been publicly attacking. to become the state's first we're also still on verdict watch in the harvey weinstein african-american attorney sex al salt and rape case. general. and he happens to be sitting right next to me. the jury has now wrapped up its aaron, thank you. second dave arguments. general. so you're here in a nonpolitical and then lots of reaction to what we expect in tonight's big capacity, right? >> okay. democratic debate beginninging >> are you? i think you don't have a at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here candidate, do you? on msnbc with all of our >> oh, no, no, i have not colleagues. endorsed a candidate. don't miss it, and don't miss i've early voted, but i have not "hardball," which starts now. endorsed a candidate. >> tell me why there's so much excitement in this race right now? why such a turnout? we saw, you know, it was sonnet great in iowa. we're in vegas. place your bets. it was good in new hampshire, and let's play "hardball." wasn't so great in iowa. >> there are a lot of things -- obviously, iowa and new hampshire have a demographic that's very important to the united states, but nevada has a demographic that hadn't been seen yet, and that's a diverse demographic that we offer, not >> how do you deal with this every day? only as representation of what >> good evening. the democratic party looks like, i'm chris matthews in las vegas. but what the entire united states looks like. it's debate night here in the and so you see a lot of interest l.a. strip. and that's where we are right right now in issues that are now. it's just two hours now. pertinent to the diversity of our state. we're going to have six of the as you indicated, we did take democratic presidential candidates. they're going to take the stage the majority back -- for the ninth, do you believe >> what is the attraction of it, ninth debate of the campaign nevada to so many minorities? so far. and now this one, the last one is it just jobs? before this saturday's nevada are there a lot of decent jobs you can get here?

people move here, they don't just happen here. caucuses. vermont senator bernie sanders >> i think one of the things will take center stage of course that's attractive is the tonight. right there in the middle. opportunity for success, to be where he'll square off with former new york city mayor sure. my wife and migrated, i like to michael bloomberg, who's participating in his first say, at the turn of the century presidential debate. those two are surging in the for employment opportunities and we have been able to accomplish those things. polls. bernie's way out in the lead but but beyond that, i think there's have surged in recent polls. but it's sanders who brings the hot hand right now after opening an importance here and the understanding of the need of up a double-digit lead in diversity. when you talk about what we did several national polls. in 2018, we have a female he's double digits now above majority legislature, a female majority supreme court. biden. the latest "washington post"/abc we did elect the first african-american attorney general in the history of our poll out today shows sanders state. and so these are the types of leading with 32%. that's 16 points ahead of joe things that demonstrate that we embrace the diversity of our biden, who's at 16. state. >> that's sort of like arizona. bloomberg third. elizabeth warren's in third. a lot of women get elected in 14. followed by -- no. arizona historically. i wonder what that's about, the i'm sorry. we've got to get these -- western woman, some interesting culture there. followed by -- who is that? let me ask you about this race bloomberg. mike bloomberg's at 14, followed here. bernie sanders, self-described democratic socialist. by senator elizabeth warren four moderates running against who's at 12. pete buttigieg down at 8. him. shaping the field suggests that klobuchar's down at 7. bernie is going to win here these are all national numbers. the stage is set for a fight saturday night. >> i think -- no one should bank between the democratic socialist and the billionaire businessman. of course tonight they're going their win on the polls here. to take most of the incoming fire. nevada is historically difficult

and they're already fighting to poll. over their own medical records. i voted early yesterday, and i was in line with individuals who the campaigns for the two were making up their minds 78-year-olds traded barbs after literally to the moment that sanders, who suffered a heart they cast their ballot. an individual with me hadn't attack in october, said he wouldn't release full medical voted in 40 years, he said, records. that's an interesting point. and this morning a sanders which again shows the interest that the people are having in this state. spokeswoman said scrutiny of >> so you did something along sanders' health was unfair and those lines, former felons can then falsely claimed that vote? >> absolutely. and that's the second thing i bloomberg has had multiple heart was about to say. attacks. she later acknowledged that i got home late last night and had a message from an she'd, quote, misrepresented bloomberg's health. ahead of tonight's debate a ex-offender who was thank meing bloom brerg campaign official and the legislature. told nbc news the candidate will he was able to participate. be ready for incoming fire, as went to the barbershop this morning and one of the bashers he put it. also was a i believe to which he's likely to face from all sides including biden. participate. >> i love this. tell me about how you did it? well, today the former vice if you get out of prison -- say president previewed his strategy you're in for five years for robbery or something. for taking on the former republican new york mayor. you've been out, you've been a felon, how you get fully back into society as a voter. >> you register sflp that. >> what's your message to >> that's it? bloomberg? >> become a democrat. >> that's something i've been >> are you going to call him out advocating for from the state on his relationship with former senate side. >> i love this stuff. president obama? this is what makes politics >> let's say what i do. you want me to lay out all the great. president trump has been shadowing the democrats since questions -- you know, i can't the start of the political do that now. >> give us a little bit of your season, holding up rallies every time there's a primary.

he's set to host a rally in las strategy. >> my strategy is i'm going to go in and tell the truth. vegas friday night. according to "the new york >> that's an aggressive kristen times," trump, quote, agreed to the west coast swing if he could welker right there trying to get stay at his hotel in las vegas, his debate strategy right out of whatever that means. his mouth. trump faces stiff head winds we'll hear from surrogates for the sanders and biden campaigns over this state. in a few minutes. in hypothetical head-to-head first i'm joined by former matchups here, the president is philadelphia mayor michael losing to biden and sanders, he nutter national political also trails warren and co-chair for the bloomberg buttigieg, but is within the margin of error. campaign. your candidate hasn't been in trump can't win out here, can the debate chair for nine years. is he ready? he? >> trump's not going to win out >> absolutely. we've been getting ready. here and his visits here are he's been wanting to be on the intended as diversions. democratic debate stage. and we have finally been able to but here we can walk and chew gum at the same time, we won't be diverted or persuaded from participating. the 70,000 number that you saw achieve that in accordance with i'm hoping is the type of the the dnc rules. >> speaking of health let's talk iceberg and on saturday you'll see a tremendous outpouring of about these health issues. interest in our caucus and we're both these guys are 78. going to select -- >> do you want to be a senator bernie sanders had a heart attack last october but he won't some day? release the records. >> no -- >> yes, you are. i can see it coming. the medical records. is that an issue? i wish you well, sir. >> well, apparently it is. i think you've got a career ahead of you, nevada attorney and of course as you already general aaron ford, it was nice indicated, a false claim, just a to come here and isn't pushing a complete lie, was spoken about candidate. we'll come back after a mike bloomberg for, you know, he quick break, where the candidates are preparing -- had a test and then a stent put getting a little worried to take the stage for tonight's

in 20 years ago, which was fully democratic debate, which will disclosed. and so people might want to know include the billionaire, mike bloomberg. what else happened last year. you're watching "hardball." i mean, it is a fact that the i'm your mother in law. senator kind of disappeared for some time, nothing was said for a while, and then subsequently and i like to question your every move. some amount of information was like this left turn. put out. it's the next one. so we'll see. but again, that wasn't something you always drive this slow? how did you make someone i love? that we started. >> it's a little bizarre. that must be why you're always so late. i do not speed. i've followed campaigns before, and that's saving me cash with drivewise. and i've never seen one where one of the candidate's about to my son, he did say that you were the safe option. turn 80 in the first year in the and that's the nicest thing you ever said to me. white house and the other one's right on his heels. >> yeah. so get allstate. >> and one had a heart attack stop bossing. and the other one has a stent where good drivers save 40% for avoiding mayhem, like me. put in. >> 20 years ago. >> okay. so that tells us what? this is my son's favorite color, you should try it. >> that's just a factual piece of information. i mean, mike is in excellent [mayhem] you always drive like an old lady? [tina] you're an old lady. shape. has been. and certainly for all the 12 the better question would be where do i not listen to it. while i'm eating my breakfast... years i know him he takes care on the edges of cliffs... of himself, he's in good shape, on a ski lift... he exercises on a regular basis. everywhere. he's good to go. >> well, you were mayor of ♪ philadelphia. a very good one, by the way. download audible and start listening today. >> thank you. >> and i think most people thought so. two terms. you know the state well. ♪ ♪ let's talk about bloomberg versus bernie sanders in pennsylvania because in the end

those are the states you have to wherever we want to go, win. everything else -- to pick up the marbles you have to get autosave your way there with chase. michigan, wisconsin -- >> road to the white house, 1600 chase. make more of what's yours. pennsylvania avenue, certainly goes through pennsylvania. mike is going to do excellently in pennsylvania. we opened our first office in tthe bad news? ouyour patience might not.ay. december in philly. pennsylvanians of course don't depend® fit-flex underwear offers your best comfort and protection guaranteed. vote until april 28th. we've beenc socialist because, perfect or not, life's better when you're in it. be there with depend®. self-described carry pennsylvania? >> i think that would be very difficult. you know, look, we're in an environment where donald trump is president of the united states. so obviously anything is possible. and unfortunately he did win pennsylvania. but i think when you look at places like philadelphia, harrisburg, pittsburgh, erie, up i am totally blind. and non-24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, through lancaster county and even the center of the state, some of the things the senator keeping me from the things i love to do. has talked about and promoted talk to your doctor, are going to be very, very difficult for pennsylvanians to and call 844-214-2424. really get their head around. >> what about the use of fracking in western >> man: what's my my truck...is my livelihood. pennsylvania? does that kill you out there if you're like bernie sanders who's so when my windshield cracked... the experts at safelite autoglass came right to me. come out against it?

>> tech: hi, i'm adrian. >> the folks out in western pennsylvania obviously that's a >> man: thanks for coming. significant issue. ...with service i could trust. right, girl? it's really an issue about jobs >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ for many of those folks. while at the same time there are significant health and environmental concerns. so i think the question there is are you just an absolutist on doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacist-recommendeding? the issue or are you trying to make a transition to clean memory support brand. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. energy, renewable energy and the like while respecting and understanding that some people prevagen. healthier brain. better life. are actually working in that industry right now? >> is mike nutter -- mike nutter. i know you are. try eucerin advanced repair and switch. is mike bloomberg a democrat? >> he is. it doubles your skin's moisture and repairs dry skin over time. >> when did that happen? >> well, it first happened when he was 18. mike has been a democrat for so tomorrow can be a different story. almost all of his life. eucerin - he then switched to republican recommended and used by dermatologists. to run for mayor in new york. 1 in 3 deaths is caused by cardiovascular disease. eucerin - and then immediately became an independent. and then of course -- millions of patients are treated with statins-but up to >> was he a democrat at the time he was mayor of new york? 75% persistent cardiovascular risk still remains. was he really a democrat all those years and just pretending many have turned to fish oil supplements. to be republican? >> i think he's had democratic others, fenofibrates or niacin. values. he supported democratic issues. but here's a number you should take to heart: politics and the vagaries of new zero-the number of fda approvals these products have, york politics are a little different for me. but that was his pathway to when added to statins,

winning and then doing great to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. things as the mayor of new york ask your doctor about an advancement city. as the former mayor of new york in prescription therapies with proven protection. said, there generally is no visit truetoyourheart.com democrat or republican way of sweeping the street. >> why did he endorse george w. for president, george w. bush? >> i've never talked to him about that, to be honest with you. i know he has supported some other republicans who were particularly focused on the issues he cares about. >> scott brown. >> well, the senator from pennsylvania. that was about guns. >> pat toomey. >> that was about guns. so mike has made some of those efforts. but one of the reasons that democrats were able to take over the house is because of his support for 24 house -- >> he gave a lot of money to pat toomey, the republican candidate, for re-election to the senate in pennsylvania. >> he was pushing the guns issue. >> they were together. thank you so much, mr. mayor. thank you for joining us. as i mentioned earlier, bernie sanders, who suffered a heart attack last year, was asked at a town hall yesterday if he'd release additional medical records which he originally said he'd do by the end of 2019. here goes.

>> we received -- released two rather detailed letters from cardiologists and we received -- released a letter that came from the main event is now a little more than an hour away here in las vegas, as six the head of the u.s. congress democratic presidential candidates debate before medical group, the physicians saturday's nevada caucus. there. so i think we have released a you can watch the debate, of detailed report. and i'm comfortable with what we course, here on msnbc in one have done. hour, at 9:00 eastern. >> just to be clear, you don't plan to releaseny more then stay tuned for post-debate analysis. records. >> i don't. i'll be in the spin room talking i don't think we will, no. >> this morning sanders' press to the candidates. and that's "hardball" for now. secretaryad b also had thanks for being with us. msnbc's coverage of tonight's big debate continues right now heart attacks, plural, heart with my colleague, rachel attacks. here he goes. >> he had a heart attack in the maddow. fall. do you think the american people rachel? deserve to know more about his >> chris matthews, thank you, my friend. health going forward? much appreciated. >> it's really telling given it's fun to have this handoff with you at an unusual time. that none of the same concern is being demonstrated for michael thanks for being with us bloomberg who's the same age as tonight. thanks for joining us this hour. bernie sanders, who has suffered never a dull moment. heart attacks in the past. this is a big night. we are less than one hour away >> after facing criticism for from the democratic candidates' saying that, since bloomberg has debate in las vegas. not suffered any heart attacks, we are watching the candidates miss gray clarified saying, "i arrive. we are expecting them fob misspoke when i said bloomberg introduced within the hour.

had a heart attack. over the course of this hour, rather he underwent the same we're going to have everything you need to know about tonight's stent procedure as bernie." debate and about the standing of i'm not sure what that says the candidates heading into the except it's technically true. debate and this unusual there's a suggestion they had the same heart condition. here's how bloomberg's campaign situation in which two states manager responded in an interview with my colleague andrea mitchell. have already voted and eight >> bernie sanders' national debates have already happened, but one of the candidates is spokesman went on cnn this going to be on the stage tonight morning and said mike broomberg is going to be making his debut had had a heart attack. that's a lie. appearance there. bernie sanders had a heart attack in las vegas mere months ago. so they're going to employ the sort of it can nooekz that the trump campaign has used innuendt certainly aren't true. >> i'm joined now by nina turner. she's been on many times before. the national co-chair of the sanders campaign for president. i didn't expect to do a general hospital discussion here tonight. but i do think it's going to come up. i think it really will come up tonight. what is this question about -- sanders had a heart attack in october. right? >> yes. >> what are the records he isn't showing? he says i'm not going to release any more records. what is he holding back?

>> he's released zblsh no, what is he holding back? >> he is not holding back anything. >> and he said he wouldn't release any more records. >> he's released three letters. they contain his records. his cardiologist has been very clear that his heart is above average for somebody that is his age. there's no such thing as a centralized place for medical records. he has released the same amount of information that every other candidate has released. >> the clipboard at the end of the bed for a patient does not have a letter on it. it has medical information, data, facts. the health of your heart. percentage that it has recovered. what's been permanently damaged by a heart attack. all that stuff. he hasn't released th >> chris, his cardiologist said -- >> he wrote him a letter. >> -- that he is fine. what people know about senator bernie sanders is they can trust him and they believe in him. if senator sanders could not do this, he would not be doing this. and i dare any 20-year-old or -- >> i'll tell you, i know one thing about politics. if it's better than it looks they show you. if it's better -- >> he has released everything -- >> okay. president trump has attacked

michael bloomberg multiple times this week, tweeting "the crooked dnc is working overtime to take the democrat" -- notice how they say that. the democrat nomination away from bernie again and that he is spreading money all over the place, that's bloomberg, isn't that called a payoff. your thoughts. is the president right? >> well, you know, my grandmother used to say a wrong clock is right twice a day. president trump needs to stay on the republican side and let us handle -- >> are there conversation before. anytime somebody -- >> refresh me. oligarchs -- i'm it. >> you did say oligarchs. >> he's buying the election flat out. what senator sanders is doing, chris, is building a real grassroots movement, having conversations with people. what mayor bloomberg is doing is just spreading -- >> you mean buying, using money to get votes. is that what you're saying? are you saying using money to get votes? >> $350 million worth of ads, his own money --

>> your definition. is buying an election using money to get votes? >> he is using -- >> you know what i'm -- >> i know exactly what i'm saying. i'm not going down that road. what i am saying is that he's not building a movement. he's not talking to the people. he's just throwing his money out there. but that's not going to work. >> okay. if i'm in college right now and i have student loans that got me through college if somebody came along and said i'm going to pay off all your student loans and what else, and if you're going to public university i'm paying all your tuition, is that buying votes? it sounds like it. >> we are implementing a policy in this country that says that -- just in the same way we have k through 12 education that's publicly funded. in the 21st centuryhe relationship. this has become a sort of jealousy competition. who's closest to barack obama. different. i think he is a little different. "the atlantic" magazine is reporting "bernie sanders got so close to running a primary challenge to president barack obama in 2012 that senator harry reid had to intervene to stop him. sanders didn't end up running against obama but the

relationship didn't improve in the years that followed." to obama sanders is a lot of what's wrong with democrats. unrelenting, unrealistic, so deep in his own fight he doesn't see how many people disagree with him or that he's turning off people who should be his allies. to sanders it's obama who represents a lot of what's wrong with democrats, overly compromising, and so obsessed with what isn't possible that he's lost all sense of what is." is that a fair estimate of the relationship? >> senator sanders and president obama have had conversations over the course of this run. i don't know why we're relitigating -- >> the last election is a million years ago. >> president obama ran his race and senator bernard sanders is running hiswait. >> you don't like my questions. >> no, no, president obama called senator sanders fearless. that's what he said. >> did he think of running against him in the primary last time? >> no. >> in '12. so the atlantic article's wrong? >> saying senator sanders thought about running against

him? >> against president obama in the primary. >> i never heard -- this is -- >> i jumped you with a new story. but please come back. next time we'll talk about this primary fight that never happened. thank you very much. nina turner. as i mentioned earlier, biden's strategy against bloomberg appears to go after him on not actually -- on not being a real democrat or being a supporter -- again it's about who's closest to president obama. biden dave a preview of this live attack to my colleague chuck todd on sunday. >> what kind avenue lie would you have called michael bloomberg for the obama administration? >> on several issues like guns he was a real ally. he was a real ally. but if you notice he wouldn't even endorse barack in 2008. he wouldn't endorse him. he endorsed bush. he endorsed the republican before that. all of a sudden he's his best buddy. and he would not endorse him. he'd take a look at the stop and

frisk proposal. you take a look at his ideas on red lining he's talking about. you take a look at what he's done relative to the african-american community. i'm anxious to debate michael on the issues. >> i'm joined now by democratic congressman cedric richmond of new orleans. he's a co-chair of biden's campaign. did i pronounce that right, new orleans? >> you did. >> it's great to have you on. tell us about biden because it looks like he's got to pull off a comeback. he didn't do well in the first test. here he is in a diverse state, a real state. >> absolutely. and i think he is prepared to do well not only tonight but in the actual caucus. and look, he's fighting for what's really in this country, and that's american prosperity for too many working families. they get knocked down. we didn't do what we wanted to do in the first two states, but the good thing is you have nevada and you have south carolina coming back and we're prepared to do well. >> it looks to me like we're going to see an intramural fight tonight. it looks like an intramural

fight amongst all the moderates. buttigieg and amy klobuchar going at it against biden, biden against bloomberg. meanwhile, bernie just stands all alone on the hard left sweeping ahead of all of them. what happens if that happens? >> it's no secret that you have more moderates in this race than very progressives and that bernie sanders and elizabeth warren are splitting probably 35% to 40% of the vote with senator sanders taking an overwhelming majority of that. however, you will see the moderate side start to winnow down as we get through nevada into south carolina and you get to super tuesday. the point is to just i think talk about your accomplishments and your vision and let the moderates decide what they're looking for. >> i've been watching these old pictures of vice president biden standing next to president obama, and he did it dutifully. he always wanted to be there when there was a major announcement. fair enough. they were always partners. and he was a junior partner to the president. now i see ads on television, i was watching this afternoon, right here in nevada, pictures of former mayor of new york mike

bloomberg looking like he's a partner of barack obama. is that fair? >> actually it's not. and look, i don't know mayor bloomberg. but i do know this. when i was a state rep fighting like crazy to help barack obama become the first african-american president, become a democratic president, michael bloomberg was on the sidelines. he didn't support president obama. and now, you know, history kind of changes, and now they're really close friends if you bleeb t believe the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been poured on tv. but the truth is when barack obama needed him the most he wasn't there. and i think that there's an old blues song that says if you're going to tell it tell it all. it's just amazing to me you spend hundreds of millions of dollars talking about how close you all are when you don't he will tell the same people you didn't support barack obama for president. >> the african-american community is the accepted base in the democratic primary. reliably democratic. 90% something like that. for many years it's been like, this maybe since the '60s.

now you have two guys, men, running for the democratic nomination who aren't even democrats. one a democratic socialist, something different, who never became a democrat. and the other a guy who was a three-term republican mayor of new york. isn't that weird? >> it's certainly bizarre, strange. but i'll say this. and that's part of why this nominating process is so important, because when you get to the general election you're going to have to be able to rely on a broad base of support, one. and two, you're going to have to still be able to go into pennsylvania and michigan and all those places and win -- >> so biden's a democrat. >> biden is an absolute democrat and always been one. >> thank you, u.s. congressman cedric richmond of louisiana, one of the top biden people out there. coming up, the bloomberg campaign faces its first major test tonight here in las vegas. how will the other candidates go after him? they're going to go after him. that's for sure. what about bernie sanders? will he get an off night because they're all going after bloomberg?

he's surging in the polls right now, getting big crowds, really big crowds. in denver, for example. can any of the other candidates catch him? plus, president trump continues to tweet about justice department investigations and says rod blagojevich didn't sell an illinois senate seat of barack obama. trump believes if you get caught it's not a crime. isn't that nice? much more to get to tonight. stick with us. vo: a great president and an effective mayor. leadership that makes a difference. obama: he's been a leader throughout the country for the past twelve years, mr. michael bloomberg is here. vo: together they worked to combat gun violence, and again to improve education for every child. obama: i want to thank the mayor of this great city, mayor bloomberg, for his extraordinary leadership. i share your determination to bring this country together to finally make progress for the american people. bloomberg: i'm mike bloomberg, and i approve this message.

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what does this say about our politics today, that somebody can skip a year of campaigning, put hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money into the campaign and buy a place in the presidential election? >> anybody here worth $60 billion? you can run for president. and you can buy the airwaves. my friends, that is called oligarchy, not democracy. >> i actually thought he should be on the debate stage because i don't think you should just be

able to buy your way to the presidency. >> welcome back to "hardball." those are just a few of the sort of following up stories tonight. the democratic presidential candidates who will be on the stage tonight. you saw some of them there. most will have their sights set on mike bloomberg for some reason who's participating in his first presidential debate. for some of the candidates there is no better foil to illustrate many of their issues they've been talking about than going after this billionaire. senator elizabeth warren is describing tonight's debate as a preview of the general election campaign against president trump. she tweeted "it's a shame mike bloomberg can buy his way into the debate, but at least now primary voters curious about how each candidate will take on donald trump can get a live demonstration of how we each take on an egomaniac billionaire." i guess they're both egomaniac billionaires by her lights. >> national political reporter for the "washington post." john heilemann co-host of showtime's "the circus." i just saw you filming over

here. and msnbc national affairs analyst josh ledderman, national political reporter for nbc news. thank you all. first topic. bloomberg. everything i hear they're going after him spp that going to help him or hurt him being pelted by five other candidates? >> there's a real danger, and i talked to some out of this looking sympathetic. and for them that's exactly the opposite of what they want to do. but that's something that could happen. bloomberg's people also are really trying to downplay his performance tonight -- >> i have a theory. >> you always have a theory. >> that's why i'm here. >> they're often good theories. >> you want to fight about it? >> no. >> 30-second ads. if he gets in a good back and forth between him and bernie that's gold for him. he will turn that into an ad and run it everywhere. >> they're turning everything into ads and they're doing it really fast and they're doing it pretty brilliantly. they did this fantastic one today in which they had the

testimonial of joe biden basically praising mike bloomberg as a way of both doing a positive testimonial for bloomberg and essentially telling bide-tone shove it at the same time. i think look, for mike bloomberg you think of all these people in america who know mike bloomberg only through the ads and only as an idea they're going to see him on stage tonight, and the question for him, to anyone who's inclined to be for bloomberg, the main reason they're inclined to be for him is he's got all this money, he can go toe to toe with donald trump, and what they want to see tonight is is this guy okay? and if he gets -- forget about -- >> what do you mean okay? is he likeable? >> is he solid? does he handle himself well? i'm not sure he's going to get sympathy from having people pile on him but i think if he stands up there and takes it and shows he can take a punch i think people will say, okay. like that -- he crossed the bar. >> a guy making tv ads years ago said you to match your ads. when they finally see the candidate he or she better be as good as they looked in the ad. >> but this is a campaign that's bought from the beginning into the notion that any press for them is good press.

he wasn't in the race three months ago. he's not competing in any of these four states. so if we're all sitting here having a conversation -- >> by the way, biden's got a lot of -- it hasn't helped. >> does he have to match the ads? he has so much money he can double his ad buys and people would forget about it. >> i think he has to not talk about all the ndas. playing defense ain't going to help him tonight. but if he sits there and seems like a reasonable person about the challenges facing the country and sounds like he can talk turkey and not all the social stuff democrats like talking about he might separate himself out. >> right. as long as he doesn't really mess up. the way he talks about race might not comport with how politicians do today. the way he talks about gender might not comport with what the expectations are for the democratic party today. and today -- i mean, this has shifted in the last -- >> that's been biden's problem. >> it's been biden's problem and i think it's also going to -- >> let's talk about elizabeth warren -- >> one last thing about this. as you know, i worked at bloomberg for three years.

>> as did i. >> and mike bloomberg does not suffer fools gladly. >> the business operation. >> he does not suffer fools gladly. i think one of the questions is going to be, speaking as a fool who occasionally as on the end of mike bloomberg's wrath on occasion, will he be -- will he be able to contain that tonight? >> does he suffer fools? >> he does not normally and i think he generally thinks all the rest of these people on the stage are fools. one of the questions is going to be as they start to hit him does he take that punch and -- >> did you john heilemann ever throw it back at him? >> yes, i did. >> his campaign also thinks there's an advantage here. because they think people are sick of the fact the president will never apologize for anything and they actually can draw a contest here by him standing up here saying this was wrong, i'm sorry. >> but the list can get too long. you can do the stop and frisk. then you have to do the iraq war. after a dispointing fourth place in the new hampshire primary senator elizabeth warren has been moving away from her message of unity to her earlier stance as a fighter. here she is talking about tonight's debate and what she'll

be thinking about on that stage. >> i'm thinking about how can i best get out there and fight for the people that i got in this race to fight for. >> do you feel you can be seen as too agrefrs in doing that? >> this is what women face all the time. it's always too much of this or too much of that. but you put your head down, you do your job, and you keep on going. or you might say we persist. >> there is something strange about this election. no african-americans on the stage. >> that's right. >> no minorities. >> absolutely. >> two women on the stage. amy klobuchar's done well in her way. elizabeth warren has fallen from where she was in the front. what's going on? because the democratic party's mostly women and hugely populated with about 30-some percent perhaps minorities if you count everybody. >> i think it's an enormous question. the hardest glass ceiling hillary clinton talked about when she conceded to trump, she said it hadn't been broken --

>> who's pushing on the ceiling, women or men? >> when i talk to female voters who worry about a woman being president, and -- >> are they thinking these guys will never vote for her or how's that -- >> i mean, that's always a thing. it's not i'm not going to do it, it's my neighbor won't. it's some mythical voter in pennsylvania won't do it. >> it's a parallel to what we've heard about pete buttigieg, i have no problem voting for a gay person but i don't think anybody else will and therefore i won't support that person. >> here's one reality about warren. sorry. you want to go on? >> i just have to do this. neve a far more diverse electorate than new hampshire or iowa did or does. for candidates like pete buttigieg and amy klobuchar who are going here with momentum from the two early states they have to show they can reach out to those voters. here's buttigieg from earlier today talking about diversity. >> well, that's one of the reasons we're so excited to be here, it's the most racially diverse state yet out of the early states that we've competed in. and a chance to connect with

black voters-w latino voters, to talk about issues impacting them from the economic empowerment of minorities to making sure we deliver real change in immigration and the theme that i hear again and again especially from voters of color, making sure we have the candidate who can defeat donald trump. >> this seems to be a huge challenge for he and amy klobuchar. they've done well in the retail, those two small states. now you've got to be like a tuba, reach 14 or 15 states in two weeks. >> one of them has a lot of money in pete buttigieg and one has less money in amy klobuchar. what's been fascinating out of the first two contests partly because iowa was a muddle and new hampshire which sanders won. those two candidates had good nights. they didn't get the kind of elevation out of iowa and new hampshirish you could argue buttigieg is the co-front-runner with sanders. he came out with the lead in delegates and delegates is how we measure victory. pete bult-gig has the most delegates but no one's treating him like a front-runner, no one thinks he's a front-runner and

you've seen the national polling rise a couple points but it's bumping up against the low double digits. they're not soaring in the way sanders has soared and bloomberg has soared. they have the challenge of appealing to the more diverse electorate. that's true. but they also have the bigger challenge which is just to make people in all these states take them seriously. right now sitting at 10% or 11% in the polling is not a great place -- >> when you're 80 years old. >> especially if you're pete buttigieg -- >> when they're 80 years old like john kerry they're going to say what happened in iowa, in the case of kerry what happened in ohio, what happened to the technological screw-ups, we're the greatest democracy in the world, we can't get it technically right. we have got to find a way to a uniform electoral system with paper ballots where you can actually count them. >> we have to give up on the caucuses too. unnecessarily complicated. >> if our elections were working, you'd have a clear delegate winner and that person was the front-runner there would be no opportunity for someone like bloomberg to come, in spend

a bunch of money and suddenly project himself into the front tier of the race. >> and you know what he calls himself? an engineer. that's what we need. annie linskey, thank you. john heilemann, thank you. we could go all night. josh-ledderman. thanks. is attorney general bill barr getting ready to quit because trump keeps interference -- keeps going in, messing with his marmalade? you're watching "hardball." at least we're learning some new things. we bundled our home and auto with progressive, saved a bunch. oh, we got a wobbler. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. that's what the extra menu's for.

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welcome back to "hardball." despite repeatedly delivering on trump's political objectives, attorney general bill barr faces a president now who still wants more control over federal law enforcement. this morning trump retweeted numerous attacks on the justice department, from a right-wing media figure, amplifying claims that he's the victim of a doj conspiracy and that attorney general barr must carry out a mass firing to clean out the place. the tweets appear designed to undercut the attorney general, who last week asked the president who stop commenting on criminal cases. it comes after the "washington post" reported that barr has told people close to president trump, people close to president trump both inside and outside the white house, that he is considering quitting over trump's tweets about justice department investigations. this is serious stuff. and that's according to three administration officials who say the president has told those around him he's not going to stop tweeting about the justice department despite barr's wishes. a spokesperson has denied that barr considered leaving his job.

however, the news that barr considered resigning is weirdly consistent with the concern of over 2,000 former doj employees who are calling on him to do just that, quit. while trump attacks the u.s. justice adept, he's also using his power to let two former politicians off the hook for offenses like tax and wire fraud, attempted extortion, and lying to authorities. and now reporting suggests it could be a step toward pardoning his convicted political adviser, roger stone, who's about to be sentenced tomorrow. and when it comes to pnlt pardons, an allegation out of great britain today could prove explosive to this administration, and that one is coming up next. you're watching "hardball." we made usaa insurance for members like martin. an air force veteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage.

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[ fast-paced drumming ] are you ruling out pardons

for stone for your former campaign chairman paul manafort and for michael flynn, for example? >> i'm not even thinking about that. there's a process that people are going through. >> i'm even thinking about pardoning people. right? welcome back to "hardball." that was the president saying he hasn't even thought about pardoning his convicted associates like michael flynn, paul manafort, and roger stone. however, "the new york times" is contradicting trump's claim there, revealing that aides said the president had broached the idea of doing just that. separately the daily beast is reporting that people close to roger stone view trump's pardons yesterday as an encouraging sign that stone might also receive a pardon. i'm joined right now by peter baker, chief white house correspondent for the "new york times," and paul brothers, a former federal prosecutor. peter, the dangling of these pardons right in the face of roger stone-s that to keep him quiet? >> well, it's certainly intended to send a signal that he thinks law enforcement has gone too far, which is the same signal he's sending when he makes these

tweets about the roger stone case, right? he has said the judge in the roger stone case should order a new trial, that the jury forewoman was biased, the prosecutors were excessive, and that's in effect the same message he's sending with the pardon. so it wouldn't be surprising to see roger stone interpret that message that way. you know, the question may be not until the election, something like that. but if roger stone interprets that as being the president is on his side, he can wait it out perhaps until november. >> is there any evidence, paul, is there any evidence that president trump, donald trump, donald j. trump, the person, actually believes in white-collar crime? does he believe you can commit crime the way that these people did? i don't sense he has any sense of justice at all about it. like yeah, leave these guys alone, they're like me. >> donald trump thinks that a crime is something that poor african-american and latino people do. if you look at the folks he's

pardoned, they're all rich white dudes who've got connections. and when they're not rich white dudes they're people who kim kardashian is championing. and so he's again abusing his office. he's only looking out for himself and people who look and act like him. >> let's talk about the attorney general. what's your sens you're first. do you think he's serious when embarrassing me? that seems like a human reaction to the way he's been the target of shame really for looking like a toadie. >> what barr's doing is a performance full of sound and fury signifying nothing. maya angelou said when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. so what we've seen from barr is him lying about the mueller report to protect trump. we saw him use the power of the justice department to shield trump from impeachment. we saw him reverse the

prosecutors in the roger stone sentencing just because roger stone is trump's friend. what we see from barr is he's an enthusiastic aider and abetter of trump's corruption. we should believe him. >> and he's hooked his wagon to trump all the way to the end, right you? don't see him pulling out and saying i can't take this humiliation anymore. you think he's staying all the way, he sold out to him. >> absolutely. look at what's going on with roger stone. roger stone has the goods on donald trump. roger stone is on his way to jail for lying to protect donald trump. so i think we should fully expect that roger stone will be protected because trump is concerned that when stone hears those clang clang clangs of the jailhouse door closing he's going to want to make a deal with prosecutors. trump wants to send a clear message, don't do that, roger, i got you. >> yeah, looks like it anyway. another explosive out today. julian assange is making a bombshell new allegation about

president trump. as the associated press reports, assange plans to claim during an extradition hearing under oath i suppose that the trump administration offered him a pardon if he agreed to say russia was not involved in leaking dnc e-mails during the 2016 election. that's according to his lawyers, who say the offer was relayed by former republican congressman from california dana rohrabacher three years ago. the white house press secretary told the a.p. "this is absolutely and completely false." and former congressman rohrabacher says, "at no time did i offer a deal made by the president nor did i say i was representing the president." peter baker ux know how to read through a sentence. is that a denial or not? i don't know. is there a denial in there somewhere? your thoughts. >> it's not a complete denial. he said he wasn't representing the president. that doesn't mean he didn't float the idea of it or suggest he could approach the president to make it work. we don't know that the president knew anything about the story. but in the white house necessarily we don't know for sure obviously what happened. but there is enough smoke there to ask the right questions.

and of course what matters is you know, julian assange's relationship to russia and the hacking that was done in 2016. he's always denied having -- that russia was a sort of these e-mails. but that's been the conclusion of american intelligence now going back several years. to the president of course anything that would discredit the idea that russia was interferiitalia interfering in the election on his behalf would go a long way toward discrediting, you know, the mueller investigation and all the attacks on his legitimacy. so you could understand why he would want to hear something like that. whether or not he had anything to do with that, whether the do. >> okay. thank you so much, peter baker of the "new york times" and paul butler of georgetown. still ahead, the state of play in nevada ahead of tonight's debate. that's where we are for the big debate tonight. what are the democratic voters looking for out here? there are a lot of them actually and a lot are going to vote and a lot already are voting. you're watching "hardball." hi guys. this is the chevy silverado

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