good evening, and welcome to "politics nation" live from washington, d.c. tonight on the show, she gave the green light. house speaker nancy pelosi has officially informed house democrats that they should be ready to send the articles of impeachment to the senate as early as this coming week. tonight, we ask just what did democrats gain from holding up the process over the past few

weeks? meanwhile, a brand-new poll out of iowa coming just three weeks ahead of the state's caucuses show a tight race at the top between two progressive candidates, and the two top moderates hot on their trail. senator bernie sanders saw his biggest increase in iowa since november, mayor pete with the largest drop. but we start with the litany of remaining questions regarding the u.s. attack in iraq that killed a top iranian general leading to a retaliatory missile strike that put american service members in harm's way. the trump administration reacting on the basis of very vague intelligence of a possible plot against one embassy in the region, or was it a credible imminent threat with specific targets and american lives at risk? this week, a select group of lawmakers received classified briefings on the matters from

top administration officials of president trump. and one of those law maukers joins me now, democratic congressman anthony brown of maryland. he's vice chair of the house armed services committee and a u.s. army veteran. congressman, you were in the briefing. many came out of the briefing saying they felt they were not well-informed. they did not hear any evidence of imminent danger that led to the killing of general soleimani of iran. you were there. did you hear anything that would have convinced you that there was imminent danger and soleimani had to be killed he time he was. >> absolutely not. and let's even back up. the first piece of communication that we got from the administration was the classified notification that the president ordered the assassination of general solemanny, a page and a half in length.

i read that. there was nothing in it. so, a few days later, we had a classified briefing. and often the challenge that someone like i have is sitting with you and thinking about what can i tell reverend al that's not classified? >> right. >> there's nothing to share with you because they didn't share anything with congress. members of the administration, secretary pompeo, esper, the director of the cia, the director of national intelligence were asked no less than six times, please be specific, time, place, the nature of the threat that allowed, enabled you to conclude that there was an imminent threat. and there was nothing. and that's why you saw senators and representatives walking out disgusted. >> was it surprising is even senator lee of utah, a republican, certainly on the right, said that it was the worst briefing he's had on a military action in his nine years in the senate. and you had rand paul also attacking it. so, even republicans are saying basically what you and other

democrats that were in the briefing are saying is that there was no there there. >> sure. there was a long litany of the history of bad actions by general soleimani. let's not forget he's a bad actor. he planned and ordinary care stra orchestrated a lot of things against americans. but there was no imminent threat. that leads me to believe it was based on past conduct. >> but bad actors selective with this president. he writes love letters with kim you yong un, his description not mine. he was accused of being involved in killing his own brother. why kill this bad actor at this time? >> that's the question we're all left with. if it's going to be the u.s. policy to assassinate senior political military leaders of

nation states like general soleimani, then we ought to have that discussion. maybe some agree that's the way to go, and others may suggest, like me, that i don't think that's why -- we've got to draw the line. unless there's a real imminent threat that we did not receive. >> pretty scary. you were named national co-chair of the pete buttigieg campaign for president. also you became the first black member of the congress to endorse mayor pete. but take a look at two recent national polls of black voters. one shows mayor pete at just 2%, and a brand-new poll out this morning shows joe biden dominating the field with 48% and mayor pete close to 0. how do you combat that? how do you explain that? >> sure, i spent time in iowa with mayor pete about two weeks ago. and while i was listening to him, i was watching the crowds.

and many of the crowds were diverse crowds. we had one event that was hosted by the naacp, the urban dreamers block party which i'm sure you're familiar with. >> very much. >> he fielded a lot of tough questions. but he talked a lot about his values, his faith, the responsibility we all have and how he's going to govern in an inclusive way. as i watched the crowd, i saw that message resonating. i think what you're seeing in the polls is the lack of familiarity among voters of who pete buttigieg is. one is low name id because he was the mayor of south bend, indiana, not the vice president of the united states. who is this guy? he's strong on national security having served our country in uniform. he's strong on the challenges we face in urban america and so many americans live in urban america. his experience as a mayor i think gives him a leg up, brings that experience to the white

house. >> is that what brought you over? some would say you being the first member of the black caucus to endorse him that was kind of risky if not showing some level of political courage. what was it about pete buttigieg that brought you, a respected member of congress and certainly popular in the state of maryland, that brought you to join his camp as national co-chair? >> i focus a lot of my time on national security issues. i'm vice chair of the armed services committee. i spent 30 years in uniform, a year in iraq. mayor pete put on the uniform, went to afghanistan, served as a naval intelligence officer. i've listened to his speeches, and i've read his speeches on national security. he's got the perspective that we need to re-establish america's global leadership. he understands that we need to use all of the resources available to us, not just the military, but the diplomatic resources, our economic resource, our information

resources, and do it in partnership with our allies which this administration has failed to do. so, he has a full understanding. but perhaps most importantly when that decision is made -- and one day it will be made under a buttigieg administration -- to say men and women of war, he'll know first hand what it means for a person aboard that aircraft to land in a combat zone. that's really important. >> you said you spent time with him in iowa. he went down in the polls in iowa. do you think he's going to upset the race and defy these polls three weeks out? >> i think he's got a really strong organization there. the message is resonating. polls fluctuate. it's in -- there are four candidates in play. very competitive. i think he's going to do very well. >> all right. maryland congressman anthony brown, thank you for being with us tonight. >> turning back to the topic of the crisis in iran, even though the white house caught a lot of flak for its briefing to congress on iran, his staunchest

allies, of course, had his back. republican senator lindsey graham told fox news that trump's address to the nation about iran would soon become a highlight of his presidency. >> the president made a very bold decision today to allow things to calm down. this speech will be talked about long after his second term. this is on par with tear down this wall mr. gorbachev. this is resetting the world with iran, not just the united states. the president said there's an evil empire in iran that's bent on detroying the world, killing the people in israel, and coming after us and i will no longer tolerate it. this is on par with reagan's tear down this wall speech. >> all the while the administration seems to be sending mixed messages with regards to whether an attack by soleimani was in fact imminent. >> soleimani was actively

planning new attacks, and he was looking very seriously at our embassies and not just the embassy in baghdad. >> there is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by qassem soleimani. we don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where, but it was real. >> he was planning imminent had attacks that were larger in the region against american force plus. >> well, to quote intel congressman committee member adam schiff, quote, we don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where. does that constitute imminent? let's bring in republican strategist sarah longwell and "washington post" columnist dana mill bank. i'm confused. the president says they were looking at embassies. the vice president said it was imminent. and of course you saw the rest,

pompeo and others. mixed messages. is it that they just can't reveal certain things or that they can't get -- they're lying or lie straight depending on your view? what are we hearing here? we have soleimani was killed. it has called certain reactions, of course, not only around iran but around the world of people of various views. why put us in this predicament and you can't even tell us why. >> yeah, well that's because this is the least transparent administration that we've seen. they don't brief the press. they don't brief members of congress. this is why you saw mike lee come out and be so upset that they wouldn't tell him what's going on. the problem here is that -- >> and he's a republican. >> he's a republican. but they are frustrated that they can't get answers. these are big foreign policy decisions that are being made.

the congress, the public, we deserve to know what's happening. but it's not clear. you know, the president trump is very schizophrenic on foreign policy. he's got the voice of a hawk. he's very bellicose and always thumping his chest. but he's an isolationist at heart. you see the schizophrenia playing out where people are saying tell us what's going on because we don't know. >> dana, he campaigned on he's not going to get the country further in the middle east. he campaigned on attacking a lot of what was done in other administrations, and now he does something that is totally the opposite of that and can't even really get the line straight at least in his administration on how they defend why they seemingly, first with what they were stating, had to do this. >> right. and i think it's not just a matter of we don't know what they're doing. it's pretty clear that they don't know what they're doing and it just sort of happened into this. you've seen this time after time, domestic policy, foreign

policy, the president does something and they sort of come in and back fill and try to provide a reason for it. that's why you see them going back and forth here on what was the rationale for it. sources and methods, that common dodge. of course you don't want to reveal that. but they could reveal in a classified session with member of congress in the scif some degree of that. but i think what they're saying is it's none of your business which is this white house's stance on all issues. and they've decided that, no, we're going to pretend that whoever doesn't line up and support us is actually a supporter of soleimani. and i think that -- i don't think that's quite worked. >> well, i also raise this, sara. when we look at the back and forward here, the question that really comes to mind is that we do not know yet if the retaliations are over. we don't know what was going to

happen. he's sent 3,500 troops into the area. we are really talking about peoples' lives here. this is not playing political chess games here. >> i think that's right. and one of the things -- a "usa today" poll came out and showed americans overwhelmingly felt the move in iran made us less safe. i do focus groups with republican voters across the country. i was just doing one and i was reminded in the context of iran that one of the things that is top of mind for even republican voters who like trump, one of the things they don't like is they think he's reckless. this feeds into that narrative around him. >> dana, you have written a lot about the president before and during his presidency. is this that there are seemingly no adults in the room that would really show what would be the consequences of his actions? >> right. i think it's no accident that we're on the fourth national

security adviser. we've had multiple secretary of state -- >> in three years. >> -- secretaries of defense. and i think each time you sort of get a little bit lower down in the quality of people you're getting. so, basically you have this president right now listening. it seem it seems largely to mike pompeo. and not necessarily just that, just listening to what feels right to him in this moment. he's thinking of this in a binary way. soleimani, dead, good. as opposed to okay, nobody wants to have soleimani in the picture, but what are the trade offs? is the united states going to be kicked out of iraq? that's a big problem. have we set off this whole new round of asemetic warfare? these are complicated questions and he surrounds himself with people that just say yes, sir. >> the president and simple

binary thought. who would have thought it. coming up, speaker pelosi says she could send the impeachment articles as early as this week, triggering the senate trial. i'll speak to a senator about the trial. back to richard lui with today's top news stories. iran has admitted to unintentionally shooting down a ukrainian passenger plane killing all 176 passengers on board. according to iran's military, the jet was misidentified as a cruise missile amid heightened tensions with the u.s. rouhani calling auit a great tragedy. puerto rico has been hit with another earthquake, the 5.9 earthquake hit off the southern coast this morning days after a

6.4 magnitude hit. the latest causing damage to hard hit areas. queen elizabeth, prince charles, prince william, and prince harry, they're going to meet monday to discuss the future of prince harry and his wife meghan markle within the royal family. it comes after the couple announced plans to step back as senior members. stay tuned for more "politics nation." so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it - with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa set yourself free with fleet.

gentle constipation relief in minutes. little fleet. big relief. try it. feel it. feel that fleet feeling.

little fleet. big relief. try it. feel it. (mom vo) we got a subaru to give him some ato reconnect and be together. and once we did that, we realized his greatest adventure is just beginning. (vo) welcome to the most adventurous outback ever. the all-new subaru outback. go where love takes you. that's it. i'm calling kohler about their walk-in bath. nah. not gonna happen. my name is ken. how may i help you? hi, i'm calling about kohler's walk-in bath. excellent! happy to help. huh? hold one moment please... [ finger snaps ] hmm. the kohler walk-in bath features an extra-wide opening and a low step-in at three inches, which is 25 to 60% lower than some leading competitors. the bath fills and drains quickly, while the heated seat soothes your back, neck and shoulders. kohler is an expert in bathing, so you can count on a deep soaking experience. are you seeing this? the kohler walk-in bath comes with

fully adjustable hydrotherapy jets and our exclusive bubblemassage. everything is installed in as little as a day by a kohler-certified installer. and it's made by kohler- america's leading plumbing brand. we need this bath. yes. yes you do. a kohler walk-in bath provides independence with peace of mind.

it's been 24 days since the house impeached president trump, yet speaker nancy pelosi and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell have remained in a tense standoff over how the senate trial should be conducted. however, that impasse may be letting up. in a letter to her democratic colleagues yesterday, pelosi announced that they will begin the process of transmitting the articles of impeachment to the senate this coming week. but first she will consult with them at their weekly caucus meeting on tuesday. also, the letter suggests that the house could soon name its impeachment managers who will act as prosecutors and present the house's case in the senate trial. joining me now, democratic senator from oregon, jeff merkley. he's also a member of the senate foreign relations committee. senator, welcome.

>> thank you, very much. good to be with you, rev. >> what is the mood in the senate, particularly among your colleagues during this stalemate? and do you expect that the standoff has affected one way or another how your colleagues in the senate will take the evidence and the information that comes from the trial any differently? >> well, i think what speaker pelosi has done has really focused attention on the fact that you aren't really fulfilling the vision of the constitution for congress and impeachment if you don't have a trial that is fair and full. and by any american's account, they understand that a fair trial is one that has access to documents and witnesses both for the prosecution and for the defense, in this case the president. so, both sides should be able to have that. everyone understands that. and mitch mcconnell is determined to prevent that from happening. this is a real potential

travesty of our constitutional responsibility. in a way you might say the senate is on trial at the same time president trump is going to be on trial. and i'm afraid we're going to fail. >> listen to house speaker nancy pelosi on friday dismissing the idea there's a crisis in the democratic party over impeachment. >> what feedback have you gotten from your colleagues about not sending the articles yet? >> absolutely total cooperation. it cracks me up to see on tv, oh, pressure this, pressure that. you don't have a story. >> now, she's saying that there was total cooperation. she was not forced to let it go in terms of transmitting the articles of impeachment. and it seems like this delay may have at least raised the questions of witnesses. john bolton saying that he would testify if subpoenaed.

republican senator susan collins of maine made waves yesterday telling her local newborn that she's been working with a, quote, fairly small group of republicans to ensure that witnesses would be heard in the senate impeachment trial. now, if the small group she's talking about votes for witnesses, you only need four because you only need 51 senators, assuming all the democrats stay together. we could end up with a real trial with witnesses and documents. but then the president has come out saying he will use executive privilege to try and bar bolton from being able to testify. how would you react to that if that were to transpire? >> well, first i really applaud my republican colleagues who take their oath of office seriously and take the oath they have to take before the impeachment trial which is to do impartial justice. that means witnesses and that

means documents. and i applaud those -- there's a lot of them wrestling with this. there are many republican senator who is do not like the direction mcconnell is leading which is to say he's not going to be impartial. he's going to violate his oath, and he's going to attempt to make this a very short unfair trial. in terms of the president, say that he's going to use executive privilege to block bolton from testifying, i don't know that he has a mechanism to block bolton if bolton choosing to appear. and the situation here is that the court has looked at this issue of executive privilege and they don't have a lot of precedent. but in the nixon trial -- not the trial, but the nixon case. they found that, yes, the president has some privilege over conversations with his top advisers. but when it comes to issues of the constitution -- and they were speaking specifically on

the judicial side in that case -- that that is limited. in other words, the other branches of government have to be able to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities. and i think the court would readily see that extending to impeachment. because otherwise you undermine the very premise of the checks and balances that our founders put forth. >> there's not equal balance of power if he's able to use that in an irresponsible way. you mentioned the statement by the majority leader senator mcconnell saying that he was not impartial. will there or should there be a move to try and get him and lindsey graham, the senator from south carolina who also made a similar statement, to recuse themselves since they've already said they have found him not guilty before we've even started the trial? >> yes. any senator who says that they cannot be impartial, that means

they cannot take the oath and they cannot participate. they should absolutely recuse themselves. i think it would be very difficult to have the body as a whole undertake that effort. i think it has to be a personal issue of character. if you say to the world i cannot be impartial, then you need to recuse yourself. and that's certainly what mitch mcconnell should do since he's been very clear that he's very biased and have no intention of trying to pursue impartiality. >> so you're saying that senator mitch mcconnell, majority leader of the senate, should recuse himself based on his own statements? >> absolutely, absolutely. >> all right. i'm going to leave it there. oregon senator jeff merkley. thank you for being with us tonight. coming up, president trump embodies almost all of the seven deadly sins, but this week we'll talk about his envy. stay with us. this is "politics nation."

at this point, i don't make compromises. i want nutrition made just for me. but i also want great taste. so i drink boost for women. new boost women with key nutrients to help support thyroid, bone, hair and skin health. all with great taste. new boost women. tracfone lets you keep your leftover data each month. unlimited carryover data! $20 bucks. what are you doing? i want to ask you about your data. oh, i thought you said dating. this is your wake-up call, people. the new tracfone wireless. now you're in control.

(honk!) i hear you sister. that's why i'm partnering with cigna to remind you to go in for your annual check-up, and be open with your doctor about anything you feel - physically and emotionally. but now cigna has a plan that can help everyone see stress differently. just find a period of time to unwind. a location to de-stress. an activity to enjoy. or the name of someone to talk to. to create a plan that works for you, visit cigna.com/mystressplan. cigna. together, all the way.

for this week's memo to the president, i want to talk about the single greatest threat to american security and to our very way of life. no, i'm not talking about iran, mr. president. i'm talking about your

unsolvable envy for your predecessor, president barack obama. i talked about it on this program before, how you have to work through your seething resentment that a black man ascended to the presidency and then save the united states from a crippling recession brought on by gop governance and your greedy cohorts on wall street. it was your panic at seeing president obama succeed and your jealousy that he was beloved by millions that finally compelled you to run for president. in fact, it was probably this very moment of public humiliati humiliation that did it for you. >> obviously we all know about your credentials and bredth of experience. for example, saoirsely just

recently "celebrity apprentice" you recognized it was a problem of leadership. so, you didn't blame lil john or meet lo meat loaf. you fired gary busey. >> you made it your personal mission to undo as much as of president obama's legacy as possible. you overturned everything from clean water rules to civil rights protections in schools to regulations on chemical plants. that last one with deadly consequences. i might add and it would be nearly impossible to quantify the number of future deaths you contributed to with your determination to roll back obama-era climate policies. you've only managed to beat president obama at one thing, and that's the amount of time

spent on the links golfing. you spent more taxpayer dollars on golf in the last three years than your predecessor did in eight. meanwhile, you're still working to take down president obama's singular achievement, obamacare, without any concern for the millions of americans who will die if you succeed. and this week you took your obama envy to a new and dangerous height. >> the missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration. >> let's set aside that multiple non-partisan fact checkers have proven you wrong and turn instead to the cold-blooded malice of your lies. you're attempting to hide your incompetence by blaming obama, a man who pursued peace alongside the very country with which you

seem determined to make war. how many lives will you sacrifice on the altar of your ego? how many american troops must ship out to the middle east to assuage your inferiority complex? unfortunately i know the answer. i'm here to tell you, mr. president, that no matter what you do, no matter how many initiatives you repeal or senseless wars you instigate, you'll never measure up to president obama. maybe you should try to find a healthier way of working out your jealousy issues than ill-fated foreign policy moves or incendiary twitter tirades because i, for one, would like to live to see the next president surpass you which should be easy enough if you manage to avoid bumbling us into world war iii. we'll be right back. we'll be right back.

♪you got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive♪ ♪ e-lim-i-nate the negative ♪ and latch on to the affirmative ♪ ♪ but don't mess with mister inbetween ♪ ♪ you got to spread joy up to the maximum ♪ "it's okay, you got this" ♪ bring gloom down to the minimum ♪ "slow it down a little" ♪and have faith, or pandemonium "it's okay" ♪liable to walk upon the scene♪

this week the field of democratic candidates running for president got a bit smaller. yesterday author and activist marianne williamson announced that she's dropping out of the 2020 race, hoping not to get in the way of, quote, progressive candidates winning or a progressive candidate winning the nomination. meanwhile, a brand-new poll out of iowa shows senator bernie sanders leading the pack with 20%, up 5 points since november. right behind him are senator elizabeth warren and pete buttigieg.

that poll was one of the last chances for some candidates to qualify for next week's debate as the deadline passed at midnight. right now only six candidates have qualified. buttigieg, sanders, and warren along with joe biden and amy klobuchar as well as tom steyer. joining me now, one of the candidates who did not make the cut, former governor of massachusetts devalue patrick. >> that's for having me. >> i'm great. how dou you feel that you're no going to be on that stage again this tuesday in iowa and that it will be a stage totally with no people of colors, blacks, latinos, asian, a title white station with a party that's going to need large turnouts of blacks, latinos and other people of color if they're going to succeed in november? >> well, you've made the point. you know, we are a diverse

party. we are a diverse country. and i've got to believe that the leadership of the dnc appreciates that those on the stage don't reflect that diversity either of the party or of the country. but we're doing the work. i'd like to -- and we will eventually qualify for one of the debates. but frankly i don't particularly want to go because the format is so frustrating as a way to communicate with people. contrast that with the fact that in the last two days in new hampshire i did nine events all over the state with increasingly larger crowds and a lot of engagement, opened our first office. we're doing canvases all over the state today. i'm here in charleston right now and heading on to church and florence and hartsfield tomorrow. we're building and feeling the momentum growing at a place where it matter, where policy

matters, where it touches people. >> now, in a brand-new poll out this morning that surveyed african-american voters nationwide, joe biden is still dominating the field with 48%, way ahead of anyone else. how do you look at these polls, and how do you translate the enthusiasm you say you're seeing to where it is reflected in the polls and in fundraising? >> you know, i remember reverend al when we got early polls when i was running for governor. and it certainly didn't reflect what i was experiencing. and those polls were, you know, if you focused on those, could have been discouraging right up to the end. and then i won by 21 points. i'm skeptical of polls because what i believe is that the poll that matters is on election day when the voters make the decision. and i encourage voters to be real careful not to let pollsters and pundits tell t them what the outcome is going to be, that it is up to voters,

individuals making decisions. and when we get a chance to uk at th about a range of life and leadership experience, in my experience it's greater than anybody else in this race, solving problems and delivering on ambitious agenda and we're winning supporters. i appreciate that and we're going to keep on doing it. >> mr. governor, you joined the 2020 race in november, well after other candidates where under way. you haven't appeared on any debate stage and you're behind in fundraising. "new york times" came out with the headline, deval patrick. you put out an ad responding to why you came in late. why? how do you respond to this? >> well, look, we were ready to go in 2018. my wife was diagnosed with

uterine cancer about two or three weeks before the plan launch date. and the right thing to do, we thought then and i still think, was to pay attention to her and pay attention to that. as you know, in last may we celebrated 35 years of marriage, and she is cancer-free today, praise god, and the lane that i always thought was there is still there. in fact, now that i'm out, it's a boulevard. you know, people are awash in ads, in money, in influence from other candidates who have been at it for months and months, in some case years and years. and nobody's locked it down. nobody's asking them whether they were too early. you know, i know how much work there is. but as i say to people when they say you don't have enough money, they say you contribute. they say maybe you don't have enough staff. i say then come volunteer. it's up to voters. and voters need to be real careful to listen to the

commentary, to pay attention to what's going on, but not feel that they take their own power and turn it over to somebody else because polls in my experience just don't tell the whole story. >> now, recent polling says that a lot of democrats and even one poll in the last couple of days say african-americans are concerned not as much with the candidate that they identify with the most in terms of likability or even policy, but who can beat donald trump. why do you think deval patrick out of the all of the candidates is the best-suited to defeat donald trump? >> i'm the most opposite of donald trump. you know, i have business experience and government experience. i have been a successful leader as opposed to his experiences sending companies into bankruptcy.

i keep my head. i am calm under fire. just one example being the way we managed the response to the marathon bombings and found two terrorist needles in a hay stack in about 100 hours. nobody's ever done that. and we asked our team as we asked our people to turn to each other rather than on each other. so, i'm a bridge builder as well. and where other candidates have ideas, i have results. and frankly, it's a time when an awful lot of people are feeling unseen and unheard, al. you know that. and they are waiting and in many cases feeling like they've been waiting too long for either party to deliver on the promise of a better life. so, you know, i have an opportunity here to make that case not because, you know, it's the most important thing to me ever to be president of the united states. but we need a president who wants to actually do the job

rather than have it. and an awful lot of people are depending on government to help them help themselves right now. >> all right. deval patrick, thank you so much for your time. back with me is my panel republican strategist sarah longwell and dana millbank, political columnist for the "washington post." we are looking at the polls. it seems that bernie sanders has gone up in iowa. it seems that pete buttigieg has gone down. we are looking at people now openly that maybe we're going to have to adjust that bernie sanders could be the nominee. what happens if bernie sanders does win iowa and new hampshire? what happens to joe biden? what happens to elizabeth warren? handicap this as one who's been a political strategist for a while -- a mean a political columnist. >> yes, you wouldn't want to rely on me as a strategist. i don't think any candidate

would. this election is unlike everything in the trump era is different. all the past rules don't really apply anymore. having said that, the democratic race really hasn't changed that much. you have one moves ahead, one falls back. but it's really the same three arguably with buttigieg four people who have been there with all the money dominating the air waves and for the most part dominating in the polls. so, yes, i think a lot of people in the democratic establishment are starting to say all right, well, if it has to be bernie sanders, they'll have to go with bernie sanders. i still don't see biden fading here. you know, he's never caught on fire exactly. but, you know, what happens when you get to south carolina with that rock solid african-american support? i don't see that going anywhere.

so -- >> i see you nodding your head, sarah. is this going to come down to who the voters feel, democratic voters, can beat donald trump? is this going to be really about i may not agree on every issue but i want the person that can defeat president donald trump? >> yes, i think electability is a huge issue. and i think that's going to be one of bernie's big problems that he's not necessarily seen. he's seen as a massive revolutionary. he's not somebody who can pick upswing voters or the average voter is that comfortable with. there's a poll that just came out that said that 57% of african-americans are looking for candidates who can beat trump. on the point of african-americans and biden's durability, the poll showed biden is doubling support among african-americans over bernie sanders and everybody else falling way behind. and bernie sanders support tends to be those under 35. younger voters vote far less

enthusiastically than biden voters which is consolidated. >> do you see any way that bernie sanders or buttigieg who comes out with the frederick douglas plan can make some with voters? surprise us in south carolina by doing better than expected? >> momentum gives that possibility. it could happen again f. you look at the democratic race, though, it is really split down the middle between the people saying let's be practical and nominate somebody who doesn't scare voters in the middle. that's a biden, buttigieg and the idealists who are with warren or who are with bernie and adding up the support you are pretty much at 50/50 and it could go either way. >> all right. well, we will see what happens. i'm a practical idealist. sarah and dana, thank you for being here. more "politics nation" after this.

♪ ♪ everything your trip needs for everyone you love. expedia. doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacist-recommendeding? memory support brand. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

wh(fake gagging noises) ♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win. hi dad. no. edon't try to get up.

hi, i'm julie, a right at home caregiver. and if i'd been caring for tom's dad, i would have noticed some dizziness that could lead to balance issues. that's because i'm trained to report any changes in behavior, no matter how small, so tom could have peace of mind. we'll be right there. we have to go. hey, tom. you should try right at home. they're great for us. the right care. right at home. there is more "politics nation" coming your way tomorrow. senator kirsten gillibrand joins me to discuss the latest in the

fallout with iran and the timeline of the senate receiving the house articles of impeachment. plus we'll ask tom perez, chairman of the democratic national committee, about the lack of diversity on the upcoming debate stage this week. congresswoman bonnie watson coleman will be here to talk about one of the most dire epidemics of young people of color, suicide. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us. did you know you can get unlimited talk and

text on america's best 4g lte networks for $20? unlimited talk? i like that! because on sundays you know i gotta talk to mama, then on... this is your wake-up call, people. the new tracfone wireless. now you're in control. thyou get more thanreless. yourfree shipping.ir, you get everything you need for your home at a great price, the way it works best for you, i'll take that. wait honey, no. when you want it. you get a delivery experience you can always count on. you get your perfect find at a price to match, on your own schedule. you get fast and free shipping on the things that make your home feel like you. that's what you get when you've got wayfair. so shop now!

oh no, here comes gthe neighbor probably to brag about how amazing his xfinity customer service is. i'm mike, i'm so busy. good thing xfinity has two-hour appointment windows. they have night and weekend appointments too. he's here. bill? karolyn? nope! no, just a couple of rocks. download the my account app to manage your appointments making today's xfinity customer service simple, easy, awesome. i'll pass.

this nation was founded on principles and had claimed to the world that we would stand as a moral beacon of light. we've never lived up to it but at least we have strived toward that. and many fought to try and make that a reality. and one of the things that you must do to achieve that is be transparent. which is why it is so troubling that president trump is trying to not have witnesses, not have documents, that you have members of the senate who are jurors of the trial saying that they've already determined his innocence even before they hear any evidence or even have officially the articles of impeachment transmitted. the world is watching us, even more importantly, our children are watching us. we can handle the truth.

the question is, mr. president, can you? that does it for me. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. eastern. up next, my colleague richard lui picks up our coverage with more of today's news. hello, everyone. i'm richard lui at msnbc headquarters in new york city. thank you for being with us. this hour for you, the world is reacting after a stunning admission from iran. anti-government protests break out as officials reveal the military mistakenly shot down a passenger plane killing all 176 people on board. now leaders in ukraine and canada are calling for answers. the impeachment showdown moves to the senate. house speaker nancy pelosi is expected to send articles of impeachment next week. there are still questions, though, on what if any testimony will take place. with just three weeks to ago until the iowa caucuses, there's been a shift in the race. new ll