dignified way, the great gary shandling, he died today at the age of 66. pioneer and star of the great "gary shandling show." he'll be missed. thanks for watching, sayonara. coming up, "hardball" with chris matthews. nuclear, let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. mark today, march 24th is the day the republican presidential fight went nuclear. first, literally, john helemann asked donald trump, trump refused to roll it out. then on the domestic front, donald trump escalated his fight with ted cruz, retweeting an unflattering photograph of heidi cruz beside his wife, melania, a

former model. an ugly fight involving the two candidates involving their spouses, not a good idea. late tuesday evening it began. lyin' ted cruz used a picture of melania in his ad. be careful, lyin' ted, or i'll spill the beans on your wife. circulated online by an an anti-trump super pac, slowing melania trump posing for gq magazine. meet melania your next first lady or you could support ted cruz on tuesday. scathing critique of the front-runner. >> donald does seem to have an issue with women. donald doesn't like strong women. strong women scare donald. let me be absolutely clear. our spouses and children are off

bounds. it is not acceptable for a big, loud new york bully to attack my wife. real men don't try to bully women. that's not an action of strength. that's an action of weakness. action of fear. it's an action of a small and petty man. who is intimidated by strong women. it's not easy to tick me off. i don't get angry often. but you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that will do it every time. you're a coward and leave heidi the hell alone. >> that's why nobody believes politicians, cheap theater. susan page is a washington borrow chief for usa today, and jonathan, msnb contributor. i want you to react to what you just saw. i'm skeptical who the good guy is in this piece, if there is one. >> look, this is, i mean, all

p politics, but this is the theater of the absurd, the tweets, back and forth comments. ted cruz, i'm sorry, it's just not believable. you showed how many -- like three bites from the same, long comment. why not just -- why can't ted cruz come out and say you know, leave my life alone, theater, leave it at that. >> crocodile tears, when they put out the picture that was supporting him. the pac saying vote for cruz. he never complained about that. >> no heros here. you know who the winners are. the democratic party. because one of these two guys are likely to be the nominee, right. most likely trump, but possibly, possibly cruz. who are the key voters in a general election, it's several, but a lot of women. >> you mean most voters are women. >> most voters are women. >> i'm just kidding, because the

a ri arithmetic is to precise. >> more persuadable. we know they are an important voter group. this kind of stuff is offensive to women. >> the idea, matt, we're both guys, but throwing pictures -- putting up sort of an online beauty contest, which trump is now set up between a very unflattering picture. she is a very attractive woman, but her yelling. put that next to a very attractive picture of his wife, obviously trying to say trumping the argument with his lookism. >> i don't like anything about this. this is a bad moment for us. i think heidi cruz is a friend of mine. she a delightful human being. i think the super pac is garbage and i would like to move on from this moment and get back on the issues. >> trump, i mean, cruz loves this. he loves this.

this this. you can say anything about me, you don't deserve to be on the same stage as my wife. he looks like cruz is trying to do the bill clinton line. >> of course, he is defending her and saying that she and the children, who actually haven't been part of this. >> consider did why did he brin children. >> because they should be off-limits. >> they are. >> the kitchen sink. >> the other thing is, by doing what he did, senator cruz, ensures that he is apart of the news cycle that donald trump, since june 16th, has been very successful and adept, by saying i'm defenldsiding my wife. that allows him to be apart of the story, whereas otherwise, we wouldn't be talking about him. we would be talking about this

other thing. >> any way -- >> you don't defend your wife. that's absurd, too. >> it's a -- >> any ways, bloomberg, john helemann asked donald trump if he would rule out ever using tactical nuclear weapons against isis. let's watch. >> you were asked about whether you would rule out using tactical nuclear weapons against isis. have you ruled that out or is that something you contemplate. >> i think would be very, very late compared to my opponents that are running. >> so you would rule the possibility of using nuclear weapons against isis. >> i'm never going to rule anything out. i wouldn't want to tell you that. >> right. >> because at a minimum, i want them to think maybe we would use it. >> well, that's the question there. he asked the question, maybe none of us would have asked, but he asked the responsibility of the politician to answer the best way he can.

his best answer would be no comment. no leader of a country should talking about using nuclear weapons. yet he played the old bomber. keep them guessing. that was a tactic he used. >> which is freaking out the internation international community. i was in germany, and everyone was talking about trump. >> they're going to talk about this. >> extremely concerned about this person, who could possibly become president of the united states. for a whole host of reasons, that clip there is not going to lend them any comfort whatsoever. a president of the united states should, or a candidate, should never even hint at the possibility of using a nuclear weapon on another group of people, especially against isis. where is isis even located? there is no country. there are a whole host of questions that are now raised by that one suggestion by donald trump. when are you going to drop it? who is going to pay for it?

>> the long meeting at the with the editorial board, maybe it's time to pull out of the nato a lie alliance in both parties. you know, this is a time when donald trump is pivoting from debates you talk for 60 seconds to extended interviews on discussions when you're a general election nominee if he is, to discuss some of these very serious issues. and we're not seeing the kind of pivot i think a lot of republicans hope to see where he comes across as a little more tempered. >> i disagree with that. i think we're seeing a pivot. >> what do you think he meant with this -- >> what is the standard answer that every consultant, all options are on the table. >> not on nuclear. >> you don't go to that specific, to jonathan's points, to say we would never use nuclear weapons, ever, that's not our policy, either. >> the question was specifically about isis. not in general. >> fair enough. i'm not so sure there is a

tactical nuclear weapon. but look, the point is this. i think we're seeing him pivot. >> let's talk politics. gary goldwater, i liked as a kid, the questions on the use of military, he was a little scary, he didn't quite get it. the difference between nuclear and conventional. you drop a bomb since hiroshima. >> and hope to never do it again. >> that's what the umbrella is again. you don't say we're going to use it occasionally or -- goldwater's mistake was worst by the way. i'll leave it up to the field commanders. >> let's talk politics real fast. the fact is the american people are growingly more concerned that the terrorists don't fear us, and this obama policy towards isil, isis, whatever you want to call it, this acronym game, they're winning, we're

losing. >> have you ever looked at a map in the middle east. you kill one ethnic group, you kill a lot of ethnic groups. you don't separate them. everybody is near range in that situation. >> the american people are fr frightened enough to even contemplate the united states dropping a nuclear weapon. >> nice try but pull back from that. don't you think short of air nuclear weapon there should be things we should be doing. >> you can take it, have a position that we need to be tougher, we need to do more without saying i'm not going to rule out use of a nuclear weapon. >> i agree with that. let's talk about something that is not so scary. let moo ask you about this fight. your party, i'll let you do it this way. >> my party. >> yeah, this new coalescing around cruz, it is really holding your nose sort of stuff, because people will even say things like that. i like lindsey graham, most

people do. lindsey says i'm not a big fan, but i'm holding my nose, back him. let's watch lindsey. watch the elites lining up behind a guy they don't like. >> would john kasich make a better president than ted cruz? >> i think so. >> how can you raise money for ted cruz when you don't believe he would be that good a president. >> i think he is a republican. i think he is conservative. i think donald trump is a con man. i think he would destroy the republican party. i have differences with ted cruz that are well-known. but i think we share the same political dna. and at the end of the day, i think he is a reliable conservative, and donald trump is not. john kasich would be the best nominee but he doesn't have a chance. >> can you imagine someone getting married, i'm not really a fan, but process of elimination. >> first of all, you should get plenty of sleep before you go on "morning joe" and you should have emergency talking point for

the #trump movement. trashing trump and cruz, telling people to vote for cruz. >> he is clearly -- in ohio, vote for kasich. >> he is pimping himself as a poe t potential candidate in cleveland. >> he is the phantom candidate. >> it's the truth. >> what is your organization called? >> american conservative union. >> you just said on "hardball," this is a -- mitt romney trying to get it himself. >> it will not work. even if there is an attempt to try to wire this to make this happen, we're going to -- we will not recover from this in the for eeabeseeable future. >> mitt romney as the republican nominee or wire it so someone but trump. >> no, he said romney. >> no, i think romney.

we're going to have a set of rules going into cleveland, you're going have to get to the minimum of delegates to get that. trump has to get there. he has the best chance to get there. by the way, he might get there before cleveland, but the rules will have be trans parent. if mitt romney can insert him selves in this proses, let me tell you, they'll -- >> trump gets 1,230, and not 1,237, no delegates in the second ballot, is it conceivable they'll nominate a guy who has done nothing with the american people, republican electorate and beats guite out there winning? >> the fact is this. unlike the democrats, we actually are going to have rules and they'll be strictly followed. you're going to -- >> so the democrats could argue, unlike the republicans -- >> every democratic i talk to, i say what about your convention. >> they say we don't worry about the rules so much. >> i like this guy namedcurly, go see him.

>> matt, thanks for making news tonight. susan, thanks for laughing at some of this nonsense, jonathan. fighting for the next big prize, wisconsin, april 5th, and the union vote that comes with it. fico hasn't endorsed, he is coming here next. isis trained radicals planning attacks on europe and how dire is the threat here at home. the "hardball" round table, the ugly fight over their spouses, or with their spouses, trump is picking on cruz's wife and cruz is calling trump a sniveling coward. any way, let me finish with president obama's opening in cuba. this is "hardball," the place for politics. clears clear ♪

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nomination away from donald trump, republican voters aren't seeing eye to eye with their party's elites. according to a in you bloomberg poll, 63% of voters say the candidate who collects the most delegates before the convention should win the nomination. only 33% think delegates at a contested convention should select the nominee. if trump does emerge from the nomination battle, his prospects to win the general look bleak, however. according to a new poll, hillary clinton crushes trump by 54% to 36%. that's impressive. 51% to 42% crews. only john kasich with a potential matchup, he wins at 47% to her 43%. we'll be right back. let me introduce you to our broker. how much does he charge? i don't know. okay. uh, do you get your fees back if you're not happy? (dad laughs) wow, you're laughing.

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we're at a time in the primary season, every vote, delegate and

endorsement is prized more than ever in the democratic race, for example, bernie sanders is pitching for union support. by knocking hillary clinton on trade. we all know that. but here he is again yesterday. >> another issue. secretary clinton and i disagree on, and that is the issue of trade. now, trade is not a sexy issue. it's not an issue that the media covers virtually at all. it is an enormously important issue. secretary clinton has supported everyone of these trade agreements, after telling us how great the tpp was, she eventually under said no to it. >> so far, hillary clinton has received the largest share of union support. she is touting her long association with organized labor. here she is. >> i was made an honorary machinist some years ago.

so i feel a particular connection here to my brothers and sisters in the machinists and aerospace workers union. i have fought for the right to organize and bargain. i have fought for the middle class. i am no person knew new new to struggle. i'm not the latest flavor of the month. i've been doing this work day in and day out for years. >> well, according to an article on vox, sanders has been more consistently aligned with labor's political priorities. fundamentally transaction, rather than ideological. transpacific partnership, tax reform, back away from education reform, hike the minimum wage and most unions proclaim themselves happy with that on the grounds on whatever they

did, clinton was going to win, so they might as well be team players. not all the labor leaders, largest, of course, the fico withheld an endorse after the council could not come to a consensus. they were unified, complete opposition to donald trump. a digital campaign against him for what they say is his antiunion stance as an employer. joining me now is the president, richard trumpkin. what is that you see trump as an employer, businessman? is he a union buster, what is he? >> particularly antiunion. he is 100% in favor of right to work. outsourcing is good. he believes our wages are too high. after 40 years of us having flat wages, he thinks they're too high. a guy that wanted to destroy companies and pensions like carl icahn would make a great treasury secretary, and he has

been against us. his own employees, when they tried to organize, and they have organized, at a number of his plants, he fights us just like every other antiunion employer does. >> what do you make of the antitrade stance. why is he so an tree traantitra. >> even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while. he has been able to tap into the anger and the frustration of 40 years of bad policies. but when you look at his policies, all he is doing is doubling down on the policies that got us here, and he is a house of cards. once you explain that to people, the house collapses. >> let's talk about -- >> that's what we have been doing. >> let's talk about new kinds of politicians, left and right or whatever trump is. bernie sanders is on the left. how would you contrast the appeal who have the real heavy jobs, the hard-working jobs?

they seem to be drawn to bernie and trump for different ways. alien nation fr ali aliennation from the center. >> i think they've tapped into the frustration. 40 years of economic policy that has denied them chances, denied them raises, put them in a hole and nothing to hope for. what they're looking for, because we're at a crossroads, someone who will give us a path to shared prosperity. when you look at his policies, they don't match that. bernie talks the lingo, but when you look at his policy, they look at what will help us with this mess. >> bernie talks about the needs of people, older people for social security benefits to go up, big college debts, he talks about those needs. trump talks about the country, talks about this nationalism, screw the mexicans, screw the

chinese. i didn't make a lot of money last year, because the country is getting screwed. that seems to be the trump argument on trade and a lot of things. >> it's masked in bigotry, and dangerous for the country. he masks it with i'm going to make it right and better. people are looking for hope. they want somebody to make it better. but when you look at his policies, they won't make it better. they'll double down on what got us here in the first place. >> i shouldn't be so casual. why don't you back hillary or bernie and make the best of it? >> we're in the process of doing that. we have a process. here is what we've done. we've encouraged our affiliates, give all the relevant information on every candidate to their memberer ship. >> what happens if it is a slit. >> it eventually won't be. the primary will be over and

endorsed candidate on both sides, we'll look at those two candidates and say who is the best. >> let's make a supposition. not asking you to commit. if hillary clinton is the nominee by june, she'll get the delegates, do you trust her on trade? >> yes. >> why? >> i've known her for a long time. >> but she was known to be -- bill clinton was for nafta, it with wasn't a big cause, but he did sign the bill. >> it was a big cause of his. >> i'm trying to let him off the hook here. >> he had a couple of them out there that were terrible. >> bill was known to be for tpp, and now she has turned back, said not the gold standard and bill clinton hasn't said a word about it. you're comfortable with her position right now? >> look, i think any candidate, trade has a very, very powerful effect on the electorate. not just in the midwest. but all through the country. people know the trade deals that have been negotiated. >> north philly.

i know it any where. how do we get back to where we were. uncle and grandpa, you can come out of high school and support a family with a manufacturing job. >> negotiate good trade deals. currency manipulation that cost us 5 million jobs, they're getting an unfair illegal advantage. >> okay, when you watch something like nabisco, or this cosmetics company moving to england, boeing, every time somebody moves to mexico or goes to china, what do you think is going on in the heads of the ceo, cheaper labor. >> absolutely. well, here is another example, where trump is a hypocrite. because while he talks about doing that, he makes 870 products that are under his name, and they're all made overseas. 248 of them made in china that he talks about all the time. so he ought to -- doesn't have to be president to start the

process. he could be those products right now. what is he trying to do. get away from what he is actually doing on the ground. >> thank you, richard. it's always an honor to have you on. up next, new developments in the brussels terror, two attackers plotting to assemble a dirty bomb. hundreds of fighters have been trained by isis an already sent to europe. this is alrea"hardball," the pl for politics. 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.

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isis flag. comedian actor and former late night tv host gary shandling has died at the age of 66. he was taken to an l.a. hospital earlier today. back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." new signs today of just how serious and scary, if you will, the isis threat against the west remains. according to time magazine, recent weeks have brought growing evidence that isis is actively seeking weapons of mass destruction including nuclear material. nbc is reporting that the two brothers that carried out the bombs in brussels previously, quote, spied on a top nuclear researcher and hoped to build a so-called dirty bomb. they set up a hidden camera and recorded hours of footage showing the coming and goings of him and his family. the associated press reported

the islamic state group has trained 400 fighters to target our reen interlocking terror cells like the one that struck brussels and paris with orders to choose the time, place and method for maximum chaos. well, according to the ap, camps right now in syria, iraq and elsewhere, where attackers are being trained to target the west now. i'm joined by malcolm nance, author of "defeating isis." let me start with this now, what does this tell us? we've had two attacks. one seemed to be serial, the second because i objebrahim in will, what does this tell us? is this going to get geometric, a series of attacks over the next several months? can we tell? >> yeah, you know, i think that you're right. i think that this was expedited

because of the arrest of salah abdeslam and that they were afraid they might get caught. they wanted to have an impact before they were taken into custody as the belgian authorities moved in. i think you're right. when we think about what is happening in iraq and syria, the foreign fighters coming back into europe, whether they're slipping in through some refugee program or coming in through other means, and the proliferation throughout europe, the epicenter seems brussels now, but these actors, as they continue to grow, looking to fight where they are, rather than pulling people over into syria and iraq, fight where they are, and create as much disruption, as much chaos as they can, chris. >> thank you. let me go to malcolm on this question that you raise here. 5,000 european passport holders, 5,000 from europe that may have roots in north africa or in the middle east, but live in europe. have european passports, been to

syria. you don't go to syria generally on tourist reasons. you have to wonder how many are up to bad stuff. >> certainly a large quantity of them are up to bad stuff, and fortunately, they've been at war for the last two years with a high level of intensity and lost quite a few. let me address this on the ap. 400 is a pretty large number. it is quite possible they were training together. when they would come to syria and iraq, they would train together as national groups. there was always a french group. >> ease of training, fluidity. we know that many of them were killed in action. now, it's very difficult to flow back into europe, very large quantities of people, although some people have left the jihad, if you want to send trained agents, trained altogether for mischief mayhem and terror, then

you want to flow those guys two or three at a time. i'm sure shawn will agree with that. the intelligence mission, coming back in 20, 30, 40, easier than finding them in twos or threes. units are already in place in europe. it's just a question whether they're going to be directed or enable themselves and carry out the attacks. isis is in a strategic campaign with us and they're going to continue to throw punches at us whenever they get the opportunity. >> we're seeing the power everyday of these bombings, tnt available, dynamite if you will. dirty bombs, exploding it, it spreads over the whole area, it contaminates an area, and probably kills a lot of people in the process. are you impressed, or not, by the fact that khalid and his brother, ibrahim, the two suicide brothers in brussels

were tying to put this guy under surveillance, the expert, researcher, and pa iapparently trying to get ahold of the radioactive materials? >> it shows another level of attack, another vector, chris. we've been worried in the intelligence community for 15 years, since 9/11. we've talked about terrorist groups, typically aq, but now increasingly isis, looking to obtain wmd, weapons of mass destruction and how it would impact a major city. one of those devices in a major city would have catastrophic impact and kill people and render that area inhabitable for many years. conducting surveillance, for what purpose, to kidnap him or what have you, to see that they've moved into that realm, and that there appears to be actual operations in place, that should be very disconcerting for law enforcement in the intelligence services.

>> quick answer from both of you. political, but i've got it to ask it because i want to. shawn, first then malcolm. what do you make of trump's statement, he doesn't know whether he'll use a tactical nuclear weapon? what do you think of that statement to a reporter today? >> well, you know, that's -- you're talking about a statement that is fraught with peril making a statement like that. i don't know if i want to comment on what mr. trump says, that statement is somewhat irresponsible. >> malcolm? >> yeah, as a war fighter, my views on this are pretty well known. control of nuclear weapons is the ultimate response aboibilit the president of the united states. cannot play with the words, you cannot use rhetoric like that. what he would have to expect, anyone who chooses that, take the option and put it on the table, will have to deal with the department of defense.

we have the right to resist unlawful orders or destabilize the security of the united states. >> wow, thank you so much. thank you, shawn. up next, trump versus cruz. things got nasty, once their wives were invoked, with cruz calling trump a a sniveling krou wa coward. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. know you have insights from professional investment strategists to help set your mind at ease. know that planning for retirement can be the least of your worries. with the guidance of a pnc investments financial advisor, know you can get help staying on track for the future you've always wanted. ♪ eye of the tiger ime. tv anncr: good afternoon everyone.

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it's not easy to tick me off. i don't get angry often. but you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that will do it every time. donald, you're sniffling coward

and leave heidi the hell alone. >> that was ted cruz reacting or acting on physical appearance. mr. trump re-tweeted an unflattering image of heidi cruz beside his own wife, melania. a picture is worth a thousand words. responding today, trump's campaign manager told nbc this is his effort to gain attention to try to stay relevant if a race that he has lost. also adding that trump has excellent relationships with women. take a look, will he support him? >> will you support him as the nominee? >> i'm going to beat him for the nominee. >> it's not the question. >> i'm answering the question. donald trump will not be the nominee. >> he is leading right now. you look in the camera and you said he is a coward. will you support him as a

nominee. >> donald trump will not be the nomin nominee. >> ann garrens, heidi, senior political reporter, usa today. what do we make of this? any standard by which to judge these? it started with liz put ougt this super pac attack, saying vote for cruz, which had a picture of melania trump posing in a gq spread okay. that started it. >> yeah, i mean, i know we've said this before, but could you have imagine in a presidential race we would be talking about, you know, that tweeting of pictures of people's wives and doing side by side comparisons of who has the hotter wife. really, that's what we're doing. >> not getting into looks, but the most grouchy looking person of one person, perfect picture of another. >> right, it really goes to what is out of bounds and what is in bounds now people's wives and

children and spouses and mothers used to be out of bounds, and clearly that -- >> is this extreme fighting like you see on television. extreme matches, killing each other. >> it makes the 2012 presidential election looks awfully quaint, doesn't it. remember when romney got hit for his - daesh whe was accused of >> that was whole some. >> we're seeing actual. >> when you take an angry picture from heidi, attractive smart person as an individual, but bringing everybody into play, and then of course, he does his crocodile tears, you hurt my wife, i'm going to hurt you. i don't buy that either. >> so much to analyze, but what bothered the most, did you look at the time stamp, it came out

at midnight, a couple of days after the most serious attack in brussels, and the front-runner for the republican nomination is trolling, going through his twitter trolls about another candidate's wife. i just. >> at 12:30 in the morning. >> also, the thing -- >> is this an itchy twitter finger. >> maybe he needs to be taken off twitter. his handlers are going to have to -- >> i think he ought to consider these when they go into the atmosphere. >> but donald trump has risen based on his itchy twitter finger. he spent years putting out this kind of v. >> appearing on "the view," has trump gone too far. has trump gone too far. we've been too many too fares. >> what do you make of the fact

that donald trump just yesterday is attacking ted cruz' wife based on her looks? >> look, i did not condone any of that. don't condone it from anybody. >> but you endorsed him. isn't that implicit in the endorsement? >> implicit is not an endorsement of anything that anybody has said or done throughout their lives. >> well, that was a cover. but i think -- do you have -- i was just thinking of standards we have here too. i didn't want to put that picture on of melania, because they had the cover up her breasts and everything, you know, cultured about it and pretending we don't know what's being discussed here. and now you have the women's face-to-face. my view when it first broke, we didn't do it last night. let's push back. what happens now, it gets pushed forward again. you think you can say we're not going oh cover it, it becomes the main discussion.

>> this is why -- >> it is the main discussion. >> this is why when you look at the polls, 60% of republicans say they're embarrassed by the discourse that's taking place in their party right now, and had is why. a perfect example. the thing here, chris, this is not something new, okay. we're covering it like it's new, but it's not new. he has been saying and implying things about women for a long time, going back to carly fiorina. every woman in america is going to know what mr. trump meant with that tweet. >> that's one of the best lines, because it was so profound. >> she had the best week in her candidacy. >> he keeps punching against kelly, he just keeping punching. >> he is about to go up against hillary clinton most likely in the general election. >> you know what we're going to hear about that, it's going to be down and dirty. >> the one thing that makes it different, he has gone after disgusting members of the media,

left wing pundits and movie stars, but this is a republican woman who is only in the spotlight because her husband is running for president. >> by the way, he will need her and him in the general. come convention time, they're going to be holding each other's hands in the air, right? >> right. >> that's how it usually works. tim, thanks for coming on. thank you, heidi. round table sticking with us for the next, they're going to tell me what i don't know. a common occurrence here. this is "hardball," the place for politics. extraordinarily painful, i hear you. make sure your doctor hears you too! i hear you because i was there when my dad suffered with diabetic nerve pain. if you have diabetes and burning, shooting pain in your feet or hands, don't suffer in silence! step on up and ask your doctor about diabetic nerve pain. tell 'em cedric sent you. [engines revving] you can't have a hero,

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before pennsylvania heads to the polls. we have new numbers out. let's look at the hardball scoreboard. hillary clinton holds a commanding lead. it's clinton, 53. sanders down to 28. on the republican side, trump, 33. we'll be right back. frds some say "free the whales." for them, nothing else is acceptable. but nothing could be worse for the whales. most of the orcas at seaworld were born here. sending them into the wild wouldn't be noble. it could be fatal.

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heidi, tell me something i don't know. >> clinton's real challenge against trump is not on the real issues, it's how she will deal with the tone. the same tone that failed the other republican candidates. i have a story that says her inner circle is advising her to look at the 2000, the brief match up with her and rudy giuliani there. she also cast him as a bully. that's what they're going to do with trump. the biggest thing is when you go in with these debates, the way to get at his skin is laugh at him. that's what they're advising her. >> see how trump deals with that. i'm sure he's ready for it. go ahead. >> we've got a great story on the daily beast about beginnine gingri gingrich's efforts behind the scene to help out donald trump. what he's doing to try to convince the gop establishment behind closed doors that donald trump should be accepted.

the gop establishment is still one of the most resistant groups. he wants to stay out of actual process. it broke today that they begun some preliminary discusses with donald trump about using rnc money. >> you mentioned the pennsylvania primary. the other big prize is new york on april 19th will be the closest thing to a general election match up that we've seen. you've got hillary clinton and donald trump fighting on their home ground. >> do you compare their numbers or the republican party too small to do thad? >> in new york, sure. >> see who got the most votes. >> yes. you'll be able to have something that looks like a general election and also a worrisome state for hillary clinton because it's bernie's. >> thank you. when we return, let me finish

with president obama's opening to cuba. you're watching hardball, the place for politics. if you're trying to teach a kid about a proboscis, just sketch it on there and you've got it immediately. yeah, i like that. i don't have a touch screen on my mac. people love me for saving them over half a grand when they switch to progressive. so i'm dabbling in new ventures. it was board-game night with the dalai lama. great guy. terrible player. ♪ go paperless ♪ don't stress, girl ♪ i got the discounts that you need ♪ it's a balancing act, but i got to give the people what they want -- more box. any words for the critics? what can i say? critties gonna neg. [ applause ] the what?! [ laughs ]

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let me finish with president obama's opening to cuba. when i was young we americans rooted for castro, thrilled when he came to power. we believed that fidel castro was a democratic leader who would bring freedom to cuba. many, many cubans believed the same. we were betrayed. castro was a communist and made

that clear. he was traitor to the cause he e espoused. he promised it all, delivered none of it. he became a pet and when the soviets put medium range missiles into cuba, castro was an eager partner. i've been through the cold war. i can't expect an american president to have the same perspective and same deep seated attitude. i was in east berlin interviewing people about life in the gdr. i learned valuable lesson. let tourists in from free capitalist societies and it undercuts the whole deal. the word gets to the good communists working for the

government and getting peanuts for it that they are missing something. getting our foot in the door in cuba and tourists with u.s. dollars riding through tipping and the word gets around from comrade this to comrade that that maybe the castro brothers put their bet on the wrong side. not for the brothers but the regular cubacuban. that's hardball for now. "all in" with chris hayes starts now. tonight on all in. >> you're a coward. leave heidi alone. >> ted cruz responds to sexism from the republican front-runner. >> donald trump will not be the nominee. >> tonight the latest from the stop trump movement and the mas masogany of the republican. >> i'm sorry. he's a racist and he's not good for the country. >> a tale of two surrogates. >> i think my party