assault, hillary is winning the day. check out bloomberg politics.com, the poll and much, much more. >> thanks for watching, sayonara. >> coming up, "hardball" with chris matthews. bernie's big casino, let's play "hardball." gd eveniood evening, i'm ge slow cues here, new york, new york hotel in las vegas. bernie sanders is catching up to hillary clinton in nevada. look at the latest poll, clinton now leads sanders by just a single percentage point, 48-47. one point a port out here for the saturday caucuses. at his current pace, he could easily overtake hillary clinton by saturday's caucuses, and a new nbc "wall street journal"

poll today shows bernie sanders has national momentum after his blowout in new hampshire. hillary was 25 points last month. today, it's down to 11. stay tuned, because more is coming. fox poll out tonight, shows sanders has taken a three upon the lead, 47-44. first time a poll with senator sanders in the national lead. that's just tonight. a look at the national polling averages, since june, converging lines of support for clinton and sanders, a trend that spells danger for clinton, as the whole race approaches super tuesday this march 1st in what we call the sec primaries all across the country. i'm joined right now by tad devine. you caught me begging him to get him on the show. including old school tie. we're christian brothers. let's talk about the new numbers, you grabbed me a minute before we went on live. you said this is the first time that bernie sanders is ahead.

>> yeah. >> yeah, i think. >> are you peeking too soon here? >> no, we have a long way to go. we started 46 points behind but he is now 3 points ahead. this is going to go on for a long time. they're both going to win some big states. big states against her, win states that she beat obama in last time. bernie is putting together a winning coalition. >> hillary clinton in chicago continued to make the case that she and not bernie sanders, i don't know what this means exactly, the natural heir to president obama. >> myo opponent has been critical of the president. he called him weak, i'm unapologetic. i would build on the progress president obama has made. i will take it further. >> well, when i asked to weigh in on the democratic race on tuesday, president obama told

reporters is agree on certain issues. let's watch. >> i know hillary better than i know bernie, because she served in my administration and she was an outstanding secretary of state. and you know, i suspect that on certain issues, she agrees with me more than bernie does. on the other handled, there may be a couple of issues where bernie agrees with me more. i don't know. i haven't studied their positions that closely. >> so let's try to figure this one out for a minute or two, not kill it to death. but the president, i think, is a progressive. do you agree? >> yes, i do. >> is hillary a progressive? >> on a lot of issues, yes, but progressive fight that we had in new hampshire, it wasn't because we were saying because she wasn't a progressive. it is because she went to ohio, and she said some people say i'm a moderate, i plead guilty, she was one thing in iowa and another in new hampshire.

>> democratic socialist, what is bad about a moderate. >> nothing. the problems that the country faces right now need bold solutions. i think what hillary is proposing are smaller steps forward. bernie is universal college education, health care, massive jobs programs. the only reason we can talk about this stuff is because president obama and vice-president biden did such a great job of cleaning up the mess of the republicans. >> let's talk about the whole thing being talked about in this cap pain. ethnicity. it gets into the air, new hampshire is a largely white state. iowa as well. out here, it's diverse. >> yes. >> the hillary people put out that it's 80% white. >> they're trying to depress expectations for her performance and suggest that bernie can't win from people from a broad spectrum from the democrat party. it's not true. in new hampshire, it was a small sample, bernie won nonwhite

voters, and we're going to have a real test here on saturday whether he can win support. >> what's the difference between hillary clinton and senator sanders on immigration? how do we deal and fix the system? >> they both support policies that the president has tried to support. they both want a path to citizenship. they have differences from the past. when we had the situation with young children trying to come if central america, hillary said no, we need to send them a message, send them back. >> that was guatemalaguatemala. >> i want bernie on the show. we've had him before. >> sooner. >> a post that says hope. >> thank you. any way, the morning times reported on a meeting between clinton donors and campaign manager, robbie mook, the donors pressed mr. mook to the policy proposals were entirely inn plausible promises. in response, sanders campaign

manager issued a statement on facebook saying it's shameful that the clinton campaign is parroting attacks at senator sanders that "the new york times" has documented coming from her backers. the clinton is campaign is out with a new ad, targeting the issue of immigration. a candid moment that clinton shared with a 10-year-old girl who worries that her parents might face deportation. here is a bit of it. >> i'm doing everything i can so you don't have to be scared. you don't have to worry about what happens to your mom and dad or somebody else in your family. i feel really strongly, but you're being very brave, and you have to be brave for them too. let me do the worrying. is that a deal. i'll do everything i can to help, okay? >> i'm joined right now by secretary of labor, u.s. secretary of labor, tom perez,

for the clinton campaign. >> i'm here in my personal -- >> let me ask you about the issue. >> sure. >> i should have asked it to tad devine, bus but he is a communications guy. how do you stop illegal immigration? what's the legitimate, democratic approach to stopping people from coming across the border illegally? >> we're working -- >> what do you do? >> what we're doing is a holistic approach. we're working to create better conditions in countries like mexico, el sal dodor, then you e the combination that is smart enforcement, and a fair pathway to citizenship. in 2014, the bill that passed the sen knit bipartisan support, was an example of a bill that i think would have moved the ball forward. >> but all these hotels around, probably a lot of people undocumented around here, let's face it, because they get hired.

how do you stop illegal hiring? or do you want to? is it illegal to hire the person, not just breaking the person, but the person hiring them is breaking the law. >> of course you want to stop illegal hiring. if you knowingly hire someone undocumented, you could be prosecuted. we need to pass immigration reform. dreamers here and across the country, and you know, they're frustrated. dreamers don't want revolutions, they want are results. >> i'm sorry, who has endorsed who? tell me again. >> wow, okay, we got good news for your side. jim clyburn, one of the most respected guys the country has endorsed your candidate, hillary clinton. >> he spoke with the department of labor a couple of months ago. he is certainly one of my heros. >> tomorrow he is going to do that. >> let me ask you about secretary clinton. she has had a hard time getting

a focus on her campaign. everyone knows what bernie sanders is up to. he is fun. he is out there, the kids love him. i don't get the single, and he is social democratic. big government guy, does health care as a right, free tuition, you know, a lot there. bigger benefits for social security recipients, retirees. everybody sees, she hasn't been able to match that sort of concrete, here is what i'm going to do. >> well, chris -- >> could she do it? >> absolutely. hillary clinton is both a dreamer and doer. and good presidents, good progressives are both dreamers and doers. she dreams of a country where every youngster has opportunities. they have access to a good job, fair wage, has benefits, their grandparents have access to a decent retirement. but she is a doer. i work for two remarkably

successful candidates, barack obama now, and before that i worked for president clinton and senator kennedy. and what senator kennedy an barack obama especially taught me was that idealism and pragtism is not exclusive. the reason senator kennedy has a mum, and soon, president obama will have a mmuseum, you have t know how to get things done. getting back to the immigration question, the folks that i talk to, the dreamers here that i talk to in las vegas, you know, they want results. you know, they look at 2007, and you know, where senator sanders votes against the bill that senator kennedy and senator mccain and then -- >> anything he was for, he cared about doing it right, as you know. he said he was against it because of the guesswork in the provision and the afl-cio was

opposed it. so he said he voted against it. he said it was slavery. >> ted kennedy is not going to support a bill that is slavery. the farm workers supported the bill. the dreamers that i talk to, like here in las vegas, they can't wait for another ten years to get the perfect bill. i spoke to a machinist today, chris, who is wondering why did senator sanders vote against the re-authorization, creating union jobs in america. we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the very good and hillary clinton i think is that dreamer and doer. >> sorry, thank you, sir. thanks for coming out. >> take care. >> secretary of labor, tom perez. once again, the breaking news, slate newspaper, the largest paper in south carolina, slate, is reporting that influential -- state newspaper. not slate. state slait is the magazine.

congressman jim clyburn will endorse hillary clinton tomorrow. that's the biggest news out of south carolina for a couple of days. a big day on the republican side, donald trump is now at war with with, i guess he had a fight with everybody. pope francis. after the pope questioned trump's faith, he said christians don't build walls. any way, much more on the high stakes for hillary clinton and bernie sanders, big casino out here, she has to win here if she is going to start pulling away. he has to keep pressure. president obama's eventual nominee to replace justice scalia. harry reid is the democratic leader of the u.s. senate. he will be with us, these chairs right here in vegas. let me finish with the different roles of popes and politicians. they have different jobs, and this is "hardball," live from las vegas, the place for

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vice-president joe biden said he would take donald trump seriously, telling my colleague, rachel maddow, he could, trump could be the nominee. here he goes. >> president obama was asked this week if he could imagine mr. trump becoming the nom meeft republican party, the president reiterated that mr. trump will never be president. very definitely, getting around the question of whether or not the republican party is going to nominate him. i'm just put that to you as well. do you think he'll be the nominee. do you think that could happen? >> i think it is -- i think it's very possible he could be nominated. and depending on how this all plays out, i would take him seriously, in terms of being able to win, because he is appealing to a very, very -- success appealing to fear. he is appealing to, you know,

the old expression, everybody asks me, why is trump able to win in those 16 people, and the old expression, in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. it's not who -- so i -- i'm not very good at progrenostikating. >> i think he is more caution than president obama. he spends more time in the world. you could watch rachel's full interview, coming up after "hardball." jose diaz-balart and chuck todd will host a town hall tonight. don't miss it. we'll be right back. usiness expert? sure am. my staff could use your help staying in touch with customers. at&t can help you stay connected. am i seeing double? no ma'am. our at&t 'buy one get one free' makes it easier for your staff to send

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welcome back to "hardball," with just two-days to go to the republican primary in south carolina, donald trump found himself in the middle of a new battle today, this time with the vatican, pope francis, the man who leads 1.2 billion catholics in the word wide, according to the u.s. electorate, building a wall along the mexican border. the pope said, quote, a person who thinks about building walls, where ever they may be, and not building bridges, is not christian. donald trump responded briskly. here he is. >> he actually said that maybe i'm not a good christian or something. it's unbelievable. it's not a nice thing to say. he was in mexico. the leadership, oh, donald trump is a bad guy. he wants to build a wall. for a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. i'm proud to be a christian. they're using the pope as a pawn, and they should be ashamed

of themselves. that's the mexican government. then i come to this beautiful place, and i'm looking, everything is so beautiful. the people are people. everything is nice. and i get hit. the pope just made a statement. oh, good, did he say good things? no, i don't think you're going to like it so much. >> nbc's katy tur, hallie jackson in south carolina. katy, was this a reaction by trump, thought through or not thought through reaction to reality. >> certainly a considered reaction from donald trump. certainly something he had thought through. they released a statement that he read out loud to that crowd, moments after the pope came out and said those words about him. moments after they were reported. so either he got a heads up on it or just quickly wrote something out, but they clearly considered that it would be a good move for him to hit back against the pope and to essentially defend himself for

this border wall. i have to tell you, chris, it played well in the room. everyone in there was cheering him on essentially. we asked dozens of people, donald trump and the pope, and they said they were bothered that the pope came out and got into plolitical matters in the u.s. they were not bod bothered by donald trump. then again, donald trump himself, just last week, tweeted, questioning his faith, saying how can somebody so dishonest call themselves an evangelical. so an interesting reverse sal between donald trump doing that, and then accusing or saying it's bad for the pope to say that he is -- questioning his christianity essentially. >> we all know that, the affirmation, listen to the pope or don't. any way, a new poll today from south carolina, again showing trump far ahead of his rivals, the fox news poll showed trump at 32%, 13 point as head of ted

cruz at 19. marco rubio comes in at 15. ben carson and john kasich. hallie jackson, thanks for joining us as well. cruz took a pass on this one. >> he definitely took a pass, chris. it was something we were trying to get a question to about this all day long. senator cruz finally answered it over an easily south carolina at a stop at a barbecue joint. i said hey, what kind of reaction do you have, your fellow candidates talking about this, you talk about your faith on the trail. cruz said hey, this is between the pope and donald trump. i'm going to let the two of them work it out. it does ted cruz no good to jump in on this fight between the poep and trump. it's not a winning situation for him. cruz, instead looking to close the gap in south carolina. they think whthey'll do better than what the public polls are showing. >> yeah, well, closely watched.

any way, thank you, katy tur, thank you, hallie jackson. here is more from trump's response from the pope today. >> if and when the vatican is attacked by isis, which is everyone knows, isis' ultimate trophy, i can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that donald trump would have been president, because this would not have happened. isis would have been eradicated, unlike what is happening now. the pope is being told donald trump is not a nice person. donald trump is a very nice person. i am a very -- i am a very nice person. i am a very good christian. >> michael steele, the former chair of the republican national committee and msnbc political analyst. mark halperin, managing editor and co-host of "with all due respect." let me start with michael

steele. i'm into this sort of mood of render under seas, the guides that are -- i don't think these two guys they're acting like they're competing for the same jobs. >> i agree with you. the pope got over skis on this one. the problem is this. if the pope had said that -- if the pope had said that christian teaching or christian values say to us that building bridges is better than building walls, that's one thing. but what he did was he effectively did call out donald trump's christianity by saying he is not a christian. what does it say to those who aren't christian. you know, it's one of these slippery slopes the pope found himself on. maybe there was a translation problem from what he was thinking about it and how he expressed it. and but trump, i think, found a

different voice here, and was able to, again, gather the news around him and to completely suck the air out of the haley/rubio tour taking place and rally his voters around him. this one, the pope was a little out of bounds on, because it came you off so strongly as questioning the man's faith. >> yeah, let me go to mark halperin on this. you know, are you close enough to read this thing down there? can you tell, you know, mostly protestant state, it's bible belt, if you will, baptist heavily, very fundamentalist in its traditions, i don't think they think the pope is anybody to be listened to in terms of teaching, moral teaching authority. but he is a pretty popular fellow in the world, pope francis chlt. >> he is. look, as katy said, i was in the room as well. the room reacted well. the other candidates either

agreed or took a pass on it. i think trump is headed for a big win here. he'll have a big win, taken on the pope. and the trump brand, talk about it all the time, is about strength. to win a primary, in any state, even a state that's not predom nanly catholic, after taking on the pope is going to add to the trump miss te mystique, but thrive to thrive. >> who does he fear, two months from now, two weeks from now? later in this -- who does he fear could beat him right now? >> well, trump is very calculating guy. he knows the big field benefits him. he doesn't fear the field getting smaller after south carolina, but i think he is concerned about it. because he knows that the math becomes different. if we go from basically five candidates down to four or possibly effectively three, after south carolina or maybe after march 1st, i think he worries about that. he doesn't fear anyone, and that's part of his strength here, part of john kasich's strength. i don't think they worry about

anything in this race. they're happy to lose and go back to their lives. >> your thoughts on who he should fear. if he is doing well down there, he could do well in other places. who is going to come along and be more conservative than him, more consistent, and i'm talking cruz, marco rubio? >> i think rubio is his biggest problem. i think longer term, you know, if rubio takes a strong third here, is able to pull off some good, second or third place finishes on super tuesday and certainly in some of the sec states, he'll be well positioned. already clear the establishment is well positioning themselves behind him now, particularly with the triumph you see her in south carolina, to get behind rubio. dole himself said he is my second choice, playing down any expectations for bush, and lifting up those for rubio. so if i am the trump campaign, i'm looking over my shoulder at rubio, much more than cruz.

>> well, i have to tell you, in terms of cosmetics, this couple here, they're not a a couple, political couple, nikki haley and marco rubio looks awful good compared to some of the older people running for offers right now. any way, i would be afraid of them if i were the democratic nominee. any way, i'm not going to be. michael steele and mark halperin. thank you for joining us. a tricky position for you to take, sir, michael. any way, up next, michael was supposed to be the fire wall for hillary clinton, but does she need to run the table among her core constituents to pull off a win. is th is "hardball," the place for politics, new york, new york, the hotel in vegas. know your financial plan won't keep you up at night. know you have insights from professional investment strategists

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you know in iowa, we defied expectations there. we won in new hampshire. we have a real good shot in nevada. the momentum is with us. >> welcome back to "hardball," of course, an up beat bernie sanders, and the numbers show he has a lot to be positive about right now. recent poll puts him neck in neck in nevada. clinton 48, sanders 47. a long period where clinton was way ahead. they're trying to appeal to the key demographics out here in the silver state. they're union members, i think it seems higher than that. that's the democratic party a lot higher. any way, worth noting that she made it a point to shake hands with some of the hotel workers here in vegas. many of them hold union cards. i'm joined by the "hardball" round table. john ralston, from raul ton live.

reuters, and curtis lee, the los angeles times. let me start with john. who is going to win? preliminarily, the groups out here, we think of this state as having a democratic voters. are they open to bernie? >> more open than hillary clinton thought they were. i think she thought she had them locked up. she was in the state early, last spring, did an event with dreamers, got them to endorse her. has two smart hispanic activists at the top of her campaign. they understand nevada. i don't think she was thinking about that, their campaign was. suddenly they wok up at the end of the year, they're spending money here, trying to get some endorsements and he has made some in roads with some arguments. we were hit the hardest by the recession. his argument is having some. >> turn off, turn on? >> i think what really matter is

how you address the issues. it's a label. >> it's his label. >> exactly. a lot of these people are trying to just pay their bills. it's irrelevant. >> moderate? is that a turn off. >> i think they want to hear progressive, they hear the first few si sylbals. they get like a week to meet the people head on. >> absolutely, do a lot of the voters know a caucus is going on. it will be interesting to see what the turnout will be come saturday. hillary clinton was on the strip last night. caucus for me, caesar's palace he was like where is it? she was like here. >> it was a big drum beat, we have to vote. >> rod flney danger field of caucuses. there was a competitive one in

2008, 120,000, proud of that. a record. still only about quarter of the vote. they don't expect that this time. remember, same day registration. that's what really worries the clinton folks, because you have all the new voters coming in, they could be bernie voters and turn the tide here. >> it could be hispanic people that have never voted before. >> it could be the year, do you think bernie sanders -- well, can you explain bernie sanders? i mean, if you had told me that the senator from vermont, 75 years old in september, been around a long time without getting a lot of attention, the raging political figure. he is the it guy. >> he is really tapping into a lot of frustration that voters feel. >> where was he last year, two years ago, six months ago. >> where were the angry voters this time ago? they reelected obama. they didn't go for some random person out of the blue. the electorate has been developing at the same time bernie sanders has been

developing. >> do you think eight years of moderation and the clintons and obamas, except for health care, have been too mot raderate, a l more aggressive? >> i think the base is yes or noing -- yearning for that. you're seeing that's why bernie sanders is doing well in a lot of polls and starting to gain traction on hillary clinton, especially here in nevada as well. >> is history repeating itself? hillary clinton held a massive poll in iowa, and saw a razor thin in iowa. back in october, clinton was at 50%, look at that, a 16 point lead. clinton and sanders are roughly even. >> who trusts these polls, chris? i mean, they have not been reare liable, especially in nevada. >> they're very reliable in new hampshire. >> new hampshire is a primary. >> i agree completely. >> 7 or 8% turnout on the republican. maybe 20% if they're lucky.

how do you poll the right universe. a lot of them have very small samples. again, same day registration was the same in 2008. you can't poll them. >> how complicated are these caucuses? a lot of people are afraid to go. >> it's not that complicated. go vote. it is not complicated. if you're smart enough to get there, you're smart enough to vote. any way, the round table sticking with me. up next, donald trump versus pope francis, the gop front-runner has endured criticism from president obama from both parties, but can he bounce back from a slam from the pope himself. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. the life behind it. ♪ those who have served our nation have earned the very best service in return. ♪ usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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is what is happening. a civilian helicopter made a hard landing with five people on board. one person in critical condition. a massive gas leak in porter ranch, california, has been sealed. the nearly four month old leak forced thousands of residents from their homes. back to "hardball." i think it's great mexico is doing this. if you get away with it, you get away with it. how smart are they. they tell the pope and he says something negative about me. i don't care. i don't care. >> who the hell cares about the pope. who the hell cares. >> we're back at the round table. you have the guts to speak about this. i'm walking on eggshells. you can't talk about the pope that way. he is our pope. the whole world's pope, because everyone sort of likes him. what do you think?

>> you know who really likes him? latinos, this is really going to hurt him with latinos who see this pope as -- >> than he already is. >> whatever tiny, tiny thread, when he talks about -- >> this could help him. now even the catholic establishment out to get him. antihe antihe an antie antiest. >> it's like interesting thing. so we'll see if this hurts. >> teflon don. >> we'll be right back. rush limbaugh, i think i'm on the pope's side. rush suggested the political leanings are to the left of bernie sanders. here he is. >> the pope says that donald trump is not a christian, because christians do not build walls. they build bridges. given the pope's political

leanings, i'm surprised he isn't on a campaign trail for bernie sanders. maybe bernie sanders is too far to the right for the pope. >> curtis, how is mr. limbaugh get up in the morning and sometimes before the newsbreaks, he figures out the pope's politics. >> he is certainly ahead of the news, on the ball. >> to the left of bernie sanders. i don't know if the pope has a position about free college in the united states and public universities. i don't know. >> yeah, i know, it's an interesting thing to see. >> but i'll tell you one thing, he has made a calculation about what his audience wants to hear. >> that's how he calibrates with what his ditto heads are going to love. that's what he does. >> why does someone want to be a ditto head. >> i can't answer that question for you. >> independent voters, very few ditto heads. i like to say i think for myself. my thanks to the round table. john ralston, nice to me you,

curtis lee. >> nice to meet you. >> up next, harry reid coming here, i see him right now. this is "hardball," from new york, new york, from the vegas strip, the place for politics. what makes thermacare different? two words: it heals. how? with heat. unlike creams and rubs that mask the pain, thermacare has patented heat cells that penetrate deep to increase circulation and accelerate healing. let's review: heat, plus relief, plus healing, equals thermacare. the proof that it heals is you.

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democratic caucuses on saturday. tune in to 2:00 to 6:00 eastern and we'll give you the coverage in the nevada caucuses. all the latest as the republicans head to the polls in south carolina. lots happening this saturday. then at 6:00, i'll be joining brian williams of course for full coverage as we bring you the latest results from these two key races. the republicans there, the democrats here. that's on saturday, here on msnbc. we'll be right back. why are you all here? to learn, right? so you can get a good job and you're not working for peanuts. well what if i told you that peanuts can work for you? while you guys are busy napping, peanuts are delivering 7 grams of protein and 6 essential nutrients right to your mouth.

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a smart item today that talked about that there is reasons to believe that senator sanders should fare well in nevada. an important -- a state that is still 80% white voters, you have caucus style for matt and he'll have the momentum coming out of new hampshire. there are a lot of reasons he should do well. >> any way, we're back and that was hillary clinton's spokesperson there, lowering expectations for secretary clinton's chances out here by saying it is a largely white state. i guess that means she wouldn't do as well. any way, we've got here in the caucuses state this weekend, going up against bernie sanders, and they're both dealing with expectations here in the contest. any way, one man who knows all about this state is harry reid. thank you, mr. leader. >> glad to be here. >> you've represented this area for so long, the senate for all these years as leader. what's going to happen on saturday? >> we're going to have the caucuses and we've been waiting a long time. eight years for this one.

last year, it wasn't very exciting. so it should be a lot of fun. >> do you think that the -- i thought the diversity is pretty good out here, 15/15, some people say 15% african-american, 15% latino, and the rest white. >> it's a little different than that. it's even higher than that. the point is that people across america will see now why we have to have north -- i'm sorry. south carolina and nevada. it's so important. who is going to run for president, shouldn't be decided in iowa and new hampshire. nevada is representative of our country. it's also representative of the west. population center is moving out here significantly, and we've got a lot of things that people need to learn about. because what is happening in nevada is happening all over the west. >> is this still a union town? >> oh, yeah, one of the biggest unions in the country is the

sku culinary workers, 65,000 members. >> it's impossible not to walk through a casino, you have to walk past the slots. are all the people at the craps tables, >> let's talk about supreme court. barack obama has been elected to two four-year terms. some republicans think the second term is only three years long. >> we had one republican senator say we can't do this because you would think we're only talking about their qualifications. >> the first was we want

ideological test. >> the other thing that's been hurtful to the country, clarence thomas, i voted against him. i thought he would be bad for the country. he proved me right. we didn't filibuster him. we didn't filibuster kennedy. we didn't do that to roberts. i know where they came up with this. >> will they push for 60 votes? >> they'll push for it but it will be so unfair. the american people won't put up with this. i went grocery shopping. i came home. i had a number of people, four to be exact, every one said the same thing. get us somebody on the supreme court. >> you get some person out there, man or woman, whatever

ethnic background. once that person comes out and starts doing the sunday shows and starts doing college law schools, it seems you'll have the advantage because people will say give the guy a hearing once they meet the person. >> the president will pick someone that will be good. it takes a very, very personal interest in this. we'll have somebody in the next few weeks. >> few weeks. two, three weeks. >> i think it will be a little over three weeks. >> what do you think republicans will end up doing? >> i think they will hold hearings. i think they will put it on the senate floor. i think some of them will be forced, as much as they hate to, to vote for this candidate. >> let's talk about the process. if it gets as far as hearings, it gets a report out of committee. >> that's right. >> what can you do to get that to a vote? you can't add it on as an amendment, a rider? >> it's a big difference between majority and minority leader. for the last year i've been the

minority leader. the majority leader determines what's on the floor. >> there's no way you can bring it up? >> no. >> it's all up to this guy, mcconnell who said when obama got elected, his number one goal is to get rid of him and with this he'll do nothing. >> his own newspaper went in some detail about how he's been so wrong and what he's doing now because the statement he's made in the past. for example, he wrote a law review article back in 1971 that opposed what he's talking about now. >> are you being consistent? >> yeah. >> you've always said vote. >> i've been very firm when we went through the battles on the d.c. circuit before we changed the rules. there was a woman by the name of owen. they complained about that. reed said she shouldn't have a vote. she already had a hearing. she's on the court now. >> why you retiring?

you're up now. you're ready for the fight. >> well, you know, he said i'm so mad you're retiring. i said, john, if i knew i'd wind up like you physically, i'd run again. >> he's 93 and he's great. >> he just stopped flying his airplane two years ago. i think it's time, we've decided it was right time. i made the decision before i hurt myself, but we were going to do that any way. this accelerated the notice a little bit. it's the best thing for us. >> what's changed in 30 years? the non-collegiality. it's this new, i hate obama that's been so horrible. >> it smells, and we see it and we smell it. thank you. thank you for welcoming us here on the vegas strip. you're not the kind of guy i can see working the slots here.

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it's not just security. it's defense. bae systems. oi. pope francis has said about donald trump's wall, he's not christian. i think of what jesus said about

rendering unto caesar's. a sovereign country had a right to set up policy about who can enter. it can restrict a people of only certain backgrounds into the country or it can be like the united states. it's up to the people. the people of the country to vote for the kind of immigration policy they want. it's up to the politicians to argue what kind of people they want to choose for their country. what part of this debate relates to what we believe spiritually. one could argue that charity should rule. we know the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. it falls into the area of government. a country's values on immigration, how charitable people wish to be. pope francis in voicing his values isn't running for president. donald trump in insisting on his right to push his hard line

policies is certainly not running for pope. that's hardball for now. thanks for being with us. right now it's time for a special edition of the rachel maddow show with vice president joe biden. you might notice we're up an hour early tonight. that's for two reasons. the first is what you see right here. one hour from now in what is usually my time slot, msnbc and telemundo will be hosting a critical and important town hall in nevada for hillary clinton and bernie sanders. it's going to be broadcast on telemundo in spanish and on msnbc in english. it could not come at a more critical time. the nevada caucuses are two days away. hillary clinton won iowa.