>> jordan weissmann gets tonight's last word. jordan, thank you very much for studying this and helping us out with it. appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. broadway or bust. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. hillary clinton versus bernie sanders, we're eight days away from new york's big primary. a slew of big polls out today show hillary clinton with a double-digit lead out there. giving clinton a 14-point lead up there in new york. a new fox news poll has clinton over sanders by 16 points. look at those numbers. anyway, last week senator sanders backed away from his attack on clinton's qualifications for the presidency. but over the weekend he went after her judgment. let's watch that.

>> if you look at where she is getting her money from wall street special interests, she voted for the war, she cited henry kissinger in a sense as a model for her, i think those issues will tell the american people that in many respects she may have the experience to be president of the united states, no one can argue that, but in terms of a judgment, something is clearly lacking. i have my doubts what kind of president she would make. >> but you would support her if need be? >> by the way, in terms of experience, no question she has the experience. >> well, meanwhile today, secretary clinton questioned sanders' preparation on the issues. >> i have noticed that under the bright spotlight and scrutiny here in new york, senator sanders has had trouble answering questions. he's had trouble answering questions about his core issues,

mainly, dealing with the banks. he's had trouble answering foreign policy questions. i have the best policy toward dealing with what needs to happen to prevent wall street from ever wrecking main street again. every progressive economist from paul krugman, to professors at universities, barney frank, they've all said i have the plan that will actually work. senator sanders couldn't even answer questions about whatever his plan is. >> covering the sanders campaign, and kristen covers the clinton campaign. has sanders backed away from his unqualified charge against her? >> it's pretty clear, chris, he has, yeah. he made it exactly twice. once at a rally in philadelphia late last week. again, the following morning at a press conference. and after that, in interviews on nbc, "morning joe," the "today" show, he backed away from that. it's clear having talked with some of the sanders advisers that that was ultimately an indefensible critique.

at least in the long term. it's just a very difficult argument to be out there making over and over and over again. and instead, he's gone back to this critique of her judgment, which by the way, it something he's been saying for several months over the course of whether it's the iraq war or other policy judgments, henry kissinger, other areas. so i think what you're really seeing right now is senator sanders in a crucible that he's never experienced before. and we talk a lot about how presidential candidates who run for the second time have a much better sense of how it goes, because it really is unlike anything they've ever experienced before. and i talked to jane sanders, his wife, she says this, you know, this is harder than we ever thought that it was going to be. and i think he really is experiencing that going into this new york primary. and they know that it's going to be tough going for him. and that he does need to hit back. but it's clear that they went a little bit too far and felt like

they needed to walk that back. >> kasie hunt is following the sanders campaign. thank you, kasie. kristen, is hillary ready? i get the feeling bernie sanders, he had a lagging period there for a couple of weeks. now he's back to actually try to win this. which means he's got to beat hillary clinton. it looks like he's out there to beat her. not just give her a good protest fight, but knock her off completely so he can be the nominee. >> i think you're absolutely right he's going for it. that's why you saw him sharpen the attacks. we're seeing very heated rhetoric right now on both sides. but i can tell you the clinton campaign is feeling good about their chances here in new york, in part because of all of those polls that you just laid out. and of course, this is a state that she won back in 2008. and she served as senator here for two terms. at the same time they don't think they can let up. and that means campaigning aggressively throughout the five boroughs, courting african-americans and latinos,

and also focusing on upstate new york. a lot of delegates to be had there. voters there today said they like what bernie sanders has to say. we can't stress the importance of new york enough from the perspective of the clinton campaign, because if she wins this state, chris, particularly if she wins by double digits, she would almost put this race out of reach for him. it would almost be game over. so this is really a critical win for her. now, at the same time, you're seeing her keep her eye on the general election as well. she just released that new ad today hitting donald trump, the campaign telling me, look, that serves two purposes. it allows her to go after the gop front-runner, and also to make the case to the democratic pri mare voters she would be the strongest candidate in the general election. >> i think that's what she's up to. thank you, kristen welker. sanders' campaign manager had these strong words for hillary clinton last week. let's watch. >> i think if you look at her record, look at her campaign,

her campaign is funded by millions and millions of dollars from wall street and other special interests. she's really made a deal with the devil. we know the devil wants his money in the end. so that's the kind of campaign she's running. she supported the terrible trade deals which have devastated american manufacturing in this country. she sup poshtd the war in iraq. she continues to have a very hawkish foreign policy. which has led to the rise and expansion of isis throughout the middle east. >> today fred weaver said clinton was experienced on paper. let's watch that. >> well, look, she's clearly experienced, right? an intelligent person, experienced person. but resume is not enough at the end of the day. you can look at someone's resume and they can be great. but in the interview which is what the whole election process is, you learn more than what's on the piece of paper. on paper, of course, she's experienced. >> jeff weaver joins us right now. i missed your name there, i'm sorry. you're a powerful speaker.

>> no problem. >> you deal in almost like myth cal language. you talk about hillary clinton several her soul to the devil basically. do you mean that? selling her soul to the devil? >> she has chosen to take money from virtually every special interest in the country. wall street, the financial industry, the pharmaceutical industry, greenpeace documented between her and her superpac $4.5 million from fossil fuel related industries, the gun lobbyists that provided her money. on all of these things, she has chosen to fund her campaign in that way. what we know, chris, by the fact that bernie sanders does it differently is you don't have to fund your campaign that way. he funds his campaign with small contributions from people all over the country. >> that's good. i think everybody thinks that's admirable. you're the only one out there saying she sold her soul to the devil. >> i said she made a deal with the devil. >> what's the difference? there's only one deal with the devil, my friend. we all know the story.

you can't get your soul back. can hillary ever get her soul back? the deal you made with the devil, you said it. if she made a deal with the devil, she won't be able to undo that deal. >> they'll come knocking the day after the election if she's elected president. no doubt about that. >> how many devils are there? >> quite a few of them. wall street, the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry, and on and on it goes. >> your claim is hillary clinton sold her soul to the devil? >> no, i didn't -- look, she's taking a lot of money from people, who will come knocking on the door -- >> the devil. the devil. >> that's the way it works, chris. chris, you worked in washington, d.c. you know how it works. >> i think it's a pretty condemn na tory comment. hillary clinton's had experience on paper. what do you mean? >> well, look, she's secretary of state, she was a senator, she was first lady of the united states, and of arkansas. she has an incredibly impressive resume, no doubt about it.

but when you go beyond it, and you look at her support of things like the iraq war, her support for disastrous trade deals, her support for doma, her efforts during the 2008 race to keep the governor of new york from giving drivers licenses to undocumented workers, looking at these things over and over again, there's more there than just the resume. >> you know my erogenous zone, you're hitting it. the problem is this -- >> that's inflammatory. >> don't be sarcastic. you overstate your case. first of all, your candidate, who you've been working for for so many years, saying i'm not questioning her qualifications. it sounds like you are. >> no, it's about judgment. she has a vast amount of experience. she's clearly -- >> you said she only has experience on paper. that's questioning somebody's resume. you're saying the resume doesn't get backed up by experience, real experience. >> no, the resume doesn't get

backed up by judgment. that's the problem. >> okay. thank you, jeff weaver. thanks for coming on. >> happy to be here. >> you have a strong voice for senator sanders. i'm joined by another strong voice, mayor bill de blasio who has clearly endorsed -- by the way, whoever writes your jokes up there, get a new joke writer. all that stuff was a disaster. it was a disaster. anyway, let me ask you about hillary clinton. this is a very tough fight. bernie sanders sounds like he's not just a protest candidate anymore, he intends to win new york. he is throwing the sink at her. he's going after her on basic things, like dealing with the devil, selling his soul. these stories about hillary clinton because she's taking money from the wrong people, they're getting pretty -- what's the right word -- met a physical about this. she's basically dealing with evil. did you expect them to get this tough? >> look, i think the bottom line is some of the charges don't hold water. i spoke to this previously.

here's someone who led the charge for the united states to bring the global community together to end climate change. what the president and hillary clinton did in terms of china and in terms of the march to the paris accord, biggest thing we've seen in years in terms of addressing climate change. on top of that, her campaign platform calls for taking away tax breaks from fossil fuel companies. equally, her wall street platform is in many ways tougher than bernie sanders, and would rein in wall street and deal with the issues we're facing right now. so i don't know quite what jeff is trying to get at there. when you look at what someone stands for and what they say they're going to do -- >> he's saying she's in the tank. they say that over and over again, she's in the tank because of the goldman sachs speeches, the $200,000 speeches. they keep getting her as someone who can't be trusted because she's in bed with these guys. that's what they're saying. >> chris, it doesn't hold water. look at what she's saying she will do for the country.

look what she stands for. look at her history. she stood up to the health insurance companies during the health care reform debate of the '93-'94. we know how dramatic that was. she stood her ground. went to beijing and stood up to the chinese on women's rights. she has a long history of being a fighter and being tough. look at what she stands for. the sanders camp with all due respect to them, they don't look at the platform. her platform would bring change on a host of issues. she's doing very well in new york. because she has a message and ideas that fit the people of new york. they also believe she can actually get something done on these issues. >> you know the charge against politicians who take money from wall street or anywhere else, big interests, it's not that you're in the tank exactly. but they know you're not going to be really that aggressive. when it comes time to be, in sins of omission, they're not that tough on legislation to restrict these industries, because you've gotten money from them.

you know the problem for them. would it be better off if she hadn't taken the $600,000 in speaking fees from goldman sachs? would she be more credible if she hadn't? that's the argument they make. >> look, we've used the analogy before in these discussions with president obama who a lot of people on wall street thought they were trying to achieve a certain relationship with him, will look to his great credit. he went in and did what was right for the people. he moved forward on dodd/frank. he did what he believed was right. people can support a candidate, but the candidate has to ultimately decide what's right for the people. hillary clinton knows how to stand up to powerful interests. in addition to jeff conceding her qualifications and her capacity -- >> on paper. >> -- i don't know anyone who doubts her toughness. that has a lot of ramifications for the general election as well. >> here's your chance to advertise the good part of the hawkishness. she said the other day that he shouldn't have that the israeli

government is disproportionate. do you agree with that? she basically comes off in that debate as more pro-government of israel. certainly more pro the government of israel. >> i'm one of the people and i think many people in this country have real differences with prime minister netanyahu. i think he's been unfair to president obama. i don't think it's a question of the current prime minister of israel, we have to protect the state of israel going forward. and as america's tried to do for years, we have to get a two-state solution. i think we can say netanyahu has alienated a lot of people in this country. >> since the time i was born, you were born, we were born, new yorkers love it when people come to new york and eat their food. you've got to go to junior's, you've got to have a cheesecake, you've got to go to nathan's for a hot dog, you've got to go to coney island, eat stuff you've never eaten in your life, and you've got to eat it with the relish.

why do new yorkers insist on that ritual? >> i think we want to see people really get our culture. the pastrami sandwich at the carnegie deli is another one. you've got to ride the subway. that's also part of it. and actually connect with the people of new york city. we enjoy that. >> i'll bring my tokens. just kidding. anyway, thank you, bill de blasio, mayor of new york. coming up, gestapo tactics, that's what trump's new convention manager is accuing the cruz campaign of. the cruz campaign said those comments are an attempt to distract voters from trump's failures. looking at this nomination ballot, can you either lock in heat, trump locked it up before the convention, that's still the big question for him in new york next week. carole king is going to sit among our round table.

the legendary singer/songwriter, more than 100 single hits. plus, just eight days afrom the primary, the round table will tell me something, i can't wait for hers about politics in 2016. and this presidential election. finally let me finish time with about the big noise from the big apple this week. we needed 30 new hires for our call center.

i'm spending too much time hiring and not enough time in my kitchen. (announcer) need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over 100 of the web's leading job boards with a single click. then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. you put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. makes my job a lot easier. (announcer) over 400,000 businesses have already used ziprecruiter. and now you can use ziprecruiter for free. go to ziprecruiter.com/offer99 we've been covering the big battle for broadway next week. the democrats' fight against the big new york primary next tuesday. and we're on the case with the tank on hillary clinton, and her adopted home state. >> god, i love being back in the fat apple.

my home state. except for illinois and arkansas. but they already voted for me, so we're cool. and gosh, new york has been cold this week, hasn't it? in fact, my head is getting a little chilly. i better put on my favorite hat that i've worn so many times over the years. here we go. that will keep me warm while i eat my favorite dinner, a classic new york city street hot dog. and for dessert, all you new yorkers know that i am just nuts for nuts. and later tonight i'm going to take in that hot new broadway show that's got all of nyc abuzz. "chicago"! >> by the way, did you see the price tag on the yankees cap? we'll be right back.

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and i say this to the rnc, and i say it to the republican party, you're going to have a big problem, folks, because there are people who don't like what's going on. we've got a corrupt system. it's not right. we're supposed to be a democracy. we're supposed to be, you vote, and the vote means something, all right? you vote and the vote means something. >> welcome back to "hardball." remember the old line from the brooklyn dodgers, we was robbed. that was donald trump yesterday calling the process of delegate selection corrupt, or we was robbed. while trump has won the majority of contests so far, most of the states, cruz has consistently outmaneuvered trump in the back rooms in a handful of the states where the voters pick the delegates in back room conventions.

nbc reports trump supporters of the state said, quote, they were frustrated with the campaign's chaotic and uncommunicative campaign which failed to reach basic levels of competence. well, now trump's convention manager is taking a larger role, accusing the cruz campaign of using gestapo tactics. that's what manafort calls the cruz operation. cruz delegate selection operations the secret police of nazi germany. here it is, not to be forgotten. >> what is fair game to win a delegate? is threatening a fair game? >> that's not my style. it's not donald trump's style. but it is ted cruz's style. that's going to wear thin very fast. >> you think he's threatening delegates? >> you go to these county conventions and you see the gestapo kak ticks -- >> gestapo tactics? that's fairly strong. >> they're not playing by the rules.

>> i saw that line the other day and i could not believe a a guy used that phrase. a cruz campaign spokesperson issued the following statement. no surprise trump's team will lash out with falsehoods to distract voters. they mocked trump for calling the process unfair. let's take a look. >> the latest thing he seized upon is when people vote against him, they're stealing the election. it's a really odd notion. what is this democracy of which you speak? wait, wait, do you mean voters get to vote? no, no, no. >> the problem is cruz is arguing a difficult argument. i'm joined by msnbc political analyst howard fineman, and of course national correspondent jody. whatever the think of trump, the person who wins the most votes should be the nominee rather than somebody who got less votes.

no matter what they do at the convention, they've got to pick somebody who has less votes than him. doesn't sound democratic. cruz is very good at the back room cigar stuff where you go in the back room and get delegates one at a time at conventions. very republican form of government. but not democratic form of government. >> i think that donald trump has a point about colorado. as you said, they don't even have a primary. >> why not? >> i don't really completely understand why. other than the party wants to leave the party in power. they want the party insiders to be in power. donald trump has a point about that. what he doesn't have a point about, or what paul manafort didn't have a point about is those are gestapo tactics. the fact is, those were the rules in colorado. if donald trump wanted to win the delegates in colorado, he had to get down off the podium, he had to stop speaking to a crowd of 10,000 people, and organize his way to getting those delegates.

>> i have a history buff, just hold with me. let's look at the two cases in our memory that use gestapo. this is not the first time a politician has used this kind of rhetoric to attack his -- keep moving -- his enemies. keep moving the prompter. what are we waiting for. the close of world war ii in 1945, my hero winston churchill went up against the party and said, labor would need a secret police to implement its socialist policies. this is churchill. no socialist government conducting the entire life and industry in the country could afford to allow free, sharp, or violently worded expressions of public discontent. i'll never forget this. war protesters clashed with the chicago police during the democratic national convention. connecticut senator slammed the police for their tactics. here's ripicoff. >> with george mcgovern as

president of the united states we wouldn't have to have gestapo tactics in the streets of chicago. >> wow. joy, at that time, mayor daly put a cut across his neck, like cut this guy off, and used language which nobody wanted to be proud of. the voice readers could tell what he was saying. but the word gestapo, sell your soul to the devil, is there anything like -- how about british understatement in these campaigns? joy? >> no, in terms of 1968, of course, that was the sort of the end of the high water mark of the back room deal placing a nominee on the ballot through these nondemocratic -- >> hubert humphrey. >> hubert humphrey, who was imposed on the democratic party in 1968. this is talking to a lot of trump supporters here. most of the people we've talked to in this diner here. mike's unicorn here in staten island, trump voters. the attack on process, the attack on the party process, the back room dealing process, that

is actually classic trump campaign. it's part of what his appeal is. no matter how the extreme that rhetoric is, using that term gestapo tactics. the reality is, people i've talked to don't trust the party. and so donald trump is essentially running against this sort of evil of the establishment and essentially saying any outcome of him getting the nomination is to, to quote paul manafort, but i think the voters who like donald trump, they already feel that way about the party. >> i think they're building towards something. they're building towards a cataclysm, a catastrophe at the convention in cleveland. if he's shorted by 100 votes, he says give me it. i'm only 100 short, or 200 short. if he doesn't get it, then he was robbed. >> he's building toward the threat of the catastrophe. >> yes. >> that's what they're doing here. >> how would that work out? >> that's why paul said what he said. i talked to people close to him, in the circle of the trump campaign who said that paul --

that what paul was doing is impressing donald trump in saying here's how we're going to do it. we're going to threaten to destroy the convention and the party if we don't get what we want, if we're close enough to grab it. >> yeah. >> that's basically what he's saying. >> they're not going to rest this on arcane rules, and the rules committee. that's not going to happen. >> 200 votes short. how far does he want to make this case? 200, 300 short? is 1,000 enough? >> first he's going to argue if he has more votes and more delegates than anybody else, he should be entitled to it. and if they don't flinch at that, then he might walk. as you said earlier today, a great end for donald trump, who i'm not sure wants to be president anyway -- >> nothing's more dramatic or simple than a walkaway. >> walk away, and he has somewhat of an arsonist mentality anyway. >> i wouldn't go that far.

>> his point is, the system is broken, the system is corrupt. >> sampson of the temple, too. >> he's constantly being advised by his anymore, by other advisers in the republican party and elsewhere, make the pivot, donald. become presidential. give the insider speeches. study the briefing book. he's not interested in that. because he wants to do it his way, which is the way to say that everything on the inside is corrupt, and only i am pure, and that's how i'm going to rub. he has refused to change his strategy all along. there's no reason to expect he will do it now. >> here's cruz trying to stop that tactic, which i agree completely. on saturday night, cruz said he's trying to stop it in the first ballot then it's all over. in other words, he believes if he stops trump short of 1,237, he wins. >> i believe the first ballot will be the highest vote total donald trump receives, and on a subsequent ballot, we're going to win the nomination and earn a majority.

>> joy, what do you think of that? if you come in short in the first ballot, that's the one people will look at and say that's the most popular ballot. that's the one based on voters. everything after that is smoke-filled rooms. >> yeah. indeed. you have to remember that you have two campaigns that are doing the opposite thing. trump is relying on feeling. people's anger and rage toward the republican party, toward the system. what cruz is doing is he is doing process. he's 100% process. he's been actually going back to the conventions in colorado, and louisiana, making sure that they've got that second ballot vote locked down. he's actually doing the process argument, doing it the right way. donald trump just for an example here in new york, this is a closed primary state. we've asked voters that were democrats that actually really like donald trump, whether they had actually registered themselves as republicans to vote for him. the answer so far today, at least among the democrats we talked to was no. it hasn't been a campaign. an on-the-ground campaign to actually convert reagan democrats to actually vote for donald trump, including two of

his own kids. i think trump has ignored process throughout. he's done so in new york. he will stl likely win new york. he has more fans here. but it's all process versus all feeling. i think that trump just believes that that emotion, that raw emotion will mean they've got to give it to him. that they can't walk away from the cleveland convention and let it be set literally or figuratively on fire -- >> i'm distracted, joy, by what's behind you. that looks like a good comfort food restaurant behind you. i think i want an open-faced roast beef sandwich. that's what i want. >> yes. you should get it. this is a great place. mike's unicorn. >> i like it. it looks like a good place to eat. thank you. up next, the "hardball" round table. we discuss the battle for broadway between hillary clinton and bernie sanders. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

back to "hardball." welcome back to hart ball. eight days to the new york primary. hillary clinton and bernie sanders are battling borough to borough, if you will. joe biden weighed in on the prospect of a woman president. >> this country is ready for a woman. there's no problem. we'll be able to elect a woman in this country. >> would you like to see us elect a woman? >> i would like to see us elect a woman. >> that's it. >> no, i would like to see -- i don't -- i'm not getting into that. >> i'd like to ask one more question. >> the president and i are not going to endorse because we both when we ran said, let the party decide. >> who is this guy interrupting the vice president of the united states? the voters will decide next tuesday in new york. secretary clinton's dominating the empire city. leading sanders by 20 points

among women. joining me right now at the round table, the great carole king who needs no introduction. and nbc news political reporter perry bacon. and heidi from "usa today." two objective people, one partisan here. what do you think of joe biden? obviously people behind him on his staff were afraid he was going to say something. you're not to get involved in politics. >> the last time he did that he came out ahead of the president and -- >> on gay marriage. >> exactly. he was very careful to say, you know, we're not endorsing, and -- >> well, he was. we want a woman running. >> yes, he was, obviously. it appears he was. >> i think he was asked, you know, should we have a woman? he was prompted about that question. i'm not surprised. you know who joe biden's favorite candidate is, joe biden. so we're clear about things. joe biden will be doing very well.

>> looking for the latest news on the e-mails. >> maybe a little bit. >> the context was he was asked about the feud. he was asked about the feud between bernie and hillary. showing he has an even hand and supports both of them. i think his handlers clearly got uncomfortable at that point that it might veer off into that direction. and this would be a perfect storm, disastrous time to do that, given that a lot of democratic watchers feel like new york might be the final kneecap for bernie sanders, and what's the first thing she needs to do after new york is unify those voters. >> the hot question there which is, she'll win new york it looks like, and trump will win new york it looks like. but they both have to win the whole thing. the question is, you've got voters under 45 for bernie. and you have some people saying a third of the democrats saying a third of the bernie people, i will not vote for hillary. how do you bring them around? why would you not get somebody like on the weird right like trump?

>> who are these people who say they won't vote for her. are they really going to feel like that when -- this will be the big watershed -- when they realize what the alternative is. shall we're in the heat of a primary right now. >> i remember the people who wanted -- they were saying i'm not going to back obama, but they did. >> you've been around long enough to remember that maybe not everybody comes onboard. but they do. and it is necessary to do that. and i think -- i have also spoken to a lot of people who are for bernie sanders. and on the same -- by the same token, hillary clinton supporters. there's a not a lot of, i'm not going to support. there are some. but i think those who are saying it will be brought along in the end. because they definitely don't want any of the republicans. >> it's more common than just we're against the other guys, too. they are both democrats.

well, bernie's become a democrat. but they do share a lot of beliefs in what the government can do positively. >> when you talk to the young people, they feel like hillary is the establishment. they're not excited about hillary's campaign. i do wonder if she has to take a vice president who does appeal to the bernie voters. that's the question. >> when they get to philly -- >> jumping the gun. >> we always run -- >> which i want to say, you talk about this big poll numbers. i know her. i spent time with her. and she is working, fighting to earn every vote. she really, really is. >> is she going to pick a vice president on the right or left? >> she's not thinking of -- >> i think brown makes the most sense. or joe manchion. >> so you're going there. you're not letting me -- >> we talk about, is this a youth gap. by the way, hillary has a real prejudice toward the ivy league. they love that thing.

they're cute about that. the round table is sticking around. up next, these people tell me something i don't know. i can't wait to hear from carole king. maybe we'll hear it in lyrical form.

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we're back with the "hardball" round table. >> this week has been a slugfest, between hillary clinton which raises the specter of whether there's going to be lasting damage to the party. i decided to report this out. i went right to the easiest source which would be a republican who would jump on this, right? wrong. republican pollsters are admitting that i talked to bill -- >> yeah, i know him. >> he said, look, quote, they will all come together in the fall. they will try to make sure that the republican nominee loses. that the specter, even republicans at this point are admitting that the specter of a cruz or trump presidency means that the democrats will completely unite. it says something. when they talk about the enthusiasm gap, we'll come back to it. >> i think trump is in his trouble or is out his trouble. carole king?

>> shall i sing it? i have been a surrogate for various candidates. i spent all of 2004 going out and speaking for john kerry, who was my friend before. >> nice try. >> he wound up giving me the kennedy necklace. >> no ambassadorship? >> nope. didn't want it. happy to have this. i am going out in new york, i'm from brooklyn, i grew up in new york. >> where in brooklyn? >> sheep's head bay. >> i was down in the z. >> we were neighbors. so i will be going around new york state, and telling people why i trust hillary clinton so much. i know her heart. i've spent time with her. she is a good person. and she has stood up to all those attacks. and she's tough. she is tough. >> okay. >> the senate republicans' reelection arm, they said they should run like they're running for the sheriff. the idea being they need to talk

about local issues as much as possible. >> why are they doing that? >> they say both donald trump and ted cruz are kryptonite and they should avoid them if possible. >> if you don't hang together, we'll hang separately. thank you, my roundtable tonight. coming up, a look at one of the great int lengths of our time, the occasional "hardball" guest, the late great christopher hitchens. this is "hardball," the place for politics. for our call center. i'm spending too much time hiring and not enough time in my kitchen. (announcer) need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over 100 of the web's leading job boards with a single click. then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. you put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. makes my job a lot easier. (announcer) over 400,000 businesses have already used ziprecruiter. and now you can use ziprecruiter for free. go to ziprecruiter.com/offer99

new numbers in the race for pennsylvania. let's check the "hardball" scoreboard. on the democratic side, clinton is on top with an 11-point lead. on the republican side, trump's nearing the 50% mark. right now he's at 48%. kasich is down at 22%. yuz down to 20.

british writer christopher hitchens, mother theresa.

2002 going after george w. bush and their time. >> if you think of all the things you don't like, if you don't like bush cozy up to the boardrooms. if do you don't like him panicking about civil liberties. if you don't like him being ventriloquist, al gore was already worst on those three things. >> he covered the base with that. hitchens debated friends and foes on the topic of religion on this program. christopher died in 2011. now one of his closest friends joins us to discuss his new book that is beautifully written. i guess, just tell us, give us a pitch for the book. i think it's a short book. it's an airplane ride, a couple of rides.

you'll get something out of it. what do you get about a guy's dying year who is an atheist? >> thank you. i hope one of the things people will get from this is we live in callture that is increasingly factualized. here was christopher hitchens and myself who managed not only to debate one another but to enjoy each other's company and a friendship. >> well, what was he searching for. everybody gets something from someone else and you learn from other people and your friend, especially. was he using you as a final sort of due diligence about whether he was right or wrong about god? >> that's a good way of putting it. christopher, after his diagnosis with esophageal cancer that he knew to be a death sentence, he took two lengthy road trips with me.

here he was, it's extraordinary. almost unbelievable. he has a johnny walker scotch squeezed between his knees. his glasses perched on the end of his nose and reading allow from the gospel of john. we're discussing the merit of that book? >> what was the merits to him? >> i think he was trying to explore whether or not christianity, at the end of the day, had real merits. this was a man staring eternity in the face and contemplating a broader defection than the political one that he did in 2001. >> why did he drink so much and smoke so much? it really did kill him. do you think he knew he was doing it? >> i think he did.

his father died of cancer and he knew that was a result of smoking and drinking in tandem. >> all those nights at the bar at timber lakes. >> he told me he liked it. he didn't expect to live as long as he did. >> you got to read this book. very beautifully about a guy who only wrote beautifully. i was friends with him. i didn't agree with him on the war in iraq. he took some positions that drove me crazy. he's a wonderfully good guy to me. my father and at our first book party, he showed up and opened his shirt and spoke like burton quoting from shakespeare. it was real treat to meet this incredible character. great that you wrote this book. i'm so glad you did. we'll be right back.

let me finish with the big noise from the big apple. and combine it with a story all about new york and you have a story that's not only hot but downright explosive. my point, winning new york next tuesday will matter much more than the delegates.

if it's trump, he's heading out to other big eastern state, pennsylvania for one. he's already riding high in the polls. winning new york by over 50% would take him to 50% in pennsylvania and elsewhere. i'll say it. as goes new york, so will go a good number of other states. they will be impressed that after his bad luck he can still win on broadway and he couldn't choke when he hit the big apple. same with hillary clinton. she needs a big win. if she beats the guy from brooklyn, the case will be hard to make. catch the debate thursday night and our strip down of it afterwards. this is the big one. trump will win, i believe. if bernie pulls an upset in hillary's backyard, that will be chaos. if she nails it down, people will say she did it in new york.

new york, new york. the town so nice they namd twice. the system is corrupt and worse on the republican side. >> anger from team front-runner as ted cruz sweeps colorado. >> you see the tactics. >> why donald trump's children cannot vote for their dad. >> they feel guilty. are latest reporting that paul ryan is waiting in the wings. then, hillary clinton stays on offense. >> senator sanders has had trouble answering questions. >> the sanders campaign starts talking about a contested democratic convention. jane sanders will join me live. all that plus what's missing from donald trump's charitable giving. >> i give a lot of money. >> "all in" starts right now.