the man donald j. trump. the purpose, an expected presidential endorsement at a news conference that we will carry live. while you never know what might happen at a trump event, it has mitt romney has the hand picked apprentice. the choice comes as a surprise to many who thought newt was the more natural fit with their matching levels of self-esteem and contempt for the president fp for romney, it may bring some publicity. one wonder if the timing isn't perfect for mitt. a candidate who continues to face fire over the assertion that he's quote, not concerned about the very poor. in walks the donald, a self-starved king maker with the golden hair and a golden fortunate that dwarves even romney's riches. >> i like being able to fire people who provide services to me. >> you're fired. >> as the announcement is made, somewhere in sin city you might find a sulking newt gingrich. he had this to say. >> i'm just watching in amazement. >> why is it amazing? >> because some people have this knack of gathering attentio

>> donald! what the [ bleep ] are you doing? >> donald trump is going to be traveling to las vegas to endorse mitt romney. >> it's my honor, real honor and privilege to endorse mitt romney. >> donald! what the [ bleep ] are you doing? >> all media invited, which i'm pretty sure is just on the trump letterhead. >> i've gone almost this entire election cycle without having to mention donald trump. >> it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. >> will his endorsement help anyone? >> there are some things you can't imagine happening in your life. >> one is real, one is not. who knows? >> why take the endorsement now? >> donald! what the [ bleep ] are you doing? >> mitt romney has a problem with people's perception that he doesn't connect with middle class voter. >> he doesn't need a mass millionaire property mogul. >> they both like firing people and they've both made millions doing it. >> corporations are people, my friend. i like being able to fire people that provide services to me. i'm not concerned about the poor. >> how are these c

she was talking about the endorsement of donald trump. some call him donald.peculation he was going to endorse newt gingrich. official today in one of his hotels in las vegas he was endorsing mitt romney. here's how the event unfolded mid-afternoon in las vegas. >> thank you very much. it's a great honor for me. as everybody in this room knows our country is in serious, serious trouble. whether it's opec, the opec nations or china, or virtually anybody that we do business with throughout the world, they take advantage of us, they laugh at us, they can't believe their good fortunes. ideal with these people. they can't believe what they are getting away with. so we really have an opportunity to do something great for the country. and just a little while ago i didn't even mention this, but the cbo chief in washington announced that unemployment is going up. to 9.2%. by sometime in january. so it's going to go up and the growth rate is going to be at about 1%. this just came out. not good news. it's my honor, real honor, and privilege to endorse mitt romney. [ app

the donald. so much for newt who thought the endorsement was in the bag. not from phil. the donald. today, taking a jab at the donald. >> let me say first of all i like hiring people. >>neil: while newt could be trying to dismiss it, being liked by donald trump is a lot better than not being liked. the donald will be joining us soon but, first, this is a big, big win my guest says. better to have than not? >>guest: sure, you played a clip of newt gingrich and he probably would have walked over his grandmother to have the endorsement from donald trump. he was so clearly chasing it, and courting donald trump for many months. >>neil: he thought it was in the bag. >>guest: they did and a number of news outlets reported the endorsement was going to newt gingrich and they had to walk that back. donald trump is no dummy he wants to back a winner and mitt romney looks like he has all of the momentum in addition to having the organization and the money going forward to actually win the big contest. >>neil: it looks like newt gingrich was flabbergasted but back in december, remember, right af

but donald trump said something that is not true.d you to read, we fact checked him, he said that unemployment would go up to 9.2 percent. here is what it said, growth would slow to 1.1 percent in tents if fiscal year 2013 which starts october 1 if a number of tax cuts were allowed to expire and if across the board government spending cuts take effect as scheduled, this is from the c.b.o. if no agreement is reached to citizen the tax cuts and block the spending cuts unemployment rises to 8.9 percent by year end from 8.5 percent and hit 9.2 percent at the end of 2013. donald trump forgot the "if's," but he has changed everything with the breaking news so we forgive him. >>shepard: you think peta would be against slotserring animals but they support legislation for more new comprehensive slaughter rules. and now, our reporter is at a horse farm. doug, afternoon. >> afternoon to you, this is a horse rescue farm in maryland. the horses in many respects are the victims of abad economy, their owners unwilling or unable to care for them. so

earlier today in a las vegas hotel ballroom, a hotel owned by donald trump, the donald from new york endorses mitt romney and he accepted the endorsement. he said that there are some things in life you just can't imagine. mitt romney went on to say, this is one of them. donald trump who is, of course, a household name thanks to his television show "the apprentice" as well as his empire that includes casinos and hotels in las vegas and atlantic city, he is ever the publicity man. he stoked speculation about who he would endorse. many yesterday speculating it was going to be newt gingrich including the gingrich campaign leaking word it was going to be donald trump. but this afternoon in las vegas, donald trump had this to say. >> well, thank you very much. this is a great honor for me. as everybody in this room knows, our country is in serious serious trouble. whether it's opec, the opec nations or china or virtually anybody that we do business with throughout the world, they take advantage of uls, they laugh at us. they can't believe their good fortunes. i deal with these people and t

donald trump.ome thought and some reported actually that newt gingrich was going to get trump's endorsement. gingrich had reaction to this today. >> i'm just watching in amazement. >> why is it amazing? >> because some people have this knack of gathering attention. >> talking about donald trump, perhaps? >> the donald is a force of his own. >> would you like to have that force on your side? >> oh, yeah. >> that didn't get an answer. we're back with the panel. a.b., what about this development in the world of politics? >> well, i don't know a lot of republicans who really think that the donald trump endorsement is important or helpful for mitt romney. i think it was helpful for mitt romney -- to stand next to donald trump to change the subject from his comments electric yesterday, which are still news today about his lack of concern for the very poor. >> bret: which continues on in the full context that -- >> we all know the context, brett. >> bret: not all of us know the context. if you look at som

donald trump addressed that. people to see someone who has made a lot of money and added to employment in this country rather than unemployment. he said that was one reason he wanted to make the endorsement today. they're on stage now live in las live in las vegas. and if you want to hear what donald trump has to say about this more, and i'm sure there will be interesting comments as there always are, he'll be on with wolf blitzer in the situation room coming up at the top of the hour. so stay tuned. now this. >>> first thing we talked about was food and how there would be more macaroni and cheese. >> trying to make everything last a little longer. >> once in the middle class, a family making more than 100 grand a year, suddenly loses it all. you'll hear what happened, how they get by and how your life can change in one instant. that's next. as never been hacke. an online virus has never attacked a corkboard. ♪ give your customers the added feeling of security a printed statement or receipt provides... ...with ma

but donald trump is such a cartoon character. an endorsement no matter who he chooses is likes bugs bunny saying which candidate for president he supports. so it's really kind of a nonnews event. >> we shall see what happens this afternoon. always great to see you. thank you for your time. >>> donald trump does make that big announcement at 3:30. martin bashir will have live coverage of that. it all starts here at 3:00 p.m. >>> outraged e jipgss are blaming police for failing to prevent a soccer vriot that killed 70 people. nbc's a man mul dean joins me from cairo. was the riot a result of the sports rivalry or politics at play? how is it being determined? >> well, thomas, we have an investigative committee. the key question is whether this was something more sinister than what it seemed to be. according to many egyptians and analysts, they think there is something underlying this violence. now as you mentioned, 74 people killed. but many people are surprised that the sudden spike of violence. yes, politics in egypt are common wi

it didn't seem like he was giving donald trump a bear hug. >> i'll be speaking live donald trump in a few minutes here. a lot of good questions to ask him about what this means, how does he translate the support into action. that's coming up in a little while. gloria, thanks very much. >>> also other important news we're following, including in syria right now. there are dramatic developments unfolding. in fact new video from syria allegedly showing gains by some of the forces opposed to the regime by president assad. this video purports to show members of the free syrian army celebrating after seizing control of the neighborhood and homes from government security forces. and this video allegedly showing attacks on homes which have seen some of the most brutal backlash against the uprising. cnn cannot independently confirm the authenticity of these videos. let's bring in holly. it looks like goes from bad to worse. the arab world, rest of the region, not doing anything right now. >> it doesn't seem like they're doing anything that will force the regime to change its behavior with rega

donald trump is very, very involved with china. he doesn't like what they're doing to us or the oil situation. couple of things, will it help or hurt mitt romney? mitt romney had to fly there. he had to say thank you, donald. this is important for a lot of reasons. number one, it's a block. it's a complete block of newt gingrich. newt couldn't take that. he couldn't get the ball and run with it. you win the coin toss, you always take the ball. whether you're going to score or not, you tonight want the other team to have the ball first. >> i think it's a tennis analogy. >> close enough. involves a ball. okay. dana, is this something that's going to actually move the ball forward for mitt or is it kind of just a loss? he's already got the momentum, he's had back to back wins. he's doing excellent with fundraising. maybe it kind of benefited newt because trump stayed out until now. >> i generally think endorsements don't ever hurt you that much. they're more likely to help you a little bit. maybe with a couple of people. there was a p

why donald trump? why no. this announcement is all about donald trump. it will take a bit of the air out of governor romney. i don't see how that adds to his credibility. that doesn't make sense to me. >> it also is strange when you look at the history of mitt romney and donald trump. we have what donald trump said in august regarding mitt romney. he said i wasn't in love with the job he did in massachusetts. he wasn't popular. he was a one-term governor. he didn't have a high approval rating and i don't like that. i like a guy running for president to be the most popular guy you can have. the romneycare is not a good situation. that's one of things. i want to play what he said on cnn in april regarding mitt romney. let's play it. >> mitt romney is a small business guy. he buys companies, he closed companies. he get rid of jobs. i built a great company. >> how does he backtrack from those comments not so long ago about mitt romney, and how did rom stand next to the guy who said those words? >> i have no idea. there's very little value in this endorsement

donald harvey wanted to play god.was still trying to convince me he was motivated by compassion. >> if i was laying -- okay, look at you today, you weighed 90 pounds a year from now and you don't know nothing, do you still want to be hanging on? >> good question. because in 1983 on a case, i was in a coma for a week. i collapsed and as far as they knew, i had no brain wave activity, my digestive system shut down. i felt tremendous pain. i'm pretty sure harvey would have had no problem taking me out. what if the tables were turned? would you like somebody to treat you like yourself? >> if they wanted to come and go ahead. don't get caught. damn, don't get caught. them little cells and bathrooms you live in ain't all that. >> harvey worked pretty hard to convince me he was a mercy killer. there are plenty of cases where he was anything but merciful. but they weren't all mercy? >> no, they weren't all. >> all mercies? >> first death occurred 18 years of age with you. can you tell me about that, how that happened? >> just

he tried to minimize donald trump.st single-handedly killed trump debate that was going to happen the end of december. and he made little out of the face-to-face meeting he had with donald trump. he was trying to avoid the cameras. he doesn't want to get bogged down with trump and the sideshow that comes with him. but this was awkward today and you a sense he wound get it over with. it was only five minutes in length. it was in and out. and a of in a workman like performance for mitt romney who is glad to have this but has no interest in highlighting it at this point >> but i wonder if at any point, if he diss donald trump by keeping some distance from donald trump because of the your fired or whatever reason, and this is the second time and i don't think that would sit well with donald trump. he's not used to being dissed if that happens. >> and even if mitt romney is the nominee, we haven't her the last of donald trump. he's not going the next nine months as a silent soldier. he will be there on the sidelines. on bal

thank you, donald. >> reporter: donald trump was courted by all of the republican candidates but with the race now sporting a frontrunner, trump is placing his bets on mitt romney. >> it is my honor, real honor, and privilege to endorse mitt romney. >> reporter: earlier, romney had tea kleined an invitation it a trump-ofted debate. today, he was eager to accept his backing. >> donald trump has shown an extraordinary ability to understand how our economy works, to create jobs for the american people. he has done it here in nevada. he has done it across the country. >> reporter: for his part, trump, who had been critical of romney in the past, now says he is the best candidate to become the republican nominee. >> mitt is sharp and he is not going to continue to allowed bad things to come to this country we love. >> we are running with people power versus money power. one candidate who was not as pleased with the endorsement is newt gingrich who gave his a short response when asked about it in of in neve. >> some people have this knack of gathering attention. >> you are talking about don

it might be donald trump. >> sure. when's the last time you talked about donald trump? he wants us. jenna: and here we are talking about it yet again. you mentioned that gaffe. not a gaffe, this was something that mitt romney has been pulled out of context. according to some, some say this really shows something about what mitt romney feels or how he feels about classes. he was asked how his connection with voters is going, and he had this kind of long answer about, you know, jobs in america. and in the answer to this question she his saw: -- he says this: i believe i will be able to instill confidence in the american people and by the way, i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it. i'm not concerned about the very rich, they're doing just fine. where the editorials are today is this comment, i'm not concerned about the very poor. what do you do when something like this comes out? >> i remember one time when i was white house secretary, president bush had a response to something regarding iran. and it sent my alar

one is having his honeymoon in vegas with donald trump. and here's president obama talking about the poor at the prayer breakfast today. this is how he chose to spend his day. he gave his reasoning for standing for foreign aid one of the reasons helping the poor. let's listen. >> it's also about the biblical call to care for the least of these, for the poor, for those at the margins of our society. to answer the responsibility we're given in proverbs to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. >> so the moral majority is going with the guy in vegas? here's president obama speaking about the great billy graham. let's listen. >> one of the great honors of my life which was visiting reverend graham at his mountain top retreat in north carolina when i was on vacation with my family. this man who had prayed great prayers that inspired a nation. this man who seemed larger than life greeted me and was as kind and as gentle as could be. when he finished praying, i felt the urge to pray for him. i

and as you know, donald is very, very tough on china. he's really a china basher and india basher also. are you worried that mitt romney who has already been tough on china might lead us into major hostilities regarding trade and the currency? >> well, i'm not a china basher, and i don't think that america should be china bashers because that's not going to change anything. if you want your currency to slope more, which they are gradually doing, the wrong way to do it is to scream and yell at them in public. that simply doesn't work with the chinese. so i hope mr. romney would understand that. >> are you at all worried regarding the private equity business? are you worried that with mitt romney running, president obama is going to go what newt gingrich did with newt's bain capital bashing and raise that to the tenth power, might end up hurting a very valuable industry to private equity business. does that concern you at all? >> well, it concerns me mainly because i don't think that the way to help the 99% improve is to try to tear down t

mitt romney nabs a big endorsement from the donald. our david muir goes one-on-one with trump tonight. >>> mileage myth. the rebel driver who took on a big auto company and won. is the car you drive as fuel-efficient as you think? >>> and new hope. a man once at the brink of despair, depression. saved by a surprising drug. is this the answer for someone you love? >>> good evening. we begin, tonight, with the national showdown under way at this moment over money, health and politics. millions of people across this country, fired up and taking sides. the issue? on one side, the cancer organization that gave us pink ribbons to fight breast cancer. on the other, planned parenthood, where so many women get free tests for cancer treatment. so, what happened? abc's claire shipman takes us into the heart of this exploding story tonight. claire? >> reporter: diane, the firestorm erupted when the susan g. komen foundation, as you know, the nation's largest breast cancer charity, announced that it would stop giving funds to planned parenthood for

donald trump is here! cheers and applause ] he's always a good sport. >> steve: always. >> jimmy: always fun. he's got some friends with him, and we're going to play a game. it's going to be fun tonight. also, from the new movie, "ghost rider," idris elba is stopping by! [ cheers and applause ] ladies love him. he's a stud. speaking of studs, we've got music from country superstar, jake owen! [ cheers and applause ] tonight is gonna be good! ladies love him. happy valentine's day, everybody. you know what? you should just get your valentine a "late night" snack right here. that's our ice cream that we have. it's a good day for it, valentine's day. this is a good ice cream. it's vanilla ice cream. it has fudge covered potato chip clusters and a salty caramel swirl. [ audience oohs ] salty and sweet. pick it up, you guys. "late night" snack right there. [ cheers and applause ] ben & jerry's. that reminds me -- i was just thinking about it today. it's a shame that the world is full of so much unnecessary conf

for donald trump, help or hurt you?epends on who you are. overall in a general election, it probably hurts you. we have seen donald trump be a big light nick ning rod early when the presidential contest started with all the birth certificate controversy. in a primary contest, if it were newt gingrich getting the nod, it would be a csignal that the entire tea party, the strong conservatives were all lining up around newt gingrich. but mitt romney getting this endorsement would be an embarrassment for newt gingrich not to be able to get it right on the eve of the nevada caucuses. this could go many ways. in the general election, i'm not sure donald trump would help either. >> we have a couple hours before we hear what he's going to do. mark murray, thank you. >>> today is the last full day of campaigning before the caucuses in nevada. i'm joined by amy tarcana in nevada. good day to both of you. amy, let me start with you. it's been pointed out nevada is like three states in one. how big a challenge is it to get the vote?

donald trump, we know this is not the end.e clip to show you the first lady of the united states, michelle obama visited ellen yesterday on her program. she is doing the "lets move" campaign to get young people outside working out physically fit. challenging ellen to a push-up contest. i think we all know how that went. the first lady finally wearing ellen down. ellen begging for mercy, first lady just keeps cranking them out. i don't think you want to get in a push up contest with the first lady of the united states. >>> your tones, texts and email, "morning joe" is moments away.

we'll talk shortly about the donald and willard who have a lot in common. they have a lot of money, and they like to fire people. but we begin with the old saying, to whom much is given, much is required. that's the message of fairness that president obama has governed by. and it's what he talked about today at the national prayer breakfast. >> treating others as you want to be treated, requiring much from those who have been given so much. living by the principle that we are our brother's keeper. caring for the poor and those in need. >> caring for those in need. that's the vision that will shape this presidency. a vision from the other side couldn't be more different. >> i'm in this race because i care about americans. i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, we'll fix it. i'm not concerned about the very rich. they're doing just fine. >> you got one thing right. you aren't concerned about the very poor. if elected president, you said you'd raise taxes on those in the bottom 20% while giving the top 1% an extr

>>> donald trump is playing lady luck in the silver state. will his endorsement help anyone in the gop win big? it's thursday, february 2nd, groundhog day. and this is "now." joining me today, ari melber from "the nation." former communications director from the michele bachmann campaign, the lovely alice stewart. the winton churchill of political analyst, msnbc's martin bashir, and "daily news" columnist, s.e. cupp, who is not wearing her democrat hat today, or maybe she is. it's noon on the east coast. in 3 1/2 hours, nbc can report that donald trump will place a bet in vegas and endorse someone probably named mitt romney. the donald has had a thing for the presidential race this past year. let's take a look. >> if i run, and if i win, this country will be respected again. well, this is very serious. i wish i didn't have to do it. i wish this country was running so great. i will not be running for president, as much as i'd like to. the equal time provisions don't allow me to run until may, when i'm a free agent. i never really looked at it

can i not think of a worse series of events and donald trump cares only about donald trump.it hurts mitt romney or what it does to newt gingrich. if i were mitt romney i would run, go volunteer at a soup kitchen, skip donald trump. >> weird guy developer. i'm going to have to write that one down. >> kyra? >> yes, aren't. >> maybe it's not that donald trump is such a genius or that we're suckered into discussing us. maybe more of a reflection on us than trump. >> the white house has set a time line for withdrawal of troops from afghanistan. is this military strategy or election year strategy? >> substantively i don't have to have a lot of complaints. why are we in afghanistan, what's the goal? how long you going to stay in the answer you keep coming back with i don't know but it can't be forever, but politically, why announce in so publicly? why tell the taliban or all of our enemies in that region we're going to be leaving in "x" amounts of day, tell the afghans behind the scenes this is when we leave. i don't need to know the reason for public announcement other than for po