march 14th, i'm jonathan capehart. the state of the republican race hangs in the balance tomorrow with just one day until the first winner take all contests are decided. huge blocs of delegates are up for grabs that could potentially decide if the contest goes to the convention. the biggest delegate prize is in florida where donald trump has a 21 point lead according to the new nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist poll. he's polling at 43% to marco rubio's 22%. ted cruz is just a point back with 21% and john kasich is at 9%. in illinois, trump is up by nine points at 34% to cruz's 25%, kasich at 21%, and rubio at 16%. and in ohio, the nbc/"wall street journal"/marist poll puts governor kasich in the lead with 39% to trump's 33%, cruz is back at 19%, and rubio has fallen to just 6 points in the buckeye state. even rubio and his campaign said that john kasich has a better shot of winning ohio than he

does, and that voters should draw their own conclusions. nbc news has learned kasich will campaign there with mitt romney today. rubio is betting it all on florida, driving the length of i-95 today with campaign stops stretching 350 miles down the state, adding to his hectic and sometimes unpredictable stops this weekend. >> when i'm the president of the united states, for the first time in eight years, you will have a president that's a president for all americans. as conservative as anyone running for president, as conservative as anyone who has ever been president. a conservatism that didn't start just two years ago as i ramped up to run for president but one that is evidenced by 15 years of public service, in which the lights go off at inopportune times. and then come back on. >> it's a message. >> it's a message. >> violence, protests and arrests marred the 2016 campaign this weekend beginning with the ugly scenes at donald trump's

campaign rally in chicago, as protesters and supporters hurled insults and at times clashed. fallout from that rally, which the trump campaign canceled out of safety concerns, heightened attention on his events the rest of the weekend, putting the candidate, attendees, and his security on age. like in dayton, ohio, saturday where the secret service formed a protective ring around him when a protester attempted to rush the stage during his speech. now most events passed by with minor interruptions, but no arrests. while some protesters were pepper sprayed in kansas city, and trump addressed the unrulyness in different ways. >> i hope these guys get thrown into a jail. they'll never do it again. it will destroy their record. they'll have to explain to mom and dad why they have a police record, and why they can't get a job, and you know what? i'm going to start pressing charges against all these people. okay?

and then we won't have a problem. >> mr. trump, it's terrible. you know how many people have been injured at our shows? nobody. nobody. we have protesters some of whom are so mean, so loud, so vicious, they stop us from really our first amendment rights, right? freedom of speech, you can't talk. they're screaming. there are very few of them. but they are bad. now, you hear about a couple of -- one in particular. vicious, swinging. well guess what happened? our people started swinging back. 90% of the time i'm telling the police, take it easy, don't hurt him. just take it easy, don't hurt him. and you know, it's one of those things. but we're not provoking. we all want peace. this group, is that true or what? we don't want trouble. le. >> yesterday, on "meet the press," trump was asked about his comments, saying he would like to punch a protester in the face, and what happened at a rally in north carolina last week.

>> one of your supporters decided to sucker punch a protester. do you accept any responsibility for creating this atmosphere? >> i don't accept responsibility. i do not condone violence in any shape. and i will tell you, from what i saw, the young man stuck his finger up in the air, and the other man sort of just had it. but i still, i don't condone violence. >> do you plan on paying for the legal fees of this older gentleman in north carolina who sucker punched the protester? >> well i'm not aware. i will say this. i do want to see what that young man was doing. because he was very taunting. he was very loud. very disruptive, and from what i understand, he was sticking a certain finger up in the air. >> that condones a sucker punch, though? >> no, as i told you before, nothing condones. but i want to see. the man got carried away. >> right. >> he was 78 years old. he obviously loves this country,

and maybe he doesn't like seeing what's happening to the country. i want to see the full tape. >> it's possible you could help him with legal fees if this man needs it? >> i've actually instructed my people to look into it, yes. >> as the discussion of violence absorbed the political world's attention this weekend, the remaining republican candidates were forced to react. >> do we really want to live in a country where americans hate each other? where people are incapable of talking through an issue? that's why we have elections? other countries fight civil wars over this stuff. other countries put political leaders in jail when they lose elections for political retribution. in america, the worst thing that's supposed to happen if you're running for office is they run a nasty commercial about you. >> the protesters are behaving abusively and wrong. but, at the end of the day, in any campaign, responsibility starts at the top. and it is not beneficial when you have a presidential candidate like donald trump telling his supporters, punch that guy in the face.

>> i think when people around the world see images of americans clocking each other at a campaign rally, they're like, you know, we're in disarray. that's what they're going to try to say. it will be used as a propaganda tool. in the days following that violent trump rally in chicago the republican front-runner has repeatedly blamed supporters of bernie sanders for causing the unrest. >> the people that were there that came there that were invited there, thousands and thousands of people they caused no problem. they were taunted, they were harassed by these other people, these other people, by the way, some represented bernie, our communist friend. with bernie, so he should really get up and say to his people, stop. stop. not me. stop. look it's a bernie person. it's a bernie -- hello, bernie. hey, bernie, get your people in line, bernie! get your people in line. >> at a rally in ohio, he has

called you out. he says you ought to tell your supporters to stop coming and protesting at his rallies. what is your response? >> we have never, never once told anybody to do anything like that. the truth is, this guy really is a pathological liar. he says the first thing that comes to his mind. i guess he's referring to me as a communist. i think it's terribly important that trump tell his -- his supporters that in america you don't go around beating up people who are protesting, or who have a different point of view. he's got to start changing his rhetoric, and not blame other people for the problems that he is causing. >> and the back and forth continued when trump sent out this tweet early sunday morning. quote, bernie sanders is lying when he says his disrupters aren't told to go to my events. be careful, bernie, or my supporters will go to yours. in an interview yesterday, trump

said that tweet was not a threat. and then later on at a rally argued that he's being held to a different standard than the democrats in the race. >> it's not a threat at all. look, my people have said we ought to go to his rallies. because you know it's sort of interesting. when liberals and super liberals and i don't even call them liberals because i have many friends that are liberal and i think they're wonderful people, these are beyond lynn ral. these people are bad people that are looking to do harm to our country. if you go to a bernie rally or a hillary rally. let's put her in, okay. you go to one of these ramlies and you protest. oh, you'll be in trouble. they'll lock you up for the rest of your life, they'll give you the electric chair, and they'll say, poor bernie, oh, poor bernie, he had to endure this. with us, they don't say that. >> now, some sanders supporters have acknowledged protesting at trump's rallies, and others like this woman in a sanders t-shirt, ripping up a trump sign yesterday in illinois, have been caught on camera doing so.

but supporters of sanders deny provoking violence, insisting it's the other way around. meanwhile, hillary clinton unloaded on the republican front-runner at a democratic dinner in ohio last night. she organize ued that trump is stoking hate and fear in order to get votes, and that the only place to stop him is at the ballot box. >> and after stoking every fire he can think of, trump encourages his supporters to beat up anybody who disagrees with him. literally punch them in the face. and then offers to pay their legal bills. you and i know donald trump is not who we are. now, of course, we can criticize and protest mr. trump all we want, but none of that matters if we don't also show up at the polls. if you want to shut him down, then let's vote him down.

>> and during a democratic town hall event last night clinton said a trump presidency would threaten america's standing in the world. >> but one argument that i am uniquely qualified to bring, because of my service as secretary of state, is what his presidency would mean to our country and our standing in the world. i am already receiving messages from leaders. i'm having foreign leaders ask if they can endorse me to stop donald trump. this is up to americans, thank you very much. but i get what you're saying. well, some have done it publicly, actually. the italian prime minister, for example. we're holding that in reserve, too. >> tomorrow, a huge chunk of delegates will be doled out on the democratic side with primaries in florida, illinois, missouri, north carolina and ohio. and new polling suggests hillary clinton could be poised for a

big day. in florida, our new nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist poll has secretary clinton ahead of bernie sanders by 27 points. 61% to 34%. and in ohio, she leads by 20 points, 58% to 38%. however in illinois, the race is much tighter. there, clinton has just a six-point edge over senator sanders, 51% to 45%. hillary clinton learned just how fast the sanders fact checking team could be after making this remark while campaigning in missouri saturday. >> we're going to pull together and stand up against those powerful forces. and i always get a little chuckle when i hear my opponent tauxing about doing it. well i don't know where he was when i was trying to get health care in '93 and '94 standing up against the insurance companies. standing up against the drug companies. >> turns out, as you can see, he was standing right behind her. it took the sanders campaign less than five minutes to tweet

a link to video from 1993 of then-first lady hillary clinton thanking then congressman bernie sanders for his support on health care. >> grateful for the leadership that many people are giving to this great reform effort. and i'm grateful that congressman sanders would join us today from vermont. and i am particularly pleased that congressman sweat would announce his endorsement of the health care reform -- >> in response, clinton's communications director said, quote, exactly. he was standing behind her. she was out in front. there's also this photo of a 1993 note from clinton to sanders, in which she thanked him for his quote, commitment to real health care access for all americans. it was the same year that sanders fought for single payer health care in his state, albeit unsuccessfully. turning overseas at least 37 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a bombing attack in ankara, the capital of turkey. local media have described it as

a massive car bomb. a senior government official told the ap that police suspect kurdish militants of carrying out the attack. the bombing took place in an area close to government offices, and following the incident turkey's president issued a statement vowing to bring terrorism to its knees. the u.s. embassy, which is based in ankara, had issued a warning about a possible terrorist attack just two days before. it's unclear right now if that warning was connected to yesterday's blast. this was the third bombing in the city in less than six months. as syria prepares to mark the five-year anniversary of its civil war, peace talks are set to resume today in geneva. at the u.n.-led talks, diplomats are hoping to build on the fragile cessation of hostilities, which is still in effect, and back in the u.s., a police officer has died after being shot outside a maryland police station. the fallen officer has been identified as 28-year-old jakai colson a four-year veteran of

the prince georges county police department. in a news conference last night officials said colson was killed in an unprovoked attack when a man started firing a gun at officers. >> it wasn't about anything. this man launched an attack on a police station and engaged several prince georges county police officer in a gun fight to which they responded heroically. it wasn't about anything. >> according to police, at least two suspects have been taken into custody. still ahead on "way too early," selection sunday gets scooped when march madness brackets get leaked on twitter. now the ncaa is investigating. plus, hail, lightning, and reports of tornadoes in parts of arkansas, bill karins has the latest on the severe weather in the southeast. and on the west coast. when "way too early" comes right back.

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johnson has hit two enormous threes. this one's good if it goes. >> hole low cow! >> are you kidding me? >> at the buzzer, on its way up. >> oh, my goodness! >> oh, oh, oh! >> at the buzzer! was it still in his hands? oh, my. now the mountaineers are celebrating. >> i think it's in his hands. >> it's unbelievable what's unfolding here. no. no! west virginia's turn to go to the crowd. >> now those were some of the wildest finishes from the weekend of conference tournaments ahead of the ncaa selection sunday. and some of you may have gotten a head start filling out your tournament brackets this year as the ncaa investigates how the full field leaked on the line before its official unveiling on cbs. but now that we've all gotten a

chance to take a look, this year's top seeds are oregon, virginia, north carolina, and number one overall kansas. the first four tip off tomorrow with the first full round of the tournament getting under way on thursday. turning now to yet another story involving donald trump and an ex-major league baseball player. the gop front-runner tossed a political curve ball at a campaign rally in ohio yesterday. weighing in on the status of embattled hit king pete rose. >> before you start -- wait. charlie hustle, right? so i watched him, and i -- he was a great player. and it's so ridiculous. don't you think he's paid the price? first of all, he didn't bet on -- he bet that he would win. not on the other team or anything, right? but look he's not supposed to do it. it's a terrible thing. all that stuff. how long has he been waiting like 30 years, 35 years? but you know, we got to let pete rose into the hall of fame. and you know -- >> trump later tweeted a photo of a signed ball he received

from rose with the inscription, mr. trump, please make america great again. now to a troubling story out of the famed iditarod dog sled race in alaska where a snow mobile driver will face charges after reportedly crashing into a pair of teams competing in the race early saturday morning. fortunately both mushers were unharmed, but several dogs were injured, and at least one was killed. the driver reportedly admitted to have been drinking before the incident, and he gave an emotional interview before being taken into custody by alaska state troopers. >> i don't know how i can possibly make it right for jeff and ali, but i hope they can figure i didn't mean it. >> let's get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> well, good morning to you, jonathan. over the weekend we watched all the water collecting into the rivers down in the south. we had a threat of severe weather last night and we did get a couple funnel clouds and even a couple tornados touched down in area was arkansas last night. you can see one of those in the distance there.

visibility is a little harder. there's some of the hail that also fell. thankfully those storms have weakened they're passing through areas of tennessee and kentucky. i don't know if they're going to make it to nashville. no threats of severe weather now. big changes for everyone in the northeast after that stretch of gorgeous, beautiful weather. light rain is moving in. temperatures chilly and raw. winds coming off the ocean. highs only in the 40s and the 50s. and we will get a little bit of a wintry mix in up to the north. as far as severe weather goes, two chances one today, one tomorrow, today north carolina, charlotte to greensboro, raleigh down to rockingham and fayetteville. not widespread. and then as we get to the voting on tuesday, illinois' heading to the polls. they have a chance of a slight risk of severe weather and also in ohio. ohio is so late in the day into the evening i don't think it's going to be an issue at all. as far as illinois goes chicago right around 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. is when the storms will roll through the windy city. i don't think we're going to have many issues. florida looks good for voting on tuesday also. a pretty tranquil forecast.

>> all right, bill, thanks a lot. still ahead, bernie sanders gets another celebrity endorsement, and let's just say this person is very excited to be feeling the bern. "way too early" is back in a moment. a number. but not every insurance company understands 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. get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life.

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now let's get a check on the morning's other headlines. for that as always we head to the control room and louis burgdo burgdorf. >> thanks so much, jonathan. let's begin with politics. one florida voter was removed from a marco rubio rally in

florida yesterday after he accused the republican presidential candidate of obscuring his girlfriend. >> that's enough. i have to tell everyone the truth -- >> geez, who -- >> -- my girlfriend. and she doesn't look at me in the same way anymore. i don't see any -- >> that's all right. hey. we don't beat up our hecklers in our events, so -- >> it's a little bit hard to hear there. but the man stood up during rubio's speech and went on to say, quote he tried to steal my girlfriend. i admit he's a little bit better looking than me, it's true. but he's trying to steal my girlfriend. that's the truth. pretty funny there. now let's turn to the democratic race for president senator bernie sanders has picked up another hollywood endorsement. this time, actor danny devito surprised a raucous crowd in st. lou louis. >> i am very, very excited tonight to introduce to you the

next president of the united stat states. we need you obi-wan. bernie sanders! >> danny devito on the stump, amazing. now finally this morning, larry david reprised his role as bernie sanders again this week on "snl." and he tried to explain his widespread appeal and his path to victory. >> now senator you may have won michigan but hillary still leads you in both delegates and superdelegates. >> can i ask you something? what's a superdelegate? who calls themselves that? it's so cocky. they walk around like they're such big shots. ooh i beg your pardon, mr. superdelegate. >> but, senator, many think you need these superdelegates to win the nomination. >> not true. no. not true. i have the voters. my message is resonating with a

very diverse group of white people. and i've got supporters of all ages, 18-year-olds, 19-year-olds. that's it. the young people love me, tapper, because i'm like them. i got a lot of big plans, and absolutely no idea how to achieve them. >> you're still struggling with minorities. why do you think african-americans aren't voting for you? >> probably because i look like someone who at some point told them, get out of my store. >> i love it. the young people love me, tapper. it doesn't really take much for larry david to transform into barry sanders. it's too good. >> i know. on that louis, we've got to go. that does it for me and "way too early." coming up on "morning joe," campaign chaos ahead of tomorrow's critical contest in florida and ohio, with donald trump now threatening to send his supporters to bernie sanders rallies. that and much more coming up next on "morning joe."

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