>> your reaction? >> first of all, donald trump was supposed to speak at cpac this weekend answered canceled. now, i've interviewed people. he didn't agree to the rules of the other candidates abiding by, but another reason. there were going to be protests, walk jaouts if he was here, especially after last night's debate is losing altitude and i it will continue as long as he engages in shall we say cama kaz zee campaigning. >> we'll be more with "mtp daily" on monday. "with all due respect" starts now. i'm mark halperin. >> i'm john helemann. >> with all due respect to donald trump, your only presence at cpac, maybe not the best idea.

on the show tonight, our daily donald fix, and the republican party's big swinging egos. but first, mitt romney stopped by the sued ystudio as anybody tour. today, he went on a new york media rampage to make his case about why the gop front unner is unworthy of the party's no nomin and he needs to be stopped even if it takes political games man ship at the convention in cleveland. >> is the person with the most delegates going into the cleveland convention who doesn't have a majority but a plurality is that person entitled to the nomination. >> nobody is entitled to the nomination. the voters decide who they want to support and the delegates are also to make a determination of who will be in the best interest of the party and the country to be our nominee. so look, this is a process that is a normal political process.

it may go to a contested, open convention. i think that would be interesting, exciting for the public at large. that's parts of our political process. you gotta win, either get the delegates and show that you had the support of the nation, you got the 1237 delegates, and if you didn't, then you have to go to the convention and convince the delegates. >> so john, we're a little more than 24 hours into mitt romney's crusade against donald trump, how is it going? >> i thought he performed well today, mark. i thought he made his case in greater detail. he answered questions pretty well. i don't think he has dispelled the suspicions of some that he would like to be the republican nominee in that process that you guys were talking about on the contested convention. by and large, romney is driving the message strongly. >> chris christie is kind of the polar opposite, you know, three camps in the republican world. endorsing trump for the establishment, both voters and elites, people who are saying

they're against trump, but if he is nominee, and then people like romney, never, never will they vote for trump. romney is having surprising traction with that position, and with the position that it's okay to use the rules of the party to stop somebody if they don't have the majority on the first ballot. >> yeah, look, i think it's actually intellectually unassailable position. you get the majority of t delegates, and if you don't, a first ballot, it becomes a contested convention. you can be a great fan of edwards, whatever the rules of order are, whatever the phrase is. >> roberts. >> take the position, roberts, roberts, and be this is all fair game. fair play. >> yeah. all right, now i want to tell you a story about little marco and bill donald. last night at the republican debate in detroit, they stood as

statesman. dignified substantive discussion about issues of great moment and urgency of the electorate. sorry, i was just having a little reverse. and yes, penile illusion. so yes, did that thing, whatever it was that occurred last night at the fox theater in detroit change anything in the republican race? did it do any lasting damage as some conservatives have suggested to the republican brand? >> look, people had said for several weeks now, largely because of donald trump, that they can't watch the debates or political rallies with their kids in the room. marco rubio escalated some of that rhetoric over the last couple of weeks and i think last night, really did turn off a lot of people. i'm not sure negative effect on any of the candidates, but it really did have a negative affect on people, saying oh omg, i cannot believe this is a presidential debate with the four finalists. >> it really is.

the ratings were off the charts for the debate last nights and for americans tuning in to this hotly contested nomination, seeing that level of discourse, it blows my mind a time, our memory, the party of ideas, it is not the party of ideas any more, at least on the basis of what we saw last night. >> you see the tension in the mouth of marco rubio. on the one hand, you know, trying to continue his insults on donald trump, to do what his campaign thinks is keeping him in the race to some extent and the other when he said i wish we could be talking about ideas, but it's hard when donald trump is setting the pace. all right, when we come back, my full interview with governor mitt romney on everything trump, including just how far romney is willing to go to stop the current front-runner. that interview, when we come back. we're a nano-business. windows 10 really helps us get the word out about how awesome bugs are. kids learn to be brave and curious and all kids speak the language of bug. "hey cortana, find my katydid video."

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as mentioned earlier, mitt romney stopped by the studio to

talk about the anti-trump project. talking about the feedback he has heard since his big speech yesterday. >> thank you for joining us. >> thanks, mark. good to see you. >> about 24 hours since your speech in utah. what is the reaction to it. >> a lot of support from friends and associates. not surprisingly, a record number of e-mails my way. >> anyone you can tell us your viewers would know. >> no, i won't think so. they can express themselves as they would like to. but you know, i said in my speech that we could measure the readiness of donald trump to be president in part by how he responded to my speech, whether it be policy or a personal attack and characteristically he took the low road. >> there has been some negative reaction of rush limbaugh, shawn hannity, does that bother you at all? >> i didn't see their reaction, but frankly, i'm speaking out on

something i care deeply about, and that's the country we're in and the nature of my party and i happen to think that donald trump has neither the experience nor the temperament to be president. >> okay, there have been moments along the way as i'm sure you've watched the campaign where maybe you and mrs. romney have said that's too far, too much. any particular things he has done in the last few weeks or months that you or you and mrs. romney have said that's too much. >> a long list. his comments about mexicans. that was very early on. then the comments about muslims. most recently, what he said with regards to t regar regards quivication, david duke, george bush was a liar. at the same time, saying putin is someone who he respects as a strong and effective leader. i mean, it's been one outrage after the other. his mocking of reporter, based on their physical disability. and then if you will, the sexual

and vulgar elements have been part of his campaign. all of it has been troublesome. this has been a low road campaign, pretty much from the beginning. >> anything that was the last straw or just coupcumulative? >> i didn't want to make comments about a particular candidate. my thought was i could remain somewhat neutral in this and sort of call the balls and strikes in a foul here and there, and i've done that along the way. but with the klu klux klan, and about how late this is getting in the process, i said to myself, when my grand kids come and say, papa, what did you do to stop donald trump, i don't want to say i did nothing. >> so big day as you've pointed out, a week from tuesday, when florida and ohio other states vote. you're doing this interview, some others, is that it? what will you be doing between ohio, florida march 14th, so do what you said, to do everything you could do to stop donald

trump. >> i'm doing this. that probably reaches more voters than actually showing up in a state and i'm not sure that my showing up in a state would make much difference any way. they want you to come in and endorse a candidate. i'm not doing that. i'm laying out the case why we need a real republican lead our party and why donald trump isn't that person. that's something i can do best on the media. >> so after today, are you done? you've said what you needed to say? >> i'll be on a sunday show or two tomorrow, and beyond that, i'll continue to work behind the scenes and do whatever i can do that is effective. >> what about activating your fundraising, super pacs trying to raise money, will you help with that effort. >> i am and i think they probably noticed by my remarks yesterday. i'm hoping the people that we're thinking of saying, well, donald trump is effectively the nominee, we might as well get on board. wait, maybe we should wait and give it a second look. >> you're a pretty wealthy, are

you going to give money. >> we're going to have to talk about that. >> your taxes before you put them out and what might be in there, do you know something about what might be in his taxes, do you have some informed guess or are you doing what one of your grand kids called trolling. >> i inn kapted why i said what i did, and why i believe there a bombshell in his taxes. any time someone has raised his taxes, he evades. you don't do that if you plan on releasing them. he began by saying they're bold, beautiful, and he was going to release them. as time has gone on, he has come up with excuses why he won't release them. oh, they're being audited. four or five years, no, it's two or three years. so the response is, well, okay, give us the taxes that aren't being audited.

somehow he won't do that either. i think everyone has the same evidence i do, which is he does not want to release his tax returns under any circumstances. i don't believe he ever will, because there is something in there that is afraid that they wouldn't vote for him as the nominee. >> would it be enough to release his income and charitable -- >> no. >> what would be the right level? >> candidates of office have traditionally given their tax returns, five years, two years, one year, i provided my taxes returns in the year that i had them completed. in january of 2012, we're now in march of this election year. it's late to be releasing returns. he ought to be doing it. >> big debate in the party, take it away from donald trump and talk about the question about who is entitled to the nomination. the person with the most delegates going into the cleveland convention, is that person entitled to the nomination? >> nobody is entitled to the nomination. the voter of the country decide

who they want to support and the delegates are elected to also make a determination of who would be in the best interest of the party and the country to be our nominee. so look, this is a process that is a normal political process. it may go to a contested, open convention. i think that would be interesting. exciting for the public at large. and that's part of our political process. you gotta win, either get the delegates and show that you had the support of the nation, and you got the 1237 delegates and if you didn't, then you got to go to the convention and convince the delegates. >> so if donald trump gets the most vote and popular vote, say 48% of the delegates, you would be comfortable being part you've dialogue saying 48 is not 50, he is going to have to fight to get 50 at the convention. he should not be the comeny with 48%. >> a person like donald trump who has said what he has said about muslims, mexicans, women, george bush, john mccain, a person like that should not be

the nominee of our party or be the president. i will campaign for an alternative to donald trump until the avenue is no longer open. >> what would you say for the people who voted for him or part of his getting the most votes. >> i'll do my very best to get other people to vote in a different direction. that's how politics work. we have a political process that's been used before and i anticipate that you're going to see a process here where people decide what's the best way forward. by the way, if there were no such thing as an open convention, the three people running as would combine to one. they think that gives them the best chance of getting the delegates they need. >> we'll be back with my interview, what he said about who he would vote for in a clinton/trump general election.

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welcome back. now from our interview with mitt romney, where he talks about his doomsday scenario. trump v clinton and also why the political rhetoric from elections past. >> so eight years ago, you said some pretty rough things about john mccain. rick santorum and newt gingrich said rough things about you. that's how it works. is this different? the people that you and others are saying about donald trump you think beyond normal politics

and what's happened in past campaigns. >> well, i think what he has been doing in the campaign is taken politics to a wholly lower level than we've ever seen, at least in modern times. the attacks based on people's physical characteristics, so saying about carly fiorina, look at her face, saying about marco rubio in the debate, little marco, little marco, i mean, this hasn't been done before. even calling someone a liar. that was a -- i mean, usually you said this a person who has difficulty with the truth, or this a person who is done honest. saying he is a liar, you know, liar ted. i mean, these kinds of things, and frankly, the vulgarity. again, that hasn't been part of political campaigns. it goes on in locker rooms, i understand that. sometimes in small groups. but on a public stage, running for president of the united states to engage in the kind of personal physical attribute attacks is something donald trump has brought we haven't

seen before. >> you said to matt lauer this morning that you wouldn't vote for donald trump or hillary clinton. >> yeah. >> even your own political allies and advisors would say and i think you would probably say that's the most likely out come, hillary clinton and donald trump. >> yeah. >> what will you do if those are your only two choices. >> if those are my only two choices, i would vote for a conservative, i would write in a name if i wasn't comfortable. are you available? >> i may be available. we'll see. would you like to see, if donald trump, let's say donald trump wins florida and ohio, he is ahead in the polls right now, and it looks like by the middle of march, he is going to be the republican nominee, he'll get the majority, would you like to see an effort made by some conservative to get ballot access. >> i haven't thought about that at this stage, mark. i just know that donald trump isn't the one i would like to see lead the country and i don't want to see hillary clinton lead our country. i mean, i may have the occasion to go to the voting booth and probably be writing in a name. >> you write in your name, but

in all likelihood, the winner at that point if those were the choices would be hillary clinton or donald trump. whose presidency would be better or worst. >> i'm going to channel a lindsey graham and say do you want to drink the poison sore take the bullet. neither one i would be comfortable. >> you're clearly not a fan of hillary clinton being the president. >> absolutely. >> and i you know you respect hillary clinton as a person. it doesn't sound like you respect donald trump. for your grandchildren, you don't think from your point of you, a hillary clinton presidency. >> i'm not going to do anything to suggest that i'm pulling for the democratic nominee if that were hillary clinton. i don't want to see her as president. he don't want to donald trump be our nominee. >> it would be a horrible situation if those were the choices. >> i think a lot of people would be very troubled with the choices. i agree with that. i think people find, well, you

see polls. people i talk to. republicans who were supportive of me come up to me time and time again after the speech and say thanks for doing that, coming here in your building, coming up the escalator, thanks for what you said yesterday. not all republicans, obviously, many people support donald trump. but a lot of people are very uncomfortable with someone whose policies are so far away from the views of mainstream republicans. on foreign policy, and then with regard to domestic policy. i mean, you know, i said yesterday, i'm convinced his policy, if they're im mentdplem would cause the country to go into a recession. they don't bring jobs. he has no idea how to do that. a big tariff, it would be devastating to the country and jobs here. there are ways to get jobs back. i talked about them in my campaign. john kasich, ted cruz, marco rubio talked about them last night. >> you know part of what is driving this election dynamic is

a lot of scepcism about career politicians, even cynicism. i'm wondering what you think about this. last night, you have marco rubio and ted cruz, continuing to say the kinds of things you're saying about donald trump. you know, marco rubio has been saying for over a week now, and yet at the en of the debate when asked if he would support him, they said they would. doesn't that lead to some cynicism. he is a con man, but yeah, i'll support him if he is the nominee. >> it's a difficult decision for each of them. did they sign a statement, i don't recall, but they agreed that they would support the nominee. >> isn't that putting party above country if they view him as a con man? >> they may say i can't stand the guy but i'm concerned about let's say the supreme court nominee. each one has to make that decision. i think they've made it clear, they don't think he should be the nominee and i agree with them on that. >> would you trust him more to pick the nominee than hillary clinton.

>> i think ted cruz made a strong point last night. which it's very difficult to know what donald trump would actually do. he has not only changed his position over time, but changed it within days, on a whole host of issues. when the subject was raised by "the new york times" transcript, it's clear he said something different, he talked about flexibility, wanting to have flexibility. i don't know what he would do. given the fact that he has given money to some democratic contenders, suggests his interest in the court is different than mine. >> two more questions. you're someone who is optimistic about america and people. do you think it's possible for all the things he has done, is it possible that donald trump could become the republican nominee, get elected president and turn out to be a much better president, much more in line what you would like to see in a president than what he has suggested so far. >> you know, he said he has never repenterepented, never as

for forgiveness. he doesn't seem like he will change his view or demeanor, so i think that's not very likely. all things are possible in humanity. i'm not going to write off how people have the potential to change and improve themselves, but he is laying out what he would do and laying out something about his temperament, which suggests that this kind of an unhinged approach is really not going to be the kind of leadership we want to see in washington. >> and last question. you automobiobviously had a relp with him before, he endorsed you, mitt, i've been seeing what you have been saying, i would like to talk to you, i would like to get your advice how i can run the advice to make you proud of me and maybe earn your support. would you take the call and what would you tell him. >> of course i would be happy to. >> what would you say to him? >> take him all the things he said and i would say if i were you, mr. trump, or donald, i would say i was wrong, that was a mistake, i shouldn't have said that. i haven't heard him say i was wrong yet. you know what i said about

george w. bush, knowing there were no weapons of mass destruction, by the way, not only indicts george w. bush, but the chiefs of staff of our military. so he might go back and say you know what, i was wrong. what i said about putin being a strong powerful leader. that was wrong. he is a bad guy. mexicans being rapists, that's wrong. that's what i would like to see him do. i doubt he will, but i would like to. >> if he wants your support, he could. >> if he wanted to change, i'm afraid it takes too muchtage to consider such a thing, but that's the advice i gave him. >> i do have to ask you one more. without any effort on your part or anyone on your behalf, we vote for mitt romney, we want him to be the nominee, would you turn it down? >> would you? i mean, the prospects of that happening for me is about the same as you. all right, so that's -- >> i would say it's slightly higher for you.

>> what happened if the majority of the delegates -- >> i'm not going to go there that pretends i have interest in that and i don't. the nominee will most likely be donald trump unfortunately. and i'm successful and other candidates are successful, then it will be one of the other people running for president. it's not going to be someone not running for president, doesn't have the staff to help organize the effort, to whip the delegate news supporting them. that's not what i'm doing. i want to see us nominate someone who can win, and i don't think he can beat hillary clinton. someone who can win and lead the country that can make us proud. >> we know wtwo people, at leas two. >> thank you. >> our thanks to mitt romney. up next, look at what is happening at the severely conservative cpac meeting, after this. ...one of many pieces in my life.

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i'm down here in the fabl washington, d.c. here for the annual cpac conference where all four of the remaining republican presidential candidates were scheduled to speak. today, it was ted cruz and john kasich, the latter of whom laid out his case for a contested convention for the party faithful. >> your path that you see that will get you the nomination to 1237 delegates. >> well, i don't think anybody is going to get that. i'm going to win ohio. and then we're going to -- >> you think a brokered convention. >> i do. i was there, as a really young man in 1976 when governor reagan tried to beat jerry ford. it worked out. as crazy as this year, and nobody in here that wouldn't say this is nuts, right, couldn't you think of anything cooler than a convention. i have to win. it's not impossible. i have to win. after i win ohio, i have to win

68% of the remaining delegates. marco has to win 64, and you know, ted is somewhere around 59 or 60. it's unlikely. >> now, tomorrow's speakers were supposed to be little marco and big donald, but one of those isn't coming any more. trump scheduled a rally in kansas, and this afternoon, ted cruz saw that as an opportunity to strike. >> so donald trump is skipping cpac. i think somebody told him megyn kelly was going to be here. or even worst, he was told there were conservatives that were going to be here. or even worst, he was told mthee were libtarians that were going to be here, or young people going to be here.

none of you all have a degree from trump university. >> that's ted cruz really milking it out there. we're going to talk to the chairman of cpac about the exit stage left or right, whatever it is. but for now, my question is trump trump's decision. what do you think is up with his decision to skip out in this year of all years? >> well, he committed to going. as we understand it, there was some question about matt and what the what it would be. skipping the debate in iowa, some people thought it hurt him. he has skipped some events. he doesn't always want to be on equal footing. so i don't have a good feeling whether this will hurt him.

it does become the narrative, trump off balance, even as he is dominating, even he is the most likely nominee. >> right, look, this is an opportunity for him to come here as a concrete hero. i've been here all day, talking to tacktactivists, and they all look, a lot of skepticism about trump, but he could have come her and rebutted forcefully those who say he is not a real conservative, made the argument, a big moment for him. the fact that he decided not to come here, i don't know if it's the formatt or what. it oh could have been a big moment at this stage. >> breaking news this evening, ben carson already telegraphed, saying he will leave the race and step down, no longer run for the nomination. of course, a lot of carson supporters at cpac who are

somewhat up for grabs. he'll miss the opportunity to address them directly. it is a little nuts for candidates to be spending their friday or saturday at cpac as compared to talking to voters in a very under rated day of voting going to take place tomorrow. >> well, you could see that and it's obviously true. ted cruz is here and he was tearing up the stage as we showed him a second ago, took an opportunity for him. you would think the clock is ticking, maybe it would be better for crews and rubio and kasich. on the other hand, this a time-honored they show up every four years. it's not a good look for him not to be there. >> i don't think it's nuts to go there. just the schedules is does leave them with the choice, i suspect in the coming days, we'll learn more about trump's decision not to go. people cross cpac in the conservative movement at their peril. >> yeah, all right.

coming up, how the conservatives at cpac are coping with the idea of donald trump being their party's nominee. and just remember, if you're watching us in washington, d.c., where i am now, you can listen to us on the radio also on bloomberg 99.1 fm. we'll be right back. ? 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, or adempas for pulmonary hypertension, 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

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everyone is getting on message for the general election. so donald trump is the presumptive nominee. >> it's -- i'm not going to say that definitely. >> i'll tell you what, i don't think he is presumptive yet. march 15th is a big deal. >> no, i won't accept it until it's set. >> i do think he'll be the nominee. not that i want him to be, i mean no offense, honey. >> no, i'm not giving up on senator cruz yet. >> i think it's possible. aim not real sure. >> right now, rubio is a little behind, that's true. >> name the primary states he has won real quick. >> he has not. >> well, you know there is all kind of theories, you know, if cruz and rubio go together, i'll vote for you in florida. >> trump's favorite book is the bible. he said so. >> i don't think he has ever read it. maybe parts of it. >> he knows two corinthians. >> complete this sentence.

make america. >> again. >> make america great. >> as it has always been. i don't want to say it. i can't. >> our thanks to our very own matt vager and griffin hammond, the brilliant guy behind the camera. to talk to us, someone feeling like donald trump's decision a slap in the face, political action conference, matt thanks for being here. >> thanks. >> i want you to start at the beginning and tell us what happened that caused donald trump to not show up tomorrow. >> look, he gave us the fastest rsvp to come. he has come to years. he enjoys being here. i talked to him several times. his team was excited about coming. everything was going smoothly. we were working with him on the perfect scheduled time that would work with him.

we got stuck that yes, he is is the front-runner, but we're going too stick to our rules and how we explained how we're going to handle the time on that stage with each of the candidates. we made a couple of decisions. i never endorsed any candidate and the amount cu stayed neutral. so we were ae going to be fair to all the campaigns. what we will not do is change the rules is just because one person is doing well and the front-runn front-runner. if you come to cpac, you're going to be treated like everyone. >> they get to give a speech and take questions from a conservative center right. >> doesn't even have to -- >> generally, not a lot of nation journalists, but that's fine. so he, your question is he has to take questions and he did not want to take questions. >> you could do more on the questions, but you can't do more on the speech. some people love, but that's not what we're going to do here. >> a particular moderator questions, but did not want to

take questions. >> didn't matter. it's not about that. it's not this question. should he follow the same rules. that's the basic question. >> speculate just a little here. >> i don't i think got slapped in the face, i want to make that fair. >> you know i would never slap you in the face. what's the deal. donald trump is taking a lot of questions from a lot of reporters. he has not been unavailable. why here in this place where he has gotten a good reception in the past. what did he object to. >> he actually likes coming to cpac. he feels like a lot of people connect to him here. he wanted to give a big long speech, which is what he is used to do that. he is allowed to do that when he does his campaign rallies. when he comes here, conservatives will set the rules. >> are you annoyed, are you disappointed, both? what is your personal and institutional view. >> over the last 24 hours, i probably had every emotion, but the fact is this. i'm disappointed, because what i think needs to happen for the

conservative movement is they have to hear all of these candidates. we have a lot of divisions and a lot of issues. we have to deal with the issues. they're not going to get solved by not come here. if we're having a family dispute, everyone has to come to the family reunion. >> we were just talking about this. this is a huge deal in the republican party and in the conservative movement broadly. every four years on a presidential election year, the candidates all come. that's basically the way it is done. >> that's the way it works. >> donald trump not coming, is there any way to see that as anything other than a huge sign of disrespect for the people who are actually at this event. >> nope. >> it's disrespectful. sends a message there are priorities greater than talking to conservatives. if you're conservative out in the country and you don't live in iowa or new hampshire and you don't live in south carolina, you don't live in one of these early states, this is your chance to get an up close, personal look at the candidates. did you see what ted cruz did in the audience.

that bonds that candidate to the conservative for teres. even john kasich got a standing ovation. it's important to be here. >> the tenor of the arguments being made, rubio, cruz, to a lesser extent, kasich, donald trump is not actually a conservative, a closet liberal, if you look back at his past, it seems to me this would be the most important moment for him to step forward. >> yes. >> and make an argument he is a real conservative as he is is coming closer to being the nominee. is this not a huge opportunity in addition to being a sign of disrespect. >> i think it hurt him when he missed the debate in iowa and he made a whiff today by not following the rules and coming to cpac. it will haon't have a positive on him. >> what do you think the consequences be. >> i saw ted cruz light the audience up. he is giving fuel to the cruz fire. he might give fire to the rubio fire. i won't do that.

>> tomorrow and his people come out and say oh, this had nothing to do with the for maformat, they're not telling the truth. >> if they want to follow the rules and we'll make it work. >> if they claim anything other than a format, that would not be the truth. >> that would be not nest. this is a great thing. you're having a great time. >> so far so good. talk to me saturday evening. >> matt, always a pleasure to talk to you. we have a turn from cpac to sup super pacs, ted cruz ally about the game plan for beating donald trump. right after this. doctors recommg ...non-drowsy claritin every day of your allergy season. claritin provides powerful, non-drowsy 24 hour relief... for fewer interruptions from the amazing things you do every day. live claritin clear.

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our next guest keeps promising to come back to our show, kelly ann conway, head of

the super pac, joins me now. kelly ann, great to see you. i wanted to pick up with. donald trump not coming here, what in your view, your biased view, what does that say to the conservative movement when donald trump -- >> i'm not biased so much as informed. i'm also on the board here. and i know what matt says is very true. we work with the candidates for months trying to get the right slot that works with their schedule and make everybody agree to a certain format and they all did. it's too bad for donald trump, because there an audience that seems to get excited and they act to messenger. if he talks about how america is getting killed with trade, isis, economy, he would have had a good reception here. he is clearly not afraid to take questions. he sat on the debate stage last night for two hours and took incoming for two hours. frankly, he has taken some i

think unfortunate personal insults of late from one marco rubio. so it can't be frayed to face the audience. scheduling conflict. the man flies away in his own jet. he doesn't take off his belt or shoes. he could leave early in the morning and get to kansas. >> give me a, you've ruled out the explanation. what explanation could you give. >> i take them at their words. they're decent people, including mr. trump. they're working hard on their campaign. they feel they should be in the states with the delegates up for grabs. it is a missed opportunity, the purest form of democracy, where you have literally thousands of people in that room, on their feet just now for ted cruz. great reception for governor kasich earlier. they want to hear from the candidates directly, john. they get a front row seat here, as opposed to other people have access all year long. >> this is an incredible week in some ways. we

we repude indicating the kkk, then super tuesday, governor romney trying to stop the most likely nominee, the debate last night, with all the things that happened. give me a sense in your history in republican politics. is the weirdest, volatile week you've ever experienced, or something exceeds this. >> the tenth power. the answer is yes, you're right. it almost seems like crazy. part of it is the function of the calendar we're fact. you have so many people weighing in later in the game. so many people did not take mr. trump in the beginning, and now they see jeb has fallen, marco rubio, won minnesota and very little else if anything else and they're worried. they're worried about stopping trump. it's simple. if you want to stop him, you

don't do this hashtag not trump and spell millions of dollars in ads, you have to stop through another person. when the people in virginia crossed the river, did the ballot in virginia say trump, cruz, rubio, carson, kasich, not trump. none of the above, of course, it doesn't. so you can't just say, well, first stop trump. second step, we'll figure it out later. it doesn't work that way. marco rubio has had his shot, all the kings horses, all the the media on his side, all these endorsements, he hasn't been able to put it to bed. it's not his time. he should drop out and endorse senator cruz. >> there is no sign he is going to do that until at least after florida. there is a lot of energy, people in the conservative movement, backing senator cruz and others saying this guy is different concerns than the establishment has, grassroots, various people, right. i think we would all agree right now that mr. trump is most

likely the nominee. >> he is. >> so what is the -- what scenario can you just explain the scenario by which trump is now stopped? beyond, don't just say it has to be ae candidate. what is the actual cruz or someone else rises up from 1237. >> the polls suggest if it's just cruz and trump together, cruz has a great advantage. that would make some sense, john, because in many ways, they're competing for the same voters. they're the two antiestablishment candidates in this race. ted cruz is an outsider with insider experience, you seen see senator lindsey graham taking back his comments saying do you want to be shot or poisoned. he backed all that up. >> which one is shot or poisoned. >> just this week, he may have to rally around senator cruz, which is exactly right. what senator graham and others are seeing now is that at least we would be working with one of

our own, who knows their way around washington. so what are the scenarios. they're the field is down a little bit more, rubio dropping out, a lot would go to cruz and if rubio himself would get behind cruz, again, you're really serious about stopping trump, you have to win in the field. if mr. trump did not win ohio or florida and two people won those, kasich or rubio, the math doesn't add up to him, but the whole idea of contesting the convention, because look, the establishment is flat on its back. you can't invent enough voters, postgraduate voters for marco rubio to get enough votes. if that's who is he carrying now. >> governor kasich says it's for him and senator cruz and for senator rubio, that there is no way for any of them to get to 1237 at this point. that's his argument. the only way to stop trump. >> he is 4% of the delegates, i

can understand that's his opinion. >> there a scenario where cruz could end up with the majority of the delegates. >> yes. mr. trump needs 51, 52% of the replaning delegates. senator cruz needs 59%. marco rubio is 56%. i'm surprised, after super tuesday, there hasn't been more said and written about the fact that if mr. trump still needs 51 or 512% of them, he didn't have as good a night as people expected. he won most of the states. he is obviously the front-runner for the nomination. at the same time, the percentages that senator cruz put on the board in a place like texas, 44% of 155 delegates. >> if he beats cruz and rubio, is he unstoppable. >> he would look unstoppable,

unless we go to the contested convention. even the delegates are even unbound. that's the other thing, i don't want to bore your audience, but it turns out that's a very important piece of information this time. but i think, you know, we were just in the audience, if you were in the hall at cpac, it's amazing how many people are on their feet. >> cruz will have a good or great night on saturday? >> he can have either. but we're competing, and on tuesday and the following states. >> i think ted cruz could have a good day on saturday. my judgment at this moment. thank you for coming in. coming up, who won the week? we'll be right back. it's a new fiber supplement that helps support regularity and includes b vitamins to help convert food to energy. mmmmm, these are good! nice work, phillips! the tasty side of fiber, from phillips'. e*trade is all about seizing opportunity. so i'm going to take this opportunity to go off script.

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for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. liberty mutual insurance. mark, this is the wildest woolliest head snapping political week in my memory. who won it? >> clinton and trump. huge super tuesdays, twists and turns, but both of them in a commanding position for their

nominations. >> yeah, i agree with that. i gotta say, though, mitt romney made a real showing this week. he made a real -- he did something potent. we're back here monday, thanks for watching. have a great weekend. coming up, "hardball with chris matthews." republicans wage war. let's play "hardball." and good evening, i'm steve kornacki, in for chris matthews, the republican parties aligned against donald trump, continued to wage a desperate effort today to deny him the nomination. one day after the 2012 nominee mitt romney eviscerated trump, calling him a bully, a phony, a fraud, romney made the rounds on television to continue his assault. meanwhile, marco rubio said that