david axelrod?we said the key is can he cut into her african-american support and can he build on the strong support he's got in working class white communities. and looking inside these numbers, that's appears to be what's happening. she's not running the same kind of numbers in the african-american communities. it's still formidable but modest. her fire wall is buckling a little bit. >> why do you think that is in michigan? >> it's hard to say. michigan has been frustrate wau these racial issues. i don't know. i would defer to you guys, you were over there this weekend. >> she is winning 65% of african-americans, which is not as high as she's done in the south. and he is winning 57% of white voters, 73% of independent voters. of course younger voters, as we know, and the question about where she may be vulnerable is cares about people like me, which is important to bernie sanders and his coalition. he is ahead of her 57 to 39 at this point. >> and trust and honesty. >> these issues have been doggi

david axelrod is joining us. would the psychology of the race change a lot? three or five the psychology of the race might change, but the delegate math would inexorably move on. given the nature of the states involved, if she were to win florida, for example, and north carolina, she could lose the other three and under the democratic rules she'll come back -- she'll net out ahead on delegates and just add to her delegate lead. >> does it wound her as a candidate? >> well, i think it -- in the long run, i don't know. in the short run, it's going to create a lot of angst and hand wringing of which they do a lot in the democratic party, so i'm sure there will be some of that. but their message tonight is going to be focus on the delegate math because she's got a larger lead among delegates now than barack obama ever did in 2008. and given the rules of the democratic party, we've discussed it before, you know, everybody goes home with a prize. nobody goes home with nothing. it's very hard to catch up once a candidate gets a large lead and he would have to win a

he's david axelrod, this is "overheard." [applause]. >> actually, there are not two sides to every issue. >> so i guess we can't fire him now. >> i guess we can't fire him now. the night that i win the emmy. >> being on the supreme court was an improbable dream. >> it's hard work and it's controversial. >> without information, there is no freedom. and it's journalists who provide that information. >> window rolls down and this guy says, hey, he goes to 11:00. [laughter]. >> david axelrod, welcome. >> good to be here, evan. >> congratulations on "believer." >> thank you. >> this is a wonderful book and deserves to be a bestseller. >> thank you so much. >> i hope you're very happy with the success. i want to talk about -- i got to talk about rahm emanuel first. we're sitting here, less than 24 hours as we sit here after the first round, it turns out a first round of the primary for mayor in chicago in which your old friend, your old running buddy rahm emanuel did not clear the 50% threshold. >> right. >> and so it has to go to

outfront now, john king and our senior political commentator david axelrod. how likely is this outcome that you get this contested convention? >> it is possible. something probable. so much so that david axelrod may change his registration to republican just so he can be a delegate. donald trump needs to win 55% on our current delegate count. we're still waiting on the final numbers from missouri. donald trump has to win 55% of the remaining delegates from here on out to get the magic number of 1237. many republicans think they can stop him from doing that. they're not going to beat donald trump on a conference call. they' the only way to beat donald trump, to stop him from getting that 55, is to beat him on election days and ted cruz is simply underperforming. we're not done counting missouri, but it looks like he will lose that state. the way to beat him is for someone to beat him on election day. >> so everyone in the gop establishment is just upset about that. they're trying to do -- it's like a toddler. they're having a tantrum. >> yes, they are. >> the

. >> i'm joined by some new panelists, michael smir connish is here, and david axelrod, gloria borger as well. david, in terms of what you were looking for tonight, and what you read from the exit polls. >> i've never seen a fuselad like against donald trump in the last few weeks. there have been so many guns trained on him. the national polling, the impact. the question is whether anybody but the trump movement can prosper in an environment where the campaigns have a nobody but me movement. each one of these challengers think they should be the alternative to trump. the longer they stay in, as we say, week after week, the better he does. and this -- we'll see if some are going to fall away or whether he's beginning to fray after all the attacks, which have been very, very severe. >> the question is also, we saw this "wall street journal" poll tonight, which had trump losing ground tremendously against his top contenders. and i think the question we have to say, even if people gain on donald trump, because of this establishment barrage against him, the question is whether it's too lat

even david axelrod has pointed this out.you have a president that's been in office for two terms, an open primary, very often the party out of power looks for someone that's the complete opposite. you had george w. bush, you had this image of the cowboy, so you get barack obama, this seemingly thoughtful law lecturer, and now you have donald trump, who is the opposite of that. i think a lot of republicans looked at president obama's lawless executive orders on immigration and said, you know what? we need someone who is going to govern in exactly the same way, but just do it to the other side. >> fascinating. kirsten, your thoughts? >> well, i actually think that this is more of a reaction to the gop establishment. david axelrod's argument would work better in a general election. but in a primary, you have a choice of plenty of people who would be different than the president who are republicans. so why are they choosing donald trump over the alternatives? and i think it's because they feel that the republican establishment l

. >>> senior political commentator and former obama senior adviser david axelrod.an find his podcast the ax files at cnn.com/podcast. it's an interesting line for clinton to walk. she's got electoral momentum yet sanders is vowing to fight on. how do you see this playing out through tomorrow's primaries and the debate sunday. >> we're entering a critical period. there's 1,000 delegates at stake in the next ten days. 300 in the next four days. and so, yes, she has a fairly significant lead given the way the democratic system works. a larger lead right now in pledge delegates than barack obama ever had all throughout the 2008 campaign. but this is bernie sanders' chance to get back in the hunt to do well, particularly in these northern industrial states. states like michigan on tuesday. so sunday's debate has some meaning, and it will be interesting to see not how she deals with it as much as how bernie deals with it. she'd like to look ahead to the general election. he'd like to keep her here and now stuck in the primaries. >> the question then is, if you are sander

he's david axelrod, this is "overheard." [applause]. >> actually, there are not two sides to every issue. >> so i guwe

david axelrod, you run campaigns, know michigan well.r -- >> on the democratic side? >> yeah. >> you know, i think that this figures to be a close race because bernie sanders has made some inroads with working-class whites and there are a lot of them in michigan, but -- >> do you think he's been able to do that on trade issues? is that particularly -- >> well, i think those trade issues are important, you know, but he's been -- i think just generally the whole issue of income inequality of the rigged system is one that resonates with these voters who really feel it in their lives. but, again, you know, when we see detroit roll in, i think that that gives her a real beachhead that's going to be hard for him to overcome. hard to say. but the fact that he's struggling here, and that she may win this state is probably better news for her than it is for him. >> and on the republican side, john kasich has found -- we were talks to him an hour or so allege, he was saying how much time he has spent there. >> lived there. he said he should pay ta

as david axelrod told me the other day donald trump is somehow allowed. the football team he's playing against to play on his side of the field the entire time. >> yeah, now, in fairness trump brought that up on some other topic. he said "and by the way little marco, which is what he called him, lying ted and little marco. he brought up my hands and went into the other thing riff. so after that insult, more insults continued into the night. the candidates debated poll numbers, immigration, honesty, even height. >> he has spent a career convincing americans he's something he's not exn exchange for their money, now he's trying to do that in exchange for their country. >> this little guy has lied so much about my record. >> here we go. you see what happens when you challenge him on a policy issue? you asked him about the economy and the first thing he does is launch an attack about some little guy thing. because he doesn't have answers and he's asking us to make him -- >> i have a policy question for you, sir. >> let's see if he answers it. >> i will, don't

joining us as well is our cnn senior political commentator, former obama senior adviser david axelrodalways boasts, doesn't need anyone else's money. won't be beholded to k street, special interest, big money. if he gets the nomination, he could change that. >> quite a story by sara today to actually get this out there at a time when the wind seems to be at his back and a big fight between donald trump and the republican establishment. but let's not be surprised by this. david will remember this. go back to 2012. $1.4 billion was spent between mitt romney and barack obama. obama had spent $737 million. mitt romney $483 million. if donald trump is such a great businessman as he tells us over and over again, a great businessman would rather have somebody else pay for his campaign than pay for it himself. but he'd be very smart to take that money from the rnc or raise money and put it into the united states senate and pay for the campaign himself. >> what do you think of all of this, gloria? >> i think donald trump is going to have to become a party candidate at some point if he's the no

. >> let's bring in gloria borger, nia-malika henderson and david axelrod, a former senior adviser to your take on this little reversal, shall we call it. >> it took him just a short time to completely do a reversal. the irony here, wolf is that donald trump was clearly trying to appeal to pro-life voters. and what he didn't understand is the position of pro-life voters, vis-a-vis women and abortion. and even somebody like mike huckabee has said in the past, and nobody is more socially to the right than mike huckabee. he's said that should abortion become illegal, it would be the doctors that you would try and prosecute, not the women. so in attempting to pander to pro-life people, it would clear that donald trump didn't really understand their position on this. >> he certainly understands what's going on right now. the other thing that got him into trouble with some women, and i saw the reaction online, is originally in the msnbc interview he said women should be punished some form of punishment but then what about the man who impregnated the woman, should he be punished? he said no.

her work is just beginning, says democratic strategist david axelrod. axelrod. "donald trump, if he is the nominee of the republican party will mobilize some voters who otherwise might not be mobilized to participate." 3 a new cnn/orc poll released today shows -- in hypothetical, general-election matchups -- both democratic candidates easily top donald trump... but, things tighten up when the poll compares clinton and sanders -- to the other top republicans. 3 ryan- you mentioned you sat down for an interview with ohio governor john kasich... is he prepared to back donald nominee?live in 3 washington, ryan nobles, fox carolina news. 3 on this super tuesday-five candidates remain in the running for the republican nomination. frontrunner donald trump hopes to extend his lead over the pack...while ted cruz and marco rubio battle behind him--followed by john kasich and ben carson. carson.there are three candidates vying for the democratic nomination...which be a tight race between hillary clinton and bernie sanders.we have information on all the candidates and all t

david axelrod, is it a bad sign for hillary clinton in a general that's she falling behind bernie sandersernie sanders. they're fighting over bragging rights but she's had a great night. she's extended her delegate lead. >> and the victory in ohio is an important one. >> it's huge. but there is a problem with independents that he's exposed and you see it in general election polling, that she's not doing as well with independents. she doesn't have to carry independents because there are more democrats than republicans, but she has to do well enough. obama didn't win independent voters but he did well enough to win the election. you can't see them by 10 or 15 or 20 points in is an area they're going to have to work on in a general election. >> i think their feeling is, though they won't shout it out loud, if trump is the nominee, they can use trump to consolidate their support with independents. they're not going to say that right now but i think that's absolutely their hope. >> i looked at his numbers. they've actually improved a little lately. i just wouldn't take that for grangt granted.

wong happens to be an -- >> no, david axelrod, dr. sam wong is not ted cruz. one of the best in the prediction business and 90% sure trump will win. he's made quite a name for himself predicting the exact 2008 presidential results and he joins me now. do you think it was good for donald trump that he lost ohio to kasich? >> absolutely. i do think it was good in a divided field. trump has the advantage in a one on one race trump has a problem because he one on one surveys and falls well behind cruz. >> don't make my eyes glaze over and remember, i'm a knucklehead but explain the graphs and what they mean, dr. wong. put those up, if you would. here we go. what does that mean? >> this is the conventional political thinking if kasich wins ohio he stays in the race and below, that's a three-way race and that's all the possible outcomes that i've calculated using polls and the red vertical line is where trump needs to get. you can see he gets super close and needs to pick up a few dozen delegates in most scenarios. >> bottom line for that slide is it benefits donald

. >> reporter: david axelrod, who ran obama's first campaign, tweeted i haven't seen anything like this since '64 when the gop establishment walked away from barry goldwater. sarah palin called his attack a hit on patriotic americans. >> he has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president and his personal qualities would mean that america would cease to be a shining city on a hill. >> romney today did not endorse anyone and he swears he is not interested in running but there is a scenario that trump could be challenged at the convention this summer in cleveland, it could turn to someone like a romney or ryan as a compromise we haven't seen anything since adly stevenson. >>> no apologies tonight from chris christie over calls for him to resign over not spending enough time working in new jersey and for campaigning for donald trump. >> i have no current plans to go back on the road with him again but i will at some point i'm sure do so. the only plans i have to go away is to finally take a few days off. >> seven newspapers in new jersey have called on christie to resign since

political analyst gloria borger, also can top political commentator and former top obama adviser david axelrod. the newest member of the cnn podcast family. sign up at cnn.com/podcast. and with us is nia-malika henderson. nia, the numbers 78% are firm in their donald trump commitment. that's an extraordinary number for this candidate. >> it's an extraordinary number. the 49% is an extraordinary number. conventional wisdom among establishment folks has been when the field winnows there will be an establishment on a white horse who will rescue the party from donald trump. these polls suggest something very different. and again, there's this broad coalition. there are also some numbers in here that i think if you're rubio should be troubling. this idea of there's a question about who is the candidate who can best handle the responsibilities of being commander in chief? trump wins that 48%. cruz at 17%. rubio comes in at 14%. he's now trying to be the anti-trump, but it isn't clear that even if he fires donald trump that people want to hire him. >> david, is there anything, if you were one of thos

and david axelrod, shaping up for donald trump to be a very good night, particularly in the state ofnot so much marco rubio. what does rubio do now? >> well, i want to quote my friend across the way here, dan jones, who said last week this could shape up to be good-bye rubio tuesday. and i think that's about right. i don't know how he continues in this race. he is not -- not only is he losing his home state, but he's getting nothing anywhere else. the only rationale for him to remain would be to be part of this kind of plot to deprive donald trump of the delegates he needs to get elected. but i would think that he would get out. and he might even get out tonight. >> if you're going to be part of a plot to stop trump, you have to pay for it. and i think if you're a funder, right now, of marco rubio, you have to be saying, i'm not going to throw more money away. now, there's a possibility that you could just withdraw sort of, you know, suspend your campaign if you wanted to play some games about not freeing up your delegates. but then again, to the voters, it looks like -- >> the other

david axelrod, a lot riding on ted cruz in texas. >> i think it would be hard for him to go on if hen't win his home state. the weird thing about this is if you're donald trump, i don't know what you're rooting for because if ted cruz wins texas, he soldiers on, the field continues to be cluttered. >> that benefits -- >> that redowns to trump's benefit. he's watching returns with probably mixed feelings tonight. i know he likes to win, win, win. maybe this is one he wants to lose. >> i think it also depends on when you get to counting delegates tonight, who comes in second and who comes in third? because the question is, can marco rubio win anywhere? he may be the establishment's favorite republican candidate, but can he win anywhere? i know they're all looking toward florida, but you have to have some momentum. and does cruz perform tonight well? i mean, this was going to be his firewall. not only texas, but the south. he had a southern strategy, evangelicals. trump's been doing pretty well with evangelicals. >> does donald trump continue to win among evangelicals? >> exactly. exact

david axelrod opposing her in 2008 reminded everybody on twitter that she had the opposite point of viewery quickly to your point, she does well in these debates. so bring it on. why not. >> bernie sanders, i've said this before, is like a low-grade toothache. he's not going to kill her, but he's really annoying her. the real problem is when they get to that convention, and i realize everybody says no one pays attention to the platform, they'll pay attention to it. bernie sanders is in this court. >> so why is it -- here's the thing about hillary clinton that's important, though. the problem she has connecting with voters, and why we're still talking about bernie sanders is the fact that this is the arrogance of the clinton family that people do not like. bernie sanders has gone everywhere and anywhere and had conversations with people that have never been given the time of day by clinton and the establishment and -- >> it is absolutely true. >> why is bernie doing so well? >> he said himself, bernie sanders' chief strategist said he did not contest states like my only point about this w

. >> gloria borger, david axelrod, thanks. >>> coming up next, the two potential first ladies in theeud. we'll look at melania trump and heidi cruz. actions speak louder. something we'll show you. through small things. big things. and spur of the moment things. sheraton. ♪ her long day as anne. hair stylist starts with shoulder pain when... hey joanne, want to trade the all day relief of 2 aleve with 6 tylenol? give up my 2 aleve for 6 tylenol? no thanks. for me... it's aleve. there it is... this is where i met your grandpa. right under this tree. ♪ (man) some things are worth holding onto. they're hugging the tree. (man) that's why we got a subaru. or was it that tree? (man) the twenty-sixteen subaru outback. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. >>> one wonders whether heidi cruz and melania trump knew what they would be getting involved in when their husbands ran for office. a superpac would drag out an old nude modeling photo or the front-runner would tweet a picture essentially comparing whose wife is better looking? nothing apparently off limits. we want to take a break fro

david axelrod, i mean, it is a tough thing to do. >> it is. it's always a tough thing to do. and you saw both the strength and weakness of marco rubio right there. very inspiring speech, but, and he talked about building a bridge to all factions of the republican party, but there's an element of trying to be all things to all people there, and when you're running particularly within a party, you have to have a base and he never had a base. he tried to be everybody's favorite and ended up as nobody's chase. >> you know, he began as an insurgent when he won his senate seat in 2010, and he became the establishment darling in 2016 and yet in this speech tonight, he came out against the establishment and said, you know, that the establishment has always looked down on conservatives and so you see as david was saying, this kind of mixed message that you get from marco rubio. i think it was a quintessential rubio speech which is why people are so attracted to him, and didn't work this time. he never had the momentum he wanted. >> let's go back to wolf. >> thanks very much, anderson.

and one of the comments from david axelrod stuck out.s georgia voters are dumb saying, "georgia has more it of a downscale vote." is that a correct characterization? >> no, it's not a correct characterization. david axelrod represents a party that's trying to elect a liar and somebody that people can't trust. so i don't think he's in a position to be throwing stones at georgia voters or any other voters. here's the other thing about it -- they haven't, the democrats, haven't been able to stop trump with all of their attacks. now they are attacking the people who support trump. they are desperate to try and slow down his momentum, but all of those characterizations, i don't think they're going to work. >> what happens in the southern states going forward, in the states that are left for ted cruz and marco rubio in your opinion? >> in my opinion, i think marco rubio is in a little bit of trouble because based upon the latest polls in florida, donald trump is beating marco rubio. it's going to take quite an effort to turn it around. just li

. >> axelrod: david begnaud in the devastation of louisiana. thank you very much. it is not the quantity of water but the quality of it that's a problem in newark, new jersey. this week, water fountains were shut down in city schools due to lead contamination. as jericka duncan reports, evidence suggests officials knew about this problem for years. >> reporter: a moment memo from the district sent on august 30 of 2014 mandates all schools run and flush each water fountain for two minutes daily before school opens. the same steps apply for calf teara faucets prior to food prep usage. and principals were instructed to tell students and staff to run fountains for at least 30 seconds before drinking the water. annual water contamination tests at newark public schools were conducted between december and february. on wednesday, the district turned off water at 30 schools after results revealed unsafe lead levels. >> i send my son to school every day to be safe. this his safe haven and then lead is in his water. >> reporter: lead in drinking water should not exceed 15 par

nominees or respective nominees have won the party frequently, as my friend david axelrod, our colleague, are the opposite of whoever the president is. you can really say that george w. bush was responsible for the rise of barack obama. and you can really say that bill clinton was responsible for the election of george w. bush. what people are looking for quite frequently is all the way to the other side. this goes all the way back to john quincy adams and andrew jackson so i think president obama is just the latest. >> when you look at the state of the republican party, the tea party, more recently, i'm curious with that sort of revolution over last four, eight years, if that created an opening for someone such as donald trump. >> every presidential nominee is a reaction to the previous president. certainly the vacuum of strong relationship leadership created an opening for donald trump. the reason why many conservative people like donald trump is because they think he will do what obama said. then say, okay, we don't have a problem with executive action, we just want our guy to do it.

joining us gloria borger, our senior political commentator, the former obama senior adviser david axelrodior editor political analyst ron brownstein. he just posted this statement criticizing both parties but especially harsh words for donald trump saying this -- i have known mr. trump casually for many years and we have always been on friendly terms. i even agreed to appear on the apprentice twice, but he's run the most divisive and demagogic presidential campaign i can remember, preying on people's prejudices and fears. abraham lincoln, the father of the republican party, appealed to our better angels. trump appeals to our worst impulses. here's the question. he's not going to run himself, but will he get involved and try to influence this race in various other ways? >> look, i don't think he was not only anti-trump, wolf, he was anti-ted cruz. and i think michael bloomberg probably doesn't have a lot of appeal with the base of the republican party right now. so even if he were to get involved and say, push john kasich or push marco rubio, i don't think it would have any influence at al

. >> barack obama had david axelrod and david plough and a squadron of people around him who knew whatonald trump has donald trump cory lewandowski, hope hicks. >> a couple other people. >> you've said it a lot on the show, you cannot understate, overstate how much this is just him. >> just him. >> by the way, somebody called me the other day and said, i want to go on -- i want to go on an interview today. do you have any idea who i would call to get talking points? i said, are you kidding me? there is no press operation, because there is no operation. >> which is -- which makes it one of the most amazing things -- >> it really is. it makes it one of the most remarkable political achievements of our lifetime, what he has done, by himself. it also makes it one of the most dangerous things that we've seen in our political lifetime, that somebody could get elected president with absolutely nobody around him. because even when you have these giant hulking infrastructures, the transition from being a candidate to being a president is absolute chaos. >> yeah. >> all right. >> it's -- >> don'

rove ever knocked somebody or grabbed somebody and knocked them to the side, has david plouffe, david axelrodpeople, why are they in that position to begin with? why is he act like a bodyguard for donald trump. >> she grabbed him. he ungrabbed him. >>> let's talk about the president scolding the press. he was speaking to syracuse university's toner award, an award, and he's speaking to all the journalists in washington, d.c. he basically goes after the media. chews them out. he goes on to say that journalists -- well, actually, let's take a listen. this is what he says. >> the number one question i'm getting as i travel around the world or talk to world leaders right now is what is happening in america? about our politics. they understand america is the place where you can't afford completely crazy politics. you are supposed to push those in power for more evidence and more access. you're supposed to challenge our assumptions. in 2008 during the campaign people asked me really tough questions. about whether they'd match up and we had to spend a lot of time worrying about what i could deliver

. >> david axelrod tweeted last week said "how could it be that even when he's defending the honor of his wife it seems so staged." he was saying -- and it was -- and then he turned and pointed his fingers. it was -- >> i'm sorry. >> it was bad, bad acting. i just -- >> we are right now criticizing and ridiculing the presentation of a male candidate. >> that's just very sexist of you, mika. very sexist of you. >> i know. >> so a lot to get through here. al hunt, the anger and rage against donald trump, especially from the right, grows by the day. >> it's blinding. >> and if you even follow the top influencers on twitter and what they're saying, it is blind i ing. and it gets worse by the day. >> it does. so much so that it's really -- sometimes it seems impossible to have a discussion about where this guy sits in the process. >> well, and some of them will start to get a little bit soft and then he'll do something and they get hard again. it's amazing, he reels them back in. and we have to remember, joe, there's at least three different elements here and some overlap. there are those

but, you know, david axelrod, who, of course, senior political contributor here, but also ran obama'sm has said, look, if donald trump is in a position where he's got the most delegates and he has won all over the country, how do you deny him the nomination? so, this math may be tough for him, winning 60% of what's left, but he's going to come awfully close. and in a brokered convention, there'll still be a big anti-trump force that's out there. will it be enough to effectively come together and anoint somebody else? it's ted cruz who is certainly arguing that he is the only one who can really challenge trump to get close enough. kasich is viewed by many conservatives as somebody who's just a spoiler here and can keep cruz from making an effective case. >> speaking of how the establishment views all of these guys, donald trump last night said that he's had very productive, excellent conversations with paul ryan and mitch mcconnell. there a sense that the washington establishment is beginning to support donald trump? >> well, i still think that's very loose. i mean, i think that right