talking to local leaders and primary voters on 2020, power, and diversity. and if you don't know whether you will be near a tv tomorrow night, you can always just dvr "the beat" right now on your home page. and press dvr this show. then you won't miss tomorrow's special or any episodes of the beat. that does it for us. "hardball" starts now. south carolina. let's play "hardball." audio evening. i'm chris matthews in charleston, south carolina. the site of tonight's tenth democratic debate. as bernie sanders continues his rush to the front of the democratic presidential field. tonight his rivals get to blunt his momentum toward saturday's south carolina primary. there will be seven candidates

on stage tonight. the last one before super tuesday, a week from today, when 14 states will hold primaries. sanders will be right in the middle tonight. standing between former vice president joe biden. we see that. and senator elizabeth warren. and one candidate expected to throw some punches tonight is former new york mayor, mike bloomberg, who needs to show some muscle. his campaign has put out word, actually, he intends to go nuclear on senator sanders tonight. hammering him at every opportunity, releasing an internal poll, in fact, claiming that sanders would hurt democrats in down-ballot races. for his part, last night sanders doubled down on his comments he made in an interview sunday on 60 minutes praising certain aspects of the castro regime in cuba. >> when fidel castro first came to power, which was when? '59? >> '59, '60. >> you know what he did? he issued a major literacy

program. there are a lot of folks in cuba at that point who are illiterate. and he formed a literacy brigade. and he helped people to read and write. you know, i think teaching people to read and write is a good thing. >> well, pete buttigieg has already telegraphed his own line of attacks for those comments. let's watch that. >> in our one shot to defeat donald trump, we should think carefully about the consequences of nominating senator sanders. i don't want, as a democrat, i don't want to be explaining why our nominee is encouraging people to look on the bright side of the castro regime when we're going into the election of our lives. >> i'm joined now by deputy campaign manager for senator sanders' campaign. ari, how you going to react to this? because he is a double-down kind of guy, your candidate. he doesn't change direction. what kids like about him especially is that big word,

authenticity. he has said -- show you a couple more that will probably surprise you. but he has said nice things about the castro regime. >> look. the truth is, there is no candidate on that stage who has stood up against authoritarianism more than bernie sanders. when you look at nbs and saudi arabia, a year before the rest ever washington, d.c. was on to the fact that he was a murderous thug, bernie sanders was talking about how we need to get out of his war in yemen. you look at xi. there are candidates on stage tonight who profit from xi's regime. and by the way, bernie sanders has consistently talked about authoritarianism in cuba and opposed it over and over and over again. >> nbc news reports that in 1986, remarks at the university of vermont, sanders said i was very excited and impressed by the cuban revolution. adding he became sick to his stomach when john f. kennedy discussed ways to overturn that.

quote. this bernie. i actually left the room because i was about to puke. according to the cuban archive, a nonprofit which promotes human rights in cuba estimated an estimated 5,600 cubans died in firing squads. 78,000 may have died trying to escape that island. >> and bernds wouldn't sie sand say it's a free country. by the way -- one other thing. let's talk about this because this is actually important. the other thing bernie sanders has been consistent in his opposition to is the idea that u.s. intervention has been a disaster across the world. and was -- as you well know, chris, was a disaster in central america. was a disaster where my family's from in brazil. has been a disaster in iran since the '50s, has created an environment -- >> he's not just been playing defense and you know this, ari. he brought in medium-range nuclear weapons that could hit every u.s. city except seattle.

he is our enemy. he has been our enemy. >> yes. and nobody is suggesting that bernie sanders is pro-castro. bernie sanders pointed out one aspect of the castro regime. which by the way, president obama also pointed to in a speech. >> let's talk about turkey. real turkey. over a million cuban-americans in miami. what will senator -- senator sanders say to them when he says you've lost your country, it was stolen from you, who claim to be a democrat and then said oh, yeah, by the way, i'm a marxist and i'm loyal to the soviet union. we were all rooting for him as kids. we all rooted for castro when he came in. he said i'm a democrat. i'm going to overthrow that terrible regime and become a democratic leader of that country and he lied to us. >> bernie sanders opposes authoritarian regimes, be it in cuba, be it in north korea. >> so what would he say to cuban-americans? >> i would say bernie sanders is for freedom in cuba, for

democracy in cuba. for human rights in cuba. bernie sanders is the only candidate who's stood up for not in cuba but around the world. hug them tighter. be they china, saudi arabia. we have a president who is writing love letters to kim jong un in north korea. we want -- we want an administration that is consistently anti-authoritarianism. >> i'm for that part. i was just there with my wife and i think we got to show more of us and get to know more of them. anyway, you are a hell of a writer. thank you. deputy campaign manager, bernie sanders. meanwhile, after facing criticism during the nevada debate for the nondisclosure -- ndas of women he signed at his company, michael bloomberg said last week that three of those women could be released from those ndas if they wanted to. and what appears to be an attempt to change the narrative, the campaign released an ad today featuring people who have worked with bernie -- with mayor

bloomberg. >> working with mike bloomberg was one of the most empowering experiences that i've had. >> it's important to talk to the people who know him personally. >> mike supports women. he promotes women. and he respects women. >> well, bloomberg's longtime partner diana taylor said in an interview that people bothered by those old ndas should, quote, get over it. here she is. >> i grew up in that world. we have come a very, very long way and michael bloomberg has been at the forefront of that change. it was 30 years ago. get over it. >> in a statement, a bloomberg campaign spokesperson said that diana offered her personal view from her 40 years working in finance, not the view of the campaign. i'm joined right now by the democratic mayor of columbia. capital of the state, south carolina, steve benjamin. mr. mayor, thank you. >> i always have to remind people i am a democrat but i am elected independently. >> okay. like a lot of mayors. i understand that.

nonpartisan. let me ask you about this candidate. was that an improper thing for his partner to say? >> obviously, we focus on the fact that mike bloomberg led the way. the three ndas that mention him. he obviously has released the women from those ndas and more importantly, bloomberg lp became the first company, large company in the country to lay out the fact it will never use ndas again going forward. >> you could say he was bushwhacked last week. why wasn't he ready to answer the question last week when elizabeth warren went after him? >> last week, the focus obviously senator warren was focused on mike. they all should have been focused on bernie. >> why -- they're going after the guy that's just getting in the race. >> three -- two primaries. two primaries and caucus and nobody's willing to talk about his extreme record. >> what's going on here? >> a fragmented party around a centrist candidate. but -- but you have these

extreme views. this incredibly extreme history. and a healthcare plan that is going to take healthcare away from 150 million americans. and castro. and no one's willing to talk about it. if you are not willing to take bernie on stage tonight before super tuesday, then you don't deserve to be the nominee. mike -- mike is prepared to do that and hopefully the other candidates will, too. >> you know, i think the opportunity -- and you got to explain this to me. bernie sanders basically set up a medicare for all plan. and basically say you have to join it. there's no alternative. you can't have a private plan. you can't have a supplemental plan. not like in canada, you can't have a supplemental like you have in great britain, uk. >> you will lose your healthcare on day one. >> why don't your candidates do anything to challenge that rather strong position? >> pete did some good work last year. not only is it -- the deficit in funding that plan is larger than the entire u.s. economy.

so i mean, it's ludicrous. so i think you have to be able to talk about, not only bernie's extreme ideas but also, his record. i mean, it's -- it's -- but it's real. shielding gun manufacturers from liability. we have 40,000 gun deaths a year in this country. so you got to take him straight on. and i thought mike delivered the line of the night last week. he talked about, you know, america's the most well-known socialist, is a multimillionaire with three homes. >> real question. honest question. if bernie is the nominee, will mike bloomberg pay for his general election? >> well, mike's been -- mike's been a commitment to be in this campaign for the long haul. particularly, in the six states that we believe will determine this thing. he's made a commitment and so we'll see how it plays out. >> you don't think he'll pay for bernie's campaign? >> mike is the hardest working self-made business man and he's honest. >> thank you, steve benjamin, of columbia, south carolina.

the capital of the state. as candidates prepare to face off tonight, they must navigate an important reality. "the washington post" writes quote after giving sanders a pass for most of the year, any of the attacks launched by the democratic socialist could undermine the party's chance in november. "politico" reports further mudding of bloomberg's strategy is his pledge to fund the siren s eventual nominee, even if it ends up being sanders. ideological contrast to the former new york mayor. joining me right now is john heilemann, co-host of show time's the circus. also, heidi przybyla, nbc news correspondent. heidi, that's the weird thing about this thing right down in south carolina. bernie is pulling ahead. bernie sanders. he may well be on his way to first ballot knockout. who knows? or not. >> he may well be. >> people seem very careful

about criticizing him. go ahead. >> he may well be. however, i urge caution here, chris, looking over some of the polling figures because this is really the first time that african-american voters as a big, diverse group where that make up a majority of the democratic primary vote are having their say. and a number of them are still undecided. we don't know what impact, for example, elizabeth warren had. whether she got a bump out of nevada because so many early voters -- early votes were cast. so i would just urge caution. and this is going to be the first time that sanders, as a front-runner, is going to come under the type of scrutiny that a front-runner normally comes under. this is going to be the first time he comes under sustained attack on his record. and all of these previous s scenarios, he's kind of stood back and had the occasion dustup. but it's going to be nothing like we see tonight and that is part of the process. that is part of the vetting process. seeing how the front-runner withstands that type of pressure

you just saw on guns, for example. chris, this is a place, south carolina, where hillary clinton was accompanied, nonstop, by the mothers of the movement. those african-american mothers so profoundly affected by gun violence. i just don't think we can make any predictions yet about how this is going to go down other than that it is the last chance for a number of these candidates. and not just joe biden. there is going to be a lot of pressure after tonight if there aren't breakout moments for a number of these candidates to call it quits. >> john, i have been waiting for months for the big takeout piece in "the new york times" about bernie sanders' ideological background. everything he said -- he's older than me. he's been through the cold war. he should have said thousands of things that are interesting. all of a sudden, "60 minutes" finally does it. puts out a lot of the provocative statements he's made. is it going to make any difference? >> the horse may be out of the

barn door already. the reality is you look at super tuesday, the way dnc designed the schedule in all of its genius. a lot of those states have early vote. california. it's estimated that a third of the vote's already in. so, you know, it may be sanders is already in a position where he is already on a path to obtain an insurmountable lead in pledge delegates. whether he has enough to get a majority of pledge delegate is another question. but he may be on a path to get a plurality no matter what happens now. we don't know the answer to that question. i think what heidi said is right and what's really important about the south carolina contest is it is the first time african-americans are the most important constituency. they are not the most left. and in this state in particular, a lot of people make mistakes about south carolina. we think about the electorate which is further to the left than this state. this state is a conservative

state. and among african-american voters here, you go up country up here, you find a lot of especially socially conservative, african-american voters. and they are not -- there is a big generational split. these are all these questions we have. will young african-americans end up with bernie sanders? while the older, more-established ones go with joe biden and other places? we don't know. part of the reason this is so important not just in terms of the contest itself and potentially slowing sanders' momentum if he were to surge here. if that happened. but also, what it says about the rest of the african-american electorate throughout the south, in places like alabama and georgia and mississippi. correct. what does it say about that? what does it foretell? and what does it signal to those voters? >> a lot of deep south states. stick with us. coming up. coming up, the fight for survival by the moderate candidates. a lot of it's tonight. a last hoorah for joe biden. who knows? his big lead by the way in the polls here is almost gone. and you have to win somewhere if

you have to win electability, don't you? plus, new warnings about the coronavirus in the united states. health officials say it's inevitable that it will spread here. but is the white house taking that warning seriously? president trump says everything's under control. his top cabinet officials seem uninformed and unprepared. >> you can't tell us how many your models are anticipating? >> no, senator. again, i would -- i would defer you to the health and human services for that. >> you think you ought to check on that? >> we will. >> as the head of homeland security. >> we got much more to get to tonight. especially, that coronavirus. stick with us. with hepatitis c... ...i felt i couldn't be at my...

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>> what's with the sound problem? anyway, welcome back to "hardball." that was former vice president joe biden raising expectations for his campaign in south carolina. a state he said unequivocally on sunday that he would win. and after a disappointing fourth-place finish in iowa and fifth place in new hampshire, biden's best performance to date was in nevada this past weekend where he finished a distant second to senator sanders. so there's no question a biden victory on saturday would go a long way toward reviving his political fortunes. well, given biden's advantage with african-american voters, south carolina has long been described as biden's firewall. that is, if he wants a shot at the nomination this year, he's got to win here in this state. well, last month, biden himself called south carolina his firewall. >> i think i'll do well in nevada. and i they have a real firewall in south carolina. >> yet, biden denies he ever

described the state as husbanis firewall. despite that, he insists he just needs to do well. >> south carolina was your fi r firewall. >> you said it's my firewall. no. i said i'm going to do well there. and i'll do well there and i'll do well beyond there, as well. >> and now, with a major debate tonight and just four days until the primary here in south carolina, "the new york times" reports that bernie sanders is looking to deliver a knockout blow to biden on saturday. in other words, win this thing. i am joined right now by symone sanders, senior advisor for the biden campaign. does he have to win here? the former vice president because he has been saying for a long time he has to win here. >> thank you for having me, chris. we intend to win in south carolina on saturday. >> and what will that do to the campaign if you knock it out here? if you win by four or five points. >> look. we intend to win here on saturday. and we believe the momentum that we have coming from a second

place -- strong second-place win in nevada, coming into south carolina, winning here will launch us into super tuesday. we feel good. we have super tuesday operations up and going. we have enjoyed our time in south carolina. a long history with this state and so we believe we will win on saturday because we have earned the votes of the voters here in south carolina. >> how do you clear the field of the other moderates? because you can argue that half the democratic party is moderate if you really want to make a case. there is certainly at least half that is liberal. to very liberal. and bernie owns that part. how do you clear the rest of the space for the moderate candidate, for the vp? how do you catch up to bernie then? >> i will tell you when you are out there talking to people across the country, here in south carolina, they don't say this is a progressive or moderate issue. they are talking about healthcare, the economy, education. so this is -- this is what i'll tell you about the lane, chris. we believe that no one should be the democratic nominee without the ability to demonstrate that they have earned the votes of

people of color, the base of the democratic party. black voters. well, joe biden has definitely done that. but there are some other folks that haven't. >> bernie did pretty well with latinos out in -- you're wincing. >> since 1992, the democratic nominee has been the person that has won black voters in america. okay. since 1992. so we have demonstrated we can build a broad coalition. we have demonstrated we can earn the votes of african-american and some latino voters in this country. we intend to do very well here in south carolina on saturday. >> why should an african-american from south carolina vote for joe biden? >> well, let me -- let me just speak right to the people. everything in this ballot. when it comes to healthcare, when it comes to guns, when it

comes to housing. vice president has put forth a bold vision. but the reality is he's done this before, chris. there is only one person standing on that debate stage font that has taken on the nra twice and won. joe biden. and he will do it a third time as president. there is only one person -- >> symone, i hope he has some of your juice tonight. give him some of this. give him some of this. >> when we talk about healthcare, joe biden has done it chris. so, really, we're ready for this fight and i think voters are ready. >> thank you so much. symone sanders has got the fire. thank you. the results of south carolina this weekend will set the trajectory for super tuesday. coming a week from now when the voters of 14 states, a week from now, all get to vote. "the new york times" points out that should mr. sanders defeat or even finish near mr. biden in south carolina, it could vault him into super tuesday with such force that it may be difficults

for opponents to catch up with him. here's what democratic strategist james carvel said in the wake of the nevada caucus last weekend. >> i just think there's one, big, huge screaming story here tonight is, and that is there is a front-runner in the 2020 democratic presidential race. we're in a whole new ball game here. and this game could end little after mid-march. and some of these candidates are going to have to make really hard decisions about who stays in and who gets out and where we go from here. >> john heilemann and heidi przybyla are back with me now. heidi, how important is this saturday? and tonight actually. this debate going into saturday. >> it's critically important not just for joe biden but for some of the other candidates. because actually, he is their firewall. if he crumbles, sanders is going to have such powerful momentum going into those early -- those super tuesday states.

if you look at the polling, chris, he is already ahead. he is already very strong in the most delegate-rich states of california and texas. if, on the other hand, biden holds, that is going to create an umbrella, possibly, for some of these other candidates. at the same time, i do think it's going to be a two-sided coin here for them because if biden pulls it out, there is going to be so much pressure for there to be a consolidation going into those states. and even if there is a consolidation, reminder, there's only three days between south carolina and those super tuesday states. when there is going to be, effectively, 34% of the delegates rewarded based on that. and that is just going to create a lot of momentum for sanders. so even if biden pulls it out, there's going to have to be other things that happen, including other candidates dropping out. and there is the x factor, too, of what some of the party heavyweights are or aren't doing behind the scenes. like former president obama, nancy pelosi. people who are truly concerned

about what we are seeing in terms of the down-ballot effects. chris, fun fact here. the candidate who actually fares the worst among those white, college-educated, suburban women in a head to head versus trump, according to abc news polling, is bernie sanders. so that is the data that some of these party officials are looking at and the concerns -- it underpins the concerns emanating about the down-ballot effects. >> well, meanwhile, mayor pete buttigieg received the endorsement today of the state. the big newspaper here in south carolina, which describes him as, quote, an energetic discipline candidate who can offer voters a powerful yet p g pragmatic vision of a better america. the paper said despite extensive efforts to interview bernie sanders, however, he would not agree to participate. now, here's the problem it seems, john. john heilemann, is that now buttigieg gets a boost after this endorsement.

he's not going to quit after this. he'll fight it out. biden will never quit for weeks, right? who is quitting? tom steyer's not going to quit. he put all this money into this thing. >> classic, classic prisoner's dilemma, chris. like what collective action would argue for versus what the individuals all think. and you ask them all, where is their emotions? where is their heart? you say to someone like amy klobuchar, you don't have a path to be the democratic nominee anymore. you don't. you're not going to collect delegates and i'm not quoting her now i just know what their reaction is. why should i be the one to quit? why shouldn't it be steyer? why shouldn't it be pete? in the end, if they continue to split up, the biggest part of the party is moderate. the biggest part of the party is not bernie's part of the party. the anti-sanders vote -- but unless it all comes together, chris -- >> okay. the illogic of democrats always -- heidi, why is that the

case? why do they all go after bloomberg last debate instead of going after bernie? they're just fighting -- it's an intramural battle among moderates? >> elizabeth warren was the strongest on that and i think for her it was probably out of principle. he kind of stands for everything she's fought against over the years. you know, coming from the finance industry. being a billionaire. both bernie and warren, that is their entire image wrapped up in that. so it made a lot less sense for her. and she was the person who pounced the hardest. but it will be totally different tonight, according to all the reporting that we've gotten. warren is the only one we don't know of in terms of having a plan of attacking bernie sanders. it might not make sense for her to do that tonight. just leave it to the others. >> it may be she wants to be vp with sanders. who knows what people are up to. >> you don't know but i tell you. you remember back in 2016 in the republican race, chris, every one of those candidates that was against donald trump all kept saying i got to knock all the

others around in my lane. and eventually, i'll get trump one on one and when that day comes, i'll take him out. and by the time that day came, it was too late. trump already had the nomination in his back pocket. it's too late. >> this is how jimmy carter got elected president. all the liberals are on the other side and he went right past them. we have an imperfect system for picking a president. thank you, john heilemann, as always. heidi przybyla. up next, president trump continues his car on the justice system of this country. this time, focusing on two supreme court justice. sotomayor and ginsburg saying they should recuse themselves from any case involving donald trump. you're watching "hardball." i'm your 70lb st. bernard puppy, and my lack of impulse control, is about to become your problem. ahh no, come on. i saw you eating poop earlier. my focus is on the road, and that's saving me cash with drivewise.

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that you can that you have that you said but thnext month, the court will take up three cases related to president trump's tax returns and financial records. if the justice's rule against the president, democrats could finally get the president's long-sought tax returns. big deal, actually. that might explain why the president's lashing out right now at two of the justices nominated by democratic presidents. >> i always thought that, frankly, justice ginsburg should

do it because she wept wild duri went wild during the campaign when i was running. i don't know who she was for. perhaps, she was for hillary clinton. and then justice sotomayor said what she said yesterday. and i just don't know how they cannot recuse themselves with anything having to do with trump or trump related. but i think trying to shame people with, perhaps, a different view into voting her way and that's so inappropriate. >> the president in india i see this morning referencing a recent dissent from justice sotomayor in which she argues the trump administration's become too quick to run to the supreme court after losses in lower court. she writes, quote, claiming one emergency after another, the government has recently sought stays in an unprecedented number of cases demanding immediate attention and considering limited court resources in each. it's cries of urgency ring increasingly hollow. she adds the court is partly to

blame because it has been too quick to, quote -- of requests. maya wily, former assistant u.s. attorney. thank you both. first of all, let me go to the law of this and that's maya. what is this about this strange complaint he has about sotomayor? what's this about what she said that he doesn't like? >> what he doesn't like is anyone who disagrees with him and doesn't rule the way he wants them to. i mean, sotomayor was writing a dissent. and she was making a legitimate point, which is that it is highly unusual for the supreme court to say, you know what, even though this case hasn't gone through the entire appellate process, we're going to allow the administration to continue to do something that people are challenging. rather than let it come to us in due course. and, you know, she's got

receipts on this, chris, because in the obama and bush administrations combined, this happened about eight times. you know, that is not a lot. and in the trump administration, just in three short years, not even including this case that she filed a dissent in, it's already been over a dozen. just in three, short years. and for the most part, she's also raising a question about why the court is grafnting them when there is no real national crisis that requires the court to stay an action until it makes its way through the court. so it's quite legitimate and it's just another example of donald trump saying i want judges to do what i want them to do. and if they don't, i'll attack them. >> you know, sam, this is called judge shopping. and it's like, in this case, he goes among the supreme court. he says i think i can live with seven of them. i don't really like the other two. >> judge shopping. you know, another term is

working the revefs. it's framing, pre-framing in way outcomes he doesn't like. if something goes against his wishes in the coming session, he could just turn around and say, look, this is a biased institution filled with biased people and this is not legitimate. but keep in mind -- i mean trump brings it to an extreme but this is not totally unique to trump. this is part of a multi-decade long effort to advance conservative politics through the judicial system to turn the courts into a tool for conservative governance. and trump is just taking it to extremes by saying, look, i want judges to do my bidding. what we are seeing now is a reaction on the left to do the same. but they're way behind the curve here and they have a lot of catchup to do. >> well, that's for sure i remind a lot of liberal friends all the time. first term, already picked two supreme court justices.

with ginsburg in their 80s now, that winner could pick at least more. i often say to people who do care about issues like choice, i say get ready. it could be 7-2 conservative in a couple years and there is nothing you can do about it except make sure trump's not re-elected. >> i think that is one of the things we've seen is democrats are much less likely to vote based on the appointment power, essentially, of whoever wins office. and what we've seen on the right is people are very committed and some holding their nose and voting for fru voting for trump because of the way they are going to be able to recreate the judiciary. this is something all americans should be really concerned about because the framers of the constitution created an independent judiciary in order to be a check and balance on the power of the presidency. or abuses of congress when it comes to what our constitution

says and what it means. and what we are really seeing is an extremely disturbing erosion of the independence of the judiciary. and one of the things that sotomayor was pointing to is do we have a court that is not paying sufficient attention to putting its foot on the brakes when it comes to an administration that is taking too much power? and demanding too much loyalty. >> well, maybe every suburban voting station on the democratic side, wherever they have some influence with handing out literature, should hand out one number. 7 to 2. thank you so much, sam stein, thank you maya wily. up next, president trump is praising himself for his decisions on the coronavirus. saying it's quite -- it's, quote, very well under control. he says. but officials say -- health officials say the spread of the virus in the u.s. is now inevitable. who should we believe? you're watching "hardball." of i, is about to become your problem. ahh no, come on.

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welcome back to "hardball." stocks plunge for a second day. straight day, actually, as the spread of the coronavirus continues to spike fears that it could slow global markets. today's losses come a day after the market's biggest drop in two years. earlier today, the head of the cdc's national center for immunization and respiratory diseases warned that americans should prepare for the inevitability -- that was their word -- that the virus will spread here to the united states. dr. nancy messionier told reporters it's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but more a question of exactly when. today, the new virus has infected roughly 80,000 people. and has killed 2,700. alex azar, who is leading the coronavirus response in the u.s. echoed her warning to congress.

e. >> we cannot seal off the united states to a virus and we need to be realistic about that. and so this virus -- >> life goes on in some forms, doesn't it? >> it does and we will have more cases in the united states. and we've been very transparent about that. and we will work to mitigate the impact of those. >> according to officials, the coronavirus currently has no cure. president trump and his national economic advisor larry kudlow downplayed the threat of the virus to the u.s. >> you may ask about the coronavirus, which is, you know, very well under control in our country. we have very few people with it. and the people that have it are -- well, in all cases, i have not heard anything other. >> we have contained this. i won't say airtight but pretty close to airtight. that is human tragedy. there's no question. and the economic side, i don't think it's going to be an economic tragedy.

>> well, just yesterday, the trump administration sent a request to congress for an additional $2.5 billion in funding to help deal with the coronavirus. as president trump publicly downplays the virus, "politico" reports administration officials are privately voicing concerns that the coronavirus is already spreading, undetected, within u.s. borders. "politico's" also reporting that trump allies and advisers have grown increasingly worried that a botched coronavirus response will hit the u.s. economy. even donald trump jr. has mused to associates he hopes the white house does not screw up the response and put the president's best re-election message at risk. and then there's rush limbaugh. one of trump's biggest allies talking it up. he said the coronavirus is no big deal and is part of a democratic plot to, quote, get the president. well, that's rush limbaugh, for what it's worth. not much. that's next. you're watching "hardball." yoe

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in business. >> that was rush limbaugh, dismissing the global concern over the coronavirus as overhyped in an effort to get trump, as he put it. late tonight "the washington post" is reporting that the president has become furious about the stock market slide and believes that extreme warnings from the centers for disease control and prevention have spooked investors. i'm joined by senior white house digital correspondent. shannon, where is this now in the president's view? is this a five? he thinks it's being type e hyp ten warning or what? >> the most important thing to trump's re-election pitch is the economy and the stock market. there is not much that makes trump's advisers nervous, but a

downturn in the market is the one thing. the president has been closely following the stock market even more so than the actual details of what's been going on with the spread of this virus, closely following the stock market and is very aware and concerned that there is a sense of panic that could spread and that could weigh down stocks and slow down the global economy because he very likely and it is a real possibility it's looking like that he could go into his re-election facing a global economy that is depressed from this when you have a country like china shutting down major cities and this virus spreading to south korea and japan and at the same time having a stock market that's not looking good. if he loses those things, he will be in trouble, his advisers think. >> i agree. but what about the nature of this virus? is it the kind of thing we could expect to be going on through november or is this a bleep? >> well, the problem we have is we have two problems.

one, it is a problem of credibility and one is a problem of competence, which brings that question into bear. we've got a president who said that everything is under control and his own cdc, i think in a scarey parallel to what's gone on in the justice department where you have career public officials who have to speak out against the president. and that happens only because you don't -- trump has dismantled the chain of command with regard to responding to global pandemics. he's defunded the cdc. there is an air of improvisation going on. so there is scientists in the cdc and outside the government that have a better feel of what's going on. the truth is finally starting to come out today when the cdc officials are bravely speaking up. and we've got a competency and a credibility problem, which is going to make it very difficult to manage through this. and i think if people wonder is there a cost -- is there a credibility cost to a president who doesn't always tell the truth, it really comes into play

now? because the stock market and a virus are not -- are two things that are really going to be talked into submission by trump. the stock market and the virus are going to follow the path that trump can't predict. they have control. >> well, president trump has repeatedly assured the public that the coronavirus will dissipate in the spring when it gets warmer. here he is. there is a theory that in april when it gets warm, historically that has been able to kill the virus. >> the virus, they're working hard. it looks like by april, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously going away. >> the virus, a lot of people think that goes away in april with the heat as the heat comes in. typically that will go away in april. >> however, as one senior white house official has told "the washington post," the idea that the virus will go away in the spring is mainly an educated

guess. back to you on this, is this something that's going to roll and snowball and get worse or is it just going to dissipate in the coming of this different season? >> yeah. i think the scientists don't believe that it's going to go away in the spring. i think, you know, there have been a couple suspect decisions. you have the president, the administration allowed 14 healthy people to get on a plane that the cdc said they absolutely should not get on. so these are decisions that i think are not being made with the best interests of the public in mind. i think that comment that it's been going in april. he also said we have a vaccine going around the corner. scientists say in the best case, we will be about 18 months away from a vaccine. they can't seem to get test kits out. we have 30 million masks but when he's pressed he says that's clearly not enough. so when pressed into telling the truth, these things are kind of

leaking out and trump keeps finding himself isolated in these perspectives. it can get a lot worse. the thing is it can be controlled if you had a chain of command, you could control this a lot better. >> all right. well, events is a very big word in american politics. events come into play you don't plan for. they happen. now, thank you for joining us. we're back in a minute. we're watching harbaugh.

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tonight seven democratic presidential candidates will take the debate stage here in charleston ahead of the state's primary this saturday. i'll be back here in this spin room after the debate tonight with the candidates. and that's "hardball" for now. "all in with chris heyayes" stas right now. >> when you are talking aboutva you're talking a year to a year and a half. >> experts warn. what we know about the spread of coronavirus and how a president worried about his own re-election is leading the response. >> i think that's a problem that's going to go away. >> then, why the roger stone jury was reconvened amid more attacks from the president.