e tho tcrack your whole windshield. with safelite's exclusive resin, you get a strong repair that you can trust. plus, with most insurance a safelite repair is no cost to you. >> customer: really?! >> singers: safelite repair, safelite replace. welcome to "kasie d.c." i'm kasie hunt. after a strong showing early on in iowa, pete buttigieg dropping out of the 2020 race as joe biden runs away with south carolina racking up more votes nation wide than any other candidate. but as bernie sanders's campaign too much to stop? i talked one on one with michael bloomberg about whether his millions of dollars are going to reshape how we think about

presidential campaigns or if they're just helping him race sanders. and markets plunge and the president tries to dismiss media coverage of the coronavirus as a hoax. two campaign aids telling nbc news that pete buttigieg is suspending his campaign. he was posed to head to dallas, texas but instead will be heading back to his home town to make an announcement. >> um, a little bit of news for you about our flight. we're making a change in our travel plans and traveling to south bend, rather than to texas. going to be making an anoungsmeanoung announcement there about the future of the campaign and i look forward to sharing with our supporters and our country where we go from here. that's why we're headed in a

different direction than we originally planned. >> reporter: are you getting out of the campaign? >> i'm looking forward to miking an announcement tonight. >> reporter: senior writer for "politico" jake sherman and former obama campaign manager, he is the aulgter of a new book called "a citizen's guide to beating donald trump." and way juanita tolliver. and steve, i'm always pleased to have you here. nbc news correspondent. garret haake. you are at a biden event is my understanding. but of course covering this late-breaking news about pete buttigieg's campaign. it's hard not to think this is tied in no small part to the margin of biden's victory in south carolina and the shrinking path for pete buttigieg.

what do we know? >> reporter: i mean, look, pete buttigieg did everything his strategy called for. he won iowa and his margins got worse and worse everywhere he went. third in nevada pmp and his advisors were telegraphing that he didn't think there was a single state in super tuesday he couldn't win. er for it's difficult to become a nominee for your party without winning states. and the other reality is buttigieg can see the writing on the wall. i have covered joe biden events in every early state. they did not sound this way. until today. this is a campaign that appears to be gathering momentum, appears to be consolidating the non-bernie vote and i think pete buttigieg is a smart enough political tacktitian in his own

right, having never connected to the black and brown voters that powered so much of this party. >> what do we know about what kind of message we're going to hear from pete buttigieg tonight. will he perhaps endorse joe b e biden? the politics seems to line up more than bernie sanders. buttigieg has beenen the trail making the argument against bernie sanders. it's tough for anybody who has spent a year plus of their life doing something like this. to throw in the towel of that totally. i dothink it would be something that would make a real impact if he were to endorse joe biden tonight. >> reporter: it could make a huge img pact. there's been reporting the two have not yet connected tonight. i think there's something

important to remember but everyone who runs for president is an ego maniac. you have to be to think in a country of 300 million people you are uniquely qualified to be its leader and the leader of the new world. so too, make a decision to get out is a big decision in its own right, much less endorse someone else. i think with the conventional wisdom, this is the most good news for joe biden. in the early states, joe biden is not who comes up and a lot like progressives like elizabeth warren and dare i say, bernie sanders. so, a consolidated field of non-bernie candidates is overall good news for joe biden, i don't think we should assume right away that all mayor pete supporters will immediately wake up tomorrow morning and decide

they're going to pull the lever for joe biden instead. >> and i guess pete buttigieg is joining sdae joining -- how is this go tag reshape the race? where do they go now? >> we don't really know now, the short answer. but let's look at this in terms of tuesday. this is the delegate picture. a couple left to be allocated. now, let's take a look at picture and what's up for grabs then. 1,344 delegates. and the key number to remember tuesday night, statewide and congressional district is 15. candidates need to be hitting 15% statewide, 15% in each individual congressional district. 53 districts in california. to be collecting delegates. and the challenge for joe biden tuesday night is this.

if you look at all of these states basically across the board, bernie sanders looks positioned to hit 15%. we don't know if he has a ceiling but we know the floor seems to be above 15%. he's going to be collecting delegates across the country and going to collect a lot out of california. the challenge for biden. can he get up to 15% in as many places as possible. and the hope for biden looking at this news from pete buttigieg tonight is, in some of these states, is buttigieg's absence going to provide a new pool of voters biden can tap into do not fall as far behind sanders in the delegates. california, the numbers have been a little all over the map in terms of the non-sanders candidates in california. they got biden at 13%.

he desperately needs to get to 15% statewide. they got buttigieg at seven. is there some buttigieg support, enough that could get biden up to 15. california, a state we got a lot of mail-in voting, there will be lot cast tuesday. and you can see this happening across the board. this wasmo massachusetts last night. most folks are going to vote on tuesday. it's a sanders/warren fight. buttigieg is sitting at 12%. there are a lot of delegates in massachusetts. if this was right now, bernie sanders is picking up dozens of delegates and biden is picking up none. if biden can get to 15% in massachusetts, suddenly he's not falling that far behind bernie in the delegates.

play it out in colorado and minnesota. but sanders is ant question, that is the difference between joe boyden being close enough to make a run in the later march states or faulling farther behid and stlg math be different march 10th. >> uryou're in your element, my friend. let's take a look at this map. i saw you walking over as steve was walking through this. you have looked at a map like this in the past. and you and i have had this conversation in the last couple of weeks as far as where things stand for joe biden and bernie sanders. what's your thinking about it now, especially considering buttigieg's announcement? >> well, i think i agree with steve that bernie sanders has a floor and it's a good floor. means he'll be flyable

everywhere. but he's got to maximize tuesday but i don't think he's got the ceiling that joe biden does. and you've got pennsylvania, april, new jersey, states where i think biden's going to do well. so, bernie sanders has to maximize his delegate yield on tuesday and joe biden's job in 48 hours, which is not much, having been there. >> although it's longer than it used to be in politics, in a way. >> so, here's the thing. he's not going it get all the buttigieg voters and a bunch of people already voted for him early. as close as he is to 15% in massachusetts -- voters have to think it really is coming down to biden and sanders. i think there's a magic number. steve put some interesting numbers on twitter today. if biden can keep this 100/150

into tuesday, i thng you got to like his chances. that's what's scary about this. you got to survive super tuesday. and sanders is really going to try and push the accelerator and he's in a great position. >> what pressure does this put on other democrats to throw in the towel? this is truly -- i think the question for every democrat is who is the alternative for bernie sanders? and as long as these other candidates are in the race, that's a problem for whoever the somebody else is going to be. bau what's the pressure going to be like now? >> i see all eyes going to amy klobuchar. and steyer last night, throwing in the towel and i assume amy klobuchar is going to follow

shortly because they're all underperforming with communities of color who are the ultimate voting block for democrats and i think south carolina was the death nail, the death nail for buttigieg. i think also looking back to nevada. he didn't have much traction there either. he's a completely rational inindividual and hopefully we see other candidates follow suit. >> this after he met with jimmy carter today. how much pressure do you think there's going to be and how many members of the senate are calling amy klobuchar and elizabeth warren saying we're panicked about our control of the house of representatives and you need to pull out. >> it's difficult to know. biden sees -- and we put this in the playbook this morning. he's trying to create a ripple effect of members of congress in support of him. members coming up in the next

two weeks to endorse him because he wants to create a sense of momentum. on a 25-degree day, he drew 13,000 people to boston common. it's striking to see that and reconcile that with the idea he's a dragen the party, which is something we do hear all the time. but we hear from rank and file members privately that they don't want to be on the ticket. >> don't know. donald trump was supposed to be the biggest problem the republican majority of 2016 ever had. if bernie sanders was the nominee, i wouldn't go into it with a confident sense either way that it's going to result in a nixon 1972-style landslide or it's the secret to success. i think we learned a lot from the trump experience. i think the trump experience

raised a lot of questions we're sorting out right now and i suspect the sanders nomination would put us in a similar place. >> it seems to me, bernie sanders the way he polled especially with suburban women is different than the other nominees. bernie sanders could win the white house and they could lose the house. joe biden's big problem in the race is that he's really been basically broke, especially compared to the other candidates. it's been a very, very difficult time and he is running, largely, on momentum. heresler what he had to say earlier today about money and his campaign. watch. >> i think that people know who i am, although yvrl i've been out spent 40-1 in south carolina and other places. we've raised about 18 million

this month and 5 million overnight. i think things are picking up. we'll see. >> and mayor bloomberg has bought tv time to deliver a three-minute primetime address at the nation. how do you compete with that? >> on your show. by doing as much of the free press and media as i can. i'm being serious. >> i'm interested to know how many dollars each appearance is worth. bloomberg sitting out there. the ad is going to air on nbc, we think, in an hour or so and another network. >> i think -- bloomberg has spent $650 million -- >> which is insane. >> and it's got him 14 to 15%, which is going to get him viable

in some places and where not. joe biden has universal name recognition, momentum. so, he needs enough to capitalize on it. but he doesn't need to raise what sanders or bloomberg as ha. he needs build the on-line machine. he's never going to have what sanders has or what obama had. he's got to be on the air in states like illinois and georgia on our air and tv big time. he was the national frontrunner. and looked like we were going to have to raise a obituary. he's back. i can't tell you how hard it is to capitalize on the momentum this deep in the race. bernie sanders seized the momentum. they know how they're spending and -- >> and they've been doing it for literally years at this point and paying close attention. so, this week marks 55 years

since the march from selma to montgomery alabama, known as bloody sunday. the number of democratic presidential candidates joined thousands for church services and the annual reenactment of the march. and a presidential candidate forum just wrapped up. we know biden's very sizeable victory in south carolina was powered by african-american voters a critical constitch waen -- constituen constituency,if not the key constituency. and in church as joe biden seems to be embraced as one of their own. >> reporter: that's right. you think of the juxtaposition of what we saw in south carolina and jim clyburn and he's a good

man and you can come to selma, which played a pivotal role in the civil rights and had michael bloomberg, because of his policy of stop and frisk, which disenfranchised and violated the constitutional rights of many in new york city, the eye of the country turning to south carolina as they made a decision for joe biden. again, the idea of the good guys and there's a long history of good men, good men and women who fought battles here in selma. literally where we are, just a couple miles from the bridge where blood was shed. but i want to toss to sound of joe biden this morning, just to hear what he said. again, capturing this moment in the spirit of what happened so many years ago. >> folks, this president has ripped the bandaid off. they've been inspired be people

by the abe lincolns, john kennedies, martin lulgter kings, by the barack obamas. and they also get inspired by very bad people. really. donald trump has showed us a sign of humanity that has no sense of compassion. don't deny and we believe, we believe -- and folks, that's -- >> reporter: the bookends of inspiration inspired by good men and bad men and yesterday you saw jim clyburn and today you saw john lewis. 55 years ago he was beaten by a white mob and police officers. to see him arrive there today as part of thousands of people who

descended upon that bridge to not just celebrate the hard fought civil rights and to see john lewis there was a perfect book end and spoke to the spirit of which joe biden spoke of, be nothing spired by good men and those messages resonate, especially given how far black folks have come in this country and to see that play out in the annual spirit of celebration, it's part block party and you draw leaders from across the country. a few years ago when barack obama was here, you might think of how far we've come when you think of the men and women who bled and beaten for simply trying to express their rights as american citizens. >> our thoughts, of course, with john lewis, who has been battling pancreatic cancer and with everyone on the historic day. thank you very much for your reporting tonight. we also have a little bit of

breaking news for you here from the team at nbc. and reporting that representatives from the buttigieg and biden campaigns have been talking to each other about potentially consolidating their support ahead of super tuesday. the candidates have tried to talk to each other. they have yet to connect and some of our sources are down playing the idea buttigieg. and we're waiting f buttigieg's remarks to hear about the end of his campaign and possible collaboration or endorsement with joe biden. and bernie sanders campaign manager is going to join me live. and i'm going to talk to katy porter, who's going to

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welcome back. nbc news is confirming 74 cases of the coronavirus throughout the united states. and tomorrow president trump is expected to meet with pharmaceutical companies at the white house to discuss potential vaccination options. and now from kirkland,

washington where just yesterday the first u.s. death from the virus was reported. what's the latest? >> reporter: right now we're at this nursing home. i want to put this into context. always alarming when you see ambulances and people wearing masks. we don't know what's happening at this nursing home right now. this is a working nursing home and there are all kinds of posents. they havent told us if this is any way related to the coronavirus. we do know this is a place being zeroed in on by the krcdc and they're say if there is an outbreak here, they're working quickly to contain it. >> reporter: tonight washington state on edge after the first death from the coronavirus. the cdc investigating after a staff member and resident tested positive with 50 others quarantined.

officials waiting for test results as pat patten worries for his wife. sglirl >> it's her i'm concerned about. she's kind of sickly. >> reporter: after not be able to reach her for three days, he finally got word she's not showing any symptoms. and firefighters are now in quarantine. 16 college students being monitored after visiting the facility last week. neighbor whose live next door say they're preparing for the worst. >> who knows what actually is there, how far it will go or if there's some type of containment or cure they have for it. >> reporter: she's three days away from giving birth. >> bringing a new born in the world, don't want to expose them to anything. >> reporter: and two new infections confirmed in the county.

they say it could have been spreading for six weeks in washington state with as many as 700 people infected. now more cases expected to rise as 75,000 test kits become available. and rhode island announcing their first case. the school closing in response. in cities across the country those worried about a possible pandemic are stocking up. and again, the executive director here said that so far they have seven different cases of what could be possible respiratory illness but none have this far tested positive for coronavirus and they're following all the recommendations in terms of protocol and they say if the staff starts the day, they're screened to see if they have any symptoms and if so, sent home immediately. we saw one bulambulance loaded

with a patient. we don't know if this is coronavirus related and now we're seeing another ambulance pull up to the back to load up what we believe is another patient. we're going to keep you updated as soon as we can. kasie. >> and thank you for being careful to clarify exactly what we're seeing here. thank you. >> reporter: it could be anything at this point. >> for sure. so, thank you, gadi. and joining me is former fema administrator under the trump administration. thanks for being on the program. >> how are you? >> let's start with simply whether or not you believe -- you've been on the inside of the trump administration. can americans trust this administration to fight a potential coronavirus pandemic? >> americans can definitely trust not only the administration but the public health industry as a whole. this is a partnership.

our success in overcoming a coronavirus is largely how well we are able to quickly establish a true culture of preparedness within our citizens and letting them know the local and state health officials are the ones that will really be taking most of the action at a localized level, to be able to implement future strategies of quarantine or separation or canceling big events, that the federal government plays more of a support role. whether you're talking about a pandemic event -- >> we've seen specific instances already where this president has reportedly intervened personally. in the case of the americans evacuated from the cruise ship. there was a decision to put people infected with the virus on a plane with healthy people

and that decision did not come fr from local health authorities, etc. >> i think the federal government's got to take protective actions to protect our boarders from people coming into the country. but when it's down to the spread or outbreak within small communities, then the local officials will take over and the federal government will play a support role. right now i think citizens -- >> so, should the president stay out of those decisions then? >> i think everything needs be coordinate said. we have to double down on communication from the president and back up. i think what we have to be real careful of is letting politics get in the way of diluting this culture of preparedness and telling people not to panic but they need delivered actions to be ready to possibly shelter in

place or expect disruptions in their daily routines. and the other thing that needs to be pushed forward -- like in haggerty consulting we pushed forward plans for businesses. understanding the impacts to the supply chain and how it will impact their ability to serve their constituents. and this has been a wake-up call and our supply chains are weak. they're greatly dependent on other countries to produce supplies we need for the event. and i think we've got to do a lot of work to mitigate that in the future. >> one question i've had watching this unfold is about testing. the question of whether the u.s. is prepared and testing adequately. let's watch what mike pence had to say.

>> south korea has testing from your car, drive-through testing. china says we have testing at home. >> we've done a fair amount of tests. we've screened 47,000 people coming through designated airports in the country and done testing at airports. >> so, screening is different from testing. what was the failure here in terms of this person in california in particular was sick for day business nor test was given. >> well, when you're trying to screen people coming in, it's not going to tell you whether or not they have it or not. checking for fevers and different things. >> for sure. but we haven't been testing people here with an actual test

quickly enough t does not seem like. >> and it boils down to materials and being able to do the test. i can tell you as more testing is done and it goes to a partnership as an emergency manager, for example. they'll play a role at the local and state level, not only with the logistics of getting tested in appropriate places to be administered and in the backseat there, are elaborate plans in c conjunction with the federal government to get those out. so, the one thing to keep in mind is as a country we don't have a whole lot of experience with health disasters. it's too early to be pointing blame. these are difficult events and public health events scare me more than hurricanes. hurricanes and earthquakes and

people often ask me that question. it's going to be trial and error in a lot of cases. but what we have to do is make sure citizens are prepared to, one, follow good hygiene practices, not only at home but preparing their businesses and to hole up in their house. if localized quarantine is implemented and that's the message that needs to get out. >> thank you very much for your time tonight. let's hope there's more trial and less error as this unfolds. still to come my conversation with michael bloomberg who says he is in it until the bitter end. when we come back, back at the breaking news, mayor pete buttigieg suspending his campaign. i like chillaxin'. the united explorer card makes things easy. traveling lighter. taking a shortcut. woooo! taking a breather.

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welcome back to "kasie d.c." mayor pete buttigieg suspending his campaign, according to two sources. representatives of both buttigieg and biden campaigns have been in discussions about consolidating support around the former vice president. the force of bernie sanders'

campaign has been on full display this weekend. take a look at this massive crowd in san jose, california. yesterday in massachusetts where sanders leads elizabeth warren in polling, her home state, 13,000 people showed up on boston common and later on in virginia beach. jake sherman, david plouffe and -- all back with me. great to see you. that's good. what do you see in the energy of bernie sanders' campaign on the ground? >> it looked a lot like a barack obama event and less like anything we've seen in the cycle. there was a lot energy. that's what i saw from the crowd. a lot of excitement. it seems like a movement. you can't compare anything to what we saw with obama, trump. but it is reminiscent of that kind of thing. and i was at a trump rally the

night before in charleston. really boisterous supporters. unlike anything else in the field at the moment. >> so, let's talk about this super tuesday map. because, steve, you're going to be at the big board trying to explain what the heck is going on. and it sounds like, from what -- the conversation we were having in the break, we may see something totally different the night of than the morning after. >> if you look at that map and see 415 delegates in california, that's a third of all the delegates up for grabs. just because it's on the west coast, it's going to be very late for any results. and on top of that, california is mail-in voting state. it takes days and in some cases weeks to get all the results. delegates being assigned by congressional district, where you have to be sure on the margins. i'm talking up to a week before

we get the full delegate picture out of california. and meanwhile, just a couple of things quickly to look at during the night. is biden running up the score in the south? is he getting out of alabama? big win in tennessee. biden can get delegates out of the south and the other variable is this, massachusetts, minnesota, colorado. he's in danger of missing the 15% threshold there. he's probably falling an extra hundred delegates behind sanders. if he reaches the threshold, takes away 70 from the gap. that's the -- if he gets big numbers in the south, we could be here at 11:00 saying biden's got more delegates than sanders. >> and sounds like you were on the other side of this in 2008.

>> listen, the difference between 14 and 16% could be the democratic nominee and it's happening in 48 hours. we were kind of judging the early part of the night and in the next morning, after super tuesday back then to have lost because hillary won states like california, new jersey, massachusetts. but when the full delegate picture became clear and we did get some in states like georgia. bernie sanders probably doesn't have to worry about viability anywhere, maybe a few places. so, for him it's how do i rack up as many delegates as possible in california and texas. bidens to the survive the places he's close to viability ands to the maximize places. largely depending on momentum and do some of the people who are thinking about voting for mayor pete or amy say biden's

more viable now. they're at the whims of the momentum gods and that's not a place you want to be. >> it underscores the impact bloomberg can have on the race. i asked if he spent $400 million to elect bernie sanders. thank you guys. i'm sure i'll be seeing a lot more of all of you in the next 72 hours. i'll be joined, when we return, by bernie sanders campaign manager. i'll ask if he thinks the senator can turn those big crowds. it's either the assurance of a 165-point certification process. or it isn't. it's either testing an array of advanced safety systems. or it isn't. it's either the peace of mind of a standard unlimited mileage warranty. or it isn't. for those who never settle, it's either mercedes-benz certified pre-owned. or it isn't. the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event.

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welcome back to "kasie d.c." the campaign manager for bernie sanders. it's always great to have you on the program. so, let's start where we left off in the conversation we were just having about your delegate path on super tuesday. how confident are you that bernie sanders could come out of super tuesday with an insurmountable delegate lead? >> that's the hope as i heard you talk about the leads we have in the past 72 hours. one thing to know about the larger alleys is we're following up with each one of the individuals and they could have voted early. we hope have too have banked a

lot of the votes by now and we know who they are. their friends and family urged them to get out and we're now in the 48 hours to get out the vote effort. >> so, we're reporting at nbc news that pete buttigieg's campaign is speaking with the former vice president's campaign about potentially cord 98 or teaming up the support. potentially consolidation many folks have been talking about as the field seems to come down from bernie sanders to somebody else. what do you say to joe biden's campaign, first of all, and to the voters who have already supported pete buttigieg or were thinking about it in the super tuesday states about how to make their decision? sounds like he's going to push them towards joe biden. >> i congratulate pete buttigieg and their supporters.

they surpassed everybody's expectations. i also think now we're in this moment where we have to assess who's the candidate that we want to have at the top of the ticket. and the top of the ticket. and i believe the contrast is becoming clear. is it bernie or biden. one of the things i would want to make clear. there's certain parts of pete's record, whether it's student debt or medicare for all, but i would say to everybody now the choice is who is the person who is going to deal with difficult crisis and has the judgment required to make the right choice. and i think we have all these differences of opinion with joe biden because of his record. you go back to bankruptcy bill, you go back to iraq war and trade. there's differences. bernie has been on the right side. but the point is to say the

president never really knows what he or she will have to deal with when they are president of the united states. who do you want to make those jumt judgments did determinations. bernie has shown this integrity of choice making over a long period of time that should appeal to a lot of people who are now up for grabs, if you will. >> i want to ask you about michael bloomberg. he, of course, new to the the debate stage. had a difficult performance in his first debate. i asked him about his impact on the race, especially as it pertains to your boss. take a look and then we'll talk about it. >> you're heading into super tuesday. the moderate lane of this vote potentially splintering. did you spend $400 million just to hand bernie sanders the nomination? >> i don't know why you think -- bernie sanders has been running for years and there's four elections they didn't participate this. i had no say in bernie sanders. he's built a group of people that follow him -- >> but don't you see yourself splintering the other support?

>> i believe if bernie sanders gets the nomination, he will lose to drth donald trump. he will make sure the senate stays in republican hands. he will flip the house back to the republicans and even down ballot he's going to hurt the democrats. >> has michael bloomberg's presence in this race made bernie sanders' path to the nomination easier? >> i'm not sure about that, but i know mayor plumeberg's record has destroyed his campaign. when you have a billionaire advocating against raising the minimum rage, advocating for cuts to social security, terrorizing communities of color, it's his own record that's caused him destruction. >> don't you benefit from the moderate lane splintering? >> i would argue to you that even the contrast with joe biden is one we welcome. from our perspective in bernie sanders you have somebody who is cautioned against the power of

billionaires in our economy. and it is michael bloomberg who is trying to buy an election. then joe biden who has 60 billionaires contributing to his campaign. so in many ways, all of these candidates help see bernie sanders as unique. >> i'm sure that both supporters and opponents of bernie sanders would agree with your description that he certainly stands out from the rest of the field. thank you very much for your time, sir. we'll have more of my sbr view with michael bloomberg coming up next hour. as we go to break, just in tonight. the governor of nikon firming the first positive case of coronavirus. the patient is a woman in her late 30s who contracted the virus while traveling abroad in iran and is currently isolated in her home. the patient has respiratory systems, but is not in serious condition and has been in a controlled situation since she arrived in new york. we'll have more on that story, coming up in the next hour. and we're awaiting live remarks from mayor pete buttigieg has he suspends his

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he's going get me off this stage. get me off. get me off the stage. >> when we continue, it gets personal between president trump and michael bloomberg. next hour, my interview with the former new york city mayor who says he's in it to the bitter end. no matter what happens on tuesday. my interview, just ahead. you're watching "kasie d.c.," live from new york. i switched to miralax for my constipation. stimulant laxatives forcefully stimulate the nerves in your colon. miralax works with the water in your body to unblock your system naturally. and it doesn't cause bloating, cramping, gas, or sudden urgency. miralax. look for the pink cap. [wood rolling]

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welcome back to "kasie d.c." we're following a couple big stories this hour. in the last ten minutes or so, governor andrew cuomo announced the first tcase of coronavirus n the state. he released a statement that reads, this evening we learned of the first positive case of coronavirus in new york state. the patient, a woman in her late

30s, contracted the virus while traveling abroad in iran and is kurnltly isolated in her home. we are also following breaking news of the 2020 campaign trail. pete buttigieg is set to speak in south bend, indiana, in about half an hour as two campaign aids tell nbc news that he's suspending his campaign. that comes as a source tells nbc news representatives of both the buttigieg and biden campaigns have been in discussions about consolidating support behind the former vice president. the biden campaign official says buttigieg and booiden tried to connect this afternoon, but had not yekt yet connected as of 7:30 tonight. that official said the candidates have, however, traded voice mails. joining me this hour reporter, susan del percio. executive producer and president of future of media group, maria

henehosa. and traveling with the biden campaign in virginia correspondent garrett haake. garrett, let me start with you. biden is speaking right now. what else have we learned about where it stands between his campaign and buttigieg's? has he been mentioned at this ratt rally? how do you see this affecting the race going forward? >> reporter: a whole lot of other public servants named and thanked by joe biden when he took the stage, but pete buttigieg's name has not yet passed his lips. biden was late to his own event here tonight. a lot of reporters and folks on twitter speculating that perhaps that phone call was happening even as we waited. but if booiden has spoken to pete buttigieg he has not yet shown his cards. i have covered booiden in a lot of early states and environments. today he's giving the same speech he typically does, but with so much more energy. he's feed iing off a larger and

more energetic crowd than i have seen him draw in other states. the decision by pete buttigieg to get out of this race while it could be good news for a number of candidates who might split up his support has to be the most heartening for joe biden. these are two people largely in sync on some of the key shs like health care for expanded public options, not for medicare for all. establishment candidates within the democratic party. and now if you're joe biden, there's one fewer person chug up space in that lane. it's always tough to predict how people's support might go. especially when you look ahead to super tuesday with texas and california with robust early votes. but if you're joe biden, the last 24 hours have got to be the best of your campaign. winning in south carolina, raising $5 million overnight, now having one of your most dynamics rivals decide iing to g things up. sometimes in politics and in life, it's better to be lucky than good. joe biden is having a lucky

moment right now. >> it is an excellent point. and frankly, if you look a back all the his three presidential runs, this is possibly the best stretch of his entire political career and his legacy. hang tight. dave wasserman, let me bring you into this conversation. you're looking reliablely deep into the map. we know that the way thicks play out on super tuesday, the congressional districts themselves matter and how the votes are allocate d. we also know that californians have been voting for weeks now and just because pete buttigieg decided tonight to drop out doesn't mean that those voters in california have already cast their ballots for him to get a do over or a chance to vote for somebody still running. so how do you see this decision by pete buttigieg affecting the race both from a narrative perspective and also in the granular detailed delegate race? >> there are two ways that pete

buttigieg's withdrawal helps joe biden. more of pete buttigieg's supporters are likely to go to biden than to bernie sanders i think by a pretty good margin, which on the net basis helps biden. but the second way is that it could essentially allow other candidates in the race like elizabeth warren to hit thresholds in a few more places. getting that 15% of the vote is critical in any state to get the delegates from that state or district. if warren hits that threshold in california or in virginia, that means those votes get divvied up in more directions, which raises the chance that no one gets the 1,991 delegates they need to avoid a contested convention. and warren, in particular, is

408d iholding the blue states. the curious thing is that it's looking like biden's strength is in red states, plus likely virginia, which is next to alabama, likely to be his best stit on the super tuesday map. >> nick, that is a place where african-americans play a bigger role. this was their first chance to have a say in that big win in south carolina. likely driven by african-american voters and this is a challenge for bernie sanders. >> the base of the party spoke on saturday. they spoke for joe biden. it was a huge boost for him. it's not the beginning of the end for anybody. but for super tuesday, the key is buying time. for all the non-sanders candidates, it's about kind of racking up delegates and preventing him from getting a lock on the number that will basically make it his nominat n

nomination. with fewer people in, i think the more candidates can make that threshold, pile up delegates and stop the moment from happening when bernie sanders has a lock. >> so "the washington post" were reporting today on the crucial stretch of campaigning for joe biden leading up to jed's south carolina primary. the 18 days that resuscitated joe biden's five-decade career. quote, the most important those 18 days saw biden find firmer footing as a candidate. he revelled in a state he always considered like home. he received blunt advice from friends and took it. he adopted a stiffer edge on two debate stage. his verbal miscues persisted, with us rivals noticed he was more focused. a grace note came wednesday when a nationally televised town hall showcased to the state the paem thi on his sleeve candidate who forges emotional connections with voters better than any

other in the are race. susan dell pers owe, this was biden at his most fighting self and also his kind of most em a pathetic. i saw a little bit of this. a week ago we were in south carolina talking with the former vice president. even when i spoke to him then, it seemed as though for whatever reason being the underdog suited him and he was preparing for this moment. the question is does this sustain now? he has been running on fumes. he's been out of money. he's relying on momentum here. >> something even if pete buttigieg does not endorse him tonight, it will help the narrative going on that joe biden is not to be written off. and i think right now that's the most important thing he can hope for. he's showing life. maybe it was jim climber, but somebody told him you better bring it or maybe i won't endorse you or something.

>> he basically said if he wins, i'm going to fix this campaign. but, yes. >> but to that point, you better do it in the debate you better bring it. his speech last night was fantastic. he had the right energy. he's continued to move forward. i don't know if it's going to be enough to bring him going into the convention, but i know to nick's point, it's enough to start letting him get 20, 25%, which is enough to get delegates. >> and do you like at a state like california where he's at risk of not even hiting the threshold of viability? >> i hate to be a buzz kill, i'm sorry. but look, in five decades of joe biden's career and in three times run ining for president, this is his big win. and i think it say ss a lot a about the african-american voters where he feels so at home and so loved that they would give him this kind of resounding

i win win. but does it really propel him into being able to take this right now? i'm not so sure i'm prepared to say, his campaign is back full force. it's going to be amazing. i think it's too early to tell. i think that what he was doing up until south carolina, it was a real challenge for him. so california, we know bernie sanders has an extraordinary ground game. his outreach with latinos that have been carry iing him very strong in california. i think it's going to be a real challenge for biden still. >> joining our conversation is former senator barbara boxer, who is endorsing joe biden tonight. this coming just a handful of days before the actual california primary. but voters in your state have been voting now for weeks. why did you hold back on this endorsement until tonight? >> i wanted to see joe become joe again. i think i know him for so many

years. served with him in the congress and worked with him when he was vice president. i have seen him on the trail. i saw him in 2018 bring over the line democrat who is took backseats from republicans. i was waiting to see that joe. we did see that joe. and i think i would disagree that he didn't win broadly in south carolina. he won the white vote. he won the black vote. he won across the board. and by the way, anecdote tally i heard there haven't been b that many absentee ballots cast. they were not sending in their ba ballot. so i was so thrilled to join his team. if you want revolutions, he's

not your candidate. if you want solution booiden is results, not revolution. but solutions works just as well there, senator. question though. you are not the only person who has waited in the wings. not the elected official we'll hear endorse joe biden in the wake of the south carolina victory. but my question is that sort of doubt that has existed about whether joe biden could deliver. has that been hamstringing his campaign all the way along? his fundraising has been abysmal. he's barely been on the air in super tuesday states he's really running on momentum. but is part of that because people weren't willing to bet on him earlier? >> momentum is important. i would make a point. there were so many people in that, what i call, pragmatic

lane rather than the ideological lane of our party. and people liked them all. i could tell you. i serve with everyone i didn't have the pleasure of serving with pete buttigieg, who showed a lot of character, i think, and strength today. but i did serve with the rest. and so people didn't know quite what to do. and this is a different campaign just because it's different doesn't take away the excitement. and i think as congressman clyburn waited and i waited, i wish i had a tenth of the effect as he did, but i have won millions of votes in my state every time i ran. and if just a percentage of those folks follow this, i think joe will do well in california. >> do you think he's going to be viable in california? >> i absolutely do. i say yes. he will. people are excited a about what happened in south carolina.

it was monumental. >> senator, before i let you go. i'd like you to weigh in on the other big news story. we just reported there's a case of the coronavirus here in new york. but we know that there's been a very sick woman in the state of california. what is your view of how your state and local officials are doing at handling this virus, but also how the federal government and the trump administration are handling it. >> the governor is on top of this. and all of our hospitals. i have talked to some of them. they are getting ready for what could happen. we hope won't happen. but in such a situation, it really is the federal government. they are the ones who tell you what the test should be. what the protocall should be. so they have a lot of catching up to do. i do want to say this. anthony fouchy is one of the best people i have ever met in public service. i went through the aids crisis

with him and all the other things. and of course, not to let this go by without mentioning joe biden and ron clan who are did such a great job on the ebola situation. so we know what we have to do. and i think we have to take politics out of it. and everyone listen to the authorities, especially to people like the professionals. >> all right, senator barbara boxer, thank you for your time on the program tonight. it's great to see you. when we continue, we're awaiting live remarks from pete buttigieg. but first, my conversation with michael bloomberg on whether he will see the return on investment he's hope iing for o super tuesday. or whether it's going to backfire and hand bernie sanders the nomination. all this as the president gets personal. we're back after this. of advanced safety systems. or it isn't. it's either the peace of mind of a standard unlimited mileage warranty. or it isn't. for those who never settle, it's either mercedes-benz certified pre-owned.

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the big winner in south carolina is. >> joe biden lapped the field. >> comeback land slooid. >> a knockout win. >> are you the new front runer? >> we have a long way to go. >> we need the largest voter turnout. >> enthusiasm does not translate to votes. >> at what point do you have to say we have the same message. >> there's that overlap. >> it's not for me to tell any other candidate to get out of the race. >> would bernie sanders lead the democratic party to a big loss? >> i do. >> it's untrue. >> people aren't liking for revolution. >> they want results. they are looking for results.

>> welcome back to credit card "kasie d.c." michael bloomberg does not like to lose. and in 48 hours, whether half a billion dollar bet pays off. after sitting out the first four election, super tuesday is his first real test. but that also means that joe biden and bernie sanders have gained momentum and won some actual delegates. met up with bloomberg in houston to talk about his ascendant campaign. we started by talking about the big headline. the president's handling of coronavirus. >> whlet's start with the news today. coronavirus spreading rapidly. do you trust and should americans trust president trump to deal with this crisis? >> no, he has not prepared for a crisis like this. quite the contrary. he fired the pandemic specialist two years ago. he's defunded or unfunded or reduced the funding for centers for disease control. he's had 1600 scientists leave

the government in the first two years of his office. you don't know exactly what's going to happen. but you have to have trained people who have practiced working together in a and establish trust in each other and know where to go to have a team that can at the last minute adjust your solutions to whatever problem arises. >> do you think president obama did a better job handling ebola than president trump has done so far? >> i us don't know how you answer that. president obama had in place teams, like i just described. so he was much better prepared. a the lot of the stuff is luck. either it hits or it doesn't. you go left and you should have gone right. or that was the right way to go. but i think obama had a much greater understanding that you can't do everything by yourself. the way i joke about it is i spelled team with no "i" in the world team. trump's definition or how he spells team is just with the

letter "i." you saw that when they took out the iranian general. there wasn't a state department to go to ask for advice because he fired almost all the experts on the middle east and every other place. >> let's talk about bernie sanders who are you hit pretty aggressively on the debate stage and you're heading into super tuesday. the moderate lane is potentially splintering. did you spend $400 million just to hand bernie sanders the nomination? >> bernie sanders has been running for years. there's four elections i didn't participate in. i had no say in bernie sanders. he's built a group of people that follow him. >> but don't you see yourself splintering the support? >> well, i believe that if bernie sanders gets the nomination, he will lose to donald trump. he will make sure that the senate stays in republican hands. he will flip the house back to the republicans. and even down ballot, he's going

to hurt the democrats. so you will have a lot of gerrymandering down ballot in states, which will hurt the country for a long time. but worse at the federal level, you'll have a whole bunch of judges, probably even two supreme court justices, that the republicans will appoint and those judicial decisions that come out of that will be devastating for this country for decades. >> would you vote for bernie sanders over donald trump? >> i have criticized the party loyalty where they say you have to vote for the candidate. everybody gets on board. i will vote for him and don't really mean it. and i think donald trump hgot elected because of that kind of loyalty to the party. a lot of people in the party didn't like him, but in this case, the alternative to the democratic candidate, even bernie sanders, is so bad i have said i will vote for the democratic candidate, even if it's bernie sanders. >> it sounds like you might have to hold your nose and do it. >> i might have to vote for him,

but the other day his staff said we don't want bloomberg's help. so i guess i'm off the hook there. >> were you prepared to help? >> i will keep all our major offices around the country open through november 3rd. >> and how much money would you be prepared to spend? >> i have no idea. let's see what's needed. you'll see whether you think you can spend the money efficiently. and in this case, you'll see whether they even want it or not. >> what does success look like for you on super tuesday? >> getting a decent number of votes. yao not going to carry california. bernie sanders, by all polling results, say he will carry california. but you want to make sure that we have time to go look forward in the other elections and win more delegates. and if nobody has a majority, just a plorlty, then there's some rules a about you go to the convention in milwaukee and they take one vote and nobody has a

majority, then there's a trading, horse trading, however you want to describe it, a process that the democratic party specified. >> are you committed to saying in through that entire process? >> as long as you have a chance of winning, ab chutely. why would i spend all this money and time out of my life and wear and tear, which i love incidentally, it reminds me of thipolice three campaigns for a mayor. the difference here is i have to fly from event to event is, where there i used to trooif. but i love it. i'm going to stay right until the bitter end as long as i have a chance. if bernie sanders were to get a major tirks then not. >> so a majority is the line for you? >> if it was one vote away from a majority, you have to start thinking about it. but yeah, if it's just a plurality, you have to be in it to win it. i'm running a race. and i'm behind with one lap to go. what am i going to quit? no, you run harder. >> your campaign manager alluded

to the possibility that you have talked about or considered dm naming a running mate in attempt to demonstrate unity. have you had conversations about naming a running mate? >> every campaign talks about that. so far nobody has done it in history. it always starts out and sounds good and then you decide. >> ted cruz tried it in 2016. >> i think that is fair. >> who have you talked to about this possibility? >> why would i tell you? >> because i'm asking. >> i know you want to know. >> would you consider kamala harris? >> i would consider everybody. i don't know her all that well, but the little bit i talked to and watched her, she's a confident woman and done a good job in california. not everybody agrees with that. so you have a tough on crime kind of reputation. but i haven't looked a at her resume all that carefully. it's too early to do that. >> stacey abrams?

>> she's very confident. i may be her biggest funder. i'm one of her whole initiative to get out the vote. >> you dismissed your debate performance the first one as saying this is something that these guys have had a lot of practice doing. aren't democratic voters lookings for someone that can stand up to donald trump on the debate stage? >> no, they are looking for someone who can run the country and beat donald trump. the debate is just one thing. we're not looking for a debater in chief. just because you're a good college debater doesn't mean you can run the country. this is insanity. what i found so difficult in the first debate was i got out there and they are all yelling at each other and nobody is listening to each other and they are talking over each other. the second debate, sanders and warren gave the same answer to every single question no matter what the question was they said the same thing. why does that help the public make a decision as to who is going to beat donald trump and

who is going to be able to run the country? do you really want a debater or do you want a manager who has been there and done that. i think you would be hard pressed to find people who lived in new york city during my years in office who wouldn't tell you it was the best job any mayor has ever done. new york was so much better during those 12 years than any other period in his i ri. i will rest on my laurels of i know how to do the job. i have been training to be president since let's say 9/11 when i took office. you could argue before even before then because i was a manager in the private sector. but i know how to do the joob job. in terms of beating donald trump, i have beaten him on coal, guns, a whole bunch of these things. and i know how to goad go head to head with donald trump. we both come from new york city. i think i'm tougher than him and more knowledgeable. he's a real estate ro moteer. nothing wrong with that, but he's never managed anything and it shows. it's dangerous. >> you have said you're going to release the three women from

nondisclosure agreements. do you regret anything about what you did with those women? >> i shouldn't have said -- all they have alleged is that i said things that left them uncomfortable wp. >> do you regret that? >> yeah, i think i hadn't said it. but i wish a lot of little things i had done in life i wish i hadn't done. i'm sorry i did it. i apologized and also i think that the me too movement has exposed a lot of things that we have been doing for a long time, nobody focused on it and then now we do. and i think they provided a real service to this country. and hopefully we'll all change and not go back to when people stopped focusing on this. >> do you think they will speak out? >> i have no idea. >> do you hope they will? >> it's totally up to them. the only thing they alleged, they never alleged i did

anything touching or anything else. i said some things that left them uncomfortable. i just don't know. >> if you're elected, do you commit to only serving two terms a as president of the united states? >> i will not try to change the constitution, that's correct. but keep in mind, it's my city council that did it. i just signed the bill. >> mayor bloomberg, thank you for your time. i appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> joining us now is political reporter josh letterman, in washington. he's been covering the bloomberg campaign. josh, let's just talk about what has happened here tonight. the buttigieg announcing he's going to suspend his campaign. we're waiting for him to speak live. the expectation that at some point he's going to throw his support behind joe biden. this is kind of a tough spot for michael bloomberg head iing int super tuesday. he didn't really want to engage with this question about whether he spent half a billion dollars to elect bernie sanders as the

democratic nominee, but do you think we're heading that way? how do they see super tuesday? >> obviously, the conversation around blomichael bloomberg has changed dramatically just in the last 48 hours or so. first, with the will victory for joe biden bringing him back to the forefront as the supposed moderate alternative who can stand a chance of sanders. and now with pete buttigieg dropping out. and the party clearly moving in the direction of wanting to consolidate sooner than later and that meaning before tuesday about having an alternative to sanders that would be joe biden. so we have seen more and more pressure on bloomberg to say, do you actually have a path here? is there any reason to do this? but so far from the bloomberg campaign officials we have been speaking with tonight, they say there's no chance he drops out or reconsiders his role in this hay add of super tuesday.

they think joe biden hasn't prooumpb anything other than he can win one state. they say that he doesn't have any ground game on super tuesday. doesn't have a lot of money. and bloomberg is the one who has all those things. they see a rational for bloomberg to continue to litigate this argument that he is the one that can stop sanders and go on to defeat the president. >> speaking of money, josh, it's about 8:32. so it's possible if you were watching nbc the actual network, you may have seen a three-minute ad from michael bloomberg on coronavirus. a how much does it cost to make such an ad buy? how unprecedented is that? why did they decide to make that move now? >> we just got that number. $1.5 million is what it cost if you're michael bloomberg to buy a three-minute chunk of bl basically an elongated ad on two national networks, nbc and cbs.

and the goal here is a real pivot by the bloomberg campaign in their messaging. they know he's not the most enthusiastic candidate. they know he's not someone that unspires a crowd, but right now with the immense concern over the country about coronavirus, there's a unique opportunity that he has to say, look, maybe i don't inspire you, but imagine me being president right now instead of donald trump. wouldn't that make you feel a little bit better to have the guy whose campaign slogan is mike can get it done in charge in a time of uncertainty. so that's why they have put him forward basically trying to protect pretty tend like he's already the president to show people what it would be like to have him in charge in a crisis opposed to president trump. >> josh letterman, thank you very much. i'm going to ask the criminal room to put back up the b roll while josh was talking. it's michael bloomberg with two flags on either side of him.

this is the ad. nick, first of all, he looks like george w. bush. i had to do a double take. setting that aside, it looks like he's standing in the oval office. aside from the fact the windows are a lift different, but this is not something we see very often from president trump even. the visuals there are really something else. >> fake it until you make it. in his case, the ad and subject plays to his message as competency. i'm competent. i'm a good manager. i can run things well. but look, i think the only candidate now who has money and ground game and some popularity is bernie sanders. >> i'm going to pause. we're listening here this is pete buttigieg's husband who is introducing pete, who is spus spending his campaign. >> i love you. it's good to be home. thank you, everyone, for coming

tonight. a about a year and a half ago, my husband came home from work and told me, well he asked me, what do you think about running for president? and i laughed. not at him, but a at life. because -- [ applause ] >> life gave me some interesting experiences on my way to find

pe pete. after falling in love with pete, pete got me to believe in myself again. [ cheers ] >> and i told pete to run because i knew there were other kids sitting out there in this country who needed to believe in themselves too. [ applause ] >> yes we did, together, we did. this campaign was built on an idea of hope. an idea of inclusion. an idea of addition, rather than subtraction. about bringing people together. about looking your neighbor in the eye and saying maybe we don't agree on everything, but

let's agree on this. we have one shot and that's what we did. we went out there with that one shot, and we gave it everything we had because it is time for every single person in this country to look to the white house and know that that institution stands for them. that they belong in this country. [ applause ] >> it has been an honor and a privilege to share my husband with the rest of this country. you're so welcome. and i'm so proud that the same person you saw on the debate stage, the same person you saw at a town hall is the same person that comes home to me every night. plant [ applause ] >> for those who know me, you

know i'm not short with words, but to be the i will be. it's an honor to come home and to bring home the person i love to dearly. please help me welcome to the stage, my dear husband, the man i love so much, may your pete buttigieg. [ applause ] >> hello. thank you so much. >> we love you. >> it's so good to be in south bend.

sometimes the longest way around really is the shortest way home. here we are. the last few years america has faced enormous challenges. from an economy in transition to a climate on the brink to a president sewing chaos and discord across the very country he is responsible for uniting. and for many americans, these challenges have amounted to a call to action. and so like so had others, i thought deeply about what i could do to make a difference, what i could do to make myself useful. and it was in that spirit with your help that a year ago we launched our campaign for the american presidency is. we began this unlikely journey with a staff of four in a cramped office right here in

south bend, indiana, right down washington street. no big e-mail list. no personal fortune. hardly anybody knew my name and even fewer could pronounce it. but south bend showed everybody what to do. first name mayor, last name pete, so nobody got confused. b but by every conventional wisdom and his ttorical measure, we we never supposed to get anywhere at all. and then as i said that roller coaster night in iowa when we shocked the nation, along that way, an improbable hope became an undeniable reality. [ applause ]

>> in a field in which more than two dozen democratic candidates ran for president, senators and governor, billionaires, the former vice president, we achieved a top four finish in each of the first four states and we made history winning those iowa caucuses. [ applause ] >> all of that became about thanks to your support. thanks to the power of this campaign's vision this your hands. it proved that americans really are hungry for a new kind of politics rooted in the values that we share. in cities and suburbs and rural communiti communities, in crowds that spilled out of venues from raleigh to arlington, we saw americans ready to meet a new era of challenge with a new generation. we found countless americans d

ready to support a middle class millennial mayor from the industrial midwest not in spite of that experience, but because of it. eager to get washington to start working. in a divided nation, we saw fellow democrats join with independents and, yes, some of those future former republicans to choose a different politics. to choose a politics defined not by who we push away, but by how many we can call to our side. and we sent a message to every kid out there wondering if whatever marks them out as different means they are somehow destined to be less than. to see that someone who once felt that exact same way can become a leading american presidential candidate with his husband at his side.

p[ applause ] >> we got into this race for a reason. we got into this race in order to defeat the current president and in order to usher in a new kind of politics. and that meant guiding our campaign by the values we like to call the rules of the road. respect, belonging, truth, teamwork, boldness, responsibility, substance, discipline, excellence and joy. and every decision we made was fwieded by these values. one of those values is truth. and today is a moment of truth. a after a year of going

everywhere, meeting everyone, defying every expectation, seeking every vote, the truth is that the path has narrowed to a close. for our candidacy, if not for aour cause. another of those values is responsibility. and we have a responsibility to consider the effect of remaining in this race any further. our goal has always been to help unify americans, to defeat donald trump and to win the era for our values. [ applause ] >> and so we must recognize that at this point in the race, the best way to keep faith with those goals and ideals is to step aside and help bring our party and our country together. so tonight i am making the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency. i will no longer seek to be the

2020 democratic nominee for president, but i will do everything in my power to ensure that we have a new democratic president come january. [ applause ] [ chanting "2024 ] >> we have to because every time this president brings partisan politics into the management of a deadly serious pandemic, purges officials who honored their oaths of office by telling the truth, or cloaks in religious language the administration whose actions harmed the least among us, the sick and the poor, the outcast and the stranger, we are

reminded just how urgent it is that we change who is in the white house. we cannot afford to miss this moment. [ applause ] with every passing day, i'm more and more convinced that the only way we will defeat trump and trumpism is with a new politics that gathers people together. we need leadership to heal a divided nation, not drive us further apart. we need a broad based agenda that can truly deliver for the american people, not the one that gets lost in ideology. we need an approach strong enough not only to win the white house, but to hold the house, win the senate and send mitch mcconnell into retirement. [ applause ] and that broad and inclusive politics, that is the politics that we have attempted to model through this campaign.

that, i believe, is the way forward for our nominee. so i urge everyone who supported me to continue in the cause of ensuring that we bring change to the white house and working to win the absolutely critical down ballot races playing out across the country this year. [ applause ] there's simply too much at stake to retreat to the sidelines at a time like this. this is contest gives way to season of weekly elections and delegate math, it is more important than ever that we hold to what this is actually all about. politics is not about the horse race. not about the debate stage or a prezingt count in a spread sheet. it's about real people's lives. it's our paycheck, our families, our futures. we can is and must put the everyday lives of americans who

have been overlooked for so long back at the center of our politics. and every story that became part of this campaign helped show us why and how we do just that. [ applause ] now, ol ticks politics is about people and that's true of those people who touch ed this campaign. to my competitors in a historically diverse field, those who stepped aside and those still competing, thank you for demonstrating what public service can be. [ applause ] to the people of south bend, this river city we love so much, thank you for keeping me honest and thank you for keeping me going.

and to our family, i cannot express how grateful i am to every staffer, every volunteer, every supporter who believed in what we were building. you walked in neighborhoods on hot summer days and drove on iye roads in the winter sometime time, you filmed and tweeted and coded and crunched numbers. you built relationships and you built events. you lit up offices ask filled high school gyms with equipment and then with people and then with cheers in the name of our values, freedom and security and democracy. [ applause ] our contributors, so many of you dug deep to fuel this campaign. nearly a million grass roots supporters who sacrificed financial ly so this message of hope and belonging could reach every corner of this country.

thank you for what you gave. online, in person, with family, with friends ask with total strangers, you the campaign tha

built and the community that you have created is only the beginning of the change that we are going to make together.

the world is not divided. all it is not just policy making, it is moral. it is soul craft. that is why we were in there. [ applause ] >> earlier today, we were in selma, marching in commemoration where i was humbled to walk in the symbolic and the literal shadows of heroes who 55 years ago made america more of a democracy than it had ever been by their blood and by their courage. and seeing those moral giants

made me ask what we might achieve in the years now at hand, how we might live up to the greatest moral traditions of political change in this country. it made me wonder how the 2020s will be remembered when i am an old man. i firmly believe that in these years, in our time, we can and will make american life in politics more like what it could be. not just more wise and more prosperous but more equitable and more just and more decent. [ applause ] think of how proud of our time we could be if we really did act to make it so that no one has to take to the streets in america for a decent wage because one job is enough in the united states of america, whether you went to college or not. [ applause ] >> imagine how proud we would be

to be the generation that saw the day when your race has no bearing on your health or your wealth or your relationship with law enforcement in the united states. [ applause ] >> what if we could be the ones to deliver the day when our teachers are honored a little more like soldiers and paid a little more like doctors. [ applause ] >> what if we were the ones who rallied this nation to see to it that climate would be no barrier to our children's opportunities in life. the chance to do that is in our hands. that is the hope in our hearts. that is the fire in our bellieb. that is the future we believe in, a country that really does empower every american to thrive and a future where everyone belongs. thank you for sharing that vision. thank you for helping us spread that hope. thank you so much.

let's move on together. thank you. thank you. pete buttigieg basking in cheers in south bend as he suspends his campaign for president of the united states. there he is with his husband and i think that we would be remiss not to take this opportunity to point out that this is the first time we have ever seen this. he's dropping out tonight, but he and his husband made history. we have never been able to say that about any couple in this kind of a situation. and while there may be some disputes still about the iowa results, he is the first openly gay person to win delegates to a national convention. i want to garrett now who is at a now concluded event for the former vice president joe biden. we did not hear from mr. buttigieg an endorsement of joe biden. this was clearly a decision to take his night for himself. but we do know that those two

camps are talking to each other. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. i will point out here in virginia, joe biden didn't mention pete buttigieg either, nor should he given that buttigieg had not spoken yet. it would be inappropriate for biden to get ahead of him. as i listen to that, i heard some things i don't hear from other candidates. pete buttigieg and joe biden are the only two candidates who i regularly hear talk about their faith. i think that is a level that the two of them connect, that perhaps some of these other democratic candidates at least since corey booker dropped out of the race don't talk about. the other thing i heard pete buttigieg talk about that i think will be music to the ears of joe biden is the importance of down balance races in 2020. >> yeah. and that line we cannot afford to miss this moment. clearly seeming to underscore some of those schemes.

thank you. joining me from los angeles is katie porter. she has endorsed elizabeth warren for president. it is great to have you on the program. i would be remiss if i didn't ask you at this point the message from pete buttigieg clearly that frankly a consolidation behind somebody that could beat president trump. he decided the moderate lane is the answer to that, a one-on-one night with bernie sanders. at this point, what is the rational for elizabeth warren to stay in this race? >> elizabeth built their campaign for the long haul. i was on the ground this weekend for here here in orange county and of course with my own race coming up and saw a lot of enthusiasm for her. her polls and her energy here in california as well as in texas look good. and these are very delegate rich states. i also want to say as we talk about down ballot candidates, i was one of these candidates. i flipped a seat in 2018 in

orange county, california. became the first democrat to ever win there. one of the reasons i so strongly support elizabeth warren is her commitment to helping folks win up and down the ballot. i know she will do that. >> do you think bernie sanders at the top of the ticket would hurt your election chances? >> i ran a lot of progressive policies, but i think it is more about someone who wants the role of leading the party forward. what i see from elizabeth is someone who is working really hard to bring the party together, to talk about the importance of progressive achievements, progressive values, expanding health care, combatting climate change, lifting up wages. at the same time understands you have to reach out into every pocket of this country to win votes and support. i think she's uniquely qualified to lead the party in that way. >> thank you so much for your time tonight. i really appreciate it. we have a minute or so left in

our show here, but i want to wrap up what we have just heard and from pete buttigieg about the message going forward in this democratic race. >> well, the thing i heard that was most important was not words from his mouth but from the crowd, 2024. this is a guy who is looking towards his future. he's got a bright future probably in politics, and he is making a graceful exit that will allow him to capitalize on that down the road. >> yeah, i agree. i think it wasn't the time to endorse biden even if he's thinking about doing it. he's entitled to his moment. he had it. and it was significant. and we'll see what happens next. >> maria, quick last thoughts. >> you need people of color if you want to make it in presidential politics. at the same time, midwest earn nice, you know, pete is a nice guy. >> i think, nick, your point about this being somebody who clearly as a bright future, this was the type of presidential run that gets you somewhere in politics. that's going to do it for us tonight on kasie d.c.

we will be back with you next week with a lot after super tuesday. up next, watch "what's eating america with andrew zimmern. for now, good night from new york. this is an msnbc special series. how great is that? >> this is a special night for me. i'm in portland, oregon with some of the best chefs in the country. >> may i? >> please. >> they have three things in common. >> two ounce ladle right in the middle. >> they are see presumely talented. two, their passion for food is boundless. and, three -- >> i want you all to know that dinner is being prepared by alcoholics for you tonight. >> one out of two families have chemical dependency in their immediately family or close by. >> from op