment candidate, no bush, no rubio, no kasich, no christie will win a single caucus or primary. certainly none of the important early ones. and that is a statement of what voters in the republican party think of the party. that the only people getting any respect are those running on

their lack of respect for the party. and that's "hardball" for now. it really is. and thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on "all in" -- >> believe it or not, it's kind of scary this year. >> decision 2016 is upon us. and donald trump is debuting his first ad. >> he'll quickly cut the head off isis and take their oil. >> less than 30 days until voting. the last man to win in iowa is taking aim at the front-runner, and he joins me tonight. >> you want someone to read one hell of a bedtime story? ted cruz is your guy. >> then bill clinton does some expectation setting for bernie versus hillary in new hampshire. >> no candidate who orders new hampshire has ever lost a primary here. >> reporter: plus the politics of the president's action on guns. and as the one-sided standoff continues in oregon -- >> there's still plenty of parking right here on the outside. >> how would the country react