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tv   MTP Daily  MSNBC  February 24, 2016 2:00pm-3:01pm PST

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finally we'll end up on super tuesday, in richmond, virginia. cal perry and i tag teaming the whole way. that's going to do it for me. chris jansing live here in oklahoma city. our thanks to all the folks here who have been so kind and generous with their time. and frankly, with their food. i'll see you back here, 1:00 eastern time, tomorrow from dallas, texas. >> yep, it's wednesday. someone just said he thinks there's a, quote, bombshell in donald trump's taxes. it wasn't marco rubio who said it, and it wasn't ted cruz. it was the nominee from 2012. none other than mitt romney, who is ready to take off the gloves to stop trump. but is it too little? this is "mtp daily" and it starts right now. >> good evening from new york. and welcome to another edition
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of "mtp daily." donald trump is essentially the prohibitive front-runner and arguably the presumptive nominee, perhaps right now. and he could be, for sure, after next tuesday. let that sink in for a moment. after blowout victories in new hampshire and south carolina, trump cruised to victory number three last night in nevada, crushing the field by 22 points. more importantly, he broke a 40% threshold. now, let's not all go crazy. this is the nevada caucuses and it was basically one football stadium worth of voters. but, still, to break through the 40% mark is a big deal, since a lot of people thought he couldn't do that. he won with men, women, even the handful of hispanics that showed up. he's making a bigger deal out of that, but be careful there. a very, very small chunk of a small portion of a small part of the electorate. but, still, something for him to crow about. he won among the educated, and as he so gleefully put it, the
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uneducated. he won among skrconservatives, won among moderates. he won everybody. he's now got four times as many delegates as ted cruz or marco rubio and he's steamrolling his way towards super tuesday, when 595 delegates are up for grabs. nearly half the number needed to nominate. folks, it's time for the republican party to look in the mirror. for eight months, we've heard a lot of talk about stopping trump, but the rubber never met the road. how many times did we hear republicans of all stripes dismiss trump as a fad? they said, he'd collapse on his own. they said, he was someone else's problem. many of us thought he would collapse on his own, in fairness. some candidates even praised him, because they were so sure that he would self-destruct and they could potentially inherit his votes. jeb bush's folks completely wrote him off, until it was too little. last august, mike murphy, who ran the pro-bush super pac said, quote, if other campaigns wish that we're going to uncork money on donald trump, they'll be disappointed. trump is, frankly, other people's problem. john kasich refused to go near
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trump, even when given obvious openings to do so. >> do you think that you're more qualified to be president than donald trump? >> i really am not interested in talking about any of the other people that are in this. i'm interested in talking about who i am and what i am and what i hope to do. >> chris christie at one point stopped answering questions altogether about trump because he didn't see him as a threat. >> i said this the other day on fox news. i'm done answering those questions. >> any danger of him hurting the republican party? >> no. >> ted cruz gave trump a self-described bear hug, for months and months, and he let trump's support grow. >> it seems the favorite sport of the washington media is to encourage some republicans to attack other republicans. i ain't gonna do it. i'll say this, i think donald trump is bringing a bold, brash voice to this presidential race. i'm very glad that donald trump's being in this race has forced the moem media, finally,
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to talk about illegal immigration. >> and now there's panic. all of a sudden trump is about to become the presumptive nominee. but still republicans are pulling their punches. the establishment's best dwindling hope to stop trump is marco rubio. and even he is still talking about playing nice. here's what he said this morning on the "today" show when asked why he hasn't gone after trump harder. >> i go to rallies all the time. i don't have any voters begging me to attack anyone. second, i understand, i think that's a media narrative. a lot of people in the media want to see republicans attacking each other, because it makes for good television. i didn't run for office to tear up other republicans. i'm going to tell people why am and why i'm running and i'm going to give them a choice. >> but as we showed you yesterday, rubio needs to quickly consolidate support from all of these so-called establishment voter ifs he stands any chance of stopping trump. we've heard a lot of buzz about republicans, urging kasich to throw his support behind rubio. kasich has other ideas. today, he basically threatened to take the anti-trump movement hostage. >> and why would i drop out when i've got the best chance to be
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the nominee outside of trump? >> will you commit to staying in until -- >> i'm telling you, i'm going to stay in for a long time. i'm going all the way. i'll tell you something, if i get out, which i'm not going to do, trump is absolutely going to be the nominee, with end of story. >> and remember yesterday we heard kasich say he had no intention of sticking it to trump. so who will? we've seen cruz attack rubio, we've seen rubio attack cruz, we've seen kasich go after rubio, all why trump's support grows. look at these numbers. they're pretty remarkable. despite all the big talk about taking out trump with a flood of paid advertising, there has been just $4 million in outside money spent in attacking trump. that is a drop in the bucket when you think about $176 million being spent overall to beat each other up. trump has bullied the establishment with fear. megadonors are still shying away from dueling with donald. according to politico.com, quote, they worry if they fund attacks, they will come under fire by trump. and we know he will do things
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like that. and a common criticism is trump's rise is the media's fault because we have enabled his rise. but you could argue that the media has enabled all the material the campaign would want to put together an attack against him. politifact's 2015 lie of the year was a litany of trump's facts on the campaign trail. and there are other stories about trump's inconsistencies. on iraq, trump said during a debate last fall that i'm the only person on this dias that fought hard against going into iraq. before the u.s. invaded in iraq in march of 2003, trump went on fox news and said, either you attack or don't attack. and after the attack began, he the told fox business that wall street is going to go up like a rocket because of it. and to cop it all you have, here's what he told me on sunday when i asked him about those origin
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original howard stern 2002 comments. >> i really don't even know what i mean. that was a long time and who knows what was in my head? >> folks, those are all inconsistencies that a normal campaign that was running against donald trump would probably put together, into tv ads and try to see if it would leave a mark with voters. here's another example. health care. trump has said time and again that obamacare is a total lie. but he's on the record years ago saying he's liberal on health care. and during a debate last summer, he praised single-payer health care saying, quote, it works in canada. here's the big picture. the he'satisitation to attack t has only given him strength, and now republicans are panicking, because it might be too little for his critics in the party to stop him. many of trump's supporters decided months ago to support him, and they haven't budged. we saw it again last night in nevada. nearly two-thirds of the people who caucus for trump said they made up their minds more than a month before they ever set foot in a caucus site. in south carolina, more than half of his supporters made up their minds more than a month before polls opened. it just about the same story in new hampshire and even in iowa.
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the window of opportunity to change those minds has passed. like i said, it is time for the republican party, they probably have to look in the mirror, because the rhetoric about stopping trump has never matched the reality and now it might be too little to even start. but some republicans on the outside aren't ready to give up yet, including mitt romney. here's what he said just a few moments ago about trump. >> frankly, i think we have good reason to believe that there's a bombshell in donald trump's taxes. >> what do you mean? >> well, i think there's something there, either he's not anywhere near as wealthy as he says he is, or he hasn't been paying the kind of taxes we would expect him to pay, or perhaps he hasn't been giving money to the vets or to the disabled, like he's been telling us he's been doing. >> wow! mitt romney, doing to trump what arguably harry reid did to mitt romney in 2012, if you remember, on the entire tax return issue. i'm joined now by advisers by two campaigns that were gobbled up in the trump storm.
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mike duhane, a senior strategy to chris christie's campaign and brian todd with bobby jindal's super pac. i'll start with the man on remote first, mr. todd, brad, let me ask you this. i understand every individual decision that campaigns made seven and eight months ago in dealing with trump. in hindsight, how bad does it look? >> i think it's probably the greatest miscalculation in politics of this decade. governor jindal did attack trump. came to washington, d.c., called a press conference at the national press club and other candidates did not follow his lead. i think it was very obvious early on that trump could not be allowed to grow. i think the fact that jeb bush allowed himself to be trump's foil without becoming trump's opponent is literally one of the biggest blunders in politics of this decade. >> but with governor jindal, he went after trump after he was struggling to catch fire. it seems that that was the pattern. candidates only went after trump, after it looked like it was the last move they had.
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>> you know, i don't think i agree with that. it happened as trump was gaining strength. i think when you look at what ted cruz has done to cold trump, meanwhile, as trump slowly, slowly, took away all of ted cruz's potential supporters, it's just a tremendous amount of hubris. >> mike, you, you know, explain your guy's decision, when it came to trump. because a lot of us, you could say we were baiting you, but we were all waiting for that christie v. trump moment. >> the campaigns were designed for our candidate to win not necessarily for any other candidate to lose. so whether it was miscalculations about trump's strength or the press's miscalculations, we were doing what was in the best interest of our candidate. we have so many people now coming to give us advice about how to stop trump. no one was saying, here's the best way chris christie can win or bobby jindal can win. people will saying, here's the best way we think donald trump can lose. >> in hindsight, is there a
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moment you can go back to where you can say, if that moment had been different, trump wouldn't be where he is? >> i don't think so. i think he gathered strength very quickly. i don't think any of us saw it at the level it was. but he was so strong, so quick. and as brad said, i think jeb, as strong as jeb was, he took away a lot of the ability for other people, some who were still in the race, some who were not, to gather momentum, gather money, and gather endorsements and most of the establishment that people say is losing really has sat on the sidelines. most people are not in the race. mitt romney saying something today. if everybody wanted to stop trump, they shouldn't have gotten behind one person, not sit on the sidelines and carp that we should beat trump. >> and brad, i'm watching you nodding your head just now as mike was talking about that. and i guess my question is, where is the cavalry? i have not -- it is, again, a trickle that has gotten behind rubio. >> it is. i think what's happened is, there's been a big debate for a long time. people didn't just underestimate trump, they overestimated cruz.
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i think there was this paralysis of indecision over it will consequences. when the truth is, by the way, trump has done a pretty good job of attacking himself. trump says almost anything that would blow up any other candidate, as you say in your segment, but the problem is trump as a candidate is not what's succeeding here. it's trump as a character. people are voting for the character on "the apprentice" who was decisive, bold, who was willing to cut his losses. that's the character they're voting for. so trump's political statements almost don't matter. >> so the greatest political strategist of all time is mark burnett? >> it's certainly possible. >> the guy who created this image. all right, so now, there are days left. maybe, at the moment, until march 15th, if there is going to be a stop-trump movement. what does it look like and how would it happen? >> i don't know if there's going to be a stop-trump movement. i think if you're one of the candidates who still have a chance in this race, you're hoping your opponent beats trump. >> the rubio is rooting for
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trump to win texas. >> they're all hoping for that one-on-one. most of us believe that. the hard part is, will it be too little at that point? i think at some point, if you haven't won any of these caucuses yet, it's time to take trump on in a little bit more forceful way. >> brad, i know your candidate is a rubio guy now. what should rubio be doing between now and super tuesday? >> well, i think if you're going to beat the champ, you've got to get into the ring with the champ. the champ's got to take a hit, first off. >> so that's tomorrow's debate. tomorrow's debate, then, is a huge moment for marco rubio, is it not? >> it is. but i also think that kasich and cruz have to assess. they don't seem to have the appeal to unite the anti-trump guys. so thing they have to take a pretty hard look at themselves after march 1st and see if this is really a vanity play or an effort to be president. >> and mike, what's your -- governor christie, first of all, is he going to be ready to endorse? >> i think he's waiting. he hasn't endorsed anybody at this point. i think he's waiting and watching like everybody are.
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>> what would your advice be to any of the three candidates? >> i think somebody needs to show they can take on trump. they don't need to win the debate, but if you're marco rubio who generally has really good debates, except for one, people always say he has good debates, yet he hasn't won any of these primaries. he needs to do better than just have good 60-second speeches. he needs to have a little bit more engagement than he's had. >> and is it possible, brad, i want to throw this last question to you. is it possible some donors and some people are hesitant on rubio because they're afraid that he can't handle trump? they're afraid that trump is going to do to him what trump has done to everybody else? >> no, i don't think so. i think if you see any hesitancy the from other candidates, it's because they invested a lot of time in getting one of these other guys to the finish line and didn't make it. it's very hard to switch horses if you have put a lot of time and invested a lot of emotional energy into it. but the question you have to ask, are john kasich and ted cruz's donors willing to let a
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candidate win who's against everything they're for. after the first, they've not succeeded, are they willing to trump erase the things they want to achieve. >> this segment was more enlightening than i expected it to be. i appreciate you to do this. i know it's not easy to talk shop after you've just come off of campaigns. coming up, i'll talk to the very first member of congress who is publicly backi ining donald tru and new details on who the president could name to replace justice antonin scalia. fascinating name. and bernie sanders heads off to super tuesday states, but says he's not abandoning south carolina. will that strategy pay off? we'll check in with the democratic campaigns, up next.
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that's my job. i'll nominate somebody and let the american people decide as to whether that person's qualified. >> and nbc news has confirmed that among those being officially vetted is nevada's
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republican governor, brian sandoval, that he is truly in the running to be president obama's pick for the supreme court. the white house is currently in the vetting process. fellow nevadaen harry reid has a long-standing good working relationship with the moderate republican, who's in his second term. the two had a meeting last week. if anyone can get through a republican-controlled senate, sandoval might fit the bill. he was confirmed with no opposition as a federal judge back in 2005, but that was a different political climate a decade ago. mitch mcconnell has repeatedly promised no hearings on any nominee until after the next president takes off. and today republicans are circling the wagons in this fight, with even vulnerable senators in blue states, rob portman and kelly ayotte echoing that same sentiment and even saying they wouldn't meet with a potential pick. senator reid predicts mcconnell will cave and he's calling for a nominee to be announced in the next few days. boy, if it's sandoval, yes, a pro-choice republican, but a popular hispanic republican in nevada, 60% plus approval rating in a swing state, fascinating
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and we're back here. this is a live look, we're at, i believe, morris college in sumter, south carolina. hillary clinton will kick off a breaking down barriers town hall shortly. three days before south carolina's democratic primary. this will be clinton's second event in the palmetto state today. meantime, sanders left south carolina this morning. he's holding a press conference on poverty before leaving and he said this. >> we're not writing off south carolina. you all know that on march 1st, there are a dozen states that are holding elections. and the nature of the world is that we're going to go out on the states. >> looking past south carolina for now, the super tuesday numbers are in clinton's favor. 571 of the delegates up for grabs are in states where clinton appears to be stronger. 222 of those delegates are in texas alone. sanders has a good chance with 288 of the delegates in the other states, the ones he's
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targeting there. the democratic calendar does not include any winner-take-all states. so if tuesday's numbers lean heavily in clinton's favor, then sanders' attempt to catch up will be a steep climb. even a 100-delegate -- if you're down 100 delegates in the democratic anonymonomination fi takes s s s s a long time to m up and perhaps impossible. clinton received an endorsement today from harry reid. >> i think the middle class would be better served by hillary. i think that my work with her over the years has been something i've looked upon with awe. she was the first lady, she started the trend towards doing something about health care. >> we'll talk to another top congressional leader that's backing clinton, south carolina congressman jaime clyburn, in just a moment. but first, let's talk to one of the state leaders, who has stood by sanders this morning. you just saw him there before he left south carolina. it's state representative justin bamberg. he originally supported clinton
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before switching to sanders and joins me now. thanks for joining us. let me ask you, why did you switch from clinton to sanders? >> i'm sorry, can you say that again. >> i'm sorry, i know it's a little loud in there. why did you -- why did you switch from clinton to sanders? what about senator sanders made you jump aboard? >> yeah, i'm sorry, i can't -- i'm having trouble making you out here. i'm having some troubles with my ear piece. >> no worries, we're going to try to fix that for a minute. i'm going to take a break there, and instead i'm going to move over to my other interview. i'll turn now to the number three democrat in the house, congressman james clyburn of south carolina. congressman, coming to you a little early. we had a little audio issue with our first guest. let me start with how big of a victory do you expect senator clinton to have in south carolina? >> thank you so much for having me, chuck. i apologize for my voice today. >> that's okay. we're all -- late hours and the cold season is here too.
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>> absolutely. i expect for there to be a very comfortable win. i'm not going to put a number on it, but i think it will be very comfortable. i think it will launch her into super tuesday. >> how hard was it for you to get over 2008, with former president clinton? you wrote about it in your book? did that give you any pause in backing her? >> absolutely not. i was over it after the second phone call, which i also wrote about in my book. but everybody focuses on the first phone call but he called me later, a couple of weeks later, and he apologized. i accepted the apology and i was over it. >> you know, you have said before, i believe you have said before you announced who you were going to support, you made it clear you had some family members that were for clinton and some family members that were feeling the bern, that were for bernie sanders. what is your advice to secretary clinton in improving her
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standing with younger voters. because this appears to be a problem for her across the board. it's not by ethnic group, it's not by race, it's basically by age. younger voters are hesitant about secretary clinton. what's your advice to her to fix that? >> my advice would be to take a look at the speech she gave at the democratic party's dinner, down in charleston, the night before the charleston debate -- >> this is bernie sanders? >> no. that she gave. and i want her to look at her performance last night the way she answered the questions to those young people. i came away last night, believing that she connected very well. one was a young lady who told her, that she was leaning towards sanders, but she talked about her student loans and what she could expect from hillary clinton. and the way she answered that
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questioned that everybody in the building talking how thorough she was with it. so i would say to her is, be conversational, throw away all these notes. she's lived this stuff, she's internalized, she knows it. just talk to people. look at the camera, reach into their hearts and souls and talk to them. >> you know, it's funny. i've heard this friendly criticism of her from other supporters of hers who say, she's been too -- she's been talking too much policy. too many ten-point plans, not enough, somebody put it to me, not enough "we." >> yes. >> and there must be the feeling, the compassion. she really did herself well last night. when she talked to another young man, an african-american young man. and an african-american young
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lady, who talked about the natural hair that she's now wearing, and the way she answered those three young people, i guarantee you, all three of them will probably be voting for her. >> congressman clyburn, i'll let you go get some of that tea and honey and all of that stuff. appreciate it. >> thank you, appreciate it. >> now i'll turned back, i'm joined by state representative justin bamberg. state representative, first of all, my apologies for that. >> no problem. >> now let me ask you the question i was asking you before. that is, you were a clinton supporter and you switched. why? >> you know, i never really gave bernie sanders the time of day, didn't listen to anything that he was talking about. when i started looking at him a little deeper, looking into his background, i realized that for years, he's stood for social justice, racial justice, economic justice, he's passionate in what he believes in. he's a man who was not willing to sacrifice his integrity to
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win anything, not even the white house. and that is something that i like very much. >> so, why is it -- it seems to me, if there's a challenge for senator sanders in the african-american community, it really is generational. and it's sort of ironic here, younger generation, it's, like yourself, it seems as if, as he's gotten you to have a conversation, he's had some success. be people of his own generation have been going in droves to secretary clinton. why do you think that is? >> well, you know, particularly here in south carolina, you know, the clintons have a long-standing name, particularly in the african-american community. a lot of folks like bill clinton, not necessarily for anything policy or life-changing related, but he was a president that was very likable. with the young people, they're not so much into the past. what they're looking at, is they see in bernie sanders someone who understands and wants to work to change the things that makes it, their life a little
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bit more difficult. the fact that after college, they owe more in student loans than they would owe for a mortgage. you know, there are a lot of issues that are just attractive to young people. and i can say that i am honestly excited to see so many young people amped up, fired up, and feeling the bern. >> all right. but speaking of feeling the bern, you've got to be in the state sometimes to feel the bern. he's not in the state right now. are you concerned about that? >> no, not concerned at all. you know, i understand, and many voters understand, you know, this is a race. you can't focus too much on one state. there are people here working hard every day on the ground. bernie sanders was here this morning. he left to make some appearances. we've got some big elections coming up in other states. you know, i want everybody to keep in mind that the race is not given to the swift or to the strong, but to the one who can endure to the end. bernie sanders has been a fighter all his life. he fights for the american people. and he's going to continue to fight, to not only lead the democratic party, but to lead
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this country, be the leader of the free world. >> all right. state representative justin bamberg. again, apologies for those earlier audio issues, but glad we got it worked out. thanks for coming on. >> absolutely. thank you so much. all right, donald trump finally picks up a congressional endorsement. he got a couple of them after last night's big win. but does it tell us more about his strength or the powers that be that are waking up to a new reality? stay tuned. about retirement. a 401(k) is the most sound way to go. let's talk asset allocation. sure. you seem knowledgeable, professional. would you trust me as your financial advisor? i would. i would indeed. well, let's be clear here. i'm actually a dj. [ dance music plays ] [laughs] no way! i have no financial experience at all. that really is you? if they're not a cfp pro, you just don't know. find a certified financial planner professional who's thoroughly vetted at letsmakeaplan.org. cfp -- work with the highest standard. iher life's work has been about breaking barriers.age. and so would her presidency.
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collins on why he's the first member of congress to throw his support behind donald trump. and his district, a canary in the coal myan to trump's ability to win in a general election. but first, here's hampton pearson with the cnbc market wrap. >> thanks, chuck. we had stocks rebounding. dow finishing up 53 points after falling more than 250 points earlier in the session. the s&p adding 8 points, the nasdaq gaining 39 points as well. shares of target rose about 4% today. the company's results fell slightly short of estimates, but 2016 profit guidance was above forecast. new home sales were weaker than expected in january, sliding 9.2%. and hp is out with earnings that met analyst's expectations while revenue beat. shares are fluctuating in after-hours trading. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide.
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after winning three of the first four republican contests, without a single endorsement from an elected member of congress, donald trump keeps steamrolling towards the nomination, while marco rubio keeps racking up endorsements and second-place finishes. but today trump is finally getting some support on capitol hill, with endorsements coming his way from two members of congress. one of them, california congressman, duncan hunter said, quote, i don't think trump wants my endorsement, and that's one reason why i like him. trump actually emphasized his an think towards endorsements earlier this morning, calling them, quote, a waste of time. rubio has some 60 endorsements from sitting governors and members of congress, but he's finished far behind trump in the last two contests. and then, of course, there's ted cruz, who has his own sliver of support on capitol hill. speaking to msnbc today, one of those supporters, alabama congressman, mo brooks, hit trump without mentioning his name and referring to him as, quote, destructive. >> i understand why voters are
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angry, but we have to channel that anger away from something that will ultimately be destructive to their goals, to something that is constructive. for example, moral values voters. wouldn't you rather have a marco rubio or a ted cruz, who have a history of personal life and public life, of standing for moral values? >> true test of trump's electability, though, could rest on how he does in rust belt districts across the country. and that's what makes this endorsement that i'm going to talk about next the most interesting to me. joining me now is the first congressman to publicly back trump today and he hails from one of those rust belt region districts. he's congressman chris collins of new york, basically from the erie area there, outside of buffalo. congressman, how are you? why weren't you with trump in the first place? you're a business guy, you're --
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you're sort of a tell it like it is kind of guy, maybe a little politically incorrect sometimes. i could argue that you should have been with trump from the beginning, why weren't you? >> trump, it goes back to, i was supporting governor bush before donald trump even entered the game, if you will and certainly the governor as the chief executive of florida and the results of florida, we need a chief executive as our next president, not a chief politician. and so i was respectful of the governor, and when he did drop out, i was very, very quick to jump on and endorse donald trump, who i have been supporting behind the scenes, if you will, for a few weeks. but out of a courtesy to the governor, waited for him to withdraw from the race. and now with a lot of enthusiasm, i am supporting donald trump as our next president >> there's another chief executive in the race, and that's governor john kasich, who's got arguably an equal record to jeb bush's.
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why didn't you go with him and instead picked somebody who's a novice at politics? >> well, as you know, i was also a novice in politics and my slogan to run was elected chief executive, not elected chief politician. that resonates. we need somebody who signs the front of a paycheck, as donald trump has done. and frankly, what donald trump stands for, what resonates with me in new york and the country and america needs to regain its past glory as a land of opportunity, providing a bright future for our children and gra gra grandchildren. under his leadership, america will be great again. >> what does he stand for? because on some issues, you seem to be a straightforward conservative guy. uh be on some issues, he's been all over the map. on health care, he's been all over the map. on iraq, he's been all over the map. so what is it that gives you confidence that he's going to stick to some conservative principles? >> well, it comes back to what
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we need today are jobs in the economy. china has been stealing our jobs for years. they've been manipulating their currency, polluting the atmosphere, violating child labor laws and stealing our intellectual property. donald trump is going to stand up to china. we are a net importer. china needs us. and in whatever you want to call a negotiation, when you're holding the four aces, you don't do a lot of negotiating. donald trump understands the art of the deal. and donald trump representing american workers, workers in western new york, workers who have lost their jobs because of nafta, workers whose jobs are being threatened by the transpacific partnership, that this president has now negotiated, a very bad deal for america, donald trump is standing for jobs, our future, growth in america. and that's why, as his message resonates, you're going to see democrats, certainly in western new york, supporting mr. trump in his bid for the presidency, to bring those manufacturing jobs we so desperately need back
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to america. >> so you don't think his -- you think it's a strength that he basically doesn't tow a more conservative line on policy? >> oh, it is time for us to stand up for america. we are the world's superpower. we represent 25% of the world's economy. we are a net importer, and as a result of that, mr. trump, as president, will be holding the four aces, as he sits down with other countries and says, here's the terms under which, and we're going to be doing business. >> and what happens when everybody's cost of living goes up? i mean, that's within the threat of this. that, if this happens, then there's trade wars, there's tariff wars, and suddenly, a pair of shoes costs, you know, three times what it costs today, clothes costs three times what it costst today. somebody walking into a walmart is going to find out that their bill is three times what it was. what do you say to that person, if that's what ends up happening in a trade war with china?
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>> well, there's exaggeration there. here's what i can tell you. it's my belief from experience that china has been stealing our jobs at a 15 to 20% price differential by manipulating their currency, so there's no question, we want those jobs back, and for every manufacturing job that comes back to the united states, there are six other jobs created. that's the magic of manufacturing, it's why china stole those jobs. it's why every governor in the united states is fighting for manufacturing jobs. and you are correct, there could be a very small 10 or 15% inflationary impact over a period of time, but i'll also tell you this. the united states needs some level of inflation. just speak to the federal reserve. you can't withstand where we've been at zero inflation. a 2 and 3 and 4% inflation rate is healthy for the economy, and frankly, the $20 trillion that we're saddled with, in debt,
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with a 3% or 4% inflation would be paid back with cheaper dollars, and that's a benefit for our children and grandchildren. we shouldn't be afraid of modest inflation, as the federal reserve has noted. >> well, congressman chris collins, i've not heard many politicians argue that. i've heard economists argue that, though. appreciate you coming on with some -- >> okay, chuck, happy to be with you. >> good to meet you, sir. john kasich is holding a town hall right now in mennerie, louisiana. a march 5th state. and how paul ryan is taking the title of house speaker to heart. stay tuned. know your financial plan
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you're looking at live pictures here. it's marco rubio holding a rally in houston, with 155 delegates up for grabs. texas is a huge prize for republicans on super tuesday. even pieces of texas. >> we've had some great numbers coming out of texas. >> we are going to win. and that is the critical thing, the great state of texas now has the opportunity to stand up and speak. >> ted cruz has to win texas. he should have home field advantage in the lone star state. a new poll of likely primary voters there has him with a 15-point lead over trump. largest lead we've seen so far
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for cruz over trump. but texas is only a winner-take-all state if one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote. and guess what, no one's getting more than 50% of the vote. cruz is far away from that threshold, but everyone is going to be competing for a piece of those delegates. but this poll has 19% of voters still undecided and jeb bush polling at 5%, because
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quick roll through the ws. the who, rick perry, final criminal charge dismissed today. 2014 indicted peri on abuse of power accusations when he was governor. now to the what, the speaker, speaking and speaking, yahoo news paul ryan 30 interviews, more than his predecessor did in an entire year. where, california, lowering gas tax by 2 point 2 cents on july 1st. how about that. cuts the state transportation funds by more than $300 million.
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yes, california, cut taxes. now to the when. it's every time republicans have voted this presidential cycle in all of the contests so far, 2016 turn out has trumped 2012 numbers. that's a big deal, folks. a huge deal on turnout on the republican side. now to the why. my colleague, andrea mitchell talked to colin powell. >> guantanamo should be closed. i supported that when i worked for president bush as the secretary of state. president bush made the decision to close it, and i've supported it when president obama came in. >> eight years ago, there was consensus to close it. but now not so much. he likes to pick his moments to weigh in. when he does weigh in, it's a moment he hopes resonates. he want on to call it a heavy load to carry around when he was secretary of state. especially when he was talking about issues like human rights.
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but it's not without its perks. like seeing our album sales go through the roof enough to finally start paying meg's little brother- i mean,our new tour manager-with real,actual money. we run on quickbooks.that's how we own it. made a simple tripvere chto the grocery storeis anything but simple. so finally, i had an important conversation with my dermatologist about humira. he explained that humira works inside my body to target and help block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to my symptoms. in clinical trials, most adults saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis.
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frankly, i think we have good reason to believe that there is a bombshell in donald trump's taxes. >> what do you mean? >> i think there is something there. either he is not as wealthy as he says he is, or he hasn't been paying the kind of taxes we would expect him to pay or perhaps he hasn't been giving money to the vets or to the disache
quote
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disabled like he has been telling us he has. >> msnb contributor, welcome back. i'm going to let the other two talk first. romney is trolling trump. this is a man that mitt romney went with an awkward, decided he needed trump's endorsement in 2012, clearly regrets that moments. >> one of the great awkward moments. >> that was awkward at the time. >> he is playing catch up now. he pulled the pin out of the grenade. is he leveraged, is he worth only like $20 million, instead of $8 billion, and he is pushing, and provoking donald into mr. trump into releasing those tax returns. >> what's interesting, beth, we know donald will react by attacking romney, okay. so the question is how long does trump stay distracted by romney on this? >> romney is not running for
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anything, so i don't think it's going to be. >> are you sure? >> republicans deeply hope he is not. i disagree with you. i think romney really wanted that endorsement at the time. trump was kind of fun back in 2012, and it was at first it looked like he was going to endorse newt gingrich and it seemed like a snub. it was a good moment, albeit short. i don't know that he is trolling him. i think he is stepping into the role as a senior statesman, as he sees himself. he has to stop this nonsense. >> okay, but as you just said mike, you can stop all you want, but you have to be for somebody. romney is not for anybody. >> there are moments in time during this campaign where he could have helped any number of people. he could have helped marco rubio do nor, governor christie do more, jeb bush do more, but he chose to stay out. when you're trying to stop somebody, the attention continues to go to donald trump. he continues to grab all the attention. and by the way, getting in a fight, that's not going to hurt
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donald trump. i mean, that's been donald trump's message right now. he'll welcome it. >> there was a moment, i would add to that, there was a moment in time, several moments in time when any of the candidate cos have helped themselves. they didn't need anybody else if they had turned on donald trump, and gone right after him, in august, september, october. none of them did. it appears they grew up having pillow fights only. >> that's not true. what you're looking at, how could you have stopped donald trump. the campaigns are trying to fig our out how to win. marco has done to this point, john kasich has done, to get in the one-on-one battle. >> that's what you were probably advising and did so effectively, he wasn't going after trump, on purpose. >> just as the other candidates in the race, you can get it later, everyone he took on, he did very well against. i think the point was later on, when the field is narrowed, you
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can do that. people who want to stop donald trump, we want people like mitt romney to help somebody as opposed to trying to hurt one person. >> it seems to me, it's the biggest for marco rubio. he has to take command of that debate stage tomorrow night to make people like mitt romney, make a bunch of donors who haven't jumped aboard. how big is it. >> a pivotal moment, acting as if this was the national hockey league, everyone is going to make the playoffs, finishing second is a win, finishing third. tomorrow night, he has to get -- he has got to be perceived as tough and as a clear alternative to donald trump. >> very quickly, beth, how big? >> you know, it's big. we've seen him do a very good debate, lousy debate. we know he has the skills. it hasn't been enough to close
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the deal for him. he has to show he wants it. >> he has speaking skills. not necessarily debates skills. he has to take somebody on. >> the new hampshire moment is still haunting him. >> that's right. >> thank you all, beth, mike and mike. i've heard of a show called mike and mike. we'll be back tomorrow with more "mtp daily," but "with all due respect" will start right now. i'm al hunt. >> and i'm mark halperin, "with all due respect" to donald trump, are you boared of winnin now. >> we're winning, winning, winning, the country. and soon, the country is going to start winning, winning, winning. >> okay, just to be clear, though, we are never bored of donald j trump. howdy from houston, where

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